If Rams have trouble signing Bradford, they have themselves to blame Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/19/2010 @ 9:00 am) The Dolphins accomplished the feat two years ago with offensive tackle Jake Long. The Lions were able to do the same thing last year with quarterback Matthew Stafford. But the Rams decided to wait and now, well who knows. Uncertainty is about to become their best friend over the next couple of weeks. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, when a deal eventually gets done, the guaranteed money in Sam Bradford’s contract will be between $45 million and $50 million. That’s a ton of dough for any franchise to fork over for one player, not to mention one whose owners are in the midst of trying to sell the team. Of course, this could have been avoided had the Rams struck a deal with Bradford before the draft. They had more leverage then and certainly more options. While they wanted and needed a franchise quarterback most of all, if they knew that signing Bradford would be an issue (or they weren’t prepared to hand him $50 million in guaranteed money), they could have selected Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh or Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy. Read the rest of this entry » Should a QB go No. 1 in NFL draft? Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/26/2010 @ 8:15 pm) 
ESPN.com’s John Clayton thinks one should: Let’s start with the St. Louis Rams. They have the No. 1 pick, and many people believe St. Louis likes Suh more than McCoy. Here’s the problem: Drafting Suh No. 1 when the franchise is without a true starting quarterback doesn’t make much sense, particularly if the Rams don’t bring back Marc Bulger. The problem facing the Rams is that they aren’t one defensive tackle away from being competitive. They went 1-15 this past season. Adding Suh without a top quarterback might keep the Rams in double-digit loss territory. Dominating defensive tackles can make an impact on good teams, but they don’t always change the fate of bad teams. Former Steelers coach Chuck Noll built his Steel Curtain defense around Mean Joe Greene, but that team was loaded with Hall of Famers. Defensive tackles who go to bad teams can do only so much. The Seahawks got a Hall of Fame career from defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, the third pick in the 1990 draft, but Seattle had only one playoff appearance during his great career. Glenn Dorsey, the fifth pick in the 2008 draft, didn’t stop the downturn of the Kansas City Chiefs. Steve Emtman (Colts) and Dan Wilkinson (Bengals) were top picks, but they didn’t turn around bad teams. The Cleveland Browns drafted Gerard Warren No. 3 in 2001, but the team struggled throughout the 2000s. That’s why I predict the Rams will draft Bradford instead of Suh.
Click the link above to check out Clayton’s entire piece – it’s a good read. Clayton’s colleague, Adam Schefter makes the same prediction for the Rams: that they will/should take Bradford. Given the money that will be invested with the No. 1 pick, it makes sense that the Rams would take a quarterback over a defensive tackle. However, that doesn’t mean that they should. The key for teams in the draft is to select the right player that fits their scheme, regardless of position. If they draft Bradford just because it makes fiscal sense and he winds up being a bust, they could set themselves back years in the process. If they take Suh and he turns out to be a Pro Bowler, then they made the right decision, regardless of how much money they invest in his position. The idea makes sense on the surface, but this is the same line of reasoning as a team drafting a quarterback or running back just to sell tickets. While Clayton is right in saying that Suh (or McCoy, or Eric Berry, or whoever) won’t turn a 1-15 team into a 15-1 team, at least they would be heading in the right direction by making a sound football decision. We’ll see. If Bradford (or Jimmy Clausen) is high on the Rams’ draft board and he develops into a great quarterback, then St. Louis wins on all fronts. Again, the key is drafting the right player. Posted in: NFL, NFL Draft Tags: 2010 NFL Draft, Adam Schefter, Gerald McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, Rams draft rumors, Rams rumors, Sam Bradford, Sam Bradford draft rumors, Sam Bradford Rams, St. Louis Rams
Redskins to trade up to No. 1 spot to take Bradford? Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/26/2010 @ 3:15 pm)  Oh, the rumor mill is churning now that the NFL scouting combine has kicked off. In the wake of Adam Schefter’s prediction that the Rams are set to take quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 pick, ESPN.com is reporting that the Redskins may want to trade up to the top spot so that they could nab the Oklahoma product. With word that the Rams might be taking Sam Bradford No. 1 overall this April, the other team that thinks quite highly of him risks missing out. We’ve been hearing for a while now that the Redskins value Bradford as a potential franchise QB, and he would not get past their spot in the first round. Speaking to the press at the draft combine, Rams GM Billy Devaney indicated that the team was still weighing the merits of Ndamukong Suh vs. Gerald McCoy, as well as Bradford vs. Jimmy Clausen. In order for the Redskins to ensure that they could get Bradford — and all indications seem to indicate that they value him ahead of Clausen — they might need to trade up to that No. 1 slot. Bradford’s price tag as the No. 1 overall pick might not be an issue for perennial big spender Daniel Snyder, especially if Mike Shanahan sells him on Bradford as a legit stud.
