[aeneas1]

so did the 2015 rams field a solid offensive line? the rams ranked 5th best in yards per carry and 3rd best in lowest sack %.

[CanuckRightWinger]

Yeah, I was hoping for Bill Callahan, McVay's old Redskin colleague too.....as you say...."pretty jacked" if we'd have landed the former Raider HC who lost to Jon Gruden's TB Bucs a coupla decades ago eh!

You're right Elvis in that I DO see Kromer as one of those Martin Borman-type inner circle survivor con-artist/snake oil salesman characters. IMO, I think Les Snead grabbed Whitworth very quickly when Bengal Owner Brown balked briefly and cheaped-out on his Bengal ProBowl LT....and did so without much, if any, input from Kromer, who was still brushing the accumulated Buffalo NY icicles off his lapels when he arrived on the West Coast.

Sully came in later in the 2017 offseason IIRC, and "maybe" Kromer had some input on Sullivan .....BUT, let's also remember that McVay knew Sullivan's Redskins work from their stint together in Washington DC.

So again, not to beat it to death....but to me, Kromer INHERITED the OLine studs of Whit, Saffold, Sully, Brown and Hav in 2017....he inserted Blythe for the suspended Jamon Brown in 2018. AND....That Zero Ram OLine Injuries Serendipity also helped Kromer look good in 2017-18.

In 2019, as ralphdeiterbrock opined, when, in the midst of some OL replacements adversity, Ramsnation looked for some smart coaching "to rise to the occasion"
....but instead the Rams Oline Coach's charges stunk as Jared ThePinata Goff got smacked around, and the Rams Run Co-Ordinator's YPC production ALSO tubed in 2019!

But at the end of the day, HC Sean McVay, whom we both have faith in , has decided it seems to stay with Kromer for 2020...........

so, we'll see how things work out.

Just for the record, I believe McSnead will draft OL early and often this April!!

[PARAM]

so did the 2015 rams field a solid offensive line? the rams ranked 5th best in yards per carry and 3rd best in lowest sack %.

03.png

Wasn't that the year we went 11-5?

[CanuckRightWinger]

Good catch aeneas1!

Yeah...about 2015, Gurley's "Rookie Phenom Year"...
Fisher's Rams WERE 5th in YPC with 4.6 yds/carry Tie with Dallas...
and also 7th in Yds/Game Rushing with 122.3.....
and 6th (Tie) in the NFL 16 Rushing TDs in 2015.

BUT....a little different story on the 2015 Rams passing side sportsfans
Los Ramos in 2015 were 32nd, Dead Last in the following Pass Categories:
YPG Passing....175.3 YDS/GAME PASSING
YPA Passing....6.2 YPA
TDs Passing....11 Total TDs Passing

source: ESPN stats

Also FEWEST SACKS ALLOWED IN 2015??
LOS RAMOS WITH ONLY 18!

[/zn/]

so did the 2015 rams field a solid offensive line? the rams ranked 5th best in yards per carry and 3rd best in lowest sack %.

That doesn't mean it was a good line. It means Gurley got a lot of yards without a good line. That line was very young and got very injured on top of it. It's the OL that drove Foles into shellshock mode. Even though they were 29th in pass attempts.

One key was Gurley's ability to generate yards past the LOS. In terms of open field yards, that year they were ranked 3rd. That's in spite of being ranked 28th on runs stuffed.

And in 2015 people who ranked them had them low. PFF ranked them 28th.

[aeneas1]

That doesn't mean it was a good line. It means Gurley got a lot of yards without a good line.

hmmm...

pff graded the rams oline low in 2015 (28th) yet the rams finished 5th best in yards per carry only because gurley got a lot yards without a good oline? is that right?

the following year, 2016, pff graded the rams oline low again (27th) but this time around the rams finished 31st in yards per carry while gurley booked a meager 3.2 average - what happened? did gurley forget how to get a lot of yards behind a bad oline?

speaking of the whacky gang at pff, in 2015:

- the bucs finished 2nd in yards per carry, pff ranked them 20th in run blocking.
- the rams finished 5th in yards per carry, pff ranked them 27th in run blocking.
- the steelers finished 8th in yards per carry, pff ranked them 23rd in run blocking.
- the dolphins finished 9th in yards per carry, pff ranked them 31st in run blocking.

- the saints finished 27th in yards per carry, pff ranked them 2nd in run blocking.
- the eagles ranked 21st in yards per carry, pff ranked them 3rd in run blocking.
- the falcons ranked 25th in yards per carry, pff ranked them 8th in run blocking.

---------------------------

anyhoo, oline debates, any oline debates, are always entertaining imo... that said, from where i was sitting in 2019 i saw more problems with scheme than with oline blocking, in fact if you watch the rams 2019 highlights (youtube) you will invariably see goff rolling out or well-executed misdirection plays, the rams had zero prob moving the ball when they schemed well.

[/zn/]

hmmm...

pff graded the rams oline low in 2015 (28th) yet the rams finished 5th best in yards per carry only because gurley got a lot yards without a good oline? is that right?

We knew that at the time. That was a constant source of commentary---that the high YPC was a direct result of Gurley's breakaway runs. People constantly noted that IN 2015, during the season. Either way it is possible for some backs to get yardage behind poor OLs. Jackson did it in 2007, 2008, and 2009 behind OLs that were infamous for their long lists of injuries.

And it does not surprise me in the least that that OL would be low-graded. The only players to play all 16 games were Robinson and Barnes. Not a terribly solid nucleus. Reynolds was okay as a low-budget FA type who started 11 games but he never started since and was out of football after 2016. Hav played 13 games but he was a rookie. Saffold missed 11 starts. To make up for injury losses, the following rookies also started multiple games--Donnal, Brown, and Wichman. Rhaney also had a start. Of those 4 only Brown has been a starter somewhere since 2015. Wichman and Rhaney were out of the NFL after 2016 and 2017, respectively.

That OL was young (4 rookies started at various points), understaffed (Robinson?), AND injured up (7 different starters at 3 positions).

It was just not a good unit.

...

[PARAM]

I can't recall many breakaway runs by Gurley this year. Can anyone else?

[/zn/]

I can't recall many breakaway runs by Gurley this year. Can anyone else?

In terms of open field runs F.O. ranks the 2019 Rams 29th. In 2018 they were 16th; in 2017 11th; in 2016 30th...and as I said, in 2015 3rd.

[PARAM]

In terms of open field runs F.O. ranks the 2019 Rams 29th. In 2018 they were 16th; in 2017 11th; in 2016 30th...and as I said, in 2015 3rd.

If we were to judge Gurley's overall performance by the numbers alone, and that's surely not an accurate assessment, we might think he had a drop off after 2017.