zn wrote:

Geoff Schwartz@geoffschwartz
You can win games without drafting well if your top end talent is elite which the 49ers have. The question is whether I buy 49ers stock in the future and the answer is no because they’ve drafted poorly.

The 49ers start three players on offense (depends on the depth chart and reports) that have been drafted in the last 5 drafts. A few of those are 7th round picks.

It’s better on defense with 6 guys and half are guys they drafted in 2025.

There’s just no argument they’ve drafted well.

Ricky Pearsall was mugged and shot his rookie year, and has been disabled by injuries ever since. He’s showed promise when he’s actually been on the field. The buzz on Stribling in camp this year is high, and while the 49ers were widely criticized for picking him in the 1st round, word is that he has a specific skill set that Shanahan wants, and it’s looking good so far in camp.

They have done better in late rounds than the first round, where they have failed pretty spectacularly. They have not drafted well, but they’ve done well in trades and free agency (mostly bargain FAs). In spite of those spectacular first round failures, they’ve done okay in the draft, probably middle-of-the-packish. They would look better if Pearsall and Aiyuk worked out, but they both derailed for completely different reasons, not talent.

I saw only a bit of the game, from somewhere early 3rd quarter until about 4 minutes left when I apparently fell asleep.

Apart from seeing a lot of unfamiliar names on jerseys, I will say that Simpson looked pretty solid to me. I didn’t see panic or confusion. When he needed an extra beat to throw the ball, he took it, instead of rushing it. That can, of course, get a QB killed, but he seemed to fearlessly stand in there. Also, he showed mobility. He didn’t write himself into the record books, but he looked pretty good, and showed more zip on the ball than I expected. It’s only one preseason game, of course, but if you’re grooming a future QB, you would certainly hope they looked as good as Simpson did in his first ever outing.

wv wrote:

Zooey wrote:

… and I’ve been wanting a quality Center for 30 years.

Hey, i did everything i could to get them to draft Alex Mack in 2009. He went 21 to the Browns. 7 pro-bowls.

The Rams took Jason Smith, Tackle with the no.2 pick.

w
v

Yeah, I just think that position is so important, and the Rams – to their credit – have just plugged guys in there from nowhere, and it’s basically worked out okay for them. I dunno. But I sure would have loved to have Creed Humphrey instead of Tutu Austin.

It’s time for Donald to just do it already. He’s got to make his decision. Maybe everybody already knows inside the house, but if the players don’t know this week, I disapprove. The team needs to know, imo.

zn wrote:

13. Alaric Jackson, Los Angeles Rams

Entering his fourth season as the Rams’ starting left tackle, Jackson continues to improve and prove himself a stalwart on the team’s offensive line. In 2025, Jackson ranked eighth among qualified tackles with a career-high 84.2 PFF grade. A big reason for that was improvement in the run game, as his 86.1 PFF run-blocking grade ranked fifth among that same group. Jackson is a star on one of the best offensive lines in the league.

“He’s ranked 8th, so we’re putting him at 13.”

If you pose to me the bet of the Rams vs. the Field, I would put my money on the Field. That’s just reality.

If you want me to pick ONE team, and not the Field, I would have to put my money on the Rams.

I think most people would do the same. I mean… that’s why Vegas has different payouts for different teams. The Rams pay the least for very good reasons. They’re better. On paper.

Just sorta watched Hard Knocks with Seattle as the team of the year.

Seems different to me from the only other time I watched it…Rams

No actual story. Just a bunch of highlights and nonsense.

wv wrote:

Youre supposed to press firmly down on their heads.

I’ve always thought I would try to put a thumb in their eye.

But I never actually want to test any of these tactics.

I turned and yelled to my wife that I’d seen a shark, and she missed it. I was going to stay out there. It was clear to me that the shark had seen me, and seen me first. I was swimming out, and so was it, but I was in front. It could have taken a bite out of me before I ever even knew it was there. It was not curious about me. But my wife – probably wisely – directed everybody in the area back to shore. Like… who knows? The thing could just circle around the bay and come back after having scoped the area.

So we emptied the ocean and reported it. Turns out that that particular area is one of two places where the U of Hawaii tracks Tiger Sharks because they pay more visits to that place than others.

Anyway, I’ve now seen a big ol’ shark up close, and I don’t need to see another one.

zn wrote:

from https://www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi/rams-53-man-roster-prediction-first-week-training-camp

While defensive coordinator Chris Shula does find creative ways to use his safeties, it’s going to be hard to keep Cam Lampkin off the roster after the week that he’s had. Outside of McDuffie and Watson, Lampkin has arguably been the most impressive cornerback in the secondary.

The Rams have cornered the corner market on Cams.

Yeah, he also said the garage door opener clipped to the visor caused the laceration.

40 stitches. Seems a lot. Ouch.

Thank goodness he’s okay. Must be terrifying.

And, yes, using a cellphone while driving is illegal in CA, but he says he wasn’t “using” it. I don’t see how it’s different from reaching for your coffee cup or anything else. I find it kind of amazing that we don’t have more accidents like this. I know several times while I’ve been driving, I’ve been distracted by something for a second, and found myself crossing the middle line or the shoulder, and if that fraction of time lines up with an oncoming car, a bicyclist, a bridge abutment….

wv wrote:

My own conspiracy theory is that people just missed it. I mean why would anyone ‘cover up’ the fact he was in a wreck? I mean, it had to come out sometime so why would anyone agree to cover it up for a few days?

I don’t know. But they did.

And the 49ers didn’t announce it until they literally had to.

I read a Florio article this morning saying that the Shanahan situation is a failure of journalism because nobody reported it until the team made an announcement, even though it happened on the 14th.

And I got to thinking, “Why would the 9ers want to keep this out of the media for so long?”

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think there’s more to this story.

July 25th – Players report and closed practice
July 27th – Open practice at 4:15
July 29th – Open practice at 12:55
July 31st – Special open practice for season ticket holders
August 1st – Open practice at 4:15
August 2nd – Open practice at 11:40
August 3rd – Open practice at 12:55
August 5th – Open practice at 4:15
August 6th – Open practice at 4:15; Rams break camp
August 11th – Joint session with Dallas Cowboys
August 15th – Preseason: Rams at Kansas City Chiefs
August 20th – Joint session with New Orleans Saints
August 22nd – Preseason: Saints at Rams
August 27th – Rams at Los Angeles Chargers
August 30th – Roster cut to 53 players
August 31st – Waiver wire and practice squad finalization

When does Aaron Donald announce his return?

Well, Sports Illustrated has weighed in, and ranked all 32 teams’ uniforms for 2026.

Guess where the Rams rank: