it’s a good gamble i think. foles seemed to be plagued with the same problems last year that bradford faced when he was healthy.

as long as the rams can field a healthy offensive line. and the running game is good to great. foles should be at least adequate as a starting quarterback. and the rams have some time to see if mannion or another quarterback can be better. or maybe foles proves better than adequate. i like it. i honestly was looking forward to 2015 but with one eye on 2016 wondering what they were going to do at qb. if they can do this. IF. i’ll feel a lot better.

how many years are qbs getting these days? would you give him a 5 year contract? more?

rfl wrote:

A relatively good article acknowledging the gap between potential and performance.

I however see little evidence of diagnosis of the causes that led to the problems.

For example this:

Their vaunted defensive line, a unit some thought could set a league record for sacks actually set a record for sack futility, with just one in the first five games.

This sentence OUGHT to be jaw-dropping. It ought to knock people off their feet. And it screams for diagnosis and responsibility.

Haven’t heard it yet from anyone on the Rams.

personally, i don’t expect them to address it publicly. but as long as they take care of it internally, i’ll be satisfied.

but yeah. i was disturbed by that at the beginning. i think that’s on williams. i really hope fisher reigns him in a little this season.

talk is cheap. defense needs to start showing it on the field.

i still hold out hope that finally having the same coordinator for two seasons in a row will make some sort of difference.

i like him. i think a fully healthy jones wins the job easily.

I actually think that the Rams are getting into a 49ers before Harbaugh position. If they hired a new coach, and it was a competent hire, then, they would be set to make a real run.

i’ve been thinking the same thing.

if fisher leaves. for whatever reason. the new coach will be going into a real good situation. should be a very attractive opportunity. has to be the right hire though.

i personally like fisher. i like his style. i realize it’s not for everyone though. i do wonder, however, if he’s good enough to win the super bowl.

has brockers reached his ceiling? or is there some break through ready to happen?

he’s only 24. about 5 months older than aaron donald. he came into college as a linebacker. came out as a defensive tackle.

i’ll be interested to see how much better this guy can get.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by InvaderRam.

i give him two years with no major injuries to see what he can do. the rams got to make a decision soon whether fisher is that guy.

this roster. too talented at this point to let it go to waste. no more excuses.

…

barring major injuries of course…

zn wrote:

InvaderRam wrote:

what are the hit rates for offensive linemen by round?

just trying to figure out how difficult a task the rams face potentially starting two offensive linemen in 2015.

I actually calculated that once, but you can’t take it as strict. I just counted and estimated. However I think it’s more or less right.

===============

rough calculations… OL draft “hits,” different rounds
zn
May 11, 2015 at 11:24 pm

I looked at 2002-2011, because 2011 is far back enough to get a read, and back to 2002 covers a decade.

I wasn’t very detailed. Just flew in, got rough estimates, had a sandwich, flew out.

But the numbers should be pretty “more or less” good.

So. What percentage of OL taken in that time frame from rounds 6-7 ended up as “hits”? I am counting that as continuing starters.

I get 23 of 150. Just over 15%.

What percentage of OL taken in that time frame from rounds 4-5 ended up as “hits”?

I get 29 of 117. Just under 25%. There’s about 2 dozen more borderline guys after the first 29.

What percentage of OL taken in that time frame from round 3 ended up as “hits”?

I get 32 of 50. Just under 64%.

What percentage of OL taken in that time frame from round 2 ended up as “hits”?

I get 33 of 49. Just over 67%.

going by those numbers i actually feel a little bit better about the oline situation. just calculating odds of havenstein and brown being hits. chance should be around 40% or so. chances of any two of their rookie offensive linemen hitting i’m not too sure, but i’m guessing it’s around 50%. essentially a coin flip.

i’m so happy.

they did struggle in the beginning, but when fisher simplified things, the defense got better.

football outsiders had them ranked 9th in defense according to their little statistical analysis. they also do a statistical analysis that weights the later games more so that it reflects how they were doing toward the end of the season. they ranked 6th.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef

i think with a ball control offense the defense will be even more effective.

i don’t see a seattle type elite defense yet. but i do see a top 5 defense that can take this team to the playoffs.

especially with san francisco fading.

that and the niners are falling apart.

yeah. donald strikes me as that rare type. elite athleticism. high level of maturity at a young age. super competitive.

if chris long does leave, donald becomes the leader of this defense. if he isn’t already.

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/5/29/8656893/2014-darta-a-good-sign-for-the-2015-st-louis-rams

A Top-Five Defense

The Rams gave up 354 points (22.1 ppg.) in the 2014 regular season. That put them in a tie for 16th in the NFL, an average result for the Rams defensively (at least on the surface). In reality, the Rams’ defense was much better than the rankings suggest. Total points allowed can be deceiving when determining the quality of a teams’ defense, especially if that team has an extremely high total of DARTA in a particular season. In the Rams’ case, the defense gave up only 284 points (17.8 ppg.) in 2014, putting them in the top half-dozen teams in the league in points allowed (when adjusted for DARTA). The Rams’ defense simply wasn’t on the field when the other 70 points were scored.

Five reasons the Rams’ defense should be even better in 2015:

Chris Long should be healthy and not miss a substantial part of the season.
Mark Barron will be with the Rams for the entire season.
The Rams didn’t lose a single starter from 2014 during the offseason.
The team added two quality, experienced players (Akeem Ayers and Nick Fairley) in Free Agency. Both should have a positive impact on the defense.
The unit now has an entire season under its collective belt in a Gregg Williams-led defense.

that’s awesome. definitely think he needs the binoculars.

a lot of things have to happen before this defense can be the best in the nfl.

but i find comfort in that i think the things that have to happen can happen.

but they also might not happen.

i gotta say. i went back and looked at some games from last season. didn’t realize how good mcdonald looked at times. there were game where he was just all over the place flying around. i’m encouraged.