Rams Offensive Line is the Key to their 2020 Season!

[SeminoleRam]

I know I am just repeating what so many Rams Fans have been saying that the Rams will be as good as their Offensive Line! I think the Rams have done an amazing job filling in holes (Gurley, Cooks, Zuerlein, Littleton, etc) that were created during the off-season and IF the Rams Offensive Line can play as good as the Coaching Staff must feel like they can (Didn’t seem to be much of a sense of urgency since there was very little attention paid to adding Offensive Linemen through the Draft or Free Agency) I think the Rams will have an excellent season and prove a lot of people and so-called experts (Other than us Rams Fans!) wrong who have already counted the Rams out for the 2020 Season!!! I am very, VERY Excited about the upcoming Season and will be Very Disappointed with anything less than a SUPERBOWl WINNING SEASON (Of Course, That is how I feel about every Season!)!!!

 

[Merlin]

Without a doubt. I don't have high hopes or anything of that nature, but I am hopeful because why not be hopeful. And I do think Akers is going to help so who knows maybe we see a complete resurgence.

 

[Oldgeek]

I think this will be a transition year and paying the piper for neglecting the OL. I expect it will cost the Rams wins early in the season, but they will be strong to finish the season. I don't know if they will make the post season.

 

[BonifayRam]

I know I am just repeating what so many Rams Fans have been saying that the Rams will be as good as their Offensive Line! I think the Rams have done an amazing job filling in holes (Gurley, Cooks, Zuerlein, Littleton, etc) that were created during the off-season and IF the Rams Offensive Line can play as good as the Coaching Staff must feel like they can (Didn’t seem to be much of a sense of urgency since there was very little attention paid to adding Offensive Linemen through the Draft or Free Agency) I think the Rams will have an excellent season and prove a lot of people and so-called experts (Other than us Rams Fans!) wrong who have already counted the Rams out for the 2020 Season!!! I am very, VERY Excited about the upcoming Season and will be Very Disappointed with anything less than a SUPERBOWl WINNING SEASON (Of Course, That is how I feel about every Season!)!!!

Yes, Snead surprised us all with his very low priority on securing OL'ers in the 2020 draft other than interior OL'er Tremayne Anchrum & Cohl Cabral.

I would think that with so many his 2019 Rams OL starters going down to injuries & surgeries that followed n 2019 ( OT Joseph Noteboom (Knee), OC/RG Austin Blythe (lower leg/Shoulders), OC Brian Allen (Knee), RT Rob Havenstein (knee) & LT Andrew Whitworth (ankle) that gave so many young unknown NFL commodities the opportunities to showcase their potential promising futures in crash course mode. All of the above will return in 2020.

2019 First time starters:
Rookie David Edwards LG/RG played in all 16 gms starting the last 10 gms.
2nd season Austin Corbett LG played in 11 gms started the last 7 gms
Rookie Bobby Evans RT played in 9 gms starting the last 7 gms.
2nd season Coleman Shelton OC/OG played in the last 10 gms & had snaps with the offense.
Rookie Chandler Brewer swing OT/OG played in the last 7 gms & took snaps offense.

It also gave Kromer the opportunity to pay more attention to other Practice Squad Ol'ers like OG/OC Jeremiah Kolone & OC Nate Trewyn. Both whom were resigned for the 2020 season.

 

[snackdaddy]

I know plenty of pundits remember the problems the Rams line had last year when guys who never started were pressed into duty because of injuries. Some of them aren't convinced the lat season improvement was real. I get it. The old believe when you see it.

I think the Rams were right to stand pat with what they have. They have some guys with the potential to be more than just serviceable. And they should be much better prepared this time around. They had to go through some growing pains for sure. But drafting linemen early and often like some wanted just woulda put them right back to square one. Guys who have potential but no experience.

I expect an improved line this season now that these guys have that valuable experience. Whitworth is getting up there in age, maybe not what he was. But he's still better than over half the LT's in this league. Blythe was not so good at guard, but he's a much better center. Edwards and Evans both should be much improved. Noteboom has to reset but there was a reason he earned a starting spot. Corbett, Brewer and Shelton will provide depth with a little more experience now. Next time guys are pressed into duty because of injuries, they will be better prepared.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I think this will be a transition year and paying the piper for neglecting the OL. I expect it will cost the Rams wins early in the season, but they will be strong to finish the season. I don't know if they will make the post season.

