[safer]

Outside of AD and Fletcher Cox, Chris Jones may be the best DT in the league. There is NO way the Chiefs don't tie him up, longtime.
I DO like the three NT's you mentioned (my guy, Phillips being one of them).

As for creating cap space, I'd be surprised to see either of Brockers or Whit on next year's roster. It is time for us to get more creative on our wide outs, even if that leads to having to trade a really good, team stud. It might be time to move Woods (who I love) for a pick OR even a starting OG. I think we need to finally see what our depth at w/o can do, before we just let them go as F/A's in a year or two.

[CanuckRightWinger]

I'm with R4L.
Counting on "player improvement" as a reason for being optimistic about a PlayOff Bound Rams team in 2020 is a Fool's Errand IMO.

So.....like are all the other NFL Teams' rookies and 2nd Year guys all going to regress in 2020 whilst only the Rams guys like Evans, Edwards, Corbett and Rapp are going to improve?

FACTS:
We missed the 2019 Playoffs because of a crappy OLine.
Its crappiness affected Goff and Gurley production big time,
which affected Los Ramos 2019 points production,
which also produced less 1st Downs for the guys in Horns,
which kept our D on the field too long and got them gassed & exposed
......and we went 9-7 and outa the NFL Playoffs.

Guys who say "Hey, relax because our youthful OLine were pure crackerjacks the second part of the season......
TAKE IT TO THE BANK, super bright futures for one and all"......
well, IMHO they see things differently than my eyes do.

My eyes, Post-Rams Bye Week, saw us play 3 non-divisional foes that fielded good Defenses....
Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Dallas.

Versus Pittsburgh our crackerjack OLine helped us score 3 (THREE) Offensive points....the other 9 points, in our 17-12 loss, came on Fowler TD Fumble Return and 2 points on AD's safety score on Rudolph. Goff suffered 4 sacks, 9 QB hits, 1 fumble, 2 picks and a 51 QB Rating!

Versus Baltimore our youthful OLine helped churn out a TOTAL of 6 (SIX) points....AT HOME!!

At Dallas, IN A MUST WIN GAME, we totally overproduced with our OLine .....21 total points,
of which 14 came in the last 3:17 of regulation time ie. GARBAGE TIME
in a 44-21 domination beatdown
where Los Ramos' road-graders helped muster 22 rushing yds on 17 carries for a whopping 1.6 yards per carry.

Oh yeah, per Kromer's Homers.....we're set at OLine for 2020 alright!!!

[R4L]

I'm with R4L.
Counting on "player improvement" as a reason for being optimistic about a PlayOff Bound Rams team in 2020 is a Fool's Errand IMO.

So.....like are all the other NFL Teams' rookies and 2nd Year guys all going to regress in 2020 whilst only the Rams guys like Evans, Edwards and Rapp are going to improve?

FACTS:
We missed the 2019 Playoffs because of a crappy OLine.
Its crappiness affected Goff and Gurley production big time,
which affected Los Ramos 2019 points production,
which also produced less 1st Downs for the guys in Horns,
which kept our D on the field too long and got them gassed & exposed
......and we went 9-7 and outa the NFL Playoffs.

Guys who say "Hey, relax because our youthful OLine were pure crackerjacks the second part of the season......
TAKE IT TO THE BANK, super bright futures for one and all"......
well, IMHO they see things differently than my eyes do.

My eyes, Post-Rams Bye Week, saw us play 3 non-divisional foes that fielded good Defenses....
Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Dallas.

Versus Pittsburgh our crackerjack OLine helped us score 3 (THREE) Offensive points....the other 9 points, in our 17-12 loss, came on Fowler TD Fumble Return and 2 points on AD's safety score on Rudolph. Goff suffered 4 sacks, 9 QB hits, 1 fumble, 2 picks and a 51 QB Rating!

Versus Baltimore our youthful OLine helped churn out a TOTAL of 6 (SIX) points....AT HOME!!

