Sosa's Mock Off Season

[sosa39rams]

HC : Jeff Fisher

OC : Josh McDaniels

DC : Jerry Gray or Chuck Cecil (both familiar with Jeff Fisher)

Re-Signings:

A.J Feeley - He is a serviceable back up and is actually in the top half of the league for backups.

Brandon Lloyd - Absolute beast. Do I need to say anything else?

Dominique Curry - A great ST player. I dont see him going anywhere next year.

Gary Gibson - He has been a solid rotational DT. I'd like to see him back here.

Chris Chamberlain - He's actually played good at OLB. With him, we've got a decent linebacker and a great ST player.

Bryan Kehl - I believe he will be retained because he brings the ability to play the pass better than any LB we have. Also a solid ST contributor.

Darian Stewart - Lock this kid up long term right now. Our safety of the future.

Danny Amendola - The safety blanket. Sure handed Danny. And our returner.

Cut:

Justin King - He is terrible.

Brandon Gibson - Too inconsistent.

DX - Injury prone.

Jason Brown - Biggest waste of money in a long time.

James Butler - I think Hines should of kept this spot over Butler.

Craig Dahl - He was benched for a reason.

Re-do Contract or Cut:

Jason Smith - He either re-does his contract and loses 70% of it (9 million dollar salary to 2.5 million) or he's released as well. If he restructures, keep him.

Free Agency :

Ben Grubbs, OG, Ravens : He is one of the premier OG's in the league. He has had a toe injury this year, but has been healthy other than that. He is a road grader and a solid pass protector.

Mercedes Lewis, TE, Jaguars : He's had an off year, but look whos throwing the ball to him. He definitely won't want to stay with the Jags who are a complete mess. He and Kendricks can be a frightening duo.

Aubrayo Franklin, DT, Saints : A solid run stopper. Beside Justin Bannan, he can be a force. We will finally free up James Laurinaitis and be a good run stop team.

Draft :

Round 1: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State : This guy is a play maker. He can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. He's exactly what we need across from Brandon Lloyd. Imagine that offense? Blackmon, Lloyd, Marcedes Lewis, Kendricks, Jackson, and Bradford?

Round 2:Lavonte David, LB, Nebraska : A solid linebacker we can pair with Laurinaits to help stop the run. David is a tackling machine and his presence will be felt. I'd love to line him up next to James. Thats a nice duo.

Round 3: Chris Polk, RB, Washington : A very nice compliment to SJ. A quick running back who will get his chances here. Slowly bring him along, and throw him out there every now and then. He can break it at anytime.

Round 4: D'Anton Lynn, CB, Penn State : A big corner at 6'1. He can be brought along slowly behind our many capable CB's. If Bartell is back, he and Fletcher will be starters once again. Lynn can learn for a year, then hop in because Bartell is an FA as well as Fletcher.

Round 6: Grant Carner, C, Oklahoma State: A very reliable center. He can be the back up to Tony Wragge, and if he outplays him, he can start. I'd bring him along slowly. He can develop into a solid center at some point.

Round 7: Matt McCants, OT, UAB: Another developmental player. He's a good athlete and at 6'7 and 295 lbs he has the size to play. He has potential and can be coached.


Depth Chart:

QB : Bradford / Feeley
RB : Jackson / Polk / Porter
FB : Miller
TE : Lewis / Kendricks / Spach
WR1 : Lloyd / Curry
WR2 : Blackmon / Pettis
Slot : Amendola / Salas
LT : Saffold / McCants
G : Grubbs / Hughes
C : Wragge / Carner
G : Dahl / Hughes
RT : Goldberg / McCants
LE : Long / Sims
RE : Quinn / Hall
DT : Franklin / Robbins
DT : Bannan / Gibson
OLB : David / Kehl
MLB : Laurinaitis / Hull
OLB : Chamberlain / Nixon
CB : Bartell / Gordy
CB : Fletcher / Lynn
Slot : Murphy / Lynn
FS : Mikell / Jackson
SS : Stewart / Jackson

And there it is! Feedback is appreciated!

[thermobee]

You forgot about Amendola and if you are releasing Smith you should address that tackle position. Everything else would be a dream come true.

[sosa39rams]

You forgot about Amendola and if you are releasing Smith you should address that tackle position. Everything else would be a dream come true.

I fixed it up. I think Salas can replace Danny, but hes so valuable. He is sure handed, our best returner, and is Sam's safety blanket. I think he'll be back next year for sure.

And about the tackle position, you're right. Either Smith stays for cheap and continues to play, or he goes with his huge contract. If he goes, I think we can handle Goldberg. He isn't special, but he isn't terrible.

[C-Mob 71]

Ignoring the first three lines...that's for a different thread I suppose...I like it. I'm still not ready to give up on Smith though. You can't honestly look me in the digital face and say you would rather have a healthy Adam Goldberg over a healthy Jason Smith can you? Concussions are a serious issue, but they are not career ending imo. Brown and Bell are done. If in fact Smith is let go, I think it forces Kalil to be our pick, even though we all want Justin Blackmon, and don't want to use yet another high draft pick on the oline. Remember, the GSOT was started with Orlando Pace, not Torry Holt.

