Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
znModeratorYou were thinking a lot deeper about the physics than I was, but it’s interesting.
Well I have a very high but very amateur interest in particle physics. I read around on it constantly. It got so I wanted to test my understanding, so I would try to see if I could explain some of it. (For example, here’s a mind bender–a great deal of the mass of atoms comes from elemental particles like quarks and electrons acquiring mass by interacting with the Higgs field, which of course is produced by the recently discovered Higgs boson. BUT not all the mass or protons and neutrons comes from that. So where does the rest come from? The answer is mind-blowing.)
So in any event, I went into the movie knowing that stuff, and therefore when there were discrepancies and contradictions I noticed immediately. It would be as if we both saw a fictional film about the NFL and a player talked about playing in a traditional 5-4 defense just like the old Chicago Vikings did in the 1920s. We would both immediately go “hunh?”
This isn’t me bragging. A real physicist would get bored of the amateur level “feeling my way” nature of my “knowledge” within seconds.
But, I think it’s interesting. So I keep up.
.
July 19, 2015 at 9:52 am in reply to: Party Affiliation Differences by Race, Gender, Generation, Education #27384znModeratorThis party system is cliquish and obstructing.
I’m not sure of its value
The problem is, if you have no parties, the first evil genius who starts a party suddenly beats everyone.
The issue, to me, isn’t having parties, it’s having just 2.
IMO there should be at least 3.
leftists, corporate-friendly liberals and “moderates,” and rightists.
Oh and a Wiccan party.
And also, a party for Lesbian Bakers Who Won’t Serve Fundamentalist Christians.
So, 5.
znModeratorYes.
The 85 Dolphins.
And that was one great game too if you saw it.
znModeratorMore on this topic here, where GW praises JL as a playcaller.
http://theramshuddle.com/topic/pff-laurinaitis-was-the-best-tackler-at-ilb-in-2014/
It’s just another tidbit to add to the mix. IE it doesn’t “end the discussion”—the JL debate continues. JL is just controversial. It’s not apocalyptic death-match level controversy, but it’s still always there IMO.
znModeratorSounds good.
They really need these young guys to come together quickly.
Here’s one thing about that—on Brown. In 2013, they would have taken Warford if Ogletree weren’t there at 30. In 2014, they reportedly tried to trade up for Zack Martin. Those are 2 of (if not the 2) best guards drafted in the last couple of years.
This doesn’t etch the Brown thing in stone or anything, but, they do seem to have very good taste in rookie guards.
.
znModeratorShutdown Corner is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, counting down the teams one per day in reverse order of our initial 2015 power rankings. No. 1 will be revealed on Aug. 8, the day before the preseason begins with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton.
NO. 23: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Jim Harbaugh. Patrick Willis. Chris Borland. Anthony Davis. Justin Smith. Frank Gore. Mike Iupati.Chris Culliver. Perrish Cox. Michael Crabtree.
I’m sure there are examples of teams who have had a worse offseason than the San Francisco 49ers in 2015. But in terms of sheer volume of talent lost, these 49ers have to be in the conversation.
It’s not just the talent on the field they’ll miss. There are a lot of Pro Bowls (and especially in the case of players like Borland and Davis, who retired abruptly in their primes, perhaps many future Pro Bowls) off the roster. But think about the leadership in the locker room that has vanished from San Francisco.
The 49ers were 8-8 last year, and I can’t figure out how they’re going to be any better this season.
It started with Harbaugh. I still haven’t figured out why the 49ers seemed so eager to push a coach with a 44-19-1 record and five playoff wins out. Maybe Harbaugh really wanted to go too. Maybe he was unbearable to work with (though, plenty of coaches are and not many have a .695 winning percentage). There has been so much said back and forth, and Harbaugh’s interviews are always kind of strange, that it’s hard to tell what the real story is. But he’s at the University of Michigan, which is all that really matters.
