So what would you do with O line?

[Kentuckyrams]

This group could arguably be called the Rams weakest unit this season, if you factor in penalties and no holes for Gurley. Granted, they're young, and some of the issue might be scheming, and yes, defenses are stacking the line, but no one is going to confuse them with Dallas' line, nor are there a lot of Pro Bowl quality players here.
Switching people now might not be the smart move, but what should we do going forward? Would Robinson be a better guard? Can you count on Saffold to hold up at LT? Does Brown have the potential to be a quality starter? Does Wichmann? Of this group, Havenstein is the only one I feel relatively good about, consistently.
So do you address it in free agency next year? Try to find a player in the 2nd (obviously no franchise LT will be that late)? Take a gamble on a player who's fallen in the draft like Collins?
Do you look for a new O line coach?
I just wonder how good this team could be with this defense and a line that could open holes for Gurley.

 

[JIMERAMS]

Leave it the way it is its young and our QB has had plenty of time to throw the ball. Not all of Gurleys issues are oline related. Gurley is having some issues of his own too plus no one fears our passing game yet

 

[Riverumbbq]

Well, for next season, I already have Ohio State's C/OG Pat Elflein penciled in as our 2'nd round draft pick should he still be available. He can play each of the 3 interior line positions.

As for today, i'd consider bringing in free agent Geoff Schwartz for a tryout, his broken left leg from from a game in late November last year should be healed by now. I'd also keep Garrett Reynolds on our radar for potential return should he be ready towards the end of the season. jmo.

 

[DaveFan'51]

This group could arguably be called the Rams weakest unit this season, if you factor in penalties and no holes for Gurley. Granted, they're young, and some of the issue might be scheming, and yes, defenses are stacking the line, but no one is going to confuse them with Dallas' line, nor are there a lot of Pro Bowl quality players here.
Switching people now might not be the smart move, but what should we do going forward? Would Robinson be a better guard? Can you count on Saffold to hold up at LT? Does Brown have the potential to be a quality starter? Does Wichmann? Of this group, Havenstein is the only one I feel relatively good about, consistently.
So do you address it in free agency next year? Try to find a player in the 2nd (obviously no franchise LT will be that late)? Take a gamble on a player who's fallen in the draft like Collins?
Do you look for a new O line coach?
I just wonder how good this team could be with this defense and a line that could open holes for Gurley.

IDK! Last year they where real good rushing and poor in pass protection, this year it seems to be reversed! maybe we just let things run there course for now! I have no Clue, except I'm leaning toward moving GRob inside to Guard! But I don't know which way to shuffle the Line!

 

[Ramhusker]

I'm thinking a little tweak to scheming by pulling a guard from time to time and I like the quick snap stuff to maybe get a little extra push with D not quite set. I wouldn't go crazy though. It seems late in the last game, holes were at least thinking about opening up a little. Maybe just maybe we are fixing to see Gurley get going a little more each week.

 

[Dodgersrf]

The line is young. Very young.
They need to continue working together.
5 guys playing like 1. That's what we need.

 

[…..]

It depends on thier progress this year.

Short term all you can do is practice and teach them better technique.

If they dont become what we thought they would be, you gotta rebuild it. Cant waste Gurley and Goff by keeping them bottled up behind an ineffective line.

Lets see what this week brings. My guess is heavy focus on this position group during practice.

 

[thirteen28]

I'd let them continue to develop.

 

[NJRamsFan]

Swap with the Cowboys

 

[Riverumbbq]

IDK! Last year they where real good rushing and poor in pass protection, this year it seems to be reversed! maybe we just let things run there course for now! I have no Clue, except I'm leaning toward moving GRob inside to Guard! But I don't know which way to shuffle the Line!

GRob is our worst graded offensive lineman after 4 games, his run blocking has fallen to the same level as his pass protection, both quite poor so far. Saffold and Barnes are grading fairly well in pass pro, but poor in rush blocking. Wichmann was doing better earlier, but his scores have now fallen off and his pass pro and run blocking aren't looking good either. Only Havenstein is carrying a decent grade.
Fisher won't do it, not yet anyway, but if this trend continues, some jockeying of players may be necessary soon, although winning these close games lately is probably what is keeping players safe for the time being. As we all know, the best way to make the OL & rushing game more effective is to open up the passing attack, forcing opposing defenses to pull some guys back. If we can't manage this because of poor passing or dropped balls, then it's back to the drawing board.
I'm not sure why Fisher chose to go with Saffold at LG when Wichmann played most of his pre-season snaps on the left side, and looking pretty good at it their. 2 years ago Saffold had some of his best play in his NFL career at RG. Wichmann's run blocking grades are a good deal less than Browns now, and his pass pro isn't making much of a difference, so if Saffold isn't moved to RG, we may want to get more snaps with Brown at the position. Switching GRob and Saffold at LT has been much discussed, and it should benefit our interior rush blocking as well as our outside pass pro, but I don't think Fisher is ready to quit on Robinson anytime soon. Hey, at least we are still winning games without a true rush attack, although how long that lasts is debatable. For me, a radical change on the OL would look something like this, and who know's if it would make much of a difference :

LT - Saffold
LG - GRob
C - Barnes
RG - Brown
RT - Havenstein

Too bad Garrett Reynolds isn't available, he would be of help, and Darrell Williams last season rotating at LT occasionally also helped. The Rams OL vastly improved over that last quarter of the 2015 season, hopefully they can find themselves again soon. jmo.

 

[OntarioRam]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I don't think the line has been all that bad. There is definite room for improvement. I'm not saying they don't need to step up and make more holes for Gurley. But the pass blocking has been quite good, and I don't think there is any line in the NFL that could consistently get push in the run game while being outnumbered nearly 2 to 1 in the box.

What this o-line needs is for Goff to develop to the point he can start, so that teams will stop stacking the box. Nobody is scared of Case Keenum. Full credit to Keenum for making just enough plays to win. But he'll never be a particularly dangerous QB, and this is the result. We also don't have a true #1 receiver. If we did, he would warrant attention even with a poor QB throwing to him. So that compounds the problem...

 

[DaveFan'51]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I don't think the line has been all that bad. There is definite room for improvement. I'm not saying they don't need to step up and make more holes for Gurley. But the pass blocking has been quite good, and I don't think there is any line in the NFL that could consistently get push in the run game while being outnumbered nearly 2 to 1 in the box.

What this o-line needs is for Goff to develop to the point he can start, so that teams will stop stacking the box. Nobody is scared of Case Keenum. Full credit to Keenum for making just enough plays to win. But he'll never be a particularly dangerous QB, and this is the result. We also don't have a true #1 receiver. If we did, he would warrant attention even with a poor QB throwing to him. So that compounds the problem...

I do think that Keenum intangible, His "It Factor" if you will, is what keeps him Winning! He is, after all, 6-2 as a Rams starter! No Small task!!

 

[Amitar]

The Rams need to sign at least one good veteran FA OL that is not injury prone and draft all OL next draft.

 

[Mikey Ram]

They opened up the passing game a little last week and it went well...Continue throwing the ball...With some success, the D's will have to back out of the box at some point...Then we'll see what Gurley's got...I'm dead set against any wholesale changes in the O line...Don't see how it helps to stop any kind of continuity they might be starting to get going...

 

[Corbin]

Well, for next season, I already have Ohio State's C/OG Pat Elflein penciled in as our 2'nd round draft pick should he still be available. He can play each of the 3 interior line positions.

As for today, i'd consider bringing in free agent Geoff Schwartz for a tryout, his broken left leg from from a game in late November last year should be healed by now. I'd also keep Garrett Reynolds on our radar for potential return should he be ready towards the end of the season. jmo.

so to begin this remark F THE BUCKEYES!
:mrburnsevil:

Anyways I really think Barnes needs to go and in my mocks this last year he was one of the first dudes I drafted for and wouldn't miss him one bit.


As for the thread subject...
What I would do with the line?

LT Saffold
LG Robinson
C (we don't have Kush? Shit!) Barnes
RG Brown
RT Havenstein
Dude we need to bench Wichmanns little ass! So tired of him and where is Brown? What happened Fisher saying hes Pro Bowl caliber? How the F did he fall off since last season this bad?

