The trenches

[Loyal]

Last I checked Creed Humphrey is slated to start at OC for the Chefs (ahead of Austin Blythe).

Imma lose my freakin' mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[den-the-coach]

Imma lose my freakin' mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[WestCoastRam]

I will say, I am intrigued what speedsters like Jackson and Atwell can add to our run blocking when they fake the jet sweep. I don't think teams were as worried about it as times past. The difference of even a step in the wrong direction for the LBs with our Oline coming at them could really affect the run game.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Option 1: Corbs to Center, Anchrum to RG. I have zero doubt Anchrum can play RG. Question is how good is Corbs at Center.

I'd get excited if I noticed Anch getting some reps at RG tomorrow.

I'm also kind of worried about Corbet's calls because of that one weird miscommunication against Dallas. Don't know if that was a one-time thing or part of an issue for him.

 

[OnceARam]

Regular luker here, rarely post. I must say, I am of the belief the game is won and lost in the trenches. I have long been an advocate of boosting our lines when possible. I have posted my concern about our OL...namely the center position. On draft day, I could not believe we drafted Tutu over Creed Humphrey. Drove me nuts.

For the record, I am a huge believer in our front office and McVay. As a fan since '78, I can't recall feeling better about our organization. I trust them.

For the life of me, I couldn't (and still can't) understand why we would take a 4th/5th WR during our "win now" window when we have glaring needs our on OL (more next year/future than this year). To me, you secure your foundation on both sides of the ball and work outwards.

I am extremely concerned that Allen, who I had very high hopes for and has disappointed to-date, has been named our starter. My concern doesn't come from the rhetoric we are hearing.....it's possible he's worked his a$$ off and is a better player for it. But rather, that Evans has been such a disappointment that Allen has been thrust into a position in order to get our best 5 on the field. If the latter is true, I credit the coaches for seeing and making the necessary adjustments.

Where I struggle is how we could pass on a potential 8-year starter at center that would help solidify our OL (i.e. add another "rock") so that we could draft a player that may not be all that necessary (the term "gadget player" comes to mind with Tutu). I just think we would be in such a better position (run game included) had we made the obvious move.

Again, I love Mc/snead and the Rams. I want Tutu to prove me SO wrong. But damn, I am nervous about our OL's ability to run block (specifically) and protect our franchise QB.

Sorry if this comes across as being a debbie-downer; not my intent. I just REALLY hope Allen and our OL is up to the task!

Wisconsinram

Welcome to the new NFL where there is no use for a run game, the QB blocks for himself and the WR's wear dresses.

 

[oldnotdead]

I'm also kind of worried about Corbet's calls because of that one weird miscommunication against Dallas. Don't know if that was a one-time thing or part of an issue for him.

If it was a one time thing Corbett would still be at center. The fact Shelton is taking the backup reps says a lot as well. RG is an underappreciated position. He needs to be aggressive and mobile with good field vision and awareness. I still think A Jack could end up as the RT next year. The problem with Anchrum inside is his lack of height and could give up a lot of blocked passes. A Jack is a mauler which is exactly what you want at RT. He's too raw in terms of picking up stunts and other defensive games to start this year. But give him a year to be coached up and I think he can be pretty good.

Brewer is having the same problems that Edwards still has at times. Because of their height and both have always played OT prior to the NFL, they have problems playing low with leverage. It's clear Chandler isn't comfortable at OG yet. At 6'4" Evans is built like an OG. He just needs time to learn a new position. They really won't know what they have or don't have in Evans until next year.

This is the same OL they had last year with the exception of Allen. I don't see a problem. I think the change on the OL will be in the backups. A. Jack, and Anchrum look like they will make the cut. I think Shelton and Evans are the final two. Brewer probably clears waivers to make the PS so he can work on being an OG.

That said I think they might use a pick in the 4-6 round range on an OG depending upon how Edwards fares. The consistency of Edward's play is the only real question I have with this OL.

