Rams Offensive Line is the Key to their 2020 Season!

[Ram65]

I think what is being overlooked by many is the role scheme plays into how good or not the o-line looks. O'Connell can scheme plays that protect the o-line and plays to their strengths and protects their weaknesses. I think early on they will depend upon a quick possession oriented passing game and run blocking execution. I can see them working inside using a gap blocking variant and inside zone blocking schemes. It plays to the strength of their o-line and it's simply a matter of fundamental execution (good coaching). Both Henderson and Akers are one cut and go RBs. Both have the power and speed to exploit that inside game. It works well with 11 personnel as it takes a man out of the box.

This makes a lot of sense. I hope McConnell can real in McVays passing game a little bit especailly early in the year. I saw a video analysis against the Bears where the Rams were successful using the power run game up the middle. Mixing up the blocking scheme will aide in slowing down defenses. That's all you need with Akers and Henderson as you stated one little opening and they cut and go. McVay learned that he can't slack off in the run game where they rushed from around 29 carries a game in 2018 to 24 last year. The run game sets up the pass game so look for McVay to get it going again even some question the offensive line.

A strong inside run attack will slow that pass rush down that crucial .5 to 1 second that Jared needs to make his reads. Also, I think under O'Connell Jared will be making his own reads without McVay in his ear at the line. That part is, in my opinion, the part lacking in Jared's development and has been thus far retarded under McVay. Jared is the kind of QB you want to master those presnap reads, it will in the long run play to his talent. As such I expect some rookie type mistakes in his reads early on, so they will need to keep the passing game quick initially. I think we will see the whole offense expand during the season as both Jared and the o-line hit their stride.

Getting the run game going will be a big asset to the passing game. I don't see McVay giving Jared play calling control. It's been reported many times that McVay calls a run play and pass play and Goff has the final say on what he sees at the line. McVay's mic cuts off at the 15 seconds on the play clock as we all know. I trust McVay's play calling a lot. Of course he isn't perfect but alot of times execution is the problem. I do want him to give Goff the green light to call another play other than the the two options. The Rams also need better hot reads!

Overall I think McVay will make the offensive a force again with the current offensive line. I do the offensive line will improve with competition and having more experience enough to make the offense work.

 

[BC Ramfan]

The Rams also need better hot reads!

Agreed, looked like it to me.
BC

 

[CoachAllred]

Corbett - Cleve hated him so much they said after the FIRST practice they knew they had made a major mistake.

They should have known it was a mistake before they drafted him.
They drafted a olineman that is better suited as a move lineman, while they at the time were running a power
scheme.
I think I will trust Snead, McVay and Kromers judgement over anything Cleveland says about him.
Same goes for whether or not they should have went oline early and/or more often in the draft.
Kromer has been strapped with run game coordinator duties. A responsibility he no longer will
have to worry about and our oline INHO will reap the benefits.

 

[FarNorth]

They should have known it was a mistake before they drafted him.
They drafted a olineman that is better suited as a move lineman, while they at the time were running a power
scheme.
I think I will trust Snead, McVay and Kromers judgement over anything Cleveland says about him.
Same goes for whether or not they should have went oline early and/or more often in the draft.
Kromer has been strapped with run game coordinator duties. A responsibility he no longer will
have to worry about and our oline INHO will reap the benefits.

FYI, Kromer is still listed as the run game coordinator on the Rams' site:

"Aaron Kromer
RUN GAME COORDINATOR/OFFENSIVE LINE
Aaron Kromer begins his third season with the Los Angeles Rams, his second season serving as the team’s run game coordinator."

 

[Rams4life]

This is a hard topic for me - why, because some will say the FO knows what they are doing. They will say they internally are better suited to make the decisions on players and upgrades.

Ok I can buy in for the time being, until the 2020 Rams OL end up not much better than 31st ranking from last year. Then I am going to go off if there is not solid marketed improvement (say top 15), because to me outside of Whit and big Rob the rest are second rate BU types.

Everyone I read is always praising Edwards he sucked last year along with Allen and Noteboom. Don't know what you guys saw.

