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DaveFan'51

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Just a QB


Who do we keep? The players...You change a culture from the TOP down....I'd let a REAL HC evaluate what we have.

Several of the unsigned players will weed themselves out...I'd pass out a bunch of 1-2 year deals....Lets SEE who can really play with better coaching.
THIS!!^ I could go down the roster position by position but I won't!
I think any knew HC will start by Basically Going heavy on O-Line in the Draft, and keeping everyone else to star with!
Although we do need a Really good LDE, a #2 CB, and a Big Fast LB who can drop-back and cover TE's would be nice!!
 

Jacobarch

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WHAT????????? DONT GUT THIS TEAM

Find a coaching staff that can win with them. The players are not the problem. Anyone you don't keep should be regular roster turnover and bottom of the depth chart improvements.

We have good players on the roster that do not fit the offensive scheme. These players would be fine under a different scheme.

What makes you think these players would fit under another scheme? Players always get cut when a new OC takes over.
 

…..

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What makes you think these players would fit under another scheme? Players always get cut when a new OC takes over.

what makes you think we should gut the roster before another coaching staff is in place? How could we assume to do that or assume anything and just go on a shopping spree within the current roster, picking and choosing the guys we wanna keep? this whole exercise is redundant.

I'm not rebuilding this team today. We can win with what we have.
 

thirteen28

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WHAT????????? DONT GUT THIS TEAM

Find a coaching staff that can win with them. The players are not the problem. Anyone you don't keep should be regular roster turnover and bottom of the depth chart improvements.

We have good players on the roster that do not fit the offensive scheme. These players would be fine under a different scheme.

Yes, agree emphatically.

We all know what this defense can do when motivated and not worn out due to lack of support from the offense.

A competent offensive coaching staff, one that implemented a scheme that fit the players (especially on the OL) could get our offense playing noticeably better than it has been. A good offensive coaching staff could, with the players we have, get this offense performing at least somewhere in the middle of the pack (e.g., around 15th or 16th ranked), and in that situation we'd either be winning the division or at worst, be battling Seattle for the lead. Not to mention, a good offensive coaching staff (with a willing head coach) would have been able to play Goff much earlier than he finally did.

Certainly there is room for improvement in our roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball. But it's not as if it's a disaster. There are pieces to work with, and there is significantly more talent there now than when the current regime took over. We just haven't been able to take advantage of that because we haven't had a head coach with the right philosophy and a correspondingly good offensive staff (the latter being a direct reflection of the former).
 

Jacobarch

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what makes you think we should gut the roster before another coaching staff is in place? How could we assume to do that or assume anything and just go on a shopping spree within the current roster, picking and choosing the guys we wanna keep? this whole exercise is redundant.

I'm not rebuilding this team today. We can win with what we have.

As stated in the OP, this is hypothetical and contingent on getting a new HC. I don't expect Fisher to cut bait with any of his players. He's too hard headed.
 

Jacobarch

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Certainly there is room for improvement in our roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball. But it's not as if it's a disaster. There are pieces to work with, and there is significantly more talent there now than when the current regime took over. We just haven't been able to take advantage of that because we haven't had a head coach with the right philosophy and a correspondingly good offensive staff (the latter being a direct reflection of the former).

But it is a disaster. We're ranked last in every category on offense. That's a dumpster fire.
 

fearsomefour

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I have one major disagreement, I wouldn't let Battle go.
A) It wouldn't save any money, He's been on the PS.
and B) he had a real good Training camp and was "Pancaking" some members of out "D"! He's a keeper to me!(y)
Maybe.
He was terrible in the preseason....could not stay in front of pass rushers. But, he may not have healthy either.
If he can develop I have no issue keeping him. I was basing that cut on him not playing well when he was in there.
 

…..

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As stated in the OP, this is hypothetical and contingent on getting a new HC. I don't expect Fisher to cut bait with any of his players. He's too hard headed.

Some interesting decisions will be made whether its Fisher or not making them. For instance, one could argue the place GRob currently has on the team. His foothold on the LT position is clearly shaky.

Some improvements can be made at CB and LBer in my opinion.

Offensive line goes without saying.


For the first time in years, I'm satisfied with the offensive skill positions. I just think they're miscast in this ball control type offense.

Rebuilding the team is not an option. I'm too old for another round of that.:whistle:
 

thirteen28

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But it is a disaster. We're ranked last in every category on offense. That's a dumpster fire.

It's not a disaster in personnel. It's a disaster in coaching.

