PFF Ranks Donnal Week 9's Worst Guard

[NateDawg122]

PFF came out with their weekly rankings and Donnal was their worst Guard with a grade of -7.9. His pass blocking was bad but they say his run blocking was atrocious. PFF said, "He surrendered five run stops and even more disruptive plays that ruined a run design for the Rams. He finished with a -5.7 run block grade, the worst in the league."

You can't put too much blame on him seeing as he's a 4th round rookie seeing his only significant playing time against the Vikings. Still, his play was a major reason why the run game wasn't as strong as it should've been. Here's to hoping Havenstein is healthy against the Bears.

 

[Rambitious1]

Yea, you kind of expect that from a rookie in his first ever start.

 

[jjab360]

Ultimately, I think that pregame decision is what truly lost us this game.

I didn't see the point in shaking up two positions by moving Reynolds to RT and playing Donnal at LG where he was mostly playing RT/RG in preseason, iirc, instead of just sticking Darrell Williams in at RT like at the end of the Whiners game and like you practiced all week. Donnal got destroyed all game long and it was impossible for Gurley to find running room inside and Foles to stay upright.

Just a terrible last minute decision, imo. Reminds me of when they decided at the last minute to play Rok Watkins at LG week 1, 2012 when he clearly wasn't ready the entire preseason, and he got absolutely destroyed.

 

[Force16X]

i thought he (Donnal) was chasing a lot of DL during the game, didnt realize it was that bad though. is that even a position he played in college? one depth chart i looked at has him as a backup RT. (some posters wonderered if Wichmann should have played. was he responsible for blocking linvale joseph? whoever was, ....wasnt. he was everywhere in the backfield.
the Rams seem to run a lot of sweeps/screens that rely heavily on perfectly timed blocks. there were 3 or 4 instances i can remember where just a fraction of a second sooner and the runner would have gotten some better yardage on plays.
youth and inexperience. they'll get better.

 

[NateDawg122]

One cause for optimism for me personally is thinking about how much better all these rookies can be with an entire NFL offseason under their belt. I think a lot of them have room to grow physically and there is a big gap between rookie linemen and 2nd year linemen. I hope the higher ups bring is some experienced free agents to help out on the line but hopefully this group can grow into a good line.

 

[Big Willie]

So we got that going for us...which is really "not" nice.

 

[jjab360]

AFAIK Rams' media makes those depth charts, not the coaches.

 

[maximus]

Should had played Wichmann. From what I saw he was never moved back in the preseason.

With this make-shift OL the offense struggled to move the ball. Hav was a big miss.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Does this mean I have to change my avatar? :eek:

 

[junkman]

was he responsible for blocking linvale joseph? whoever was, ....wasnt. he was everywhere in the backfield.

Yep, Joseph lined up over Donnal all day long. Joseph's PFF grade of +10.9 is as positive as Donnal is negative.

I hate to do the "I told you so" thing @ Fischer/Snead et al... 'cuz the reality is EVERY LAST PERSON IN ALL OF GOD'S CREATION WAS SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING... we need veteran depth at OL. We need veteran depth at OL. We need veteran depth at OL.

If you want to know what it's like to watch a team that has no depth on the OL after only two (2!!!!) people are injured (Saffold and Havenstein) on the season, that game against the Vikes is what it looks like. Mind you, that's not two people injured in the GAME. That's two people in injured all season long!

Afaic, we basically threw this game away by not being prepared with a reasonable plan B on the oline. I know the Rams are looking for help at WR, but if they continue to steadfastly refuse to find help on the OL, then the loss of this season will be on them. Drafting 4 OL in one draft does not make up for years of imbalanced drafts and lack of player development.

 

[dbrooks25]

Man, just goes to show how the Hav and Brown picks ended up being good ones for this team. These guys keep improving and I love it.

 

[dbrooks25]

Yep, Joseph lined up over Donnal all day long. Joseph's PFF grade of +10.9 is as positive as Donnal is negative.

I hate to do the "I told you so" thing @ Fischer/Snead et al... 'cuz the reality is EVERY LAST PERSON IN ALL OF GOD'S CREATION WAS SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING... we need veteran depth at OL. We need veteran depth at OL. We need veteran depth at OL.

