Jake Long

[shaunpinney]

I really hope so. It's depressing seeing other teams get by on the cheap or with rookies at center (NE, GB). Frustrating that the Rams can't seem to develop one. Why can't the Rams ever have nice things?

But if Coach Bou knows those guys aren't gonna cut it, I wouldn't mind investing in one of the two free agent centers. Despite the rookie successes I still think center is a position where veteran leadership counts for something.

Especially when you're talking about protecting the QB and with a newbie (robinson) at LT. Its balance is what's needed. Its frustrating that Wells, a prowler in 2011 has been so poor in horns, or is it the fact that his ability has been spread thin because of our poor OG situation???

 

[BonifayRam]

Especially when you're talking about protecting the QB and with a newbie (robinson) at LT. Its balance is what's needed. Its frustrating that Wells, a prowler in 2011 has been so poor in horns, or is it the fact that his ability has been spread thin because of our poor OG situation???

Good Morning shaunpinney! Could you define what you mean when you use the word BALANCE in this discussion about the OL? Are we taking age wise or talent wise or experience wise???

There were a half dozen games or so where Wells had Saffold & Robinson starting @ OG next to him. Not so sure I would place the adjective POOR next to those two OG's. But yes most of the time when Wells was not on the IR (2 seasons) or injured & missing games he was not playing with a good OL.

Not sure if this has been posted yet. Its on Snead & free agent OT Joe Barksdale.


View: https://twitter.com/nwagoner/status/568140458032898048


http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/6508/joseph-barksdale

 

[Fatbot]

Its frustrating that Wells, a prowler in 2011 has been so poor in horns, or is it the fact that his ability has been spread thin because of our poor OG situation???

I think Wells over the years is simply a huge dose of terrible injury luck. But you could argue the Rams brought bad luck upon themselves by trusting in an over-30 guy and giving him a poorly structured contract that made it hard to get rid of him.

Your thought about him spread thin this season is hard to ignore. I think this write-up shows exactly that, it was hardly Wells alone: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

I guess Fisher felt a lot of that got solved and kept Wells in the entire season but I think it's time for him to go. I'm still a little bummed that once the playoffs were eliminated that he didn't throw one of the youngsters out there to at least get them some calls experience and see what they could do.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I have two scenario's for our O-Line and neither involve Long, I think he's too damaged!
Scenario #1; Sign FA OG - Mike Lupati, and OC - Stefen Wisniewski. And resign Barksdale.
That give us a Line of Robinso - Lupati - Wisniewski - Saffold an Barksdale! Pretty good IMO!!
Scenario #2; Stays the same as above except, in place of Wisniewski, We Draft OC/OG - Cameron Erving!

 

[BonifayRam]

I think Wells over the years is simply a huge dose of terrible injury luck. But you could argue the Rams brought bad luck upon themselves by trusting in an over-30 guy and giving him a poorly structured contract that made it hard to get rid of him.

Your thought about him spread thin this season is hard to ignore. I think this write-up shows exactly that, it was hardly Wells alone: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

I guess Fisher felt a lot of that got solved and kept Wells in the entire season but I think it's time for him to go. I'm still a little bummed that once the playoffs were eliminated that he didn't throw one of the youngsters out there to at least get them some calls experience and see what they could do.

Boy that article sure pointed out Barksdale as being preforming as poor as Joseph most of the time. That will just about make you sick to read & watch.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

 

[rams24/7]

Idk why people like Iupati so much. He's approaching 30, has injury issues, bad in pass pro, best football is arguably behind him, and will be costly.

Sound familiar? (Hint: see Long, Bell, Brown, Wells)

It's a solid guard draft and we could nab a guy like Cann in the 2nd who has more upside than Iupati with a fraction of the injuries and would be very cheap.

 

[BonifayRam]

Idk why people like Iupati so much. He's approaching 30, has injury issues, bad in pass pro, best football is arguably behind him, and will be costly.

