Our Weakest Roster Spot?

[Ram65]

By default both ILBers and OLbers are the weakest because the rest of the team is very strong. The edge rush is going to be by committee. Ebu, Longacre, Easley, JFM, Lawler and Young. This will be the surprise group. Assuming Barron will be ready to go the inside LBers should be OK. Littleton might be the weak spot early on. Having the strong DL will help both units.

Mannion is a question mark.

 

[dang]

QB2, OLB (hopeful Lonacre/Easley dominate one side)

 

[Farr Be It]

I still think linebacker may be a surprise strength. It may be a rotating position inside, depending on down/distance and whether we are playing from ahead or behind.

I liked Littletons nose for the ball last year.

I hope our weakest spot, QB2, is a moot point, as he never sees the field. I suppose it is possible, as things settle down, that the Rams work a deal to get an upgrade there, but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[BonifayRam]

By default both ILBers and OLbers are the weakest because the rest of the team is very strong. The edge rush is going to be by committee. Ebu, Longacre, Easley, JFM, Lawler and Young. This will be the surprise group. Assuming Barron will be ready to go the inside LBers should be OK. Littleton might be the weak spot early on. Having the strong DL will help both units.

Mannion is a question mark.

It's natural to be concerned about this interior five LBers, it's the first time that Cory has been named starter for the initial beginning of the season. Compounded with his first time calling and being the D captain. In addition it's his first time event as the MLB. All eyes will be on Cory.

Barron offers up a totally different bunch of concerns....2nd off season in a roll where he has been MIA for OTAs,Training Camps and Pre Seasons due to being unhealthy. Talk about jump starting? Barron was worn out last season and will have to see how his surgically repaired shoulder and Achilles yeah I have some serious concerns here.

The good stuff is Cory's back up Bryce Hager was on fire this pre season. One of the best I have seen at LBer in a long long time. Hager is a serious strong reserve who can call and direct the Wade D. To help out our concerns with Cory is the strong pre season that rookie Micah Kiser turned in. Kiser is a true MLBer.

Barron's back up is young veteran who earn two seasons as the starter in KC's D. Ramik Wilson brings experience and has been our #1 since OTA's in Barron's starting post. In addition if Cory does flake out at MLB, he can return to most likely best NFL playing position where Barron/Wilson works now!

So yes we have some questions with our two inside starters, however the reserves are second to no one.

At OSLB'ers/ER's I feel better about....Longacre has been on a steady rise now for 3 past Ram seasons and was a better overall complete player than Quinn was last season in the rotation. Ebukam is still so young and raw yet with a ton of latent talent. I have a great feel for this Easley post change. I expect big from these three. The 3 other Rookies of John Franklin Myers, Trevon Young and Justin Lawler have great promise.

 

[UKram]

i believe that linebackers across the board are essentially our weak spot ... but conversely .. do we need "superstars " at that position ?

Are the crews of Suh Donald and Brockers..peters Talib and the triple J's (John johnson and Joyner) on the back end going to make our weak linebackers better? ....i reckon thats what wade and Mcvay are counting on

 

[den-the-coach]

Not concerned about Inside Linebackers, Littleton I believe in and on game day Mark Barron will be ready. The rest of the group in Hager, Wilson and rookie Micah Kiser have proven in preseason that depth is very solid at that position.

OLB is a major concern with only 5 players and nobody has a lick of experience. Ebukam and Longacre are they ready to play every down? Is Longacre totally healthy? The backups are Dominique Easely, who is not exactly the poster child for durability and Jerry Lawler's grandson Justin along with fellow rookie Trevon Young....Young group and if Longacre & Easely stay healthy, no worries, but if my Aunt had a package, she'd be my Uncle, so that's a big if.

 

[OregonRamsFan]

Waterboy. Rumors have it Robert “Bobby” Boucher Jr. is the guy we are in negotiations with. He plays backup QB as well.

