Now that the "Big 3 Release" dust has kinda settled...

[fearsomefour]

No salary cap is the dumbest thing in sports IMO. Not sure how its fun to see a few teams be able to just buy their teams while the lower market teams are stuck with the players not worth the big bucks. Not a fan of baseball, mainly because of the no cap, but I cant imagine it was fun seeing the Yankees win the world series all the time because they just bought the best players every year

Yeah, just ask the Royals and Giants.

 

[Amitar]

A TE via FA is also in play. Don't need a Gronkowski, but I bet that some FA's at TE might be both attractive and now affordable with our new cap dollars. And I mean vet TE's that will be FAR more productive than Cook was. Or possibly a TE such as Hunter will fall in the draft.

Signing a TE to big money would be foolish. The Rams already paid bucks for Kendricks and there are way more pressing needs right now like QB, OL, OL, OL, MLB, WR

 

[Akrasian]

Signing a TE to big money would be foolish. The Rams already paid bucks for Kendricks and there are way more pressing needs right now like QB, OL, OL, OL, MLB, WR

They're unlikely to put much resources into the OL. They drafted Robinson two years ago, and he is slowly improving. They spent much of the draft last year on OL, with some good results. They used a 5th from this year's draft on Battle, who they liked enough to put him on the roster even though he wasn't ready, so he wouldn't be snagged off of the Practice Squad. Since it's pretty likely at least some of the young players will improve this year, spending a ton this year on the OL with other holes is not in the cards. I am curious if they feel a need to upgrade center - the other positions have added depth too recently. At most I'd think a vet swingman to backup.

 

[OldSchool]

Yeah, just ask the Royals and Giants.

Baseball is very very cyclical though, KC while yes they were in the world series the last two years had an almost 30 year stretch where they were garbage and nowhere near the playoffs. Same for the Giants though not quite 30 years.

 

[OldSchool]

Signing a TE to big money would be foolish. The Rams already paid bucks for Kendricks and there are way more pressing needs right now like QB, OL, OL, OL, MLB, WR

Looks like you have a bit of a typo there.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

it is a shame that a salary cap exists with the amount of cash this moneymaker sport brings in. that being said, look at baseball though. i do miss the 70's and 80's when your team could keep a solid core of players to return more often than not. now its, one great contract year so pay me or i'll leave. greed isnt always good.

No salary cap is the dumbest thing in sports IMO. Not sure how its fun to see a few teams be able to just buy their teams while the lower market teams are stuck with the players not worth the big bucks. Not a fan of baseball, mainly because of the no cap, but I cant imagine it was fun seeing the Yankees win the world series all the time because they just bought the best players every year

i agree............thats why i put in the wisecrack about baseball. hockey's cap goes up / down depending on nhl profitability and / or the value of the canadian dollar (which is going to be important this summer).

i like how basketball institutes the "larry bird" contracts to help with salary cap conformity, and allows teams to keep "their" players https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_salary_cap#Larry_Bird_exception.

hockey uses the LTIR (long term injured reserve) rule for teams up against the cap who lose a player due to injury. (its not easy to use and sometimes can cause more harm than good if used unwisely, but at least its there.)

what would football be like without teams in the past being able to keep the "fearsome foursome" , "purple people eaters", "steel curtain", "doomsday defenses" together for years on end ? the Rams felt this the most when trying to keep the GSOT together, which left little monies for the defensive personnel they really needed.

basically i'd like to see a more team friendly cap that allows at least teams own draft picks to be able to be signed easier (free agents be damned).

I think the cap is too low right now.

 

[fearsomefour]

Baseball is very very cyclical though, KC while yes they were in the world series the last two years had an almost 30 year stretch where they were garbage and nowhere near the playoffs. Same for the Giants though not quite 30 years.

I know, I was being a smart ass.
However, the big spenders lose out in baseball as much as they win.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

No salary cap is the dumbest thing in sports IMO. Not sure how its fun to see a few teams be able to just buy their teams while the lower market teams are stuck with the players not worth the big bucks. Not a fan of baseball, mainly because of the no cap, but I cant imagine it was fun seeing the Yankees win the world series all the time because they just bought the best players every year

Well the Yankees had their superstar core that allowed them to plug in free agents each year to stay on top. Without Posada, Jeter, Williams, Pettite and Rivera I don't think that type of formula works. Other teams like the Phillies tried to buy championships and it fell apart The late 90s they made key trades and signed a few players thought to be past their prime and it worked. Those were my favorite teams because they had great chemistry. The Clemens, Giambi, A-Rod teams lacked that.

Having the Yankees good for so long was not a bad thing. Having a team for the fans of the other 30 teams not in th world series, to root against was great for ratings, and whenever they were on the road opposing teams could raise ticket prices and pack the stadiums. Those games were usually the most heavily attended games in the season for most teams. The Evil Empire was great for baseball.

