Free agency micro-preview: offensive line

Top 5 UFA tackles: 1 - Doug Free 2 - Tyson Clabo 3 - Jermon Bushrod 4 - Jeromey Clary 5 - Jammal Brown

Free had a solid first season as Dallas' starting LT. Clabo is well-regarded, another of those Falcon players who just gets the job done. Better pass-protector than run-blocker. San Diego has a very similar player in Clary, but 3 years younger at 27. I get less and less sure what to make of Bushrod. He protects Drew Brees' blindside, and the Saints were a top-5 o-line last year in sacks allowed, but he gives up a lot of pressures. Brown's career has really been set back by injuries, and a problem with him is that he's likely to demand LT playing time, LT pay, or both.

Top 5 UFA centers: 1 - Lyle Sendlein 2 - Kyle Cook 3 - David Baas 4 - Olin Kreutz 5 - Samson Satele

Who? Pro Football Focus ranked Big Dead center Sendlein as the third-best pass-protector at center in 2010, behind only Jeff Saturday and Matt Birk; heady company. Bengal center Cook gets high marks for his leadership and athleticism; good marks for his run-blocking. While PFF calls Baas one of the worst pass-protecting centers in the league, he's the 49ers' top free agent priority, and they're afraid someone's going to swoop in and offer him "Jason Brown money". (Brown is the fifth-BEST pass protector at center, btw.) PFF's stats could be misrepresenting Baas since he switched to center from guard last season. He's likely to improve. Kreutz had a terrible 2010, and is likely on the downside of his career, but he still ranked well in pass protection, and Chicago's line was coming together by the end of last season. The undersized Satele's reputation is as a good pass-blocker, but his numbers don't show it. Still, he's an experienced starter.

Top 5 UFA guards: 1 - Carl Nicks 2 - Marshall Yanda 3 - Harvey Dahl 4 - Daryn Colledge 5 - Robert Gallery

Nicks and Yanda are two of the top young guards in the NFL and are expected to be top re-signing priorities of their respective teams, the Saints and Ravens. Yanda's also very capable at right tackle. Dahl's one of those instigators you always hate until he's on your team, though not the hack Richie Incognito was when he was here. PFF also considers Dahl a top-10 pass-blocker at guard, and, sit down if you're reading this, gives top 20 ratings to Incognito and Jacob Bell. Colledge had a solid 2010 for the Packers at LG, which seems to be his best position. Gallery is actually going to be one of the more interesting free agents to watch. He's played well for Oakland at guard, salvaging a little bit of the treasure trove they paid him to play tackle as the second pick overall in 2006. A lot of teams, including Seattle, sound very interested in him, and he's expecting a(nother) big payday.

Sleepers: Wayne Hunter (t), Ryan Harris (t), Jason Spitz (c), Justin Blalock (g)

Hunter's considered one of the best swing tackles in the league even after giving up 3 sacks in one game last year against Miami. Very strong but better at pass-blocking than run-blocking. Denver isn't expected to re-sign Harris, possibly due to injury problems, but when he's been on the field, he's allowed an impressively-low amount of sacks. Spitz is a powerful, um, road-grader, one of the strongest linemen in the league for his size. Can play center or guard and isn't expected to be re-signed in Green Bay. Falcon linemen are sure getting mentioned a lot in this post, and they're going to have problems keeping everyone. Blalock's a solid run-blocker at LG who can handle a bull-rush, but you can beat him with speed.

Out of the running: Logan Mankins (franchised by New England), Ryan Kalil (franchised by Carolina), Alan Faneca (retired), Will Svitek (re-signed with Atlanta), Daniel Loper (re-signed with Oakland), Mansfield Wrotto (re-signed with Buffalo), Richie Incognito (re-signed with Miami)

Voting present:
Tackles: Khalif Barnes, Matt Light, Jeremy Trueblood, Charlie Johnson, Barry Sims, Mario Henderson, Ryan Cook, Jonathan Scott, Trai Essex, Jon Jansen, Stephon Heyer, Rashad Butler, Guy Whimper, Quinn Ojinnaka, Allen Barbre, Tony Moll, Zach Strief, Pat McQuistan, Rob Petitti, Corey Hilliard, Adam Terry, D'Anthony Batiste

Centers: Chris Spencer, Jonathan Goodwin, Rudy Niswanger, Ben Claxton, Dylan Gandy, Eric Ghiaciuc, Chris Morris

Guards: Kyle Kosier, Deuce Lutui, Davin Joseph, Pork Chop Womack, Max Jean-Gilles, Derrick Dockery, Mike Brisiel, Billy Yates, Tony Ugoh, Mike Pollak, Evan Mathis, Scott Mruczkowski, Chester Pitts, Nick Cole, Kevin Boothe, Kasey Studdard, Tony (Ruh-Roh) Wragge, Reggie Wells, Josh Beekman, Nate Livings, Chris Chester, Leroy Harris

The doctor will see you now: Damien Woody, Willie Colon, Jared Gaither, Mark Setterstrom, Ryan O'Callaghan, Ray Willis, Ben Hamilton, Cory Procter

The financial planner will see you now: Langston Walker (could retire, 2010 season ended by concussion); Casey Wiegmann (working out with Chiefs but hasn't ruled out retirement)

Gawd no: Alex Barron, Sean Locklear. What team in their right mind is going to sign Alex Barron? Would you even sign him for your UFL team? I don't think so. Locklear's turned into Seattle's version of that tackle who's bad, but you still can't get rid of him, like Barron was with the Rams. Maybe this year.

RamView's move: Right guard is where all the action's going to be here; let's dispatch with the rest of the line quickly. Rodger Saffold looks like he's going to be a gem at LT. Jacob Bell at LG and Jason Brown at C don't seem to have lived up to their contracts as run-blockers, but they appear to make up for it as pass-blockers, if you take those numbers at face value, and Josh McDaniels' arrival at Rams Park will certainly increase the emphasis on pass-blocking. Jason Smith's been up-and-down, and injured a lot, at RT; it'd be great if this is the year his game takes the quantum leap to match his 2009 draft position. Renardo Foster was a pleasant surprise in spot duty at both tackle positions. He gives the Rams a level of comfort with their tackle depth; veteran Hank Fraley, who didn't have to take the field last year, should be able to help out at center or guard if needed in an emergency.

