Will Rams Set the Century's Standard in 2013? 101 ESPN

[nittany ram]

84 Bears

DE - 29
DT - 22.5

I know stats weren't officially kept during the time but I wish someone would go back and review the film and tally all the sacks by the Rams defense during the Fearsome Foursome era.

I think Deacon and Merlin would have accounted for that many by themselves in 67 or 68.

 

[albefree69]

RamFan503 remembering an alternate universe:
Yeah - I'm just not sure about that. I could have easily missed it with the euphoria of us actually HAVING a lead in some of those games but I don't recall us going total prevent. I always hate the prevent - especially when you are beating up a team with your defense. I would think I would have keyed in on that. I also get the feeling that Fish isn't really a prevent kinda guy.

I think it was generally more of a case of our offense not being able to score the dagger. We'd get up three points or a TD, stop the other team and then our offense would run three, maybe five plays and back on the field came our defense. You can't sustain a pin your ears back defense late in the game when the other team only needs to get within field goal range.

I'm actually hoping that our pass defense (aside from sacks and turn overs) is kind of middle of the pack this year in yards allowed. That generally means we are playing with the lead - and yes, playing SOME prevent.

When we get an early lead, I certainly want to see us let our D-line pin their ears back and even shoot a few blitzers in on occasion. But getting constant pressure with a four man front is where it's at. I think we HAVE improved our secondary this season in a few areas. Two of our rookie CBs and our manimal Brockers will be a year more seasoned and I really do believe that TJ is an instant upgrade over both Mikell and Dahl - overall. Darien is going to come in and lay some wood and I'm thinking he will actually be our starter in the box.

And enter the wild card - Tree.

This defense WILL be aggressive and attacking. If the offense is able to be as well? WATCH THE EFF OUT!!!!

That's not how I remember it but then again my memory isn't what it used to be. It wasn't just when we had a lead. I don't remember our D, as a rule, ever being very aggressive in the final two minutes of either half.

You read what Shane said about about the huge cushion we almost always gave the opposing team's WRS and TEs. As I remember it, they basically just exaggerated that defensive philosophy when we got the lead or in the final two minutes of each half.

Still, all that doesn't matter because it's old news. I just want us to be more aggressive on defense this year. Press coverage and blitzes coming from all directions. That's why I was really hoping we'd concentrate a little more heavily on the Safety position so that we could take more chances on defense. Ogletree should help with that but I really don't see the acquisition of McDonald as helping us on pass D. But yeah. we did improve our pass D.


"I'm actually hoping that our pass defense (aside from sacks and turn overs) is kind of middle of the pack this year in yards allowed. That generally means we are playing with the lead - and yes, playing SOME prevent."

That statement seems to be contradicting the whole "aggressive D" thing cause it appears your thinking we will be giving up a lot more passing yards because the other team will be in catch up mode. Why would we give up significantly more passing yards unless we're playing more prevent? I'm thinking that a more aggressive D, creating more sacks, will decrease the yards we give up. Except in !&#^$%@ time. (X gets really upset if you say garbage time :ahight: )

Your point about our offense not being able to take advantage of a lead is a good one though. I think the key will be our play calling. We need Schotty to step up to the plate (if I can mix my metaphors) and regularly call plays that take advantage of our new weapons.

We're pretty much on the same page with our views on this and just differ in degree. If you're right about us having an aggressive D, then the sack record could be in reach.

 

[BonifayRam]

We really have no ideal just how good this defense and this defensive line can be. Fisher suffered some numerous big injury setbacks early in TC & pre-season especially in the interior of the DL.

#1-Vet DT Trevor Laws seemed to come up lame early with a bad knee and never helped this young DL out from the moment of his signing. TL went on IR and never saw the field.

#2-DT Matt Conrath injured his knee early and never saw any action until the 9th game due to that knee so his entire rookie yr he was unhealthy. But Fisher like tall big interior DL'ers & Conrath's 6-7 290 plus frame long long arms could be a pleasnt surprise this season inside.

#3-DT Fishers First round pick rookie DT Michael Brockers was carted from the sideline to the locker room after sustaining a bad high right ankle injury in the preseason finale. Ravens OT Ramon Harewood landed on the side of Brockers' ankle. I saw this Raven fall & hit was no accident. This was the biggest early blow to this DL. Brokers would miss starting 4 games and it took him till the bye to get healthy enough to hold his point of attack. Rams were forced to sign released Bills Kellen Heard who is nothing close to a healthy Brockers. IMO Brockers has the look of a future all pro DT in the NFL & we have not see anything close to what he is going to be in 2013 if he remains healthy.

Now besides this injuries Ram top DL signing Kendall Langford played defensive end in Miami's 3-4, Kendall Langford was having issues with the transition to a three-technique tackle. main thing was his height being over 6-6 the smaller OG's/OC's were highly effective getting underneath Langford's pads & Kendall was slow to learn that he needed to refrain from coming out of his stance high. It took him most of the 2012 season to finally get comfortable staying low. In camp it was heard often where DLC Mike Waufle was highly vocal in & on Kendall's issues in that area. Kendall is only 27 yrs old & should also show some serious improvement this season over 2012. Langford was the main veteran cog early in the season he was always on the field due to the injuries mentioned above but he only had one tack in the Ram first three games! It should also be said he went down midway through the second half of the Bears game with a shoulder injury that nagged him for many weeks but he started every game.

