Kiser to have surgery - Out indefinitely

[OldSchool]

I would be absolutely shocked if we traded for an ILB. Keep in mind Kiser was likely only a 1 or 2 down player. Couple that with the fact we have young depth and there has been talk of Clay being able to be moved around and trading for somebody to fill the limited role makes absolutely no sense to me.

 

[BonifayRam]

MLB'er Kiser out for the season & who is going to replace the 6 ft 245 MLB'er?

Will Wade/Barry move current starting weakside ILB Cory Littleton back to where he played last season @ MLB ?

Bryce Hager 6-1/237 lbs .... Naturally the 4 yr Ram veteran has earned the right to start @ MLB'er now ...but can he hold onto it? He is certainly smart enough & knows all the Wade calls & defenses. That's a biggy.....for this mike position but his skill & talent level is not that high.

Travin Howard was drafted last year & is one of those hybrid/Strong safety types like Barron. His size of 6-1/225 indicates that while he is an outstanding candidate for the weak side ILB post he is not NFL sized MLB'er. Best that he works the post that fits him best.

Dakota Allen 6-1/232 exploded against the Cowboys great game in a few quarters that he had. Problem is he was lining up in weakside ILB'er post not the MLB'er position. He might be able to play MLB'er right now I am

Natrez Patrick @ 6-3/242 is a MLB'er who was moved to OLB'er. We have not seen Patrick perform inside in preseason. Patrick had an outstanding game from beginning to end playing off the edge. Finding good edge rushers who can effectively shut down the run & pressure the passer are rare. Patrick demonstrated that last Saturday night. Why would you now move him back inside away from the edge? Let him remain an OLB'er Okay ?

Ketner Kupp 6'/225 has been playing MLB'er even though he & Howard is about the same size. Kupp actually does a good job making the calls but his size is not what you will need to be the MLB'er for this Wade defense.

Troy Reeder 6-3/245 has been the 3rd reserve MLB'er thus far in TC & pre season. The loss of Kiser would naturally move Reeder up behind Hager. Reeder has the size & strength & the only Rams LB'er possessing the know how and get-off to disengage/shed blocks. This MLB'er has shown natural football instincts, to go along with a true nose for the ball & excellent open field tackler.

Rams have already announced that Hager is now the starter. Not what I wanted to see going into this 2019 season. Rams needed a true high talented run stopper playing this MLB'ing post in the early downs. After last season defense experiencing all those big runs up the gut you would think that they would go a different direction. I like Hager he is a very good reserve for both internal LB'ing posts & an outstanding Special Teams player, but he is not a bona fide starting NFL MLB'er.

 

[thirteen28]

Damn. I was really looking forward to seeing what this kid could do for us. Get well soon, Michah, and be ready for next year.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Rams have already announced that Hager is now the starter. Not what I wanted to see going into this 2019 season. Rams needed a true high talented run stopper playing this MLB'ing post in the early downs. After last season defense experiencing all those big runs up the gut you would think that they would go a different direction. I like Hager he is a very good reserve for both internal LB'ing posts & an outstanding Special Teams player, but he is not a bona fide starting NFL MLB'er.

Like you said earlier, Hager knows his role and the D and that's a "biggie." Seems like the coaching staff weighs that more heavily than we do. I agree I'd like to see someone else get a shot in there (esp. after seeing how some of our younger guys have flashed).

 

[Ram65]

Rams have already announced that Hager is now the starter

Ouch. Not a fan of Hager starting. I guess they have to give him a vote of confidence. He still has to compete with the others you mentioned. I think Hager is best at coverage, not run-stopping.

Where is Ramik Wilson?

 

[RamDino]

What do you guys think of moving Sampson Ebukam over to middle linebacker? He has the size for it, he really hasn't excelled as an edge rusher, and we may have several candidates to back up Mathews and Fowler... Just wondering what your thoughts are.

 

[OldSchool]

Ouch. Not a fan of Hager starting. I guess they have to give him a vote of confidence. He still has to compete with the others you mentioned. I think Hager is best at coverage, not run-stopping.

Where is Ramik Wilson?

Jacksonville and no we don’t need to trade for him.

 

[Ram65]

Jacksonville and no we don’t need to trade for him.

Thanks didn't know where signed. Didn't suggest a trade either.

 

[dang]

Injuries suck but are a part of training camp/preseason. We are finding depth in the LB corp but are a little light in battle tested vets. I’d like to see a vet addition at ILB before the regular season starts.

 

[ramfan46]

What do you guys think of moving Sampson Ebukam over to middle linebacker? He has the size for it, he really hasn't excelled as an edge rusher, and we may have several candidates to back up Mathews and Fowler... Just wondering what your thoughts are.

It was a position change that jump started Mark Barron’s career when he switched from S to LB. I would also like to see Samson try ILB. He could use that speed in the middle of the field.

 

[Ram65]

What do you guys think of moving Sampson Ebukam over to middle linebacker? He has the size for it, he really hasn't excelled as an edge rusher, and we may have several candidates to back up Mathews and Fowler... Just wondering what your thoughts are.

It's been mentioned by @Merlin a few times.