There's no such comfort level for the Rams at right guard, where I'm surprised at just how bad Adam Goldberg was last year. Yes, it was pretty apparent he was a liability run-blocking, especially in goal-line and short-yardage situations. What I didn't realize was on top of that, he was also the fifth-worst pass-protector at guard in 2010. That's flat-out bad, worse than I would have graded Goldberg even at mediocre. John Greco stole some reps from Goldberg during the regular season despite missing the better portion of training camp (again) due to (another) injury. It was apparent that he gave the Rams running game more power. And once you see how poorly Goldberg fared as a pass-blocker, how much worse could Greco be? (Seeing Incognito as a top-20 pass-protector makes me want to smash my head into all four pillars, btw.)

Time for Greco to live up to the Nick Kaczur hype he was getting before he was drafted; RamView's installing him as the starting RG in 2011. But keeping a close eye on college guard prospects again for 2012. You lose some versatility if you lose Goldberg, but nothing at guard you can't make up for by signing a veteran such as Max Jean-Gilles or Derrick Dockery.

Shoot the moon: Do what the Raiders did a couple of years ago with Gallery and admit you way overdrafted a guard. We know Jason Smith can maul people. Shuffle him inside and snag one of the top tackles. Heck, really shoot the moon and sign Ryan Harris from the Broncos; he's only given up 3.5 sacks in 24 career starts. He is a big injury gamble, but we're shooting the moon here, and if this slightly-crazy plan works, you've got the mauler the running game needs at RG and an elite or near-elite pass-protector at RT. Worth the gamble? Worth the PR hit the front office's drafting reputation would take? Hey, go big or go home, right?

Prediction: The coaching staff's "body language" from last season is that they like Goldberg - they kept rolling him out there, after all - and don't trust Greco; witness all the times he was inactive, though according to Steve Spagnuolo, it was done to keep Foster active due to injuries at tackle. I think they'll re-sign Goldberg (I'm not against that; I thought he played well as a spot starter before last season, and also note the leadership role he's taken with the linemen during the lockout), install him as the starter and cross their fingers along with everyone else in Rams Nation that Greco takes the RG job from him in training camp and makes Goldberg the swing man on the o-line again.

Up next: defensive line.

Photo: St. Louis Rams

Free agency micro-preview: tight end

Top 5 UFA tight ends: 1 - Zach Miller (Raiders). Pick of the litter: just 25 with back-to-back 60-reception seasons and 8 TDs in that timespan. 2 - Kevin Boss. Coming off hip surgery, but big target and reliable red-zone weapon. 3 - Daniel Graham. Regarded as one of the league's best blocking TEs. 4 - Daniel Fells. Hey, he's just turning 28 and is coming off a 41-catch season. Caught in uncomfortable territory for a TE, though; not a big-play threat, not a consistent red-zone threat, not a dominating run blocker. 5 - Bo Scaife. Really got out of favor in Tennessee; his productivity has dropped by one-third since 2008.

Sleeper: David Thomas. Saint H-back is very smart, a very effective short-area receiver and has given the Rams trouble in past meetings. Saints love him, though, and he's expected to be a high-priority re-signing. Also, he had more catches in each of his last two seasons in New Orleans than he did his first three (two healthy) seasons combined, all in New England under... Josh McDaniels.

Out of the running: Marcedes Lewis (franchised by Jagwires); Owen Daniels (re-signed with Houston); Jeremy Shockey (signed with Carolina); Alex Smith (re-signed with Cleveland); Kris Wilson (re-signed with San Diego); Daniel Coats (re-signed with Denver)

Voting present: Donald Lee, Jeff King, Leonard Pope, Matt Spaeth, Jonathan Stupar, Dante Rosario, Desmond Clark, Steven SPACH, Tory Humphrey, Derek Schouman, Ben Patrick, John Gilmore, Anthony Becht, Greg Estandia, Reggie Kelly

The doctor will see you now: Joey Haynos, Brad Cottam, Chris Baker

Gawd no: Randy McMichael, Darcy Johnson, Jerramy Stevens. If he's quit dropping everything in sight like he did his last season in St. Louis, McMichael is still a role player at best, and I wouldn't rely on him for a key block. I still don't know how Johnson made the Rams' regular season roster last year. Stevens should forever consider himself lucky not to be in jail.

RamView's move: Michael Hoomanawanui, who was a tantalizingly-good receiver when healthy in 2010, and 2nd-round draft pick Lance Kendricks figure to be the main receiving and field-opening options at TE, so RamView is all about getting somebody to knock some heads. I started the idea as a joke, but a mauler blocking TE really is a big need for the Rams and could well be one of the first items they address in free agency. I like Daniel Fells and Billy Bajema, but how many times have you heard either's name called for throwing a big block on a play? Think a big masher out on the end might not have helped the Rams running game a few times last year, especially on goal-line and short-yardage situations? Get a tight end that can seal the edge, and maybe the running game diversifies beyond its 90% Jackson-up-the-middle tendencies.

That's what has gotten me interested in picking up a veteran blocking TE like Daniel Graham, who's not only still considered one of the better blocking TEs around, he's also played in Josh McDaniels' offense in New England and in Denver. Hurdles to signing Graham, though: he's a Colorado native and could try to re-sign with the Broncos even though they cut him in March; he preceded McDaniels at both of their stops and may not actually be one of McDaniels' "guys"; Seattle is said to be very interested, and Graham played for Seahawks o-line coach/woman-beater Tom Cable in college.

As for Fendi Onobun, he hit the injured reserve last year with a ton of potential, but with little blocking experience, and with Kendricks aboard, he may have already missed his window here. Without a quantum leap in training camp, he's likely to spend a lot of time on the practice squad waiting for someone to get injured.

