St. Louis Rams Rookie Review
One of my favorite bloggers is 3k over at turfshowtimes.com a St. Louis Rams blog. 3k has a great sense of humor, but also gives honest and insightful evaluations. 3k is also a big draft guy who does excellent work for mocking the draft from time to time. He took some time out his schedule to answer a few questions about the Rams and the N.F.L. draft.
1) Is Spags job safe?
In a word, no. You can’t lose as many games as the Rams have during his tenure and remain safe forever. And given this is year three (not to mention this was a 7-win team a year ago), his seat is red hot.
2). They say it takes three years to evaluate a draft class…How is the 2009 draft class looking?
Not great, but the two hits (James Laurinaitis and Bradley Fletcher) were solid. One of the biggest issues with GM Billy Devaney’s time in St. Louis has been his inability to unearth any gems in rounds 4-7; the ’09 draft was a prime example. Jason Smith is teetering on falling off the bust cliff after a disappointing season that ended with a concussion a few weeks back. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams cut ties with him this offseason. And if Bradley Fletcher can’t rehab fully from a second knee injury, this turns into a draft that landed a sole long-term player, albeit a fantastic one.
3) Is Sam Bradford the franchise quarterback?
Well things certainly look a hell of a lot different than they did 365 days ago. Sam has struggled this year in multiple situations: end to end, red zone, under pressure, sideline to sideline. He’s just not taking command of the offense. If there were questions early this year as to whether he could assume the responsibilities of OC Josh McDaniels’ offense, they’re much louder now
4) playing off question three. If the Rams get the first pick what do they do with it?
I still think if they get the first pick (and I don’t see how the Colts win three games, though you did ask this a while back) they should trade it for a king’s ransom and stock up. I find it hard to believe that Sam can’t lead this offense, but he’s certainly not doing it now. Replenishing the offensive line is key, and with a couple picks from a trade for Luck, they could go out and get Matt Kalil or David DeCastro or Peter Konz, etc. I think that would be much more useful in the long-term than just replacing Sam with Andrew Luck.
5) How is the 2011 draft class looking?
Well, it’s so early, but it looks solid. Robert Quinn has flashed the talent to justify a pick at 14. Greg Salas was really starting to settle in in Danny Amendola’s absence before a gruesome injury ended his year as well. Lance Kendricks’ skills are hard to implement in this offense without consistent outside WR play, but I think he will be a huge part of the offense next year and beyond.
6). Are there any late round picks or UDFA that look like maintsays on the Rams moving forward
That’s really tough to say given how many players are on IR and should return healthy in 2012. If any, I might go with Josh Gordy. He’s been a capable corner filling in for the cadre of injured CBs the Rams have been without.
7). based on how the rams are playing this year what are their needs for the 2012 NFL draft guy
Just about everything, haha. On offense, just about any offensive line position is in play. And if the Rams feel there’s a #1 type receiver, whether it’s Justin Blackmon, Alshon Jeffrey or a late sleeper, that would make sense. Defensively, DT, OLB, CB, FS, SS… as bad as the offense has been, it’s been largely on offensive line issues and execution problems. The defense, though, just needs more talent.
8) I know you’re a big draft guy. Who are you some of your over-rated under-rated prospects?
This is turning into a really overrated draft. I really think that outside of QB and LB, I think this is shaping up to be a thin draft. As much as people fall in love with Justin Blackmon’s stats and highlights, I see some holes in his game that should be more evident at the NFL level. And not to hate on the state of Oklahoma, but I don’t think Landry Jones has a long future as an NFL QB. On the underrated side, Robert Griffin III, Isaiah Pead and Terrell Manning aren’t getting as much love as I think they’re due (though RG3 and Manning are juniors).
9) Anything else to add?
As you know, I’ve been grinding on the day job recently, but I should be able to get some tape review up on Mocking the Draft soon. So stay tuned!
Be sure to check out Turfshowtimes and if this is your first time here we’ve been working hard on our scouting report page (over a 150 reports, so check it out)