GRob traded to Lions

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Memphis Ram

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IMO, the main two reasons for the move now is that Snead wanted him gone since last year and the Rams needed the cap savings. Anyone else notice that they hadn't even signed all of their draft choices?

I would have tried him at DT.

Given his athletic abilities, I'd be curious to see what he could do at DT myself.

My theory is that the Rams would have been better off with just Boras but the addition of the passing game coordinator threw everything out of whack even more.

Thats what I meant. He'd go elsewhere in free agency. You'd be awarded a compensatory pick if the value of his contract was higher than another players who we acquired in free agency. That pick may have been higher than a sixth (possible but not probable); but you'd also have had Grob as a back up tackle for one year for $3.3m. I don't think its easy enough a choice either way to say one was preferable to the other really.

Actually, the approx $3.3 million just represents the Rams cap savings for trading him. He would have cost the Rams twice that on the salary cap as moving him still left some dead money against the cap.
 

dieterbrock

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Debatable. Fisher's teams went 20 years without drafting an offensive lineman in the 1st round, suddenly he's steamrolling his own GM to get one
Well, that was a bit of a fallacy being that Fisher inherited ironman LT Brad Hopkins who was drafted in 1st round the year before Fisher came on board, and he also had Bruce Matthews on that line. Always had a good o-line anchored by Hopkins
 

LACHAMP46

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https://theringer.com/greg-robinson-los-angeles-rams-detroit-lions-offensive-line-busts-dc63ea1482f6
by Dan Kelly (Seahawk :jerkoff:)
Here’s how good Greg Robinson was supposed to be: The Rams selected him no. 2 overall in the 2014 draft before they took defensive-tackle-slash-destroyer-of-worlds Aaron Donald with their second first-round pick at no. 13. The Rams (and basically everyone else) believed that Robinson came with the potential to become the league’s next great left tackle, a dominating blindside protector in the mold of Jonathan Ogden or Orlando Pace.

Of course, that’s not how it played out. As Donald quickly emerged as the most unblockable human being on the planet not named J.J. Watt, Robinson struggled to find his footing in the Rams’ blocking scheme. In three underwhelming seasons, he bounced around from guard to tackle to the Rams’ bench. Robinson’s tenure with Los Angeles ended Thursday when the team traded him to the Detroit Lions for a 2018 sixth-round pick, a move that clears up $3.3 million in cap space for the Rams to start working on a long-term extension for Donald.

Robinson’s failure to develop is a wasted opportunity for the Rams, but it also represents a problem that’s plaguing many NFL teams: the growing difficulty in evaluating college linemen for the professional game.


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Even with a 6-foot-5, 332-pound frame, long 35-inch vines for arms, and preternaturally quick feet, Robinson never showed the ability to consistently man the blind side for the Rams. There were far too many plays like this:


He would either be too slow out of his stance to react to speed off the edge and would get beaten wide, or would over-pursue in his pass protection and lunge outside, allowing pressure on the inside. Starting 14 games for Los Angeles last year, he allowed seven sacks and ranked 62nd out of 74 eligible tackles in pass blocking grades, per Pro Football Focus.

And while there’s plenty of room for improvement in pass protection, Robinson was even worse in the run game. As a run blocker, he ranked 78th out of 79 eligible tackles per Pro Football Focus, and has seemed to only go backward in his development in three seasons with the Rams. It’s been sort of mystifying; he’s a top-tier athlete, a guy that consistently bullied defensive linemen in the run game in college, and yet he can’t seem to beat anyone at the pro level.
What happened?

He was essentially playing a different game at Auburn. The Tigers’ offense was a spread-out, space-based option system, a modern derivative of the Wing-T, and it required completely different things of Robinson than what the Rams’ old-school, I-formation-style scheme would. Robinson, like many college linemen transitioning to the NFL of late, had little experience with the types of blocks he needed to be able to execute at the next level. In former NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz’s informative piece on SB Nationbreaking down the difficulties of transitioning to the professional game, he notes that “Robinson played in [a college offense] that barely resembled anything that exists in the NFL. I could hardly find any clips to make comparisons [for what he’s done with the Rams].”

The lack of overlap in technique from the college game to the pros is becoming an increasingly common issue for scouts and evaluators, making a position that’s traditionally been considered a relatively safe bet much trickier to hit on in the draft. “Sometimes you go through 80 plays [on a college tape] and only eight of them are truly gradable, where they’re at the point of contact and they’re actually doing something you’re going to ask them to do,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said at the combine in February.

