Free Agency News/Trades/Cuts

[MileHigh64]

Might want to check the schedule again because we are. Rams come to Denver.
Broncos' 2018 opponents finalized

Damn, you're right!

 

[Dr Cyanide 28]

Who are their edge rushers?

 

[Draft Crazy]

Rams have a solid defense. I wouldn’t exactly call it a dream team yet. They obtained two really good CB’s and a top notch NT in Suh. They traded Robert Quinn. Obviously, a great D, but it doesn’t strike me as “DREAM TEAM”, yet a very good defense on paper. Not a lot of depth though. In obtaining two really good CBs they also let a really good CB in Trumaine Johnson walk, so really they added two really nice pieces to what they had last year if you let that cancel out. Another year of Goff improving and Gurley staying healthy and the combo will get them far… They seem to be a well balanced team. Still need a pass rusher or two. DT/NT CB they are set. Safety wise right now they would be starting a guy with no starting experience and Lamarcus Joyner who the Rams seem to really like, IMO he is ok not special. They really need to pick up some pass rushers and trading away Alec Ogletree is a big void to fill. Their LB’s aren’t that impressive. Right now they would be starting Matt Longacre, Samson Ekubam, Bryce Hagler and Mark Barron (converted LB) so I think the D while good has a ways to go before we call them a dream team.

Anytime you can put Michael Brockers as your backup NT you have good depth there.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Jets revealed today that Bridgewater still isn't 100% and has more rehab to go despite being cleared to play late last year.

 

[CEH]

Rams have a solid defense. I wouldn’t exactly call it a dream team yet. They obtained two really good CB’s and a top notch NT in Suh. They traded Robert Quinn. Obviously, a great D, but it doesn’t strike me as “DREAM TEAM”, yet a very good defense on paper. Not a lot of depth though. In obtaining two really good CBs they also let a really good CB in Trumaine Johnson walk, so really they added two really nice pieces to what they had last year if you let that cancel out. Another year of Goff improving and Gurley staying healthy and the combo will get them far… They seem to be a well balanced team. Still need a pass rusher or two. DT/NT CB they are set. Safety wise right now they would be starting a guy with no starting experience and Lamarcus Joyner who the Rams seem to really like, IMO he is ok not special. They really need to pick up some pass rushers and trading away Alec Ogletree is a big void to fill. Their LB’s aren’t that impressive. Right now they would be starting Matt Longacre, Samson Ekubam, Bryce Hagler and Mark Barron (converted LB) so I think the D while good has a ways to go before we call them a dream team.

Anytime you can put Michael Brockers as your backup NT you have good depth there.

Could say Rams have 4 1st or 2nd team All pros Out of 11 and Joyner was ranked like 3rd best safety last year

And Wade is a rockstar DC when he has superstar players

I can’t wait to watch . Good luck Bradford

 

[Draft Crazy]

Could say Rams have 4 1st or 2nd team All pros Out of 11 and Joyner was ranked like 3rd best safety last year

And Wade is a rockstar DC when he has superstar players

I can’t wait to watch . Good luck Bradford

Thus why I said very good defense but not “DREAM TEAM” defense. They still have holes to fill. One of which is huge (Pass rushing), they need a better pass rush and LB play before I call them a dream team defense. Seattle had 7 pro bowlers the year they won the SB, much more of a dream team defense. They traded Alec Ogletree to free up some money. Ogletree was probably a top 3 LB at covering the TE the past few years. Who do they have to cover the TE’s now? Joyner is a decent safety, wouldn’t put him in the top 3 despite a PFT ranking which doesn’t mean a lot to me how they base their rankings, but he is still small and John Johnson at S is a mystery this year. They still have some holes to fill before they call themselves a dream team defense. They have 4 great players on Defense, yes! I agree with that, but that doesn’t make them a dream team defense. Unless the definition of a dream team defense is 3-4 pro bowlers. Good defense with a good d coach? Yes! But they have some concerns there still. If I were them I would focus on a pass rusher and LB help in the draft.

Joyner has a career 3 INT's and hasn't been to a pro bowl. Doesn't define you as a player but hard to call him "Great" because he isn't. He is good. He was pretty average until last year, his contract year, and I am sure Phillips had a lot to do with him busting out, but I hesitate to call him great because he hasn't shown it yet.


