Which players are on YOUR "hoping for more" list?

[Rams43]

As in hoping to have seen more with only 3 preseason games to go?

On D things are pretty much as expected for me except for 2 players...

Joyner seems to be struggling, doesn't he? Not sure he would have been a strong candidate for starter if Gaines had remained healthy. What's Joyner's future with the Rams? Is he big enough for NFL play? Is it possible that Roberson or Claiborne might be our starting slot CB?

The other is Fairley. He didn't stand out against the Raiders. Never saw even one flash. He should have been able to dominate Raider backups. Haven't heard rave camp reports on him, either. So, is he even an upgrade over Langford? So far, I don't think so. I was definitely expecting more from Fairley by now.

More players on O that have left something to be desired. Some more than others, of course. I'll just mention these few for now.

All 3 C candidates. Not one seems capable of claiming the starting position. Jones has been my biggest disappointment there. I was really pulling for the kid.

Not hearing glowing reports on Donnal or Reynolds, either. Sure wish Wichmann hadn't been hurt.

Keenum and Davis have underwhelmed. One of them needs to seize this golden opportunity to be the #2. So far, I'm praying that Foles remains healthy or we're screwed. Again...

Maybe it's not such a long list to others. But if I'm being honest with myself, I must admit that I'm pretty danged worried about C, backup QB, and maybe Joyner, too.

All others seem to be in the normal, or at least manageable range.

IMO, at least decent C play and possibly backup QB (for a few games) will be necessary if we hope to achieve our goal of making the playoffs this year. So far, I'm seeing neither.

Am I being overly critical for this stage of preseason? Or maybe not enough?

 

[PFaulk]

I don't even know what I'm looking at yet, to be honest.

Lot of rookies and young players who looked overwhelmed in a few series in an exhibition session. It's not really surprising, but I don't know what it indicates when we're playing with live bullets three weeks from now.

I feel like they need time to get together, figure out what they want to do, away from a lot of the distractions that they've been faced with. Maybe some closed session training camps will help them circle the wagons.

 

[FrankenRam]

About 53 of them.

 

[Alan]

Like my brother @FrankenRam said, all of them.

 

[badnews]

More than any other Ram, I'm looking for Janoris to play at his absolute best and challenge his own vast potential.

JJ is talented enough to take any WR on and stop them from helping their team produce.
If he does, we will have a much easier road to a top 5 defense and a spot in the playoffs.

 

[V3]

Beyond the real answer of 53 of them, I'll get more specific:

Joyner- Show that you can cover someone and aren't just good at tackling people at the LOS and blitzing.
Quick- Time to show why they took you first overall in the 2nd round and repeatedly compared you to Vincent Jackson
GRob- They raved about you and took you 2nd overall. Show us why. You can't be another 3-4 year project.
Tavon- Traded two premium picks for him and it's his third season. Time to produce.
Jenkins- Too many mental lapses and slipping(try new shoes?). Show some consistency and prove you're worthy of that new contract you want.
Ogletree- Keep seeing glimpses of a great player. Time to be more consistent.
McLeod- Time to show you're a starter and not a backup that plays as a starter.
Quinn- You were amazing two seasons ago and regressed last year(still good but not nearly the same). You just got your new contract. Earn it.

Lastly, the coaching staff. Both sides of the ball.

 

[junkman]

Of course, I hope all improve. But I'll try to be more specific.

On D, Donald, Quinn, McDonald need to just keep doing what they do but continue to improve. McLeod, Hayes, Sims, Long, Laurinaitis, Dunbar, we kinda know what we have. To a lesser extent, we hope for good years for Fairley and Ayers, but as free agents, you can't "hope for more" because there is nothing to compare them to.

The real breakout candidates on D are Brockers, Tru Jo, JJenkins, Ogletree. If these guys really have good years, that bodes well for the Rams.

~~

Same on O but just with less established players, hope that Saffold, Britt, Mason stay healthy and keep getting better. Hope that Foles shows more 2013 type form. C, RG, RT, hope the guys just don't embarrass us.

But the real breakout candidates are Tavon, Brian Quick and GRob, that these guys could all become dominant type players. Same with Gurley when he finally starts playing, although I suppose it's a bit optimistic to say he's on track for a rookie breakout year.

Honestly, I'm not hoping for dominance from the offense. Heck, if the offense gives up fewer than 8 TDs, that'll be an improvement from 2014.

Play ball control and gain field position advantage, minimize offensive and special teams mistakes, make a few big plays per game on offense and/or special teams. If the D plays as we hope (dominant and opportunistic), that's a winning formula with the Rams winning a lot of low scoring games.

 

[Big Willie]

Beyond the real answer of 53 of them, I'll get more specific:

Joyner- Show that you can cover someone and aren't just good at tackling people at the LOS and blitzing.
Quick- Time to show why they took you first overall in the 2nd round and repeatedly compared you to Vincent Jackson
GRob- They raved about you and took you 2nd overall. Show us why. You can't be another 3-4 year project.
Tavon- Traded two premium picks for him and it's his third season. Time to produce.
Jenkins- Too many mental lapses and slipping(try new shoes?). Show some consistency and prove you're worthy of that new contract you want.
Ogletree- Keep seeing glimpses of a great player. Time to be more consistent.
McLeod- Time to show you're a starter and not a backup that plays as a starter.
Quinn- You were amazing two seasons ago and regressed last year(still good but not nearly the same). You just got your new contract. Earn it.

