Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Greg Robinson back home at left tackle –Wagoner
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October 31, 2014 at 3:59 pm #10917
RamBillParticipantGreg Robinson back home at left tackle
By Nick Wagonerhttp://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/13197/greg-robinson-back-home-at-left-tackle
EARTH CITY, Mo. — As Greg Robinson attempted to adjust to playing left guard for the first time during the preseason, he often found himself bouncing back and forth between his new position and his old one.
Robinson was less than a year removed from playing left tackle, the only position he’s ever really known, for SEC champion Auburn. Robinson was so dominant on the edge that the St. Louis Rams made him the No. 2 overall pick. With Jake Long already entrenched at left tackle, the Rams had long-term plans for Robinson to eventually take over at left tackle while contributing right away at guard.
When Long suffered the second season-ending ACL injury of his career last week against Kansas City, the future accelerated into the present. After just three starts at left guard, Robinson is back home.
“In some ways it is natural,” Robinson said. “I just feel more comfortable out there. It’s going to be a learning process, also, but I don’t think it’s going to take me as much time as it took me to get used to guard.”
In theory, Robinson is correct. Left tackle is his normal position, the one he knows best. And it took him a while to get used to playing in tight space at guard while also taking reps at tackle. Robinson didn’t make his first start until the team’s fifth game, the first meeting against San Francisco.
Now that Robinson is moving back outside, he should be able to adjust quickly to playing in space and having less to worry about in terms of communication and combination blocks with the center and tackle.
That doesn’t mean that Robinson won’t have his share of bumps along the way, though. Of the 178 snaps Robinson has played this season, only 21 of them came at left tackle, all coming last week against the Chiefs.
For the most part, Robinson held up OK but he also had his share of mistakes. His most impressive moment came when he ran down Chiefs safety Ron Parker to make a tackle after an interception.
“He had some issues, they had outstanding rushers, but he was strong and stout,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “That’s what he does. He’ll have a week to work on the footwork and things like that this week. He went out there and knew what to do and came out of the stack on a screen and executed a block. You can see his athletic ability when he made the tackle on the interception. At the tackle position, he’ll be fine.”
Big-picture: The Rams hope that Robinson will be more than just fine, but it’s no secret that it will take him some time to nail down the nuances of pass-blocking at the NFL level. By Robinson’s own admission, pass-rushers are faster and more athletic in the NFL, and Robinson comes from a system at Auburn that didn’t ask him to do much pass-blocking.
After learning of Long’s injury, Robinson said he and offensive line coach Paul Boudreau devised a list of what he needed to nail down and work on this week in practice. At the top of that list were notes on footwork and understanding angles. His trademark aggressive approach to run-blocking is one of his greatest assets, but it’s also something Robinson knows he must monitor so he doesn’t get out of control.
“I have just got to have good sets every time I go out there to block somebody,” Robinson said. “And don’t be too aggressive and try to get my hands on guys as much as possible.”
Sooner or later, Robinson was going to become the Rams’ left tackle regardless of Long’s status. Clearly, all parties would have preferred that it didn’t happen as quickly or in the way that it did, but this is where the Rams currently stand.
For what it’s worth, fellow tackle Joe Barksdale believes Robinson is up to the task.
“As a rookie, the hardest thing is coming in and learning the offense,” Barksdale said. “You’ve been in the same offense for a number of years, same coaches and all of that. Then you come in and everything is new. The terminology, the people, from the feet up, everything is new to you. I think he’s done a really, really good job of overcoming that kind of shock and pretty much having to start your freshman year all over again. I think he’s coming along really well.”
Robinson was drafted to be the Rams’ left tackle of the future. That future is now.
October 31, 2014 at 11:46 pm #10928
znModeratorRamBill
Rams rookie Greg Robinson talks with Casey Phillips about preparing to start at left tackle.
http://www.rams-news.com/rams-ot-greg-robinson-im-working-on-getting-my-kick-back-video/
November 1, 2014 at 1:06 am #10934RamBillParticipant
Robinson takes over at left tackle
• By Jim ThomasThe Rams drafted Greg Robinson to be their tackle of the future. Following Jake Long’s season-ending knee injury against Kansas City, the future is now.
Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, will make his first NFL start at left tackle Sunday in San Francisco. After four weeks of watching and learning, Robinson started the past three games at left guard.
But now he’s at left tackle, the position he played all through college at Auburn. His spot.
Or as offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer put it: “Greg’s playing a position that he’s very, very comfortable with.”
Robinson said: “It’s just a little more natural to me. When I was at guard, I was learning. But I feel like it helped me learn the offense a lot, along with knowing what the guys on the side of me are thinking.”
As the saying goes, playing guard or center is like playing in a phone booth. It’s a confined space, and there isn’t much time to think or adjust on the fly. The opponent gets on you quickly.
At tackle, there’s a little more space, and a split-second more to think and react.
“I can use the space,” Robinson said, smiling. “I’m a big guy. It’s hard stay low when you’re at guard and stuff like that. I’m gonna just try my best to stay focused and focus on my angles. Do my best when we get out there.”
Throughout training camp and the preseason, and even early in the regular season, Robinson spent time at both guard and tackle. It didn’t seem like a good idea at the time; why not concentrate on just one spot?
But now that Long is done for the year, those reps at tackle gave Robinson a bit of a base at the position and made the transition easier this week.
“We’ve done a lot of extra little things with him, and he understands what we’re doing,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “We’ve got all the confidence in the world in Greg. He’s going to continue to get better and better.”
Having a full week of practice at left tackle helped Robinson brush up on fundamentals such as pass-sets, which obviously are different at tackle than guard.
“He’s working through a few things,” Schottenheimer said. “The comfort level, he’ll get right back into it. System-wise, he’s done an amazing job with that. He’s light years ahead of where he was even probably a month ago with the system.”
There’s not much finesse to the San Francisco defensive front. When the Rams played the 49ers just three weeks ago, it marked Robinson’s first NFL start. Playing inside at left guard, he frequently ran into San Francisco star Justin Smith — a five-time Pro Bowler and one of the strongest players in the league. They had some violent collisions.
“That was a tough game, but I enjoyed it,” Robinson said.
Playing left tackle, Robinson doesn’t figure to see Smith as much.
“I wouldn’t say I will miss it,” Robinson said grinning. “But I wouldn’t say won’t miss it.”
Besides losing Long for the season in Kansas City, the Rams also had guard Rodger Saffold (shoulder) and center Scott Wells (elbow) leave the game and not return because of injuries.
But after all was said and done this week in practice, the Rams’ offensive line might not be as patchwork as initially feared. For example, Saffold and Wells were both full participants in Friday’s practice and are listed as probable for the 49ers.
In Wells’ case, the injury in Kansas City was muscular in nature and not a dislocation, which helps considerably in terms of a speedy return. Wells got the lion’s share of the work at center Friday, but Barrett Jones and Tim Barnes got plenty of reps at center earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, Saffold continues to cope with shoulder issues that could require surgery at the end of the season. He and Mike Person shared time at left guard Friday.
“Mike understands this offense, which is big,” Saffold said. “Especially for being next to Greg. He does a great job with his feet; does a good job sliding. As long as he’s able to get the feel of the game down, because it’s definitely gonna be a lot more physical and it’s gonna be faster than practice, he’ll be fine.”
Before the Kansas City game, when he got 23 snaps at left guard after the line injuries took place, Person had played only four snaps on offense all season.
As for Saffold, he wasn’t ready to say Friday that he would definitely be starting at left guard instead of Person.
“My biggest thing is making sure that I have myself as prepared as possible,” Saffold said. “Whether that means going out and starting or even being an emergency (guy). Either way, I’m gonna be a part of the game. I’m gonna be focused.”
Saffold practically lived in the trainers’ room this week, spending about 16 hours getting treatment. Even so, he’ll have to deal with some soreness Sunday.
“It’s gonna be sore,” Saffold said. “But those types of things are what you battle through anyway. It’s halfway through the season — there’s not a lot of people that are feeling fresh.”
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