Thoughts on Rams 1st round picks and depth chart?

[Big Willie]

G Rob is not polished. Every draftnik said that. They also said his upside was significantly better than J Mathews. The draft is about shoring up weak spots. When the Rams selected G Rob they thought OL was going to be a weak spot with the health staus of J Long in question and the guard situation tenuous. (If JL wasn't ready for the start of the year, Saffold might have to play LT, weakening the team in two spots. If memory serves me they only had like 5 OL under contract during the draft.) Fortunately, with everyone "healthy" for the start of the season there is no reason to rush the rookie. As has been stated in this thread, G Rob will play this year. Chances are when he gets in, he will become a fixture on the line for the next few years. If you want to be a run first team, you want maulers and that's what he is today. I saw 6 training camp sessions this year. I am no expert, but what I saw was a kid that was thinking way too much and who didn't always play with the leverage and balance he needed....but the times when everything came together, he was dominant. Coach Beau can teach him the techniques he needs to become a pro bowler. He can' t teach that natural size and powerful hands. He can't teach those quick feet and he can't teach the nastiness G Rob has or the willingness to learn (he seems like a great kid). That is why we drafted him.

My prediction is that he will make it easy for the Rams to cut ties with J Long in 2015, and all concerns about the selection will be eliminated. Besides, why does it matter if he starts the first game or the eighth one as long as when he does play he solidifies the position for at least five years?

 

[bomebadeeda]

What I like about it, is we found depth in Davin Joseph which allows us to use Robinson in ways he'll succeed and not have to expose any "problems" or growing pains. I think this is one of those situations teams like to have. And we fans get caught up in the hype about how "good" a player will be. And he will be.....he's just not as good as a player who is playing in front of him right now.

 

[BonifayRam]

Another element that has not been discussed here to the GR not starting might be the playing condition & current performance level of OLT Jake Long.

Boudreau has a new refurbishing project ONGOING @ right OG in Davin Joseph, who missed most all of the 2012 season due to injury & then fought staff infections & post surgical knee issues all of the 2013 season that was a disaster that got him tossed out of tropical southwest Florida on the streets unemployed for a long while. NOW that refurbishing project is trying to get his grove back while in the process of learning to play between Right side starters Barksdale & Wells in a new offense in a new city. Boudreau knows that if DJ can retain his glorious past play it could come here in STL due to the type of OL play that fits DJ playing style perfectly.

Now back to the Robinson left side of things.....We all saw Jake Long struggle (that's being very kind) when he was easily man handled over & over & then that hit on Bradford that lost Sam to the Ram Organization maybe permanently....Long is one smart guy he knows what the loss of Sam Bradford means to the city & the Ram fans .....his confidence level which may have been very low before that event may be in much more serious trouble than any of us really know!

Boudreau who knows a finly tuned OL is the key to success & a rookie starting in any OL is most often going to cause some misfires spitting bangs & sputterings. Having a very young green OLG like Greg Robinson playing next to a very unsure & troubled less that ideal playing level Jake Long could be just too much to control..I for one thinks that Jake Long is not in the best frame of mind after letting that DL get so easily to his starting QB & the overall responsibility he might be carrying on his shoulders presently going into this season.

A healthy Rodger Saffold lining up next to Jake Long on that left side may be the best Rx to bring about some healing in so many ways that a rookie even like Robinson could not ease.

As far as 3 of the 5 Snead/Fisher Rams first round picks not starting (Donald/Robinson/Tavon Austin) I'm just not that concerned over it.

 

[Alan]

rdlkg

liders doubting my memory:
I thought Matthews was playing quite well by several accounts. He was slated to start at RT and holding his own performing quite well against JJwatt in preseason. Then they shifted him to LT due to injury where he will start albeit he is adjusting to the move.

I remember reading about one of his practices and them talking about how he was struggling. Maybe it was in one of the preseason games. I can't find it now (although I didn't search very hard) but I did find this. Of course this doesn't make me all that happy LOL! I'll keep looking though.

http://www.thefalcoholic.com/2014/8/5/5965593/reports-rookie-tackle-jake-matthews-is-pure-magic
Reports: Rookie Tackle Jake Matthews is Pure Magic
By FalconsM5 @FalconsM5 on Aug 5 2014, 3:00p 76

Jake Matthews dripping with pure awesomeness. - Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports


Is anyone else struggling to keep up with all of the praise heaped upon Jake Matthews? The 6th overall pick in the draft appears to be ready to produce, and produce well, in his rookie year.


