* WRs, RBs and QBs worked out at the NFL Combine Sunday, where Alabama WR Julio Jones crushed Rams Nation’s hopes of drafting him by crushing everything he performed. He ran a sub-4.4 40, had a ridiculous 11-foot-plus broad jump and bested #1 WR prospect A.J. Green at just about everything. Green was the clear #1 WR coming into Sunday, with Jones #2; now it’s more of a 1/1a situation, and Jones looks every bit like a top-10 draft pick now, which sucks when your team needs wide receivers and you’re picking 14th. Unless, that is, every team ahead of the Rams has draft evaluators who are IDIOTS as big as Sterling Sharpe, who insisted at the top of Sunday’s coverage on NFL Network that Jones wasn’t even a first-round pick. Less than five seconds after that moronic pronouncement, Jones blazed a 4.39. Sharpe is supposed to be their WR specialist for the Combine?
* More on the WRs, when their drills weren’t being pre-empted in favor of covering Cam Newton’s stupid broad jumps:
- More bad news: Leonard Hankerson may be another WR the Rams can’t draft, possibly playing his way into the lower-first / upper-second round. Then again, maybe I’m like Mike Mayock and think two hundred guys are going to get picked in the first two rounds. Hankerson ran a 4.4 and made pretty adjustments and catches in deep route drills. He did only go 2-for-5 on his first gauntlet run, though.
- A couple of the top small WR prospects surprised with their 40 times, not in a good way. Titus Young’s official 40 was 4.53. Jeremy Kerley, who looked pretty promising at the Senior Bowl, ran a 4.6-plus. At the slower speed, Kerley needed to look flawless at things like the gauntlet drill, but he didn’t. Young and Kerley were getting compared to DeSean Jackson, making them enticing names to Rams fans. But Jackson ran a 4.35.
- Another Senior Bowl favorite who had a setback at the Combine was Vincent Brown of San Diego State, who turned in 4.7-plus 40s. Yeah, I’m going to need my WRs to be able to outrun David Ortiz. Didn’t look like Boise State had a good day to me. Austin Pettis dropped a couple in the gauntlet and ran 4.6-plus.
- If you’re going to go with a smaller WR, go with Edmund Gates of Abilene Christian. He looked very smooth throughout the day and ran a sub-4.4. Or Kentucky’s Randall Cobb, who had a fine enough day to be named NFL Network’s Value Player of the Day, or something like that. Looked good in drills and ran a sub-4.5. Aldrick Robinson was one of the fastest runners and made a pretty play to high-point a deep pass. Greg Salas of Hawaii was smooth and showed nice body control. Denarius Moore had a nice gauntlet run and I’ve got my eye on him anyway since WR guru Charlie Baggett was his position coach last year at Tennessee.
- If you’re going to go with a bigger WR, try Greg Little of North Carolina. Like Tar Heel Brooks Foster a couple of years ago, he outbenched all the WRs. His 40 time was good, and he ran the best, smoothest gauntlet drill of anyone all weekend. Pitt’s Jonathan Baldwin’s also definitely in that equation. His 40 time of just over 4.5 wasn’t bad at all and he made nice catches away from his body. Terrence Toliver had one of the better gauntlet runs of the day.
- Staying off my WR radar: DeAndre Brown looked ungainly and really struggled to adjust to throws. Darvin Adams dropped too many, some just terribly, let too many get into his body and pulled up lame during the deep route drill. Torrey Smith’s got intriguing speed, but just like Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Terrapin can really only run speed routes. He’s nice on deep routes but nearly useless on short routes. And he plays out of control a lot. Joe Morgan appeared to have terrible hands and looked like total slop at times. Multiple drops for Lestar Jean, Ronald Johnson, Jock Sanders.
- We do know who the Rams are drafting in the sixth round, though: wide receiver Steven Burton. Burton ran a 4.5 and looked all right in drills, but more importantly, he’s out of WEST TEXAS A&M. Mortal lock the Rams are drafting him.
