SB Nation - Bradley Fletcher

Two Years Ago Today...

RossWB — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:07:59 -0000

Worst. Senior Day. Ever.

Funny how much can change in just two years. Two years ago today the Iowa football team suffered arguably its worst -- or most humiliating, at least -- defeat of the last decade. Oh, there have been more lopsided defeats and there have probably even been defeats to teams worse than the 2007 Western Michigan Broncos (who were a pretty middling outfit). Many of those defeats happened during the formative years of Kirk Ferentz's tenure, when his Iowa teams played hard but frequently lacked talent and/or experience. Or they happened against bitter in-state rivals or hyper-motivated conference rivals, so it was easy to rationalize the loss by saying "they wanted it more."

But the November 17, 2007 loss to Western Michigan didn't fit any of those easy categories. It was far from the most talented or most experienced squads of the Ferentz Era, but it wasn't completely lacking in those departments, either. It featured Albert Young and Damian Sims, who had been a dynamite combination in years past. The defensive front seven was pretty well-stocked with talent and experience, too, between Kenny Iwebema, Mitch King, Matt Kroul, Bryan Mattison, Mike Klinkenborg, and Mike Humpal. It wasn't as if the team had nothing to play for, either -- beyond the standard pride of Senior Day, they needed one more win to ensure themselves a trip to a bowl game (Western Michigan didn't even have that to play for; they were just acting as spoilers).

Defeat and misery that week wasn't exclusive to the action on the field, either. The week of November 17, 2007 also saw the first news reports of a sexual assault involving Cedric Everson and Abe Satterfield. Eight months later those reports would explode into a nightmarish scandal that threatened to paint Kirk Ferentz, the athletic department, and the University of Iowa administration as badly negligent and aloof at best and guilty of conspiracy and obstruction of justice at worst; it made Iowa football the leading example of "Programs Gone Wild." That was two years ago.

Today, it seems like a lifetime ago. On the field, Iowa went from a team that was pushed around by Western Michigan to a team that was a play or two away from beating Ohio State in Columbus, winning the Big Ten title, and going to the Rose Bowl for the first time in nearly two decades. That's a pretty remarkable transformation. (The fact that they did it with a team that was ravaged by injuries and missing most of its offensive leaders is even more astounding.) Could you have ever envisioned such a quick turnaround? Many of the guys who have emerged as leaders and key performers on this team were blooded in the painful slog of 2007, like Adrian Clayborn, Christian Ballard, A.J. Edds, and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. The transformation of DJK is a great example of Iowa's turnaround in general. My enduring memory of him from the Western Michigan game is of him seemingly quitting on a play and talking to some fans in the end zone while a Bronco defensive back was running back an interception. My enduring memories of him from the Ohio State game will be of multiple clutch catches and, of course, of the rally-igniting 99-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter when hope was slipping away. He's gone from a talented but raw and sometimes immature talent to an extremely reliable target in the passing game and an explosive playmaker in general.

Yes, he's totally checking out his runback on the Jumbotron.

But many of the top performers in 2009 would have never been predicted back in 2007. Pat Angerer, arguably the heart and soul of the 2009 defense, nearly quit football in 2007 after dealing with a serious of injuries and illnesses. Amari Spievey, one of the best cornerbacks in the conference in 2009, had washed out of Iowa in 2007 thanks to an inability to go to class. Brett Greenwood was, well, EPIC GREENWOOD back then; now he's a guy everyone was relieved to see take the field against the Buckeyes. The other defensive secondary spots were manned by the much-maligned Harold Dalton and the combination of Adam Shada (victim of the third indignity suffered by the Iowa football team that day/week, which was the betrayal of the Iowa fanbase as expressed through the boos directed at him) and Bradley Fletcher (who was burned more than a charcoal briquette back then) and there didn't seem to be much hope of better players in the program if they were the best we could send out there. (A year later, of course, Dalton was quickly replaced by Tyler "Motherfucking" Sash and Fletcher transformed himself into an NFL draft pick.)

Offensively, Iowa went from having one of the worst offenses in football in 2007 to having... well, a more timely offense, at least. Statistically, it's still not very good in most respects, but the ability of the 2009 Iowa team to come through in the clutch is almost unprecedented among other Ferentz Era teams. The 2007 team lost a pair of games in the fourth quarter (at Wisconsin and at Iowa State); the 2009 team has come from behind in the fourth quarter in four of its wins this year (and came from behind to send the game OT last weekend). A few of the faces remain the same from 2007 -- DJK, Tony Moeaki, Bryan Bulaga, Rafael Eubanks (to name a few) -- but experience and maturity have improved their performances tremendously.

Marvin McNutt owns the slant route and don't you ever forget it.

