Tag: Bobby Evans

Sean McVay likes what he’s seen from Austin Corbett at center, Bobby Evans at RG

Sean McVay reveals the early favorite to win the starting center job

Throughout the 2021 NFL draft, fans of the Los Angeles Rams were puzzled to see the team neglect taking a single offensive lineman, especially after losing Austin Blythe in free agency. Despite the uproar from fans, Sean McVay seems confident in the guys they have, and the fifth-year head coach believes Austin Corbett is best suited to start at center for the offense in 2021.

Corbett has been taking first-team reps at center during OTAs and McVay had some encouraging things to say about him Thursday.

“Austin is somebody that we’re excited to see how he handles some of the things that really require some extra communication. He’s done a good job with that,” McVay said, via the Los Angeles Daily News. “I think he and Matthew have established a nice rapport together.”

McVay said Brian Allen and Coleman Shelton will also compete for the starting center spot, but Corbett seems to have a leg up on them after a strong season as a starter at right guard in 2020.

When the Rams were on the clock in the second round of the draft, they had an opportunity to select Creed Humphrey out of Oklahoma to fill what was assumed to be a need for the franchise. Instead of adding Humphrey, they took Tutu Atwell, showing that McVay and Les Snead are adamant about having someone familiar with the offense operate the center position.

Bobby Evans was also taking first-team reps at right guard in practice, which indicates he could be the favorite to start there.

“I think the overall athleticism that Bobby has enables him to be able to play outside (at tackle) with his length and his size, but then he’s got the quickness when things happen a little bit faster on the interior parts of the line, (and he’s) a really smart player,” McVay said.

With the acquisition of Matthew Stafford this offseason, protecting their new franchise quarterback is a major priority. Amid the turnover that has taken place, McVay is confident in the outlook of the current offensive line unit.

“I feel good about where we’re at right now, and it’s a never-ending process,” McVay said of the offensive line.

Things could change in the coming months during training camp and the preseason along the offensive line. But for the time being, the Rams seem set on their starting offensive line of Andrew Whitworth, David Edwards, Corbett, Evans, and Rob Havenstein.

Rams place Nick Scott and Bobby Evans on reserve/COVID-19 list

Both players, as well as three others, were held out of practice Thursday as a precaution.

The Los Angeles Rams announced on Friday that they have placed safety Nick Scott and tackle Bobby Evans on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Both players were held out of practice Thursday, as were Justin Hollins, Brian Allen and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, as a precaution after a member of the team tested positive for the coronavirus.

Scott has been the No. 3 safety behind John Johnson and Jordan Fuller during the absence of Taylor Rapp and Terrell Burgess, playing 152 (18%) defensive snaps this season. He’s also a core special teams player, and has been since being a seventh-round pick last year.

Evans is the Rams’ backup tackle behind Joe Noteboom and Rob Havenstein, but he’s played just one snap all year.

Being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list doesn’t mean both players will be forced to miss Sunday’s game against the Jets. If they were just deemed close contacts to someone who has tested positive, they will be able to play as long as they continue to test negative.

Sean McVay addresses RT situation, is confident Havenstein will bounce back

The Rams will most likely let the RT situation play out in camp.

There are a lot of positions on the Rams’ depth chart that still don’t have starters set at the top. The offensive line has four such positions with only left tackle settled at this point in the offseason.

Based on salary, right tackle should have its starter already written in ink, but not even Rob Havenstein’s $8.1 million can assure him the starting job in 2020. Bobby Evans took over at right tackle late last season after Havenstein was injured and played relatively well as a rookie.

That’s created somewhat of a tricky situation heading into next season because Havenstein is paid like a top tackle, but he didn’t play like one last year.

With no OTAs or minicamp taking place right now, this competition will likely be settled once training camp begins. The lack of on-field work has complicated things for the Rams and their coaches, but at the very least, they can feel good about having two starting-caliber players at right tackle.

Sean McVay addressed the position on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, saying he’s confident Havenstein will rebound from an injury-plagued 2019 season. He also mentioned that Evans could play guard, which adds to the intrigue along the offensive line.

“What you feel good about at right tackle is Rob Havenstein is such a tough player. He was pushing through some injuries that I do think led to not seeing him play consistently at the level we’re accustomed to. I’m fully confident that he’ll get back to that. He’s feeling good,” McVay said. “I thought Bobby Evans being able to step in and play well toward the latter half of the season was really good for his confidence, but I’m not convinced that guy couldn’t play guard, either. So I think we’ve got some guys that are versatile – we know we have players that can play – but it’s about finding ways to get the best five on there and certain guys might have a little bit more position flex and I think until we get out and are really playing football again, that’s the challenging part of what these times entail.”

