My projections for Rams 2023 OL ‘adjustments’…

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blackbart

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He’s an average center with a chronic knee injury. Brown Allen is not the main reason the Rams won the Super Bowl.

Relying on him for another season with his knee injury is risky. They might as well have kept Gurley another season if injuries aren’t an issue.
Irrelevant to the conversation, I do agree that it looks like it is time to move on.
 

blackbart

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I’ll try to keep this simple without any nasty personal attacks.

Allen is not good enough.

And his injury history is a deal breaker.

Rams need to upgrade that position.

That better?
Yes, and I agree but, that was not the case before this season. Last year he was better than average.
 

So Ram

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Yes, and I agree but, that was not the case before this season. Last year he was better than average.He actually was a p
Yes, and I agree but, that was not the case before this season. Last year he was better than average.
Allen was close to being a pro bowl alternative last season. I want a bigger center though & The Rams had that chance to get a Top big young center.

I don’t know how The Rams move on from Shelton & Allen in 2023.Drafting a center/guard of the future might not be a bad idea though.
 

thirteen28

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Below is the current list of 2023 pending UFA centers that might be available. When you review this projected group it is far better than what is projected @ LT.


It's been over 5 1/2 years since Snead/McVay drafted a center. They still have both Allen & Shelton under contract for next season. Shelton can start @ OG if needed so the time is right to draft & groom an OC in 2023.

The salary cap funds $$ involved in BA in 2023 are not close to the $$$ involved in Noteboom. However, IF they release BA before TC the cap hit will be $4.2 mil. BA will get paid nearly $7 million in 2023. Expecting BA to pay dividends as a starter is a very risky gamble IMO. Does anyone think differently?

Center Shelton has not turned out for Coach Carberry @ starting OC or OG. So there's that ingredient to mix in here as well.

The best plan IMO is to draft a future center on day two of the draft with both Shelton/Allen here to mix into this new 2023 blended OL.

I remember it differently thirteen28.......

#1). In 2019 ( Joe Noteboom's 2nd season), Coach Kromer was awarded the starting LG position. JN did not finish his 5th start. He suffered a torn ACL and MCL & placed on season-ending IR on October 15, 2019. JN has reconstructive knee surgery.

#2). JN entered 2020 as the starting LG. He was placed on IR on September 24, 2020, with a calf injury after starting 3 gms. He was activated on November 14, 2020, as a Reserve OL. JN was injured & out for the Packer's 1/16/2021 playoff gm.

#3). JN entered the 2021 season as a Reserve OL'er. JN started 2 gms @ LT for Whitworth. JN was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021.

#4). JN was placed on season-ending IR in Feb.2022, JN was injured with a chest injury & was out for the NFC Championship Gm & the Super Bowl. JN only took a total of 15.9 % of the snaps with the offense as a reserve in 2021. He was the teams #6th OL this season.

#5).JN was placed on season-ending IR on October 18, 2022, due to a torn Achilles.
I was just going off memory, apparently it was worse than I thought.
 

BonifayRam

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I was just going off memory, apparently it was worse than I thought.
I don't know if I found all the injury data on Joseph Noteboom. I would say it stands a very good chance that I missed much more injuries during both the 2020 & 2021 seasons. So that's not a plus.

Most ROD members know that I have been very high on Noteboom's talent @ the LT position since he arrived in 2018. I have remained positive about him & still think his skills are outstanding @ pass blocking. However, there comes a time when I realize his total inability to remain on the field when he is the starter is ZERO!

Absolutely nothing good for this Ram team has resulted from the signing of Noteboom to that $40 million contract with $16.5M guaranteed. One positive from this Noteboom injury mess is its clear that if Alaric Jackson can return to the NFL from his health emergency Jackson is the best starting LT for this Ram team going forward into 2023 season.

I see no good way out of this Noteboom situation this upcoming 2023 season. Best to wait to see if he can get healthy enough to be active to be the backup when the regular season begins. If not Rams will need a backup LT. That's not easy. They might look @ UFA David Edwards as a band-aid stop-gap fix as the backup position at LT & LG. Or they can just sign UFA Ty Nsekhe now as the backup LT. Or go with AJ Arcuri as the backup LT in 2023.

:bueller:have different thoughts on the Noteboom situation.
 
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bubbaramfan

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Rams have been going after smallish players for a while now, and not just at OL. Smallish RB's, smallish DB's. Shelton is smallish and is just suited to be a backup. Rams need to get bigger on the OL. I bet the current Rams OL squad is near the bottom in average weight compared to the rest of the NFL.
 

