Bob Magaw
Footballguy
(cross-posted from SP)
i thought this might be a germane question, seeing as the rams have multiple needs, & there are several elite, blue chip prospects at positions of need that will be available at 1.2...
the comparison with chess was my recollection (not having played in the while), that some parts of the board are more strategic to control than others (the middle?)...
if rams don't take j. long (maybe 1.1 overall pick), what of the relative merit of dorsey, c. long & gholston?
there are different ways to win, but i was thinking of JAX, because they had two upper echelon DTs in hendo & stroud (they were both injured & had down years in '07, & stroud has since been traded to BUF)... JAX had had a very good defense in recent years, & no doubt STL fans would be very happy if they could emulate their success...
its definitely helpful to have great DEs... NYG come immediately to mind... they don't have great DTs, to my knowledge, but in pass situations bring 3-4 DEs...
its nice to have good LBs, but they can be found later in draft than a once in a few years DT or DE talent...
good secondary is nice, but strong CB play probably more important than having pro bowl safeties... & in terms of positional scarcity & cost in terms of what it would cost to acquire CB & safety position from draft or free agency... its safe to say CBs have more of a premium value than safeties...
back to JAX, lets compare them to STL... if rams added dorsey, i don't know if carriker has hendo/stroud power, explosiveness or upside, but that could be the best DT duo STL has had in a long time...
JAXs LBs better than STL (especially with 2nd or 3rd round '07 rookie justin durant looking like an ascendant player)... peterson is great, but aging & oft-injured lately... & witherspoon is like a clone, with near identical physical traits, measurables, skill set, athleticism & versatility to play interchangably well WLB or MLB... i prefer daryl smith over tinoisamoa (especially given his greater durability), but they have similar draft pedigree (2nd round) & arguably talent...
rams are aging at DE & need little & hall to have rebound seasons (if they add dorsey... jim thomas thinks, contrary to some media speculation that carriker would bounce outside, that ryan could be used in rotation)... but JAX has had average DEs in recent years... it has seemed like a position they have looked to upgrade for a few years... heyward (sp?) from DEN had potential, but has been banged up a lot...
JAX does have a pro bowl caliber CB in rashean mathis that is not only better than anybody on STL roster but in fact one of the top CBs in the league (after guys like champ bailey... he might command clements/samuel money, if he comes up for a contract in next few years), but average to below average CB play on other side...
safeties last year were geezer sammy knight (playmaker in his prime with NO, & even later in KC) & rookie 1st rounder reggie nelson... that stacks up with rams chavous (aging vet who's best days are behind him), & up 'n coming youngster FS in atogwe (led or tied for NFC lead in INTs, i think)...
but ask anybody what the strength of JAX D was in recent seasons (which saw them coimpete with IND, despite fact that offense of jags was not nearly as high octane)... the DT position would almost certainly be the consensus...
just like on offense a dominant OL that can exert their will on the opposition, & enable the ability to run & pass equally well & therefore keep defenses on their heels, & dictate to THEM is a huge advantage (like on D, some positions are more important, & in general, stud OTs harder to find than OGs or centers... there are exceptions, like larry allen in his prime with DAL), having a DL that can shut down the run, wreak havoc & generate more pressure on QBs, create more favorable down & distance situations on defense, forcing more punts to get off field & rest, is a huge advantage...
to recap, maybe as a strong interior DL propelled JAX to greater heights, it could do the same for the rams... maybe having two stud DTs is like controlling the center of the chess board... championships are built from the inside out, on the lines...
the DL is very valuable real estate if offense can consistently attack & exploit it... the middle of the DL, if STL can better control (through addition of dorsey), will force the offense to run plays where they may not be as effective or want to, potentially allowing the rams to dicate to the offense for a change (stringing more run plays wide plays into hands of rams fast LBs & CBs... of course, they still need to tackle )...
* one way this is imperfect analogy (among possibly many), is that dorsey not nearly as big as hendo/stroud... it might be hard for him to run defend as well as them, just through sheer lack of bulk & mass... but he could compensate by being more agile in pass defense...
** (more reasons i think dorsey would be a good fit in STL)
one thing i like about dorsey, aside from the obvious talent & motor, is some scouts report he has the ray lewis-kind of passion & personality to fire up his teammates, & get them to play up to a higher intensity & level...
we have all seen it before, but while this kind of intangible doesn't show up on a tape measure, scale or stop watch, there seems to be real differences among players in the trait of getting their teammates to play better... if dorsey is in fact that kind of guy, he will be like a force multiplier, that not only makes the defense (& team) better by his presence & the upgrade at THAT position, but by making many/all positions better...
not too hard to see how a blue chip, elite interior DL (when was the last time we had one?) that can stuff the run, control run gaps, crush the pocket, generate the worst kind of pressure a QB can deal with (up the middle) & flush QB to DEs could make all three levels of the rams defense better...
