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October 15, 2015 at 5:51 pm #32401
znModeratorRams’ offensive line working to improve at pass protection
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — In assessing the play of his offensive line in last week’s loss to Green Bay, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher was quick to point out the progress it’s made in the run game. But he also acknowledged the continued struggles to protect quarterback Nick Foles.
“Well, we gave up three sacks,” Fisher said. “He had time, but we had too many hits.”
It was a line that Fisher probably could have uttered after just about any of his team’s first five games. Sacks haven’t really been an issue, as the Rams rank near the middle of the pack in that category, yielding nine. But, much like you can’t judge a pass rush’s success solely on sacks, how well an offensive line protects the quarterback can’t be measured solely in sacks allowed.
That’s where the numbers show that the Rams’ young offensive line has struggled to protect Foles, often putting him under duress, letting him get hit, forcing him to throw the ball away or some combination of the above.
According to Pro Football Focus, Foles has been pressured more than all but one other NFL quarterback, at 44.8 percent; only Seattle’s Russell Wilson has been swarmed by defenders more. The line has also allowed 19 quarterback hits.
Perhaps most glaring in looking closer at how often Foles has been pressured is the amount of times he’s had to throw the ball away. Foles has 16 throwaways when under pressure, the most in the NFL. In other words, while Foles is doing what he can to not take sacks, he’s often found himself without enough time to go through progressions.
With Todd Gurley and the running game finding some traction over the past two weeks, the line’s primary focus during this bye week has been on getting the kinks in pass protection worked out.
“They’re way ahead of where I thought they’d be in the run game,” Fisher said. “I think we have some work to do in the pass game. Just in subtle techniques. It’s not a matter of having mental errors and things like that. They know what to do. The group has to work together.”
To this point, working together has been a work in progress for a group that features two rookies in left guard Jamon Brown and right tackle Rob Havenstein, an inexperienced starter at center in Tim Barnes, injury-prone right guard Rodger Saffold and second-year left tackle Greg Robinson. That group wasn’t assembled as such until the end of the preseason.
That’s made finding the chemistry necessary to handle all of the nuances of playing on the line a week-to-week proposition. As Robinson points out, having one player miss a call or take the wrong set on any given play can throw the whole thing off.
The Rams’ struggles in pass protection have been particularly noticeable when defenses use twists and stunts, or in any situations where communication is paramount.
“We all have to be on the same page,” Brown said. “That’s the biggest thing. Being able to execute different things and pick up different blitzes is just communication to make sure we are on the same page or same levels to make sure we can do whatever we have to do to go execute.”
The key to doing that? According to Brown, it starts with the eyes. On a given play, each lineman has to identify what the defense is trying to do, understand the line call to handle what the defense is doing and make any adjustments that might come when a defender tips his hand. Those were things that probably would have come along quicker had Fisher settled on a starting five sooner.
Rookies Brown and Havenstein spent most of the offseason playing together on the right side until Brown switched to the left side before the season. With Saffold out with a shoulder injury and Garrett Reynolds set to step in, the Rams could again find themselves tinkering with the alignment, which would require another adjustment for the line.
“Going into the preseason, when me and Rob was on the same side, we saw a lot of that early,” Brown said. “Obviously, splitting us up, putting us on two different sides made it a little harder to pinpoint us and pick us out. We still had our share of twists and games that were thrown at us, and I think teams are going to continue to do it because it’s the hardest thing to pick up. Blitzes are a lot easier to pick up. The twist game, there’s a lot that goes into it. We’re prepared for it. We have got beaten a couple of times on twists so we know teams are going to throw that at us.”
During this bye week, the offensive line has spent extra time on the field and in meetings trying to work out the issues that have plagued them in the first five weeks. To be sure, the offense’s struggles — the Rams are last in the NFL in yards per game — aren’t all a product of the line’s struggles. Pass catchers have struggled to make catches, and Foles on occasion has made an ill-advised decisions rather than take a sack.
But the way they view it, everything the Rams are trying to get done starts in the trenches. And until the line fixes what ails it, the offense will continue to hold the Rams back.
“Obviously it’s a group effort,” Havenstein said. “It’s everything that goes into an offense. We preach that every day. It’s not just us up front in protection, but a lot of it does come down to us. Winning one-on-ones, knowing where the help is, all of that stuff. But like I said before, we have got to have a better game, keep Nick clean, give him options and he’s going to make the right throw.”
October 15, 2015 at 5:56 pm #32404znModeratorBye week gives Rams chance to shore up offensive line
R.B. FALLSTROM (AP Sports Writer)
The Associated Presshttp://sports.yahoo.com/news/bye-week-gives-rams-chance-shore-offensive-line-230029059–nfl.html
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Rams lost plenty of experience on the offensive line when guard Rodger Saffold injured his shoulder in the first half of Sunday’s loss in Green Bay.
