Rams won't have long-term success until they solidify O-Line

[bluecoconuts]

No that's just the price tag for the stadium. The work is being done only for the stadium at the moment. They still have to get tenants and everything else in order to complete the vision for those in stl think of it as ballpark village you got to build the stadium first then everything else after so the price tag is strictly on the stadium and Stan is going to lease everything else and play landlord

This is correct, while they are somewhat working on prepping land for the rest of the park, they are mostly focused on the stadium (for obvious reasons), and the rest of the area will move faster as the stadium is being finished. Similar to how they did it with LA Live, and as Dxmissile said, Ballpark Village.

For reference, Staples cost 540 million (in 2016 dollars) while LA Live cost an additional 2.5 billion. LA Live is also about 129 acres while the Rams stadium and surrounding development park is 298 acres. When all said and done the area will probably cost about 5 billion for everything. Their goal is to make it the premier sports area on the West coast, with NFL hall of fame, NFL studios, I wouldn't be shocked if the Clippers move there to get out of the shadow of the Lakers at Staples if there's a facility for them.

Stockbridge Capital I believe is who is developing the rest of the area, so I'm not sure how much Stan will own of those properties, but I'm sure he'll be getting his beak wet from it too.

 

[-X-]

paint me with a clown face, that's not 40 seasons in the SB
train

Wouldn't it be easier to paint you with a brush?
Where would I get a clown face without arousing suspicion?

 

[nighttrain]

Wouldn't it be easier to paint you with a brush?
Where would I get a clown face without arousing suspicion?

ARRG, just clownin ya
train

 

[den-the-coach]

T

The HOF west idea is effing dumb. Mecca is Mecca, you can't have an alternative .

Worked well for Disney.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

3 QBs, yes, but it's also over 40 seasons of QB + O-line being great at the same time.
I can't see that happening. The odds of it happening are incredibly high.

It's the qb, IMO. I'm not sure how good the line was at the beginning of their careers, but I believe that when their talent was known, their respective teams invested in prolonging their careers and keeping them safe, knowing they can compensate for being weaker at other positions. The last thing you want is for them to get hurt.

 

[Merlin]

Why do all of the all-time great QBs always have the best lines?

Is it the line that makes the QB, or vice-versa?
THAT is the age-old question right there.

Fair point there.

And I think the QB matters of course. Defenses can't tee off as much on a guy who has proven he can beat them, who can keep them honest. But then again the OC matters too, big time. Does the QB have someone gameplanning opponents at a high level and teaching the game well enough. Also targets in the passing game factor in, for obvious reasons.

But you have to have a line. It's kind of like a goalie in hockey: if you're not solid there at the least you have zero chance.

 

[Rabid Ram]

How many dead horse is espn going to beat?

 

[shaunpinney]

I think it's fair to question the right side of the line, however. Whitworth and Sullivan, with Saffold sandwiched between them, is a block of veteran experience. Saffold has rarely had two decent-good players on his left and right, and has played on a virtual island wherever on the line he played, which I think contributed to his injury history.

Unless we have a rash of injuries, which is always possible, this line will be considered a strength this year in my opinion.

I think the Saffold point you make is key this year, he's been the only vet on the line for years, and I've read somewhere all of the young'ns were asking him every snap last year, what was their role etc and he has gone on record saying he was swamped. That type of pressure MUST affect you own gameplay. We've heard that Sullivan is super smart when it comes to adjusting the line etc and Whitworth is a stud LT. This line is the best we've had in years.

Havenstein has also been tarred by last year's abysmal brush, he was a surprise success as a rookie. I like the fact that Kromer and McVay evaluated the current roster guys against the draft guys and said that they liked what they already had OVER anyone in the draft. I trust Kromer.

Injuries, as you said, could be our Achilles heel though. It would be amazing if we could have a full season from the same 5 guys. I so want these guys to prove everyone wrong.

 

[jrry32]

3 QBs, yes, but it's also over 40 seasons of QB + O-line being great at the same time.
I can't see that happening. The odds of it happening are incredibly high.

Manning made his OLs. Brady does to some degree, but he's had one of the NFL's best OL Coaches for most of his career. The couple years he didn't, the OL struggled (although, it doesn't show statistically because of Brady). Don't know about Marino. Before my time. But from what I've read, he had one of the quickest releases in the history of the game. I'm sure that played a huge part.

