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Ranking the St. Louis Rams position groups
June 4, 2015 by Akhil Ganesh
http://isportsweb.com/2015/06/04/ranking-the-st-louis-rams-position-groups/
The St. Louis Rams have been a competitive team since head coach Jeff Fisher took over in 2012. However, there is a good deal of distance between become competitive and being a contender. Fisher opts to have his teams compete with aggressive defense and prefers to have a run-heavy offense. However, the Rams have lacked that offensive identity under Fisher, until this offseason. In an effort to break down how St. Louis will compete in the upcoming season, we rank the squads position groups from best to worst.
1. Defensive Line
St. Louis RamsDefensive end Robert Quinn leads one of the best defensive lines in the league.
Otherwise known as “Sack City”, the St. Louis Rams’ defensive line is as good as it gets in the NFL. With five former first round draft picks and starting caliber depth, the group has the makings to be one of the best in the league again. It all starts with dangerous edge rusher Robert Quinn, who has made a name for himself getting after the quarterback. Offenses attempt to double up protection on his side, but Chris Long’s high-motor rushing style on the other side often helps take attention away from Quinn. If that wasn’t dangerous enough, 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald has pass-rushing ability from his inside position. His speed and quickness on the line also helps stuff running plays before they get going. Michael Brockers is the run stuffer of the group, and clogs up running lanes at a high level.
The group added Nick Fairley this offseason, who will be a great rotational player behind Donald and Brockers. Eugene Sims and William Hayes could both start for other teams in the league, and offer tremendous depth behind Quinn and Long on the edge, and can move inside if need be. The team drafted Martin Ifedi out of Memphis, who will challenge Ethan Westbrooks for the final spot in the group.
2. Special Teams
For most teams, having the special teams as one of the top groups on the squad would be indicative of issues elsewhere on the team. For St. Louis, it’s indicative of just how good their special teams actually are. Johnny Hekker is one of the best punters in the league, and its not just for his kicking ability. Jeff Fisher loves his trick plays, and Hekker’s ability to throw the ball aids that part of the Rams’ attack. Jake McQuaide is as solid of a long snapper as there is in this league, and Greg “the Leg” Zuerlein has phenomenal range on field goals. The problem with Zuerlein has been his accuracy at times, but the Rams seem convinced in moving forward with the strong leg potential he offers.
The return game is no joke either, as Tavon Austin is a blur as a punt returner. When he gets the ball in his hands with space, the game instantly becomes more exciting and he can change the complexion of the game. Benny Cunningham is a tremendous kick returner, despite not having scored a touchdown in his career. He consistently gets the ball past the 25 yard line, and often times is an asset in the field position battle throughout the game.
3. Running Backs
If there’s one thing Jeff Fisher loves, it’s running the football. He proved that in each of his four drafts since taking over the Rams, as he has drafted a running back every year. Now, the position is loaded with first round draft pick Todd Gurley, Tre Mason, and Benny Cunningham all viable options to take snaps. Gurley in particular is a game changing threat out of the backfield, as long as his recovery from an ACL injury goes according to plan. In his absence, Mason offers more than enough ability out of the backfield, with tremendous speed and burst through the hole to propel the offense.
The one thing the group lacks is experience, but it’s safe to say that the team is more than capable of winning ball games with the backfield they have in place. Undrafted rookie Malcolm Brown could also challenge for a spot on the final roster, and provide special teams help and depth in a loaded backfield. While they may be exceedingly young, they could end up being one of the better running back groups in the entire league.
4. Linebackers
St. Louis RamsLinebacker James Laurinaitis leads a group that should be better than ever.
With a defensive line like the one the Rams have, the linebackers job always gets a little easier. However, St. Louis has plenty of talent at the second-level to get the job done when needed. James Laurinaitis is the veteran statesman of the group, and was consistently the top tackler for the team until the arrival of Alec Ogletree. Ogletree is a converted safety, and offers the perfect blend of speed and toughness that the position requires. After a phenomenal rookie season, Ogletree seemed to regress a bit early last year, but finished the season strong.
After having a weakness at the third spot in the linebacking rotation, the Rams went out and signed Akeem Ayers to take that role. Ayers is a versatile linebacker with plenty of speed, and should thrive in the Rams’ front seven. The defensive line should be able to keep him clean, allowing him to show off the speed and tackling ability that he has. The team also drafted Bryce Hager out of Baylor, and he should be solid depth behind Laurinaitis. However, he needs to improve both his strength and coverage before he can be considered a viable alternative.
5. Secondary
The Rams didn’t make any spectacular moves to improve the secondary, but they didn’t really need to. The interesting thing with most of these bottom position groups is that they aren’t actually all that bad. The problem with them isn’t a lack of talent, it’s the timing of their development. When certain players improve, others tend to regress. These lapses are what cause these groups to slip. No where is that greater than in the secondary. With Janoris Jenkins, Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines, and LaMarcus Joyner, the Rams have a solid group at cornerback that just needs to develop and produce more consistently. Jenkins is the most talented of the group, but mental lapses last year led to problems in coverage. Johnson had an injury that opened the door for Gaines, and Gaines proved to be one of the steals of last year’s draft, and should challenge for the starting role this year. Joyner didn’t see the field as often as fans would have liked, but in year 2, he should be a big part of the rotation.
