PFF O-Line grades

[JonRam99]

From https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/10/07/ranking-all-32-nfl-offensive-lines-entering-week-5/

25. St. Louis Rams (31st)
Pass blocking rank: 25th
Run blocking rank: 22nd
Penalties rank: 26th
Stud: The unit has no positive grades, but rookie tackle Rob Havenstein (-3.6) has played well enough.
Dud: The same can’t be said of Greg Robinson (-8.1), who is starting to worry people with his performance. It’s certainly not a make or break year for him, but you’d like to feel you’re watching a second overall pick.
Summary: For the most part, this is a very young line, and so there is hope in that; while they’re all graded below average, none present the kind of liabilities that stick out like a sore thumb. You’d hope they’d improve as the season went on, simply by taking their lumps, especially with two rookie starters.
___________________________
Well, at least our O-Line is better than the Packers'ses. But, here's what they had to say about the #1 O-Line (thru 4 games), the Falcons:

Stud: What a difference a year makes. He was, quite frankly, awful last year as he played through injuries. But in 2015, Jake Matthews (+5.6) looks like one of the better linemen in the league.
Summary: What a turnaround. Something you rarely see, Atlanta has morphed its scheme and personnel to achieve immediate results. Mike Person has been a revelation at center, and...

Ummm..... didn't we take GRob over Matthews? & didn't we cut Person?

 

[Stel]

How can you be ranked in the mid 20s on all the specifics and end up 31st overall?

 

[Boston Ram]

How can you be ranked in the mid 20s on all the specifics and end up 31st overall?

That is there 2014 ranking

 

[LACHAMP46]

Haters....they have no effin clue...Every game I watch Atlanta, Ryan is throwing the ball so quick on most plays, by the end of the game, the D-Line is tired...Hell, Donta is slowing the rush too. I don't buy Matthews is better than G-Rob...I guess the Packers O-Line is good too? I'd heard the Cards O-Line was supposed to be good too? We shall see....It's all relative...who you play determines how good you look on any given day...I bet the Bengals O-Line is good....

 

[TheDYVKX]

From https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/10/07/ranking-all-32-nfl-offensive-lines-entering-week-5/

25. St. Louis Rams (31st)
Pass blocking rank: 25th
Run blocking rank: 22nd
Penalties rank: 26th
Stud: The unit has no positive grades, but rookie tackle Rob Havenstein (-3.6) has played well enough.
Dud: The same can’t be said of Greg Robinson (-8.1), who is starting to worry people with his performance. It’s certainly not a make or break year for him, but you’d like to feel you’re watching a second overall pick.
Summary: For the most part, this is a very young line, and so there is hope in that; while they’re all graded below average, none present the kind of liabilities that stick out like a sore thumb. You’d hope they’d improve as the season went on, simply by taking their lumps, especially with two rookie starters.
___________________________
Well, at least our O-Line is better than the Packers'ses. But, here's what they had to say about the #1 O-Line (thru 4 games), the Falcons:

Stud: What a difference a year makes. He was, quite frankly, awful last year as he played through injuries. But in 2015, Jake Matthews (+5.6) looks like one of the better linemen in the league.
Summary: What a turnaround. Something you rarely see, Atlanta has morphed its scheme and personnel to achieve immediate results. Mike Person has been a revelation at center, and...

Ummm..... didn't we take GRob over Matthews? & didn't we cut Person?

I wanted Jake Matthews over Greg Robinson, but that's the past. Hopefully Greg gets going, he's much more talented. He was just very raw compared to Matthews.

Person is a surprise. He never really impressed me that much, although you could tell he was versatile. Glad to see he's doing well though. Levitre is having a resurgence there as well. He was really really bad for the Titans but good for the Bills.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I wanted Jake Matthews over Greg Robinson, but that's the past. Hopefully Greg gets going, he's much more talented. He was just very raw compared to Matthews.

Person is a surprise. He never really impressed me that much, although you could tell he was versatile. Glad to see he's doing well though. Levitre is having a resurgence there as well. He was really really bad for the Titans but good for the Bills.

I wanted Matthews also, but now we are just left hoping that Greg Robinson grows up and starts practicing/studying like a real professional and can catch up soon.

 

[LazyWinker]

It's all relative...who you play determines how good you look on any given day...I bet the Bengals O-Line is good....

Andrew Whitworth is damn good. It's almost as fun to watch him on running plays as it is the ball carrier.

 

[Rmfnlt]

I wanted Matthews also, but now we are just left hoping that Greg Robinson grows up and starts practicing/studying like a real professional and can catch up soon.

To me, it goes back to Snisher's drafting philosophy:

Draft athletes, even if they'll need coaching up for a year or two.

