Just a thought...

[Rams43]

What if Snead, Fisher, and Demoff are not completely unaware of their OL needs?

What if they have plans A, B, C, and D in place?

For example...

What if they have a "handshake" deal with Barksdale already in place to match or maybe exceed by a bit his best outside offer? That would be a win for both Barks and the Rams, wouldn't it?

Or maybe they have another vet FA, or trade lined up to be an OG or ROT?

Shouldn't we be giving this FO credit for not being totally incompetent and stupid? I think they've certainly earned that much.

Trust me, Fisher is NOT planning on starting 3 rookies on our OL this year. We can take THAT to the bank.

Having said all that, I'm getting antsy, too. Lol.

 

[ChrisW]

What if they have a "handshake" deal with Barksdale already in place to match or maybe exceed by a bit his best outside offer? That would be a win for both Barks and the Rams, wouldn't it?

I don't think this is the case. I think the Rams knew he was asking too much and let him test the market so he could get a dose of reality before coming back and signing a team friendly deal here.

 

[RamFan503]

Well THAT sounds boring. Don't you realize how slow the football news is these days? We need things to bump up our blood pressure. Try to do better in the future.

At least we have the 2015 schedule to get shafted by so we'll have THAT to talk about.

 

[jjab360]

I don't really think that's a "what if", I think they almost certainly have free agency contingency plans in place depending on what they do in the draft.

 

[Rmfnlt]

If, after three years, there weren't three holes in that line, I'd agree.

But history with Olines hasn't been very good to them.

We'll see... but, if whatever their plan is doesn't work and the Oline is the cause of more pathetic offense, it's not gling to be pretty around here.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

What if Snead, Fisher, and Demoff are not completely unaware of their OL needs?

What if they have plans A, B, C, and D in place?

For example...

What if they have a "handshake" deal with Barksdale already in place to match or maybe exceed by a bit his best outside offer? That would be a win for both Barks and the Rams, wouldn't it?

Or maybe they have another vet FA, or trade lined up to be an OG or ROT?

Shouldn't we be giving this FO credit for not being totally incompetent and stupid? I think they've certainly earned that much.

Trust me, Fisher is NOT planning on starting 3 rookies on our OL this year. We can take THAT to the bank.

Having said all that, I'm getting antsy, too. Lol.

Do you mean like the free agent back up plan they had last year? You know the one. Where the they brought in Davin Joseph before the draft and then when they didn't draft a guard good enough to start they called him back.

The Oline plan was a model of incompetence last year. Fisher, Boudreau and Snead have to realize that just because a guy is not zack Martin good, if you have a big hole to fill even just a decent guy should be drafted to fill the void. They could have found a guard last year. Maybe Rhaney and Jones were the plan but that was a gamble.

 

[CodeMonkey]

This sounds like wishful thinking. I'm not attacking you and I have heard others mention this. Barks' agent is getting him the best deal he can. (<--period) That (a secret "handshake deal") actually sounds shady on its face and I'm no lawyer but I'm not convinced such behavior would even be legal. Doesn't seem ethical in either case.

 

[Boston Ram]

Shouldn't we be giving this FO credit for not being totally incompetent and stupid? I think they've certainly earned that much.

Trust me, Fisher is NOT planning on starting 3 rookies on our OL this year. We can take THAT to the bank.

I would agree with this but the fact that this problem still exsists does not leave me 100% confident they have this part of their team in order. Yes they are not stupid but they have not exactly done a great job building a consistently serviceable offensive line, so I guess the jury is still out.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

The Bradford trade is the key to this offseason - we are now in a position to actually address the Oline situation the way maybe Fisher/Snead and Co have dreamed -- it's just defense comes first / but now with Bradford gone we spent last years #2 on GRob so whatever argument about the Fisher regimes never drafting Oline in the first round went out the window
I have a feeling we are all gonna be really happy 2 weeks from now when the plan finally has a chance to reveal itself - which I believe is an offensive draft with the exception of ILB in the mid round and CB in the 7th

 

[Rams43]

This sounds like wishful thinking. I'm not attacking you and I have heard others mention this. Barks' agent is getting him the best deal he can. (<--period) That (a secret "handshake deal") actually sounds shady on its face and I'm no lawyer but I'm not convinced such behavior would even be legal. Doesn't seem ethical in either case.

It's not unheard of at all, Code.

It would assure Barks of getting the best possible contract out there AND being able to play with the team he most prefers. He likes the city. He likes the coaches. He likes his teammates. A win win win for Barks.

It works for the Rams, too. They get a solid player that knows our system and always plays on Sunday. They get a happy player as a placeholder at ROT for a year or two until they can draft his replacement. All at an affordable price under Demoff's budget.

Furthermore, Barksdale's signing frees up all draft strategies for the Rams. They could easily take BPA at #10 and still pick an outstanding OG such as Cann in the 2nd. Without Barks, they may feel forced to pick OL with our 1st. Even forced to accept a poor trade down offer out of desperation. That's huge, IMO.

As to it being shady or illegal, I don't think so. Let me give you an example from personal experience.

Back in the day, it was common for certain smaller companies faced with a strike situation to sign a "sweetheart" deal. This simply meant that they agreed, in advance, to pay their employees whatever wages and benefits were ultimately settled upon after a strike against the bigger companies in their industry. In exchange, they were allowed to remain open for business without any picket lines whatsoever. Their business boomed. Stockholders were happy, employees were happy, and their customers were definitely happy.

Nary a whiff of illegality about it. Not ever.

What I think the Rams and Barks may have done is nothing more than a similar "sweetheart" deal in their mutual best interest.