They’re using the bye week to help figure out what to do.
Left tackle Greg Robinson, in his second year and now a veteran in this group, said part of Tuesday’s workout was devoted to dealing with stunts and twists that teams have been throwing at the Rams (2-3). Coaches are stressing that proper technique can foil such tactics.
”We worked on it a lot today, just because it was so obvious that teams have noticed we’ve struggled with it and if we don’t fix it it’s going to continue to happen,” Robinson said. ”Once you stop them, they’ll stop gaming us.”
Linemen worked on making sure they popped back off the line at the snap to give themselves room to deal with the rushes that are coming from everywhere.
”If we keep everything in front of us they’ll basically be twisting on air,” Robinson said. ”If we give them our bodies and we don’t get back it’s easier for them to knock us off-balance.”
The line is a collection of diligent workers absorbing the finer points of the game from line coach Paul Boudreau.
”If we don’t exaggerate the techniques in practice, we won’t really fix the games,” Robinson said. ”Nine times out of 10 they will give it away, guys will talk or there will be things you notice.”
Saffold, a six-year veteran, will be out indefinitely with a right shoulder injury. He also had problems with the shoulder during the preseason. He also has had issues with his left shoulder, and underwent surgery after last season.
On Tuesday, coach Jeff Fisher had no update on the prognosis for Saffold, who had been undergoing testing.
”He was one of the vets in the room and we need that leadership on the field,” Robinson said. ”I just hope that things go well and he can stick it out.”
The Rams signed swingman Garrett Reynolds to a free agent deal in the offseason for just such a situation. He has 27 starts, including four last season at tackle with Detroit and 10 at guard in 2013 with Atlanta.
”Nothing was ever said to me, but that’s just the kind of person I’ve always been,” Reynolds said. ”Wherever you need me, throw me in there and I’ll be ready to roll.”
The Rams made it tougher on the opposition when they separated rookies Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown, who played side by side much of the preseason. Havenstein stayed at right tackle and Brown moved to left guard.
”Breaking us up made it harder to pinpoint, but we’ve still had our share of twists and stunts,” said Brown, a third-round pick. ”I think teams are going to keep doing it because it’s the hardest thing to pick up.”
Even after losing Saffold, the line showed its strength in the run game by opening holes for rookie Todd Gurley. Gurley had 146 yards at Arizona in his first start and topped that with 159 yards last week. He ranks second among rookies with 314 yards to go with a 5.7-yard average.
”Gurley has had two big games,” Robinson said. ”He’s a great player, he’s been running hard – and we’ve been blocking hard.”
October 15, 2015 at 6:25 pm #32413znModeratorOffensive Lines in Crisis: Why the Seahawks, Saints and Others Are in Trouble
Mike TanierOffensive line play in the NFL is no worse than it has been in recent years. In some respects it may even be a little bit better.
At least, that’s what the statistics show.
This table shows the sack rates, both per game and per 100 pass attempts, for the NFL over the past five years. It also shows the rushing yards per carry and the adjusted sack rate, a Football Outsiders metric that accounts for down-and-distance situations and other variables.
Offensive Line Performance: 2011 thru 2015
Year…Sacks-game…Sacks-100 pass attempts…Yards-rush…Adjusted sack rate
2015…………..2.3………………………… 6.4…………………………4.1…………… 6.3%
2014………….2.4…………………………. 6.8……………………….. 4.2…………… 6.6%
2013………….2.5…………………………. 7.1…………………………4.2…………… 7.0%
2012…………2.3………………………….. 6.6……………………….. 4.3…………… 6.5%
2011…………2.3………………………….. 6.8……………………….. 4.3…………… 6.7%
Pro Football Reference and Football OutsidersThere’s nothing new or noteworthy statistically about the 2015 season. Sack rates are actually down a little bit from 2013. Rushing averages are in an imperceptible decline: Two-tenths of a yard over five years is not the kind of difference you notice when eating hot wings on a Sunday afternoon.
So the stats say “nothing to see here; everything is fine.” Tell that to Drew Brees, who got battered behind a makeshift line last week and is likely to be missing several starters up front Thursday night. Tell it to Alex Smith, who has been sacked 21 times through five games.
Tell it to the Seahawks, whose offense is one long Russell Wilson scramble; or the Colts, whose Super Bowl dream has become barely-beat-the-Jaguars reality thanks to an ever-changing cast of ineffective blockers; or the Lions, averaging a league-low 2.8 yards per rush; or the Broncos, who hoped their running game would make Peyton Manning’s golden years easier but have gotten mediocre performances from a makeshift cast of linemen.
