How good was the LA Rams offensive line in 2020?

[Elmgrovegnome]

McVay paired down offense with the short passes helps the Online look better than it is. We all saw the inside pressure and how poorly Blythe picked up stunts. Overall they were pretty good at run blocking. But after watching the Packers Online I don't know how anyone can think the Rams line is ranked third. The good news is that one major upgrade at center would make a huge difference in the play of both guards. Please please please.

 

[snackdaddy]

McVay paired down offense with the short passes helps the Online look better than it is. We all saw the inside pressure and how poorly Blythe picked up stunts. Overall they were pretty good at run blocking. But after watching the Packers Online I don't know how anyone can think the Rams line is ranked third. The good news is that one major upgrade at center would make a huge difference in the play of both guards. Please please please.

Goof point. It sure seemed like McVay didn't call for deeper pass plays because he didn't think the line would hold their blocks long enough.

 

[PARAM]

So, PFF had our oline ranked 6th in 2018 and 3rd in 2020?
Okie dokie

Yeah, the O line was better than the 2018 OL? Ah...no. (See Elmgrovegnome's post below)

McVay paired down offense with the short passes helps the Online look better than it is. We all saw the inside pressure and how poorly Blythe picked up stunts. Overall they were pretty good at run blocking. But after watching the Packers Online I don't know how anyone can think the Rams line is ranked third. The good news is that one major upgrade at center would make a huge difference in the play of both guards. Please please please.

Quick passes and we still gave up pressure inside? No deep plays "that were there" but because of lack of protection or Goff's inability to see them, weren't made. I absolutely love Stafford's gunslinger mentality but he's not going to make the O line any better. Or at least I don't see how. I see broken fingers, bruised ribs, twisted shoulders and ints. Forget PFF or SIS or whomever and trust your eyes. They were better than 2019 but they weren't anywhere near 2018, when Goff had the time to pat the ball and wait for those route combos to open somebody up deep. No, my eyes tell me FIX THE OL!!!

 

[Ram_Rally]

So, PFF had our oline ranked 6th in 2018 and 3rd in 2020?
Okie dokie

Well it's all relative. Offensive line play may have been better in 2018 across the league

 

[Ram_Rally]

Goof point. It sure seemed like McVay didn't call for deeper pass plays because he didn't think the line would hold their blocks long enough.

Not according to Jourdan Rodrigue. She said he did it to help prevent Jared from turning the ball over.

 

[Oregonram]

Yep. Apparently it's a done deal, his transcendent talent has already turned our football team into the next GSOT, we only have to wait to enjoy it at this point...

I like anyone who can find a way to use the word transcendent in a football post.

 

[FrantikRam]

McVay paired down offense with the short passes helps the Online look better than it is. We all saw the inside pressure and how poorly Blythe picked up stunts. Overall they were pretty good at run blocking. But after watching the Packers Online I don't know how anyone can think the Rams line is ranked third. The good news is that one major upgrade at center would make a huge difference in the play of both guards. Please please please.

I agree with this, it's just worth pointing out that it's been the same since McVay got here. Every year. 2019 was worse because we dealt with injuries and the Brian Allen experiment, but 2017, 2018, last five games of 2019 and 2020 have seen virtually identical OL play.

2017 *might* be the outlier, but for the other seasons you can point to:

Games where the OL dominated
Games where we couldn't run
Games where Goff was pressured constantly

This is an example of a game where the OL was not very good in pass pro:

Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos - October 14th, 2018 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Los Angeles Rams 23 at Denver Broncos 20 on October 14th, 2018 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

OL was bad, it contributed to Goff playing bad, but we won. In 2018, we had that game and games against the Eagles, Bears, the Super Bowl and to a lesser degree, the Lions game.

The OL was arguably the worst unit when McVay took over, so getting it to where he has is impressive - but to consistently play well against good defensive lines we need better C/G play.

Also, the Packers OL looked very similar against the Bucs to how ours did against them - their OL is definitely better than ours, don't get me wrong - but it wasn't very good against the Bucs.