At Dallas, IN A MUST WIN GAME, we totally overproduced with our OLine .....21 total points,
of which 14 came in the last 3:17 of regulation time
in a 44-21 domination beatdown
where Los Ramos' road-graders helped muster 22 rushing yds on 17 carries for a whopping 1.6 yards per carry.

Oh yeah, per Kromer's Homers.....we're set at OLine for 2020 alright!!!

Great post my friend. The "Kromer homers" as you call them assured us Noteboom and Allen were "battle tested" in practice.

[snackdaddy]

Oh yeah, per Kromer's Homers.....we're set at OLine for 2020 alright!!!

I'm not as convinced as you are that Kromer was the deciding factor in player acquisitions and sitting them in the preseason. I wouldn't give a position coach that much credit or blame.

In 2017 and 2018 they were very good. In 2019 they were not. Why? Turnover, that is why. They were not so lucky on the injury front as they were the previous two years.

Face it, you cannot have a top tier line every year. Some years things are not going your way. Goff was not sacked many times. IIRC, neither was Keenum and Foles in 2015. But the offense still struggled.

Bottom line, you have to have a good system in place to overcome injuries. And a quarterback who knows how to overcome them too. Sacks happen. Pressure happens. QB hits happen. Its what you do with all of that and what you do when the pocket is clean.

Brady is maybe the most immobile QB in the league but he doesn't get sacked near as many times as most others. Why? Because the QB and the system. That is why. McVay needs to build a system like that and get Goff to learn how to deal with the pressure. And make plays when the opportunity is there.

[/zn/]

In 2017 and 2018 they were very good. In 2019 they were not. Why? Turnover, that is why. They were not so lucky on the injury front as they were the previous two years. .

Traditionally OL coaches are very involved in the draft and in fact no GM in his right mind would do it any other way, since you have to give the OL coach the exact kinds of players he needs and wants. Kromer we know is very involved, that's in the record.

And he did well, considering the OL stabilized with 2 rookies starting after the injuries. That's not how that is supposed to go--if you're replacing 3 injured OL with inexperienced players, including 2 rookies, it's not supposed to go as well as it did.

As for the original OL from the first 6 weeks or so? They say Noteboom was improving. That aside, the real issue in 2019 IMO was that both OTs started the season out shaky. You can start 2 newbies inside if your OTs hold up and they didn't. At least AW got it back together.

If you follow the history of OL draft picks associated with Kromer going back to the Saints, he has a great record. In contrast, Hanifan, Loney, and Boudreau didn't have such a great record picking OL in the draft.

[CanuckRightWinger]

zn wrote:
And he did well, considering the OL stabilized with 2 rookies starting after the injuries. That's not how that is supposed to go--if you're replacing 3 injured OL with inexperienced players, including 2 rookies, it's not supposed to go as well as it did.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ME:
Yeah, yeah.....he (Kromer) did well??

In the 3 post-ByeWeek Rams losses I noted...
against Pittsburgh (non-playoff team playing a backup QB),
vs Baltimore (AT HOME),
and Dallas (A MUST WIN GAME FOR US)…….
in those 3 games, save for 2 Garbage Time TDs in Dallas, our OLine mustered 3 Offensive Points in Pitt, 6 at home vs Ravens, and 7 in the first 56 minutes at Dallas.....y'know, during GoTime! That's 16 points in 3 games, versus 3 teams, where 2 weren't even Playoff teams!

Newsflash for Kromer fans: Our 2019 OLine was NOT good!
But if you want to ignore Game Outcomes, where the Rams lose...fine!

SO, here's another bit of evidence at how POORLY Kromer's OLine fared in 2019:
Per "ESPN Stats" under Team Rushing, the 2019 Los Ramos averaged a paltry 3.7 Yards/Rushing Attempt. That tied us with teams like Chicago where a coupla weeks ago, on January 05th, Juan Castillo was installed as the Bears NEW OLINE COACH!!!

FYI, ONLY THE DUMPSTER FIRE SQUADS MIAMI AND NY JETS HAD A WORSE YPA RUSHING (3.3) THAN THE 2019 LOS RAMOS OLINE!!

