Tag: coleman shelton

Bears facing uncertainty at right guard amid Nate Davis concerns

Matt Eberflus sounded unsure about how the Bears starting right guard job will shake out amid questions about Nate Davis.

The Chicago Bears are facing questions along the interior offensive that extend beyond the competition at center between newcomers Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton.

At the center of those concerns is guard Nate Davis, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal last offseason to serve as the team’s starting right guard. But it’s been anything but smooth sailing for the veteran.

Davis, who played in just 11 games in 2023, has been a spectator this offseason during OTAs. But he was back at practice, in limited capacity, on Wednesday as he ramps up after missing OTAs.

This offseason, Davis, Bates and Matt Pryor have split reps at right guard as the team has had to pivot in Davis’ absence. While those opportunities provide flexibility along the offensive line, the frustrating aspect is the Bears paid Davis handsomely, while also forcing another position change on Teven Jenkins.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus said the expectation is Davis will be the team’s starting right guard this season and believes he’ll be ready to go for training camp. But Eberflus didn’t exactly sound confident about how the right guard position will shake out.

“Yeah, don’t know yet,” he said Wednesday. “I really don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. I’m just thinking through my head a bunch of multiple combinations. I really don’t know exactly. Sure, we had Bates there. He’s played there. Shelton has played at center, of course. Davis has played there. (Jenkins) has been on the other side. Pryor has been in and been out. The versatility there has certainly been helpful. Ryan (Poles) did a really good job of having those pieces in there so we don’t like last year or prior years, you know, a guy goes down and we’re like, ‘Oh, what are we going to do?’ At least we have that flexibility at the O-line position.”

At this point, it sounds like the only positions solidified along the offensive line are left tackle Braxton Jones, left guard Teven Jenkins and right tackle Darnell Wright.

Bears rotating Ryan Bates, Coleman Shelton at center

Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton each saw reps as the first-team center during Bears OTAs.

There are no shortage of storylines surrounding the Chicago Bears this offseason. Whether it’s rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the receiving trio of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze or a potential top-10, ascending defense.

One of the more underrated storylines this offseason is the competition at center between newcomers Ryan Bates, acquired via trade, and Coleman Shelton, signed in free agency.

During these two weeks of organized team activities practices, Bates and Shelton each saw reps as the first-team center. Bates was the starting center last week while Shelton was the starter this week.

“We’ve been rotating some,” said Bears coach Matt Eberflus.

The Bears have been lacking consistency at the center position for a few years now, and it remains the biggest mark for the offensive line heading into the 2024 season.

Bates and Shelton both have experience at center, although Shelton was a two-year starter at center with the Los Angeles Rams and Bates had limited snaps at center with the Buffalo Bills.

This will be a position battle to watch throughout the offseason, especially heading into training camp. Chicago will like to have a starter in place as soon as possible with a rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams under center.

Bears stressed flexibility along interior offensive line this offseason

Bears GM Ryan Poles said the lack of flexibility along the interior offensive line was something that bothered him for a long time.

The Chicago Bears have been busy shoring up important needs on offense for incoming rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, which included the additions of wide receiver Keenan Allen, running back D’Andre Swift and tight end Gerald Everett.

General manager Ryan Poles said the lack of flexibility along the interior offensive line was something that bothered him for a long time. Which is why Chicago also made a couple of swings along the offensive interior this offseason.

The Bears traded a fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for Ryan Bates, who Poles signed to an offer sheet in 2022 before Buffalo matched it. Bates, who served primarily as a guard, also has experience at center giving Poles that versatility he desired.

“With Bates coming in, I feel like we’ve created some depth there and versatility,” Poles said, via The Athletic. “It’s something that’s really bothered me for a long time, just in terms of the lack of flexibility we’ve had in the past, it stresses you out from week to week. I feel like we have more versatility now and competition.”

That competition involves fellow newcomer Coleman Shelton, who was signed during free agency to battle for the starting center job.

While there are questions along the entire interior — as Teven Jenkins has yet to play an entire season and Nate Davis’ first-year struggles in Chicago — center was the one glaring hole. And, until the Bears get production from the position, it will continue to be the biggest concern.

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McVay: Signing Jonah Jackson, moving Steve Avila to center ‘came together last minute’

The Rams didn’t plan to sign Jonah Jackson and move Steve Avila to center until Coleman Shelton voided his deal, which set things in motion

Things don’t always go according to plan in the offseason so teams are forced to adapt and adjust. That’s what the Los Angeles Rams did when Coleman Shelton decided to void his contract and become a free agency.

The Rams still wanted to bring him back but he left to join the Bears and the team had just spent $48 million on right guard Kevin Dotson. So they began looking elsewhere and saw Jonah Jackson on the market.

