FanHouse RoySchuening

St. Louis Rams 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (2): Chris Long, DE, Virginia
Round 2 (33): Donnie Avery, WR, Houston
Round 3 (65): John Greco, OT, Toledo
Round 4 (101): Justin King, CB, Penn State
Round 4 (128): Keenan Burton, WR, Kentucky
Round 5 (157): Roy Schuening, OG, Oregon St.
Round 7 (228): Chris Chamberlain, DB, Tulsa
Round 7 (252): David Vobora, OLB, Idaho

The Good: Long is as close to a sure thing as you get and the Rams addressed their greatest need instead of taking Glenn Dorsey. The team got a steal in King, who went about two rounds too late. Likewise, Greco and Schuening are both good values, and both are talented players. Not only did the Rams address their biggest problem, they found good players without spending first-day picks on them.

The Bad: Of course, that doesn't mean anything if the Rams waste those picks anyway. Taking Avery absolutely baffles me. He's fast, and will help in returns, but he's not Devin Hester. You can find a return man later, especially when you need every-down starting receivers and Devin Thomas and James Hardy are available. Even DeSean Jackson was there, and he's the same type of receiver as Avery except better in every way. This is even with the Titans taking Chris Johnson as the worst pick of the draft in my mind. Burton, who has potential, will outperform him.

The Grade: B. The team really improved their two weakest areas from last season -- pass rush and offensive line -- and added a very talented corner who at one point was considered a borderline first-rounder. Still, with the 33rd pick they could have fixed their third biggest need, and blew that opportunity considerably. That's a huge blemish if Torry Holt can't stay healthy this year.

Click here to read other Draft Grades.

While OSU stunned Missouri with their big Sun Bowl comeback last year, rallying for a 39-38 victory that included one of the gutsiest two-point conversion decisions of the bowl season, the entire game still boiled down to the big uglies up front. And that's where Oregon State is going to have a big advantage on almost every defensive front they face in 2007, as the Beaver O-line looks as strong as it's ever been.

The Oregonian has a Q & A with OSU standout Roy Schuening, the offensive guard who had a big role in the deciding play in that game, as shown by the clip below. Pay particular attention to the pulling right guard, Schuening (#67), but even more, look at the mass of humanity getting pushed back, literally driven off the football. That's old-school, physical, sledge hammer football. And even if Roy Schuening doesn't know who the heck the Ice Bowl hero Jerry Kramer is, that's still a play that would have Vince Lombardi grinning from ear to ear.