Silva: Rams Lack of Urgency on O-Line Amazing/Alarming

[NERamsFan]

Just hold on boys! Soon enough we'll have Sherff and Erving coming on board and Barks & Blalock signed after. Boom!!

 

[RamFan503]

Who signed elsewhere that you think the Rams should have signed?

It may speak volumes about the actual FA class that Shelley Smith signed for more than $2 million. You get outside of the top few FAs that were paid huge jack and I really couldn't say that a few of our young guys couldn't be quite a bit more talented. How many times has it worked out for us - or most other teams - to go big on FA O-linemen? Never? I'm thinking we draft and bring along a couple of our own that won't break the bank and will allow us to keep building stability that gels and starts winning consistently. We shouldn't be reaching for need any more than in the draft. I certainly want to see us address the O-line but not from desperation. Maybe we are not actually as desperate as the fans think.

 

[CoachO]

I for one don't share everyone's "doom and gloom" opinion on the state of the Offensive Line. Do they need to add players? Of course.

But, IMO, they signed Garrett Reynolds who is an upgrade over what they had as a swing Tackle of last year. And from what I have read, his BEST position is Left Guard. Not saying they have made any decisions about that being the case, but its food for thought.

While I understand that MOST on here have little or no faith in Tim Barnes taking over the reigns at Center, he would be an upgrade over an undersized and oft injured Scott Wells. Moving Saffold back to Right Guard, and bringing back Barksdale should improve the right side of the line. Jones, Rhaney, Bond, and Washington are better options than what they had a year ago as initial depth.

So in theory, while many on here might not think this is a viable solution, it could quite possibly be the way the team is looking at this point. I think in many cases, fans base their evaluations of players they really know nothing about. They tend to assume players are as good as they were when they got here. Offensive line in general, is one of the most prominent positions where players often take into their 3rd & 4th year to develop. The Rams now have more than just a couple of those types already on the roster.

No doubt they address it in the draft. I can see them looking to add a Brandon Scherff to the mix, and suddenly, things don't look so bleak. He would immediately be in the mix to start at either LG or RT. Which then bumps Reynolds and/or Barksdale to a depth player. Jones, Rhaney are capable of playing both Center and Guard, while Washington can play both Guard and Tackle.

Again, I go back to the GSOT reference from another thread. If you take a look at the way that line was comprised over the 3 year run they had, they had Pace and Timmerman and a few who were just guys who served their roles well.

If you use Robinson, Saffold as the foundation, and add to it someone like Scherff ( or any of the others who fit the bill) to that unit, and you are a lot closer than people think.

 

[iced]

Bulaga, Iupati, Hudson, Franklin, ...

Bulaga never reached the market - pretty sure the other 3 were far out of our price range...

Hudson - 5 years / 44.5 with an 8.9 annual salary, highest paid center in the league now
Franklin - 5 years / 36.5 with 20 mill guaranteed, 7 mill a year
Iupati - 5 years / 40 million with 22.5 guaranteed

 

[RamFan503]

If their job is to field the best team and a big piece of it is looking like Swiss cheese, haven't they failed?

If they haven't finished with FA or the draft nor played even a pre-season game, I'm thinking they haven't failed yet. I understand what it looks like but I'm not ready to throw in the towel.

 

[Stel]

Bulaga, Iupati, Hudson, Franklin, ...

Buluga, 5 yrs/$35 million (resigned with his team)
Iupati, 5 yrs/$40 million
Hudson, 5 yrs/$44.5 million
Franklin, 5 yrs/$36.5 million

You think the Rams should have signed those players at those salaries? I disagree. The only one I would have considered at those contracts is Franklin. I see no failure in passing on all of them.

 

[Stel]

Boy, I'm confused...

On one hand you say:
" If they don't field a competent Oline in the first game, they have failed."

On the other hand, you say: "The quality of the Oline on April 21 says nothing about how well they are doing their job."

If their job is to field the best team and a big piece of it is looking like Swiss cheese, haven't they failed?

I must be missing somethin...

No reason to be confused. What the Oline looks like to the fans on April 21 is meaningless. How the Oline plays on opening day is important.

If our Oline today was filled with last year's Pro Bowl players but failed on opening day, that would be bad.
If we had no Oline today but our line plays at a Pro Bowl level on opening day, that would be good.

What the line is on April 21 is irrelevant to anything but fan angst. What the line is on opening day is very important.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Just hold on boys! Soon enough we'll have Sherff and Erving coming on board and Barks & Blalock signed after. Boom!!

While i'd love to draft both Scherff & Erving, how do you get there ? I've seen several of these posts projected by fans here, but if Scherff goes at 10, how do you trade back into the 1'st for Erving ? I could see other combinations with Erving using two 2'nd round draft picks from a tradedown, but i'm not understanding finding the ammunition to get Scherff & Erving. And please don't tell me you want to give up a high 2016 pick.

