Jerry;

I appreciate your attention to the edge/LB positions. We desperately need a star on a rookie deal out there.

Taking another OT is a wise move. I still don’t see the need to move Havs before the draft or camp (risky), but I do see the uncertain future of that position as it stands right now.

A deep threat (speed) is a popular idea, so that works, but I think we can do better in replacing Hill/JJ3 than a day 3 guy who’s coming out banged up. He HAVE to if we are to try and maintain our stellar secondary.

Not drafting a Center while moving Corbett over?
Again with the “not gonna start a rookie at Center” mantra. He won’t be a rookie by year 2. That’s what we’d have had if we would have taken the need more seriously ANY other year. Just saying.

Like the TE pick. Not too early, not too late. Your guy is intriguing.

Overall, I like this mock. I think it’s also realistic to project guys as depth/ST players. We need them too, and you never know from where the next corey littleton will come.

A.J. Hicks said:

I read secondary coach and passing game coordinator. Does that mean he'll be working both sides of the ball or they just gave him a redundant title?

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He's the defensive passing game coordinator.

going to move this to the NFLDraft/College Football foru, but will leave a redirect up for a week

The 20 Most Fascinating People in and Around Super Bowl LV

This will be a Super Bowl like no other. For the first time in my 11-year career covering the NFL, the week will not begin with Opening Night, né Media Night, where reporters jostle shoulder-to-shoulder with people dressed in superhero costumes to ask Chiefs coaches about various play-calling minutiae while EDM music blares over the loudspeaker and fans scream nonstop at Michael Irvin. It’s more fun than it sounds, and I’ll miss it dearly. Everything about the event and its fabricated heft will be missing, even as the NFL breaks a sweat trying to shove its very existence into every quantifiable space in our (now virtual) lives anyway, because that’s what good businesses do.

It will be a fascinating Super Bowl for many reasons, though. Fascinating because Tom Brady is here without Bill Belichick. Fascinating that Andy Reid is back, no longer the coach who needs a championship for you to see his true genius. Fascinating that it will take place at all, marking the end of a season when the largest and most complicated sports property in the nation managed to ship hundreds of people across the country with regularity and somehow avoided canceling games (or a major health catastrophe).

In that spirit, here are the 20 most fascinating people in and around Tampa this week.

The Buccaneers’ coaching staff

The Buccaneers’ staff includes two women, assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust and assistant strength and conditioning coach Maral Javadifar. All of their top coordinators, Byron Leftwich (offense), Todd Bowles (defense), Keith Armstrong (special teams) and Harold Goodwin (assistant head coach), are Black. Their arrival here feels especially prescient given how the latest round of coach hirings and firings have slipped away without any tangible sign of progress on the horizon. Black head coaches are woefully underrepresented and are often forced into nonpipeline roles as a means of survival in the business. Yet, this team that would not be here without its group of talented coaches. The focus will certainly be on Tom Brady, but without Bowles, Leftwich, Armstrong and the rest, there is no way the Buccaneers would be here hosting a Super Bowl.

The Chiefs’ coaching staff

To build off the last point, Reid’s top offensive disciple, Eric Bieniemy, is also Black. He gracefully answered questions for hours last year about why he was not a head coach, as if the problem was somehow his and not due to some of the most obviously entrenched biases in U.S. professional sports. One day, Bieniemy will get his chance to pilot an NFL franchise, but for now, he will continue to design some of the most dazzling and innovative offensive packages in the sport. Having Bieniemy’s work on the game’s grandest stage once again will hopefully serve as a lesson to owners out there struggling with their milquetoast offenses that they may want to try hiring outside their box once in a while.

Jason Pierre-Paul

Since his departure from New York, which was an effort to save the Giants some desperate cap space, Pierre-Paul has been quietly dominant, logging 12.5, 8.5 and 9.5 sacks in his three years with Tampa Bay. The 2010 first-round pick, who burst into football consciousness as part of the Giants’ legendary NASCAR pass-rush package, Pierre-Paul has refined his game and plays nicely off Todd Bowles’s assortment of interior and edge pass rushers. Five years after Pierre-Paul nearly lost his hand in a fireworks incident, he is back at the Super Bowl.

Ali Marpet

Arguably the Buccaneers’ most consistent offensive lineman, Marpet’s stellar play may have led us to forget where he came from. The second-round pick hails from Hobart College and is the son of a rock ’n’ roll mom and video producer dad. He and Chiefs tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who will likely not play in the Super Bowl, are among a small number of Jewish NFL players. So much of Brady’s success over the years has been thanks to stellar interior line play, which prevents the quickest blitz schemes from traversing the shortest distance to the quarterback. Marpet is the next man up in a proud line of Brady bodyguards.

