St Louis Rams NFL Team Column

By  Michael Camuso

The Rams Draft – Back to the Greatest Show on Earth?

I think one of the most ridiculous things that sports writers do is to try and give teams grades for their draft. We will not know for a few years if the Rams or any team’s draft was a good one. I have seen Ram draft grades from D+ to B  …… who cares? So I am not going to the rate their draft – I am going to read in between the lines to see what the Rams management was trying to do.

The Rams bolstered their offensive line and receiving corps by adding 4 players – offensive lineman John Greco (#3 pick from Toledo) and big physical, run blocker Roy Schuening (#6 pick from Oregon State – heavily endorsed by running back Stephen Jackson) and receivers Keenan Burton (#5 pick from Kentucky) and Donnie Avery (#2 pick from Houston. Avery is a blazer in (in the Az Hakim / Kevin Curtis mode). The thinking here is that if we protect Bulger and provide him with the weapons – the Rams can compete in every game. The Rams want to inject some excitement back into a team who suffered a severe lack of attendance last year. Can they get back to the greatest show on turf? This draft will answer those questions. If Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery were the right picks you are adding them to other talented offensive weapons such as WR Torry Holt, RB Stephen Jackson, WR Drew Bennett and TE Randy McMichael. Adding one of the best kickers in the game in Josh Brown does not hurt either, especially when you steal him from your division rival.

 Mark Bulger is one of the most accurate passers in the game but like anyone else he needs protection. The Rams added guard Jacob Bell (from Tennessee) and solid blocking tight end Anthony Becht (from Tampa Bay) during free agency – so the Rams are trying to fix the offensive line so they can compete again. With the healthy returns of LT Orlando Pace, RG Richie Incognito and LG Mark Setterstrom, along with what the Rams added in the draft and free agency, the offensive line could be a major strength for the Rams this year.

The Rams draft also added a lot of high production players with good character so they are changing their tune on players like the recently released tight end Dominique Byrd. 

Chris Long is the new face of the Rams and I like that face – good character, hard working – a team player – he will change the face of their defense. With the healthy return of Leonard Little, opposing quarterbacks will be have to be wary of Long and Little, two speedy edge rushers who will be creating havoc from both sides. 

This was a critical draft for the Rams and how they drafted this year will tell in many ways what kind of team they will be in 2008. Stay tuned.

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Rams Mock Draft and Team Needs

            The Rams have been one of the leagues most disappointing teams over the last four seasons.  Following their 12-4 record in 2003, St. Louis has won 8, 6, 8 and finally bottomed out at 3 to bring us here.  Scott Linehan seems like a good guy, knows what he’s doing on offense, should be a great head coach.  On the field however, things just have not clicked for him yet.  2007 saw them start out losing their first 8 games.  And most games were not even close.  24-3, 35-7, 22-3, 33-6 and their 23-17 loss to Carolina to start the season was not as close as it sounds despite the Rams 13-7 lead mid way through the 3rd.  I think what completely ruined the Rams season, or at least set that in motion, was Dante Hall’s muffed punt in the 4^th quarter of a close game the very next week against San Francisco.  St. Louis was leading 16-14 when Hall dropped a routine fair catch in Rams territory.  It set up the game winning 40-yard FG by 49ers kicker Joe Nedney with 3:23 to go and sealed the Rams fate with a heartbreaking 17-16 loss. 

            6 more losses later, the season seemed to be turning around somewhat as they won 3 of 4 through Weeks 10 to 13 to pull to 3-9 and looked to be able to at least salvage 6 or 7 wins.  The bottom dropped out once again, losing 4 straight to end the 2^nd year of the Linehan reign at 3-13. 

