Come for Avila, stay for the entire offensive line

[Loyal]

McClendon was not drafted to be a starter. He’s a developmental depth guy, that’s it. If we’re starting two guys with at RG with no experience, we’re going backwards. Hell naw

I know. We must not make the Rodger Saffold mistake. again.

 

[Memento]

I love fucking story time.

Then why won' t you read mine?

(No, this is not in blue font; I have much more creativity and characterization done into the stories I've written than old has with the various things about A-Jax - sorry, old - and I literally have a chapter underneath this sentence

Death to Kings Prologue

 

[Londoner]

I was trying to think of the last time we had such a quality pair of starting guards, and I think that it was way back in 1987, when Dennis Harrah was in his last season and Tom Newberry was in his second.

Signing Dotson to a long-term deal is crucial for the ongoing development of the OL. Taking a flyer on a cheaper FA, bringing through the completely unproven McClendon or drafting a new RG would all be retrograde steps, in my opinion.

Let’s just keep Avila and Dotson got as long as we can.

 

[MaxQ28]

View: https://youtu.be/K86qIr0syaM?si=Ftu_Hi5Bziv7TL5e


If it’s posted already my apologies. But this is a fun one.

Avila: “I don’t know how I don’t have any hair sponsors” lol

 

[RamBall]

Jackson is a developmental talent that needs work on his footwork and general technique That said he has an over inflated ego so it will depend upon his salary demands. Right now Alaric is playing like a high second or low first round talent. The smart thing to do would be to put a first round tender on him. Why? Because I expect the Rams to draft an OT in the second or third round anyway because they will know they won't be willing to pay his salary demands in 2025.

I don't see anyone giving up a first round pick for Jackson and they can simply use him as a bridge player. The Rams will likely keep Noteboom one more year and if push comes to shove can use him as a bridge. But I think they are looking at Joe as a RT where he played well in relief. They can restructure his existing money over 3 years with the final year as a void year. This will allow them to draft a day three OT to develop behind Joe for two years. Why Joe at RT? Because they were able to do things with Noteboom they never could with Havenstein, i.e. like pull from the right side to block on the left side in the run game.

Dotson is not a lock to stay. Like Jackson it will depend upon his contract expectations and how the Rams feel about McClendon. IMO it's the right side that changes if any will be made on the OL. McClendon if he can make the position transition can be a real mauler in the run game. I have a lot of confidence in Wendell as the OL coach and if anyone can do it he can.

Why would they want to start Noteboom at RT? They already have a starting RT that has shown to be much more durable than Noteboom. Noteboom is an excellent 6th OL, can play 4 of the 5 positions and most likely will not be counted on to start 17 games. Moving Noteboom to starter at 1 position weakens the entire OL over the course of a full season.

 

[Loyal]

Why would they want to start Noteboom at RT? They already have a starting RT that has shown to be much more durable than Noteboom. Noteboom is an excellent 6th OL, can play 4 of the 5 positions and most likely will not be counted on to start 17 games. Moving Noteboom to starter at 1 position weakens the entire OL over the course of a full season.

Because OND wants to dump Big Rob. It's a yearly thing for him.....

 

[Londoner]

It's a yearly thing for him.....

You spelt “obsession” wrong.

 

[Merlin]

Because OND wants to dump Big Rob. It's a yearly thing for him.....

He's like the crazy uncle that can't stop sharing his conspiracy theories at the kids birthday parties.

 

[Classic Rams]

He's like the crazy uncle that can't stop sharing his conspiracy theories at the kids birthday parties.

"Hey kids, the Rams are tanking for Caleb! And they're trading
Stafford! And...and...they're dumping Havenstein!" /snort laugh

 

[oldnotdead]

It's how IMO in the future the Rams will control their cap. Why backload the weight until one year? Because it makes Havenstein affordable the rest of the contract. Is he the 11th best RT in the NFL, because that's what they will be paying him as. Granted this year he has played well, a career year you could say. Much like a player who plays his best in a contract year even though he played average the rest of the contract. At Rob's age there is no guarantee he will play this well in 2024.

Look how they structured Stafford's contract, much the same way with years 2025 and beyond being essentially void years. That would appear to be the same basic structure for Havenstein's contract. I'm simply stating what I read into the structure of the contract. The Rams to afford big contracts must save somewhere.

Everyone is pounding the table for expensive vet FAs but no one says where the money will come from. Noteboom may or may not be a Ram next year, but if he's gone it's not due to lack of talent but due to his health issues. All I'm saying is that they may see Joe as a less expensive bridge option at RT. I've said in other posts which people conveniently forget to mention, that I think they will draft one possibly two OTs next year. One would be a starter at LT and the other depending upon Arcuri to start at RT. Because of where they are likely to be drafting these guys a bridge OT would be advisable and is the normal way they deal with OL.

