Clayton says the move by the Rams was out of desperation

I don’t think it’s desperate. I think it was opportunistic.

Here;s how I see it. They already have a young stocked team. The missing piece is qb. There is only one high percentage way to solve a qb issue, and that’s either to already have a high pick, or to spend something to get one.

Meanwhile what they lose in draft picks they gain in cap space. A 1st round qb under the new CBA is a 5 year bargain. (And it’s 5 years because of the 5th year option.)

I don’t know why they did it. I do think that moving to L.A. had something to do with it. They will never admit that but I don’t think if they had stayed in St. Louis they would have done it.

So if it was a football decision and not a marketing decision–Foles probably led to that.

I disagree with the first bit, and agree with the second bit. I think they would have done it in 2016 regardless. What comes before it is losing 2 qbs in a row, one to injuries/trade and one to meltdown.

This is by far the safest, easiest route to getting a 12-15 year qb.

Meanwhile I have posted stuff that says many TEAMS…not pundits, teams…rank Goff and Wentz higher than Mariota and Winston.

I seriously doubt either Fisher or Snead care about PR, and I seriously doubt SK is an interfering owner.

PA Ram wrote:

But I just think that giving your draft away in St. Louis for a rookie QB and asking for patience would have been a tougher sell.

Are they asking for patience?

Last year’s team could have won more games with Keenum and/or a rookie qb IMO. That’s just how bad Foles was. So I see them as potentially more viable now.

Secondly, if they don’t care about PR, which I think they don’t, they wouldn’t care if people disapproved. Not if they think they are doing the right thing for the longterm good.

And besides…where’s the alternative? They weren’t going to sign a vet qb and they know Keenum is a stopgap. What option did they have where they wouldn’t be seen as asking for patience? Was there ever really an actual short-time fix out there?

Any team that doesn’t have a good QB is “desperate” to get one, imo. It’s the nature of the league now.

The Rams did exactly what they had to do. Trading for the first pick puts them in control of this draft and their destiny. No more waiting to see what other teams do, or making adjustments at the last minute during the draft. The Rams control the first pick. That’s the smart play imo.

zn wrote:

This is by far the safest, easiest route to getting a 12-15 year qb.

When is the last time the Rams had a 12-15 year QB?

Meanwhile I have posted stuff that says many TEAMS…not pundits, teams…rank Goff and Wentz higher than Mariota and Winston.

I saw that in one or two places, too, and I’d like to keep reading that, multi-sourced from reliable insiders. Because if that is true – that TEAMS rank them higher than Mariota and Winston – than I feel better about the deal. It makes the chances of a Hit higher than I originally thought this draft held because afaik, both those guys fared reasonably well and have upward trajectories. There has been nowhere the buzz on these two guys, but of course, they weren’t playing for flashy, top-ranked teams. Anyway.

It’s still quite a sacrifice, though. So much for a WR or TE. Hopefully they get quality DL depth. The WR drought continues, and there’s no cure for that anywhere in sight, now.

Isiah58 wrote:

Keep in mind, he said this on a St. Louis radio station. I will bet anyone a box of doughnuts he doesn’t characterize this move as “desperate” when speaking with Los Angeles media. I could be wrong, but I think he was playing a bit to his audience.

Yeah, i was thinkin the same thing.

…Btw, so far, i have not found an LA sportswriter
who is a ‘must read.’ Ya know. I’m a tad
disappointed in the quality of the coverage so far.
Its mainly cliches and surface-fluff. So far.

Zn thinks that ‘teams’ have rated G/W higher than
the pundits have…but i have not read that, myself.
(do teams really tip the media off on that stuff?)
I haven’t read a lot on W/G though. So, all my opinions
on this trade are based on a paragraph here and a utube there.
So, ya know, I aint really worth read’in on this trade subject.

Ask me about Tasering Tapirs though. Go ahead. You want depth,
I’ll give depth.

w
v

zn wrote:

wv wrote:

Zn thinks that ‘teams’ have rated G/W higher than
the pundits have…but i have not read that, myself.
(do teams really tip the media off on that stuff?)

They can and do, but it’s usually under these conditions—anonymously, and with other teams in the discussion too, so it’s harder to figure out who it is.

Here’s an example:

Rand Getlin ‎@Rand_Getlin
Been told multiple times that Carson Wentz and Jared Goff graded out higher for a number of teams than Mariota and Winston did last year.

—————————
Well, thats encouraging, aint it. At this point I’m just hopin for the best and I’m jumping on the G/W train.

I expect G/W to have a Hall of Fame career,
despite Fisher’s relentless efforts to
run the Wing-T and destroy the offense.

w
v