            For an incredibly talented club, they sure seem to have needs at a lot of places.  Despite recently awarding Marc Bulger a new big contract, they may have to think about brining in a young QB soon.  Bulger is only 30, but he gets nicked up easily and missed a significant chunk of 2005.  It may be a little hasty to label him as brittle, but his history and inconsistent season in 2007 may cause some to worry.  RB Steven Jackson was also banged up throughout the year, missing 4 games with a groin injury and watching his production drop after a breakout 2006 season.  1,528 yards and 13 TD gave way to only 1002 yards and 5 TD.  Torry Holt continued his brilliance at wide receiver but received surprisingly little help from Isaac Bruce, Drew Bennett and Randy McMichael.  Bennett and McMichael were expected to add to new big play threats to an already potent offense but neither made much of an impact.  With the release of Bruce, Bennett will become the new starter next to Holt so a rebound season is a must or Bennett could be looking for a new home on a bench somewhere in ’09.  The offensive line was a major disappointment as starters Orlando Pace and Richie Incognito, among others, suffered major injuries and the line had to constantly be reshuffled. 

At times this past season, the line was so bad that it could rival the 2006 Raiders for the ‘worst lines of All-Time’.  The defense, long a sore spot for Rams fans and the occasional offensive player or two, improved over the course of the season but finished 21^st in yards allowed and is still more than a high draft pick away from being more than just competitive on that side of the ball.  And last but not least, Linehan is still recovering from his long-overdue decision to turn play-calling duties over to offensive coordinator late in 2006 and from being on the receiving end of vicious public tirades from certain star players.  So to sum things up:   On paper, this seems like one of the most talented squads in the league.  In reality, it’s done nothing but disappoint for 4 years. 

2008 NFL Mock Draft:

Round 1/#2: Jake Long OT

            Adding to the offensive line will make the entire offense much better.  They struggled to protect their QB and run the ball at times last year and that begins and ends with the o-line.  Long may never develop into a franchise LT but he could play there and be serviceable.  He can immediately come in and bring some beef to the run game and be a reliable pass protector.  He might carve out a long career at LT but he can be a perennial Pro Bowler at RT and that should be his position in the pros.

Round 2: Red Bryant DT

            Moving last years 1^st round pick, Adam Carriker, inside to tackle may have been a little misguided even if it worked to an extent.  Long a soft defense, especially at DT, Bryant is a wide body who can eat up blockers and stuff the run.  At nearly 330-lbs, Bryant would be the biggest lineman on the team and would move Carriker to under tackle or outside to end where his best suited.

Round 3: Justin King CB

            A spectacular athlete, King just needs to mature and add some consistency to take his game to the next level.  He can stick to any receiver and even saw some action at that position.  At 5’11 195lbs, King has prototype size.  He really struggled as a junior, making his decision to enter the draft almost shocking, leaving many to believe his decision was based more on economics than anything else.  He’s had off-field problems as well and is a boom or bust prospect in every sense of the saying.

Round 4: Jason Jones DE

            The Rams seem to prefer versatile lineman who can play multiple positions.  Jones can play end on 1^st and 2^nd down, shift inside on 3^rd down and was even being thought of as a potential OLB in a 3-4 defense.  The latter may be pushing it but Jones is still an incredible athlete with a good burst off the edge.  Rising up draft boards after turning in solid off-season workouts. 

Round 5: Adrian Arrington WR

            This is a team built on offensive firepower and still has to adequately replace receivers Shaun McDonald and Kevin Curtis, both late round picks who have proven to be pretty good players in this league.  Arrington is a bigger receiver that lacks blazing top-end speed but has some athletic ability to work with. 

Round 6: Chris McDuffie OG 

            Last season proved that many of the backups on the roster are not fit to see extended playing time.  McDuffie may find himself undrafted come April due to a lack of experience (played DT until 2005), off-field problems and injury history but he has great size and natural strength.  He is a developmental prospect who may need a year or two on a practice squad and will take patience.  Could reward the slow and steady, or be out of the league quickly.

Round 7: Adam Spieker C

            Spieker is a meat and potatoes type who gets by on intelligence and determination.  He’s anchored Mizzou’s o-line for the last four years and it’s not a stretch to see him anchoring someone’s line for a long time in the pros.  This team needs depth so it may be prudent to draft prospects at all 3 spots or find versatile guys to fill out the chart.

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