[69RamFan]

Sorry I should of been more indepth,
When I say below average,
I'm comparing to playoff and SB caliber teams,
Not Atlanta or any non playoff contenders.
Once again who did we beat? below avg teams.

Did we have a power house OL during our SB year? No.
But it was good enough because of our skilled player,
and schemes/play calling to balance things out.

So comparing our SB OL to the beginning of the year OL,
We down graded. replacing Whit, a future HOF to Noteboom,
a 3rd pick that really wasn't tested against quality OLB/Edge Rushers.
Then during his first five games, giving up 5 sack, and so many QB hits.
Then replacing Corbett, an above avg G for a UDFA C/G/Shelton,
who was getting beat or pushed back from the middle of the OL.
Personally, I didnt like putting Allen & Shelton next to each other.
Both are too small against power house DT.

During games I key on the OL,
and we were below avg against playoff caliber teams.
Didn't come close to winning against playoff teams.

Example, Cowboys during their SB year in the 90s
They had a power house OL, they kept on running the same plays.
and they couldn't be stopped.
Smith ran up the middle with massive holes,
then they used play action, and the D trying to stop the run,
gets burnt on deep passes.

McVay had a lesser quality of an OL compare to Dallas OL from the 90s,
But he could scheme up plays to help out his OL.
But he could only do so much with this years team, a below avg OL

Here is what our OL has done against Playoff teams.

Buffalo:
7/Sacks, 15/QB Hits /15 pressure

SF: (first Game)
7/Sacks, 11/QB Hits / 17 pressure

Dallas:
5/Sacks, 11/QB Hits / 16 pressure

Tampa Bay:
(A game we should of won, and I don't count TB as a top playoff team,
even though they lead in their Div, they have the same problem with a weak OL,
But they are playing in a weak Div)
4/Sacks, 8/QB Hits/ 10 pressure

[Hacksaw]

It no wonder our O doesn't work and K Stafford is in her guys ear.

[PARAM]

Here is what our OL has done against Playoff teams.

Buffalo:
7/Sacks, 15/QB Hits /15 pressure

SF: (first Game)
7/Sacks, 11/QB Hits / 17 pressure

Dallas:
5/Sacks, 11/QB Hits / 16 pressure

Tampa Bay:
(A game we should of won, and I don't count TB as a top playoff team,
even though they lead in their Div, they have the same problem with a weak OL,
But they are playing in a weak Div)
4/Sacks, 8/QB Hits/ 10 pressure

So why have we done so bad vs good teams? Lack of talent from our starting 5? Lack of talent with our first 2 backup lineman? The lack of talent from the next 6 lineman? (No kidding?) Or something else?

The first week there are no excuses. We got our asses beat. I attribute it to playing a SB contender with a chip on their shoulder combined with not being prepared. But that's debateable.

By the SF game we were minus our starting LG and C. Our starting RG was playing center and he went down 16 snaps into this game. Against Dallas we were on our 3rd center and our starting LG was back, but he went down in this game. And BTW, Dallas has a pretty good D (#1?).

By the Tampa game we were without our starting LT, without our starting LG , our starting C was back but we were on our third RG. And we had this game won anyway but Tampa scored on our D in the closing seconds to win.

So given all that is it a surprise we have been so discombobulated on the OL all year? It's seems I've been accused of being "a defender of McSnead's plan". I know, I know.....it was a bad plan! "Just like in 2019!!!". We shouldn't have depended on Noteboom, who played well subbing for AW in 2020 and in 2021. A kid who started the last 44 games of his college career but suffered a torn ACL in 2019. He had a calf injury in 2020 that caused him to miss 2 games. Injury prone? So what should they have done? Sign another LT? With who's money? Ramsey's? Donald's? Stafford's? Kupp's? Now is about the time some fans might say, "well that's not my job, that's Demoff's and Snead's". Yeah. It's that easy.

