Why the St Louis Rams Offensive Line is Fine & a few articles from that site

Will The St. Louis Rams Be Ok Without Joe Barksdale?

by Blaine Grisak 18h ago
http://ramblinfan.com/2015/05/21/will-the-st-louis-rams-be-ok-without-joe-barksdale/

Earlier this week, former St. Louis Rams right tackle Joe Barksdale signed a one year contract with the San Diego Chargers in what left many disappointed. On a very bad Rams offensive line, Barksdale was one of the few lineman that did in fact block from time to time.

However, letting Barksdale walk should come as no surprise. The Rams addressed needs on the offensive line through the draft, specifically at right tackle where Barksdale played. In the second round of the 2015 draft, the Rams drafted Rob Havenstein out of Wisconsin to presumably be their right tackle of the future.

In Havenstein the Rams drafted a mauler in the run game and someone who has plenty of experience at the position.

Yes, it would have been nice to bring Barksdale back, but he wasn’t a necessity. Barksdale was a solid part of the offensive line, starting 29 games over the past two seasons, and it is because of this that fans started to see Barksdale as a necessity when in fact he wasn’t.

Some went as far to say he was the number one priority for the Rams in the offseason. The truth is, Barksdale is an average to above average right tackle at best. While he did have a good 2013, last year and the year prior, he did consistently get beat by better competition.

This was most recently proven last season when he was completely dominated by Kansas City’s Justin Houston and Washington’s Ryan Kerrigan. The fact of the matter was, Barksdale is an average right tackle.

He has reached his ceiling, Havenstein on the other hand, we dont know what his ceiling will be, but we do know that he brings the physical play that Barksdale did not.
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Many have blamed Davin Joseph and the inexperience at quarterback that gave Barksdale issues, but looking at the stats and performances, that is only partly true. Against the Chargers last year, Joseph ended up with a positive grade at 5.1, meanwhile Barksdale came out exactly even with a 0.0 grade.

Against the Raiders, a weaker competition, Joseph ended up with a -2.5 grade while Barksdale excelled against a team who had one of the worst defensive lines in football putting up an impressive 1.7 grade.

In possibly his worst three game stretch against the Cardinals, 49ers, and Chiefs, Barksdale managed a grade of -4 or worse in those three consecutive games. Meanwhile, Joseph accumulated a grade worse than -1 just once.

The stats are simply inconsistent and dont back up that Joseph was the reason for all of Barksdale’s struggles. Watching the film, while Joseph did cause some issues, Barksdale did get beat one on one on plays in which Joseph held his own plenty of times.

Going back to Barksdale’s good year in 2013, it wasn’t all that impressive as many make it out to be.

As you can see Barksdale was only in the top 15 right tackle on three different occasions, two of which were against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears who aren’t known for their dominant defensive lines.

On the other hand, against teams like the 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, and Cowboys, Barksdale allowed a total of 17 total quarterback pressures. Not to mention his run blocking wasn’t anything worth bragging about recording a negative grade in three of six divisional games and forgettable performances against the Colts and Panthers.

This is all while the Rams are trying to build a team in which the main focus is running the ball. On the offensive line the left tackle is said to be the pass blocking tackle, the tackle that protects the quarterback’s blind side while on the other hand, the right tackle is meant to be the run blocking tackle.

With Barksdale, this obviously was not the case as his run blocking grades dont show that run blocking was his specialty. Several times over the past two years the Rams have not been able to generate push up front on the offensive side of the ball.

Now, this wasn’t all Barksdale’s fault, but as the stats show, he didnt hold his own against some of the more dominant teams. This was also without Davin Joseph and instead Harvey Dahl.

When all is said and done, Barksdale is a player that is nice to have, you can certainly do a lot worse. He is a player that excels against weaker completion, but his flaws come out against the better pass rushers and better defensive lines. The Rams are trying to rebuild their offensive line and that is seen with the complete overhaul this year as there will only be two returning players from last year.

Had the Rams drafted a guy like Cameron Erving, Brandon Scherff, or La’el Collins, keeping Barksdale would make sense as either of those three would have played inside. Barksdale is a tackle and has no experience playing inside at guard.

Les Snead said after the Rams drafted Havenstein, “With big Rob, he is ready to play,” Snead said. “He’s a right tackle, started a ton of games – never missed any. They run the ball well up there…He’s just a guy that knows his strengths and weaknesses and how to use them.”

Snead said that he’s a right tackle and he’s ready to play right now which is exactly what the Rams will do. Havenstein will start from day one and he will start at right tackle, the same spot that Barksdale played.

