CAMP REPORT Camp Reports Day 9: Mon, Aug 9

[BonifayRam]

So just how bad would it upset ROD'ers in here if McVay/Carberry were able to start the same 4/5ths of 2020 at the same posts in this OL?That it very might be only the center Austin Blythe post that will have a new starter? Nothing new there.

Rams will have the same #6 Joe Noteboom entering his 4th season & #7 Bobby Evans as the swing RT/OG entering his 3rd season. If that was not enough good news last year's outstanding rookie OT/OG Tremayne Anchrum continues to impressed in Training Camp thus far, is also here to fill the needed master roster positions for the start of the regular season.

So the only real question yet to be solved is who will start at the center & who will be the top reserve center? It appears those two answers will come from the following four OL'ers. Brian Allen/ Shelton Coleman & Jeremiah Kolone along with some veteran starter Austin Corbett all having turns with Brian Allen who entering his 4th Training Camp trending as the leader at this point in time.

To round out 2nd yr OT/OG Chandler Brewer has returned & put in a solid camp along with OT/OG rookie AJ. Jackson looks to be a keeper too. OL coaches seem to like the promise of rookie center Jordan Meredith too.

 

[Psycho_X]

So just how bad would it upset ROD'ers in here if McVay/Carberry were able to start the same 4/5ths of 2020 at the same posts in this OL?That it very might be only the center Austin Blythe post that will have a new starter? Nothing new there.

Rams will have the same #6 Joe Noteboom entering his 4th season & #7 Bobby Evans as the swing RT/OG entering his 3rd season. If that was not enough good news last year's outstanding rookie OT/OG Tremayne Anchrum continues to impressed in Training Camp thus far, is also here to fill the needed master roster positions for the start of the regular season.

So the only real question yet to be solved is who will start at the center & who will be the top reserve center? It appears those two answers will come from the following four OL'ers. Brian Allen/ Shelton Coleman & Jeremiah Kolone along with some veteran starter Austin Corbett all having turns with Brian Allen who entering his 4th Training Camp trending as the leader at this point in time. Not a bad position to be in IMO.

To round out 2nd yr OT/OG Chandler Brewer has returned & put in a solid camp along with OT/OG rookie AJ. Jackson looks to be a keeper too. OL coaches seem to like the promise of rookie center Jordan Meredith too.

This first preseason game will help get a feel of some of these questions at least. McVay doesn't play his starters so I'm assuming Corbett doesn't play at all because he's either a RG or C starter. So will Allen get a lot of snaps at center? If they are starting to lean as him being a starter will they limit him and let Kolone, Shelton, whoever battle it out for the new backup? Or even if they are considering Allen as a starter maybe they give him time to prove it in live game action.

Either way, we'll get to find out how they feel about some of these names at least. Looking forward to seeing Anchrum, Brewer, Jackson, etc get some quality snaps against competition. I'm hoping the Chargers play some of their starters to get good feelers on some of these guys but I'm afraid Staley will learn from McVay and not play any.

 

[JonRam99]

I am a big Jourdan fan.. She's absolutely incredible and we should enjoy her while she's on the Rams beat. She's simply too good to be only on a team beat for too long.. and she cares too much and loves football too much. Kid is heading for really big things

I don't think she's going anywhere for a while, pretty sure this was a soft landing spot for her. She's VERY knowledgeable about football (just ask Cam Newton). Her reports are better than most sports reporters I've read.

 

[OldSchool]

View: https://twitter.com/JourdanRodrigue/status/1425116401916809223

 

[BonifayRam]

This first preseason game will help get a feel of some of these questions at least. McVay doesn't play his starters so I'm assuming Corbett doesn't play at all because he's either a RG or C starter. So will Allen get a lot of snaps at center? If they are starting to lean as him being a starter will they limit him and let Kolone, Shelton, whoever battle it out for the new backup? Or even if they are considering Allen as a starter maybe they give him time to prove it in live game action.

Either way, we'll get to find out how they feel about some of these names at least. Looking forward to seeing Anchrum, Brewer, Jackson, etc get some quality snaps against competition. I'm hoping the Chargers play some of their starters to get good feelers on some of these guys but I'm afraid Staley will learn from McVay and not play any.

The Chargers/Rams game is on the NFL channel. It may end up with us seeing only three centers.....Kolone/ Shelton & Meredith.

Carberry might be looking at starting RG Corbett being our reserve center. Corbett being our 2nd best center is not a bad situation. Carberry options @ top reserve RG are many & good........Brewer/ Evans/ Anchrum/ Shelton/ Jackson. So we never know.