I remember back in 2019, I was accused of being a defender of the plan. "They shouldn't have let Saffold and Sullivan walk. Shouldn't have depended on those injury prone 2nd year guys"....who weren't injured yet! But see, a funny thing happened with the cap in 2019. Gurley was already extended. Goff was extended. Whitworth's cap hit jumped to 16.5 mil (from 9.1). Havenstein signed a new deal with his hit going from 2.0 to 8.3 mil. Donald's went from 8.8 to 17.1. Sullivan never played again so that was a huge loss, eh? Saffold got a deal from Tennessee with a cap hit of 6 mil+ in year one but jumped to 12.5 in 2020 and 2021. We could have afforded that, Whitworth and Havenstein, Donald and Gurley, Goff and others like Kupp who were soon due for a new deal? There are decisions with huge ramifications with the cap. But some guys think it's as easy as Madden22. And because they've been a fan for decades, they're mad as hell and ain't gonna take it anymore. So it's Snead and Demoff and McVay who fooked up and didn't provide them with a 250 million dollar roster with a 193 mil cap limit!!!! Some were pissed we didn't give Von Miller a 5 year deal with 45 mil guaranteed!!! Insane. Oh the luxury of second guessing!!!!!

Wait!!! I forgot. All they had to do was draft Creed Humphrey last year!!!!

[69RamFan]

So why have we done so bad vs good teams? Lack of talent from our starting 5? Lack of talent with our first 2 backup lineman? Or something else?

The first week there are no excuses. We got our asses beat. I attribute it to playing a SB contender with a chip on their shoulder combined with not being prepared. But that's debateable.

By the SF game we were minus our starting LG and C. Our starting RG was playing center and he went down 16 snaps into this game. Against Dallas we were on our 3rd center and our starting LG was back, but he went down in this game. And BTW, Dallas has a pretty good D (#1?).

By the Tampa game we were without our starting LT, without our starting LG , our starting C was back but we were on our third RG. And we had this game won anyway but Tampa scored on our D in the closing seconds to win.

So given all that is it a surprise we have been so discombobulated on the OL all year? I know, I know.....it was a bad plan! "Just like in 2019. We shouldn't have depended on Noteboom, who played well subbing for AW in 2020 and in 2021. A kid who started the last 44 games of his college career but suffered a torn ACL in 2019. He had a calf injury in 2020 that caused him to miss 2 games. Injury prone? So what should they have done? Sign another LT? With who's money? Ramsey's? Donald's? Stafford's? Kupp's? Now is about the time some fans might say, "well that's not my job, that's Demoff's and Snead's". Yeah. It's that easy.

I'm not one of your avg fans that states about, "Thats the front office to figure out"

Yes exactly, lack of talent from the get go, and it got worst with the injuries.

They had a chance of trading for a LT/Trent Williams, but they didn't in 2020.

Could they of signed a LT for the 2022 season,

Who knows, at the time for 2022,

There was, OBJ 2.O until he got tagged, Terron Armstead, Duane Brown, Ereck Flowers for a Guard,

Salary wise, I see it could of worked out for Armstead instead of WR/Robinson II and kept Woods, and Flowers instead of Noteboom.

Was the FO/Coaching Staff that blind, knowing from the SB game,
that the OL was useless for the run game,

come on, even McVay knows it,
he got caught on video stating we are not running it anymore,
cause the OL couldn't open up holes.

Then you're gonna sign a backup LT for an avg of 13mil/yr,
that was a head scratcher.

But they can recover for 2023, if they do some contract restructures.

Thats my take on it...

[PARAM]

I'm not one of your avg fans that states about, "Thats the front office to figure out"

Yes exactly, lack of talent from the get go, and it got worst with the injuries.

They had a chance of trading for a LT/Trent Williams, but they didn't in 2020.

Could they of signed a LT for the 2022 season,

Who knows, at the time for 2022,

There was, OBJ 2.O until he got tagged, Terron Armstead, Duane Brown, Ereck Flowers for a Guard,

Salary wise, I see it could of worked out for Armstead instead of WR/Robinson II and kept Woods, and Flowers instead of Noteboom.