Since that loss to Western Michigan, Iowa has gone 18-6. That run has included a pair of upset wins over top-five teams (Penn State, twice), a program-best 9-0 start this year, wins over every Big Ten team but three (Ohio State, Illinois, and -ugh- Northwestern), a rare win over Iowa State in Ames, a 55-0 demolition of Minnesota in the final Gopher game ever played in the Metrodome, a dominant Outback Bowl victory, and perhaps more come-from-behind wins than in all the other years of the Ferentz Era combined. And while all six of those losses have been painful in their own way, there's something to be said of the competitive spirit that's been on display in all of them as well. The 2007 Western Michigan game was the fourth game that year that Iowa lost by nine or more points -- none of the six subsequent losses have been by more than seven points.

The journey of 2009 is far from over -- a 10-win season is still in our grasp, there's some Gophers to destroy, a big bronze pig to keep, and a bowl game somewhere warm to win -- but on this day, the anniversary of one of the darkest and most depressing moments in recent Iowa football history, it's worth taking a moment to stop and think about how far we've already come in such a short period of time. The pain of losing the de facto Big Ten Championship Game to Ohio State stings, but it feels a hell of a lot better than the ache of losing to Western Michigan and being lost in the college football wilderness.

Kenny bled to get that pig back, man. Floyd is ours, dammit.

Ten Big Big Ten Questions

grahamfiller10 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:00:10 -0000

In concert with SBN's excellent menagerie of Big Ten minds, we bring to you nine of the most pressing questions facing Big 10 football this year...and one rodent-infused query. Will Terrelle Pryor push the Bucks to another conference title? Which coach won't survive to lead his team in 2010? What is Brutus the Buckeye compensating for with his oversized melon? Enjoy our extensive look at Big Ten football in 2009.

Who is the Big Ten's Player of the Year in 2009 and why?

Kevin HD from Black Shoe Diaries:

What, we aren't just accepting the Big Ten media's pick? The homer in me says it should be either Daryll Clark, Evan Royster, or Sean Lee — all players that I think are the best at their respective position. None of these guys are as far ahead of their competition, though, as Illinois' Arrelious Benn. His game changing ability is bigger than the new Kings Of Leon album and it’s straight scary how easily and unpreventably he can change the direction of an entire game.

What 2008 Big Ten bowl team misses the post season in 2009?

Pete Rossman from The Only Colors:

Seven teams from the Big Ten went to bowl games in 2008. Ohio State, Penn State, and Iowa are shoe-ins for the postseason. Despite question marks at quarterback and running back for the following teams, Michigan State should get there on the strength of eight returning starters on defense, and Northwestern will get to December under a solid coaching job from Pat Fitzgerald.

This leaves Wisconsin and Minnesota, and of those teams, I feel Wisconsin underachieved (stunning loss to Michigan and an implosion at Michigan State last year), and Minnesota overachieved (4-0 in a weak nonconference schedule, and they did not beat a Big 10 bowl team last season). Wisconsin will get luckier this season, and Minnesota less so. Thus, Minnesota will be the Big 10 bowl team that misses the postseason in 2009.

When does Michigan win their next conference championship?

Dave from Maize and Brew:

Probably 2011. As much as I'd love to say 2010, Michigan's going to have a load of holes to fill on the offensive line next year. By 2011 Tate will be a junior, the line will have recovered from this year's coming graduations, and the defense will be veteran. Plus, it'll be year four of Rodriguez offensive system and year three of Robinson's defensive system. There are some obvious counter arguments, Pryor will be a Senior at Ohio State, Michigan State will be in year four under Dantonio, Brewster's got Minnesota on the upswing, yadda yadda. Based on Michigan's recruiting, the time it takes to implement this system, and the kids already in place I think 2011 is Michigan's first real shot since 2007 (we all know what happened then) to capture a Big Ten title.

Are the same 11 head coaches on the sideline at the start of the 2010 season?

Adam from Bucky's 5th Quarter:

No. Ten of the 11 coaches will remain the same, but Indiana will have a new leader after Bill Lynch is let go in the off-season. He took over the IU program under tough circumstances when Terry Hoeppner passed away and whether it's his fault or not, the program has lost all the momentum Hoeppner had going. Rich Rodriguez and Bret Bielema are two other coaches that need to have good seasons, but neither will be fired after this season no matter how hot the seat gets.

Other than your own, whose mascot would you like to have walking your sideline?

Gopher Nation from The Daily Gopher:

A little known fact: Goldy the Gopher is actually a chipmunk with the teeth of a beaver. One of the first cartoon depictions of the Gophers, the artist mistakenly drew a chipmunk, but it stuck and nobody really knows the difference anyway. Here is the wikipedia explanation...