Then there was practice squad Jermelle Cudjo a short green DT who had early issue against the run...considered a early release by Fisher in 2012. Cudjo had never shown much for Spags in 2010 and was IR's with a bad back in 2011. Jermelle Cudjo benefited greatly from all the above negative happenings in the interior DL. Cudjo came into camp with massive upper body size and his lower half was not far behind. Sporting a remade frame this once discarded DT who has never started or saw much any NFL action and who was always known & wrote about about being far far from being high-ceiling player moved into starting DT for four games for Brockers. Cudjo became a very solid third DT in the rotation the rest of the season Rams really only carried 3 DT's active for the entire 2012 season speaking very high of what DLC Waufle thinks of Cudjo. Rams resigned this UDFA early this season & I see much bigger things coming from this low ceiling DT.

Fisher seemed very happy with this current 2013 cadre of Brockers-Langford-Cudjo & Conrath that Snead & him bypassed the DT's in the 2013 draft. Many mock drafts had the Rams selecting a DT with one of our two first round picks. Snead did sign two UDFA's in Garrett Goebel & Al Lapuaho as camp bodies.

Now onto the DE's & what happened there. DLC Mike Waufle switched Long & Quinn sides early in the mini's camps. Yes that placed Quinn in a much better place to showcase his elite pass rush skills. Robert Quinn came in as a 14th selection in the first round of the 2011 draft. He was slow to adjust to the NFL. matter fact he was a scratch & did not dress in the first game of his rookie season. Quinn had shown no ability to play the run from his DE position and just did not read what was going on in front of him. he only started one game his rookie season & that was due to injury. But he did have 5 sacks and a few punt blocks. Then some bad news hit early in July in 2012. Quinn was charged with DWI and two additional traffic charges after a single-car accident. It's his first strike in the NFL's eyes, even though he was forced to sit out the entire 2010 season at North Carolina after lying to the NCAA about receiving improper benefits. Its no secret that he is a edge-bending pass rusher, that on a mighty talented DL he has the best physical skill set of the entire cadre. Big butt monkey here he is far from being a true every-down force! While DLC bragged about Quinn's TC & pre season action shown towards stopping the run when the regular season started .... Quinn had some very big gaping gaps in outside run containment. Quinn did have 36 tacks. Quinn's back up William Hayes had 35 tacks and 4th DE back up Ernie Sims had 20 tacks both these reserve played the outside containment better to Quinn. Some of the longest runs against the Rams in 2012 came from Quinn's lack of solid performance in the outside run containment. Quinn did have a knee & concussion issues. I was & I remain highly critical of his weak run play but he just turned 23 already with 2 full NFL seasons under his belt. If Quinn could get his outside run issues fixed he would be something to behold. butt until then we have Hayes & Sims ready to step up should he continue on this path.

Chris Long had some outstanding games & some drop off in play games too he was really man handled for periods of time by some run of the meal ORT's. But this guy is something special & is the full complete NFL DE package. He is now in his prime & should take over as leader in this young DL.

William Hayes had a serious shoulder issues in Tenn. It took him a while to get his A game back and started the 2012 season under the radar as the 4th DE back up. But with the injuries to the DT's Hayes was forced into action inside and something very special turned out here. His play @ DT/NT was every bit as effective as he was playing either DE posts. Matter of fact by the seasons end he was the most active and highest producing DL'er the Rams had on the field. think about that! That's why Snead & Fisher wasted no time in making Hayes the top Defensive UFA signing! Hayes is my most favorite DL'er to watch when he is playing. He manhandles the shorter interior OL'ers and blast by the OT's with a hell of swing move his bulrush is highly underrated.Hayes is the same age as Long but there is a big difference in wear & tear Hayes is just now coming into his own!

Another underrated DL'er is Ernie Sims started his career as a safety but was a late bloomer and reached 6-6 on a skinny 230 frame in college. Sims was drafted with 2 other DE's both of the others were herald DE's. Sims was thought to be a tweener, a SSLB in a 34 defense. Since then Rams have been able to put some meat on his bones now I believe we will see a much larger framed Sims in 2013 he was listed last yr in July as 265 pounds but he played much heavier than that by the end of the 2012 season. Sims 2012 season was not his best he suffered a bad knee injury and later had a concussion which really affected his ability to get on the field. Strange Sims plays a bunch at DT on passing plays and is Quinn's main back up. Sims will make his presence known if Quinn continues to play the run weak.

Snead & Fisher have three other DE's to look at ...last yrs PS rider in 6-7 270 pound Mason Brodine & two new UDFA's in RJ Washington & Gerald Rivers.

In conclusion, I see no reason why I would not expect that the Rams DL to overtake the bonified bragging rights away from the 9ers & Seahawks who were advertised to have far superior DL over the Rams as were heard over & over by the talking heads. Does not mean those talking heads will not continue to sprout out about those well loved media teams.

"Kattie bar the doors!" :hehe:

 

[albefree69]

BonifayRam giving his abridged version of the D:
We really have no ideal just how good this defense and this defensive line can be. Fisher suffered some numerous big injury setbacks early in TC & pre-season especially in the interior of the DL.

#1-Vet DT Trevor Laws seemed to come up lame early with a bad knee and never helped this young DL out from the moment of his signing. TL went on IR and never saw the field.