Le’Veon Bell and Leonard Fournette

Two running backs once at the height of the sport, Bell and Fournette will be relegated to uncertain role player status in this game. The setup has worked out slightly better for Fournette, the 2017 No. 4 pick who was waved by the Jaguars before the season. In recent weeks, his carry total has been 19, 17 and 12, respectively, signaling the dwindling likelihood that he may continue to act as the offense’s power component. Bell, meanwhile, logged a pair of carries against the Browns and missed last week’s game against the Packers. His season high for touches was 15, in a game against the Saints back in December.

Alberto Riveron

The league’s head of officiating didn’t seem to be in the crosshairs as much this season, but that changed quickly in the playoffs. A bungled call in the divisional round game between the Bills and Colts that handed Philip Rivers an extended comeback attempt perked up antennae. A questionable pass interference call in the Packers-Buccaneers game also roiled fans and brought into question the consistency of the foul-calling process. Riveron and his crew, in a moment this bright, will not be able to hide behind the fact that people are simply grateful for the distraction.

Sarah Thomas

Thomas, a 47-year-old referee from Pascagoula, Miss., will make history as the first woman official in Super Bowl history. She first began traversing the ranks in 1996 and broke the NFL’s officiating gender barrier in 2015. Now, she will be a key component of official Carl Cheffers’s crew.

The Weeknd

Perhaps a moment of unity that this country desperately needs: We will all watch with bated breath to find out whether he has a song that isn’t “Blinding Lights” during the halftime show.

Patrick Mahomes

You knew we’d get to the quarterbacks at some point. A lot will be written about torch-passing this week, which is fine. It is the simple narrative that is most easily digestible for the casual viewing public. However, I would caution all of us about projecting anything too deeply into the future. Andrew Luck retired early. A swath of promising talent in recent years has decided that the game’s rigors are not worth sacrificing their lives for. Mahomes had a front-row seat to the highs and lows of an athlete’s lifestyle, watching his dad, an MLB pitcher. Will he want to be on that ride forever? Instead, we should borrow a lesson we all hopefully learned during this pandemic and apply it to a great player like Mahomes in his prime. Enjoy it now. It’s happening now. What will happen in the future? Who knows. If Mahomes wants to be Tom Brady, that is great and lucky us. If he wants to be something else in five years, all the better.

Tom Brady

The 43-year-old quarterback has transcended the traditional idea of sports greatness and has raised the bar for any generational talent in the future who hopes to have their name synonymous with athletic success. Brady has played in roughly half of the Super Bowls that have occurred since some of his teammates were born. His 10 trips will likely be untouched by any quarterback in NFL history. His success outside of the Patriots’ dynasty, without bringing with him any of the coaching infrastructure, will boldly underline the tail end of his narrative arc.

Bill Belichick

Speaking of which, the simpletons will associate Brady’s presence here with the idea that he was more responsible for the success of the Patriots’ dynasty. This was a difficult year for Belichick from a personnel standpoint, but it’s hard to imagine New England will not rebound in the future. Still, for the moment, it will be hard for the larger football audience, which checks in periodically through the lens of their fantasy football team or DraftKings account, to keep Belichick’s contributions in their proper perspective when two weeks of Brady shine start to create some overgrowth.

Ndamukong Suh

Before the Patriots and Rams met in Super Bowl LIII, I talked to the then Rams DT about his pregame mental processes. He smiled and discussed his affinity for Animal Planet as a tome of information on the psychological battlefield. When I talked specifically about “poking the bear” referring to Brady, Suh said he wouldn’t consider Brady a bear at all. Now, Suh is playing with Brady and brings his penchant for in-game agitation to a Chiefs offensive line that is reeling from several serious injuries. It is often crafty veterans like Suh who have the biggest, though underdiscussed, impacts on critical moments in big games. Might that be the case this year?

Tom Moore

The 82-year-old Buccaneers consultant is still rolling. His Super Bowl appearance in 2021 will come a full 60 years after he began his coaching career at Iowa as a graduate assistant. Moore won a pair of Super Bowls as a position coach with Chuck Noll’s Steelers and another as Peyton Manning’s offensive coordinator in Indianapolis. The soft-spoken Midwesterner once told a reporter that he had no interest in retiring, as it meant he would just “hang around old people.”