Monday, February 28, 2011
2011 NFL Combine day 2: RBs
* NFL Network’s running back coverage wasn’t very focused and was interrupted a lot, but RamView stayed a Roy Helu Jr. fan all the same. 4.43, good change of direction, recovers from loss of balance quickly. He ran every pass route well, caught every ball, and we know from Senior Bowl week that he can pick up a blitz. This is the change-of-pace RB the Rams need in their backfield.
- Of course, they could take one of many other RBs and probably not go too wrong. DeMarco Murray looked good as a receiver, showed terrific feet and good change of direction. He did drop a deep pass. Jordan Todman of Connecticut showed very good athleticism and change of direction. So did Derrick Locke. So did Ryan Williams, and he’s a big back. Dion Lewis showed he can change directions in a blink, and may have run the most perfect weave drill ever. His size and straight-line speed may be issues, though. Delone Carter looked like a smooth receiver, and Mikel Leshoure showed good hands. There are a ton of good change-of-pace type RBs available in this year’s draft; the Rams have NO excuse not to come away with one. Heck, just make Steven Jackson happy and draft another Oregon State guy, Jacquizz Rodgers, every bit as good Sunday as Murray, Helu, or anybody else, if every bit as tall as Bob Costas.
- Less impressive: Damien Berry butchered the weave drill and was not smooth at all as a receiver. Stevan Ridley looked clumsy at everything. Daniel Thomas, one of the highest-rated RBs, sat everything out because of a lingering hamstring problem from Kansas State’s bowl game. Also, Mayock can shut up about Kendall Hunter any day now. He runs too out-of-control and didn’t show very good hands receiving. Yes, Mayock, it’s nice he stuck his nose in there in the blitz pickup drills Senior Bowl week. He’s still going to get run over.
- Finally, I’ll admit my idiocy here and say I don’t get the fuss about Mark Ingram. Sure, he grunted a lot, but his 40 times and jumps were pedestrian, and I didn’t see him do anything Sunday that Mikel Leshoure can’t. His 1.53 10-yard split is certainly worth noting, but since NFL Net didn’t provide us with another 10-yard split all day, it’s kind of hard for an amateur like me to know where it fits in. I’m against the Rams drafting Ingram at #14 until I get a better idea what’s supposed to make him so special as a pro.
So the Rams should have plenty of second- to fourth- round prospects to sift through now at the RB and WR positions. As for that first-round pick, it’s likely going now to someone performing in the next two days, with defensive linemen and linebackers auditioning for the spot on Monday.
- Of course, they could take one of many other RBs and probably not go too wrong. DeMarco Murray looked good as a receiver, showed terrific feet and good change of direction. He did drop a deep pass. Jordan Todman of Connecticut showed very good athleticism and change of direction. So did Derrick Locke. So did Ryan Williams, and he’s a big back. Dion Lewis showed he can change directions in a blink, and may have run the most perfect weave drill ever. His size and straight-line speed may be issues, though. Delone Carter looked like a smooth receiver, and Mikel Leshoure showed good hands. There are a ton of good change-of-pace type RBs available in this year’s draft; the Rams have NO excuse not to come away with one. Heck, just make Steven Jackson happy and draft another Oregon State guy, Jacquizz Rodgers, every bit as good Sunday as Murray, Helu, or anybody else, if every bit as tall as Bob Costas.
- Less impressive: Damien Berry butchered the weave drill and was not smooth at all as a receiver. Stevan Ridley looked clumsy at everything. Daniel Thomas, one of the highest-rated RBs, sat everything out because of a lingering hamstring problem from Kansas State’s bowl game. Also, Mayock can shut up about Kendall Hunter any day now. He runs too out-of-control and didn’t show very good hands receiving. Yes, Mayock, it’s nice he stuck his nose in there in the blitz pickup drills Senior Bowl week. He’s still going to get run over.
- Finally, I’ll admit my idiocy here and say I don’t get the fuss about Mark Ingram. Sure, he grunted a lot, but his 40 times and jumps were pedestrian, and I didn’t see him do anything Sunday that Mikel Leshoure can’t. His 1.53 10-yard split is certainly worth noting, but since NFL Net didn’t provide us with another 10-yard split all day, it’s kind of hard for an amateur like me to know where it fits in. I’m against the Rams drafting Ingram at #14 until I get a better idea what’s supposed to make him so special as a pro.