 

[Adi]

Totally agree, back up qb is an issue . Most guys that have been cut are an improvement over mannion . I had big hopes for him but if Sean mcays system makes everyone a good qb , I would hate to see mannion somewhere else.

 

[OnceARam]

QB2 & OLB. I don't think we're done adding talent. Its rare that a team wins a superbowl without contributions from the bottom of the roster IMO.

Also, curious if we're going to run with Cooper as our returner. Yes he did well in the regular season but can we just forgive and forget his 2 fumbles in the playoffs???

 

[nighttrain]

QB2 & OLB. I don't think we're done adding talent. Its rare that a team wins a superbowl without contributions from the bottom of the roster IMO.

Also, curious if we're going to run with Cooper as our returner. Yes he did well in the regular season but can we just forgive and forget his 2 fumbles in the playoffs???

better question would be, can he forget?
train

 

[den-the-coach]

Also, curious if we're going to run with Cooper as our returner. Yes he did well in the regular season but can we just forgive and forget his 2 fumbles in the playoffs???

I won't, but you have to. Cooper was an all pro and almost single handily set the Rams up for success on the road in Seattle, which was like a playoff game. Hopefully he learned from his gaffes in post season...Hall of Fame Kicker Jan Stenerud once missed three field goals in a playoff loss to the Miami Dolphins back in 1971, so you have to move on, even as fans, we never forget.

 

[Ram65]

OLB is a major concern with only 5 players and nobody has a lick of experience. Ebukam and Longacre are they ready to play every down? Is Longacre totally healthy? The backups are Dominique Easely, who is not exactly the poster child for durability and Jerry Lawler's grandson Justin along with fellow rookie Trevon Young....Young group and if Longacre & Easely stay healthy, no worries, but if my Aunt had a package, she'd be my Uncle, so that's a big if.

Agree health will be a concern.

I posted earlier that it will be a committee approach but Longacre and Ebukam should get the most snaps. I'll add that Wade has mentioned using 4 down lineman too. That puts Westbrooks into the pass rush side too. Longacre did play 40% of snaps before the back injury last year. Ebukam played 32% of snaps. They have to move up to take 60-65% as a guesstimate. Let's not forget that JFM also played outside LBer in preseason too. Dominique Easley, Lawler, Young JFM and Westbrooks as a pass rusher divide the rest. My main point is Wade has options to keep players fresh and get pressure from the outside. I thought Galete would have been a good option to add. Rams could still add a veteran but, I think Wade has enough players to make it work.

 

[1maGoh]

Rams weakest roster spot? That's a myth.

 

[Classic Rams]

backup QB. And before calling Landry Jones a possibility I'd check with some Steeler fans. A lot of them are happy to see him go, just like we'd be happy to lose Mannion. He may have the numbers over Mannion, but his arm is also not his strength. There's a few reasons why he's a FA. Not sure where to go here, but I'd like an older vet than Landry.

linebacker is questionable, like it's been since TC started. I like a healthy Longacre and Barron though, and Ebukan is making some noise... let's see if he can bring it Monday night. I'd still call him an upgrade over Barwin. Littleton can't be worse than Ogletree. And Easley out there... might work. Stop the run, get after the passer... sounds simple, but...

RG. Can Blythe hold off the dogs until Brown gets back? He performed well last year finishing up a few games for Sully. I'd call that spot a weakness on offense until shown otherwise.

 

[Memento]

I'll go with backup cornerback. I know he's probably one of the most talented secondary player on our team, but Shields does have major health concerns. I don't trust Hill - or Hatfield - and if one of the top three go down, we're screwed.

 

[den-the-coach]

backup QB. And before calling Landry Jones a possibility I'd check with some Steeler fans. A lot of them are happy to see him go, just like we'd be happy to lose Mannion. He may have the numbers over Mannion, but his arm is also not his strength. There's a few reasons why he's a FA. Not sure where to go here, but I'd like an older vet than Landry.