Then the players started leaving. You know you’ve lost a lot when Iupati, arguably the best guard in football, rarely gets mentions when wrapping up the 49ers’ offseason. There’s just so many names to go through. I don’t buy that there’s some conspiracy theory with all the defections and retirements. Men don’t leave multi-million dollar jobs because a coach left, or any other reason that has been tossed around. I buy that Willis was breaking down. Borland seemed like he knew what he wanted to do before his rookie season started. Davis had a really bad concussion last year, and said he might return after a year off. I think it was just a crazy run of bad luck.
For all the doom and gloom, it’s not like the cupboard is entirely bare. Quarterback Colin Kaepernickwill have to get the arrow on his career pointed back up after a disappointing 2014, and it’s not like we haven’t seen him play really, really well in stretches. It would help if tight end Vernon Davisreappeared. Carlos Hyde seems capable of carrying the running game. Maybe the great NaVorro Bowman returns after losing a season due to a devastating knee injury and reestablishes himself as one of the best linebackers in football. Aldon Smith might be a pass-rushing menace again after being suspended most of last season. Perhaps new coach Jim Tomsula can use all the negativity surrounding the team as a great motivational tool.
The 49ers went to three straight NFC championship games under Harbaugh in large part because they had a really deep roster. They could withstand some hits. But there were just so many hits this offseason. It just feels like the 49ers’ most recent era of success, which started when Harbaugh arrived, has come and gone.
Missing video here can be seen at the site.
Darnell Dockett and running backReggie Bush. The big ticket item was former Baltimore Ravens receiver Torrey Smith. Smith is a deep threat, which the 49ers have sorely needed the past few years. His 16.9-yard average will pair well with Kaepernick’s big arm and possession receiver Anquan Boldin.
Achilles heel: Cornerback isn’t a strength. Culliver got a four-year, $32 million deal with theWashington Redskins and Cox signed with theTennessee Titans for three years and $15 million. In steps Tramaine Brock, who barely played last year because of injuries, and Shareece Wright, who didn’t play well with the San Diego Chargerslast season and was signed as a free agent. Oft-injured Chris Cook also returns. This position could be an issue.
Position in flux: The offensive line has quickly gone from one of the best in the league to a bit of an issue. That’s what happens when you suddenly lose players like Iupati and Davis. The 49ers are shifting to a zone scheme, and maybe the time is right with some new faces. Left tackle Joe Staley and right guard Alex Boone are still among the best at their positions, but figuring out the other three spots is a priority. The 49ers are considering many combinations as they decide where to best utilize Boone.
Ready to break out: Hyde doesn’t have an easy job, replacing a 49ers legend like Gore. But he’ll be the starter, barring injury, and the 2014 second-round pick looked fine last season, averaging 4 yards on his 83 carries. He’s a load at 235 pounds, and should get plenty of chances to carry the ball. He seems like a good bet for 1,000 yards if he stays healthy.
Stat fact: Kaepernick faded in the final two months of last season. He was fine in September and October, with ratings of 91.2 and 98.2 in those two months. His rating was 78.2 in November and 81.0 in December. He had a completion percentage of 63.8 in the first two months, and that dipped to to 57.4 in the final two months. His yards per attempt, well above 7 yards in September and October, dropped by more than a yard the final two months. Kaepernick wasn’t a terrible quarterback in 2014, and the 49ers can look at his early-season production (he had just one bad game, against Chicago in Week 2) and optimistically project that to a full season in 2015.
Schedule degree of difficulty: The rest of the NFC West is good, and physical. It’s no joke playing six games against Seattle, Arizona and St. Louis. Add in games against the AFC North, and it’ll be a big challenge. A season-opening Monday night game at home against Minnesota will be an interesting measuring stick.
znModeratorfrom off the net
==
RockRam
The stereotype of a 4-3 MLB is a guy like Butkus who blew players up. People forget what a freak he was in his era when he was playing: 6’3″ and almost 250. Today that is probably slightly above average. But he was bigger than many (most?) DEs his day. He was a frightening sight and simply destroyed people.