Shoot the moon: The Rams actually already shot the moon at TE when they drafted Lance Kendricks in the 2nd round of this year's draft, an aggressive move aimed at opening up their sputtering offense, and an interesting priority given Josh McDaniels' sparse use of tight ends in the past. Expectations will be high on Kendricks from day one, though. OK, kid, step on up and be Aaron Hernandez. If Kendricks and McDaniels can make that happen, the Ram offense, and franchise, will have taken a giant step toward returning to the top of the league.

Prediction: The Rams almost didn't keep Fells last year. McDaniels is said to like him, but at the same time, probably doesn't have that much of a role for him, and I don't expect Fells to fancy staying around to be a blocking TE. I'll guess Daniel for a Cleveland Browns uniform in 2011 and Billy Bajema as the third TE here, with Britt Miller getting looks there as well.

Up next: offensive line.

Photo: KDVR-TV (Denver)

Free agency micro-preview: wide receivers

Top 5 UFA WRs: 1 - Sidney Rice. Big, young, had major breakout season in 2009, but how's his hip? 2 - Santonio Holmes. Fast, develops chemistry with QBs quickly, one of the best clutch receivers in the league. 3 - Santana Moss. 93 catches last season and a surprisingly effective deep threat for a 32-year-old. 4 - Lance Moore. Productive slot receiver with 10 and 8 TDs his last two healthy seasons. 5 - Braylon Edwards. Capable big WR and deep threat but a known head case.

Sleepers: Jacoby Jones, James Jones. Jacoby the Texan has size, youth and blazing speed, and was starting to put it all together at the end of last season. He was a popular pick for breakout WR heading into 2010; maybe the pundits were just a year early. James the Packer is said to have elite starter talent, and is frequently compared to Anquan Boldin, but he drops a lot of passes.

Out of the running: Vincent Jackson (franchised by San Diego), Mike Williams (re-signed with Seattle), Ben Obomanu (re-signed with Seattle), Derrick Mason (re-signed with Baltimore), Darius Reynaud (re-signed with the Giants), Domenik Hixon (re-signed with the Giants), Jason Hill (re-signed with the Jagwires), Torry Holt (NFL Network)

Voting present: Steve Breaston, Malcom Floyd, Mike Sims-Walker, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Brandon Stokley, Brad Smith, Rashied Davis, Courtney Roby, Derek Hagan, Brian Finneran, David Clowney, Sam Hurd, Kelley Washington, Devin Aromashodu, Antonio Bryant, Ruvell FREAKING Martin, Chansi Stuckey, Maurice Stovall, Michael Clayton, Terrance Copper, Demetrius Williams, Keenan Burton, Joey Galloway, Dennis Northcutt, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Kevin Curtis, Greg Lewis, Troy Williamson. A long list, but pretty slim pickings. Breaston has a ton of positives but you'd be adding another bad knee to a receiving corps that's already had a lot of blowouts. Floyd's big but can't stay on the field. Sims-Walker seemed to disappear in every game last year but a couple.

The doctor will see you now: Steve Smith (Giants), Mike Furrey, Isaiah Stanback

Gawd no: Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Plaxico Burress, Dwayne Jarrett, Hank Baskett, Legedu Naanee. Moss' act has clearly worn thin around the NFL. Stallworth was an absolute bust in Baltimore last year (2 catches) and wouldn't be worth the bad PR. Burress is more likely a gawd-no from the Rams; I'm mostly ambivalent about the guy. Jarrett's up for his 2nd DWI charge in 3 years. Baskett's only notable for marrying a Playmate, and boy, did I have a much crueler way to phrase that originally. Naanee had a drunken fight with police this offseason but deserves even more scorn for fooling fantasy leaguers into thinking he'd be a decent waiver pickup after the first game last season. Yes, I fell for it.

Gawd no update: Why did I ever decide to give Terrell Owens the benefit of the doubt? If he even plays this year now, he'll be coming off recent surgery to fix an ACL reportedly torn while making his VH1 reality show. What an idiot.

RamView's move: More than anywhere else last season, the wide receiver position was where the Rams ran aground, so the team stocked up on big, sure-handed receivers and red-zone threats by drafting Austin Pettis and Greg Salas. Danny Amendola will certainly stick as a slot receiver and ought to thrive in Josh McDaniels' offense. Beyond them, it'll be a dogfight to make the team at WR. Danario Alexander flashed as a deep threat but showed a lot of rough edges. And knees about as sturdy as Joe Namath's. Donnie Avery might have Brandon Lloyd potential, or he might not make it out of training camp. Again. Based on his flurry of productivity as soon as he came to replace Avery last season, you'd call Mark Clayton the Rams' #1 wideout, but he's coming off a torn patellar tendon and still has to be signed to a contract. The main thing Laurent Robinson has going for him right now is that the coaches seem to like him. Brandon Gibson wishes he could say the same.

RamView's move, though, shocked as I am to say it, is no move at all. Rice is the only member of this FA class who impresses me enough to justify making a major move, and I don't know enough about his hip condition to say signing him would be a good idea. And he's had just the one huge season, which to me increases the gamble. Sure, I'd take Breaston over Avery, and either Jacoby or James Jones might have #1 WR potential here, but tinkering around the edges with moves like those isn't going to get the Rams much bang for their free-agent buck. A healthy Rice is the only feasible pickup I'd recommend to the Rams from a WR class that's surprisingly weak at second glance. Getting former Mizzou Tigers Alexander and Brad Smith on the field at the same time is a fun idea that would generate local interest, but Smith is too limited as a receiver, and the Rams lack room on the roster for someone who'd just be a gadget guy, to lead me to think Smith would play a down for the Rams this year that counts.

