Havenstien, Should He Start?

[So Ram]

It's always tough for a coach to replace an injured long-term starter once he returns healthy, but Evans has outplayed Havenstein and our team has reached a crucial point in the season as we try to qualify for the play-offs. Havenstein may need a week or two more of solid practice before he is 100%, so if he gets the nod, he should be on a fairly short leash.
I'm happy not to have to make this decision, although being that I see Havenstein as possibly our # 1 trade option for the coming off-season, i'd love to see him get some work in and improve our odds at receiving excellent compensation from another team. Of course, this could also backfire, where not only does he hurt the team in our play-off hopes, he lessens his value as a trade commodity. I'll have to flip a coin and let you know my answer later.
jmo.

I’d trade him !! He is a RT only ??
He did get moved inside to RG when Robinson was moved to RT. Never developed into anything more ??

 

[OldSchool]

@flv am I reading Hav's contract right here? Havenstein has $2.4 million remaining of his signing bonus and his 2020 roster bonus guaranteed on 3/15/19 so if we traded or even cut him we'd have that $6.15 cap hit in 2020 which would save us $1.65 million from his projected $7.8 million cap hit?

With the way Evans is playing it's always a possibility.

 

[So Ram]

Agree.....it is possible that current starting RT Bobby Evans can get enough gm experience for the rest of the season to be the PRIME Prospect/Candidate to be the opening regular season starting LT next season until the Rams Org chosen Whitworth successor @ starting LT replacement Joseph Noteboom has retained full health & football playing condition?

If not which of the Ram OL'ers that will be under contract next season will it be?

wondering why you were so high on Edwards ?? Right now I think Whitworth is the starting LT !! I still think he might have another year left ?? I found it weird that people thought he would was going to already retire.

 

[BonifayRam]

wondering why you were so high on Edwards ?? Right now I think Whitworth is the starting LT !! I still think he might have another year left ?? I found it weird that people thought he would was going to already retire.

Because David Edwards has demonstrated early in his first rookie NFL season to have been blessed with natural excellent skills & abilities needed as a young OL'er.

Yes AW is our starting LT.

Yes he might have another NFL season in him, but he also has a large family who have desires & needs to see more of their Husband/Dad.

AW does not have a contract to play past this season with the Rams. AW was paid over $16 million this season. Any expectations of the 38 yr old returning next season to the Rams is nothing more than pure speculation & nothing more.

"People" were of the opinion that AW would retire because AW had mentioned it several times in decision with sports media personnel.

 

[RamWoodie]

Clowney would have destroyed Havenstein tonight. Evans beat him man to man. Havenstein isn't a starter when a rookie outplays him so dramatically.

Granted Evans did a nice job against Clowney...but you're kinda reaching saying Clowney would have destroyed Hav. Clowney got ZERO sacks against Hav in that game at Seattle. He did force a fumble.

While Hav hasn't had the year we've grown to expect...don't go overboard like he's lost his job.

 

[nighttrain]

Because David Edwards has demonstrated early in his first rookie NFL season to have been blessed with natural excellent skills & abilities needed as a young OL'er.

Yes AW is our starting LT.

Yes he might have another NFL season in him, but he also has a large family who have desires & needs to see more of their Husband/Dad.

AW does not have a contract to play past this season with the Rams. AW was paid over $16 million this season. Any expectations of the 38 yr old returning next season to the Rams is nothing more than pure speculation & nothing more.

"People" were of the opinion that AW would retire because AW had mentioned it several times in decision with sports media personnel.

Whit has said he definitely is interested in coming back, no link, but he did say this
train

 

[jrry32]

salary cap ?? I think The Rams will find that player in house ?? The O”line is playing at a high level. Was trying to find the thread about Whitworth maybe returning?? I think that post before the Hawks game was perefect. After the game even makes more sense. What a GREAT singing !!! Maybe the BEST FA signing in Rams history??

Eh, I wouldn't go that far at all.

 

[MachS]

Granted Evans did a nice job against Clowney...but you're kinda reaching saying Clowney would have destroyed Hav. Clowney got ZERO sacks against Hav in that game at Seattle. He did force a fumble.

While Hav hasn't had the year we've grown to expect...don't go overboard like he's lost his job.

I dont think it's too big of a reach at all. Havenstein has been garbage this year, and his body of work this season was more disappointing than anyone's. You can say he didnt have the help inside, blah, blah, blah...he consistently got beat off the edge this year in 1 on 1s. Evans is a 22 yr old rookie with more physicality and the line has turned around since he and Edwards were inserted. I think Evans has earned additional starts moving forward.

I think Fowler, Hav, and Cooks are all gone after this season. Or maybe we keep Hav for backup LT insurance in case Whit retires. Everyone is expecting Noteboom to come back and plug in at LT when healthy. That is the most ludicrous thing I've heard in a while. He tore both his ACL and MCL which for o-linemen takes a long time to recover from. Additionally, his play at guard was laughable this year, and while he was drafted as a tackle he had an entire 1 1/2 years to learn guard and get ready this season, but fell flat on his face. I'm leaning more towards bust or backup than LT starter for Noteboom. Good players come in and make an impact immediately i.e. Edwards and Evans.