 

[Picked4td]

Of the ten top payrolls in baseball last year, only one team won a playoff series. There's more parity than people realize, although not as much as in football.

Thats a bit misleading though considering only 4 teams can win a playoff series (unless you count the wild card game as a series then i guess 6 teams). And I'd imagine the reason you said win a playoff series and not just make playoffs is because 5 of the 10 playoff teams ranked in the top 11 payrolls.

Well the Yankees had their superstar core that allowed them to plug in free agents each year to stay on top. Without Posada, Jeter, Williams, Pettite and Rivera I don't think that type of formula works. Other teams like the Phillies tried to buy championships and it fell apart The late 90s they made key trades and signed a few players thought to be past their prime and it worked. Those were my favorite teams because they had great chemistry. The Clemens, Giambi, A-Rod teams lacked that.

Having the Yankees good for so long was not a bad thing. Having a team for the fans of the other 30 teams not in th world series, to root against was great for ratings, and whenever they were on the road opposing teams could raise ticket prices and pack the stadiums. Those games were usually the most heavily attended games in the season for most teams. The Evil Empire was great for baseball.

I didnt really mean just recently, I meant over time. The Yankees have 40 World series appearances (out of 111, which is 36%). The next closest team has 20 and only 7 teams (other than the yankees) have 10+ appearances. The Yankees also have 27 wins and the next closest has 11, which is also the only other team to have 10 or more wins. I understand going all the way back to the beginning inflates these numbers because there werent as many teams and all that, but the point still remains; the Yankees have DOMINATED the mlb and a large reason for that is the fact that they are in the number 1 market in the country

 

[PressureD41]

I think E. Westbrooks can replace C. Long and can hold up vs. the run and still add a depth guy or mid rd draft pick to develop.

 

[PressureD41]

If we're going after an unrestricted free agent who isn't on our team...why not Olivier Vernon of the Miami Dolphins? He plays LE, was their most productive defensive lineman last year, and likely won't be franchised because of the limited funds the Dolphins have. And the kicker? He's only twenty-five.

25 year old DEs w/ talent do not make it to FA. Dolphins will find away to sign him

 

[PressureD41]

They're unlikely to put much resources into the OL. They drafted Robinson two years ago, and he is slowly improving. They spent much of the draft last year on OL, with some good results. They used a 5th from this year's draft on Battle, who they liked enough to put him on the roster even though he wasn't ready, so he wouldn't be snagged off of the Practice Squad. Since it's pretty likely at least some of the young players will improve this year, spending a ton this year on the OL with other holes is not in the cards. I am curious if they feel a need to upgrade center - the other positions have added depth too recently. At most I'd think a vet swingman to backup.

I think we can upgrade the Centre spot in Rd 3 or 4 and keep Barnes to either start the season until the kid is ready. But some of these kids appear ready to play from day one. Furthermore I don't foresee wasting said centre to a deal more than 2mill per season. OC resign Barnes ($ won't be an issue/cheap), Stefen Wisniewski (would kick the tires but I don't think we have the $ too as Brockers & Fairly(or other DT needed 1st still)

I see us signing the following players: Tru, JJ, Mcloud, Baron (deal won't break the bank imho), Haynes(ok money /mid level type $ for 3 years)Sims (only at vet min or a hair above)
FA @ TE 1 of the following: Ladarius Green, D. Allen or Jermaine Gresham,


Kicker: Greg the Leg is as must after looking at the UFA LIST http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/ufa/kicker/

 

[StealYoGurley]

Signing a TE to big money would be foolish. The Rams already paid bucks for Kendricks and there are way more pressing needs right now like QB, OL, OL, OL, MLB, WR

I don't know if I agree there. The rams are a two TE base offense and Kendricks is the only guy under contract and he has clear limitations in the pass game (Steelers drop was brutal). Boras a career TE coach is our OC so it wouldn't surprise me if they spent money on a second TE because they would be a starter in our offense. We are probably only looking for starting Center on the OL after all the young pieces we added this year and Tree will play MLB

 

[tempests]

Thats a bit misleading though considering only 4 teams can win a playoff series (unless you count the wild card game as a series then i guess 6 teams). And I'd imagine the reason you said win a playoff series and not just make playoffs is because 5 of the 10 playoff teams ranked in the top 11 payrolls.

Just making the playoffs, then 25 of the 30 MLB teams have gone in the last six seasons. Over the same time frame all five teams in the Yankees division have won the AL East.

It's not a perfect system but neither is the NFL. Just as in all major sports, there is more competitive balance than ever before.

