Looks like Raheem likes Shaun Jolley

[den-the-coach]

Great point. But this is what worries me about our DB backfield. We have a lot of rookies or 2nd year guys trying to make a cohesive unit. Maybe we catch lightning in a bottle. Or................

Or what it's an epic fail? Whenever you go with a younger cast, that is always a possibility. But I like Durant & Jolly,, hoping that Rochell & Vincent Gray can show something too. Tomlinson IMO, if he can not grab can be an asset, but it is going to be a work in progress, however, the combination of talent & better coaching should showcase improvement week over week.

Some games might be painful, but I am anxious to see how it plays out & with Aubrey Pleasant being back plus the Lake effect (Assistant HC Jimmy Lake) I feel that when the dust settles the secondary will be a unit on the rise and not the demise of the 2023 season.

 

[Merlin]

I don't mind inexperience at corner if the talent is good. We have a couple talented corners too in Durant and Tomlinson. The problem is size and physicality. Basically our corner group is going to have trouble with offenses that provide a lineup of big matchups. Also they may struggle in tackling vs the short pass game type offenses like SF.

Of course we usually struggle vs SF's offense on the underneath shit anyway. So going with guys who can jump routes and play with some aggression is not a bad thing. Main thing is going to be them staying healthy and if that happens I think our secondary will be solid. Not spectacular but we knew that already.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I think the explanation was that they asked DWill to do more after Hill went to the Browns but it didn’t work out. He’s strictly an outside corner.

Yes, this.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Jourdan reported in 11 Personnel that they were mixing and matching 1st string/2nd string/etc at CB with some of the taller guys (Rochelle and undrafted guys). Their best case scenario would be for Rochelle to put it all together and man one of the outside spots but it seems they're at least seeing what the undrafted guys can provide.

CB will probably be one of the more painful positions to watch this year for the Rams.

 

[Juice]

Rochelle is not getting his name dropped from coaches and others.

That’s not a great sign, as the door is wide open for him.

Maybe by not mentioning his name, they are sending him a message.

 

[TexasRam]

It’s very possible we have one of the worst secondary’s in the NFL this year.

Reminds me of our Oline situation where we kept ignoring it and drafting a 3rd round player here or there only to see the unit devolve into an utter shit show.

Some players like Durant and Tomlinson are exciting prospects but far superior prospects drafted higher have been utter busts at this level.

It’s concerning when you think of the overall lack of experience. We will probably have some packages with 4-5 DB’s on the field all of which have zero full seasons under their belt.

Kinda hard to get all Jolly about Jolly. A 5-8 180 lb undrafted unexperienced player expected to fill the Ramsey role?

We are going to field a bunch of undersized, unexperienced players and expect a good outcome?


View: https://giphy.com/gifs/sebastiancomedy-Ta1uBj4AxrLCQ2pJZj

 

[Memphis Ram]

I'm not sure about the article, but my guess is that it's referencing comments from Raheem Morris's latest press conference.

A reporter asked him about the Star position now that Ramsey is gone, and he just brought Durant and Jolly getting reps there.

Someone later asked about what he wanted to see from Kendricks, and he gave some positives, talked about the ebbs and flows of rookies, and pointed out that they didn't know what he might become yet. He ended also pointing out the excitement of younger players and getting Rochelle back into the mix.

In the end, I don't think that he or the team knows or will know what they are going to do or be in secondary until late training camp / preseason.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I'm not sure about the article, but my guess is that it's referencing comments from Raheem Morris's latest press conference.

A reporter asked him about the Star position now that Ramsey is gone, and he just brought Durant and Jolly getting reps there.

Someone later asked about what he wanted to see from Kendricks, and he gave some positives, talked about the ebbs and flows of rookies, and pointed out that they didn't know what he might become yet. He ended also pointing out the excitement of younger players and getting Rochelle back into the mix.

In the end, I don't think that he or the team knows or will know what they are going to do or be in secondary until late training camp / preseason.

You reasonable son of a...

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

Rochelle is not getting his name dropped from coaches and others.

That’s not a great sign, as the door is wide open for him.

I just dropped a comment on a post of his on Instagram.... told him to go out there and take that starting job. He "liked" the comment.

For me ...it's just that at some point I want us to have a bigger corner that we've developed into a starter.... as someone else mentioned, the tendency for smaller CBs could lead to some problems.

 

[MauiRam]

If we can't stop opponents from running the ball down our throats it won't matter much how tall our defensive backs are ...

 

[Merlin]

Some players like Durant and Tomlinson are exciting prospects but far superior prospects drafted higher have been utter busts at this level.

Your take is perfectly reasonable. But Durant did show something last season as a rookie. Never know of course how a player will improve year two but I am of the mind they hit on him. I think he'll be somewhere from solid to excellent year two.

