some tweets, 3/8 … many & counting

Alden Gonzalez@Alden_Gonzalez
So, Wade Phillips will have the game’s best pass rusher (Aaron Donald), perhaps the best cornerback duo (Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib), and one of the game’s premier ball-hawking safeties (Lamarcus Joyner). Should be fun.

Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters have combined for 7 Pro Bowls and 2 first-team All-Pros. They’re each signed through 2019 and will combine to cost about $30M for two seasons. The Rams will also probably get a third-round compensatory pick for Trumaine Johnson in next year’s draft.

Another part of this: The Rams don’t have to really worry about CB in the draft, especially not with their first-round pick. Can get a linebacker or, if they’d like, a center.

Yes, you can rule out Trumaine Johnson’s return to the Rams now. His market will be robust, and the Rams have always preferred not to sign him at the top of his market. Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters together will cost $12.74M against the Rams’ cap in 2018.

Yes, the Rams still want to bring back Nickell Robey-Coleman. He’s important to them in the slot.

Sam Shields worked out at the Rams’ facility on Tuesday and impressed the coaches enough to make them believe he can provide depth, perhaps even compete for playing time. From 2012 to 2016, Peters generated either an INT or a PD on 16.2 percent of targets thrown into his coverage, fifth-best among CBs during that stretch, according to Pro Football Focus. He has 18 INTs in 80 career regular-season games.

Football Outsiders identified the top needs for all 32 teams. For the Rams, they listed edge rusher. ($) …

The market for edge rushers looks very dry, which makes me wonder if the Rams will give strong consideration to bringing back Connor Barwin to take some snaps away from a still-developing Samson Ebukam. He’s comfortable in Wade’s scheme.

Four teams have expressed at least some interest in former Rams WR Stedman Bailey, who is on the comeback trail. But no contract offers just yet.

@DanGrazianoESPN predicts a 5-year, $77.5M contract for Trumaine Johnson and a 1-year, $13M contract for Sammy Watkins. The Rams would certainly sign up for the latter. ($) …

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This is how I’m going to start keeping track of the Rams’ 2018 and 2019 draft picks. pic.twitter.com/SaOAAtrNRH

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) March 9, 2018

Jim Everett@Jim_Everett
This sure ain’t the Fisher’s @RamsNFL!

Eugene Sims @EugeneSims2
He don’t have to take credit cause he built a damn good team too

Mcvay added a couple of pieces to the team fisher built (Olineman) to be exact and 2 WR and himself as Offensive Co

Also think he’s a damn good leader.. we had a key part missing that we didn’t capitalize on

@#$%& happens but know we had a Offense but no OC. Fish took care of the family know that.

What i mean by that he trusted the guys that was under him. He gave them opportunity to move up on the coaching side.

Eternal Ramnation wrote:

I do see Sim’s point but it was it was 4 wrs. 2 TEs an OLB + the OT and C 3rd down RB a slot corner allowing Joyner to slide to Safety a CB and a Safety iow Fisher had a great running back and T.A. Foles was the Superbowl mvp and Keenum led the vikings to the NFC championship Goff flourished under Mcvay Keenum flourished under Shurmer and Foles won a Superbowl with about the same number of pieces as McVay added. Hayes is loyal to Fish as is expected but his evaluation is skewed.

I think Sim’s evaluation is right on. So this is just what the other side says:

Keenum did pretty well with the Rams considering that in 2016 he had no running game. He had no running game because according to McGinnis Gurley was playing hurt (remember he did not practice all summer in 2016) though whether he was playing hurt or not, he was certainly not himself–that was visible in his play. Keenum had a better situation in Minn and that was due to things that are just not under a coach’s control. Either way with CK I saw the same guy in 2017 with the same limitations as before in much better circumstances—the team had not moved (and that was a HUGE factor in 2016), the Vikes could run, they had a veteran OL, he had some weapons. I was a big advocate of CK’s in 2016 and nothing he did in 2017 surprised me.

Foles did with the Eagles what he always does. Some abysmally poor games mixed in with some good ones. That’s just as true of 2017 as it was of 2015. It’s just that the order was reversed. The Eagles coaching staff did a good job with Foles in the superbowl, albeit against a defense that was subpar, but anyone who traded for NF now with the hopes of having a real qb would be bitterly disappointed.

The thing with Joyner? It was a different system that used the safeties differently and Alexander and McDonald fit that nicely. In fact Joyner was on the field more than most strongside LBs because they were in nickel a lot and Joyner was a GREAT nickel. That worked with that defense. Even in 2016 with all the problems they had they were 9th in total defense and 10th against the pass and 9th in yards allowed per passing attempt.