OL praise, week 10

Peter King
Sports Illustrated

from OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/06/jared-goff-los-angeles-rams-sean-mcvay-first-place-week-9-mmqb

Andrew Whitworth, left tackle, Los Angeles Rams. Another clean sheet for Whitworth, in the 51-17 skunking of the Giants in the Meadowlands, per Pro Football Focus: zero sacks, pressures or hits allowed on Jared Goff, who posted the first four-TD game of his career. Whitworth also made the pass-block of the day. Facing an impossible third-and-33, Goff dumped a short pass to Robert Woods, and Whitworth got in front and waylaid a Giant to spring Woods. The result: a stunning 52-yard touchdown. Whitworth, who signed with the Rams as a free agent after 11 years in Cincinnati, has been a godsend for an offensive line beleaguered for so long.

Rams are all right with right side of the offensive line stabilized

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/09/bonsignore-rams-are-all-right-with-right-side-of-the-offensive-line-stabilized/

Inside the Rams locker room at their practice facility in Thousand Oaks, players are sectioned off by position group. Defensive linemen are an especially loud group. Wide receivers can bring the noise as well.

By sheer numbers, the quietest section belongs the quarterbacks.

But the offensive lineman are easily the most low-key group. Maybe it’s just the thankless, almost tedious and methodical nature of their job. And the anonymity that comes with it.

Last year, the reserved atmosphere for the offensive line seemed appropriate considering the major liability the group became during a disastrous 4-12 season. Yet nobody has more of a right to demand a share of the 2017 spotlight than Andrew Whitworth, Rodger Saffold, John Sullivan, Jamon Brown and Rob Havenstein.

The Rams are averaging a league-high 32.9 points per game – up from 14 last year. Running back Todd Gurley has regained his status as an elite running back with 986 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. And second-year quarterback Jared Goff has silenced his critics by emerging as one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL while throwing for 2,030 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Without Whitworth, Saffold, Sullivan, Brown and Havenstein, none of that happens.

“We’re in a good spot right now but the work continues. And we feel we can play better,” is about as far as Sullivan will go.

And good luck getting any self congratulation for a job well done thus far.

“I will at the end of the season, depending on what happens,” Havenstein said. “But even at that, it’s not going to be a ‘me’ thing or an ‘offensive line’ thing. It’s going to be a ‘team’ thing and an ‘offensive’ thing and an offensive thing within the scheme of a team-wide thing.”

“So far this year it’s been good. But obviously there’s a lot of football left to be played. No one knows what’s going to happen.”

As bad as the Rams offensive line was last year, with left tackle Greg Robinson solidifying his bust status and Saffold having to move to fill gaping position holes and injury and ineffectiveness sabotaging center and right guard, they went into training camp confident that the left side of their line would be dramatically better with Whitworth, a perennial Pro Bowler, replacing Robinson and Saffold being permanently slotted at left guard.

That, coupled with Sullivan locking down center, gave the Rams peace of mind on the left side.

Things were much less certain on the right side – or, as Sullivan and others refer to it, the “young side.”

While Havenstein and Brown have solidified their position with effective, consistent play, it wasn’t so long ago the pair was considered among the biggest question marks on offense.

Havenstein was coming off an injury-riddled season and, for a time anyway, was moved to right guard when Robinson was given one-last shot at right tackle. But that plan was scrapped in OTA’s, with Havenstein moving back to tackle and Brown getting the nod – albeit tenuously – at right guard.

Rams coaches continually referred to the right side as a work in progress. Brown and Havenstein understood the situation.

“It’s the NFL. There’s always anxiety,” Havenstein said. “You’ve got to play football to stick around. But I think everyone who’s here right now had a great mentality about it. No one was scared about the competition.”

Brown and Havenstein were drafted together in 2015 and the Rams envisioned them being long-time anchors. As did the two young teammates, perhaps even side by side. But circumstances always got in the way.

Brown battled injuries, including a broken leg that limited him to nine games in 2015 and a broken hand that cost him five games last year. When he was healthy, Rams coaches couldn’t figure out a position for him. In fact, last year he played every line position but center.

Meanwhile, Havenstein missed all of training camp and preseason last year.

“So we never really were able to stick together,” Brown said. “This is the first time we’ve gotten a chance to settle in over a long period, get in sync and develop a chemistry.”

