The Official St. Louis Rams 2010 Offseason Discussion Thread

[thule]

Looks like I was right about OJ.

Free safety O.J. Atogwe, a restricted free agent, became more attractive to teams today with St. Louis' decision to offer him the low tender. The Rams retained the right of first refusal on any offer Atogwe receives but gave up their right to free-agent compensation should he go elsewhere.

The Rams are betting that no team will overwhelm Atogwe. If Cowboys onwer-general manager Jerry Jones wanted to make a bold move, Atogwe would be a fitting subject. In the last two years, Atogwe has produced 24 takeaways in 28 games. He is good in coverage and excels at stripping the ball loose from runners.

[tfry]

Between your two mock drafts, I'd much rather see us go this direction overall. Personally, I like McCoy and Suh way more than Bradford, but if Sam checks out medically, I think the Rams are going to have a VERY tough time passing on him.

Don't forget that we have two picks in the 5th round.

Okay, so I have already expressed that I don't like the idea of taking Bradford at #1. I feel the same way about Clausen, or any QB in this draft class for that matter. However, I decided for the sake of argument, to go ahead and fill in what I would do with the rest of our draft if that were to happen.

2) Brian Price, DT, UCLA. There's no denying we need better play from the defensive line so we can get off the field once in a while. I would love it if Terrence Cody or Dan Williams would fall this far, but I don't think they will. Jared Odrick may be a pick here as well.

3) Dennis Pitta, TE, BYU. I really hope we take this guy. He should be available here in a draft that is deep with TE talent, and I think he would be a perfect fit.

4) George Selvie, DE, South Florida. No college prospect has ever reminded me more of Leonard Little. Let's just hope he is a safer driver.

5) Best lineman available. Possibilities include Tony Washington, OT, Abilene Christian; Matt Tenant, C, Boston College (I love BC interior linemen); Marshall Newhouse, OT, TCU; Doug Palmer, OG, East Carolina.

6) Donald Butler, ILB, Washington. This guy is a bit smallish for an ILB, but I believe he can play all three LB spots and has a non-stop motor. Would get a lot more attention if he were at a stronger program.

7) Michael Smith, RB, Arkansas. Could be a great complement to Steven Jackson.

[tfry]

2010 Free Agency

Read on Rotoworld that the Rams are looking at AJ Feeley.

Would be an excellent backup IMO. He did really well in that role while he was with the Eagles and I believe Shumur was his coach.

[stlouisfan37]

Tfry,

I didn't know that we had two 5th-round picks. Thank you for telling me that. I'm sure I should have known that. Was the second pick from the Will Witherspoon trade?

[stlouisfan37]

The Rams signed Jay Feeley this morning in free agency. I this this should put to rest any thoughts of them taking a franchise QB in this year's draft! LOL.

Please don't misunderstand me. It isn't that I don't like Bradford. I just don't think he is THE guy, and I don't follow the mainstream thinking that you get your franchise QB in place and then build your team around him. I would much rather see the Rams build a stronger team with solid lines on both sides of the ball and then introduce the franchise QB into the mix so that he has strong leadership and chemistry around him to help carry him through his learning curve. If that means being mediocre for another year or two then so be it. In the long run it will be better for the team as well as the QB in question.

That being said, if there was a hands down stud QB to be had in this draft I think it would be a no-brainer. I just don't see Bradford being that guy. As far as I am concerned Bradford is a nice talent that was the recipient of a great system that made him look better than he actually is. I'm not saying he is a bust; I think he will develop into an above average QB in the NFL. I'm just not interested in using the #1 pick in the draft on an above average QB. Not when there are two game-changing DT's available that I feel would be more valuable to this team in the long run.

I also think that this team is going to struggle in 2010 regardless of who we draft and will likely be drafting in the top 5 again in 2011. Detroit is getting better faster, as is Kansas City and Cleveland. Tampa Bay appears to be willing to spend in free agency this offseason where the Rams look to be a team that will be very tight-fisted in this uncapped year. So it very well could end up being that the Rams inherit the #1 pick in 2011 as well. And how are we gonna feel if we are sitting there with the #1 pick on draft day next year with a shellshocked Sam Bradford on our roster after the merciless beating he has taken and knowing that we could have taken Suh or McCoy and Jake Locker is on the board?

[freebirdsrams02]

If we grab A.J. Feeley, then I think we would pass on a QB in the first round and grab a guy in the 2nd or 3rd to build behind a guy like Feeley for a little bit. Would be better than geeting Feeley drafting Bradford and missing out on Suh or someone else.