Freaks of nature... that's what they seem to gravitate toward.

It's frustrating to have to wait... then, if these athletes never do get "it", we wasted one... two... years.

Pead, Quick... maybe Robinson now (hope not!)

 

[Boston Ram]

I wanted Matthews also, but now we are just left hoping that Greg Robinson grows up and starts practicing/studying like a real professional and can catch up soon.

Wanted Matthews too but mostly and I harped on this on the RRF. My biggest concern was there was nothing on tape that shows GRob pass blocking on a island. That is risky when you are picking at 2. That being said, my biggest concern with Robinson is I have seen little to no improvement since week 1 last year. To me that is the most concerning.

 

[OntarioRam]

To me, it goes back to Snisher's drafting philosophy:

Draft athletes, even if they'll need coaching up for a year or two.

Freaks of nature... that's what they seem to gravitate toward.

It's frustrating to have to wait... then, if these athletes never do get "it", we wasted one... two... years.

Pead, Quick... maybe Robinson now (hope not!)

True. To be fair though, the jury is still very much out on Quick. And with how unpolished offensive linemen are coming out of college these days, the "draft a freak and coach him up" philosophy arguably makes sense there. It seems you're dealing with a project regardless, in most cases.

EDIT - I think Snisher's focus on supreme athletes has hurt our second round performance. In the first round, guys are more of a "sure thing" so drafting with a heavy focus on athleticism doesn't hurt you as much. Same in the later rounds, when everyone has their warts. But rounds 2-3 aren't quite the same bag. I'd seriously look into using that 2nd from Philly in the Bradford/Foles trade to deal up into the 1st round. Round 2 has not been kind to us lately.

 

[Boston Ram]

To me, it goes back to Snisher's drafting philosophy:

Draft athletes, even if they'll need coaching up for a year or two.

Freaks of nature... that's what they seem to gravitate toward.

It's frustrating to have to wait... then, if these athletes never do get "it", we wasted one... two... years.

Pead, Quick... maybe Robinson now (hope not!)

You are dead right. Like it or not the Rams do tend to go big or go home.

 

[Rmfnlt]

True. To be fair though, the jury is still very much out on Quick. And with how unpolished offensive linemen are coming out of college these days, the "draft a freak and coach him up" philosophy arguably makes sense there. It seems you're dealing with a project regardless, in most cases.

EDIT - I think Snisher's focus on supreme athletes has hurt our second round performance. In the first round, guys are more of a "sure thing" so drafting with a heavy focus on athleticism doesn't hurt you as much. Same in the later rounds, when everyone has their warts. But rounds 2-3 aren't quick the same bag. I'd seriously look into using that 2nd from Philly in the Bradford/Foles trade to deal up into the 1st round. Round 2 has not been kind to us lately.

Yes, to some degree... but let's take Havenstein and Robinson.

One is more physically gifted but lacking in one very important phase of the game.

The other is less gifted but come to the Rams a more complete player from a pro-system.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Havenstein progresses much quicker than Robinson.

I may be wrong.

Quick? Yes, he started to flash the promise last season... but that was year 3. That's a long time for a player to just begin to fulfill his promise. And, of course, we don't really know what's going on with him right now.

I just think drafting freaks of nature can be dangerous.

Good news is.... we have Donald! So, it works sometimes...

 

[DR RAM]

Wanted Matthews too but mostly and I harped on this on the RRF. My biggest concern was there was nothing on tape that shows GRob pass blocking on a island. That is risky when you are picking at 2. That being said, my biggest concern with Robinson is I have seen little to no improvement since week 1 last year. To me that is the most concerning.

If you get a chance, watch the last couple of games, and focus on Grob. Every time I have watched Atlanta play, Matthews has struggled, and part of the reason why they are running the ball so much this year. Robinson has improved dramatically, IMO, and I see no reason why he won't keep improving. Robinson blocked one of the quickest DB's in the league, on one of our TD's, and he was the one who noticed, communicated, and picked up the blitz, on a the player that was lined up two gaps out side of him. Now, that's an island.

I'd still take GRob over Matthews, and he will only get better. God, I hate PFF rankings/stats.

 

[Boston Ram]

If you get a chance, watch the last couple of games, and focus on Grob. Every time I have watched Atlanta play, Matthews has struggled, and part of the reason why they are running the ball so much this year. Robinson has improved dramatically, IMO, and I see no reason why he won't keep improving. Robinson blocked one of the quickest DB's in the league, on one of our TD's, and he was the one who noticed, communicated, and picked up the blitz, on a the player that was lined up two gaps out side of him. Now, that's an island.

I'd still take GRob over Matthews, and he will only get better. God, I hate PFF rankings/stats.