Shoot the moon: You don't have to be Neal Clark Warren to compute a good match between Sidney Rice, the Rams' lack of a marquee receiver, and Stan Kroenke's checkbook. Rice certainly sounds like Rams Nation's preferred free agent option at WR. He's just 24, a major deep threat who broke out in 2009 with 83 catches, 1,312 yards and 8 TDs. Wait a minute, what happened to 2010? Rice had hip surgery, missed half the season and had only really one impact game, and that was against Buffalo. Rice opted for the surgery in August after rest hadn't cleared up the injury, which he originally experienced in the 2010 playoffs. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, now claims Rice is in the best shape of his life. Well, good thing he's an unbiased observer. Still, Rice is the the plum of the WR class, the best chance the Rams have of bringing in a player who can credibly step right into the #1 WR role. Just like when they drafted Sam Bradford, the Rams' only move here is to go big, or go home. If they've got reason enough to be satisfied with the condition of Rice's hip, go for it.

Prediction: There's a reason the Rams drafted Lance Kendricks and plan to greatly increase the tight ends' role in the passing game this season. There's just not enough help out there at wide receiver. I'll predict they'll be a player in the Rice sweepstakes, but step aside once the bidding goes beyond what makes good sense, and go to training camp with the receivers they have now, re-signing Clayton and Robinson.

Tight ends up next.

Photo: Sports Illustrated

Free agency micro-preview: running backs

Top 5 UFA RBs: 1 - DeAngelo Williams. Most dynamic runner available and legitimate 1,500-yard threat, but injury issues are likely to make staying in Carolina his best bet. 2 - Cedric Benson. Revitalized his career in Cincinnati and is reportedly in the best shape of his life. 3 - Ahmad Bradshaw. Excellent breakaway threat can score from anywhere. Can also fumble from anywhere. 4 - Darren Sproles. Receiving threat par excellence, but will get you almost nothing if needed in feature-RB role. 5 - Joseph Addai. 15 TDs in 2007, 13 TDs in 2009, so he's due for another big year.

Top UFA fullbacks: 1 - Jason Snelling. Best receiving fullback in the league. 2 - Vonta Leach. Effective goal-line weapon. 3 - Le'Ron McClain. Big problem is that he doesn't really want to be a fullback. 4 - John Kuhn. Uncanny nose for the end zone. 5 - Naufahu Tahi. Good old-fashioned slobberknocker.

Sleepers: Brandon Jackson, Jerious Norwood. Norwood's a dynamite change-of-pace back capable of scoring any time he touches the ball. He's also capable of getting injured any time he touches the ball. Jackson's a young 24, has flashed good receiving and rushing skills and picks up the blitz well, but has never really settled into a role in Green Bay. Removed Willis McGahee, who is not a free agent

Out of the running: Pierre Thomas (re-signed with New Orleans), Leon Washington (re-signed with Seattle), Derrick Ward (re-signed with Houston), Danny Ware (re-signed with the Giants), Michael Bennett (re-signed with Oakland), Rock Cartwright (signed with Oakland)

Voting present: Clinton Portis, Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Mewelde Moore, Cadillac Williams, Brian Westbrook, Julius Jones, Jerome Harrison, Mike Bell, Michael Robinson, DeShawn Wynn, Patrick Cobbs, Tony Richardson, Ahmard Hall (fb), Lawrence Vickers (fb), Quinton Ganther, Jackie Battle, Heath Evans (fb), Willie Parker, Sammy Morris, Deon Anderson (fb), Kolby Smith, Clifton Smith, Tim Castille (fb), Korey Hall (fb), Kyle Eckel (fb)
7/26/11 - removed Michael Bush (RFA)

The doctor will see you now: Kevin Faulk, Fred Taylor, Kevin Smith, Jason Wright, Justin Griffith, Ladell Betts, Kareem Huggins

Gawd no: Brian Leonard, LenDale White, Laurence Maroney, Garrett Wolfe. Wolfe just got arrested in Miami for walking out on a $1,600 bar tab (charges were dropped). Maroney's ties to St. Louis would be hard to resist if he hadn't been arrested here in January for possession of marijuana. White's probably violated all of Steve Spagnuolo's pillars, probably does most weekends. Leonard was actually ok for the Bengals at fullback last season but is always going to be a carrier of Scott Linehan anti-mojo. Late entry to the list: Tiki Barber. What's he been doing the last four years, just screwing around?

RamView's move: The Rams are obviously set at starter with one of the league's best players in Steven Jackson. Jackson's reaching the stage of his career, though, where there really needs to be a credible backup behind him, both to give the Rams a change of pace and to save Jackson some wear and tear. Famously, though, the Rams have never put a credible backup behind Jackson, (unless you count Kenneth Darby, which, don't) and once again this draft, managed to avoid drafting a RB for the job. It's even as if the Rams are trying to take backup away from Jackson. They didn't tender Darby or fullback Mike Karney. Karney should be adequately replaced by midseason pickup Britt Miller, but all that's behind Jackson right now are 2nd-year rookie free agent Keith Toston and 2010 practice squad pickup Chauncey Washington. Unless Billy Devaney knows either of those two is about to turn into Arian Foster, he'd better do some damn work filling in the roster at RB this offseason.

RamView thinks Packers RB Brandon Jackson would be a good candidate for the #2 role. Unless there's a Super Bowl premium, he should be a fairly economical pickup. He's just 24 and should be a solid fit here as Josh McDaniels' Kevin Faulk-type third-down back. He's a good receiver, ran well at times in an offense that, let's face it, wasn't very run-oriented, and he picks up blitzers well. I don't think Green Bay was ever able to commit him to a defined role. If you do that here, I think he'd thrive. Plus he's young enough to be a potential starter if the Rams have to bridge the gap at the end of Steven Jackson's career.

