As much criticism as the St. Louis Rams are probably going to continue to receive for passing on Blake Bortles in favor of Greg Robinson, there's already a crystal clear draft mistake they made in 2013 that's costing them in a substantial manner. The Rams had pick # 16. They traded up with the Bills to pick # 8 in order to draft WR-RS Tavon Austin. Not only does Austin look like only a situational player on Offense, which is costly enough for the Rams, they passed on WR-RB-KR Cordarrelle Patterson, who the Vikings traded up to pick # 29 to draft.
I'm already convinced that if Patterson remains relatively healthy most of his NFL career, Austin can't come close to Patterson's upside on Offense. Every time Patterson touches the ball, he's capable of scoring a TD. To the extent that the time is probably going to come in the next couple of years that Patterson will be more of a focal point of opposing Defenses than Adrian Peterson. If you didn't get a chance to see Patterson's TD run today, in which he ran through and around defenders, you probably will see a similar run sooner rather than later.
Never trade into the top 10 for a WR lacking any elite measurables. Tavon Austin is basically Ace Sanders but we got him four rounds later in that same draft.
If I'm drafting a top 10 WR he better have measurables and upside similar to Calvin, Julio, AJ, etc.
The Rams have made alot of mistakes when it doesn't involve the defensive line.
Achilles loves that type of midget receiver tho
Quote:Never trade into the top 10 for a WR lacking any elite measurables. Tavon Austin is basically Ace Sanders but we got him four rounds later in that same draft.
If I'm drafting a top 10 WR he better have measurables and upside similar to Calvin, Julio, AJ, etc.
I believe there are rare exceptions to the rule. Yet, the vast majority of time I agree that it's a mistake trading up into the top 10 for a WR unless his measurables ratio jumps out, he was productive in college, and has very good intangibles. Tavon Austin's size limits him too much for him to be a top 10 caliber player.
While Tavon Austin has an extra gear, I certainly much rather have Ace Sanders in Round 4 than Austin with pick # 8 or anywhere close to that.
Quote:Never trade into the top 10 for a WR lacking any elite measurables. Tavon Austin is basically Ace Sanders but we got him four rounds later in that same draft.
If I'm drafting a top 10 WR he better have measurables and upside similar to Calvin, Julio, AJ, etc.
Yes sir. Tavon Austin and bailey had inflated stats at wvu.
Taking someone like that in round 1 is a luxury pick if you've already got a really good offense. It would have made sense to a team like the lions or something like that but the rams had a lot of holes to fill and Austin is a niche player.
Youre right though, ace may not be as fast but he's a similar player and in the fourth round that makes a lot more sense.
Quote:The Rams have made alot of mistakes when it doesn't involve the defensive line.
I was thinking the same thing during Sunday. While Aaron Donald displayed excellent quickness off the ball as a backup DT on a couple of running plays and should have a bright future, most of their other key Defensive Lineman were drafted by the previous regime.
The current Rams regime, which Jeff Fisher apparently has final say in personnel, has not done a good enough job with their draft and free agent $ resources. Maybe that will change if some players develop but right now this is a franchise that hasn't taken advantage of the RGIII trade. Fisher would probably be better served if he took a back seat in personnel decisions, like he did in Tennessee.
Their Offensive Line, at least for now, looks like a major weakness once again. The Vikings Defense is vastly improved under Mike Zimmer and because of some key additions. That doesn't change the fact that the Rams have substantial projection issues, which is leading to their QB's not being able to stay in one piece.
Quote:Yes sir. Tavon Austin and bailey had inflated stats at wvu.
Taking someone like that in round 1 is a luxury pick if you've already got a really good offense. It would have made sense to a team like the lions or something like that but the rams had a lot of holes to fill and Austin is a niche player.
Youre right though, ace may not be as fast but he's a similar player and in the fourth round that makes a lot more sense.
I'm thankful the Lions didn't end up with Tavon Austin. The opportunity cost alone would have made me uncomfortable. Let alone Austin's size.
And in this year's draft, while I thought Sammy Watkins warranted pick # 10 and would have been comfortable giving up an additional 3rd round pick to trade up for him, there's no way I would have wanted the Lions to come close to paying what the Bills did to go from pick # 9 to pick # 4.
Quote: I'm thankful the Lions didn't end up with Tavon Austin. The opportunity cost alone would have made me uncomfortable. Let alone Austin's size.
And in this year's draft, while I thought Sammy Watkins warranted pick # 10 and would have been comfortable giving up an additional 3rd round pick to trade up for him, there's no way I would have wanted the Lions to come close to paying what the Bills did to go from pick # 9 to pick # 4.
Hindsight is 20/20 with tavon though. The potential he offered before the draft paired with Megatron could have been awesome. I'm interested to see what it looks like with Tate and then ebron once he starts getting more snaps.
Quote:Hindsight is 20/20 with tavon though. The potential he offered before the draft paired with Megatron could have been awesome. I'm interested to see what it looks like with Tate and then ebron once he starts getting more snaps.