Carberry could go with his best 9 OL'ers entering the regular season..... Whitworth/ Edwards/ Allen/ Corbett/ Havenstein then Noteboom/ Anchrum/ Brewer/ Evans as reserves then sign OT/OG Jackson/ OC Kolone & OC Meredith on the practice squad thus carrying two centers in that cadre in case there is an injury incident with Allen or Corbett.

This forum surely knows that Austin Corbett is a far better RG than Evans is.

 

[Ram65]

There've been lots of discussion here at ROD about Allen. My take: Allen has bulked up and gotten stronger. He looks 10-15lbs heavier and much thicker than 2 yeas ago when I last attended a TC. He gets off his snap very well and has held his own against SJD, Gaines and A'Shawn. He's opening holes in the run. Corbett is a better G than Evans and it looks like at this point Allen is as least as good as Corbett at C. This is NOT the Allen we saw 2 years ago.

Don't be surprised folks if Allen ends up being the starting C game one of the regular season.

I talked up SJD after D Farr was very impressed with how he was looking in the offseason a couple of years ago. He said he was working hard and getting bigger/stronger. I miss those off-season reports. Some posters didn't think SJD could improve enough to be a solid contributor no less a starter. Sounds like Allen has done the same. Players can improve and the Rams philosophy plays into that. These Rams seem to be one of if not the hardest working teams in the NFL.

It's all about preparing for and competing in camp. That's how you hope the coaches find the best players to start and get playing time. I don't know how things work out with Allen getting playing time. The Rams have to find the best mix on the offensive line. That goes for all the other groupings. We know the defensive line, ILBer group, secondary group and others have some tough competition before the season starts. I hadn't given up on Allen and wish him the best.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

Thing about Allen is, as much as we were frustrated with his play/film, I guarantee he was far more upset. Sounds like he used it as motivation to improve. Good stuff, we will see how it plays out

About T. Lewis, I don't get the irritation in here. If he is not on the field, he is not taking Reps away from anyone. The pick was a gamble, first round talent at a 3rd round price. If it doesn't work out, so be it. Many Many Many 3rd round picks don't work out. The hind sight game is really annoying, and even if you didn't like the pick, it is done, and we are now looking for the best 53.

Some of the "irritation" comes from the lack of 1st and 2nd round picks that have/had. We have to hit on these mid round picks to have sustained success. It would be one thing if Lewis played and then got hurt during a game, but it's his second year, he's barely played and is already missing a lot of time. It's understandable to be frustrated that his future is not looking good right now.

 

[bubbaramfan]

How the OL is shaping up looks to me:

Starters, Whit LT, Edwards LG, Allen C, Corbett RG, Havenstien RT.

Now if those five are kept out of pre-season games, here's who I think start:

Noteboom LT, Brewer LG, Shelton and Kolone C, Evans RG, Anchrum RT.

How many OL will McVay keep on the 53, 8 or 9?

My guess: Starting 5 plus Noteboom for LT, Kolone or Shelton for C, (they won't keep both), Anchrum, Brewer and Evans for last spots. I think Anchrum and Evans are the safest.

Will they keep 10? i doubt it. i think they only keep 8. Pre-season play will determine the outcome.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

How the OL is shaping up looks to me:

Starters, Whit LT, Edwards LG, Allen C, Corbett RG, Havenstien RT.

Now if those five are kept out of pre-season games, here's who I think start:

Noteboom LT, Brewer LG, Shelton and Kolone C, Evans RG, Anchrum RT.

How many OL will McVay keep on the 53, 8 or 9?

My guess: Starting 5 plus Noteboom for LT, Kolone or Shelton for C, (they won't keep both), Anchrum, Brewer and Evans for last spots. I think Anchrum and Evans are the safest.

Will they keep 10? i doubt it. i think they only keep 8. Pre-season play will determine the outcome.

I think Allen and Evans well get plenty of preseason reps to sort out the starting job, and Corbett may get the most out of the top four.

Corbett/Evans or Allen/Corbett, may the best man win.

 

[Rams43]

About the possibility that Allen will be Rams starting OC…

Don’t understand why some discount his ability to significantly improve his play.

Others on this Ram roster have done so without the general disbelief. For example:

Jefferson
Obo
SJD
Darious Williams
Hollins
Fuller
Burgess

Just to name a few…

Btw, maybe Evans just isn’t an OG? Perhaps his best position is RT?

 

[MachS]

To me, if you're rotating Centers in and out, it means you don't have one that's clearly above the other. Which is worrisome considering they've tried to gamble on not adding OL and rolling with what they have, only to bite them in the ass. PARTICULARLY at Center.