i thought this might be a germane question, seeing as the rams have multiple needs, & there are several elite, blue chip prospects at positions of need that will be available at 1.2...
the comparison with chess was my recollection (not having played in the while), that some parts of the board are more strategic to control than others (the middle?)...
if rams don't take j. long (maybe 1.1 overall pick), what of the relative merit of dorsey, c. long & gholston?
there are different ways to win, but i was thinking of JAX, because they had two upper echelon DTs in hendo & stroud (they were both injured & had down years in '07, & stroud has since been traded to BUF)... JAX had had a very good defense in recent years, & no doubt STL fans would be very happy if they could emulate their success...
its definitely helpful to have great DEs... NYG come immediately to mind... they don't have great DTs, to my knowledge, but in pass situations bring 3-4 DEs...
its nice to have good LBs, but they can be found later in draft than a once in a few years DT or DE talent...
good secondary is nice, but strong CB play probably more important than having pro bowl safeties... & in terms of positional scarcity & cost in terms of what it would cost to acquire CB & safety position from draft or free agency... its safe to say CBs have more of a premium value than safeties...
back to JAX, lets compare them to STL... if rams added dorsey, i don't know if carriker has hendo/stroud power, explosiveness or upside, but that could be the best DT duo STL has had in a long time...
JAXs LBs better than STL (especially with 2nd or 3rd round '07 rookie justin durant looking like an ascendant player)... peterson is great, but aging & oft-injured lately... & witherspoon is like a clone, with near identical physical traits, measurables, skill set, athleticism & versatility to play interchangably well WLB or MLB... i prefer daryl smith over tinoisamoa (especially given his greater durability), but they have similar draft pedigree (2nd round) & arguably talent...
rams are aging at DE & need little & hall to have rebound seasons (if they add dorsey... jim thomas thinks, contrary to some media speculation that carriker would bounce outside, that ryan could be used in rotation)... but JAX has had average DEs in recent years... it has seemed like a position they have looked to upgrade for a few years... heyward (sp?) from DEN had potential, but has been banged up a lot...
JAX does have a pro bowl caliber CB in rashean mathis that is not only better than anybody on STL roster but in fact one of the top CBs in the league (after guys like champ bailey... he might command clements/samuel money, if he comes up for a contract in next few years), but average to below average CB play on other side...
safeties last year were geezer sammy knight (playmaker in his prime with NO, & even later in KC) & rookie 1st rounder reggie nelson... that stacks up with rams chavous (aging vet who's best days are behind him), & up 'n coming youngster FS in atogwe (led or tied for NFC lead in INTs, i think)...
but ask anybody what the strength of JAX D was in recent seasons (which saw them coimpete with IND, despite fact that offense of jags was not nearly as high octane)... the DT position would almost certainly be the consensus...
just like on offense a dominant OL that can exert their will on the opposition, & enable the ability to run & pass equally well & therefore keep defenses on their heels, & dictate to THEM is a huge advantage (like on D, some positions are more important, & in general, stud OTs harder to find than OGs or centers... there are exceptions, like larry allen in his prime with DAL), having a DL that can shut down the run, wreak havoc & generate more pressure on QBs, create more favorable down & distance situations on defense, forcing more punts to get off field & rest, is a huge advantage...
to recap, maybe as a strong interior DL propelled JAX to greater heights, it could do the same for the rams... maybe having two stud DTs is like controlling the center of the chess board... championships are built from the inside out, on the lines...
the DL is very valuable real estate if offense can consistently attack & exploit it... the middle of the DL, if STL can better control (through addition of dorsey), will force the offense to run plays where they may not be as effective or want to, potentially allowing the rams to dicate to the offense for a change (stringing more run plays wide plays into hands of rams fast LBs & CBs... of course, they still need to tackle )...
* one way this is imperfect analogy (among possibly many), is that dorsey not nearly as big as hendo/stroud... it might be hard for him to run defend as well as them, just through sheer lack of bulk & mass... but he could compensate by being more agile in pass defense...
** (more reasons i think dorsey would be a good fit in STL)
one thing i like about dorsey, aside from the obvious talent & motor, is some scouts report he has the ray lewis-kind of passion & personality to fire up his teammates, & get them to play up to a higher intensity & level...
we have all seen it before, but while this kind of intangible doesn't show up on a tape measure, scale or stop watch, there seems to be real differences among players in the trait of getting their teammates to play better... if dorsey is in fact that kind of guy, he will be like a force multiplier, that not only makes the defense (& team) better by his presence & the upgrade at THAT position, but by making many/all positions better...
not too hard to see how a blue chip, elite interior DL (when was the last time we had one?) that can stuff the run, control run gaps, crush the pocket, generate the worst kind of pressure a QB can deal with (up the middle) & flush QB to DEs could make all three levels of the rams defense better...
