current 53 man roster analysis

[general counsel]

Lets discuss the final roster. Here is my view

Offense (27)
qb bulger, frerotte, fitz
rb jackson, leonard, minor, alexis/harris
fb hedgecock
te mcmichael, klop, walker/byrd
wr holt, bruce, bennett, looker, hall, hagans
ot pace, barron, steussie, goldberg
c mccollum, romberg, fry
og incognito, setterstrom, terrell/brown


Analysis: Thats 27 guys. That may be one too many. Fry might wind up on the practice squad. I am surprised that we would consider exposing fry instead of keeping a fourth running back on the practice squad. I will hate to lose walker if he gets cut, i think he is very underated.


Defense (24)

DE little, hall, adeyanju, Trevor Johnson/eric moore
DT carriker, glover, wroten, ryan
lb witherspoon, pisa, chillar, draft, alston, ra. smith, culbertson/mcigargle/brooks
cb hill, brown, bartell, wade, walls
s chavous, oj, johnson, carter

Problem is that we are painfully thin at corner in the first four weeks


Specialists (3)

K wilkins
P jones
LS massey


Practice squad

stanley
alexis/harris
walker (maybe)
jackson (dt)
thompson wr
sandidge DT
mcigargle LB

A
At the end of the day, that leaves me with 54 guys on my 53 man roster, which is why either a linebacker winds up on the practice squad or fry winds up on the practice squad

Your thoughts are very welcome

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[Goldenfleece]

That looks about right to me. I think it is a shame that we'll most likely be keeping Byrd rather than Walker on the roster. We probably won't cut a third round pick, but Byrd came in with a bad rep and hasn't done much to endear himself to the team since.

I still hate to see Trevor Johnson/Eric Moore on there. We do not have enough depth at end. If either Little or Hall goes down, we'll be right back where we were last season getting virtually no pressure on the quarterback.

I agree about the corner depth for those first few weeks. We haven't even started the season, and teams are already picking on Bartell. Wade doesn't look ready yet, and we're in trouble if Walls starts.

[MauiRam]

GC ... assuming Fakir's suspension isn't revoked (a fairly safe bet), who will we release when his suspension has expired? Regarding Fry, unless he really underwhelms btween now and final cutdown, I don't see the Rams exposing him to the PS ...

[suhpr3me]

I'd have to find it but i swear i read in a article that Linehan will carry 4 rb's and 4 te's. Does this mean we only carry 5 Wr's?

[general counsel]

The articles have recently said that we are going to carry four rb's, but only three tight ends. Its also been in the st louis post-dispatch (for what thats worth) that byrd looks like the #3 guy. There is no way we can keep both four rbs and four tight ends, we just dont have the spot on the roster, unless we keep no fullbacks and cut hedgecock, which i cant see happening.

As for fahkhir brown, he counts on the 53 man roster even if he is suspended and thats part of the problem. There is no roster move to make when he returns, it will only impact the 45 man game day active list.

As for the defensive end spot, i agree 100% that is the single weakest link of any of the roster spots. I dont see any real good solutions out there, unless of course we could get simeon rice on the cheap. Its possible we could go with three defensive ends under the theory that wroten could play outside on passing downs, but i doubt that will be the case.

Leonard Little is almost as indespensable a player as we have on the roster if we are serious about a playoff run. Without him, we have nothing that remotely resembles a real proven pass rusher that can consistently get to the qb. I like Hall as a #2 guy, but if he is the best we have, he will get doubled from time to time and we will have nothing at all.

While i agree that it doesnt seem to make sense to expose fry to the practice squad, who do you think we will cut to make room? Its not even so much a player issue as a positional issue. I guess we could potentially carry only 6 linebackers and cut raonall smith, i just dont know what type of impact that would have on special teams. We could also conceivably carry only 5 wide receivers.

As always, its a numbers game and its linehans job to make it all fit together.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[TheBritishRam]

Is there a limit to how many guys can be on the practice squad? I heard ken shackleford was looking good in the OTAs so i would have thought he would at least land on the practice squad. I think alexis will win the 3rd RB spot, terrel will beat out brown and culberson will get the last LB place. I wouldn't be surprised if Stanely is signed by another team, though i hope he isn't.

[sprtsmac]

I think Culbertson makes the team and I also don't see us carrying three centers. I hope I'm wrong on this because I would hate to lose Fry and that is a very good possibility if we expose him to the practice squad.

[bruce4life]

can somone say simeon rice still???? he may not be healthy right now, but would add insurance and much needed depth if someone goes down... also chavous could play corner if needed and we could bring in johnson or carter in at safety

[Goldenfleece]

I don't know that we're in that much danger of losing Stanley if he goes on the practice squad. He has played well in the pre-season, but he was a late seventh round draft pick coming from a Division III school. The fact that there was so little interest just a few months ago makes me think that other teams would have trouble justifying a roster spot for him as well.

