The Rams, like every other team in the NFL, had a shot at Tariq Woolen into the 5th round. Yes, he does have ultra-rare closing speed. As in, a 4.26 forty. And, perhaps even more remarkable for someone a shade over 6’4″, a 1.47 10-yard split. Plus NBA-level hops, etc.

Also not sure why he gets compared with Richard Sherman so often, on size/speed grounds, cuz Sherman wasn’t as tall or as fast. An excellent player, but not as big or as athletic as Woolen. Woolen is basically a unicorn.

Love Lazard’s reaction to his own crazy play, and the play itself. He must have watched Woods and Kupp block.

;>)

ZN,

Good points too. Though I thought McCutcheon played yesterday . . . ?

What’s your take on the Rams at least trying to keep Mayfield? I know the odds are against it, both from a salary cap and personal goals POV. Mayfield is said to really want to start, and he knows that won’t be in LA, at least as long as Stafford is there. So he’s gonna want to go where he can start. But he looks really solid with this offense, even with it being decimated, and the Rams have invested too little in the backup spot. Wolford and Perkins do not look like starting-caliber QBs at this moment in time. They need someone as good as BMayfield . . .

Where was this team all year? Akers ran with confidence, serious drive, and force. He looked great. So did, shockingly, the O-line. They often opened huge holes for the backs, and protected Baker, who looked excellent too. Made me think the Rams need to re-sign him. But I’m guessing he will decline so he can start somewhere else. Baker as a backup, though, would be seriously good for the Rams in 2023. They haven’t had a top shelf backup since . . . Foles? At the very least, it would allow them to increase compensation via a trade during the 2023 season, which might help Baker too. He might find a better situation during the season, after team injuries, than he would this off-season.

Regardless, it was a lot of fun to watch the Rams hitting on all cylinders. Offense, defense, special teams, generating turnovers, sacks, extra effort, etc. Players across the board were playing with passion and a ton of want-to. And I think they may have found a nice addition to the D-line rotation in Murchison. Seems to kinda fit the scouting report I read, which basically says he’s a limited athlete with a lot of play-hard in him. Guessing he’s a better athlete than initially credited, and has even more want-to than they thought. Short, squat, quick, and tough. Could really help give Donald a rest, and Donald could coach him up. He’ll be 26 next season, so he’s just coming into his prime.

Anyway, part of me, going into that game, just wanted the Rams to tank so they could get better draft picks. But another part of me thought they needed to end on high notes to build for 2023, morale-wise, etc. This game was a boost in that direction, obviously. May end up being far more important than a shift in draft spots, give or take. It’s also possible . . . though perhaps remotely . . . that if the Rams play terrible football from here on out, they risk losing McVay and/or  Donald to retirement. This win may diminish that possibility.

I was going to post the Raheem Morris article for a new thread, and then comment, but since it’s already here . . . .

From the article:

“As you guys have seen, Mike Hoecht the last couple of weeks getting acclimated to that position, we’ve been able to see Keir Thomas get activated and then last week our young rook came back up off the injury stuff and was able to play for us. Probably this week, (Lewis) wouldn’t have been active and what Sean says, he really means. He’s people first so in order to give Terrell the best chance to get back on the grass, we decided to part ways and let him move on and have an opportunity somewhere else where it’s probably going to be more fruitful for him. These young guys are coming in and playing, they’ve done some really good things the last couple of weeks and in order not to have a disgruntled worker, Sean really means what he says and people first, decided to let him go, give him an opportunity to play somewhere else and move on.”

IMO, it’s completely nutz to cut players outright, just to give them a shot to catch on somewhere else. That’s taking being “people first” way too far. Trade them, certainly, if it’s not working out. Do whatever you can to get something in return, even if it’s just a late rounder. But you can’t build a team if you keep cutting most of your draft picks for nada. Not only is it a sign that you’ve drafted poorly; it’s also terrible asset management.

I’m all for treating players with respect, kindness, and dignity. That’s the least they can do. But if you want to build and sustain a winner, you simply can’t give away players for nothing. Treat them with respect and try to maximize their value via compensation. It’s not an either/or deal.

Loved the game. Mayfield was a great pickup, and I loved his hutzpah. Excellent plays from Skro, Gaines, Akers, Scott, and Tutu.

Probably missing some names. But that was a lot of fun to watch

Excellent pick-up for the Rams, to get Baker. Can’t lose with it. Keep him, re-sign him, or let him go and get a nice comp pick. At the very least, audition him for the rest of the league. Keep him if he plays really well. Mayfield is soooo much better than Wolford or Perkins. Lotsa good press from football players regarding his quality as a teammate. He seems like an inspirational player.

Smart move by the Rams. Great win. Loved watching this one.