If offensive lines are playing well this year, many are doing a great job of hiding it.
I contacted several experts—former players, executives and coaches—to find out if there really is something wrong with the offensive line play this season. The experts generally agreed with the statistics: There really hasn’t been a sudden drop-off in offensive line play, just a few high-profile examples of line failure.
But most have seen a gradual decline in blocking quality in recent years, and all offered explanations as to why several teams that entered the season with playoff or Super Bowl expectations are being sabotaged by their offensive lines.
Bad Planning
A few teams brought their offensive line woes upon themselves. “Some teams, it’s just a lack of prioritizing, which is ‘shame on the GM,’ ” one former general manager told me via email. “The GMs that didn’t focus on it deserve a lot of criticism. They have paralyzed their teams.”
This former exec wasn’t pointing any fingers, but it is not hard to speculate about which teams he was referring to. The Seahawks traded center Max Unger away from an already weak line, then sat out the first three rounds of a draft that was rich in quality interior line prospects. The Eagles ignored the offensive line completely in the draft for two straight years but released veteran guard Todd Herremans in February and cut guard Evan Mathis over a summer salary dispute.
Of course, not all of the teams with line woes neglected to restock the cupboards. The Chiefs offensive line is filled with recent draft picks and veteran trade acquisitions. The Lions drafted Laken Tomlinson and traded for Manny Ramirez in the offseason.
Neglecting an offensive line is always bad. Change for change’s sake, however, is not much better. “I don’t think teams value the continuity and chemistry as they should,” said Ross Tucker, former NFL lineman and host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. Teams that swap out linemen just because they “need a spark”—think the Colts—aren’t likely to enjoy immediate results, because the new linemen aren’t used to working together.
It doesn’t help that the players getting swapped in and out aren’t very good in the first place.
Bad 2013 Draft
Teams that have invested along the offensive line in recent years are not getting the return they would like on that investment. “Look at the draft class [in 2013],” one former offensive lineman told me. “All those top picks should be All-Pro right now, but none of them can stay in the lineup.”
Chiefs tackle Eric Fisher, the first pick in the 2013 draft, was terrible in 2014 and has been shifted back from left to right tackle. He may be starting to come around, but Donald Stephenson has been pressed into service as the Chiefs’ left tackle, and Pro Football Focus charges Stephenson with two sacks and 15 hurries allowed through five games.
Luke Joeckel, the second pick in that draft, has had two difficult years and missed three games for the Jaguars with a sprained ankle this year; replacement Sam Young outplayed him in his absence.
Fourth overall pick Lane Johnson played well for the Eagles in 2014 but has allowed three sacks already, according to Pro Football Focus. Seventh overall pick Jonathan Cooper has been plagued by minor injuries and finally cracked the Cardinals lineup this year.
There were also many fine selections that season—Kyle Long, Travis Frederick, David Bakhtiari, other capable starters—but imagine if quarterbacks who were selected 1-2-4-7 in the draft were struggling or fighting for their jobs three years later. It would be a major national storyline.
The proliferation of spread offenses in the NCAA—that favorite bugbear for NFL traditionalists—may be having a greater impact on young linemen than young quarterbacks. The former linemen I contacted spoke of top college prospects who never even had to identify the “Mike” (middle linebacker) pre-snap and were only expected to get a good initial set-and-strike on pass-rushers instead of sustaining blocks and coping with counter-moves.
“The techniques and nuances of the craft, particularly pass protection, have suffered in college,” Tucker said. “It’s all about tempo now.”
Bad Injuries
It’s impossible to watch a Steelers game and forget that Ben Roethlisberger is unavailable, but it’s easy to forget the impact of Maurkice Pouncey’s injury. The “Peyton Manning is old” story overlooks the fact that left tackle Ryan Clady got injured during OTAs. Branden Albert’s injury in Miami hastened Joe Philbin’s firing. The Saints played without starters Jahri Evans and Terron Armstead on Sunday; Drew Brees was sacked five times as a result. Teams like the Chargers and Texans have resorted to some desperate juggling on the offensive line.
When quarterbacks or star receivers get hurt, we lower expectations. When offensive linemen get hurt, we forget that they are playing short-handed or wonder why the replacements haven’t stepped up. It’s the nature of life in the trenches.
The replacements for injured stars lack timing and chemistry with their linemates. They may lack fundamental skills. They may also just not be very good at all.
Bad Athletes
Ben Muth, former All-Pac-10 lineman and offensive line analyst for Football Outsiders, has watched (and participated in) enough preseason football to know that things always get ugly when the second- or third-string lines enter the game. In the last few years, however, he noticed the situation got so bad that “offenses almost stop functioning” once the starters leave.
