Orlando Pace says in an interview with the Post-Dispatch published today that he intends to return next season. As the article mentions, it's not a crazy question to ask him - he's played 11 years now and has missed most of the last two with major injuries.
It's great to know Orlando's intentions early since it could have had a major impact on the Rams' 2008 draft strategy. Without Orlando, they probably would have to look for a tackle with their likely top-5 first round pick. With Orlando, although he didn't look like his old self before his injury, they're still set at the starting tackle positions and just need to fill out the depth. They can do that with a later draft pick or a veteran FA signing. I'd think about doing both. The timeline in the article has Orlando fully recovering by May, easily in time for training camp.
So I'm definitely ruling out offensive line (no guard or center out there's worth a high first-rounder) for the Rams' first-round pick in April. I'll continue the evolving process of elimination in future posts.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Top Rams so far in 2007
I was just thinking back to July when I put together a top-ten list of the Rams' most indispensable players. It went like this:
1-Jackson, 2-Bulger, 3-Holt, 4-Wilkins, 5-Little, 6-Witherspoon, 7-Carriker, 8-Tinoisamoa, 9-Pace, 10-Bennett.
Now that we're nearly at the halfway point, the question is, which Rams are having the best seasons? My choices:
1-Torry Holt. I know he's been off this season due to his knee injury, but he's almost the only Ram capable of finding the end zone this year. The brief burst of offensive play-calling competence in the 3rd quarter of last week's game shows what the Rams would be getting out of Torry if they used him correctly.
2-Will Witherspoon. Isn't always where he needs to be, but he's having a solid season. The Seattle game, in which he was all over the field and was credited with 16 tackles, showed Will at his best.
3-Donnie Jones. A big sign your team is terrible is when the punter is one of the best players. Jones is averaging over 50 yards a punt and has been one of the few pleasant surprises this year. He's the only Ram with a realistic chance to make the Pro Bowl. I'd rate him higher if his first punt every game wasn't a clunker, if he weren't outkicking his coverage, and if he'd punt fewer punts in the end zone.
4-Tye Hill. Subtract one long Steve Smith TD (where Smith illegally pushed off), and Hill would be having a fantastic season. The freak back injury also knocked him down a bit. He's not getting beaten by anybody, and opponents are throwing away from him. He's been a terrific pick.
5-Cliff Ryan. Another terrific pick. Ryan has played with a high motor, and his emergence as a force stuffing the run has improved the Ram run defense by a lot.
6-Adam Carriker. His game hasn't leaped off the page the way Ryan's has, but Adam has been strong against the run and is really coming on the last couple of weeks. He has definitely validated his first-round draft status.
7-James Hall. Like the rest of the defense, not much of a pass rusher, but he has been solid against the run and has quite a few tackles-for-loss. Opponents run at Leonard Little, not at Hall. James has delivered on his end of the defensive line. Ryan, Carriker and Hall are big factors in the run defense's noticeable improvement.
8.....Chris Massey. Yep, it really is this desperate at this point, that I have to list the long snapper as one of the Rams' best players. But once again this season, Massey hasn't messed up a snap, and that competence and consistency is an oasis in this wasteland of a season.
9. OJ Atogwe. Tackles better and stops the run better than last year. Biggest improvement seems to be in getting his coverage assignments down, which he was bad at last year. I can't come up with a long pass completed against the Rams because Atogwe screwed up and wasn't there to help, though Steve Smith's TD against Hill might have been an instance.
10. Dante Hall. Lost the 49er game with a boneheaded fumble, and has missed about half the season with an ankle injury, but has also shown the quickness and ability to make people miss that he was brought here for, and which has made him one of the Rams' few legitimate weapons this year.
And that top 10 goes a long way toward showing why the Rams are the pathetic 0-and-7 that they are. The QB's not there. No RB is there. No offensive lineman is there. (I'd put Alex Barron at 11.) The lead pass rusher's not there. And if Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson and Leonard Little and some of the others who are supposed to carry the team don't get to where they're outplaying the team's kick returner, punter or long snapper, it's going to continue to be a very, very long season.
1-Jackson, 2-Bulger, 3-Holt, 4-Wilkins, 5-Little, 6-Witherspoon, 7-Carriker, 8-Tinoisamoa, 9-Pace, 10-Bennett.
Now that we're nearly at the halfway point, the question is, which Rams are having the best seasons? My choices:
1-Torry Holt. I know he's been off this season due to his knee injury, but he's almost the only Ram capable of finding the end zone this year. The brief burst of offensive play-calling competence in the 3rd quarter of last week's game shows what the Rams would be getting out of Torry if they used him correctly.