Some positives for me: Hoecht hustles. He’s a pretty good athlete for his size, though he needs to get a lot stronger to play well along the D-line. I saw him numerous times downfield, trying to make a play. No quit, and he’s good on ST too. Arcuri seemed to play well for his first start, though not perfect. The o-line was overmatched, of course, going against the first team KC defense. The Rams are essentially playing their exhibition season team, and they showed No Quit as well.

Perkins is obviously good as a runner. He needs some serious help, though, with his passing. Puts waaay too much air under his throws, and that’s a pic waiting to happen. He showed more zip in college, if memory serves, so I think he can throw the ball hard. But there may have been changes since then, so I’m not sure. It’s another positive that the team seems to like him and want to do well while he’s on the field.

I think the Rams need to try to trade Floyd in the offseason, but if they can’t, find the ideal time to let him go for cap savings and a comp pick. I’d like to see them keep Scott at safety, but I’m guessing they won’t. If they do move on, I think they should at least cross-train Kendrick for safety. He seems to be a willing tackler, and aggressive, but lacks the speed to play corner, IMO. Safety may be better for him. Which leads me to a more radical idea: Ramsey should play safety as well, but that would depend on the Rams upgrading their corner spots. Free agency is the most likely route there. If they can field two good corners, move Ramsey to safety. The flipside is obvious: major upgrades at safety would mean Ramsey stays put.

(They never should have let Johnson go)

Even with the loss, I’m glad I watched the game. That hasn’t changed for me since 1966.

For comparison sake, thought I’d list Christian Watson’s metrics. Of course, the usual caveats: No pads, relatively ideal conditions, etc. How these guys play on Sundays is what counts, not their Combine or Pro Day stats.

But it’s at least a rough picture of potential athleticism. A blueprint of sorts:

6 ft 4+1⁄8 in
(1.93 m) 208 lb
(94 kg) 32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m) 10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m) 4.36 s 1.45 s 2.45 s 4.19 s 6.96 s 38.5 in
(0.98 m) 11 ft 4 in
(3.45 m) 18 reps

Again, I want the Rams to get faster, quicker, bigger, more athletic, across the board, with guys who can maximize that on Game Day.

Just saw a few highlights, but the bomb to Tutu was nearly perfect. A great, great throw and catch, and the line, at least on that play, gave Stafford plenty of time. He led the speedster with precision, Warner-like.

Tutu is possibly a smaller, faster version of Tavon Austin, but he still worries me out there. If they can keep him clean, in space, he can do some damage. But I also think they need to work with him on ball security. Teams will likely go after him with extra hard hits to strip the ball, etc.

Anyway . . . . the freakish injuries keep happening. How much of this is due to turf? I’d bet most of it. The Rams need to change SoFi to grass, as does every team.

I think we may see team needs differently, and what a “rebuild” would entail. I know the injuries along the O-line have been crazy, extreme, once in a decade, etc. But I don’t think it was a good line going into the season. They’ve neglected it for too long, IMO, relying too much on late-rounders and UDFAs.

I doubt they’ll end up doing this, but I wish they’d at least try to trade for picks, with the caveat of saying No, if the current Rams player has more value staying than leaving for X amount . . . as was the case with Woods, for example. Candidates would be Floyd, Noteboom, Rapp, ARob, and Akers. I’d float trial balloons for Higbee, too, and any of the late rounders of recent years who lack athleticism, but may be attractive to other teams. In short, I want the Rams to get faster, twitchier, bigger, more athletic. I think the draft is the most cost-effective route, too. Rookie contracts almost always help the cap.

Just tossing stuff around. The Rams have their own plans, and they’ll obviously do things their own way.

WV,

I agree with you. Shut it down. Start Perkins. Let Stafford heal up. Play the rookies and youngins, though I’d play Floyd on passing downs. He should be auditioning for trade possibilities.

Start Jacob Harris, Tutu, McCutcheon. Lotsa targets for Robinson, cuz they should audition him as well for a trade. Sit Higbee. I’d love to see them use Hoecht at FB and blocking TE too. Basically, a lineup like they might have during the exhibition season.

Chalk this season up to ye old Super Bowl hangover, and get ready for 2023.

They’ll be good — maybe great — with some solid drafting and FE work. At least if Donald and McVay come back.

The Draft, of course, is a crap shoot. That said, the best chances to win at craps start with the first round and decrease after that. Obviously, you just have fewer and fewer shots at great players as the Draft goes on, and you also lose the ability to trade down for more good shots.

