OL Coleman Shelton

[den-the-coach]

If Shelton hasn't improved his strength since college, then it's likely just a stop gap until Neary returns.


Lacking strength when a guy plays for a Big School like Washington is always a mystery to me. He had access to everything he needed to get stronger, and I'm certain he was aware of the weak points in his game. So, did he not like to put in the work? Or is he one of these guys that are at their ceiling?

Either way, I doubt he sticks for more than four weeks.

Well, I agree lacking strength is not a good thing that can take a few years to improve. As to Aaron Neary I'm not so sure he will be healthy when he gets back, he might go in IR after four weeks.

 

[den-the-coach]

I had the Rams keeping Vitas H. as a backup OC/OG. The Rams like Shelton more.

I believe they might like Shelton more because of the versatility.

Washington coaches moved Shelton around regularly throughout his first three seasons on the field, playing him at every position on the front line. They found a home at center for the tall, athletic lineman, where he could use his foot quickness, nasty attitude, and intelligence to control each play. He was rated as a top 20 center prospect nationally coming out of Pasadena in 2013, but first got a chance to start at right tackle for seven games as a redshirt freshman. Shelton started all 13 games the next season, the first two at left tackle, the next two at left guard, and the final eight games at right guard. He was named the team's Lineman of the Year for his effort and versatility. Pac-12 coaches thought enough of his play in the pivot over 14 games in 2016 to name him second-team all-conference.

Coleman Shelton Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com

All Combine and Draft-Related Analysis, News, Video, and Biographical Information for Coleman Shelton

www.nfl.com

 

[BonifayRam]

I think you overrate Neary. He's a marginal player at best. If he was that good would he have been on 4 teams in 3 years and end up suspended?

Somethings need a good slow stewing before it turns out great in the end.

Do you think that Kromer would keep Aaron Neary around him since he arrived in 2017 if Aaron was just going to end up be a marginal OL'er. I know I would not waste my time teaching training guiding & directing a professional who I believed was going to be just marginal.

I might be wrong but it seems to me that Kromer seen something in Neary. Kromer has been grooming this UDFA & WWC as good as he can under the 53 MR rules/ Salary Cap restraints & balancing act with the constant fluid needs of his OL. Neary is still here & on the roster that's a fact!

I believe that Neary fits what Kromer wants from his interior OL'ers upstairs & the heart but was lacking badly in core strength & the ability to anchor & bad weight around his mid section when he came out of college. Its taken Neary some time to arrive where he is @ today. Neary has remodeled his physical body this off season came in much trimmer & stronger. It's easy to see this when you see what he was when he show'd up in 2017. Still needs to be better against the bull rushes.

Aaron Neary has fought to earn a position on this team for long time as you have pointed out. Its not been an easy road as it is for other OL'ers who get drafted. Yes he is now paying the price for a real bad decision early last season. Now he is fighting his first injury right @ the time when he had secured & earned his first initial 53 player roster position as an interior reserve mainly behind center Brian Allen.

I sure would not to "marginalize' what Neary has done to get where he is now.

 

[bubbaramfan]

So none of the guys the Rams cut are better than a guy Arizona cut?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Why would they before he comes back?

They don't pay him during the suspension. By keeping him until he comes back they have insurance in case some other OL gets injured, without paying a penny. Then they can cut him if they don't need him.

Exactly. If he wasn't suspended then there would be no need for Shelton. Oldnotdead said I over rate him. Which suggests that he sees Shelton as better than Neary. The coaches think enough of Neary to hang onto him. There are dozens of other Olinemen recently released. They could get any one of them. But they like Neary enough to hang onto him.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Unfortunately, not everybody can naturally add on that much muscle - it's not really natural. That's why some rely on steroids to add on those few extra pounds of muscle. He may just be somebody who genetically can't quite add on enough muscle to be up to NFL standards. We'll see if he can with state of the art training and allowable supplements.

If he didn't do it by now, it's not likely to happen at all, unless, like you said, he turns to steroids. Not everyone has the ability to pack on extra muscle. It's the biggest problem with Blythe IMO.

Shelton is a stop gap that they figured has good enough technique to be a temporary backup until Neary is off of his suspension.

 

[BonifayRam]

So none of the guys the Rams cut are better than a guy Arizona cut?

That could be one way to look at that. Evidently Kromer needs primarily a center here that fits his outside blocking scheme. On the positive side the Cards who know Shelton very well did think well enough of him to re-signed Shelton to their practice squad. I know its not much of a resume enhancement.