#2-DT Matt Conrath injured his knee early and never saw any action until the 9th game due to that knee so his entire rookie yr he was unhealthy. But Fisher like tall big interior DL'ers & Conrath's 6-7 290 plus frame long long arms could be a pleasnt surprise this season inside.

#3-DT Fishers First round pick rookie DT Michael Brockers was carted from the sideline to the locker room after sustaining a bad high right ankle injury in the preseason finale. Ravens OT Ramon Harewood landed on the side of Brockers' ankle. I saw this Raven fall & hit was no accident. This was the biggest early blow to this DL. Brokers would miss starting 4 games and it took him till the bye to get healthy enough to hold his point of attack. Rams were forced to sign released Bills Kellen Heard who is nothing close to a healthy Brockers. IMO Brockers has the look of a future all pro DT in the NFL & we have not see anything close to what he is going to be in 2013 if he remains healthy.

Now besides this injuries Ram top DL signing Kendall Langford played defensive end in Miami's 3-4, Kendall Langford was having issues with the transition to a three-technique tackle. main thing was his height being over 6-6 the smaller OG's/OC's were highly effective getting underneath Langford's pads & Kendall was slow to learn that he needed to refrain from coming out of his stance high. It took him most of the 2012 season to finally get comfortable staying low. In camp it was heard often where DLC Mike Waufle was highly vocal in & on Kendall's issues in that area. Kendall is only 27 yrs old & should also show some serious improvement this season over 2012. Langford was the main veteran cog early in the season he was always on the field due to the injuries mentioned above but he only had one tack in the Ram first three games! It should also be said he went down midway through the second half of the Bears game with a shoulder injury that nagged him for many weeks but he started every game.

Then there was practice squad Jermelle Cudjo a short green DT who had early issue against the run...considered a early release by Fisher in 2012. Cudjo had never shown much for Spags in 2010 and was IR's with a bad back in 2011. Jermelle Cudjo benefited greatly from all the above negative happenings in the interior DL. Cudjo came into camp with massive upper body size and his lower half was not far behind. Sporting a remade frame this once discarded DT who has never started or saw much any NFL action and who was always known & wrote about about being far far from being high-ceiling player moved into starting DT for four games for Brockers. Cudjo became a very solid third DT in the rotation the rest of the season Rams really only carried 3 DT's active for the entire 2012 season speaking very high of what DLC Waufle thinks of Cudjo. Rams resigned this UDFA early this season & I see much bigger things coming from this low ceiling DT.

Fisher seemed very happy with this current 2013 cadre of Brockers-Langford-Cudjo & Conrath that Snead & him bypassed the DT's in the 2013 draft. Many mock drafts had the Rams selecting a DT with one of our two first round picks. Snead did sign two UDFA's in Garrett Goebel & Al Lapuaho as camp bodies.

Now onto the DE's & what happened there. DLC Mike Waufle switched Long & Quinn sides early in the mini's camps. Yes that placed Quinn in a much better place to showcase his elite pass rush skills. Robert Quinn came in as a 14th selection in the first round of the 2011 draft. He was slow to adjust to the NFL. matter fact he was a scratch & did not dress in the first game of his rookie season. Quinn had shown no ability to play the run from his DE position and just did not read what was going on in front of him. he only started one game his rookie season & that was due to injury. But he did have 5 sacks and a few punt blocks. Then some bad news hit early in July in 2012. Quinn was charged with DWI and two additional traffic charges after a single-car accident. It's his first strike in the NFL's eyes, even though he was forced to sit out the entire 2010 season at North Carolina after lying to the NCAA about receiving improper benefits. Its no secret that he is a edge-bending pass rusher, that on a mighty talented DL he has the best physical skill set of the entire cadre. Big butt monkey here he is far from being a true every-down force! While DLC bragged about Quinn's TC & pre season action shown towards stopping the run when the regular season started .... Quinn had some very big gaping gaps in outside run containment. Quinn did have 36 tacks. Quinn's back up William Hayes had 35 tacks and 4th DE back up Ernie Sims had 20 tacks both these reserve played the outside containment better to Quinn. Some of the longest runs against the Rams in 2012 came from Quinn's lack of solid performance in the outside run containment. Quinn did have a knee & concussion issues. I was & I remain highly critical of his weak run play but he just turned 23 already with 2 full NFL seasons under his belt. If Quinn could get his outside run issues fixed he would be something to behold. butt until then we have Hayes & Sims ready to step up should he continue on this path.

Chris Long had some outstanding games & some drop off in play games too he was really man handled for periods of time by some run of the meal ORT's. But this guy is something special & is the full complete NFL DE package. He is now in his prime & should take over as leader in this young DL.

William Hayes had a serious shoulder issues in Tenn. It took him a while to get his A game back and started the 2012 season under the radar as the 4th DE back up. But with the injuries to the DT's Hayes was forced into action inside and something very special turned out here. His play @ DT/NT was every bit as effective as he was playing either DE posts. Matter of fact by the seasons end he was the most active and highest producing DL'er the Rams had on the field. think about that! That's why Snead & Fisher wasted no time in making Hayes the top Defensive UFA signing! Hayes is my most favorite DL'er to watch when he is playing. He manhandles the shorter interior OL'ers and blast by the OT's with a hell of swing move his bulrush is highly underrated.Hayes is the same age as Long but there is a big difference in wear & tear Hayes is just now coming into his own!