“A lot of the [spread offense] offensive linemen, they’re not necessarily asked to run off the ball, and [set] a guy up, and try to move [a big defensive end] three yards down the field,” Titans general manager Jon Robinson said in 2016. “They’re kind of asked to just ‘zone and occupy,’ and let the backs cut off the blocks. So you really have to dig through those plays where you can really see him unroll his hips, and dig his cleats in, and really get moving.”

This means that when evaluating college offensive linemen — at least the ones that don’t play for Stanford, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and a few other college programs still holding on to pro-style systems — teams are left looking at traits instead of game tape. Is this guy strong? Can he move? Can he jump? They’re looking for amazing athletes with prototypical size and a salty temperament who can one day learn to do what’s necessary at the next level. Teams call it projection, but with offensive linemen in particular, that “projection” feels more and more like a euphemism for “guessing.”

Once teams make their picks, it’s up to the coaching staffs to work their magic. But the ability to absorb coaching and change styles is different for everyone, and even the simplest tasks can be difficult. Just teaching a lineman to start in a three-point stance — crouched down with one hand on the ground — can be a major hurdle.

“Getting down in a [three-point] stance isn’t natural,” writes Schwartz. “Straining through your face mask to see the defense — through the defensive line, past the linebackers, and all the way to the safeties — isn’t natural.”

Up until about a decade ago, most players learned a three-point stance from pee-wee football all the way through high school and up, and the footwork and techniques necessary would be ingrained into them by the time they reached the NFL. Through repetition, it would become natural. But with spread offenses expanding into the lower levels of football, that’s no longer always the case. Imagine a right-handed baseball player spending his whole life hitting with the same stance, foot width, grip, and swing. Then imagine the moment he makes it to the majors, he’s told he has to start hitting left-handed with a completely different stance and a different grip. And he’s trying to hit off of Clayton Kershaw. It’s going to be ugly … at first, anyway.

Picking up that new style has been slow going for Robinson, and it’s clear he’ll never develop into the player many thought he’d be. The former Ram has never looked comfortable operating out of a three-point stance, and too often fires out at the snap with his head down and balance forward, leaving him with little control. This means he can’t sustain his grip on the defender, is too easily controlled, and all too frequently falls off of his blocks.


Can players with Robinson’s flaws be fixed? Sometimes, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein told me.

“I had Robinson smashing the world into oblivion,” he said. “But I went back and looked at my old scouting report, and I had all the negatives there too. I had the issues that plagued him, but the mistake I made is assuming that he would just grow out of them — that he’d be coached out of them.

“You can’t always assume that something that’s coachable is going to get coached out,” he said. “There are times when muscle memory is just too strong and it will forever be an issue for a player. For Robinson, playing forward on his toes, having his weight always forward, being a leaner — it’s been very hard for him to correct. Once the bullets start flying, it’s very tough not to go back to those default mistakes. There’s a panic mechanism in your head that goes off when you think you’re going to get beat.”

But it’s different for every individual. And with fewer game-ready tackles coming out of college football, teams have to treat these draft picks like pieces of clay — then mold them into starter-caliber players. When the Cardinals took Florida tackle D.J. Humphries in the first round in 2015, they set out to do it differently than the Rams had with Robinson, who started at guard as a rookie, moved to tackle halfway through the year, and never really had time to acclimate to the NFL’s style.

“We drafted D.J. last year knowing we were going to redshirt him because we had so much to teach him,” Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said in 2016. “If we threw him out there, he was going to fail. Once they fail, it’s hard to get those scars off. He didn’t dress [for] a game purposefully just to get better and better. Going against guys like Dwight [Freeney] and Calais [Campbell] in practice, he got better every week.”

Arians’s patience has paid off. Humphries sat his rookie year, then started 13 games last season — 10 at right tackle and three at left tackle — and acquitted himself well. Heading into his third season, Humphries — who ranked 25th in run blocking among tackles and 42nd overall, per Pro Football Focus — is slated to be Arizona’s starter on the blind side.

“We knew what we were getting, a very young guy who had very little skill set and a lot of athleticism,” Arians said at the combine. “It took him a year to get the skill set. We knew he had the heart. To take these guys and teach them how to play, to hear a play in the huddle and decipher the information, to go up and get down in a stance, to run block that way, to get off on a hard count, it’s very hard for these guys.”