He did well????!!!!

[CanuckRightWinger]

"But they (Kromer's OLine) couldn't run block for shit SOME games??"

Really?
Because FYI, that ESPN anemic 3.7 Rams OLine YPA,
only slightly better than NFL Worst 3.3 YPA of Miami & Jets....
was for the 2019 entire season.....all 16 games of the 2019 season!

But....MY analysis is "weird"??

Hey, you blamed McVay and Goff in the Pittsburgh loss, who you gonna blame for 3.7 YPA for all 16 games huh???
Todd Gurley?
Malcolm Brown?
Darrell Henderson?
John Kelly?

Take your pick Dick. I'm just trying to give you new ideas!
….because when you look at the numbers, finding talking points to defend Kromer's 2019 product is tough sledding eh!!

[CanuckRightWinger]

I blame Kromer. You blame McVay.
I've pushed for Kromer's termination and replacement.
Are YOU pushing for McVay's termination and replacement?

For me, tt's called "having the courage of your convictions."
For you? I am guessing "not so much" eh?

[Neil039]

@CanuckRightWinger
Some interim HC in Washington DC was just replaced by RiverBoat! Maybe since he's still unemployed you can reach out from the great white north and offer up Sunny LA as his next destination???

Firing McVay seems incredibly far fetched. The Oline was filled with possibly 2-3 future pro wrestlers 🤔

[PARAM]

I'm with R4L.
Counting on "player improvement" as a reason for being optimistic about a PlayOff Bound Rams team in 2020 is a Fool's Errand IMO.

So.....like are all the other NFL Teams' rookies and 2nd Year guys all going to regress in 2020 whilst only the Rams guys like Evans, Edwards, Corbett and Rapp are going to improve?

FACTS:
We missed the 2019 Playoffs because of a crappy OLine.
Its crappiness affected Goff and Gurley production big time,
which affected Los Ramos 2019 points production,
which also produced less 1st Downs for the guys in Horns,
which kept our D on the field too long and got them gassed & exposed
......and we went 9-7 and outa the NFL Playoffs.

Guys who say "Hey, relax because our youthful OLine were pure crackerjacks the second part of the season......
TAKE IT TO THE BANK, super bright futures for one and all"......
well, IMHO they see things differently than my eyes do.

My eyes, Post-Rams Bye Week, saw us play 3 non-divisional foes that fielded good Defenses....
Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Dallas.

Versus Pittsburgh our crackerjack OLine helped us score 3 (THREE) Offensive points....the other 9 points, in our 17-12 loss, came on Fowler TD Fumble Return and 2 points on AD's safety score on Rudolph. Goff suffered 4 sacks, 9 QB hits, 1 fumble, 2 picks and a 51 QB Rating!

Versus Baltimore our youthful OLine helped churn out a TOTAL of 6 (SIX) points....AT HOME!!

At Dallas, IN A MUST WIN GAME, we totally overproduced with our OLine .....21 total points,
of which 14 came in the last 3:17 of regulation time ie. GARBAGE TIME
in a 44-21 domination beatdown
where Los Ramos' road-graders helped muster 22 rushing yds on 17 carries for a whopping 1.6 yards per carry.

Oh yeah, per Kromer's Homers.....we're set at OLine for 2020 alright!!!

Bottom line for me is this > I don't know how well (or not) the young OL played. That's for the staff to figure out after watching tape. Same with the young players up and down the roster. Joesph-Day, Okoronkwo, etc. I don't know how the new DC views guys like Littleton, Fowler, Matthews, Brockers and Weddle so some (or all) could stay or likewise, go. It depends on exactly what he wants to run and what he sees on tape, as well as how creative Demoff/Snead can be with the cap. I'd love to be able to say "we need this or that, him or him" but I can't. I do know as with every team there will be changes and some fans will like them while some fans won't. I trust McVay and Snead, so IMHO they will do the best for the Rams and the staff will do their best to allow them to succeed. I've enjoyed the last 3 years with our 37-17 record in all games and I expect we can expect more of the same going forward.