The Rams strategy can work if they hit on all of their late picks, and the guys they trade for (like Ramsey) live up to their rep. But if they end up with a lot of rentals, and relative failures (Watkins, for instance), it’s not going to work. If they don’t hit on their picks, their roster will be extremely thin, so they won’t be able to handle injuries. They haven’t hit on their picks, with a few exceptions. Turf Show Times has done some recent breakdowns of their drafts, and they’ve really been abysmal in the last few years.

Another issue: The Rams have let too many players go who could have helped them this year. Corbett and Blythe, for instance. I also think keeping SBD would have been a huge help on defense this year. The Rams let too many ascending players go, and rely far too much on the “next UDFA up” approach.

For those who say they didn’t have the money to keep these guys: they’ve been far too quick to extend a few core players, and that makes re-signing those ascending players, and the guys they trade for, next to impossible.

In short, I think the Rams have defeated the Rams this year, but the process started a few years ago.

I think Morris is doing a fine job, given the limitations of his personnel, and he’s likely to go elsewhere on his own, anyway. If the Rams continue to impress on D, he will be in the thick of things for HC consideration next season.

The O is the problem, not the D, in my view as well. Though I think the D could go from Top Five to Best in the League if they can find faster, more athletic and twitchy players to surround Donald and Ramsey. That’s been a weakness in their strategy in recent years, though I think bringing Hill back helps counter that trend a bit. They still need more athleticism, especially at edge and DB. Can’t play tight effectively without finding size/speed guys, the freakier the better. If you were to create that player in a lab, you’d probably come up with players like Seattle’s Tariq Woolen:

6 ft 4+1⁄8 in
(1.93 m) 205 lb
(93 kg) 33+5⁄8 in
(0.85 m) 9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m) 4.26 s 1.47 s 2.49 s 4.30 s 7.10 s 42.0 in
(1.07 m) 10 ft 11 in
(3.33 m) 12 reps

Or Zyon McCollum of the Bucs:

6 ft 2+1⁄8 in
(1.88 m) 199 lb
(90 kg) 30+3⁄4 in
(0.78 m) 9 in
(0.23 m) 4.33 s 1.46 s 2.51 s 3.94 s 6.48 s 39.5 in
(1.00 m) 11 ft 0 in
(3.35 m) 15 reps

Anyway . . . to me, it’s not Morris. The Rams are in the midst of an offensive collapse.

Didn’t know Sofi was so bad. No excuse for it, given the five billion price tag, especially. For that kind of money, you’d think they could go full Mars terraforming.

If the players were smart, they’d say No grass fields? No play. And, again, drop back to 14 games, and no more Thursdays.

The players have more power than they seem to realize. They haven’t made the most of that, IMO.

Also makes me wish the NFL had stayed with 14 game seasons. Far better for player health, and I think it makes the individual games matter more. Best way for the NFL to protect the players, if they really cared about that . . . along with mandating grass fields, and no more Thursday games.

And while I’m still in that Old Guy “get off my lawn!” mode, hate to see the  Rams on the other side of those kinds of trades, all too often, especially for the one season rentals. It’s time for the Rams to get a slew of picks for someone nearing the end of their careers instead. Can’t remember the last time they did that, but I’m betting it’s been decades.

That’s how you sustain a competitive team, IMO. You find that sweet spot in time when you can get a high return for your older stars nearing their sunset years, and you draft well to keep reloading. Recent example: It looks like Seattle chose the perfect time to trade Russell Wilson. In other sports? The Lakers should have already (at least) tried to trade Lebron.

Know when to hold ’em. No when to fold ’em, etc.

Injuries happen to every team. Recent articles on league averages show the Rams at about the middle of the pack, and their injuries haven’t been to the team “stars,” unlike other teams. They haven’t lost their key guys. But because they’ve relied on late round picks and UDFA signings to fill out the rest of the roster, even with starting O-line guys, they’re extra susceptible to major downgrades when injuries do happen.

When was the last time the Rams invested high picks in the O-line? When was the last time they HAD high picks?

There is no way it can’t come back to bite them, and it would have been crazy to think the Rams could keep mortgaging the future and never have to pay for it.

To me, it’s just bad chess playing, for far too many years. Trading draft capital for rentals, or near-rentals — Watkins, Cook, etc. Asking far, far too little for players they trade to others, like Woods, Ogletree, Young. As in, in general, the Rams pay far too much for players, and receive far too little for players they trade away.

It’s also problematic, IMO, to rely so heavily on late picks cuz they tend to develop later, and when they finally are good enough to start, the Rams cut them loose and say, “Next man up!!” But, the next men up are late rounders or UDFAs who are later rounders in large part because they’re not ready to start early in their careers.

The cycle would catch up to any team.

I love that they won it all last year. But I think they’ve been playing the F the Draft game for far too long, and I’m far from the only person who thinks that.

As always, hope they prove me waaay wrong.