The Rams could have still brought in Barksdale in for depth, but after the last two years, he wouldnt have wanted to come back in a backup role. Instead he did the smart thing to take a one year deal elsewhere and prove his value as a starter.

Not re-signing Barksdale does not even rule out the possibility of bringing in another offensive lineman. It is possibly that the Rams bring in Justin Blalock to play guard while Jamon Brown develops in the early parts of the season. There is no question they could use some veteran assistance and leadership.

Blalock has been a solid guard in Atlanta. Had they not been switching offensive schemes, there is a good chance that they might have brought him back. Instead he is a player on the market that the Rams could bring in to play guard while their younger players grow.

Will the Rams be ok without Joe Barksdale? That is yet to be seen as we are unsure as to what Havenstein will bring to the table. However, the Rams are looking to the future, and with the declining performance of the right tackle over last season, the Rams are looking to get a tackle in Havenstein who can hold his own and be the right tackle of the future.

These posts are a public service. They do not necessarily reflect my views. 😉

Are The St. Louis Rams Headed Into A Building Year?

by Blaine Grisak 5d ago
http://ramblinfan.com/2015/05/16/are-the-st-louis-rams-headed-into-a-building-year/

After two seven win seasons and a six win season there is no question there is a lot of pressure on head coach Jeff Fisher and the St. Louis Rams to take the next step and make a playoff run. After years of 2, 3, and one win years under Steve Spagnuolo and now three years of mediocrity, to say the least, fans are ready to win, and they’re ready to win now.

However, by the way the Rams drafted and the way that this season is shaping up, it feels as if this year may go the complete opposite. Yes, the Rams have a potentially elite defense and acquired a quarterback that can hopefully stay healthy for an entire season, but this team is still missing key pieces. After three years in the Jeff Fisher era, this is still a team that is built to win for the future rather than right now.

To expect the Rams to compete with at the very least two rookies starting on the offensive line and that doesn’t include Greg Robinson who will be in only his second year is unrealistic. These players will need time to grow.

They drafted Rob Havenstein who could be a mauler up front. The drafted Jamon Brown who is a big guy that they can plug inside, but played at tackle at Louisville. Certainly he will need time to learn the position.

As mentioned above, its unrealistic to expect these players to come in and dominate right away and thats if they pan out. The Rams drafted developmental players that are going to need time to learn the game.

Winning in the NFL starts up front, and the Rams simply aren’t ready to win up front, at least on the offensive side of the ball. The Rams have struggled to compete with the defensive lines of Arizona, Seattle, and San Francisco over the past two years because of the weak offensive line.

Snead and Fisher made steps to fix that, but unlike when they signed Jake Long in the offseason a couple of years ago, this won’t be an immediate fix. This product is going to be something that takes this year and maybe another year until its ready.

The examples above are all on the offensive line, but even look at the Rams’ first round pick Todd Gurley. This is a player that may not be ready to play right away, but yet Fisher has called him the running back of the future. By the sounds of it, the Rams have no intention to win right now.
“This is the running back of our future. It makes no sense to put him in a bad situation sooner than we have to.”-Jeff Fisher

As much as some, including myself, dont want to hear it, the Rams are heading into a building year. That doesn’t mean that they will have another season in which they win two or three games and end up with the number one overall pick. No, this team is better than that. The defense alone will win them games.

Jeff Fisher’s worst seasons in the NFL were in 2004 and 2005 and even then his teams won four and five games and then were back on the mediocre trail in 2006 winning eight games.

It is imminent that the Rams are headed into a building year in 2015. While they have veteran leadership on defense, that is something they are missing on the offensive side of the ball where they are very young.

Fans are ready for the Rams to take the next step, but by the way things are shaping out, it looks like that may have to wait until 2016 or 2017.

How good is the Rams Receiving Core?

by Colin Hubbard 1w ago
http://ramblinfan.com/2015/05/13/how-good-is-the-rams-receiving-core/
When it comes to the St. Louis Rams, nobody speaks of their receiving core. It is easily the most overlooked part of their offense.

The Rams might not have the biggest named receivers, but they involve several young talents who finally have a quarterback to throw them the ball.

The Rams will use Brian Quick, Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks as the main targets in 2015.

Quick has 54 career receptions, 833 yards and seven touchdowns in three years. Quick’s 6-4, 209 pound frame at the age of 25 will give Foles a big target on the outside.

Britt hauled in 48 receptions, 748 yards and three touchdowns in 2014. In Britt’s six NFL seasons, 48 catches is the most he has had in a season. This is the most interesting player of the bunch. Britt is believed by many to possess the traits that a number one receiver would have, but has yet to be used to his full potential.

