Saffold is an animal (video)

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jetplt67

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth...
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Who is surprised by this?? Finally he is getting recognition. He's been great since he got here, only issue has been injuries.
 

Zodi

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Man, if Gurley would've had a little more patience on that screen, that's probably a TD.
 

TexasRam

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That moment you finally break through the line and get all excited until you realize it was a screen.

:shocking:
 

jap

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He's really playing well this season. Finally grew into his ability, and maybe having good players on either side of him help him not to try to do too much.

Oh and he's always been a damn beast in terms of strength. When healthy. Probably him and AD that rule the weight room.

. . . and Michael "The Incredible Brock" Brockers, our strongest DL guy.
 

tempests

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The weight and shackles of being stuck on a perpetual losing franchise have been cast away. I think I'm happier for him than anyone else. Finally a winner in his eighth year with the Rams.
 

LesBaker

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Loved this...Best Oline in such a long time..maybe even better than GSOT's?

This OL is better IMO. The GSOT OL was decent, but not in the discussion for top 10 and this OL is.

Who is surprised by this?? Finally he is getting recognition. He's been great since he got here, only issue has been injuries.

This is the truth.........
 

Ramstien

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Saffold is playing at a pro bowl level but the fact is, so is the rest of the OL.
 

BonifayRam

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Good to hear he will be fine. Always thought the left side was best for him. I would not want to loose him when his contract ends in March of 2019. If RS continues to play like this till then he will earn himself a sizable mega million contract after several pro bowl trips. About this same time Andrew Whitworth will be looking at 38 yrs old too. RS is also outstanding insurance @ reserve LT.

I would hope that this Ram Org.now fully understands the value of having a well working OL & that for Goff success it must remain intact. Its taken nearly 14 yrs to get a good OL back in smooth running operation. Along the way 3 high first round LT draft selections that were serious costing busts on the trail of tears left in the wake. Think wisely on well seasoned healthy UFA OL'ers when replacing OL parts if possible.
 
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bubbaramfan

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Is moving Saffold over to LT after Whitworth is done an option? It would be easier to replace LG than LT.
 

BonifayRam

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Is moving Saffold over to LT after Whitworth is done an option? It would be easier to replace LG than LT.
One would hope bubbaramfan that proper planing by our Org. will prevent that. RS has been moved all around since 2013 season & it hurt his game. But that the way things go. Myself I would NOT plan to ever move RS again from the LG post unless there is a long term issue @ LT.

With a great team player like Andrew it would be foolish not to provide him a young highly talent clone of himself to groom as his eventual replacement when he retires. I would even have him highly involved with this selection in the upcoming 2018 draft. Kromer & Whitworth would have a BIG say in this prospect IMO.

Now on Saffold I would thinking & planing on getting him signed in an extension for 2 to 3 seasons before his contract concludes. The only thing that is negative on RS is & was his bad injury history. Talent & smart wise, he is as good as there is today. RS has a history of losing & bad teams under his belt & I am sure while entering the prime of his NFL career for an OL'er (30 yrs old) he knows now what it takes to win & what it feel like to loose for long periods of time....lets keep him here to guide & share such knowledge with our future new young Ram OL'ers.
 
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LACHAMP46

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Is moving Saffold over to LT after Whitworth is done an option? It would be easier to replace LG than LT.
I wouldn't....but not a bad option.

Again, I think there is talent at the college level that Whitworth & Kromer could coach up, to replace him....not a high draft pick either.

As far as I'm concerned, this IS how Saffold has played for 6 of his 8 years here...The one thing I can't get a real grasp of from the television is lineplay since the camera follows the ball mostly...But in the few games I attended in person...in Arizona, Roger is hell on DT's...Campbell & Dockett....he was throwing these guys around just like this.
 

Merlin

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I wouldn't....but not a bad option.

Again, I think there is talent at the college level that Whitworth & Kromer could coach up, to replace him....not a high draft pick either.

As far as I'm concerned, this IS how Saffold has played for 6 of his 8 years here...The one thing I can't get a real grasp of from the television is lineplay since the camera follows the ball mostly...But in the few games I attended in person...in Arizona, Roger is hell on DT's...Campbell & Dockett....he was throwing these guys around just like this.

Yeah if I'm Snead right now my main offseason goal on the OL is to find an OT with some feet, even if he's a raw round 3 talent, and give Kromer a project. Wouldn't try to push for a round 1 LT unless one falls to us in the draft, because the way Big Whit has taken care of himself I don't see him as any more a risk for the next year or two than any other starter. Wouldn't try to push him out like Cincy did, but yeah adding another young gun in there for Kromer would be wise.
 

Mackeyser

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Who is surprised by this?? Finally he is getting recognition. He's been great since he got here, only issue has been injuries.

Well, yes and no.

When GRob was to his left, he couldn't synergize with his linemate and his play suffered because GRob just wasn't playing sound technical football.

With Whit playing out of his mind, Saffold can finally live up to HIS full potential which as we've seen is very high.
 

theduke

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This OL is better IMO. The GSOT OL was decent, but not in the discussion for top 10 and this OL is.