In fairness, I thought Dee Milliner would have been the best/ safest option with pick # 5. While that could still prove to be the case, based on what I've seen so far, I think the choice of Ziggy Ansah over Milliner was the better choice by G.M. Martin Mayhew.
The concern I have with Tavon is how many plays can he hold up for in a typical game? Tavon is going to have his moments of greatness in the NFL, as he has already demonstrated. I just don't think they will be often enough, especially when comparing him to Cordarrelle Patterson.
The Lions have the potential for a dynamic Offense if everything comes and stays together. The players you mentioned, combined with the playmaking skills of RB's Reggie Bush and Theo Riddick, with a good all around Offensive Line, looks great on paper. Especially with the power option that Joique Bell can provide at RB. How well Matthew Stafford performs in the new Offensive System, with the emphasis on improved mechanics and decision making, will go a very long way in determining whether production comes very close to potential.
I think you could add the Seahawks into this. Didn't they trade their first rounder+ that year to Minny for Harvin? Patterson was uber raw but had the same skill set of Percy, was just stuck at the dumpster fire program of Tennessee. Could've saved 67 million and gotten a better player without injury issues.
Obviously they could care less with the team they have and the ring, but thank goodness for the rest of the NFL they went the Percy route instead of going for a cheaper option.
Edit, after looking at more stuff I thought Percy missed more games in his career up to that point than he did and hindsight is obviously 20/20. But he was never a stretch the field receiver type they were looking for, especially being 5'11. Patterson is 6'2? Goodness.
Quote:I was thinking the same thing during Sunday. While Aaron Donald displayed excellent quickness off the ball as a
backup DT on a couple of running plays and should have a bright future, most of their other key Defensive Lineman were drafted by the previous regime.
The current Rams regime, which Jeff Fisher apparently has final say in personnel, has not done a good enough job with their draft and free agent $ resources. Maybe that will change if some players develop but right now this is a franchise that hasn't taken advantage of the RGIII trade. Fisher would probably be better served if he took a back seat in personnel decisions, like he did in Tennessee.
Their Offensive Line, at least for now, looks like a major weakness once again. The Vikings Defense is vastly improved under Mike Zimmer and because of some key additions. That doesn't change the fact that the Rams have substantial projection issues, which is leading to their QB's not being able to stay in one piece.
Its not out of the realm of possibility that the Rams are the worst team in the league. That was just a pitiful performance yesterday. If that happens, I don't know how FIsher keeps his job.
The RGIII looked great on paper but the team isn't any better than when they made the move.
I wonder if things will change when they move to LA.
Quote:Its not out of the realm of possibility that the Rams are the worst team in the league. That was just a pitiful performance yesterday. If that happens, I don't know how FIsher keeps his job.
The RGIII looked great on paper but the team isn't any better than when they made the move.
While Shaun Hill made a rare bad decision when throwing what became an Interception with two defenders around the WR, I still think that Hill can be a positive for the Rams under the circumstance of them having a noticeably below average Offensive supporting cast. I don't think Sam Bradford would have made a significant difference in this game. In the first half, a costly dropped pass, two or three Offensive penalties by receivers, subpar Offensive Line play, and ordinary RB play, jumped out. In addition, the Rams missed a 50 yard FG, which led to the Vikings second FG of the game. In the 2nd half, after Hill was unable to play because of a leg related injury, Austin Davis was over his head at QB and with the problematic supporting cast, the Vikings Defense looked like a combination of the '85 Bears Defense and the Seahawks current Defense.
Jeff Fisher has final say in personnel decisions with the Rams. Though I believe Fisher is a good HC, he seems over his head in terms of being the key football decision maker in the Rams organization. It could end costing Fisher his job and St. Louis its NFL Franchise.
Quote:Never trade into the top 10 for a WR lacking any elite measurables. Tavon Austin is basically Ace Sanders but we got him four rounds later in that same draft.
If I'm drafting a top 10 WR he better have measurables and upside similar to Calvin, Julio, AJ, etc.
Exactly right, which is why the Jaguars moving up to take Blackmon in 2012 bothered me so much.
The top 5 is for the Calvin Johnsons and Julio Jones, not the Reggie Waynes.
Quote:I think you could add the Seahawks into this. Didn't they trade their first rounder+ that year to Minny for Harvin? Patterson was uber raw but had the same skill set of Percy, was just stuck at the dumpster fire program of Tennessee. Could've saved 67 million and gotten a better player without injury issues.
Obviously they could care less with the team they have and the ring, but thank goodness for the rest of the NFL they went the Percy route instead of going for a cheaper option.
Edit, after looking at more stuff I thought Percy missed more games in his career up to that point than he did and hindsight is obviously 20/20. But he was never a stretch the field receiver type they were looking for, especially being 5'11. Patterson is 6'2? Goodness.
