VarsityBlues123 said:
FreeBaGeL said:
amnesiac said:
stupid pick.
even if he's better than Mason.
Mason was good enough
No, he wasn't.
The Rams had three games last year where their starting RB ran for 4+ ypc. 3 out of 16. Mason was 2 out of 9.
You think that's good enough for a coach that wants to run the ball perhaps more than anyone else in the league? That's not getting it done. Mason had one good game against Oakland (really, one good run) and other than that was pretty poor. Good for fantasy thanks to some decent volume, sure, but as far as actual NFL performance goes he kind of stunk.
He was basically 2013 Zac Stacy with one long run (89 yarder against Oakland) on top. In fact, that's exactly what he was.
all players must be elite their rookie year or they are worthless in the nfl. this is the new nfl, no time to learn or be given a real chance.
gurley is a great player but he does not help the rams, so many other needs. Who they going to throw too? Who is going to block? not to mention you may need to sit him for a while.
rams taking gurley crushed two starting rbs value today. i would not be taking gurley #1 in drafts now i like better options and would have learned by now to STAY AWAY FROM RAMS RBS.
Gurley was reportedly their #1 or #2 (after Mariota off board at 1.2) player OVERALL in the draft, they got him at #10. He wasn't just a little better than whoever else they would have been looking at. I liked Scherff, but he went at 5, and also thought they may be interested in Flowers, but he was connected with the Giants pre-draft, so not an unexpected development.
Gurley was my next choice after Scherff, but being so highly graded by the Rams, it might not have mattered. They think he is the most talented RB since Peterson. He looks like the franchise's best RB since Faulk, and best big back since Dickerson, Hall of Famers. Agree with those questioning the positional devaluation chorus. McCoy and Murray were signed to lucrative contracts, and after a two year first round lull, two went in the top half of the first round, and Gurley top 10 (despite the injury).
Not an exact analogy (because you generally start one RB and two or more WRs), but TALENT and BPA-wise, not getting Gurley because you have Mason would be like the Lions not getting Calvin Johnson because they already have Roy Williams. And this isn't like the Lions, who drafted Rogers top 2 overall, Roy and Mike "BMW" Williams in the top 10 BEFORE Calvin, also in a 3-4 year span. Pead was a spectacular bust, no need to compound that mistake by letting it alter future draft plans. Richardson was a seventh rounder, Stacy a fifth who cost two sixths in a trade (and they had clearly moved on from him, third on the depth chart behind a UFA), starter Mason a third and backup Cunningham, the UFA. Gurley is the consensus best RB to come along in years, maybe since Peterson. It is unlikely they will be spending any more day one or two picks on the position any time soon, if Gurley is healthy.
The Rams, and Fisher philosophically, are a running team. They aren't going to morph into the Marino-era Dolphins. Parker might have touched the ball 3-4 X a game. Gurley could 15-20 X a game, once healthy (hope they don't rush him). Britt flashed explosiveness not seen since pre-knee injury when he was one of the more promising young WRs in the league (in the same class as Crabtree, Harvin and Nicks, I think), is only 26-27, led the team in receiving and was re-upped for two years. Quick, after looking like a bust his first two years, through six games before the shoulder injury, was pacing for almost exactly 1,000 yards and 8 TDs receiving. Keep in mind, this is with the Rams also involving the TE and distributing receptions accordingly. Cook led team in receiving in '13, and he and Kendricks are like two of the top five highest paid players on the team (the latter more for his versatility and blocking). It is hard to evaluate the Rams WRs because they have played with a backup QB the past season and a half. Also a crumbling OL, which they knos needs to be addressed. Fisher or Snead chided local beat reporter Jim Thomas after the same Who is going to block? question, observing they have turned the draft into more than a one day event. What if Austin is capable of a third year breakout like Quick, many thought former OC Schottenheimer was extremely unimaginitive, maybe Cignetti can get him more involved? He was a top 10 pick. Teammate Bailey (a third rounder like Mason) was set back with a suspension to begin the season, but had one of the best seasons for a WR in collegiate history in '12. After Quick's injury he had 300+ yards in a late one month stretch. Scant basis for proration, but would be 1,200 yards over a full season. IMO he is underrated and could be a great WR3 and may even have WR2 upside?
Obviously the Rams aren't concerned with crushing Mason's fantasy value (not making fun, but it is the cause for a lot of distress in the thread, in general). You do need two RBs in the contemporary RB landscape. If Gurley is as good as advertised, the Rams are in great shape. If they had taken Parker, that might have crushed Quick, Austin and Bailey's value, all the way down the line of the WR depth chart. Not obvious why it would be an intrinsically better move to crush the value of THREE WRs (in one act, like in one of those multi-person dunk tanks), instead of ONE RB? Stacy had already been passed by UFA Cunningham, his value was crushed already, last year. It was only Mason, really.
Best avail OL (Rams have the ninth pick in round two and eighth in round three):
OT - T.J. Clemmings (stress fracture of foot dropped a consensus first rounder), Jake Fisher and Donovan Smith, all expected to go in the second.
Guard - Cann expected to go in the second, Tre' Jackson and Ali Marpet could go in the third.
Center - Grasu consensus second best afer Erving, might go in second or third. Gallik and Dismukes could go in the fourth or later, Max Garcia in the fifth or sixth. They already have three internal candidates, 2012 fourth rounder and Outland Trophy winner Barrett Jones, who played OT, guard and center, '14 rookie Rhaney and the re-signed Barnes. Jones is the most exciting of an unproven and/or uninspiring bunch, have to think OT and guard are higher priority, they may not add a center.
Fisher noted in the past few days they were still in regular communication with RT Barksdale and would like him back (unsaid was at their price and on their terms). Guard Justin Blalock remains unsigned, and is thought to be of interest to the Rams, though he is 32-33, I think, and the Rams have struck out in recent years with aging, declining, breaking down vets (Long, Wells, Joseph).
* They also may be looking at developmental QB. So they could have to juggle priorities. Hundley and Petty may not get past second, Grayson and Mannion could be avail later in day two or maybe even day three?
Also, Laurinaitis heir apparent could be a target. In addition to OL and WR, QB and MLB were an emphasis in team visits. Anthony is gone, but that leaves Kendricks (?), McKinney and Perryman. Dawson may be viewed as more of a WLB.