Rams’ offensive line problem isn’t as bad as it looks

[So Ram]

"Not as bad as it looks" is another way of saying "It's not good". This is a koolaid article now isn't it.

I felt like Noteboom was showing progress before his injury, so I have hope there. Would really like to see us draft someone for the simple reasons of a) development time, and b) lack of early round draft capital in the near future.

We have to get competition going in preseason though, all the O-line (With the exception of Whit) should be playing in every preseason game. I hope the injuries last year don't make McVay gun shy on this point. It's important. They gotta gel in some fashion before week one.

I think Mcvay learned his lesson the opposite way. He should have had competition.
Laugh- you talk about developing the line because of lack of depth.The depth with The Offensive Line is there.
The reason they are not good or as bad is because of what your saying. Which ACTUALLY is what concerns me. Notebooms injury is serious. He needs time, but he is the depth & the future. He is the one that was a HIGH DRAFT pick.
BTW- I’m all in with the Kool-Aide. That is all I can afford & keep in the pantry so I don’t need to go to stores.

 

[So Ram]

Projections at Oline and overconfidence in coaching is what destroyed the Rams last year.

The build your Oline through late round draft picks philosophy fails far more than it works. It’s projection. I hate the dam idea. It’s not a magic formula.

Bringing in solid Veteran Oline and early day 1 and day 2 Olineman is much more the formula.

Look at the Niners. FA Center, day 1 RT. Day 1 LT.

Colts, Ravens, etc etc

The Rams should let Brockers walk and make money available elsewhere to bring in a Trent Williams or one of these other Proven Veterans and stop gap him at guard AND draft a center early to replace Blythe as a starter.

If not I guarantee the same shit show we saw last year as we project.

THANKS for your GUARANTEE!! Enjoy 2020. In the 9ers case though it was more of the defense that got them to the SuperBowl. There D-Front is one of the Best.
Maybe The Rams just need to get rid of Donald & shouldn’t have traded for RAMsey ?? You’d get all that.

I actually keeping saying if Brewer, Bobby Evans & Edwards were coming out in 2020 where would they be drafted. I think you can’t replace the valuable experience they got as starters at 22. In Brewers case just making the 48 each week.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I keep seeing Brewer's name pop up in these conversations. Where's the optimism wrt him coming from?

 

[RamsFanCK]

I think Mcvay learned his lesson the opposite way. He should have had competition.
Laugh- you talk about developing the line because of lack of depth.The depth with The Offensive Line is there.
The reason they are not good or as bad is because of what your saying. Which ACTUALLY is what concerns me. Notebooms injury is serious. He needs time, but he is the depth & the future. He is the one that was a HIGH DRAFT pick.
BTW- I’m all in with the Kool-Aide. That is all I can afford & keep in the pantry so I don’t need to go to stores.

I was just saying they should take a stab this year in the draft so that the player can be ready in a year or two to fill in if needed. I know the depth is there, I just see 2020 as a.....re-tool year at this point. Would like if they put money, draft capital, and time into the o-line now for the sake of the 2021 season. More bodies = more bottom of the roster competition. Plus someone needs to put Demby out of his misery lol

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

To think the young guys aren't going to improve after one year's seasoning is very pessimistic. They were thrown in the deep end last season and performed ok when mcvay schemed for them a little.

The run game was awful no matter what though. The pass blocking was awful as well when mcvay just left them there to block straight up with no misdirection.

Work to do but players should improve with time. That's the hope anyway.

.

 

[simonblaze]

I keep seeing Brewer's name pop up in these conversations. Where's the optimism wrt him coming from?

Brewer played pretty good in the preseason imo

 

[I like Rams]

I keep seeing Brewer's name pop up in these conversations. Where's the optimism wrt him coming from?

I've been wondering the same thing. He came in for Evan's for a few snaps after Evans went down in one of the later games and he got man handled. Literally just stood there while the defender ran around him.

 

[Ram65]

Bringing in solid Veteran Oline and early day 1 and day 2 Olineman is much more the formula.

Look at the Niners. FA Center, day 1 RT. Day 1 LT.

Colts, Ravens, etc etc

The Rams should let Brockers walk and make money available elsewhere to bring in a Trent Williams or one of these other Proven Veterans and stop gap him at guard AND draft a center early to replace Blythe as a starter.

If not I guarantee the same shit show we saw last year as we project

One big problem was the poor past drafts and lack of drafting offensive lineman the years before McVay was hired. He inherited the worse running game from 2016 that averaged only 3.3 YPC with around 1250 yards and improved it by 700 yards with a 4.3 YPC average in 2017. That was with three new starters Blythe, Whitworth, and Sullivan. Rams didn't draft an offensive lineman in 2017 but, did draft offensive players in Everett and Kupp. They didn't have their original 1st or 3rd round picks. They did take two offensive linemen with their first two picks in 2018. McVay was starting from behind with his inherited roster in 2017. He changed from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense which had Tru Johnson on his second franchise tag, an average 4-3 Mike in Ogletree, Donald, Brokers and Barron. This was also not a solid defense. McVay and Snead decided to spend draft capital on WRs and then CBs which has hurt the progression of the offensive line.

There are moves the Rams could have made differently. I would have liked early round offensive lineman yet, they didn't have early picks. I would have liked that the Rams kept Saffold. I'm not sure trading for Williams is a good move. He has an injury history and only one year remaining on his contract. McVay and Snead made choices that changed the Rams franchise around on a dime. A one-year reversal from 4-12 record to a playoff appearance. The Rams went with fast moves that worked very well. Unfortunately, their offensive line plans fell short last year. Too bad they didn't find a way to add a new quality offensive lineman this year. They still have a chance to draft one.

 

[PhillyRam]

Maybe so. I've been wrong plenty of times wrt who the Rams should pick so this year's draft shouldn't be any different.