Just speculation at this point, of course. We'll see soon enough.

 

[RamzFanz]

The Bradford trade is the key to this offseason - we are now in a position to actually address the Oline situation the way maybe Fisher/Snead and Co have dreamed -- it's just defense comes first / but now with Bradford gone we spent last years #2 on GRob so whatever argument about the Fisher regimes never drafting Oline in the first round went out the window
I have a feeling we are all gonna be really happy 2 weeks from now when the plan finally has a chance to reveal itself - which I believe is an offensive draft with the exception of ILB in the mid round and CB in the 7th

I'm with you, but I see a CB early, even first round with a move down. Fisher is D first and we lack a star CB that could elevate the Rams D to dominating. MANY losses last season were CB related.

I can also see a WR at ten if Rams can't trade down.

I hope the mass of the draft is O line.

 

[CGI_Ram]

If, after three years, there weren't three holes in that line, I'd agree.

But history with Olines hasn't been very good to them.

Agree. They certainly have a plan and I am sure they are confident, but it doesn't mean I am.

We've rebuilt other parts of the team but haven't figured this one out yet. It's a valid criticism.

Make it go away, Snead.

 

[Memphis Ram]

If, after three years, there weren't three holes in that line, I'd agree.

But history with Olines hasn't been very good to them.

We'll see... but, if whatever their plan is doesn't work and the Oline is the cause of more pathetic offense, it's not gling to be pretty around here.

The only reason there are three so-called holes on the Oline is because of injury and free agency. Long got hurt and Barksdale became a free agent. And one who still may re-sign with the team.

 

[Rmfnlt]

The only reason there are three so-called holes on the Oline is because of injury and free agency. Long got hurt and Barksdale became a free agent. And one who still may re-sign with the team.

Signing aging, injury-prone and guys who's best days are behind them is what got them in this predicament.

Guys like Wells, Long, Joseph, Williams... the list is far too long.

Along with basically ignoring the draft (excpet for Robinson) when it came to the Oline.

 

[snackdaddy]

If, after three years, there weren't three holes in that line, I'd agree.

But history with Olines hasn't been very good to them.

We'll see... but, if whatever their plan is doesn't work and the Oline is the cause of more pathetic offense, it's not gling to be pretty around here.

Can't disagree with that. If they had a better line in the past I'd feel better about it. But it has been as big a problem as their quarterback situation.

 

[CodeMonkey]

It's not unheard of at all, Code.

It would assure Barks of getting the best possible contract out there AND being able to play with the team he most prefers. He likes the city. He likes the coaches. He likes his teammates. A win win win for Barks.

It works for the Rams, too. They get a solid player that knows our system and always plays on Sunday. They get a happy player as a placeholder at ROT for a year or two until they can draft his replacement. All at an affordable price under Demoff's budget.

Furthermore, Barksdale's signing frees up all draft strategies for the Rams. They could easily take BPA at #10 and still pick an outstanding OG such as Cann in the 2nd. Without Barks, they may feel forced to pick OL with our 1st. Even forced to accept a poor trade down offer out of desperation. That's huge, IMO.

As to it being shady or illegal, I don't think so. Let me give you an example from personal experience.

Back in the day, it was common for certain smaller companies faced with a strike situation to sign a "sweetheart" deal. This simply meant that they agreed, in advance, to pay their employees whatever wages and benefits were ultimately settled upon after a strike against the bigger companies in their industry. In exchange, they were allowed to remain open for business without any picket lines whatsoever. Their business boomed. Stockholders were happy, employees were happy, and their customers were definitely happy.

Nary a whiff of illegality about it. Not ever.

What I think the Rams and Barks may have done is nothing more than a similar "sweetheart" deal in their mutual best interest.

Just speculation at this point, of course. We'll see soon enough.

The thing is that Barks would not be negotiating with other teams in good faith. It doesn't pass the stink test for me.

 

[Rams43]

The thing is that Barks would not be negotiating with other teams in good faith. It doesn't pass the stink test for me.

Welcome to the real world, Code... Lol.

Haven't you heard about teams, including the Rams, sending a FA that they wanted to retain but couldn't agree on terms out to negotiate with other teams in order to establish his value to both the player and the team's satisfaction?

Hell, Kendricks and Hayes even came back to sign with the Rams for less than they were offered elsewhere!

That's exactly what the Rams did with Barks this year when they couldn't come to terms. The only question is whether the Rams told Barks they would match any offer. A "sweetheart deal", iow.

It just makes too much sense for both parties. Both sides like each other and want to remain together. And both sides get the best of all worlds.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Well I find it hard to believe that any self respecting sports agent, who more than likely represents multiple parties in the league and would like to maintain sort of integrity in future negotiations, would be willing to do this. He would be sending his clients out to play someone for a fool. I expect that said agent would rather play both sides, get his client the best deal possible, and keep doors open for future negotiations with other clients.

 

[OnceARam]

Well I find it hard to believe that any self respecting sports agent, who more than likely represents multiple parties in the league and would like to maintain sort of integrity in future negotiations, would be willing to do this. He would be sending his clients out to play someone for a fool.

I think it's normal. He's basically being treated like a RFA. IF I am to believe your theory as presented. BTW: It's funny that you're arguing against your own theory. Slow news indeed.

 

[CodeMonkey]

If you were the organization on the other end of this shitstick deal, would you ever in the future take this agent seriously?

 

[Stel]

What if Snead, Fisher, and Demoff are not completely unaware of their OL needs?

Impossible. No way those guys know as much about the situation as a bunch of panicking, anonymous internet GMs.