Injuries, coaching preferences and the failure by executives to prioritize the offensive line have forced many of those second- and third-stringers into action already. Cody Wallace, the 30-year-old back-of-the-roster journeyman subbing for Pouncey in Pittsburgh, can often be seen getting blown backward by quality defensive tackles.
Matt Paradis, the 2014 sixth-round pick charged with protecting Peyton Manning (we’re a long way from Jeff Saturday, folks), has surrendered seven hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. The NFL is full of interior linemen who just “look slow and unathletic,” in Muth’s estimation.
A lack of top athletes may explain why teams were so eager to draft Fisher and Joeckel two years ago. Fisher was a small-school standout who tore up the predraft process, Joeckel a physical prototype who didn’t do much conventional pass-blocking while protecting Johnny Manziel. When good athletes are rare, teams draft rare athletes, despite concerns about the system or level of competition.
So where have all the fast, athletic linemen gone? Muth theorizes that athletic two-way high school football linemen are more likely to focus on defense when they enter college. College defenses now rotate waves of eight or nine linemen, making the path to playing time for a freshman quicker on that side of the ball. The second-tier athletes end up on the interior offensive line.
The Seahawks are trying to use converted tight ends as tackles (Garry Gilliam) and converted college defenders as centers (Drew Nowak), clear signs that they aren’t finding the athletes they want in the draft.
Andy Reid has long preferred smart interior linemen to overpowering ones, so the Chiefs line is full of players like rookie center Mitch Morse (playing well early in the season) and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (recently benched).
A Gary Kubiak searching for quick, technical blockers for his system may not be able to find enough of them. Teams that suffer an injury or two have no choice but to draw from an increasingly shallow pool of offensive line talent.
Of course, the offensive line is not the only position facing a talent shortage.
Bad Quarterbacks
Nothing makes an offensive line look bad like a bad quarterback. So far this season, NFL teams have started two rookies, four second-year players and at least five aging journeyman backups at quarterback, not to mention young veterans adjusting to new systems (Sam Bradford, Nick Foles), old backups who are now starters (Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh McCown), inexperienced young starters (Ryan Mallett, Tyrod Taylor, Kirk Cousins) and the occasional top prospect who has completely lost his way (Colin Kaepernick).
Bad quarterbacks hold the ball too long, scramble themselves into trouble or allow safeties to creep up and crash running plays because they don’t fear deep passes.
Inexperienced and over-their-heads quarterbacks also do little things that hurt their offensive lines—or at least fail to do little things that would help their offensive lines. “Offenses may need to utilize the snap count [more effectively],” one veteran offensive lineman told me. “[Aaron] Rodgers does a great job of using the snap count to his advantage.”
A hard count can get defensive linemen to reveal their assignments. Watch Rodgers, Tom Brady or one of the other top-tier veterans at the line of scrimmage, and they often lure defenders into flinching toward a gap or dropping a foot toward coverage; much offensive pointing and adjustment ensue.
Young quarterbacks aren’t ready for such maneuvers. Journeymen who bounce from system to system don’t often have a good hard count in their quiver. And some systems don’t offer much leeway for the hard count. The Eagles, for example, prioritize snapping the ball quickly, not letting the quarterback identify potential blitzers.
Bad Tight Ends
One former coach recently lamented the sorry state of tight end blocking in the NFL. “The fast ones don’t want to block and the big ones are too slow to block s–t,” he told me.
Old coaches have been complaining about tight ends’ blocking since they were complaining about Kellen Winslow’s blocking. But this has been an awful year for tight ends’ setting the edge or providing extra pass protection. Pro Football Focus only gives 10 tight ends “green light” positive rankings as run-blockers through five weeks; 39 tight ends have “red light” rankings. Only Marcedes Lewis of the Jaguars, Garrett Celek of the 49ers and Heath Miller of the Steelers get positive grades as pass protectors.
It’s no surprise that many of the tight ends with low blocking ratings are excellent receivers: Jimmy Graham, Greg Olsen, Travis Kelce and Jason Witten (usually a fine blocker, but battling injuries this year) are too important to their teams in the passing game to quibble much about their blocking (unless it makes a juicy Monday Night Football talking point, as was the case with Graham).
Second-tier and backup tight ends, however, used to stay in the league because of their blocking. Many teams now keep two catch-first, block-maybe tight ends in their rotations. True blocking tight ends have become rare, and rarely see the field when they do make rosters.
It’s all fun and games until someone is expected to block Von Miller.
Good Defenses
Understaffed, undertalented offensive lines are increasingly facing more complex, dynamic defenses. “Defensive coaches are doing a better job of understanding how the offense is protecting the quarterbacks,” one former offensive lineman told me.