Another underrated DL'er is Ernie Sims started his career as a safety but was a late bloomer and reached 6-6 on a skinny 230 frame in college. Sims was drafted with 2 other DE's both of the others were herald DE's. Sims was thought to be a tweener, a SSLB in a 34 defense. Since then Rams have been able to put some meat on his bones now I believe we will see a much larger framed Sims in 2013 he was listed last yr in July as 265 pounds but he played much heavier than that by the end of the 2012 season. Sims 2012 season was not his best he suffered a bad knee injury and later had a concussion which really affected his ability to get on the field. Strange Sims plays a bunch at DT on passing plays and is Quinn's main back up. Sims will make his presence known if Quinn continues to play the run weak.

Snead & Fisher have three other DE's to look at ...last yrs PS rider in 6-7 270 pound Mason Brodine & two new UDFA's in RJ Washington & Gerald Rivers.

In conclusion, I see no reason why I would not expect that the Rams DL to overtake the bonified bragging rights away from the 9ers & Seahawks who were advertised to have far superior DL over the Rams as were heard over & over by the talking heads. Does not mean those talking heads will not continue to sprout out about those well loved media teams.

"Kattie bar the doors!" :hehe:

Great read. Too short though. :tyty:

I had completely forgotten about Conrath. I'll have to make a mental note to pay more attention to his exploits on the field during training camp.
I made some mental notes about a couple of other guys I should watch too but I forgot where I put them.

 

[RamFan503]

That's not how I remember it but then again my memory isn't what it used to be. It wasn't just when we had a lead. I don't remember our D, as a rule, ever being very aggressive in the final two minutes of either half.

You read what Shane said about about the huge cushion we almost always gave the opposing team's WRS and TEs. As I remember it, they basically just exaggerated that defensive philosophy when we got the lead or in the final two minutes of each half.

Still, all that doesn't matter because it's old news. I just want us to be more aggressive on defense this year. Press coverage and blitzes coming from all directions. That's why I was really hoping we'd concentrate a little more heavily on the Safety position so that we could take more chances on defense. Ogletree should help with that but I really don't see the acquisition of McDonald as helping us on pass D. But yeah. we did improve our pass D.


"I'm actually hoping that our pass defense (aside from sacks and turn overs) is kind of middle of the pack this year in yards allowed. That generally means we are playing with the lead - and yes, playing SOME prevent."

That statement seems to be contradicting the whole "aggressive D" thing cause it appears your thinking we will be giving up a lot more passing yards because the other team will be in catch up mode. Why would we give up significantly more passing yards unless we're playing more prevent? I'm thinking that a more aggressive D, creating more sacks, will decrease the yards we give up. Except in !&#^$%@ time. (X gets really upset if you say garbage time :ahight: )

Your point about our offense not being able to take advantage of a lead is a good one though. I think the key will be our play calling. We need Schotty to step up to the plate (if I can mix my metaphors) and regularly call plays that take advantage of our new weapons.

We're pretty much on the same page with our views on this and just differ in degree. If you're right about us having an aggressive D, then the sack record could be in reach.

Yeah - I think we are mostly on the same page.

I don't recall us giving a much bigger cushion when we got the lead but that cushion drove us all to distraction many times. Wish you were in the chat room for some of those plays. :grr:

I definitely want to see our D play aggressive. I just think that we are better off if we can get most of the sacks and pressure by bringing four with the occasional blitzer. And there may be times where we send the house several plays in a row. That's fine too but I just don't think it's sustainable for the whole game.

My point about being middle of the pack in passing yards allowed is that if a team is being forced to pass, that generally means you have a decent lead. The odds are that if a team has to throw 50 times, they are going to pick up some yards on several of those plays. It doesn't take a whole lot of yards passing per game to go from #1 to #15 in terms of yards allowed.

So even though our pass D would show up on stat sheets as middle of the road in yardage, they would also likely have more shots at the QB, our DBs would have more opportunities at making plays on desperation passes, AND the entire D would be playing at their most aggressive because we have made the other team's offense one dimensional.

Just one other note: I think TJ is very under rated by many when it comes to pass coverage. I guess we'll see but my view is that he is an upgrade at safety (FS or SS) from day one. Maybe a tad bit myopic? :mrgreen:

Cheers man.

 

[RamFan503]

"Kattie bar the doors!" :hehe:

Katie bar the doors indeed. One hell of a write up man. Thanks for that.

 

[albefree69]

RamFan503 clarified:

I just think that we are better off if we can get most of the sacks and pressure by bringing four with the occasional blitzer. And there may be times where we send the house several plays in a row. That's fine too but I just don't think it's sustainable for the whole game.

I agree with this 100% which is why I'm glad we don't have Greg Williams as our DC. My point was simply that by doing it more often the DB sack total would increase enough that we could be in a better position to surpass the 68 sack total. But like you said, it needs to be strategic.

My point about being middle of the pack in passing yards allowed is that if a team is being forced to pass, that generally means you have a decent lead. The odds are that if a team has to throw 50 times, they are going to pick up some yards on several of those plays. It doesn't take a whole lot of yards passing per game to go from #1 to #15 in terms of yards allowed.

So even though our pass D would show up on stat sheets as middle of the road in yardage, they would also likely have more shots at the QB, our DBs would have more opportunities at making plays on desperation passes, AND the entire D would be playing at their most aggressive because we have made the other team's offense one dimensional.

