Predicting who will win Rams' biggest position battles this offseason

[den-the-coach]

Predicting who will win Rams' biggest position battles this offseason

Cameron DaSilva

The Los Angeles Rams will have more position battles than usual this offseason, which isn’t ideal considering the coronavirus pandemic has prevented teams from getting on the practice field thus far. It’s not yet known when training camp will take place or in what capacity, but at some point, players will be practicing and competing together.

There are important battles to be sorted out along the offensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary, as well as at the voids left by Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks.

It’s still early in the offseason and the competition won’t heat up until camp, but here are our predictions for which players will win each positional battle before the 2020 season.

Full Article--
[theramswire.usatoday.com]

 

[den-the-coach]

DaSilva does a great job in his analyses and breakdown of several positions. I believe that Darious Williams will beat out David Long for the slot CB. Nothing against Long, just feel he's better on the outside as opposed to the slot, where, Williams could thrive IMO.

DaSilva when breaking down the QB's writes that Josh Love has a big arm, that's not accurate and although Love has a quick release a big arm he does not possess and is one reason he went undrafted. Bryce Perkins could make the team being a Taysom Hill option for McVay. Perkins is faster and if he can develop as a passer, could be quite a weapon.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Pretty predictable results thru my eyes, it’s ironic that the one position that is truly up in the air (PK) wasn’t even covered

I suppose the most heated battles will be Long/Williams and if Kenny Young can win an inside spot

 

[den-the-coach]

Pretty predictable results thru my eyes, it’s ironic that the one position that is truly up in the air (PK) wasn’t even covered

I think that's because it's truly an open competition, but I will go ahead & break it down for you.

Kicker....Samuel Sloman vs Austin MacGinnis & Lirim Hajrullahu

One would surmise that Sloman has the early edge because of being drafted, however, this is truly an open competition and hopefully all three will get opportunities to showcase their talents.

Sloman improved each year and last season had the best accuracy as a kicker in college and never had a kicked blocked. Austin MacGinnis was very accurate at Kentucky and has continued to improve on his craft in the Alliance League and was a perfect 10-10 in the XFL. Hajrullahu is one of the best kickers in the CFL the veteran of the group, with the strongest leg.

Winner: Austin MacGinnis....The transition should not be too big for him as it might affect Sloman plus MacGinnis should prove more accurate then Hajrullahu also the Kentucky product has the smoothest & most consistent stroke overall.

 

[OldSchool]

Don't know that it's the biggest but I'm looking forward to the ILB battle. I think if Wade were still here it would be Reeder and Kiser as long as both were healthy. But not sure what Staley will look for there. Williams could see a lot of PT but I think Long edges him out which is a good problem to have in 4 CB ready to play.

 

[BonifayRam]

Starting Position Battles Only

My top three on defense would be:
#1- Outside Corner- Between Troy Hill, Darious Williams & David Long.
#2- MLB- Between Micah Kiser, Troy Reeder & Daniel Bituli
#3- Nickle Corner- Darious Williams, David Long & Terrell Burgess

My top on offense would be based on the full return of healthy to OT Joseph Noteboom. If he is a full go then there will be a battle for the starting RT post.
#1-Right Tackle- Rob Havenstien & Bobby Evans

If Noteboom is (PUP'd) then Evans will be fully involved with sharing the LT post with Whitworth in TC & preseason. Then Havenstein's main competition will be Chandler Brewer & Hav will win that low key battle early.

The Surprise...... There will be no battle for the starting Move ILB'er post. Travin Howard will secure this post in training camp.

 

[OldSchool]

The Surprise...... There will be no battle for the starting Move ILB'er post. Travin Howard will secure this post in training camp.

No reason why really but I get the feeling it'll be Howard at ILB as well, just think Staley will like what he brings.

 

[Merlin]

Starting Position Battles Only

My top three on defense would be:
#1- Outside Corner- Between Troy Hill, Darious Williams & David Long.
#2- MLB- Between Micah Kiser, Troy Reeder & Daniel Bituli
#3- Nickle Corner- Darious Williams, David Long & Terrell Burgess

My top on offense would be based on the full return of healthy to OT Joseph Noteboom. If he is a full go then there will be a battle for the starting RT post.
#1-Right Tackle- Rob Havenstien & Bobby Evans

If Noteboom is (PUP'd) then Evans will be fully involved with sharing the LT post with Whitworth in TC & preseason. Then Havenstein's main competition will be Chandler Brewer & Hav will win that low key battle early.

