But, Fisher said, they played good. We had a few minor problems, but we will fix that.

I think Robinson misses Saffold. He did better after they put Reynolds over there. And, I think Havenstein is used to working with Brown. Let’s see what they do against KC.

Robinson and Saffold have been joined at the hip since rehab, Brown and Havenstein since the draft. I don’t know why they had to change that last game.

bnw wrote:

Why wasn’t Fairley playing?

Good question. Although, I think JT tweeted today that he has a sore collar bone.

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/8/31/9232083/grob-and-hav-play-by-play-vs-the-colts-ol-trending-up

GRob and Hav play-by-play Vs the Colts… OL trending up

By Will not be defeated on Aug 31, 2015, 10:39a 4
Tweet Share
Pin

After the long post last week detailing the whole line vs the Titans I have limited this one to looking at Greg Robinson and Rob Havenstein, although I have also recorded what I think are other notable moments.

Also, the normal disclaimer exists; I am just a fan recording what I see each play and am aware that I am not going to be invited to submit my resume to assist Coach Boo anytime soon.

The Colts are lined up in a 3-4 D unless stated.

1st possession

1st & 10:

Grob lines up across from the DE (Kendall Langford). Off the snap Langford moves half a step right to make sure he is not completely aligned with GRob. Langford puts his straightened left arm in to GRob’s chest and uses that to pivot himself around GRobs left side. GRob never manages to clear Langford’s arm until Langford is past an makes the tackle on Mason in the backfield. This looks somewhat pre-planned and may be based upon experience gained from the 2014 training camp.

Hav is quite quick off the line and looking for the OLB (Trent Cole). Hav runs past Cole on the line and has gone too far. To keep Cole out of the play Hav grabs hold of Coles numbers with his dragging right arm (given some of the other ticky tack penalties against the Rams, am surprised this one was not called). Cole starts to come across the line but the play is dead before he gets there.

Of note: On this play Cook was assigned the LB (Bjoern Werner). Cook never gets his hands high enough and Werner comes around him as if Cook is not there and joins Langford in tackling Mason in the backfield.

2nd & 14:

GRob is slow out of his stance against the LB (Jerrell Freeman). Freeman swipes with his right arm and clears GRob’s hands and is off towards Foles. Jamon Brown has GRob’s back and prevents the sack by delivering a big shoulder hit to send Freeman high and away from Foles. Freeman is possessed though and motors back down the field and appears at the right moment to tackle Mason as he receives the pass from Foles.

Hav is one-on-one with the other LB (Erik Walden). Walden dips his right shoulder and tries to speed around the outside. Hav mirrors Walden with 2 kick steps right (Hav’s balance and speed looks okay even if this is not the smoothest motion) but then Kendricks gets in his way to prevent Hav sliding further right with Walden and Walden gains half a yard. Kendricks then goes downfield and leaving Hav chasing Walden. Walden appears to be past for a moment but a desperate (and rather ungainly) chase by Hav allows Hav to push Walden 3 yards high of Foles. Kendricks does a nice job of making Hav to lose form and needs to have greater awareness.

Of note: After the push on Walden, Hav shows good effort to the whistle. As Mason is tackled downfield Hav pops up on screen (he never made an further impact on the play, but the determination to make up ground and block downfield was there).

3rd & 9:

Grob is assigned Freeman (lined up as the 3-4 DE). GRob is up and has 2 steps before Freeman moves. GRob looks to be in a good position as he waits for Freeman. Freeman is slow up and then feints inside. This stands GRob up and then Freeman totally burns GRob around the outside.

Of note: Mason does a good job is picking up Walden looping in from the left OLB spot and drives Walden left away from Foles and directly in to Freeman’s path which stopped Freeman too.

Hav has the DE (Langford). Hav gets good hand position on Langford’s frame & shepherds him outside and high. Langford then takes a chip from Cook and is completely out of the play.

Penalty sends the Rams back.

3rd & 14:

Colts show blitz with 5 but drop the NT into coverage rushing the other 4.

GRob has the LB (Freeman). Freeman immediately comes inside of the snap and Grob lets Freeman comes across his body and allows Freeman to come behind Brown, and then uses Freeman’s momentum to keep sending Freeman right of Foles and out of the play.

Hav initially has the LB (Walden) & delivers a hard two handed punch high up on Walden’s chest which arches Walden back slightly. Walden then stunts inside towards Rhaney and Hav picks up the DE (Langford) who Rhaney handed on. Hav delivers a single punch to Langford and the ball is out.

4th & 5: Punt

2nd possession.