So for myself it's about Tomlinson and his film certainly is quality. There is room for us to get some good production from our top two corners I think. Not like it's too much a longshot. Great QB will kill our secondary of course because he'll find that third matchup over and over. Big wideouts will roll over our boys at times too. But ending up middle of the pack overall is possible.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

Obviously I just want us to have the top 3 CBs on the field....

my preference would be...

Durant and Rochelle outside...... Tomlinson in the slot.... with Jolley as your 3rd Wide CB and Kendrick backing up Tomlinson...

 

[WestCoastRam]

Obviously I just want us to have the top 3 CBs on the field....

my preference would be...

Durant and Rochelle outside...... Tomlinson in the slot.... with Jolley as your 3rd Wide CB and Kendrick backing up Tomlinson...

This is pretty much the way I see best case scenario:

Durant and Rochelle win the outside slots through improvement year-over-year though I think Durant being able to move to nickel and Tomlinson to come in on the outside is probably more likely.

There's another version of this where Kendricks has really cleaned up his game and takes the outside spot when Durant moves to nickel.

Tre's got an intriguing game to him even with his size deficiency but he won't play a lick if he can't clean up his grabbiness from last year.

 

[oldnotdead]

Kendrick lacks the speed to run with receiver who takes him deep. He's strictly a middle zone type of CB who can play with everything in front of him and he can play downhill. Durant and Rochell are their best bet at boundary CBs. Hodges-Tomlinson looks like he could be a very good SCB with speed and agility. With Durant (5'11") and Rochell (6'2") they have decent height and speed on the outside. Inside they would have Hodges-Tomlinson with speed and agility.

The strength of this secondary might lie with how good or not their safeties play. I still think that with Pleasant and especially Lake coaching the secondary they might play 3 safeties in their nickel. Don't sleep on late round pick Jason Taylor as that 3rd safety. He has good positional speed (4.50 with an outstanding 10 yd split of 1.49 both ET) and at 6' and 208 lbs he can provide run support as well from that middle zone.

Barring injuries, this secondary could be very good by November. I feel good about their pass rush as well. If Hardy can take that next step this pass rush off the edges will be good even when in rotation with Young, Hoecht, Hampton, and Hardy. If they play Hampton as a SAM, with Jones at MIKE, and Taylor as an in the box SS this could be a very good defense, hard to run or throw against.

If this team comes together like I think they will, they could be very good. The offense is basically intact and upgraded on the OL, at TE, and at RB3 and QB2. I absolutely think Nacua will be their third WR starter and they can move him to all three positions, something they can't do with Tutu and Skowronek. Once they get a couple of months of experience they can be a sneaky good team. I have no doubt they will be in the playoffs this year.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Agree; plus the fact that as last year went from bad-to-worse, the coaches never put Rochell on the field.

That was very disappointing, considering how excited they were when they drafted him.

Great point. But this is what worries me about our DB backfield. We have a lot of rookies or 2nd year guys trying to make a cohesive unit. Maybe we catch lightning in a bottle. Or................

Inexperience will likely lead to many mistakes. I’d be less concerned if the Rams had an incredible pass rush, but they likely won’t. The offense needs to be a top three unit for them to win many games, because it’s looking like they will be in a lot of shoot outs.

 

[WestCoastRam]

With Durant (5'11") and Rochell (6'2") they have decent height and speed on the outside. Inside they would have Hodges-Tomlinson with speed and agility.

Durant is lucky if he's 5'10'' after stretching...

 

[WestCoastRam]

That was very disappointing, considering how excited they were when they drafted him.

Inexperience will likely lead to many mistakes. I’d be less concerned if the Rams had an incredible pass rush, but they likely won’t. The offense needs to be a top three unit for them to win many games, because it’s looking like they will be in a lot of shoot outs.

I don't have high hopes for Rams pass rush this season but I do think playing more 5 man fronts will help the young guys get favorable matchups. I believe we played a lot of 5 man fronts last year but less than in previous years to get Wagner and Jones on the field (4-2) at the same time.

 

[PARAM]

Some fans think we've got to depend on too many 'utes' for this to be a decent defense at any time this year. I don't know but maybe the young blood can envigorate the team (and coaches). I sure hope it's fun to watch!! The offense doesn't have to be top 3...... but they do have to be productive and protect the D.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Some fans think we've got to depend on too many 'utes' for this to be a decent defense at any time this year. I don't know but maybe the young blood can envigorate the team (and coaches). I sure hope it's fun to watch!! The offense doesn't have to be top 3...... but they do have to be productive and protect the D.

It's gonna be ugly for the 1st half of the season but I think you could make some arguments that the D could make some noise in the 2nd half if we hit on a couple guys and they develop.

 

[So Ram]

Durant is lucky if he's 5'10'' after stretching...

Yep - & IMO his tackling was HORRID