The safeties are the same story as the corners, as T. J. McDonald made huge strides last year in his strong safety role. However, Rodney McLeod Jr. was not the picture of consistency, and had his share of issues when it came to developing as a free safety. Mark Barron offers an alternative, but Gregg Williams started showing a tendency to bring Barron in with the front seven in a “big nickel” package. It will be interesting to see how the development of McLeod affects the rest of the group, but this is not a true deficiency for the team.
6. Quarterbacks
The age old question for St. Louis Rams fans over the last number of years has been the quarterback position. Sam Bradford was drafted to be the answer, but after only two full seasons as a starter in five years, it was time to move on. Enter Nick Foles, acquired via trade from the Philadelphia Eagles for Bradford. Foles had a tremendous 2013 campaign where he threw 27 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, but regressed last year before getting hurt. Now, he enters a St. Louis Rams offense in which he will not be asked to throw the ball as much as was in Philadelphia, but also lacks the support of Chip Kelly’s dynamic offense.
If Foles can return to 2013 form in the St. Louis offense, it will bode well for the entire team. He loves throwing the ball deep, and that’s what the Rams will want once they set up the play-action from the run game. Backing him up is a three quarterback competition, with Austin Davis, Case Keenum, and newly drafted Sean Mannion. Davis played tremendous football early last year when taking over for an injured Shaun Hill, but threw far too many interceptions in close games to be the everyday starter. Keenum has proven that he can win football games, but is still very much a mystery. Mannion requires development but has the frame and arm strength to be an NFL-caliber quarterback.
7. Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Wide receiver Tavon Austin needs to finally prove that he was worth a top ten pick in 2013.Wide receiver Tavon Austin needs to finally prove that he was worth a top ten pick in 2013.
The Rams have invested plenty of picks in their receivers over the past four years, but are still waiting on the payoff from this group. Kenny Britt is the veteran in the group, but he is the same age as third year receiver Brian Quick. Quick made strides early last season, but couldn’t deliver when defenses focused on him before hurting his shoulder against Kansas City. Britt and Quick will be relied upon as the top two targets, and open up the slot options with Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. While Austin provides a dangerous threat in the return game, his quality as an offensive gadget player hasn’t really materialized after the Rams traded up to get him in 2013. Bailey may be the best pure receiver of the group, with great hands and route running ability, as well as a fair amount of speed. Chris Givens is the leftover, who has failed to deliver after a sensational rookie season. The Rams did draft Bud Sasser this season, but a pre-existing heart condition has led to his release from the team, and more than likely an end to his career.
St. Louis resigned Lance Kendricks this offseason, and he will return to fulfill the second tight end role behind Jared Cook. Both are reliable pass catchers, but nothing to change an entire offense. Their blocking will be more important than ever this year with the team’s transition to a run heavy offense, and Cory Harkey is currently the best blocking tight end on the roster. However, Harkey usually fills a fullback role, so it falls on Kendricks and Cook. Cook needs to be the game changer the Rams brought him on to be, but the entire receiving corps needs to be better in general.
8. Offensive Line
Any success of the previous two groups hangs on how the offensive line does. Entering this offseason, the Rams lacked any form of success on the line, and returned only two starters from the end of the season in Greg Robinson and Rodger Saffold. St. Louis recognized this deficiency, but didn’t address it via free agency. After signing and then releasing big name offensive linemen over the past few years, they recognized that the team needed to get younger. They addressed this by spending four picks on the line in the 2015 draft, including Rob Havenstein, Jamon Brown, Cody Wichmann, and Andrew Donnal.
The team has questions at the center position, but expect a winner to emerge from the three current centers on the roster. Demetrius Rhaney, Barrett Jones, and Tim Barnes are all fighting for that starting role, and the rest of the line figures to have Robinson, Saffold, Brown, and Havenstein starting. The vision for the line is clear: get big and be nasty. However, the issue is whether or not the line will develop enough to actually perform up to that level. I have them as the Rams’ worst position group, but that’s entirely dependent on the way these men perform. Offensive line coach Paul Boudreau has his work cut out for him.
The common thread throughout all of these rankings is that every group needs players to develop and perform. The squad has the talent, but it’s all about how they get coached and how they play. Jeff Fisher has made a team in his personal image, and this season’s success is largely dependent on that. In that effort to leap from competitive to contender, this season will be pivotal.
Has anybody else have problems with Rambill’s links here. Take this link. I works on the Herd, but not here. Is it me or this board?
I get redirected here: http://www.si.com/2014/02/12/nfl-power-rankings-offseason-outlook/3
It happens when I try to use the “read the complete article” on Rambill’s site.
It happens in Firefox and Explorer.
AgamemnonJust on that one article.
It is on a lot of them. But, I can work around it. I was just curious if I was the only one who had the problem. It is a bit strange how it works. I can go to Rambills link, then if it I try to go from there to read the full article, I get redirected to a non existant page.
It only happens here. Not the Herd or ROD.
Agamemnon
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