Jaguars trade Fowler to Rams

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snackdaddy

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It is a way for the community at large to remove inappropriate posts. In most cases, when a posts receives 3 inappropriates, it is indeed a violation of board rules and is removed before there is a lot of blow back and is done before the mods even see the post.

It doesn’t occur often and usually the post ends up being from a troll but it has been a pretty effective tool.

The other thing the inappropriate button does is give us an idea of if someone has a history of being a problem if he gets on our radar and also has a history of receiving or giving them.

Gee, I'm glad my employer didn't have this in place. I'da lost my job years ago. :homercrawl:
 

BonifayRam

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Dante Folwer Jr. will have a chance of an NFL lifetime to finally be the Defensive star the NFL thought he was when he was the first drafted defensive player in the top 5 of the first round @ #3. Many NFL scouts claimed comparisons of DF with Raiders ER Khalil Mack. DF (only 24 yrs old) can make up for all the years lost since 2015. He has been down a rough rocky road. Rams threw him a lifeline:help: when they traded two future draft selections for him (3rd & 5th rd selections) to JAX for the bench sitting 34 D player.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/dante-fowler, jr?id=2552437

Thus far DF's performance has been about average since putting on the RamHorns but he is by far our best Edge Rusher on the team. Injuries to the Rams ER's came early to Wade's defense with lingering rehabbing events with Easley, Longacre & Tevon Young. Injuries to Og Okoronkwo, Garrett Sickels, Morgan Fox along with a new injury to Longacre again. Leaving the Rams with only 2 healthy ER's Ebukam & Lawler.

Saturday night ex UF Gator DF will face off with an old dancing partner Dallas RT La'El Collins who played OT for LSU Tigers. I would expect to see the best of what DF is capable of doing setting the edge with DE Brockers on that strong side in containing those outside runs. DF hopes to be the opposite side force to squeeze the QB along with Donald.When Dak goes to the pass DF has the skill to sack him several times & force at least a fumble or INT. Now its Dante's time! DF gets a chance to play 3 more really very BIG games early into February. Then onto UFA'cy in early March........
 

Merlin

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Saturday night ex UF Gator DF will face off with an old dancing partner Dallas RT La'El Collins who played OT for LSU Tigers. I would expect to see the best of what DF is capable of doing setting the edge with DE Brockers on that strong side in containing those outside runs. DF hopes to be the opposite side force to squeeze the QB along with Donald.When Dak goes to the pass DF has the skill to sack him several times & force at least a fumble or INT. Now its Dante's time! DF gets a chance to play 3 more really very BIG games early into February. Then onto UFA'cy in early March........

I would expect Fowler to struggle in the run game vs Collins but tbh the Rams will probably go with Longacre on most of the non-passing downs. Get Fowler on Collins for passing downs, however, and he might show pretty damn well. Collins is solid, but not great in pass pro.
 

“Turbo set!”

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I continue to see sideline and game shots of Fowler and Donald being chummy together.

If that helps make this feel like home to Fowler, maybe he is motivated to stay here.

They could be best friends and it still comes down to one thing.
 

OregonRamsFan

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EVERY TIME I see this thread’s title I think we just traded Fowler. It FREAKS ME OUT. Lol. :headexplosion:
 

dang

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Not sure Jackson is the run stuffing NT that we need. Appears to be a younger less powerful version of Suh. Does anyone know otherwise?
 

PhillyRam

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Not sure Jackson is the run stuffing NT that we need. Appears to be a younger less powerful version of Suh. Does anyone know otherwise?

Have not watched him, but getting a vet like him would allow you to only have to draft one DL this year and still see if Joseph-Day has a future.

Then focus on ILB, CB depth and a starting S. Do that and your D is in good shape going forward.
 

BonifayRam

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Not sure Jackson is the run stuffing NT that we need. Appears to be a younger less powerful version of Suh. Does anyone know otherwise?
I believe that Brockers will be inserted back @ NT & advised of this change, told to beef up again, when this season ends. John Franklin-Myers will take over the 5 tech post for Brockers. Rams need some talented reserves now.

Rams might look for a stop gap NT too maybe like 34 yr old Brandon Mebane might be up for 1 more season in LA or 33 yr old Steve McLendon. Rams need to look hard @ Saints 26 yr old NT Tyeler Davison or Chargers 24 yr old DT Darius Philon to sign to 2 to 3 yr contracts to replace UFA's Suh, Westbrooks, Easley & Brockers in 2020.
 

XXXIVwin

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but tbh the Rams will probably go with Longacre on most of the non-passing downs

Honestly surprised that Longacre still sees the field with Los Ramos.

I remember seeing a few plays (against Wilson, I think?) where Longacre just looked so damn S L O W . . .
 

Merlin

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Honestly surprised that Longacre still sees the field with Los Ramos.

I remember seeing a few plays (against Wilson, I think?) where Longacre just looked so damn S L O W . . .

