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

[Memento]

Honestly think that we need a center prospect, especially in this loaded class, but as far as the young guys - Allen aside - go? I have faith in them.

Evans showed surprising athleticism at tackle. Wouldn't be surprised if he was the right tackle of the future.

Edwards proved Corbin right. He'll be the starter at right guard, in my honest opinion.

Corbett proved me right. I thought that he was a great pickup, especially for a fifth round pick. He could be competing at center/left guard.

I'm hoping that Noteboom comes back after this year to take the left tackle job. He looked amazing at the blindside in 2018, and it was obvious that he's not a guard. Is he a little finesse? Sure, but so was Saffold early in his career.

 

[FarNorth]

I agree Evans fall off, he was playing hurt his. Brewer came in for him & The Rams didn’t want to risk Big Rob. He was still doing his RICE thing. He should be a lot stronger from it imo.Building up the core vs surgery.

Noteboom is a big question mark.

Cross training is huge, but I also think Demby & Colone bring something to training camp. I believe in experience vs rookies upfront.
In camp Evans & Edwards looked lost. In season they looked a lot better.

Have Kromer focused on the line more than as a OC should benefit these group. Making changes during the season with all the injuries is tough.

I guess I’m totally OFF my Rocker ?? I believe The Rams have more depth upfront than I have SEEN for years.

Agree completely that we have lots of depth, especially if Allen and Noteboom can return from injury and if Havenstein can return to form. This is very helpful. Kromer has pieces to work with. Maybe even enough to prevent another "crumbling degenerated occurrence" ( a great description of last year!)

But is our best starting o-line really good enough? Can they deal with teams with strong D lines such as SF, bring the running game back up to speed, and enable Goff to have time to throw?? Not yet convinced, at least at this stage.

 

[BC Ramfan]

Agree completely that we have lots of depth, especially if Allen and Noteboom can return from injury and if Havenstein can return to form. This is very helpful. Kromer has pieces to work with. Maybe even enough to prevent another "crumbling degenerated occurrence" ( a great description of last year!)

But is our best starting o-line really good enough? Can they deal with teams with strong D lines such as SF, bring the running game back up to speed, and enable Goff to have time to throw?? Not yet convinced, at least at this stage.

This is really the crux of it.
OL depth is arguably quite good, seemingly better than any recent season (certainly better than 2018).
BUT what about STARTING talent? VERY questionable. And no easy fix for 2020 with no FA money.
Likely moot as 2020 NFL starting to appear dubious. Dang.
BC

 

[So Ram]

What would have been flv's betting odds on the outcome of having to start two rookie NFL OL'ers (Evans/ Edwards) next to each other for the final seven games last season in an offensive OL that had 4/5ths of its entirety being different from when the season started?

Who would have thought that the description of the above state of affairs in the end would be anything different than a crumbling degenerated occurrence.

I do agree with you that all three of these new Ram starting OL'ers will have learned greatly from last season OL collapse.

I keep looking at that 9er game & Higbee missing a pass with 2 minutes left in the 3rd. Just think the OLine got to much blame. I’m cool with that,but see 2020 being a nice being of this line as a strength. Especially helping with the much needed Salary Cap!!

 

[BonifayRam]

Agree completely that we have lots of depth, especially if Allen and Noteboom can return from injury and if Havenstein can return to form. This is very helpful. Kromer has pieces to work with. Maybe even enough to prevent another "crumbling degenerated occurrence" ( a great description of last year!)

But is our best starting o-line really good enough? Can they deal with teams with strong D lines such as SF, bring the running game back up to speed, and enable Goff to have time to throw?? Not yet convinced, at least at this stage.

Bunch of IF'S when discussing the Rams OL. Yes the OL DEPTH may be the best this Ram team has collected in several decades.

The Ram OL STARTERS might end up @ the start of the regular season being one of the least'd experienced in decades too.

Inexperienced OL's in the NFL= Non-productive offenses. Much depends on what happens out @ the RT post & OC. I see those two posts as the most highly contested starting posts.

My description of the Rams 2019 OL season story as "crumbling degenerated occurrence" might be a little heavy. You have to be careful & watch yourself when you were having a discussion with the Finance Minister with the very big brain across the pond in Bournemouth UK.