Bailey has just 47 career receptions, 661 yards and one touchdown in five career starts. So again, we aren’t really sure how good he really is. But, with his young age, Bailey will be another solid target for Foles to use.

Austin has 71 career receptions, 660 yards and four touchdowns, but zero in 2014. Austin also rushed for 224 yards in 2014 and found the end-zone two times. Austin will likely see a lot of trick plays and rushes in 2015. He hasn’t been the receiver we as Rams fans have wanted him to be, but one thing we know is, if you give Austin the ball in space, he will make you pay. And Foles will be able to do a better job of getting Austin in those positions.

Cook, since coming over from the Titans, has been targeted 184 times, but has only caught 103 passes. At the age of 28, Cook is the most experienced receiver the Rams use. If I am Foles, Cook is my number one, third down receiver.

Kendricks, in his four years, has been a great red-zone target, hauling in five touchdowns in 2014. It will be interesting to see how often both Cook and Kendricks are on the field on at the same time in 2015. They as tight ends, give the rams two big bodies who can both catch the football.

Cook is the oldest receiver out of this bunch at the age of 28. And while none of them have pulled away from the others, Foles will use each of them a lot better than Austin Davis or any other quarterback throwing to them ever has.

St. Louis will run the ball a lot in 2015. With Todd Gurley and Tre Mason patrolling the backfield, who wouldn’t want the run game to come first? But like many people know, when you’re down a touchdown with two minutes remaining in the game, it’s up to Foles and this receiving core to get the ball from point A to point B.

So, who will be the best receiver in 2015? There are plenty of solid names to choose from.

http://ramblinfan.com/2015/05/22/what-makes-the-st-louis-rams-offensive-line-intriguing/

What Makes The St. Louis Rams Offensive Line Intriguing?

by Blaine Grisak 1h ago

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The St. Louis Rams offensive line went from being a known commodity to being inexperienced and unknown in the matter of one offseason. While the Rams offensive line was known and a lot of their players were proven, that facet of the team was a total disaster last season.

Going into 2015, the Rams will have three new faces up front. Assuming rookies Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown start with Tim Barnes at center, the average age of the Rams offensive line is 23.8 compared to 26.8 this time last year.

Free agent acquisition, Garrett Reynolds, becomes the oldest player on the o-line at just 27 years old and Rodger Saffold becomes the most experienced with 60 starts. The rest of the offensive line? Reynolds has 27, Greg Robinson has 12, Tim Barnes has four, and everybody else….zero.

The Rams offensive line is an unknown commodity. While this can be frightening, it is also intriguing. This could be an experiment that goes bad or it could be one that pays off. Saffold and Robinson are the only two knowns up front, as shown from the experience stats above, everybody else we know almost nothing about.

The Rams are changing their identity on offense. They are now fully committed to being a run first, ground-and-pound team, and that is proven with the players they drafted. Here’s what makes the unknown players on the offensive line intriguing:

RT- Rob Havenstein

“Massive tackle with very functional length. Above-average power in run game and runs legs to create movement. Drive blocker by nature. Block winner at point of attack. Uses well-timed punch and has adequate foot quickness to set out to edge speed. Aggressive, play-finishing demeanor on the field. Plus body control and balance on second-level blocks with ability to sustain. Can brace against power and has feet to counter inside moves in pass pro.” -NFL.com

Havenstein fits the bill for what the Rams are looking for in their right tackle. Above average in the run game and plays with an aggressive play-finishing demeanor. He was considered the leader on the Wisconsin offensive line while opening up holes for first round pick Melvin Gordon.

Best of all, he had zero holding calls in 2014. This is interesting because the Rams had the most holding calls in 2014 among non playoff teams with 25 and had the most per game at 1.56 with the most yards lost at 15.6 per call.

RG- Rodger Saffold

Saffold is one of the players that is actually known on the Rams offensive line. Saffold had the 18th highest pass protection grade on Pro Football Focus while allowing only two sacks, two hits, and 12 hits.

Making the move from Havenstein’s spot at right tackle in 2013, Saffold has become on of the more impressive guards in the NFL. If he can stay healthy, and that’s a big if as Saffold does seem to get injured during a game at least a couple of time a year, Saffold gives the Rams some much-needed consistency up front and inside.

C- Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones, Demetrius Rhaney

All three of these players have a very small sample size. Barnes has four starts in his career accumulating 281 snaps, Jones has 23 snaps in the regular season and Rhaney has 44 preseason snaps.

The Rams have a lot of unknowns up front, but none is more unknown than what they have at center. Between three players they have four total starts.