"In a comparison between Goldy and several kinds of rodent, the gopher was judged to look least like Goldy -- the results judged that his appearance was closest to a chipmunk or squirrel. Another animal Goldy is claimed to look like is the beaver, due to the buck teeth and tail. These inaccuracies are because when the gopher was declared the mascot of the University, the artist hired to create the mascot did not know what a gopher looked like. As a replacement, he drew some furry animals he saw at a rest stop."

Here is my answer to the question though: It is undeniable that there are some lame mascots in the Big Ten. Exhibit A: the Ohio State Buckeyes! Really? Years of a Napoleon Complex with their mascot as it's root (pun intended) is probably what led to developing such a dominant football program. If I have to pick something other than my beloved Goldy Gopher I would go sans mascot. While Zips, Banana Slugs, Salukis and Hilltoppers are all clever and very unique I want to stand out from the crowd by being nothing. We would be the only team in the country without a mascot, everything would be non-descript except our dominating football team. One can dream can't he?

Who would you rather have as your starting quarterback in 2009, Juice Williams or Ricky Stanzi?

Toki Wartooth from Hail To The Orange:

I will be brief and to the point. Based on last season's statistics. Juice has a higher QB rating, more passing touchdowns, a higher QB rating, more completions, a slightly worse TD to INT ration (1,5 for Stanzi, 1.38 for Juice) only 2 points lower in the completion percentage, and all with an injury inflicted O-line and nowhere near the RB support that Stanzi had in Greene.

Juice also ran for 700 yards and 5 ground TDs. He may get a bad rap based on his early seasons, but Juice is easily my choice over Stanzi.

If any Big Ten team plays for the National Championship, who is it?

Sam from We Will Always Have Tempe:

Penn State. The schedule is simply set up for it. Both Ohio State and Iowa - almost universally considered to be two of the top three teams in the conference this year - come to Happy Valley, and the OOC schedule is Charmin Soft. Darryl Clark and Evan Royster should keep the Penn State offense at an explosive tempo, and the presence of Jared Odrick, Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee ensure that Penn State's front seven will be one of top 5 in America. If Penn State can get by Ohio State at home and Illinois on the road, there's no reason they shouldn't be playing for the national title in Pasadena.

Indiana or Purdue...who is closer to making a bowl game?

BoilerTMill from Hammer and Rails:

Purdue, and for reasons other than me wearing Gold and Black colored glasses. If both teams are supposedly worse than last year there is no way that Purdue has fallen from that 52 point thumping they handed IU. Purdue's defense is also expected to be much, much better and one of the top units in the Big Ten. I wouldn't be surprised if Purdue squeezed out six wins and went to Detroit, Indiana is a different story, however. If both teams have five wins going into the Bucket game I am picking Purdue solely because of last year's 62-10 drubbing when both teams were "even" coming in.

If Ohio State or Penn State doesn't win the Big Ten, who is the most likely to end up in Pasadena?

Hawkeye State from Black Heart Gold Pants:

It's Iowa, and it's not even up for debate.

Yes, we've heard the critics: Shonn Greene is gone, Mitch King is gone, Bradley Fletcher is gone. But what returns is the best offensive line in the conference, a line so good that I could rack up 5 yards per carry running behind it. What returns is arguably the best linebacker corps and secondary in the conference, 6 starters with a combined 18 interceptions between them (including last season's top 3 conference interception leaders). What returns is a quarterback who entered last season without a meaningful snap under his belt and ended the year by winning 5 of his last 6. What returns is a team drinking its own Kool-Aid, confident in itself in ways we haven't seen in 5 years. On talent and schedule, Ohio State and Penn State might be the preseason darlings. Go ahead. Give them the love before the ball has even been snapped. Once the games are played, once those snaps have been taken, someone else will be getting all that adoration. Mark my words: Iowa is taking the Big Ten.

Who wins the Big Ten?

Law Buckeye from The Rivalry, Esq:

Conference races are frequently defined by three personalities. There's the favorite. There's the challenger. And, there's the darkhorse.

What makes the Big Ten interesting this year is that there are two favorites (Ohio State, Penn State), two challengers (Iowa, Michigan State), and a wild orange Stallion (Illinois).

Each team will probably stumble during conference play. Ohio State has to face Penn State in State College in November. They get Iowa at home, but it's the week before they play That State Up North, up north. Both teams could run over a young Buckeye linebacking corps that (with Tyler Moeller out) doesn't have a clear speedster on the strong side. Penn State gets Iowa at home the week before it hits the road to face Illinois in Champaign. Both Ricky Stanzi and Juice Williams are capable of shooting up a weak Nittany Lion secondary that replaces all four starters from 2008.

Although Iowa is more experienced -- and probably more talented -- than the Spartans, the Hawkeyes have to play away at Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Ohio State. At least one of those games will be a deal breaker. Michigan State, on the other hand, gets lucky with visits from Michigan, Iowa, and Penn State. They don't have to play Ohio State either. Finally, Illinois is the rogue outlier. The level of talent Zook brings in is as good as anyone else in the conference, but he hasn't developed his guys to play as a team. Count on the Illini to pull at least one major upset down the stretch.

Ultimately though, it's Ohio State that will carry the day -- adding another entry to a resume that's already littered with four consecutive Big Ten titles. The reason is simple: Terrelle Pryor. Like Vince Young, Pryor has the size, speed, and natural instincts to pick up a team and carry it on his back. Clear gains in passing prowess over the offseason put him in a position to explode out of the gate in 2009.

If he does, the absentee Buckeyes will return to Pasadena. They just won't be there on January 7 when the BCS National Championship is played.

2009 NFL Draft: Big 10 Players Drafted

grahamfiller10 — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:46:59 -0000

# Players Picked From Each Big 10 School

Ohio State (7) - Marcus Freeman, Brian Hartline, Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinatis, Brian Robiskie, Donald Washington, Chris Wells

Penn State (5) - Deon Butler, Aaron Maybin, Rich Ohrnberger, A.Q. Shipley, Derrick Williams

Iowa (4) - Bradley Fletcher, Shonn Greene, Brandon Myers, Seth Olsen

Wisconsin (4) - Travis Beckum (looks like we correctly predicted when he would get drafted...in January-take that you experts), DeAndre Levy, Matt Shaughnessy, Kraig Urbik

Illinois (3) - Vontae Davis, Will Davis, Xavier Fulton

Michigan (2) - Terrance Taylor, Morgan Trent

Purdue (2) - Alex Magee, Curtis Painter (check out Painter's ranking...)

Michigan State (1) - Javon Ringer

# of Big 10 Players Selected, Last 4 Years

2005: 41

2006: 31

2007: 27

2008: 28

First Round Money...Maybin (left) about to be rolling in a Maybach

Comments and Surprises

Beanie Wells went to Arizona in the first round. Will Beanie the Destroyer and his 240 lb. frame fit in Arizona's Spread Offense?

Deon Butler helped himself considerably this offseason, running 4.3 40 times and dominating pre-draft practices. The Seahawks are going to be extremely happy with their third round selection.

We knew someone would be ripped for choosing Brian Robiskie. That unlucky team is the Cleveland Browns, who scooped up Robiskie in Round 2. He hasn't played a down and is being referred to as having the ceiling of a complimentary receiver. Touche. At least Robiskie (who grew up in Cleveland and played for OSU) won't be far from home.

Somehow Morgan Trent, the five star recruit Michigan cornerback who underperformed at UM, got drafted in Round 6. I know he's fast, but his years at Michigan weren't entirely fruitful.

Welcome To The NFL, Part 1: The Drafteds

Oops Pow Surprise — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:30:09 -0000

So, Iowa got a few guys drafted. Four is good, though we were really hoping for five or six, and at least one guy (Shonn) going on Saturday. That didn't happen, but all in all, good times.

This never gets old.

Money is green, and Greene is money: Congrats to the Jets, who said, for all intents and purposes, "screw the rest of the draft; we want Shonn Greene right now." At the start of the 3rd round, the Jets' front office sent every remaining pick but one to the Lions for the first pick of the day, then immediately scooped up Greene. He'll be stepping into a situation where Thomas Jones is getting his bitch on (and kinda for good reason; base salary of $900,000? Jeez), and the only other tailback worth a crap is Leon Washington. Now the only questions are from whom Greene takes carries, and how many.

Rex Ryan and Shonn Greene are a match well made; consider these two quotes:

"He was the best player that was on our board," Jets Coach Rex Ryan said. "In our opinion, it wasn’t close.

"He’s a big, powerful running back. We want to have a little ground and pound."

"The game of football is a physical sport. That’s why I enjoy it so much," Greene told reporters. "I love contact. It’s violent, it’s quick, it’s fast. That’s just the nature of my game, how I like to play the game."

Considering that Jones is 31 in August and about to price himself out of the league--there's not much of a market for slowing tailbacks who command 12-year-veteran money, which Jones ought to be at the end of his contract --it looks like this is a situation where Greene can thrive for years, especially since his knees are younger than his 24 years suggest. Proud ovation for Greene and the Jets.

Fletch lives: We're still in shock as to how Bradley Fletcher could have improved - not even from freshman to senior, but junior to senior - to the point that he's going in the early third round. But sure enough, right after Greene went, the Rams said "oh yeah, Iowa's got some guys"* and took Fletcher with the 66th pick.

Todd McShay immediately killed the pick, using the usual scout-talk overreaction that makes us wonder why Fletcher even plays football in the first place:

Fletcher was the biggest reach. While he's a big, physical corner, he lacks ideal range and is not an overly instinctive playmaker, so I'm not sure he'll ever be more than another sub-package DB on a roster filled with plenty of them already.

