Hey wondering what you think about this, Ag. Proposal: as soon as the season is over, we will start a “draft info” board where every article related to ever aspect of the draft will go. “Who the Rams will draft” articles go on this forum, while every other article goes there. We would put up a sticky here saying there was such a board so it doesn’t get lost.

What do you think? What would you prefer?

wv wrote:

Of the 31 other head coaches in the NFL
how many ever use the word ‘fun’ ?

w
v

Well there’s a similar sounding word a lot of coaches use, but it doesn’t end in “n.”

To me that whole “fun” thing is about building team morale and cohesion. He wants a locker room all players want to belong to…and from what we hear from various players, he really has done that.

BTW if the Rams win today, I THINK they own the tie-breaker with SF, and SF becomes the last place NFC west team.

Does that make up for the Rams slow start and put a cherry on top of the whole season?

No…but it would be fun.

Mackeyser wrote:

Which either puts us in a nice position to trade down for a sweet interior OL and then pick up a QB in the 2nd or to maybe pick up a BPA player sliding or grab a QB that we really like for our system that others don’t.

Lots of options, but far too many variables this early.

Agree with both points.

If Bradford can play they won’t be doing the high pick, franchise savior route anyway…that would mean too much stress on the whole qb issue (controversy)…but if he can’t play, they want someone behind him who at least has a chance to develop.

Interesting situation.

They could end up with either

* more than one viable starting qb

or

* nothing

wv wrote:

zn wrote:

A lot I don’t agree with there.

Like what?

w
v

Well to be honest, on 2nd read I agree with more than I thought I did in the first read.

A couple of quibbles:

QB is a need. Bradford’s limited mobility is likely to be even less, and one can only imagine his tentativeness in getting hit, given his 2 season ending ACLs

Bradford’s knees weren’t damaged by hits, but by freak hyper-extensions. More mobile qbs get sacked at a higher rate, on average, so I am not worried about that–he just needs to make his reads in blitz situations and get the ball out in rhythm, and in fact I think he will be very good at that. This team is built for a pocket passer. To me, this “getting in his head” stuff about tentativeness is more rote than real.

I don’t know if Bradford can come back, but if he can, I expect him to do well.

like Langford at DT, but he’s being paid too much for what he does

Langford is not overpaid, he gets what the market was giving (on avg.) to free agent DTs up for their 2nd contract. Besides, the way the Rams do the cap, according to Demoff, they don’t add up individual deals, they look at units. So for example, Quinn and Long are balanced by Sims and Hayes in terms of the money. Good unit value.

I’m puzzled with Schotenheimer. I don’t get why it’s taken so long to figure out what to do with Austin

That to me is more a case of “figuring out what Austin CAN do”…that is, much of the issue (to me) is Austin. Some of it is qb. They did things with him when Bradford was playing they haven’t done since.

W2W4: St. Louis Rams

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14708/w2w4-st-louis-rams-19

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams and New York Giants kick off Week 16 on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. ET on FOX regional coverage.

Here are three things to watch from the Rams’ perspective:

1. Beckham is Burning: After another dominant performance by Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr. last week against Washington, New York defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul referred to Beckham as “the fire of the offense.” Beckham is also on fire as one of the league’s most productive wideouts over the final half of the season. For a player who missed the first quarter of the season, he’s closing in on 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns with two games to play. Along the way, he’s making all the highlight reel plays and all the easy ones. Giants quarterback Eli Manning clearly feels comfortable enough with Beckham to just throw it up to him and let him go get it, a strategy that has worked more often than not. The Rams’ pass defense has been much better in recent weeks but is still susceptible to the big play, particularly cornerback Janoris Jenkins. The Rams’ defense can dominate and has a chance to against the Giants but it can’t let Beckham’s inferno continue to burn white-hot.

2. Dueling pass rush: You’d be hard pressed to find two teams rushing the passer as well as the Rams and Giants over the second half of the season. Since Week 7, the Rams’ 35 sacks are tied with Baltimore for most in the league. But the Giants aren’t far behind with 30 over that same stretch. New York’s turned up the heat even more in recent weeks, getting to the quarterback for 22 sacks in the past three weeks alone. Pierre-Paul is leading the charge with defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins also providing some pop. The Rams struggled to protect quarterback Shaun Hill last week against Arizona but the Giants don’t have the same run defense the Cardinals do, either. That means the Rams should be able to get New York off balance a bit and prevent them from just going after Hill.