The Surprise...... There will be no battle for the starting Move ILB'er post. Travin Howard will secure this post in training camp.

Nice summary Boni. Does look like the most intriguing battles are coming on the defensive side of the ball.

Another battle we are going to see is WR3. Jefferson will give Reynolds all he can handle IMO so that's going to be fun to watch develop.

 

[Malibu]

I feel their are a bunch of battles.

BU QB, K, ILB, OLB, Punt returner, slot Corner, C, both Gs and possibly RT.

Rest is set imo.

 

[BonifayRam]

The Top Reserve Offensive positional battles is where most of the ongoing battle action will be happening. I sure it will be most interesting & surprising.

#1-Main back up center- (Brian Allen/ Coleman Shelton/ Cohl Cabral/ Nate Trewyn/ Jeremiah Kolone).
#2-Back Up QB-(John Wolford/ Bryce Perkins/ Josh Love).
#3-Punt Returner/Kick returner come from the RB unit or the WR's unit or even the DB unit.
#4-4th TE- (Mundt/ Blanton/ Wolf) vs that 6th WR (Winston/ Polk/ Koski/ Jackson/ Dortch) for a roster spot?
#5-3rd RB- (Malcolm Brown/ Xavier Jones!/ James Gilbert /John Kelly)

 

[Ram65]

"Burgess will also be in the mix, but Staley said he’s most likely going to be a “safety to start” but could also contribute at nickel."

I'm probably overthinking things but, if Burgess can pick up the defense quickly I could see him coming in early on downs with Johnson or Rapp taking over as the Big Nickel. If Kiser and Company don't completely work out at MLber I can see Floyd in the middle at the same time. Johnson and Rapp are good tacklers but, aren't really free safeties. Johnson has covered TEs well in the past so he may get the not. This could be an option against 12P sets.

As stated Staley likes versatility. The secondary group certainly gives him that. Williams would be a great fit with a WR in the slot with long staying outside competing afainst Hill for a sporting start. Drafting Burgess gives them the option of him playing the nickle slot spot as well as playing safety. You can never have too many cover guys.

The big question on defense is who and how often the two Inside Lbers play. They just don't have a lot of NFL history to go on.

I see Lewis starting at OLber sooner than later.

 

[den-the-coach]

Austin MacGinnis: Perfect Place-Kicker

Dallas Renegades place-kicker Austin MacGinnis is the most reliable kicker in the XFL right now and easily the most reliable kicker in Dallas. (Photo Courtesy XFL)

The Dallas Renegades played their first Saturday home game ever this past weekend. While the outcome wasn’t exactly what the home fans wanted, perfection remained intact for one man: Austin MacGinnis.

Where did the mysterious MacGinnis come from? How did he land in the XFL? Today we take a look at the journey to the Dallas Renegades for Austin “McGOATis”.

Life Before XFL
Career Kickoff
MacGinnis football life started in a small town called Wedowee, Alabama at Randolph County High School. The future Renegades place-kicker would transfer to Prattville High School for his senior year in 2013. He finished as one of the nation’s top kicker prospects according to sites like Rivals.com and 247sports.com. MacGinnis would land on the winning side of the All-American game in Houston. Here are just some of his impressive high school stats:

• Participated in the National Underclassmen Challenge
• Handled punts, field goals and kickoffs for the Prattville Lions, making seven of 10 field goals, including a 50-yarder
• Converted six of nine field goals and made all of his extra points as a junior while attending Randolph County High School
• 81 percent touchbacks on kickoffs with Randolph County

Kentucky Bound
As one of the top kicker prospects, MacGinnis would ultimately decide to take his talents to the University of Kentucky. As a freshman, MacGinnis would cement his name in the Wildcat record books with records for most points in a season (104), most field goals in a season (21), most extra points in a season without a miss (41 of 41), most kickoff touchbacks in a season (25), longest field goal in school history (54 yards) and consecutive field goals made (9).