Exacerbating the steep learning curve college linemen face coming into the league is the fact that teams have seen their on-field practice time and off-field meeting time severely reduced in the offseason under the new CBA, which was enacted in 2011. That means that now teams don’t just have to look for projectable physical traits, but they must place an even heavier emphasis on evaluating a prospect’s ability to pick up concepts in the classroom. Being a quick learner might be just as important as being a quick mover.

“You just have to be really careful to figure out those guys that have the mental aptitude, first, to come in and learn everything,” said Seahawks general manager John Schneider. “There’s a lot of stuff happening [in the trenches]. And they have to figure it out. They have to be able to communicate. They just have to jell.”

That change in the evaluation process is the new reality for a lot of NFL teams, and it’s been an expensive lesson for the Rams to learn. But while it’s a sunk cost for Los Angeles, it’s not too late for Robinson to jump-start his career — and Detroit may be exactly the change of scenery that he needs. The Lions’ shotgun-heavy and relatively spread-out pass offense under Jim Bob Cooter ran 813 plays with at least three receivers (third in the NFL) and operated out of shotgun looks 84 percent of the time last year (second most). That’s at least marginally closer to what Robinson did at Auburn than the more traditional pro-style schemes the Rams have leaned on for the past three seasons — though the Tigers were predominantly a run team, where the Lions are not. But considering Robinson’s run blocking struggles, perhaps that’s a good thing: Detroit ran the ball at a lower rate (35 percent) than every team but the Ravens and Packers last year, so he won’t be asked to run block quite as often. Instead of handing off to its backs, Detroit likes to supplement the run game with a heavy dose of quick swing passes, dump-offs, and screens to Golden Taint, Theo Riddick, Ameer Abdullah, and other shifty run-and-catch targets — in fact, 60 percent of Matthew Stafford’s total passing yardage came after the catch, second most, behind only the Chiefs’ Alex Smith — so it’s a system which could get Robinson down the field and out blocking in space more often, where his athleticism would come in handy.

Expectations should be low in Detroit, but the former Ram is still just 24 years old and does possess the athletic talent to become a reliable starter — if he can learn to avoid leaning so much in the run game, cut down on penalties in the passing game, and adapt to the Lions’ offensive system. Much will depend on Robinson’s ability to absorb coaching. That’s the case for a growing majority of offensive linemen now coming out of college. And unless (or until) the NFL evolves into a spread-offense-based league that closely mimics the college game, or evaluators find a more reliable way to project athletic traits to the next level, offensive linemen coming into the league are going to bust at a higher and higher rate.
 

Ramlock

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https://theringer.com/greg-robinson-los-angeles-rams-detroit-lions-offensive-line-busts-dc63ea1482f6





But with spread offenses expanding into the lower levels of football, that’s no longer always the case. Imagine a right-handed baseball player spending his whole life hitting with the same stance, foot width, grip, and swing. Then imagine the moment he makes it to the majors, he’s told he has to start hitting left-handed with a completely different stance and a different grip. And he’s trying to hit off of Clayton Kershaw. It’s going to be ugly … at first, anyway.
learner might be just as important as being a quick mover.

That’s the case for a growing majority of offensive linemen now coming out of college. And unless (or until) the NFL evolves into a spread-offense-based league that closely mimics the college game, or evaluators find a more reliable way to project athletic traits to the next level, offensive linemen coming into the league are going to bust at a higher and higher rate.

QB'S too.....

Good find Champ!
 

FrantikRam

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I don't think Jake has lived up to his draft status either, but he is better than GRob and it ain't close.

Matthews should have been a second rounder, GRob an UDFA.


It's also unlikely that Sammy Watkins pans out for us.

Khalil Mack was probably the BPA back then (I remember making a case for him although I wanted Watkins), and it goes to show why BPA should win out..
 

Elmgrovegnome

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It's also unlikely that Sammy Watkins pans out for us.

Khalil Mack was probably the BPA back then (I remember making a case for him although I wanted Watkins), and it goes to show why BPA should win out..


Agreed about Mack. I argued for him as BPA. If they were to take an OLT. I preferred Matthews. But recommended trying to trade back a few spots before picking him. It still 's to waste such a good opportunity.
 

