Very Disappointing If True: "rams Gm Doesn't Believe No. 1 Wr Is A Need"

[rdlkgliders]

After the combine Pro day etc... The players that come in to be looked at will give us a better Idea of what we are really thinking.
No GM at the top of the draft wants to let on this early it's all maneuvering like poker.
As far as winning with teams and not players EX: our WR group. That is a simplistic expression for a more complicated matter
EX: If you are to take a group of average looking girls to a beauty pageant you wont bring home the crown, no matter how they fared collectively.
You may not need to have a top 10 receiver statistically to be a top contender EX: Carolina, SF
but you do need top 10 talent somewhere on your team and the more positions the better.

 

[RamFan503]

I think that's an outlandish stance to take. Our passing game was doing just fine with Sam when Stacy became the starter. If we have a reliable and good running game, Sam can make it work...even if we don't add a #1. That's assuming we also have decent protection.

I would just say that it was starting to do fine with Sam and Stacey but your point is right on. I'd love to have a great receiver but we may find we already have one or two and if there is no WR that knocks your socks off, you can't ignore the other positions. We have needs. I would think you want a total stud (or who you view as one) to fill one of your needs or another high impact spot rather than continuing to waste high picks on players that you view as just having potential while plugging in stop gaps in other positions while you wait to see if you need to draft ANOTHER "#1 WR" the next year.

Give Sam a real play action threat and a little more time to throw and I'm guessing the investments we have made at WR will start to look pretty damn wise.

 

[NorCalRamFan]

We can draft a WR in the 1st round for the next 5 years and it won't make a difference until we make a change at OC and QB

Schotty has no idea what to do with Tavon Austin. It's like giving an old lady the keys to a Corvette. At the risk of getting a vacation, I won't say anything about SB, but I'll let this mock draft say it with their projected pick for the Rams at # 75: http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_3.php

 

[RamFan503]

We can draft a WR in the 1st round for the next 5 years and it won't make a difference until we make a change at OC and QB

Schotty has no idea what to do with Tavon Austin. It's like giving an old lady the keys to a Corvette. At the risk of getting a vacation, I won't say anything about SB, but I'll let this mock draft say it with their projected pick for the Rams at # 75: http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_3.php

I don't mind that pick and I think Sam will be very good for several years to come. I don't find Walter Football to be the best source but that's ok.

 

[Rams and Gators]

The three weakest areas of the team are pass D, O line and receivers.

I personally believe that the most sensible route to take is to improve the O line and pass D and give the receivers we have a chance to develop.

But if we were to sign a free agent CB (to a reasonable contract, nothing like the one Finnegan got) draft a FS and change the scheme so we aren't playing 10 yards off the receivers then that will go along way to fixing it. That then opens up our opportunity to draft a WR.

 

[brokeu91]

Did Snead say anything last year or the year before like this? Just wondering.

Not quite as a openly and blatantly. Now, he has always towed the line of it's teams that win, not individuals. This has been ongoing since he came here and really hasn't changed as much.

What has changed is multiple people asking him about drafting a WR compared to two years ago where we had so many holes it wasn't as clear that was a huge position of need. The season has shown that we can run the ball. But when other teams can stop the run-and let's face it we're in a division with teams that can definitely stop the run-then our offense goes to crap. A lot of our other holes have been filled, and as of right now we don't have a WR who can make a play when the opposing defense knows the Rams are passing.

To go back to the article, I think what Snead is saying is that he will do what is best for the team. He will not draft Watkins or Evans solely because he believes that they need a WR. He will trade back if a good deal is available or take take the best player on the board. If the BPA happens to be a WR then great, but they won't pass on an OL like Matthews or Robinson. That is all that Snead is saying.

Of course all of this could just be a big smoke screen

 

[mr.stlouis]

Could not agree more. IF they pass on Watkins and Quick still sucks we are sunk!

Simple as that.

We've already seen good defenses shut down our run game...and these wr's (GIvens? Quick? Pettis? <puke>)

Wow, please dear God let him be lying!

Exactly...

We won't be in a position to draft a guy like Watkins for some time... unless we keep avoiding the giant elephant in the room. Our WO's are not very good, period. How long have we been screaming #1 WR? Since Torry Holt? Yep...

 

[RFIP]

I think that's an outlandish stance to take. Our passing game was doing just fine with Sam when Stacy became the starter. If we have a reliable and good running game, Sam can make it work...even if we don't add a #1. That's assuming we also have decent protection.

True except there was no middle ground with the run game, it was either money, or shutdown and when it was shut down, albeit many with Clemons at QB, there were rarely anywhere to go with the ball.

Big picture however, IF we are to take Snead at his word, the Rams now won't be drafting QB, WR or OL in round 1. So what are they going to be drafting with their 2 (may end up being 3) first round picks? Clopwney? Really? OL? S? With a top 5-7 pick? OLB? Who is worthy of this?

Makes little sense to me at this point anyways.... something is a muck as they say...

 

[RFIP]

What's that say about every single TE on the team for the last 30 years before him? Since he set the STL Rams' record and all...
Give him a chance to get comfortable in the offense and play with the starting QB for a while before you write him off.

Oh I'm not writing him off, in fact I KNOW he's going to have some monster games along the way. What I AM saying is, I've watched this cat...CLOSELY, and he don't have the fight in him to be great....and he's not a rookie either so don't expect it to suddenly appear.