Shoot the moon: Free-agent RB would be a great expense for new Rams owner Stan Kroenke to throw his formidable checkbook at. My top three RBs are all guys who are going to command starting roles, but Sproles or Addai could be potent performers here and excellent fits in the new offensive scheme. If he's still at the top of his game at age 28, Sproles would give the Rams a threat to score from anywhere as a third-down back and could potentially also contribute as a kick returner. Sproles has been an excellent receiver and would flash some sick speed on the Dome turf. He might take some snaps from Jackson, but I can't see him taking any carries. He's been completely ineffective in recent years in situations where the Chargers had to use him as a feature back. You're not going to establish a running game with him if you have to. I'd sooner have Addai, who's the same age but substantially bigger, a better rusher and would be a perfect receiving back in the McDaniels third-down role. He's also probably the best back in the league at blitz pickup, so the Rams would be buying insurance for Sam Bradford at the same time. Super-smart player with a lot of Marshall Faulk in his game and his approach to the game. Shooting for the moon, I'd love to see the Rams steal Addai away from the Colts. Reggie Bush deserves mention in the moonshot range as well, but he'll probably be expensive to trade for, and less-than-thrilled to be in Jackson's shadow.

Prediction: So of course I'm guessing somebody else. I like the Cadillac Williams idea the more I hear of it. Great receiver, good blitz protector if I remember right, and what's more, he was the best third-down conversion back in the league last year. His knees have to be a big question mark, though. If not him, then how about Mewelde Moore, who's been an excellent third-down receiving back in Minnesota and Pittsburgh and has always seemed to step up when injuries force his team to put the rushing load on him. I'll predict Devaney FINALLY fills the #2 RB position with either of those two guys. Sproles is a very popular choice around here for that role, but Williams or Moore would still get you the receptions, with a credible rushing component added, at what's likely to be a much more economical price.

Heh, aren't I calling these "micro"previews? Up next, probably late tonight or tomorrow: wide receivers.

Photo: San Diego Chargers

Free agency micro-preview: quarterback

When hot stove season opened in the NFL a couple of
years ago, the raging argument in St. Louis was whether or not the Rams should make a play for freshly-released felon Michael Vick. Some of us expressed extreme doubts about the idea, but according to online polls, we were the minority. Had majority ruled, how would things have worked out? Vick, to his credit, has turned around his personal life and is arguably a role model to youth now. Perhaps even more surprising, his 2010 season showed that he could be a capable, accurate pocket QB. He completed 62.6% of his passes, threw for 21 TDs vs. 6 INTs, and had a passer rating of 100.2. Pro Bowl numbers even without the compelling story of personal redemption.

Would Vick have put up those kind of numbers in St. Louis? Not with the receivers the Rams trotted out in '09 and '10. But one of the many things the Michael Vick experience has proven is that there's more than one way to solve a problem. With free agency about to explode upon the NFL in all its chaotic glory - a much more attractive market than last year's CBA-limited offering, and compressed into probably a two-week mega-cram session between the final ratification of the CBA and the start of training camp - who will the Rams find to solve their remaining roster problems? Let's open that search with RamView's sort-of annual free agency preview.

Notes: assumption is that 2009's free agency rules will be in effect this season, meaning 4th-year veterans are eligible to be unrestricted free agents, unlike last year, when it was 6th-year vets. I compiled lists of free agents from various sources and vetted everyone from those lists through Rotoworld before dropping them in here. Hopefully that'll limit any screw-ups. QB is the only write-up I had remotely prepared up until now. The rest of the positions will be more of a quick-hit, "micro-preview" format.

On with it!

Top 5 UFA QBs (updated 7/8): 1 - Matt Hasselbeck. Once seemed a lock to return to Seattle; now, who knows. Rates #1 largely for his on-field leadership. 2 - Marc Bulger. Healed up, and accurate enough a passer to thrive in the right situation. 3 - Tyler Thigpen. Mobile, strong-armed, has played well in limited opportunities. 4 - Tarvaris Jackson. Younger than Thigpen with higher upside, if a team thinks they can harness it. 5 - Billy Volek. Has never won a starting job in his NFL career but has had come uncanny performances coming off the bench. (Hey, whaddya want here? This field is so thin I nearly ranked Terrelle Pryor.)

Sleeper: Alex Smith. Smith appears to be heading back to the 49ers, but I think he's the kind of player who'd be better off with a change of scenery. He's got the tools but never seems to put them all together, except against the Rams.

Out of the running: Peyton Manning (franchised by Indianapolis), Michael Vick (franchised by Philadelphia), Luke McCown (re-signed with Jagwires), Kyle Boller (re-signed with Oakland, darn), Seneca Wallace (re-signed with Cleveland), Chad Pennington (Fox Sports), Kerry Collins (retired, 7/7)

Voting present: Drew Stanton, Kellen Clemens, Bruce Gradkowski, Jim Sorgi, Brian Brohm, Nate Davis

Gawd no: Brodie Croyle, Todd Collins, Trent Edwards and Matt Moore all fell to pieces and were so awful in 2010 I wouldn't consider any of them better than reclamation projects at this point. Troy Smith's not likely to get away with every downfield pass being a Hail Mary again this year. And while we're at it, just say no to Fratboy Leinart, Rex Grossman, Charlie Frye, Chris Simms, J.P. Losman, J.T. O'Sullivan, JaMarcus Russell, and PLEASE, NFL, Brett Favre.

RamView's move: none. Coming off one of the best rookie seasons ever at QB, Bradford's a lock to start. A.J. Feeley looked capable enough before he got Wally Pipped last preseason. The Rams intriguingly had interest in Alabama QB Greg McElroy at the end of this year's draft - if he doesn't stick with the Jets, I could see the Rams making a play for him, though as a Duke alumnus, third-stringer Thaddeus Lewis certainly doesn't lack smarts.

Shoot the moon: A lot on offense is going to be Josh McDaniels' call, naturally. If there's somebody out there he likes a lot more than Feeley, the Rams certainly could make a move. What if that somebody turns out to be Kyle Orton, who had a Pro Bowl-quality season for McDaniels in Denver last season? He's obviously comfortable in the system, and you'd be denying your division rivals, all of whom are on the hunt for a legitimate starting QB, one of their top options. At least the Rams could talk to the Broncos and drive up the price for everybody else, couldn't they? Just shooting the moon here.

Prediction: Nothing to see here. Could be part of the reason the Rams were never in a hurry to name a QB coach - they didn't need his help evaluating prospects.

Up next: running backs, BILLY DEVANEY.

