The Stream: Where the Rams Hurt the Most

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Thanks for coming by The Stream today, ladies and gents. Got a lot of stuff to hit on here, so let’s get started.

Let’s take a look at the biggest Rams needs from a numbers standpoint. ProFootballFocus.com has done their homework for quite awhile now when it comes to breaking down film and accurately rating players and their play. According to their ratings, here’s the rating of the Rams units by position taking the averages of all players that played at least 25 percent of the snaps at each position.

Defense

Tackle (G. Gibson, Robbins, Bannan, Scott): 8.3 (-1.0 against the run)

Inside linebacker (Laurinaitis): 5.6

End (Long, Hall, Quinn, Sims): 3.0 (-3.3 against the run)

Outside linebacker (Chamberlain, Poppinga): -0.9

Cornerback (Harris, Hood, Fletcher, Gordy, King): -5.5

Safety (Mikell, Dahl, Stewart): -8.5

Offense

Running back (Jackson, Williams): 4.0

Wide receiver (Lloyd, Alexander, B. Gibson, Pettis): 0.6

Quarterback (Bradford): -3.7

Center (Brown, Wragge): -5.4

Tackle (Dahl, Smith, Goldberg, Saffold): -6.2

Tight end (Hoomanawanui, Kendricks, Bajema): -9.5

Guard (Dahl, Brown, Bell): -14.6

A couple of things these numbers tell me:

1. These numbers aren’t an exact science, obviously. The eye has to be part of everyone’s equation when forming an opinion on each of the Rams’ position units.

2. Defensive backs are needed. The low rating at the safety position is somewhat surprising, but that can be attributed in part to all of the tackles those players missed in games that turned eight- or 10-yard runs into 20- and 30-yard runs. And I don’t need to bust out the breaking news sounder to let you know that you can’t have enough cornerbacks.

3. The defensive line is not a need right now, at least compared to some of the other positions.

4. Something has to be done with the offensive line. Again, this isn’t some sort of news flash, but some will attribute the poor play of the offensive line to the sometimes-confusing Josh McDaniels system of last season. But unless something gets better in a hurry, there needs to be some major changes.

5. This includes the tight end position. Illinois Mike is injury-prone. Billy Bajema had the second-worst rating of any Ram that fit the criteria. Lance Kendricks still has a chance to be a good tight end, but depth is a big-time issue and must be addressed. My guess is this would be a need wrapped up in free agency, unless the Rams feel it would be prudent to draft one just one year after drafting Kendricks.

6. Notice the first five notes didn’t mention anything about a need at wide receiver. Sure, it’s a big need, but I think this little experiment showed me just how pressing some of these other needs are. Keep in mind, Brandon Lloyd (5.8 rating) likely won’t return to the Rams.

Just some things to ponder. It’s all subject to discussion, and that’s what makes the NFL offseason so fun, and so popular.

Mercy. Someone throw in the towel on this Illinois season. It was just Monday that I was trying to tell Illini fans that there was still a chance they could make the NCAA Tournament, especially since there was still a loaded back end to the Illini regular-season schedule. Nevertheless, they quickly threw away that chance to give this season one last 180-degree turn back into the right direction by promptly digging themselves a 28-8 hole at No. 8 Ohio State. Bruce Weber lost by 16 to the Buckeyes and might have lost any chance he had left of keeping his job in Champaign.

Mercy.

Great to hear that my friend and colleague Randy Karraker is doing well after heart surgery. He sounds like a million bucks and he’s getting better really fast. He’s been an inspiration to me and a lot of other people here at 101 ESPN. I can’t wait to see him back. It won’t be too much longer I have a feeling, and that’s great news for everyone.

I love the fans and media that get all upset with the Jeremy Lin coverage. All I did was hear from all of these crybabies about how much undue national attention that Tim Tebow was getting and how they all wished it would just go away. Then, here comes Lin. The thought of Tebow has been severely subdued and people are still upset because now someone else is getting some coverage. Jeez, who cares? There are so many times we get mad at media for all of the negative stories they choose to spend their time on, then the minute they spend some time on a feel-good story, we complain because they’re overdoing it. Really?

Thanks for reading. Comment below and we’ll chat.