PFF O-Line grades

[Amitar]

IMHO I don't buy the draft "athletes" philosophy. Just draft solid football players. I remember saying even if GRob turns out to be great I did not think the actual difference between the two was worth the risk on GRob instead of going for the less risky Mathews, and the Rams may have been able to trade back a few spots and pick up another draft pick in 2015 or 2016.

I did not like cutting Person either especially with the lack of OL depth.

 

[fearsomefour]

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 the more polished Matthews as well.
In the case of Person and Levitre, sometimes it is finding a good scheme match for the players skill set.
I liked Person inside when he got some time there in pre season. I remember him playing every O line position in the preseason game last year. Another example of a guy knocking around and learning for several years before getting his shot.

 

[NERamsFan]

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

100%! And I love it! That was also Landry's m.o. too. Draft the best athletes and rely on coaching to max potential.

 

[BonifayRam]

I wanted the more polished Matthews as well.
In the case of Person and Levitre, sometimes it is finding a good scheme match for the players skill set.
I liked Person inside when he got some time there in pre season. I remember him playing every O line position in the preseason game last year. Another example of a guy knocking around and learning for several years before getting his shot.

I was fine with either OT Matthews or Robinson but I posted that I preferred Jake Matthews over Greg Robinson too. See my post below early on the 2014 draft.
http://www.ramsondemand.com/threads/robinson-matthews-no-way.25649/#post-306292

If we go back to the that period of time...... the Rams had what we thought was a decent improving youthful Barksdale @ ORT & the aging well seasoned Jake Long still under contract @ OLT. The real issue was @ OLG. That's where GRob was needed. GRob look real good early @ OLG & it appeared that it was the best decision then early in 2014.

Guess the thought was Jake Long @ OLT & GRob @ OLG duo would run on a few seasons until GRob (with several seasons as a starter @ OLG) would replace Jake Long sometime in 2016.....of course that did not happen & Grob has been in crash course event ever since.

 

[SaneRamsFan]

I think GR is finally starting to grow into the pro game. I couldn't take my eyes off of him in college because of his top end effort and ability to physically overmatch his opponent. For the first time last week I started seeing some of that. When he stops thinking and just starts playing we are going to see why he was the #2 pick.

 

[LACHAMP46]

I think GR is finally starting to grow into the pro game. I couldn't take my eyes off of him in college because of his top end effort and ability to physically overmatch his opponent. For the first time last week I started seeing some of that. When he stops thinking and just starts playing we are going to see why he was the #2 pick.

Agreed.....There was no way you take a "technician" at offensive tackle over a mauler....that works hard...and expect to become a power running team...The early peak I had of Matthews on the show "Hard Knocks" was all I needed to see as JJ Watt basically bull rushed him all day on film...Hell, Luke Joekel still looks the better of these two players....G-Rob has gotten better every game...His only problem is he misses blocks...the next time he gets run over will be the first. He gets pushed back, occasionally.. but not lately....And his 4th quarter was amazing...going against a stout AZ defensive line...watch the tape...Jamon & G-Rob...our left side...
And if we coulda traded back, the only tackle I wanted was Lewan....Definitely not Matthews...unless he was playing RT.

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.

Most wrs...over the history of the NFL....start improving...start showing something...in year 3....Just the way it is...I had to check that stat myself....Look at almost any normal wr....

 

[RamWoodie]

I think all this ranking stuff has to be taken with a grain of salt...PERIOD!!!

The OLine went against a top defense last week and gave up ONE SACK while blocking great in the run game.

Rank week to week if you must...but this OLine is improving every game. GRob upset me some in the Seahag game...but he's been pretty solid since. Havenstein has really been solid...and it doesn't hurt that he's right next to Saffold.

It seems to me taems have been successful on the left side for the most part on pass rush...just sayin'...

 

[12intheBox]

I'm giving @JonRam99 a +5.7 - most of his points coming from his OP. It takes some effort to throw out a new topic but I thought he could have fought more as the thread went on. We will see how he adjusts as the weekend goes on.

@Stel dropped a +4.9 but he left points on the table by bringing common sense into the equation.

@DR RAM came in at a whopping +8.3 in the thread. His big week was powered by watching the games and evaluating what he actually saw.