 

[PARAM]

Here's the experience of the Rams O lineman going into 2020.

Whitworth- few are more experienced -14 years
Havenstein - 5 years
Blythe - 4 years

Edwards - 10 games
Allen - 9 games
Corbett - 7 games
Evans - 7 games
Noteboom - 6 games

I wouldn't call those last 5 inexperienced. I'd call them young. And with each game in 2020, they gain more experience. Let's put it this way......it's way better than running out 2 guys with zero experience, backed up by 2 rookies and a second year guy with 1 start.

 

[Malibu]

I feel the Rams OL was over matched throughout the season. Especially at the end when we had the same 5 for a while they generated zero run blocking and Goff was continually needing to roll out to avoid the lack of good blocking from the line.

The reason we scored 32+ ppg previously was because Goff had a day back in the pocket. Last year he had to roll out to avoid the rush hurting the timing with the wrs. You can't win games like this.

Not to mention to win in the playoffs we must be able to hold up against better dlines.

 

[PARAM]

I feel the Rams OL was over matched throughout the season. Especially at the end when we had the same 5 for a while they generated zero run blocking and Goff was continually needing to roll out to avoid the lack of good blocking from the line.

The reason we scored 32+ ppg previously was because Goff had a day back in the pocket. Last year he had to roll out to avoid the rush hurting the timing with the wrs. You can't win games like this.

Not to mention to win in the playoffs we must be able to hold up against better dlines.

I agree with you. But I'd ask a couple of things. If they're designed rollouts, which they appeared to be, how does that "upset the timing with the WRs"? And yet they managed to win 9 games despite their O line problems which were many. Would you agree when you insert new guys on the O line, it could take a while for them to "gel" with the vets? I don't know how long that is, perhaps 3 or 4 games. More in some cases, less in others.

I thought the original 5 were starting to gel after the Tampa game. They ran the ball down SF's throat in week 6 on the first drive and then Noteboom went out on the first play of the second drive. I rewatched that game and they were moving the DL all over the place. And that was without Gurley but Malcolm Brown. Brown and Woods had 7 straight runs of 9, 10, 7, 9, 8 (Woods), 5, 8 (Woods) - TD 7-0 Rams. Each guy average 8.0 ypc on that drive. Sure one drive but after 1 play on the next drive Noteboom is gone and things are all flumoxed again.

They did look overmatched early in the year but it was getting better. Then after Noteboom went down, it happened all over again. Then when Allen and Havenstein went down in week 10, it continued. Those last 5 weeks the OL had 1 bad game, IMO, Dallas. I don't know anymore than the next guy about who the starting 5 and their backups are going to be but I feel pretty confident it's going to be some combination of Whitworth, Havenstein, Blythe, Noteboom, Edwards, Evans, Corbett and Allen with another 1 or 2 added to the mix. Perhaps somebody already on the roster, perhaps a draft pick or late FA acquisition. But with the experience they gained and the progress they showed, I feel good about them.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

We aren't in terrible shape on the O-Line, but we do have some issues we need to address. Allen and Noteboom went down with injuries, but weren't playing that great before they got hurt. Particularly with Noteboom if you had projected he'd eventually replace Whitworth, now he's got an injury to return from. Although Edwards and Evans played well, not sure if you could project either as our eventual Left Tackle. So providing depth and an eventual replacement for our older LT is currently up in the air. Also as far as Havenstein, if you're paying him that much you have to play him, but if we have better options with our younger guys in that spot, they need to be playing. So moving on from Havenstein by trade could be a possibility, but if you do, you're really relying on Edwards, Evans and Corbett to be the real deal for us. That's taking a chance, but honestly IF we can move on from Havenstein's contract in a way that can help us with the cap, I'd like for us to be able to do that.

Blythe and Corbett seem to be better for us than they were for their previous teams, Edwards and Evans certainly played well enough to make up for Noteboom, Allen and Havenstein getting hurt. So I feel like last year has bought us a little time, and availed us the potential of having Havenstein be expendable to help with the cap.

for the draft coming up, I'm looking at our first 2 picks to be an O-Lineman and a RB.