Have to trust McVay here, but I'm with you on Jones, IMHO, not good and never was. As to others available, with the exception of Matt Moore (would be pricey) not much out there and the Ravens kept three QB's and so did the Vikings.

Paxton Lynch, if the Rams picked him up and released Allen I would okay with that. Lynch much better athlete than Mannion and might offer some upside and looked really good in their last preseason game completing 14 of 15 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns...Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders, especially under the sun of Southern California.

 

[pmil66]

Weakest may not be the roster spot the Rams are most concerned about. ILB, Barron, how many games will the Rams get out of him this year. Same question for OLB, Easley & Longacre. Shields at CB, did not play last year, is over 30, Rams are only carrying 5 CB's as of now.

Looking at the roster now, everyone healthy, the weakest spot is backup QB. BIg, big dropoff from Goff to Mannion.

 

[Prime Time]

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/03/nfl-rams-quarterback-sean-mannion-mcvay-brandon-allen/

Rams will 'continue to evaluate' QB situation, not settled on keeping 3
By: Cameron DaSilva

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Jared Goff didn’t play a single preseason snap as Sean McVay leaned on the Los Angeles Rams’ other three quarterbacks in the exhibition contests. Brandon Allen and Sean Mannion saw the most work, while Luis Perez played just a half in the final preseason game, but the Rams kept all four guys in Los Angeles.

Mannion and Allen will back up Goff on the active roster with Perez on the practice squad, a somewhat surprising decision by Sean McVay and the front office. Mannion did next to nothing in the preseason to earn the No. 2 role, while Allen wasn’t any better.

The Rams have arguably the worst backup quarterback situation in the NFL, but fortunately, roster building is never done. McVay said after practice on Sunday that the Rams aren’t settled at that spot, suggesting things could change.

“Yeah, we’re going to continue to evaluate that. That was something that we had felt good about,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of things that go into it, but just like anything else, we’ll try to continue to create ways – even though it’s a little bit more difficult when you get into the game-planning phase and stuff like that – of evaluating guys and feeling like, ‘Who are the guys that give us the best ability to win games moving forward?’ Right now, that was the approach we took and that’s something that we’ll always continue to monitor.”

It’s unclear exactly what McVay is referring to. Perhaps he’s hinting at bringing in an outside guy to compete behind Goff – someone like Davis Webb or Paxton Lynch. Or maybe he’s simply wondering if the Rams should actually be carrying three quarterbacks – especially with the roster set to shrink when Aaron Donald comes off the exempt list on Sept. 18 and Jamon Brown returns after his two-game suspension.

As long as Goff stays healthy, neither Mannion nor Allen should ever see the field. Keeping two players who you hope never have to play seems unwise, given how strapped it leaves you at other positions.

It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see the Rams part ways with either Mannion or Allen when Donald and Brown return in a few weeks.

 

[Classic Rams]

Have to trust McVay here, but I'm with you on Jones, IMHO, not good and never was. As to others available, with the exception of Matt Moore (would be pricey) not much out there and the Ravens kept three QB's and so did the Vikings.

Paxton Lynch, if the Rams picked him up and released Allen I would okay with that. Lynch much better athlete than Mannion and might offer some upside and looked really good in their last preseason game completing 14 of 15 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns...Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders, especially under the sun of Southern California.

I want to like Lynch, but cautious after the Bronco fans ran him out of Denver. Change of scenery reasoning could happen, though I'm hesitant for now.

 

[den-the-coach]

I want to like Lynch, but cautious after the Bronco fans ran him out of Denver. Change of scenery reasoning could happen, though I'm hesitant for now.

They ran Steve Young out of Tampa too, not comparing the two, however, Lynch is a big QB with a great arm and has the ability to escape the pocket and is still only 24...Cowboys could be a match too being that he's from San Antonio....IMO, a big QB, athletic with a college completion percentage of 63% is someone I would take a chance on over the likes of Allen or Mannion.