1st & 10:

Grob has Freeman from the LB position. Grob is initially shows good footwork to mirror Freeman inside and then back out, but GRob is looking to get hands on Freeman and overreaches and leaves all his weight on his left leg. Freeman sees this and goes to GRobs right. GRob somehow stays with the job and ends up shoving Freeman in to the dirt behind Foles with a left hand to the back. NB: I believe that GRob had hold of Freeman with his right hand on Freeman’s numbers and used that to swing and pull Freeman down as Freeman went inside otherwise it makes no sense for Freeman to have fallen as he did, but no penalty was called and I cannot see through Freeman to be sure.

Hav has Langford from the DE spot. He gets help from Rhaney inside and Langford is neutralized. Although Langford hustles to stay in the play he has too much work to do to catch up after being well shielded out of the play initially.

1st & 10:

Run play and GRob is up and shields the LB (Trent Cole). Cole tries to come inside but Barrett Jones had come across & hits Cole high and bends Cole back a little.

Hav is very quick off the snap and has 2 hands on Langford’s frame. Hav moves Langford 4 yards inside in an instant and Hav stays on him and leaves Langford sliding backwards across the deck (although Langford does get a hand on the runner as he was going down).

2nd & 5:

GRob chips the DE Langford as he moves out in to the 2nd level where he shields the SS (Mike Adams) outside. This was clearly the designed play call & GRob did his job well, but I have to question the wisdom of any play that leaves Jared Cook to go one-on-one with Langford… no prizes guessing how that match-up ended.

Hav is out on to the LB (Cole) with Kendricks. Hav leaves Kendricks to it and moves up field where he finds Freeman. Hav manhandles Freeman and lets him go after putting him 6 yards down the field.

Of note: Kendricks does not do well once Hav leaves him. Cole passes inside and as the runner has lost moment Cole is able to yank him backwards.

3rd & 3:

GRob initially doubles the DT (David Parry) with Brown and they force Parry down to one knee. GRob then kicks out left to push the LB (Cole) high & Mason is long gone to the right.

Hav has the LB (Jonathan Newsome). Hav grabs Newsome’s frame and gets a bit of a shove on to the outside as Mason goes outside them both. Rhaney then blocks his man in to the back of Hav’s legs which drops Hav to the floor. This allows Newsome to get away but he is too far back to have any part of the tackle.

1st & 10:

Play action for the first time.

GRob locks up with the DE (Langford) and gets some help from Brown inside. As Brown moves on, GRob swings Langford left and pulls him down. Not called but could have been.

Hav is off the snap quickly and looking for the LB (Freeman). Freeman backs off when he sees the PA leaving Hav to hold his gap. When no rusher comes Hav trundles downfield. As Hav looks to engage Trent Cole the play goes dead.

Of note: Jones gets called for a face mask. The camera angle is not great and Jones is momentarily out of shot, but I watched this 5 or 6 times and simply cannot see where Jones has his hands that high for the face mask to have happened. I call BS on this one.

1st & 25:

GRob initially goes one-on-one with the LB (Cole) and stonewalls him. GRob then looks to slide left past Cole and then get right. GRob keeps hold of Cole by the numbers with his right arm yanks Cole backwards with a sort of clothesline. Probably should have been called for that.

Hav has the LB (Newsome) and easily shields him outside and out of the play.

2nd & 24:

Colts line up with only the NT as a down lineman. Two more linemen are arriving late to the NTs right and the rest of the D is dropped back. Rams run a screen.

GRob has the DE (Montori Hughes). Hughes bull rushes and GRob is giving up ground. GRob never manages to anchor but holds up for long enough for Foles to draw the other linemen in for the screen.

No initial rusher goes at Hav. Hav gets into a good position once Cunningham goes outside for the screen. Hav blocks the LB (Cole) inside once Cunningham is moving and Cole is out of the play.

Of note: Rhaney got downfield and got in a good low block to spring Cunningham for an additional 7 yards.

3rd & 8:

Colts line up in 4-3 D.

GRob has the DE (Freeman). Freeman delivers a big right hand and is halfway past outside. Freeman has his hands out diving looking for the strip sack when GRob manages to slow Freeman slightly. That allowed Foles to get the pass away but Freeman does hit Foles and bring him to the ground.

Hav has the DE (No. not clear) and offers the outside. Hav keeps the DE outside and then forces him high behind Foles.

1st & 10:

GRob is out of his stance and waits for the LB (Cole). The LB looks for opportunity and tries to go along the line. GRob goes at him and slides left past Cole, again keeping hold of Cole’s numbers with his right hand swings Cole around. No penalty called again.

Hav chips the DE (Henry Anderson) and looks to get out to the 2nd level. Anderson comes inside and is the first to hit Pead in the backfield.

Of note: this was one of the few times that the interior was totally dominated. 4 Colts hit Pead in the backfield with 2 more closing in fast. This was probably one of only two protection call that Jones messed up.