But if you took the offensive staff of say, Washington, Dallas, New England, etc., and gave them our current personnel, our offensive production would be noticeably higher, enough to at least make our offense average among the league's teams. And an average offense with our defense would spell playoffs.

I'm not saying we have pro bowlers at every (or even any) positions. Nor am I saying we couldn't upgrade some positions. But it will be moot if we retain Fisher and the current offensive staff. And on the flip side, a better staff, even without any upgrades, will improve our offense.
 

DCH

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Y'all are close... if Goff grows like Carr (as opposed to like Bortles) then even with a similar roster you're an 8-8 9-7 team out of the gate.

O-line, you need a LT and a C. Robinson should be a guard. Keep Brown and Wichmann to fight it out for the RG spot, Havenstein is a solid RT. Saffold probably needs to go. Donnal is JAG but probably fine for depth purposes.

WR corps is, sorry to say, awful. Britt is turning into a good #2 outside receiver, but I see precious little out of Austin that tells me he'll ever be anything more than a lesser version of Devin Hester. You need a big-time flanker. You need one of Spruce/Cooper involved as your Ricky Proehl type. Quick has to go. Focus solely on hands and route-running - raw physical talent is great, but hands and routes made the GSOT, and make the Patriots WR corps.

RB is solid. Very few teams can do better on pure talent than Gurley/Cunningham. A bruiser wouldn't hurt for short yardage situations. Chase Reynolds might need to go - a special teams ace who is only a special teams contributor is OK on an established team, but you need more out of his roster spot right now.

QB, let Keenum go. I still think highly of Mannion, and he should be the #2. Grab someone with dual threat talent and stash him on the PS.

TE, still no idea what Higbee is, he's had no shot. Kendricks probably should walk at this point, and despite how much I loved him in STL, Harkey should give way to the young'uns.

DL is becoming a challenge. Quinn doesn't look like Quinn. Donald and Brockers are a solid core, but I'm beginning to wonder who your DEs will be going forward? Westbrooks is a nice player, but is he starter material? Maybe consider parting ways with Quinn - he'd be dead cap space of $1.9 million in 2017. Sims and Hayes should probably be parted with.

LB, Ogletree is legit. Barron is a decent player at WLB. You desperately need another starting OLB, though.

S is good; mayyyyyyyyyybe consider giving Alexander the SS spot and letting McDonald walk, if for no other reason than McD will likely be fairly pricey and this Rams group is known to pull starting-caliber strong safeties out of their asses. Joyner, IMO, should be the team's FS.

CB is a tough spot. Johnson should be retained. Gaines locks down an outside starting spot. Neither has been trustworthy from a health perspective, though, and sliding Gaines inside to the slot and drafting a CB would probably be a good move.

Totally cut Hekker. Dude's a bum. He's absolutely not the best punter in the NFL. Nope. And if he is, it's absolutely not by a large margin.

Zuerlein has kicked well enough to stay.

Most importantly, though, you need to totally clean house on the coaching side. I've heard Matt Patricia's name bandied about as one of the "next big up-and-coming things" in the head coaching world, and you could do a lot worse than a rocket scientist who has coached both offense and defense in the NFL and who played offensive line in college. I'd hate to lose him, but it's probably his time.
 

thirteen28

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Y'all are close... if Goff grows like Carr (as opposed to like Bortles) then even with a similar roster you're an 8-8 9-7 team out of the gate.

O-line, you need a LT and a C. Robinson should be a guard. Keep Brown and Wichmann to fight it out for the RG spot, Havenstein is a solid RT. Saffold probably needs to go. Donnal is JAG but probably fine for depth purposes.

WR corps is, sorry to say, awful. Britt is turning into a good #2 outside receiver, but I see precious little out of Austin that tells me he'll ever be anything more than a lesser version of Devin Hester. You need a big-time flanker. You need one of Spruce/Cooper involved as your Ricky Proehl type. Quick has to go. Focus solely on hands and route-running - raw physical talent is great, but hands and routes made the GSOT, and make the Patriots WR corps.

RB is solid. Very few teams can do better on pure talent than Gurley/Cunningham. A bruiser wouldn't hurt for short yardage situations. Chase Reynolds might need to go - a special teams ace who is only a special teams contributor is OK on an established team, but you need more out of his roster spot right now.

QB, let Keenum go. I still think highly of Mannion, and he should be the #2. Grab someone with dual threat talent and stash him on the PS.