Extra homework at Rams Park

If a team's first job in free agency is to get its own players locked up, the news yesterday that unrestricted free agency will be restored to players with four years of service created extra work for Billy Devaney, Kevin Demoff and company. Besides trying to work out deals with WR Mark Clayton and OL Adam Goldberg, who have always had UFA status, they're now going to have to work out deals, should they choose to, with DT Gary Gibson and TE Daniel Fells. They'll be UFAs once the "old" rule is back. The Rams had previously tagged them with restricted free agent tags under the FA rules still in effect from 2010. My notes are a little murky, but I believe WR Laurent Robinson is another Ram who will become an outright UFA. The Rams did tender him in March.

The fact that the Rams tendered Gibson, Fells or Robinson at all (they didn't tender other potential UFAs such as Cliff Ryan and Kenneth Darby) leads me to believe the Rams fully intend to make legitimate offers to bring them back in 2011, and they'll be among the front office's top priorities once free agency does open, along with Clayton and Goldberg.

Then they'll start choosing from the menus I'm about to unleash with my fairly-rushed free agent preview-palooza.

Major CBA news

ESPN has managed to leak some of the details today that appear to be going into the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. Players are going to get 48% of revenues, teams are going to be required to spend close to 100% of the salary cap, and there will be a rookie wage scale.

Adam Shefter also leaked via Twitter that 4-year veterans will be eligible for unrestricted free agency. I'm sure that led to a run on midnight oil around the league. In essence, free agency rules seem to be reverting back to 2009, and the free agent market is going to be much more attractive than it was last year. That's the good news, news sure to keep Rams Park hopping, and a topic I'll do my best to develop here in the coming days.

There's also one bit of news I consider dreadful, and it's a good thing I'm not at the negotiating table, because I would NEVER agree to this bullet point: starting in 2014, there will be a Thursday night game EVERY week.

What is the NFL's obsession with Thursday night games? The season opener and Thanksgiving are fine, but other than that, I despise Thursday night games. I already have plenty to do weeknights in the fall, thank you very much. Thursday is a great night for Akron vs. Central Michigan or Louisville vs. Southern Miss. It's a poor night for, oh, Rams vs. Cowboys. Thursday games were a failure the last time the NFL used them over a full season, why revive them now?

Thursday games have to be an epic fail for fans attending games in person. Oh for the fun of rushing home after work and then hoping to rush back to the stadium in time for kickoff. No build like you get for a game on Sunday, when, you know, YOU HAVE THE DAY OFF. I don't know how anybody gets any serious Thursday tailgating done, either, short of taking a vacation day.

Based on past performance, scheduling also figures to be an epic fail from the NFL offices. The league has never even tried to schedule bye weeks fairly, and now, they're going to add another variable of imbalance, or unfairness, every week. How many times is a team going to get screwed playing a short week vs. a team that got a couple of extra days after a Thursday game? I'm also expecting a team to have to play a Thursday game against an opponent coming off a bye week - 3 days of rest vs. 10 - to happen at least twice. The league's never had the will to make sure it matches up evenly-rested opponents. Thursday night games are just going to make that pot boil over.

By instituting weekly Thursday night games, the NFL is also thumbing its nose at its key constituencies, the groups of people that have made it the world's most popular sport: gamblers and fantasy football players. Thursday night games are decidedly football pool-unfriendly. Say Chris Johnson tweaked his ankle in the 4th quarter Sunday against the Colts, and now the Titans host the Texans on Thursday night, and you have no idea if CJ2K is even going to play. Who do you pick in the football pool? What if CJ2K's on your fantasy team? (I know this will blow up in my face EVERY time. I'll either bench the injured guy and he'll start and score 40 points, or I'll start him and he won't play.) And Vegas' action on the game will certainly be reduced. They may never be able to put up a line on it.

The NFL wouldn't be as popular as it is without gambling, fantasy leagues, or me, and all they're going to do by shoving a Thursday night game down our throats every week is piss all of those people off.

Quit messing with a good thing, Roger Goodell.

Vobora not likely to be paid

In a followup to yesterday's story, STLToday reports that David Vobora probably isn't going to see any of the $5.4 million he was awarded in a court decision Monday. The company Vobora sued, Anti-Steroid Programs, LLC, has gone out of business. The owner, Mitch Ross, claims that he had lost endorsements from more than 50 NFL players and coaches, and that none of his other NFL endorsers had tested positive for steroids.

That's probably all fine with Vobora, since his victory in court restores his reputation from a 2009 league suspension triggered by Ross' company's supplement. Clearing his name was Vobora's main goal all along. As for Ross, he is considering suing the NFL for loss of business. He does, however, still sell Ultimate Sports Spray over the Internet. No explanation for the presence of steroids in Vobora's supplement was offered in today's STLToday article.

Kenneth Darby update

Kenneth Darby was interviewed recently at a charity golf tournament in Huntsville, Alabama. He says he's been performing a "brutal training regimen" to stay in shape during the lockout.

Darby may yet be the answer to the Steven Jackson backup dilemma, not that much of Rams Nation believes he'd be the best answer. I think he'd top out as a very poor man's Darren Sproles. However, the Huntsville Times article says Rams coaches speak highly of Darby and "considered him a solid insurance policy behind Jackson." Darby himself says the team was still "pretty interested" in him at the time he left after the season.

It looks like we'll find out soon how free agency's going to go (more in a later post), so Darby will be getting out of career limbo before too long. The question is whether or not he'll also be getting out of St. Louis in the process.

Photo: Huntsville (AL) Times

#39 is #38???

RamView hasn't paid too close attention to NFL Network's countdown of the NFL's top 100 players. That much is obvious, I think this is the first time I've mentioned it here. It's an overblown popularity contest, just like Pro Bowl selection. You know something is overblown when there's actually a one-hour special every week to get reactions to where each player was ranked. (So, Torry Holt, how do you feel about Jason Babin being ranked 85th?) That's a sign your network may have a little too much programming time to fill.

