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

[Merlin]

But look what the Chiefs did, drafted the top center Humphries while we passed on him. Signed big time Pro Bowl level players in Thuney and Brown and let WR Hill walk. That shows you they understand the priority of the Oline.

Yep. They lost a dangerous weapon in Hill and their offense looks ready for the playoffs.

This league will teach you lessons no matter how smart or good you are. That applies to even McVay.

 

[Rams43]

Interesting thread, to say the least.

Just a few opinions I have to share.

Boom is playing hurt. A knee injured earlier. So I’m gonna cut him some slack as he heals. He likely would have been rested and Jackson subbed in except for all the injuries inside which forced Jackson to become our RG starter.

Look, hindsight is always 20-20. But knowing what rams knew in offseason I have no quarrel with their OL decisions. Who could reasonably foresee this tsunami of interior OL injuries within 4-5 weeks of the season?

I loved the triage reference earlier, it’s the perfect term for our current situation. Our FO is like a hospital team dealing with the aftermath of a big earthquake or hurricane.

Myself, I applaud the signings of Aboushi and Skura. Had to give them some time to assimilate the playbook while trotting out Kolone and Evans, but now it looks like they will start vs Panthers. A perfect team to start the gelling process. Kudos to Rams for staying calm while making 2 solid moves.

Anchrum and Bruss are gone for the season but both could be solid contributors in the future. Meanwhile, Allen’s return is just around the corner and Shelton will be available in the not too distant future.

The loss of Edwards is a small one. He was underperforming this year, probably because Whit was no longer next to him. Edwards was always gonna be a goner by next offseason. Either Aboushi or Shelton seem to be upgrades at that LG spot, frankly.

I predict that this ‘triaged’ OL will be significantly better than what we were seeing lately right from the jump. I further predict that as they start gelling together that this OL might ascend to top third status by playoff time.

Finally, I want to remind all that every team, every year, at every position always qualifies their projections with the proviso that it’s ‘barring injuries’. Well, Rams crapped out on that ‘barring injuries’ thing. Hell, we’re starting a 3rd string OC between a pair of 4th string OG’s, for crying out loud. Can’t decide whether to laugh or cry about that.

BTW, all this talk about OL woes doesn’t absolve others that have failed to do their respective damned jobs.

Coaches
QB
RB
WR (Allen Robinson)
TE (Hopkins with his suspension)
Edge
Long snapper

 

[BonifayRam]

I was positive early on this Ram OL before TC got on the way. Most of us recognize Brian Allen was damaged goods going into this season. If I recall things correctly we thought McVay had the OC post covered well enough with the set newly contracted duo of Allen/Shelton. Not so fast!

The McVay collected signed OG's going into TC were not as advertised. It's clear that Snead/McVay/Carberry miscalculated on the overall strength of their Internal OL prospects. But in some defense of these 3 how could anybody expect that this 2022 Rams OL would lose FIVE IOL'ers at the end of wk#5.

I still am highly upset on McVay/Carberry's blindness of Bobby Evans evaluation. Showing some not-so-smart decision by McVay & that he might have been believing all his great positive press the last half-decade.

Going forward I would hope that the center post is a duo operation between Shelton/Allen until the end of the 2023 season. Meaning next season he will have to fill two OG starting posts. Currently, McVay has only two OG's under contract for the 2023 season, Anchrum who has missed both 2021/2022 with injuries & Bruss whose knee was reconstructed early in preseason injury.

Not sure how anyone can be content with those 2 injured OG's being the lead candidate as our starting OG's for next season. But I am sure of one thing McVay will be fighting hard to give OL'er Bobby Evans a new long-term contract in March.

 

[Kupped]

I am fine with what they have done in the 7th round for the most part but I am not fine with what they have done in the first 5 rounds

They need to make sure they draft at least one OL in the top 5 rounds especially when they lose starters that year.

And I keep reiterating if they had gone just one OL on the 3 draft picks I have pointed out, then we would be in much better shape especially at center if they had done just one of the following top 2.

Biadesz over Hopkins
Humphrey over Tutu
Any OL over Earnest Brown

That's EXACTLY what they did. They drafted Bruss in the 3rd round.
Noteboom is a 3rd rounder.