But that is not and never was JL. JL is cerebral,a good leader and a good athlete, big enough at 245, and does all things well. He can cover zones, is a much better pass rusher than given credit for, and is sure tackler as the stats indicate (even for those who find subjective analysis and personal opinion more useful than objective statistical analysis, just watch the games).
But he is sort of a drag down tackler; he isn’t Dick Butkus. He isn’t ferocious. So he’s not spectacular, will never make the highlight reels. But he is SO consistent. I don’t recall him having a truly bad game. I think he’s pretty much a B in every category, so when taken in sum he’s a B+ MLB. But because he’s good at everything he plays 3 downs and that is rare today. He is the one guy whose loss for more than a game or two could really hurt the Rams D. For one thing they would have to do a lot more subbing at MLB, which would reveal intent, because we don’t have another MLB who can do all the things JL can do.
znModeratorOut there, on the net, in response to this post of RamBill’s, it is common to read people saying that making tackles 4-5 yards down the field is not impressive. There’s a fair amount of skepticism about JL.
While that’s frequently said about JL I wonder how true it is.
I will look for stats on depth of tackles. But right now we do have general stats on how well the Rams defend the run in the middle of the field.
According to Football Outsiders, they rank 4th. They allowed 3.35 yards a carry when the run was to the middle (guard to guard).
Their REAL problem defending the run was around the defensive right end, that is outside runs to that side of the field. That sounds like the problem was the weakside LB, not the MLB.
Though of course running from guard to guard would include the Rams DTs, not just JL at MLB.
But the numbers do suggest that runs to the middle were not the problem.
July 18, 2015 at 12:41 am in reply to: Party Affiliation Differences by Race, Gender, Generation, Education #27354znModeratorAnalytics applied to politics. Drill down just a step or two further and candidates will be able to “micro-pander” in order to cater on a personal level.
Analytics holds such promise for solving some of our biggest problems, but instead we’re going to misuse it to manipulate ourselves into an Idiocracy.
smh
Yer on a roll tonight. Good to see.
znModeratorSo, I just dont see how the “states rights” notion,
changes anything — you still get right back to
slavery.For many people it’s just a convenient euphemism. Or, fig leaf. Or, effort to glorify the indefensible. Like, the holocaust was just about ethnic pride.
There’s an article in this thread about how the benign, revisionary view of the war spread through the south.
At the October 1878 unveiling of the Confederate monument in the town square of Augusta, Georgia, one of that state’s most popular Lost Cause voices, Charles Colcock Jones Jr., argued that the South had fought for “liberty” and “freedom” and had lost only because it had been “overborne by superior numbers and weightier munitions.” Then he quickly shifted to a victory narrative. The ultimate verdict of the war awaited the history of their own time. “Nothing has been absolutely determined except the question of comparative strength,” said Jones. “The issue furnished only a physical solution of the moral, social, and political propositions.” To Jones, the South could still win the war politically. The “political privileges” and “vested rights” of Southerners, he declared, “are, in a moral point of view, unaffected by the result of the contest.”
This “Lost Cause,” Blight continues, “became an integral part of national reconciliation by dint of sheer sentimentalism, by political argument, and by recurrent celebrations and rituals.” By the 1890s, it formed the basis for national memory of the war, “a set of conservative traditions by which the entire country could gird itself against racial, political, and industrial disorder.” Expressed in academia by the work of pro-Southern historians like William Dunning and popularized by The Clansman, Gone With the Wind, and other successful novels, the Lost Cause became the foundation for Southern memory of the war years and their aftermath.