 

[Neil039]

It's a wonderful day when you see another teams QB rolling out to save his life. When it's the Ram's Goff rolling out I see Marino or Fouts not Cunningham, Vick, McNair or Lamar. JMO

 

[BonifayRam]

We aren't in terrible shape on the O-Line, but we do have some issues we need to address. Allen and Noteboom went down with injuries, but weren't playing that great before they got hurt. Particularly with Noteboom if you had projected he'd eventually replace Whitworth, now he's got an injury to return from. Although Edwards and Evans played well, not sure if you could project either as our eventual Left Tackle. So providing depth and an eventual replacement for our older LT is currently up in the air. Also as far as Havenstein, if you're paying him that much you have to play him, but if we have better options with our younger guys in that spot, they need to be playing. So moving on from Havenstein by trade could be a possibility, but if you do, you're really relying on Edwards, Evans and Corbett to be the real deal for us. That's taking a chance, but honestly IF we can move on from Havenstein's contract in a way that can help us with the cap, I'd like for us to be able to do that.

Blythe and Corbett seem to be better for us than they were for their previous teams, Edwards and Evans certainly played well enough to make up for Noteboom, Allen and Havenstein getting hurt. So I feel like last year has bought us a little time, and availed us the potential of having Havenstein be expendable to help with the cap.

for the draft coming up, I'm looking at our first 2 picks to be an O-Lineman and a RB.

Agree with you on your LT comments....its sure up in the air as you said.....Noteboom is a very big QUESTION! No way to know how this Noteboom situation will turn out.

Reference Rob Havenstein....I would not start Havenstein if he has not improved his pass blocking no matter how much he is getting paid this season. Teams now rush equally from both sides of the edges. Hav has already been paid his near $4 million roster bonus on his 2020 salary cap hit of nearly $8 million. There is no real cap savings trading him in a few weeks during the draft except for what value you can get in utilizing him to increase Ram draft assets during this or next yrs draft. He could be offered up as a means to move up too. But the Rams salary cap is going to take a hit. Snead could also just ride with Hav until the regular season begins & then trade him for draft assets for 2021. There is little help with the cap with Hav

I do not agree with you that relying on those young OL'ers over Hav is taking a chance.....the big chance is relying on Hav to keep Goff UN-molested. I know that Evans will be a better pass blocker than Hav will.

Rob Havenstein | NFL Contracts & Salaries | Spotrac.com

Rob Havenstein contract and salary cap details, full contract breakdowns, salaries, signing bonus, roster bonus, dead money, and valuations.

www.spotrac.com

Rob Havenstein Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money, and Contract History | Over The Cap

Rob Havenstein contract and salary cap details, including signing bonus, guaranteed salary, dead money, roster bonuses, and contract history

overthecap.com

 

[Soul Surfer]

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.

I am just going by what I saw from the individual players in the second half of the season.

Two rookies who looked *decent*, (considering that they were thrown in there ahead of schedule) from the start and looked better with each game.
Blythe solidified Center.
Corbett looked way better than a cast off from another team.
Whitworth is on a very slow decline.

I don't see any reason they wouldn't look better with a camp under their belt in their previous positions.
Continuity.
A chance to coach them up by looking at their individual tape in the off-season.

Your basic mixture of veterans and big young studs.

 

[snackdaddy]

Here's the experience of the Rams O lineman going into 2020.

Whitworth- few are more experienced -14 years
Havenstein - 5 years
Blythe - 4 years

Edwards - 10 games
Allen - 9 games
Corbett - 7 games
Evans - 7 games
Noteboom - 6 games

I wouldn't call those last 5 inexperienced. I'd call them young. And with each game in 2020, they gain more experience. Let's put it this way......it's way better than running out 2 guys with zero experience, backed up by 2 rookies and a second year guy with 1 start.

I'm not well educated fan when it comes to line play. I don't typically focus on one guy during a play. But looking at it from a fan's perspective, it sure seemed like those guys got better as a group. At least in pass protection. The run blocking didn't seem so good. But I have to wonder how much was the line and how much was Gurley. He clearly was not the same player he was the previous two seasons.