Three more successful campaigns at Kentucky would land MacGinnis at the top of the list as the university’s all-time leading scorer (354 points). He would also finish his senior season perfect on extra point attempts hitting 38 kicks in 38 attempts.

MacGinnis earned the Boyd Mcwhorter Postgraduate Scholarship in 2017 on top of earning a degree in finance.

From a Cat to a Bear…to a Financial Advisor
Shortly after his time at the University of Kentucky, MacGinnis would participate in the Chicago Bears mini camp and become one of many kickers going through the revolving door for the Bears franchise struggling to find a solid leg to anchor down their shaky

Ultimately after numerous, “Thanks for your time” responses, MacGinnis would find himself using his degree as a financial advisor with Salomon & Company in Lexington, Ky. That’s when he would get the call from the now defunct AAF’s Memphis Express.

MacGinnis debut in the AAF would be impressive but short lived as his debut was on February 27th, 2019 but the league would cease operations merely a month later in April of 2019. Out of a job again, until Coach Bob Stoops and the Renegades selected him in the fifth phase of the XFL Draft.

Mr. Perfect
With MacGinnis joining the Renegades, he solidified two things. One, that he is currently the best place-kicker in Dallas based football. Two, the XFL is here to stay.

“We’ve got the funds. They’re not paying crazy the first year or anything crazy. They’re actually trying to build a league that’s sustainable which I think is so important because there’s so many guys that just miss the cut, and if you sit out too long in football, you get rusty, you get passed up. Everyone likes the guys that are coming out of college. It gives those guys, myself included, the ability to put new film out there, keep getting experience playing in live games. We finally got a developmental league for the NFL and I think we’ll see a lot of guys get signed after this season from the XFL to the NFL.” – Austin MacGinnis on the XFL

Trust him. He’s a financial advisor.

MacGinnis not only scored the first points in franchise history against the St Louis Battlehawks, he also leads the entire XFL with 10 field goals made. He is a perfect 10 for 10 on the season. MacGinnis’ XFL career is already off to a hot start. If things continue to stay hot, we could very well see this financial advisor racking up extra points in the NFL soon.

<https://twitter.com/ProStarSports?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@ProStarSports</a> <a href="https://t.co/ghLnqJUcKT">pic.twitter.com/ghLnqJUcKT</a></p>&mdash; Austin MacGinnis (@AMacGinnis8) <a href="
View: https://twitter.com/AMacGinnis8/status/1046923335576227841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
">October 2, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[ramfan46]

Crushing 55+ yard kicks is sexy as hell and can be very useful. Games usually come down to 30-45 yard kicks though. We need a guy that is going to go 8 or 9/10 from that range. The kicking competition will be fun to watch.

 

[den-the-coach]

New Special Teams Coach John Bonamego passed his first test IMO, bringing in three kickers to battle it out and my money is on the lesser known candidate Austin MacGinnis.

I feel strongly that Bonamego was involved in bringing in two of the kickers in the drafting of Samuel Sloman and the signing of CFL All Star Lirim Hajrullahu....Sloman kicked against him twice a year when Bonamego was Head Coach of Central Michigan and Sloman kicked for Miami of Ohio, who was in the same conference. Sloman kicked in bad weather and made some huge kicks with the games on the line for the Red Hawks, that, and his accuracy in 2019 ensured he would be a pick for the Rams after they acquired additional draft capital in the 7th round.

Lirim Hajrullahu I'm sure Coaching at Central Michigan & Detroit being close the Canadian border Bono was privy to more info on the CFL kicker then most. A great leg and considered one of the best kickers in CFL history made him an interesting candidate for the Los Angeles Rams.

Now Austin MacGinnis I'm not sure how much Bonamego was involved in his signing as I believe someone had to give this kid a chance. MacGinnis was a very good kicker in college at Kentucky & went on to continue working on his goal by kicking in the Alliance League and the XFL too. MacGinnis when you watch him of the three has the smoothest stroke, very accurate and has the leg to kick beyond 55 yards, so when the dust settles, IMO, MacGinnis will be the last man standing.