Defensive coaches have always had an advantage in the line-of-scrimmage chess game: They can vary fronts, slide defenders around before the snap and rotate fresh legs and situation specialists into the game while the same five offensive linemen line up the same way on snap after snap.
Recent seasons have seen even more sub-packages and defensive creativity. When the Giants attacked the Patriots with four defensive ends in Super Bowl XLII, it was a novel tactic. Now, “everybody employs their own version of the ‘NASCAR package,’ ” Tucker said. “They’ve all got four legit rushers on the field.”
These souped-up defenses are facing understaffed offensive lines that lack continuity, fundamentals and talent. It’s a wonder that sack totals have edged downward instead of flying through the roof. For all the issues plaguing offensive lines, the problem really isn’t quite as bad as it appears.
Bad Timing
The whole NFL appears to have an offensive line crisis right now because several high-profile teams are facing an offensive line crisis. It’s unusual for a two-time conference champion like the Seahawks to field so terrible an offensive line. The Eagles spent lots of money and energy signing big-name players who spend as much time moving the ball backward as forward this season.
Offensive line woes have caused the Colts’ supposedly explosive offense to fizzle and may be opening up fissures in the franchise’s power structure. Alex Smith is on a painful sack pace that can only get worse with Jamaal Charlesout of the lineup. The Broncos cannot run the ball, and every hit he absorbs could be Peyton Manning’s last. Saints line injuries led to a Brees injury that has contributed to a miserable start to a promising season.
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Ed Zurga/Associated PressThese are traditional playoff teams, most of which play in prime time and generate lots of national attention. Meanwhile, offensive line play has been good-to-excellent for teams like the Falcons, Cardinals and Redskins: small-market teams, perennial doormats or both. If the Eagles and Redskins, Saints and Falcons or Seahawks and Cardinals swapped offensive line quality this season, we might not be talking about the state of blocking in the NFL. It would just be business as usual.
Several experts reminded me that defenses are often ahead of offenses developmentally early in the year, especially now that practice and preseason reps are limited, preventing offensive lines from perfecting their timing. In a few weeks, lines that look “out of sync” now may coalesce.
“It’s like having a conversation with your wife on the phone,” Tucker joked. “You never step on each other, because you know when the other person is done talking. … During the course of a season, provided they stay healthy, offensive lines should always get better, because of that familiarity.”
After talking with experts on a variety of NFL topics this week, I came away with a sense that offensive lines look terrible right now because everything looks terrible. Backup quarterbacks look terrible. Kickers look terrible. Injuries have taken some of the biggest stars off the field. Officiating isn’t exactly stellar. Unless you are watching the Patriots, Packers, Bengals, Falcons or Cardinals, it’s easy to point to something that looks lackluster and disappointing during an NFL game, often several somethings.
The stats say that offensive line play is not as bad as it seems. The experts see gradual forces at work, not an emergency. Maybe offensive line play will improve as newcomers develop and lines jell; maybe that’s precisely what happened to the Eagles last week. Saints, Seahawks, Colts and Chiefs fans are hoping that happens before it is too late.
October 15, 2015 at 7:30 pm #32414znModeratorI have waited a long time to see someone consider the effect OL injuries have. It usually seems to be an invisible topic.
It’s impossible to watch a Steelers game and forget that Ben Roethlisberger is unavailable, but it’s easy to forget the impact of Maurkice Pouncey’s injury. The “Peyton Manning is old” story overlooks the fact that left tackle Ryan Clady got injured during OTAs. Branden Albert’s injury in Miami hastened Joe Philbin’s firing. The Saints played without starters Jahri Evans and Terron Armstead on Sunday; Drew Brees was sacked five times as a result. Teams like the Chargers and Texans have resorted to some desperate juggling on the offensive line.
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October 16, 2015 at 8:29 am #32426znModeratorWith Saffold out, it’s Reynolds’ turn
Jim Thomas
Last March in free agency, the Rams signed Garrett Reynolds for moments like this. Backup guard, backup tackle and he was ready to step in and start at a moment’s notice if somebody went down.
When right guard Rodger Saffold suffered a right shoulder injury last Sunday in Green Bay, Reynolds figured he might be starting for a week or two. On Thursday, “a week or two” became most likely the rest of the season when the Rams placed Saffold on the season-ending injured reserve list.
After being checked out by Rams doctors, Saffold received a second opinion from his own specialist. According to coach Jeff Fisher, both sets of doctors agreed that undergoing surgery right now was the best course of action to repair labrum damage in Saffold’s right shoulder.
“You know, he was willing to try to play, but inevitably it’s gonna come out again when we talk about the condition of his shoulder,” Fisher said. “So we just felt like career-wise and future-wise, it’s best to get it fixed.”