However, with the one player that only has four starts, he does have some upside. In week 13 of 2013 against the San Francisco 49ers, Barnes had a 1.7 grade on Pro Football Focus, the seventh highest grade of that week. Barnes’ performance was pretty balanced as he had a 0.8 grade in both pass blocking and run blocking, the pass blocking grade being top five for that week.

The next week Barnes struggled against the Cardinals having a -2.4 grade, among the league’s worst for that respective week.

In his third start, Barnes had a fairly average performance against the Saints, but did manage a top 15 pass blocking grade.

To finish off his year, Barnes managed a positive 1.7 grade against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which was top ten for the week and he had the third best grade in run blocking.

In his four starts, Barnes ranked as the 24th best center in the NFL out of 46. He had zero penalties and allowed only one sack while ranking as the 20th best run blocking center.

Moving on to Barrett Jones, according to NFL.com he:

“Possesses NFL size for an interior player. Solid pass protector whether playing inside or outside. Great awareness of late blitzers and twist stunts, and he gives excellent effort to reach free rushers so his quarterback stays upright. His versatility, intelligence and high character should get him penciled in at guard or center for the next decade in the NFL.”

We have yet to see much out of Jones, if anything. 23 snaps is not a great sample size. However, given what we do know, he was a four-year starter at Alabama, the powerhouse of the SEC. His college coach, Nick Saban, compared him to NFL great Bruce Matthews.

The bottom line is with Jones is that he’s smart. He has the intelligence to play all five positions on the offensive line which is rare. The problem is that he can’t seem to stay healthy or get healthy for that matter.

Back to back year-long injuries have kept Jones sidelined and if he is ever going to be the center of the future for the Rams, the time is now.

Lastly, Demetrius Rhaney. Via NFL.com Rhaney has:

“Very good quickness, agility and balance. Gets into blocks quickly and keeps battling through the whistle. Good lower-body power. Solid anchor in pass protection. Has the size, power and agility to eventually compete for a starting job.”

Rhaney will have the ability to compete for a starting job. He’s had a year to learn. While he may be more suited for depth, he has potential, but has yet to really show anything.

LG- Jamon Brown

The Rams very well could sign Justin Blalock which would be a good signing and give the team some veteran leadership next to young players. However, if they don’t, they have Jamon Brown at left guard.

He has been a three-year starter, starting 26 games at left tackle and 13 and right tackle. However, according to NFL.com he could make the transition to guard:

“Intriguing tackle/guard prospect. His mass and athletic limitations are best-suited inside and his quickness off the snap could be an indicator that Brown’s best football could be ahead of him. With a wider base and better body control, Brown could become a starting guard or potential tackle in power scheme. Straight-line mover in space with potential to be effective blocker on inside zone plays from guard spot. Has experience at both tackle spots and at guard.”

One NFC executive said,

“”He could go much higher than anyone thinks because he’ll be on boards as a tackle or as a guard. He can move and he has some power so he will hit more teams draft boards than some of the other guys in the draft.”

Once again, the Rams have found a player that fits what they want to do. He is a straight-line mover and mauler in the run game. His versatility is valuable allowing him to not only potentially be a starting left guard, but also fill in at tackle if necessary.

LT- Greg Robinson

The Rams’ left tackle of the future whom they drafted second overall last year. Who is Greg Robinson. GRob as some call him didn’t have the best rookie season. He only started 12 games and didn’t start at tackle until midway through the year.

Robinson had grades of -5 or worse on three different occasions in 2014 and once accumulated a -8.5 grade, the sixth worst performance of any tackle last season. He also had 10 penalties of, as mentioned earlier, the Rams’ 25.

Mike Mayock compared Robinson to Orlando Pace. He has been said to be able to pave the way in the run game and be a franchise left tackle. The problem is, he has yet to show it. He was said to be raw, but this is a year in which he is going to have to step up. He has all the potential in the world, but at this point, that’s all it is, potential.

Conclusion

The Rams’ offensive line is in rough shape, there is no denying that. For the two rookies, the jump from college to the NFL is not going to be easy, there are going to be growing pains. The same goes for the new center that the Rams are going to have as well as Greg Robinson going into his second year.

However, with all of the problems that the Rams have on the offensive line, it is intriguing. They have beef up front now. They have players who possibly have the ability to turn into a historical offensive line like the hogs in Washington or become just as good as the offensive line in Dallas. The ability is there.

The Rams have four developmental players for the time being, but as this group grows together, this potential and intrigue could turn into something special for the long-term. Les Snead and Jeff Fisher have taken a lot of heat for not bringing back Barksdale, not signing La’el Collins, or over drafting their offensive linemen. It’s only a matter of time before we find out how this experiment plays out.