One type of OL'er Kromer is well-endowed with is OT's. His present issues are @ OC & in the near future OG's will join that main issue. Kromer has 3 main reserves all of which were primarily OT's to a strong degree in college. He has been busy trying to coach them up to be able to play both OG post and OT posts. Demby has had more time under Kromer but appears unready for action @ OG. Edwards is the only reserve who might be able to hold his own in real regular season action @ OG.

If we take a look @ what Ram OL'ers whom were cut, that has primarily OC & secondary OG in their skills back pack then we can throw out OT/OG Kaskey, OT/OG Brewer & Swing OG Hitman in this discussion. Right?

The Ram OL'ers that fall into this area would be Titas Wrynkiewicz & Jeremiah Kolone. Now I can say that Kromer/Dickerson believes this ex AZ Card center Shelton is a better fit on the 53 MR for their OL @ this point than the cut VW & JK. Yes

 

[den-the-coach]

So none of the guys the Rams cut are better than a guy Arizona cut?

Can't always look at that way and let's remember the Indianapolis Colts who were desperate a few years ago cut Austin Blythe and he's turned out pretty good.

Actually I trust organizations like the Arizona Cardinals to let talent go more than other teams, but IMO if Shelton is keeping the roster spot warm for Aaron Neary as @BonifayRam illustrates then IMO, Coleman Shelton will most likely go to the Practice Squad and the Rams will once again release Jeremiah Kolone, who did not really show me much, but again that is all predicated on Neary recovering in four weeks from his ankle injury, if not, Mr. Shelton might be here to stay, unless the Rams have eyes on a veteran come week 2 at a cheaper price.

 

[den-the-coach]

Shelton is a stop gap that they figured has good enough technique to be a temporary backup until Neary is off of his suspension.

IMO, I don't think Neary is coming back!

View: https://twitter.com/StuJRams/status/1165746729733349376



View: https://twitter.com/StuJRams/status/1165751769776840704


Both players were carted off the field on Saturday night, which signified the injuries were severe. Unfortunately, they’re both likely out for the season – in Carraway’s case, he’s certainly out for the year.

 

[Checkmate]

I think all of this is a moot point...our former center is still a free agent and in worse case scenario he could be brought back if needed. I know he wasnt that good but at least he knows the line calls and was somewhat serviceable

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

IMO, I don't think Neary is coming back!

View: https://twitter.com/StuJRams/status/1165746729733349376



View: https://twitter.com/StuJRams/status/1165751769776840704


Both players were carted off the field on Saturday night, which signified the injuries were severe. Unfortunately, they’re both likely out for the season – in Carraway’s case, he’s certainly out for the year.

Fractured ankles can heal in 4-6 weeks can’t they? If not then the Oline depth picture looks even worse.

Where has Kromer’s magic touch gone with Oline backups?

 

[Canuckramsfan]

I agree with den-the-arbitrator 110%.....ie. Aaron Neary, with his fractured ankle requiring surgery, is NOT part of the 2019 OLine plans for Los Ramos.

High ankle sprains take 4-6 weeks to heal-up in my view. I do not see the need to rush back a marginal backup OC, when journeyman Shelton Coleman played against stronger NCAA competition and is younger than the journeyman Aaron Neary.

I grant that opinions on players are subjective, but to me, Shelton has more upside than Neary, whom we have seen flounder since the 2017 Season Finale debacle against Garopollo's 49ers, where Neary got tossed around like a rag doll!! In the end, I vote Shelton over Neary,
because....are you ready?
because in his time with Los Ramos,
Neary nary made a good block!

 

[Merlin]

I think we tend to grade the OL types too harshly. We see a guy getting mismatched, which is something that happens to every player from time to time at the NFL level, and it's "He isn't strong enough" or he's garbage or otherwise out of consideration. But the truth is building the correct techniques or executing that particular technique correctly might completely reverse a mismatch or at least allow the OL to hold his own.

There are some guys who simply don't have it, of course. Who will never be strong enough to hold up inside, or don't have the feet to play consistent snaps on the edge. But tbh this is where we can trust in Kromer to read things the right way. Guys who don't have the basic tools won't be on this roster.

Re: Coleman let's wait and see what Kromes can do with him. Because that's a big deal for us, outside of the fact that I suspect Sully is a phone call away in the event Allen misses significant time.

 

[den-the-coach]

Re: Coleman let's wait and see what Kromes can do with him. Because that's a big deal for us, outside of the fact that I suspect Sully is a phone call away in the event Allen misses significant time.

Going to see what happens after week one because I'm quite sure Veterans can be signed cheaper so if there is somebody else then that is when he would be added to the roster, but I have a feeling Kromer wants to mold individuals and now with the likes of Demby, Evans, Edwards & now Shelton he has his work cut out for him.

