Top 5 UFA OLBs: 1 - Rocky McIntosh (WLB) 2 - Quincy Black (SLB) 3 - James Anderson 4 - Steven Nicholas (SLB) 5 - Clint Session (WLB)Linebacker will be the deepest position in free agency this year. I only list a top 5 here, but it'd be pretty easy to list a top 15, any of whom would help a team. Not much not to like about McIntosh - career-high 110 tackles last year, excellent in pass coverage, durable (missed only 2 games in career), makes plays from sideline to sideline. Black is Tampa Bay's best run defender and one of the best all-around LBs going - covers TEs like glue and rarely misses tackles or commits penalties. Anderson sounds like the total package - a good run-stopper, pass defender and pass rusher who can play any of the 4-3 LB positions. 130 tackles for Carolina last season. Nicholas is Atlanta's Sam 'backer but can also play all 3 LB roles. He has great quickness and is rated as one of the NFL's best pass coverage LBs. Session is undersized and missed most of 2010, but was a tackling machine the previous two seasons in Indy.
Top 5 UFA ILBs: 1 - Paul Posluszny 2 - Barrett Ruud 3 - Stephen Tulloch 4 - Takeo Spikes 5 - Dhani Jones
One of my favorite non-Rams, Posluszny would get perennial Pro Bowl consideration if he could stay healthy. 150 tackles last year. Ruud has has 4 straight exceptionally productive years of 100+ tackles. Plays with great instinct and always knows where he should be. Tulloch is just 26, had 121 tackles two years ago, and was 2nd in the league last year with 160. Good hitter well-suited for the middle. Spikes is 34 but is coming off his most productive season since 2003. He'd be limited to his current 3-4 ILB role where he doesn't have to cover a lot of ground. Jones is coming off the most productive season of his ten-year career. If he came to St. Louis, maybe he and Steven Jackson could do a travel show together.
Sleepers: Zac Diles came off the bench last year to become one of Houston's leading tacklers. He excelled at Will during Brian Cushing's suspension and filled in at Mike after Demeco Ryans was injured. Smart, good speed and range, takes good angles, reads the passing game well. Texans fans will tell you he should have been a Pro Bowler. Not sure where he fits in with Houston switching to a 3-4; maybe inside alongside Ryans. He'd be a much better fit here.
Brandon Johnson was a Bengals team captain who appears to have mostly been used as a Will in nickel defenses, but Bengal fans will tell you he's their best LB, even though the team keeps reducing his snaps. He makes key plays, is a major factor on special teams and almost never misses a tackle.
3-4 OLB Matt Roth ranks as one of the NFL's best pass rush disruptors. Pro Football Focus ranks him as one of the league's top ten pass rushers over the last three seasons. He doesn't ring up a ton of sacks, averaging 5-6 a year, but is a consistent factor in pass pressure.
Manny Lawson also grades well as a pass rusher, though not necessarily as a sack artist, and though he had 6.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in 2009, and graded as a top-10 pass rusher by PFF last season, the 49ers have increasingly taken him off the field on passing downs. When a guy seems to always be around the ball, you wonder why a team that knows what it's doing wouldn't hang on to him.
