Flint said:

Even if we do run it back, next year’s rams could be very different. Will guys like Tutu and Harris and Brown and Copeland and Funk develop and contribute? Later round guys take a little longer in many cases so we should see what these guys are about in the upcoming season. But there’s also reinforcements coming from guys who we know can play like Woods, Akers, Fuller and even Stafford, who should be more comfortable in year 2.

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Thats one way to look at it. We have a lot of “new players” returning from injury in 2022.

As the draft goes we have seen a mix of both; guys contributing right away… Skow, E Jones… draft picks that emerge later; Gaines, Scott, others.

Sure would be great for Atwell and Harris to deliver in 2022. Brown, Rochelle, etc.

The really cool thing that I like about Stafford having watched this video and the mic'd up versions is that he seems calm even under pressure packed situations. Even in the championship game the super bowl, he acted like he'd been there before and didn't seem like the game was too big for him. Just love it.

snackdaddy said:

Another overrated all star team? I dunno. Been a Lakers fan for a long time. Since the days of West and Wilt. I loved watching Magic, Shaq, Kobe. But I just can't get into them with Lebron. When they won the championship at the Orlando bubble I was pulling for them but I didn't watch any of it. Its just not the same for some reason.

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snackdaddy,
Was scrolling through this thread and saw your post. Hey.. you must be living rent free in my head because this is precisely how I feel about my Lakers.
I also started in the 60s with West and Baylor and grown
with the team ever since.
But I just couldn't get into their latest championship even though it was the Lakers 17th and that tied the lousy Celtics.
Even today I still can't get into this team anywhere near like I used to.
I don't really know why that is. Mebbe it's Lebron's whining about being hunted or something but I am done with them. Well at least for the foreseeable future.
Great post!!

~ArkyRamsFan~

Earnest just has that "GET LOW AND STICK 'EM".
...is it TC yet??

Elmgrovegnome said:

More hype vs more substance?

I've said for years, give me a professional who knows football over any over hyped athletic freak. Fisher's and Snead's drafts used to drive me nuts.

As soon as McVay showed up he started bringing in high character players with great football intelligence, like Woods and Whitworth. Ditto with his coaches, no coach Hollers, no coaches with a history of bounties, etc,... This reminded me more of the Rams that I grew up with from the 70's and 80's.

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can you imagine a 70's Rams team with a kurt warner or matthew stafford ? handin' the ball off 40+ times a game with ground chuck ??

.

"i'm not a lesbian, i'm bisexual"

hue jackson - "oh snap"



.

Merlin said:

I am afraid Burgess was a miss. He's got all the tools for playing over the top but not the mentality. If he did have it he would have been starting by now. Our safeties were inconsistent all season and we saw in the playoffs what his value was when they had to bring Weddle in to clean that shit up.

Will say again we need a ballhawk at safety. I don't even care if his run defense is iffy. We have plenty of guys who can come up and run support, where we're short is the coverage/anticipation side playing deep. It's a pretty big need because Morris plays enough Cover 3 looks to where one of these guys has to be able to cycle into it and lock shit down. Ideally an anchor type around which you move your coverages post-snap and who can keep everyone lined up so having some leadership would be nice too.

Re: corner we also need a ballhawk here. Ramsey's great and all with his erasing ability in coverage and helping out vs the run but he's got shitty ball awareness and iffy hands. Teams are going to test him more and more as he ages, it's the nature of the game, and his ball skills improving would help him stave that off if he were to focus on it IMO. But outside of that we need CB2/3 INT threat. They're gonna get thrown at and beat at times so why not ensure you at least have good ball awareness to add turnovers in our favor.

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Couldn't agree more. My early off-season needs in the draft forum were safety and corner. It became obvious by November. The corner depth on this team are all small guys that struggle to tackle or cover bigger players. Injuries are inevitable. Those players eventually play, like we saw later in the year.

I think Burgess is a flop too. Its ashame. I had high hopes for him. I've long wanted the Rams to find a ball hawking safety, unfortunately those players often get picked early. Maybe Morris will have more input in this area after a full season coaching the defense.

Here is another obvious situation. The Rams lack high football IQ on the back end. It showed when Weddle came on. Guys like Scott and Long instantly upped their game. I didn't see them play that well with Fuller as the leader of the DBs.

When I moved to Tucson 2 years ago I began to slow conversion of my GF's family away from the Cards and Boys. This year they are all Ram fans from the start of the season. So when Kupp got the winning TD the whole house erupted. When AD sealed the deal it was bedlam. Everyone was screaming, yelling and hugging. As they left they all said they have never had so much fun during an NFL season while rooting for the Rams and can't wait till next season.

Once this roster breaks up we may never see another Ram roster this talented. To build it during this era of escalating salaries is a testament to Les Snead. He's got to be one of the best GMs in the NFL. Excellent talent evaluator con bolas de acero, "Fuck Them Picks" out of the box thinking. Les is about the best GM I've ever seen. He's the real key to the Rams long term success. As long as Snead is the GM i'm not worried as he will eventually find a way.

People worry about McVay retiring early. But Snead is the real key. Les will find the next HC to keep things going. Les took over when the Rams were the worst team in the NFL with a .188 winning percentage over the previous 5 seasons. As a first time GM it took a few years to rebuild the team and turn things around. Since he has been paired with McVay the Rams have had 5 consecutive winning seasons with two Super Bowl appearances with one win. They are poised to win several more.

Jimmy G is not a bad QB just a limited QB. He's a good fit for a dink and dunk offense with a strong run attack, decent OL and defense. Let me put it this way. I'd take Jimmy G over Baker any day. He would get a team like Cleveland into the playoffs. IMO he's better than Murray. That said he does miss his share of reads but he's far and away a better pocket passer than Kyler and most of all he's an adult.