[sosa39rams]

Ignoring the first three lines...that's for a different thread I suppose...I like it. I'm still not ready to give up on Smith though. You can't honestly look me in the digital face and say you would rather have a healthy Adam Goldberg over a healthy Jason Smith can you? Concussions are a serious issue, but they are not career ending imo. Brown and Bell are done. If in fact Smith is let go, I think it forces Kalil to be our pick, even though we all want Justin Blackmon, and don't want to use yet another high draft pick on the oline. Remember, the GSOT was started with Orlando Pace, not Torry Holt.

You're right. I'd take a healthy Jason Smith over a healthy Goldberg. But not for a difference of $9 million per year. To me, Smith and Goldberg are almost even. I give the edge to Smith only because he's young and has potential. If he was making what Goldberg made, I'd love to keep him around. But being drafted #2, and being paid a HUGE CONTRACT, makes him a HUGE bust.

[C-Mob 71]

You're right. I'd take a healthy Jason Smith over a healthy Goldberg. But not for a difference of $9 million per year. To me, Smith and Goldberg are almost even. I give the edge to Smith only because he's young and has potential. If he was making what Goldberg made, I'd love to keep him around. But being drafted #2, and being paid a HUGE CONTRACT, makes him a HUGE bust.

I agree, his contract is a big issue, but I am not ready to write him off yet. He has had two major injuries in three years, and he was dubbed a "raw work in progress" when he was drafted. He has flashed major potential in only 26 games- don't believe me, watch the Green Bay game again. Hopefully we can get him to restructure, but I highly doubt anyone would accept a 70 percent pay reduction. My point is, I would bite the bullet and let him have a chance at a healthy season, once healthy, I believe he will live up to his contract and draft position.

(I am a Billy D fan, but even I face palm when thinking about drafting a "raw" player with the 2nd overall pick, granted the first round of the 2009 draft wasn't exactly chock full of superstar talent)

[chiguy]

I'm ready to see if Smith can get it done at guard. He's decent in the run game, but doesn't seem to have the footwork for OT. Hey, it saved Robert Gallery's career...

[RAMarkable]

I agree, his contract is a big issue, but I am not ready to write him off yet. He has had two major injuries in three years, and he was dubbed a "raw work in progress" when he was drafted. He has flashed major potential in only 26 games- don't believe me, watch the Green Bay game again. Hopefully we can get him to restructure, but I highly doubt anyone would accept a 70 percent pay reduction. My point is, I would bite the bullet and let him have a chance at a healthy season, once healthy, I believe he will live up to his contract and draft position.

(I am a Billy D fan, but even I face palm when thinking about drafting a "raw" player with the 2nd overall pick, granted the first round of the 2009 draft wasn't exactly chock full of superstar talent)

C-Mob, what did Smith do in the Green Bay game that was noteworthy? I watched the game and must have missed it....

[C-Mob 71]

C-Mob, what did Smith do in the Green Bay game that was noteworthy? I watched the game and must have missed it....

I guess the better way to phrase it is, what did Clay Matthews, one of the elite pass rushers in the NFL do?

He recorded one sack on the last play of the game, when the entire pocket collapsed on Sam. That was all.

[FestusRam]

Hopefully we can get him to restructure, but I highly doubt anyone would accept a 70 percent pay reduction.

This is interesting. I'm not a guru on reconstructing contracts, but you'd think if we decided to cut him he would reconstruct his contract. As injury prone as he has been it's not like someone else would pay that much for his services. What do you guys think?

[C-Mob 71]

Well Jacob Bell restructured his contract, but that was because he knew this was the best offer/sitation for him. Will the young Smith feel the same way?

I'll throw this down, if we fire Spags, no way J-Smooth takes a pay cut. Thats how much respect I believe Spags has with his players.

So in essence... fire Spags, lose out on Blackmon... hmm that slogan may bring some support to the Steve Spagnuolo cause

[GROUND DOG 39]

Id love Franklin, Lewis and Grubb's as free agent pick ups. Although Im hoping the Rams do not spend to big on OL, in FA.?

[Rambos]

Nice work! I see you put a lot into this....

I just don't think the O line is good enough.

LT : Saffold
G : Grubbs
C : Wragge
G : Dahl
RT : Goldberg

IMO Saffold is an ok LT but could be a great RT
Goldberg's doing a nice job but is not the long term answer.
Wragge is serviceable would like to upgrade through FA

Do you see a second round pick that could come in and start at LT? Worse case RT?

I would not mind taking Blackmon in RD 1 if we address the O line later in the draft and free agency.

[sosa39rams]

Nice work! I see you put a lot into this....

I just don't think the O line is good enough.

LT : Saffold
G : Grubbs
C : Wragge
G : Dahl
RT : Goldberg

IMO Saffold is an ok LT but could be a great RT
Goldberg's doing a nice job but is not the long term answer.
Wragge is serviceable would like to upgrade through FA

Do you see a second round pick that could come in and start at LT? Worse case RT?

I would not mind taking Blackmon in RD 1 if we address the O line later in the draft and free agency.

Yeah I realize that too. Wragge and Goldberg are just 1 year fill ins. I like Saffold on the left side still. LE's in the NFL are predominantly the run stopping stronger defensive end. I dont think Saffold has the strength to hold up. I think he's better suited for the left anyways.

Wragge and Goldberg will be replaced either this off season or next year. And yes there are a few prospects that could come in at LT or RT in the 2nd round. I just felt like OLB hasn't been addressed properly for years now, and its killing us.

[TheBritishRam]

TE : Lewis / Kendricks / Spach

Hell no, I'd keep Jason Smith as a TE if it meant Spach never playing for the Rams again.