Rams Pre-Draft FA Review - Youth Be Served

[AvengerRam]

The Rams FA moves suggest a desire on the part of the new Front Office to get younger, particularly at rotation/depth postions:

Here is a list of the players signed by the Rams, along with the players they are essentially replacing:

Cortland Finnegan, CB, 28 (replaces Ron Bartell, 30)
Scott Wells, C, 31 (replaces Jason Brown, 29)
Kendall Langford, DT, 26 (replaces Justin Bannan, 33)
Trevor Laws, DT, 27 (replaces Gary Gibson, 31)
William Hayes, DE, 27 (replaces C.J. Ah You, 30)
Steve Smith, WR, 27 (replaces Danny Amendola, 26)*
Matt Mulligan, TE, 26 (replaces Billy Bajema, 29)
Jo-Lon Dunbar, LB, 26 (replaces Chris Chamberlain, 26)
Quinn Ojinnaka, OT, 28 (replaces Adam Goldberg, 31)
Robert Turner, OG, 27 (replaces Tony Wragge, 32)

*Amendola is currently unsigned, but has received a tenderoffer and may return.

The Rams are likely to get younger at other spots as well:

#2 QB: A.J. Feeley will likely be replaced by a younger player.
#2 RB: The Rams will likely draft a player to replace Cadillac Williams.
#1 WR: The Rams will almost certainly draft a player to replace Brandon Lloyd.
#2 WR: The Rams may draft a player to replace Brandon Gibson.
OG: The Rams are likely to draft a player to replace Jacob Bell.
DE: Robert Quinn (22) will replace James Hall (35)
DT: The Rams are likely to draft a player to replace Fred Robbins.
OLB: The Rams are likely to draft a player (or 2) to replace Brady Poppinga/Ben Leber.
P: The Rams are likely to draft or sign as a UFA a punter to replace Donnie Jones.

There will be veteran leadership on the team (SJax, Dahl, Wells, Long, Laurinaitis, Finnegan, Mikell) but the core will be young and hungry.

I approve.

[chiguy]

Consider that we were older, slower, and weaker than everyone else, its hard not to approve.

[Rambos]

Ron Clements

Coach Jeff Fisher said the Rams will make a conscious effort to get younger in order to build a roster to sustain long-term success. “We're not going to exclude signing a veteran UFA, but what you want to do is reduce the age of your football team if you can,” he said.


With all the high draft picks we've had lately, I did not realize we where old and a bad football team. So far Fisher has done everything he set out to do.

[mde8352gorams]

AV, agreed on all points and the fact that we own 2 first rounds picks for the next 2 years (2013, 2014) taks the strategy even further. I trust these guys will not squander those picks the way former Rams FO's did.

Go Rams!

[laram0]

Really brings to light why we played reasonably well in the 1st half of games and seemed to fade in the 2nd half.

[Shan the Ram Man]

Ron Clements

Coach Jeff Fisher said the Rams will make a conscious effort to get younger in order to build a roster to sustain long-term success. “We're not going to exclude signing a veteran UFA, but what you want to do is reduce the age of your football team if you can,” he said.


With all the high draft picks we've had lately, I did not realize we where old and a bad football team. So far Fisher has done everything he set out to do.

I agree get younger. I think Spags and Devaney said the same thing when they took over. They changed when the Rams went 7 - 9 and thought bringing in aged VETS would put them over the hump. I knew it was over when they released OLB Jabara Williams last years draft pick for B Leber or B. Popinga. What a waste on a potentail future starting OLB and draft pick.

AV, agreed on all points and the fact that we own 2 first rounds picks for the next 2 years (2013, 2014) taks the strategy even further. I trust these guys will not squander those picks the way former Rams FO's did.

Go Rams!

I sure hope your right. The Rams have a owner who will pay to keep great players. Bettis, Dickerson, Pickett and Greene just to name a few.

Really brings to light why we played reasonably well in the 1st half of games and seemed to fade in the 2nd half.

Well when your defence is on the field all the time. They will get tired. Four and out all the time is no way to win. A better ofence will make the defence better.

[Bar-bq]

It's hard to believe we got so old so fast.

If memory serves, in Spagnoulo's first season, we were the second youngest team in the league.