Lastly, the coaching staff. Both sides of the ball.

I think it's unfair to base expectations for GRob, Tavon and Quick on where they were drafted (they didn't tell the Rams where to pick them.) but you could somewhat repeat what you said about Ogletree for all of them.....You've shown glimpses of being good, but it is time to be more consistent.

 

[ram007]

GRob, Quick, Joyner. And #1, the WR guy who is not to be spoken badly about.

 

[V3]

I think it's unfair to base expectations for GRob, Tavon and Quick on where they were drafted (they didn't tell the Rams where to pick them.) but you could somewhat repeat what you said about Ogletree for all of them.....You've shown glimpses of being good, but it is time to be more consistent.

It may not be the player's fault where they were drafted but it certainly is the Rams' fault. They can't keep taking all these players at the top and not get high production out of them until year 3 or 4. Those are called projects and the best teams use their lower picks for those.

 

[JUMAVA68]

I'm looking for all or most of our young players entering their prime to play like it.And we have a lot of them with the talent on this team this year could be the start of something special.

 

[Memphis Ram]

53 of them should have probably ended this thread, but I'll expound just a little bit more.

I've grown tired of all of the hype the Rams DLine group receives, yet the team often has to blitz to apply pressure on opposing QBs. I hope that they finally begin to live up to their press clippings.

Quite frankly, I'm beginning to believe that the team would probably be better off spending more in the secondary than they have on the DLine if they have to blitz so often.

 

[Big Willie]

So far, I was hoping for more from JJ, Ogletree, Saffold, Cook, Brockers, and Tavon. I expected these guys to take the next step and contend for pro bowl berths. From what I've seen in 4 practices and the Oakland game (limited sample size I know), they look the same as last year. Fairly and Jones have been a dispoint net thus far as they have not separated themselves from the pack. I think Westbrooks looks better than Fairly, despite Westbrooks playing inside rather than his normal outside position. Finally, looking for Zuerlein to take a step up....but with a small sample size it's too early to tell on him.

 

[badnews]

53 of them should have probably ended this thread, but I'll expound just a little bit more.

I've grown tired of all of the hype the Rams DLine group receives, yet the team often has to blitz to apply pressure on opposing QBs. I hope that they finally begin to live up to their press clippings.

Quite frankly, I'm beginning to believe that the team would probably be better off spending more in the secondary than they have on the DLine if they have to blitz so often.

I seem to recall Quinn, Long, Hayes and company getting plenty of pressure under Walton. I don't think we blitzed much at all then.

Infact, only during the first 5 games under Williams was this a problem.
Those games also were significant because teams were literally using every trick in the book to take away that part of our strength.

Personally I think the outrageous amount of holding allowed by opposing offensive linemen also had a big impact on our sack count.

I don't believe Williams blitzes because he has to. I think he blitzes because that's how his defense works.

 

[Big Willie]

It may not be the player's fault where they were drafted but it certainly is the Rams' fault. They can't keep taking all these players at the top and not get high production out of them until year 3 or 4. Those are called projects and the best teams use their lower picks for those.

I agree. To that point, maybe we should add the WR coaches (Ray Sherman and Jeff Garcia) to that hoping for more category....because these guys should be ascending faster than they are....

 

[Big Willie]

53 of them should have probably ended this thread, but I'll expound just a little bit more.

I've grown tired of all of the hype the Rams DLine group receives, yet the team often has to blitz to apply pressure on opposing QBs. I hope that they finally begin to live up to their press clippings.

Quite frankly, I'm beginning to believe that the team would probably be better off spending more in the secondary than they have on the DLine if they have to blitz so often.

Do they blitz often because of the DC's philosophy? Because they can't get to the QB without blitzing? Or is it because the secondary can't hold up for longer than 3 seconds? My money is on the problems in the secondary and DC philosophy.

 

[Memphis Ram]

Do they blitz often because of the DC's philosophy? Because they can't get to the QB without blitzing? Or is it because the secondary can't hold up for longer than 3 seconds? My money is on the problems in the secondary and DC philosophy.

Could be a combination of all three. But, I have my doubts that Williams would be adverse altering his defense a bit if the DLine could get home with 4 guys more consistently.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Joyner...Jones...Givens...Pead....McLeod

 

[Merlin]

Really good question 43 but I think I'm gonna wait until after preseason game 3 until I commit to that. And my reasoning is to date all I have to go on is camp reports and a very sloppy first preseason look.

What is important to me thus far is the buzz from the offense. And that the unit overall looked different when the starters were on the field even in that terrible excuse for a game. With two preseason games to go to include the second one being the dress rehearsal for the season I think many currently held opinions by the fans will be turned on their heads.