If We Draft An Ot With Our First Pick...

[Rams and Gators]

Who is our starting LT once Long comes back?

It's a question I keep on coming back to, for me if you spend a high pick on a tackle you best be doing so with a view for him to be your starting LT and so even with Long back I'd have to play the pick at LT unless he stunk it up. I'm sure others will disagree with that and say play Long at LT, but if you don't what do you do with Long? Do you move him to RT? Can either Long or Barksdale take one of the OG spots? Are we simply paying Long too much not to be the starting LT?

Just some random questions I've been mulling over.

 

[iced]

Long is our LT - period.

 

[rhinobean]

I hope we take an O lineman in the first! Doesn't have to be our first pick. Need to resign Saffold first, though!

 

[Flipper_336]

If we draft an OT with our first pick, he'll start at RT or guard until Long's next injury and will then take over on the blind side.

If Long isn't ready on the opening day of the 2014 season, he'll return at RT or LG.

Barksdale will be our swing tackle.

 

[MerlinJones]

Roger Saffold is firmly in Danny Amendola territory.

He's been injured enough that the Rams won't offer him a huge deal with lots of guaranteed money.
Another team in need of a tackle will offer Saffold enough that it won't make sense for him to turn them down.

The Rams will then address the OL issues with later round picks and lower tier FA that they believe can be "coached up". You know, because it's worked out so well so far. (insert sarcastic tone here).

 

[Alan]

Flipper with the plan:
If we draft an OT with our first pick, he'll start at RT or guard until Long's next injury and will then take over on the blind side.

Barksdale will be our swing tackle.

I like this plan.

On a related note:
For those who talk about re-signing Saffold and moving to him to guard (and I'm one of them) because there's less chance of injury (along with the fact that he's a better guard than he is an OT) there, what's the difference between him and Long? Doesn't the same reasoning apply equally as well to both of them? Imagine Long and Saffold as our guards. Great pass protection in the middle and even better run blocking.

 

[mr.stlouis]

Long is our LT - period.

Yep. Les Snead said they don't make moves due to injury and Long is expected to make a full recovery. So I don't think we pick a first round tackle.

But to answer the question, if we pick Mattews then I think we play him at G and move him over when Long gets injured.

 

[Thordaddy]

Honestly I would not be upset if we took OT's with the first two picks ,shift to defense for the next two rounds

 

[CGI_Ram]

Roger Saffold is firmly in Danny Amendola territory.

Feels like it to me, too.

Go oline early, and often Rams!

 

[BonifayRam]

Roger Saffold is firmly in Danny Amendola territory.

He's been injured enough that the Rams won't offer him a huge deal with lots of guaranteed money.
Another team in need of a tackle will offer Saffold enough that it won't make sense for him to turn them down.

The Rams will then address the OL issues with later round picks and lower tier FA that they believe can be "coached up". You know, because it's worked out so well so far.

I believe you are completely right in the first half of your post. So I tagged your post as like. However the second half I also agree with some that yes I expect Snead to address the OL from round one to seven "the later rounds". But it the last ten words of your last sentence that I could counter post all day with you on. The only reason the OL worked out so well towards the last part of the season was because Saffold was healthy & playing his best football of his career...Saffold being a Ram has nothing to do with Snead or Fisher he was a super valued first second round pick in 2010...not a FA or a Snead Fisher "Wavier Wire Contingent" or coached up by Boudreau.

I will say this what we saw in the last game where the Rams interior OL in particularly with Chris Williams & Shelley Smith performance was dismal at best & both were part of the "WWC" . Saffold play in the interior should show Fisher & Snead what a young talented draft choice can do to boost the present aging often injured UFA's & WWC's.

Go oline early, and often Rams!

I love your battle cry my New Brunswick Ram brother!

 

[PowayRamFan]

This is why drafting Robinson might be beneficial. This guy looks like a great guard but maybe a little unpolished as a tackle. Put him at LG and let him learn from Long for a year or two. Teams with depth do this sort of thing all the time, hopefully we are getting closer to this.

