OR I'm not buying the hype. IMO too much of the 'excitement' is over a ragtag group of receivers. As a Cardinals fan, I've see numerous instances of guys looking like All Pros in the preseason, never doing anything in the NFL.
Mike Sims-Walker is Ok, but not a feature receiver in the league. The Jaguars proved that.
Danny Amendola is a 3-4th WR. Wes Welker on Slim Fast. Can play in the NFL, but isn't a great player by any stretch.
Salas and Pettis are unproven. How often do 3rd and 4th picks excel as rookies? Not very often, and usually not in their first year. Quite a bit of the excitement stems from unproven rookie receivers (including Hendricks).
Hendricks should be good, but few good TEs are gamebreakers. That's what I don't see in this list, any gamebreakers. Every good passing game in the league has that go-to, crunch time player, and the Rams lack that.
You agreed with me that the Rams O-Line is overrated by fans outside of St. Louis. Some talent there (especially Saffold, but he still has some improving to do) but it's not a great offensive line.
Bradford will be good, but I question the weapons. I also question how much longer Steven Jackson is going to hold up. I don't think he has too many more seasons, and he's pretty much the only real offensive weapon on the roster.
Fred Robbins and James Hall are near the end, both 34. And both were HUGE components of the Rams middle of the pack defense. If either take a step back, then the defense likely does too. Quinn was on of my favorite players in the draft, but he's a HUGE risk. If Quinn doesn't develop, the defense doesn't look very good longterm. Good young players on the defense? Long, Lauranitis, and Bartel. Outside of those 3 it's journeymen and older guys.
That also leads me to my next point: If the Rams are good this year, then they will likely not be next year because the team is relying on so many players in their thirties this year. Many of those guys are going to decline and or be off the roster. Where are the young replacements? Not a whole lot of good, young depth on the roster. This is what happened to the Cardinals last year.
Mods....maybe we should merge this thread over to the Rams thread in the Smack shack. I hate to keep bumping this up in here...but i've got to respond to the Krang again
Yes, the WR's are average at best. A bunch of #2's and half of them have a history of injuries(D.Avery,D.Alexander,Sims-Walker). Avery and Alexander are the only 2 guys who can get deep but it's not a lock that either guy makes the team because those injuries have already saddled them in training camp.
You're likely looking at Brandon Gibson,Sims-Walker,Amendola and rookie's Greg Salas and TE Kendrickson as the starters week 1 IMO. Not great but
JMac will get Bradford to spread the ball around quite a bit...and involve the RB's who are solid as a unit. Cadillac Williams has looked outstanding in camp and preseason. My "objective" opinion on the recieving core is that they're just a bunch of average guys who will be in a fantastic offensive system catching passes from a good QB.
Good young players on the defense? Long, Lauranitis, and Bartel. Outside of those 3 it's journeymen and older guys.
CB Bradley Fletcher is better than Bartell already....except most dont know that yet
. Thats 3 of 4 four guys who have been drafted and developed in Spags proven system (Bartell was a Scott Linehan holdover draft pick).
Why do you consider Robert Quinn a HUGE risk? Because he sat out his final year at NC due to a suspension? If the Rams felt there were character issues there they wouldn't have drafted him...trust me on that.
As a football player i see zero risk....all the skills are there to be a dynamic pass rusher at the next level. Size,speed,football IQ...dude singlehandedly blocked a FG against KC the other night....lol. It remains to be seen but we have our bookends of the future at DE IMO. Robbins will have to be replaced sure...but they only hold the NFL Draft once a year.
If the Rams were ok with bringing in shady character types....and they were trying to "win it now with a quick fix" (as you claim) they would've brought in Randy Moss or made a strong play for Vincent Jackson last season,or Terrell Owens this season right? Its a mix of young drafted players at key positions:
Bradford at QB
R.Saffold at LT
J.Smith at RT
L.Kendricks/"Illionois" Mike at TE
C.Long at DE
J.Laurinaitis at MLB
B.Fletcher at CB
R.Quinn at DE
When building a team from the ground up(and we were the worst football team i've ever seen just 2 yrs ago
) you've got to have older veterans to mentor the puppies....but also contribute. Guys like James Hall,Robbins,Nail Diggs,Al Harris etc are definately old...but they know their roles. Hall had 10.5 sacks last year Krang....not bad for an old guy.
Free agent DB Quinton Mikkel is 30 yrs old and a pro bowler just 2 yrs ago...he knows Spags system. Is that a guy who wont make an impact in your opinion?
Free agent OG Harvey Dahl is 30 yrs old too...he's replacing last years starter Adam Goldberg at RG <<< (yeah who? He was terrible.).
Finally,what HYPE are you speaking of exactly Krang? As far as i know there isn't much hype involving St Louis other than Bradford having a good rookie season last year.....i dont sense that from the general NFL public to be honest....they're just a horribly bad team 3 yrs ago who's getting better quickly.
Its the system.
I mean...they're not getting that year-after-year San Francisco hype.
Good discussion Krang...keep it real though. I'm not proclaiming my team Super Bowl champions ok?
Please merge Mods because i doubt anyone in here really gives a #%@! about this LOL
http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f23/2011-st-louis-rams-thread-162527.html