Also worrisome how close we are to the start of the season and we're making changes to arguably the most important spot on our OL. The spot we let our previous starter walk from because we had his replacement ready, and now we're changing things 3 weeks before the season?

I think the changes say more about how bad Evans is playing at RG more so than Corbett at center. I'm sure Corbett was fine at C, but now these changes mean less time to build continuity if Allen/Corbett is how we roll. And I get how Allen has looked better in camp, but man how many times have we heard a player looks great in camp just to play like shit during the season? The game film Allen put on tape was horrendous 2 years ago. Yea hopefully he's improved, but if he starts the season and falls on his face again and we are forced back into the Corbett/Evans combo McVay will look stupid.

 

[Merlin]

This could be good or it could be bad. Just no way to know if it is more that they are disappointed in Evans, or more that they are impressed by Allen. We just don't have enough film to look at to really know and there's no way I'm gonna go nuke that shitty Cowboys feed to see if I can pick up any OL action. Either way if it's the latter we should be in good shape.

So basically here we are where we sort of worried we would be, unsure what to expect at the pivot. Which is why so many wanted a Center drafted for the past couple years. But all that aside I am not up in arms here. Or even worked up about this. I do think Allen showed some things before and if he's gotten stronger he should be fine. What will be important is Edwards and Corbett (who are two big boys) killing it next to him and protecting him. If they do that we should still have a good run game, particularly with Allen at least getting to the ILBs compared to last season.

Also I don't want to get into the QBs here. But they do factor in with these Centers. Allen wasn't too great with the calls and we saw a huge upgrade in that aspect when Blythe moved over. So for him to get the nod--if he does--means he's made strides there too. Now granted Stafford won't need to have a pre-snap calls ninja in front of him, but you can bet the staff requires his approval of Allen being the guy, that Stafford thinks he can make protection calls well enough to not be a distraction where the QB has to constantly correct him. Also and btw the calls may factor in here wrt Corbs at Center, I don't think that's likely to be what drove the decision but it might be part of it.

Re: the depth I will say that the Rams bringing in Kolone and installing him at backup Center pretty much cements that they don't like Shelton. At least they don't like him at Center. So our depth is almost certainly Allen or Corbs.

Lastly if neither Allen nor Corbs plays in preseason I feel sorry for our backup QBs. There's probably gonna be a lot of DTs looking all-world against our OL.

 

[Shuie3225]

Some of the "irritation" comes from the lack of 1st and 2nd round picks that have/had. We have to hit on these mid round picks to have sustained success. It would be one thing if Lewis played and then got hurt during a game, but it's his second year, he's barely played and is already missing a lot of time. It's understandable to be frustrated that his future is not looking good right now.

Exactly. That's the problem with the Lewis pick people are missing. When you trade all your 1st rounders away you have to hit on your 2nd and 3rd rounders. You just have to if you want to have depth. You cant take chances on high injury risk players like you have a ton of extra picks and want to roll the dice. And its not just that T Lewis has been hurt his first two years in a row in the NFL. But this is an injury he suffered back in college. Its a surgery complication that lead to a degenerative knee. And as others have said in his last 3 years at Alabama he missed 2 out of those 3 years. So he's missed significant time in 4 of his last last 5 years playing football. And with our very limited draft capital and weak OLB depth chart we wanted to take a huge risk with a 3rd rounder?? Makes literally zero sense.

 

[Merlin]

So how many of these legends do you guys recognize? Only guy I know by his face is Leroy Irvin...

 

[Psycho_X]

So how many of these legends do you guys recognize? Only guy I know by his face is Leroy Irvin...

View attachment 47123

Roland Williams in middle back. Can spot that smile a mile away.

 

[oldnotdead]

Considering Noteboom is their starting LT next year I would be shocked if McVay exposes him to injury in the preseason. I've been saying it for a long time. Allen was a first-year starter who played better than Blythe but Sean kept believing what Kromer told him that Blythe was the better player even though games proved otherwise.

Allen is their best option at center as it gives them their best overall combination with Whit, Edwards, Allen, Corbett and Havenstein. I think Corbett's blown call against Dallas leaving an unblocked rusher was an eye-opener. That is exactly the type of error that will get Stafford hurt. IMO this is the work of Carberry who is telling him Allen is the better option. With that blown call Saturday, it probably means McVay is beginning to accept Carberry's recommendation. Allen played well during his starting year and combined with his strong camp IMO Carberry is looking at Allen in his totality without the bias Kromer often displayed.

