The OL is a disaster, but the plan was sound.

[AvengerRam]

Our depth would have been better with better moves. The fact that Evans is still a backup is extremely disturbing. I get the injuries don't help but no one here can honestly say they that the Rams couldn't have done a better job to have better depth.

Okay, but the depth was impacted by injuries too, most notably Logan Bruss and Tremayne Anchrum.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

I'd also add that the two moves made since the season started - signing Oday Aboushi and Matt Skura, who have 112 combined NFL starts, could prove to be steps in the right direction, at least in the short run.

Yes they could and hopefully they work out.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Okay, but the depth was impacted by injuries too, most notably Logan Bruss and Tremayne Anchrum.

Very true which is why I understand injuries having an impact, but to me, it doesn't change the fact that our depth could have been better than it currently is. The reason our o-line depth isnt deep is a result of our roster being top heavy salary cap wise combined with the fact that the Rams typically haven't valued drafting lineman higher. It got us a ring but it has its drawbacks too and we are feeling the drawbacks at this moment.

 

[Loyal]

Nah... that's an unfair generalization. The Rams brought back 3 starters from a championship team, and one guy (Noteboom) who started and played well in a key playoff game. That's different from a team that went 6-11 and hasn't made the playoffs in years saying "we have a plan."

But the guys you rely on, should be reliable. Noteboom has always seemed injury prone to me. I hoped good things from the guy, but he is no Whitworth, or even a Havenstein, health wise.

 

[Merlin]

I knew there would be dropoff from Whit question was how much. That's still getting answered too unfortunately. This next game vs SF should be a good litmus test for Boom too. He had that first game where he got owned by Bosa, and now he will have a chance to step up and get it done.

To date Boom has lost vs the guys we knew were poor matchups for him. Can he improve that. This will be the difference between being our LT or ending up a swing tackle cautionary tale.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Akers missed some big holes. Listening to Jourdan she said maybe it’s time to realize that Akers and Henderson just aren’t capable of doing what McVay wants them to do.

Maybe Williams will but right now neither seems to be getting it done. McVay said that getting the run going was a major emphasis this summer. Its time to rethink it imo.

 

[Tano]

Very true which is why I understand injuries having an impact, but to me, it doesn't change the fact that our depth could have been better than it currently is. The reason our o-line depth isnt deep is a result of our roster being top heavy salary cap wise combined with the fact that the Rams typically haven't valued drafting lineman higher. It got us a ring but it has its drawbacks too and we are feeling the drawbacks at this moment.

And I stated there were 3 draft picks that we could have at minimum gone OL on "one of them" and wouldn't have missed a beat in our super bowl run. Maybe that pick wouldn't have panned out but at least they wouldn't have "almost" completely ignored the drafting of OL in the last 3 drafts.

Bruss is the only one that they took in the top 5 rounds. I say that is not good enough. Should have done at minimum one more.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

But the guys you rely on, should be reliable. Noteboom has always seemed injury prone to me. I hoped good things from the guy, but he is no Whitworth, or even a Havenstein, health wise.

Exactly. It’s akin to relying on Gurley as the main back. If your starters have had injuries at any position you better have good backups.

However, Shelton at Center and Jackson at Tackle actually are quality backups. I’m not sure about Anchrum. The injuries are making the roster build look worse than it likely is.

I’d rather they just draft more linemen and hope they can not have to rely on two injury prone players.

 

[Merlin]

Been kicking around what the Rams might do for that OL room with Edwards out and the default expectation would be to insert Evans but I am not certain that will be the decision. The Rams have sprung enough leaks to date where I think McVay's focus is on this unit and I figure he will be asking that question of "what is the best starting 5." Which means they will look at different combinations.

For example is Boom / Evans / Allen / Jackson / Havenstein better than Jackson / Boom / Allen / Aboushi / Havenstein? Where Aboushi has the veteran OL leader playing next to him.