 

[oldnotdead]

Why do people assume Fowler is on the way out? Why would the Rams not extend a guy who is their best outside rusher, and whom they traded for? That thinking makes no sense. They knew they would have to extend him when they traded for him. You guys don't think they took that into account and have a plan?

It won't be about money because they will have the money. They are already paying him $12M this year and it shouldn't take more than another $3-$4M to extend him. That's less than half of what they will get back in cap when they don't resign Brockers and he's more likely out the door than Fowler. Remember guys it's not the total amount of the contract that is important. It's the guranteed money that will get contracts signed.

As far as Havenstein is concerned do you honestly think they will disrupt the chemistry that is building on the o-line to start a dumpster fire RT? While we are on the subject, Blythe will be gone as well. All you have to do is look at his 3-4 blown blocks against Seattle alone to see why. One memorable one was shown on replay. Blythe pulls to the right and is so slow, he can't get there to make the block and lunges as he is prone to doing. He ends up belly flopping blocking no one....or where he runs right by the guy he's supposed to block and blocks no one. Sorry but Blythe and Rob have no business starting on this oline. They both are part of the reason this team potentially could miss the playoffs. Two rookies are outplaying both the "vets" by a wide margin.

 

[OldSchool]

Why do people assume Fowler is on the way out? Why would the Rams not extend a guy who is their best outside rusher, and whom they traded for? That thinking makes no sense.

It makes a ton of sense when you factor in the salary cap. He's going to be expensive so assuming he'll be back is a mistake. Would all these people who are saying he's gone like him back? I'm sure they would. But as we all know he's having a good season and there are some teams in need of an edge who will have a lot of cap.

 

[Zaphod]

What is the meaning of Jags ??

It is supposed to mean "Just A Guy" in a derogatory fashion and is often found in sentences like, "He's just a JAG.", which translates to "He is just a just a guy."

 

[Ramstien]

Ramsey and Littleton are the two defenders that must be extended. Plus I hope Hill will be under contract next season, he is really playing well along side of Ramsey.

 

[hotanez]

Ramsey and Littleton are the two defenders that must be extended. Plus I hope Hill will be under contract next season, he is really playing well along side of Ramsey.

Ramsey definitely, especially because of what we gave up for him. Littleton I'm afraid will be to expensive. It will become a bidding war in FA. His price will go way up.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Ramsey and Littleton are the two defenders that must be extended. Plus I hope Hill will be under contract next season, he is really playing well along side of Ramsey.

We have plenty of time with Ramsey as he doesn't become a free agent until 2021, it's a little more urgent with Littleton as his contract expires following this current season.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Hav has been great prior to this year, so I suspect he's had some nagging injury--maybe he's healthy now? Maybe Hav and Evans can be our bookends next year. But I hope they don't interrupt the progress of our current chemistry--our current lineup is lights out better than the Noteboom/Allen experiment. Our rookies are bound to improve by the game, as well.

 

[RamWoodie]

Just to not go "round and round" about Hav, I'm gonna say this:

I quickly discount hyperbole such as "Hav has been garbage this year". If that were the case why did it take injury to remove him as a starter?

I clearly admitted that it took me a while to wonder what was with the play of Hav this year. It could be a number of things...and I'm not gonna guess on it. He's been out, and Evans has done well. If McVay opts to continue to start Evans, I'm not gonna have a fit...the game has changed alot. Some coaches hold to the rule a starter doesn't lose his job to injury...some don't.

The Rams are at Dallas Sunday...and if McVay starts Hav, we'll see what happens. If he works Hav in on plays, so be it. All I want is the Rams to win...but...what if Hav starts and plays to his known ability? The OLine is all the better for it.

We have this week of practice for the coaches to decide.

 

[Riverumbbq]

The Rams are at Dallas Sunday...and if McVay starts Hav, we'll see what happens. If he works Hav in on plays, so be it. All I want is the Rams to win...but...what if Hav starts and plays to his known ability? The OLine is all the better for it.

This would be a favorable scenario, although my reasons for it are a bit different, ... to boost Havenstein's potential for trade value in the coming off-season. If Evans is the future at RT, I see little need for keeping Hav and his CAP hit during a year where every dollar counts. If we can retain Littleton or another important player heading towards free agency by trading Hav for a decent draft pick that can be used at a position of need, then that doubles my reasoning, ... and I say do it.
jmo.

 

[RamsInfiniti]

Ramsey definitely, especially because of what we gave up for him. Littleton I'm afraid will be to expensive. It will become a bidding war in FA. His price will go way up.

I cannot imagine they let Littleton go - that would be asinine. You don't find guys like him just sitting around.

 

[oldnotdead]

We are looking at the o-line of the Ram's future only it's starting a year early. But we have seen how poor play up front can ruin a season before it really begins. The Rams have the makings of a very good o-line for years to come.

What really is exciting is watching these young guys play well and realizing just how good they are going to be next year. They have gotten away from the simplistic outside zone and now are running a mix of gap and inside zone. This gives them the best opportunity for the run game to help them stay in front of the chains. It also will make the play action and jet sweeps even better as we saw against Seattle. It forces the defense to defend the entire width of the field.

Yeah, this is their o-line of the future and I don't see Whitworth, Havenstein or Blythe a part of it. So play these young guys now and it gives them the best chance this year, as well as something to build on coming out of the gate next September as well.