Three thoughts about the Senior Bowl and the Rams

by Ryan Van Bibber on Jan 24, 2009 7:55 AM CST in 2009 NFL draft

The Senior Bowl closed with a whimper this week, one squad didn't even practice with pads on and Mike Martz came away unemployed. The Combine, the next big event after the Super Bowl, will really get the draft talk cranked up as players strut their stuff with undivided attention of NFL coaches. The game itself, sort of anticlimactic at this point, happens this afternoon at 6 p.m. Eastern. You can watch it on the NFL Network. After all the hub-bub, did a week of combing through the reports and talking prospects shine any light on the Rams draft plans? I came away with a few thoughts.

Reevaluating Ole Miss OT Michael Oher. The most written about left tackle in America (and by extension the world) had some real moments of greatness, but also showed a few lapses that did nothing to help the debate about who's the best OT in the draft. He certainly didn't hurt his draft standing. The combine and senior day workouts on campus will help shape what the final draft board looks like. Don't be surprised if there's some movement among the OTs.
It was a good week for safeties. With the Rams needing to replace Corey Chavous at SS, bolstering the soft middle of their defense, this could be a position to target with the third pick in the second round. S Louis Delmas from Western Michigan was a big winner this week, showing versatility and leadership. Delmas is listed as a FS, but with his skills and a few extra lbs he could make the switch. In prognosticating a replacement for SS Roy Williams the Dallas Morning News said of Delmas, "Maybe too good for the Cowboys, since Delmas might have played his way into the top half of the second round. He might be the most complete safety in the draft." Oregon's Patrick Chung is another SS shooting up the draft board. He had a good week by several accounts.
We like Rey Maualuga. Things have to happen, like a trade, for the Rams to land this guy. The need for an OT trumps, but the Lions could screw it all up...they did hire Scott Linehan you know.

If anyone watches the game this afternoon, report in with your scouting report. The Scouting Combine happens in late February, Feb. 18-24, and free agency opens up on Feb. 27. Get ready for a wild offseason.

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Comments

….I HIGHLY doubt that Andre Smith will wind up in Detroit, though you never know wtf they’re going to do…. crabtree anyone?! I would like to see them trade and get that Mauwhatever LB, I know i still don’t know his name, I will learn it if he ends up in StL. Anyways, doubt that will happen. Somewhere later on in the draft, I would like to see the curly horns get a QB, nothing fansy, but you never know if you just drafted a Tom friggin’ Brady. Other than that, I think FA, trades are in the future, they need to rebuild the team, it’d be great to see a strong defense for a change, though the games will be less exciting, but putting up W’s outweighs High Scoring action. And that’s the word (bird).

by sergey606 on Jan 25, 2009 3:39 AM CST reply actions

Talent Evaluation

It will be interesting to see what players are invited to St Louis for private workouts now. I know it’s all smoke & mirrors, but I think Spags and Devaney should evaluate the top tier talent and our needs and pick 1.2 based on that.

If they think that Maualauga or Curry is an elite stand-out LB and the drop-off to the 2nd tier of LBs (available at 2.2) is A LOT bigger than the OT talent gap, or that possibly the hype-OT’s aren’t the prospects they are built up to be, that may be the way to go.

Basically I am advocating looking long and hard at our ‘big-board’ and looking at the depth of the draft class, and choosing our player on that basis.

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by YankeeDoodleBrit on Jan 26, 2009 3:20 AM CST reply actions

Curry's different

He’s an OLB, in the mold of a Derrick Johnson or Terrell Suggs. I wouldn’t classify him as much of an OLB/DE like many others in this year’s draft, but as an OLB with great pass rushing skills. That being the case, I don’t think he fits in our draft plans. I would argue we need a MLB more than any position on defense. WIth a true MLB, we could slide Will Witherspoon back over for a Witherspoon-MLB-Tinoisamoa trio that would be more than acceptable. Then next year, we can look for a replacement for Witherspoon since Quinton Culberson does not seem to be the answer (although I’m holding out some hope).

Jay Zygmunt, now that you have fired yourself, please have yourself hired by Seattle. Thanks.

by 3k on Jan 26, 2009 7:36 AM CST up reply actions