You're bemoaning bad draft picks more than strategy, imo.

Anchrum looked good in preseason to me. Seems he figured it out. We have no idea because he got hurt.
Bruss was a 3rd round pick. Looked like it was taking him a minute... but no reason to expect he couldn't have contributed this year.
They got good value for Anchrum and Jackson.

Now.. if we don't think Noteboom is cutting it? That's a different criticism, imo. I thought he would be fine as a pass blocker, but thought there would be a step back in the run game. I did *not* think the line would be as good as last year.. but I certainly didn't think it would be an absolute disaster... and I don't know what it would've looked like healthy. One game isn't a real sample.

The big question that I just don't have the answer to is how long they would've gone with Edwards with the way he's been performing.. if everyone was healthy.

 

[Kupped]

Interesting thread, to say the least.

Just a few opinions I have to share.

Boom is playing hurt. A knee injured earlier. So I’m gonna cut him some slack as he heals. He likely would have been rested and Jackson subbed in except for all the injuries inside which forced Jackson to become our RG starter.

Look, hindsight is always 20-20. But knowing what rams knew in offseason I have no quarrel with their OL decisions. Who could reasonably foresee this tsunami of interior OL injuries within 4-5 weeks of the season?

I loved the triage reference earlier, it’s the perfect term for our current situation. Our FO is like a hospital team dealing with the aftermath of a big earthquake or hurricane.

Myself, I applaud the signings of Aboushi and Skura. Had to give them some time to assimilate the playbook while trotting out Kolone and Evans, but now it looks like they will start vs Panthers. A perfect team to start the gelling process. Kudos to Rams for staying calm while making 2 solid moves.

Anchrum and Bruss are gone for the season but both could be solid contributors in the future. Meanwhile, Allen’s return is just around the corner and Shelton will be available in the not too distant future.

The loss of Edwards is a small one. He was underperforming this year, probably because Whit was no longer next to him. Edwards was always gonna be a goner by next offseason. Either Aboushi or Shelton seem to be upgrades at that LG spot, frankly.

I predict that this ‘triaged’ OL will be significantly better than what we were seeing lately right from the jump. I further predict that as they start gelling together that this OL might ascend to top third status by playoff time.

Finally, I want to remind all that every team, every year, at every position always qualifies their projections with the proviso that it’s ‘barring injuries’. Well, Rams crapped out on that ‘barring injuries’ thing. Hell, we’re starting a 3rd string OC between a pair of 4th string OG’s, for crying out loud. Can’t decide whether to laugh or cry about that.

BTW, all this talk about OL woes doesn’t absolve others that have failed to do their respective damned jobs.

Coaches
QB
RB
WR (Allen Robinson)
TE (Hopkins with his suspension)
Edge
Long snapper

Great, thoughtful post.

I hope they react the way they did after the November debacle last year.. and come out tougher and more focused.
Skura has been average the last two years.. but that'll be an upgrade over Kolone.. and I'm ready to see Oday, for sure. Let's hope they can be significantly better this week.. and that playing a significantly worse defense makes the week a little easier.

And.. yeah.. everyone needs to do their jobs!

 

[Kupped]

I was positive early on this Ram OL before TC got on the way. Most of us recognize Brian Allen was damaged goods going into this season. If I recall things correctly we thought McVay had the OC post covered well enough with the set newly contracted duo of Allen/Shelton. Not so fast!

The McVay collected signed OG's going into TC were not as advertised. It's clear that Snead/McVay/Carberry miscalculated on the overall strength of their Internal OL prospects. But in some defense of these 3 how could anybody expect that this 2022 Rams OL would lose FIVE IOL'ers at the end of wk#5.

I still am highly upset on McVay/Carberry's blindness of Bobby Evans evaluation. Showing some not-so-smart decision by McVay & that he might have been believing all his great positive press the last half-decade.

Going forward I would hope that the center post is a duo operation between Shelton/Allen until the end of the 2023 season. Meaning next season he will have to fill two OG starting posts. Currently, McVay has only two OG's under contract for the 2023 season, Anchrum who has missed both 2021/2022 with injuries & Bruss whose knee was reconstructed early in preseason injury.