 

[dieterbrock]

Manning made his OLs. Brady does to some degree, but he's had one of the NFL's best OL Coaches for most of his career. The couple years he didn't, the OL struggled (although, it doesn't show statistically because of Brady). Don't know about Marino. Before my time. But from what I've read, he had one of the quickest releases in the history of the game. I'm sure that played a huge part.

Totally agree. And as far as Marino goes, he was fortunate to play with HOF Dwight Stephenson his whole career, but Marino made the line look so much better. He didn't get sacked, he didn't get touched because the ball was out so quick.
When answering the question of can a QB make an O-line look better, Marino is the answer with a resounding yes. Because if the o-line was so great, why could they never build any kind of a running game? Here you have a HOF coach in Shula who's bread and butter is the running game, with a QB that has teams playing 5 DB and they cant get any production out of their backs. You'd think if the oline was as dominant as it appeared, it would be a layup for a cat to cruise past 1,000 yards but err, nah

 

[LesBaker]

Worked well for Disney.

Good one you win this round LOL.

How many dead horse is espn going to beat?

Every. Single. One.

Don't know about Marino.

Because if the o-line was so great, why could they never build any kind of a running game?

Marino played behind some fantastic lines. It's true his release was lightning fast but trust me he had a pocket to work in too.

The reason they never had a decent running game was because they went after guys who could pass block and run blocking wasn't a priority.

The Dolphins back then had issues because of the defense being crap most of the time, not a lack of running game.

 

[BonifayRam]

My thoughts here on this article fall in line with @Rams43 .Having hired an OL coach Kromer who helped Richie Incognito :seizure:to become an All Pro OG speaks volumes.

"First of all" The biggest upgrade IMO by Kromer was the ejection (I'm sorry) I will change the wording....Trade of GRob from this team achieved serious upgrade instantly. GRob "Tude" towards the lack of time into the Brain Work required to be a solid OL in the NFL. I have no ideal what Fish/Snead & Paul Boudreau were thinking using a #2 overall from a 2013 Auburn Tiger offense?

Kromer has 4 Snead drafted OL'ers entering their 3rd season on their 4 yr economy cap cost contracts to go mix in with his (not so friendly cap cost) 3 vets. In addition Kromer has assembled three eco 2nd yr. OL'ers in LT D. Williams, Swing OT P.Murphy & Iowa's OC A. Blythe. Finally 2 solid UDFA's rookies in OC/OG Jake Eldrenkamp & Mike Dunn. Sure looks like the best mixer possible in his first season here in LA as the OL coach.

The term used here "Long Term" in today's NFL means what??? Certainly not possible in the way it was back in the 70's & 80's Ram teams. The last paragraph of this article is key here to the root of the big problem that NFL teams are dealing with. Big gamble on using a teams first rd selection on an OL'er. My position on this has changes greatly. But there are some current NCAA teams that do run offenses that prepare OL'ers close to what in ongoing in today's NFL, best to plan to spend a decent amount of time lurking & scouting around these colleges in our draft & UDFA's from those small sample i. e. Iowa, Wisconsin ( @den-the-coach ), USC to name a few.

The hire of Kromer might be the best move in todays NFL to managing the high wire act of maintaining a solid OL from season to season with so many outside elements that enter into this Long Term OL upgrade objective.

 

[dieterbrock]

Marino played behind some fantastic lines. It's true his release was lightning fast but trust me he had a pocket to work in too.

The reason they never had a decent running game was because they went after guys who could pass block and run blocking wasn't a priority.

The Dolphins back then had issues because of the defense being crap most of the time, not a lack of running game.

That's the point, how fantastic were they? Run blocking was always an issue. They could never run the ball, and that always came back to bite them. Like you said, the defense was never great, and lack of a running game hurt.

On a side note, I would never say Aaron Rodgers plays with a great oline either

 

[Rmfnlt]

Why do all of the all-time great QBs always have the best lines?

Is it the line that makes the QB, or vice-versa?
THAT is the age-old question right there.

So much at play here...

It's a team sport (players and coaches).