The Rams traded for Corbett and he played well for them. But did they extend him? They traded for Dotson because they saw a solid player in him. If they were intending to keep him why didn't they extend him this year? Because IMO he was viewed as a bridge. Dotson is another Corbett in their eyes. They likely won't be able to afford his salary expectations and as a FA he will get paid by someone else. Dotson IMO has been viewed as a potential comp pick from the time they traded for him. Look at the structure of the trade with the Steelers. You can see how they assumed that they would get at least a 5th round comp pick for Dotson while they upgraded their 2024 5th round pick by swapping 5th rounders with the Steelers in 2024. IMO they aren't dumb, if they intended to keep Dotson as their starter when they traded for him they would have extended him while it was cheaper to do so at the beginning of the season. But the Rams didn't.

IMO the Ram's contingency was that if Dotson played the way he has, then the comp pick would be higher knowing they then wouldn't be tied to an expensive OL contract. Dotson was a 4th round pick and McClendon is a 5th round pick. In another thread I mentioned how old school GMs would draft OL in round 2-5 because of the developmental curve they normally have. I predicted they would take an OL player in the 5th not 6th or 7th because the quality of the player would be better, requiring one redshirt year not 2-3 years. Assuming Wendell's evaluation of McClendon was good before the draft, and his development is on track then 2024 would be his year to start.

Unlike most here I take the position and their players and try to contexualize them. Like Jackson, I see them tendering him with a second round tender to give them one year to draft his replacement in 2024 and develop him. They could then use Jackson and Noteboom as their bridge starters. Unlike most here I haven't seen Joe play badly at RT, a position he's never played. He didn't play badly at RG either so why not use him as a bridge RT? Arcuri is typical of a 7th round OT who will take 3 years to develop. IMO either he shows in TC he is capable of playing as a swing OT or he gets released.

The Rams right now look like they have a lot of cap but they have a lot of guys to extend. Jackson's cap will go to $4.6M if tendered with a second round pick, and Shelton's cap will probably jump to close to $7M. They save $6.5M in cap if they release Havenstein. If Noteboom's injury is chronic they will post June 1 release him which would pay for keeping Rob one more year. Plantar fascitis is a tricky injury and could be a career ender for an OL player if it's viewed as a chronic issue.

So yeah I see McClendon as a possible starter at RG if he can make the positional transition. As I've said before not every OT can play OG because the technique is different. He simply doesn't seem to have the feet to play RT in the NFL.

 

[Loyal]

TLDR

 

[tempests]

It's how IMO in the future the Rams will control their cap. Why backload the weight until one year? Because it makes Havenstein affordable the rest of the contract. Is he the 11th best RT in the NFL, because that's what they will be paying him as. Granted this year he has played well, a career year you could say. Much like a player who plays his best in a contract year even though he played average the rest of the contract. At Rob's age there is no guarantee he will play this well in 2024.

Look how they structured Stafford's contract, much the same way with years 2025 and beyond being essentially void years. That would appear to be the same basic structure for Havenstein's contract. I'm simply stating what I read into the structure of the contract. The Rams to afford big contracts must save somewhere.

Everyone is pounding the table for expensive vet FAs but no one says where the money will come from. Noteboom may or may not be a Ram next year, but if he's gone it's not due to lack of talent but due to his health issues. All I'm saying is that they may see Joe as a less expensive bridge option at RT. I've said in other posts which people conveniently forget to mention, that I think they will draft one possibly two OTs next year. One would be a starter at LT and the other depending upon Arcuri to start at RT. Because of where they are likely to be drafting these guys a bridge OT would be advisable and is the normal way they deal with OL.

The Rams traded for Corbett and he played well for them. But did they extend him? They traded for Dotson because they saw a solid player in him. If they were intending to keep him why didn't they extend him this year? Because IMO he was viewed as a bridge. Dotson is another Corbett in their eyes. They likely won't be able to afford his salary expectations and as a FA he will get paid by someone else. Dotson IMO has been viewed as a potential comp pick from the time they traded for him. Look at the structure of the trade with the Steelers. You can see how they assumed that they would get at least a 5th round comp pick for Dotson while they upgraded their 2024 5th round pick by swapping 5th rounders with the Steelers in 2024. IMO they aren't dumb, if they intended to keep Dotson as their starter when they traded for him they would have extended him while it was cheaper to do so at the beginning of the season. But the Rams didn't.

IMO the Ram's contingency was that if Dotson played the way he has, then the comp pick would be higher knowing they then wouldn't be tied to an expensive OL contract. Dotson was a 4th round pick and McClendon is a 5th round pick. In another thread I mentioned how old school GMs would draft OL in round 2-5 because of the developmental curve they normally have. I predicted they would take an OL player in the 5th not 6th or 7th because the quality of the player would be better, requiring one redshirt year not 2-3 years. Assuming Wendell's evaluation of McClendon was good before the draft, and his development is on track then 2024 would be his year to start.