Fisher said the surgery will take place “in the next couple of days.”
Saffold fought through a similar injury last season to his left shoulder, wearing a brace and playing in pain when that shoulder popped out, putting off surgery until the end of the season. He decided against doing that this time around.
By having the surgery done now, it’s expected that Saffold should be healthy by late February or early March, meaning he’ll miss little or no offseason work.
With Saffold done for the year, Reynolds becomes the most experienced offensive lineman on the roster in terms of career starts – with 27. At age 28, Reynolds already was the oldest O-lineman on the team – 11 months older than Saffold.
Reynolds is from Knoxville, and speaks with a Tennessee drawl. But he played his college ball at North Carolina, and as a senior Reynolds was teammate to a talented Tar Heels freshman named Robert Quinn. The better part of a decade later, they are teammates again with the Rams.
“Kind of a flashback,” Reynolds said. “It’s kind of funny where life takes you.”
Indeed. Just five games into his first season in St. Louis, life has taken Reynolds into the Rams’ starting lineup at right guard.
He spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, with Paul Boudreau his position coach there in 2009-2011.
“He grew up playing behind Harvey Dahl, so he learned the right way,” said Boudreau, who came in with Fisher as Rams O-line coach in 2012.
The now-retired Dahl, who played in St. Louis after a stint in Atlanta, was a tough-minded player who protected his quarterbacks and running backs, even it meant playing outside the lines from time to time.
(Think back to 2013 when Dahl went after Carolina safety Mike Mitchell after Mitchell celebrated a sideline hit that knocked quarterback Sam Bradford out of the game and out for the season with a knee injury.)
Well, Reynolds has some of that spirit in him. Go after his quarterback or running back too vehemently, and Reynolds will, uh, clean up the pile.
“It comes with the territory, I reckon,” Reynolds said.
Fisher said the line seemed to settle down when Reynolds entered the Green Bay game following Saffold’s injury. That that happened probably is not mere coincidence. Because of his experience and past association with Boudreau, Reynolds was positioned as a leader of the line almost from the moment he set foot in Rams Park.
“He knows me, and he knows when I’m (upset),” Boudreau said early in training camp. “He knows when we’re doing OK. So he’s kind of been my helper as far as getting ’em together off the field.
“He’ll say, ‘We’re all going out, we’re gonna have pizza and beer. And if you don’t show up, you’re gonna pay the bill.’ ”
After spending the 2014 season with Detroit, the chance to hook up again with Boudreau was a major reason why Reynolds signed with the Rams.
“It’s easier to come in and understand the scheme,” Reynolds said. “Even though it’s gonna be a little bit different, you can relate it back to, ‘hey, it’s something I did a couple years ago.’”
Reynolds has started at guard and tackle during his NFL career, but most of his experience has come at right guard. When he signed with the Rams, he figured his job description would be backup/fill-in starter.
“Nothing was ever said to me, but that’s kinda the person I’ve always been,” Reynolds said. “Wherever you need me, throw me in, and I’ll be ready to roll.”
Added to that in St. Louis, Reynolds said, “is to be the older guy and try to bring some these young guys along.”
As for having a settling influence on the younger players, Reynolds said: “I just get in there and remind guys to stay calm and let’s keep rolling. It’s a long game, and just stick together. That’s the most important thing: just stay together and keep pushing.”
In terms of his blocking, Reynolds more than held his own once he replaced Saffold at Lambeau Field.
“He played well,” Fisher said.
Fisher also likes what he sees from rookies Cody Wichmann and Andrew Donnal. Eventually one of them could take over the starting spot. Perhaps next season if the team decides to part ways with Saffold. But for the foreseeable future, it’s Reynolds’ time.
“You never want to see anybody, especially any of your buddies, go down,” Reynolds said. “But that’s part of the game. I’m looking forward to playing.”
October 16, 2015 at 2:08 pm #32435
snowmanParticipantI would think that having good vision of what’s going on around you is important to being able to pick up stunts. Don’t bother double teaming the DT to your left if you lose sight of what is happening to your right.
October 16, 2015 at 2:41 pm #32436znModeratorI would think that having good vision of what’s going on around you is important to being able to pick up stunts. Don’t bother double teaming the DT to your left if you lose sight of what is happening to your right.
They’re take is that everyone knows what to do the problem is, under fire, they don’t know what the other guy next to them is going to do. A young line with communication issues.
October 16, 2015 at 4:20 pm #32440znModeratorGarrett Reynolds offers calming presence in replacing Rodger Saffold
Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer
EARTH CITY, Mo. — With Rodger Saffold lost for the season because of shoulder surgery, the St. Louis Rams will turn to the one backup on the roster with extensive NFL experience to replace him.
