Samson Ebukam will be starter

[Noregar]

Wade has almost always had at least one high end pass rusher at outside linebacker in his defenses.
Ebukam is not there yet and there is no one else on the Rams roster as of today (3/14/18 @4:25 EST) that offers more pass rush potential than Ebukam.

Many here in including myself have high hopes for him and players often make significant jumps in play/production in year 2 so Ebukam may emerge but it is a bit risky to count on a still mostly unproven 2nd year player to be you primary edge rusher.

Longacre was good and steady but he does not have the speed to be that elite edge rusher to consistently stress offensive tackles. FYI Longacre was tendered as the lowest RFA option so there is a risk that the Rams could lose him with no compensation. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/03/14/rams-use-low-tender-on-rfa-matt-longacre/

I like both Ebukam and Longacre but in my opinion a top end edge rusher is one of the Rams primary needs if the Rams want to have a elite defense. The FA market for edge rushers is sparse and the Ram should not force one there at 23 if the best ones are gone earlier in the draft.

 

[thirteen28]

I said this when he started his first game in place of an injured Barwin, and I'll say it again - with a badass name like Samson Ebukam, he can't miss ... a name that just absolutely screams "pass rushing outside linebacker" and "holy terror of quarterbacks". Mark my words ... or something ...

 

[So Ram]

I really think we'll see a step forward with Tanziel this year. I get the feeling that guy is hungry as hell. With AD next to him he has a mentor, a mountain to look up to and emulate. He was nowhere near as polished as AD coming out of college, he had to work on technique, strength etc. but with that being said he still has that little man leverage AD does. Imagine if we had a mini AD come in to relieve Brockers? would be nice!

Morgan Fox is still so young & just a straight up strap it up guy.

Westbrook really did a good job at NT last 4 games.

This guy Omarius Bryant is a player I think did good in the preset.

— T. Smart was working late after practice in OTA’s on technique. He had to play without Aaron Donald with the holdout.
— I think he might have hit a rookie wall , but that’s all from a far.

 

[ljramsfan]

I'm from Kirkwood we from same neighborhood.... Jeremy graduated after me

Ah nice, but go Vikings #ParkwayNorthco2000

 

[Memento]

Ah nice, but go Vikings #ParkwayNorthco2000

Go, Colts!

(Somewhat Parkway Central grad in 2009.)

 

[StealYoGurley]

He seems to be in the know. I don't think he says that unless he got some real information but,.........you never know.

Ebukam is a hard worker and a year NFL training can have him ready to start. Quinn only played IIRC 58.8% of the snaps last year. I think Wade will be showing a less predictable defense with blitzes and pass rushed coming from anywhere. Quinn pretty much rushed every down. Barwin had 61.08% of snaps.

In the know? Maybe about 2 year old Rams move issues. IMO isn't single good Rams writer "in the know." How is it possible the Rams the whole LA beat writing group does not know single player the Rams have interest in. The only reason the whole lot kind of broke the NRC news was because the Rams released his conference call availability before he officially signed. IMO yet again some rather obvious conjecture by an LA beat writer. Starting or not Ebukam will play heavy snaps you dont have to be in the know to report that. He played 40% of the snaps last year as a rookie and the guy starting ahead of him is a FA. Its pretty safe to assume he will play more since Wade rotates his edge rushers heavily to keep them fresh.

Made my day seeing Marcus Peters shut down Alden for asking him a dumb question about the off the field concerns.

 

[LACHAMP46]

When you throw a bunch of back ups into a game who've never been in that position before, plus are not use to being on the field together, and have not built any chemistry with each other, you really can't judge any of them based on that one game.

Really? So anyone that sucks when they get in ANY game, should be given a pass? And if you play outstanding??? What? See if they can do it again? Then you judge them???

Most of those "backups" had played b4....significant minutes too....I always say, playing with a Aaron Donald...a Robert Quinn...a Mark Barron....you can't tell WHO's good....who can hang on their own....only when out there with marginal players...do you SEE the actual individuals.

Also, after all these years in football, and consistently building top defenses, I'm pretty sure coach Wade knows exactly what he has in Ebukam.

Allegedly....I'm sure he KNEW what he had in Webster too....and still thought he could last a season as a starter.

 

[Ram65]

In the know? Maybe about 2 year old Rams move issues. IMO isn't single good Rams writer "in the know." How is it possible the Rams the whole LA beat writing group does not know single player the Rams have interest in. The only reason the whole lot kind of broke the NRC news was because the Rams released his conference call availability before he officially signed. IMO yet again some rather obvious conjecture by an LA beat writer. Starting or not Ebukam will play heavy snaps you dont have to be in the know to report that. He played 40% of the snaps last year as a rookie and the guy starting ahead of him is a FA. Its pretty safe to assume he will play more since Wade rotates his edge rushers heavily to keep them fresh.