Easy there, Todd. Fletcher was also widely considered the best cover-2 corner at the Senior Bowl; the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. Since we're horribly biased, of course, we'll say "fuck that truth" and demand that ESPN add the phrase "who is covered in Awesomesauce" after Fletcher's name in perpetuity in compensation for such a greivous slight.

A much better selection than his twin sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley: After a few dozen picks in which we wondered why the hell Unusual Punishment hadn't been drafted yet, Seth Olsen went to Denver with the 132nd pick, late in the 4th round.

You let that belly HANG, brother!

We're not sure he's got the lateral quickness to play tackle and stop an elite pass rusher-- as a matter of fact, we're kind of sure that's one reason why Ferentz plugged him in at guard-- but tackle seems to be where MHR's analysis is projecting him anyway. We'll be very interested to see what kind of playing time Olsen earns, where, and what he does with it.

Um… thank you?: Normally, when a team trades up to take a player, they're so convinced that he's the best player available that he's worth multiple picks to get on the roster. The assumption, though, is that said team's scouting staff is A: competent, B: a staff at all, and C: anybody other than Al Davis.

After two truly miserable selections to start the draft--it's incredible when you take 2009's Troy Williamson at the #7 pick and that's not even your worst move of the first day by a long shot--the Raiders slogged through an uneventful Day 2 before trading their 7th pick and next year's 6th (or something like that) to get TE Brandon Myers. That would usually be an indication that the Raiders think Myers is a lock to make the final roster, but again, the Al Davis thing. Anymore, we're genuinely surprised Davis selected actual, eligible, human football players with every pick, and didn't finally snap and draft his cat. Mr. Snugglestein has the fluid hips and lateral speed for the next level, etc. etc.

But we digress. Myers has a plausible shot at a roster spot, considering the Raiders' TE situation consists of three corpses named Zach Miller, Tony Stewart, and Darrell Strong. We've only ever heard of one of them; that'd be Miller, who we picked up off waivers in fantasy football to fill a bye week slot a couple years ago, then immediately dropped after he contributed zero catches for zero yards. Fuck you Zach Miller.

Miller, seen here playing football like an asshole.

Either way, we hope Myers brings along a wooden stake, as it's entirely possible that he'll need to slay Al Davis in order to save himself from becoming one of the undead.

And then the draft ended, and Mitch King, who we were pretty sure would be picked somewhere around the middle of the draft, was still a free agent. NFL teams can be goddamn stupid sometimes.

St. Louis Rams 2009 NFL Draft grades

VanRam — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:51:58 -0000

The 2009 NFL Draft has come and gone, and with that, the argument begins as to how the Rams, led by new GM Billy Devaney, came out of the first April affair of the post-Zygmunt era. How'd we do?

Here's a recap of the weekend with thoughts on each of the players taken and some discussion of the draft itself.
Tackle Box posted a look at the how the new players impact the Rams roster for '09, what holes remain, and a look at what might be on the table for next year's draft.
Finally, reading the national critics and the comments here, I think most were relatively pleased, if somewhat unexcited by the Rams draft. Here's a FanPost, with some good discussion going in the comments, with a counter, very critical view of the Rams draft. Be sure to weigh in.

What are they saying about the draft elsewhere, what kind of grades are tehy handing out? Let's take a look.

Pete Prisco of CBSSportsline.com gives the Rams a B-. Here's what he said about the draft:

They couldn't miss with the second overall pick and they did some other nice things

Best pick: Getting linebacker James Laurinaitis in the second round is a nice move. He is a big hitter who has good instincts. Steve Spagnuolo will love him.
Questionable move: Passing on Eugene Monroe for Jason Smith. That's a move we'll watch closely for the next 10 years.
Second-day gem: Fourth-round pick Dorell Scott has talent, but he under-achieved last season. But he has talent to get into the rotation at defensive tackle.

From USA Today, where they gave the Rams a C:

OT Jason Smith has that "can't miss" aspect to him but there's not much going on on that O-line between him on the left side and Alex Barron on the right. Smith replaces Orlando Pace. LB James Laurinaitis kept dropping and Rams got him with the 35th pick. If he plays better than he has been working out, he will help their porous run defense. His success may hinge on whether DT Dorell Scott can become a run-stopper and keep RBs from getting to the second level.

Apparently they missed the Jason Brown signing, which was largely praised as a great free agent signing, for the Rams and others. I can't find anything dogging Laurinaitis for his workouts, and you can see his Combine results (not that workouts mean everything) compare well to other MLB prospects in this draft.

At ESPN Fan Nation, fans graded the Rams draft a B+.

Some notable quotables from the chattering classes...