Was the FO/Coaching Staff that blind, knowing from the SB game,
that the OL was useless for the run game,

come on, even McVay knows it,
he got caught on video stating we are not running it anymore,
cause the OL couldn't open up holes.

Then you're gonna sign a backup LT for an avg of 13mil/yr,
that was a head scratcher.

But they can recover for 2023, if they do some contract restructures.

Thats my take on it...

69, I didn't mean you were one of those fans. But they are here.

Okay, so they could have signed Trent Williams in 2020. Actually they could have traded for Trent Williams in 2020. Washington got a 2020 5th round choice and a 2021 3rd round choice. And according to his current contract with SF, he would have cost us 12 mil for 2020. So who could we have cut to get that 12 mil? And would we have won the SB in 2020? Some would say, "not with Goff" (not me). He would have only cost us 8 mil last year, so yeah we might have won it all last year with Stafford and Williams. He would have cost 9 this year. So would Trent Williams on the roster made up for losing Edwards, Allen, Shelton, etc this year. And then next year his cap hit jumps to 27 mil. Ooooh. I smell trouble there!!

There was no OBJ2 "until he got tagged". He was tagged to begin free agency. That's the protection of the tag. So we would have needed 2 first round picks we didn't have to get him. Again, it ain't Madden22.

All these scenarios....getting Armstead and Flowers depends on their willingness to sign, as well as our cap space. We extended Kupp, Stafford and AD, something every Ram fan hoped would happen. Keep Woods instead of ARob? Their salaries were a wash. ARob is costing us 4 mil plus Woods 12 in dead money (16 mil). Woods had a contract that would have paid him 10 mil and our cap hit would be 16 mil with half that dead money (bonus money). And I fail to see how having Woods instead of ARob would have helped an OL that has started 13 different guys in 10 games. See all these Madden scenarios, get this guy instead of that guy; get that guy intead of this guy are just that. Scenarios. Why isn't Flowers playing anywhere 11 weeks into the season. Wants too much? Not interested in playing? Waiting for the Rams to make an offer? I don't know.

Truth is what they did was totally fucked by injuries. Sure Noteboom allowed 5 sacks and 22 pressures (3 sacks and 10 in the Buffalo game). 2 and 12 in the next 5 with 2 different guards next to him and 3 different centers calling the shots. Lack of talent can do that. So can no cohesiveness along the line.

And funny you brought up McVay saying, "fuck it, we ain't gonna run no more", yet losing Austin Corbett, to some people seemed like losing Dennis Harrah in his prime. I don't agree with that. True, his cap hit this year is a little more than 3 mil but next year it's 11 and the following year it's 8. Maybe we can get him back next year?

But I agree with you, they can rebound in 2023. IMHO, they need a center. But we'll see what they think they need and what they end up doing. Most of all, they're going to need better health no matter what they do. This year is shot. Next year is a new slate with new players and new draft picks. Who is the big question. We have a few different opinions on that.

[69RamFan]

If you read any of my posting,
I know the RAMs would of had to trade for Williams,
I've posted that on one of my other postings.
I posted what the 9ers got for him in the trade.
As far as getting him in cutting salary, OTC doesn't go back in years,
so I can't tell you what would of happen as far as how we could of signed him,
or who they could of cut or what contract they could of restructured.
But based off Whits interview, it sure sounded like we could of gotten him.

As for OBJ 2.0, I stated he was a Tagged, so I was not counting on him,
I just listed him, for my own purpose.
but the others were available.

As far as Woods, they could of reconstructured his contract if they wanted to.
So to say its a wash, I don't see it that way.

Armstead/15mil, and lets say Flowers/10mil,
Noteboom/13mil, ARob/15mil, Woods/10mil (Could of Reconstructured contract) to make it work.

