The new (Old School) Ram Offense

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leoram

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For those of us who loved Chuck Knox and John Robinson, wait til you get a load of the 2015 Rams. I fully expect to see a new mauling guard, a pure fullback, and a strictly blocking type TE in this offseason. The screen game will be highly developed. Play action will be the staple of the passing game. Look for passing aggression early in the game and pounding the rock late. Great RBs make average OLines better and wide receivers no longer get coverages rolled to their sides.

Finally, a true Ram identity was forged in one selection.
 

theramsruleUK

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I'd argue we already have 2 great blocking tight ends in Kendricks and Harkey, one of which already plays as a FB
 

Dodgersrf

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For those of us who loved Chuck Knox and John Robinson, wait til you get a load of the 2015 Rams. I fully expect to see a new mauling guard, a pure fullback, and a strictly blocking type TE in this offseason. The screen game will be highly developed. Play action will be the staple of the passing game. Look for passing aggression early in the game and pounding the rock late. Great RBs make average OLines better and wide receivers no longer get coverages rolled to their sides.

Finally, a true Ram identity was forged in one selection.
I expect more Robinson than ground Chuck. A more balanced Martz so to speak.
 

bwdenverram

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Agreed but Gurley likely won't be playing for the first half of the season. Don't want to rush this kid from an ACL.
We need OL though regardless of who's in the backfield.
 

ReddingRam

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Dodgersrf

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Agreed but Gurley likely won't be playing for the first half of the season. Don't want to rush this kid from an ACL.
We need OL though regardless of who's in the backfield.
That's fine by me. He can help us in the playoffs.
 

Dodgersrf

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Mitch Morris as well, correct? I can't remember who tweeted it the other day ... .think it was Dave Te` Thomas, but he said the Rams felt they could get there OL after the first Rd if Scherrf was gone. The two he specifically mentioned was Caan and Morris
I also read or heard that Morse isn't a sleeper by any means. teams like him
 

ReddingRam

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I hope they grab Collins or Smith...but Morris could become a solid back-up
Seems like they might be able to wait on Collins after this incident he is having. Don't waist an early pick on a guy who "might" not pan out ... but in later Rds ... sure
 

RamzFanz

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Agreed but Gurley likely won't be playing for the first half of the season. Don't want to rush this kid from an ACL.
We need OL though regardless of who's in the backfield.

There's no medical reason TG can't start game one. The healing and physical rehab will be complete months before game one.
 

bwdenverram

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There's no medical reason TG can't start game one. The healing and physical rehab will be complete months before game one.

The ACL was in November I believe. To be fair it really depends on the rehab. All I'm saying is having Mason allows us not to rush him. If he is our future it wouldn't be smart to.
We all WANT him on the field but we don't want a Sam redo either.
 

WestCoastRam

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Mitch Morris as well, correct? I can't remember who tweeted it the other day ... .think it was Dave Te` Thomas, but he said the Rams felt they could get there OL after the first Rd if Scherrf was gone. The two he specifically mentioned was Caan and Morris

DTT was pretty locked in with what our draft picks were gonna be last year.
 

Fatbot

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I fully expect to see a new mauling guard, a pure fullback, and a strictly blocking type TE in this offseason.
I love the identity you lay out here, those are the Rams I want to see! But sadly I can't agree because we've seen zero indication the Rams will do this. They just re-signed Kendricks for a lot more than he was worth (in my opinion) while crowing about his "swiss army knife" value -- translation: the Rams are committed to the hybrid TE/H back/FB role. He and Harkey will continue to swap lining up in the lead back and end line spots.

Harkey has become a very good blocker, but Kendricks is inconsistent. And even at his best he's a screen blocker, not a punishing blocker, and not a great fit for the vision you lay out. The perfect world would be get a true FB to move Harkey to a full time end blocking role and use Kendricks receiving skills more. But the only true FB that got a look last year was Kadeem Jones, and he wasn't given much chance and when injured they didn't rush out to replace him. There were very interesting FB free agents available this year, for example could have stolen Tukuafu from Seattle for dirt cheap, but passed.

I guess the mauling guard might come in tonight's draft, but again the only tangible evidence for the Rams priorities is a team that did nothing about being saddled with Davin Joseph for an entire season.

Great RBs make average OLines better
I don't really think I can get on board with this being true, either. Nobody ever says how Emmitt Smith made the Cowboys o-line so great, it's always the other way around. Maybe there's exceptions to every rule and I cross my fingers it will be here.
 

junkman

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I don't really think I can get on board with this being true, either. Nobody ever says how Emmitt Smith made the Cowboys o-line so great, it's always the other way around. Maybe there's exceptions to every rule and I cross my fingers it will be here.

In 1993, Emmitt Smith held out for the first two games, both Cowboys losses, in which Derrick Lassic was the team's leading rusher. This team bounced back from their 0-2 start to win 12 of their remaining 14 games behind Smith's 1486 yards rushing with a 5.3 ypc and 9 TDs, not to mention his 414 receiving yards) and win the Super Bowl (the 2nd of their 3 SB wins over a 4 year span). While Smith was holding out, this defending Super Bowl champion Dallas team had every roster hole you could possibly imagine including the OL.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1993.htm

The rise and fall of this Dallas team can be tied directly to Smith's success running the ball. YPC of 4.6 or more, they won the Super Bowl. Every other season from Smith was 4.3 ypc or less.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitEm00.htm

Point being... yes, an elite RB can make all the difference in the world.

PS - I'd make a similar claim about the GSOT Rams, that their success was tied very tightly to Marshall Faulk's knees and a ypc of 5.3 or more.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FaulMa00.htm
 

leoram

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20
I love the identity you lay out here, those are the Rams I want to see! But sadly I can't agree because we've seen zero indication the Rams will do this. They just re-signed Kendricks for a lot more than he was worth (in my opinion) while crowing about his "swiss army knife" value -- translation: the Rams are committed to the hybrid TE/H back/FB role. He and Harkey will continue to swap lining up in the lead back and end line spots.

Harkey has become a very good blocker, but Kendricks is inconsistent. And even at his best he's a screen blocker, not a punishing blocker, and not a great fit for the vision you lay out. The perfect world would be get a true FB to move Harkey to a full time end blocking role and use Kendricks receiving skills more. But the only true FB that got a look last year was Kadeem Jones, and he wasn't given much chance and when injured they didn't rush out to replace him. There were very interesting FB free agents available this year, for example could have stolen Tukuafu from Seattle for dirt cheap, but passed.

I guess the mauling guard might come in tonight's draft, but again the only tangible evidence for the Rams priorities is a team that did nothing about being saddled with Davin Joseph for an entire season.


I don't really think I can get on board with this being true, either. Nobody ever says how Emmitt Smith made the Cowboys o-line so great, it's always the other way around. Maybe there's exceptions to every rule and I cross my fingers it will be here.

I believe we will see more of Kendricks and less of Cook though Cook committed more to blocking last year. Harkey will be pushed by a developmental rook. This will allow us to "match up" depending on the defense. The running game will become better integrated with the passing game and more diverse. In the past, Stacy meant inside running. Cunningham meant a pass. Mason could threaten the edge but still be adequate up the middle. Gurley means anything is possible so the defense can't load up one type of play and manage the rest. While Gurley isn't as physical as Bettis and Jackson, nor as versatile or intelligent as Faulk, his ability to explode through an inside hole but also exploit the edge is only matched in Ram lore by ED. NOTHING neutralizes a front 7 better than indecision. Miss a tackle or fail your gap control and this guy will make you his highlight reel.