Gordon: Rams must rebuild offensive line

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RamBill

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Gordon: Rams must rebuild offensive line

42 minutes ago • By Jeff Gordon jgordon@post-dispatch.com

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_f958bfeb-a593-5489-b4c6-b33b89d5ad01.html

As you heard hundreds of times week after week after week, the Rams fielded unusually young teams under Jeff Fisher.

The one exception to their youth movement was the offensive line, which has featured lots of injury-battered veterans. And the group got even older Sunday with the news that prime-age guard/tackle Rodger Saffold was looking elsewhere as a free agent.

His exit will surprise nobody. The Rams don’t have tons of salary cap space. Offensive linemen tend to get overpaid in the open market.

Saffold wasn’t excited to move from left tackle to the right side after former All-Pro Jake Long arrived from Miami. Then came Saffold’s move inside to guard, a position the Rams believed he was best suited to play.

With other teams lining up to play him tackle dollars, Saffold was destined to exit Rams Park. Why should he stick around for less money to play a lesser position?

So Fisher and general manager Les Snead face a huge offensive line challenge. The Rams could experience an extreme makeover at that critical position.

Handyman Chris Williams is testing free agency, as is reserve guard Shelley Smith. Both have filled in as starters here.

Injury-plagued guard Harvey Dahl played only nine games last season. The Rams appear ready to cut him at any moment to free up additional cap space.

Injury-plagued center Scott Wells is halfway into a four-year, $24 million contract that threatens to make him another cap casualty.

The injury-plagued Long is trying to come back from a major knee injury after battling through myriad issues last season. He was a shell of his former self before going down.

What will he look like come September?

So Fisher and his staff starting over again with arguably the team’s most critical unit. And they will be starting over in a division featuring two of the NFL’s most ferocious defenses.

How the Rams handle this fundamental challenge will determine if the team can contend for a playoff berth in Year 3 of the Fisher Regime.

At the moment, the development of center Tim Barnes, guard Barrett Jones and tackle Joe Barksdale is paramount. These players could provide valuable continuity if they become impact players.

Jones spent his redshirt season rebuilding his strength after recovering from collegiate injuries. Barnes emerged as a replacement starter late in the season and Barksdale became as a semi-regular right tackle.

The Rams are positioned to take one of the top offensive tackles in the draft, either in the second overall slot or elsewhere. The team could move down with its first pick or up with its second pick in the round, depending on how the draft shakes out.

At the moment the Rams appear more likely to make a free agent splash at defensive back instead of the offensive line, where the prices are ridiculous.

So in addition to spending a top pick on an offensive linemen, the Rams must find value later in the draft and/or off the waiver wire – where Snead has done some of his best work since coming to town.

The 2014 line will look a lot different from the ’13 unit. It figures to be a younger group as well.

But will it be a better unit? The Rams want to play power football on both sides of the ball and right now the offensive front is playing catch-up.

Fans fixate on the skill positions, but the Rams' success (or failure) starts with their ability (or inability) to block and tackle. A mediocre offensive line would doom this team to still another losing season.
 

rhinobean

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I hope at this point that Robinson or Matthews is the first pick the Rams make. Then a guard at 13! Love me some big uglies!
 

BonifayRam

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Fans fixate :love:on the skill positions:goodluck:


, but the Rams' success (or failure) starts with their ability (or inability) to block and tackle. A mediocre offensive line would doom this team to still another losing season.

So true so very true!
:bow:
 

Flipper_336

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Why should he stick around for less money to play a lesser position?
Yet another writer fails to recognise that American Football is probably the ultimate team game.

How would the legacies of Brady and Belichick look if Lonie Paxton had messed up those crucial long snaps?
 

Ramsey

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Has anyone heard anything about Barrett Jones' progress? I heard he went on a mission trip to India in January. I wonder if Barrett is a fixture at the Rams Park workout facility. I'd like to think so.
 

laramsoriginal

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The rams can fill both starting OG positions via draft while addressing the CB and S positions as well. Snisher must trade down, though
 

Faceplant

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OL OL OL OL OL OL.......OL. LOL. :LOL:
 

Alan

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Elmgrovegnome having trouble with our descriptions:
Not all of the fans fixate on the skill positions.
We're considered experts, not fans. Different category. ;)