1. The Rams may take a week off, but not me!
2. With the Rams off week coinciding with the approach of the trade deadline, its only natural that our thoughts turn to Les Snead and all the potential wheeling and dealing. This is well covered territory in other threads, but there are three points I want to make.
3. First, I really think a pass rusher should be the target. I don't see an OL out there who is likely to solve our problems up front. In my mind the solution is continuity, not help from outside. A pass rusher, on the other hand, can be a plug and play upgrade, as we saw last year with Von Miller. Brian Burns seems like an unattainable player, so Nick Chubb and Robert Quinn are the two players I'd hope to see in in horns.
4. Second, I'm glad we didn't sell the farm to get Christian McCaffrey. In the long run, I just don't think he'd be worth it.
5. Third, whomever we target, I don't want to go overboard in trading future draft picks. Eventually, we will need some premium selections.
6. I'll go ahead and predict that the Rams will get Chubb, and the compensation will be a third round picks in 2023 and 2024.
7. By the time I write my next 20RT, Cam Akers will be gone. Will we bring in another RB? I'm going to bet that we don't. I will reiterate something I predicted a few weeks ago - the Rams' top selection in the 2023 draft will be a RB.
8. Not a bad idea... look at the success of RBs taken on Day 2 this year, including Breece Hall (before his unfortunate injury), Kenneth Walker III, Brian Robinson and Dameon Pierce (perhaps this is another reason NOT to spend 3 or 4 draft picks on a RB).
9. The Bye has left me riding high, with losses by the Packers, Bucs and 49ers. All three are now under-.500.
10. The Packers are finding that, even with an elite QB, you can't be so cavalier about a supporting cast - in this case, WRs.
11. The Bucs are suddenly a mess. A Tom Brady offense scores 3 points against the Panthers? Seriously? OL troubles, banged up receivers, and time are finally catching up to Brady. He should have just let Stafford and Kupp retire him in style!
12. And then there's the hated 49ers. In their case, the injuries on the defensive side of the ball are clearly taking their toll.
13. So can we solve the 49ers puzzle and take advantage of an opportunity to get up 1 and 1/2 games on them? We all know the answer... only if our OL can get its act together.
14. McVay did a great job of helping the OL out with play-calling last week against Carolina. He'll need to do that again next week.
15. Looking forward to Van Jefferson's return. I think he'll make a difference.
16. Ditto for Brian Allen.
17. Darrell Henderson has a real career opportunity. He's now the undisputed lead back, and he's in a contract year. I'm hoping he plays so well that we won't be able to afford him!
18. Do we need to worry about Seattle (currently 1st in the West)? I don't know... they're not scaring me at this point. And losing D.K. Metcalf (possible ACL) would definitely be big for them.
19. So, back at it. 3-3 is a disappointment, but we're still right in the thick of things.
20. Gotta go check Twitter to see if we made any trades while I typed this!
2. With the Rams off week coinciding with the approach of the trade deadline, its only natural that our thoughts turn to Les Snead and all the potential wheeling and dealing. This is well covered territory in other threads, but there are three points I want to make.
3. First, I really think a pass rusher should be the target. I don't see an OL out there who is likely to solve our problems up front. In my mind the solution is continuity, not help from outside. A pass rusher, on the other hand, can be a plug and play upgrade, as we saw last year with Von Miller. Brian Burns seems like an unattainable player, so Nick Chubb and Robert Quinn are the two players I'd hope to see in in horns.
4. Second, I'm glad we didn't sell the farm to get Christian McCaffrey. In the long run, I just don't think he'd be worth it.
5. Third, whomever we target, I don't want to go overboard in trading future draft picks. Eventually, we will need some premium selections.
6. I'll go ahead and predict that the Rams will get Chubb, and the compensation will be a third round picks in 2023 and 2024.
7. By the time I write my next 20RT, Cam Akers will be gone. Will we bring in another RB? I'm going to bet that we don't. I will reiterate something I predicted a few weeks ago - the Rams' top selection in the 2023 draft will be a RB.
8. Not a bad idea... look at the success of RBs taken on Day 2 this year, including Breece Hall (before his unfortunate injury), Kenneth Walker III, Brian Robinson and Dameon Pierce (perhaps this is another reason NOT to spend 3 or 4 draft picks on a RB).
9. The Bye has left me riding high, with losses by the Packers, Bucs and 49ers. All three are now under-.500.
10. The Packers are finding that, even with an elite QB, you can't be so cavalier about a supporting cast - in this case, WRs.
11. The Bucs are suddenly a mess. A Tom Brady offense scores 3 points against the Panthers? Seriously? OL troubles, banged up receivers, and time are finally catching up to Brady. He should have just let Stafford and Kupp retire him in style!
12. And then there's the hated 49ers. In their case, the injuries on the defensive side of the ball are clearly taking their toll.
13. So can we solve the 49ers puzzle and take advantage of an opportunity to get up 1 and 1/2 games on them? We all know the answer... only if our OL can get its act together.
14. McVay did a great job of helping the OL out with play-calling last week against Carolina. He'll need to do that again next week.
15. Looking forward to Van Jefferson's return. I think he'll make a difference.
16. Ditto for Brian Allen.
17. Darrell Henderson has a real career opportunity. He's now the undisputed lead back, and he's in a contract year. I'm hoping he plays so well that we won't be able to afford him!
18. Do we need to worry about Seattle (currently 1st in the West)? I don't know... they're not scaring me at this point. And losing D.K. Metcalf (possible ACL) would definitely be big for them.
19. So, back at it. 3-3 is a disappointment, but we're still right in the thick of things.
20. Gotta go check Twitter to see if we made any trades while I typed this!