Bernie Miklasz, from the Post Dispatch, will give it a couple years before making final grades. His list of likes include, Jason Smith, Dorell Scott, and Chris Ogbonnaya. He "sort of liked" the Laurinaitis pick, but preferred Maualuga with the Rams second rounder. He did not like the third round pick of Iowa CB Bradley Fletcher...calling it a reach, though he does note that draft guru Rich Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News had Fletcher ranked as his 66th overall prospect in the draft, the very spot where the Rams took him. Like everyone else, he panned the Keith Null pick.

Here's ESPN's Mike Sando on the needs the Rams did not address in the draft:

The team did address needs at tackle and linebacker early. The Rams had too many needs to address all at once. In a perfect world, they might have added a receiver and defensive tackle earlier. But the needs they addressed early were also real.

Here's SI's Peter King on the Rams:

I can't be happier for the fans of the Rams that this team did the right thing and took a 10-year tackle. Why? The tackle situation was as bad as any single position for any team in football, and getting Jason Smith to replace Orlando Pace was essential ... James Laurinaitis over Rey Maulaluga at LB? It has to do with the Rams' belief that the Ohio State kid can better run a defense. I'll be writing about the Rams' weekend more in-depth at the top of Tuesday's column, but I think it was a positive weekend for St. Louis.

NFL Network's Steve Wyche took a look at the teams with new GMs and coaches this season; here's what he had to say about Devaney's first draft as Rams GM:

New coach Steve Spagnuolo helped win a lot of football games with the New York Giants boasting a rugged and massive offensive line along with a dominating defense keyed by defensive ends and a bell-ringing middle linebacker. St. Louis has won just five games over the past two seasons because of a banged up and somewhat undersized offensive line and not enough WHAM in the middle of the defense.

Jason Smith, the left tackle out of Baylor, was chosen second overall to help remake the offensive line, which got a big boost with the free-agent signing of Jason Brown. If quarterback Marc Bulger and running back Steven Jackson can be shielded, the Rams can be an effective offensive team, although a significant threat at wide receiver is needed to help open the field. WR Donnie Avery had 53 receptions for 674 yards and three touchdowns is the most likely candidate.

Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis is the three-down hammer Spagnuolo wants to be the tone setter on defense. With Chris Long, last year's second overall pick at one defensive end and veteran Leonard Little at the other, Spagnuolo now has some of the pieces to begin the turnaround of a roster that still has plenty of room for upgrades.

Here's Mel Kiper Jr. with ESPN:

GRADE: C If I were the Rams, I would have taken Mark Sanchez at the No. 2 spot, but I do like offensive tackle Jason Smith. Inside linebacker James Laurinaitis was a good selection in the second round. Cornerback Bradley Fletcher would've gone higher if he had better speed. There were better quarterbacks available in the sixth round, when they took Keith Null.

And Todd McShay:

Best pick: OT Jason Smith, Baylor (First round, No. 2 overall)
Worst pick: CB Bradley Fletcher, Iowa (Third round, No. 66 overall)
Bottom line: The Rams made the right call drafting an OT in their situation as a replacement for Orlando Pace at LT. I also thought cashing in on James Laurinaitis at No. 35 was a good move. He should provide leadership and upgrade the range of the Rams' LB corps. After that, though, things fell off for St. Louis. Fletcher was the biggest reach. While he's a big, physical corner, he lacks ideal range and is not an overly instinctive playmaker, so I'm not sure he'll ever be more than another sub-package DB on a roster filled with plenty of them already.

It's funny how divided people are on the Fletcher pick. There were similar issues with Justin King last year, with some seeing great value and others thinking he was just a workout guy; of course, the jury's still out on that one too. CBs are hard to judge, and even the top guys in the draft at that position stir much debate.

That's a pretty good analogy for the whole draft at this point, we'll just have to wait and see what we've got when the competition begins, or camp at any rate.

Poll

How do feel about the Rams 2009 draft?

I love it.

436 votes

In the middle, some good picks, some head-scratchers.

830 votes

I hate it.

41 votes

1307 votes | Poll has closed

Wrapping up the Rams 2009 draft

VanRam — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:29:02 -0000

More photos » by Jason DeCrow - AP

7 months ago: Baylor's Jason Smith gestures after he was selected as the second overall pick by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall, Saturday, April 25, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Browse more photos »

The draft is over for the Rams, seven rounds, seven picks. They addressed some needs with good players at high picks, and took a few raw prospects to finish it out. We'll spend more time parsing the results down the road, by days and years. My biggest takeaway is that they strengthened both the offensive and the defensive lines, a big need.

The high picks, though not necessarily exciting and leaving some room for debate, filled huge holes on the Rams starting roster with players that are widely expected to be instant contributors and grow into core veterans.