If you want to know what it's like to watch a team that has no depth on the OL after only two (2!!!!) people are injured (Saffold and Havenstein) on the season, that game against the Vikes is what it looks like. Mind you, that's not two people injured in the GAME. That's two people in injured all season long!

Afaic, we basically threw this game away by not being prepared with a reasonable plan B on the oline. I know the Rams are looking for help at WR, but if they continue to steadfastly refuse to find help on the OL, then the loss of this season will be on them. Drafting 4 OL in one draft does not make up for years of imbalanced drafts and lack of player development.

Wait, Havenstein was just out for yesterday's game, correct? Also, Reynolds has filled in for Saffold quite well, so that's one piece of Veteran depth on the OL.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Yea, you kind of expect that from a rookie in his first ever start.

It also makes me wonder were Longacre ranked in his 1st ever start!!

 

[maximus]

Yep, Joseph lined up over Donnal all day long. Joseph's PFF grade of +10.9 is as positive as Donnal is negative.

After the 1st half blame should go to the coaches. They should had seen at HT that Joseph was eating him alive, and replace him with Wichmann who is a pure guard. Inexcusable.

 

[GabesHorn]

PFF came out with their weekly rankings and Donnal was their worst Guard with a grade of -7.9. His pass blocking was bad but they say his run blocking was atrocious. PFF said, "He surrendered five run stops and even more disruptive plays that ruined a run design for the Rams. He finished with a -5.7 run block grade, the worst in the league."

You can't put too much blame on him seeing as he's a 4th round rookie seeing his only significant playing time against the Vikings. Still, his play was a major reason why the run game wasn't as strong as it should've been. Here's to hoping Havenstein is healthy against the Bears.

I posted that this would be exactly what you posted in the very first of the Vent thread before anyone had said it yet. It was SO obvious to so many as they saw it too. We expected nothing less than last. J. Brown needs to move back to OLG and we need to see if Cody Wichman can get it done at the position I think he should be starting for us next season ORG where he played most in college. I don't see us staying with Saffold needing his $$$ and also knowing he is a liability. Donnals lack of physical strength showed and he needs major time on our lifting schedule as does Brown,Havenstein & Wichmann,Williams AND Battle. We will be LUCKY to be just a year away unless everyone can stay healthy and begin to Gel along with resigning Barnes or replacing him. SMH

I hope we can make an 8-8 record this season myself. Injuries may hold us back. Passing "O" changes HAVE TO be made. If we want a shot at NEXT Seasons Playoffs. Havenstein has an Achilles injury. How bad is it? Do we risk having him healthy for next season if HE MAY eventually NEED surgery. That is not a sprained ankle. We as fans don't have a clue where we are with his injury. Why risk tearing it if its a strain now? Lots of questions. What kind of Foot injury keeps our "D" leading Stud Tim McDonald out of a MUST win game , knowing we NEED him and his skills to stop AP from gashing us as he did? Mo Alexander was NOT ready for the task sadly.

Hey who if anyone got injured yesterday? Hate finding out Friday & Gameday .

 

[junkman]

It also makes me wonder were Longacre ranked in his 1st ever start!!

Longacre was +1.5 on only 27 snaps. Very respectable.

Wait, Havenstein was just out for yesterday's game, correct?

Not sure. Shrouded in mystery. It's an Achilles injury, and those can be bad for OL who need to plant and absorb.

Also, Reynolds has filled in for Saffold quite well, so that's one piece of Veteran depth on the OL.

Right, Reynolds was the ONLY veteran depth they had. The day 1 starting OL in 2015 was 2 rookies (Brown and Havenstein), injury prone Saffold, struggling 2nd year guy Robinson, and 4 games (from memory) on his resume Tim Barnes. Backing them up? Reynolds aka serviceable veteran depth. And 4 other guys with no NFL experience.

What could possibly go wrong?!?

(junkman is frustrated) :headexplosion:alm:

 

[DR RAM]

 

[MarkMyWords]

Hey who if anyone got injured yesterday? Hate finding out Friday & Gameday .

Jim Thomas ‏@jthom1 24h24 hours ago
Just up from locker room. Fisher says no new injuries to report.

Jim Thomas ‏@jthom1 24h24 hours ago
Fisher said Quinn, Havenstein, McDonald should be ready for next week. Said fear was they could be set back for several weeks if they played