Unlike most here I take the position and their players and try to contexualize them. Like Jackson, I see them tendering him with a second round tender to give them one year to draft his replacement in 2024 and develop him. They could then use Jackson and Noteboom as their bridge starters. Unlike most here I haven't seen Joe play badly at RT, a position he's never played. He didn't play badly at RG either so why not use him as a bridge RT? Arcuri is typical of a 7th round OT who will take 3 years to develop. IMO either he shows in TC he is capable of playing as a swing OT or he gets released.

The Rams right now look like they have a lot of cap but they have a lot of guys to extend. Jackson's cap will go to $4.6M if tendered with a second round pick, and Shelton's cap will probably jump to close to $7M. They save $6.5M in cap if they release Havenstein. If Noteboom's injury is chronic they will post June 1 release him which would pay for keeping Rob one more year. Plantar fascitis is a tricky injury and could be a career ender for an OL player if it's viewed as a chronic issue.

So yeah I see McClendon as a possible starter at RG if he can make the positional transition. As I've said before not every OT can play OG because the technique is different. He simply doesn't seem to have the feet to play RT in the NFL.

Being overly analytical can lead a person to draw some odd conclusions.

I would expect Havenstein to remain the Rams RT for at least one more year.

 

[Merlin]

So yeah I see McClendon as a possible starter at RG if he can make the positional transition. As I've said before not every OT can play OG because the technique is different. He simply doesn't seem to have the feet to play RT in the NFL.

Hav is living up to his contract plus he is the leader of the unit. That combination insinuates he is here for another season.

I haven't seen enough of McClendon to know what we have. But generally an OL can sustain a couple guys being paid. They missed on Boom so chances are he is moved, but if not then yeah it means we are back to filling that RG role in house and maybe McClendon factors in.

But it is very unlikely they look to recoup cap by moving Hav. There will come a day that you are right about Hav but it isn't likely to be next year.

We do have Bruss potentially as well. But for myself I am really enjoying this group with top guard play. It feels really damn good and maybe the Rams are gonna quit screwing around and just get Dotson inked. There is risk but we have an old QB with hard miles so it makes sense to get the protections right for game one in '24.

 

[RamBall]

Because OND wants to dump Big Rob. It's a yearly thing for him.....

I know, but the smart ass in me just cant let it go.

 

[PhillyRam]

So yeah I see McClendon as a possible starter at RG if he can make the positional transition. As I've said before not every OT can play OG because the technique is different. He simply doesn't seem to have the feet to play RT in the NFL.

First off, if the Rams sign a top FA, you will not get a comp pick for Dotson. That signing will wipe out a Dotson comp pick.

As for McClendon. I don’t see it. He is small 6-4 300 by NFL stds. Even if they can put 10 lbs on him, 310 lb OG or RT is small.

His best chance to be a NFL starter is if he can learn to play C, but more he has quick movement skills for that.

The McClendon pick seems to have had the same mindset as the Bennett pick. Never a likley future starter, but an experienced versatile college player who can be a spot starter at G or T, but will never be a starter. Will at best be a back up to get you through a game if needed.

 

[Merlin]

Fuck those comp picks. For this year at least. This roster needs to be topped off.

 

[PhillyRam]

Fuck those comp picks. For this year at least. This roster needs to be topped off.

Agree...just pointing out don't expect to get one for Dotson. And I keep Dotson if it were up to me even with a slight overpay

 

[PhillyRam]

I would keep Dotson, extend Earnest Jones, and go pay for a top CB.

Edge likley best had in the draft, and add another CB in draft.

Add depth to the OL and add a LB to pair with Jones. Simulate the Niners with Greenlaw & Warner and Ravens with Queen & Smith.

Add a quality DL in 2nd phase of FA and draft a DT somewhat early. Tired of Earnrst Brown & Jonah Williams, Murchison etc... they are JAGs at best.

 

[Merlin]

Agree...just pointing out don't expect to get one for Dotson. And I keep Dotson if it were up to me even with a slight overpay

Yeah man. And I'm worried Dotson will regress after we pay him but it's worth the risk to keep Stafford upright and get the most of his remaining window.

 

[PhillyRam]

Yeah man. And I'm worried Dotson will regress after we pay him but it's worth the risk to keep Stafford upright and get the most of his remaining window.

I like the pairing of two 330 OGs next to Shelton. Shelton is undersized, but with those 2 next him he is fine.

There is a reason the Eagles always have 330 lb OGs around the smallish Kelcie. He is great, but it definitely frees him up a bit to get to the 2nd level and he rarely gets a guy right on his nose that he won't get help with.

So if not Dotson, go get a clone of him in FA or the draft, preferably in FA. Free up your picks for other areas and mostly playmakers, whether they are on offense or defense.