Havenstein was rewarded with a contract extension before the 2018 season, and he made the Rams look smart for giving him a new deal. He played at a level deserving of a Pro Bowl nod two seasons ago, allowing just two sacks, committing only two penalties and earning an overall grade of 86.4 from PFF.

Last year, it was a different story. He gave up five sacks and committed eight penalties in about half the snaps played in 2018. His PFF grade dropped off precipitously, falling to 50.9.

As McVay mentioned, Havenstein battled through injuries, which impacted his performance. He missed the end of the year with a knee injury, and even after he returned to practice in full, the Rams held him out as a precaution.

Evans was playing well enough to allow Havenstein to rest and recover, but he also got a lot of help from his tight ends with double-teams and chips at the line. Havenstein was left on an island, so to speak, much more often when he was healthy.

This is an important position for the Rams to figure out, especially with how often teams put their best pass rushers on the strong side against right tackles. If Havenstein can’t rebound in 2020 and Evans beats him out by a wide margin, he could be on the trade block in an attempt to recoup a draft pick and free up $4.66 million, according to Over the Cap.

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Rams OC unsure who will start at RT but is confident in Havenstein and Evans

Kevin O’Connell likes the depth the Rams have at right tackle.

The Los Angeles Rams are paying Rob Havenstein more than $8 million per year after giving him an extension in 2018, but he’s not a lock to start at right tackle next season. He was replaced by Bobby Evans last season after suffering a leg injury, and despite practicing in full after recovering, Havenstein still didn’t reclaim his starting job late in the year.

Entering 2020, Havenstein will need to beat out the second-year lineman if he wants to reenter the starting lineup. If he fails to do so, the Rams could conceivably trade him and free up some cap space in the process.

Right tackle is one of the most important position battles on the roster this offseason and will be decided in training camp – whenever it takes place. Right now, it’s hard to discern who the Rams will start on the right side of their line.

New offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell doesn’t know who it’ll be, but he has confidence in both Havenstein and Evans.

“As far as the tackles go, we’re incredibly lucky to have ‘Whit’ [Andrew Whitworth] over there on the left side. I know Jared [Goff] sleeps well at night knowing he’s got the big fella over there,” O’Connell said on a conference call with reporters. “But at the same time, that competition and those two guys over there at the right tackle spot, I personally just watching the tape and really studying those guys, I’ve got a ton of confidence in both of them. it’s going to be a great situation for us to have the depth there because the importance of both of those edges being firm and being something that we can have a lot of confidence in is huge.”

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Evans wins the starting job and the Rams keep Havenstein as a backup at more than $8 million per year. He’d be a great backup to have, but they’d be better off trading him and recouping what would likely be a Day 2 draft pick.

Evans is a lock to be on the roster and has been mentioned as a potential heir to Andrew Whitworth at left tackle, so if Havenstein does win the right tackle job, Evans will stick around as the swing tackle.

What is the Rams’ plan at left tackle once Andrew Whitworth retires?

Les Snead believes Joseph Noteboom and Bobby Evans could be future replacements at left tackle.

Before Andrew Whitworth decided to return for another season in 2020, left tackle was viewed as one of the Rams’ biggest positional needs in free agency and the draft. But the team was able to re-sign Whitworth to a three-year deal, keeping him around for at least one more season.

That’s good news for the Rams, who didn’t have a clear plan to replace Whitworth had he retired this offseason. Joseph Noteboom was supposed to be the heir to the throne at left tackle, but he looked overmatched as a starter at left guard in 2019 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

The Rams have been afforded the benefit of time when it comes to finding Whitworth’s replacement, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. This week, general manager Les Snead discussed the team’s plan for life after Whitworth retires, which could involve Noteboom, Bobby Evans or a draft pick taking over eventually.

“I think the process started with the drafting of Joe Noteboom. It did get disrupted with the ACL, so I do think that probably disrupted (the plan), which happens in football. Not every well-designed plan is not going to go your way,” Snead said. “But also, for some reason, Whit continues to not want to retire, so that’s definitely a bonus. But I think what you then begin doing is OK, internally, who are the prospects? Is it Joe Noteboom? Is it Bobby Evans, who played left and right at Oklahoma? Is it someone in this draft? And if it’s someone in this draft, and we onboarded him during the draft, what are they doing in the ‘20 season? Are they competing at one of the spots? Are they training at left tackle only to be the swing tackle?”

