Free agency preview: center

Centers

Top 10 UFA Cs:

1 - Chris Myers (Re-signed by Texans 3/17)

2 – Scott Wells (Signed by Rams 3/17)

3 – Nick Hardwick (Re-signed by Chargers)

4 - Samson Satele (Signed by Colts 3/21)

5 - Todd McClure (Re-signed by Falcons 3/28)

6 - Matt Birk (Re-signed by Ravens 3/19)

7 - Jeff Saturday (Signed by Packers 3/23)

8 - Dan Connelly (Re-signed by Patriots 3/20)

9 - Dan Koppen (Re-signed by Patriots 4/14)

10 – Brett Romberg

Those aren't the only guys who snap the ball for a living.

Top UFA long snappers:

1 - CHRIS MASSEY

2 - Don Muhlbach (Re-signed by Lions 3/21)

3 - Ken Amato

4 - Joe Zelenka (Re-signed by Falcons 3/24)

5 - Mike Leach (Re-signed by Big Dead 3/26)

6 - David Binn

7 - Clark Harris (Re-signed by Bengals 4/17)

8 - Matt Katula (signed by Steelers 6/13)

Sleepers: Strong group, with the current Pro Bowl centers at the top and a couple of many-time Pro Bowlers and likely Hall-of-Famers in Birk and Saturday. I'll call Satele a sleeper. He's not well-known but is one of the best run-blockers at the position. At 30, Muhlbach is young for the long snapper position, and just played out a 5-year contract in Detroit.

Wild card: none. It doesn't look like a real strong draft class and most of the centers seem pretty determined to stay with their current teams.

Tag you're it: no centers franchised this year. No offensive linemen at all, in fact.

Out of the running: Will Montgomery (re-signed by Cowboys); Brian de la Puente (re-signed by Saints); Casey Wiegmann (again believed to be retiring), Justin Drescher (long snapper re-signed by Saints)

Voting present: Fernando Velasco, Jeff Faine (cut by Buccaneers 3/14), Jamey Richard (signed by Patriots 5/29), Jamaal Jackson (cut by Eagles 3/14)

The doctor will see you now: looks like a healthy, if old, group.

Gawd no: keeping Jason Brown

RamView’s moves: I don't know how anyone at Rams Park can justify keeping Jason Brown, if they are. He was terrible at center, a bad pass-blocker who got pushed around constantly and frequently blew the snap count. The Rams bumped him to guard late last season and he was even worse. I'd be insulting a blocking sled to call him one. The man is the worst player on the team. When you go 2-14, there is no way in hell you can keep the worst player on your team, is there? Jason Brown must go. That would leave Tony Wragge at center. He was a better physical player, but when you've had an F-minus guy around like Brown, Wragge's D+ looks a lot better than it really is. He seems to be the kind of player Paul Boudreau gets the most out of, though, so I think they have to bring him back. Do note, though, that Brett Romberg seems to pop up on a team's roster shortly after they get Boudreau. A very-late round or priority free agent pick I like is William Vlachos of Alabama. If we're stuck with Wragge, let's at least get a promising young prospect into camp.

AND BRING BACK CHRIS MASSEY. The kicking game all but went down the tubes last season after they cut Massey. Donnie Jones had, for him, a terrible year. Josh Brown was an even more disappointing underachiever than he's been so far as a Ram. You don't give kickers things to think about. Bring back the long snapper they work the best with. How do you cut a guy anyway, when he's never been anything but perfect at his job? Seriously? You cut Massey to save a few bucks under the cap but Jason Brown still has a locker here?

Rant over. RamView proposes to re-sign Massey to replace Jake McQuaide. As I mentioned during the guard rundown - Pro Football Weekly seems to assign positions to some players from out of a hat - if a veteran center like Andre Gurode, 33, doesn't cost a whole lot more than Wragge, I'd make that move. I'm even fine with Romberg over Wragge. He's worked with the o-line coach and with Harvey Dahl.

RamView's new offensive line:

RT-Dahl RG-Mattison C-Romberg/Gurode LG-Bell LT-Saffold

Jason Smith would be the 3rd tackle and in the mix to start at guard.

Additional backups: drafted tackle, John Greco, rookie interior lineman

Shoot the moon: Falcons center Todd McClure likely isn't going anywhere, but he's a quality center who's worked with Paul Boudreau for several years, and who Les Snead would be very familiar with. He would be an instant mega-upgrade over Wragge.

Prediction: Wragge stays, with Romberg returning as inexpensive center-guard depth. Brown has hopefully only lasted this long for Fisher to make an early things-are-gonna-change-around-here statement by cutting him. So I project the Rams' offensive line as:

RT-Smith RG-Dahl C-Wragge LG-Bell LT-Saffold

Mattison, Romberg, late-round drafted tackle, plus a very cheap veteran who can play multiple positions. Could be Goldberg, could be a former Titan like Daniel Loper or Jake Scott.

The projected plan for the Rams is stronger up the middle than RamView's plan, but my plan is much less reliant on the dicey proposition that Smith stays healthy for any amount of time.

Observing his special teams over the years, Fisher seems to realize the value of stability. His kickers and long snappers tended to hang around for a long time. So I'll boldly predict he does one of two things at long snapper. His old long snapper, Ken Amato, is a free agent. He will either lure him in or Bring. Back. Massey.

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