Jake Matthews was the second tackle drafted in the 2014 NFL draft but was always considered the most pro-ready and polished player. Reports are suggesting those beliefs are true, with the 22 year-old tackle impressing coaches, teammates and media.

Gil Brandt was just at Falcons training camp and came away impressed.

Gil Brandt ✔ @Gil_Brandt
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Jake Matthews really looks good at @Atlanta_Falcons camp. Had 1 @nfl personnel exec tell me Matthews looks like 5-yr vet. I agree.

6:59 PM - 3 Aug 2014

Of course this is great news. Tackles usually take a few years of getting beaten up before they become a strength at the position. If Matthews can buck that trend, our offensive line may very well become a strength. At the very least, he is not Lamar Holmes, which is very exciting for me.

The AJC's D. Orlando Ledbetter passed along this quote from Peter King.

A quick little picture in my practice day with the Falcons: Jake Matthews (was) in the two-minute drill (and) playing right tackle. "(He) stoned the pass rusher on seven consecutive hurry-up snaps in the two-minute drill. Let me tell you, when the Falcons saw that, they said, ‘We haven’t seen this in years. A right tackle who could actually stop people.’

This is pretty surprising, as a younger Tyson Clabo was the team's last intimidating right tackle. It sounds like Matthews could quickly outperform Clabo's peak years. I am starting to think the Falcons lucked out when the Houston Texans rejected offers for the first overall pick.

Do unimportant people tweet about Jake Matthews? Yes. Yes they do.

Alex Welch @alexmwelch
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Ryan praises Jake Matthews. Said he's done a great job in camp so far. I haven't heard anything negative about the rookie.

11:31 AM - 4 Aug 2014

Alex somehow brought up a great point. I have yet to hear anything negative about Matthew's conditioning, preparation, speed, understanding of the playbook, or any number of problems teams encounter with both rookies and veterans. Matthews has everything so under control, he is working at other positions.

Alex Marvez ✔ @alexmarvez
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Not only is @ATLANTA_FALCONS rookie Jake Matthews wowing teammates at RT, he also spends post-practice time long-snapping w/ C Joe Hawley

9:38 AM - 4 Aug 2014

The following is borderline insane.

vaughn mcclure @vxmcclure23
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Tice said he sometimes doesnt even watch Matthews on film. More worried about cleaning everyone else up.

11:06 AM - 4 Aug 2014

I have never heard of a rookie offensive lineman outperforming a bunch of veterans. Matthews looks to be every bit of the real deal and is the type of player who can be a difference maker early and often in his career.

EDIT: Here's his only ESPN mention in the preseason games:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=400554694
Game 1 Preseason:
In the second quarter, Smith broke free on what appeared to be a 76-yard touchdown run, but a holding penalty against Falcons rookie right tackle Jake Matthews wiped out the play.

Dang! I hate when this happens. Now this is gonna bother for some time. Hours maybe.
Of course I could just be full of it. :barefoot:

OK, I take it back, GR's a bust!

 

[V3]

I guess I shouldn't inform all of the people chirping for Bortles that he's not starting Week 1 either(and a former Pro Bowler isn't starting over him).

I'm not sure you can even compare the two positions, though. QB is probably the most difficult position in all sports.

 

[V3]

I've gotta say, I'm a bit disappointed that the Rams have 2 first rounders on the team and neither are starters at this point.

Obviously, I know that Donald is going to get a ton of playing time and will have a large impact. But the fact that Robinson isn't starting is concerning. Yes, I know he hasn't even played his first real game yet. As Rams fans we've seen too many offensive lineman start out slow while being reassured that it'll be fine and they just need a little time. Well, although it is a bit of revisionist history, It'll be pretty upsetting if he doesn't pan out and we look back and think we could have had Sammy Watkins or Blake Bortles.

I'm not ready to throw myself off the bridge or anything...just saying.

What about spending two high picks on a player that isn't even seen all that much? I'm more concerned with Tavon being worth what the Rams paid than I am about Robinson or Donald or Robinson starting right away this year. Patterson and Lacy would look mighty fine right about now.

