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Countdown to Camp: Offensive Line
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Countdown-to-Camp-Offensive-Line/00913724-9517-4259-b597-713245b704c7
In today’s penultimate edition of Countdown to Camp, team insider Myles Simmons takes a look at the Rams’ offensive linemen. Be sure to send in your question about tomorrow’s final position group, quarterbacks, either in the comments or @MylesASimmons on Twitter.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Newcomers: Garrett Reynolds, Rob Havenstein, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnall, Cody Wichmann, Isaiah Battle, David Wang, Darrell Williams
One of the biggest questions surrounding the offseason has been who will line up on the offensive front when the Rams take the field against the Seahawks on Sept. 13. With training camp now just two days away, it won’t be long until there are some definitive answers.
Currently, we know that barring injury, both Greg Robinson and Rodger Saffold will be two starters on the offensive line. Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, started 12 games in his rookie season, including 10 at left tackle. And while he’s only entering his sixth season, Saffold is the veteran leader of the group.
At center, St. Louis will begin camp with a three-way competition for the starting role between Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones, and Demetrius Rhaney. Of the three, Barnes may have a slight edge, given he manned the position on the Rams’ offense for a few weeks late in the 2013 season.
Two rookies will vie to start at right guard and right tackle: Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown. St. Louis drafted Havenstein out of Wisconsin in the draft’s second round, and Brown, a Louisville product, in the third.
As evidenced by the long list of newcomers, the Rams stockpiled their offensive line over the course of the offseason. They signed veteran Garrett Reynolds -- nephew of former Ram Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds -- as an unrestricted free agent. Reynolds most recently played for Detroit, starting four games in 2014. The club also drafted two additional linemen in May, selecting Andrew Donnal in Round 4 and Cody Wichmann in Round 6.
But the club wasn’t done, making recent headlines by picking up former Clemson tackle Isaiah Battle in the fifth round of the supplemental draft. The selection means the Rams have effectively already used their fifth-round pick for the draft next spring.
Rounding out the position group, Brandon Washington, Steven Baker, and Travis Bond are all back after spending at least portions of 2014 with St. Louis. And the team added rookies Darrell Williams and David Wang as undrafted free agents.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
In each of our Countdown to Camp posts, we’ll feature one of your Twitter questions on the position group. Today’s Q comes from @Paulo_FigariNFL.
@MylesASimmons with Cignetti as the new OC, should we expect scheme changes? If so could we see GRob back at LG and Saffold at LT?
— Paulo Figari (@Paulo_FigariNFL) July 29, 2015
Interesting two-part question, Paul. For the first, I’d say the answer is “kind of.” As offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti put it himself during OTAs, “It’s like buying a house. The foundation is there. You guys buy a house, what do you do? Let’s remodel a couple rooms. Really, that’s what we’ve done.”
So, to me, it sounds more like Cignetti and the offensive staff have tweaked the scheme as opposed to a full overhaul. The new also OC gave plenty of credit to his predecessor, Brian Schottenheimer, for building the offense’s foundation, which is a power-run scheme. And based on how the team picked up a bevy of “maulers” for the O-line, as well as Jeff Fisher’s history as a head coach, I can’t say I would expect that philosophy to change.
Now as for Robinson and Saffold, I just don’t see that shift happening. Fisher has said many times that he sees Robinson as the left tackle of the present and future for the Rams. And so no matter what tweaks the coaches have planned for the offense, moving Robinson over to guard so that Saffold can play tackle doesn’t seem like a change the club would make.
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Countdown-to-Camp-Offensive-Line/00913724-9517-4259-b597-713245b704c7
In today’s penultimate edition of Countdown to Camp, team insider Myles Simmons takes a look at the Rams’ offensive linemen. Be sure to send in your question about tomorrow’s final position group, quarterbacks, either in the comments or @MylesASimmons on Twitter.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Newcomers: Garrett Reynolds, Rob Havenstein, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnall, Cody Wichmann, Isaiah Battle, David Wang, Darrell Williams
One of the biggest questions surrounding the offseason has been who will line up on the offensive front when the Rams take the field against the Seahawks on Sept. 13. With training camp now just two days away, it won’t be long until there are some definitive answers.
Currently, we know that barring injury, both Greg Robinson and Rodger Saffold will be two starters on the offensive line. Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, started 12 games in his rookie season, including 10 at left tackle. And while he’s only entering his sixth season, Saffold is the veteran leader of the group.
At center, St. Louis will begin camp with a three-way competition for the starting role between Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones, and Demetrius Rhaney. Of the three, Barnes may have a slight edge, given he manned the position on the Rams’ offense for a few weeks late in the 2013 season.
Two rookies will vie to start at right guard and right tackle: Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown. St. Louis drafted Havenstein out of Wisconsin in the draft’s second round, and Brown, a Louisville product, in the third.
As evidenced by the long list of newcomers, the Rams stockpiled their offensive line over the course of the offseason. They signed veteran Garrett Reynolds -- nephew of former Ram Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds -- as an unrestricted free agent. Reynolds most recently played for Detroit, starting four games in 2014. The club also drafted two additional linemen in May, selecting Andrew Donnal in Round 4 and Cody Wichmann in Round 6.
But the club wasn’t done, making recent headlines by picking up former Clemson tackle Isaiah Battle in the fifth round of the supplemental draft. The selection means the Rams have effectively already used their fifth-round pick for the draft next spring.
Rounding out the position group, Brandon Washington, Steven Baker, and Travis Bond are all back after spending at least portions of 2014 with St. Louis. And the team added rookies Darrell Williams and David Wang as undrafted free agents.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
In each of our Countdown to Camp posts, we’ll feature one of your Twitter questions on the position group. Today’s Q comes from @Paulo_FigariNFL.
@MylesASimmons with Cignetti as the new OC, should we expect scheme changes? If so could we see GRob back at LG and Saffold at LT?
— Paulo Figari (@Paulo_FigariNFL) July 29, 2015
Interesting two-part question, Paul. For the first, I’d say the answer is “kind of.” As offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti put it himself during OTAs, “It’s like buying a house. The foundation is there. You guys buy a house, what do you do? Let’s remodel a couple rooms. Really, that’s what we’ve done.”
So, to me, it sounds more like Cignetti and the offensive staff have tweaked the scheme as opposed to a full overhaul. The new also OC gave plenty of credit to his predecessor, Brian Schottenheimer, for building the offense’s foundation, which is a power-run scheme. And based on how the team picked up a bevy of “maulers” for the O-line, as well as Jeff Fisher’s history as a head coach, I can’t say I would expect that philosophy to change.
Now as for Robinson and Saffold, I just don’t see that shift happening. Fisher has said many times that he sees Robinson as the left tackle of the present and future for the Rams. And so no matter what tweaks the coaches have planned for the offense, moving Robinson over to guard so that Saffold can play tackle doesn’t seem like a change the club would make.