Again I agree with all of that.

Just one other note: I think TJ is very under rated by many when it comes to pass coverage. I guess we'll see but my view is that he is an upgrade at safety (FS or SS) from day one. Maybe a tad bit myopic? :mrgreen:

I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of T.J. but I do agree that he's probably an upgrade at the Safety position. Of course the bar was set so low by Dahl and Mikell (he was OK against the run) that I might be an upgrade.

OK maybe not. :bahumbug:

 

[RamFan503]

Pretty hard to say on TJ - eh Albe. I'm not sure where you are but we are out here in Pac 8, 10, 12, 16? country and he was talked about quite a bit for his coverage skills before last year when they changed his role. I just think that is what Fish really liked about him. He was good in coverage AND could lay the wood. By the accounts I saw his move wasn't because he was a coverage liability. So yeah... I'm kinda hoping that is the case.

 

[albefree69]

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football</a> ... 07ac8.html
"For anyone doubting McDonald’s coverage skills, Fisher says turn on tape of him against Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert (who was a first-round draft pick).

“He’s one of those guys that has the cover skills,” Fisher said. “He sees things. He anticipates. ... He gets the game. He plays the position well.”

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Get" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Get</a> ... class.html
WEAKNESSES - Despite having the size and athleticism of an elite prospect, McDonald does not produce like one. Right now he is a much better athlete than football player and needs to improve his production if he wants to start in the NFL. While he flashes quickness coming up quickly in run support, he does not do it consistently and goes through stretches where he seems content to sit back and allow his teammates to make the tackle. Like many defensive players, McDonald loves making the "blow up" hit and it leads to him launching himself to try and make big hit too often and ends up missing tackles he should make. Additionally, when he is not going for the big hit he tends to become an upright, grab tackler. For a player with his experience, it is surprising that he does not read and react consistently in coverage and if often a beat late reacting to sideline and deep passes. He is much more effective going forward in pass coverage than he is in deep coverage and has not shown the skills to come down and be effective covering slot receivers at the next level.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/play" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/play</a> ... j-mcdonald
Weaknesses: Long, lanky build that makes him a step slow in transitioning. Has to gather himself out of his cuts, giving receivers room to gain separation. Seemed confused in Kiffin's scheme. Too often drifted out of position by attempting to read the quarterback's eyes, leaving huge gaps in the secondary for the high-octane passing attacks in the Pac-12 to exploit.

Had a generally underwhelming performance throughout the week of practice at the Senior Bowl and could be losing momentum as the draft approaches. Underwent surgery to his ankle (undisclosed) following 2010 spring.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/t.j.-mcdonald?id=2539309" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/ ... id=2539309</a>
WEAKNESSES Will be pegged as a pure in-the-box safety. Protected in coverage by being used extensively as a Robber his senior season. Linear, high-cut player who is tall in his back pedals. Displays stiff hips, average change-of-direction ability and burst. His height and average short-area quickness become an issue when trying to break down quickly to make tackles in space, can be eluded in the open field by quicker receivers and running backs. Also lacks flexibility to turn-and-run with better receivers and tight ends. Does not have the range to get to the sideline, even sometimes to the hash, in single-high looks. Stares into the backfield, gets frozen and fooled by play action, loses receivers behind him, and takes time to recover after a false step.

What I find very troublesome about him is his hips. I'm not sure how you can coach hips. He doesn't seem to have very many strong supporters among the "experts" but if you've seen him play and are impressed then that gives me some optimism.

 

[-X-]

Yeah, T.J. is an intriguing pick. Lots of people scratched their heads on that one, but if Fisher (as a former safety) sees something in him, then I'll have to afford him the benefit of the doubt. I watched a little bit of video on him, and he does have stiff hips. Change of direction isn't real fluid, and that *can* actually be improved upon with NFL conditioning coaches. Technique coaching and flexibility training can do wonders for that *stiffness*. He looks instinctive to me (again with what little I've seen) and he can deliver quite the shot at times too. I see a few turnovers where the ball pops out like a champagne cork if T.J. gets a good angle and good timing on his hits.

Every prospect has *weaknesses* in his write-ups too. Every. Single. One. I wouldn't worry about much of that unless they're red flags associated with intelligence or work ethic. Everything else can be improved upon, provided the player has the dedication and desire to improve.

 

[albefree69]

X enlightening me about trainable hips:
Yeah, T.J. is an intriguing pick. Lots of people scratched their heads on that one, but if Fisher (as a former safety) sees something in him, then I'll have to afford him the benefit of the doubt. I watched a little bit of video on him, and he does have stiff hips. Change of direction isn't real fluid, and that *can* actually be improved upon with NFL conditioning coaches. Technique coaching and flexibility training can do wonders for that *stiffness*. He looks instinctive to me (again with what little I've seen) and he can deliver quite the shot at times too. I see a few turnovers where the ball pops out like a champagne cork if T.J. gets a good angle and good timing on his hits.

Every prospect has *weaknesses* in his write-ups too. Every. Single. One. I wouldn't worry about much of that unless they're red flags associated with intelligence or work ethic. Everything else can be improved upon, provided the player has the dedication and desire to improve.