Corbett gives them a very good RG and a good option as their #2 center so this TC hasn't been wasted in that regard. Also, I think the unexpected rise of Jackson has potentially changed the dynamic of the OL combinations this year. Alaric could be a starter at LT in the preseason to give him game experience to better evaluate where he stands in his development. He would be going against the Charger's 1st unit defense on Saturday. If he can play well against Joey Bosa that will be an excellent test.

My concern about Corbett at center is from reviewing a private video taken by a friend at TC. He's had some errors that have been simply glossed over by the media and McVay. Benching a starter simply because he got injured in favor of a lesser player is a very bad precedent to set. There was no question Allen outplayed Blythe in 2019 who gave up key sacks and pressures that led to INTs.

If Allen is to be benched then let it be due to poor play, not because of some coaching bias. I think Corbett has been an outstanding acquisition but to expect him to play better suddenly than he did at center in Cleveland at is asking a lot. Center is the hardest position on the OL to play consistently. Each mistake is magnified and it takes more than a few weeks in the center room to develop that consistency.

Also, IMO this was something I expected and it has to do with Corbett's FA status next year. He will be cheaper to extend as an OG than as a center. Allen is also a FA so signing him as a starting center will be cheaper. The Rams will save millions on their cap by simply starting Allen at C and Corbett at OG. If they change their mind next year then they still would have saved millions of $$. IMO Allen probably would not resign as a backup center so they would probably lose him. This way the likelihood of extending both is high and cheaper next year. IMO it makes perfect sense.

I think there are multiple reasons to make the switch back to Allen and all of them are good. Put me down as one of the very few that would like this change to be made.

 

[Merlin]

Considering Noteboom is their starting LT next year

If that was true the Rams would have locked him up by now at a reasonable rate. He is still cheap at this juncture if you believe in him. But they have not done that so that's an important read on what they're thinking IMO.

And since that jives with what my eyes tell me, which is that he's a marginal talent, I doubt your statement to be true.

Now all that aside if for whatever reason Whit misses time this year or if his game falls off a cliff then Boom will get his chance to show what he can do. But if he wants to be considered as a starter at LT or have money thrown at him in FA he needs to do much better than he has. He needs better film.

 

[Ram65]

Also worrisome how close we are to the start of the season and we're making changes to arguably the most important spot on our OL. The spot we let our previous starter walk from because we had his replacement ready, and now we're changing things 3 weeks before the season?

I think the changes say more about how bad Evans is playing at RG more so than Corbett at center. I'm sure Corbett was fine at C, but now these changes mean less time to build continuity if Allen/Corbett is how we roll. And I get how Allen has looked better in camp, but man how many times have we heard a player looks great in camp just to play like shit during the season? The game film Allen put on tape was horrendous 2 years ago. Yea hopefully he's improved, but if he starts the season and falls on his face again and we are forced back into the Corbett/Evans combo McVay will look stupid.

We really don't know how the Rams coaching staff is evaluating everyone. The Rams have moved offensive linemen around in the past. I think it's best to wait and see how everything plays out before making any conclusions.

It could turn out they keep the Evans/Corbett combo over the Allen/Corbett combo. I like they are looking at both possibilities. It doesn't necessarily mean anything bad. There is still time to get this right before the season starts.

 

[bluecoconuts]

If that was true the Rams would have locked him up by now at a reasonable rate. He is still cheap at this juncture if you believe in him. But they have not done that so that's an important read on what they're thinking IMO.

And since that jives with what my eyes tell me, which is that he's a marginal talent, I doubt your statement to be true.

Now all that aside if for whatever reason Whit misses time this year or if his game falls off a cliff then Boom will get his chance to show what he can do. But if he wants to be considered as a starter at LT or have money thrown at him in FA he needs to do much better than he has. He needs better film.

Who else do we have? The chances of getting a day 1 LT starter in the draft seems unlikely, same with getting a better option in the open market. Cam Robinson seems to be the best option who'll be a FA, and he's probably going to get overpaid by someone else. Barring a trade, chances are Noteboom is likely our guy next year, my guess is we lock him up for a two or three year deal.

 

[OldSchool]

Who else do we have? The chances of getting a day 1 LT starter in the draft seems unlikely, same with getting a better option in the open market. Cam Robinson seems to be the best option who'll be a FA, and he's probably going to get overpaid by someone else. Barring a trade, chances are Noteboom is likely our guy next year, my guess is we lock him up for a two or three year deal.

There's not a lot that you'd imagine would be in our free agency price range either for the spot. Might not get lucky like we did getting Big Whitt in.