Rams sign Justin Bannan

The Rams addressed their lack of depth at defensive tackle Saturday by reaching an agreement with veteran Justin "Race" Bannan, most recently of the Broncos. In fact, Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels now apparently has his fingerprints on the defense, too; he reportedly vouched for Bannan, having been his head coach the last couple of seasons in Denver.

The 6'3", 310-lb, 32-year-old Bannan is a run specialist. He's quick off the ball, a good penetrator and has that dreaded white-guy "high motor". He's been in the league 10 years but didn't become a starter until 2008, after an injury to Kelly Gregg. He started every game for the Broncos last year. Bannan won't give you flashy statistics. He has only 6.5 career sacks and doesn't pile up big tackle numbers. He just clogs the middle and ties up blockers, which he's good at. One of my concerns with him is that he's played mostly in 3-4's, certainly in Denver and Baltimore, but he reportedly has some 4-3 experience. One scouting report calls him a better Gary Gibson. (It's starting to look like the actual Gary Gibson won't be back with the team this season.) A nice quality of Bannan's is that he can get his hands up and block passes. Good role player, a grinder, a durable guy who just puts his head down and gets the job done. Bannan's considered a quality run stopper and fills a need for the Rams pretty nicely.

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