 

[Merlin]

I'd get excited if I noticed Anch getting some reps at RG tomorrow.

I'm also kind of worried about Corbet's calls because of that one weird miscommunication against Dallas. Don't know if that was a one-time thing or part of an issue for him.

If it was a one time thing Corbett would still be at center. The fact Shelton is taking the backup reps says a lot as well. RG is an underappreciated position. He needs to be aggressive and mobile with good field vision and awareness. I still think A Jack could end up as the RT next year. The problem with Anchrum inside is his lack of height and could give up a lot of blocked passes. A Jack is a mauler which is exactly what you want at RT. He's too raw in terms of picking up stunts and other defensive games to start this year. But give him a year to be coached up and I think he can be pretty good.

I think that move was 99% about Evans not being good enough. Simply due to how poorly he played the other night. I don't believe in coincidences. Now if Corbs did come up short at Center it would probably be his ability to get the calls down. If the QB has to spend too much pre-snap thought on making sure the Center has his shit in one sock it's gonna affect him. I didn't think that would be an issue (Stafford is known to be great at that) and still don't but maybe it was who knows.

Also same thing with the shotgun snap, the QB should feel comfortable there. Some QBs are going to complain more about variance in shotgun snaps. Like the above I don't think that was an issue but it could have been who knows. A Center snapping too low too often might find himself replaced if they think there's someone else close to him in ability who snaps better, especially if it's a shotgun offense or an offense with a lot of gun. Fans might not notice stuff like that since the ball isn't hitting the deck.

Also one note re: OL and keeping the DL from blocking passes... It's about punching them. If your hands are on them with intent to move them then generally they're not gonna be timing blocked passes. Most times you see that happen it's due to the DL giving up on the rush in that moment the OL settles back in pass sets. So that's why it's coached to engage them if necessary. A shorter OL will allow the DL to see a little better, but he'll also require the DL to get lower so I don't think height is all that much of an issue. It's probably more an issue for a QB to see well in his lanes, good or bad, than anything else. So from that perspective Anchrum's height at center is no issue at all.

Bottom line is I think Anchrum's gonna be a good starter. He has the ability to hold his spot, he moves well, and he's got long arms. So I am actually kind of pumped up about that this offseason. It's a big upgrade over last season, the top two depth spots are significantly improved over just having Boom.

Oh and re: Shelton maybe he's earned some backup looks at Center. The guy played pretty well the other night. Better than I expected that's for damn sure. Before that game I expected Evans to shine and Shelton to be a weak link. It was the other way around.

 

[oldnotdead]

I think if they give Evans another year he will be markedly improved. I think Anchrum has a shot at RT but they are going to give Alaric a good long look first. I saw a clip from my friend, not sure where he got it, but Alaric can be an absolute mauler. He destroyed a Raider DE in one drill. He's definitely got upsides and he's a big man.

If Anchrum can play inside it would be a very good thing. He's got good feet and a pretty good anchor. If Edwards continues to be inconsistent in his play, it would behoove them to look at moving Corbett back to LG and Anchrum to RG. I'm not worried about Allen, the only issue I have is Edwards who still plays too high at times for an OG.

I'm actually surprised they didn't try to convert Anchrum to center. His height wouldn't be an issue and his quick feet and long arms would give him an excellent play radius. In college, he was a good run blocker so I really wonder why he's been played strictly outside when they are taking tall OTs and moving them to OG.

It's why I expect them to use a mid or late-round pick in the next draft on a OG. Meredith might be an interesting signing. He's either going to be a center or RG. His problem is his limited play radius in pass protection. But his collegiate film shows he's a good run blocker from the small sample I've seen.

 

[Memento]

I am hoping to holy fate that Anchrum eventually takes the RG spot, leaving a guy like Corbett to play center (and either way, I'd try to lock up Corbett to an extension). I do not trust Allen. I'm sorry, but until he proves me wrong, it'll be hard to separate his early film from this year.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I am not giving up on Evans. He‘s played well before.