I really only worry about two weaknesses. Lack of football instincts and physical liabilities. Now that you've informed me that stiff hips can be mitigated by training I'll look at that as less of a red flag. Still, it's hard to believe that this guy could ever cover someone like Austin. Of course not many will be able to cover him but I see players like Vernon Davis eating his lunch. Or at least his dessert.

As an in the box safety he will probably more than cover for Mikell but having Stewart, who I think has similar skill set as McDonald, as our FS really worries me.

 

[-X-]

I really only worry about two weaknesses. Lack of football instincts and physical liabilities. Now that you've informed me that stiff hips can be mitigated by training I'll look at that as less of a red flag. Still, it's hard to believe that this guy could ever cover someone Austin. Of course not many will be able to cover him but I see players Vernon Davis eating his lunch. Or at least his dessert.

As an in the box safety he will probably more than cover for Mikell but having Stewart, who I think has similar skill set as McDonald, as our FS really worries me.

Yeah, a lack of instincts or physical limitations are usually career-enders at this level. If you don't have it, you just don't have it. I'm trying to think of anyone who had either of those issues and made some noise in the NFL, but I can't. As far as McDonald covering Tavon - forget about it. I don't think he'll ever be able to do that. Thankfully (for us), there probably aren't a whole lot of safeties in the league right now who could match up with him. That's why we'll see nickel corners on him like Honey Badger (and I think the Cards took him specifically for this reason), or we'll see a team's more athletic corners shift to the inside whenever Austin's on the field. Safeties though? Fuhgedaboudit.

 

[RamFan503]

Are there really going to be safeties matched up one on one on the likes of Tavon? Or will they play zone or move up a CB on him? I'm asking - really.

 

[albefree69]

RamFan503 asked:
Are there really going to be safeties matched up one on one on the likes of Tavon? Or will they play zone or move up a CB on him? I'm asking - really.

Nah, I didn't really mean it that way. I was referring to someone with Austins short area quickness. A player like Vernon Davis would fit that bill and I doubt T.J. would be able to cover him. I think we would probably put Finnegan on an Austin like player.

X analyzing the enemies moves:

"That's why we'll see nickel corners on him like Honey Badger (and I think the Cards took him specifically for this reason)"

I hadn't thought about that but I think you're probably right. Seems like all the teams in our division are drafting players with the other teams in our division upper most in their minds.

 

[Rambitious1]

Shane Gray provides special Rams commentaries on 101sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ShaneGmoSTLRams.

A season ago, the St. Louis Rams and Denver Broncos each posted 52 sacks to lead the NFL in the aforementioned category.

The Rams accomplished this feat in spite of the fact that they faced the challenge of implementing a new defense after abandoning the Steve Spagnuolo scheme in favor of the more consistent and balanced system long utilized by St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher.

In 2012, the Rams elevated their sack total by 25 percent after posting 39 in the prior campaign. In fact, St. Louis’ 52 sacks were the most by any Rams team since 1999 – a year in which 57 were amassed.

Impressively, last season’s sack total was the league’s 11th-best since 2000. To put the 52 sacks into further perspective, the number would have led the NFL in seven of this century’s first 13 seasons.

What is most encouraging about last season’s mark is that these lofty numbers were not largely compiled by almost over-the-hill veterans or by defenders who departed in the offseason. No, they were posted by young players who will return hungry for more – much more. They were accomplished by players who were still ascending and/or just entering their prime (Chris Long, William Hayes, Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Eugene Sims), were just beginning to realize their potential (the then-22-year-old Robert Quinn), had made an offseason position switch (Kendall Langford) or were in their rookie year and battling through injury (Michael Brockers).

Take, for instance, the 23-year-old defensive end Quinn, who told me the following during camp last year.

(Hope each of you greatly enjoy the full read here):

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.101sports.com/2013/06/04/132858/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.101sports.com/2013/06/04/132858/</a>

Good stuff Shane.
Just as always. :ww:

Thank you sir.

 

[BonifayRam]

Pretty hard to say on TJ - eh Albe. I'm not sure where you are but we are out here in Pac 8, 10, 12, 16? country and he was talked about quite a bit for his coverage skills before last year when they changed his role. I just think that is what Fish really liked about him. He was good in coverage AND could lay the wood. By the accounts I saw his move wasn't because he was a coverage liability. So yeah... I'm kinda hoping that is the case.

That's was what I was reading much of why TJ was selected was not off his senior yr but the two seasons pryor to his rover/LB'er role in 2012. If you take notice of TJ now with the Rams vs the TJ seen in earlier this winter you will see a much slimmer version no longer pushing over 220 pounds but down near 205 or lower. This over 6-3 long armed safety is going to be placed in position to make plays & turnovers. TJ will also be working very hard to improve his range from sideline to sideline.

X enlightening me about trainable hips:
Yeah, T.J. is an intriguing pick. Lots of people scratched their heads on that one, but if Fisher (as a former safety) sees something in him, then I'll have to afford him the benefit of the doubt. I watched a little bit of video on him, and he does have stiff hips. Change of direction isn't real fluid, and that *can* actually be improved upon with NFL conditioning coaches. Technique coaching and flexibility training can do wonders for that *stiffness*. He looks instinctive to me (again with what little I've seen) and he can deliver quite the shot at times too. I see a few turnovers where the ball pops out like a champagne cork if T.J. gets a good angle and good timing on his hits.