Out of the running: Tamba Hali (franchised by Kansas City); David Harris (franchised by N.Y. Jets); Chad Greenway (franchised by Minnesota); LaMarr Woodley (franchised by Pittsburgh); Kamerion Wimbley (franchised by Oakland); Desmond Bishop (re-signed by Green Bay); Coy Wire (re-signed by Atlanta); Mike Vrabel (retired); David Thornton (retirement likely)
Voting present: Keith Bulluck, Kevin Burnett, Kirk Morrison, Stephen Cooper, Akin Ayodele, Keyaron Fox*, Prescott Burgess*, Justin Durant, Ernie Sims, Ben Leber, Stewart Bradley, Will Herring, *Tim Shaw, Travis LaBoy, Mike Peterson, Jamie Winborn, Julian Peterson, Brandon Siler, Landon Johnson, Tyjuan Hagler, Omar Gaither, Thomas Howard, Corey Mays, *Lance Laury, *Chase Blackburn, *Marvin Mitchell, *Adam Hayward, Nick Roach, Jason Trusnik, Freddie Keiaho, Scott Shanle, Jarvis Moss, Danny Clark, Brian Iwuh, Abdul Hodge, *Blake Costanzo, *Chris Wilson, Leon Williams, H.B. Blades, Niko Koutovides, Rod Wilson, Tracy White, Charlie Anderson, Sam Williams, Kevin Bentley, Jon (remember me?) Alston, Ricky Brown, Gerris Wilkinson, Matt McCoy, and, whew, Quentin Moses
The asterisked players are players whose first role would be as quality special teams players. At Rams Park, Tom McMahon would be much more likely to lobby for them than Ken Flajole.
The doctor will see you now: Thomas Davis, Keith Ellison, Jamar Williams, D'Qwell Jackson, Leroy Hill, Clint Ingram, Angelo Crowell, and, of course, Pisa Tinoisamoa
Gawd no: Akeem Jordan (arrested in June after a bar fight); Antwan Barnes (traded by San Diego because he "lacked commitment to special teams"); Bobby Carpenter (self-explanatory).
RamView's move: Needless to say, the Rams are set in the middle with James Laurinaitis, who's developing into one of the best in the league. Na'il Diggs was steady on the strong side, which leaves most of the spotlight for the weak side, which was a revolving door, with neither David Vobora, Larry Grant, Bryan Kehl nor Chris Chamberlain able to lock down the role full-time. Grant appeared to peak in training camp last season, while Kehl nearly lost the Rams their home finale against San Francisco by allowing a partial punt block, the same breakdown that got him cut by the Giants. Chamberlain's one of the Rams' top special teamers, which makes his roster spot pretty safe, plus he's been game when he's been pressed into defensive duty. Vobora seems most effective as the "4th linebacker"; he's got the skill to play all three positions but hasn't stood out as a starter. He's the likeliest starting WLB on Opening Day if the Rams don't make a move.
Me, I'd prefer to make a move, and am falling more and more in line with going after Anderson, who's already got a link to the Rams since Flajole coached him in Carolina. My main concern is that he doesn't appear to have played that much Will - most recently, 6 games in 2008. But he says it's his preferred position. He's been a stud against the run, is always around the ball and would help the Rams pass defense out both in coverage and as a blitzer. And he shouldn't cost a ton - it's not even clear that Carolina's looking at him as a starter for next season, a little puzzling given his play in 2010. I'd endorse a move here, with Diles as my fallback option. Vobora and Chamberlain provide adequate-to-good depth.
Shoot the moon: For his name recognition and likeliness to get a big contract, McIntosh would be the "shoot the moon" option, though there's plenty of evidence he'd be worth a big deal. Very good playmaker, very good tackler who would help a defense out in a lot of ways. Plug him in on the weakside and stop that revolving door.
Prediction: This year is a great market for linebackers, and by hardly emphasizing the position at all in the draft, the Rams seem likely to pursue a free agent option to fill the weak side. I expect Anderson's the target, and it shouldn't be too hard to entice him here with a starting job, versus a backup or platoon role in Carolina. Don't look for the Rams to push at all costs, though. They won't break the bank for a Will, and they won't make a move for anyone who's not almost exactly who they want. After all, they improved greatly in pass rush and in defending the tight end last year with the players on hand. If Anderson's not in the cards, maybe they go after a young LB like Justin Durant or Ernie Sims with a low-risk incentive-laden deal. Either you catch lightning and that player pans out, or he sharpens Vobora up enough through the competition to make David a more viable starter. With so many options available, WLB will be a position to watch with the Rams this summer.
Up last, but certainly not least: defensive backs.
Photo: Carolina Panthers
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