LOL- on Bradford. You’ve been looking at NFL Memes on facebook haven’t ya? That picture/comment was pretty funny. (Sam Bradford landed on IR when he saw the Rams signed Suh)

 

[CEH]

Thus why I said very good defense but not “DREAM TEAM” defense. They still have holes to fill. One of which is huge (Pass rushing), they need a better pass rush and LB play before I call them a dream team defense. Seattle had 7 pro bowlers the year they won the SB, much more of a dream team defense. They traded Alec Ogletree to free up some money. Ogletree was probably a top 3 LB at covering the TE the past few years. Who do they have to cover the TE’s now? Joyner is a decent safety, wouldn’t put him in the top 3 despite a PFT ranking which doesn’t mean a lot to me how they base their rankings, but he is still small and John Johnson at S is a mystery this year. They still have some holes to fill before they call themselves a dream team defense. They have 4 great players on Defense, yes! I agree with that, but that doesn’t make them a dream team defense. Unless the definition of a dream team defense is 3-4 pro bowlers. Good defense with a good d coach? Yes! But they have some concerns there still. If I were them I would focus on a pass rusher and LB help in the draft.

Joyner has a career 3 INT's and hasn't been to a pro bowl. Doesn't define you as a player but hard to call him "Great" because he isn't. He is good. He was pretty average until last year, his contract year, and I am sure Phillips had a lot to do with him busting out, but I hesitate to call him great because he hasn't shown it yet.


LOL- on Bradford. You’ve been looking at NFL Memes on facebook haven’t ya? That picture/comment was pretty funny. (Sam Bradford landed on IR when he saw the Rams signed Suh)

Not pro bowls but All Pro. Big difference.
On paper you are talking all time great defense if you 4-5 All Pros almost half the unit
Doesn’t happen very often. Seattle had 3 in 2013 all DBs

 

[Draft Crazy]

Not really much of a difference. When you're a pro bowler you are looked at as one of the top of the league.

anyway, all pro or not. I am just saying the Rams has some holes on defense at pass rusher and LB before we call them DREAM TEAM and S play might be a bit of a question mark... Seattle was much more complete on defense.

I guess if 4 players is a dream team then sure by that definition is a dream team, but my definition of a dream team would be having stars in ever phase on defense. They don't have poven edge rushers and LB's on the roster right now. Not my idea of a dream team, but they have 4 greaet players to build around and an opportunity for someone to fill in where those holes are at right now. Off to a great start for them. Still a lot of offseason left to make it even better.

But without question they have a very good defense with those guys on the roster and a great D cord.

I just don't get how you can ignore the fact that they have major holes at edge and ILB before we call them a dream team. Pass rush is pretty darn important to make a defense work and Suh, Donald can bring it inside and open up things for the edge. Get one good edge rusher, Suh and Donald will make them/him great pass rusher(s). They aren't far off, just not quite a dream team. Once/if they get those resolved they can be a dream team.

 

[CEH]

Not really a big difference.

anyway, all pro or not. I am just saying the Rams has some holes on defense at pass rusher and LB before we call them DREAM TEAM and S play might be a bit of a question mark... Seattle was much more complete on defense.

I guess if 4 players is a dream team then sure by that definition is a dream team, but my definition of a dream team would be having stars in ever phase on defense. They don't have poven edge rushers and LB's on the roster right now. Not my idea of a dream team, but they have 4 greaet players to build around and an opportunity for someone to fill in where those holes are at right now. Off to a great start for them. Still a lot of offseason left to make it even better.

But without question they have a very good defense with those guys on the roster and a great D cord.

I just don't get how you can ignore the fact that they have major holes at edge and ILB before we call them a dream team. Pass rush is pretty darn important to make a defense work and Suh, Donald can bring it inside and open up things for the edge. Get one good edge rusher, Suh and Donald will make them/him great pass rusher(s). They aren't far off, just not quite a dream team. Once/if they get those resolved they can be a dream team.

trashy Trevor Siemian was an Pro Bowler. Would never sniff All Pro

LA Ram will probably add a LBer/Edge rusher in round one/two. A lot of good ones.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Ok, you got me on Trashy Trevy as a pro bowler with about 8 guys removed. That doesn't happen often, but no clue how that dud got in there. That is an exception. Most pro bowlers play at an elite level (or are grandfathered in because they are a legend) so you throw out those two scenarios and either way all pro or pro bowl level you have played as one of the top at your position. So if you're a pro bowler you have been a good player (yes, you showed an exception and there are a few of those) you got me there. But speaking your normal pro bowler.