TE, still no idea what Higbee is, he's had no shot. Kendricks probably should walk at this point, and despite how much I loved him in STL, Harkey should give way to the young'uns.

DL is becoming a challenge. Quinn doesn't look like Quinn. Donald and Brockers are a solid core, but I'm beginning to wonder who your DEs will be going forward? Westbrooks is a nice player, but is he starter material? Maybe consider parting ways with Quinn - he'd be dead cap space of $1.9 million in 2017. Sims and Hayes should probably be parted with.

LB, Ogletree is legit. Barron is a decent player at WLB. You desperately need another starting OLB, though.

S is good; mayyyyyyyyyybe consider giving Alexander the SS spot and letting McDonald walk, if for no other reason than McD will likely be fairly pricey and this Rams group is known to pull starting-caliber strong safeties out of their asses. Joyner, IMO, should be the team's FS.

CB is a tough spot. Johnson should be retained. Gaines locks down an outside starting spot. Neither has been trustworthy from a health perspective, though, and sliding Gaines inside to the slot and drafting a CB would probably be a good move.

Totally cut Hekker. Dude's a bum. He's absolutely not the best punter in the NFL. Nope. And if he is, it's absolutely not by a large margin.

Zuerlein has kicked well enough to stay.

Most importantly, though, you need to totally clean house on the coaching side. I've heard Matt Patricia's name bandied about as one of the "next big up-and-coming things" in the head coaching world, and you could do a lot worse than a rocket scientist who has coached both offense and defense in the NFL and who played offensive line in college. I'd hate to lose him, but it's probably his time.

I don't agree with every point you made, but it's a very well thought out post (I especially disagree with that last point about Hekker, and I suspect you don't know the board rule about using blue font for sarcasm ;)).

Interesting to see the opinion of someone like yourself who's not as emotionally invested in the Rams as most of us on this board. Thanks for your input.
 

DCH

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I don't agree with every point you made, but it's a very well thought out post (I especially disagree with that last point about Hekker, and I suspect you don't know the board rule about using blue font for sarcasm ;)).

Interesting to see the opinion of someone like yourself who's not as emotionally invested in the Rams as most of us on this board. Thanks for your input.
I was emotionally invested in them for a very long time, and they remain the roster I know best, although the Pats are catching up in that regard. I don't hold any real ill will towards the team and roster building is always a fascinating subject for me.

(I was hoping my sarcasm about Hekker would be obvious enough without blue font, haha)
 

BonifayRam

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Early in the season, yes.

But they had weeks and weeks of practice and games with the same basic lineup, and still showed no improvement. And in fact, they were and are worse than last year when the Rams were doing their usual week-to-week OLine shuffle due to injuries.

The training camp instability theory takes you maybe to week two or three. After that, it ceases to have any real value in explaining our Oline struggles, because there was a consistent lineup.

Thanks for the conversation here you & I often see things differently from time to time which is fine & good for me makes me think. OK lets go deep here into some weeds on your thoughts with mainly on your first sentence saying same basic lineup in games?

So you are claiming that Rob Havenstein had weeks and weeks of practice and games with the same basic lineup? How can that be when Rob was totally absent period with the exception on 1 early series in the last preseason game & Rob had to come off due to the pain he was experiencing & did not return. Until August 30th Havenstein was officially on the PUP list & was never healthy to be involved in any part of OL activities until middle of the week for the final 4th pre season game. Its my position that if Rob had not show'd Boudreau he could play with pain he was a bonafide IR candidate for 2016. OK can we agree that's one starter here solidly backing my positon?

Once again are you claiming that Rodger Saffold had weeks & weeks of practice & games with the same basis lineup? How can that be because Saffold never saw the Left OG post in any of the four pre season games period. Rodger Saffold was totally cemented in at starting Right OT post from beginning to the end of the pre season. OK can we agree that's another starter #2 here solidly backing my position.

The Rams starting OG Cody Wichmann who has started 10 of the 11 Ram games @ Right OG is sure to have lined up @ ORG in OTA's & TC so you have merit in this area but here is the list of OL'ers who started & played Right OG post in the 4 pre season games. They would be Rhaney, Kush, Donnal, Reynolds, Brown & Arkin & Folkerts there is a missing OG in that list its Cody Wichmann. Ok can we agree that's a third starter who is not as solid as Havenstein & Saffold but very close to backing my view? That's 3 of the 5 starters who did not see much of any action in pre season games in the posts they began the regular season in.

