Peter King on Jason Smith and the Rams

So many great point in this article, and I agree with them all.
Going to highlight a very poignant quote from Devaney.

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MMQB Mail: Boring pick the right call for Rams; why Bucs took QB
Peter King

Last week, I spent time in St. Louis before the draft and in Kansas City during the draft. (By the way, I wasn't in the Chiefs' draft room, as a paper in Chiefland reported. Barack Obama couldn't get in the Chiefs' Draft Room with Scott Pioli running things now. But I was in the building with my good buddy Bob Gretz.) I wrote about the Chiefs for Sports Illustrated this week, but I haven't done much with the Rams, so I wanted to give you a few thoughts here before the draft is in the rearview mirror for them.

Put simply, I really like what the Rams did, particularly in selecting Baylor tackle Jason Smith in the first round. And I applaud Billy Devaney, the St. Louis GM who is in an interesting and not very comfortable position there. The team might be sold, he's leasing instead of renting a home, and his future is anything but secure. The best thing he could have done for Billy Devaney was to have picked Mark Sanchez, which a large chunk of St. Louis wanted him to do. And he would have been justified in doing so because of Sanchez's talent and charisma and the fact that Marc Bulger might be on his last starting legs.

But Devaney went boring, taking the tackle.

"I don't care if I screwed up in picking the tackle number two,'' Devaney told me. "I was tired of seeing our quarterback get killed. I don't care if we give up 50 points a game, I'm not going to sit around and watch our quarterback get abused the way he did last year and the way he would have if we didn't address the offense line.

"I understand and I appreciate our fans who say, 'Go get the quarterback. He could be a franchise quarterback. How many times are you in position to get an elite quarterback' They're right. But how many times are you in position to get an elite left tackle? You can't get one down the line in the draft. You can't get one in free-agency; they're never available. Plus, I really believe, like our coach [Steve Spagnuolo], that the personality of your team revolves around a big, tough, physical offensive line.''

I said this before the draft: There is no team with a worse position group in the league than the Rams at tackle. They have got Alex Barron, who has never fulfilled anything close to the expectations he brought with him as a first-round pick in 2005 and who will probably be allowed to walk when he becomes a free-agent after this season. That was the only pure tackle on the roster before Saturday's draft. That's why a tackle was essential. That's why three tackles wouldn't have been overkill in the draft for the Rams.

If Sanchez had gone to the Rams, I think he would have become David Carr. Must be a terrible thing for Carr, by the way. He gets picked number one in the draft, and what he's remember for most is getting sacked -- 208 times in his first four seasons. He never led the league in anything in those four season, other than being sacked. Three times in those four years he led the NFL in times sacked. But that's what the Rams would have been with Sanchez there.

Picking Smith gives the team a chance to try to rebuild a bad offensive line. I couldn't agree with their pick more.

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Goodness gracious I'm glad someone else is fed up with seeing our QB eat turf for lunch! Devaney and King spelled out exactly what would happen to whomever we had as a QB back there if we didn't go after some line talent this offseason.

Excellent! Thanks RFTID.

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I really like what the Rams did, particularly in selecting Baylor tackle Jason Smith in the first round. And I applaud Billy Devaney, the St. Louis GM...

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Absolutely... :ram:

Why does everyone think Alex Barron isn't that good ? Guys he isn't that bad,in fact he is pretty decent,he is out there every game and does a good job,yes he jumps offsides(false starts),but even that seems to have gone down a bit and if thats the worst thing you can say about him then why not keep him after this season,he may not seem like he plays full of emotion but neither did Pace and he did pretty well for us on his way to the HOF.I think people will be surprised with Barron this season as he will step up and do a very good job for the Rams this year.

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Originally Posted by jkramsfan

Why does everyone think Alex Barron isn't that good ? Guys he isn't that bad,in fact he is pretty decent,he is out there every game and does a good job,yes he jumps offsides,but even that seems to have gone down a bit and if thats the worst thing you can say about him then why not keep him after this season,he may not seem like he plays full of emotion but neither did Pace and he did pretty well for us on his way to the HOF.I think people will be surprised with Barron this season as he will step up and do a very good job for the Rams this year.

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I agree. Sure, Barron hasn't lived up to his lofty potential, but he's a pretty darn good pass blocker. He's average in the running game and commits too many false starts, but other than that it's not like he's horrendous. After the Rams went through some terrible turn-style right tackles following the departure of Fred Miller, Barron came in and did a solid job. All the comments about him being lazy and not caring about the game is hearsay.

I'd like the Rams to keep him, but if they let him go, I will understand. I'd rather have a mauling right tackle who specializes in run-blocking than two pass-blocking tackles.

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"I don't care if I screwed up in picking the tackle number two,'' Devaney told me. "I was tired of seeing our quarterback get killed. I don't care if we give up 50 points a game, I'm not going to sit around and watch our quarterback get abused the way he did last year and the way he would have if we didn't address the offense line.

"I understand and I appreciate our fans who say, 'Go get the quarterback. He could be a franchise quarterback. How many times are you in position to get an elite quarterback' They're right. But how many times are you in position to get an elite left tackle? You can't get one down the line in the draft. You can't get one in free-agency; they're never available. Plus, I really believe, like our coach [Steve Spagnuolo], that the personality of your team revolves around a big, tough, physical offensive line.''

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Hmm, where have I heard this stuff before??:D

As far as Barron, I agree with you guys that he is adequate, but he has got to cut down on the boneheaded penalties AND get motivated to realize his full potential. He can be so much better than he is now.

This article should be required reading for all the bulger bashers. I also agree that barron is undervalued. He has played out of position from day one. He is really a left tackle who is very good in pass protection and not a dominating run blocker. He will do better as a left tackle. Barron has not been our problem. Our interior line play has been an unmitigated disaster and once we cut pace, there was no question that we had to take a tackle. Its not just bulger getting killed, its maximizing the value of our one true weapon, The Big Boy.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

Bulger gets the free pass by me to prove whatever it is the group see's in him. i'm behind him all year. Let's see what he does. he needs to take the control and get it done........Go Bulger!!!! take the team to the top Bulger!