Yes, the Rams can get a LBer/Edge rusher in the draft, but he has to be proven before we are ready to call him a big piece of the dream team. If I were an edge rusher I'd be chomping at the bit to start my career around Donald and Suh. If you can't succeed in that well then... you are well on your way to bust, but you gotta prove it first.

a good edge rusher/LBer and a young S like John Johnson could surely make this a dream team defense, but they gotta prove themselves first.

 

[Draft Crazy]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Rams dangle a one year low contract at a guy like Elvis Dumervil.

 

[cdumler7]

I would agree with DC here of holes in the defense can very much be exploited. Belichick has made a career on exploiting a teams weakness and working to take away the strength. If I am a team playing the Rams I am working to get to the edge, having a moving pocket, and targeting the RB's and TE's until they prove they can stop them. Kind of reminds me of our 2016 defense compared to our 2015 defense when we lost Trevathan and all of a sudden teams started figuring out they could exploit the weakness of Todd Davis over the middle. We also lost some of our inside pass rush with Malik gone so QB's had a nicer pocket to step up into and didn't have to worry as much about the edge.

To me I look at the 2013 Seahawks and I see top level talent at every level. They had Bennett and Avril on the DL with some decent depth to work with. At the LB group Bobby Wagner was/is a star and K.J. Wright held his own as a starter as well. Then of course they had that secondary with All-Pro level guys at every spot.

For our 2015 defense we had inside pass rushers, outside pass rushers, depth in that front-7 and 2 linebackers that could both cover and help in the run. Then of course a secondary that was down right incredible. The other part of things for both of these defenses is they stayed relatively healthy all season long. I don't think the Rams have the depth or quite as many playmakers as either of those defenses had.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Bobby Wagner was one of the best ILB's in the NFL in 2013 (still up there), the secondary was easily the top in the NFL. Avril and Bennett were in their prime and were good against both the run and the pass. KJ Wright was probably the best cover LB in the NFL at that time, and could cover the TE (Alec Ogletree is no longer with the Rams in this role) That Seahawks defense really had no holes. The Rams have some great players on D, but they are also lacking some key components on defense before we can compare them to a true all around Dream Team Defense. They have the ability to get there just not there yet.

 

[MileHigh64]

I'm really not sure why there is so much energy put into down-playing the Rams defense with Suh. I think a few of us were just saying "damn, they look pretty good". Seems like an onslaught of rebuttals to prove our initial reaction as wrong. Must be the boring off-season!

 

[CEH]

I'm really not sure why there is so much energy put into down-playing the Rams defense with Suh. I think a few of us were just saying "damn, they look pretty good". Seems like an onslaught of rebuttals to prove our initial reaction as wrong. Must be the boring off-season!

I’m with you can’t wait to see what wade does with all the talent.

 

[Draft Crazy]

I'm really not sure why there is so much energy put into down-playing the Rams defense with Suh. I think a few of us were just saying "damn, they look pretty good". Seems like an onslaught of rebuttals to prove our initial reaction as wrong. Must be the boring off-season!

Who is downplaying the Rams defense?

We're simply saying before we are ready to call it a "DREAM" defense there are holes to be filled. Unless you consider a dream defense incomplete in other areas.

Nobody said the defense wasn't good. Don't get confused here.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Sounds like the Cowboys might be cutting Dez Bryant.

 

[MileHigh64]

Who is downplaying the Rams defense?

We're simply saying before we are ready to call it a "DREAM" defense there are holes to be filled. Unless you consider a dream defense incomplete in other areas.

Nobody said the defense wasn't good. Don't get confused here.

I'm not confused. I get it. They're not a Dream Team. We all agree. I was simply trying to say that I think they'll be a fun defense to watch. Sounds like you agree. We're all good. Kum-by-yah!

 

[Draft Crazy]

Can we sing girl scout songs around the camp fire now?

 

[Draft Crazy]

I'm sure most have seen but not posted on here yet.

Two new rules changes. One is the NFL catch rule that cost Jesse James and the Steelers a win last year , the other (finally) can't lead with the crown of your helmet on any part of the body. Safer for everyone that way.