FA offensive line preview

UFA OL as of 02/17/2009 (from kffl.com)
RamView's Top 5 Ts: 1 - Jordan Gross (signed) 2 - Vernon Carey (signed) 3 - Tra Thomas 4 - Kirk Chambers 5 - Daniel Loper
Top 5 Gs: 1 - Mike Goff 2 - Russ Hochstein 3 - Jason Fabini 4 - Kynan Forney 5 - Joe Berger
Top 5 Cs: 1 - Jeff Saturday 2 - Matt Birk 3 - Jason Brown 4 - Jake Grove 5 - Geoff Hangartner

Sleepers: Loper, Berger, Hangartner

Gawd No: George Foster, Milford Brown, Jeremy Newberry

Rams FAs: OTs Adam Goldberg and Brandon Gorin are unrestricted free agents; G Richie Incognito is restricted.

Rams analysis: Recent reports now indicate that Orlando Pace, as well as Torry Holt, won't be back with the Rams in 2009. Neither appear willing to restructure their contracts. I don't know why I was surprised to hear Pace wouldn't restructure. When has the guy ever taken less than the absolute top dollar he could get? This time, though, the Rams are too cap-strapped to bend over backwards for Pace, even though he's going to the Hall of Fame and is still their best pass-protector right now. That leaves the Rams a highly fuzzy future at LT. Alex Barron is in his walk year and should probably be left at RT if he's on the roster. The other backups are journeymen Goldberg, Gorin and a fairly unknown quantity in Anthony Davis. Good thing the Rams have that #2 overall pick. Goldberg's versatile enough to be a priority re-signing, but Gorin's coming off a season-ending knee injury last preseason and likely won't be back. On the interior, another priority for the Rams is a long-term solution at center, where they're currently undersized and underskilled. Brett Romberg's the only one of the three centers on the current roster (Nick Leckey, Cory Withrow) with much chance of returning. Romberg was game in 2007 but is proving to be neither big nor strong enough to anchor the position. Jacob Bell was a multimillion-dollar disappointment at LG last year; promising '08 draft pick John Greco could easily beat him out there and kick him out to RT. The enigmatic, to say the least, Richie Incognito is too good a run-blocker for the run-focused Steve Spagnuolo to let him get away despite penalty and discipline issues. '08 fifth-round draft pick Roy Schuening needs to have a big training camp; he's probably a dark-horse to make the team. Coming off his second straight year with a season-ending injury, Mark Setterstrom is a much longer shot.

Viewing the field: RamView hated the current free agent market for tackles even before Jordan Gross and Vernon Carey came off the top of it by resigning with their old teams. Half of the class is coming off season-ending injuries or couldn't even cut it with DETROIT (like Foster). I've never been that impressed with Gross, who's never lived up to his high draft status and certainly isn't worthy of being paid more than any other offensive lineman. Carey would have made the Rams bigger but not necessarily better. Dolphins Nation will tell you their team couldn't run between the tackles last season. Thomas has been to three Pro Bowls, but his play seems to be dropping off, and being in his mid-thirties, isn't the long-term solution the Rams need. Chambers and Loper are basically Adam Goldberg. Loper is two years younger at 27 and is a better athlete with good hands and good feet as a pass blocker. Like Goldberg, he can play anywhere on the line, though it has been for Tennessee, which hasn't exactly been a free agent gold mine for Rams Park. RamView ruled out Fred Miller for age and career-long penalty issues, Khalif Barnes for off-field issues and Max Starks for being Alex Barron without having Alex's durability. It's a bad, bad tackle market, and the Rams would be much better served picking up tackles in the draft and keeping the guys they have, even Barron. For the price you'll pay, Barron's as good as any free agent deal I can picture.

It's too bad the Rams probably won't look too hard for guards, unless they share the sentiment of many fans as far as running Incognito out of town on a rail. The guard market is stacked with great veterans, like Goff and Hochstein, in their early 30s with a few good years left. Berger's another version of Goldberg. He's a young guy stuck on the bench in Dallas but he's got good physical skills at guard, a good pull blocker who can get outside fast and pancake guys. Or, if Steve Loney wants to send ME out of town on a rail, and screaming, he'll lobby to get his old buddy Milf Brown back.