Rams need to find out how to get that back.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I am hoping to holy fate that Anchrum eventually takes the RG spot, leaving a guy like Corbett to play center (and either way, I'd try to lock up Corbett to an extension). I do not trust Allen. I'm sorry, but until he proves me wrong, it'll be hard to separate his early film from this year.

There must have been very good reasons for McVay/Carberry to suddenly drop the Corbett/Evans duo in place of Allen/Corbett, and I have to assume that Allen's play at Center trumped Evans' play at RG to make such a bold move only days before the pre-season games were to begin. A year and a half in time can be life altering for an untested young player like Wells in 2019, a guy with only 8+ games who was learning his position while playing between Noteboom, Blythe, Demby and a few games with what was then the rookie Edwards. There is no promise that Allen is the final answer at center just yet, but he made enough of an impact on McVay/Carberry to alter their previous stance. Allen came into camp physically much stronger, he must have a better understanding of the playbook and calls that will be expected of him as he's had all this additional time to learn, and he'll also be playing with a new QB who can take a lot of pressure off of him. Seems to me that Anchrum, Evans, Brewer & Meredith are all being groomed for various swing jobs, they haven't beaten out any starters yet, so their future roles appear to still be a work in progress. Anchrum may be leading this group of 4 for now, although tomorrows game with the Raiders can still change our perception for how things maybe playing out. Many eyes will be on our OL and RB's over these next few games, let's hope the cream starts to rise to the top. jmo.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I find it interesting that with almost 4 pages in a thread discussing 'The Trenches', so few posts have dealt with our DL. Like our OL, at least now, the starting DL appears set in stone with Donald, SJD & Robinson, although I don't believe we have reached any conclusions as to who becomes that first team rotational pass rushing 5T, in other words, who replaces Morgan Fox ? Perhaps it's easy to ignore any questions where Aaron Donald leads a unit, but the DL reserves aren't all that much more confirmed than the OL reserves. Rather than the media leading, they seem to be following the fans current obsessions on the OL & with our questionable RB situation since losing Akers, and this is mostly understandable, although there are still plenty of questions waiting to be answered with only 2 pre-season games waiting to be played along with two rounds of roster cuts in the next 11 days. The defense played pretty well while only giving up 13 points, but who really stood out and made it look like it was a cinch for them to garner a guaranteed roster spot among this group ? Eric Banks & Jonah Williams had a few nice plays, but how consistent were they ? I expected to hear more on Bobby & Earnest Brown, but mostly crickets. Anchrum & Meredith impressed on the OL, who matched those efforts for the DL ?

 

[Wisconsinram]

Thanks to those that replied as I didn't expect the topic to receive so much attention.

In reading through the posts, I want to offer a few additional thoughts and some clarification.

- I am not concerned about OT's, LG, or depth. My concern centered around the C and LG positions.
- Specifically, Evans has looked so bad that I am concerned we've moved Corbett over out of necessity and over-hyped Allen.
- I liked the Allen pick at the time, but to date he hasn't shown jack.
- I appreciate his drive/work ethic/extra strength and muscle, but if the Rams were that confident in all of that I don't believe they would have entertained Corbett at C a month ago.
- My larger point is that I wish we would have spent some draft capitol in the last draft (or the year prior....my UW guy Biadasz was there for the taking late!) to alleviate the interior issues.
- I don't buy for a second the notion that OL take so long to develop as an argument to draft Tutu in the second. In fact, I would argue that WR's need 3-4 years to truly develop just as much as OL's do. To that end, I strongly suspect Creed H. will have many more snaps this year than Tutu.....for a team favored to go the SB. And no, this isn't hindsight. My draft-day buddies would attest that I was pounding the table for Creed and was absolutely shocked when we drafted Tutu/WR.
- Finally, read through the 4 pages of posts and notice how so many are simply "hopeful" that we'll have a "good enough" line. We are the Rams. We have SB aspirations. We all want them to be great! Why did we draft a 4/5 WR in our short SB window when we have so much work to do (now and next year with pending FA's) to make our OL go from average to what should be our bar of "excellent?"