Sound familiar? (Hint: see Long, Bell, Brown, Wells)

It's a solid guard draft and we could nab a guy like Cann in the 2nd who has more upside than Iupati with a fraction of the injuries and would be very cheap.

I agree with you here about this draft OG's. I do think that in this draft it seems to be nicely filled with outstanding second day OG's. I just happen to like Laken Tomlinson & Arie Kouandjio more than AJ Cann, who should all be gone early in the 2nd round. I also really like John Miller who I would select with our #72 third rd pick if we missed those 3 above OG's in the 2nd rd. Drafting those two OG's would finally resolve our decade old interior weak OL.

I not an advocate of building the OL from veteran UFA's any longer I done with it!

 

[rams24/7]

I agree with you here about this draft OG's. I do think that in this draft it seems to be nicely filled with outstanding second day OG's. I just happen to like Laken Tomlinson & Arie Kouandjio more than AJ Cann, who should all be gone early in the 2nd round. I also really like John Miller who I would select with our #72 third rd pick if we missed those 3 above OG's in the 2nd rd. Drafting those two OG's would finally resolve our decade old interior weak OL.

I not an advocate of building the OL from veteran UFA's any longer I done with it!

I like Tomlinson a lot too. How many NFL teams can you think of that have 2+ highly productive OLmen they signed from other teams in FA?

Teams like Dallas (Smith, Fredrick, Martin) and Cleveland (Thomas, Mack, Bitonio) put an emphasis on building the OL annually through the draft and it has paid dividends. I'm all for RT at #10 (Collins, Clemmings, Scherff) and OG in the 2nd (Cann, Tomlinson, Koundjio, Erving). It would finally give us the great young and athletic OL we've been begging for for years.

 

[12intheBox]

I like Tomlinson a lot too. How many NFL teams can you think of that have 2+ highly productive OLmen they signed from other teams in FA?

Teams like Dallas (Smith, Fredrick, Martin) and Cleveland (Thomas, Mack, Bitonio) put an emphasis on building the OL annually through the draft and it has paid dividends. I'm all for RT at #10 (Collins, Clemmings, Scherff) and OG in the 2nd (Cann, Tomlinson, Koundjio, Erving). It would finally give us the great young and athletic OL we've been begging for for years.

Yeah, the Browns are a powerhouse.

In all seriousness though, I agree - I'd love to see the O Line get more priority here - but they are working towards it. They spent the #2 overall and tried to trade back in to the first for guy who turned in a pro bowl rookie year. Les knows ...

 

[jjab360]

Idk why people like Iupati so much. He's approaching 30, has injury issues, bad in pass pro, best football is arguably behind him, and will be costly.

Sound familiar? (Hint: see Long, Bell, Brown, Wells)

It's a solid guard draft and we could nab a guy like Cann in the 2nd who has more upside than Iupati with a fraction of the injuries and would be very cheap.

27 years old is approaching 30? 4 games missed in 5 years is injury issues?

 

[jjab360]

Boy that article sure pointed out Barksdale as being preforming as poor as Joseph most of the time. That will just about make you sick to read & watch.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

At least if you look at the majority of those plays highlighted big Greg is handling business if no one else is. That guy is powerful and athletic enough that he can manhandle pretty much anyone with limited technique, we're lucky to have him. I also like that you can stick him at LT or LG, it means we're not pigeonholed into drafting just one of those positions. We can just take the most talented guy available and move Robinson and Saffold around accordingly.

 

[rams24/7]

27 years old is approaching 30? 4 games missed in 5 years is injury issues?

He's turning 28 in May. Although he hasn't missed extensive time, the knees have been an issue the past few seasons. Buyer beware

 

[BonifayRam]

At least if you look at the majority of those plays highlighted big Greg is handling business if no one else is. That guy is powerful and athletic enough that he can manhandle pretty much anyone with limited technique, we're lucky to have him. I also like that you can stick him at LT or LG, it means we're not pigeonholed into drafting just one of those positions. We can just take the most talented guy available and move Robinson and Saffold around accordingly.