I don't think its unreasonable to think these young guys will continue to get better as they see more playing time. Some people look at the problems they had when forced into duty sooner than expected. And some of those people don't take into account the learning curve. Which is short sighted in my opinion. They just look at the problems in their first few games and say "Those guys aren't very good".

 

[PARAM]

I'm not well educated fan when it comes to line play. I don't typically focus on one guy during a play. But looking at it from a fan's perspective, it sure seemed like those guys got better as a group. At least in pass protection. The run blocking didn't seem so good. But I have to wonder how much was the line and how much was Gurley. He clearly was not the same player he was the previous two seasons.

I don't think its unreasonable to think these young guys will continue to get better as they see more playing time. Some people look at the problems they had when forced into duty sooner than expected. And some of those people don't take into account the learning curve. Which is short sighted in my opinion. They just look at the problems in their first few games and say "Those guys aren't very good".

Good stuff.

I read somewhere....and now I can't find it........back in 2016, 66% of Gurley's yards came after first contact. Last year it was only 40%.

Now perhaps I'm reading into that more than I should but those numbers appear to suggest two or three things.
1. The OL was worse in 2016 than it was in 2019
2. Gurley was worse in 2019 than he was in 2016
3. Both

 

[BonifayRam]

I'm not well educated fan when it comes to line play. I don't typically focus on one guy during a play. But looking at it from a fan's perspective, it sure seemed like those guys got better as a group. At least in pass protection. The run blocking didn't seem so good. But I have to wonder how much was the line and how much was Gurley. He clearly was not the same player he was the previous two seasons.

I don't think its unreasonable to think these young guys will continue to get better as they see more playing time. Some people look at the problems they had when forced into duty sooner than expected. And some of those people don't take into account the learning curve. Which is short sighted in my opinion. They just look at the problems in their first few games and say "Those guys aren't very good".

I believe the OL of .....Whitworth LT/ Corbett LG/ Blythe OC/ Edwards RG/ Evans RT was slowing improving gm by gm over the last 7 gms too. Yes there were some individual lapses & had poor games but the overall unit was what I was primarily focusing on.

Good point on bringing up our 2019 RB unit! This RB unit vastly underperforming too. The 3 Ram RB's were also part of the problem too. None of them were able to produce with any consistency. I would point towards both units myself as being an issue.

McVay did make changes to both OL & RB units. He hired a new offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell & sent OC Kromer back as just OL coach. He dismissed long time RB coach & hired a new coach Thomas Brown. So its clear the Rams Org. saw the same units as needing a change.

Snead's habit of focusing in on OT's when it comes to bringing in new OL talent may be beginning to already payoff in this new refurbished OL. Most of all the new young talent brought in since 2018 Evans/ Edwards/ Corbett/ Noteboom/ Demby {all five} were long time starting OT's in college. In 2019 all of his OG prospects were ex college OT's. I foresee the 2 starters @ the OG posts will be ex OT's. Brewer who is over 6-6 320 plus pounds played mostly The OG posts with some OT starts too in college but has grown into prototype NFL OT size now.

Snead in this last decade has drafted 10 OT's but only drafted 3 OG's, Rok Watkins, Cody Wichmann & Brian Allen. He has drafted 2 OC's over this last decade Barrett Jones & Demetrius Rhaney.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Snead in this last decade has drafted 10 OT's but only drafted 3 OG's, Rok Watkins, Cody Wichmann & Brian Allen. He has drafted 2 OC's over this last decade Barrett Jones & Demetrius Rhaney.

That's interesting--I wonder how that compares to the league norm for drafting OL.

 

[BonifayRam]

That's interesting--I wonder how that compares to the league norm for drafting OL.

Snead has given words to his preference for OT's in his drafts. This has been brought out by Snead several times throughout the years when speaking to the press. Best I can recall I have no issues with his motives in this element of the OL. I believe it's a good way to go @ it myself.

He believes that college OT's can be very good OG prospects in the NFL & you might get a little better results on the field in pass blocking from this. As we all know college OL'ers commonly enter the NFL absent solid pass blocking skills

It would appear that he took a very big hit in this area last season with Joseph Noteboom 2019 deplorable OG performance. However, former college OT's now starters Edwards & Corbett worked to make Snead look good in this train of thought.