Right now I’m not sure he will have a good year. Whether or not he has a good year is directly tied to the play of his offensive line and right now that is a complete unknown.

Zooey wrote:

Oh, we ALL like that idea, wv.

We are all in LOVE with that idea.

The thing is…as the honorable delegate from New Vermontavania has stated…many of us are not 100% confident that that is what the Rams have.

That’s all.

Exactly.

For all we know, the Rams have received an infusion of Mike Schads, Alex Barrons and Justin Smiths.

I don’t think that’s what the Rams got. I like their draft and the o-linemen they picked up.

But then again, when they drafted Justin Smith I didn’t think his name would eventually be used as a pejorative as it was just two sentences ago, either.

I meant Donald instead if McDonald. I think Donald is knocking on the door of ‘eliteness’ if he’s not already there.

However, I will take McDonald as my longshot. I could see him becoming elite under the right circumstances.

Pound for pound, still our finest Amish poster. Happy Birthday you old Grossdaadi, you.

I was wrong about the o-line. I thought it was going to be a strength. But Long was a shell of his former self, Robinson wasn’t ready, Wells was a turnstile and even steady Barksdale struggled at times.

The added drama surrounding the extra point could be short lived though. Kickers don’t miss from the 15 yard line either.

Mike Sando, ESPN.com @SandoESPN · 51m 51 minutes ago
PATs from the 15-yard line will equate to a FG try of 32-33 yards. #NFL teams made 59-61 of those last season, up from recent years.

Dak wrote:

Agamemnon wrote:

Dak wrote:

I like to spend 5 minutes analyzing things that may or may not be official, and may not mean that much. Cuz I’m mental.

What would your depth chart look like? I keep changing the offensive line on mine.

I don’t really know. I’m very interested in what Jeff Fisher thinks. It would be something else if this O-line started a 2nd-year (and raw by 2nd-year standards) LT, a rookie LG, a raw oft-injured third-year center starting for the first time, and a rookie RT. Wow. Think about that. Then, add in Saffold, the only veteran, who is always good for losing several games to injury.

Makes me a little queasy, to be honest.

Yeah. An LT that struggled mightily last season, a rookie LG, an unknown commodity at center, an injury prone RG and a rookie RT.

The potential for disaster with this oline is staggering.

zn wrote:

The Patriots fired the guys they’re passionately defending today

Darin Gantt on May 14, 2015

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/14/the-patriots-fired-the-guys-theyre-passionately-defending-today

you.are.fired.04

The Patriots have launched long-winded defense of themselves today, nearly 20,000 words of defense.

But through all the chapter and verse they’ve cited to explain the true motives of Jim McNally and John Jastremski in this document, one question becomes more and more curious.

If these two guys are so innocent, why did the Patriots fire them?

In the league’s initial release on the Patriots’ punishment, it is made clear who did what to whom.

“Patriots owner Robert Kraft advised commissioner Roger Goodell last week that Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective on May 6th,” the league’s release last week read.

So, these two guys are completely misunderstood, a pair of hapless innocents who didn’t want to get busted for lifting shoes and just wanted to drop a few pounds.

Why then would the Patriots move so quickly and decisively to distance themselves?

Perhaps that can be the next installment of the Patriots’ blog.

Since these guys were fired as a result of doing Tom Brady’s bidding, I hope he at least covers their bills until they find employment.

wv wrote:

nittany ram wrote:

wv wrote:

Well, I dont really know how i feel about all this,
but i do know, that if Brady is suspended a few games
its not going to hurt the Pats. It might actually help
them in the long run cause it will give Garapolo some
experience.

w
v

Yeah, Belichick will spin this to his advantage and create an ‘us vs the world/victim vs oppressor’ mentality in the locker room that will probably propel them to another Superbowl.

Of course, he’s also gonna cheat again somehow so the league has to remain vigilant.

Seriously, when a star becomes as big as Brady,
and makes as much money as Brady, and wins Rings
like Brady — a suspension of a few games
is pretty meaningless.

w
v

Well, it depends. Financially a suspension means nothing. Brady already has more money than he could hope to spend in a lifetime.

Where it might hurt Brady, and I stress “might” because it depends on what kind of person he is, is in how he perceives a suspension could affect his legacy.

Obviously he’s a HOFer. That’s a given. But with their history of cheating in many circles the Patriots’ accomplishments and therefore Brady’s accomplishments already have an asterisk attached. This further tarnishes that legacy. Heck, unlike the other cheating instances, he was directly involved in this case. He may not give a shit about any of that, and part of me wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t care, but he certainly could feel that a suspension would to a small extent at least diminish his legacy and regret that.

Of course, I doubt that he regrets what he did, but he surely regrets being caught.

wv wrote:

Well, I dont really know how i feel about all this,
but i do know, that if Brady is suspended a few games
its not going to hurt the Pats. It might actually help
them in the long run cause it will give Garapolo some
experience.

w
v

Yeah, Belichick will spin this to his advantage and create an ‘us vs the world/victim vs oppressor’ mentality in the locker room that will probably propel them to another Superbowl.

Of course, he’s also gonna cheat again somehow so the league has to remain vigilant.

Sorry to hear the news about Thor. I didn’t know him as a person but if he was as good of a person as he was a poster then the world is truly a lesser place.

Mannion.

Helluva name.

Sounds like a Marvel comics hero.

Just saying the name will increase serum testosterone levels.

I wonder if the Rams drafted him just to offset the effects of Gurley.

3 rounds without addressing the o-line?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by nittany ram.

“But I can hear you screaming at your screen. That offensive line! You’re probably right – it looks horrible on paper. The Rams worst case scenario happened tonight. Flowers and Scherff were gone. La’el Collins? In the middle of a murder investigation. With the top pass rushers, quarterbacks and wide receivers gone, the Rams wouldn’t have found a team wanting to trade up because there wasn’t a player worth trading up for.

So they stood their ground and picked the best player on their board:…”

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/4/30/8526699/rams-2015-draft-picks-jeff-fisher-is-jeff-fisher-todd-gurley-georgia-top-ten

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by nittany ram.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by zn.

I would normally be excited but I’m worried that their lame duck status will be a distraction and impact their play on the field. They likely won’t have much of a home field advantage this season either.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by nittany ram.