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TrenchRamParticipantThis really brings back my reservations about the Robinson pick. The people who loved the pick said we’d have a great starting LOT for years who’d make an immediate impact at guard. If he can’t beat out a guy grading as poorly as Joseph, why should we think he’s ever going to be a probowl LOT? Any research gurus know how often top 10 OL picks spend their rookie year on the bench?
TrenchRamParticipantOn a scale of one (bad) to ten (great)
what would you give Jeff Fisher,
So far ?Questionable decisions signing
Jake Long and Jared Cook,
and Finnegan.
Drafting Pead was a mistake.
Greg Robinson over Watkins? I dunno.
Too soon to tell, maybe.6.66
w
v6.5 is the number that came into my head when I saw the question before reading your post, 6.66 works.
I’d add going into last season expecting to run a spread offense, thinking that Richardson and Pead were acceptable, allowing Stacy to ride the pine so long when it became clear that Richardson was useless, and all the stupid stupid penalties to the dings against him. The number 2 overall pick riding the pine also seems ominous to me, although I’m reserving judgment.
If – win or lose – the front 7 doesn’t start to look A LOT better and the OL a good bit better over the next few games, then my opinion of him will drop considerably. This was supposed to be a smashmouth team. If they can’t block and stop the run with most of the starters playing, then I’d start looking for a new coach. I’m assuming that the front 7 will start playing much better, and – while I’m a bit worried – I still expect the OL to step up. If the former doesn’t happen, though, I really would look to replace him.
On the bright side, he has kept the team playing hard through adversity, adjusted in a big and successful way last year, the secondary’s early play seems better than anyone had a right to expect, and his players seem incredibly devoted to him.
TrenchRamParticipantHow do you evaluate secondary play based on TV? That’s the thing that I miss most about having season tickets; it’s just really hard to know what’s going on downfield until the ball gets there unless they show the wider angle on replay.
TrenchRamParticipantSo – other than Dunbar’s return – what changed last year when they tightened up? In the pre-season, it looked pretty clear that guys very often just weren’t where they were supposed to be, especially Armstrong. So far in the season, I just can’t tell where it’s breaking down.
The front 7 was supposed to be the core of this team. They’re supposed to elite. Best in the league some said. So far they’re not even average. Quinn is a beast. Donald and Sims both show flashes. I don’t see anyone else making plays.
On the bright side, the secondary is playing better than I expected. McDonald is fantastic. It’s not just the blocked punts. He seems to be the one guy who can shed blocks on screens. He gets to the ball. He makes his tackles. Very impressive.
TrenchRamParticipantI missed the entire first half yesterday thanks to DirecTV. My fancy new receiver told me last week that it could be set to record any Rams game and then didn’t work. I think that what the first game showed me is that we have no depth at LB. Ray Ray is not ready for prime time. Good athlete; no discipline. I can’t believe anyone has talked about him pushing Dunbar. A run D without Brockers or JL is a very different beasts than what I hope to see in September. Last week, at least, it seemed to me that I saw at least as many plays where whoever was supposed to be in the hole just wasn’t there as plays where they lost a battle with a blocker. I’m starting to look at JL55 as a guy who has to be on the field for them to be competitive.
TrenchRamParticipantCarrington doesn’t get talked about very much but they use him together with Conrath a lot of times and I think I clearly see why they signed him…its the anti-Wilson line up. If those two can get up the middle against Seattle and into the passing lanes there is no way he is gonna be able to get a pass off.
Good to read. I was just reading through reports today in hopes of seeing something about Carrington. I’ve scarcely seen him mentioned in any reports.
TrenchRamParticipant9-7, and that feels optimistic at this point. Both the secondary and the WRs have starters who IMO still need to prove that they belong in the NFL. There’s no depth in the secondary and very little proven depth at LB. With their schedule, they need to win a lot early if they’re going to have a winning record and there’s so much that could lead to a slow start: Long and Bradford returning from injury, new DC, inexperienced secondary, Bailey’s suspension, Robinson learning to pass block. I know that I’m going to be reading the camp reports with more anticipation this year than any year in a long time. There are so many guys who *could* make the leap in ways that will take this team to the next level, but how many can really expect to do it and do it early.
I don’t really buy in to the “they need to make the playoffs this year” hype. I can imagine a 7-9 or – with a couple of key injuries – even a 6-10 season that I would feel good about and that would leave me very optimistic heading into 2015. Snisher has a plan. The DLine is stellar and deep; the OL and RBs are on their way there, and the LB unit is improving. I like how they drafted for the secondary, and – while I expect the unit to be fairly serious weakness in the coming season – I also think that it will probably be very good with another year of experience and drafting. When that happen – whether it’s this year or next – this is going to be a very tough team to score against, and that will let this O play the game that it’s built for. I just think it’s more likely to be next year.
TrenchRamParticipantI have 2 big questions.
1. Do we have the personnel to play the 2ndary?
2. Can the coaching staff lift this talented team over the hump?
For me, #2 is THE question of questions. #1 gets answered in large part by #2. Williams needs to turn lots of mostly young talent into an elite defense.
I don’t think we know enough yet to say that even the best coaching can turn this secondary into a decent unit. I think that McDonald and Jenkins have both demonstrated sufficient talent to say that with good coaching they should be at least solid starters and possibly much better than that. Everyone else is pretty much just potential. There are so many players being counted on to make a leap that I just assume that the unit continues to be a weakness for at least the first half of the season. A key injury or two could result in them being really terrible. Hopefully GW can use the scheme and the ridiculous talent level up front to compensate, but if the entire unit doesn’t step up in a big way they’re still going to be vulnerable to the pass.
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