@Boston Ram came in at a pedestrian +2.1 He lost points for being reasonable, measured, and politely disagreeing.

@Merlin was up and down but finally settled at a +4.2. Most all of his points were awarded for his avatar though.

@Ramsey put up a solid +4.6 which doesn't sound like a great score until you realize he only played one post in this thread.

@Memento - the epitome of consistency - scored an even +5.0 for looking good in rose colored glasses.

 

[RamsFan14]

I would have thought our pass blocking would have been ranked a little higher, but then again we do see Foles getting hit a lot, so perhaps that's where we fall in the rankings. The run blocking stats I'd probs agree with, we haven't done a good job this season running the ball. Hopefully the 4th quarter of the AZ game demonstrates what this running game can do. The running game needs to be consistent, not just 1 amazing quarter and 3 pretty bad quarters. This OL group has a lot to prove, can't get too carried away over 1 quarter. Maybe Gurley does elevate this group, idk but that'd be awesome!

 

[Memento]

@Memento - the epitome of consistency - scored an even +5.0 for looking good in rose colored glasses.

Aw...thank you!

 

[GoldenAges]

I really liked Matthews because it usually pays to go with the technically sound players. I thought Robinson would be a guard but not left tackle. Lots of OLinemen need time to develop and third year is sometimes

When it comes to evaluating offensive linemen coming from college to pro ball you want to find players like Rob Havenstein who already have advanced awareness of the exact positioning they need in order to seal off a blocking lane. It also helps when they can cave in the entire middle of the defense like Havenstein can but that is another story.

I liked this year's picks for the Rams. Anyone who drafted Gurley at any juncture was going to get a stud. Rob Havenstein was the best OL in the draft, and Jamon Brown is going to be one of the top guards in a good class.

What the Rams gave done is they have drafted a power running game with Gurley, Brown and Havenstein. Robinson has not panned out great yet but you have to applaud the front office for being persistent with the drafting of the offensive line and Gurley. The OL is already starting to gel and is a good left tackle away from being tops in the league.

 

[GoldenAges]

This is Gurley's longest run of the night v Arizona. As you can see in the snip below, every lineman has clearly defined who they are blocking and what their assignments are. Everyone is 1v1 except for the center who is kicking out and picking up the second level DB. Notice Havenstein's positioning on his second level block. He has already moved into position to seal that running lane.


http://i.imgur.com/WsBJzT5.jpg

 

[GoldenAges]

As you see above, both guards pancaked their man, the center does a tremendous job on his kick out block, and Havenstein is just as far down the field as Gurley completely sealing off the lane on his side with a double block effectively blocking two men with his exact positioning.

 

[GoldenAges]

You can see above where the play was all over for Arizona. The last defender who had any chance did not have an angle to make the play and there was nothing but green grass ahead for Gurley.

Rookie check. Havenstein is still blocking two players at this juncture, and Jamon Brown is on top of things so to speak. Gurley has the burst to get through there and eliminate the last defender coming in from the left on this snap above.

 

[Boston Ram]

I'm giving @JonRam99 a +5.7 - most of his points coming from his OP. It takes some effort to throw out a new topic but I thought he could have fought more as the thread went on. We will see how he adjusts as the weekend goes on.

@Stel dropped a +4.9 but he left points on the table by bringing common sense into the equation.

@DR RAM came in at a whopping +8.3 in the thread. His big week was powered by watching the games and evaluating what he actually saw.

@Boston Ram came in at a pedestrian +2.1 He lost points for being reasonable, measured, and politely disagreeing.

@Merlin was up and down but finally settled at a +4.2. Most all of his points were awarded for his avatar though.

@Ramsey put up a solid +4.6 which doesn't sound like a great score until you realize he only played one post in this thread.

@Memento - the epitome of consistency - scored an even +5.0 for looking good in rose colored glasses.

@DR RAM was right about rankings....they suck, just like these do....2.1?! Sheesh lol

 

[Merlin]

Nice pics Golden thanks.

Rob "The Body" is really starting to look like a great pick. Whole draft overall looks good of course, but the big guy has really taken charge of that RT job. Just love the way he plays, dude is a nice mix of smarts and give-a-f#@k.

Sure would be nice to see this bunch go into GB and take the fans outta things early with big running game holes, wouldn't it? I'm hopin.