St. Louis Rams Odds

The Rams were wheeling and dealing in this year's draft but how will all those future draft picks look if the man they could have had as the number two overall pick, Robert Griffin III becomes the next great quarterback?

 

 

The Rams got busy signing a pair of cornerbacks from this year's draft in 2nd round pick Janoris Jenkins and 3^rd rounder Trumaine Johnson. Jenkins is the big fish, but his off field antics have caused the Rams' brass to be cautious about how the contract is to be paid out and who is looking after the big money bonanza.  There was a report that the team wanted it written into the agreement that they would be able to choose a financial manager to manage Jenkins' bank account and determine the manner in which the guaranteed money is paid out if agreeing to the largest percentage increase (above the 2011 draft) of any 2^nd round pick chosen. 

That's a long way around to saying that St. Louis is highly suspect of any lingering character issues that Jenkins may have.  Jenkins as you may recall was regarded as a top ten talent but the former Gator had two drug related incidents within a three month period and was dismissed from the Florida football program.  Prior to his marijuana possession charges he was tasered by police in 2009 when he punched a man in the head in the wee hours of June 1^st after resisting officer's demands to stop fighting.  He transferred to the University of North Alabama to complete his senior season.  

Head coach Jeff Fisher has high hopes for Jenkins and expects him to compete for the starting corner assignment across from seven year pro Cortland Finnegan.

 

 

There are a great many questions for the Rams yet to be answered heading into training camp. Quarterback Sam Bradford's ankle is perhaps the most important issue because if he has not fully recovered, then the choice to trade away the pick that would have netted RG3 becomes more questionable.  

If Bradford is fit and primed to fire away, the question becomes to whom? He does not have a bevy of talent to target but early 2^nd rounder Brian Quick may up the ante and afford Bradford another viable option. Factor in a new offensive coordinator and St. Louis will be an interesting team this season. Whether interesting equates to better remains to be seen, but a stockpile of draft choices and a healthy Sam Bradford would seem like a logical improvement over what has been a dire situation the past few seasons.

 

 

The Rams are charging straight into the Lion's den for their opening game and I can think of better places to begin your rebuilding project than Motown with this edition of the former hapless Detroit Lions. 

The Rams have a healthy, we think, Sam Bradford, returning as the leader of the Rams offense and their run defense will hopefully be bolstered by 1^st round pick Michael Brockers to bolster their stop unit which ranked a dismal 31^st last season.

The Lions have weapons and Matthew Stafford is certainly one of them.  But the talented quarterback is not the first thing you think of when you talk about the Lions.  Calvin Johnson, the freakishly athletic wide receiver will be the name on everybody's lips.  The Lions spent most of their draft choices on the defensive end of the ball and that may make things a bit tougher on opposing offenses. 

The line opened with Detroit -10 and it now sits at Detroit -9 which is always a reason to temper your enthusiasm for the home chalk.  Nevertheless, it's a game I forecasted to be Lions -11 so I will forge ahead and advise a play on Detroit -9.

 

 

Count veteran running back Steven Jackson as a fan of new Rams head coach Jeff Fisher. Jackson was drafted a few years after the Rams were known as the Greatest Show on Turf, and their decline since then has been unmistakable - though no fault of the talented Jackson. But, now the Rams 1^st round pick in the 2004 draft has had an opportunity to see for himself what coach Fisher brings to the table. 

Jackson had this to say about the new regime's impact thus far, "It’s quite a difference. Nothing against what I’ve had before coach Fisher, but you can definitely tell a difference in leadership, a difference in confidence. It’s not so much of on-the-job training. I’m just impressed by what he’s assembled with assistant coaches around him. We have very credible coaches that are teaching me and some of my teammates. It’s just impressive, what they’ve been able to accomplish in some of their own careers.” 

 

 

The Rams may have their share of holes to plug this season but according to assistant head coach Dave McGinnis, middle linebacker isn’t one of them.  The Rams 2^nd round pick out of Ohio State in 2009 James Laurinaitis appears to be the perfect fit for St. Louis’s defensive scheme according to McGinnis.

“He’s perfect.  He’s the perfect middle linebacker for this defense. The ultimate linebacker for this defense when it started evolving was Mike Singletary. I was with Mike Singletary for seven years. The quarterback of the defense is the middle linebacker and in this system he has to be so in tune, I mean he has to be right in the defensive coach’s skin. He has to understand it and know it from a lot of different angles. We could not have asked for a more perfect middle linebacker to install this system than James Laurinaitis. I remember watching him come out. I interviewed him at the Combine when he came out and I loved him then and I love him even more now because he’s exactly what you need.” 

 

 

The wonderful thing about football in June is that the positives always outweigh the negatives. If someone doesn't make a play or a quarterback tosses an interception it is all chalked up to a rusty arm or a blown route because the pass and catch units are still getting acquainted. But in the Rams minicamp last week it looked as though Sam Bradford's targets were all eager to create the best first impression with their signal caller.