That would be seventh-year veteran Garrett Reynolds, a free-agent offseason addition from Detroit. After playing the first four games with the same five offensive linemen in place, Reynolds got his first extended action with the offense last week in Green Bay when he came in for Saffold.
According to coach Jeff Fisher, Reynolds fared well upon entering the game.
“When Garrett went in, it was kind of almost a settling factor in there,” Fisher said. “The guys almost seemed to settle down when Garrett went in there. That’s not a negative towards Rodger, but it just settled down for us, so we’ll see where it goes.”
Garrett Reynolds is the most experienced lineman on the Rams and has moved around the line. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Where it goes now that Saffold is on injured reserve is that Reynolds will step into the starting lineup at one of the guard positions. He filled in for Saffold at right guard against the Green Bay Packers but he played a lot of left guard in the preseason. Some in the organization believe he’s more suited to that side, though he’s played both guard spots and right tackle in his career.Either way, Reynolds instantly becomes the most experienced lineman on the roster with 57 games and 27 starts to his credit. In his time with Atlanta and Detroit, Reynolds has moved around on the line which makes him a logical fit in the sense that there’s very little he hasn’t seen.
“I haven’t played center or left tackle but wherever they need me, that’s the kind of mentality I’m going to try to keep on it and just go wherever I’m told to go, know what I’m supposed to do and play whatever role I’m needed to play,” Reynolds said.
At 6-foot-7. 305 pounds, Reynolds’ reputation upon arriving in St. Louis was as a power blocker in the run game with limited upside in pass protection. He worked with the starters at left guard during organized team activities as Saffold was recovering from the left shoulder surgery he had in the offseason. He says he had little trouble picking up the offense, though the terminology is different than what he’s used in the past.
“There’s a lot of carryover no matter where you go because football is football,” Reynolds said. “Of course some things are going to be different, terminology is going to be different, the lingo, the offensive line language might be a little bit different but by OTAs, usually you have that down.”
Although Reynolds is just now getting the opportunity to start, he immediately embraced a leadership role for the Rams’ young line, a job that will only grow in importance now that he’s in the lineup.
The Rams have rookies at right tackle and one guard spot, a second-year left tackle and a center only emerging as a starter this season — plus a quartet of backups made exclusively of players who have never played offense in regular season NFL games. So Reynolds had better be the type of calming presence Fisher insists he is.
To that end, Reynolds poked a little fun at himself when asked what he thought Fisher meant by calling him a “settling” factor.
“Probably just because they are all faster and more athletic than me so if I can get in the way then you guys can too,” Reynolds said.
Quarterback Nick Foles offered a better explanation.
“He’s a guy who’s been around, been in the league,” Foles said. “He’s a very knowledgeable, talented guy who’s played a lot of football. I think he’ll bring another veteran guy in there.
October 16, 2015 at 5:51 pm #32441
DakParticipantReynolds may be able to fill in for Saffold OK. I don’t know. But, if we lose a tackle, then Reynolds is likely now the guy kicking out to fill that position, and who is left to replace the backup guard? This group is one more injury away from really serious trouble.
October 16, 2015 at 6:15 pm #32442znModeratorif we lose a tackle, then Reynolds is likely now the guy kicking out to fill that position
Fisher has already said the back-up at tackle is Williams.
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October 20, 2015 at 12:26 am #32625znModeratorGrowing pains continue for young offensive line
Jim Thomas
There are times when Jamon Brown and Rob Havenstein still feel like rookies. But as Havenstein points out, they’re well beyond the stage where they can use that as an excuse.
“Once you cross those white lines, you’ve gotta play like a guy who’s been there,”said Havenstein, a second-round pick from Wisconsin last spring. “I’m out here for a reason. They expect me to perform. I expect me to perform. My guys around me expect me to perform.”
Almost since the day they were drafted, the expectation was that Havenstein would be the team’s opening-day starter at right tackle and Brown would be an opening-day starter at guard on what would be the league’s most inexperienced offensive line.
For most of training camp and the preseason, Brown and Havenstein lined up side-by-side with Brown at right guard. Brown was subsequently switched to left guard where he has started the first five games of 2015.
“Obviously, I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” said Brown, a third-round pick out of Louisville. “But just looking back at the game we played against the Packers, watching that film let me know there’s still a lot more out there for me to learn. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing.”
The same can be said basically for the entire starting line. With the exception of Rodger Saffold, who’s now out for the season with a shoulder injury, the unit had little or no NFL experience entering the season.
It was anticipated, almost expected really, that the group would struggle early and have its share of ups and downs. That’s exactly what transpired over the first one-third of the season.