The first three rounds went like this, with comment:

R1, #2 - OT Jason Smith: There's some grumbling about this one, with fans divided between OT, Curry and Sanchez. Ultimately, though, given the glaring weakness that the Rams line has been and a key cog available at this spot, that grades out at that spot (in this draft), this pick made sense. Smith and Jason Brown will be the leaders of this young unit, holding their fellow linemen accountable for their play and giving their best on every down, on that there doesn't seem to be much room for argument. Smith might have to start on the right side, a la Jordan Gross in Carolina, to hone his trade, but he could just as easily top Barron for the LT job.

R2, #35 - MLB James Launinaitis: Maualuga had his fans with this pick, but the Rams went with the three-time (or two?) All American from Ohio State, and now have a guy who can instantly contribute, filling gaps, flowing to the ball and making their run defense better. He's also good in coverage, which will help the backfield.

R3, #66 - CB Bradley Fletcher: This pick turned some heads. I was kind of hoping for D.J. Moore here, but the new direction of the Rams defense calls for physical, aggressive corners...a good quality to have in a division featuring some big receivers. The story from inside the war room is that the Rams think Fletcher is ahead of where Justin King was when they drafted him last year, and King was one of camp's surprises until a toe injury sent him to IR for the year. Could we see him at nickel some this year? With his skills, he's an interesting player for blitz packages too.

R4, #103 - DT Dorell Scott: Besides a MLB, the Rams defense needed a big body tackle to play at the nose position. At 312 lbs, Scott can still add 10-15 lbs, which will help him tie-up double blockers. This is something the front four needs, badly, and it allows Carriker (who really needs to have a good season) to line up over a single guard and moves Clifton Ryan out of the NT position and back to an UT role. Scott dropped on draft boards with a slow start to his senior season, but the entire Clemson team struggled, resulting in a coaching change that brought out the player who really shined in his second and third seasons. This is a position that they didn't need to draft early on, and Scott should be able to be part of the rotation at DT right away. I like this pick, and along with Laurinaitis, it really should solidify the front seven.

And here's where a theme develops...the Rams start taking some raw prospects that need a little bit of refining to be a complete player. That's what you want in these rounds, where you can't count on getting ready-made starters to fill needs.

R5, #160 - WR Brooks Foster: What the Rams really need at WR is a true #1, a dynamic playmaker. Those guys were gone by the time their second round pick rolled around (I think they needed a MLB more). Foster's a fine pick for the 5th round, where you're getting guys that you hope can develop, at least to provide depth. Foster is physical and joins the ranks of the Rams possession receivers, like Burton, Robinson, Stanley, etc. Like I said before, I think they'll still need to add an experienced WR before the season, and weight their options in free agency and the draft next year to get the kind of #1 guy they need.

R6, #196 - QB Keith Null: A little more perplexing... Why? Did the Rams really need a QB this bad? I know they're not looking for a starter in the 6th round, but they might have been able to get this guy off the street. He played under Ryan Leaf, but at least with a 6th round pick he won't achieve Leaf's notoriety. I think they got a third QB who fits their West Coast system, fits better than Berlin, probably. He's a good passer, except deep. His upside is a competent backup in an offensive system like this.

R7, #211 - RB Chris Ogbonnaya: Giving bloggers and fans a name they'll struggle with each time they try to spell it, the Rams took a RB who has skills as a runner and receiver. He just never got to show them much in Texas' offense...except against Missouri. He could be a bit better than Kenneth Darby and a make Brian Leonard expendable at some point. Change of pace back. This is a good pick for the seventh round.

So, that's the draft, solid if a little unspectacular. They solidified their offensive and defensive lines with legitimate players, and I like that. I maybe would have liked to see another LB in the later rounds...like maybe the 6th, but I don't have too many quibbles with it now.

Round 3: Rams select Bradley Fletcher - CB - Iowa, who?

VanRam — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:30:18 -0000

Not at all surprised the Rams went with a cornerback here, but nobody outside the Rams draft room saw that coming. So who is Bradley Fletcher?

He's a big, fast, physical CB, what Spagnuolo likes in his CBs. I think when you get to this point in the draft, the divergence among conventional wisdom and draft boards is pretty wide. The Justin King pick surprised everyone last year. From his NFL.com Scouting report:

Excellent size and athleticism for the position; should become effective jamming receivers as a press corner. Gives good effort on every play. Mirrors even the fastest receivers down the sideline. Closes on the ball quickly when playing off his man. Good vertical and strength to high-point the ball in traffic. Fair hands for the interception, and has the coordination and arm length to knock passes away without drawing a flag. Physical enough with receivers to knock the ball out after the catch.

As far as weaknesses, some of them can be ironed out with coaching and hard work, playing too physical, better backpedal, etc. and they could move him to free safety, never know.

Rob Rang and NFLDraftScout.com had him ranked as the #11 CB on the board.