I also never figured the Rams would fare well in these rankings, and they would appear to have topped out at #38, where Steven Jackson was ranked. Players rated ahead of Jackson thus far include Saints guard Jahri Evans and Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles. Evans is a very good player, and Charles has had two very good seasons as a platoon RB, but I find it patently ridiculous to rank either ahead of Jackson.

Other RBs ranked so far: #30, Maurice Jones-Drew, #42, Michael Turner; #56, Ray Rice; #94, Frank Gore, #98, Darren McFadden. I assume Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson are still to come. Other sources note that LaDainian Tomlinson hasn't appeared on the countdown yet.

Oh, and Arian Foster pulled down #25. Yeah, like Charles, there's another guy with a long track record that deserves ranking him ahead of SJ39 or MJD, or hell, even Frank Gore.

Marshall Faulk agrees that Jackson is rated way too low. And I'm no 49er fan, but 94th is criminally low for Gore. Guy carried my Couch Potatoes fantasy team last year until he broke his hip. And my playoff chances.

Steven Jackson beats Marshall Faulk into Hall of Fame!

Well, Steven was inducted into a Hall of Fame last weekend, but it was the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. Article

Steven's actually considered a bit of a football pioneer in Las Vegas; colleges didn't recruit heavily for players there until he broke out as one of the nation's elite players at Oregon State. He scored five TDs for the Beavers in the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl, and before that, rushed for 81 TDs and nearly 6,400 yards in his high school career at Eldorado High.

The first inductee into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame? The legendary David Humm, in 1997. Steven also joins Jerry Tarkanian, Randall Cunningham, Lionel Hollins, Greg Maddux, Gerald Riggs, Robert Gamez, Matt Williams, Greg Anthony and Larry Grandmama Johnson.

Photo: Las Vegas Sun

Throwback vote

The Rams are holding a vote on Twitter to determine which home game they'll wear their throwback uniforms this year. Details here. Choice of opponent is the Ravens, Redskins or Saints.

Hate to whine, but this is a double bummer. The best opponent for throwback uniform week would definitely be the 49ers, but the league supposedly mandates throwback uniforms can only be worn the first 10 weeks. Bummer. (P.S. Thanksgiving is NOT in the first ten weeks, yet throwbacks are worn in those games all the time.) That makes the Saints, a throwback NFC West rival, the best choice of the three available to me.

And the Rams can only have one throwback week? Double bummer. Shouldn't teams with cool uniforms get an exemption?

Vobora vindicated

Going back at least as far as the 1988 Summer Olympics and Ben Johnson, when an athlete tests positive for steroids and blames the test result on a spiked sports drink, or as members of the Mexican soccer team did just a couple of weeks ago, blame tainted meat, the general reaction of a skeptical public has been, yeah, right, guys. Either you meant to take what you took or were too careless to check what you were taking against your sport's list of approved supplements.

Rams linebacker David Vobora knows all about this. He tested positive for steroids in 2009 and was suspended for four games, all the while insisting he had followed NFL procedure to the letter. Public reaction? Yeah, right, kid, we get you don't want to admit to screwing up, just don't do it again. Vobora's lawsuit against the producer of the supplement that caused his positive test has been virtually ignored and more than likely viewed publicly as a quixotic face-saving enterprise.

Until today, when a judge awarded Vobora $5.4 million in damages from the ironically-named Anti-Steroid Program, LLC, the Florida company that made the Ultimate Sports Spray that caused Vobora to fail his league drug test. The company did not disclose that the spray contained methyltestosterone, A STEROID. Gee, thanks, ANTI-Steroid Program. Vobora was awarded $2 million for damage to his reputation, and $3.4 million representing lost earnings and earnings opportunities.

Most importantly, he clears his good name from a blemish that was always going to be there otherwise. Maybe his victory in court will help all of sports as a significant step toward cleaning up the supplement industry, though that is certainly a long row to hoe. However, an ESPN.com poll is running 64%-36 to start giving athletes more of a benefit of the doubt in these situations.

A very relevant victory for Mr. Irrelevant.

Photo: Sky Sports

Offseason workout non-report

There was precious little coverage of it, but the Rams players did conduct another minicamp-style workout last weekend in the Phoenix area. The biggest news from that workout: Mardy Gilyard was there. (Credit to Turf Show Times for outscooping the crap out of the Post-Dispatch on that one. Also, note to self: join the 21st century and start following players' Twitter feeds.) Fred Robbins was reported to be hosting workouts for the d-linemen in Florida, with first-round pick Robert Quinn in attendance. Player-conducted team workouts around the league are non-contact, and skills-position focused, so linemen don't get anywhere near as much to do.

If form held from last month, the Rams will be up around the top of the league in player participation this offseason, having had 35 players at their May workout. Sacramento Bee football writer Matt Barrows saves me some hours of web searches with this post. Maybe ten other teams had organized workouts of 30 or more players back in May. Highest participation I saw was the Cowboys, with 45 players. Other high-attendance team workouts in May: Washington (30), Atlanta (30), New Orleans (30-40), Detroit (30-35), Oakland (34), Buffalo (30), Jacksonville (30), Baltimore (27). Honorable mention to Miami, which has reportedly run some two-a-days. Other teams, such as the Eagles, have gotten together in small groups at best, or haven't had an organized workout at all, which is the case in Green Bay.

The Seahawks had a couple of days of workouts at the beginning of June, led by free agent Matt Hasselbeck, with at least 40 players participating, though not all were Seahawk players. Beat writer Kent Somers claims the Cardinals have had "great attendance" at their offseason practices, which included Packers WR Greg Jennings, but the best number I see for them is 20, which wasn't all Arizona players. The 49ers had "a couple of dozen" players, led by free agent Alex Smith, at workouts last week, so of course, you get articles like this one proclaiming that these workouts are absolutely not important.

And they may not be. But as a fan, I'd rather be rooting for a team that's been willing to make up for lockout-cancelled OTAs by getting most of its players together and holding workouts. At a minimum, it's team-building for the season to come. Whether it's a leg up, or just a toe, I'm happy as a Ram fan to see the players doing what they can to gain an edge.