 

[RamFan503]

Bulaga, Iupati, Hudson, Franklin, ...

Take Bulaga off the list as he never hit the market. The others would have cost us from $7 - 9 million a year. No thanks.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Buluga, 5 yrs/$35 million (resigned with his team)
Iupati, 5 yrs/$40 million
Hudson, 5 yrs/$44.5 million
Franklin, 5 yrs/$36.5 million

You think the Rams should have signed those players at those salaries? I disagree. The only one I would have considered at those contracts is Franklin. I see no failure in passing on all of them.

Yes, I would have signed Bulaga had he remained available, ... and yes, considering the condition of our OL, I would have signed Iupati before signing Fairley. Fairley is a one year player with a $5.mil CAP hit, Iupati likely isn't much more for year 1 of a long-term contract. Now we get to face him twice a year against Arizona.

 

[Rmfnlt]

I for one don't share everyone's "doom and gloom" opinion on the state of the Offensive Line. Do they need to add players? Of course.

But, IMO, they signed Garrett Reynolds who is an upgrade over what they had as a swing Tackle of last year. And from what I have read, his BEST position is Left Guard. Not saying they have made any decisions about that being the case, but its food for thought.

While I understand that MOST on here have little or no faith in Tim Barnes taking over the reigns at Center, he would be an upgrade over an undersized and oft injured Scott Wells. Moving Saffold back to Right Guard, and bringing back Barksdale should improve the right side of the line. Jones, Rhaney, Bond, and Washington are better options than what they had a year ago as initial depth.

So in theory, while many on here might not think this is a viable solution, it could quite possibly be the way the team is looking at this point. I think in many cases, fans base their evaluations of players they really know nothing about. They tend to assume players are as good as they were when they got here. Offensive line in general, is one of the most prominent positions where players often take into their 3rd & 4th year to develop. The Rams now have more than just a couple of those types already on the roster.

No doubt they address it in the draft. I can see them looking to add a Brandon Scherff to the mix, and suddenly, things don't look so bleak. He would immediately be in the mix to start at either LG or RT. Which then bumps Reynolds and/or Barksdale to a depth player. Jones, Rhaney are capable of playing both Center and Guard, while Washington can play both Guard and Tackle.

Again, I go back to the GSOT reference from another thread. If you take a look at the way that line was comprised over the 3 year run they had, they had Pace and Timmerman and a few who were just guys who served their roles well.

If you use Robinson, Saffold as the foundation, and add to it someone like Scherff ( or any of the others who fit the bill) to that unit, and you are a lot closer than people think.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/01/08/2014-pff-offensive-line-rankings/
1. St Louis Rams (13th)
Pass Blocking Ranking: 30th, Run Blocking Ranking: 28th, Penalties Ranking: 28th
Stud: It doesn’t feel right to crown any player with a stud, with every lineman earning a negative grade. Rodger Saffold was the best of a bad bunch despite a shoulder injury.
Dud: It might be the end of the road for Scott Wells who was terrible in pass protection. You don’t see centers give up that much pressure that often.
Breakdown: Yuck. Given the investments the team has made this was something of a stunner. Jake Long went down, after a strong start the play of Joseph Barksdale fell off a cliff and Davin Joseph played exactly as you’d expect him to (not well). Then there was Greg Robinson who looked lost as the line tried to find a role for him. Will he be better in 2015 now the team has committed to him at left tackle?

Saying the 2015 line might be better (and I don't think many would say significantly better) that this is one of my concerns.

I guess I'm done discussing this for now... you either have faith in Snead/Fisher/Boudreau or not.

As far as the Oline goes, I don't have a lot of faith... I truly hope they prove me wrong!

 

[RamFan503]

I for one don't share everyone's "doom and gloom" opinion on the state of the Offensive Line. Do they need to add players? Of course.

But, IMO, they signed Garrett Reynolds who is an upgrade over what they had as a swing Tackle of last year. And from what I have read, his BEST position is Left Guard. Not saying they have made any decisions about that being the case, but its food for thought.

While I understand that MOST on here have little or no faith in Tim Barnes taking over the reigns at Center, he would be an upgrade over an undersized and oft injured Scott Wells. Moving Saffold back to Right Guard, and bringing back Barksdale should improve the right side of the line. Jones, Rhaney, Bond, and Washington are better options than what they had a year ago as initial depth.

So in theory, while many on here might not think this is a viable solution, it could quite possibly be the way the team is looking at this point. I think in many cases, fans base their evaluations of players they really know nothing about. They tend to assume players are as good as they were when they got here. Offensive line in general, is one of the most prominent positions where players often take into their 3rd & 4th year to develop. The Rams now have more than just a couple of those types already on the roster.

No doubt they address it in the draft. I can see them looking to add a Brandon Scherff to the mix, and suddenly, things don't look so bleak. He would immediately be in the mix to start at either LG or RT. Which then bumps Reynolds and/or Barksdale to a depth player. Jones, Rhaney are capable of playing both Center and Guard, while Washington can play both Guard and Tackle.