If the Oline is bad, it's up to the coaches to devise ways to mitigate that problem. Maybe the Oline is better at run blocking... run more. Adjust the pass routes to get receivers open faster. Some trickery to keep the opponent honest.

But, even after adjustments, the other players have to execute.

These last 5 years, we had little of that.
* Adjustments were either ineffective or non-existent
* Players that needed to execute to offset deficiencies elsewhere did not (execute)

There are holes in most every team. The successful ones figure out how to mask those holes.

My hope this year is that this coaching staff is far better at adjusting/masking than the prior regime.

 

[Memento]

For the first time in a long while, I actually feel confident towards our offensive line. Kromer helps with that,. We have the first legitimate left tackle since Orlando Pace protecting Goff in Andrew Whitworth. We have a center that's the best since Jason Brown's 2009 season (and before you kill me, yes, Brown was actually good in 2009) in John Sullivan. Rodger Saffold is injury-prone, but when he's healthy, he's good. I feel like Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown will excel in their new roles. We have a ton of young depth in Cody Wichmann (LG/RG/C), Andrew Donnal (RT, RG, LG) Darrell Williams (LT/RT), Pace Murphy (LT/RT) and Jake Eldrenkamp (C/LG/RG).

All in all, I feel very confident in this group, and it really helps that we have an offensive line coach who comes highly regarded. Boudreau was supposed to be that, but he didn't turn out like we hoped. Kromer is the best offensive line coach we could've gotten, and I'm happy about that.

 

[LesBaker]

That's the point, how fantastic were they? Run blocking was always an issue. They could never run the ball, and that always came back to bite them. Like you said, the defense was never great, and lack of a running game hurt.

I meant to say they were fantastic at pass blocking, I wasn't clear enough. I think they could have done well with the poor run game they had, but man that defense was almost always bad for Marino's career.

All in all, I feel very confident in this group, and it really helps that we have an offensive line coach who comes highly regarded. Boudreau was supposed to be that, but he didn't turn out like we hoped. Kromer is the best offensive line coach we could've gotten, and I'm happy about that.

You summed up my feelings there. I'm confident right now too.

 

[dieterbrock]

I meant to say they were fantastic at pass blocking, I wasn't clear enough. I think they could have done well with the poor run game they had, but man that defense was almost always bad for Marino's career.

Well it remains to be seen how great they were or how great Marino made them look.

 

[LesBaker]

Well it remains to be seen how great they were or how great Marino made them look.

Go watch highlights on youtube.........he was afforded a lot of time.

 

[dieterbrock]

Go watch highlights on youtube.........he was afforded a lot of time.

I could show you highlights of Case Keenum with time too, doesn't make the oline good.
I watched my share of Dolphins games with Marino in his day. He made them look better.

 

[BonifayRam]

Here's how I see this OL in an listed overview per OL position.

RT Prospects:
#1]Jamon Brown 6-4/330 24-3
#2]Andrew Donnal 6-6/310 25-3 (Clear Primary Reserve)
#3]Rob Havenstein 6-8/330 25-3
#4]Pace Murphy 6-6/310 23-2
#5]Micheal Dunn 6-5/300 {R}

RG Prospects:
#1]Rob Havenstein
#2]Cody Wichmann 6-5/325 25-3 (Clear Primary Reserve)
#3]Andrew Donnal
#4]Jamon Brown
#5]Alex Kozan 6-4/310 {R}

LT Prospects:
#1]Andrew Whitworth 6-7/333 35-12
#2]Darrell Williams 6-4/305 24-3
#3]Micheal Dunn 6-5/300 {R}
#4]Pace Murphy 6-6/310 23-2
#5]Rodger Saffold
#6]Andrew Donnal

LG Prospects:
#1]Rodger Saffold 6-5/325 29-8
#2]Andrew Donnal (Primary Reserve)
#3]Cody Wichmann
#4]Jamon Brown
#5]Jake Eldrenkamp 6-5/300 {R}

OC Prospects:
#1]John Sullivan 6-4/310 32-9
#2]Austin Blythe 6-3/300 25-2 (Primary Reserve)
#3]Jake Eldrenkamp 6-5/300 {R}

Would appear to me that this is a well balanced good overall cadre of OL'ers that should be fully capable of being solid this season. Do you see this different from me? Where & how?