My opinion is not based on PFF rankings and I have not seen Matthews this year. As for GRob, he is still consistently inconsistent IMO. I am an oline geek so I do pay a lot of attention to our line and how it plays. You are right I see lots of good at times with him and he is a great athlete. But I also see way too many mistakes and its repeatable mistakes like taking bad angles and questionable footwork.

I want GRob to succeed because quite frankly we need him too. Dramatic improvement seems like a stretch but our difference of opinion could be based on expectations or what we thought of him last year. To basically he is the same player.....not bad, but not great either.

 

[DR RAM]

My opinion is not based on PFF rankings and I have not seen Matthews this year. As for GRob, he is still consistently inconsistent IMO. I am an oline geek so I do pay a lot of attention to our line and how it plays. You are right I see lots of good at times with him and he is a great athlete. But I also see way too many mistakes and its repeatable mistakes like taking bad angles and questionable footwork.

I want GRob to succeed because quite frankly we need him too. Dramatic improvement seems like a stretch but our difference of opinion could be based on expectations or what we thought of him last year. To basically he is the same player.....not bad, but not great either.

I'm an OL geek too. You could be right about expectations, but what did you expect? I mean, first off, he hasn't even played a whole season at LT, was slowed by learning the OG position, he had off-season surgery, and the offense he came from had a handful of plays. I did expect a learning curve, first, from him being a rookie, and secondly, by all the other factors I listed.

I'll go out on a limb, and say, barring injury, he will be a slam dunk next year. I already see signs of that. I don't think he will be an average to good OT, like Matthews might be someday, but great. He's already playing better than Jake Long did last year, at his best point, IMO.

I'll back it up too, or own it, if I'm wrong. I'm not going anywhere.

 

[OldSchool]

How can you be ranked in the mid 20s on all the specifics and end up 31st overall?

31st is the previous weeks rankings. We gained a lot of ground @Arizona.

 

[Merlin]

Rams' OL is probably somewhere around 18th to 20th overall. They are better than about a third of the lines I've watched so far so I'd estimate at least 10 of the league's lines are worse.

What is impressive is that the Rams have run a lot of deep routes in the passing game against good defenses (Seattle & Arizona) and still have finished quite well in the measurables like sacks. They are not a bottom echelon unit, which is very encouraging considering you have two rookies starting not to mention a raw LT. Foles deserves some credit as well I think in regards to the sacks, as he feels the rush better than many other QBs. But the line has been better than many of us expected in pass pro.

This Sunday's game is going to be very interesting. Another hostile environment against a very well coached defense. Gotta think they are going to attack the F out of the left side of the OL, so GRob and Brown gotta lock it down.

 

[F. Mulder]

I just want to see more attitude, meanness, from him. Maybe that's not in his nature. Pace was a relatively subdued technician but unless Robinson becomes that I want to see more intensity from him.

 

[DR RAM]

I just want to see more attitude, meanness, from him. Maybe that's not in his nature. Pace was a relatively subdued technician but unless Robinson becomes that I want to see more intensity from him.

I think that's fair, but haven't you seen him bury some dude's? He is starting to show a lot of passion, when the play doesn't go as expected. I think the light is beginning to burn hotter.

When his technique, experience, and discipline catch up to his size, quickness, speed, and strength, watch out. I don't think that is asking too much of him, either.

 

[Boston Ram]

I'm an OL geek too. You could be right about expectations, but what did you expect? I mean, first off, he hasn't even played a whole season at LT, was slowed by learning the OG position, he had off-season surgery, and the offense he came from had a handful of plays. I did expect a learning curve, first, from him being a rookie, and secondly, by all the other factors I listed.

I'll go out on a limb, and say, barring injury, he will be a slam dunk next year. I already see signs of that. I don't think he will be an average to good OT, like Matthews might be someday, but great. He's already playing better than Jake Long did last year, at his best point, IMO.

I'll back it up too, or own it, if I'm wrong. I'm not going anywhere.

I know you are an oline geek too and I respect your opinion greatly. I agree that playing OG last year probably didnt do him any favors, but I also question that a little also. Enough great T's played G their first year and transitioned to tackle without much issues, but I also understand the learning curve for him was steeper.

As for expectations, I thought he was ok for a first year guy. With an entire off season, camps and preseason I expected a big jump in his performance which I havent seen as of yet.

As for your limb, I hope you are right lol. I know there is more with this player and he has the potential to be great. I dont see it yet but its early and there is time to grow.

For the record Im not a poster who is going to tag this or pull it later if you ended up being wrong.....I know you own what you say. There are certain posters who you read and other you read, learn and remember what they say. Your a poster enjoy hearing from and know were you stand on things. I remember your post because I find them informative and knowledgeable.....I just disagree on this point at this moment.