If the Rams have Clausen rated ahead of Bradford, this makes sense. But if they don’t, then there’s no way St. Louis is going to pass on a franchise quarterback that they like in order to take a franchise quarterback that they kind of like. The Rams hold the cards here – not the Redskins. That said, if the Rams have Bradford and Clausen rated similarly, then it makes sense that St. Louis would want to trade down to acquire more picks and still have a shot to take a franchise quarterback at No 4 (which is where the Redskins pick). It’s way to early to tell what intentions the Rams have with the top pick, but I love that the NFL draft rumor train is now picking up steam. In other Redskins-related news, Mike Shanahan indicated on Friday that Clinton Portis will be his running back in 2010, despite rumors that the team would like to rid themselves of the 28-year-old back.
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Posted in: College Football, NFL, NFL Draft Tags: 2010 NFL Draft, Jimmy Clausen, Rams draft rumors, Rams rumors, Redskins rumors, Sam Bradford, Sam Bradford draft rumors, Sam Bradford Rams, St. Louis Rams, Washington Redskins
Rams to select Bradford with top pick? Posted by Anthony Stalter (02/26/2010 @ 10:30 am)  ESPN’s Adam Schefter told a St. Louis radio station that the Rams will select quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 overall pick this year. The caveat is that Schefter wasn’t reporting the news, but merely making a prediction. Schefter is always good for information around this time of year, so I wouldn’t doubt it if the Rams did take Bradford No. 1. After all, they do need a quarterback and if Steve Spagnuolo and his staff feel as though the Oklahoma product is a franchise-type signal caller, then it will be hard for them to pass. Schefter also noted that St. Louis is reluctant to pay No. 1 money to a defensive player such as Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh or Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy. Of all the Rams’ many needs, defensive tackle isn’t necessarily a high priority so it makes sense that the Rams would pass on Suh and McCoy and take Bradford or Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen. That said, GM Billy Devaney is familiar with former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick from their days in Atlanta. It’s not a stretch to believe that Devaney will send a draft pick to Philadelphia for Vick and then take Suh or McCoy with the No. 1 pick, seeing as how those two players are the best on the board. Drafting in the top 5 is a different animal, as teams usually throw out the word “need” and just try to acquire talent to restock their roster. We’ll see if Schefter called this one come April, but as of right now there’s still a lot of mystery and intrigue involving the No. 1 pick.
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Posted in: College Football, NFL, NFL Draft Tags: 2010 NFL Draft, Adam Schefter, Gerald McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, Rams draft rumors, Rams rumors, Sam Bradford, Sam Bradford draft rumors, Sam Bradford Rams, St. Louis Rams
Rams to take a chance on Vick? Posted by Anthony Stalter (01/15/2010 @ 9:39 am)  Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch speculates that the Rams might make a move to acquire Michael Vick from the Eagles this offseason. Thomas sites the fact that GM Bill Devaney worked for the Falcons when Vick was in Atlanta and even visited the troubled QB in prison. Devaney worked for the Atlanta Falcons before coming to St. Louis, so he’s very familiar with Vick. In fact, Devaney visited Vick in prison while Vick was serving 18 months for running a dogfighting operation. In St. Louis, Vick could bring sizzle to an offense that was among the league’s worst in ’09. As one long-time NFL coach told the Post-Dispatch: “That team lacks perimeter players. They can’t play straight up (on offense) and win. They need to create explosiveness where it’s not.”
Vick would be a solid fit for the Rams. He’s lost some burst as a runner and considering he hasn’t been a starter in three years, he’ll be rusty as a passer when he does get under center full time. But he’s worth a shot for a team like the Rams, who are in desperate need of overall speed and talent. St. Louis isn’t a team that’s on the verge of making a deep run in the playoffs, so taking a chance on a player like Vick is a less risky proposition for them then it would be another team that’s counting on a quarterback to get them over the hump. Vick isn’t magically going to transform into the electrifying player he once was, but he would upgrade the Rams’ quarterback position and would give them a chance to acquire Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh with the No. 1 pick in April. I know this is just speculation on Thomas’ part, but I like the thinking.
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