Too Bad Reynolds got hurt or I'd put the line like this

LT Havenstein
RG Robinson
C Brown or i guess Barnes:rant:
LG Saffold
LT Reynolds

Beastly :boxing:

 

[Corbin]

GRob is our worst graded offensive lineman after 4 games, his run blocking has fallen to the same level as his pass protection, both quite poor so far. Saffold and Barnes are grading fairly well in pass pro, but poor in rush blocking. Wichmann was doing better earlier, but his scores have now fallen off and his pass pro and run blocking aren't looking good either. Only Havenstein is carrying a decent grade.
Fisher won't do it, not yet anyway, but if this trend continues, some jockeying of players may be necessary soon, although winning these close games lately is probably what is keeping players safe for the time being. As we all know, the best way to make the OL & rushing game more effective is to open up the passing attack, forcing opposing defenses to pull some guys back. If we can't manage this because of poor passing or dropped balls, then it's back to the drawing board.
I'm not sure why Fisher chose to go with Saffold at LG when Wichmann played most of his pre-season snaps on the left side, and looking pretty good at it their. 2 years ago Saffold had some of his best play in his NFL career at RG. Wichmann's run blocking grades are a good deal less than Browns now, and his pass pro isn't making much of a difference, so if Saffold isn't moved to RG, we may want to get more snaps with Brown at the position. Switching GRob and Saffold at LT has been much discussed, and it should benefit our interior rush blocking as well as our outside pass pro, but I don't think Fisher is ready to quit on Robinson anytime soon. Hey, at least we are still winning games without a true rush attack, although how long that lasts is debatable. For me, a radical change on the OL would look something like this, and who know's if it would make much of a difference :

LT - Saffold
LG - GRob
C - Barnes
RG - Brown
RT - Havenstein

Too bad Garrett Reynolds isn't available, he would be of help, and Darrell Williams last season rotating at LT occasionally also helped. The Rams OL vastly improved over that last quarter of the 2015 season, hopefully they can find themselves again soon. jmo.

OMFG I didn't read your post till after but GTFO of my head! lol

 

[fearsomefour]

If Reynolds was available and healthy, after Grobs game vs Arizona, I would move Saffold to LT and Reynolds to LG. But he is not. So I would make no changes. Get better this year.
If not much improvement happens I am looking to upgrade the interior line with a vet.

 

[fearsomefour]

so to begin this remark F THE BUCKEYES!
:mrburnsevil:

Anyways I really think Barnes needs to go and in my mocks this last year he was one of the first dudes I drafted for and wouldn't miss him one bit.


As for the thread subject...
What I would do with the line?

LT Saffold
LG Robinson
C (we don't have Kush? crap!) Barnes
RG Brown
RT Havenstein
Dude we need to bench Wichmanns little ass! So tired of him and where is Brown? What happened Fisher saying hes Pro Bowl caliber? How the F did he fall off since last season this bad?

Too Bad Reynolds got hurt or I'd put the line like this

LT Havenstein
RG Robinson
C Brown or i guess Barnes:rant:
LG Saffold
LT Reynolds

Beastly :boxing:

Brown was actually better this preseason than last year. He is a liability pass blocking.
Havenstein would be a bit of a disaster at LT I think. He has a hard time stayin on front of pass rushers on the right side at times. The left side? Bad idea.

 

[BonifayRam]

Rams 9 2016 OL'ers are young its Bonafied!.

The average age of the 9 OL'ers 24.4 yrs old & have an average of 2.8 seasons in the NFL
Our starting five OL'ers average 25.4 yrs old & 3.6 seasons of experience in the NFL.
Our four reserve OL'ers avg 23.2 yrs & less than 2 seasons each.

Saffold 28-6 played in 72 games & started 69 games
Barnes 28-5 played in 65 games & started 24 games
Havenstein 24-2 played in 17 games & 17 starts
Wichmann 24-2 played in 16 games & 11 starts
Robinson 23-3 played in 36 games & has 32 starts
J. Brown 23-2 played in 12 games has 9 starts
D. Rhaney 24-3 played in 20 games has 1 start.
A. Donnal 24-2 played in 9 games & has 2 starts
P. Murphy 22-R played in 1 game no starts

I wonder just how the Rams OL stacks up to other NFL teams OL's in terms of youth. I do know that the Rams are ranked #24 of 32 teams on the amount of Cap $$$ utilized on the OL. Puts the Rams down there in the lower quarter of the NFL. This has permitted the Rams to spend heavy in its DL where they are listed as #4 before the latest Brockers long term signing which will move them up to the very top. So is it fare to say we pay the price for this youthful inexperienced OL so the Rams can have this current DL....?
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/st.-louis-rams/positional/

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Hire a better O line coach.