OL seems like the one position you can't take a year off from, in terms of investment. It's almost always going to cost you down the road, and is very difficult to recover from as a team because OL has such wide ripple effect.

Anyway, when I just look at our guys in isolation, I like the potential we have, and it seems like good odds a strong young OL will emerge from this group. But when I take inventory of the monsters teams around the league are adding to their front sevens, I get concerned again....

 

[Malibu]

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.

 

[jrry32]

The Rams seem to believe in our guys. I hope they're right.

 

[jrry32]

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.

The starting OL of the 2018 Patriots:
LT: Trent Brown (acquired from SF for a 4th round pick)
LG: Joe Thuney (3rd round pick)
C: David Andrews (UDFA)
RG: Shaq Mason (4th round pick)
RT: Marcus Cannon (5th round pick)

The Patriots had a great OL because of coaching. Here's hoping Kromer can deliver the same with more continuity and experience in 2020.

 

[Loyal]

The starting OL of the 2018 Patriots:
LT: Trent Brown (acquired from SF for a 4th round pick)
LG: Joe Thuney (3rd round pick)
C: David Andrews (UDFA)
RG: Shaq Mason (4th round pick)
RT: Marcus Cannon (5th round pick)

The Patriots had a great OL because of coaching. Here's hoping Kromer can deliver the same with more continuity and experience in 2020.

I prefer the 'roid narrative...

 

[PhillyRam]

I think this will be a transition year and paying the piper for neglecting the OL. I expect it will cost the Rams wins early in the season, but they will be strong to finish the season. I don't know if they will make the post season.

"Neglecting the OL"?

They spent 7 draft picks over the last 3 drafts on the OL. That's counting trading a pick for Corbett.

It has not been neglected. They are in transition after moving on from Sullivan & Saffold and that process was complicated further with all the injuries last yr.

Let's see how these guys respond this year.

 

[MachS]

Some of them aren't convinced the lat season improvement was real. I get it. The old believe when you see it.

People like to highlight the improvement late in the season with the line, and while it was improved over what it was earlier in the year, things have to be taken with a grain of salt because of how absolutely horrible it was for the first half or so.

Our running game was still non existent late in the year, just no push at all in the running game. People are quick to blame Gurley for that but how did Henderson perform? Combine that with McVay calling roll-out, pocket moving passes on over 50% of passing plays, how much confidence do you really think he had in the line late last year? IMO the late year "improvement" was mostly a facade, the improvement came from McVay as a playcaller and tweaking his game-planning to work with what we had.

While I do think the younger players will benefit from the starting time last year, you have to be crazy to not question our OL talent heading into 2020. Seeing how both in 2017 and 2018 we had a top 5 line, the likelihood of getting back to that level is a long shot. Akers/Henderson will need to make a huge impact this year and Goff will need to take a monster step up. But the probability with this line is Goff faces more pressure in 2020 than in '17 or '18, so realistically how much improvement can we really expect?

 

[So Ram]

Yes, Snead surprised us all with his very low priority on securing OL'ers in the 2020 draft other than interior OL'er Tremayne Anchrum & Cohl Cabral.

I would think that with so many his 2019 Rams OL starters going down to injuries & surgeries that followed n 2019 ( OT Joseph Noteboom (Knee), OC/RG Austin Blythe (lower leg/Shoulders), OC Brian Allen (Knee), RT Rob Havenstein (knee) & LT Andrew Whitworth (ankle) that gave so many young unknown NFL commodities the opportunities to showcase their potential promising futures in crash course mode. All of the above will return in 2020.

2019 First time starters:
Rookie David Edwards LG/RG played in all 16 gms starting the last 10 gms.
2nd season Austin Corbett LG played in 11 gms started the last 7 gms
Rookie Bobby Evans RT played in 9 gms starting the last 7 gms.
2nd season Coleman Shelton OC/OG played in the last 10 gms & had snaps with the offense.
Rookie Chandler Brewer swing OT/OG played in the last 7 gms & took snaps offense.