Chris Boniol

The Buccaneers’ kicking coach is one of a small handful of former kickers employed by teams to specifically coach kickers. It’s a relatively untapped field, but an interesting one. Very few staffs have someone who is capable of addressing the psychology of kicking. Maybe it seems like an unnecessary cost, but when the game is on the line and you’re down by two, would you pay a few thousand dollars to have someone there to comfort your all-of-a-sudden most important player?

Antonio Brown

Fascinating might not be the word here, but the mercurial star receiver, who is still facing allegations of sexual assault and rape in a pending trial set for early December 2021, ended up being a subtly important on-field piece of Tampa Bay’s late-season run. During a typical Super Bowl with a crush of media, Brown would probably be confronted about his recent past, as would Tampa Bay’s decision makers. This year, he may very well be able to fly under the radar despite the fact that he’s still been causing trouble.

Steve Spagnuolo

The Chiefs’ defensive coordinator is an interesting historical footnote here. As the defensive coordinator of the 2007 Giants, he managed to spearhead the effort to shut down one of the greatest teams in NFL history—the undefeated Patriots helmed by you-know-who. He is the only coordinator to have inherited the league’s worst defense at multiple stops and coached them to a Super Bowl. While his time as a prospective head coach may be over (Spagnuolo was the Rams’ head coach for three seasons and held the interim gig in New York), his presence behind the scenes as a man who knows Brady well will be interesting to keep an eye on.

Tony Dungy

While Jon Gruden won the Bucs’ franchise its only Super Bowl to date, Dungy built the roster and assembled the fearsome Tampa-2 defensive scheme that provided the team with its lasting identity. Dungy went on to become the first Black head coach in NFL history to win the Super Bowl, with the Colts in 2006. Now, as an outspoken advocate for minority hiring, Dungy’s presence looms large in Tampa. His former team is loaded with talented Black coaches, only one of whom got a legitimate interview for a head coach opening following the season (Bowles). His legacy in Tampa should serve as a reminder about the spirit of the Rooney Rule.

Chiefs’ backup offensive linemen

The performances of Mike Remmers (in for Eric Fisher) and Andrew Wylie (likely in for Schwartz) will be factors against a Buccaneers defense that can create a ton of pressure. Reid has praised his general manager’s ability to layer depth across this offensive line and, indeed, having someone like Remmers or Stefen Wisniewski around to fill in has been a boon for Patrick Mahomes throughout the stretch run. But we’ve seen offensive line play targeted and exposed so many times in the Super Bowl, especially when good coordinators have an extra week to prepare and isolate matchups. Can this pair hang on against Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett?

Paying fans

A quick stroll through StubHub before publication showed seats in the 300 section of Raymond James Stadium going for roughly $6,800 per ticket. These prices have a tendency to calm down once the market resets before the game and inventory is left, but it will create a strange spectacle. The stadium will be populated by vaccinated health care workers sitting alongside the deep-pocketed traveling elite, who are, in theory, subverting the very idea of safety in solitude that will aid health care workers moving forward through the (hopeful) tail end of this pandemic.

Us

What does the Super Bowl mean to you this year? The NFL has been in an ethical tug-of-war throughout one of the worst stretches in modern U.S. history. Personally, it was difficult to watch players and coaches openly flout mask policies that could contribute to the societal disinformation gap and hard not to feel anxious for people in a huddle breathing all over one another during a pandemic. But at the same time, Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays were often a release amid months of lockdown. Catharsis. I complained about the draft taking place and then devoured it. I rattled my fist at the Ravens’ taking the field after Dez Bryant’s last-minute positive COVID-19 test and then watched the entire game. Never did I feel myself more twisted around this idea of good and bad sort of devouring itself whole. It was a complicated relationship that preyed on our lack of things to do. Am I looking forward to watching the Super Bowl with my kids? You bet. If you had asked me to wager money in September on whether we’d actually have a Super Bowl, would I have bet in the affirmative? No way.

Merlin said:

Your reservations are precisely why I think he will get through the 20s without being picked. Could see someone like the Saints rolling the dice, I mean all it takes is one team, but I agree the conditions being so favorable means that teams will evaluate him with some caution.

But working against that is a guy who might not need as much time as some others to give you some return. Not a high upside by any means but maybe quick to play.

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It's hard to say. That fifth year option will be alluring at the end of the first round. For me, I am less concerned about getting a guy who can immediately play if we have Goff. I'd rather get a guy who has the skillset to be really good if developed well. Unfortunately, there aren't many options outside the first round this year (which is not abnormal).

dang said:

We got 99 problems but an LT ain’t one of them.

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You mean that opponents have problems with 99, right?

I suspect what they liked with Allen was his pulling ability. His strength is pulling in the run game IMO. But yeah hitting there would have saved us so much pain lol.

