SBNation.com User Blog: itsvon

My Mock

itsvon — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:47:33 -0000

This is really the only time of the year I get involved over here at TST. I pop in from time to time during the season, but I dont get online much over the weekends, so I cant get into gameday threads anyway. So I check in on some front page articles and thats about it. But draft season is just something that I have become enamored with for some reason.

Last season, my claim to fame of my Mock(s) was being a big fan of Brandon Bolden and mocking him to the Rams late in most drafts. He ended up undrafted (which was expected) and putting up 148 total yards and a TD against the Bills for the Pats this season.

I wont go into too much depth with each pick but here we go....

1a. Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas - best Safety in the class, possibly the biggest need for the Rams.

1b. Keenan Allen/Terrance Williams/DeAndre Hopkins, WR - whoever is available in this order. not that they are interchangeable but I think the rams can use help at WR from any type of receiver. All 3 are fairly polished and all around solid in all aspects of the game. These guys are not 1 trick ponies, and this is what the rams need at WR.

2. DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama - BIG boy, strong run blocker. I see him starting on the right side.

3. Kyle Long, OT, Oregon - Chris' brother may not be able to be a full time Tackle in the league because of his shorter arms. But I have faith in him to be a solid Lineman. He can battle Rok for the LG spot, and offer insurance on Fluker and the oft injured Saffold. Hopefully finding a home at RG where he and Rok become the inside mashers for the long run.

4. Gavin Escobar/Ryan Otten, TE, SDSU/SJSU - Rams need TE help. Either someone who is better than Kendricks, or someone who can allow Kendricks to move off the line. Both these guys will be bigger than Lance and should be able to help out in both blocking and offering bigger red zone targets. I'd be happy with either.

5. Cameron Lawrence, OLB, Mississippi St - Nothing exciting here. Fills a need for the rams and has been a tackling machine in the SEC the last two years.

6. Ray Ray Armstrong, S, Faulkner U - Here is the bad boy pick for this mock. Would have liked to have taken a chance on the Honey Badger earlier but I just didn't see a good spot to take him. This guy is huge, he would instantly be one of the biggest safeties (a quick search i couldnt find one bigger) at 6'4'' 220. And at this size he still offers the speed of a 5'10'' 205 safety. There is no mismatch for him.

7. Joe Madsen, C, West Virginia - Scott Wells was not a great addition. He's also not the future. Madsen is a 4 year starter out of WVU, a team that has put up some gaudy offensive numbers in the recent past. He is not undersized at 6'4'' 310. I think its worth a shot at your future center in the 7th round.

Thats it...thoughts, concerns, name calling?

I wont go into too much depth with each pick but here we go....

1a. Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas - best Safety in the class, possibly the biggest need for the Rams.

2. DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama - BIG boy, strong run blocker. I see him starting on the right side.

5. Cameron Lawrence, OLB, Mississippi St - Nothing exciting here. Fills a need for the rams and has been a tackling machine in the SEC the last two years.

Thats it...thoughts, concerns, name calling?

Thumbs up and green highlighted posts

itsvon — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:28:25 -0000

I see these sometimes, recently had one of my posts get the "treatment".

What does it mean? I looked around, searched for an answer by searching on sbnation home page and google. browsed around here looking for a FAQ page as well. I realize Ive been reading/posting here awhile but I'm still unsure about a lot of the happenings around here at the same time.

Now I will leave you with something annoying people "sign off" with at work.

Please advise. (please, someone make this stop)

I see these sometimes, recently had one of my posts get the "treatment".

Now I will leave you with something annoying people "sign off" with at work.

Please advise. (please, someone make this stop)

NFL Draft Apps

itsvon — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:36:54 -0000

Anyone know if there is a android app to keep me updated on draft stuff this weekend? im going to be traveling and wont be able to watch pretty much anything. Which is really cool since im a blues fan. but I was hoping to have easy access to draft results without loading up an nfl or espn.com page on my phone. Seems like something someone would create today.

And I need 5 more words....

Which would you prefer?

itsvon — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:12:54 -0000

With talks of trading down and potential trade partners for what will be available at #6 some possible suitors would be Eagles at 15 targeting Tannehill or Defense, Jets at 16 targeting a pass rusher , Bengals at 17, 21 targeting T Rich, and the Patriots at 27, 31 targeting a pass rusher.

If the Rams did have all of these teams offering to trade up, which would you prefer to deal with?

Here is what each team will be offering:

Eagles - 1st , 5th, Samuel

Jets - 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Bengals - both 1st's

Patriots - both 1st's, 6th

If you trade with any of the 1st 3, you don't fall too far in the draft and you can still target good players who play a position of need. You could be looking at top tier WR, DT, CB and some great OL players. So that is still attractive.

With the Eagles you get an NFL ready talent and solidify your corners for the near future. The Jets keep you in the middle of the 1st as well as give you a pick in the middle of the next two rounds. The Bengals give you two picks in the top 21. Will the players you were targeting fall to 17 and 21? or do you end up reaching for players you could take at 27 and 31? Making the Patriots offer looking pretty appealing.

Poll

Who would you make the deal with?

Eagles, give me the NFL talent

18 votes

Jets, I can build a team with 7 picks in the top 100

38 votes

Bengals, give me 2 in the first - less of a bust rate

60 votes

Patriots, I can get the guys I want at the end of the 1st

6 votes

122 votes | Poll has closed

Rams vs Saints 2015

itsvon — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:25:30 -0000

When the 2015 season rolls around, will the Rams be better off than the Saints?