3. Red zone success: Last week, the Rams and Cardinals combined for a whopping total of three trips to the red zone. Neither managed a touchdown and the Rams, had they just been able to punch it in from inside the 10, would have pulled off the upset. It’s something that hasn’t been a strength all year and remains an issue for the Rams moving forward. They now sit 20th in the league in red zone touchdown efficiency, breaking through for scores on just 51.3 percent of their 39 red zone trips. The Giants, meanwhile, have mostly capitalized when getting inside the 20. New York is seventh in the league with a 62.7 percent success rate. Conversely, the Rams’ defense is fourth in the league at keeping opponents out of the end zone while the Giants are tied for sixth. Teams haven’t spent much time in the red zone at all against the Rams in recent weeks but if the Giants manage to get there, it’s worth watching to see which side gives.

Time for Robinson to Shine Against Pierre-Paul

By D’Marco Farr

http://www.101sports.com/2014/12/19/time-robinson-shine-pierre-paul/

The honeymoon period officially ends this Sunday for Rams rookie left tackle Greg Robinson. I’m eager to see what the big guy can do against the Giants’ most disruptive defensive player, right defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.

JPP has been a wrecking machine the last three weeks, tallying six sacks, including a career-high 2.5 against the hapless Washington Redskins in Week 15. He now has 9.5 for the season and is looking to join the double-digit club for the first time since 2011, when the former South Florida sensation broke out with an eye-popping 16.5 sacks. Let’s hope he gets that half-sack at home the following weekend vs. the Eagles.

Robinson, meanwhile, has been solid as a blindside protector. He’s steadily improved since his first NFL start at LT, sliding over from left guard when Jake Long suffered a season-ending injury in that 34-7 beat down at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs.

In Robinson’s Week 9 coming-out party on the road, the San Francisco 49ers threw the proverbial kitchen sink at him – stunts, blitzes, twists, a variety of pass-rush games. The Auburn product’s technique was crude, yet effective. What he lacked in polish, he made up for in unbridled aggression and hustle.

On several occasions, the 49ers got Robinson off balance, but once he recovered and locked on, he finished people. He’s only gotten better over the last month and a half.

It would have been just as much fun to watch Robinson’s story arc had he stayed at guard the whole season. The rules of engagement changed, however, and in a hurry. In the NFL, the ability to adapt is everything. Now, the left tackle job is Robinson’s to lose for the foreseeable future.

Being the second overall selection in this year’s draft means Robinson doesn’t get to sneak up on anyone, least of all someone like Pierre-Paul. After having the last two seasons destroyed by injuries, JPP is out to remind the Giants (and the rest of the league, since he’s about to hit free agency) that he’s still a premier talent. If you go back and look at the first 11 games of the season, you would say that his best days were probably behind him. Three-and-a-half sacks in 11 weeks is pedestrian, not worthy of a full-time starter at right defensive end. But over the last three weeks, he’s looked like a completely different guy.

If JPP can make Robinson look like a JAG, then Shaun Hill could be in serious trouble this weekend. The Edward Jones Dome will be morgue-silent. But if Robinson can keep mental mistakes to a minimum and play with a necessary physical edge, he’ll have a good chance to slow down Pierre-Paul. JPP has been the catalyst behind a defensive resurgence in New York. The Giants’ once-non-existent pass rush has finally jelled, totaling 22 sacks in the last three weeks. JPP turning unblockable has been a major reason why the Giants have been getting after the quarterback lately.

Pierre-Paul’s blend of power and speed often makes for an unstoppable force. Is Robinson up to the challenge of being that immovable object? Either way, the Robinson vs. Pierre-Paul matchup is shaping up to be a deciding factor come Sunday.[/quote]

Thanks for this stuff. It’s interesting.