Here's my take I would have invested more in the Oline. Goff is a pocket QB, not a scambler even though he can. He needs a strong pocket like Brady, Brees and Warner had to be effective. Last year he had a down year statistically solely for one reason a lousy OL. Sure instability and injuries played a part, but Goff was the least sacked QB (22) last year and that fact alone should easily translate into a ton of wins but it didn't and you know why - the OL sucked so bad routinely we had to keep 7 sometimes 8 on passing downs in to block which is a total fail imo in terms of what McVay wants to do in his 11 personnel style of Offense. Spread the skill guys out and count on defenses secondary and LBs can't cover all of them. Worked great in 17 & 18 and didn't in 19 the common denominator was in 19 the OL sucked.

Now apply that poor OL play to our run game and we had over 800 yards less from 18 to 19. Why sure Gurley may not be 100% right, but if the OL opened holes for him and the other backs we would have done way better. What stat no one talks about in the run game is Yards Before Contact. 2 years ago our RBs first contact was 3' before a defensive player got their hands on Gurley or Brown or Anderson. Last year it was 6", which means the OL caved so badly the RB had no chance to see the hole or bounce a play outside, because someone was immediately on him - critical stat. Think about it in 18 we were first in the league at first contact - last year were 4 worst.

The first contact and keeping 7 and 8 clearly demonstrates to you how bad the OL was last year. So how does that apply to this year? Two original starters - Notebook and Allen from last year are still injured and honestly sucked anyway.

Corbett - Cleve hated him so much they said after the FIRST practice they knew they had made a major mistake.

Blythe and Big Rob were supposedly hurt some last year so maybe they will be better still to be seen.

Edwards is way overrated imo by this board.

Shelton is a SF ps cast off.

Evans I liked what he did last year, but again he always got help from the RB and TE can't handle to rush by himself so why will he be better?

Whit was showing his age and he is a year older. Enough said on him.

As far as the draft the logical answer is there were no shining stars where we drafted at G or C maybe and Akers looks like a find, but FA is different. I will say J think Anchum will be a huge surprise. I think he may beat out a starter and start. This kid is really solid.

I would not have signed Whit and would have signed Trent Williams - Williams is way younger, better LT (just being honest) and solves the position for alot of years. He was slotted to make 13.5 this year Whit is 10m. I would also would have spent on a G there were some better values out there than what we got. No Centers worth the cost, but adding 2 solid upgrades like we did with Whit and Sully in 17 work real well.

I am going to be patient to a point, but I will not accept poor play from a marginally improved if at all when everyone was shouting from the rafters to go out and get help.

Like I say we go as far as our OL takes us. If we had taken a different style of QB one that is way more mobil maybe we could get away with a less talented OL, Goff needs a strong OL.

Sorry I am very passionate about this subject, because I see how much value NO and NE value their OL and how little Rams brass does.

Agree with this post completely. Whit also led the league in holding penalties for LTs with 10.

 

[fearsomefour]

This is a hard topic for me - why, because some will say the FO knows what they are doing. They will say they internally are better suited to make the decisions on players and upgrades.

Ok I can buy in for the time being, until the 2020 Rams OL end up not much better than 31st ranking from last year. Then I am going to go off if there is not solid marketed improvement (say top 15), because to me outside of Whit and big Rob the rest are second rate BU types.

Everyone I read is always praising Edwards he sucked last year along with Allen and Noteboom. Don't know what you guys saw.

Here's my take I would have invested more in the Oline. Goff is a pocket QB, not a scambler even though he can. He needs a strong pocket like Brady, Brees and Warner had to be effective. Last year he had a down year statistically solely for one reason a lousy OL. Sure instability and injuries played a part, but Goff was the least sacked QB (22) last year and that fact alone should easily translate into a ton of wins but it didn't and you know why - the OL sucked so bad routinely we had to keep 7 sometimes 8 on passing downs in to block which is a total fail imo in terms of what McVay wants to do in his 11 personnel style of Offense. Spread the skill guys out and count on defenses secondary and LBs can't cover all of them. Worked great in 17 & 18 and didn't in 19 the common denominator was in 19 the OL sucked.

Now apply that poor OL play to our run game and we had over 800 yards less from 18 to 19. Why sure Gurley may not be 100% right, but if the OL opened holes for him and the other backs we would have done way better. What stat no one talks about in the run game is Yards Before Contact. 2 years ago our RBs first contact was 3' before a defensive player got their hands on Gurley or Brown or Anderson. Last year it was 6", which means the OL caved so badly the RB had no chance to see the hole or bounce a play outside, because someone was immediately on him - critical stat. Think about it in 18 we were first in the league at first contact - last year were 4 worst.

