Tag: nfl news

7 free-agent offensive linemen Rams should consider signing

There are options available if the Rams want to sign a free agent to bolster the offensive line.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Rams have taken a few big hits to their offensive line recently, losing Brian Allen for the season and Rob Havenstein for at least one week, but possibly more. There will be a lot of shuffling up front, which already began on Sunday.

As it stands right now, Austin Blythe will move from guard to center, while Austin Corbett will likely take over at left guard. David Edwards should remain at right guard with Bobby Evans taking over for Havenstein. No matter how it shakes out, the Rams are in trouble.

Sean McVay said the Rams will look at free agents this week, so here are seven potential options for Los Angeles.

C John Sullivan

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

A familiar face for the Rams, Sullivan should at least be in consideration. The team moved on from him this offseason by declining his 2019 option, which was an understandable move after he struggled last season.

However, his veteran leadership would at least bring some stability to the line, and he’s obviously familiar with the blocking scheme.

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Sean McVay lays out plan for offensive line, says Rams will look at free agents

The Rams will likely thrust rookie Bobby Evans into the starting lineup at right tackle.

Sean McVay shared some bad news about the Rams’ offensive line on Monday, announcing that Brian Allen is out for the year and Rob Havenstein might miss a few weeks. It’s two more blows to an offensive line that’s been one of the worst in the NFL, if not the very worst.

As much as Allen and Havenstein have struggled this season, replacing isn’t something the Rams want to do. It’s forcing them to dig into their depth up front, which is already thin at the moment.

McVay explained how the Rams will handle the recent injuries and shift the offensive line, but there are still moves that could be made.

“We’re working through some of those things. I think you got a chance to evaluate some guys yesterday, just based on the way the nature of the game went,” McVay said. “I thought Austin Blythe did a nice job at center – he’ll step into that position. Austin Corbett did some really good things at that left guard spot. Then I thought – before he ended up having to transition out to the tackle spot – David Edwards did a nice job at right guard. As far as the tackle position – exactly how we fill that void from Rob – you could look at Bobby Evans, some other options. We’re working through those things right now as all that information just within the last few hours – we’re working through that.”

To summarize, this is how the offensive line could look in Week 11 with Havenstein and Allen out:

  • LT Andrew Whitworth
  • LG Austin Corbett
  • C Austin Blythe
  • RG David Edwards
  • RT Bobby Evans

McVay said he feels good about Edwards staying at guard instead of moving him outside to right tackle – a position he played throughout his college career. He’d also prefer not to “feel like you’re falling off at two spots” by having to slide in a replacement at right guard where the Rams are getting solid play from Edwards.

The Rams could also look to the pool of free agents that are available, though McVay didn’t specify any names. Waivers are another option, if a player gets waived by a team in the near future.

“There’s certainly some names,” McVay said. “There’s some potential guys that you look to put a claim in and maybe other teams end up getting on that guy first. Those are things that we’re working through in the meantime.”

Perhaps the Rams tried to claim guard Aaron Stinnie off waivers from the Titans. The Bucs won that claim, and maybe that’s what McVay is referring to by saying “maybe other teams end up getting on that guy first.”

No other linemen have been claimed in the past few weeks, so if McVay is indicating the Rams tried to claim someone, Stinnie would make sense.

At the very least, Los Angeles needs to add some depth up front in case another injury occurs. Right now, Jamil Demby and Coleman Shelton are the only remaining offensive linemen on the 53-man roster as backups, with Chandler Brewer and Jeremiah Kolone on the practice squad.

The Huddle’s Blitzed Podcast: Episode 118

The Huddle presents another season of The Blitzed Podcast. In this episode, Steve and Harley bring you B.P.N. NFL News, Handcuffs to target at QB, RB, WR and TE and DFS Pay to Plays, Stay Aways and Value Plays.

The Huddle presents another season of The Blitzed Podcast. In this episode, Steve and Harley bring you B.P.N. NFL News, Handcuffs to target at QB, RB, WR and TE and DFS Pay to Plays, Stay Aways and Value Plays.

Huddle up, tune in and Get Blitzed!

Rams Week 10 snap counts: O-line depth tested, Matthews outsnaps Fowler

The Rams’ depth up front was tested against the Steelers on Sunday.

In the last two years, the Los Angeles Rams started essentially the same offensive linemen for all 32 games. The only major change was with Austin Blythe replacing Jamon Brown at right guard last season.

This year has not been as kind to the Rams in terms of health and continuity. Joseph Noteboom is out for the year with a torn ACL, while both Brian Allen and Rob Havenstein suffered knee injuries on Sunday.

Those injuries have really tested the Rams’ depth up front this season, especially against the Steelers in Week 10. Looking at the snap counts, Los Angeles had to do a lot of shuffling on the offensive line.

Offense

Allen only played 13 snaps before injuring his knee. He was replaced by Blythe at center, which caused Austin Corbett to step in at left guard. No one on the offensive line played well Sunday, and the injuries only made things worse.

When Havenstein went down late in the game, David Edwards moved to right tackle after already making the switch to right guard to start the game. Coleman Shelton came in and played guard to complete the unit.