I do think it's unlikely they would make wholesale moves like that prior to the bye week. But desperate times and all that so who knows. But I suspect there is a chance we see some juggling with that group and it may end up being to support things on the mental side and ensure line calls are properly understood and consistently played correctly.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Since you brought it up Merlin, Edwards isn't the only O lineman I question their evaluation of. They have missed on Evans, they keep running him out there when he clearly sucks. A Jackson should have been out there from the start instead of Edwards. He's probably the best of five out there right now and may be a better LT than Noteboom. Brewer, Aboushi and Acuri haven't even had a look. (I hope that changes this week)

And while I'm questioning coaching decisions, I'll add keep handing off to a clueless Akers who can't find the hole play after play when you got a guy who has proved himself sitting on the bench, or only in to pass block or maybe get a swing pass.

(I could go on, but I'll leave room for other ROD'ers to pitch a bitch).

Point here is Boy Wonder and his crew haven't been that great in their evaluations in some respects this year.

Somebody's been reading their own press clippings instead of putting their nose to the grind stone.

I was actually pretty amazed at how they were able to put together an offensive line so quickly when McVay got here and I hope that meant that he knew how important that unit is to a team.
I still don't know why they cut John Sullivan.
When you get lucky and you get a guy like Corbett for a fifth?
Why not reward the man with a decent contract he CLEARLY deserved instead of going for another flashy wideout and hoping one of your second and third stringers can step up and you don't have any injuries.
Tutu instead of the stud Center will be a mistake that will stick in my craw for a little while.
They not only had a lot of luck on the offensive with getting players cheaply and mid round draft picks, it was destined to run out statistically.
Signing Corbett to a contract he clearly deserved would have been a signal that good play gets rewarded as such.

Nothing will ever change my mind from thinking that the offensive line is the most important unit on your team and you have to treat it that way.

 

[OntarioRam]

I agree to some extent. Plus, this many injuries, all at once, to the offensive line would cripple any team. We are down to multiple 3rd stringers. It's a salary cap league. You realistically cannot have enough depth to overcome that.

But the Rams' offensive line depth arguably should have been better, and that is not a new phenomenon. We were lucky to stay very healthy on the offensive line in recent years.

Noteboom had injury concerns even when playing a small quantity of backup snaps. Allen also is often dinged up. Suffering offensive line injuries with this group ought to have been anticipated. Depth was always a very fair concern, particularly as the trenches are very susceptible to injuries. To their credit, the Rams did try to address it to some extent, by drafting Bruss tihs off-season, but sadly, he tore his ACL in pre-season.

 

[Kupped]

Somebody's been reading their own press clippings instead of putting their nose to the grind stone.

I was actually pretty amazed at how they were able to put together an offensive line so quickly when McVay got here and I hope that meant that he knew how important that unit is to a team.
I still don't know why they cut John Sullivan.
When you get lucky and you get a guy like Corbett for a fifth?
Why not reward the man with a decent contract he CLEARLY deserved instead of going for another flashy wideout and hoping one of your second and third stringers can step up and you don't have any injuries.
Tutu instead of the stud Center will be a mistake that will stick in my craw for a little while.
They not only had a lot of luck on the offensive with getting players cheaply and mid round draft picks, it was destined to run out statistically.
Signing Corbett to a contract he clearly deserved would have been a signal that good play gets rewarded as such.

Nothing will ever change my mind from thinking that the offensive line is the most important unit on your team and you have to treat it that way.

None of this addresses the reality that they’ve been gashed by injuries.
With everyone healthy.. do we know Edwards us still starting? He’s the weakest link in initial lineup.

 

[Merlin]

The problem is some of the OL "depth" is basically a mirage. Evans for example. It's one thing to have a guy who has a little upside as let's say a swing OT in that depth spot but when it's a guy who has never lived up to expectations what you are doing is counting him as one of your 9 but he's not going to help you at all if you need him.

We can say oh well all teams have questionable guys at 9 on that OL depth. But again when it's a guy who adds zero upside and zero ability to step in and play well at all you only have yourself to blame if/when you are down to him and he's killing you in there.

That first series vs Dallas the Rams had no room for error but right out the gate we felt Evans in a bad way on the false start and he was the guy signalling the fucking center in silent count. I mean what is your value if you can't at least execute the basic shit. This is what McVay was talking about re: free runners and guys doing their job at a base level. And they have only themselves to blame because they stacked their depth with him on it.