Respectfully,
Wisconsinram

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I find it interesting that with almost 4 pages in a thread discussing 'The Trenches', so few posts have dealt with our DL. Like our OL, at least now, the starting DL appears set in stone with Donald, SJD & Robinson, although I don't believe we have reached any conclusions as to who becomes that first team rotational pass rushing 5T, in other words, who replaces Morgan Fox ? Perhaps it's easy to ignore any questions where Aaron Donald leads a unit, but the DL reserves aren't all that much more confirmed than the OL reserves. Rather than the media leading, they seem to be following the fans current obsessions on the OL & with our questionable RB situation since losing Akers, and this is mostly understandable, although there are still plenty of questions waiting to be answered with only 2 pre-season games waiting to be played along with two rounds of roster cuts in the next 11 days. The defense played pretty well while only giving up 13 points, but who really stood out and made it look like it was a cinch for them to garner a guaranteed roster spot among this group ? Eric Banks & Jonah Williams had a few nice plays, but how consistent were they ? I expected to hear more on Bobby & Earnest Brown, but mostly crickets. Anchrum & Meredith impressed on the OL, who matched those efforts for the DL ?

Yeah with the D line at least we're down to discussing depth instead of starters and a possibly looming 2019 debacle part 2. In AD's recent interview, when asked about which defenders are impressing him, he specifically mentioned ARob, taking on double teams, etc. Hope he's ready to kill it for us this year.

 

[oldnotdead]

Leatherheads: I think because the DL is pretty set with Floyd, AD, Robinson and Hollins it's only a matter of rotation and exactly how Morris uses them. I think on early downs Morris might play guys like Hoecht, and Jonah Williams as potential run stoppers. Because teams were able to run on the Rams particularly on early downs with their soft middle, they will try to do so until they are stopped.

People and the media made too much noise over the lack or apparent weakness at ILB. But they did not apparently note that Staley often only played one ILB on the field on many plays. On many plays he simply rotated Reeder and Young as that only ILB. I would expect Morris to play a more conventional alignment with two ILB especially on run downs. But it's clear from his use of Rapp and Gervase in TC he would like to use a SS as a coverage ILB. It's not clear whether he intends to pull an ILB or OLB to sub the SS and if this is going to be his nickel.

Until we see more of Morris' scheme (pre-season doesn't really count as rarely do DC's reveal their season strategies in pre-season) it's hard to gauge what Morris is really going to do during the season.

Morris could easily play Lawler and Williams as his early down edges to try to stop the run while resting Floyd and AD for his pass rush package, probably of Floyd and Hollins on the edges with AD and Robinson inside. This defense is so versatile in how Morris can use his guys there are several different ways and combinations Morris can use.

The NFL defenses have gone to the use of situational packages that the whole idea of "starters" has become a misnomer. Who a DC opens on early downs aren't necessarily his core players. Morris IMO will try to get offense deeply behind the chains on early downs and then unleash his real dogs playing pass defense on 2nd and 3rd downs.

With a long season, situational packages will be more important to keep his players fresh and to extend AD's career. Going back to Morris' own comments, stats be damned it's all about results. I personally took that to mean if he has the players not to use Floyd and AD every down why do it? I think that was the importance of what we saw against the Chargers with his use of Lawler and J. Williams.

 

[Kupped]

I'm choosing to be hopeful about Allen, but not without reason. Reports from camp about his play are very positive and we can all see that he's put on some good weight. I think he'll be able to hold his own.
I do get the concern about depth at center, for sure. Not a Shelton fan.
At guard, I really do think Anchrum will be able to step in. He's just built for the position and has a year in the Rams system. At tackle, I think Evans for RT and Noteboom for LT are just fine options.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Is there an over/under projection on Aaron Donald & Leonard Floyd sacks yet ?