Sean McVay told reporters at the annual league meetings this week that the Rams’ plan to sign Jackson and move Steve Avila to center came together at the last minute.

“Hey, Kevin’s at right guard, Jonah played left guard, and oh by the way, this stud rookie left guard that you had, he was an excellent center at TCU,” McVay said, via Stu Jackson of the team’s site. “And when you want to try to be able to improve and push the envelope with the interior parts of the offensive line, it really wasn’t part of the plan until you realize, wow, we might be able to get Jonah Jackson, and if we did that, even went back and started watching – and this all came together last minute – TCU, and you say, you know what, he did a great job at center, there’s a lot of work.”

McVay said moving Avila to center “was never really part of the plan” until Shelton became a free agent, so the Rams planned to keep him at left guard – a position Avila played every single snap at last season.

Now, though, Jackson steps in as the starting left guard, Avila moves to center and Dotson remains the starting right guard. That’s a massive trio on the interior of the offensive line, one that should do a better job of keeping Matthew Stafford upright and clearing running lanes for Kyren Williams.

Jackson may have been pricey ($51 million for three years), but he should be an upgrade for the Rams after letting Shelton walk.

Sean McVay: Rams in talks with Coleman Shelton, ‘would really like’ to keep him

Coleman Shelton could become a free agent in March but the Rams are working to keep him in Los Angeles

Three of the Rams’ five starting offensive linemen could hit the free-agent market this offseason, which would lead to some significant changes up front in Los Angeles. One of those players is Coleman Shelton, who signed a two-year extension with the Rams last offseason.

Because Shelton played 55% of the snaps in 2023, he has a chance to void the final year of his contract, which comes with a $2 million salary and a cap hit of $5 million. It hasn’t yet been reported whether Shelton will void his deal and hit free agency, but the Rams would like him back either way.

Sean McVay told reporters on Thursday that the Rams have been in talks with Shelton’s agent and “would really like” to keep him in Los Angeles.

Shelton played all 17 regular-season games this year and was on the field for a career-high 1,171 snaps. He allowed 36 pressures but only two snaps and earned a run-blocking grade of 74.6 from Pro Football Focus.

He’s not a star center by any means, but for the right price, he can be a good starter for Los Angeles, at least for another season.

Behind Enemy Lines: Week 17 Q&A with Rams Wire

With a Week 17 game between the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Rams Wire.

The New York Giants (5-10) and Los Angeles Rams (8-7) will square off on Sunday afternoon in a Week 17 matchup at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Giants opened the week as 6.5-point home underdogs and that spread has bounced around quite a bit since then. As of this writing, New York is +5.5.

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Rams Wire managing editor Cameron DaSilva.

Matthew Stafford credits offensive line for performance vs. Browns

Matthew Stafford wasn’t sacked in the Rams’ 36-19 victory over the Browns in Week 13.

Matthew Stafford has strung together back-to-back productive outings for the Los Angeles Rams after throwing for 279 yards and three touchdowns versus the Cleveland Browns in Week 13. Stafford dealt with a clean pocket for the majority of the game, which led to the veteran quarterback making it a priority to credit his offensive line for their performance in Sunday’s win.

“Thank you. I was going to say something if nobody asked me,” Stafford said of the O-line. “My guys were balling today so I was so fired up. That’s a hell of a rush. They were bringing pressures, they were rushing four, they were doing all sorts of stuff to us and our guys to step up there and protect the way they did today was amazing. And then be able to really lean on them in the fourth quarter too and run the rock when we needed to. A couple times, Kyren (Williams) got downhill and we were able to ice the game that way. So proud of those guys. It shows up the way they work, the way they go about their business every single day. I thought we had a great plan but shoot, we threw the rock. We weren’t sitting there just protecting those guys up front. We were just saying let’s go play our game and have a lot of confidence in those guys and proud of the way they played.”

The Browns entered Week 13 as one of the best defenses in the NFL, with Jim Schwartz dialing up exotic blitzes to generate pressure on quarterbacks. While Myles Garrett wasn’t fully healthy on Sunday, the Rams didn’t allow Stafford to be sacked and the Browns totaled 14 pressures.

Those numbers are mighty impressive considering the Browns have four players who have tallied 24 or more pressures this season. The five starting offensive linemen for the Rams were credited with only nine pressures allowed as rookie Steve Avila didn’t surrender a single pressure in pass protection.

The current starting group of Alaric Jackson, Avila, Coleman Shelton, Kevin Dotson, and Rob Havenstein has become a cohesive unit in the last month or so. Following two straight dominant performances in the trenches, the offensive line will look to carry their success into Week 14 versus the Baltimore Ravens.

