Oldnotdead with another optimistic look at Rams roster…

Here’s Oldnotdead…

The knock on Hardy when he was drafted was his strength, so it was really good to hear that he has obviously taken that to heart. Hardy has a whole lot of potential and it looks like he is making strides. When Young was drafted I made the observation that the Rams love to draft based on traits and game film talent. I compared Young to Von Miller coming out of college. I know people didn't take me seriously, but I've seen video of him before the draft and OMG the dude is built. He's got speed and strength which are two important blocks to build upon as an edge. I can't wait till he hits the field for real.

It sounds like between Young, Hoecht, Hardy and Hampton they are already 4 deep at edge, all with excellent positional speed. Both Hoecht and Young bring strength and speed off the edge. Now add it Young and Hampton, they have little dropoff behind them. On passing downs with AD and Murchison inside the Rams will have speed across the board on their DL.

It sounds like the worked Hodges-Tomlinson outside which is where he played in college. If you are an undersized boundry CB speed is a prerequisite. Lack of length shortens a player's effective play radius so a short CB needs to play closer coverage. If they are playing zone then speed is a prerequisite to close with the receiver at the top of his route. That was the problem with Kendrick is he showed a lack of speed to close when in zone.

If the coaches can get Hardy and Hampton to be effective in coverage, they only need one ILB starter (Jones) as both WIL and SAM can be played by an OLB so I'm not overly concerned about their ILB position. Jason Taylor looks like their replacement for Rapp this year and Fuller next year. He's got good size and speed to play the SS position and he looked good in run support in college.

I genuinely like this year's team. They aren't bereft of talent as the media portrays them to be. Stupid media simply go by draft position ignoring the fact that the vast majority of 1st round players don't validate their draft position. If they aren't hit with the massive number of injuries they had last year, this team can be better than most realize.