[snackdaddy]

Our line has not been the problem this year. At 11-4 we don't have as many problems as most teams do. For the "Clean house and draft o-linemen early and often" crowd, our line seems to be rated fairly high by PFF and other sites. Maybe the guys in charge know a little more than we do? Nah, that couldn't be it.

[actionjack]

Our starting o-line and depth is probably the best the Rams have ever had in their history.
IMO they could easily start two offensive lines.

The tackles alone = Whit, Havenstein, Noteboom, Evans, Jackson- ridiculous talent

[snackdaddy]

As far as handling elite defenses, are there many lines out there that can? Execution is great. But calling the right plays and having the right signal caller can handle those elite defenses. Not to mention how much better our defense is playing lately.

[Elvis]

[VegasRam]

As much as I hate the "We shoulda' taken..." whine, as it's basically a waste of time, and the hindsight game, I kinda' agree with our kvetcher from the north.

In Humphrey's case, (regardless of how Tutu shakes out), he was a consensus no brainer, and it wasn't like we were (are) bereft at WR.

However...let us be a bit more positive, eh Canuck?

Given all the chaos LA went through the last few weeks, (which I won't recount here), I was pretty goddamn pleased at how the Oline played yesterday, crowd noise withstanding. We ran well, Stafford had opportunities to throw well, (although he didn't), and we shuffled guys around enough to contend for the "makeshift line of the year" award.

So please don't start with the "if we had taken..." every time somebody goes down.

Instead, maybe we sit back and enjoy the ride!

[PARAM]

In Humphrey's case, (regardless of how Tutu shakes out), he was a consensus no brainer, and it wasn't like we were (are) bereft at WR.

I always cringe when I hear the statement, "he was a consensus no-brainer" or "he's can't miss" or "sure fire pro bowl whatever".

He was the THIRD center off the board. So there were two teams who admitted they needed a center and didn't take Humphrey. Philadelphia and Green Bay.

Here's a list of his "weaknesses" in his pre-draft bio (admittedly, just one of many)

Weaknesses
Very short arms for his size, allowing defenders to get shots into his frame.
Longer defenders separate and discard him.
Will give some early ground against strong bull rush.
Occasional drift against twisting fronts.
Susceptible against push-pull specialists.
Snap-to-step lateral quickness is average.
Doesn't generate noticeable push as a drive blocker at point of attack.
Gets a little grabby through contact on the move.

Keep in mind, us fans thought we needed a C. Management apparently didn't. And the guy they kept made the pro bowl as an alternate, while the guy behind him has stepped in and done the job when we needed him. Again, there were 2 teams who needed and took a center not named Humphrey. We could play the second guesser game all day long.......

Why didn't the Rams take AJ Dillon instead of Cam Akers? He's been productive AND healthy.
Why didn't the Rams take Jonathan Greenard instead of T Lewis? Productive AND healthy.
Why didn't we take L'Jarius Sneed instead of Terrell Burgess? Productive AND healthy.

IMHO, they took Tutu because they "needed" a deep threat and believed they had their C on the roster. Sure they signed DJax but they probably wanted to hedge their bet there just in case he threw a diva-hissy halfway through the year! I mean, would that really surprise anybody? So Tutu didn't work out. This year. He may not work out next year either. But we don't know that just yet. And DJax did throw a diva-hissy......before mid season!!

[Elvis]

Obviously the very early returns on Tutu are bad and on Humphrey are good but taking skill players with your higher picks makes a ton of sense to me. You can still build a solid oline that way and we have.

We were in a similar situation in 2017 when we took Everett and Kupp instead of Oline but we signed Whitworth as a FA, Everett didn't really turn out as well as we might have liked but our line was good and so was our offense. We all know about Kupp.

It's a solid model and it's working.

I don't have any problem with it...

[VegasRam]

Jesus.

Last time I throw Canuck a bone!

[snackdaddy]

A1 posted something last year on teams who have built their lines with high picks, low picks and undrafted. If I recall, some pretty decent to good lines had a number of late picks and undrafted players. Good evaluation and good coaching can make all the difference. So will good quarterbacks and good running backs. Ever notice guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were among the least sacks year after year? And those two guys are not mobile in the least. Those kind of QB's can see where the pressure comes from and know how to get the ball out quickly when needed. And where things like the hot read is.

[PARAM]

A1 posted something last year on teams who have built their lines with high picks, low picks and undrafted. If I recall, some pretty decent to good lines had a number of late picks and undrafted players. Good evaluation and good coaching can make all the difference. So will good quarterbacks and good running backs. Ever notice guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were among the least sacks year after year? And those two guys are not mobile in the least. Those kind of QB's can see where the pressure comes from and know how to get the ball out quickly when needed. And where things like the hot read is.

Kromer was a good OL coach/run game coordinator. You don't go 43-21 with a bum. Carberry must be a good one too. You don't have UDFA's and mid round picks performing well if you don't know what you're doing.

Bret Stuter from RamblinFan had a nice article on Alaric Jackson today. It's worth a read.

The kid played LT yesterday for 52 of 70 offensive snaps. After he entered the game the Rams ran 22 times for 107 yards (4.8). Prior to coming in they ran 10 times for 53 (5.3). Stafford was just 14 of 27 for 144 yards and a TD with 3 picks but that wasn't on the O line. Prior to Jackson, he was 7 of 10 for 53 yards.

What do we have on the O line? Three 2nd rounders (1 we picked), two 3rd rounders, a 4th, a 5th, a 7th and two UDFAs. Are they playing above their draft slot?