Free agency catchup: defensive tackle

Futility, thy name is... me. Having missed a lot of this year's free agency fun in the Keys, what I've decided to do is go ahead and finish the previews (yes, previews for something that started a week ago), then catch everything up and get the free agent scorecard posted. So, no, RamView is not your spot for up-to-the-minute free agency news. But here's an old free agency defensive tackle preview if you want one...

Defensive tackle

Top 10 UFA DTs:

1 - Brodrick Bunkley: aggressive, quick penetrator, makes a lot of plays, top 4-3 nose tackle (signed by Saints)

2 – Paul Soliai (re-signed by Dolphins)
2a - Sione Pouha (re-signed by Jets) Sure, PFW, go ahead and leave one of the top UFAs off my free agent list altogether. Thanks.

3 - Marcus Thomas: quick, young DT becoming an increasingly impressive playmaker, appears to have off-field troubles behind him

4 - Pat Sims: rock-solid, strong run-stopper (Re-signed by Bengals, 3/24)

5 – Amobi Okoye: only 24, can get to the QB, ideal 4-3 3-technique (Signed by Bucs, 4/9)

6 - Eric Foster: improving, quick DT who can get to the QB but is coming off a nasty ankle injury

7 - Derek Landri: undersized but makes a lot of plays (Signed by Eagles, 4/9)
7a - John Henderson: failed physical and was cut by the Raiders due to a knee injury suffered at the end of last season, but is still an elite run stopper

8 - Leger "The Doozer" Douzable: only 25, came on strong at end of last season (Signed by Titans, 4/3)

9 - Antonio Garay: 32, huge run-stopper two years ago, still makes a lot of plays (Re-signed by Chargers, 3/30)

10 – Fred Robbins: showing his age but still grading out as a top-20 DT

11 - Aubrayo Franklin: free agent bust for Saints last season

Sleepers: Marcus Thomas was a 40-tackle DT for Denver last season, he'll be a young 27 when the season starts, and his productivity has gone up every year. He also seems to have avoided the off-field problems that knocked him down in the 2007 draft. He's not a pass-rushing threat but will make a lot of plays at nose tackle. Our old buddy DOOZER racked up 21 tackles in Jacksonville's last four games, impressive for a DT. I wasn't going to let that go unnoticed.

Wild card: Albert Haynesworth is only 30 years old, is a two-time Pro Bowler, and has been really lost in the wilderness ever since he left... Jeff Fisher. He plays a defensive line position where the Rams currently appear to have a hole. Has the notorious blow-up with Mike Shanahan in 2010 made Haynesworth too poisonous a player for any team to entertain signing, or is Fisher just the guy to restore Haynesworth to his backfield-destroying glory?

Tag you're it: no defensive tackles tagged for 2012.

Out of the running: Fred Evans (re-signed by Vikings), Kelly Gregg (likely retiring), Letroy Guion (re-signed by Vikings), Chris Hoke (retired), C.J. Mosley (re-signed by Jagwires)

Voting present: Rocky Bernard (re-signed by Giants 6/11), Justin Bannan (signed by Broncos 4/12), Anthony Adams, Shaun Rogers (signed by Giants 4/30), Howard Green, Gary Gibson (signed by Bucs 5/7), Andre Fluellen (re-signed by Detroit 3/20), Brandon McKinney (signed by Colts 4/4), Jimmy Kennedy, Tommie Harris, Tim Bulman, Jovan Haye

The doctor will see you now: Eric Foster (dislocated right ankle in October)

Gawd no: Nate Collins (arrested for marijuana possession in February, signed by Bears 5/23)

RamView’s moves: The Rams were old up the middle last season. It showed in their inability to stop the run, and the Rams confirmed their need to get younger last week by cutting Fred Robbins and Justin Bannan, then signing Kendall Langford. But the moves still leave the Rams a couple of tackles short, and that's if you consider Darell Dorell Scott good enough as a rotational player. (Maybe. At best.) Dontari Poe gets compared to Haloti Ngata by enough people that he almost has to be in the mix for the Rams' first round pick (now at #6 overall), but more likely, they'll have to use one of their second-round picks there, and still pick up a veteran on the cheap. I'm looking at Mike Martin, Alameda Ta'amu or Jared Crick as a 2nd-3rd round pickup, and try for Eric Foster on the sly, a player who's an injury gamble but has good upside.

Shoot the moon: Haynesworth. He fills a need, should be a bargain signing or close, fits the Rams' defensive image, he'd be reuniting with the coach with whom he evolved into a $100-million player. The shoot-the-moon risk here is that he'll blow up on or off the field and be a major distraction to a young, building team. With the number of serious driving infractions Haynesworth has racked up, if he did come to St. Louis, I'd strongly advise everyone around here start taking the bus.

Prediction: Haynesworth will prove, or has already proven, too toxic for the Rams to take a risk on even without a Four Pillars philosophy. They're currently talking to Lions DT Andre Fluellen, who hasn't done a lot in his young career (and won't now, behind Suh and Fairley), but who could have a good reference from Fisher friend/Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. I'd say he's the cheap veteran and the Rams add depth early in the draft.

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