Seems like Edwards is the only drafted guy Snead has really hit on in the McVay era. Now maybe Evans makes a move next year but it is concerning especially now that they need to hit on center.

Sure would be nice to just solve that shit with FA.

dang said:

That’s why I want a FA. someone who has proven skill in the NFL. I am biased and hard headed but IMO the Rams 2 biggest needs are OC and ILB. I can’t stand thinking they don’t improve these 2 positions next year. I’d rather see a different position struggle than the see the same struggles at OC/ILB next year. Bye Bye Blythe and Young. Reeder take a seat on the bench we may need you to fill in.

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Reeder is okay if Donald is 100% healthy. If not, Reeder is terrible. Showed that in the Green Bay game. They kept getting additional yards after first contact.

TSFH Fan said:

Hey, that 6th round pick there, Ben Mason, Michigan -- He's also listed as a TE but has experience all over on both sides of the ball. "Bench" Mason, "his defining skill is his ability to lift absurd amounts of weight. His nickname originated in high school, when he bench-pressed 440 pounds, still his highest max." Was voted the team’s “toughest player” as a freshman.

Can this guy play? I'm not a draft nerd and haven't seen this guy play. Could he be a TE/move TE and/or as a replacement to Everett? Physicality, strength and toughness have to be able to help, right?

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I love this kid, it's too bad a coaching change in 2019 pretty much stopped him in his tracks, but he shined as a rookie & sophomore. Twice voted teams toughest player and played both offense & defense. Mason is rated as the top FB coming out of college this year. McVay's first draft in 2017 had him taking FB Sam Rogers (5'10", 235lbs.) in the 6'th round, so i'm hoping he has maintained his interest in the position as Ben Mason is bigger, faster & stronger than Rogers, by a lot. Mason had 7 TD's as a 6'3", 254lbs. FB/HB in 2018 on 33 attempts. He's not a move TE, more of a traditional FB/HB and in-line TE. I've basically got Hopkins filling in Everett's role, Mason can carve out his own niche. He was rarely used as a receiver, although had 1 TD in 3 catches. He's also played as a linebacker & DT and, of course, Special Teams. Akers & Henderson would love having a guy like this plowing holes for them and Mason could be a big and inexpensive help to a sometimes struggling OL. jmo.


Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WqOMc1N33s

KayJay said:

We are all for replacing Goff with something better. This is less about supporting Goff, and more in line with actually bringing someone worth while into camp. I'm going to be brutally honest here, none of these guys currently on the roster have the capability of starting on any other team. Nobody is infatuated with Goff, we are just sick of the narrative that the man isn't good. It gets old. I have my frustrations with him too. What's actually pathetic is the lack of logic that has been used so often in here. Cherry picking numbers, refusing to acknowledge context.

Using cognitive dissonance when it comes to other QB's. Its not rocket science, no one is asking you to support the starting QB. What we are asking is to keep things in perspective. Nobody is interested in a "I secretly hate Goff so I'm going to passive aggressively look for opportunities to take shots at the members of the ROD community because they don't hate him as much as I do" circle jerk. And that better be one hell of a third round quarterback. In fact, its less about what round; and more based on the scouting. This is a winning football team, we are looking for better results. The thought of replacing Goff is a business decision, not an emotional one.

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This might be the best post ive ever seen on here....

TK42-RAM said:

As much as I disliked Brady and Bellicheat at the cheats .. the Buccaneers are more likeable than the Patriots, play watchable football. I don’t care who wins. Seattle, whiners, cheats and Saints can’t win it ... and that’s good.

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Yeah the Bucs as an organization i don't care for either way.

But I don't want Tommy boy winning another one, and whats worse is the idea of Antonio fucking Brown being a Super Bowl champion.

dieterbrock said:

Just as I expected, you moved the goal posts again.
You said McVay doesnt play rookies.
You are wrong.
Plenty of examples proving that is vastly incorrect.
And Jefferson was a big contributor out of the gate, as I said. He had 9 targets in first 3 games, Reynolds had only 8.

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Yikes it's really important for you to be right.

I was wrong. Really not something worth going back and forth about - my original take was that I'd rather address OL in FA because I dont think McVay would start a rookie OL. I'd be happy to be proven wrong about that too if it ends up happening.

I think jrry's idea is the right one - grab Larry Warford in FA and move Corbett to C. In the draft, get a T who can take over Whit's spot in case we're still not sure about Boom after next year. Grab another G/C who can provide quality depth as a rookie and can take over as a starter in the future since Warford is likely a one year rental.

