Saffold's back, and at right guard
• BY JIM THOMAS
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_8e811edd-637a-57d5-a5a4-0898ba47f127.html
The big fella is back in uniform and all about the business of getting ready for the season opener Sept. 13 against Seattle.
One of the strongest players on the team, and easily the most experienced starter on the offensive line, Rodger Saffold immediately makes the Rams a better blocking team.
“Rodger’s back on the field a little bit, doing some stuff,” coach Jeff Fisher said after Tuesday’s practice. “He’ll be questionable for Thursday, but obviously, definitely, he’s in a really good position for the opener.”
The Rams close out the preseason Thursday at the Edward Jones Dome with the almost annual Governor’s Cup game against Kansas City. Then it’s on to the real deal — Seattle and opening day.
Saffold left no doubt about his availability for that one.
“Absolutely,” he replied.
In fact, he even provided a position.
“I’m gonna go ahead and play right guard,” Saffold said. “The coaches really felt the way that things have been going we would be firmer (in that alignment).”
Suddenly, four-fifths of the Rams’ starting offensive line looks set for Seattle, with Greg Robinson (left) and rookie Rob Havenstein (right) at tackle, and rookie Jamon Brown (left) and Saffold (right) at guard. As for center? TBD.
Brown has missed both practices this week with an ankle injury but is expected to be fine for Seattle. As for Saffold, it seems like forever since he last played, but in truth it’s been less than three weeks. He went out on the Rams’ fourth offensive play of the Aug. 14 preseason opener in Oakland.
“It was just an awkward hit,” Saffold said. “I was definitely ready to (return) sooner than (the coaches) wanted. But I understand for the sake of the season, and for the sake of some of these guys to get some experience playing ball, I needed to wait.”
Saffold underwent surgery on his left shoulder immediately following the 2014 season; the injury in Oakland was a tweak of his right shoulder.
Saffold has enough experience that it shouldn’t be a problem being mentally ready and technique ready for Seattle. They’re a familiar opponent.
“He’s played a lot of games,” Fisher said. “He’s played the Seahawks. He understands, so I’m not concerned about that. The one thing that he’s doing is he’s getting the walk-through reps, so the communication is very sound up front with the young guys.”
Because of past injuries, Saffold also is used to playing with a brace or wrap around his shoulder, and used to getting ready to play in a short period of time. Even so, there is that little matter of getting into “football shape” — the banging and bumping that come with the sport.
“The basic fundamentals I totally understand,” Saffold said. “But getting ready for football shape, even though I’ve been doing all my things conditioning-wise, it’s still different. So you can expect to see me out here doing things before and after practice trying to get ready. And basically doing all the stretching.”
When Saffold initially made the switch to guard from tackle midway through the 2013 season he played right guard. He started five games there that season and was particularly devastating in his debut game against Indianapolis, consistently moving the line of scrimmage and delivering punishing blocks on the move as a pulling guard.
Because of injuries elsewhere, he started one game at left tackle and one game at right tackle over the second half of that season. Last season, he began at left guard and started 13 games there, largely because free-agent pickup Davin Joseph had only played right guard over the course of his career.
Starting all 16 games for only the second time in his five-year NFL career, Saffold started the other three contests at right guard.
Rams coaches “have seen me play right guard before in years past,” Saffold said. “So they have confidence in me in being able to switch. And they think it would be more natural for (Brown) to play left.
“When those types of things get asked of you, I mean, what am I here for? I’m here to be that versatile guy. So you’ll probably see me playing a bunch of different positions all year. But that means nothing to me. My goal is still the same.”
Actually, the Rams would like nothing better than for the Saffold to settle in at right guard and stay there, with the other four line starters staying healthy and stable. But it usually doesn’t happen that way, especially when it comes to the Rams in recent years.
“I’m pretty much comfortable anywhere at this point,” Saffold said. “The only ‘people’ that are mad at me are my hips. When you switch positions, those hips get super tight. But other than that, everything’s good.”
Although he’s only 27, Saffold is like Father Time on the Rams’ offensive line with 60 NFL starts. The other probable opening day starters will have no more than 16 combined starts. That means he must be a leader on the line, helping all the youngsters along, especially his partner on the right side — Havenstein.
“A lot of times, the offensive line is about feel,” Saffold said. “So you have to be able to feel certain things. I can feel twists pretty well. Sometimes I can tell, based off of safety rotation, what types of blitzes we’re gonna have.”
Saffold has always been comfortable in his own skin and confident in his abilities. So when asked Tuesday why fans should believe in the offense, he didn’t blink.
“Cause I’ll be back soon,” Saffold replied. “You know what I’m saying? I’m gonna get in there and I’m gonna help this team.”
The starting quarterback, for one, can’t wait.
“The guy has been in the NFL,” Nick Foles said. “He’s played at an extremely high level and he’s got a lot of wisdom. He’s a very talented player. So to get him healthy, that helps us out a lot. And then it just gives us more depth with the other guys.”
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