Again, I go back to the GSOT reference from another thread. If you take a look at the way that line was comprised over the 3 year run they had, they had Pace and Timmerman and a few who were just guys who served their roles well.

If you use Robinson, Saffold as the foundation, and add to it someone like Scherff ( or any of the others who fit the bill) to that unit, and you are a lot closer than people think.

Thanks. And I agree. I don't think there is a poster here that actually knows what the coaches know about our players. I'm not saying they have a perfect grasp or that the fans are inherently wrong but I just don't know that all the gloom and doom is necessary. I think you gave us a pretty good run down on who we have and I know it is not popular but we may be close to having an O-line that ain't half bad and also has pieces have been together for long enough to possibly fit together better than by adding some expensive FA.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Couldn't agree more! The O line will be this year's excuse for not making the playoffs.

What was last years "excuse?"

 

[LACHAMP46]

While i'd love to draft both Scherff & Erving, how do you get there ?

trade 10 back
all of the "experts" say Scherff is a top 10 talent, and while he can run, shows determination, and comes from OL factory Iowa. He screams Matthews/Fisher/Joekle to me and while these guys aren't busts, they are NOT top 10 talent. I would never take a projected OG in the top 20...So he could fall out of the top 20 easy...and with a trade back, maybe we could get him & Erving...just saying....

 

[Riverumbbq]

What was last years "excuse?"

The OL, ... and some guy named Sam Bradford.

 

[RamFan503]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/01/08/2014-pff-offensive-line-rankings/
1. St Louis Rams (13th)
Pass Blocking Ranking: 30th, Run Blocking Ranking: 28th, Penalties Ranking: 28th
Stud: It doesn’t feel right to crown any player with a stud, with every lineman earning a negative grade. Rodger Saffold was the best of a bad bunch despite a shoulder injury.
Dud: It might be the end of the road for Scott Wells who was terrible in pass protection. You don’t see centers give up that much pressure that often.
Breakdown: Yuck. Given the investments the team has made this was something of a stunner. Jake Long went down, after a strong start the play of Joseph Barksdale fell off a cliff and Davin Joseph played exactly as you’d expect him to (not well). Then there was Greg Robinson who looked lost as the line tried to find a role for him. Will he be better in 2015 now the team has committed to him at left tackle?

Saying the 2015 line might be better (and I don't think many would say significantly better) that this is one of my concerns.

I guess I'm done discussing this for now... you either have faith in Snead/Fisher/Boudreau or not.

As far as the Oline goes, I don't have a lot of faith... I truly hope they prove me wrong!

Y'know - if you go by PFF, the Rams should have finished dead last in the NFL by a mile. There is no way the defense and offense could have been as bad as they say and have the Rams even compete with the other teams. IMO - an O-line that is missing a couple pieces can look absolutely dreadful. I'd love some nasty beef on our line and that is my personal top priority for the team. Doesn't mean I'm right in how I would go about it though. I personally find PFF's scoring system useless. I think it is yet another example of someone needing to find a unique system that somehow makes them relevant - y'know - like ESPN's QB rating system.

 

[RamFan503]

The OL, ... and some guy named Sam Bradford.

Who?

 

[Rmfnlt]

Y'know - if you go by PFF, the Rams should have finished dead last in the NFL by a mile. There is no way the defense and offense could have been as bad as they say and have the Rams even compete with the other teams. IMO - an O-line that is missing a couple pieces can look absolutely dreadful. I'd love some nasty beef on our line and that is my personal top priority for the team. Doesn't mean I'm right in how I would go about it though. I personally find PFF's scoring system useless. I think it is yet another example of someone needing to find a unique system that somehow makes them relevant - y'know - like ESPN's QB rating system.

And I agree with questioning "rating systems" as a general rule... UNLESS, I watch every game and my eyes line up with those ratings systems.

With regard to the 2014 Rams Oline? They lined up unfortunately.

 

[Riverumbbq]

trade 10 back
all of the "experts" say Scherff is a top 10 talent, and while he can run, shows determination, and comes from OL factory Iowa. He screams Matthews/Fisher/Joekle to me and while these guys aren't busts, they are NOT top 10 talent. I would never take a projected OG in the top 20...So he could fall out of the top 20 easy...and with a trade back, maybe we could get him & Erving...just saying....

While I agree, and have myself mocked Flowers & Erving in a trade-down, my question to NERamsFan was how he would accomplish his goal of Scherff/Erving ? If I thought Scherff/Erving was doable, I wouldn't mind it at all.

 

[Mojo Ram]

The OL, ... and some guy named Sam Bradford.

Ok i'll buy that, but i'm going to go with the 1-4 start. Even playoff teams with average QB play don't come out unprepared and dig themselves a hole like that.