So the Rams should have plenty of second- to fourth- round prospects to sift through now at the RB and WR positions. As for that first-round pick, it’s likely going now to someone performing in the next two days, with defensive linemen and linebackers auditioning for the spot on Monday.
2011 NFL Combine day 2: QBs
* QB notes’ll be quick, since the Rams aren’t looking. Blaine Gabbert took plenty of heat for opting not to throw this weekend. Cam Newton’s thinking Gabbert had the right idea right about now, though. Newton struggled with accuracy throughout the day and didn’t appear to have a clue how to throw a square out. It does look like his problems are timing and footwork problems that should be fairly easy to fix, though.
- On the upside at QB: Christian Ponder doesn’t have the big arm, but everything he threw was pinpoint, including some perfect deep routes. One of the few QBs who consistently threw to the proper shoulder. Ponder has really elevated his prospects, following his Senior Bowl MVP with an excellent Combine. Andy Dalton showed unexpected deep arm strength and threw perfect slant passes. Jerrod Johnson threw better than I expected he would, especially the short stuff, while Scott Tolzein threw better deep stuff than I anticipated. Ryan Mallett’s getting accolades for his huge arm but he was well behind the other QBs at running and jumping.
- In the middle: Jake Locker’s short and intermediate accuracy is improving but he had trouble finding his range on deep throws. Pat Devlin threw precise short sideline passes but didn’t display much of a deep arm. Colin Kaepernick, the opposite. Big arm, threw some perfect bombs, but a total adventure on square outs.
- On the downside: Tyron Taylor looked afraid to unleash the beast, tentatively underthrowing just about everything. Taylor Yates looked like the worst QB there.
- Sleeper QB: Jeff Van Camp, Florida Atlantic. Didn’t see the guy do anything wrong all day. Decent accuracy on slant routes, threw some nice deep balls and really nailed his throws on corner routes.
- On the upside at QB: Christian Ponder doesn’t have the big arm, but everything he threw was pinpoint, including some perfect deep routes. One of the few QBs who consistently threw to the proper shoulder. Ponder has really elevated his prospects, following his Senior Bowl MVP with an excellent Combine. Andy Dalton showed unexpected deep arm strength and threw perfect slant passes. Jerrod Johnson threw better than I expected he would, especially the short stuff, while Scott Tolzein threw better deep stuff than I anticipated. Ryan Mallett’s getting accolades for his huge arm but he was well behind the other QBs at running and jumping.
- In the middle: Jake Locker’s short and intermediate accuracy is improving but he had trouble finding his range on deep throws. Pat Devlin threw precise short sideline passes but didn’t display much of a deep arm. Colin Kaepernick, the opposite. Big arm, threw some perfect bombs, but a total adventure on square outs.
- On the downside: Tyron Taylor looked afraid to unleash the beast, tentatively underthrowing just about everything. Taylor Yates looked like the worst QB there.
- Sleeper QB: Jeff Van Camp, Florida Atlantic. Didn’t see the guy do anything wrong all day. Decent accuracy on slant routes, threw some nice deep balls and really nailed his throws on corner routes.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
2011 NFL Combine, day 1 (OL/TE)
Notes on the first day of the 2011 NFL Combine:
* The Rams have been the early newsmakers of this year's Combine. Of course, it's because one of their scouts got drunk and got arrested for peeing on a building in downtown Indianapolis and exposing himself to a female police officer. Way to represent the team, Luke Driscoll. You know, when you're working for a team that prides itself on its “Four Pillars” approach, it's probably best not to go out and piss on one of them. I actually see people online DEFENDING this guy, which blows me away. Indoor plumbing's been around for a very long time; public urination should be a pretty easy crime to avoid here in the 21st century. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as the Lions coach who drove naked through the drive-thru.
* Also Rams-related: Julio Jones, billed at Alabama as 6'4”, measured 6'2 and 3/4”. That's not as bad as Michael Crabtree shrinking a full two inches a couple of years ago, but I HATE LYING college football programs.
