I would think one of their four Day 2 (2nd/3rd round) picks is used on an OL. I would keep Havenstein another year but give Evans more work at RT in OTAs and camp. He held up well there in his 2019 starts.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I haven't been to Detroit since 2008 but good point.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Wow, I mean, what can you say.....by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Yeah, good point. I just think they should find a way to keep Pleasant.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Seems wasteful not to and to allow one of their best assistants to leave.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
With Blythe a FA that is the obvious place to start. And I'd let Allen go and find another backup center too. So likely one in FA and one in the Draft. Which could/would start TBD. Seems like Whitworth will return and with Noteboom a good 6th man/backup they can put off LT until 2022 (when they have a 1st round pick again and probably 5 selections in the top 3 rounds).by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
The issue with Blythe is not that he is a bad player. He is not. The issue, I think, is you can have some guys in the interior OL that are relatively smaller but you need to have at least one across those three who can really move people inside. With the Rams having 4 OGs and Blythe being an UFA center is simply the most logical spot to address/upgrade. If Blythe moves on to a team that has bby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Just not the time to go handing out another $15M+/yr. contract. Ideal scenario is Floyd and Johnson get paid well enough that Rams net 3rd and 4th round comp picks in 2022. Combined with the extra 3rd for Holmes going to Detroit and having their own 1st, 2nd and 3rd they would have 5 picks in the top 3 rounds of the 2022 Draft.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Depending on what he gets paid the Rams will get at least a 4th round compensatory pick and possibly a 3rd. And you're right, he's been great for the Rams for 4 years but between the asking price and what they have in house with Fuller, Burgess, Rapp and Scott they have to let him go.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Was doing the extensions TWO years ahead of time. Period. Simply do NOT extend someone when they have more than one year left on their deal. Austin. Gurley. Goff. Would have helped in all cases. In the case of Austin he would not have received an extension at all. Gurley? If they had waited until after the 2018 season ended (vs. the summer before) do you think the Rams give him the same deal? Noby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Ha! Good point. Rams also blocked a punt for a TD in that game. Hurt their rankings...by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Love it and pretty much agree at least partially with everything there. On the OL, I was surprised by the PFF #2 ranking thing too. If someone asked me to rank the Rams OL or where I think it was I'd have said "maybe 12th, 13th." It was not a bad unit. And it was much better than 2019. But was it elite/top 5? No way... Really big, physical DLs were a bad matchup for them. Could theyby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
First, anytime you can have an elite player at a position it's plus. For sure. Whether it's QB, WR, OG, CB, ILB, whatever. I loved all the guys you mention- Reynolds, Ekern, Collins. I was pissed in 2012 when the Rams passed on Bobby Wagner (or Lavonte David) too. If the Rams stumbled into a really good ILB because he's slipped and the value is just too good, great. In the 49ers case withby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Previous 6 seasons 2020 (JAC): Rick Gosselin ST rankings: 13th Football Outsiders: 18th 2019 (JAC): Rick Gosselin ST rankings: 5th Football Outsiders: 6th 2018 (JAC): Rick Gosselin ST rankings: 7th Football Outsiders: 4th 2017 (JAC): Rick Gosselin ST rankings: 24th Football Outsiders: 24th 2016 (DEN): Rick Gosselin ST rankings: 19th Football Outsiders: 24thby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Rams assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Barry is expected to join Staley’s cross-town staff. Via PFT.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
That, to me, is the biggest issue and lesson hopefully learned. Extending 1st round picks after their 3rd seasons vs. simply picking up their 5th year option and then deciding on extensions after year 4. In the cases of Tavon Austin, Todd Gurley and Jared Goff if that had happened extensions might have looked very different. In the case of Austin, of course, the extension never should have haby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Knows the system- which is highly dependent on DBs. Players really respect him. He has earned it. And if they go with Morris or someone else externally I would bet they lose Pleasant elsewhere. Would be unnecessary disruption.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Also echoed by Jourdan R. and Rich H. in the 11 Personnel podcast this year. The Rams aren't asking Jared to make something from nothing, improvise, etc. Operate within the construct of the scheme, be smart and safe. There have to be some other things going on (OL confidence- or lack thereof in some situations) given how condensed the offense became this year. In the video they talk about somby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
In a year when the Rams have some soul searching to do on offense and some restocking to do on defense they also REALLY need to improve special teams. I think in the NFL to win you need at least one unit (O/D/ST) that's top-10 and the other two that are at least mediocre. You can't be bottom tier in anything and the Rams were clearly bottom-tier in special teams. See Rick Gosselin's 2021 specby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
They obviously need to tender him at a 1st round level. But I don't think a team like Detroit (7th overall pick) or Chargers (13th) would come after him. I think it would be somebody in the bottom 5 of the 1st round.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I wonder if there are any numbers about how many routes he ran this year vs. being kept in to block, etc. I have no idea. But overall he averaged 4 targets/game this year which isn't enough for a guy of his talent (and salary). For most of his starting career (2017 through mid-2019) he averaged less than 3 targets per game. Then came that 5-game stretch at the end of 2019 when it was above 11by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Well, yes, I agree with you completely. Thats why I like to look at QB rating AND the ESPN QBR AND FootballOutsiders and PFFs ratings because those look more at situations like that and competition etc. and the general average of all those gives you a sense of where a QB really is. And in Goffs case in 2020 that was about 21st in the league among starting QBs. Not good enough at all. But agaiby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Which would also be all the more reason to elevate Aubrey Pleasant to DC.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Yeah, at CB if they give Williams a 1st round tender and still lose him obviously CB catapults up to their biggest need. But adding a 2nd rounder at CB could make sense because even if they retain Williams for 2021 it's very much TBD they can keep him long-term. Agree about the interior OL. I think you can have guys that are on the smaller side, more agile, etc. But not all three starters. Youby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Same reasons. It would be great to have any of them take huge 2nd year steps forward- and I think several will- but I think Lewis doing so would have the biggest positive impact for the team.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I'm not defending Goff as not having some big issues to work through. But overall I don't agree with the "this is LA, the QB needs to light it up" theory. Now, he's DONE that before- 2017 and 2018 (and games here and there since). But you can have a 100+ QB rating a lot of different ways. Heck, Warner won his 2nd MVP in a year that he threw 22 INTs. His other numbers were off the chartsby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
I think it's OK to say both- that Goff was below average overall when it comes to the entire 2020 season (23rd in passer rating and ESPN's QBR rating, rated 20th by Football Outsiders and 22nd by PFF) AND that he was pretty good in the postseason- especially considering the thumb issue and limited practice pre-SEA. 100.7 QB rating in the two games. The QB rating calculator rewards efficiencyby LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com
Good catch, thanks. So 57, 88, 101 and 102 in the top 3 rounds. They have done pretty well in that range but it's a challenge to keep doing it. But based on their needs definitely feasible.by LMU93 - RamsFootballFans.com