2-Will Witherspoon. Isn't always where he needs to be, but he's having a solid season. The Seattle game, in which he was all over the field and was credited with 16 tackles, showed Will at his best.
3-Donnie Jones. A big sign your team is terrible is when the punter is one of the best players. Jones is averaging over 50 yards a punt and has been one of the few pleasant surprises this year. He's the only Ram with a realistic chance to make the Pro Bowl. I'd rate him higher if his first punt every game wasn't a clunker, if he weren't outkicking his coverage, and if he'd punt fewer punts in the end zone.
4-Tye Hill. Subtract one long Steve Smith TD (where Smith illegally pushed off), and Hill would be having a fantastic season. The freak back injury also knocked him down a bit. He's not getting beaten by anybody, and opponents are throwing away from him. He's been a terrific pick.
5-Cliff Ryan. Another terrific pick. Ryan has played with a high motor, and his emergence as a force stuffing the run has improved the Ram run defense by a lot.
6-Adam Carriker. His game hasn't leaped off the page the way Ryan's has, but Adam has been strong against the run and is really coming on the last couple of weeks. He has definitely validated his first-round draft status.
7-James Hall. Like the rest of the defense, not much of a pass rusher, but he has been solid against the run and has quite a few tackles-for-loss. Opponents run at Leonard Little, not at Hall. James has delivered on his end of the defensive line. Ryan, Carriker and Hall are big factors in the run defense's noticeable improvement.
8.....Chris Massey. Yep, it really is this desperate at this point, that I have to list the long snapper as one of the Rams' best players. But once again this season, Massey hasn't messed up a snap, and that competence and consistency is an oasis in this wasteland of a season.
9. OJ Atogwe. Tackles better and stops the run better than last year. Biggest improvement seems to be in getting his coverage assignments down, which he was bad at last year. I can't come up with a long pass completed against the Rams because Atogwe screwed up and wasn't there to help, though Steve Smith's TD against Hill might have been an instance.
10. Dante Hall. Lost the 49er game with a boneheaded fumble, and has missed about half the season with an ankle injury, but has also shown the quickness and ability to make people miss that he was brought here for, and which has made him one of the Rams' few legitimate weapons this year.
And that top 10 goes a long way toward showing why the Rams are the pathetic 0-and-7 that they are. The QB's not there. No RB is there. No offensive lineman is there. (I'd put Alex Barron at 11.) The lead pass rusher's not there. And if Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson and Leonard Little and some of the others who are supposed to carry the team don't get to where they're outplaying the team's kick returner, punter or long snapper, it's going to continue to be a very, very long season.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Cut Claude Terrell NOW
He's run around Rams Park in a Michael Vick jersey.
He's attended team meetings with a bowl of cereal in tow.
He's mouthed off to the head coach.
And now, he's assaulted his wife.
If Scott Linehan doesn't cut Terrell today, he really doesn't deserve to coach here anymore.
You can't keep character cancers like Claude Terrell on the team. You just can't. Claude is step #1 toward giving the Rams locker room a good cleaning, like the one it got when Dick Vermeil came in.
If Linehan won't throw out the bad apples, somebody else will.
Update: Terrell was cut Tuesday afternoon. Good move, though overdue.
He's attended team meetings with a bowl of cereal in tow.
He's mouthed off to the head coach.
And now, he's assaulted his wife.
If Scott Linehan doesn't cut Terrell today, he really doesn't deserve to coach here anymore.
You can't keep character cancers like Claude Terrell on the team. You just can't. Claude is step #1 toward giving the Rams locker room a good cleaning, like the one it got when Dick Vermeil came in.
If Linehan won't throw out the bad apples, somebody else will.
Update: Terrell was cut Tuesday afternoon. Good move, though overdue.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Draft buzz: OT/Jake Long
So, as it's developed since the last time I blogged, the Rams, instead of having an inside track at the NFC West title or a playoff spot, instead have an inside track at the #1 overall pick in the 2008 Draft thanks to a horrid, injury-filled, poorly-coached 0-6 "run". So now we're seriously entertaining what the Rams should do with that very #1 pick, or a top 5 pick, at worst.