 

[Sum1]

What about spending two high picks on a player that isn't even seen all that much? I'm more concerned with Tavon being worth what the Rams paid than I am about Robinson or Donald or Robinson starting right away this year. Patterson and Lacy would look mighty fine right about now.

Yeah, in hindsight I can't disagree with you there.

Still love Austin's potential and glad he's a Ram...but if I had a time machine I'd say we go pack and sit at our original pick and take Patterson.

 

[V3]

Yeah, in hindsight I can't disagree with you there.

Still love Austin's potential and glad he's a Ram...but if I had a time machine I'd say we go pack and sit at our original pick and take Patterson.

That's the thing though, that's who I and at least a few others wanted at the time of the draft. I hated the trade up for Austin. Not seeing him do much isn't helping to assuage my fears about the deal.

 

[Alan]

Thordaddy thinking I was referring to his post:
I didn't say great depth

I was referring to this from Zaphod: "To me this speaks more to our depth along the offensive line that we don't have to start Robinson." That and what I perceived to be the overall giddiness about our O-line depth.

 

[BonifayRam]

Yeah, in hindsight I can't disagree with you there.

Still love Austin's potential and glad he's a Ram...but if I had a time machine I'd say we go pack and sit at our original pick and take Patterson.

If that trade had not been made the Rams draft would have been

1st-#16
2nd-#46
3rd-#78

Snead traded three picks to get Tavon Austin. The originals selections were First #16, Second #46 & a 7th #222 also flipped our thirds.

 

[iamme33]

The QB and WR positions will always get more and more glam esp rookie seasons. GR will have his time and place if it ends up being next season so be it. Like many I expected to start at guard, but hey we have a formidable front 5 right now and I'm just as excited. AD99 will get his fair share this season. I know it's hard to be patient let's just watch this all play out.

yea instead of looking at it as our first round picks aren't good enough to start look at it as we have good enough players that we don't have to start rookies.

 

[Sum1]

yea instead of looking at it as our first round picks aren't good enough to start look at it as we have good enough players that we don't have to start rookies.

Only if that is indeed true.

 

[ZigZagRam]

Another element that has not been discussed here to the GR not starting might be the playing condition & current performance level of OLT Jake Long.

Boudreau has a new refurbishing project ONGOING @ right OG in Davin Joseph, who missed most all of the 2012 season due to injury & then fought staff infections & post surgical knee issues all of the 2013 season that was a disaster that got him tossed out of tropical southwest Florida on the streets unemployed for a long while. NOW that refurbishing project is trying to get his grove back while in the process of learning to play between Right side starters Barksdale & Wells in a new offense in a new city. Boudreau knows that if DJ can retain his glorious past play it could come here in STL due to the type of OL play that fits DJ playing style perfectly.

Now back to the Robinson left side of things.....We all saw Jake Long struggle (that's being very kind) when he was easily man handled over & over & then that hit on Bradford that lost Sam to the Ram Organization maybe permanently....Long is one smart guy he knows what the loss of Sam Bradford means to the city & the Ram fans .....his confidence level which may have been very low before that event may be in much more serious trouble than any of us really know!

Boudreau who knows a finly tuned OL is the key to success & a rookie starting in any OL is most often going to cause some misfires spitting bangs & sputterings. Having a very young green OLG like Greg Robinson playing next to a very unsure & troubled less that ideal playing level Jake Long could be just too much to control..I for one thinks that Jake Long is not in the best frame of mind after letting that DL get so easily to his starting QB & the overall responsibility he might be carrying on his shoulders presently going into this season.

A healthy Rodger Saffold lining up next to Jake Long on that left side may be the best Rx to bring about some healing in so many ways that a rookie even like Robinson could not ease.

As far as 3 of the 5 Snead/Fisher Rams first round picks not starting (Donald/Robinson/Tavon Austin) I'm just not that concerned over it.

I mentioned this a few days ago.

If Jake Long were 100%, I truly believe we'd have Greg Robinson in there at LG. But with Jake obviously needing to knock the rust off, you're setting yourself up for major issues on one side of your line when you've got a rusty Jake and a green Robinson on one side. With Robinson not seeing any work on the right side, you can't just plug him in over there.