* I'm calling Anthony Costanzo the offensive line star today; I think he's raised himself into a very likely top-10 pick (I'm looking at you, Dallas). No matter what drill the linemen ran, Costanzo looked like the player with the best technique. He got such a good jump in the kick-slide drill, he didn't even have to push the “rusher” behind the quarterback position; he just stoned him where he stood. He looked perfect in the mirror drill, and his performances in the 40 and in the weight room were fine. Nate Solder showed great athleticism everywhere but the weight room, where he's getting downgraded by many for finishing just 21 bench presses by people ignorant to the handicap very long-armed athletes like Solder are at in that particular exercise. Solder's height did make him look awkward at times in drills, though. I think he's a clear #2 to Costanzo's #1.
* The winner at tight end's going to be considered Virgil Green for his outrageous 10'10” broad jump and 42.5” vertical leap, but I thought Julius Thomas and D.J. Williams ran 1-2 for the day. Their gauntlet runs were pretty well flawless. Thomas showed he can really pull down high passes, which you'd figure he could as a former basketball player. He and Williams were the superior TEs in dig route and comeback route drills. Green and Lance Kendricks made some excellent catches, but had problems with consistency.
* Beyond that, tight end was a real mess. Lots of dropped balls. Luke Stocker had at least three. Lee Smith had a couple. Kendricks followed a perfect first gauntlet with a couple of bad drops the second time. Almost everyone had lots of trouble staying in bounds, finding the ball on deep routes, adjusting to the ball. Schuyler Oordt let EVERY pass get into his body the first gauntlet and had a couple of drops on the second. Cameron Graham just looks like a poor athlete; I'm not even sure what he was doing there. They weren't kidding; this is a truly weak draft at tight end. Maybe the Rams shouldn't have screwed around last year and taken a guy with persistent injury problems and another guy who had barely ever played the game. They won't get Julius Thomas this year where they got Fendi Onobun last year.
* RamView's still a big Rodney Hudson fan. He's put on 14 pounds since the Senior Bowl, up to 299. He looked very good in the agility drill and in the pull-block drill. He looked damn good in the down-block drill. He's really fluid, can play guard or center, and showed during the Senior Bowl that he's a rock in pass protection. I wouldn't have hesitated to draft him for a second until seeing his 8.03 time in the 3-cone drill, a definite red flag.
* Danny Watkins is another very capable guard with a big fat red flag; I believe he's going to turn 27 this season. I think he'd be fine for a team where he'd start right away and that is just a guard away from taking the next big step. The Rams aren't that team.
* Brandon Fusco, the Slippery Rock center, impressed. His times and measurements were right there with the best of the big school linemen. He's the real deal. Also impressing: Derek Sherrod looked good in the agility drill and put up some of the better times of the day. Will Rackley looked good in the agility and mirror drills. Steven Schilling also looked fine in those drills.
* Ryan Bartholomew may or may not be the real deal. He had the 2nd-fastest 40 and did the most bench presses. So he's great in T-shirt in shorts. When we last saw him in uniform at the Senior Bowl, though, he was getting blasted off the line almost every time. Which to believe?
* Ups and downs for some others. Jason Pinkston looked great in the agility and mirror drills but looked a little slow at kick-slide. Mike Pouncey looked terrific in the agility drill but I feel like he was getting beaten in the mirror drill. John Moffitt turned in a stunning 5.55 40 but was outstanding in the mirror drill.
* Disappointments:
- It was believed Tyron Smith would light up the Combine but he had to skip almost everything due to swelling in his knee, which was scoped in December.
- Carimi didn't look as good as I thought he would. He stumbled all over the place in the agility drill and it didn't look like he matched up well against speed in the mirror drill.
- Rough day for James Carpenter, who looked terrible in agility drills and then tweaked a knee in the mirror drill.
- Arizona's Adam Grant moves about as stiff and upright as Frankenstein's monster. He may have a 2x4 stuck down the back of his jersey.