Yeah he's never been a great athlete. But he looked pretty fresh vs the whiners and got down the field on the long run play they gave up in the first half which is a good sign for us. He does play pretty stout vs the run when his back isn't an issue and with our edge roster I am glad to see him rounding into form maybe in time for the playoffs. (y)
 

BonifayRam

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Honestly surprised that Longacre still sees the field with Los Ramos.I remember seeing a few plays (against Wilson, I think?) where Longacre just looked so damn S L O W . . .
Eventually the starters Fowler & Ebukam do get tired. Longacre is the first off the bench reserve now. The second off the bench is our last 7th rd draft selection, Justin Lawler. So we do not have any speed entering the field with either of those two reserves. What you do get is a better chance to hold or set the edge on run downs. Neither of them as easily moved by blockers.

What we did see on wk #17 in open field view was Longacre whiffing on several tackles on a couple of big plays which were disturbing. No wrap period. Longacre is a UFA in a month anyway & is sure to land on a 43-D team as a back up in 2019.

The big hope for me @ the moment is rookies Trevon Young & Og Okoronkwo will be able to get healthy enough to see some action on the field with the defensive unit in relief of our starters. Both of these rookie ER's were allegedly said by draft scouts to have some talent & skills in this position.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft...ngs-oklahomas-okoronkwo-ready-for-major-rise/
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/ogbonnia-okoronkwo?id=32462018-0002-5599-45e1-8076208eae71
https://www.bigblueview.com/2018/4/...onkwo-edge-oklahoma-scouting-report-ny-giants
https://draftwire.usatoday.com/2017/12/31/ogbonnia-okoronkwo-nfl-draft-profile/
https://www.drafttek.com/Top-100-NFL-Draft-Prospects-2018.asp
https://nflmocks.com/2017/12/26/ogbonnia-okoronkwo-deolb-oklahoma-2018-nfl-draft-scouting-report/


https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...t-louisville-pick-los-angeles-rams/547085002/
http://draftanalyst.com/trevon-young
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/player-blurb-trevon-young-de-louisville/
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/trevon-young?id=32462018-0002-5602-01b5-1dfd1232d4f7
 
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RamDino

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I'll take any nose tackle nicknamed "Snacks". Lol
 

Prime Time

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https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/01/28/super-bowl-liii-dante-fowler-los-angeles-rams-trade-jaguars

For the Rams’ Dante Fowler, a Midseason Trade, and a Career Rebirth
By ROBERT KLEMKO

Dan and Stacey Quinn were in Oahu, following through on their plan to get away from football for a few weeks before the Falcons head coach needed to return to Atlanta and prep for the 2019 NFL draft. Yet shutting the sport out completely proved impossible two Sundays ago, with the Saints hosting the Rams in the NFC Championship Game at 10 a.m. local time in Hawaii.

There were the Quinns at their vacation home, yelling at the television as Drew Brees and the Saints took the ball in overtime. “C’mon Dante! C’mon Dante!” Stacey hollered. And from more than 4,000 miles away, Dante answered.

The Rams’ outside linebacker, Dante Fowler Jr., met the Quinns during his freshman year at Florida, when Dan was Gators defensive coordinator and Fowler was a five-star defensive line prospect out of St. Petersburg.

Six years later Fowler found himself in the NFC title game, spinning off of Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and colliding with Brees as he released a pass. The ball whimpered, wobbled and fell into the waiting arms of Rams safety John Johnson III. Five plays later Greg Zuerlein would hit the game-winning 57-yard field goal.

In between, Fowler’s been the No. 3 pick in the draft, questioned his own love of the game, fought depression, been arrested and later, traded. It all started with an injury. Those who have suffered it say can affect the mind as much as or more than the knee itself.

Before he’d ever taken a snap, Fowler tore his ACL on the first day of rookie minicamp for the Jaguars in 2015. He would miss the entire season, setting the course for his downfall in Jacksonville and rebirth in Los Angeles. Fowler had never before waited on success, never suffered so drastic a setback. And few knew that better than Quinn.

“Some guys have so much success in high school and college,” Dan Quinn says. “Then they go to the NFL and you don’t get the respect; it has to be earned. So when he got injured he didn’t have that chance to earn the respect on the field, and it was really humbling. It takes a lot of soul-searching to say I’m gonna battle through this and come out the other side.”

For three years and some change, it didn’t look as if Fowler would ever climb out of that rut. He played in 16 games for Jacksonville in 2016, starting one, and collected four sacks. A rookie third-round pick, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, supplanted Fowler on the depth chart that year, and the coach who drafted Fowler, Gus Bradley was fired after Week 15.

“After I tore my ACL I feel like they gave up on me going into my next training camp,” Fowler says. “These three years I was trying to prove to them I was a guy they could trust, and I was trying to be the guy they drafted me to be. But I never got a chance to start a game. When it’s all said and done, I feel like they gave up on me.

“Yannick came and did what he was supposed to do, and that’s when I fell back into the shadows. I used to always go and ask why I was sitting on the bench. I can admit, I was depressed. I’ve never been in a bad place like that before, and that was one of the darkest times of my life. It made me question my love of football. I dreaded going to work, knowing how people feel about you and think about you. I had a dark cloud following me.”

