Why does everybody want to replace our good players?

[BigDaddyPace]

Over the last few weeks I have noticed alot of people pushing the panic button on this board. Why is it that so many of you guys want us to draft replacements for our BEST PLAYERS?
Lately I have seeing posts and topics stating that we should go for broke after a tackle in the 1st round in the draft this year, replacing Orlando Pace, one of the best tackles in NFL history, a guy whose only legitiment gripe is the fact that he has suffered 2 freakish injuries in the last two years. Ridiculous. I still fail to see the logic in that. Most will cite Pace's age as a need him to be replaced nut they don't seem to realize that OL's have a very long shelf life (as I have said in other posts).

There is even a few posts on here about how we should trade STEVEN JACKSON for draft picks and draft Darren MacFadden. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?! What is going on. Of all the teams in the league that have questions at RB, we have the luxury of having a franchise guy, and you poeple want to trade him!!! I mean, that just leaves me speechless.

Shouldn't we be more interested in the bad players we have. Isn't Branbon Chillar ability to turn any TE into a superstar more problematic? Isn't the drastic downturn of Corey Chavious' play more of a worry? Isn't Brett Romberg's terrible blocking more of a concern?
:x
Shouldn't we be calling for the heads of all the bad players on the team instead of the ones that have the PROVEN ABILITY TO PLAY IN THE NFL?! :l:l:l:l:l:l:l:l:l:l:l:l:l:l

[txramsfan]

Well Pace isn't getting any younger but we could probably wait a year or two. Chavous is an issue, but not Chillar more like Pisa.

[bruce4life]

yes i believe all the players you mentioned are a problem indeed... chillar plays a great run stopping linebacker but when it gets to pass defending ouch... chavous will not be starting next year but i would like to keep him here for leadership and a strong backup behind whoever we bring in.... ATOGWE is a stud if he gets helo from the other safety position like sean taylor, ed reed, and brian dawkins do..

[BM_Face]

I have been suprised by some of this as well. I still believe that Bruce can contribute a ton to this team for at least 2 more seasons. Anti-Bulger talk is pure nonsense and SJ is pure money with any kind of a line. We need to draft smart this year more than any other recent season.

[RAMFANRAIDERHATER]

Maybe I missed the thread(s) you're referring to, but what I've read, and the discussions I've participated in, was talk about the need to start addressing some of our skill positions. I don't think we need to make RB, QB, or OT our #1 priority, but we need to take a serious look at some of them. To ignore them would be a big mistake.

Let's talk about the big guy, O. Pace. He's starting to get "nicked-up" every year. Sure, you can call them freakish injuries, but when the body starts to break down, it usually doesn't stop. Personally, I believe his best days are over. Finding a replacement is not our biggest need, because we have definite holes elsewhere on the O-line that are more immediate, but we need to take a look at getting his replacement soon. ..Like in the next draft?

Steven Jackson. There's no doubt that Jax is a beast when healthy, and he makes our offense go, much the same as Faulk did. But the bulging disc in his back cannot be ignored and is not going away. How bad will it effect his career? How many good days vs. bad days will we see in him? Will it need rest from time to time? If the answer is it'll be a problem for the remainder of his playing days, do we want to invest a lot of money in him? He's due for a new contract, right? I would be a little leary about investing a big chunk of change until I know he's going to be a reliable and durable back. Leonard is NOT the answer. He's a good back-up, but he'll never be the kind of threat that a guy like Jackson is. Defenses do not need to pay special attention to Leonard like they do Jackson. Yesterday's game was a perfect example of the effect a guy like Jackson has on an opponents defense.

Holt? Bruce? It IS time to start thinking about the future with these guys. Especially Bruce. He's been a dependable pass-catcher since the LA days, and the man has proven his worth, without a doubt. But he's slowing down, and the position needs some speed and youth. If Holt is over the worst of his offseason surgery and he can regain his burst, he's got a few more years left, so that position we can leave alone for another couple of years.

On defense, when you say "good players", sadly, I'm not sure we have any there that are so good we can give any of them a free pass. :\ If there are "keepers", I'd say Carriker is set for years to come, as is Tye Hill and the Spoon. I'm not going to shed a tear about Pisa or Brandon if they move on. Nor do I think Chavous or Bartell to be irreplaceable.

You are absolutely correct that the Rams must concentrate their next draft and offseason priorities to both lines, LB's and safety positions. That has to be our #1 priority. ...but we cannot ignore our skill positions much longer. Too many questions linger concerning long term injuries and age that cannot be ignored, and should be addressed in the next offseason. ...maybe as priority #1A?

[Fortuninerhater]

I'll only say that sucessful teams don't wait until a guy can't play anymore before they reload.