And it shows in their play — Goff has been sacked just 10 times on 244 pass attempts after going down 26 times on 205 attempts last year.

Eight games into the season, whatever anxiety that existed about the right side of the Rams line has vanished.

“Very pleased with those guys,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay. “Certainly there’s always things that we can clean up, but I think you watch their progression, the way that they continue to mature – they’re playing really good football right now. I think they’re getting comfortable, they’re getting a rapport with each other.”

There are more factors in play.

Getting consistent snaps alongside each other has been huge for Havenstein and Brown’s working relationship. The addition of McVay and offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur has meant a better utilization of individual skills and strength. And new offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has added a thorough, thoughtful voice that provides an element of high-level teaching with encouragement and allowance for input and feedback.

“Everybody is super detail oriented,” Sullivan said. “And just the dynamic of the room, the way Krom coaches, the amount of input that we’re able to give in terms of what we’re seeing and what we’re feeling. And then he’s able to take that and talk with Sean and make a final decision.”

Brown and Havenstein continually keep a close eye on their veteran teammates for tips. Especially Whitworth and Saffold their left-side tackle and guard counterparts.

“I’ve been very pleased with those guys and want to continue to seem them grow and develop,” McVay said of Brown and Havenstein. “But, just looking at where they are in their career and just kind of projecting moving forward, I feel very good about those two.”

zn wrote:

“I’ve been very pleased with those guys and want to continue to seem them grow and develop,” McVay said of Brown and Havenstein. “But, just looking at where they are in their career and just kind of projecting moving forward, I feel very good about those two.”

Yes and unfortunately, the way the league works, that future extends to the end of the 2018 season. Brown and Hav were drafted in 2015 so they are up after year 4.

Revolving door up front

Once the model of stability, offensive lines no longer stand test of time

May 21, 2010

By Len Pasquarelli | ESPN.com http://theramshuddle.com/search/Pasquarelli/

… Since free agency began in 1993, teams have averaged 1.75 new starters per year. Until three years ago, the average was 2.1.

Using the 1.75 number, on avg. NFL lines change starters at 3-4 OL spots every 2 years.

So 2019 is a big off-season for the OL.

Whitworth’s contract goes through 2019 but he’s 35.

Saffold’s contract ends after 2018.

Sullivan is on a one-year. Chances are he re-ups with the Rams whenever they ask but still he’s 32.

They might have to choose who to keep from the Brown/Hav duo and may need to add 3-4 guys by the 2019 off-season, depending on Saffold, who is 29 now–and 31 in 2019. He could be the one who sticks around the longest.

I say this reaches a critical point after 2018 in the 2019 off-season, but, they probably do something about it in 2018.

..

Rating the five best and five worst offensive lines in the NFL

Sam Farmer

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-nfl-week-10-farmer-20171111-story.html

They seldom make the highlight packages. If you hear their name during a game, it’s usually because they’ve done something wrong. Yet they are the often overlooked element when it comes to the success or failure of NFL teams.

They are the offensive linemen, and although they’re always essential, it’s this time of the season when they can really create separation. As the weather turns colder, wetter and windier, teams frequently run the ball more, relying on their big men up front to set the tone and push open holes.

It’s tricky to judge the effectiveness of an offensive line based solely on simple statistics such as sacks, yards per carry, rushing touchdowns and the like. There are so many factors and complexities — among them: What was the quarterback’s role in that sack? Did a back miss his block? Who’s carrying the ball? How good is the opposing defense at stopping the run? Several websites do a good job of drilling down on the stats, looking deeper into the numbers to assign a pecking order to the league’s 32 offensive lines, but it’s a nuanced science.

“In the end, the film is the most important thing,” said former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, whose brother, Mitchell, plays right tackle for Kansas City. “You can use stats to confirm what you see on film, but it starts with the film.”

For the purposes of ranking the NFL’s top five and bottom five offensive lines heading into the second half of the regular season, I turned to a trio of experts: Schwartz and offensive line consultant Duke Manyweather, who co-host the “Block Em’ Up” podcast; and Hall of Fame tackle Jackie Slater, who played his entire 20-year career with the Rams and now coaches offensive line at Azusa Pacific.

“It’s hard to assess offensive lines,” Manyweather said. “There are people who get it and people who don’t. A lot of people may not want to admit this, but even teams get it wrong a lot.”