2nd & 11:

GRob has the DE (Langford). Langford gets a high left hand in and GRob concedes a few yards but the pass is out before before Langford is within 3 yards of Foles.

Hav and Rhaney double the DE. The DE makes little effort and the pass is out.

3rd & 8:

Colts show blitz with 7 in to the line and send 5.

GRob steps with the LB (Freeman) and Freeman tries to swipe GRob’s hands away but GRob is strong and keeps position. Freeman tries to go outside but finds Cunningham in his path. Looks like GRob had it covered anyway.

Hav has the LB (No. not clear). The LB intimates to go outside. Hav mirrors with good footwork and the LB gives up on the play.

4th & inches.

Rams intend to run the 4 gap inside Hav.

GRob has the S (Adams) lined up in front. GRob goes forward off the snap and the S wants none of it. GRob continues to rumble forward a step of two but does not contact a defender on the play.

Hav doubles the LB (Newsome) with Kendricks and then steps forward to seal off the CB (Vontae Davis) outside.

Of note: Cook makes no attempt to block the LB (Walden) outside GRob and allows Walden to run all the way down behind the Rams line. Walden does not get near to the tackle, but Cook’s lack of attempt was disappointing.

Of note (2): The entire Rams interior lose a yard off the snap. It was lucky Cunningham was able to find the crease left by Hav and dive for the first. Not impressive stuff here.

1st & 10:

GRob has the DE (Langford). GRob leverages Langford outside & pushes on Langford’s left shoulder which sends Langford flat on to his back.

Hav drives left off the snap and then slides out between the D line in to the 2nd level. He never really hits anyone and only ends up grabbing the ILBs left shoulder and swinging him around. Should have been called but was difficult to see at full speed.

2nd & 8:

Grob is back in to his stance quickly. The LB (Newsome) feints inside and GRob steps with him perfectly. Newsome feints outside and GRob again steps with him. Newsome then goes inside and GRob is on to him. GRob forces Newsome off balance and then introduces him to the ground. GRobs best play of the night.

Hav has the DE (Langford). Hav is straight in to him and pushes Langford left. Langford slips and Hav drives Langford to the floor. Hav is then back up and flattens Walden on top of the pile.

3rd & 7:

GRob has the LB (Newsome). Newsome tries a spin move but has fooled no-one. GRob has him covered and Brown comes in an gives Newsome a shove left for good measure. Unfortunately, because of pressure from the right Foles has been forced left out of the pocket and Brown’s shove allowed Newsome to pressure Foles as he threw it away.

Hav is lined up with the LB (Walden). Hav is back in his stance waiting for Walden when Cunningham comes around outside Hav and delivers a big (BIG!) chip block. Cunningham’s block sends Walden more than a yard left and leaves Hav in a bad position. Walden has a free path inside to chase Foles.

Of note: This was one of the rare occasions where the Rams allow Langford to go one-on-one with the interior. Langford absolutely abuses Rhaney. To stop Langford has to dive and grab the face mask as Langford went past. The penalty puts the Rams back out of FG range.

Of note (2): It was the NT (Anderson) that got nearest to Foles on the play. Jones did a good job one-on-one with the NT and it was only when Foles was forced left (due to Rhaney being beaten) that the NT had a path to Foles.

3rd & 22:

Colts switch to 4-3 D.

GRob has the DE (Newsome). Newsome is quick off the snap but so is GRob. GRob retreats 4 yards towards Foles before he touches Newsome. Newsome tries to bull rush & GRob gives another yard. GRob then anchors and stops Newsome 2 yards from Foles and from that point appears to win the physical battle.

Hav has the DE (Walden). Walden guesses the snap count perfectly and is off the line like a rocket (Walden is 3 yards across the LOS before Foles even catches the snap in the shotgun!) & gets outside Hav and clear. Hav turns around to chase but is only able to grab the back of Walden’s jersey as he sacks Foles.

4th & 29: Punt.

3rd possession.

1st & 10:

Play action and fake end around stands the D up.

GRob has the DE (No. not clear but he looks like a dump truck). GRob is out into the DE and shoves him 4 yards across the LOS but then stops. The DE then looks to get at Foles but the long bomb is out for the TD.

Hav has the DE (Langford). Hav comfortably holds the edge. Rhaney is lurking in support too but turns inside when he sees he is not needed.

4th possession.

1st & 10:

I did not have a great view of this play on the replay but it is clearly a run off of LT.

GRob is one-on-one with the DE (Langford). GRob loses the initial battle and Langford pushes GRob upright and back a yard. GRob ends up 3 yards behind the LOS as Langford falls over, but Langford’s job was done by that time.

