while i’m all in favor of drafting a quarterback this year, petty seems like the very definition of a reach pick at #10. everything i read has him as a third round pick.

i’d rather trade down or pick a quarterback later in the draft. i’m personally in favor of drafting brett hundley. if he comes out. in the second round.

well it makes sense. because bradford is the best option for 2015. i mean who else could come in next year with his kind of talent and knowledge of this offense. it’d be impossible.

but yeah. beyond 2015. they have to find another quarterback.

i also think changing coordinators on either side is not the answer. i think blame on that side is almost always overblown. and in fact it can become a detriment when you keep changing the scheme.

the offense has had stability in terms of scheme but has suffered some horrible injuries. the main one being at quarterback. a healthy bradford this season would have allowed schotty to expand the offense. instead they had to start over with a journeyman qb. and a quarterback with no professional games under his belt.

the defense has tons of talent, but they’ve changed coordinators every single year. so the inconsistency isn’t all that surprising to me. second year in the same system with all that youth and talent? they just need a leader or leaders to step up and get this unit to perform week in and week out.

Mackeyser wrote:

If Cameron Erving shows well at the Combine, I could see them trading down a lil bit and taking him at Center in the 1st and then going BPA in the 2nd… maybe a QB…then going OG in the 3rd.

If Hundley falls out of the 1st round, I’d be tickled pink to pick him up in the 2nd… that presumes he comes out. I think he’ll stay and learn and allow his stock to rise…although there aren’t very many QBs in this draft right now…

i’m intrigued by brett hundley. i think he ends up going in the bottom of the first round.

pretty sure he is leaving. i think his own coach mora confirmed as much.

i’m actually for trading down and drafting a guy like erving.

i see him being what bruce matthews was to those titans’ lines.

i see him stepping in immediately at center which would go along with your idea of drafting a center with a lower first round pick if you need him to step in immediately. the added benefit of drafting him is that he could potentially slide in at guard and tackle too. that kind of versatility is invaluable in the modern nfl and makes him more than worthy of a first round pick.

i don’t think you start two rookies. my hope is that barrett jones can finally step in at guard. drafting another linemen lower would be with the idea that he gets a year or two to develop.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by InvaderRam.

i don’t agree that it’s easy to fix an ol. like ag said. if it was easy, the rams would have done that by now.

i do agree that there are different ways of developing an offensive line.

as far as drafting one high, i think this happens to be the year that drafting one in the first round just makes sense. it’s supposed to be a strong year for the offensive line. there is no qb available beside mariota who will be worth drafting in the first round. no cornerbacks really that seem to be upper first round caliber. there’s landon collins i suppose at safety. maybe receiver. but i think 2014 was the year to draft a receiver. not 2015.

at this point. offensive line in the first round just makes sense. it’s a position of strength in the draft that would fill a huge need.

well. yes. i have to agree that they’ve improved. i guess the question should be have they improved enough?

i think his work has warranted another year. the only thing we can do is see how they play next year.

but if for whatever reason fisher is gone after next year. whoever is next in line? this will be a very hot position for coaches. i can see a lot of head coaching candidates salivating at the chance to coach this team.

something i don’t think could have been said when fisher took over.

put off watching highlights of this game cuz it just hurt too much. but i just saw a clip on nfl network.

depending on the angle it actually looks like odell starts pulling ogletree’s mask BEFORE they go out of bounds dragging him out of bounds.

of course i could be biased.

starting at 1:25
http://www.nfl.com/videos/st-louis-rams/0ap3000000447410/Giants-Rams-scrum-spills-over-onto-sideline

wv wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>zn wrote:</div>

RFL and I just don’t see him ever being healthy enough to have a snowball’s chance of playing without getting hurt again. He cannot run, he cannot evade rushers, he is a one-legged athlete.

Well but that’s not really relevant. For one thing, so-called running or highly mobile qbs get sacked and hit more often on avg. than pocket passers, not less often. Bradford has a low sack percentage under Fisher compared to all 3 of the other qbs who have started in the same period. The way to beat the rush is (with the blitz) to read the D pre-snap and fire off to hot reads or audible, and otherwise drop and throw in rhythm. Bradford has a quick release so it’s a strength.

For another thing, Bradford’s 2 knees do not come from “being hit.” We saw him take huge hits in the pre-season and just shake them off. And that’s pretty much his career. As someone who has hyper-extended a knee several times, and who knows exactly what that is like, what I saw was the typical freak hyper-extension issue–plant the foot wrong with the body weight pushing the leg at an awkward angle, and you can get hurt. I’ve done it (though mercifully never to the point where I tore an ACL). And I did it doing nothing…the stories are even funny. It never had anything to do with contact.

