Karraker: It's an easy pick for the Rams, if they're paying attention

[RANDYRAM]

I believe you are correct, C-Mob. In fact, I recall from the Combine coverage, Mayock (IIRC) commenting on how Curry was putting up the same numbers as Willis, but doing it 15 pounds heavier.

When Curry runs a 4.37 at his pro day let us know?

IF he gets a 330lbs NT in front of him maybe he could be Rookie of the year also like Willis? We can only hope!

[HUbison]

When Curry runs a 4.37 at his pro day let us know?

Why 4.37? Why not 4.27? Let's go all out......3.97. Now, that would be something.

[RANDYRAM]

Why 4.37? Why not 4.27? Let's go all out......3.97. Now, that would be something.

It sure would!
And throw in a 400lbs NT that runs a 3.7 40 while at it.

[Dominating D]

So neither The Steelers nor The Pats nor The falcons had a good O-line? That's absurd,imo.

Big Ben gets sacked more often than a Bush twin at a frat party even when his o-line plays well. it's the way he plays,taking sacks rather than throwing it away/taking big risks. Doesn't hurt that he's a tank with a cannon, to be sure, but it doesn't mean his o-line was bad.

And The Pats line was bad? After winning an historic 18 games straight? The fact that a journeyman like Gorin was able to fill in in a prior year-and that's all he did; The Pats didn't keep him,did they?-shows how stable and consistent their unit has been.

i think Turner's season @ RB tells you all you need to know about the Falcons o-line. Yes, Ryan was good but he didn't do it alone. And when their running game was neutralized, they lost.
Both those SBs were tight games won in the last few minutes. Individual brilliant /miraculous plays were the difference-as you'd hope in the battle between the two best teams-not a glaring deficiency of any unit.

I agree that great defense is a part of a consistent winning formula -like Pit- and that a tremendous depth and balance on offense and defense-like NE- is vital to winning consistently over an entire season but these two teams do NOT have bad o-lines. And drafting an OT will help tremendously in developing the kind of dominant rush attack that was the foundation of Atlanta's resurgence.

Not like ours where there has been no stability or depth at any position.

Your missing the main point. Read the original post and then you may understand the debate a little more... If not then I can't help you.

[Fortuninerhater]

It's an easy pick for the Rams, if they're paying attention
by Randy Karraker

The Story

The second pick in the NFL draft on April 25 (To be heard live on 101 ESPN) should be easy for the Rams, unless they make it more difficult than it should be.

Michael Crabtree? Not if the Rams are true to their word about making Steven Jackson the centerpiece of their offense. That second pick is going to get $30 million guaranteed. If you select Crabtree, you better justify that investment. Crabtree could wind up being the next Larry Fitzgerald, but the Cardinals have a good quarterback that’s on his feet to get Fitz the ball. If teams can find players like Anquan Boldin, Hines Ward, Greg Jennings, Steve Smith and Marques Colston after the first round, the Rams are in no position to use the second pick in the draft on Crabtree.

Aaron Curry? Do you really want to use the second pick in the draft on a player you’re going to change the position of? That’s what would happen if the Rams took Curry to move him to the middle. He would better serve the Rams on the strong side, but how many high impact 4-3, outside linebackers can you name? Lance Briggs. Derrick Brooks. A.J. Hawk. Not many others. I’ve read that Curry can rush the passer (he had 2.5 sacks last year) but wasn’t asked to. Are you kidding me? Wake Forest had 24 sacks AS A TEAM. Their leader had five. I can’t believe a coaching staff would know any player could rush the passer, and not ask him to. Sacks are one of the three most important stats in football. I’m not going to assume anything with this choice.

Offensive line? Now we’re talking. As our friend Dan Dierdorf, and hundreds of coaches, points out…football games are won by dominating the offensive line of scrimmage. If your team does that, there’s a good chance they’ll win. It’s simple. Now, there are teams that win without high draft picks up front. But there isn’t a winning team that trots out a bad offensive line.

For those that say take Crabtree or Curry first, and then get a tackle in a deep draft at that position, here’s my rejoinder. First, 20 of 32 starting left tackles in the NFL last season were first rounders. That’s where you get them. Second, among the eight tackles taken in the first round last year, three (Jake Long, Ryan Clady and Jeff Otah) played well. The others…Chris Williams, Brandon Albert, Gosdter Cherilus, Sam Baker and Duane Brown, left at least something, if not much, to be desired.

Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe are the two pre-eminent tackles in this draft. Whomever the Rams regard as the best of those two…or the one left over after the Lions choice, is the Rams pick. And it’s an easy choice.

I just have one question. Of those 20 first round starting LTs, how many are starting because the were first rounders and not because they've actually earned it?

Besides that, if you flip your arguement, you have mine. Which is just as valid if not moreso. And that is, that there are several starting LTs that were not drafted in the 1st round.