The Rams covet versatile offensive linemen who can play multiple positions, which Snead says is an ideal scenario when it comes to replacing Whitworth. Of course, that doesn’t always work out, which will lead the Rams to continue scouring the draft to find a potential replacement at left tackle in 2021 or beyond.

“All of those questions are yet to be determined, but the plan was set when we did draft Joe,” Snead continued. “I think big picture, we would always ideally like to take a tackle and train that player at guard to not only give him versatility, but also an element of slightly more athleticism inside. But that doesn’t always necessarily work, so that’s what we’ve been trying to do and we’ll continue to do that.”

The top offensive tackles will obviously be out of reach for the Rams in this year’s draft, considering they don’t have a pick until No. 52 overall. However, there are options to be had in the second and third rounds, primarily developmental prospects who will need a year or two to develop.

That’s fine for Los Angeles because Whitworth will maintain his post at left tackle for at least one more year, giving whichever rookie – if the Rams draft one – ample time to sit back and learn from the two-time All-Pro.

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Despite early struggles, Rams allowed fewest sacks in NFL this season

The Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line has been criticized all season long. Despite that, they gave up the fewest sacks in the NFL.

The Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line has received plenty of criticism over the course of the 2019 season. Many have pointed the finger at the line being a major reason why both Jared Goff and Todd Gurley regressed this year.

Much of the criticism was warranted. But here’s a truly surprising stat about the 2019 Rams: They finished the season giving up the fewest number of sacks in the NFL. The Rams gave up just 22 sacks on the season, narrowly beating out the Dallas Cowboys, who gave up 23.

This was the second-lowest total for the Rams in a full 16-game season, only trailing the 2015 unit that gave up just 18 sacks on the year. Goff was sacked only 10 times over the team’s final 10 games, and four of those sacks came against Pittsburgh.

Veteran tackle Andrew Whitworth was asked how it was possible that the Rams gave up the fewest sacks in the NFL. “I don’t know,” Whitworth joked. “Sure doesn’t fit the narrative though.”

The aforementioned Pittsburgh game was a disastrous performance for the Rams’ offensive line, and the team lost starters Brian Allen and Rob Havenstein in the process. They rolled out a new-look offensive line the following week, with Austin Blythe sliding from guard to center, David Edwards sliding from left guard to right guard, rookie Bobby Evans stepping in at right tackle, and mid-season acquisition Austin Corbett stepped in at left guard. Whitworth was the only constant on the offensive line this season.

The new-look group deserves plenty of praise for this number, as they gave up just six sacks in the seven games they started together. Goff was much more comfortable behind this group, completing 6% more of his passes in the final seven games than he did in the previous nine. Most importantly, Goff fumbled just one time and the Rams were able to recover it. He fumbled nine times in the previous nine games, and the Rams lost five of them.

Leading the league in fewest sacks allowed should give Rams fans a sense of optimism about the offensive line moving forward. They were far from perfect, particularly in the running game. But this unit was able to bounce back after a disastrous start to the season, and both Goff and Gurley played better in the second half of the year. The rookie duo on the right side of the line played far better than the veteran combination of Rob Havenstein and Austin Blythe, and Blythe played far better at center than he did at guard.

The Rams will have some decisions to make on the line heading into 2019. Blythe and Whitworth are free agents, with the latter mulling over retirement. Rob Havenstein, Joseph Noteboom, and Brian Allen will be returning from injury. All three of them were outplayed by their replacements, and all three are under contract in 2020.

Regardless, both Rams fans and the Rams staff have to feel better about this unit heading into the offseason than they did after the Pittsburgh game. Things are looking up in Los Angeles, at least when it comes to the front five.

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Five takeaways from the Rams’ 44-21 loss in Dallas

The Rams suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys this week. Here’s a few takeaways from the loss.

The Rams failed to show up in Week 15 in a must-win game against the Dallas Cowboys. They were dominated on both sides of the ball in a 44-21 rout by the Cowboys. Here’s a few takeaways from the Rams’ likely season-ending loss in Dallas.

Rams never recovered from disastrous second quarter

The Rams might as well have just stayed in Los Angeles this week. It didn’t look like they had any desire to try and beat the Cowboys this week.

The Rams scored a touchdown early in the quarter. That was the extent of positive things to happen to the Rams in said quarter. Former Ram Tavon Austin scored a 59 yard touchdown the following drive on a play where Dante Fowler could have had a sack and Taylor Rapp leveled the man defending Austin.

Next, the Rams went three-and-out, but Hekker was able to pin the Cowboys at their own three yard line. That didn’t matter. Dallas embarked on an eight minute, 14 play drive that resulted in a touchdown. The Rams got the ball back right after the two minute warning, and Goff tossed a brutal interception on the second play of the drive.