The first contact and keeping 7 and 8 clearly demonstrates to you how bad the OL was last year. So how does that apply to this year? Two original starters - Notebook and Allen from last year are still injured and honestly sucked anyway.

Corbett - Cleve hated him so much they said after the FIRST practice they knew they had made a major mistake.

Blythe and Big Rob were supposedly hurt some last year so maybe they will be better still to be seen.

Edwards is way overrated imo by this board.

Shelton is a SF ps cast off.

Evans I liked what he did last year, but again he always got help from the RB and TE can't handle to rush by himself so why will he be better?

Whit was showing his age and he is a year older. Enough said on him.

As far as the draft the logical answer is there were no shining stars where we drafted at G or C maybe and Akers looks like a find, but FA is different. I will say J think Anchum will be a huge surprise. I think he may beat out a starter and start. This kid is really solid.

I would not have signed Whit and would have signed Trent Williams - Williams is way younger, better LT (just being honest) and solves the position for alot of years. He was slotted to make 13.5 this year Whit is 10m. I would also would have spent on a G there were some better values out there than what we got. No Centers worth the cost, but adding 2 solid upgrades like we did with Whit and Sully in 17 work real well.

I am going to be patient to a point, but I will not accept poor play from a marginally improved if at all when everyone was shouting from the rafters to go out and get help.

Like I say we go as far as our OL takes us. If we had taken a different style of QB one that is way more mobil maybe we could get away with a less talented OL, Goff needs a strong OL.

Sorry I am very passionate about this subject, because I see how much value NO and NE value their OL and how little Rams brass does.

Evans rarely got help from a TE or RB the last four weeks or so.
I went back and re watched games.
There were a few plays....four or so per game out of 30 or so pass attempts.
At least in the games I rewatched.
McVay didn’t change his blocking schemes for the young guys. They either sank or swam. Plenty of sinking....some swimming.
He wasn’t great but certainly showed a lot of potential.
Corbett was mostly good at LG.
Cleveland drafted him to play T like he was in college.
He got a high draft ranking as an interior lineman, not a tackle.
Edwards has been solid.
There are a lot of question heading into the season but G really isn’t one of them in my opinion.....or at least the least pressing one.

 

[fearsomefour]

Agree with this post completely. Whit also led the league in holding penalties for LTs with 10.

This is where his age showed and also getting called for stuff he wasn’t getting called for before.

 

[BonifayRam]

Evans rarely got help from a TE or RB the last four weeks or so.
I went back and re watched games.
There were a few plays....four or so per game out of 30 or so pass attempts.
At least in the games I rewatched.
McVay didn’t change his blocking schemes for the young guys. They either sank or swam. Plenty of sinking....some swimming.
He wasn’t great but certainly showed a lot of potential.
Corbett was mostly good at LG.
Cleveland drafted him to play T like he was in college.
He got a high draft ranking as an interior lineman, not a tackle.
Edwards has been solid.
There are a lot of question heading into the season but G really isn’t one of them in my opinion.....or at least the least pressing one.

I agree fully Kromer does not have questions ongoing @ the OG posts now with Edwards/ Corbett/ Brewer/Anchrum. I see a good deal of craftiness involved in Austin Corbett play & believe that his 2020 season will be highly effective @ starting LG. David Edwards could start @ 3 of the Rams OL posts LG/RG/RT post if needed & be effective.

I am not really sure that OT Bobby Evans will have much real involvement in any Right OT competition this TC & preseason. Due to Noteboom still being in "PUP" form. That situation will alter where Evans will work at. He will be forced to be fully immersed @ the LEFT OT post. Kromer needs to get at least a half dozen good games out of Whitworth @ LT post in order to buy enough time for Noteboom to get ready to start & take over.

If Evans were to get an opportunity to compete @ RT .... I believe he would have an excellent chance to end up winning the starting RT post for this upcoming season. The reason? ......due to his better pass protection skills with quicker smaller ER's over our veteran Rob Havenstein. Big Rob Achilles heel is a smaller quick edge rusher inside or out, no matter Rob can not perform an effective pass block on them. Rob's best games usually come when he plays against the standard 43 D larger DE's.