It also gave Kromer the opportunity to pay more attention to other Practice Squad Ol'ers like OG/OC Jeremiah Kolone & OC Nate Trewyn. Both whom were resigned for the 2020 season.

I’ll question your take again.

First off Demby is still on The Rams & actually got a lot of startering and playing time. I question your take on the backups getting playing time other than special teams ?? Games ??

Second- how many snaps did Andrew Whitworth miss ?? If he was playing hurt then that is insignificant with this Offensive Line group,other than make things tougher from his quality of his HOF play.( & yes he is a middle of the road LT right now). His Mentoring & team leadership is something very special that Jared Goff helped bring
the group closer.

This group did not have me fooled 1 bit. It was pretty FREAKIN OBVIOUS ??
There are a few other reasons why The Rams did not click as well last season as well.

To think any of these 2020 additions are going to make any kind of difference is sort of LAUGHABLE. I’m one to drink the Kool-Aide, but this is not one of them.

What will be interesting is who really steps up from being away from OTA’s.
Aaron Donald has shown that being away from team activities can still keep a player from Individual growth year in & year out.

 

[oldnotdead]

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.

An inside run attack also makes play-action more effective. I have never liked the outside zone with a horizontal concept used by the Rams as their primary run blocking scheme. It is completely dependent upon mistakes by the LBs to be successful. An inside run game is execution oriented and if it gets blocked up well with good o-line execution it's very hard to stop. It's exactly what the Niners use and is exactly the scheme run by the Chargers under Marty Schottenheimer when Tomlinson was tearing up the league. It's old school but still very effective. More importantly, it makes play-action far more effective than the outside zone scheme, especially out of 11 personnel. It is also conducive to a quick short to the mid-range passing game and also to taking deep shots to the verticle receivers. In that type of offense, the TE becomes one of the primary receivers and the Rams are deep with 3 good TE receivers.

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.

On the defensive side of the ball, this is the best unit I've seen in years if ever on the Rams. Their secondary is far and away better than the Niners who IMO are the only real competition to the Rams in the division. The addition of Robinson can't be understated. He will fill that hole in the middle of the D-line better than Suh did. This will allow them to move Gaines to play in the rotation behind AD at 3T where I think he's better suited in the NFL and fills that role better than Smart ever did. I expect Brockers to be simply a 2 down player initially. As Lewis acclimates to the NFL he will begin initially as a situational pass rusher. But as the season progresses I see him getting more snaps. Floyd is an upgrade to Fowler because he's more versatile. With him playing on the same side as Samson, the offense can never be sure if it will be Floyd or Ebukam rushing. Fowler was a complete bust when asked to drop. In terms of Floyd as an edge rusher, he's every bit as good as Fowler. If he is playing next to AD that's going to be a whole lot of pressure coming from that side. What will make the d-line better this year is Robinson's ability to push that pocket and take the pressure off of AD and Lewis giving them another speed rusher from the opposite side of Floyd.

Unlike most, I think Kiser will eventually show himself to be an upgrade to Littleton as he is more versatile in how Staley can use him. I think this is Young's year to move into that other ILB spot. People forget he has starting experience. Wade's reluctance to play young players was his undoing and IMO why Young and Long didn't see the field much. He played Rapp because he had no choice and look at how that turned out. Both Kiser and Young bring speed to the ILB position and with that speed, Staley will have options on their use.

I feel this defense can carry the team initially until the offense blossoms into the machine we all expect. This is a championship caliber roster on both sides of the ball. They will surprise everyone in the same way 2018's team surprised everyone. Only this year's team is far better than in 2018 which is why I'm saying it's a Super Bowl winning caliber team. People say it will only go as far as the o-line allows, which really isn't true. This o-line doesn't have to be an elite unit. They simply have to be good enough to execute their role. The scheme and skill players are talented enough to do the rest. How good is that? Top ten or twelve ranking should do it, i.e. in the top 1/3 of the league and I think that is entirely possible.

