St. Louis Rams Offseason Needs By Tyler Lurkins
The Rams are 29-83 in the last seven seasons. St. Louisians witnessed the axe fall on a hall of fame coach (Dick Vermiel) while failure after failure replaced him. Instability and ignorance ensued. One owner passed, front office brass left, heir apparents left broke, and prospective owners walked. In the playoff drought fans became sick from the results of failed picks such as Alex Barron, Tye Hill, and Jason Smith. Free agency lacked luster as well as, every true fan still shudders when hearing the name Drew or Bennett.
Finally, an owner with dispensable income and a hunger for quality purchases the Rams. The first move: hire a professional, no nonsense coach, with a long tenure of winning seasons. To keep the coach in check, a disciple of the game to ascend to the G.M.’s chair.
This team is not in a win now mode. With a high pick this year, and a stable of high picks for the next two drafts, a successful foundation is in place. Snead needs to prove the talent scouted will produce over several seasons. Keeping the locker room intact and developing the talent will be Fisher’s main objective.
Current team needs are as followed, ranked in importance:
WR-The Rams have lacked a true #1 since Holt and Bruce left.
-Slot receiver Amendola tendered.
-Steve Smith signed
-If the Rams can’t draft Blackmon, they need to focus attention to other positions. The list of average receivers in this organization is long and distinguished. No more mid round receivers need apply here.
-A late round speedster should also be added for return purposes. Perhaps an Arkansas receiver, Jenkins from Illinois, or Hilton can be found after the 5th round.
C-A quality, dependable center that Sam Bradford can trust is needed. A smart center who can lead and anchor the line and shout out blitz packages.
-Signed Scott Wells
DT-The Rams were serviceable here until the cuts of Robbins and Bannan. Gibson and Scott are nearly the one DT’s on the roster now and are only rotational players.
-Kendall Langford signed
-One of the top 7 or 8 DT’s need to be had by the first pick of the third round. If not early, then find a serviceable nose like Fangupo or Jean-Baptiste in the later rounds.
LB-Especially in this Wide 9 defensive scheme, an athletic blitzing LB will be needed on the outside.
-Both a SLB and WLB are needed. WLB will need to be addressed in the first three rounds.
S-Mikel plays at a high level. If he plays FS, a SS will be sought after. Better suited at SS, Mikel will need a counterpart at FS. Too many plays have torched the secondary resulting in a team loss.
-Both the free agent market and draft are thin at the safety position. This position may need to wait, hopefully coaching can increase the talent level.
T-If Saffold returns to 2010 form, the Rams will need a RT. Saffold slides to RT and a LT is needed.
-This offense runs to set up the pass. Saffold will understand this soak in the playbook and be solid. Perhaps he won’t be an all pro, but he will give Bradford the time he requires.
-A RT drafted in the mid to late rounds should suffice. Anything is an upgrade over Smith.
CB-Finnegan signed a nice contract and will be the vocal leader of this D. The likes of Fletcher, Hood, Murphy, Ness, and Gordy barely cut the mustard on the opposite side. Fletcher has the potential, but could be the FS of the future?
-A serviceable veteran may be found via free agency.
-The massive talent at CB may lead the Ram’s to nab a corner in the early rounds. Currently, I have the Rams taking Dennard atop the second.
RB-After two healthy seasons carried the load, can SJ39 finally be considered reliable? No one questions his heart or talent. Before this year, he hadn’t played a full season since 2006. Cadillac played courageously, but he simply doesn’t have “it” anymore. Norwood barely touched the field, and when he did went backwards. Jackson is the face of this franchise, not Bradford, but what happens if he goes down?
-Complimentary backs able to carry the load are easily found in middle rounds. Cyrus Gray is my pick in the draft as he is pro ready with return skills. Other options include Pead, Pierce, and maybe Turbin.
TE-The roster is riddled with serviceable but average TE’s. Kendricks is a very talented receiver. Maybe he has developed since his rookie year and make a name for himself.
-A gamble could be tossed out by drafting an Orson Charles in the late rounds.
OG-The tenacious road grader, Dahl, may return to the pro bowl in this offense. The other guard position is a committee of lack luster backups.
-Bell has not resigned, but was successful under Coach Fisher at Tennessee. Mattison, Levoir, Wragge, and maybe Goldberg may be able to hold down the fort of one more year.
-To solidify the line the Rams could look to Osemele or Zeittler in round 2. Depends on how the franchise views the importance.
DE-Quinn and Long will go crazy in Fisher’s D. The ends are very active and blitz often. Both should have stellar years. There is absolutely no depth behind them.
-There will be several cuts after the draft picks begin to sign. The Rams could wait patiently for a veteran to be released.
-The late rounds will have developmental picks such as Vernon and Guyton. These players will need to add strength and awareness, but can get by with good burst and speed.
QB-St. Louis fans are very split on Bradford. The optimists see his arm and awareness and fall in love. The pessimists (me in particular) do not trust Bradford’s durability. Also, how may hits can he take and will he ever learn to throw an accurate pass further than 10 yards? Sam is the franchise QB and for this team to crawl out of the gutter, he’ll need to be efficient. The Rams should at least begin to develop someone behind him, like Flynn for Rogers. If Bradford is hurt, who can step in and lead?
-With Brandstater, Feeley, and Clemons still on the roster, it’s doubtful the organization addresses this issue this year. It should be kept in the back of their minds for next year.
Off Season Losses
Brandon Lloyd, WR, Patriots
Ron Bartell, CB, Raiders
Chris Chamberlin, LB, Saints
Signings
Steve Smith, WR
Danny Amendola, WR
Courtland Finnegan, CB
Scott Wells, C
Brit Miller, FB
Kendall Langford, DT
Matt Mulligan, TE
Priorities
Donnie Jones, P-Unfortunately Jones is one of the better players on the roster, that’s what happens when you punt 20 times/game.
Jacob Bell, G-The organization is luke warm on Bell coming back. He’ll be a very valuable backup at the least.
Tony Wragge, G/C-Wragge may need to start at G. He proved his worth as a valuable backup at C.
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