When white Southerners returned the battle flag to view in the 1950s and 1960s—in defense of Jim Crow and in defiance of the federal government—they did so against this backdrop of Confederate memory. “Today I have stood, where once Jefferson Davis stood, and took an oath to my people,” said Alabama Gov. George Wallace in his infamous 1963 inaugural address. “It is very appropriate then that from this cradle of the Confederacy, this very heart of the great Anglo-Saxon Southland, that today we sound the drum for freedom as have our generations of forebears before us done, time and time again through history. Let us rise to the call of freedom-loving blood that is in us and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South.”
July 17, 2015 at 10:27 am in reply to: Who is the player, other than QB, Rams can least afford to lose.? #27341znModeratorTre Gurley.
Did you just say the Rams are “tres girly”?
If you’re going to be antagonistic, at least spell it right.
znModeratorAdam Timmerman talks about his time with the St. Louis Rams in the 2000s
July 16, 2015 at 11:31 pm in reply to: Who is the player, other than QB, Rams can least afford to lose.? #27333znModeratorLondon Fletcher.
znModeratorObviously the Roman army was one of the greatest of all time, but it would lose miserably to any army from a more recent era…even North Korea
Why don’t you just become a Rams fan if you love North Korea so much.
Or. Something like that. (?)
July 16, 2015 at 6:48 pm in reply to: sheriff involved in the death of Sandra Bland fired from previous job for racism #27321znModeratorSandra Bland Tried to Post Bail Before Allegedly Committing Suicide
She called a bondsman before she turned up dead in a Texas jail cell and also spoke of depression and PTSD.Before she was found dead of apparent suicide in a Texas jail cell, Sandra Bland called a bail bondsman hoping to get out.
“I talked to her when she first went to jail,” Joe Booker of Hempstead told The Daily Beast on Thursday. “I called her mother for her.”
Booker then hung up and didn’t respond to further requests for comment. It would have cost friends or family $500 to bail out Bland, Captain Brian Cantrell of the Waller County Sheriff’s Office said.
Why she would take her own life after apparently working with Booker to secure her freedom is one of many questions surrounding her death.
“Based on the Sandy I know, that’s unfathomable to me,” Bland’s sister Sharon said at a press conference.
Bland did, however, say in March that she was dealing with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I gotta be honest with you guys,” she told people in a Facebook video, “I’ve been dealing with something that some of you all may be dealing with now. It’s a little bit of depression as well as PTSD.”
Bland also expressed her faith in God, who “blocked that depressing moment in my mind.” Bland closed the video with an apology for her lack of posts, saying, “Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are things that affect everyone—black, white, it does not matter.”
Bland’s body was discovered by a jail worker on Monday morning. Bland was hanging by unspecified means—police said she did not have shoelaces or a blanket in her cell. An autopsy performed Tuesday listed Bland’s cause of death as suicide by asphyxiation, but her family and many people online suspect foul play. (The autopsy report which contains that and much more detailed information has not yet been made available.) The Texas Rangers said they are investigating her death, and the Bland family has retained an attorney.
At 7 a.m. Monday, Bland reportedly asked to make a phone call. Two hours later, she was found dead.
Bland was pulled over by a Texas Department of Public Safety officer on Friday afternoon for changing lanes without signaling, according to the Houston Chronicle. Bland reportedly struggled with the officer, who at some point was joined by another cop, both of whom are seen struggling with Bland on the ground in a video taken by a motorist.
“I can’t even fucking feel my arms,” Bland is heard saying on video, calling the officers “motherfuckers” several times. “You just slammed my head into the ground, do you not even care about that? I can’t even hear!”
One of the officers tells the person recording the video, “You need to leave.”
As Bland is being walked to a police car, she speaks again.
“Thank you for recording! Thank you! For a traffic signal, slammed me into the ground and everything!”
Bland’s sister told the Associated Press on Thursday that Sandra called her from jail after the arrest and said she believed her arm had been broken by police.
Bland had recently moved to Texas from the Chicago area, according to her family, and was preparing to start a new job. Bland had lived in Texas while attending Texas Prairie View A&M and had previous interactions with police for minor offenses.