Hav comes left across the line and delivers a low block on the DE (Hughes) which floors Hughes for a moment. Hughes is back up in a flash but the play has gone away from him.

2nd & 10:

GRob is straight out to the 2nd level and goes toward Freeman. GRob does not do enough and Freeman comes across to make the tackle on Cunningham.

Hav has the LB (Walden). He wants Walden to go outside but Walden tries to come underneath. Hav is still in good position and as Walden comes across Hav forces Walden harmlessly in to the pile.

Of note: When GRob is out to the 2nd level that left Cook to block the DE (Hughes). Hughes comes inside and Cook helps him on his way using Hughes’ momentum to leave him 5 yards along the LOS and stifled by the pile. Not a bad job.

Of note (2): Rams get called for an illegal formation. Sigh.

2nd & 15:

GRob has no rusher and holds his gap. He then picks up DE off of the TE as the pass is away.

Hav sells the screen and lures the LB (Freeman) inside and seals him as the pass goes outside to Cunningham.

Of note: Nice (and nasty!) low block by Rhaney downfield springs Cunningham for the 1st (after a very generous spot).

1st & 10:

GRob has the DE (Hughes). Gets some help from the TE and Hughes is a bystander for this play.

The OLB (Walden) comes late to the line and the ILB (D’Qwell Jackson) comes on a delayed blitz. Rhaney has turned inside to help Jones too soon and Hav has 2 men. Hav tries to take Walden but Hav appears to have his eye taken by the ILB and Walden blasts away around the outside. Both LBs arrive at Foles for the sack. Not a great protection called by Jones here and Rhaney needs to show more awareness.

2nd & 19:

GRob has the DE (Langford). Langford goes outside and GRob steps with him nicely. Langford gives up on the play.

Hav kicks out right (a huge step) and blocks the LB (Newsome). Hav gives a little ground but not enough that would have bothered Foles.

Of note: Rhaney was beaten all ends up by a swim move from the DE (Zack Kerr) who went past on the Rhaney’s right side and forced Foles to get the pass out quickly (it was still a catchable ball to Britt who dropped it).

3rd & 19:

Colts switch to a 4-3.

GRob has the DE (cannot tell who). GRob waits for the DE who makes a move outside. GRob is in great position and the DE gives up on the play.

Kendricks gets out and chips the DE (Newsome). Hav picks up Newsome as Kendricks moves out. The pass is out quick over Newsome’s head to Kendricks (but with no blocker Kendricks is dropped for a small gain).

4th & 16: Punt

And that was a wrap for the first string.

After a rough start I thought GRob got better and better, but man was that a rough start. Against Langford he did not have it all his own way but then Langford is a good lineman and will have his moments against anyone. He mirrors speed rushers nice but needs to show a little more patience while waiting for them and not over-committing and making their work easy. Still, he did not give up a sack.

Watching live I thought Hav was beaten a number of times, and he was, but there are a number of factors that made it look worse for him. Cunningham blocking his man so far to open a different path wont happen again and Kendricks getting in his way is on Kendricks. That said, he needs to find a way to deal with speed rushers or it is going to be a very long season for him.

I thought Barrett Jones was night and day from how he looked against the Raiders. Perhaps it was just rust he was knocking off as he has improved each game since. He did a nice job of protections and as he learns more about his opponents he will only get better. He also did not get notably abused. Jones is definitely trending upwards right now.

It was also notable that the Colts moved personnel all over which probably made the calls even harder. That said, it was clearly the simple game plan that whichever side Langford went then the OT took him and the the other DT took the OLB which allowed the interior to not become overwhelmed. When they deviated from this is when Rhaney was getting beat.

A final general observation is that when the Rams went PA it worked. Well. Hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

Congratulations to anyone who made it to then end of this again this week.

I am on the side that is not worried about the OL. Maybe I am by myself, but so be it. 😉

Things are rough getting started, but who thought it was going to be easy? These guys won’t hit their stride until 2016 and there will be some bumps along the way. It is going to take Robinson an extra year to get ready. He is just too raw. It appears we have enough depth to live without Saffold. imo

Good article. Sounded pretty much spot on to me. Although I thought Cook had a couple good blocks in the first quarter.

I thought Havenstein played better than Robinson last night. Before last night Robinson, Brown, and Havenstein only played 27 snaps. I think they should have played more. I am waiting to see what they try in the 4th preseason game. Is Saffold really going to be OK?

Expecting Robinson to play good LT this soon is not realistic. imo He just has too much too learn. I will guess and say that what Robinson demonstrated last night is, that it takes time to learn new stuff and then more time to incorporate the new stuff into actual game play.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Agamemnon.

Brockers lost weight last year to better rush the passer. Then they drafted Donald and Brockers played NT. This year he took up boxing.