From a Dollars and Cents Point ..

[MauiRam]

Originally Posted by Nick

Replacing him at RT and making Barron the third tackle could be a wake-up call that motivates him into improving and taking his career seriously. It could also allow him to work more on the left side, so that we could explore whether or not he could be the future starter over there.

If he can't cut it on the right, I doubt he'll be a whiz on the left. Agreed that we need to upgrade the O-line -- specifically OT. IMO both O & D lines are the highest priorities.

Originally Posted by Nick

Unless we plan on starting three defensive tackles in a shift to a 5-2 defensive front, then yes, one of them will becoming a back-up regardless of whether or not they rotate. And I don't think you spend two Top 15 draft picks on defensive tackles so you can establish a heavy rotation with other players. You spend those high resources on players you want on the field as much as possible. If you want to develop a rotation of guys, use mid round picks or free agents to do so.

We already used one .. Clifton Ryan ..

Originally Posted by Nick

If Adam Carriker displayed a questionable attitude and hadn't really established himself as a great starter after three seasons, then I'd probably be more inclined to take Dorsey. But that's the difference between Carriker and Barron - Carriker is a one year pro with great intangibles who did pretty well during his rookie year and could get much better once he finally settles into one position (Haslett thought in October that position should be UT).

Agreed .. I don't propose cutting down on Adam's playing time .. after all we did draft him to play nose .. right?

[Nick]

Originally Posted by MauiRam

If he can't cut it on the right, I doubt he'll be a whiz on the left.

I tend to agree, but as the third tackle behind Pace and Long, he'd at least give us a back-up with a bit of starting experience on both sides.

Originally Posted by MauiRam

We already used one .. Clifton Ryan ..

And this could be the crux of the argument. I think Ryan could be a very good starter at nose tackle on this line. If all you view him as is a rotational player, then wanting to pursue Dorsey is more understandable. If that's how you view Ryan, we'll simply have to agree to disagree on that one.

Originally Posted by MauiRam

Agreed .. I don't propose cutting down on Adam's playing time .. after all we did draft him to play nose .. right?

We drafted him as a tackle and started him as a nose, but he was able to play more three technique as Ryan emerged as a true nose tackle. Haslett also thinks Carriker will be better off as a three technique, per a quote in October. So the Rams feel they have a true nose tackle (Ryan) and a guy you think will be best as a three technique (Carriker). Obviously if you feel differently about Ryan, then again, we can agree to disagree there.