Bland pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession in 2010 and paid $373 in fines, according to court records. A 2009 drug paraphernalia charge was dismissed in Harris County, court records also show. Her driver’s license had been suspended three times prior to last year, and she was on court supervision in Illinois, according to the Chicago Tribune. On July 31, Bland’s license was set to be suspended again, the Tribune reported.
Bland spoke out against police, the deaths of blacks at the hands of law enforcement, and other issues affecting the African-American community on her Facebook page. She called the video dispatches “Sandy Speaks.” In one, she took on the subject of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“What I need you guys to understand is that being a black person in America is very, very hard,” she recently said.
znModeratorYeah I don;t think so either. The 85 Bears D would have been worse to play against than the 99 Bux were. Incredibly hard to block.
znModeratorI don’t think of this kind of thing as “revelations.”
I think of it as evidence for discussions.
So it’s useful to say to the neutrals who are hearing what deniers say, that we know for a fact oil companies were planning future policies around global warming as early as 1981, even while funding denier campaigns.
So among us it’s not a case of “can you BELIEVE it? Did you see THIS?!”
To me discussion isn’t really necessary. At this point, I don’t think it matters that neutrals become convinced. The evidence is already in, and it is overwhelming, and the real issue is that Capitol Hill and Wall Street both know it, regardless of what they say.
So the issue isn’t convincing more humans. It’s convincing the humans who do know to do something, and that’s a different battle altogether.
We have a different view of all that I think. I personally think discussion is always necessary. Deniers would gain no ground if they weren’t in accord with some deep-set ideological assumptions. It doesn’t matter what the topic is—this particular one is just an example. If you get more people to be aware of those kinds of assumptions, I think that’s beneficial in its own right.
And yes part of it is to get the people who can do something, to do it. But being cognizant of that doesn’t contradict being interested in THIS too (ie. the discussion).
To me that doesn’t exclude always getting ideas out there, and of course also being a constant learner too.
znModeratorfrom NFL’s top run stuffers
By Bucky Brooks
NFL Media analyst3) Aaron Donald, DT, St. Louis Rams
The 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year commanded a lot of attention due to his pass-rushing prowess, but it’s his disruptive presence against the run that earns him high marks in coaching circles. Donald destroyed opponents at the point of attack in Year 1, exhibiting exceptional first-step quickness and acceleration. He routinely slipped through cracks on pre-planned angle rushes, but also flashed the strength and power to hold the point against single- or double-teams. With Donald also displaying outstanding hand quickness and combat skills, the young defender has already emerged as a foundational piece for the Rams
znModeratorWhile the Rams have a habit of talking up all of their players, the discussion of Rhaney’s potential seems to be much more than just lip service.
Interesting.
.
znModeratorVindication at the 20 sec mark. I knew my english teacher was no better than a witch doctor besides.
It’s one of those things. It got TAKEN as a rule of grammar when it’s not. It’s a rule of style, that is, if you want to sound like your English is elite, then it becomes a style issue.
But it was never an issue of English GRAMMAR. As the vid says, English and its precursor languages have always used the terminal preposition. It’s latin where that doesn’t work grammatically. For a long time, though, latin was used as the model of correctness for english grammar. Which only means something in a world where the educated elites know latin and want to distance themselves from everyday usage.
..
znModeratorThree-way battle for starting center job looms for Rams
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — With the St. Louis Rams set to open training camp at the end of the month, we’ll spend the rest of this week taking a look at four of the position battles worth watching as camp approaches.
The Rams report for training camp on July 29.