[rams 24/7]

Steven Jackson will resign and become the highest paid RB, my opinion though

[TekeRam]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyPace

Over the last few weeks I have noticed alot of people pushing the panic button on this board. Why is it that so many of you guys want us to draft replacements for our BEST PLAYERS?
Lately I have seeing posts and topics stating that we should go for broke after a tackle in the 1st round in the draft this year, replacing Orlando Pace, one of the best tackles in NFL history, a guy whose only legitiment gripe is the fact that he has suffered 2 freakish injuries in the last two years. Ridiculous. I still fail to see the logic in that. Most will cite Pace's age as a need him to be replaced nut they don't seem to realize that OL's have a very long shelf life (as I have said in other posts).

No, I wholeheartedly agree, and have participated in many of these discussions. Pace is absolutely still our starting LT, however I would not argue if we took a tackle with our second round pick(I advocate whatever the best Oline position is at thatpoint). The point there being that he'll be a 1st round talent that slipped most likely, and could be like Tony Ugoh for the Colts this year. He'll be a 3rd tackle that is ready to step in if needed and can be tutored by Pace.

Originally Posted by BigDaddyPace

There is even a few posts on here about how we should trade STEVEN JACKSON for draft picks and draft Darren MacFadden. ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?! What is going on. Of all the teams in the league that have questions at RB, we have the luxury of having a franchise guy, and you poeple want to trade him!!! I mean, that just leaves me speechless.

I've advocated that we investigate trading him, in the same way that the Colts were able to trade Marshall Faulk and draft Edgerrin James. But the key word there is investigate. If the value is there, maybe we should take it. However, this is trading a younger, slightly lesser version of LT. I'd want a 1st, 2nd and either a 3rd, or two 5ths. Then we take the best RB on our board where appropriate. This is slightly more possible with Pittman doing well last game. It'd give us the ability to reload faster.

Originally Posted by BigDaddyPace

Shouldn't we be more interested in the bad players we have. Isn't Branbon Chillar ability to turn any TE into a superstar more problematic? Isn't the drastic downturn of Corey Chavious' play more of a worry? Isn't Brett Romberg's terrible blocking more of a concern?

Very much so. Chillar is a perfectly good SLB, and should stay, but keep him blitzing as opposed to in coverage. I'm not sure on Romberg, but we definitely need to look at our lines. Chavous is no longer a starter, and we need either an up and coming SS, or a 3rd rounder at least in there. In all, we should find the weak links and eliminate them, and keep the strong links at reasonable costs.

[moloch41]

I think we should release Adam Carriker or Clifton Ryan and resign Jimmy Kennedy to replace them. It's Jimmy's time now!!!!

[keith m. klink]

i think that the monkey in the crown be smokin the kings goodies again .

[Goldenfleece]

The short answer to that question would be because people are thinking in terms of rebuilding for the future. As far as specific players...

Pace - As I mentioned in the "Core Players" thread, I did not think Pace played very well in 2006. He was credited with 4.5 sacks allowed over 8 games. Had he continued at that rate over the course of a season, it would have been a career high number of sacks allowed for him. And from what I saw in games, there were several times his guy was about to get the sack, but the guy Barron failed to block beat him to it. There were teams getting good pressure on the quarterback with a three man rush. Do I dislike the guy? No way. He was one of the best players on one of the best offenses the league has ever seen. I don't even want to trade him, but I do think the time has come that we have to look towards life after Pace. I think taking an offensive tackle in the draft would not be a bad idea.

Jackson - I think the McFadden Plan was suggested to get people thinking about alternatives we normally wouldn't consider. With SJ in his prime, I wouldn't want to get rid of him.

And for the bad players...

Chillar - What tight end has put up big numbers against us this year?
Chavous - Definitely a concern, and I think plenty of people have mentioned it.
Romberg - It is somewhat of a concern, but he has different guys lining up on each side of him every week. Besides, he's only in his second year. There's a good chance that he will get better.

[BigDaddyPace]

Originally Posted by Goldenfleece

Chillar - What tight end has put up big numbers against us this year?

Will Heller, TE Seattle Seahawks, 2 TDs

[BigGameMN]

Well I'll address the SJ issue. He has injury problems and is coming up on the last year of his deal. Plus this is his 4th year. If we aren't going to be serious contenders for the next 3 years that puts Jackson on the downside of his career. These are all serious questions that need to be asked. It would be easy to say "Resign him, end of story". Unfortunately successful franchises need to think ahead and make difficult decisions that fans may not understand.

[HUbison]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyPace

Will Heller, TE Seattle Seahawks, 2 TDs

Was he Chillar's assignment for those two plays?

[moloch41]

I haven't been overly impressed with Chillar's play. He's very inconsistant.