Billy D on the Radio,recap..

[Ramblin` Ram]

some things Billy D said for those who didnt catch it...

Butler 99% done deal..he`s due in for a physical exam tomorrow..all goes well,he signs.

Karney is in the building as we speak.

Billy D says he doesnt want to bring in a QB to compete with Bulger for the starting job,he wants someone who will understand his role as back up QB and help Bulger as much as he can..he believes Gus Frerotte would fill that rule,with his understanding of the scheme Shurmur will implement...he expects Gus to come in for talks once the Butler deal is sealed..

with the departure of OP...Barron is being moved to LT for team drills etc.. with Bell being moved to RT...Greco to LG and Cogs RG...at this point..

says departure of OP doesnt mean that they will go OT with 2nd overall pick... if a player markes out in their assesment as a 7.0 and another at 8.0 the 8.0 player will be the pick but if its a case of 7.9 and 8.0 and the 7.9 is at a possesion of more critical need the 7.9 will be the pick...says that the way the draft looks he believes the top 5 or 6 prospects all play at a position where there is a need with the Rams..didnt say who those top 5 or 6 were but i figure we can guess on that..

if we sign Butler,Karney and Frerotte he said that he may look into some situational players for depth and rotation with a few players on their radar but thats it for starters in this current wave of F.A and the gears will be shifted to the draft.

[rams 24/7]

So we Basicall Will Have The Same Team In 09?

[Ramblin` Ram]

So we Basicall Will Have The Same Team In 09?

theyve released 17 players now and atleast 3 expected to join in the next few days..plus Jason Brown and then the atleast 7 players in to be drafted......in a word...NO!

[AvengerRam]

So we Basicall Will Have The Same Team In 09?

Well, yeah... except for the new General Manager, Head Coach, Coordinators, Assistant Coaches, starting Center, starting Strong Safety, starting Fullback, reshuffled linebacking corps, Blue Chip First Round Pick in the Draft, two additional draft choices selected from among the top 100 players, and additional free agent signings that will likely come between now and the season.

Yeah, its exactly the same team.

[Nick]

if a player markes out in their assesment as a 7.0 and another at 8.0 the 8.0 player will be the pick but if its a case of 7.9 and 8.0 and the 7.9 is at a possesion of more critical need the 7.9 will be the pick...

Not to toot my own horn (well, maybe a little ), but that's exactly what I've been saying for a while now.

Unless there is a significant difference in the grades you've given two players, I think it's perfectly okay to take someone at a slightly lower grade who fills a bigger need or is of a position of more importance/greater impact on the field.

If Curry is far and away the more highly rated player, then take him. But if it's close, if Curry's grade is only slightly higher or fairly close to even with what you've graded Monroe or Smith to be, then they could certainly take the tackle.

[AvengerRam]

The interesting thing is that Devaney doesn't really need much of a smokescreen here, as there is only one team picking ahead of the Rams (unless, of course, he's contemplating a trade down).

It seems that Detroit has real interest in Aaron Curry. My gut tells me that this worries Devaney & Co., as they covet him as the Rams' first pick. If he goes, No. 1, though, I don't think that J.Smith/E.Monroe constitutes a bad backup plan (not to mention the "Wild Cards," Crabtree and Raji).

We should all be paying attention to the reports on Matthew Stafford's workouts, as they could have a big impact on who is available to the Rams at #2.

[39thebeast]

Interesting tackle situation and o-line situation in general. Bell has played RT before and may be better there if he bulks up to at least 310 and ideally at about 315+. Grecco is a bout 320 so is Brown and Cogs is about 330+ I really really like that big bad interior line. Barron is a better LT than he is RT, but I don't think he is the future there, but maybe he proves us all wrong. If we do go OT with the first pick Barron would be great depth as a swing tackle, but we would need to improve interior depth This line up still opens it up for Curry, but in that scenario we would definately go OT in the second, the same thing goes for Crabtree.

[evil disco man]

with the departure of OP...Barron is being moved to LT for team drills etc.. with Bell being moved to RT...Greco to LG and Cogs RG...at this point.