The position: Center
The contenders: Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones, Demetrius Rhaney
Outlook: None of the other primary training camp battles offer as much uncertainty as this one. Barnes, Jones and Rhaney are almost wholly unproven in the NFL as starters and Rams coach Jeff Fisher has been very open with the idea of these three battling it out throughout camp and the preseason. Organized team activities didn’t really offer many clues as to which player might have an edge as the Rams rotated all three contenders with the first team throughout the spring. Barnes would seem to be a logical choice because he’s the only one with starting experience though he’s only started four games. Jones has limited experience in games and Rhaney sat out his rookie season because of a knee injury. Jones is considered the most intelligent of the three, which is an important attribute for the pivot man. Rhaney has earned positive reviews for his athleticism and toughness. Barnes is something of a mix of the two and knows the offense as well as any lineman on the team.
Projection: All three players are legitimate contenders making this the most difficult position battle to project heading toward camp. Fisher has said the Rams will continue to rotate the trio throughout camp and hopes to settle in to a starter a couple of weeks in. The guess here is that the Rams would like to see Jones win the job given the investment they’ve made in him in terms of time and draft capital. Assuming he can stay healthy and has added the strength necessary to hold up in the middle, he’s the presumptive favorite. But we won’t rule out any of the possibilities and it’s worth reiterating once again that Rhaney should not be discounted in this. While the Rams have a habit of talking up all of their players, the discussion of Rhaney’s potential seems to be much more than just lip service. Don’t be surprised if this comes down to Jones and Rhaney with Jones narrowly winning the job.
znModeratorI don’t think of this kind of thing as “revelations.”
I think of it as evidence for discussions.
So it’s useful to say to the neutrals who are hearing what deniers say, that we know for a fact oil companies were planning future policies around global warming as early as 1981, even while funding denier campaigns.
So among us it’s not a case of “can you BELIEVE it? Did you see THIS?!”
July 14, 2015 at 6:21 pm in reply to: bleacherreport.com: Grades for Every NFL Team's Offseason #27270znModeratorHe forgot the rest of his own article: drafting 5 offensive linemen, signing Garret Reynolds and drafting a highly regarded running back. Yeah, C+ article by a D+ writer.
lol
I think the addition of Gurley alone warrants a higher grade.
Though to be fair, we all know there are a lot of questions on offense. But even given that, the only thing that would cause me to worry is if it turns out the OL draft picks were all problems and not as advertized.
znModeratorOdd that the north was willing to fight to preserve the union (and end slavery) when just compensation instead of spilled blood would have sufficed. In the case of the southern plantation owner the end of slavery was already at hand due to emerging technologies.
Yeah but paying for humans just makes them property–not humans.
They should never have been property in the first place.
It’s not odd at all that the north went to war since in fact the south seceded and went to war. What’s even stranger is the idea that the south would fight a war to defend slavery if it knew slavery was already on the way out.
znModeratorCoach is defending his pick before a single down is played. I remain skeptical yet hopeful.
Is he “defending” it? Or bragging? An why that particular one? Why single out Brown to “defend”?
I think he said it because he believes it. The issue is whether he’s right.
I’m too tired to do a search on Fisher and the use of “pro bowl” in reference to his draft picks but I think he is overstating the case a wee bit in mid July.
But the phrase “pro bowl potential” is not an overstatement if it’s true. To my knowledge he has not said it of other draft picks. I think it’s fine to be enthusiastic about a pick.
.
znModeratorCoach is defending his pick before a single down is played. I remain skeptical yet hopeful.
Is he “defending” it? Or bragging? An why that particular one? Why single out Brown to “defend”?
I think he said it because he believes it. The issue is whether he’s right.
znModeratorThe Rams thought that Long would miss the whole season after he had surgery but he showed his grit by wanting to finish the season with playing with his teammates and show the young guys how to play thru injuries. He is the longest tenured Ram player on the team.
Long said that he was not 100% until well into the off-season.
znModeratorzn quote
“For example, I just posted something by a top, very cool historian who makes a good case debunking the idea that the civil war was about states rights, since one of the complaints from the leaders of the confederacy was that the federal government would not clamp down on states that ignored the fugitive slave act. They openly claimed that was a violation of federal law and that states did not have the right to do that.”