This is the truth.........
I joke about his health, but this is really the only thing that was holding him back. He's been healthy lately, and I love that he can play practically anywhere on the line. Very important on an o-line with Whitworth and Sullivan.
 

yrba1

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Not surprised, he showed flashes of quality O-line play during his time with Spags and Fisher. Just needed good coaching and scheme to have that translate consistently
 

tempests

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http://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/1...odger-saffold-is-basking-in-the-rams-winning/
img_07-rams_-0823-lo_-jpg_1_1_5vig9r9_22316824.jpg

Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold is enjoying coming to work these days. “I literally can’t wait for Sundays. I’m excited for every week,” he said. (Photo by LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
By Vincent Bonsignore | vbonsignore@scng.com | Daily News
PUBLISHED: November 18, 2017 at 12:19 pm | UPDATED: November 18, 2017 at 4:55 pm

From his middle locker in the center of the Rams locker room, Rodger Saffold offered an appreciative smile as the roar of laughter and chatter echoed from one end of the room to the other.

The eight-year veteran is the Rams’ longest-tenured player, which just means he’s endured nine more losses than Robert Quinn, who joined him in 2011. The Rams have done a lot of losing during Saffold’s time, way more than any player should be subjected to. And in his previous seven seasons with the club, the month of November usually meant the official end of whatever hollow playoff aspirations the Rams began the season with or the imminent demise of the vain hopes they still clung to.

So no one appreciates the shocking surprise the Rams are presently pulling off more than Saffold, who, as bad as things were, still trudged to work every day over the years with admirable optimism even while season after season went down in flames.

In spite of it all, Saffold woke up every morning believing today was the day things would finally turnaround. In retrospect it probably would have been easier to just accept things for what they were, if nothing else to save Saffold the mental anguish. Then again, the cherish he’s experiencing right now might not be as poignant and powerful had he run from the agony rather than embraced it.

And yeah, Saffold is cherishing every last part of the 7-2 record the Rams take to Minnesota against the Vikings on Sunday and their first-place status in the NFC West and the way they’ve unleashed a machine-like offense on the NFL’s that pummeling opponents to the tune of 32.9 points per game.

After all that losing, you’re damn right Saffold is enjoying this to the fullest.

“I literally can’t wait for Sundays. I’m excited for every week,” Saffold said, the enthusiasm overflowing. “I walk into this building every day so positive and so ready to go.”

“It feels exactly like some of the guys on the Greatest Show on Turf teams told me what that felt like,” Saffold added. “You take the field every game and you expect to win. You expect to score points. A lot of them.”

The Rams’ transformation from an offense that barely averaged 14 points per game last year to the one currently lighting up scoreboards every week has many catalysts. None of it happens without the breath of fresh and innovative air provided by first-year head coach Sean McVay, or the franchise-quarterback play of Jared Goff, or the rebirth of Todd Gurley, or the revamped wide receivers group of Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins and Cooper Kupp.
New left tackle Andrew Whitworth has been a revelation. The addition of veteran center John Sullivan has provided a steadying influence. And the maturation of young right tackle and guard Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown has been monumental.

But you’d be making a mistake to sleep on Saffold, who, by various metrics is enjoying his best-ever season while teaming with Whitworth to create a powerful, athletic and at times dominant left side of the line.

In doing so, Gurley is averaging 4.4 yards per carry and Goff has been sacked just 13 times in nine games while throwing for 2,385 yards and 14 touchdowns. To put that in perspective, Gurley averaged 3.9 yards per carry last season and Goff was sacked 26 times in just seven games.

Saffold, with his ability to play off Whitworth on the left side while also providing effective pull blocks and second and third level downfield blocks to spring Gurley for extra yards on runs and screen passes, is a huge part of the offensive revolution..

Much like the offense itself, Saffold is becoming the complete package.

“I can’t say enough good things about really what he’s done this year,” McVay said. “He’s been a very pleasant surprise.”

Pay attention to the Rams offensive line play and you’ll often see him flying down the line of scrimmage on pull block to take out the right defensive end bearing down on Goff or down field as a 6-foot-5 shield for Gurley.

His emergence as an above-average lineman in his eighth season is partly due to the natural progression of a highly regarded prospect now coming to his own, the fact he’s settled in at one position after moving up and down the line of scrimmage throughout his career and playing in McVay’s creative, uptempo system.

“The scheme that we’re running, how we’re attacking things has been huge,” Saffold said. “Being able to get this offense down to the point I can play free, it’s allowed me to be more aggressive than I’ve usually been in the past. Especially in the way we pass block, the landmarks on screens, it’s really helped me out a lot.”

And it’s allowed Saffold to finally put on display one of the traits that pushed him into the second round of the 2010 draft: Outstanding athletic ability for a player his size.

“It’s interesting, because when he was coming out of Indiana I remember we were studying him in Washington and thought very highly of him,” McVay said. “Just kind of watching him from afar I know that he’s a very athletic player that had moved around and had the ability to play a variety of spots.”

It’s a part of the game Saffold is happy to finally unleash.

“I have a lot of fun doing that. It allows me to play with reckless abandon some times,” he said. “And when you switch that up with the pass protection aspect, we’re never in the same spot every time. We’re never in the same protection every time. It doesn’t let the defense get into any sort of rhythm.

“We’re so uptempo so we don’t have to deal with a lot of the planned blitzes that happen. Of course we deal with a few per game, but because we move so fast I don’t think the defenses get a lot of time to adjust. Sometimes (they) just have to play vanilla in order to get into the right call and be able to figure out where everything is coming from.”

There is nothing vanilla about the Rams these days. And no one appreciates that more than Saffold. After suffering through far too many losing seasons than one player deserves, he has every right.
 

99Balloons

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how Refreshing when a new OL coach in Kromer really strengthens out the Offensive Line.
 

Afro Ram

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He is by far and away are most underrated player. He's been dominant since he was drafted and his versatility is impressive. Now that he seems to be over his injury issues I see a man that the Rams should lock down for the long term