Not sure how anyone can be content with those 2 injured OG's being the lead candidate as our starting OG's for next season. But I am sure of one thing McVay will be fighting hard to give OL'er Bobby Evans a new long-term contract in March.

Evans was lineman #9.

He's playing what is most likely his worst position.

The Rams have 3 guards under contract for next year.. Jackson is under contract.. plus they have the two you mentioned. Shelton is a guard as well. Because Allen may be out a few games doesn't mean Shelton doesn't count.
They have another draft and offseason ahead.

I'm pretty content with a battle between Anchrum, Bruss, Jackson and Shelton for the two starting guard spots. And I'm hoping they bring in a decent prospect or two.

We'll see.

 

[Kupped]

Yeah, no one could have predicted the injury bug hitting the position group the way it has. But, the OL was a weakness, suffering from lack of investment, and a lot of us saw that as a red flag.

I think people who don't like the Rams approach saw a "red flag" and are using the current situation to say, "I told you so."
The Rams won the Super Bowl with a unit that had three of those guys starting.. one that started several games for them.. and a 3rd round pick and competition to replace a guy they picked up for a 3rd rounder.

We have no idea what this line would've looked like going into week six if it was healthy.

 

[Merlin]

I still am highly upset on McVay/Carberry's blindness of Bobby Evans evaluation. Showing some not-so-smart decision by McVay & that he might have been believing all his great positive press the last half-decade.

Agreed and once again I'll add a disclaimer here that discussing Evans is splitting hairs on a guy who most seasons would not be required on the field. But the purpose of that depth spot and the reason they go to 9 or 10 deep is because it is so hard to find one midseason and get him coached up in your system.

So the takeaway for myself on this season is a guy like Evans is fine earlier in his career when you still think maybe he can turn it around. But in general those last couple spots on the depth chart should be cheap pipeline futures types who at least have the work ethic and intensity and things you want. Had that been the case we would at least be able to watch the shit product with an eye to it maybe improving going forward. Instead of relying on a guy who has shit the bed in most of the outings the team has needed to rely on him.

All that aside I am hoping that Evans turns it around and plays well for us of course. I would love to be wrong as is always the case with players like this too. Seeing Evans and Henderson and Lewis and Tutu and anyone else that I don't believe in play well is something I would love to see.

 

[Kupped]

Kinda what I was saying re Whitworth, et al. They don’t have to be studs or even starters. They have to be reliable. Blythe was not a long term answer as a starter but was as good as it gets for an interior swing man.

As for Noteboom, the Rams absolutely did the right thing. Whether he works out or not, he was groomed for this moment. That has been known since the day he was drafted.

Going 3 deep into your depth is a frightening proposition to be sure, but the Rams have fared better at WR, TE, CB, and Safety when that scenario occurred. As for the OL, I’m not sure if this will turn around fast enough with the current personnel.
… but I was a big Anchrum fan and maybe this whole things plays out differently if he doesn’t get hurt and both he and Jackson get on the field together. Hmm

I agree with pretty much all of this and I do wonder how good the starting guards could be next year... might actually be a unit of strength, we'll see.

I've seen the point about the Rams being able to draft depth at other positions better than the line and I think that angle has flaws. The nature of the Oline makes it impossible to hide in the way you can hide a defensive back. Pre and post snap movement can allow a defense to influence where a QB goes. You can't just say.. we're going after that guy.. at least not all the time.
And the Rams had reasonable depth.. 3 decent backup options, imo, in Anchrum, Jackson and Bruss.

 

[Kupped]

I think Noteboom is playing better than many suggest on here, btw.
He was awful against Von, but has been much better since.

We do need to take into account competition.. and the Rams have faced 3 beastly defenses in the first 5 weeks.

 

[BonifayRam]

Rams' running game is failing despite defenses opting not to load the box​

Cameron DaSilva /October 12, 2022

Rams' running game is failing despite defenses opting not to load the box

Defenses aren’t loading the box against the Rams, yet their running game is still one of the worst in football

theramswire.usatoday.com

There may not be a team in the NFL with a worse rushing attack than the Rams this season. They have the fewest rushing yards in the league (312) through five games and are averaging just 3.2 yards per carry, which ranks 31st.

Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr. have both been massive disappointments in 2022 after there were high expectations for the tandem entering the year. Akers has just 151 yards on 51 attempts thus far, and Henderson has gained only 138 yards on 34 carries – including zero yards or carries in Week 5.

Sure, some blame deserves to be placed on the offensive line, but that’s not the biggest problem with the Rams’ ground game. The running backs are doing very little to create yards on their own, even when the play is blocked well.

“Yeah, there’s so many different things,” Sean McVay said this week about the running game. “It starts with being able to…everybody do their job and then be able to create a little bit. We got to be able to sometimes get more than what the plays blocked for. Then we can’t have free runners, we can’t have guys into the backfield with penetration

If you need evidence of how the running backs aren’t playing very well, just look at the advanced stats. According to Next Gen Stats, Henderson has yet to face a single loaded box this season. A loaded box is when there are at least eight defenders in the box, a sign of a defense trying to stop the run. Akers has faced a loaded box just 5.88% of the time, fourth-lowest in the NFL.

In other words, defenses aren’t going out of their way to stop the Rams’ ground game. They’re using light boxes and still shutting down Akers and Henderson.

Akers and Henderson both rank near the bottom of the league in rushing yards over expected per attempt. Akers is second-to-last at -0.98 RYOE, while Henderson is seventh-worst (-0.45) in that area. Essentially, they’re not even picking up the expected yards that a play is blocked for, which goes back to what McVay said.

Part of the problem is Akers and Henderson aren’t forcing missed tackles. Akers ranks 36th among all running backs with just seven missed tackles forced, per PFF. There are eight running backs ahead of him who have forced more missed tackles on fewer attempts.

Henderson has only forced two missed tackles on his 78 rush attempts, a terrible rate for a running back. For comparison, Texans rookie Dameon Pierce forced 17 missed tackles in Week 5 alone – eight more than Akers and Henderson combined this year.

In terms of yards after contact per attempt, Akers is 71st in the NFL (2.57) and Henderson is 82nd (2.29). They’re simply not breaking tackles and making plays as runners.

It’s hard to say what will fix this problem, but it’s clearly a concern and the Rams are hurting themselves by running the ball right now.

How do the Rams fix their offensive struggles: Sean McVay has to trust the running game​

It’s already Week 5, what’s wrong and what can be done to set things right

How do the Rams fix their offensive struggles: Sean McVay has to trust the running game

It’s already Week 5, what’s wrong and what can be done to set things right

www.turfshowtimes.com

 

[Merlin]

I think Noteboom is playing better than many suggest on here, btw.
He was awful against Von, but has been much better since.

We do need to take into account competition.. and the Rams have faced 3 beastly defenses in the first 5 weeks.

I agree. To me Boom is in that range where he is at risk of the team deciding he is not good enough. But as you say the matchups have been tough for him so I tend to see it similarly. Right now I'm rooting for him to finish his development and get the job done at LT because that is best for the Rams.

The 9ers game post-bye looms as his big litmus test IMO. Bosa worked him over pretty good in that first outing. So if he is still the starter come the 9ers game and gets destroyed again I think he will lose his job to Jackson.

But I see no reason to do that now. I mean it's possible the Rams move Jackson to either LT or LG, and we are not privy to all the reasons why and those could be a lot of things. Like ensuring you can run to both sides of your OL for example. But I expect they'll let Boom handle Bosa again and hope he can get it done.

 

[Kupped]

I agree. To me Boom is in that range where he is at risk of the team deciding he is not good enough. But as you say the matchups have been tough for him so I tend to see it similarly. Right now I'm rooting for him to finish his development and get the job done at LT because that is best for the Rams.

The 9ers game post-bye looms as his big litmus test IMO. Bosa worked him over pretty good in that first outing. So if he is still the starter come the 9ers game and gets destroyed again I think he will lose his job to Jackson.

But I see no reason to do that now. I mean it's possible the Rams move Jackson to either LT or LG, and we are not privy to all the reasons why and those could be a lot of things. Like ensuring you can run to both sides of your OL for example. But I expect they'll let Boom handle Bosa again and hope he can get it done.

Bosa is dealing with a little groin injury right now.. I hope it slows him down a little next time the teams get together.