Prime Time

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https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-robinson-locked-in-at-left-tackle-for-lions-per-report

Robinson 'locked in' at left tackle for Lions, per report
BY MARK CHICHESTER

GettyImages-624058396.jpg

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 13: Greg Robinson #73 of the Los Angeles Rams in action against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on November 13, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
  • According to ESPN staff writer Michael Rothstein, Detroit Lions free agent acquisition Greg Robinson seems to be “locked in” at left tackle.
  • Robinson was selected with the second overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, but has so far failed to live up to his selection. In his three seasons in the league, he has failed to attain a PFF overall grade above 47.1.
  • He allowed 40 total pressures on 531 pass-blocking snaps in 2016, and attained a pass-blocking efficiency of 94.0, which ranked 44th of 74 offensive tackles with at least 175 pass-blocking snaps. His PFF overall grade of 43.0 ranked 71st of 78 qualifying tackles.
  • Robinson has allowed 31 quarterback hits in his three seasons in the league, the most among all tackles.
Greg-Robinson.png
 

bubbaramfan

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Here it comes. My prediction that GRob excels in Detroit and makes the pro bowl.:baghead:
 

BonifayRam

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My prediction is GRob out of the NFL in 2019.
I would tend to believe it will be sometime early in 2018 season myself. I just don't think that GRob has a clue how to be a professional.
Here it comes. My prediction that GRob excels in Detroit and makes the pro bowl.:baghead:
:ROFLMAO:
The biggest benefit of the trade is the $3.32 mil in cap savings. G-Rob's $3.32 mil base salary is fully guaranteed so if the Lions elect to cut him this year that dead money is on them now, whereas if the Rams had cut him that would have been dead money for them. I think the timing and motivation for doing this now is about having the cap cash to extend Donald. That alone is worth getting Robinson off the books instead of cutting or manipulating another players contract to free up cash that could add to next years cap and beyond. The 6th round pick is a bonus IMO.
:yess:Very big benefit if you ask me then add in a late 3rd day draft selection that can be used by Snead in next yrs draft for trade up tender.

Before the GRob trade my very early posted position here on where GRob would have fit in this 2017 OL this season, was as the 8th or 9th Ram OL in teams OL value @ best. Sad ....another negative was that was only in 1 position :(& that was behind Andrew Whitworth @ LT. Not even sure that Kromer would have dressed out the pre occupied high esteem minded GRob unless our starting LT was injured. Even then GRob would only be the back up to Rodger Saffold who would be shifted over a few feet into LT & a new OLG (Cody Wichmann or Andrew Donnal) installed for what the time period was to be to get Whitworth healed.

Now that Snead/McVay & Kromer have dealt with GRob situation the task that has to be answered is who besides our starting LG can replace GRob position as the 8th ot 9th OL as the top reserve @ LT? Darrell Williams, Pace Murphy, Andrew Donnal or Micheal Dunn.
 

Psycho_X

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In other news, I read that Detroit put Greg Robinson on the non-football injury list. Out of shape?
 

BonifayRam

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In other news, I read that Detroit put Greg Robinson on the non-football injury list. Out of shape?
Less than 3 days ago GRob had many articles written about him in Detroit as ready to start @ LT when TC opened for the Lions. Undisclosed on the type of injury? Sounds like the words used when GRob was bench first by Fisher late in 2016. Fact is I have never known GRob to be physically injured??? Looks like the Lions have a new starting LT in Cyrus Kouandjio instead of GRob.

If we review the Ram OL photos of GRob early this season, GRob was bulging seriously from round the middle in his uni without pads. While Saffold/Havenstein/Donnal/Whitworth were the total opposite. The real body change was on Havenstein & Donnal. Grob has had this same problem before like last season when he was close to 360 pounds when TC opened.

The Lions did not elaborate on why Robinson was placed on the non-football injury list. Detroit placed Robinson on active/NFL instead of inactive/NFI. That keeps Robinson on the Lions' 90-player roster, and he will be able to join practice when he is cleared medically.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/07/cyrus_kouandjio_greg_robinson.html

The below Lion article is one serious bad review on GRob might want to take a gander @ it. I am so glad that Snead/McVay/Kromer improved & gain improvement in our OL unit by one big loss(GRob trade).

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2017/07/27/film-review-greg-robinson/516381001/
 
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