Of all the different units NFL teams have its the OL that needs to have five players working together on the same page constantly. So when you go into the first week of practice in regular season still making major changes to 3 of 5 post starting posts ....flipping OLers from right to left & left to right & expecting a smooth running operation??? Don't think we going to get a strong fully functioning OL early if ever.

We should include current starting left OG Jamon Brown in this conversation here with you. I can not find Jamon Brown lining up in the Left OG post in any pre season game. Now its possible but I can not find it. Brown was the starting Right OG in 3 of the 4 pre season games. He was even listed as the starter in the first regular season game, but when the offense ran out onto the field in the regular season game with the 9ers it was Cody Wichmann took up the Right OG post not Brown who was on the sideline. It should be said here that Brown & Cody did rotate a lot in the first half but by the end of the game Cody played more.

I also would disagree with your premise on your last two sentences. The pre season time is super critical to offensive line. Of all the NFL units none is as important as it is for the OL to get it together. As I pointed out above it would be very hard to find that when your OL is mainly different from pre season to regular season.

Rams have had some injuries in 2016 too ...as pointed out had one very early & it was to starter Havenstein. Later in pre season injuries to another starter Garrett Reynolds & to our top reserve OT Darrell Williams. So we did have some....currently we do have two ongoing injuries to our starters Barnes, who was badly injured two weeks ago & now this past Sunday, Saffold. In conclusion in our discussion I clearly observed a different pre season starting OL from the regular season starting OL, not even close.
 

Zaphod

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WHAT????????? DONT GUT THIS TEAM

Find a coaching staff that can win with them. The players are not the problem. Anyone you don't keep should be regular roster turnover and bottom of the depth chart improvements.

We have good players on the roster that do not fit the offensive scheme. These players would be fine under a different scheme.
Yeah, to me you get a new offensive coordinator who can put together a game plan to win with the talent they have.

Said new coach gets his split on draft picks and free agent money and they go from there.
 

thirteen28

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Thanks for the conversation here you & I often see things differently from time to time which is fine & good for me makes me think. OK lets go deep here into some weeds on your thoughts with mainly on your first sentence saying same basic lineup in games?

So you are claiming that Rob Havenstein had weeks and weeks of practice and games with the same basic lineup? How can that be when Rob was totally absent period with the exception on 1 early series in the last preseason game & Rob had to come off due to the pain he was experiencing & did not return. Until August 30th Havenstein was officially on the PUP list & was never healthy to be involved in any part of OL activities until middle of the week for the final 4th pre season game. Its my position that if Rob had not show'd Boudreau he could play with pain he was a bonafide IR candidate for 2016. OK can we agree that's one starter here solidly backing my positon?

Once again are you claiming that Rodger Saffold had weeks & weeks of practice & games with the same basis lineup? How can that be because Saffold never saw the Left OG post in any of the four pre season games period. Rodger Saffold was totally cemented in at starting Right OT post from beginning to the end of the pre season. OK can we agree that's another starter #2 here solidly backing my position.

The Rams starting OG Cody Wichmann who has started 10 of the 11 Ram games @ Right OG is sure to have lined up @ ORG in OTA's & TC so you have merit in this area but here is the list of OL'ers who started & played Right OG post in the 4 pre season games. They would be Rhaney, Kush, Donnal, Reynolds, Brown & Arkin & Folkerts there is a missing OG in that list its Cody Wichmann. Ok can we agree that's a third starter who is not as solid as Havenstein & Saffold but very close to backing my view? That's 3 of the 5 starters who did not see much of any action in pre season games in the posts they began the regular season in.

Of all the different units NFL teams have its the OL that needs to have five players working together on the same page constantly. So when you go into the first week of practice in regular season still making major changes to 3 of 5 post starting posts ....flipping OLers from right to left & left to right & expecting a smooth running operation??? Don't think we going to get a strong fully functioning OL early if ever.

We should include current starting left OG Jamon Brown in this conversation here with you. I can not find Jamon Brown lining up in the Left OG post in any pre season game. Now its possible but I can not find it. Brown was the starting Right OG in all the four pre season games. He was even listed as the starter in the first regular season game, but when the offense ran out onto the field in the regular season game with the 9ers it was Cody Wichmann took up the Right OG post not Brown who was on the sideline. It should be said here that Brown & Cody did rotate a lot in the first half but by the end of the game Cody played more.

I also would disagree with your premise on your last two sentences. The pre season time is super critical to offensive line. Of all the NFL units none is as important as it is for the OL to get it together. As I pointed out above it would be very hard to find that when your OL is mainly different from pre season to regular season.