Slot receiver Danny Amendola looked a bit bulkier than in the past but it could be a good shock absorber for the pounding he is most certainly going to take when he crosses the middle on 3^rd and five throughout the season. Brian Quick, the high ceiling rookie receiver from Appalachian State didn't look like a small school player when he burned down the sidelines and hauled in a couple of beauties from Bradford. Greg Salas, the Rams' 4^th round pick in the 2011 draft looked like the Mr. All Everything that he was when he broke records at the University of Hawaii. Salas made a magnificent one-handed grab along the sidelines to add his contribution to the circus-like catching symposium at Rams Park.

 

 

The Rams could have had RG3 but instead wound up with defensive tackle Michael Brockers of LSU as the 14^th pick in the draft plus a slew of draft picks. If the truth were told and the Rams had to choose between staying pat with their current QB Sam Bradford, the first pick overall in the 2010 draft, or Robert Griffin III it would probably not be much of a contest which isn’t to say that Griffin will leave a better legacy.   

Bradford has had a baptism by fire as the Rams are long removed from their predecessors as the Greatest Show on Turf. He started all 16 games in his rookie campaign and a high ankle sprain definitely contributed to his lackluster 2011 season, limiting him to ten starts and getting sacked a whopping 36 times.   

But this season Bradford appears to be healthy and the Rams certainly addressed a glaring need in bolstering their run defense, which ranked a dismal 31^st last season, when they tapped Michael Brockers as their top pick. Brockers will be counted on to make an immediate impact and his journey starts in minicamp this week. 

 

 

Rams 2^nd round draft pick (one of three) Janoris Jenkins was uncertain where he would land in this year's draft due to his "character" issues. Jenkins was busted twice for marijuana possession and tossed off the Florida Gators football team. He landed as a starting cornerback for North Alabama but along the way fathered four children with three different women.

However head coach Jeff Fisher is undeterred. "We did our background checks. We did our due diligence. We did the preparation. We did the research. And all along the way, everybody we talked to - including his high school coach, mentor here, police officer there, somebody in Florida, somebody at North Alabama - every single person said: 'Take this kid.' And I don't want to say 'kid' anymore. He's a fine young man. So he's going to be fine. He's going to have a great career in this league." 

 

 

Sam the Man

Sam Bradford better be the real deal because the Rams eschewed RG3 for a boatload of high draft picks and kept the faith that the 2010 Rookie of the Year can lead this team for the next decade.  Bradford was hampered by injuries last season but will he be ready to fire away once he returns?  High ankle sprains have a tendency to linger and Bradford was clearly not the same quarterback after Week 6 when he sustained the injury. 

This season Bradford will have a new head coach in Jeff Fisher and Jeff Cignetti will take the reins as quarterback coach to make sure Bradford is fundamentally sound and will be entrusted with keeping the prized signal caller on target.  The front office decision to trade down from the coveted number two overall draft pick to number six with the Washington Redskins and then again from six to fourteen with Dallas will either be this regime’s crowning achievement or their disappointing epitaph. 

2012

When you’re 2-14 and have lost your last seven games there’s really no place to go but up.  The Rams were ranked a dismal 30^th in passing yards and 31^st in yardage allowed when defending against the rush.  After wheeling and dealing with Washington and Dallas the Rams finally selected LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers.  Addressing their run stopping unit was obviously a chief concern and Brockers is projected to be a big part of that rebuilding process.  He is not a player who will pressure the quarterback but he can stop traffic up the middle like a Playboy Playmate flashing in the breakdown lane during rush hour. 

While Bradford and the entire Rams offense would have benefited mightily by landing a receiver like Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State or Michael Floyd of Notre Dame their tumbling draft position precluded them from selecting either so they decided to shore up a porous defensive line with Brockers.  However with the first pick of the 2^nd round the Rams did address the void in their passing game when they called the name Brian Quick of Appalachian State, a 6’4” 222 pound receiver who many projected as a 3^rd rounder.  But the Rams liked what they saw in his workouts and reached just a little to take the raw rookie who comes with all the athletic bells and whistles but has not faced upper echelon competition nor does he have experience in running more sophisticated routes.  Despite his last name, Quick is not a burner, running a 4.55 at the combine but he does possess the ability to catch anything and everything thrown his way.

The Rams then selected Janoris Jenkins, a cornerback out of North Alabama with the 37^th pick overall, but their third pick of the 2^nd round (50^th) could be a draft day coup as they tapped the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, Cincinnati’s Isaiah Pead to be the heir apparent to Steven Jackson at running back. 

The small schools garnered more of the Rams front office attention when they opted to select Montana’s star cornerback Trumaine Johnson in round 3 but they went back to the offensive side of the ball with their next pick (4^th round, 96^th overall) when they called Wake Forest’s Chris Givens’ name, a 5’11” wideout who will give them another option for Bradford.

While some of these small school players may not make the immediate jump to the next level, this is after all a team in the rebuilding phase and nobody expects Fisher’s crew to contend right away.  This will give their rookies a chance to become acclimated to the NFL and don’t forget the bounty that the Rams received from the Redskins, acquiring their 1^st round picks in 2013 and 2014!