“They’re way ahead of where I thought they’d be in the run game,” coach Jeff Fisher said before the team’s long bye weekend. “I think we have some work to do in the pass game, just in subtle techniques.
“It’s not a matter of having mental errors and things like that. They know what to do. The group has to work together.”
After the Rams employed the same starting five throughout the first five games, Garrett Reynolds steps into the right guard spot in place of Saffold for Game 6 this Sunday against the visiting Cleveland Browns.
Largely because of injury, continuity has been a rare commodity for this unit under Fisher. From left to right, the Greg Robinson, Brown, Tim Barnes, Reynolds and Havenstein unit expected to start against Cleveland will be the 17th starting combination in the 53 games since Fisher began as Rams coach in 2012.
That averages out to roughly one new starting combination every three games, and that’s far from ideal.
The struggles of the O-line this season have been difficult to categorize, because it has been different players at different times, and different problem areas in different games. The Rams had a lot of difficulty run-blocking during the first three games, but things started to click in a big way the past two contests against Arizona and Green Bay.
Part of the reason for that obviously was the arrival of running back Todd Gurley in the lineup. But it goes beyond that because the unit does seem to be blocking better in the run game.
The Rams averaged 71.3 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry in their opening three contests. In the past two games, it’s 177.5 yards per contest and 5.7 yards per carry. Gurley accounted for 305 of the 355 yards rushing against Arizona and Green Bay.
“I think we’re still pushing to kinda solidify our identity,” Brown said. “We’ve had some success in the run game. We have an incredible backfield in Todd Gurley, Tre Mason, and Benny (Cunningham).
“But for us, the goal is to continue to grow. So that’s a thing where we’re not getting content, or we’re not (satisfied) with what we’ve done. We’ve gotta keep pushing.”
Conversely, the unit did a decent job of pass-blocking in the first four games. Perhaps even better than decent, with Nick Foles sacked a modest six times for the season entering Green Bay. He was sacked three times at Lambeau Field, and hit — usually very hard — on nine other occasions.
All told, eight of Foles’ 19 incomplete passes in that game were throws that came nowhere near the intended receiver. Those eight were all cases where the pass trajectory was either disrupted or the ball was purposely thrown away because Foles was hit or scrambling on the play. In addition, Foles was hit on two of his career-high four interceptions, which affected the flight of the ball.
There was no one culprit when it came to allowing hits. A review of game film by the Post-Dispatch showed Robinson was the primary blocker on three of the hits, Saffold on 2½, Havenstein on 1½, and Brown and Reynolds on one apiece.
When it came to the three sacks allowed, they were even more split up, with Barnes, Reynolds, Mason, tight end Lance Kendricks, and fullback/tight end Cory Harkey all bearing some responsibility depending on the play.
Twisting and stunting by Green Bay defensive linemen and linebackers caused problems for the Rams’ young blockers, and it’s something they should expect to see from every opponent until they show they can block it better.
“Going into the preseason, when me and Rob were on the same side, we saw a lot of that early,” Brown said. “Obviously, splitting us up, putting us on two different sides, made it a little harder to kinda pinpoint us and pick us out.
“But we’ve still had our share of twists and games, different things that were thrown at us. And I think teams are gonna continue to do it because it’s the hardest thing to pick up. … So we’re preparing for that obviously.”
Picking up those stunts and blitzes is a matter of technique, communication, and vision.
“The guys are doing great, they’re learning,” Reynolds said. “You know it takes a while to get used to who you’re playing next to, and that’s when you start seeing something special happening. You see little glimpses of it right now.”
More than glimpses are needed as the season progresses, in order for the offense to progress.
October 20, 2015 at 9:22 am #32637znModeratorGrowing pains continue for young offensive line
Jim Thomas
IMO of course but that one (just previous) is the best article I have read on the Rams OL this year.
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October 20, 2015 at 2:54 pm #32653
wvParticipantEverything hinges on the OLine.
Will they come-together,
in time.Time is runnin out.
w
v
============================
“They’re (O-line) way ahead of where I thought they’d be in the run game,” coach Jeff Fisher said before the team’s long bye weekend. “I think we have some work to do in the pass game, just in subtle techniques.“It’s not a matter of having mental errors and things like that. They know what to do. The group has to work together.”
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“The guys are doing great, they’re learning,” Reynolds said. “You know it takes a while to get used to who you’re playing next to, and that’s when you start seeing something special happening. You see little glimpses of it right now.”
“Obviously, I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” said Brown, a third-round pick out of Louisville. “But just looking back at the game we played against the Packers, watching that film let me know there’s still a lot more out there for me to learn. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing.”
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/growing-pains-continue-for-young-o-line/article_b48dbd47-ada9-594c-a288-d7fff6c22cf4.html -
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