The perils of the Ram offensive line this year make it logical to consider it as a need area, especially the tackle position, which is breaking down with age and injuries. Orlando Pace has missed significant time in two straight seasons and is hardly a lock to bounce back and play like a Pro Bowler in 2008. He didn't look that strong this preseason, to tell the truth, and his Hall-of-Fame career may be on the wane. Todd Steussie is closing in on 40 and he'd be very within reason to call it a wrap after '07. Alex Barron's showing he can play either tackle position, and has shown excellent durability as the Ram offensive line's Last Man Standing, but he's too inconsistent to be considered a star player. Adam Goldberg and Milford Brown are guards who sometimes run around dressed as tackles and have no business there. Brandon Gorin hasn't been around long enough to know if he's remotely a long-term solution.
That's not a pretty picture, but I don't think it calls for use of a high draft pick, either. If Pace bounces back, you have your starting tackles back, and you just have to find a veteran FA or a late-round draft pick to back them up. It's a little gnarlier if Pace doesn't come back for some reason. I'd argue that should mean moving Barron to LT. He's got experience there; he isn't lost at the position; there's good reason to think he'll be good there. With Barron at LT, you're looking for a RT and OT depth, neither of which you would use a first-round pick on. I'd only use the first-round pick on an OT if Pace can't come back and Barron is judged as best to use at RT. Then you'd want to use the high pick on an elite LT, stick him in the lineup like the Browns have with Joe Thomas, and let the QBs fall where they may.
Which brings me to Jake Long, currently NFL Draft Countdown's #1 prospect in the draft. Should the Rams draft Jake Long if he's on the board? This 9/17 War Room "Draft Dish" in the Sporting News gives me pause:
"Widely hyped as the best offensive tackle in the nation and a likely top five pick, Michigan's Jake Long (6-7, 313) is not the elite athlete NFL teams prefer to have at left tackle and more likely will play the right side. He is tough and competitive, but his stiffness and lack of quickness limit him."
Reports like that make me back off the idea of the Rams drafting Jake Long. You don't use a top five pick on a right tackle. The Rams definitely do not need to have a pick that high turn into Robert Gallery, who leaps to mind when I read War Room's analysis.
With no other college tackle currently emerging as a top-five overall candidate, I recommend against the Rams using their first-round pick in 2008 on an OT.
The perils of the Ram offensive line this year make it logical to consider it as a need area, especially the tackle position, which is breaking down with age and injuries. Orlando Pace has missed significant time in two straight seasons and is hardly a lock to bounce back and play like a Pro Bowler in 2008. He didn't look that strong this preseason, to tell the truth, and his Hall-of-Fame career may be on the wane. Todd Steussie is closing in on 40 and he'd be very within reason to call it a wrap after '07. Alex Barron's showing he can play either tackle position, and has shown excellent durability as the Ram offensive line's Last Man Standing, but he's too inconsistent to be considered a star player. Adam Goldberg and Milford Brown are guards who sometimes run around dressed as tackles and have no business there. Brandon Gorin hasn't been around long enough to know if he's remotely a long-term solution.
That's not a pretty picture, but I don't think it calls for use of a high draft pick, either. If Pace bounces back, you have your starting tackles back, and you just have to find a veteran FA or a late-round draft pick to back them up. It's a little gnarlier if Pace doesn't come back for some reason. I'd argue that should mean moving Barron to LT. He's got experience there; he isn't lost at the position; there's good reason to think he'll be good there. With Barron at LT, you're looking for a RT and OT depth, neither of which you would use a first-round pick on. I'd only use the first-round pick on an OT if Pace can't come back and Barron is judged as best to use at RT. Then you'd want to use the high pick on an elite LT, stick him in the lineup like the Browns have with Joe Thomas, and let the QBs fall where they may.
Which brings me to Jake Long, currently NFL Draft Countdown's #1 prospect in the draft. Should the Rams draft Jake Long if he's on the board? This 9/17 War Room "Draft Dish" in the Sporting News gives me pause:
"Widely hyped as the best offensive tackle in the nation and a likely top five pick, Michigan's Jake Long (6-7, 313) is not the elite athlete NFL teams prefer to have at left tackle and more likely will play the right side. He is tough and competitive, but his stiffness and lack of quickness limit him."
Reports like that make me back off the idea of the Rams drafting Jake Long. You don't use a top five pick on a right tackle. The Rams definitely do not need to have a pick that high turn into Robert Gallery, who leaps to mind when I read War Room's analysis.
With no other college tackle currently emerging as a top-five overall candidate, I recommend against the Rams using their first-round pick in 2008 on an OT.
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