 

[Canuckramsfan]

Call me a worry-wart....but I still am fretting about Brian Allen as our OC going forward....ie. will he be superior to Sullivan's 2018 playing level? I think Joe Noteboom will be solid as our LG, but Allen looks smallish and not exactly overpowering at the point-of-attack.
Again, JMO.

I guess we will see soon enough in the rain-soaked Carolina venue on Sunday, eh!!

 

[den-the-coach]

I guess we will see soon enough in the rain-soaked Carolina venue on Sunday, eh!!

I'm confident that Brian Allen will be an upgrade over the John Sullivan that tired at the end of last year. Now, do I wish Allen was bigger? Yes, however, he's a brawler and a former wrestler so he should have an edge with leverage and his hands should be very active and quick to control the point of attack...Plus there is nobody else, so I expect Brian Allen to be the next Doug Smith.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Can't always look at that way and let's remember the Indianapolis Colts who were desperate a few years ago cut Austin Blythe and he's turned out pretty good.

Actually I trust organizations like the Arizona Cardinals to let talent go more than other teams, but IMO if Shelton is keeping the roster spot warm for Aaron Neary as @BonifayRam illustrates then IMO, Coleman Shelton will most likely go to the Practice Squad and the Rams will once again release Jeremiah Kolone, who did not really show me much, but again that is all predicated on Neary recovering in four weeks from his ankle injury, if not, Mr. Shelton might be here to stay, unless the Rams have eyes on a veteran come week 2 at a cheaper price.

Haha, good point, but for bad teams to release good players that would mean their GM and scouts were good at recognizing talent in the first place, which Arizona can’t seem to do on the Oline.

Call me a worry-wart....but I still am fretting about Brian Allen as our OC going forward....ie. will he be superior to Sullivan's 2018 playing level? I think Joe Noteboom will be solid as our LG, but Allen looks smallish and not exactly overpowering at the point-of-attack.
Again, JMO.

I guess we will see soon enough in the rain-soaked Carolina venue on Sunday, eh!!

I worry too. I think Noteboom will be a downgrade from what Saffold did the last two years. There is a big strength gap there.

If Allen also isn’t what they hope he is then, there could be a huge hole in the middle of the line. That would be a disaster.

In this day of college spread offenses and read option offenses, it is difficult to evaluate Olinemen, even for a guy with a track record of developing quality Olinemen like Kromer. He was very high on Eldrenkamp as the center of the future, and he was a total bust.

Then you get egos involved. Some may not agree but when a guy like Snead or even coaches picking talent have a good track record they may start to think that they can’t be wrong on a prospect and stick with them too long. That is why I don’t trust the Allen and Noteboom are ready to go schooled. I want to see it for myself. Then I’ll relax.

 

[ReekofRams]

Call me a worry-wart

Sorry but we’re not allowed to call each other names on this board.

But seriously I wouldn’t worry about Brian Allen because if you ever watched any of his game tape in college then you’d that he always won the battle at the point of attack with very few exceptions. Plus remember the coaches, including Kromer, got to watch him in practice while veterans like Sullivan and Whitworth rested. So I’m sure they know better than you and I if he’s up for the task.

 

[Mackeyser]

If Shelton hasn't improved his strength since college, then it's likely just a stop gap until Neary returns.


Lacking strength when a guy plays for a Big School like Washington is always a mystery to me. He had access to everything he needed to get stronger, and I'm certain he was aware of the weak points in his game. So, did he not like to put in the work? Or is he one of these guys that are at their ceiling?

Either way, I doubt he sticks for more than four weeks.

What people forget is that for most, they aren’t naturally 300+ lbers. They NEED those calories and under NCAA rules, they have to rely on the school and the school is under stupid restrictions, so many of the biggest bodies have to supplement with trash calories which don’t yield solid net gains in the weight room.

When players get to the NFL, as much as the workouts change, the diet changes DRASTICALLY and allows for much better body mass ratios and more lean muscle.

Some of these guys who aren’t natural 300+ lbers can need upwards of 10k calories to maintain their strength. Some strongmen and powerlifters consume over 12k calories. The NCAA has been so bad about nutrition while expecting these kids to perform like pros that as recently as last year, iirc, one of the Duke players complained about being hungry. AT THE TOURNAMENT!!!

So, I don’t hold against guys if they have the work ethic and just aren’t seeing the results. Some of this is structural.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I worry too. I think Noteboom will be a downgrade from what Saffold did the last two years. There is a big strength gap there.

Even if Boom turns out to be quite good, we are going to miss Saffold.