- DeMarcus Love got smoked by his man in the worst kick-slide rep of the day.
- Daniel Kilgore of Appalachian State struggled at anything that required speed. Clearly his prospects are at guard, if they weren't already.
* As a “camp body” in high school 30 years ago, I was timed at 5.6 in the 40. Certainly every player at every NFL Combine should beat that time. Meet Houston offensive lineman Isaiah Thompson. He turned in two 40s over six seconds. His 3-cone drill was over nine seconds. Thompson has the unfortunate distinction of worst athlete at this year's Combine, and there are kickers there. Hell, Rich Eisen might outrun him.
* Possible sleepers:
- Arkansas T Ray Dominguez looked really good at times in drills and could be worth a longer look.
- TCU tackle Marcus Cannon moved exceptionally well for being nearly 360 pounds and the heaviest man there. He's definitely not the sloppy 360 Andre Smith was/is. In the kick-slide drill, though, he proved to have only guard-speed.
- Michigan State TE Charlie Gantt doesn't look the part, but the guy can ball, as the kids say, or used to. Fine hands, caught everything well, adjusted well on deep routes. Surprise player of the day.
* As usual, NFL Network gets some things right and gets other things very wrong. We got to see BOTH groups of linemen this year, which is superb, and which I hope continues on to the other multiple-group positions. On the other hand, they broke away from the most important drill, the kick-slide, to show the first group BROAD JUMPING. I could give a crap about offensive linemen jumping. Then they left a kick-slide drill completely for a commercial break. Grr. They haven't had a 40 time fiasco (YET) like Taylor Mays' last year (which Rich Eisen referenced), but they've been far from perfect. NFL Net's unofficial time is usually 0.1 faster than the official Combine time, especially for the more highly-regarded players. Their “side-by-side” 40 footage had Costanzo beating Gabe Carimi, and Ryan Bartholomew finishing first among the top 4. But by official times, Carimi beat Costanzo, and Bartholomew finished second behind Jason Kelce. Good thing these guys aren't in charge of the Olympics.
* Mike Mayock continues to marvel at how much Mike Pouncey looks like and plays like his brother Maurkice. How long before Mayock realizes THE POUNCEYS ARE IDENTICAL TWINS?
* Fact probably only I care about: This year's draft will have a Cameron Jordan (DL, Cal) and a Jordan Cameron (TE, USC).
Glamor positions Sunday, with the big question being: will Julio Jones still be in the Rams' draft neighborhood at the end of the day?
-$-
* The Rams have been the early newsmakers of this year's Combine. Of course, it's because one of their scouts got drunk and got arrested for peeing on a building in downtown Indianapolis and exposing himself to a female police officer. Way to represent the team, Luke Driscoll. You know, when you're working for a team that prides itself on its “Four Pillars” approach, it's probably best not to go out and piss on one of them. I actually see people online DEFENDING this guy, which blows me away. Indoor plumbing's been around for a very long time; public urination should be a pretty easy crime to avoid here in the 21st century. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as the Lions coach who drove naked through the drive-thru.
* Also Rams-related: Julio Jones, billed at Alabama as 6'4”, measured 6'2 and 3/4”. That's not as bad as Michael Crabtree shrinking a full two inches a couple of years ago, but I HATE LYING college football programs.
* I'm calling Anthony Costanzo the offensive line star today; I think he's raised himself into a very likely top-10 pick (I'm looking at you, Dallas). No matter what drill the linemen ran, Costanzo looked like the player with the best technique. He got such a good jump in the kick-slide drill, he didn't even have to push the “rusher” behind the quarterback position; he just stoned him where he stood. He looked perfect in the mirror drill, and his performances in the 40 and in the weight room were fine. Nate Solder showed great athleticism everywhere but the weight room, where he's getting downgraded by many for finishing just 21 bench presses by people ignorant to the handicap very long-armed athletes like Solder are at in that particular exercise. Solder's height did make him look awkward at times in drills, though. I think he's a clear #2 to Costanzo's #1.