It couldn't hurt to see how he does. He is coming off a bad knee that needed surgery. That might have slowed him down the last year. If he can get some reps in it would be interesting to see how he does. He can still be in the pass rush rotation.

 

[OldSchool]

What do you guys think of moving Sampson Ebukam over to middle linebacker? He has the size for it, he really hasn't excelled as an edge rusher, and we may have several candidates to back up Mathews and Fowler... Just wondering what your thoughts are.

Something many of us have suggested this offseason. I think it could happen if Wade doesn’t like what he gets from Hager or one of the rookies.

 

[Psycho_X]

If this is the worst injury we have this season I’ll call us lucky but does suck. I’m all for giving Reeder a chance in preseason. If he doesn’t work out I vote for Patrick. In a perfect world Patrick would stay at olb’er but being at ilb for a year would be better than nothing. It would only be in obvious run downs anyway and could still use him at olb’er rotation. That wouldn’t account for very many snaps a game. I’m guessing Rapp will be used in nickel packages in a passing league.

 

[Jacobarch]

MLB'er Kiser out for the season & who is going to replace the 6 ft 245 MLB'er?

Will Wade/Barry move current starting weakside ILB Cory Littleton back to where he played last season @ MLB ?

Bryce Hager 6-1/237 lbs .... Naturally the 4 yr Ram veteran has earned the right to start @ MLB'er now ...but can he hold onto it? He is certainly smart enough & knows all the Wade calls & defenses. That's a biggy.....for this mike position but his skill & talent level is not that high.

Travin Howard was drafted last year & is one of those hybrid/Strong safety types like Barron. His size of 6-1/225 indicates that while he is an outstanding candidate for the weak side ILB post he is not NFL sized MLB'er. Best that he works the post that fits him best.

Dakota Allen 6-1/232 exploded against the Cowboys great game in a few quarters that he had. Problem is he was lining up in weakside ILB'er post not the MLB'er position. He might be able to play MLB'er right now I am

Natrez Patrick @ 6-3/242 is a MLB'er who was moved to OLB'er. We have not seen Patrick perform inside in preseason. Patrick had an outstanding game from beginning to end playing off the edge. Finding good edge rushers who can effectively shut down the run & pressure the passer are rare. Patrick demonstrated that last Saturday night. Why would you now move him back inside away from the edge? Let him remain an OLB'er Okay ?

Ketner Kupp 6'/225 has been playing MLB'er even though he & Howard is about the same size. Kupp actually does a good job making the calls but his size is not what you will need to be the MLB'er for this Wade defense.

Troy Reeder 6-3/245 has been the 3rd reserve MLB'er thus far in TC & pre season. The loss of Kiser would naturally move Reeder up behind Hager. Reeder has the size & strength & the only Rams LB'er possessing the know how and get-off to disengage/shed blocks. This MLB'er has shown natural football instincts, to go along with a true nose for the ball & excellent open field tackler.

Rams have already announced that Hager is now the starter. Not what I wanted to see going into this 2019 season. Rams needed a true high talented run stopper playing this MLB'ing post in the early downs. After last season defense experiencing all those big runs up the gut you would think that they would go a different direction. I like Hager he is a very good reserve for both internal LB'ing posts & an outstanding Special Teams player, but he is not a bona fide starting NFL MLB'er.

I too was intrigued by Reader. The guy was all over the field. He did has some wiffs and some misses but all and all he seemed like he knew what he was doing. But how does that translate against starters tho? To look decent against backups isn't saying that much, I want to see how he does in this weeks dress rehearsal. If he flashes and plays well I think he could possible beat out Hagar later on in the year. I don't think they'll put him in there week one but slowly get him up to speed and play him later in the season.

Patrick looks like a stud. And quite frankly does does OBO. Again i want to see them play against starters but You can see the get off with these two and you can see them playing sound football. I think at least one of these guys crack the starting lineup at OLB and maybe moving Mathews to ILB? I would like to know your thoughts on that...

 

[Jacobarch]

What do you guys think of moving Sampson Ebukam over to middle linebacker? He has the size for it, he really hasn't excelled as an edge rusher, and we may have several candidates to back up Mathews and Fowler... Just wondering what your thoughts are.

I think Samson is too stiff to play at WSLB I don't think he would be able to cover TE's to save his life. Maybe I'm wrong i dunno.

 

[OldSchool]

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/VinnyBonsignore/status/1163522770124173313

 

[bubbaramfan]

Kiser injury has me worried. Rookies at NT and ILB, teams are going to test the Rams up the middle early and often.

 

[yrba1]

Ah phuck, was hoping he'd play a key role in our run defense

 

[Akrasian]

Kiser injury has me worried. Rookies at NT and ILB, teams are going to test the Rams up the middle early and often.

And Gaines will tackle them with maximum prejudice early and often. It's not like teams were going to let a guy in Kiser who had zero snaps on defense last year to affect their play calling until he proved he was a force.

 

[nighttrain]

What do you guys think of moving Sampson Ebukam over to middle linebacker? He has the size for it, he really hasn't excelled as an edge rusher, and we may have several candidates to back up Mathews and Fowler... Just wondering what your thoughts are.

it's an idea and one if necessary i hope McVay considers
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