Let's discuss the DTs

I've read alot about Carriker and his issues, how Gibson could take his position, about how Scott is doing and he looks like a steal, and about how pathetic our front four have been the past several seasons.

So......why is Carriker on the hot seat?

Why not Ryan?

Is Ryan better than Carriker? Does he offer more?

Why not, if Carriker can go, have a Gibson/Carriker combo up front?

Couldn't those two offer some run stuffing ability as well as the threat of collapsing the pocket?

Just curious. Seems Ryan has gotten a bit of a pass here and I am not so sure one way or the other if he deserves a pass. He was in the lineup too, was he not?

The problem is that we don't know who, if anyone, is on the "hot seat."

All we have is a bunch of reporters, bloggers, and fans speculating that Carriker is somehow in trouble.

As I've pointed out before, nobody on the Rams has said this. For all we know, Carriker is 100% guaranteed to make the final roster, and Thomas and Co. are merely talking out of their posteriors.

I see Carriker, Ryan and Scott as locks. Gibson and Thomas are next on the list, and it is possible that both might be kept.

Three big reasons IMO are: 1) Carriker costs a heck of a lot more than Ryan and 2) Ryan has stayed healthy 3) they play different positions.

The talk has been that Ryan and Thomas play one side with either Victor or Hall filling in on obvious passing downs while Gibson, Scott and AC play the other. If it comes down to 4 DTs, you decide who is battling who. Obviously that's not the way it is all the time but that's the standard down format. On rushing downs it could easily be Ryan and Thomas.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AvengerRam

The problem is that we don't know who, if anyone, is on the "hot seat."

All we have is a bunch of reporters, bloggers, and fans speculating that Carriker is somehow in trouble.

As I've pointed out before, nobody on the Rams has said this. For all we know, Carriker is 100% guaranteed to make the final roster, and Thomas and Co. are merely talking out of their posteriors.

I see Carriker, Ryan and Scott as locks. Gibson and Thomas are next on the list, and it is possible that both might be kept.

---

AV, my intent here is to discuss the DTs and why AC not Ryan's name comes up more often than not when discussing the DT performance. Not the rumors or whose going to actually make this roster. We'll know that by 3pm on Sat.

In response to RY, if you have a couple guys that can stuff the run and collapse the pocket, both effectively, why not have both those guys in primarily instead of a UT and a run stuffer? As I understood things, AC was pretty good a either and Scott, it was stated elsewhere, has shown abilities to do both. On Gibson I've only read the UT ability. Thomas and Ryan are run stuffers.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richbert88

In response to RY, if you have a couple guys that can stuff the run and collapse the pocket, both effectively, why not have both those guys in primarily instead of a UT and a run stuffer? As I understood things, AC was pretty good a either and Scott, it was stated elsewhere, has shown abilities to do both. On Gibson I've only read the UT ability. Thomas and Ryan are run stuffers.

---

In 2 seasons, AC has 2 sacks and they both came in 2007 and in one of those he was playing DE. I wouldn't exactly call that a pass rusher since Clifton Ryan had 2 sacks that season. Last year he was hobbled by an ankle sprain which limited him and this year it's the same problem, different ankle I think.

On passing downs the Rams have been running in Victor Adeyanju and James Hall on passing downs to get pressure up the middle.

I think the thought process is, if you want to be a smash mouth football team that brings a pounding and wears the other team down, can you do that with a guy who keeps getting injured? Talent wise, there is zero doubt for me that AC is better than anyone else. The problem with the argument is that talent hasn't always been the determining factor. Spags ran a physically demanding camp for a reason and Carriker broke, again. Spags wants heart, determination and an ability to be physical. Just like with Pisa, AC falls short sometimes.

I think it's best to have five DT's for the season...but that's just me. =/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RebelYell

In 2 seasons, AC has 2 sacks and they both came in 2007 and in one of those he was playing DE. I wouldn't exactly call that a pass rusher since Clifton Ryan had 2 sacks that season. Last year he was hobbled by an ankle sprain which limited him and this year it's the same problem, different ankle I think.
...................

---

I think part of this is the scheme they had these guys playing in too. I think it was to occupy the gaps, not collapse the pocket. I could be wrong here though.

The one big problem when a team changes coaches and leadership is that they really dont know what kind of player that they are. Coach Spags can only evaluate players that are playing. It not fair but that is the way of the game.

AC has one game and a couple of practices to prove himself