* The winner at tight end's going to be considered Virgil Green for his outrageous 10'10” broad jump and 42.5” vertical leap, but I thought Julius Thomas and D.J. Williams ran 1-2 for the day. Their gauntlet runs were pretty well flawless. Thomas showed he can really pull down high passes, which you'd figure he could as a former basketball player. He and Williams were the superior TEs in dig route and comeback route drills. Green and Lance Kendricks made some excellent catches, but had problems with consistency.
* Beyond that, tight end was a real mess. Lots of dropped balls. Luke Stocker had at least three. Lee Smith had a couple. Kendricks followed a perfect first gauntlet with a couple of bad drops the second time. Almost everyone had lots of trouble staying in bounds, finding the ball on deep routes, adjusting to the ball. Schuyler Oordt let EVERY pass get into his body the first gauntlet and had a couple of drops on the second. Cameron Graham just looks like a poor athlete; I'm not even sure what he was doing there. They weren't kidding; this is a truly weak draft at tight end. Maybe the Rams shouldn't have screwed around last year and taken a guy with persistent injury problems and another guy who had barely ever played the game. They won't get Julius Thomas this year where they got Fendi Onobun last year.
* RamView's still a big Rodney Hudson fan. He's put on 14 pounds since the Senior Bowl, up to 299. He looked very good in the agility drill and in the pull-block drill. He looked damn good in the down-block drill. He's really fluid, can play guard or center, and showed during the Senior Bowl that he's a rock in pass protection. I wouldn't have hesitated to draft him for a second until seeing his 8.03 time in the 3-cone drill, a definite red flag.
* Danny Watkins is another very capable guard with a big fat red flag; I believe he's going to turn 27 this season. I think he'd be fine for a team where he'd start right away and that is just a guard away from taking the next big step. The Rams aren't that team.
* Brandon Fusco, the Slippery Rock center, impressed. His times and measurements were right there with the best of the big school linemen. He's the real deal. Also impressing: Derek Sherrod looked good in the agility drill and put up some of the better times of the day. Will Rackley looked good in the agility and mirror drills. Steven Schilling also looked fine in those drills.
* Ryan Bartholomew may or may not be the real deal. He had the 2nd-fastest 40 and did the most bench presses. So he's great in T-shirt in shorts. When we last saw him in uniform at the Senior Bowl, though, he was getting blasted off the line almost every time. Which to believe?
* Ups and downs for some others. Jason Pinkston looked great in the agility and mirror drills but looked a little slow at kick-slide. Mike Pouncey looked terrific in the agility drill but I feel like he was getting beaten in the mirror drill. John Moffitt turned in a stunning 5.55 40 but was outstanding in the mirror drill.
* Disappointments:
- It was believed Tyron Smith would light up the Combine but he had to skip almost everything due to swelling in his knee, which was scoped in December.
- Carimi didn't look as good as I thought he would. He stumbled all over the place in the agility drill and it didn't look like he matched up well against speed in the mirror drill.
- Rough day for James Carpenter, who looked terrible in agility drills and then tweaked a knee in the mirror drill.
- Arizona's Adam Grant moves about as stiff and upright as Frankenstein's monster. He may have a 2x4 stuck down the back of his jersey.
- DeMarcus Love got smoked by his man in the worst kick-slide rep of the day.
- Daniel Kilgore of Appalachian State struggled at anything that required speed. Clearly his prospects are at guard, if they weren't already.
* As a “camp body” in high school 30 years ago, I was timed at 5.6 in the 40. Certainly every player at every NFL Combine should beat that time. Meet Houston offensive lineman Isaiah Thompson. He turned in two 40s over six seconds. His 3-cone drill was over nine seconds. Thompson has the unfortunate distinction of worst athlete at this year's Combine, and there are kickers there. Hell, Rich Eisen might outrun him.
* Possible sleepers:
- Arkansas T Ray Dominguez looked really good at times in drills and could be worth a longer look.
- TCU tackle Marcus Cannon moved exceptionally well for being nearly 360 pounds and the heaviest man there. He's definitely not the sloppy 360 Andre Smith was/is. In the kick-slide drill, though, he proved to have only guard-speed.