Every prospect has *weaknesses* in his write-ups too. Every. Single. One. I wouldn't worry about much of that unless they're red flags associated with intelligence or work ethic. Everything else can be improved upon, provided the player has the dedication and desire to improve.

I really only worry about two weaknesses. Lack of football instincts and physical liabilities. Now that you've informed me that stiff hips can be mitigated by training I'll look at that as less of a red flag. Still, it's hard to believe that this guy could ever cover someone like Austin. Of course not many will be able to cover him but I see players like Vernon Davis eating his lunch. Or at least his dessert.

As an in the box safety he will probably more than cover for Mikell but having Stewart, who I think has similar skill set as McDonald, as our FS really worries me.

I would say first that Fisher tried hard to address the secondary as best he could in the off season. The hiring of Tim Walton to go with Chuck Cecil was a power move IMO. When you release both your 2012 starting safeties you know Fisher wants vast improvement. This new DC with an excellent knowledge in developing young DB's. This safety area is UNDER DEVELOPMENT. WE do know a little bit that's turned up ...the Rams most experienced safety with 3 yrs of NFL experience well over a dozen starts ... Darian Stewart is #1 Strong Safety 5-11 215 pounds. Presently TJ McDonald is playing behind him with the #2's. I would also expect to see TJ getting some action @ deep free safety too. Last yrs surprise roster maker was UDFA Rodney McLeod 5-11 183 who played in all 16 games and saw some action @ FS early in 2012. He was starting next to Stewart. UDFA Cody Davis the 6-2 205 pounds was behind Rod.

If I stopped there with just those four safeties in 2013 when you look back @ last season where we had the real short and limited Mikell @ SS & another pure Strong Safety Dahl playing deep free safety absent any speed or range.....I'll take the two new guys as being a very good improvement materials for development. Fisher has gained 7 inches alone just in height & even more in arm & jumping ability in adding two safeties TJ & Cody into our secondary minus the shorter Mikell & Dahl. IMO Stewart is much better than Mikell. Rod may be green but he was our best gunner and has speed and will tackle you more than I can say about Dahl who was always late.

Fisher did not stop with those two safeties he also shifted last yrs 5th CB Quinton Porter to Free Safety. Two other UDFA's should also figure in some of this FS development are Don Unamba who is 6 ft 196 pounds and Cannon Smith who is bigger 6 ft 205. pounds. Another 2012 safety who returned this yr is Matthews Daniels 6-0 211 who is well known as a playmaker but from the strong safety post behind Stewart & TJ. Daniels has been slowed by two back to back knee surgeries.

Fisher had to replace two of his CB's from 2012 season ..so he was able to go find & sign three decent prospects...a real good sized Robert Steeples 6-2 190, a very fast quick solid Brandon McGee 5-11 193 and Drew Thomas. To go with Finnegan, Jenkins & Trumaine Johnson who was also seen playing some FS in OTA's.

Strong Safeties:
Darian Stewart
TJ McDonald
Matt Daniels
Free Safeties:
Rodney McLeod
Cody Davis
Quinton Porter
Don Unamba
Cannon Smith
CB's
Finnegan (Nickel)
Trumaine Johnson
JJ Jenkins
Robert Steeples
Drew Thomas
Brandon McGee (Nickel)

In conclusion I have very high hopes for this cadre of DB's over last years and very well pleased in what I have seen thus far! :ja:

 

[albefree69]

BonifayRam added to the discussion:
I would say first that Fisher tried hard to address the secondary as best he could in the off season. The hiring of Tim Walton to go with Chuck Cecil was a power move IMO. When you release both your 2012 starting safeties you know Fisher wants vast improvement. This new DC with an excellent knowledge in developing young DB's. This safety area is UNDER DEVELOPMENT. WE do know a little bit that's turned up ...the Rams most experienced safety with 3 yrs of NFL experience well over a dozen starts ... Darian Stewart is #1 Strong Safety 5-11 215 pounds. Presently TJ McDonald is playing behind him with the #2's. I would also expect to see TJ getting some action @ deep free safety too. Last yrs surprise roster maker was UDFA Rodney McLeod 5-11 183 who played in all 16 games and saw some action @ FS early in 2012. He was starting next to Stewart. UDFA Cody Davis the 6-2 205 pounds was behind Rod.

If I stopped there with just those four safeties in 2013 when you look back @ last season where we had the real short and limited Mikell @ SS & another pure Strong Safety Dahl playing deep free safety absent any speed or range.....I'll take the two new guys as being a very good improvement materials for development. Fisher has gained 7 inches alone just in height & even more in arm & jumping ability in adding two safeties TJ & Cody into our secondary minus the shorter Mikell & Dahl. IMO Stewart is much better than Mikell. Rod may be green but he was our best gunner and has speed and will tackle you more than I can say about Dahl who was always late.

Fisher did not stop with those two safeties he also shifted last yrs 5th CB Quinton Porter to Free Safety. Two other UDFA's should also figure in some of this FS development are Don Unamba who is 6 ft 196 pounds and Cannon Smith who is bigger 6 ft 205. pounds. Another 2012 safety who returned this yr is Matthews Daniels 6-0 211 who is well known as a playmaker but from the strong safety post behind Stewart & TJ. Daniels has been slowed by two back to back knee surgeries.