 

[tomas]

Quick passes and we still gave up pressure inside? No deep plays "that were there" but because of lack of protection or Goff's inability to see them, weren't made. I absolutely love Stafford's gunslinger mentality but he's not going to make the O line any better. Or at least I don't see how. I see broken fingers, bruised ribs, twisted shoulders and ints. Forget PFF or SIS or whomever and trust your eyes. They were better than 2019 but they weren't anywhere near 2018, when Goff had the time to pat the ball and wait for those route combos to open somebody up deep. No, my eyes tell me FIX THE OL!!!

I hope Kevin Carberry's --(David Shaw--Stanford Cardinals) power concept/Man/ Angle Blocking Scheme can fix the O-line.

 

[So Ram]

I agree with this, it's just worth pointing out that it's been the same since McVay got here. Every year. 2019 was worse because we dealt with injuries and the Brian Allen experiment, but 2017, 2018, last five games of 2019 and 2020 have seen virtually identical OL play.

2017 *might* be the outlier, but for the other seasons you can point to:

Games where the OL dominated
Games where we couldn't run
Games where Goff was pressured constantly

This is an example of a game where the OL was not very good in pass pro:

Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos - October 14th, 2018 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Los Angeles Rams 23 at Denver Broncos 20 on October 14th, 2018 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

OL was bad, it contributed to Goff playing bad, but we won. In 2018, we had that game and games against the Eagles, Bears, the Super Bowl and to a lesser degree, the Lions game.

The OL was arguably the worst unit when McVay took over, so getting it to where he has is impressive - but to consistently play well against good defensive lines we need better C/G play.

Also, the Packers OL looked very similar against the Bucs to how ours did against them - their OL is definitely better than ours, don't get me wrong - but it wasn't very good against the Bucs.

I’m going to agree to disagree with most of that thought process.In FACT
I don’t even know what The Rams offense is going to look like really in 2021.Who knows what is going to happen.My guess is The 2020 offensive line will not look the same & if it does personnel wise I will say your theory is total garbage.Either way imo 2021 Rams offense is going to be more consistent & have more deep throws & have a Top 10 rushing offense?

 

[So Ram]

I hope Kevin Carberry's --(David Shaw--Stanford Cardinals) power concept/Man/ Angle Blocking Scheme can fix the O-line.

I just wonder if he will have much input on scouting ? Kromer when he first became The Rams offensive line coach he thought The Rams had good players. — Mcvay doesn’t mess around when it comes to changing his roster.
In Car-Bar I trust.

 

[tomas]

I just wonder if he will have much input on scouting ? Kromer when he first became The Rams offensive line coach he thought The Rams had good players. — Mcvay doesn’t mess around when it comes to changing his roster.
In Car-Bar I trust.

I think "trust" McVay will give Kevin Carberry the free latitude to make personnel decisions on the O-Line

 

[Rams43]

Some Ram OL things I think I think...

All due respect to PFF but a #3 OL ranking is laughable.

McVay was forced to scheme his O back in ‘20 to protect BOTH his QB and his OL And I think he got sick and tired of it.

Goff was deemed insufficient and he has been replaced by Stafford despite the cost.

The replacement of Kromer speaks volumes about McVay’s desire for new methodology on the OL.

I predict changes in blocking methods this year AND potentially 2 new OL starters.

McVay will once again be able to open up his entire damned playbook.

I predict a 30-32 ppg O this year.

McVay will likely turn his D 100% over to Morris so that his attention can be entirely onto renovating his ‘new’ O.

 

[PARAM]

Kromer when he first became The Rams offensive line coach he thought The Rams had good players.

He did? Then why the hell did we sign Whitworth, Sullivan and Blythe in 2017? Two who started in 2017 and by 2018, all 3 were starters!!! I'm no expert but to me, that appears we made wholesale changes along the OL in 2017!!!

Like I said, I'm no expert but I've read if we change from a zone to a man blocking scheme, we're going to need to bring in some different OL. Don't know how true that is or isn't.

 

[Ram Ts]

I hope Kevin Carberry's --(David Shaw--Stanford Cardinals) power concept/Man/ Angle Blocking Scheme can fix the O-line.

So for the draft & college experts - what OL in this draft would fit well into Carberry’s scheme ?