- Michigan State TE Charlie Gantt doesn't look the part, but the guy can ball, as the kids say, or used to. Fine hands, caught everything well, adjusted well on deep routes. Surprise player of the day.
* As usual, NFL Network gets some things right and gets other things very wrong. We got to see BOTH groups of linemen this year, which is superb, and which I hope continues on to the other multiple-group positions. On the other hand, they broke away from the most important drill, the kick-slide, to show the first group BROAD JUMPING. I could give a crap about offensive linemen jumping. Then they left a kick-slide drill completely for a commercial break. Grr. They haven't had a 40 time fiasco (YET) like Taylor Mays' last year (which Rich Eisen referenced), but they've been far from perfect. NFL Net's unofficial time is usually 0.1 faster than the official Combine time, especially for the more highly-regarded players. Their “side-by-side” 40 footage had Costanzo beating Gabe Carimi, and Ryan Bartholomew finishing first among the top 4. But by official times, Carimi beat Costanzo, and Bartholomew finished second behind Jason Kelce. Good thing these guys aren't in charge of the Olympics.
* Mike Mayock continues to marvel at how much Mike Pouncey looks like and plays like his brother Maurkice. How long before Mayock realizes THE POUNCEYS ARE IDENTICAL TWINS?
* Fact probably only I care about: This year's draft will have a Cameron Jordan (DL, Cal) and a Jordan Cameron (TE, USC).
Glamor positions Sunday, with the big question being: will Julio Jones still be in the Rams' draft neighborhood at the end of the day?
-$-
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Mock draft rundown
The NFL Combine is right around the corner, and that means mock draft season has begun in earnest for 2011. Draft analysts appear pretty split right now about who's going to Carolina with the first pick in the draft - DaQuan Bowers? Nick Fairley? - but they all seem pretty doggone certain who's going to the Rams with pick #14: Alabama wideout Julio Jones.
I'm going to very unscientifically say that 98% of the mock drafts I've seen so far have Julio Jones going to the Rams in the first round. The notable mock drafts right now are the few that don't see it that way. Pro Football Weekly's mock by Nolan Nawrocki has that meddling Pat Shurmur getting Jones at #6, with the Rams taking North Carolina DE Robert Quinn. Mel Kiper's mock last week on espn.com had Houston taking Jones at #11 and the Rams going with Illinois DT Corey Liuget. (Eh? There's at least a half-dozen guys in the 2nd half of Kiper's mock I'd take before Liuget.) At draftcountdown.com, like many others, Scott Wright has the Rams taking Jones. John Crist's 3-round mock just up at scout.com has the Rams going with Jones in the 1st, Pitt DE Jabaal Sheard in the 2nd and Oklahoma RB DeMarco Murray in the 3rd. The upcoming Combine will no doubt have major impact on everyone's draft projections; RamView will try do a better job staying on top of that than was done with the Senior Bowl. (Still stuck at halftime.)
I'll dress this post up with pics and links once I get on a computer that freaking allows me to right-click in Internet Explorer. Any ideas why the BLUE HELL I can't do one of the most basic actions on a new system with the newest operating system and most up-to-date browser out there are welcomed.
-$-
I'm going to very unscientifically say that 98% of the mock drafts I've seen so far have Julio Jones going to the Rams in the first round. The notable mock drafts right now are the few that don't see it that way. Pro Football Weekly's mock by Nolan Nawrocki has that meddling Pat Shurmur getting Jones at #6, with the Rams taking North Carolina DE Robert Quinn. Mel Kiper's mock last week on espn.com had Houston taking Jones at #11 and the Rams going with Illinois DT Corey Liuget. (Eh? There's at least a half-dozen guys in the 2nd half of Kiper's mock I'd take before Liuget.) At draftcountdown.com, like many others, Scott Wright has the Rams taking Jones. John Crist's 3-round mock just up at scout.com has the Rams going with Jones in the 1st, Pitt DE Jabaal Sheard in the 2nd and Oklahoma RB DeMarco Murray in the 3rd. The upcoming Combine will no doubt have major impact on everyone's draft projections; RamView will try do a better job staying on top of that than was done with the Senior Bowl. (Still stuck at halftime.)