Iowa corner Bradley Fletcher visits Eagles

JasonB — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:16:46 -0000

The Eagles are hosting yet another cornerback leading up to this month's draft, this time it's Bradley Fletcher from Iowa. Fletcher is another CB over six feet tall, but there's talk that he could end up playing safety at the NFL level.

He runs a 4.4 40 and is expected to go around the 3rd or 4th round.

Scott from ITI noted that the Eagles have been working out a whole bunch of corners, in fact the only position they've worked out more is offensive line.

The Valley Ranch Review: Bring on the Bucs! Looking Forward to the 2009 Cowboys

Aaron Novinger — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:00:14 -0000

The teams of the NFC South, the AFC West, along with the Seahawks and Saints - plus the Beasts in the East - will all see the blue star on their season schedules. The early predictors say the Cowboys schedule looks easy in September, but tough come December. Brrr. We all know how cold the Cowboys can be in December.

Calvin Watkins predicts 8-8, Todd Archer says 9-7 and Tim Cowlishaw is the optimist of the bunch over at the DMN with a 10-6 guess.

The Sporting News has a much more optimistic view of the Cowboys, predicting the team will end up as one of the NFL's final four teams.

As always, a plethora of articles popped-up immediately after the schedule release chronicling the Cowboys dominance of the TV market.

Former Cowboys wide receiver, Tony Hill, will be throwing a charity basketball event for his alma mater, Cal Poly.

Among those playing will be Hill, as well as Dallas Cowboys Roy Williams (the receiver), Terence Newman, Martellus Bennett, and Sam Hurd, all of whom Hill is bringing to Long Beach from Dallas. They'll be squaring off against the Snoop Dogg All-Stars, a team that features Snoop, as well as Warren G, David Banner, Ricky Davis, and Mike Epps. Hill says this week they'll have some more names to announce as the schedule and lineup are finalized.

Oklahoma State's Brandon Pettigrew looks up to some NFL tough guys at the tight end position.

It's inspiring to see top guys such as the Cowboys' Jason Witten and the Chargers' Antonio Gates play through everything. Even though they may have all these injuries, you respect them when they suck it up and keep playing.

I like how Witten is versatile and does a lot of things well. That's the kind of role I would love -- tough enough to block, but also be able to stretch the field as a receiver.

The annual Dallas Day went down at The Ranch on Monday.

Iowa cornerback Bradley Fletcher is visiting the Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys news & notes

Dave Halprin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:50:10 -0000

South Carolina linebacker, Jasper Brinkley, is coming in for a visit.

Hat tip to Johnny Cage for the Fanshot.

We all know the Cowboys have the need for a cover safety, even with the addition of Gerald Sensabaugh. Both cornerbacks the Cowboys are meeting with are considered CB/FS tweeners. Jairus Byrd, at 5'10" and 207 pounds, should be available when the Cowboys pick in the second round, and Bradley Fletcher, with his 6'0" 196-pound frame, may help fill the need later in the draft.

The DMN blog focuses on Darcel McBath.

Much more stuff after the jump.

Former Cowboy Kevin Burnett voiced his frustration about his role in Dallas.

"What other choice did I have but to leave?" Burnett said. "They brought in another linebacker and then they tried to sign me, which to me was a slap in the face. On top of that, they wanted me to sign the same kind of deal, and I wasn't willing to do that."

[snip]

"They pigeonholed me into a certain role. There's no doubt about that," Burnett said. "It was frustrating, which is why I'm looking forward to this fresh start."

Tashard Choice was a big T.O. fan.

"I'm going to miss him tremendously," Choice said. "That's my big brother."

[snip]

"He looked out for me on and off the field, taught me how to be a pro," said Choice, a second-year player. "And he listened to me. If I thought he didn't get better in a practice, I'd say, ‘Hey, ‘T.' I didn't like how you practiced today.' Then the next practice he'd bust his tail."

[snip]

"When we were losing (badly) in Philadelphia in the last game, he told me, ‘Finish strong. Do not quit on this team,'" Choice said. "He never quit. He always went all out. The media wanted to scapegoat him because he got angry. They can't do that this year. They have to find someone else to blame."

Bobby Carpenter on his chances of playing this season.

"It's going to be tough, obviously," Carpenter said. "[Brooking is] Coach Phillips' guy, he coached him in Atlanta before, they have a prior relationship, and he's a quality player. So I'll give it my best shot and let the chips fall where they may."

[snip]

"As many three wide receiver packages as you see now in the NFL, the nickel guys will probably get 35 or 40 percent of the reps, so it's definitely a role I would be excited to have."

In the aftermath of the Jay Cutler trade, Tom Colishaw discusses why it is important to keep young Pro Bowl-caliber quarterbacks in the NFL. At last, some love for Tony Romo.

Jason Witten is a charitable guy.