Made my day seeing Marcus Peters shut down Alden for asking him a dumb question about the off the field concerns.

I guess "in the know" was the wrong phrase to use when it comes to the LA area beat writers and the Rams. The Rams seem closed mouth on their free agent plans. I listened to Vinny many times on Jake's podcasts. I don't think he makes things up or pulls them out of the air.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Vinny Bosignore is probably the best beat reporter the Rams have had in years (Bernie was okay but often felt like he had an axe to grind). I can't think of one thing that he hasn't gotten right that he's shared about the Rams.

Fascinating that he works for the OCRegister and the LA Times reporting is downright abysmal so far. That paper has been kicked around for years and the one thing I'd do right now is throw resources at the football guys to boost readership.

 

[FarNorth]

Vinny Bosignore is probably the best beat reporter the Rams have had in years (Bernie was okay but often felt like he had an axe to grind). I can't think of one thing that he hasn't gotten right that he's shared about the Rams.

Fascinating that he works for the OCRegister and the LA Times reporting is downright abysmal so far. That paper has been kicked around for years and the one thing I'd do right now is throw resources at the football guys to boost readership.

Bonsignore is light years better than the wretched, hypocritical, unlamented drama queen Bernie, though I liked Jim Thomas also. Bear in mind that a good beat reporter likely knows more than he can post-- he needs to respect info given from team sources on a confidential basis or he will not get any more.

 

[PressureD41]

He was on the field a lot.

What this means to me is that Connor Barwin will probably not be resigned ?

Snead is talking to Barwin today to re-up

 

[WestCoastRam]

Bonsignore is light years better than the wretched, hypocritical, unlamented drama queen Bernie, though I liked Jim Thomas also. Bear in mind that a good beat reporter likely knows more than he can post-- he needs to respect info given from team sources on a confidential basis or he will not get any more.

Damn, I already forgot about Jim Thomas. He was pretty damn good about breaking stuff.

 

[fanotodd]

I was excited about the Ebukem pick. I smelled a late round steal. I like what he showed in his first season.
A full camp this year (was hurt most of camp last year) and all of that playing time under his belt, he should be much improved.

He's gonna get his shot, that's for sure.

If he hits, wow, what a draft the Rams had last year. Consider the rounds we picked our defensive rookies and look at how much PT they got last season. JJ3 is already a solid starter, Smart got in a couple of starts and considerable PT, and Ebukem will get a chance at starting this year. At the very least, he's gonna see the field a lot.

Great draft guys.

 

[Loyal]

Both Outside LBers will be productive. Donald and Brockers are going to flush QB's from the pocket, as they vainly look for an open WR (thanks Talib and Peters)

 

[shaunpinney]

I think some of you guys are overestimating our backups. Our defensive line is going to take a step back in sacks and QB pressures this year if we go into the season with Samson, Longacre, and Fox going after quarterbacks. I'm not saying Quinn was the long term answer but him and AD made a great duo rushing the qb

The same thing happened when Chris Long was released, I know his sack stat wasn't huge, but he definitely added the pressure required for the other guys to get to the QB. Not even AD can do it alone. I think some people forget that for AD to get a sack there needs to be serious pressure from elsewhere too.

 

[shaunpinney]

Bonsignore is light years better than the wretched, hypocritical, unlamented drama queen Bernie, though I liked Jim Thomas also. Bear in mind that a good beat reporter likely knows more than he can post-- he needs to respect info given from team sources on a confidential basis or he will not get any more.

Bless him, towards the end he was a little like the jilted girlfriend that was 'still friends' - little remarks here and there in his reporting made me stop reading his stuff...

 

[TexasRam]

The same thing happened when Chris Long was released, I know his sack stat wasn't huge, but he definitely added the pressure required for the other guys to get to the QB. Not even AD can do it alone. I think some people forget that for AD to get a sack there needs to be serious pressure from elsewhere too.

We rarely rushed Ogletree and Quinn’s pressure rate didn’t appear to be any different than Longacre or Barwins.

Ebukam and Longacres 8 sacks can replace Quinn’s production.

Brockers and Westbrook also bring another 8.5

I saw Quinn flat on the ground a lot or ran out of the play.

I don’t see any dropoff in pass rush because we have so many guys that
Can generate pressure and some of those will get more snaps now. Not to include and offseason adds we do.

 

[Akrasian]

Damn, I already forgot about Jim Thomas. He was pretty damn good about breaking stuff.

Until the Rams fired that uniform guy. Suddenly he broke less stuff. And that was such a controversy at the time.

 

[So Ram]

Snead is talking to Barwin today to re-up

Thanks - yeah he was on there website about climbing mountain.

He & Sullivan are both still listed on the roster.
There was a report though that made me think other wise 2 days ago that they wouldn’t be resigned. Both player were value FA last year that were veteran mentors.

 

[A55VA6]

I think Ebukam and Littleton deserve shots at starting. Both are young and show a lot of promise.