Then came the icing on the cake. After stopping Dallas on third down following the interception, Michael Brockers was called for illegal use of hands and the Cowboys scored a touchdown on the next play.

Neither side of the ball picked it up in the second half until the Rams had two garbage-time touchdown drives. It was a quarter that basically ended the Rams’ season. The Rams never recovered from a 59 yard touchdown by Tavon Austin. 

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Rob Havenstein may not get starting RT job back when he returns

The Rams will evaluate the RT position when Rob Havenstein is healthy, but he isn’t certain to replace Bobby Evans.

Rob Havenstein has missed the last three games with a knee injury, which he suffered in Week 10 against the Steelers. Initially, it looked like a big blow to the offensive line, given Havenstein’s pedigree and how well he played last season.

He struggled to replicate his success of 2018 before going down with the injury, though, and regressed to just average levels. Rookie Bobby Evans has stepped in for Havenstein and played relatively well, keeping opposing pass rushers at bay for the last three games.

Havenstein is nearing a return and could be back as soon as this weekend, but he may not get the starting job back. After saying Thursday that Havenstein is still “day-to-day,” Sean McVay was asked if there will be any hesitation to put him back into the starting lineup when he does return.

His answer was telling, based on the lack of conviction in his response.

“Bobby’s done a really nice job and Rob’s put a lot of really good film on display for the last couple years, so when he’s ready to go, we’ll evaluate that deal,” McVay said. “But he’s done a great job mentoring Bobby in the meantime and I think that says a lot about just the type of guy he is and we know what a productive player he’s been for us.”

It sure doesn’t sound like the Rams are set on plugging Havenstein back in at right tackle, despite the fact that he’s one of the highest-paid players at his position in the NFL and played at a Pro Bowl level last year.

It’s understandable that the Rams won’t commit to Havenstein returning as the starter, given the way A) he played before the injury and B) how well Evans has stepped up. Evans has gotten a lot of help on the right side with tight ends and guard help – more so than Havenstein did – but he’s also held his own in one-on-one situations.

WATCH Former Oklahoma tackle Bobby Evans celebrate, break out Los Angeles Rams after big win

Former Oklahoma offensive lineman Bobby Evans had himself a day on Sunday for the Rams, and finished it with breaking out the Los Angeles Rams.

Former Oklahoma offensive lineman Bobby Evans had himself a day on Sunday for the Rams, and earned himself the honor of breaking out the team.

Evans was a three-year starter at Oklahoma, and was a vital part of a unit that won the 2018 Joe Moore award, the award for the best offensive line in the country.

Los Angeles drafted Evans in the third round of the last draft, 97th overall.

In his first ever start at right tackle, due to starter Rob Havenstein suffering a knee injury, Evans had the tall task of fending off NFL star Khalil Mack.

Evans did a phenomenal job, not allowing Mack to get to the quarterback. Along with his pass blocking, running back Todd Gurley ran for 97 yards and a touchdown behind the line in the 17-7 win over the Bears.

There is currently no timetable for Havenstein’s return from a knee injury, so for now the job looks to be Evans to lose.

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5 takeaways from the Rams’ 17-7 victory against Chicago

The Los Angeles Rams snuck away with a crucial victory against the Bears on Sunday Night Football. Steve Rebeiro gives his takeaways.

(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Rams snuck away with a 17-7 victory against the Bears in prime time on Sunday night.

It wasn’t pretty, but neither was last year’s Sunday Night Football showdown between these two teams. The Rams lost that one 15-6, but they escaped with a victory tonight.

Here are five takeaways from a win Los Angeles desperately needed against the Bears.

Rookies lead impressive offensive line performance

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Rams’ offensive line has been an absolute dumpster fire this year. They went from one of the NFL’s best units last season to arguably the worst in the NFL this year. Last week, they lost two starters, including longtime starting tackle Rob Havenstein to injury. Fans were praying for Jared Goff’s health with a bunch of unproven backups protecting him against Khalil Mack and Chicago’s tough defense.

Oddly enough, the Rams offensive line turned in one of its best performances of the year with its back against the wall.

The big difference was switching from Havenstein, who has started 68 games for the Rams over the past five years, to rookie Bobby Evans, who played three snaps in his career. Evans and fellow rookie David Edwards gave both Todd Gurley and Goff all the protection they could ask for against the Bears. It resulted in a major victory for the Rams in prime time.

Sean McVay will have a decision to make when Havenstein comes back from injury. He’s been a weak link on the line this season, and Evans looked better tonight than Havenstein has all season. Evans should hold the job until he gives them a reason to bench him.

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