Thats true jjab360, if for whatever may happen in the draft if there were a OLT to drop to us in round 5 ...lets just say a OLT like D.J. Humphries who surprises everyone & is out of the box ready to play the Rams could take complete advantage of this luck & shift Robinson back inside to be a super dominating player @ OLG.I am so happy Snead drafted GR @ #2....I see where Jadeveon Clowney's surgically repaired knee situation is looking real bad for the Texans.
http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/8375/jadeveon-clowney

The opposite is the example of Joe Barksdale...who can only play ONE position. Sports writers have comments & found that the Rams who may be in the worse shape in the OL as anyone would let JB test free agency since when that occurs most of the time those UFA do not return.......well the above may play a major part in that......I just do not see the value of paying big money for a at best average ORT who can not swing. Look @ Saffold, he can line up & play & start if need be @ FOUR OL posts. Having players like GR & RS give you options on just how you can take advantage of things that can come your way in the draft or on game day injuries.

Snead drafted Barrett Jones who can play all five OL positions. Snead drafted Demetrius Rhaney who show'd in TC & pre season he could play all the interior posts. Mike Person who Snead brought in also can play all five OL posts. They resigned Saffold to a nice contract too. They have also kept OL Brandon Washington around since early 2012 & Brandon sure is no starting material however he still has a job here & what Brandon has done is line up & play @ FOUR OL posts for the Rams in TC & pre season. We saw Boudreau release the massive big Travis Bond early before the season started because Bond can only play ONE post thats @ ORG.

I sure bet that when Snead does select his OL'ers with his small amount of selections that whomever they pick will be an OL'er who has Rodger Saffold & Barrett Jones type versatility. Same with any UFA OL'ers signed the same goes for them too. Guess that's why jrry32 keeps pumping up OL Cling Boling as his #1 UFA purchase...I would agree with jrry32 on that.

 

[Rams43]

Wow! This has been a great thread, huh? So many thoughtful perspectives by so many informed posters.

Here are a few of my own thoughts...

We shouldn't overthink the J Long thing. He looks like he's done and definitely overpriced. Thanks to Demoff's foresight, Long is cuttable and we should do so. We clearly have our LOT, anyway.

I would resign Barks if it could be done at a reasonable price. BonifayRam has made good points, but here's my reasoning. We are already forced to bring in 2 players new to this OL (new to us, anyway). That's plenty. Why force a third new player? Let's roll with an affordable Barks for this year and keep our eye out for an upgrade at RT in a future draft.

I lean toward a vet FA at C. Yeah, Barnes, Jones, or Rhaney MIGHT be a quality starter this year. But they might not. I want to win and go to playoffs THIS year. The vet would provide valuable experience vs drafting a rookie C high. Probably much needed experience, at that.

I favor drafting an OG that they really like in the 2nd or 3rd. I don't have a personal favorite, either. I would leave that up to them. But I would like a premium player, not a late rounder. I want this OL to be FIXED, dammit. No more bandaids. Let's finish what they started with GRob. Get a dominant OL, finally.

I would not favor a Lupati signing. I think he's overrated and may now have injury issues. Haven't we got enough of those worries already on our OL? Not to mention his pass pro history.

I believe that we should take BPA at #10, despite our OL needs. Might be a WR, might be yet another position. Our OL can and will be fixed without using our 1st rounder, necessarily.

A potential trade down out of #10 might be a godsend. Unless they've somehow fallen in love with a certain player, a trade down yielding a 2nd or even a high 3rd might be just what the doctor ordered for fixing our OL or for quality depth there or elsewhere.

In summary, somehow or someway we HAVE to come out of this offseason with a FIXED OL. And it should be one that does NOT include J Long, Wells, or Joseph (or their danged salaries).

Some opinions may vary. Lol.

 

[shaunpinney]

Good Morning shaunpinney! Could you define what you mean when you use the word BALANCE in this discussion about the OL? Are we taking age wise or talent wise or experience wise???