 

[SeminoleRam]

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.

An inside run attack also makes play-action more effective. I have never liked the outside zone with a horizontal concept used by the Rams as their primary run blocking scheme. It is completely dependent upon mistakes by the LBs to be successful. An inside run game is execution oriented and if it gets blocked up well with good o-line execution it's very hard to stop. It's exactly what the Niners use and is exactly the scheme run by the Chargers under Marty Schottenheimer when Tomlinson was tearing up the league. It's old school but still very effective. More importantly, it makes play-action far more effective than the outside zone scheme, especially out of 11 personnel. It is also conducive to a quick short to the mid-range passing game and also to taking deep shots to the verticle receivers. In that type of offense, the TE becomes one of the primary receivers and the Rams are deep with 3 good TE receivers.

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.

On the defensive side of the ball, this is the best unit I've seen in years if ever on the Rams. Their secondary is far and away better than the Niners who IMO are the only real competition to the Rams in the division. The addition of Robinson can't be understated. He will fill that hole in the middle of the D-line better than Suh did. This will allow them to move Gaines to play in the rotation behind AD at 3T where I think he's better suited in the NFL and fills that role better than Smart ever did. I expect Brockers to be simply a 2 down player initially. As Lewis acclimates to the NFL he will begin initially as a situational pass rusher. But as the season progresses I see him getting more snaps. Floyd is an upgrade to Fowler because he's more versatile. With him playing on the same side as Samson, the offense can never be sure if it will be Floyd or Ebukam rushing. Fowler was a complete bust when asked to drop. In terms of Floyd as an edge rusher, he's every bit as good as Fowler. If he is playing next to AD that's going to be a whole lot of pressure coming from that side. What will make the d-line better this year is Robinson's ability to push that pocket and take the pressure off of AD and Lewis giving them another speed rusher from the opposite side of Floyd.

Unlike most, I think Kiser will eventually show himself to be an upgrade to Littleton as he is more versatile in how Staley can use him. I think this is Young's year to move into that other ILB spot. People forget he has starting experience. Wade's reluctance to play young players was his undoing and IMO why Young and Long didn't see the field much. He played Rapp because he had no choice and look at how that turned out. Both Kiser and Young bring speed to the ILB position and with that speed, Staley will have options on their use.

I feel this defense can carry the team initially until the offense blossoms into the machine we all expect. This is a championship caliber roster on both sides of the ball. They will surprise everyone in the same way 2018's team surprised everyone. Only this year's team is far better than in 2018 which is why I'm saying it's a Super Bowl winning caliber team. People say it will only go as far as the o-line allows, which really isn't true. This o-line doesn't have to be an elite unit. They simply have to be good enough to execute their role. The scheme and skill players are talented enough to do the rest. How good is that? Top ten or twelve ranking should do it, i.e. in the top 1/3 of the league and I think that is entirely possible.

I don’t know if Kiser will be an upgrade over Littleton (That would be great!) but I do think Kiser is a different type MLB than Littleton and he will prove to more than hold his own as a Starter for the Rams Defense this coming season! I do agree with you that I believe Kiser will do a Fine Job for the Rams!!!

 

[BonifayRam]

Early 2020 position outlook: Offensive line

Early 2020 position outlook: Offensive line

Continuing our early 2020 position outlook series, theRams.com examines an offensive line room with lots of options.

www.therams.com

After examining the Rams' offense, defensive and special teams following the 2020 NFL Draft, theRams.com will take a deeper look at each position group as we get closer to the upcoming season. The offensive line is up next.

Who's back

Brian Allen: A Week 10 knee injury prematurely ended his first season as a full-time starter. Including that game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, he had started at center in each of the Rams' first nine games.

Austin Blythe: Played a crucial role in stabilizing an offensive line that endured an atypical amount of injuries to its starters in 2019, beginning last season as the team's starting right guard, flipping to left guard, then moving over to center after Allen's season-ending injury. Scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, he rejoined the team by signing a one-year deal in late March.

Chandler Brewer: Signed to the active roster from the practice squad in mid-November, he appeared in each of the Rams' final seven games.

