From all indications.....

[txramsfan]

It looks like the Rams will either select Chris or Jake Long, with Jake being the consensus pick of what I've seen and heard. I know this isn't breaking news by any stretch but you know, selecting Jake Long wouldn't be such a bad thing. This O line could get really young quick with the FA addition (name escapes me but it is tax season), Barron, Cog, and Long. Rams then sign SJ long term and draft a WR in Round 2 and we could be back to watching exciting Rams football.

Why do I place it Rams football and not football in general? Because Rams football (of recent history) goes by the moniker "the best defense is a good offense". This Rams team has way too many holes to fill to "waste" a pick on the defensive side of the ball. Linehan has to win now. If he doesn't, he has to buy resume software and get that thing updated. Brings in Saunders who Bulger and Holt are comfortable with, keeps the D status quo, brings in what may be the best O lineman in the draft, gets a speedy WR in a very deep WR draft, and let's the defense play damage control instead of shut down mode. It's been done here before, and from all indications it looks like Rams football could be back in 08.

Then again, it is STL where the St. Louis Football Cardinals drafted a kicker once in round 1 so anything can happen.

[chiguy]

The Cards also drafted kicker John Lee in the 2nd round.

I can play the game "Guess the worst Cards draft choice in history" for a long time. Those painful memories are seared into my brain, unfortunately.

[tomahawk247]

you forget that in 1999, when the Rams won the Superbowl, the NFL sack leader was none other than a certain Mr Kevin Carter, who the Rams picked early on in the first round of the 1995 draft

so if thats not an advocation for picking a DE high up this year, i dont know what is...

[txramsfan]

Two different scenarios....Vermeil was already established as an HC....Linehan is trying his best to become established. Linehan has to win now and knows his strength is the offense. The Rams caught lightening in a bottle with Martz and Warner. I don't see Green and Saunders providing that same spark. P.S. The Rams also drafted someone named Torry Holt in that first round that year.

[Rambos]

It looks like the Rams will either select Chris or Jake Long, with Jake being the consensus pick of what I've seen and heard.

If both these guys with are the board, I'm not sure who the Rams would take.

Jake brings:

Safest Pick
Improve running game
Improve pass protection
Add depth at LT
Add Pace replacement
Become more physical in the trenches


Pace LT
Bell LG
Cog C
Long RG
Barron RT

[BIG-BLUE]

I have no problem taking Jake Long in the first, but a WR in the 2nd I would be unhappy.
The defense is still a work in progress & we need to continue to build on it with a good DE if not a great one. So if we do take Jake in the 1st, I'm hoping for some defensive help in the second. Also if Jake is the pick, & we pick up a DE in the 2nd it points more to the signs of the Rams going to the ground & pound game.

[Rambos]

Our Nick's Mock has the Rams taking Jake Long and USC Lawrence Jackson DE in the second.

[RAMarkable]

The Cards also drafted kicker John Lee in the 2nd round.

I can play the game "Guess the worst Cards draft choice in history" for a long time. Those painful memories are seared into my brain, unfortunately.

Do the names Anthony Bell and Clyde Duncan ring a bell (no pun intended) with you? Gosh, it must have been murder to be a Cards fan back then. And I didn't even mention Steve Pisarkewicz (sp?). Oops, I just did!!

WHAT SAY YE?

[RAMarkable]

If both these guys with are the board, I'm not sure who the Rams would take.

Jake brings:

Safest Pick
Improve running game
Improve pass protection
Add depth at LT
Add Pace replacement
Become more physical in the trenches


Pace LT
Bell LG
Cog C
Long RG
Barron RT

Um..how do we know at this point whether Jake Long can even play LT in the NFL? I'm still waiting for someone to make a definitive case that he is not just another bigboy RT who doesn't have the feet or athleticism to play the left side. Yeah, I know he played some LT at Michigan, but that is light years away from the qualifications needed to play LT in the Pros. Until this question is answered I'm not too interested in choosing J. Long with the #2 pick.

WHAT SAY YE?

[Mooselini]

I wouldn't be upset if we took Jake Long. We can snag Groves in the second round to have that other end of the DE position filled.