I like this. I don't think Barron is as bad as people make him out to be and LT is his natural position. Maybe he has better hearing in his right ear than left and his false starts will go down too, hah. If this regime plans to keep Barron at LT, they could probably afford to take Curry in the 1st round and find a decent RT prospect (more of a mauling run-blocker than the lean, pass-blocking Barron) in the 2nd or 3rd, since LTs tend to be taken higher in the draft.

[IzzyHigh1212]

I'd actually like that O-Line. That's a lot of big guys(minus Jacon Bell) blocking for S-Jax. We know we'll be running more, so you can't forget about McMichael's pass protection. I'm in love with Curry at this point, so...maybe I'm just TRYING to find things to like on the offensive line.

[IzzyHigh1212]

Wow...I've never understood how people do that...until now. It's not like I didn't know his name. Kind of weird. haha

[BEER]

Well, yeah... except for the new General Manager, Head Coach, Coordinators, Assistant Coaches, starting Center, starting Strong Safety, starting Fullback, reshuffled linebacking corps, Blue Chip First Round Pick in the Draft, two additional draft choices selected from among the top 100 players, and additional free agent signings that will likely come between now and the season.

Yeah, its exactly the same team.

Wow, I guess when you look at it that way, we have changed, or will
have changed quit a bit. It's starting to look good. And a start is something.

[Dominating D]

Not to toot my own horn (well, maybe a little ), but that's exactly what I've been saying for a while now.

Unless there is a significant difference in the grades you've given two players, I think it's perfectly okay to take someone at a slightly lower grade who fills a bigger need or is of a position of more importance/greater impact on the field.

If Curry is far and away the more highly rated player, then take him. But if it's close, if Curry's grade is only slightly higher or fairly close to even with what you've graded Monroe or Smith to be, then they could certainly take the tackle.

Are you not making alot of assumptions?

Your assuming that the Rams feel tackle is more of a need than any other position. It seems that the Rams have alot of needs at several positions. Also, I did not get what you define as significant difference out of the original post. Please define significant difference? 8.0 and 7.8 is that significant enough????

[IzzyHigh1212]

So we Basicall Will Have The Same Team In 09?

I <3 Jokes.

[Azul e Oro]

Wow...I've never understood how people do that...until now. It's not like I didn't know his name. Kind of weird. haha

I believe the phenomenon is known as a "Friedian" Slip
( "fried" as in "Crisco").

Bell needs to bulk up to play RT and you were thinking"Eat that bacon, Jacob" and out came "Jacon".

Sorry.... making even worse jokes than usual;just trying to cheer myself up on a day when we lost yet another link to a glorious time to be a Rams fan.

Much as I argued for the necessity of this move, I am sad.

Thank you, Big O. I'll miss you.

Go Rams Now & Forever

[Nick]

Are you not making alot of assumptions?

I'm speculating like everyone else, though I think there's certainly quite a bit of supporting evidence towards the opinion of LT being this team's biggest need right now.

Also, I did not get what you define as significant difference out of the original post. Please define significant difference? 8.0 and 7.8 is that significant enough????

Significant difference is in the eye of the beholder. Since I do not work for an NFL team, I can't speak as to how specifically they grade their players and what constitutes significant difference to them.

But refer back to the write-up. A difference of 0.1 on a single digit (plus decimal) grading scale is not viewed as significant, so I would assume 0.2 is not. A full point difference does appear to be though, given Devaney's own comments. Is 0.5 significant? 0.75? Again, it would depend on the scale and the person evaluating. If I had to guess based on that scale, and my guess is as good as anyone's, I would think teams would start worrying about the difference in grade at or around the 0.5 mark.

But the point wasn't what is or isn't a significant difference. The point of my response was simply to illustrate that drafting can't be so black and white that you just take the BPA, no matter what. Teams have to address their weaknesses at some point, and they can't do that if they're always strictly taking the BPA. It has to be a compromise between talent and need, which is why I would imagine NFL teams may sometimes take a guy who might not be at the very top of their board but is close to it and fills a big need. Other times, value for a player at another position which isn't as big a need or even a need at all might be too good to pass on.

Perhaps you should try to ask Devaney himself, since he's likely the only one that knows what constitutes a significant difference on his scale.