 

[MerlinJones]

I believe you are completely right in the first half of your post. So I tagged your post as like. However the second half I also agree with some that yes I expect Snead to address the OL from round one to seven "the later rounds". But it the last ten words of your last sentence that I could counter post all day with you on. The only reason the OL worked out so well towards the last part of the season was because Saffold was healthy & playing his best football of his career...Saffold being a Ram has nothing to do with Snead or Fisher he was a super valued first second round pick in 2010...not a FA or a Snead Fisher "Wavier Wire Contingent" or coached up by Boudreau.

I will say this what we saw in the last game where the Rams interior OL in particularly with Chris Williams & Shelley Smith performance was dismal at best & both were part of the "WWC" . Saffold play in the interior should show Fisher & Snead what a young talented draft choice can do to boost the present aging often injured UFA's & WWC's.


I love your battle cry my New Brunswick Ram brother!

I really wish there was a sarcasm button on here.

I totally agree with you that the Rams need to upgrade the online with high draft picks. The Seattle game is the perfect example of why. Fisher and Snead need to get over it and build Bradford a wall.

 

[jap]

I like this plan.

On a related note:
For those who talk about re-signing Saffold and moving to him to guard (and I'm one of them) because there's less chance of injury (along with the fact that he's a better guard than he is an OT) there, what's the difference between him and Long? Doesn't the same reasoning apply equally as well to both of them? Imagine Long and Saffold as our guards. Great pass protection in the middle and even better run blocking.

I repeated this very idea from another member earlier.

 

[Alan]

jap warning of plagiarism:
I repeated this very idea from another member earlier.

Yeah, there are a lot of crazies running around aren't there? :wink:

 

[iced]

I really wish there was a sarcasm button on here.

I totally agree with you that the Rams need to upgrade the online with high draft picks. The Seattle game is the perfect example of why. Fisher and Snead need to get over it and build Bradford a wall.

the seattle game was mostly back ups..no long, no saffold, no dahl...

however, when we played them with our starters - zac stacy didn't have a bad day...just ran all over the pedhawks to a tune of 142 yards..no biggie

 

[RamFan503]

I really wish there was a sarcasm button on here.

Blue font usually does the trick. Horses ass. :heh:

 

[jap]

Yeah, there are a lot of crazies running around aren't there? :wink:

It's not plagiarism---it's really a very intriguing idea to have road grading monsters like Big Jake and BeetleJuice at the guard spots.

 

[BonifayRam]

the seattle game was mostly back ups..no long, no saffold, no dahl...

Hey iced here's what I can recall let me know if I am wrong that in the last game against Seattle the Ram OL starters were Long/Williams/Barnes/Saffold/Barksdale four regular Ram OL starters there, but Smith went in when Long went down. Smith has has started 8 Ram games @ OG. Yes Zac had a good day 134 yds for 5.2 yd per attempt.

however, when we played them with our starters - zac stacy didn't have a bad day...just ran all over the pedhawks to a tune of 142 yards..no biggie

In the first Seattle game the Rams starting OL was Long/Williams/Wells/Dahl/{Saffold/Barksdale rotation} Dahl went down just after the half & like in the last game Shelley Smith came in @ the same post as in the last Seattle game. Guess one of my points is the Ram OL was basically the same cadre with the only real difference was @ center (Barnes vs Wells). Yes Zac had a bad bad day 15 yd about 1 yd per attempt.

Finally iced what would be the odds that the Rams would have Saffold-Long & Dahl starting the first 2014 Ram game? High, 5050, Low, or very low?

 

[iced]

double post

 

[iced]

Hey iced here's what I can recall let me know if I am wrong that in the last game against Seattle the Ram OL starters were Long/Williams/Barnes/Saffold/Barksdale four regular Ram OL starters there, but Smith went in when Long went down. Smith has has started 8 Ram games @ OG. Yes Zac had a good day 134 yds for 5.2 yd per attempt.

Jake never played the last game - he tore the acl the week before against the bucs. Saffold left the seattle game with a concussion.

Chris Williams played LT