Rams have had some injuries in 2016 too ...as pointed out had one very early & it was to starter Havenstein. Later in pre season injuries to another starter Garrett Reynolds & to our top reserve OT Darrell Williams. So we did have some....currently we do have two ongoing injuries to our starters Barnes, who was badly injured two weeks ago & now this past Sunday, Saffold. In conclusion in our discussion I clearly observed a different pre season starting OL from the regular season starting OL, not even close.

My point is, from week 1 up to and through the Jets game, at least 4 guys - GRob, Saffold, Barnes and Havenstein started every game. That's 9 games with mostly the same lineup in 4 of 5 spots, 9 weeks of those guys practicing together during the week and then playing together on game days. I know there has been some playing around with the RG spot between Wichman and Brown, but that kind of shuffling is nothing compared to what we have been used to around here in the past several years, where in-season injuries necessitated shuffling on a near-weekly basis during stretches of the season. We haven't seen nearly as much of that this year.

In short, we have had continuity on the OL in a much greater degree than we have had here for several years, and still these guys aren't getting it done. In years past you could always point to injuries ruining continuity as a factor in OL play, but this year it's a harder case to make when you spent the first 9 weeks with a lineup of GRob, Saffold, Barnes, Havenstein and (insert RG here). You would think after about 4 of 5 weeks of that lineup, the light would have gone on and they would have played well together, would have shown some improvement. But instead ... nothing.

I won't dispute your point about getting these guys to gel in the preseason, but that doesn't explain things this far into the season. And a good OL can overcome the usual preseason shuffling. Back in the early 00's, Orlando Pace missed two training camps in a row due to holdouts, causing line shuffling, but once he came into the lineup, everything clicked back to normal. But one difference we had between now and then cuts to my theory as to why the Rams OL is in the situation it's in - coaching. Back then we had Jim Hanifan, who if not the best in the biz, was close to it. Now we have Boudreau, who, while having had success in the past (including with the Rams), seems to have lost his touch.

I don't think it totally falls on Bourdreau though. I think a big portion of it falls on Boras and the blocking schemes he wants to implement, which I simply don't think fit the type of players we have at all. His scheme is some twisted hybrid of power blocking and a ZBS, and in the hands of an inexperienced coordinator like himself, someone with no past success to build in, it's been a disaster. To me that says Boras is unsure of himself, he doesn't know which scheme to implement, so he tries to take the best from both but ends up with the best from neither.

Furthermore, I don't think most of our OLinemen have the necessary agility to be good at any sort of ZBS. They are just not that type of athlete at all. Trying to implement a hybrid power/ZBS scheme has probably added a significant amount of confusion and made every OLineman less effective overall than if we would just stick with one or the other (although, to repeat, I don't think these guys would do well in a ZBS). When you watch our OL play, they often look very confused, and I think this has a lot to do with it.

So in summation, irrespective of what we think about individual players on this OL, the fact that as a unit, they are all playing worse than they have in prior years, and that didn't happen because they stopped giving a damn. The coaching staff is trying to do something with them that is both confusing and a poor fit for the guys we have. That in turn makes any evaluation of them as individuals much more dicey, IMO anyway.
 

BonifayRam

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I agree. Continuity has been a big problem with these guys. There's been so much shuffling going on the past few years. It's frustrating. Our interior is constantly getting pushed back and rarely open the holes needed for a decent run game.
Hav is a keeper.
Our Guard and C play has been rough.
I don't know what to do whit Grob and LT. Why not try him at G at this point? Is he really to big to play that position? His skill set would fit G well imo. I think he'd play much better if he didn't have to handle the speed rusher from the outside.

I would say it about 100% certain that the Ram org. is stuck with Greg Robinson for the rest of this season & for the entire 2017 season. They are on the hook in the salary cap to pay him 6.8 million in 2017 for his drive killing holding calls if they play him. I just do not see any NFL team desiring to have Robinson doing the same type of damaging work he has done here for the Rams the last 3 seasons. One would think that would be one stupid trade for our trading partner.

The best we can hope for from this point on until we his expensive contract has concluded is a role as a game day OL reserve. I just not sure GRob is capable of mastering multiple OL post assignments. He has proved he has yet to fully master the left OT post & he has been at it for many years now. Asking him to prepare to play right OT or OG is a sure disaster in waiting. Best to work him as a two post reserve on the side he is use to playing LT & LG.