What will the Rams’ offensive line look like when Alaric Jackson returns?

When Alaric Jackson returns from his injury, what will the Rams’ offensive line look like?

Ahead of Sunday’s overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Los Angeles Rams ruled out Alaric Jackson, prompting the team to shake up the offensive line again. Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals and it remains to be seen if he’ll be available in Week 5 versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

When Jackson returns to the field, what could the offensive line look like?

Upon Jackson’s exit from the game against the Bengals in Week 3, Zach Thomas replaced him at left tackle. Thomas would struggle in relief of Jackson and the Rams elected to make him a healthy scratch on Sunday against the Colts.

Instead of starting Thomas, the Rams moved Joe Noteboom back to left tackle and activated Kevin Dotson for the first time this season. Dotson would make the start at right guard and he performed well in his first game since being acquired via trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to PFF, Dotson finished with an impressive 86.0 overall grade (89.3 run-blocking, 60.8 pass-blocking), which led all offensive linemen on the Rams in the overtime victory over the Colts. Comparatively, Noteboom concluded Sunday’s game with a below-average 44.5 overall grade and he now has a 42.1 overall grade on the season (51.0 pass-blocking grade, 24.7 run-blocking grade).

While PFF grades aren’t the end-all, be-all when dissecting players’ performances, Noteboom hasn’t been a bright spot on the offensive line. Whether it has been at left tackle or right guard, Noteboom hasn’t shown anything that suggests he should be a definitive starter.

Whenever Jackson returns, it’s clear that he’ll be the starting left tackle again with how good he looked before sustaining his injury. The other starters moving forward should be Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Dotson, and Rob Havenstein, leaving Noteboom on the bench as a backup tackle and guard.

Rams’ offensive line finished 3rd in aggregated pass protection ratings in Week 1

The Rams finished 3rd in aggregated pass protection ratings in Week 1 after keeping Matthew Stafford clean against the Seahawks.

One of the positives that came from Week 1 for the Los Angeles Rams is the fact the new-look offensive line performed admirably well. After a stellar outing to begin the season, the Rams’ offensive line finished third in aggregated pass protection ratings in Week 1 versus the Seattle Seahawks.

To come up with the aggregated ratings, PFF grades and SIS scores were weighted at 40 percent each. The final 20 percent came from ESPN’s pass-block win rate, which was the only metric that was vastly different for the Rams.

 

Injuries and inconsistency led to the Rams allowing Matthew Stafford to be sacked 29 times in only 9 starts in 2022. The offensive line surrendered 59 total sacks a season ago.

Following a dismal season in the trenches, the Rams added new faces and made alterations to the starting offensive line. The five starters in Week 1 from left to right were Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Joe Noteboom, and Rob Havenstein.

With a new starting five in place, the Rams allowed five total pressures and zero sacks in a 30-13 win over the Seahawks on the road. Sean McVay had nothing but positive things to say about how the offensive line performed in the season opener.

While it was a step in the right direction for the Rams’ offensive line, they’ll be tasked with slowing down the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.

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Stats show Rams’ offensive line was one of NFL’s best in Week 1

The Rams’ offensive line looked great in Week 1 against the Seahawks and the stats back that up.

Many were curious to see how the new-look offensive line of the Los Angeles Rams would perform in Week 1, and they didn’t disappoint. Following Sunday’s lopsided win over the Seattle Seahawks, stats show just how dominant the offensive line of the Rams was in the season opener.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Rams’ pass-blocking grade of 84.8 is the second-highest of any team in the NFL through Sunday’s games in Week 1. They allowed just five pressures all game long, which is an impressive number compared to last year’s performances up front.

To begin the season, the Rams deployed a starting offensive line of Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Joe Noteboom, and Rob Havenstein. Matthew Stafford had plenty of time to survey the field in the passing game, and most importantly, the offensive line didn’t allow the veteran quarterback to be sacked.

Moving Noteboom to right guard and having Jackson take his place at left tackle was the most notable alteration the Rams made in the trenches. It certainly panned out — at least for now — as Jackson currently boasts the third-highest pass-blocking grade among offensive linemen in Week 1.

Injuries and inconsistent play plagued the offensive line of the Rams in 2022, which led to Stafford enduring multiple injuries himself. As a team, the Rams allowed 59 sacks a season ago, making it the most sacks given up in a single season during Sean McVay’s tenure with the organization.

It is only one week, but the first impressions of the new-look offensive line are undoubtedly positive. Each starter finished with a pass-blocking grade of 73 or higher in Week 1, according to PFF. After keeping Stafford upright against the Seahawks, the Rams’ offensive line unit will be tasked with slowing down a dynamic defense in the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.

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