Fairley

The free agent signings are targeting the defense.

I expect the draft may go heavy on offense.

Although I’d be surprised if they didn’t sign at least one veteran lineman.

PA Ram wrote:

The free agent signings are targeting the defense.

I expect the draft may go heavy on offense.

Although I’d be surprised if they didn’t sign at least one veteran lineman.

Yeah. I’d be surprised and disappointed if the rams didn’t sign 2 O-lineman. I hope they do!

I read, that Suh said, that he had more talent than he did.

Rams offer Nick Fairley chance to reach his potential

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/164062/rams-offer-nick-fairley-chance-to-reach-his-potential

EARTH CITY, Mo. — In the 2011 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams had the 14th pick and patiently waited their turn to make a selection while superstar pass-rushers such as J.J. Watt, Von Miller, Aldon Smith and Marcell Dareus came off the board. While Chris Long was locked into one position, the Rams desperately wanted to bolster their pass rush and kept their fingers crossed that one of the other top defensive linemen would fall in their lap.

As the Detroit Lions came up with the 13th pick, they took Nick Fairley. The Rams turned in the card with end Robert Quinn’s name on it nearly as fast as Quinn bends the edge against a left tackle.

On Tuesday morning, the Rams turned what four years ago was an “either/or” situation into a resounding “and.” A day after arriving in St. Louis, Fairley signed a one-year contract worth $5 million, which could reach the $8-million range with incentives.

That Fairley was even available was a product of a disappointing four-year stint with the Lions in which Fairley was plagued by injuries, weight problems and a couple of arrests. Despite glimpses of potential — especially in 2012 and 2013 when he posted 69 tackles and 11.5 sacks in 28 games — the Lions declined to exercise their fifth-year option on Fairley in hopes it would motivate him.

It didn’t necessarily work as Fairley had 14 tackles and a sack in eight 2014 games before knee injuries cost him the other half of the season. So it was that Fairley hit the open market on Tuesday in search of a chance to prove the potential that only came in small doses in Detroit can be consistently applied in a new locale.

In choosing the Rams’ one-year deal, Fairley essentially signed a “prove-it” deal intended to bolster his stock and allow him to cash in next season. And, though Fairley is likely to serve as the primary backup to Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers, Fairley couldn’t have picked a better situation in which to bet on himself.

Fairley joins a defensive line that’s already stocked with pass-rushers Long and Quinn, defensive rookie of the year Donald, former first-round pick Brockers and quality backups such as William Hayes and Eugene Sims. He’s the fifth former first-round pick on the defensive line and should have no shortage of one-on-one pass rush opportunities.

“I feel like it’s a perfect fit for me,” Fairley said. “The guys in this group, the D-line, they are young and they’re moving forward and I want to be part of it.

“You got those guys up there and a guy next to me like Aaron is going to take on some double teams, I’m going to take on some double teams so it’s going to be a good fit for me.”

Line coaches Mike Waufle and Clyde Simmons also come with strong reputations in league circles and Waufle’s hard-charging style developed in years as a Marine should only serve Fairley well in maintaining discipline.

“[He’s] a great guy, matter of fact my dad is an ex-Marine so I know a little bit about ex-Marines,” Fairley said.

It also doesn’t hurt the Rams have become Auburn North with former Tigers Greg Robinson, Tre Mason and Daren Bates on the roster and general manager Les Snead offering input on the roster.

But even with that support system in place, it’s up to Fairley to become the player many thought he’d become. For his part, Fairley seems to have put in the work to come to St. Louis in shape.

At times during his stint with the Lions, Fairley’s weight ballooned to as high as 320 pounds but the help of a personal chef allowed him to trim down to about 290 pounds before last season. There were concerns the knee injuries he suffered last year might cause his weight to go back up, but Fairley continued to work with the chef and arrived in St. Louis at a sleek 280 pounds.

In fact, Fairley is now in position to actually put weight on before the season, though he’s looking to enlist the help of a local personal chef to help him do it the right way.

“I’m going to be looking for one out here so if anybody knows a chef, holler at me,” Fairley said, laughing. “I’m going to put on some muscle so when I come back in April with the group of guys in the conditioning and work program, I’m sure I’ll get to where I want to be.”

If he does, an already scary Rams’ defensive line could get even better, and Fairley’s one-year gamble could pay off in an equally big way.

I know why they are not spending resources on the offensive line.

They like watching their defensive line play.

So the more the offense just punts and gets out of the way, the better.

Fairly was a beast inside pass rusher and disrupter in college. He’s also a little bit of a knucklehead who doesn’t always work as hard as he should which is also evident in his weight problems.

A perfect Fisher project.

I’m with ya on this – a “Britt” type one year deal is a great fit for him. It’s kind of all about Nick so far.

Rams going all in with defensive line with Farley deal

ProFootballTalk: Mike Florio discusses Nick Farley’s one-year deal with the Rams and just how good St. Louis’ defensive line could be next season.

http://www.nbcsports.com/football/nfl/rams-going-all-defensive-line-farley-deal?t=0

Winnbrad wrote:

PFF rates Fairly as “good” overall, whatever that means.

Because the Rams think he can be more than that, and they think they are just the guys to bring it out of him.

They were right about Britt, so, they could be right about Fairley.

In terms of the OL…they still have some free agency moves left and there’s a draft coming and they may also think they have a guy on the roster already. So the OL has plenty of time to pull together.