As far as injuries, Even if they didnt have those injuries.
I still say with the starting OL lineup from the start of the season,
It still was a below avg as far as playoff teams as far as I'm concern.

Its funny, you're laughing about Corbett leaving,
but then you think Shelton is much better? now thats funny....

The problem I see for next year,
as far as LT, the only one that is worth being available, OBJ 2.0,
They should of made a choice of this season in getting a LT for 2022 and beyond. IMO
But thats too late now...

[ramsman34]

No offense. But some of you guys make it waaaay more complex than it is. Their self scout and eval are biased. They thought they had a solid starting 5 OL. Buffalo embarrassed them. But, that could have happened week 1, 5, or week 15. Post week 1, it was a revolving door at every position but RT. EVERY POSITION AND MULTIPLE TIMES.

Find me ONE team that made the playoffs and played well that suffered the OL injuries the Rams have. I’ll save you some time - you won’t find any.

[PARAM]

If you read any of my posting

I know the RAMs would of had to trade for Williams,

As far as getting him in cutting salary, OTC doesn't go back in years,
so I can't tell you what would of happen as far as how we could of signed him,
or who they could of cut or what contract they could of restructured.

But based off Whits interview, it sure sounded like we could of gotten him.

As far as Woods, they could of reconstructured his contract if they wanted to.

Its funny, you're laughing about Corbett leaving,
but then you think Shelton is much better? now thats funny....

Show me where I said Shelton was better than Corbett? I believe Shelton is a C who is a viable backup at G. Not a 17 game starter there but an in game replacement. But yeah, I did say some fans have Corbett over rated...like they do with a lot of players.

Woods was restructured and extended in 2020. How far and how much future dead money you want to kick down the road?

Big Whit's interview "sounded" like we could have gotten Williams? McVay's interview sounded like we were trading Akers. Instead he got a ton of snaps and Henderson got released. Interviews are for media consumption.

You can see any player's contract history on OTC, active or not. And though you don't know "how we could have paid TW" (or anybody you mention), you still say "they could have got him"? Sure, under those parameters, we could have got Trent Williams, OBJ2, Joe Thuney...AND.... Zach Martin.

[69RamFan]

Show me where I said Shelton was better than Corbett? I believe Shelton is a C who is a viable backup at G. Not a 17 game starter there but an in game replacement. But yeah, I did say some fans have Corbett over rated...like they do with a lot of players.

Woods was restructured and extended in 2020. How far and how much future dead money you want to kick down the road?

Big Whit's interview "sounded" like we could have gotten Williams? McVay's interview sounded like we were trading Akers. Instead he got a ton of snaps and Henderson got released. Interviews are for media consumption.

You can see any player's contract history on OTC, active or not. And though you don't know "how we could have paid TW" (or anybody you mention), you still say "they could have got him"? Sure, under those parameters, we could have got Trent Williams, OBJ2, Joe Thuney...AND.... Zach Martin.

Yes you can see anyones contract going back to there history, but it doesn't show restructure deals, cut, trade deals savings past the 2022 year.

As I stated, the RAMs could of made better choices, IMO
You can take it any way you want,
I'm not going to repeat myself.

[PARAM]

Yes you can see anyones contract going back to there history, but it doesn't show restructure deals, cut, trade deals savings past the 2022 year.

As I stated, the RAMs could of made better choices, IMO
You can take it any way you want,
I'm not going to repeat myself.

So....

You have no idea who could have been restructured (you didn't mention cutting anyone) or what the Rams salary cap structure was in 2020 or 2021 because OTC only lists current and future?

But they could have made "better choices"? Okay.

FWIW, this is what I found on OTC under Robert Woods

Robert Woods signed a four year, $65 million contract extension with the Rams. Woods received $31.7 million in guarantees.

A google search of "Robert Woods signs extension with the Rams" showed it was June 2020. Under Robert Woods "history" on OTC, it shows his contract breakdown and under Rams, his dead money. It's all there IF you really want to find it. Or you could just say, "I don't know but they could have made better decisions".