Merlin said:

I didn't give any names @Allen2McVay because it was your premise.

You brought up a very interesting point, that maybe the Rams haven't been plundered as bad as we seem to think compared to the league at large. So I replied that maybe the context of multiple years is important to that point that you made. That's all my man. Not arguing or anything like that. Just a bit intrigued but not interested enough to go look it up myself lol.

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All good.
And I am sure we are on the same page that we don’t want to see the Rams lose any more good coaches.

hotanez said:

just to good, Mahomes, Hill, and Kelce

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Agreed. It comes down to Mahomes ability to backpedal for extra time and Hill/Kelce being nearly impossible to cover for a defense when both on the feild. Then you combine that with Reid's designs which scheme players open all day.

It's the trifecta plus the donut master.

I think we're in store for some colorful, post game interviews.

This should be a real treat.

Chef Ram(Selas)sey

JackAttack85 said:

This came up on another thread, and I commented this game was closer than it seemed. So I watched it on YouTube.

To save you from re-watching, here is recap in a nutshell.

1) Through a little over a quarter, Bears dominate. Up 10-0. This is going to be a blowout.
2) Dieter Brock, worst performance by a QB I've ever seen. Complaints about Goff? Watch this game and never complain again.
3) Most of 2nd quarter, Rams D gets going. Couple of sacks. Game tightens up.
4) Rams get a big play, long pass to Mike Young that would have changed the game. Young called for going out of bounds and coming back in, even though he was pushed out 30 yards downfield. Madden says "Great the official caught that he went out first, but why not call the penalty that PUSHED him out??" I love you, John.
5) Last minute of 1st half. Rams recover muffed punt. Screen pass to ED gets down inside the 5 yard line with 2 seconds left. Rams call TO, officials all conveniently looking the other way and let the half expire. If this happened today, entire crew fired on spot.
6) Game should have been tied at 10, or worst case 10-6 Bears.
7) Start of 3rd quarter, ED shows why he is immortal. Goes for 250 yds the week before, now he saves our QB. Richard Dent beats 2 guys on our really good OL, heading towards QB at full speed. Dickerson squares him up and stops him dead in his tracks. Thing of beauty.
8) Payton completely held in check by stout Rams D, until he converts on a 4th-and-6, turning the tide, end of 3rd ends 17-0.
9) Rams throwing on every play. Bears finally get first sack against our OL.
10) Garbage time TD with 2 minutes left, on what should have been another penalty, 24-0.

Confirmed my recollection of this game. The closest 24-0 "blowout" ever. Any QB on any NFL roster gives us enough to win it.

Best Defense Ever? My ass.

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With all the hype surrounding the Bears that season, such as the shuffle vid, Rozelle was NOT going to permit the darlings of the league that year to lose that game. BTW, when recounting officiating 'errors', you forgot to mention ED having 1st down yardage on one play, only to see the official spot the ball a yard and a half back of his forward progress.

jrry32 said:

That's not good.

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Especially after just losing Holmes.

It may show which scouting staffs and GMs are best at recognizing talent from tape. AnyGM that excels in early scouting and has a great eye may just clean up in this draft, others may really lay an egg.

Gaines is the true NT. SJD is too frequently blown off the ball and would be better at 3 or 5 tech. Gaines creates havoc in the middle of the line and clogs it up and is rarely moved and always held. He attracts double teams as well. Watch film and you'll see running backs frequently have to bounce out as inside lanes aren't available. Makes tackles at or close to the line not 5 yards down field because that's how far back he'd been pushed. Best option for NT by a fair margin. No need for Ashawn and his cost.

FWIW I truly believe Watson will stay in Houston I believe they will hire Eric Bieniemy as Head Coach and pair him with Jim Caldwell as the Assistant HC/QB Coach and Watson will stay in Houston.

dieterbrock said:

A coach who took the blame for 3 and a half years? Wait what? The offense has been a problem since the middle of 2017 season? Where have I been?

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yeah you are right that some of those years the offence was good but as i remember it when we did lose mcvay did put most of the blame on himself. i am fairly sure that he did call players out in meeting but not in the press. i guess we will have to wait to see how the players respond to the coach not taking most of the blame every time.

RamDino said:

Everyone wants future hall-of-famer Aaron Donald to win a super bowl. Unfortunately, he can only carry a team so far. He has had a great career so far though. He's played in big games, makes big bucks, gets universal praise, and he plays in a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium in LA (and wait till it has fans-lol). Good luck to him though... we'd all love to see it.

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I have a very good feeling that next year is AD's year... in a BIIIIIG way.