Fingers crossed... I just can't stand the thought of dropping another one to the niners, goddamnit.

 

[Tano]

That's EXACTLY what they did. They drafted Bruss in the 3rd round.
Noteboom is a 3rd rounder.

You're bemoaning bad draft picks more than strategy, imo.

Anchrum looked good in preseason to me. Seems he figured it out. We have no idea because he got hurt.
Bruss was a 3rd round pick. Looked like it was taking him a minute... but no reason to expect he couldn't have contributed this year.
They got good value for Anchrum and Jackson.

Now.. if we don't think Noteboom is cutting it? That's a different criticism, imo. I thought he would be fine as a pass blocker, but thought there would be a step back in the run game. I did *not* think the line would be as good as last year.. but I certainly didn't think it would be an absolute disaster... and I don't know what it would've looked like healthy. One game isn't a real sample.

The big question that I just don't have the answer to is how long they would've gone with Edwards with the way he's been performing.. if everyone was healthy.

Wow - 2 OL in the top 4 rounds in the last 5 years

Sorry that is NOT cutting it.

Noteboom was in 2018 and Bruss in 2022 and that's it. Nothing else.

I would have done at minimum 1 more would have preferred at least 2 and both 2020 and 2021 appeared to have good candidates for the center position and some guard positions.

But taking Hopkins over Biadesz and Tutu over Humphries were out and out mistakes in my book. They need to stop taking chances on limited personnel on positions that they are already deep on that might help them and actually take a big fatty OL instead.

 

[Tano]

So the takeaway for myself on this season is a guy like Evans is fine earlier in his career when you still think maybe he can turn it around. But in general those last couple spots on the depth chart should be cheap pipeline futures types who at least have the work ethic and intensity and things you want. Had that been the case we would at least be able to watch the shit product with an eye to it maybe improving going forward. Instead of relying on a guy who has shit the bed in most of the outings the team has needed to rely on him.

Exactly

 

[Allen2McVay]

I don't know guys. I think there's almost over-analysis here.

The Rams are not playing well; and there are a number of issues, including the following:
... lack of a pass rush
... soft coverage (I believe injuries to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th CB have had an impact there)
... poor special teams play
... Robinson not being more involved and/or having lost skills and/or Stafford relying too much on Kupp
... questionable play-calling on offense (need to recognize the limitations and make adjustments)
... how about one read and get the ball out, half rolls, two-TEs or six OL ... something!

However, injuries to the interior O-Line are at the top of any list.

The Rams top-5 interior OL are all out. That's the three starters, and top-two-reserves. The interior-OL has the 9th-OL (last OL on the 53-man-roster), the #3 OT and a player that is not even on the 53 if everyone is healthy. If the Rams did not have this quantity of injuries, Evans and Kolone are probably not even in uniform on game-day, and Jackson is game-day-active to serve as the 3rd-OT.

Even if Aboushi and Skura start on Sunday, they are street free agents that have only joined the team in recent weeks; and should any OL go down (and someone has in every game thus far), the top reserves are Kolone and Evans. This has a major impact on the running game, play-action-game and pass-protection up the middle.

Injuries ARE part of the game but NOT that many injuries at one or two positions. Every season, one or two teams get destroyed that way. Last year, the Ravens lost all their RBs and almost all their CBs in few weeks. Imagine a team having eight starters ... at eight different positions ... all go down at one time. That would suck, and really test that team's depth but it would have its top-reserve at every position starting.

When the injuries are focused on one or two positions, it's NOT the top-reserve who has to step-up ... it's the back-up, to the back-up, to the back-up! Teams don't even carry that many interior O-Linemen.

I can't tell if the Rams' strategy at interior O-Line was a good one or not because the the three projected starters and the top two projected reserves have barely played.

 

[Tano]

Evans and Kolone are probably not even in uniform on game-day, and Jackson is game-day-active to serve as the 3rd-OT.

I want these two at best to be on the practice squad.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Wow - 2 OL in the top 4 rounds in the last 5 years

Sorry that is NOT cutting it.

I don't think that's accurate. I believe Evans was a third round pick, and Allen was a fourth.