[stlouisfan37]

I also think that Adam Carriker would benefit as much as anyone from drafting one of the DT's. Carriker, I believe, is a natural end who has been playing out of position his entire NFL career. He started playing DT as a rookie at the request of then-head coach Scott Linehan because the greater need was at DT and he was big enough to play inside. That does not mean he is ideally suited for that position. He had played end his whole career at Nebraska. I'm pretty sure the coaches at Nebraska knew something about his game; otherwise, at 6'6" and 300 lbs he would have been playing DT all through college. IMO he is a perfect fit for RDE in Spags' system. A front 4 of Carriker, Ryan, McCoy and Long would be very imposing.

[tfry]

St. Louis signs Feeley to a two year contract per the National Football Post.

If we grab A.J. Feeley, then I think we would pass on a QB in the first round and grab a guy in the 2nd or 3rd to build behind a guy like Feeley for a little bit. Would be better than geeting Feeley drafting Bradford and missing out on Suh or someone else.

[tfry]

I'd rather see a rotation of Carricker on running downs and a speedy edge rusher on obvious passing downs. I just can't see Carricker getting that much pressure on the QB.

[stlouisfan37]

Carriker is not a speed rusher, that's for sure. His ideal position in the NFL might actually be as an end in a 3-4.

That being said, I still think he is better suited to contain the run and occupy the attention of an offense's left tackle than trying to bull rush in a phone booth against 320 pound interior linemen. I think he would feel much more comfortable in open space.

[Guest]

I'd like to see him lined up as sort of a run defense oriented defensive end, then move him inside on 3rd down and bring in a pass rushing specialist outside.

[stlouisfan37]

I'd like to see him lined up as sort of a run defense oriented defensive end, then move him inside on 3rd down and bring in a pass rushing specialist outside.

That's not a bad idea. Especially since this draft is deep in passrushing DE's who are smaller and weak against the run. George Selvie from South Florida is a perfect example.

[holt_bruce81]

According to Jim Thomas the Seahawks were bringing in Atogwe for a visit and the Rams were close to signing a new safety........Gibril Wilson anyone.

[bigfreak314]

I really wish we were more active but I dont see a problem with building your team thru the draft. I think we need to bring a couple of vets who come from winning organizations and are high motor/high character guys. Which we seem to be lacking all of sudden.

Notable FA still on the market that can help the team(as of 3/5 7:00pm):

Kemoeatu, Maake DT

Pitts, Chester G

Williams, Mike G

Redding, Cory DE

Dansby, Karlos ILB

Kampman, Aaron OLB

Bodden, Leigh CB

Buchanon, Phillip CB

Robinson, Dunta CB

[NGSeiler]

I've merged the 2010 Free Agency thread into this one; just didn't see a need for two threads on the same topic (offseason moves).

The Feeley signing is interesting. He's a fine back-up in this system. In a pinch, he could probably start a couple games for the Rams. Assuming Bulger is cut/traded, Feeley could conceivably start the season if a rookie quarterback can't win the job by opening day. Wouldn't count on him for very long, but he's probably a better option than Boller if only because of his familiarity with the offensive scheme.

As for Atogwe, they didn't give him a low tender because they're down on him. They gave him a low tender because it represented a multi-million dollar savings, which I'm not sure anyone knew about until the last day or so. The Rams say they're working to get him long term still; if they don't have him signed by June, then we'll see what they think of him. Because at that point, they'll either have to pay him the $7 million or release him to the market.

Regarding Carriker, he is NOT a natural fit as a 4-3 DE. He played 3-4 DE in college, which is entirely different. I feel like we go through this every couple of months, but there's a reason everyone projected him to DT in a 4-3 when he came out. Carriker would fail miserably as a RDE going up against teams' left tackles because he doesn't have the speed to challenge the corner, and offers little in terms of an outside pass rush. Maybe he could play situationally on running downs at DE, but even that may be too much. If he's a DE, it's in the 3-4. Not going to happen in the 4-3, IMO.

Finally, as for Bradford, I think if he throws well at his pro day and checks out medically, he's probably going to be the pick. I still prefer Suh, not only because he's an elite player at his position and at worst one of the top two prospects in this class, but because I'm very concerned about how Bradford is going to hold up at the next level. He wasn't able to finish a season in college without injury (concussion in '07, torn hand ligaments in '08, AC joint issue in '09) despite playing behind a pretty good OL for the most part and in a spread system. The punishment is only going to get worse at the next level. The issue to me isn't so much getting a clean bill of health for his current injury, but rather a pattern of injuries that suggests to me he's going to have trouble staying healthy in the pros. I understand the reason the Rams would make the pick, and there's a lot to like about Bradford. But the health and durability issues are just too big for me to feel comfortable with that selection, especially over better prospects in Suh and McCoy.