Whit is a short term answer so LT is a need. Corbett was marginal at best and he's not some rookie he's a guy with three years under his belt now. Blythe was signed to a one year deal for a reason, because his play tends to fall off as teams begin to gameplan him. Evans & Edwards give me a lot of hope, but they're 2 of 5 starters and the depth is even more unicorns & rainbows.

Thinking this OL has enough pieces is a big leap of faith. Too big a leap for myself. But maybe you'll be right and you can remind me later so cheers.

Corbett only has two yrs in the league and didn't play much in his yr & half in Cleveland.

Can't give up on him and he played well I thought that last month.

If they don't draft a C, my guess is Corbett could be moved there because we could use more size at LG and he would be a good sized C.

 

[TexasRam]

THANKS for your GUARANTEE!! Enjoy 2020. In the 9ers case though it was more of the defense that got them to the SuperBowl. There D-Front is one of the Best.
Maybe The Rams just need to get rid of Donald & shouldn’t have traded for RAMsey ?? You’d get all that.

I actually keeping saying if Brewer, Bobby Evans & Edwards were coming out in 2020 where would they be drafted. I think you can’t replace the valuable experience they got as starters at 22. In Brewers case just making the 48 each week.

The Niners OFFENSE was 2nd in scoring in the NFL at 29.9 ppg, 2nd in rushing at 144.1 ypg and 1st in rushing TD with 23 TD. Their rushing attack and offense was tremendous.

Their DEFENSE was 8th at 19.4 PPG.

Brewer has done nothing at the NFL level. Evans was inconsistent last year. Edwards had a solid rookie year but by no means was a net positive player. When you go into a season with mediocre, unproven and declining players at offensive line you will pay as an NFL franchise.


I guarantee something because its obvious not because I want it. I hope we field a top 10 offensive line and dig out of that bottom feeder 31st offensive line we fielded last year. But look at the projected lineup:

Whitworth - Declining player 39 years old by the time crunch time rolls around. 2nd Most penalized Player last year.
Evans/Corbett - Inconsistent projection type players.
Blythe - Undersized player that is overwhelmed by bigger players and offers Zero push in the run game.
Edwards - Solid rookie season. Serviceable player.
Havenstein - Strong Run Blocker that struggles in pass protection


If the Rams draft an early day Center and find a Proven Vet to plug in at LG then we have a chance.

Otherwise its going to be a long season.

 

[Zaphod]

Brewer may improve, sure, but if we don’t have depth enough on the roster to push Demby out, that is a very serious problem.

It is clear that we cannot count on Allen to start at center, and if you’re being honest about improving offensive line performance, you need enough depth to push Blythe to a backup role. Who seriously trusts our playoff chances with just Corbett as competition with those two at center? Oh, I get it, center is the worst place to start a rookie on the offensive line, but the competition is thin. We need to be serious about the position yesterday or we’ll see more of the same.

Havenstein has always been weak with speed rushers, this not unique to last year, it was just exploited more often. I really do have to wonder if the big tackle can provide some much needed power playing inside at guard.

Short term, I’m very optimistic about Whitworth and Havenstein filling key starting roles for us. I’m also very optimistic about Edwards and Evans, and even Noteboom at left tackle.

But you can’t rely only our existing roster to solve for the center position. Crossing your fingers really isn’t making your own luck, and a solid draft pick would at least give us a chance at improving by midseason, or at the following year.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I agree with this. We have good depth/young developmental talent. We need a couple run-blocking starters. And it doesn't look like we're getting even one, since even a high draft pick will likely have struggles as a rookie.

 

[Zaphod]

That's the error that I am pointing out, especially regarding center. It's all relative, and I consider it an overall competition level for the unit.

I mean okay, Demby is 11th on the depth chart, but he wouldn't/shouldn't even be there if we had better players throughout. You can roll the dice with starters like that (which I guess we have to at this point after the Brockers signing).

If you don't have either, it isn't going to be pretty.

 

[thirteen28]

To think the young guys aren't going to improve after one year's seasoning is very pessimistic.

Bingo. Those actual, in-game reps that guys like Evans and Edwards got last year are invaluable. And better yet, they did show progress. If they can continue this trajectory, then at worst we have developed some quality depth in our line. Moreover, it's not out of the question that they could become quality starters.

 

[So Ram]

Bingo. Those actual, in-game reps that guys like Evans and Edwards got last year are invaluable. And better yet, they did show progress. If they can continue this trajectory, then at worst we have developed some quality depth in our line. Moreover, it's not out of the question that they could become quality starters.

Watching games at end of season & the young line got completed a lot.I would be concerned,but I already feel Demby will get cut. The Rams were 3-0 with him starting and taking over a half for Blythe against NO. Saints.

 

[pmil66]

Always amazed that at the end of the year the OL was the #1 draft priority in the eyes on many. Now here we are 3 months after the last game, no new players bought in, and the OL seems to be in good shape in the eyes of many. Seems to happen every year with other positions, this year is the OL.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Yes It Is!

 

[OC_Ram]

I think the team we field this year will be as glorious as the new colors - WTF - I wanna shite myself.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

In comparison to nearly every opponent the Rams player last year, this Offensive line sucks!

Seriously, the Bucs had a better line, mostly cobbled together with mud prices free agents. The Seahawks had a better Oline with mostly nobody outside of left tackle.

don't look at it in a vacuum. Compare to what other teams have. This line is bad.

can they improve? I don't see how anyone can definitively say yes based on last year's play. Some of them regressed last year. They looked better once McVay started implementing rollouts for Goff, but that is just an illusion that the line improved. If they don't start drafting talented Olineman this team will struggle again. By the time the Oline is fixed most of the good position players will be past their prime.