In fact, from a percentage point-of-view, the Rams may have drafted more OL in the top four rounds over the past five drafts, than any other position.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I was positive early on this Ram OL before TC got on the way. Most of us recognize Brian Allen was damaged goods going into this season. If I recall things correctly we thought McVay had the OC post covered well enough with the set newly contracted duo of Allen/Shelton. Not so fast!

The McVay collected signed OG's going into TC were not as advertised. It's clear that Snead/McVay/Carberry miscalculated on the overall strength of their Internal OL prospects. But in some defense of these 3 how could anybody expect that this 2022 Rams OL would lose FIVE IOL'ers at the end of wk#5.

I still am highly upset on McVay/Carberry's blindness of Bobby Evans evaluation. Showing some not-so-smart decision by McVay & that he might have been believing all his great positive press the last half-decade.

Going forward I would hope that the center post is a duo operation between Shelton/Allen until the end of the 2023 season. Meaning next season he will have to fill two OG starting posts. Currently, McVay has only two OG's under contract for the 2023 season, Anchrum who has missed both 2021/2022 with injuries & Bruss whose knee was reconstructed early in preseason injury.

Not sure how anyone can be content with those 2 injured OG's being the lead candidate as our starting OG's for next season. But I am sure of one thing McVay will be fighting hard to give OL'er Bobby Evans a new long-term contract in March.

Shelton Impressing Coaces In Camp

That's an entirely different point. My point is that the praise of Shelton is not a bad thing on any level, and certainly does not mean that Bruss won't live up to expectations. Bruss not winning the job isn't a good thing. There's an investment and an expectation. There is the raw talent...

ramsondemand.com

Well, I have never really liked the idea of Shelton at RG and have posted more than a few times that I believe his best position may be at LG. If Shelton comes back 100% I wouldn't be all that surprised if he doesn't take over at LG, although that requires that Brian Allen is good to go at Center and that C.S. can come in and beat out whoever may now be starting at LG, whether that be Jackson, Skura or Aboushi, ... although among this group Shelton should be the lead candidate to win it imo. While Shelton has served us well as back-up Center until the time of his recent injury, he & Skura will likely remain our chief back-up Centers for 2022, but there's no getting around that Allen & Noteboom recently signed 3 year contract extensions, so expect both players, like it or not, to hold their starting positions for at least the next couple of years, barring further injuries. For 2023 Anchrum & Shelton will likely have to fight off a draft pick as competition heats up for these starting OG positions, ... I suspect the Rams will use a fairly high draft pick to pull in another C/OG. Of course, the delayed development of Logan Bruss as our expected starting RG will be under a microscope as all this plays out.
With both Skura & Aboushi entering free agency after this season, and since they are yet to take a single snap, it's difficult to say whether they will receive futures contracts for next year, although they could both be practice squad aspirants should they show well. Chandler Brewer is another O.Lman entering free agency, one more piece of the depth chart pie which may or may not be rewarded with a futures contract.
Like this year, the Rams will be very CAP heavy at the top of the roster again for 2023, so it's tough to imagine any expensive free agents joining our roster, but Snead and his scouts will be looking for anyone who can help us at bargain basement rates. We are also quite limited with our draft picks for next year, and we have many needs including the OL, DL, OLB, RB, DB and potentially another Kicker if we can't get Matt Gay re-signed.
jmo.

 

[Kupped]

Wow - 2 OL in the top 4 rounds in the last 5 years

Sorry that is NOT cutting it.

Noteboom was in 2018 and Bruss in 2022 and that's it. Nothing else.

I would have done at minimum 1 more would have preferred at least 2 and both 2020 and 2021 appeared to have good candidates for the center position and some guard positions.

But taking Hopkins over Biadesz and Tutu over Humphries were out and out mistakes in my book. They need to stop taking chances on limited personnel on positions that they are already deep on that might help them and actually take a big fatty OL instead.

And.. again.. you're asking for perfection in drafting...
No Hopkins? Great. What happens in the Super Bowl to the plays he made?

We all think Tutu was the wrong pick.. but, I'm on record that the idea they needed speed in the WR group wasn't wrong.

Every team takes chances.

And.. again.. we're talking about a rash of injuries.

You're arguing your philosophy, overall, is better than what the Rams have done.. and it's a philosophy that lead to a Super Bowl win.