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- Aug 7, 2010
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- Rambeau
DR's Impressions on the Offensive Line
LT: Rodger Saffold looks very good. He's using new technique successfully, and clearly looks like he's added good weight and strength. Saffold's kick slide is quicker and more compact. He's taking better angles to the rushers, and I think the biggest improvement is his leverage. He's bending his knees and his waist, effectively lowering his center of gravity, and he's doing all of this while keeping his head up. By bending at his waist he is able to get his arms on his rusher quicker, beating them to the punch. In pass pro, nobody even sniffed Bradford when Saffold was in the game. Quinn Ojinnaka was the second player to man the LT position and he struggled mightily. Quinn looked like a fish out of water and he neither could handle the bull rush or speed rush of Tamba Hali. He didn't play many plays. Jose Valdez played against the Chiefs second team and surprisingly, he played much better than last week. A problem that I've identified with Valdez is that he has a bad habit of dropping his head. When he does he loses complete track of the pass rusher. Valdez could develop into a decent player, but he just seems like his feet aren't quite good enough, his technique isn't crisp enough, and his strength isn't quite what it needs to be. What Valdez is: The Rams second best left tackle.
LG: Quinn Ojinnaka started at left guard again. He played just OK, but missed another pull block. The backside linebacker shot the gap and made a play. He has to see that. Other than that he played pretty good. Rok Watkins came in for Moose and played most of the rest of the game, into the 4th quarter. It appears to me that they are getting him ready to start there. I would be surprised if he doesn't start at LG against Dallas. Rok had a couple wow blocks in the game, and his mental game is there in my opinion. He does real well at handing off blocks and helping. I didn't notice him missing any assignments, but I watched a lot of film. Hughes got in for some peanuts on the floor, and he played OK, had one really good down field block on a backer, but Hughes days are numbered. He really hasn't had a chance to compete in the preseason, and was moved from tackle to guard mid camp.
C: Robert Turner continues to play very well. Rams fans should feel much more comfortable knowing that if Scott Wells has any setbacks that the Rams should be fine at center. Turner plays with a nice nastiness that I didn't know he had. He really gets after blocks down field and finishes. Turner and Sam seem to work well together with no exchange issues. Turner consistently moves his man, and works great on double teams. It appears as if Wells will play some on Saturday, and the camp report said that Turner did not take any snaps at guard. I think it may be too late to work him in there, and unfortunately for him, he may have lost his chance to start. Tim Barnes and T-Bob Hebert both got a lot of reps at center. Barnes isn't bad, but Turner is much better. I expect both of them to be released when the knife falls.
RG: Harvey Dahl continues to man that position. Nobody should expect that to change. Dahl looks very good, very healthy, nasty, finishing his block and getting down field on the next level. Dahl was involved on most of the plays that sprung Steven Jackson for gains. Bryan Mattison is fighting his butt off to find a job somewhere, even if if it ends up not being here. He couldn't really move his man against the Chiefs first team, but he looked like a starter against the Chiefs second team. On Richardson's TD, Mattison pancaked his man, and that block was just as big as the pulling Rok's was for that TD. Mattison brings some value in his versatility. Nobody else worth mentioning.
RT: Barry Richardson played a very good quarter. He didn't miss any assignments, and had a number of key blocks on running plays. He did get pancaked on the Bradford would be TD to Pettis had Pettis not been interfered with on the play. Bradford still was not touched on this play, it meant nothing. Jason Smith came in the 2nd quarter and played a load of snaps. Smith played much better than last week, night and day difference, but he still missed a couple plays. Smith still hasn't learned how to cut block and missed another one badly. Smith whiffed on one play on pass pro, but the ball got out quick. Smith got stuffed on a 3rd and short that the Rams didn't convert, he actually went backwards. All his other plays were good, and he had a lot of reps. He had a key block on Pead's TD run. His performance overall would have graded out very good, but this was mostly against 2's and 3's. Joe Long came in and played OK, there is not much to mention. He is good at sealing his man. I just didn't really see him get tested. I wouldn't mind seeing more of him.
DR's notes:
A lot of the offensive lineman are just getting scraps, because there is some real competition at a couple spots. The coaches are trying to get as much tape as they can to evaluate certain players, like Watkins, Smith, Ojinnaka, and Mattison. It doesn't appear that anyone else is getting a chance to compete for a job in a game environment. I think the Rams are set at guard, there is some quality depth there. At tackle, not so much. Moose didn't play well in his short stint against starters at LT. I don't think that Valdez would be good enough as a starter, but I wouldn't mind seeing him at right tackle to see if he has any versatility. In turn, I'd like to see if either Richardson or Smith could play some left tackle. I don't see any value in keeping 2 right tackle only players on the roster. At this time, my players dressed on game day would be: Saffold, Watkins, Wells, Dahl, Richardson as starters, and Ojinnaka, and Turner as backups. This could change if I see some tackle versatility.