The top of the talent pool at center is also great, though there's no way the Colts let Saturday get away. The Rams have expressed interest in Birk, the 33-year-old Harvard grad who's been great for the Vikings. He holds his ground well, blocks well on the move and is a good pass-protector. Plus you figure a Harvard man won't screw up assignments, OR FORGET SNAP COUNTS, very often. He's everything the Rams lack in a center right now. Now go Google "Matt Birk" and see how many other teams are also interested in going after him. Whoever gets him is going to pay a LOT of money for an older offensive lineman. That makes Baltimore's Jason Brown, who I was calling for in the 2005 draft before the Rams drafted Incognito and (gulp) Jerome Carter, a very attractive option; he'll only be 26 when the season starts. Baltimore just cut Chris McAllister to clear a bunch of room under their cap, though. Carolina's Hangartner is only 26, is considered a very strong run-blocker, and is going to be stuck behind Ryan Kalil if he stays a Panther. He's the kind of player who'd be ideal for the Rams, coming into a starting situation right away.

RamView's moves: I'm writing these reviews in the right order: with Michael Crabtree's draft stock getting almost two inches shorter over the weekend at the combine, he's been replaced by Baylor tackle Jason Smith atop my BPA list. Now, if Detroit just doesn't take Smith at #1... Smith's going to have to step right in at LT, assuming the Rams can't keep Pace. Goldberg's almost becoming a MUST sign at this point, to back up the tackle positions at least, if not actually to start at one or another. My desire to get rid of Barron is strong enough to go after someone like Jon Stinchcomb off the Saints' line. I can go into 2009 with Bell and Incognito as starting guards, knowing I have Greco to step in for either right away. Romberg is good depth at center but not what I want in a starter. There are a lot of folks out there calling Alex Mack of Cal the greatest college center ever while at the same time saying the Rams can get him with their second round pick. If he's that great, shouldn't the Rams trade up to make sure they get him?

RamView's tentative 2009 offensive line:
LT - Jason Smith, Stinchcomb
LG - Greco, Bell
C - Mack, Romberg
RG - Incognito, Schuening
RT - Goldberg, Bell

What the Rams could do: With Pace gone and a free agent market weaker than a month-old diet Coke, the Rams have no choice but to upgrade their offensive line through the draft. The #2 overall pick HAS to be a tackle, either Jason Smith or maybe Eugene Monroe. Barron will stay at RT, Incognito at LG. With Pace's and Holt's departures leaving a large amount of cap space, they'll go hot and heavy after Birk.

Prediction: Jason Smith at LT, Birk at C, Barron at RT, Incognito at RG, Greco eventually beating out Bell at LG. That group has a shot at improvement over last year's offensive line, IF Smith plays somewhere close to Jake Long as a rookie, Birk has enough gas left in his tank, everyone stays healthy and Steve Loney can knit them together as a group by midseason. This year's going to be too soon, I fear, to look for a big turnaround on the offensive line, but barring any disasters, it could be the Rams' rock in 2010.

Nobody the Rams get this year is going to make anyone forget Orlando Pace, nor should they. Pace anchored a Super Bowl champion offensive line and was named to countless all-pro teams. He's going to the Hall of Fame, right there with Jackie Slater for greatest Rams offensive lineman, right there with Dan Dierdorf for greatest St. Louis offensive lineman. He has been a great asset to the St. Louis community while never seeking the spotlight for his charity efforts. A player of rare quality on the field and just as rare quality off of it. Sure, we all wish he'd never hired Carl Poston, and oh, yeah, we wish he'd restructure his contract now and finish out his career here as a Ram. But if anybody understands the just-a-business nature of the NFL, it's Orlando Pace, and we hope when he does leave St. Louis, it will be with as many good memories as we have of him here.