There are 3 or 4 teams that could benefit from Jimmy G and he won't be a CAP buster to extend. The adage that defense wins championships is true with the caveat that you do need at least a second-tier QB who won't lose the game. Jimmy is good enough to win with if he has the team around him.

The rule changes & the way The Rams draft now are totally different as well. The Rams were still one of the youngest teams in The NFL,until picking veteran players up & having a 40 year old LT w/ a Veteran QB.
Drafting late & player that The Rams can develop is an perfect example how a Bobby Brown or Ernest Jones fit. Even a big guy like Ernest Brown to me is like a Big Puppy who in 2years will be a Stud!!

What is the definition of this statement "No matter what, I’m gonna be involved in football".

I would like him to end up in the AFC and I don't care what team as they will have to contend with the likes of he Chiefs & Bills, let them knock each other around licking their wounds allowing the Rams to feast on them in the Super Bowl.

BuffaloRam said:

I think he’d be a great 5-6th round pick but high risk towards the top of draft.

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And most have him as a potential late first pick more likely a second rounder.

Disagree about TE and S

If there are hybrid players they love and can't pass up, I could see it. But neither is a big need.

At safety, we have three guys who have started and played well at times (being generous for Rapp there). Burgess has gotten some burn too and represents good depth.

At TE, you saw the potential of Hopkins and Blanton was playing well. Both along with Higbee are on the roster next year IMO.

So now going over to WR - the top 4 are locked in.

If we re-sign OBJ and/or Powell, then Harris and Skow put us at 7/8 WRs - and given that Harris was talked about at TE, I think that he ends up back with the TE group, or in packages to be that move TE.

I see CB/OL as the priorities - probably need to add two of each - and then we will need to add back end depth for RB/EDGE/DL

RamFan503 said:

Ahem... I think you mean Rosey. I had a Lab I named Rosey.

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Yes....Rosey indeed.
Its a great name for a dog......and a needle pointing defensive menace.
A very interesting dude.

Tano said:

Fricken Seattle scared the living daylights out of Snead and McVay by taking their small speedy receiver right before us.

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That's what exactly happened in my eyes.

Merlin said:

Yeah we are about to lose some players. Prior to 2021 Allen was unproven, so more of that ahead this offseason. That pipeline on the OL is about to get tested.

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Yep. It will be interesting.

Classic Rams said:

Brown may want more on his resume for future OC.

TCU had a good rushing attack last year. Top RB Zach Evans got hurt missed games and later transfers. They still did pretty good after they lost him.

But again O coaches coming to the Rams is just training grounds before they leave.

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Samples was actually at SMU with Dykes last year. They were kind of middle of the pack, but a lot better in 2020. He was one of the best recruiters in the entire country. As an SMU fan, I'm pretty happy he left TCU before really getting a chance to start recruiting there.

CGI_Ram said:

"Me being the cunning veteran that I am, I make sure my eyes don't get wide," he said. "I just pretend the ball's not coming, because [the defender] is taught to react off of my body movement."

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The more I watch and learn about this game the more I appreciate the small details that are the difference with the great ones.

tempests said:

The NFL used his style of tackling in an instructional video to show other defensive players how to do it right, without being flagged ...

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THIS

The League does not want pass-rushers to drive the QB into the ground, or even just fall on them completing the sack. Donald often takes down QBs to avoid those penalties that would otherwise be difficult to avoid.

Allen2McVay said:

I do believe there are some legitimate, quality Pro Football analysts and commentators, with credibility.

Because they exist, it makes me even more angry when the majority fail to even try to live-up to a higher standard.

Kind of a Road Less Traveled thing.

I also think many in the media rely upon the viewers and listeners Not paying attention, and/or rembering.

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Very true.
They act now like it was an obvious thing that Russel Wilson (just an example) would be a great QB.
But, he was a third round pick. Every single team, loaded with expert and staffs with dozens of members and big budgets passed on him twice.
They were wrong....they are always wrong.
The media even more so.

This offense put together some epic drives in this year's playoffs. I think the 97 yarder was my favorite.

RamDino said:

Agreed. At first I thought that the Rams could have Whitworth as a plan B in case Noteboom leaves. But in reality I believe it is Whitworth who will be making his decision without regard to Boom. I believe some team will overpay for Noteboom's services and he will be gone, but only the Rams know what Noteboom's true value is to the team. However, even if Big Whit retires, I still hope the Rams ask him to consider playing IF Noteboom leaves. Left tackle is too important and whoever starts they still need depth (Jackson? Edwards?).

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Yeah, I thought about this that he might be willing to come back as a mentor to Jackson for a yr if they cant get Noteboom done. Could be why he is waiting.

ottoman89 said:

Excellent post and observation. I knew 2 years ago I was pretty hard on the cap guy because of the contact situations with Goff, Gurley and Cooks dead money and seeing a team like PHI constantly move around money while we didn't.

Turns out Pastoors and the Rams have done an absolute unbelievable job with it. And have some work cut out for them this off-season. But, for us it seems like the salary cap doesn't exist thanks to them.

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Pastoors periodically gets mentioned and applauded by Kroenke, McVay, Demoff and company, but he doesn't seem to do interviews.

Maybe he prefers to stay behind the scenes?

This dude comes off as a problem solver and salary cap mathematician genius.

I don't doubt that he would admit making his share of mistakes regarding player value and contract extensions.

It would be very interesting to watch and hear Pastoors do a deep dive interview about his role and accountability about his job duties working for the Rams.