Austin Corbett: The No. 33 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft was acquired from the Cleveland Browns in mid-October in exchange for an undisclosed 2021 draft pick. When Blythe moved over to center, Corbett took his place at left guard and started there in each of the Rams' final seven games.

Jamil Demby: Played in five of Los Angeles' first six games, then was inactive for the rest of the season. He stepped in for Joe Noteboom when Noteboom suffered a season-ending torn ACL and MCL against the 49ers in Week 5.

David Edwards: Took over as the starting left guard for Noteboom in Weeks 7 and 8, then flipped to right guard after the bye week. He appeared in all 16 games as a rookie, making 10 starts.

Bobby Evans: Became the Ram's starting right tackle after veteran Rob Havenstein suffered a knee injury against the Steelers in Week 10. He appeared in nine games as a rookie, making seven starts.

Rob Havenstein: Started at right tackle in each of the Rams' first nine games, then was inactive after suffering a knee injury against the Steelers in Week 10.

Jeremiah Kolone: A undrafted free agent signee last year, he spent the 2019 season on the Rams' practice squad.

Coleman Shelton: Signed to the active roster on Sept. 1, he appeared in 11 games in his first season in Los Angeles. Shelton returned by signing a one-year deal tendered to him as an exclusive rights free agent.

Nate Trewyn: Signed to the practice squad on Nov. 13, then was one of nine players the Rams signed to reserve/future contracts in early January.
Andrew Whitworth: Started every game at left tackle in 2019. Although his three-year contract signed in 2017 expired, he rejoined the Rams by signing another in April.

Who's gone

Nobody.

Who's new

Tremayne Anchrum: Seventh-round pick from Clemson who was a 15-game starter as an offensive tackle in each of the last two seasons, but projects inside as a guard with the Rams. He was also a first-team All-ACC selection as a senior and second-team All-ACC selection as a junior.

Cohl Cabral: Undrafted free agent signee from Arizona State who started 38 straight games from his sophomore season onward. The two-time team captain earned consecutive second-team All-Pac-12 honors across his junior and senior seasons.

Key question(s)

There's really just one: What will the starting group look like? The Weeks 11-17 combination of Whitworth-Corbett-Blythe-Edwards-Evans helped stabilize things and contributed to allowing a league-low 22 sacks last year after some early-season struggles. Whitworth is a safe pick to remain the Rams' starting left tackle, and perhaps Blythe at center, but the other three spots are likely to generate some discussion, especially after injuries gave the coaching staff a chance to evaluate several young players.

 

[Merlin]

People like to highlight the improvement late in the season with the line, and while it was improved over what it was earlier in the year, things have to be taken with a grain of salt because of how absolutely horrible it was for the first half or so.

And that late season improvement in pass pro was influenced by a lot of schematic adjustments to get Goff out of the pocket. They ran an inordinate number of boots and quick hitters because they knew their OL couldn't hold.

You can get by with a marginal pass pro line if you have a great run game. But our projected starters are suspect in the run. Whit had his first down year in the run in a long time in 2019. Difference 2018 to 2019 was very noticeable in run blocking. Corbett is a solid pass pro guy but he needs to get more physical in the run game. Blythe gets manhandled and a lot of his wins involve him controlling the ass beating he receives while he directs the guy out of the play. This scheme cannot protect him with combo blocks vs every look and defenses know that.

And if Hav can't go our RT will be Evans who will make it 4/5 of our OL that had questionable performance in the run game last season. So I'm trying to be hopeful here but meh.

We need Hav to be the 2018 Hav. That's a key for us this year IMO. And hopefully Whit rebounds but once again his age brings risk of that not being likely and the risk overall on our OL is greater than most deep playoff hopefuls.

 

[Malibu]

The starting OL of the 2018 Patriots:
LT: Trent Brown (acquired from SF for a 4th round pick)
LG: Joe Thuney (3rd round pick)
C: David Andrews (UDFA)
RG: Shaq Mason (4th round pick)
RT: Marcus Cannon (5th round pick)

The Patriots had a great OL because of coaching. Here's hoping Kromer can deliver the same with more continuity and experience in 2020.