LT: Rodger Saffold looks very good. He's using new technique successfully, and clearly looks like he's added good weight and strength. Saffold's kick slide is quicker and more compact. He's taking better angles to the rushers, and I think the biggest improvement is his leverage. He's bending his knees and his waist, effectively lowering his center of gravity, and he's doing all of this while keeping his head up. By bending at his waist he is able to get his arms on his rusher quicker, beating them to the punch. In pass pro, nobody even sniffed Bradford when Saffold was in the game. Quinn Ojinnaka was the second player to man the LT position and he struggled mightily. Quinn looked like a fish out of water and he neither could handle the bull rush or speed rush of Tamba Hali. He didn't play many plays. Jose Valdez played against the Chiefs second team and surprisingly, he played much better than last week. A problem that I've identified with Valdez is that he has a bad habit of dropping his head. When he does he loses complete track of the pass rusher. Valdez could develop into a decent player, but he just seems like his feet aren't quite good enough, his technique isn't crisp enough, and his strength isn't quite what it needs to be. What Valdez is: The Rams second best left tackle.
LG: Quinn Ojinnaka started at left guard again. He played just OK, but missed another pull block. The backside linebacker shot the gap and made a play. He has to see that. Other than that he played pretty good. Rok Watkins came in for Moose and played most of the rest of the game, into the 4th quarter. It appears to me that they are getting him ready to start there. I would be surprised if he doesn't start at LG against Dallas. Rok had a couple wow blocks in the game, and his mental game is there in my opinion. He does real well at handing off blocks and helping. I didn't notice him missing any assignments, but I watched a lot of film. Hughes got in for some peanuts on the floor, and he played OK, had one really good down field block on a backer, but Hughes days are numbered. He really hasn't had a chance to compete in the preseason, and was moved from tackle to guard mid camp.
C: Robert Turner continues to play very well. Rams fans should feel much more comfortable knowing that if Scott Wells has any setbacks that the Rams should be fine at center. Turner plays with a nice nastiness that I didn't know he had. He really gets after blocks down field and finishes. Turner and Sam seem to work well together with no exchange issues. Turner consistently moves his man, and works great on double teams. It appears as if Wells will play some on Saturday, and the camp report said that Turner did not take any snaps at guard. I think it may be too late to work him in there, and unfortunately for him, he may have lost his chance to start. Tim Barnes and T-Bob Hebert both got a lot of reps at center. Barnes isn't bad, but Turner is much better. I expect both of them to be released when the knife falls.
RG: Harvey Dahl continues to man that position. Nobody should expect that to change. Dahl looks very good, very healthy, nasty, finishing his block and getting down field on the next level. Dahl was involved on most of the plays that sprung Steven Jackson for gains. Bryan Mattison is fighting his butt off to find a job somewhere, even if if it ends up not being here. He couldn't really move his man against the Chiefs first team, but he looked like a starter against the Chiefs second team. On Richardson's TD, Mattison pancaked his man, and that block was just as big as the pulling Rok's was for that TD. Mattison brings some value in his versatility. Nobody else worth mentioning.
RT: Barry Richardson played a very good quarter. He didn't miss any assignments, and had a number of key blocks on running plays. He did get pancaked on the Bradford would be TD to Pettis had Pettis not been interfered with on the play. Bradford still was not touched on this play, it meant nothing. Jason Smith came in the 2nd quarter and played a load of snaps. Smith played much better than last week, night and day difference, but he still missed a couple plays. Smith still hasn't learned how to cut block and missed another one badly. Smith whiffed on one play on pass pro, but the ball got out quick. Smith got stuffed on a 3rd and short that the Rams didn't convert, he actually went backwards. All his other plays were good, and he had a lot of reps. He had a key block on Pead's TD run. His performance overall would have graded out very good, but this was mostly against 2's and 3's. Joe Long came in and played OK, there is not much to mention. He is good at sealing his man. I just didn't really see him get tested. I wouldn't mind seeing more of him.
DR's notes:
A lot of the offensive lineman are just getting scraps, because there is some real competition at a couple spots. The coaches are trying to get as much tape as they can to evaluate certain players, like Watkins, Smith, Ojinnaka, and Mattison. It doesn't appear that anyone else is getting a chance to compete for a job in a game environment. I think the Rams are set at guard, there is some quality depth there. At tackle, not so much. Moose didn't play well in his short stint against starters at LT. I don't think that Valdez would be good enough as a starter, but I wouldn't mind seeing him at right tackle to see if he has any versatility. In turn, I'd like to see if either Richardson or Smith could play some left tackle. I don't see any value in keeping 2 right tackle only players on the roster. At this time, my players dressed on game day would be: Saffold, Watkins, Wells, Dahl, Richardson as starters, and Ojinnaka, and Turner as backups. This could change if I see some tackle versatility.
