F. Mulder
Starter
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 773
Even Fisher acknowledged that the offense has to be upgraded and based on the cap situation, some questionable previous signings, and the available players they will NOT go FA unless they go for someone like a mid-tier OL.
There is no question the OL has to, and will be addressed in some form. I think it will be a combination of existing Rams players (Jones, Long (when recovered) and Jones). I think Wells and Dahl are gone as is C Williams. I think they like Barnes as a decent backup and would prefer to have Barksdale as the #3 OT. Not sure what they do with S Smith and what will happen with Saffold. I think they draft one OL in the 1-2 rounds.
At QB they go all in with Bradford. He is literally playing for a place on this team in 2015 and a contract that pays him well. If he fails, or is hurt I can't see him signing for a lower contract nor the Rams wanting to invest more money and years in him (and I LIKE Bradford).
I think they are set at RB with the only position being if Pead grows up and gets it together or if they look for another mid/late round type. I think Richardson stays but returns to the role he should have been playing all along, which is COP/3rd down RB.
Where I am having trouble is with the WR position. I don't think they will even blink letting Pettis go and they obviously are in love with Austin. I think they were starting to see what they have in Bailey the last few games but the two wildcards are Givens and Quick. IF, they think Givens was suffering from a Sophomore slump then someone like M. Lee is probably out of the picture. IF they think Quick can step up in a huge way then they probably don't look at someone like Evans or Benjamin. I think they know that despite the emergence of Stacey and the flashes of Austin and Cook they have some potential playmakers on Offense but I also think they know they need one more. Now whether they think Givens bounces back or Quick steps up is the key question for me. Personally I'm not a big fan of Givens and would rather they go with someone like Watkins and keep Quick for one more year and have a much clearer idea on who he is after 2014.
Sorry for the ramble, I'm in Peru drinking Pisco Sour so I'm all over the place. My points are:
Bradford is playing for a contract and the Rams will know much better what they have after next year
OL must be addressed at some point early and some point again in the middle
RB is a lower priority
WR is the wildcard and putting another high pick for someone like Watkins would show they acknowledge they need one more playmaker AND Givens and/or Quick are still unproven
Defense is another post but I could easily see the first 3 picks being some combo of OL/WR/DB
FWIW, I'm on the Watkins bandwagon unless they cut ties with Quick/Givens and can get similar players like Lee, Evans, etc.
I feel the same about the OL. I think Mathews is most pro ready and most solid. IF they feel other OL have equal or more upside but aren't quite as ready as Mathews then I don't want to see them go OL until later in the first if possible.
There is no question the OL has to, and will be addressed in some form. I think it will be a combination of existing Rams players (Jones, Long (when recovered) and Jones). I think Wells and Dahl are gone as is C Williams. I think they like Barnes as a decent backup and would prefer to have Barksdale as the #3 OT. Not sure what they do with S Smith and what will happen with Saffold. I think they draft one OL in the 1-2 rounds.
At QB they go all in with Bradford. He is literally playing for a place on this team in 2015 and a contract that pays him well. If he fails, or is hurt I can't see him signing for a lower contract nor the Rams wanting to invest more money and years in him (and I LIKE Bradford).
I think they are set at RB with the only position being if Pead grows up and gets it together or if they look for another mid/late round type. I think Richardson stays but returns to the role he should have been playing all along, which is COP/3rd down RB.
Where I am having trouble is with the WR position. I don't think they will even blink letting Pettis go and they obviously are in love with Austin. I think they were starting to see what they have in Bailey the last few games but the two wildcards are Givens and Quick. IF, they think Givens was suffering from a Sophomore slump then someone like M. Lee is probably out of the picture. IF they think Quick can step up in a huge way then they probably don't look at someone like Evans or Benjamin. I think they know that despite the emergence of Stacey and the flashes of Austin and Cook they have some potential playmakers on Offense but I also think they know they need one more. Now whether they think Givens bounces back or Quick steps up is the key question for me. Personally I'm not a big fan of Givens and would rather they go with someone like Watkins and keep Quick for one more year and have a much clearer idea on who he is after 2014.
Sorry for the ramble, I'm in Peru drinking Pisco Sour so I'm all over the place. My points are:
Bradford is playing for a contract and the Rams will know much better what they have after next year
OL must be addressed at some point early and some point again in the middle
RB is a lower priority
WR is the wildcard and putting another high pick for someone like Watkins would show they acknowledge they need one more playmaker AND Givens and/or Quick are still unproven
Defense is another post but I could easily see the first 3 picks being some combo of OL/WR/DB
FWIW, I'm on the Watkins bandwagon unless they cut ties with Quick/Givens and can get similar players like Lee, Evans, etc.
I feel the same about the OL. I think Mathews is most pro ready and most solid. IF they feel other OL have equal or more upside but aren't quite as ready as Mathews then I don't want to see them go OL until later in the first if possible.