And in the very best case, an agreement ending the lockout is right around the corner, training camp'll open on time, and this'll all be moot.

-$-

Stat of the day

Got this from a Mike Sando entry on ESPN.com but probably should have noticed it a lot sooner, like last winter, for instance....

Rams were 0-6 last season when they allowed over 120 yards rushing.

Dec. 19 Kansas City Chiefs 210
Sept. 19 Oakland Raiders 173
Jan. 2 Seattle Seahawks 141
Nov. 21 Atlanta Falcons 138
Dec. 12 New Orleans Saints 132
Oct. 24 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 124

They were 7-3 otherwise, and "should" have won two of those.
(Arizona here, San Francisco there)

Nov. 28 Denver Broncos 119
Sept. 26 Washington Redskins 116
Sept. 12 Arizona Cardinals 112
Dec. 5 Arizona Cardinals 105
Nov. 14 San Francisco 49ers 98
Oct. 10 Detroit Lions 89
Dec. 26 San Francisco 49ers 85
Oct. 17 San Diego Chargers 79
Oct. 3 Seattle Seahawks 64
Oct. 31 Carolina Panthers 25

The Rams will help themselves a lot more in free agency by focusing on DTs and WLBs, and much less on Plaxico Burress. (Though my prediction that their first free agent signing will be Daniel Graham stands)

-$-

Here we Plaxi-co again

The NFL really, really needs to get its labor situation squared away, and fast, because I don't know how much more I can take of the rumor mill being the only people in charge.

Former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress is out of prison after serving 20 months for a gun-related charge, and guess where he's heading next? St. Louis, of course, for the electrifyingly-logical reason that he used to be on the same team as Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo. The latest source using that logic to put Burress in horns is the Giants' beat writer for the Newark Star-Ledger, Mike Garofalo.

- Never mind that Burress has been in jail for two years.
- Never mind that he'll turn 34 in training camp, assuming it's held on time, and the Rams haven't been keen on adding older players to the roster. Sure, Michael Vick became a superstar again after a similar absence, but he's three years younger, and he had a year on the bench before his outstanding 2010 season.
- Never mind that the Rams just drafted THREE receivers, and despite the insistence of blogs all over the Internet (Bing "Plaxico Burress mentor", you'll see) that he's going to come in and mentor the Rams' (or Eagles') young receivers, Burress doesn't have much of a track record for it.
- Never mind that the Rams passed on Randy Moss and Terrell Owens last year when presented with opportunities to sign them. What would Burress bring that either one of them doesn't?

There are potential positives to signing Burress:
- He's reportedly stayed in shape.
- If he follows Michael Vick's example, jail will have changed him for the better and he won't be the coach's nightmare he was in New York, knowing he's getting his last chance in the league.
- The Rams have been hurting badly for a red zone weapon, and at the height of his game, Burress was the epitome of a red zone weapon.
- He hasn't necessarily been the dreaded cancer-in-the-locker-room. His Giants teammates have said they'd welcome him back with open arms. Fred Robbins has pushed for the Rams to sign Burress on Sirius Radio.
- Signing Burress would dramatically increase the Rams' chances of appearing on Hard Knocks, which was still casting around for a team for this season at last word.

I'm no threat to picket Rams Park if they do sign Burress, but I just don't see the team doing it. Sure, he could be one humble bumble now that he's been through prison, but his long history of off-field troubles and breaking team rules surely make him a hard sell for a "Four Pillars" organization. And on the field, it's going to take him a long time to get into real playing shape, and you'd be signing him this year hoping he starts contributing late this season, or more likely, next season. When he's 35. The Rams can't sign Burress and just stash him on the roster; they have to be pretty convinced he can play right away.

I'm not convinced of that at all, so it's Plaxi-no to signing Burress here at RamView.

-$-
photo: Detroit Free-Press

More thoughts on Avery

I criticize the draft experts every spring when they say that a player's "stock" is rising or falling, and it's during a lull in the offseason schedule when literally nothing football-related has happened. I find myself doing the same here at the beginning of summer '11, though. Very little's going on, but Donnie Avery's stock seems to be rising as fast as he runs the 40.

101.1 ESPN NFL analyst Tony Softli has said that Avery has his speed back after blowing out a knee last August, and expects him to be the Rams' primary deep threat next season. Avery claims to have recently run a 4.34 40. Footballguys.com, one of the web's top fantasy football sites, uses this news when they speculate that Avery will have the opportunity to be to the Rams what Brandon Lloyd was for Josh McDaniels and the Broncos last year.

That's an eye-opening reference, because Lloyd, similar in size to Avery, went from career obscurity to the Pro Bowl last season in Denver under McDaniels, with 77 catches for 1,448 yards and 11 TDs. A season like that from two of the Rams WRs COMBINED would be impressive; if Avery, now under McDaniels, could pull it off by himself, it would be massive.

I had not seen Avery in the Brandon Lloyd / Randy Moss role in the McDaniels offense; I was thinking Danario Alexander, for his speed and size. Softli, though, says DX was still dragging his oft-injured leg during the recent players-only workouts, and expressed concern about it. I also had Mark Clayton beating Avery out for a roster spot in training camp, but...
- even though he's a free agent, Clayton's trailing Avery right now because he didn't work out with the team. Lack of a contract didn't stop Adam Goldberg or draft pick Greg Salas from being at workouts, for instance.
- Clayton was barely here last year for more than a cup of coffee, and though it was a very good cup, it's an opportunity he never would have gotten if not for the injury to, yes, Avery.
- and Clayton and Avery could easily both make the roster if Alexander's knee proves to be too balky. This year's DX's first real opportunity in a while to road-test it.

It's worth noting that Softli very likely is not without a rooting interest in Avery, since he was the Rams' VP of player personnel when Avery was (arguably over-)drafted by the Rams in 2008. But I've been inspired enough for now to pencil Avery's name in for about the 12th round of my fantasy league draft this year (assuming there are any).

-$-