However, I would rather go with DE in first, OL in second. But the other way around won't hurt...as long as both positions are addressed in the first two rounds.

[TekeRam]

If both these guys with are the board, I'm not sure who the Rams would take.
Jake brings:
Safest Pick
Improve running game
Improve pass protection
Add depth at LT
Add Pace replacement
Become more physical in the trenches

Pace LT
Bell LG
Cog C
Long RG
Barron RT

Well, a certain big Ten OT by the name of Gallery was once the "safe" pick too, and now he plays RG.

As for the other side of that argument, Chris brings:
Safer pick, maybe not quite as "safe" as Jake, but is 1B to his 1A if not the other way around.
NFL ready and polished
Intangibles out the yin yang(attitude, drive, leadership, etc)
Become more physical in the trenches
Improve Run(stuffing) game
Improve Pass(rush)ing game, in that we'd have one
Automatic starter at his position(unlike Jake)

Just like a few of Chris' attributes, Jake's can be certainly filled much further down in the draft. The only ones specific to him are safest pick, and the degree he'll improve the line play. There will be perfectly good depth and eventual LT starters in the second and third rounds. The OT class is deep, the DE class is never deep enough.

[MauiRam]

I dunno Tx .. selecting Jake would seem to have its upside IF he proved good enough to start at RG and be an immediate upgrade. As another poster stated - can he excel as a left tackle in the NFL? I sure wouldn't be in favor of spending the #2 overall if he couldn't cut it as a LT.

I believe the Rams will take either C.Long or Gholston. We can still get O-line help in rd 2 or rd 3. If we pick up a FA center that can start, (my guess is the Rams resign Romberg or sign a guy they believe is as good or better) we will have decent depth at center and guard. Without a doubt we'll draft a tackle, but right now we have only one starting DE on the roster. I don't see us drafting Jake at #2 as either C. Long or Gholston will be available when we pick. I don't think we trade down either unless we could be assured of getting one of the aforementioned players. Dorsey could be a wildcard, but with the injury factor still unknown, it is looking as if he could fall. I think that we'll keep our pick and go D as in DE .. My two cents anyway ..

[txramsfan]

i've heard the clan speculate about Gholston but all I've heard about the Rams and VG is he's climbing up the chart but no warm fuzzy on selecting him yet. The two names that I've heard are the Long's. If Chris happens to be there at 2, he's the pick. If it's Jake, well....could be anyone's guess.

Not a bad position to be in when rebuilding the team though.....

[HUbison]

Um..how do we know at this point whether Jake Long can even play LT in the NFL? I'm still waiting for someone to make a definitive case that he is not just another bigboy RT who doesn't have the feet or athleticism to play the left side. Yeah, I know he played some LT at Michigan, but that is light years away from the qualifications needed to play LT in the Pros. Until this question is answered I'm not too interested in choosing J. Long with the #2 pick.

WHAT SAY YE?

Can be a very good left tackle or a great right tackle...probably falls somewhere in between Joe Thomas and Levi Brown as a pro prosepect

When asked, at the combine, about Long's potential at LT, Herm Edwards said this....

He's got all the tools. He's big, he's pretty athletic, pretty good feet. He's a guy if you draft, you know he's going to be a great tackle for 10 years.

Offensive tackle Jake Long is head and shoulders the best left tackle of the draft class of 2008. His size and power make him one of the most dominant linemen to the draft has seen.

Writing for ESPN, Pat Yasinskas wrote this about Long & the Dolphins need at LT

Long's the kind of player the Dolphins can plug in right away and get a productive 10-year career from. He'd be their first solid left tackle since Richmond Webb, ... and he'd be a huge upgrade over last season, when Miami started Vernon Carey on the left side .... .... Carey can be serviceable on the right side, where he belongs. But that only works if the Dolphins get a franchise left tackle. New coach Tony Sparano made his name coaching offensive linemen and giving him Long would be a nice way to start his first draft.

Jake Long is the prototypical Left Tackle

Next question.

[MauiRam]

When asked, at the combine, about Long's potential at LT, Herm Edwards said this.... Writing for ESPN, Pat Yasinskas wrote this about Long & the Dolphins need at LT

Next question.

So if he is that good, then it's a lock the Tuna will take him .. Right??