That is states rights. States rights per the US constitution ca. 1861. Slaves were property. The underground railroad dealt in stolen property. When the northern states refused to return the stolen property the compact was broken. Northern states aiding and abetting anti-slavery terrorists was a de-facto war against the south. Property rights then as now are guaranteed by the US constitution. If you see your stolen yankee car in my southern driveway and demand it be returned, and I say no, and my local law enforcement refuses to act other than to arrest anyone attempting to steal a car from my driveway, and your yankee financial judgement is not honored by my local and state authorities, what recourse do you have? It was always about states rights.
Well good for the northern states. If that was one of the spurs of the civil war then it not only did good for individual escaped slaves, it contributed to the destruction of slavery, since the south was never going to win a civil war.
And of course that led to a world where we don’t equate people with property, because we rectified a horrible decision by the original writers of the constitution.
What recourse did they have? To give up slavery voluntarily. Anything short of that is indefensible, which is another reason why it’s such a great thing they lost.
.
July 13, 2015 at 8:55 pm in reply to: Rams select former Clemson OT Isaiah Battle in fifth round of supplemental draft #27235znModeratorESPN Insider Steve Muench posted that Battle could be a contender for the right tackle job with Havenstein and though he might not win it right away, he possesses more upside long term.
I think that’s probably bs. I don’t think Battle sounds like a right OT. I think they took Battle because they are crazy interested in developing a deep OL, for its own sake.
July 13, 2015 at 8:53 pm in reply to: Rams select former Clemson OT Isaiah Battle in fifth round of supplemental draft #27234znModeratorFinding Isaiah Battle’s fit with the St. Louis Rams
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams added a final exclamation point on their offseason approach to revamping the offensive line last week when they used a supplemental fifth-round pick on Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle.
Adding Battle to the mix brings the total number of offensive linemen the Rams have drafted this year to five. That’s right, if the Rams wanted to they could have an entire line full of rookies. Of course, that is not the team’s plan, though it’s also not far off given the lack of experience among the linemen.
As it stands, the Rams have a group of 15 linemen with a combined total of 103 starts. Of that group, Rodger Saffold is responsible for 60 of those, with backup Garrett Reynolds owning 27 and second-year left tackle Greg Robinson with 12. In other words, there appears to be plenty of opportunity for any and all newcomers.
But in Battle’s case, it would seem that his chances to come in and compete right away are slim. At least that’s how general manager Les Snead made it sound in the team’s press release after drafting Battle.
“We felt it was an opportunity to get an earlier-round value for a later-round price,” Snead said. “He’s going to practice what would’ve been his final year of college eligibility with us, go through our offseason program, and then start his rookie season a year from now. This will allow us to bring him along gradually both on and off the field. Now it’s up to Isaiah and us to go work to reach his potential as a person and player.”
Unlike fellow rookie linemen Robert Havenstein, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann, Battle comes without the extensive starting college experience that Snead and the Rams seemed to covet when going through the regular draft process in April and May. He started 11 games for the Tigers in 2014 and appeared in 27 through his three-year college career.
In other words, Battle didn’t have the opportunities to gain the polish of players such as Havenstein and Brown, both of whom are projected starters as the Rams head to training camp. That is why Snead basically has already declared that 2015 will be a de facto redshirt season for Battle.
To be clear, when Snead says Battle will practice with the team as though 2015 was his final year of college and start his rookie season a year from now, that doesn’t mean the Rams will have the benefit of stashing him on the practice squad without going through usual procedure.
In the short term, don’t expect Battle to do much aside from learn and develop, but he could become a legitimate piece of the team’s offensive line down the road. ESPN Insider Steve Muench posted that Battle could be a contender for the right tackle job with Havenstein and though he might not win it right away, he possesses more upside long term.
So while it seems the Rams don’t have appear to have the intention of playing Battle this season, they seem to have plans for him in 2016 and beyond.
-
AuthorPosts
