MVN - Most Valuable Network

Devaney’s Draft Has Focus

Billy Devaney’s first, and perhaps Scott Linehan’s last, draft with the St. Louis Rams had one quality above all others: focus.

While the merits of each individual selection are still being debated, some more than others, it’s undeniable to me that the Rams had a plan going into the draft and that they worked that plan throughout the weekend. For better or worse, that plan will have a direct bearing on the team’s fortunes in 2008.

The strategy that the Rams’ brass employed had several elements, as follows: fill specific position needs, increase team speed, add players who have demonstrated character and a sense of commitment, and create competition at several positions to bring out the most in each player. Let’s look at each element.

1) Fill specific position needs: Going into the draft, it was clear that the Rams needed immediate help at DE and WR, and that the depth on the offensive line had to be improved. With the always-uncertain status of Fakhir Brown, it made sense to acquire another CB. Other depth needs, such as at LB, safety, and FB, were also there to be addressed. A less obvious but equally important set of deficiencies on special teams also required attention.

Chris Long was clearly the best available DE in the draft and his acquisition provides a big boost to the defensive line. His versatility will allow Jim Haslett to be very creative with the position and to achieve the primary aim of exerting more pressure on opposing QB’s. Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton bring speed and youth to an undermanned and aging WR corps, and they provide a challenge to Dante Hall in the return game. While each has his shortcomings, which the coaching staff will earn their pay to address, they add a vertical dimension to the attack that was conspicuously absent last year (remember all those 4-yard out patterns?) Greco and Scheuning are excellent picks for the offensive line. Two maulers, they add depth and have the ability to boost the running game. Justin King adds speed and depth to the CB position, although he needs time to refine his man-coverage skills. Whatever the opinion of others, the Rams felt that WR was a higher priority than LB, so the somewhat overrated Dan Connor was not drafted in the second round. The depth issue at LB was addressed in the seventh round with the selections of Chamberlain and Voroba, although I suspect that, if either of them does in fact make the final roster, it will be as a special teams player. Both are highly regarded for their tackling, and Voroba was seen by some observers as a possible mid-round choice.

2) Increase team speed: The Rams last year were about as slow-footed a bunch as I have ever had the displeasure of watching. Plays took forever to develop, and opponents stacked the box with impunity, daring the Rams to try to run past them. Avery, Burton, and King, a former WR, have speed to burn, and each is capable of returning kicks as well as adding quickness to his position. Their acquisition adds a new dimension of excitement that has been missing since the heyday of the GSOT.

3) Added character and commitment: None of the new Rams has, to my knowledge, any character issues. I have not seen a single reference to an arrest, an upcoming hearing or trial, or any problems with substance abuse. This is a welcome change from the days of selecting people like Claude Terrell, Dominique Byrd, and Claude Wroten, and one that I attribute to the presence of Billy Devaney. It can’t be the influence of Linehan, since he chose Wroten and Byrd in the draft two years ago. Linehan has now eagerly jumped on the company character bandwagon, but I wonder that, if left to his own devices in the last year of his contract, he would have seen nothing but imagined talent, ignoring character issues, in order to try to save his job. Each Ram draftee has a history of commitment to football, an example that I hope will rub off on players like Wroten.

4) Creating competition: The addition of Avery and Burton puts the pressure on Hagans, Looker, Stanley, Caldwell, and Williams, to step up or be gone. Greco will push everyone except Pace, especially, I hope, Barron, who more than anyone else on the team needs a well-placed boot. He and Scheuning will put particular pressure on Dustin Fry, the C/G who by his own admission, “just couldn’t get it” all last year. I’m counting on King to pressure journeyman David Macklin right off the team. Macklin is a journeyman at best, and that is an insult to journeymen. Having watched him with the Cardinals, I nicknamed him “Bonfire,” for obvious reasons. Chamberlain and Voroba hopefully will add some aggressiveness to special teams coverage units.

I don’t know how these draft picks will work out. No one does. I do know that now is the time for the position coaches to start earning their money and for the Rams players to step up. Personally, I’m happy that, at least for this year, the Rams’ draft seemed to have direction and purpose.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 12:12 am and is filed under Dominique Byrd, Claude Terrell, Rams Players, Scott Linehan, Fakhir Brown, Jim Haslett, Marques Hagans, Derek Stanley, John Greco, Roy Scheuning, Keenan Burton, Chris Long, Rams Special Teams, 2008 NFL Draft, Rams Offense, Alex Barron, Special Teams, Dante Hall, Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, Justin King, Dan Connor, Dustin Fry, Richie Incognito, Mark Setterstrom, Orlando Pace, Brett Romberg, Claude Wroten, Rams Defense, NFL Draft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.