Robinson will be in the starting lineup this season, and I don't think it will take an injury for that to happen unless the current starters are absolutely killing it.

 

[Boston Ram]

I was definitely not a fan of this pick. I was in the Matthews camp. That being said when you look at the Robinson pick, we all knew or at least most of us knew and expected plenty of growing pains.

Based on what I seen in the pre season, Robinson will be fine. He probably could start this year, don't think Joseph is really an upgrade, I would call it a wash, but having him on the bench for a few games could have great value long term. Hard to say if he will be a pro bowler at this point, as the sample is much too small, but I think so far he has proved he can play in this league. His pass blocking was much better than I expected and a little disappointed in his run blocking, which is probably a better problem as the run blocking will come and that is he strength.

Be patient with Robinson, he is going to be fine. Not saying he will be great but he can play at this level based on his solid preseason he had.

 

[Thordaddy]

I was referring to this from Zaphod: "To me this speaks more to our depth along the offensive line that we don't have to start Robinson." That and what I perceived to be the overall giddiness about our O-line depth.

Yeah I knew that , but you said LET'S (all thereby understood) which FWIW includes me , so even though it may have looked like I was disagreeing it was a circuitous way of showing that I wasn't tauting great depth just a situation that's nice to be in provided that kid on the bench can become what his awesome potential suggests
I guess since you didn't comment on the d-line you agree with that evaluation?

 

[fearsomefour]

No...what I'd feel better about was that we had a rookie that was starting and was everything advertised. Period.

If Davin Joseph has probowl caliber season that is fantastic. I realize that you have some talent evaluation experience and had the time to go to all the practices, but I think it does raise a red flag to some degree that he was beaten out by a 30 year old player coming off injury that was waived by his previous team.

To me he is exactly as advertised. He is a physically imposing and gifted player who is raw. You could watch film of him in college and see him play out of balance, lunging forward in pass pro. This is why I was saying LT seemed like a reach to me for Robinson....at least right away. I think the team was a bit surprised with how Joseph has played. He has to earn his time just like everyone else. The big question to me is how does Long hold up at LT?

 

[BonifayRam]

I mentioned this a few days ago.

If Jake Long were 100%, I truly believe we'd have Greg Robinson in there at LG. But with Jake obviously needing to knock the rust off, you're setting yourself up for major issues on one side of your line when you've got a rusty Jake and a green Robinson on one side. With Robinson not seeing any work on the right side, you can't just plug him in over there.

Robinson will be in the starting lineup this season, and I don't think it will take an injury for that to happen unless the current starters are absolutely killing it.

Sorry about missing that post ZigZag.....we agree here that that rust could be weighing Jake down some along with that emotional stuff too..... I could easily see if the Rams were up in a game and the need was to run the ball that Robinson could spell both Jake & Rodger to give him in time actual game experience bit by bit till we may see his playing time increase as he passes each new hurdle.

You can bet one thing I will be watching Jake Long closely this Sunday.

 

[ZigZagRam]

You can bet one thing I will be watching Jake Long closely this Sunday.

I hope I don't even notice him!

 

[Demand n 1]

I do agree that our improved line up and returning a probowler LT in Jake Long might push GR back. The thought that he is "Raw" should not be a qualifier for the 2nd pick in the draft.
Let's take a quick look at 5 of the best OT's in the game today(not cherry picking)
. Duane Brown drafted 1st rd. @ 26 by Texans Started LT day 1
Ryan Clady drafted 1st Rd. @12 by Denver Started LT day 1
Joe Staley drafted 1st Rd.@ 28 by 49ers Started RT day 1
Tyron Smith drafted 1st Rd. @ 9 by Cowboys Started RT day 1
Joe Thomas drafted 1st Rd. @ 3 by Browns Started LT day 1
None of the above drafted as high as GR.
We are not asking GR to start LT or even RT. He has to beat out players at the smaller guard position. For a physical mauler, I think that should be fait accompli. Way too early to panic. We have years to do that. BUT golly. Can't blame some for expecting more.

 

[lockdnram21]

Not buying that. You would not have bought it back on draft day also.

I may be a starter on the Dallas DL. I bet Jake Matthews is a starter for us if drafted.

No biggie. Just temporarily (hopefully) disappointed.

I disagree Matthews wouldn't start over Long or Barksdale and I don't think he would be a good guard