I'll dress this post up with pics and links once I get on a computer that freaking allows me to right-click in Internet Explorer. Any ideas why the BLUE HELL I can't do one of the most basic actions on a new system with the newest operating system and most up-to-date browser out there are welcomed.
-$-
Friday, February 18, 2011
Atogwe released, talking with Redskins
The Rams are going to release their starting free safety and best defensive turnover creator, Oshiomogho Atogwe. Atogwe would have been due an $8 million roster bonus on Monday. I don't believe there was any effort to renegotiate Atogwe's contract, which was probably sensible on both sides, given the absence of a labor agreement.
I'm going to whistle past the graveyard here and say this doesn't rule out Atogwe returning to the Rams at all. Once everybody knows what the labor rules are, there should still be a good chance a fair agreement can be reached. (crosses fingers, rubs lucky rabbit's foot, throws pinch of salt over shoulder)
-$-
Update: a worrisome sign that the Rams may have goofed here: Atogwe's already going to Washington today (2/21) to talk with the Redskins. He's obviously already played for their DC, Jim Haslett. The Redskins have a major hole at free safety. The Buffalo Bills are also said to be interested in Atogwe.
-$$-
I'm going to whistle past the graveyard here and say this doesn't rule out Atogwe returning to the Rams at all. Once everybody knows what the labor rules are, there should still be a good chance a fair agreement can be reached. (crosses fingers, rubs lucky rabbit's foot, throws pinch of salt over shoulder)
-$-
Update: a worrisome sign that the Rams may have goofed here: Atogwe's already going to Washington today (2/21) to talk with the Redskins. He's obviously already played for their DC, Jim Haslett. The Redskins have a major hole at free safety. The Buffalo Bills are also said to be interested in Atogwe.
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Rams report, 2/18
* Some of the St. Louis paranoia that the Rams could move back to Los Angeles may ease a bit with the news today that John Shaw no longer has an official role on the team. Shaw was swept out of the team president's office two years ago but still had a senior advisory role with the team, officially, up until this year's Super Bowl.For his instrumental role in moving the Rams from L.A., Shaw's always going to be hated there. Fair enough. St. Louis is more likely to see him in a neutral-to-positive light. He brought the team here, and generally gets the credit for the Marshall Faulk trade, which launched the Rams to a Super Bowl championship. I'd assume he was also behind hiring Dick Vermeil. From there, Mike Martz's drafts, Scott Linehan's career and Georgia Frontiere's passing weakened the franchise to the point that Shaw was necessarily atop the heap of the team's housecleaning in the past couple of seasons, though he earned credit for making the transition of ownership to Stan Kroenke a lot more orderly than it could have been.
John Shaw's widely derided as being a lawyer, not a football guy, something brought up often as the Rams declined during the past decade, (and probably in L.A. in the 90s, too) but he deserves to be remembered, in St. Louis, at least, for getting some big moves right, helping bring St. Louis not only an NFL team, but an unforgettable champion.
* Around the league, a couple of things going on besides the players' union making pretend offers to the owners:
- The Chargers put the franchise tag on Vincent Jackson, which could affect the Rams' free-agency shopping list. Then again, the NFLPA asserts the NFL has no right to franchise players since there's no labor agreement in force for the 2011 season. Union sounds right to me on this one. Maybe the owners are just using pretend franchise tags.
- The Bills cut Marcus Stroud, who could be worth a look from the Rams for his run-stuffing skills. The minuses: he's just a little younger than Fred Robbins, and this year's draft looks very deep at defensive tackle. In other veteran DT news, the Raiders re-signed Richard Seymour for another two years, so cross him off the shopping list.
* RamView's not going to bother with a 2011 free agency preview at this point; the ongoing labor problem makes it pretty pointless. It's hard enough to figure out who's a free agent and who isn't when there is a labor agreement. Hell, I'm going to be lucky to get my Senior Bowl report in before the NFL Combine starts in Indianapolis next weekend.
photo: UPI
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