Great points, though I don't think it was to quite the extent that Percy Harvin missed more games than he played while with the Vikings. This doesn't even include the baggage that led to Percy Harvin being traded by the Vikings.
Overall though, the Rams arguably made the bigger mistake than the Seahawks in that they traded a better draft picks package than the Seahawks did and Tavon Austin doesn't have Percy Harvin's ability because Austin has limited power.
The other team that could easily have made a huge mistake is the Patriots, which traded pick # 29 to the Vikings instead of drafting C. Patterson themselves. Interestingly, the Patriots play in Minnesota this week and will get to see Patterson first hand. I hope that Patterson doesn't make them pay for their 2013 decision. But Patterson is the type of player that can impact a game in ways very few players can. If Patterson's route running skills catch up to his potential, he could emerge as an MVP type of player in the next few seasons.
Quote:I wonder if things will change when they move to LA.
History might be repeating itself. Back in late October, 1987, the old Los Angeles Rams traded RB Eric Dickerson for a mega package of trade picks in a 3 way trade with the Colts and Bills. The Rams did a bad job with most of their draft selections. By the early 1990's, the Rams became one of the worst teams in the NFL, Empty seats were the norm at Anaheim Stadium. In 1995, they moved to St. Louis.
Now, it's realistic to think that the Rams are on a path to move back to the Los Angeles area, following a near decade of losing football year after year. It's hard to blame the people of St. Louis not buying tickets but sadly, St. Louis might be losing another NFL team.
If the Rams do move back to LA or stay in St. Louis, they need to make much better football decisions for them to seriously compete with in the NFC West and overall.
Quote:I think you could add the Seahawks into this. Didn't they trade their first rounder+ that year to Minny for Harvin? Patterson was uber raw but had the same skill set of Percy, was just stuck at the dumpster fire program of Tennessee. Could've saved 67 million and gotten a better player without injury issues.
Obviously they could care less with the team they have and the ring, but thank goodness for the rest of the NFL they went the Percy route instead of going for a cheaper option.
Edit, after looking at more stuff I thought Percy missed more games in his career up to that point than he did and hindsight is obviously 20/20. But he was never a stretch the field receiver type they were looking for, especially being 5'11. Patterson is 6'2? Goodness.
The difference is that the Seahawks were making a push for the Super Bowl and Darell Bevell had experience with Harvin as his offensive coordinator in Minnesota. Harvin knew the offense before he arrived. When he had the hip surgery, Bevell admitted that about 1/3 of the Seahawks playbook was scrapped. This year in the draft, they told everybody that their draft was going to be O-Line heavy as a smoke screen, then they traded down out of the first round (giving Minny Teddy Bridgewater) and selected Paul Richardson out of Colorado. Now, if Harvin gets injured, they still have a similar player who can run those plays.
Pete Carroll and John Scheider were probably looking ahead to this past draft that has been called "the deepest wide receiver draft in history" when they made that move. These guys are really smart and work really well together. I have no doubt that Cordarelle Patterson is going to be a better player in the long term. But, the Bridgewater trade netted them Paul Richardson (after trading down again with the Lions) and Cassius Marsh, then they used their own second round pick for starting right tackle Justin Brit.
I think the Harvin trade greased the wheels for the Bridgewater trade. There was a lot of bad blood between these two franchises over the Steve Hutchinson poison pill back in 2006. The Seahawks have been the most forward thinking team about the ramifications of this new collective bargaining agreement since before the ink was dried on it. They leave me screaming over cutting players like Benson Mayowa and seem to come out okay for it.
Ask the Denver Broncos is they thought Percy Harvin was worth it.
As for Tavon Austin, I think the Rams tricked themselves into thinking he was a clone of Tory Holt.
Quote:As much criticism as the St. Louis Rams are probably going to continue to receive for passing on Blake Bortles in favor of Greg Robinson, there's already a crystal clear draft mistake they made in 2013 that's costing them in a substantial manner. The Rams had pick # 16. They traded up with the Bills to pick # 8 in order to draft WR-RS Tavon Austin. Not only does Austin look like only a situational player on Offense, which is costly enough for the Rams, they passed on WR-RB-KR Cordarrelle Patterson, who the Vikings traded up to pick # 29 to draft.
I'm already convinced that if Patterson remains relatively healthy most of his NFL career, Austin can't come close to Patterson's upside on Offense. Every time Patterson touches the ball, he's capable of scoring a TD. To the extent that the time is probably going to come in the next couple of years that Patterson will be more of a focal point of opposing Defenses than Adrian Peterson. If you didn't get a chance to see Patterson's TD run today, in which he ran through and around defenders, you probably will see a similar run sooner rather than later.
As I said on here several times Robinson was a 1 year wonder at Auburn in a run system. Auburn already has a tackle that is 6'6 320 taking his place and is stronger they say than Robinson.
Fisher is making some real mistakes lately. Robinson may work out though over the years to come.We will see. The Austin pick floored me. We got a similar pick in the 4th round just not as quick in Ace Sanders