Ok I get your pov to an extent, but Komer had a top 2 OL for 2 years why all of a sudden he sucks I don't buy it. It is the players we chose combined with some coaching.

 

[Malibu]

"Neglecting the OL"?

They spent 7 draft picks over the last 3 drafts on the OL. That's counting trading a pick for Corbett.

It has not been neglected. They are in transition after moving on from Sullivan & Saffold and that process was complicated further with all the injuries last yr.

Let's see how these guys respond this year.

Outside of Corbett most are draft picks. Drafted players are a crap shoot FAs are less of one.

 

[oldnotdead]

And that late season improvement in pass pro was influenced by a lot of schematic adjustments to get Goff out of the pocket. They ran an inordinate number of boots and quick hitters because they knew their OL couldn't hold.

You can get by with a marginal pass pro line if you have a great run game. But our projected starters are suspect in the run. Whit had his first down year in the run in a long time in 2019. Difference 2018 to 2019 was very noticeable in run blocking. Corbett is a solid pass pro guy but he needs to get more physical in the run game. Blythe gets manhandled and a lot of his wins involve him controlling the ass beating he receives while he directs the guy out of the play. This scheme cannot protect him with combo blocks vs every look and defenses know that.

And if Hav can't go our RT will be Evans who will make it 4/5 of our OL that had questionable performance in the run game last season. So I'm trying to be hopeful here but meh.

We need Hav to be the 2018 Hav. That's a key for us this year IMO. And hopefully Whit rebounds but once again his age brings risk of that not being likely and the risk overall on our OL is greater than most deep playoff hopefuls.

IDK Merlin, when I look at the o-line play, especially early when it was clear their normal outside zone was being taken away, I saw a unit trying to implement a blocking scheme that they simply didn't seem to know or understand. It was clear to me watching them that they had never practiced it or rarely practiced anything other than outside zone blocking. Their execution was inconsistent and generally poor. That to me bespeaks of a lack of familiarity with the scheme change, something I found disturbing at this level.

If O'Connell moves to a gap blocking and inside zone scheme like I think he will, they will have time now to coach up their o-line. Since most if not all of the linemen probably were coached in some form of gap scheme in college it's a matter of polishing their execution with coaching and practice. The truncated offseason is the only part that concerns me. But I can see them coming together fairly quickly. Personally I was not thrilled with bringing Whit back but I can see their logic. I've always felt better a year early than a year late. His dropoff last year was significant.

As you know the blocking technique inside, outside zone, and gap blocking variants are basically the same. It's simply in the execution especially in understanding who you block as defenses rarely align as on their coaching whiteboards. That requires that the o-line understands the concept of what is to be accomplished in each scheme. That is what seemed to be missing last year and why I've been critical of Kromer and Dickerson. Prior to last year they had seasoned vets who knew what had to be done and IMO the o-line coaches got lazy or complacent. Coaching young inexperienced players is totally different. But these young guys are no longer totally inexperienced.

Part of execution is the player not having to take that split second to think his way through the play. Now they should know presnap what they need to do, allowing them to play faster and better execute their blocking assignments. If they continue to struggle Kromer has to go otherwise being jumped for the OC should light a fire under his ass. That's another reason I think the o-line will play better.

Another part of the problem was the RBs who didn't seem to know where to look for or expect the holes and gaps to be. That made them hesitant and slow to react leaving yards on the field. Again it comes back to poor prep by the coaches. IMO last year's struggles exposed issues with the coaching staff, i.e. a general complacency. Last year was not a failure as they did finish with a winning record and should have made the playoffs except for a couple of missed FGs. But a nice slap in the face to awaken them to the realities of how difficult it is to be a champion is a good thing.

One final thought, I think Rob Havenstein is going to be on a short leash. If he continues to decline we are going to see, Edwards or Evans or who knows maybe Anchrum. Tremayne lacks the height but he has the weight and arm length and most of all the foot quickness to play outside. But I think he's destined to be an OG/C long term. Especially at center his height won't be a liability, and his foot quickness and mobility with his long arms will serve him well in both pass protection and the run game.

It will be interesting to see who plays where on the o-line.