Now, a look at the five lines playing the best as of Week 10:

1. Philadelphia — When nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters went down with a season-ending knee injury last month, some observers saw it as the beginning of the end for the Eagles. That did not come to pass. At 8-1, Philadelphia has the best record in the league, and the cohesiveness of the offensive line has a lot to do with that. Slater’s stance: “You can’t overlook the play-calling and the decision-making of a talented young quarterback in Carson Wentz.”

2. New Orleans — The Saints have surrendered a league-low eight sacks, which is particularly impressive considering how much Drew Brees throws the ball. The left side of the line is particularly strong with Terron Armstead at tackle and Andrus Peat at guard, and rookie Ryan Ramczyk has found a home at right tackle. Slater’s stance: “Getting Armstead back was huge, and Brees is such a quick trigger man that it always helps the line.”

3. Dallas — The Cowboys have been the gold standard in terms of offensive line play the past few seasons, and they’re seeing a lot of eight-man boxes with defenses selling out to stop Ezekiel Elliott. With that back now suspended for six games, we’ll get a better idea of how much of that running game is him, and how much is the line. Slater’s stance: “Every bit of success Jerry Jones has had as an owner is partly due to his investment in his offensive line.”

4. Rams — In one year, the Rams have gone from having the NFL’s worst line to one of its best. The addition of left tackle Andrew Whitworth was huge — Manyweather calls him the team’s most valuable offensive player so far — and getting center John Sullivan was big too. But the whole line is rolling, and Jared Goff and Todd Gurley are surely grateful. Slater’s stance: “The stability in this unit, including putting young lineman Rob Havenstein back at right tackle, has been critical.”

5. Pittsburgh — It’s a blast from the past with the Steelers dominating up front again, as they have on so many of their championship teams. This line is especially solid in the interior, with guards David DeCastro and Ramon Foster, and center Maurkice Pouncey. Slater’s stance: “Mike Munchak is coaching that offensive line, and if anyone is going to put together the best interior triad it’s that Hall of Famer.”

Best of the rest — Washington would be a top-five line but for some key injuries. … Oakland was right up there with Dallas as the league’s best last season, but the Raiders have taken a slight step backward with their scheme adjustments. … Jacksonville, Minnesota and Tennessee could all make convincing cases to be among the top five.

Here are the bottom five at this point, starting with the worst:

1. New York Giants — The one-win Giants have had a terrible season on both sides of the ball, but their offensive line has been particularly bad. Their tackles have been terrible both in pass protection and in run blocking, where they’re 27th in rushing. Slater’s stance: “The grit of this team went to Jacksonville with Tom Coughlin. The Giants should try rookie Chad Wheeler at left tackle because he could be their future.”

2. Cincinnati — The Bengals sorely miss Whitworth and guard Kevin Zeitler, now in Cleveland. They’re averaging a paltry 3.1 yards per carry, worse than everyone but Arizona (3.0). Slater’s stance: “Cincinnati’s loss was the Rams’ gain. The Bengals should never have let Andrew Whitworth go.”

3. Colts — The Colts have surrendered an NFL-high 38 sacks. Three of their starting linemen from Week 1 are on injured reserve. Compounding their talent issue up front is the fact that those guys are blocking for an indecisive young quarterback who holds onto the ball for too long. Slater’s stance: “I was on the field for warmups when the Colts played the Rams. This is a hodgepodge group of offensive linemen, and some of them don’t look the part.”

4. Broncos — Right tackle Menelik Watson has been a bust as a free-agent acquisition so far, and now he’s out for the season with a foot injury. Rookie Garett Bolles, while showing toughness and a mean streak, leads the team in penalties. Slater’s stance: “The Broncos have totally gotten away from their stretch-run scheme. That leads to undersized linemen getting exposed.”

5. Seattle — After losing their left tackle in training camp, the Seahawks limped through the first half of the season with an anemic running game. They traded for Pro Bowl tackle Duane Brown, but now he’s hurt. What’s more, Seattle’s line is constantly penalized, and it doesn’t help that Russell Wilson holds onto the ball so long. Slater’s stance: “This group relies on the dynamic play of its quarterback. It’s a line that’s high on athleticism but low on skill.”

Also struggling — Other than the Rams, it has not been a good year for offensive lines in the NFC West. A case can be made that both San Francisco and Arizona could be in the bottom five. … The lines in Buffalo and Houston also have fallen short of expectations.