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Respectfully disagree. Despite Joe Burrow and a ton of talent at the skill positions, the Bengals are 27th in the NFL in rushing yards per-game; and have given-up the 5th-most sacks. And no OL has missed a single game!

LT Jonah Williams gets beat like a drum ... LG Cordell Volson looks like the rookie that he is ... always thought of Ted Karras as a very average Center ... never was a fan of RT La'el Collins in Dallas. RG Alex Cappa is solid.

Agree with the 2nd point but, last season, projected starters Brian Allen, Joe Noteboom, David Edwards and Coleman Shelton combined to miss just 3 games in the Regular Season. Thus far, the same four players have already missed 23 games. Then factor-in that the top-three projected OL-reserves are all on Injured Reserve, and that's the primary reason the Rams offense is awful.
Cincinatti's line is much better than last year and getting better. They're starting to gel and figure it out.
Last week? No Chase, no Mixon.. they only gave up one sack to the Titans and had a huge win.

I don't think you can downplay the difference in their line.. especially at this point in the season compared to the end of last season.
They're 7-4 and in position to win their division again.

The injuries are the biggest problem with the Rams Oline, but I think there's a good argument for some personnel changes.
 

Allen2McVay

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Cincinatti's line is much better than last year and getting better. They're starting to gel and figure it out.

They're 7-4 and in position to win their division again.

They might be getting better (would need to have watched every game for an opinion) but the current stats for rushing yards per-game and sacks allowed do not support that the Cincinnati O-Line is much better than last year when the Bengals had some injuries on the O-Line.

Also trying to make the point that a combination of an average-to-good O-Line that is enjoying good health and top-talent at the skill positions, can be a very strong offense (like last year's Rams). The Bengals have not had a starting-OL miss a single game yet this season and are 5th in scoring.
 

OldSchool

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Rams have been going after smallish players for a while now, and not just at OL. Smallish RB's, smallish DB's. Shelton is smallish and is just suited to be a backup. Rams need to get bigger on the OL. I bet the current Rams OL squad is near the bottom in average weight compared to the rest of the NFL.
NFL average is 314 our week 1 starters averaged 312. Not huge tbh and drug down by Allen and Shelton. If Bruss was healthy and starting week 1 we're right on the league average.
 

OldSchool

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I would still like to see the
rams get bigger up the middle.
Absolutely. What's funny is a lot around here like Jackson at LT over Boom. That's a 35 lbs drop at LT :D And the Eagles are widely considered the top OL and are cited here as a model to go after and have a guy at LT that skews theirs above the Rams average weight. Their LT puts them an 9 lbs average over the Rams, he is listed at 365.
 

BonifayRam

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Absolutely. What's funny is a lot around here like Jackson at LT over Boom. That's a 35 lbs drop at LT :D And the Eagles are widely considered the top OL and are cited here as a model to go after and have a guy at LT that skews theirs above the Rams average weight. Their LT puts them an 9 lbs average over the Rams, he is listed at 365.
My understanding when Alaric Jackson came out from the University of Iowa his weight was over 6-5 & 321 pounds but then changed his diet & dropped to 285 lbs playing weight about a year ago.

Alaric's poundage has sure been a big topic on all the Rams sites since he dropped to that lower poundage. Been a lot of discussions here during TC when all the members attending said he was as big as Havenstien.

I thought I heard from an interview back just before Alaric injured that knee & the blood clots were discovered that he said he was back up near 320 again. Can anyone confirm that?

Below is an October 16, 2022 photo with Havenstein & Aboushi:

View: https://twitter.com/Bigaj77/status/1581867498189660160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1581867498189660160%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=
 

Kupped

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My understanding when Alaric Jackson came out from the University of Iowa his weight was over 6-5 & 321 pounds but then changed his diet & dropped to 285 lbs playing weight about a year ago.

Alaric's poundage has sure been a big topic on all the Rams sites since he dropped to that lower poundage. Been a lot of discussions here during TC when all the members attending said he was as big as Havenstien.

I thought I heard from an interview back just before Alaric injured that knee & the blood clots were discovered that he said he was back up near 320 again. Can anyone confirm that?

Below is an October 16, 2022 photo with Havenstein & Aboushi:

View: https://twitter.com/Bigaj77/status/1581867498189660160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1581867498189660160%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

He's 330.
He's mentioned it more than once, including this tweet. Jackson makes the line bigger and stronger than with Boom.


View: https://twitter.com/Bigaj77/status/1585038666472521728?s=20&t=yVqLNLFRFfOIUJCXXBAm8Q