We discussed this shit before the season. We knew the depth was tight. And sure enough injuries happen. Rams are to blame here to some extent.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Nah... that's an unfair generalization. The Rams brought back 3 starters from a championship team, and one guy (Noteboom) who started and played well in a key playoff game. That's different from a team that went 6-11 and hasn't made the playoffs in years saying "we have a plan."

However.
The left tackle we lost who is also our offensive line team leader and most talented player and replaced him with the guy who gets nicked up pretty often?
That was a pretty big risk.
I was never sold on Allen but he was solid when you placed him next to Corbett and Edwards.
But between Shelton and Edwards, not so much.
And that was another risk as well as an injury risk for the second most important member on your offensive line at Center.
Talent and continuity make an offensive line.
Not mediocrity and constantly switching players around.

And that's where we're at, at the moment.

 

[AvengerRam]

Last year, our top 4 backup OL (based on snap counts) were Shelton (215), Noteboom (173), Evans (90) and Jackson (61).

Noteboom serving as Withworth's heir apparent was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

I also believe that the plan was for Bruss to win the job starting at RG.

If that plan had come to fruition, we'd have similar depth this year, with Shelton, Evans and Jackson still serving as backups (along with Anchrum, had he stayed healthy).

So, yes... you can say we're playing on the margin with the OL this year, but its really not that different an approach from the one that worked last year.

 

[Soul Surfer]

None of this addresses the reality that they’ve been gashed by injuries.
With everyone healthy.. do we know Edwards us still starting? He’s the weakest link in initial lineup.

I don't know what's going on with David Edwards and I wouldn't say he was necessary the weakest link last year.
I would have said Allen, but that's debatable.

Guys that have known to be injured in the past with Allen and Noteboom have been injured this year and they already needed to replace Right Guard and find somebody who is as good as Corbett which didn't happen.

Three strikes and you're out.

You can only get so lucky with udfas and trading for guys like Corbett so often before your luck runs out, (statistically).

And it officially ran out this year.

 

[Merlin]

Your 9/10 guys on that depth chart need to be young/upside types. Then if the worst case scenario happens and you need them, there is at least a chance to get development and production at some point.

When your 9/10 option on the chart is a shitter like Evans it's like taking 8/9 into the season.

 

[Flint]

Even taking into account "hindsight" The team's plan did take some liberties and include assumptions.
We knew that the OL was not a strong run-blocking unit and we also knew we had new starters that weren't entirely proven.
We also had lower round reserves which showed promise more than readiness. It was a calculated risk even when healthy.
Obviously, no team in the league can prepare for such a rash of injuries.

I am very curious to see what we do to address this situation.

I think they may have survived Allen going down with Shelton and they may have found a replacement for Corbett with Anchrum or eventually Bruss, but now it’s a total scramble. Guys like Kolone or Arcuri aren’t ready, they might never be but that’s where we’re at.
Also concerning are the rbs, no defense wants big plays through the air and yards on the ground seem to be back in style. We get the ball in Dallas territory and settle for a long fg, we get to the red zone and never run at all.
I don’t think this team is terrible they’re playing a brutal schedule and some really good defenses, right now they look like a .500 team.

 

[Kupped]

I don't know what's going on with David Edwards and I wouldn't say he was necessary the weakest link last year.
I would have said Allen, but that's debatable.

Guys that have known to be injured in the past with Allen and Noteboom have been injured this year and they already needed to replace Right Guard and find somebody who is as good as Corbett which didn't happen.

Three strikes and you're out.

You can only get so lucky with udfas and trading for guys like Corbett so often before your luck runs out, (statistically).

And it officially ran out this year.

They drafted 2 this year… picked up Alaric Jackson last year.. Anchrum is a 3rd year.. Bruss, Anchrum & Shelton aren’t the “injury risks” you say others are.

Just slightly less awful luck and they’re much more competitive in the last two games, imo.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

What constitutes "soundness" is subjective, but, and I know people are tired of others harping on it, choosing Tutu over Creed reveals a more philosophical issue at root. Investing in Whit, Sullivan, and even Corbett generated success, letting Saffold walk generated the opposite, etc. There's some weird aversion to adhering to what brought us success and failure, and the results are here. Boom wasn't going to replace Whit, a rookie or Shelton wasn't going to replace Corbett, and we already had run blocking issues with them. To me it's hard to argue the plan was "sound."