St. Louis Rams

[suckerpuncher]

Alright, before KK storms in here let me at least list the draft picks.

Picks:
Rd. 1 Tavon Austin - WR - West Virginia
Rd. 1 Alec Ogletree - ILB - Georgia
Rd. 3 T.J. McDonald - FS - USC
Rd. 3 Stedman Bailey - WR - West Virginia
Rd. 4 Barrett Jones - C - Alabama
Rd. 5 Brandon McGee - FS - Miami (FL)
Rd. 5 Zac Stacy - RB - Vanderbilt


UDFA Signings:
Houston LB Phillip Steward
Auburn TE Phillip Lutzenkirchen
UTEP CB Darren Woodard
K Brett Bauer
Ole Miss DE Gerald Rivers
Georgia LB Christian Robinson
Louisiana Tech OG Kevin Saia
UGA ILB Mike Gilliard
BYU OT Braden Brown
Ohio State DT Garret Goebel
Southern Arkansas CB Don Unamba
Texas A&M ILB Jonathan Stewart
Faulkner/Miami SAF Ray-Ray Armstrong
MTSU RB Bennie Cunningham
Louisiana Lafayette K Brett Baer

[dw13]

I thought they drafted incredibly well.

[suckerpuncher]

4 of the first 5 picks should even be day 1 starters. Finally a real weapon for Bradford inTavon Austin who now will have to show why he once was a #1 pick. No more excuses.
Not quite sure what to make of it but the team they didn't draft or sign any rookie QB to develope. Let's take as a vote of confidence.

Fisher and Snead already showed last year that they aren't afraid to pick guys with character problems when they picked Jenkins so the Ogletree pick was a logical choice. Hopefully they can keep those players away from each other during the season and during the offseason.

[King_Killah]

Alright, before KK storms in here let me at least list the draft picks.

I wasn't gonna do the Rams today, but I guess I will.

Picks:
Rd. 1 Tavon Austin - WR - West Virginia
Rd. 1 Alec Ogletree - ILB - Georgia
Rd. 3 T.J. McDonald - FS - USC
Rd. 3 Stedman Bailey - WR - West Virginia
Rd. 4 Barrett Jones - C - Alabama
Rd. 5 Brandon McGee - FS - Miami (FL)
Rd. 5 Zac Stacy - RB - Vanderbilt


UDFA Signings:
Houston LB Phillip Steward
Auburn TE Phillip Lutzenkirchen
UTEP CB Darren Woodard
K Brett Bauer
Ole Miss DE Gerald Rivers
Georgia LB Christian Robinson
Louisiana Tech OG Kevin Saia
UGA ILB Mike Gilliard
BYU OT Braden Brown
Ohio State DT Garret Goebel
Southern Arkansas CB Don Unamba
Texas A&M ILB Jonathan Stewart
Faulkner/Miami SAF Ray-Ray Armstrong
MTSU RB Bennie Cunningham
Louisiana Lafayette K Brett Baer

Overall, I think the Rams did a great job in the draft. One of the better overall drafts. I was not high on Tavon Austin depending on where he would go. I love that the Rams got him. Greatest Show on Turf 2. Solid pick for the Rams. I like Ogletree a lot. I like McDonald. I like Stedman Bailey. The Rams want a piece of that division. Hey, didn't the Rams go unbeaten in the division last year?

I like Daryl Richardson a lot, but the backs as a whole are young. I have high hopes for Richardson. The receivers are young, too, but I am good with that. I think Austin, Bailey along with Brian Quick will be a threat against any defense. I like Jared Cook.

I am happy with the potential of what this team can do offensively.... Just have some minor concerns defensively. That said, if you can outscore your opponent, you win.

[suckerpuncher]

They were 4-1-1 in the division. And the biggest problem last year was on offense. While the defense kept them in the game the offense just averaged about 18 PPG.

On offense they took care of the oline problems by signing Long and drafting Jones.
Amendola's departure will be more than compensate by Austin. While Danny was a great player he just was injured too often. I assume Givens will still be used as deep threat while Bailey won't get much playing time early on just like Quick last season. The loss of SJ39 is of course hard to compensate but Richardson showed some flashes last year while Pead didn't play much at all. Not sure what Stacy will bring to the table.

Not sure what you mean but the defense was more than solid last year. Lead the league in sacks for instance and in any other category they were well above the league average. And all of that with Craig Dahl "playing" FS. Without him the team is getting much better.
The front 4 will feature Long and Quinn as ends and Brockers/Langford in the middle. While the LB will be Ogletree, Dunbar and of course Johnny Ace's nephew Animal Jr. as leader of the pack. Finnegan and Jenkins as starting CB along with T. Johnson and McGee. Only at safety there are still some question marks. Looks like Stewart will be SS and newly drafted Johnson will be FS. They still might resign Mikell as SS.

As far as the special teams go Austin will be a huge upgrade if they let him return kicks/punts. About time for a kickoff return TD since the last one was in '05.
Rookie Greg the leg attempted the most kicks from 50+ yards and was 7/13 there. Inside of 50 yards he was a very good 16/18. With an improved offense he hopefully won't have to attempt so many long FG again this year.
The other rookie, punter Hekker, was middle of the pack in punt average and net average. But he had more passing yards last year then Tebow.

Considering the team is still one of the youngest in the league there's reason to be hopeful for the future. They should be able to content for a playoff spot this year even though Vegas has them only as 6.5 in the O/U.