A Quick Look at Aaron Donald’s 8 sacks

http://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/2p56xi/a_quick_look_at_aaron_donalds_8_sacks/

Giants’ formidable pass rush comes to St. Louis

By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/giants-formidable-pass-rush-comes-to-st-louis/article_469a0a74-f1dd-5faa-888b-867ec9caa729.html

Over the past eight games, the Rams have a league-high 32 sacks. But over the past three weeks, no one can touch the New York Giants’ pass rush.

Led by two-time Pro Bowler Jason Pierre-Paul at defensive end and second-year defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, the Giants have racked up 22 sacks in the past three games.

“Certainly it’s something we’re aware of and need to be smart about what we’re doing,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said.

The Giants had seven sacks in a one-point loss three weeks ago at Jacksonville, followed by eight sacks in a 36-7 triumph two weeks ago at Tennessee, and seven more in last week’s 24-13 victory over Washington.

“A lot of the sacks have come on third down, obviously passing situations,” Schottenheimer said. “They do a good job to find ways to get ‘JPP’ isolated on different guys. They move him around some.”

That would be Pierre-Paul, who has a team-high 9 ½ sacks this season. He has been on a tear lately, because six of those 9 ½ sacks have come in the past three games. Included in his recent sack binge was a career-high 2 ½ sacks last week vs. Washington.

“Over the years, he’s developed more moves, counters,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s really got a good up-field ‘under’ move. He plays hard. He’s playing well against the run. He’s going to give any left tackle problems if the quarterback holds the ball. We’ve seen that here the last couple of weeks.”

That was particularly the case last week against Washington, not just for Pierre-Paul but for the rest of the Giants’ pass rushers. Quarterback Robert Griffin III, who replaced the injured Colt McCoy after just one series, was sacked seven times and on several occasions simply held onto the ball too long looking for an open receiver.

“A lot of it’s been coverage sacks,” Schottenheimer said. “They’ve been covering guys pretty well in the back half. Quarterbacks are having to hold the ball and there’s no place to really go, and they’re getting home.”

The three-game spree has the Giants all the way up to fourth in the league with 41 sacks; the Rams, with 36 sacks, are tied for 10th.

A first-round draft pick (No. 15 overall) in 2010 out of South Florida, Pierre-Paul burst onto the scene during his second season. He finished fourth in the NFL with 16 ½ sacks in that 2011 campaign, also leading the Giants with 23 tackles for loss and 29 quarterback hits.

His production plummeted to 6 ½ sacks in 2012, and then shoulder and back injuries derailed his 2013 campaign. He missed five games that season and registered only two sacks. But he’s healthy again, and back on the map as a pass-rush threat.

As Schottenheimer mentioned, the Giants do move him around some on their defensive line. But he’ll spend most of his day lined up over the opposing team’s left tackle, making Sunday’s game a huge challenge for the Rams’ rookie left tackle, Greg Robinson.

“When you get forced to play against these great athletes on the edge, one thing you tend to try to do — you kind of panic and turn your shoulders a little bit,” Schottenheimer said. “Greg’s done that from time to time. All that does is shorten the edge, which means they close in on the quarterback (quicker).”

But it’s not all Pierre-Paul. Hankins was drafted in the second round in 2013 out of Ohio State as a run-stuffer at 6-2, 320. He didn’t have a sack as a rookie reserve, but has seven this season, which is a lot for a D-tackle.

“Yeah, he’s had a very good year,” Schottenheimer said. “You certainly notice him when he’s able to play the 3-technique and kind of press the shoulder of the guard and kind of get penetration. … For where they’ve been with injuries and stuff, you see a lot of different numbers out there, but they’re kind of finding their groove right now.

“It’ll be a big challenge because if they can get you in the third down-and-long (situations), they can really create some problems for you.”

The Giants don’t blitz much under defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, a Rams assistant in 2003-04 under Mike Martz. But like most teams, the Giants will turn up the heat on third down with extra rushers.

Defensive end Damontre’ Moore (5 ½ sacks) and rookie outside linebacker Devon Kennard (4 ½) also can get to the quarterback.

“We’ve had a number of people get involved,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “I just hope we can continue to put pressure on the quarterback. That’s what the Rams do, and that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

After a shaky pass-blocking outing against Arizona, it’s up to the Rams’ offensive line to make sure that doesn’t happen Sunday. It’s also up to quarterback Shaun Hill to make sure he gets the ball out quickly.