Fisher had to replace two of his CB's from 2012 season ..so he was able to go find & sign three decent prospects...a real good sized Robert Steeples 6-2 190, a very fast quick solid Brandon McGee 5-11 193 and Drew Thomas. To go with Finnegan, Jenkins & Trumaine Johnson who was also seen playing some FS in OTA's.

Strong Safeties:
Darian Stewart
TJ McDonald
Matt Daniels
Free Safeties:
Rodney McLeod
Cody Davis
Quinton Porter (Quinton Pointer)
Don Unamba
Cannon Smith
CB's
Finnegan (Nickel)
Trumaine Johnson
JJ Jenkins
Robert Steeples
Drew Thomas
Brandon McGee (Nickel)

In conclusion I have very high hopes for this cadre of DB's over last years and very well pleased in what I have seen thus far! :ja:

Well first of all let me say that I love your optimism!

The good stuff from your post:
1) Hiring Walton was a good move. I really like all our position coaches and Kroenke really stepped up there.
2) I like the improvement in our safeties measurables like height and speed over the dismal starters we had last year.

The stuff that's only good to me (I feel like Peter King):
1) I like your confirmation about my assessment that Stewart and McDonald have the same skill set.

The bad stuff from your post:
1) You say that last years Safety group was miserable and I agree. With your next breath you talk about replacing them with players like McLeod who weren't even as good as Dahl or Mikell or they would have started. So that's already a downgrade at FS.
2A) I'm relying on my memory here but I believe that Fisher was asked about moving Quinton Pointer (not Porter) to safety and he said no.

<a class="postlink" href="http://blog.stlouisrams.com/2012/12/03/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://blog.stlouisrams.com/2012/12/03/</a>
"A final note that we didn’t get to cover except in the running blog yesterday: the Rams activated rookie LB Sammy Brown from the practice squad and released CB Quinton Pointer to make room. Fisher said it was time to get Brown some opportunities on special teams and noted the fine work Brown has done on scout team this year. It’s likely Pointer will be brought back to the practice squad assuming he clears waivers."

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2012/8/31/3284244/st-louis-rams-53-man-roster" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2012/8/31/ ... man-roster</a>
Defense
DE (4): Chris Long, Robert Quinn, William Hayes, Eugene Sims
DT (5): Kendall Langford, Michael Brockers, Jermelle Cudjo, Matt Conrath, Darell Scott
LB (6): James Laurinaitis, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Mario Haggan, Rocky McIntosh, Josh Hull, Justin Cole
CB (6): Cortland Finnegan, Janoris Jenkins, Trumaine Johnson, Jerome Murphy, Bradley Fletcher, Quinton Pointer
S (5): Quintin Mikell, Craig Dahl, Darian Stewart, Rodney McLeod, Matt Daniels

2B) So not only is Pointer still a CB he wasn't even good enough to stay on the 53 man roster.
3) As I look at your list at FS (even if we include Pointer) I see nothing but UDFAs that were UDFAs for good reason. Not only are they all UDFAs, they also couldn't beat out the crappy safeties we had last year.

In conclusion:
I agree with your comment "This safety area is UNDER DEVELOPMENT." but I find no solace in that. Two of our projected starters (from your list) weren't even good enough to oust last years group.

All our UDFAs have a glimmer of promise or we wouldn't have them but there is no logical reason why we should expect much from any of them. I'm hopeful as always about everyone on our roster but I'm certainly not as optimistic about them as you are.

But like I said, I love your optimism!

 

[ShaneG]

I like the sound of setting this as a goal, Shane.

Both Long and Quinn have 15 sack potential. So its not an outrageous thought.

Yes, indeed. Agree that both have that potential. I feel Quinn is just scratching the surface and Long's "stand up" routine seemed to work great for him.

Although I see the sack record as a long-shot, setting this century's record (which would be 67) is certainly in reach, imo.

 

[ShaneG]

Hey Shane!

Good stuff as always. I wasn't sure you posted here and I'm very happy to learn you do. :yahoo:

This year, the defense is expected to use more press coverage and generally play tighter at corner, something that should diminish the frequency of the far-too-many easily completed short passes we witnessed last season.

One can only hope. That and actually being able to cover a TE would make my season. I'm hoping Ogletree/McDonald will help in that area. If McDonald is gonna be our SS then I guess he'll be responsible covering at least one of their TEs don't you think?

I'm hoping for much more from Langford and Brockers in the sack department. Especially Langford. He appeared to be coming on late in the season.

Yes, covering the TE would help immensely -- not just in regard to potential sacks and pressures -- but in helping this D as a whole.

The Rams have struggled to cover TE's effectively for years. They did make some progress last year, but there's certainly room for continued improvement.

 

[ShaneG]

Hey Shane!

Good stuff as always. I wasn't sure you posted here and I'm very happy to learn you do. :yahoo:

This year, the defense is expected to use more press coverage and generally play tighter at corner, something that should diminish the frequency of the far-too-many easily completed short passes we witnessed last season.

One can only hope. That and actually being able to cover a TE would make my season. I'm hoping Ogletree/McDonald will help in that area. If McDonald is gonna be our SS then I guess he'll be responsible covering at least one of their TEs don't you think?

I'm hoping for much more from Langford and Brockers in the sack department. Especially Langford. He appeared to be coming on late in the season.

I've always been a fan of Cudjo..Maybe it's a Steven King thing.

Just think he's gonna be this season's Hayes.

If so, what a bonus for St. Louis.