In terms of what YOU GUYS TRUST, that’s one thing. In terms of making an objective management decision, to me, it seems obvious that you keep Bradford in the mix. If he comes through, good. If he can’t play, then, you move on. But you don’t throw away the possibility of having a good experienced pro qb if there’s a chance he can play. What you DO do, IMO, is set it up so your bases are covered. To me that’s the win/win scenario. I don’t even ask myself if I personally “trust” his odds or luck or chances…that would have more to do with how I personally relate emotionally to possible dangers than it would have to do with how I think you’re supposed to manage this kind of situation.

I personally think you manage this situation be covering your bases. That means doing everything. Give Bradford a win-win contract, have a veteran #2 around, draft a guy. IMO it doesn’t hurt you to do that and if the odds go your way you benefit.

The whole “running QBs get sacked more” is irrelevant. Cause the knee
could affect Bradford’s ability to move around and be ‘nimble’ in
the pocket. Like Marino. As you know Marino wasn’t a running QB
BUT he was awesom in the pocket — he was nimble — he could MOVE.
We dont know if Sam will be slower, or clunkier in the pocket
because of the second kneee operation.

I also dont know why its relevant that his injuries come
from planting his foot as opposed to ‘getting hit’. What
difference does it make? If his knee is weak and he gets
hurt by planting his foot, then that would be a real problem,
yes?

w
v

yup. quite frankly the way he snapped his ligament worries me more. and now with a second tear i am positive the outcomes go down. not by much but they do go down.

i think he’s done personally. although i understand the reasons for keeping him.

with the defense i think the key is that there are a bunch of young core players who have yet to reach their full potential and probably will get there within two years.

i think we’ve yet to see the best from quinn, donald, brockers, ogletree, mcdonald, gaines, joyner…

although the downside is that none of these players continue to progress. so far they’ve just been inconsistent.

but if this was a defense full of older veteran types, i’d be less optimistic.

if they do pick one high, i hope they pick one who can play more than one position.

i’m leaning more and more toward cameron erving who i think can legitimately play all 5 positions on the line. and i know this because i read it on the interweb…

did someone say long arms?

i think it’ll be another year or two before the defense really takes off. meaning 2015 or 2016.

their average age is 25.1 years old.

chris long – 29
michael brockers – 24 (he’s still 23 but i include this season as his age 24 season. he turns 24 on dec 21st.)
aaron donald – 23
robert quinn – 24
jo-lonn dunbar – 29
james laurinaitis – 28
alec ogletree – 23
ej gaines – 22
tj mcdonald – 24
rodney mcleod – 24
janoris jenkins – 26

still a lot of football to be played. but wow. that’s young. if they can build cohesion. confidence. and some stability in terms of playing in the same system. it could get kinda scary fun.

his 10 yard split was 1.59.

that’s ridiculous. elite EDGE rushers waver around 1.60 seconds.

ndamukong suh recorded a 1.69 10 yard split.

defensive tackles i looked at hovered around 1.65-1.70.

watch this video to see how much of a difference 0.10 seconds can make.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0ap2000000328716/Donald-vs-Suh-in-the-40-yard-dash

this quote really caught my eye.

Opponents have a Total QBR of 44 against the Rams in 388 dropbacks with Donald on the field. That would rank fourth in the NFL. The Rams have allowed a Total QBR of 74 in 147 dropbacks with Donald off the field, which would rank 31st.

just crazy. and he should get even better.

pairing him with quinn… just wow. and i think brockers gets better too. he’s less polished than donald and a pup himself. crazy.

it’s funny that the defense is the unit that’s gone through so much flux during the fisher era while the offense has enjoyed continuity under schottenheimer.

but yeah. the defense will be out of excuses if williams stays. and there’s no reason to think that there will be another coordinator change there. another slow start will make my doubt grow bigger.

one thought. i wonder what the rams do if shaq thompson is available in the first round.

i could totally see them going for a guy like him – a hybrid lb/safety type – and then going offensive line in the later rounds.

i have a friend who watches the bruins weekly. and i trust his opinion. he likes hundley. not in the first round. but thinks he’s a legit second round talent.

and that’s better than any option the rams have right now. even if it means he has to sit out for awhile.