 

[den-the-coach]

Rams OC unsure who will start at RT but is confident in Havenstein and Evans

Cameron DaSilva

The Los Angeles Rams are paying Rob Havenstein more than $8 million per year after giving him an extension in 2018, but he’s not a lock to start at right tackle next season. He was replaced by Bobby Evans last season after suffering a leg injury, and despite practicing in full after recovering, Havenstein still didn’t reclaim his starting job late in the year.

Entering 2020, Havenstein will need to beat out the second-year lineman if he wants to reenter the starting lineup. If he fails to do so, the Rams could conceivably trade him and free up some cap space in the process.

Right tackle is one of the most important position battles on the roster this offseason and will be decided in training camp – whenever it takes place. Right now, it’s hard to discern who the Rams will start on the right side of their line.

Full Article--
[theramswire.usatoday.com]

 

[BonifayRam]

Rams OC unsure who will start at RT but is confident in Havenstein and Evans

The Los Angeles Rams are paying Rob Havenstein more than $8 million per year after giving him an extension in 2018, but he’s not a lock to start at right tackle next season. He was replaced by Bobby Evans last season after suffering a leg injury, and despite practicing in full after recovering, Havenstein still didn’t reclaim his starting job late in the year.

Entering 2020, Havenstein will need to beat out the second-year lineman if he wants to reenter the starting lineup. If he fails to do so, the Rams could conceivably trade him and free up some cap space in the process.

Right tackle is one of the most important position battles on the roster this offseason and will be decided in training camp – whenever it takes place. Right now, it’s hard to discern who the Rams will start on the right side of their line.

Agree.

I have been posting on this a lot as you have mentioned many times this off season. Would seem to be a glut of starting RT prospects signed on this roster. I am sure Hav is fully aware of it too. Hav really has been a very good starting RT in the NFL for 4 out of 5 seasons. The one bad season sure indicates an early injury @ some unknown gm that continued to degrade until he was a shell of his former skillful shelf.

Hav must be in an offense that requires him to be in run blocking mode much of the time & much less pass blocking mode. If McVay can rebuild a powerful effective running game once again as in 2017 & early 2018 then Hav should be just fine. If not Hav will be in serious trouble. Goff will NOT be effective if the same 2019 version of Hav in @ RT.

If any of our less experienced OT's Bobby Evans, David Edwards, Joseph Noteboom, Chandler Brewer or even the very short Clemson rookie Tremayne Anchrum show any signs of being an equal or better pass blocker to Hav in early Training Camp then it will not be long before the full changeover is made @ RT. This OL needs to be set as soon as possible & I would hope that this Ram Org will fully break in this new OL in preseason in the first half of each game!

If Kromer does go with another new starting RT it's no big deal. Snead knows that NFL 5 yr starting OT's in the NFL are a hot commodity have excellent value. He is sure to find an effective running team with a somewhat elusive QB in need of a monster 6-8 330 plus pound RT & make the trade in order to refurbish his depleted 2021 draft ammo.

 

[Merlin]

It's nice that we have Evans in the event Hav can't recover his previous form. But if we do go with Evans there's going to be some growing pains. So ideally Hav will win his job back and the bookends will be good which will help both OGs.

IF that happens our run game should be pretty good to the right side. If not, our run game is probably going to be Akers finding something when not much is there like he did at Fla St.

Whit: Pass blocking is his forte. His run blocking last season was rough.
Corbett: Pass blocking is his strength, although he's mediocre mind you. Run blocking needs a lot of work.
Blythe: Mediocre at both but definitely better at pass pro.
Edwards: More consistent run blocking, but has shined and struggled at both in year 1.
Hav: the guy from 2018 was a plus run blocker who was also better than average in pass pro. Which guy will we get?

Evans: Not good at either but better in pass pro between the two.

There is a clear strength across our line in pass pro IMO, in terms of what they do best. So that is why we need Hav to return to form. And it's probably why Hav is still a Ram, because they know Evans has the skills but needs more development.

If Hav returns it looks like we'll have a good run game to the right side. Now all that aside the RBs will affect all this too, so hopefully we end up running the ball well across the board, but just pointing out that run game being a focus this year might mean a change at one or more of our projected starting jobs on the OL. Those btw would most likely be LG and C.