I am also not sure GRob will handle this demotion mentally. I really think GRob will throw his sucker in the dirt & stomp off. I see a good chance that he will just go through the motions with little desire & care as to how it will effect the overall OL. I see a case of "I could care less just give me my $$ 6.8 million check". I still think he is a better OT than OG. If he was to take the high road here where he could remake himself to the other side of the OL & take his 6-5 340 pound size to the right OT post for another team.
 

Merlin

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You lost me here. First of all, Brockers was extended. There's no reason to let him walk either ways. Johnson is easily our best CB. He's top 15 at worst in the NFL. We'd be silly to let him walk. McDonald is borderline. Alexander could replace him. I'm 50/50 on him. Zuerlein shouldn't be going anywhere. He's bounced back nicely this season.

And re-sign Cam Thomas? Really? We can do so much better than him.

This being a losing team doesn't mean you gut a good defense.

Forgot about Brockers' extension.

Johnson it comes down to money. He's already been tagged due to them not being able to sign him. I would not tag him again, and I would not make him an elite CB in pay. I don't see him playing along to stick around unless Kroenke absolutely crushes the hire of Fisher's replacement, so IMO the dude is gone.

McDonald never developed into the safety I hoped he would. Borderline and FA usually don't translate to keeping them around, particularly when there's a better option on the roster behind him.

Zuerline chokes. You can find kickers in the draft without using big draft capital, and through UDFA. Bouncing back is not what I see; he's been better than last year but I think we can do better.

Lastly, Thomas is a cheap run stuffer but yeah, with Brockers returning and tendering the RFAs I admit he's not a guy you necessarily need to keep. I need to use a better site next time to get a FA list.

This type of thing is typical when you bring in a new regime, so yeah that drives a lot of it. The direction if you bring in a guy like Patricia is vastly different from where they'll go if they bring in Gruden. So yeah this is all premature in that way.
 

BonifayRam

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........
McDonald never developed into the safety I hoped he would. Borderline and FA usually don't translate to keeping them around, particularly when there's a better option on the roster behind him.......

I would have to say I would agree with this but there are real reasons that we think this ..I think beside his broken leg, reconstructed shoulder & high ankle (INJURY) issues experienced since drafted by the Rams & the Gregg Williams defensive scheme does not play all the way into TJ's strong skills.

I know that sounds unbelievable but TJ McDonald has been asked to play deep free safety about half the time in this current Ram defense for the last few seasons now. If there is a new DC in 2017 I would look hard on where a TJ would fit in this new defense.

Fact is safety Mo Alexander & SSLB'er/Nickle Lamarcus Joyner as still under contract in 2017 both can play the role that TJ McDonald does. Another important fact to keep in the back of our minds is strong safety Brian Randolph will return to the lineup in 2017 & Brian looked real good before his injury in pre season this rookie season. All the above will move TJ McDonald very low on the priority list for UFA signs in over 3 months.

I'll say this if you placed TJ in the SS role like in AZ Cards defense he would be a clear all pro strong safety for many seasons. You could put TJ in the Mark Barron role here too & he would look even better than Mark Barron.
 

lockdnram21

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THIS!!^ I could go down the roster position by position but I won't!
I think any knew HC will start by Basically Going heavy on O-Line in the Draft, and keeping everyone else to star with!
Although we do need a Really good LDE, a #2 CB, and a Big Fast LB who can drop-back and cover TE's would be nice!!
We need a #1 cb Tru is a #2.. Very overrated
 

lockdnram21

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I would have to say I would agree with this but there are real reasons that we think this ..I think beside his broken leg, reconstructed shoulder & high ankle (INJURY) issues experienced since drafted by the Rams & the Gregg Williams defensive scheme does not play all the way into TJ's strong skills.

I know that sounds unbelievable but TJ McDonald has been asked to play deep free safety about half the time in this current Ram defense for the last few seasons now. If there is a new DC in 2017 I would look hard on where a TJ would fit in this new defense.

Fact is safety Mo Alexander & SSLB'er/Nickle Lamarcus Joyner as still under contract in 2017 both can play the role that TJ McDonald does. Another important fact to keep in the back of our minds is strong safety Brian Randolph will return to the lineup in 2017 & Brian looked real good before his injury in pre season this rookie season. All the above will move TJ McDonald very low on the priority list for UFA signs in over 3 months.

I'll say this if you placed TJ in the SS role like in AZ Cards defense he would be a clear all pro strong safety for many seasons. You could put TJ in the Mark Barron role here too & he would look even better than Mark Barron.
Randolph a fs