I would prefer to only carry three runningbacks so we could keep Fry, but it certainly does not seem that likely.

[general counsel]

I believe its 8 guys on the practice squad and yes, i think there is a good chance shak is one of those guys. I also think stanley isnt very likely to be taken off the practice squad, but we are likely to lose fry if we expose him. Dont forget that mccollum could play guard in a pinch, but it would be a real pinch.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[Richbert88]

Thanks for the thread GC! Here is my guess. We should have a contest.

Offense (26)
qb bulger, frerotte, fitz
rb jackson, leonard, minor
fb hedgecock
te mcmichael, klop, walker,
wr holt, bruce, bennett, looker, hall, hagans
ot pace, barron, steussie, goldberg
c romberg, mccollum, fry
og incognito, setterstrom, terrell


Defense (24)

DE little, hall, adeyanju, Trevor Johnson
DT carriker, glover, wroten, ryan
lb witherspoon, pisa, chillar, draft, alston, ra. smith, culbertson
cb hill, brown, bartell, wade, walls
s chavous, oj, johnson, carter



Specialists (3)

K wilkins
P jones
LS massey


Practice squad

shakleford OT
stanley WR
alexis RB
vinnett CB
jackson DT
thompson wr
sandidge DT
mcigargle LB

I don't think Fry would make it to the PS, really, for that matter, I don't think Stanley would either. I could see a team like GB grabbing Stanley. Personally, I am liking Alexis more than Minor. And I am not sure mcigargle will ever become the type LBer Haslett is looking for.

[general counsel]

Richbert, i like your roster a lot. Until 24 hours ago, i would have sworn we would only keep 3 running backs rather than four. However, linehan has been quoted on the 4th running back and unlike the draft, where i know that what he says publicly is bull, i cant say his motive for not telling the truth.

As for minor vs. alexis, i dont think we are in a position on tv to determine who has greater value on special teams and that is super critical in determining who makes the team in that spot. Minor is known as an excellent special teams player. Personally, i think if we are down to our #3 running back as a major player on offense, we have big issues anyway. I would rather take the guy that is better on special teams.

I cant believe we would expose fry. It just doesnt make any sense to me.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[sprtsmac]

can somone say simeon rice still???? he may not be healthy right now, but would add insurance and much needed depth if someone goes down... also chavous could play corner if needed and we could bring in johnson or carter in at safety

According to whispers around the NFL Rice is asking for premier player money right now and if that is the case I would rather the Rams not spend the money on him. If he was willing to come in cheap then it might be worth it, but not at Leonard Little type money.

[MauiRam]

.

I cant believe we would expose fry. It just doesnt make any sense to me.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

R88 lists only 3 guards on the roster, yet three centers. Maybe Fry is showing enough at guard to be a swing player. I know I have read that he got reps at the guard spot during camp, but not much on how well he did. I hope he makes the final cut as he is supposed to be a mauler ...

[RealRam]

I would prefer to only carry three runningbacks so we could keep Fry, but it certainly does not seem that likely.

Same here. But Fry is so promising -- almost (almost) wish he would win the position over Romberg and that way only Dustin Fry and Andy McCollum would be listed at C*.

Would love to see Fry alongside Incognito.


Offense (25)
QB: Bulger; Frerotte; Fitz.
RB: Jackson; Leonard; Minor.
FB: Hedgecock (our true FB).
TE: McMichael; Klopfenstein; Walker.
WR: Holt; Bruce; Bennett; Looker; Hall; Hagans.
OT: Pace; Barron; Steussie; Goldberg.
C: Fry; McCollum.
OG: Incognito; Setterstrom; Terrell.

*. We have a VERY versatile OL -- okay, maybe with a few practice snaps to get on track: Ritchie is a G/C (could even go to T if necessary). McCollum plays C or G equally well. Goldberg too, comfortably, is a G/T. Steussie is effective at G and T as well. Even Terrell could step up at T.

The point is ... perhaps Dustin Fry could be this year's surprise and make the team if he outplays Romberg by the end of preseason. "...Thank you Brett for all your valuable help as a Ram."


Defense (25)

DE: Little; Hall; Adeyanju; Trevor Johnson (I like him here).
DT: Carriker; Glover; Wroten; Ryan. That's right, 2.5 rookies.
LB: Witherspoon; Pisa; Chillar; Draft; Alston; Smith; McGarigle.
CB: Hill; Brown; Bartell; Wade; Walls.
SS: Chavous; OJ Atogwe; Todd Johnson; Carter .


Specialists (3)

K: Wilkins
P: Jones
LS: Massey


Practice squad

Shakleford, OT
Stanley, WR
Alexis, RB
Harris, RB
White, WR
Sandidge, DT