 

[tomas]

So for the draft & college experts - what OL in this draft would fit well into Carberry’s scheme ?

I think Carberry would want a big-strong-powerful center----
Creed Humphrey 6-4, 316 Oklahoma
Josh Myers 6-4, 310 Ohio State, Trey Hill 6-3, 330 Georgia
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Dodgersrf]

I could see it actually.

Depends on how people view the Dolphins game. When I watched it I wasn't too upset with the OL because the Dolphins sent 6 so many times - OL can't do anything about that.

But that's a hot topic so let's put that game aside for a minute. The Seahawks game was similar to the Eagles game in 2018. The Jets game similar to the Broncos game in 2018.

There's no comparison for the Bears game though. Our OL got obliterated in that game. And then for good measure the Packers game was similar to the Super Bowl.

If it's not better id say it was dangerously close to being the same.

I have to disagree.
Losing Saffold and Sully were big hits on the interior of our line.
Even an aging Sully played better than Blyth at C.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Well it's all relative. Offensive line play may have been better in 2018 across the league

Which is a valid point.
However. Was overall line play so bad that our line should be ranked 3rd? Not in my opinion.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Which is a valid point.
However. Was overall line play so bad that our line should be ranked 3rd? Not in my opinion.

If the offensive line was really the third best in the league then why did McVay opt to move on from Kromer? Seems counter intuitive.

PFF Line grading at times seems to be accurate and at others seems to be off. I think they give the Rams a high score because they did well run blocking and for few penalties. That is easier to grade. They judge pass blocking the same way, at face value. My guess is that they have no consideration for length of time pass blocking nor offensive scheme. It’s easier to block for an offense that is throwing mostly short passes. If the Rams Oline blocked for a team that throws the ball downfield more consistently or even mid range, would they still be considered a top 3 Oline by PFF?..........From the sound of things McVay wants to throw down field more, so he changed his Oline coach who is changing his scheme.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I hope Kevin Carberry's --(David Shaw--Stanford Cardinals) power concept/Man/ Angle Blocking Scheme can fix the O-line.

This is the second time I saw a reference to Carberry’s scheme. Was there a detailed write up on it other than the intro article?

Some Ram OL things I think I think...

All due respect to PFF but a #3 OL ranking is laughable.

McVay was forced to scheme his O back in ‘20 to protect BOTH his QB and his OL And I think he got sick and tired of it.

Goff was deemed insufficient and he has been replaced by Stafford despite the cost.

The replacement of Kromer speaks volumes about McVay’s desire for new methodology on the OL.

I predict changes in blocking methods this year AND potentially 2 new OL starters.

McVay will once again be able to open up his entire damned playbook.

I predict a 30-32 ppg O this year.

McVay will likely turn his D 100% over to Morris so that his attention can be entirely onto renovating his ‘new’ O.

I hope you are correct about McVay being willing to change personnel with Oline as he did with other positions. I have little confidence in Kromer when his best depth pieces are Shelton and Allen backing up Blythe. Throw Demby into the mix as well.

The Rams have supposedly liked a few Centers in past drafts, but got jumped or had no chance of drafting them. That tells me that they do see a need to upgrade.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Yeah, the O line was better than the 2018 OL? Ah...no. (See Elmgrovegnome's post below)



Quick passes and we still gave up pressure inside? No deep plays "that were there" but because of lack of protection or Goff's inability to see them, weren't made. I absolutely love Stafford's gunslinger mentality but he's not going to make the O line any better. Or at least I don't see how. I see broken fingers, bruised ribs, twisted shoulders and ints. Forget PFF or SIS or whomever and trust your eyes. They were better than 2019 but they weren't anywhere near 2018, when Goff had the time to pat the ball and wait for those route combos to open somebody up deep. No, my eyes tell me FIX THE OL!!!

Did you reply to the wrong post? I agree with all of this. Stafford cannot fix the Oline. I do think he can sense pressure better and move and reset his feet better than Goff, but if McVay wants more explosive plays then the inside pressure needs to be fixed. I think one good center can fix most of it. Corbett isn’t great but his play could improve paired with a good center.