Fowler can speak freely now as a member of the Rams, who, amid an 8-0 start, sent third- and fifth-round picks to the Jaguars in late October for a 24-year-old who had up to that point started just one game as a pro.

Fowler also had recently earned a suspension from Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone for engaging in multiple fights in practice. To Rams players who had grown accustomed to general manager Les Snead’s splashy roster moves working out, this one still seemed odd.

image

Scott Varley/Digital First Media/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images

“When we got Dante, I was like, Whoa, where did this come from?” says L.A. guard Rodger Saffold. “But he came in and bought in. All these guys bought in to [Rams head coach Sean] McVay and what we have here. We have a culture that can be hard to mesh with. There’s so much accountability. You have to be able to say, I made a mistake. For guys to come in and buy into that honestly was shocking.”

If Rams players had any lingering doubts, they were erased in the NFC Championship Game, when Fowler turned in his best performance of the season and made the critical hit on Brees. Exhausted and glossy-eyed as he sat at his locker after the game, Fowler had a lot to be thankful for. He rattled off the names of teammates who’d helped him learn the playbook in November: Aaron Donald, Samson Ebukam, Matt Longacre and Ogbonnia ‘Obo’ Okoronkwo.

Says Fowler: “That’s when I knew this team was special, because Obo’s a rookie. He don’t even play, and he’s teaching me the defense. I can’t thank those guys enough. In walkthroughs, practice, they’d take me through the plays, take me through the steps. They took me under their wing and just showed me the way. I just told them thank you all the time. They didn’t have to do that.

“That’s when I could tell everyone was for one goal. I was traded for, and there wasn’t an elephant in the room or anything. I’m grateful to work with a group of guys like that. We have a lot of star power, guys with accolades, rings, Hall of Fame credentials, but these guys are humble and they put all that behind them. They keep the main thing the main thing.”

Fowler says Jacksonville’s locker room had a hard time with that concept. He believes that after the Jaguars reached the AFC Championship Game in 2017, players thought too much of themselves. “It took me coming here to realize that we weren’t humble about it,” Fowler says. “Other teams were hungrier than us.”

Personally, there wasn’t much Fowler could say or do even if he had diagnosed the problem in Jacksonville at the time; he was the highest-paid backup on the team, earning $23.49 million over four years as a former third overall pick. Also, he’d branded himself an off-field risk during his third offseason.

Depressed but hopeful going into the 2017 season, Fowler was back in his hometown of St. Petersburg when, according to a police spokesperson, he was driving through an apartment complex and heard a man comment on his driving. Fowler got out of the car, an argument ensued, and Fowler punched the man, allegedly stomped on his glasses after they fell from his face, and threw the man’s grocery bag full of liquor in a nearby lake. He was arrested without incident.

“I remember that day like it was yesterday,” Fowler says. “I was working out, had my baby boy, everything was going good, and I hit a bump in the road. When I was getting booked I was thinking about my kids and all the kids that look up to me. I just thought, who are you right now? When I went to training camp and saw all the kids, it made me real emotional. I realized I wasn’t just doing it for myself; I’m doing it for all the people who look up to me. That’s when I grew up.”

Fowler started seeing a therapist after the arrest, and though his status with the Jaguars was diminished, he maintained a love of the game and an eagerness for his next opportunity. Along the way, Quinn was a text or a phone call away, providing guidance when necessary. Years ago he’d been taken with Fowler’s competitiveness as a prep star, and later, as a freshman at Florida.

“You saw all this raw talent,” Quinn says, “And there was zero fear. Sometimes guys go from high school to college and there’s that feeling-out period, but there was no doubt with him that he was ready to play. That was really cool to see.

“I left right [Florida] after his first year, so I just wanted him to know that even though I was leaving he could ask me questions about the process. I tried to mentor from far away. I wanted him to know he had a relationship with me forever.”

Fowler played in 13 games as a Gators freshman, then started 24 over the next two seasons before entering the draft with a year of eligibility remaining. Quinn took a job as Seahawks defensive coordinator in 2013, then as Falcons head coach in 2015. In 2016 Atlanta reached the Super Bowl, building a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots before eventually losing 34-28 in overtime.

In a team meeting during that Super Bowl week, Quinn asked his players to raise a hand if someone in their lives had reached out to offer advice about how to approach that week. Ninety percent of the room raised their hands. Quinn told them to ignore the noise: “Let’s do what we do.”

So today Quinn is following his own advice. He’s not reaching out to Fowler. If he did, he might tell him how proud he is, how he knew Fowler would get to this place, one way or another.

“It was really hard for him,” Quinn says. “But through all that, he had a lot of resiliency. The bumps haven’t been easy, but those are the moments that test us. He’ll be able to use this year for the rest of his career. He can say, I stood tall and found a way.”
 

Ram65

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Really nice article on Fowler @Prime Time!

Sometimes a change of scenery can help a player along with a little more dedication. Fowler would be wise to resign with the Rams. I think he will get better with the Rams. Still don't think he get a really big deal. Of course if he gets 3 sacks or so in the SB that could change.
 

Karate61

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How can you not be happy for Fowler, Jr. after reading that!