With the Saints losing their next 2 second round picks and the Rams gaining extra 1st round picks the next 2 years could the Rams become a great team or the Saints fall to the bottom (or below the Rams) in the NFC? Remember, the Saints do not have a 1st round pick this year. So, they wont be drafting until the 3rd round about 90th overall.

Drew Brees will be 36, Bradford 27.

Ingram will be 25, Jackson 32.

What sort of long term negative effect can losing your head coach for a year have on a team? What kind of positive influence will Jeff Fisher have on the Rams?

What do you think?

When the 2015 season rolls around, will the Rams be better off than the Saints?

Drew Brees will be 36, Bradford 27.

Ingram will be 25, Jackson 32.

What sort of long term negative effect can losing your head coach for a year have on a team? What kind of positive influence will Jeff Fisher have on the Rams?

What do you think?

well, you didnt ask for it (updated)

itsvon — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:28:43 -0000

but, for my first fanpost i will present you with my 2012 Rams mock draft.

off season signings:wr-lloyd, cb-finnegan, dt-bryant

rams current draft picks 6: 1.2, 2.1, 3.2, 4.1, 6.1, 7.2

draft:
1.1 - luck

1.2 - trade to browns for 1.4, 1.22, 4.5 for 2012 as well as 2013 picks maybe 2, 3, 5 or something. leaving the browns with 6 picks to go along with rg3 in this draft (updated picks 8: 1.4, 1.22, 2.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.5, 6.1, 7.2)

1.3 - kalil

1.4 - trade again. this time to the bengals. the bengals want the elite RB to pair with their WR and young star QB and want trent richardson bad. he wont fall to 17th and they have 9 total picks in this draft as well. bengals give the rams 1.17, 2.21, 5.21 as well as next years 2 and 5. (updated picks 10: 1.17, 1.22, 2.1, 2.21, 3.2, 4.1, 4.5, 5.21, 6.1, 7.2)

now with 10 picks in the 2012 draft and 5 extra picks for 2013, the rams stop trading and just draft.

1.17 - David DeCastro G, Stanford - might be the best lineman in the draft, but because he is not a OT he ends up in the middle of the 1st round.

1.22 - Mike Adams T, Ohio State - i think his stock will rise, but right now he projects anywhere between mid 1st to early 2nd. he could play LT or the rams may stick him at RT and let Saffold stay at LT. this solidifies the rams line for years to come.

2.1 - Zach Brown OLB, UNC - fast lb to play the outside that is good in coverage. a bit small at 6'1'' 236 but dude possesses WR speed practically with a 4.48 40. he will cover a lot of ground and im sure will add size in the NFL

2.21 - Fletcher Cox DT, Mississippi St - yes the rams signed a FA DT but the current rostered DT are both very old and slipping. this move solidifies the front 4 and gives them plenty of options for rotating players. 6'4'' 295. his size wont hurt as much playing along side Red Bryant who weighs in at 325.

3.2 - Chase Minniefield CB/KR, Virginia - rams fill a huge need here with someone who has explosiveness on kick returns. plus he adds CB depth as a nickel/dime back for his first couple years.

4.1a - Dwight Jones WR, UNC - here is your big target with plenty of raw talent. 6'3'' 220 will run about a 4.5 40. deep threat and someone who the rams wont have to lean on immediately with lloyd and amendola playing.

4.1b - Brian Quick WR, Appalachian St - this might be a stretch. Quick should be gone sooner, i think 3rd round probably. but ive seen him projected very late as well. at 6'4'' 222 he will be a mess for db's to handle, especially if it means he or Jones end up in the slot. (see Victor Cruz, NYG)

4.5 - Keenan Robinson OLB, Texas - 6'3'' 240 and runs a 4.68 40. a leader on his team at Texas, no character issues or questions of work ethic. a tenacious defender who stays with plays until they are over. wont match up well with quicker WR but can defend the pass when up against bigger slower WR and TE. he will be most visible on running plays, an area the rams need help at.

5.21 - David Molk C, Michigan - yeah, i know, back to the OLine. but we all know that the rams will be in need of a center. the big 10 produces some great lineman. Molk is undersized right now (288), but I dont project him as an immediate starter. Molk was the Rimmington award winner for 2011, given to the best center in college.

6.1 - Brandon Bolden RB, Ole Miss - 5'11'' 230 he has good size and strength. recognizes the blitz and has good hands. he will be a nice replacement if Jackson goes down. and he spent time on special teams as a gunner. this could be the steal of the draft.

7.2 - Darron Thomas QB(WR), Oregon - 6'3'' 215 athletic QB who can make things happen with his feet. doesnt have a lot of experience playing QB and zero in an NFL style offense. Thomas would be one of the fastest QBs in the league and may be able to play at WR if QB doesnt work out for him. in the 7th round there isnt a whole lot of solid players you can pick up, i think the rams go with someone with a high ceiling of potential here. I also wouldnt be suprised to see them go FB or Safety with the last pick. but there will be plenty of FB talent in the UDFA pool to choose from. regardless they most likely arent drafting a starter here anyway.

so thats my rams off season. filling current holes, adding depth at important spots, getting a kick returner, creating one hell of a defense and hopefully an offense that can move the chains a bit better this year. and also adding 4-5 picks for the following year as they steal a chapter from the Patriots here and learn how to draft well and stock pile draft picks.

thoughts?

but, for my first fanpost i will present you with my 2012 Rams mock draft.

thoughts?