 

[Akrasian]

I don't know if I agree there. The rams are a two TE base offense and Kendricks is the only guy under contract and he has clear limitations in the pass game (Steelers drop was brutal). Boras a career TE coach is our OC so it wouldn't surprise me if they spent money on a second TE because they would be a starter in our offense. We are probably only looking for starting Center on the OL after all the young pieces we added this year and Tree will play MLB

Kendricks hurt his thumb in the first week, finally having surgery in the bye week. He was playing one handed basically in 2015. He's never been as good a receiver as the Rams expected when he was drafted, but he's better than last season.

 

[ReddingRam]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-bengals?campaign=fb-nf-sf21262406-sf21262406
I don't really know much about him ....

 

[BonifayRam]

I think E. Westbrooks can replace C. Long and can hold up vs. the run and still add a depth guy or mid rd draft pick to develop.

I would agree that Ethan Westbrooks could easily replace the LDE Chris Long production of 2014/2015 on this new 2016 "D". Not so sure he can replace both Long & Hayes. EW was used mainly as the Aaron Donald relief role @ DT for most of the 2015 season. EW was used mainly in his rookie season @ DT too. EW is entering his 3rd season & should be ready for a serious uptick on playing time in this upcoming season.

But if my recall is sound it was another LDE that played the initial role @ relief @ LDE John Longacre in mid season & activated him for five games when Long was doing his interverted knee rehab. JL's 1st NFL regular season game he held up for 4 tackles and then followed the week later with 3 tackles. JL in just two games as a part time starter had about half of what Long had all season. I was solidly surprised how well John Longacre held up. I expect JL to be able to begin to fill the role as reserve LDE from the departures of Long/Hayes/Sims.

I have posted this before do not think that last yr SSLB'er Akeem Ayers is out of a job if Barron & Ogletree are our starting OSLB'ers. AA has tremendous arm length & a sudden athlete. AA has been a very good pass rusher as an OLB in 34 & 43 defenses because of this arm length & quickness. AA has a knack to deflect passes @ LOS. Last season he had 5 PDEF's. If Gregg has a need early in TC he could give the 6-3 255 pounder a chance to fine tune pass rush moves, his hand placement & techniques as a pass rusher in this Ram defense for 2016, in addition AA could even add more weight to his frame if needed. In 2012 the Titans used AA in the 43 defense as a LOS pass rusher & he got 6 sacks with 8 PDEF's. I should also say that LA is AA hometown & AA may be a Ram longer than just 2016.

Bottom Line here most members here think that Hayes is an already sure done deal. I am in the minority & believe otherwise. When Hayes tests the open market & sees the big $$$ offers WH is getting (as I believe) his alleged love for Fisher may fade fast into memory.

 

[Fatbot]

I wasn't aware back then that it was an unlimited Cap that caused us to lose to the Niners?

Yes, DeBartolo's mob money was arguably the biggest factor. Half the roster was ex-Chargers and ex-Rams that were cajoled into holding out and going to the 49ers, despite there being no free agency for any other team. The other arguable top factor was the rules changes that allowed the dink pass to rule the NFL (no coincidence the Bengals also made the 1981 Super Bowl with little talent but running the same gimmick offense). The Rams of that day had admirable success despite the uneven playing field (and of course no QB as usual).

Having the Yankees good for so long was not a bad thing. Having a team for the fans of the other 30 teams not in th world series, to root against was great for ratings

Here's the World Series tv ratings over time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series_television_ratings

Yankees are sometimes a peak, but not consistently #1, so I don't think "rooting against the Yankees" was a big factor for most baseball fans. I tend to think Steinbrenner's antics turned off more fans than he attracted. Of course, probably not much can be taken out of raw ratings numbers except recently that the Giants were bad for baseball (as I think the one thing we can all agree on is everything SF sucks).

 

[OldSchool]

Bottom Line here most members here think that Hayes is an already sure done deal. I am in the minority & believe otherwise. When Hayes tests the open market & sees the big $$$ offers WH is getting (as I believe) his alleged love for Fisher may fade fast into memory.

I think he signs a 1 year deal, possibly two, because of the uncertainty of Fishers future. He looks at this year as a chance to start and excel in this defense and will test the market next year and cash in. But if Fisher is brought back next year he can sign a bigger contract with us the following year, if it's in the cards.

 

[Akrasian]

I think he signs a 1 year deal, possibly two, because of the uncertainty of Fishers future. He looks at this year as a chance to start and excel in this defense and will test the market next year and cash in. But if Fisher is brought back next year he can sign a bigger contract with us the following year, if it's in the cards.

If Hayes weren't turning 31 in a few months I'd agree - but he's getting a bit old to be looking at a contract after this season. I'd think he's likely to grab the most money. If it's close, then he might stay with the Rams, but this is likely the last chance he'll have to get big money in his life - if he were to get injured, or not have as good a season as he did at age 30, would cost him millions.