There were a half dozen games or so where Wells had Saffold & Robinson starting @ OG next to him. Not so sure I would place the adjective POOR next to those two OG's. But yes most of the time when Wells was not on the IR (2 seasons) or injured & missing games he was not playing with a good OL.

Not sure if this has been posted yet. Its on Snead & free agent OT Joe Barksdale.


View: https://twitter.com/nwagoner/status/568140458032898048


http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/6508/joseph-barksdale

The Saffold, Wells, Robinson trio, which on paper looks damn good and I for one thought that this year Long, Robinson, Wells, Saffold and Barksdale would be one of the better O-lines in the whole league, but you know what, they weren't because at the start of the season when we had that trio playing together our o-line, like our d-line just wasn't firing on all cylinders, it seems to take the Rams players a good few weeks before they 'click' into game day mode...

I was talking along the lines of Age & Experience. I always thought that Wells was brought in because he IS a good o-line manager and that took the pressure off Sam B...

 

[shaunpinney]

I think Wells over the years is simply a huge dose of terrible injury luck. But you could argue the Rams brought bad luck upon themselves by trusting in an over-30 guy and giving him a poorly structured contract that made it hard to get rid of him.

Your thought about him spread thin this season is hard to ignore. I think this write-up shows exactly that, it was hardly Wells alone: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

I guess Fisher felt a lot of that got solved and kept Wells in the entire season but I think it's time for him to go. I'm still a little bummed that once the playoffs were eliminated that he didn't throw one of the youngsters out there to at least get them some calls experience and see what they could do.

Thanks for posting that article, that one's slipped past me, how on earth was Davis still able to walk after that game?!? Those clips really show how poor Joseph is, I know Wells has been below par and injury prone with the Rams, but he really hasn't been helped. I think we did 2 unlucky O-Line upgrades Wells and Long, with both being hit by injuries, it could have gone very differently - I mean we signed 2 pro-bowlers, I was excited pre-both signings... it all looked good on paper

 

[LosAngelesRams]

Exactly, I think he'd be a fine guard...LG of course...maybe right...he should be able to maintain a relatively healthy last few years....but please have some decent backup...maybe some competition for the starting spot.

Long is an amazing, experienced veteran tackle. If he could just stay healthy and not go down he would probably be one of the best guards in the league given the opportunity. He would also be able to work side by side with Grob and teach him how to be a pro bowl caliber tackle. If the Rams can figure it out financially to keep him on the roster I'm all for it. OL is our biggest question mark with alot of holes and that would be one less.

 

[FRO]

I would take him for a minimum contract.

 

[Tailback]

So here's my Oregon Duck draft report. The Rams should take a long hard look at Jake Fisher. The dude has very good size, that will be improved in a NFL style program instead of the system Coach Radcliffe uses. Bulk up Fisher another 15-20 pounds and he'll be perfect. Look at his combine numbers, a leader at most of his drills. He started as a Freshman which is unheard of at Oregon under OL Coach Greatwood. He was durable, the only time I recall him missing games was this year. He missed IIRC 3 games and the Oline fell apart without him. Immediately upon his return the Oline solidified once again. He'd be great moved to Right Tackle or a Guard spot.

Just as a reminder, my previous two years I suggested the Rams take Kiko Alonso LB (who was in the running for DROTK), and look hard at Taylor Hart, who really wouldn't have been a good fit because of the Rams depth at DL. Taylor was drafted by Phillie, and was on the scout team. He like most Duck linemen needed to shed their college strength and conditioning body for an NFL body. Completely different philosophies.

 

[Thordaddy]

If we drafted and played Marriota I'd be OK with Long coming back and giving it a try but a guy with two ACL's protecting a QB with the same doesnt sound like a good bet.
I think adding him in the beginning was a good move and as things turned out we got him and kept Saffold but I don't see sticking by it adding in his history of injury with Miami I'm with George Bush channeled by Dana Carvy "wouldn't be prudent