Six months from today...

Will Marc Bulger be:

(a) Receiving consideration for "Comeback Player of the Year," or
(b) Done as the Rams' presumptive starting QB.

Will Steven Jackson be:

(a) Universally regarded as an elite player; or
(b) Just another talented guy who can't stay healthy.

Will Donnie Avery be:

(a) Among the league's "up and coming" WRs; or
(b) A solid #2 type, and nothing more.

Will Jason Smith be:

(a) An All-Rookie First Teamer and long-term OT solution; or
(b) A "work in progress," at best.

Will Alex Barron and Richie Incognito be:

(a) Priority free agents to re-sign; or
(b) Guys the Rams can live without.

Will Chris Long be:

(a) One of the top young DEs in football; or
(b) Solid and improving, but yet to fulfill his promise as an early draft pick.

Will Adam Carriker be:

(a) A breakout player; or
(b) A player increasingly viewed as a bust.

Will James Laurinaitis be:

(a) Among the top rookie LBs; or
(b) A guy who is unable to maintain college productivity at the Pro level.

Will O.J. Atogwe be:

(a) A Pro Bowl invitee; or
(b) Still viewed as a second-tier player at his position.

Will Steve Spagnuolo be:

(a) A Coach of the Year candidate; or
(b) Past his honeymoon with Rams fans and facing heavy criticism.

Well, I'm hoping all of the (a)'s come true.

Why not? Anything is possible.

This is certainly an interesting set of questions to ponder:

In my opinion, I'd go with:

Bulger: B
Jackson: A
Avery: A
Smith: A
Barron/Cogs: B
Long: B
Carriker: A
Laurinaitis: A
Atogwe: B--although I think he will put up pro bowl numbers, rams players have been getting snubbed as of late
Spags: C--good team turnaround, but short of a coach of the year

I don't think a lot of these choices are as black and white as you made them seem. Especially Donnie Avery.

I think you might be underestimating spags.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Milan

I don't think a lot of these choices are as black and white as you made them seem. Especially Donnie Avery.

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That's the point. Its easy to make a prediction when you don't have to take a distinct side of the issue. I'm making it a tougher choice by asking you to pick from options that are at opposite ends of the spectrum. It is likely that some of the answers will be "neither," as the outcome is somewhere between the two options. The trick is to pick the one that is closest to the correct outcome.

Good post AV and I know exactly where your coming from. Yeah, we sure do need all of the answers to those questions to be A's six months from now if we want a chance at making the playoffs. Once the Rams finally have a good season everything is going to look a whole lot better. God knows it really can't get much worse.

It IS possible to have all A's. The funny part, is that it doesn't seem too unlikely. The hardest part I think, is Jackson to stay healthy. I know Bulger is a quality QB, and the rest all make sense already. Atogwe cannot be regarded as second tier, anywhere. The rest, are just players needing to follow the general improvement curve.

I think it's logical, and as long as Jackson is healthy, and the offensive line isn't on vacation, I think it's all likely and bound to happen eventually.

Will Marc Bulger be:
(a) Receiving consideration for "Comeback Player of the Year,"

Will Steven Jackson be:
(a) Universally regarded as an elite player

The Bulger and Jackson are linked. Both of them will see improved seasons from the revamped line.

Will Donnie Avery be:
(a) Among the league's "up and coming" WRs

I think Avery has all the tools to be a "Holt" type player. He won't have a "Bruce" to learn the game from, but with defenses having to keep 8-in-the-box, he will have his chances to shine on islands.


Will Jason Smith be:
(b) A "work in progress," at best.

The kid is going to be a good, even great, tackle. However, jumping from a Big XII spread offense (with only 3 years of line exp.) to an NFL offense is a pretty big one, to say the least. He will shine, but there's a lot of polishing required this year.

Will Alex Barron and Richie Incognito be:
(b) Guys the Rams can live without.

At the end of it all, a leopard doesn't change his spots. I love Cogs, but I don't know that his style of play is going to keep him around. I hope I'm wrong. I hope he plays smarter. And Barron is......well, Barron.

Will Chris Long be:
(a) One of the top young DEs in football

Will Adam Carriker be:
(a) A breakout player

Just as the revamped line will have a direct effect on Bulger and Jackson, Spags style of D-line play will help the maturation process of these two guys.

Will James Laurinaitis be:
(a) Among the top rookie LBs

This kid is a smart, hard working go-getter. I think a lot of teams will see they made a mistake in letting him slide to #35.

Will O.J. Atogwe be:
(b) Still viewed as a second-tier player at his position.

Yes, he's a ballhawk. However, I'm still not sold on his all-around game. But here's to hoping I'm wrong.

Will Steve Spagnuolo be
(a) A Coach of the Year candidate

He's going to take a team that has gone 5-27 over the past two years and put them near .500; 7-9, maybe 8-8. With everything that has been going on with this franchise over the past couple of years, Spags will have caught the attention of many.

Bulger (B)
JAX (A)
Avery (A)
Jason Smith (B)
Barron and Cogs (A)
Long (B)
Carriker (A) - Spags will have a definite influence on Adam's play on the field.
Laurinaitas (B) - Work in progress, a couple years away.
OJ (A)
Spags (Jury's still out)