Wagoner mailbag, 5/21 & 22 … parts 1 & 2

Exploring Rams options to replace Rodney McLeod at free safety

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/29389/exploring-rams-options-to-replace-rodney-mcleod-at-free-safety

The NFL draft is over. Free agency is over. We are now in the clear, with nothing really big planned until, you know, football actually begins. For the Los Angeles Rams, it’s a chance to come up for air after one of the most eventful offseasons in league history.

Still, there are plenty of questions facing this team as we trudge toward the summer and the wait for training camp to start. That’s what we’re here for in the weekly Twitter mailbag. As always, you can find me on Twitter @nwagoner or shoot me questions at any time using #Ramsmail.

Let’s get to your questions:

SeattleRams ‎@seattlerams_nfl
@nwagoner The Rams have signed 2 former 1st rounders to the DL, but havent addressed the hole at safety. Thoughts on the position?

@nwagoner: One could easily make the argument that this is the biggest question on the Rams’ roster right now. When they lost cornerback Janoris Jenkins, they at least had E.J. Gaines in the wings to step in (not that Gaines is the talent Jenkins is). But when Rodney McLeod departed for Philadelphia, the Rams didn’t really have an obvious solution on the roster to take McLeod’s place. So here’s where we stand a little more than a week before the Rams begin organized team activities on May 31. The in-house options are Maurice Alexander, Christian Bryant, Cody Davis and, possibly, Lamarcus Joyner though I don’t get the impression the Rams are in a hurry to move him off of his nickel corner spot. They’ve also talked to veterans Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson, though neither has signed a deal yet. Goldson profiles as more of a free safety than Whitner, but the Rams think Whitner could do the job if need be. I still tend to think the Rams will add one of those two vets but if I had to guess — and it’s just a guess — the early favorite right now is Alexander. While he looks like more of a strong safety, the Rams could do some things schematically so he doesn’t have to play alone on the back end as much as McLeod did. Bryant looks like the sleeper to keep an eye on after slowly working his way onto the roster last year. He’s actually followed a similar path to McLeod (so has Davis), though it’s taken longer for Bryant to get where he is. In reality, though, there’s no definitive answer at the moment. We’ll get a better idea of how they view things when organized team activities begin, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is something they let play out through training camp.

Eric Litster ‎@elitster
@nwagoner what can Rams brass do schematically to help ease the heavy burden Goff faces adapting to the NFL

@nwagoner: Well, there are some things they do schematically that should help Jared Goff anyway. The Rams offense doesn’t feature a lot of seven-step drops and Jeff Fisher has long preferred that his quarterbacks get the ball out quickly. Goff is pretty adept at getting rid of the ball and maneuvering in the pocket, so that should help him. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I do think the Rams will add a few more shotgun concepts or at least spend more time in the shotgun as a way to help him get acclimated. But the best thing they can and will do for Goff is to lighten his workload by running the ball early and often. That’s still what this offense wants to be and I don’t see that changing with Goff in Year 1.