When you play in our division you better bring your brass balls as they say, or go home. It's THOSE games we need Cook and I for one won't be expecting him to show up in them any time soon.

 

[rhinobean]

Oh I'm not writing him off, in fact I KNOW he's going to have some monster games along the way. What I AM saying is, I've watched this cat...CLOSELY, and he don't have the fight in him to be great....and he's not a rookie either so don't expect it to suddenly appear.

When you play in our division you better bring your brass balls as they say, or go home. It's THOSE games we need Cook and I for one won't be expecting him to show up in them any time soon.

Regarding Cook it seemed as if he was surprised the ball was coming to him at times! That may explain the drops he had. Hope he goes into this coming season with the attitude that the ball's coming to him on every passing play. I think he's our # 1 receiver at this point in time.

 

[iced]

Something along those lines...rather than a savior, just another very good one to add to our selection..

To be honest though, I think we're found a real gem in stedman bailey.. A complete steal in last year draft. Why cant he be our number one? Ok he doesn't have the megatron physique, but neither does steve smith and I'd say hes the panthers main threat.. Even if he is a tool..

smith also maybe went over 60 yards once this season?

quickest fantasy cut i made

 

[BigRamFan]

We can draft a WR in the 1st round for the next 5 years and it won't make a difference until we make a change at OC and QB

Schotty has no idea what to do with Tavon Austin. It's like giving an old lady the keys to a Corvette. At the risk of getting a vacation, I won't say anything about SB, but I'll let this mock draft say it with their projected pick for the Rams at # 75: http://walterfootball.com/draft2014_3.php

So you think someone throwing stuff against a wall hoping something will stick is an indicator of what the team plans to do? Although, like Stu, I put little stock in anything Walter says I would applaud the selection of Mettenberger at 75. We need a developmental QB with the potential of playing better than Clemens to back Sam up. As for Sam, you may want to get more comfortable with him being our QB for the long term; the Head Coach and GM already have.

 

[-X-]

So you think someone throwing stuff against a wall hoping something will stick is an indicator of what the team plans to do? Although, like Stu, I put little stock in anything Walter says I would applaud the selection of Mettenberger at 75. We need a developmental QB with the potential of playing better than Clemens to back Sam up. As for Sam, you may want to get more comfortable with him being our QB for the long term; the Head Coach and GM already have.

I was peepin' that Zach Mettenberger dude too. He looks like a big, prototypical pocket passer that would fit in this offense if something were to happen to Sam (wait, am I supposed to call him Bradford instead?). He's got a real good arm, but from watching videos of him, he doesn't look like he's very comfortable in a hectic environment (collapsing pockets) a lot of the time. I've seen him stand tall, take some hits, and deliver perfect strikes too though, so it looks like he could be a real good prospect to sit and groom for a few years. Then we can trade him after he comes in and throws for 300 yards after Sam misses one game due to food poisoning in 2017.

 

[LesBaker]

What stands out to me is just how incomplete this article really is. The author doesn't bother to take the time to really understand what those numbers actually mean. He wants to try to exaggerate the importance of the STAT and ranking as the whole basis of his article.

Two things jump out at me with this. First, he claims that "with or without Bradford" they struggled to move the ball through the air. What he fails to recognize, is that Bradford was on a pace to throw for 3900+ yards (249 YPG). Assuming they would have attained that number, they would have ranked 14th.

The other thing he glosses over, is who the teams are who finished near or below the Rams ranking.

24th (tie) - Kansas City Chiefs (11 - 5) 3340 yards passing 26.9 PPG (6th)
24th (tie) - Oakland Raiders 3340 " "
26th - Seattle Seahawks (13 -3) 3236 " " 26.1 PPG (8th)
27th - St. Louis Rams 3125 21.8 PPG (21st)
28th - Buffalo Bills 3103
29th - Carolina Panthers (12 -4) 3043 22.9 PPG (18th)
30th - San Francisco 49ers (12 - 4) 2979 25.4 PPG (11th)
31st - New York Jets 2932
32nd - Tampa Bay Bucs 2820

I think if the author would have included this list, his argument regarding a #1 WR might not be as compelling. When teams such as KC, Seattle, Carolina & SF can manage to win games without ranking high, well, isn't that what it's all about?

To say this is about the LACK of a #1 WR is shortsighted. Once Bradford went down, they completed an avg of 14 passes per game. With half of those going to TEs and RBs by design. So for this author to try to use statistics to make his case, just falls short of the true story.

And as far as the "we need a #1" myth, you can have a dynamic passing game without one. Please tell me who the "#1 receiver" is on Denver. Or New Orleans. arguably the two best passing teams in the NFL. The difference is, when ONE guy gets taken away, they have alternatives. While I will admit that upgrading the roster is really all that matters, I just don't think there any guarantees that Watkins, Evans, Lee, Benjamin, et al. will have any more impact his first year than the guys they already have.

Last year it was "we have to trade up and get the most dynamic playmaker in the draft". They did just that, and yet here we are yet again, saying the exact same thing.

There are only a few number one guys on the best, say top ten, passing teams because those groups are a unit made of guys with different skill sets and a QB that can get them the ball.

The true number one guy is like the fullback. It's not required.