Winnbrad wrote:

Yeah. I’m with ya. I understand the need for good D-lineman in this league, but the Rams have serious needs on the o-line. Why spend money on another DT? Or at least, why spend it right now?

PFF rates Fairly as “good” overall, whatever that means.

I’d rather have 2 or 3, “above average” o-lineman than another good DT. right now.

I don’t know. Maybe Fairly will be a beast. I doubt it, but we’ll see.

They had only two DTs on the roster. Even with the Fairley signing, they will probably still add another one. What’s more, Fairley – with all his vast upside – is cheaper than keeping Langford would have been.

Meanwhile the prices are dropping on OL. The cost of resigning Barksdale is going down, not up.

Hey WB.

Public service thing: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/board-stuff-using-quote-please-read/

Thanks

Rams: Add to a strength with Fairley

Michael Mountford | March 17, 2015

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/03/17/rams-add-to-a-strength-with-fairley/

PFF- Considering the production the Rams enjoyed from defensive tackle Aaron Donald in his rookie season, as well as the pass rushing threat posed by defensive end Robert Quinn, defensive line might not have seemed an immediate concern in St. Louis. However DT Michael Brockers, a former first round selection, hasn’t developed beyond average after three seasons in the league, and depth in the middle was a worry after the departure of Kendall Langford. The addition of Nick Fairley addresses any such concerns and could help give the Rams one of the most imposing defensive lines in the league.

Fairley has been frustratingly inconsistent for much of his young career, however, when at his best he can take over a game. After three seasons in the league Fairley had a cumulative +3.2 grade in run defense and +29.1 grade as a pass rusher, good marks that could have been so much better had Fairley not also had 10 games of -1.0 or worse in that same period.

Through the first eight weeks of the 2014 season (prior to suffering a season-ending injury), Fairley had begun to complement his impressive pass rushing skills with an improved stoutness against the run. At the time of his injury Fairley had a +5.7 run defense grade; he also had 22 total pressures, tied for fourth-most among tackles, and was third-best with a 10.0 Pass Rushing Productivity (PRP) score. Fairley’s career-low PRP score (6.4) came back in 2010, his rookie season. That compares favorably to Michael Brockers career-high PRP of 4.7.Michael Brockers should feature in the rotation on early downs, before giving way so that Donald and Fairley can be unleashed from the inside to wreak havoc on passing downs.

Jeff Fisher believes in ‘good kid’ Nick Fairley

By Mark Inabinett

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/04/st_louis_rams_coach_jeff_fishe_1.html

Detroit never seemed too interested in re-signing Nick Fairley this offseason, even though the defensive tackle spent his first four NFL seasons in the trenches for the Lions. On the other hand, the St. Louis Rams “targeted” Fairley in free agency and landed him last month with a one-year, $5 million contract.

The Lions lost one of their defensive tackles, Ndamukong Suh, to the Miami Dolphins in free agency for the largest contract ever given to a defensive player. Even that didn’t light much of a flame under Detroit to keep Fairley, the Lions’ first-round choice out of Auburn in the 2011 NFL Draft.

“We’re kind of looking at our situation, what fits, what suits us at this point in time,” Detroit coach Jim Caldwell said at the NFL’s annual meeting last week. “Taking all things into consideration, we just thought it was obviously one of those situations where it didn’t work. We decided to go elsewhere, and those kinds of things. Nothing personal.”

St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher said Fairley and linebacker Akeem Ayers were at the top of the Rams’ defensive free-agency wish list, and the team landed both of the players.

Fairley was dogged by weight issues in Detroit, and that often got the blame for inconsistent play. Fairley also missed the second half of the 2014 season because of sprained knee ligaments.

Fisher has known Fairley for several years. The coach’s son Trent was a redshirt freshman and a teammate of Fairley’s on Auburn’s 2010 BCS national championship team.

“He’s going to be in shape ready to play,” Fisher said at the league’s meeting. “I know what kind of kid he is. He’s a good kid. … Where you saw the good plays out of Nick in Detroit, I think he can become consistently that player.”

Detroit never put Fairley on the injured reserve list after he got hurt last season, hoping he could make it back before the season ended. Fairley warmed up for the Lions’ playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys but didn’t play. In contrast to his past, Fairley kept the extra weight off while hurt and signed his contract with St. Louis weighing 280 pounds.

“Nick was injured last year, was in his view ready to come back and play the final game. He did not,” Fisher said. “So since then he’s been doing nothing but working out. Changed his diet, his eating habits. His weight’s under control. He’s in great shape right now. He will admit that he probably didn’t buy into it as best as he could have early on in his career. There’s not a doubt in my mind he’s buying into it now. He’s serious about his football.”

Although the Rams made adding Fairley a priority, the former Williamson High School star not assured of stepping into a starting spot. However, he will become a part of what is anticipated to be one of the NFL’s top defensive lines. St. Louis used Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald at the defensive tackle spots last season. Donald won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award for 2014. Brockers has started for the Rams since being selected out of LSU with the 14th choice in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Rams have hard-rushing ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn flanking the tackles.

Fisher said the Rams hoped to use a seven-player rotation on the defensive line in 2015 to keep the players fresh.

“He understands he’s going to be in the rotation,” Fisher said of Fairley. “In a perfect world, I’ve got a three-tackle rotation. Potentially, you might bring one of those ends down to rush inside. He understands if he wants to play he’s going to have to be productive.”