Josh Reynolds played more than Cooper Kupp, which is surprising. Kupp was blanked on the stat sheet, failing to catch any of the four targets that came his way. Robert Woods played every offensive snap, while Mike Thomas chipped in three plays.

Todd Gurley played 74 percent of the snaps, which is his third-highest snap share of the season. He only carried the ball 12 times, though, and gained 73 yards. Malcolm Brown and Darell Henderson split the other 20 snaps Gurley didn’t play.

Gerald Everett played more than double the snaps Tyler Higbee did and caught eight passes for 68 yards. Higbee caught three of his four targets for 22 yards. Everett remains the Rams’ best option at tight end.

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NFC playoff picture: Who should Rams be pulling for in Seahawks-49ers?

The Rams have to hope San Francisco gets a win on Monday night.

The Los Angeles Rams’ playoff hopes took another big hit on Sunday following their loss to the Steelers. However, thanks to a few other NFC foes losing, the Rams are still in the hunt for a postseason berth.

It’s just that a win over Pittsburgh would’ve helped their chances greatly, pushing them closer to the No. 6 seed. As it stands right now, the Rams are seventh in the conference, bunched in a tie with the Eagles and Panthers, and just one game ahead of their Week 11 opponent, the Bears.

Let’s take a look at the playoff picture as it stands right now.

NFC standings

1. West: 49ers (8-0)

2. North: Packers (8-2)

3. South: Saints (7-2)

4. East: Cowboys (5-4)

5. Wild card: Seahawks (7-2)

6. Wild card: Vikings (7-3)

In the hunt

Rams (5-4)
Eagles (5-4)
Panthers (5-4)
Bears (4-5)
Lions (3-5-1)
Cardinals (3-6-1)

Clearly, things are tight in the NFC. The Rams are 1.5 games out of a wild-card berth behind the Vikings, and two games back of the Seahawks. They trail the 49ers by 2.5 games in the division and have very little chance to catch San Francisco.

Monday night’s matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers only complicates things for the Rams. On one hand, they’ll pick up half a game on someone. On the other, one of the teams is sure to move another step ahead of the Rams – barring a tie, of course.

So who should the Rams (and fans) be rooting for tonight? Following Los Angeles’ loss on Sunday, that answer is much clearer: San Francisco.

If the 49ers win tonight, they’ll move to 9-0, which is four games ahead of the Rams. With only seven games remaining, that’s a margin too wide for Los Angeles to close. More importantly, it’ll drop the Seahawks back to 7-3, which is 1.5 games ahead of the Rams. That’s not an impossible gap to close, especially with the two teams having one matchup left this season.

Seattle winning would give the 49ers their first loss and drop San Francisco to three games ahead of the Rams, but it would also give the Seahawks a 2.5-game cushion for a wild-card spot. That’s a recipe for disaster for the Rams and would create an even steeper climb to the fifth or sixth seed.

There’s no doubt the Rams need a lot of help. They need the Cowboys, Eagles, Seahawks, Vikings and even the Panthers to lose quite a few games. The 49ers crumbling wouldn’t hurt, but San Francisco’s cushion is likely already too big for the Rams to overcome.

On Monday night, the Rams have to hope San Francisco comes away victorious and pushes further ahead in the division – simultaneously knocking the Seahawks back a bit.

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Jalen Ramsey criticizes officiating after Rams loss to Steelers

Jalen Ramsey voiced his opinion on the officiating after the Rams’ loss.

There’s been a lot of talk about the officiating in the NFL this season, from the controversial pass interference rule change to players being unnecessarily flagged for roughing the passer on plays that look like ordinary tackling. Clay Matthews took issue with it last month when he criticized the officials in the Lions-Packers game from Week 6, and he was subsequently fined $12,500 for it.

Jalen Ramsey voiced his opinion of how Sunday’s Rams-Steelers matchup was called after the game, saying he was “kind of frustrated” with how closely it was officiated. Ramsey was called for two pass interference penalties, but only one of them seemed to warrant a flag.

The biggest issue Ramsey had was with JuJu Smith-Schuster pushing off at the top of his routes without being called for offensive pass interference.

“I’m kind of frustrated a little bit with the (officiating). I’ll probably get fined for this but it’s all right. I was kind of upset with the officiating a little bit, just because he was pushing off quite a bit – especially on his first pass he caught on me, he pushed off with two hands. I thought that was clear as day. It didn’t get called, I kept playing and remained playing,” Ramsey told reporters in the locker room.

As for the pass interference penalties called on him, he only agreed with one of them. He said the first one was just incidental contact after their feet got tangled. The second pass interference call, Ramsey admitted was fair.

“Then they called a PI on me when it was for the most part incidental. They called a PI when we tripped over each other’s foot. That usually doesn’t get called,” Ramsey said. “And then they called a PI when I tugged him once. That was a tug, for sure. I can’t argue that, that was a tug. But I was kind of disappointed in some of the non-calls. He pushed off quite a bit, but it’s OK. That’s just the type of game we had. I thought they were going to let us play, that’s really why I tugged him on that one.”

This was Ramsey’s first loss as a member of the Rams, but he and the rest of the team will have a chance to bounce back next week against the Bears at home.

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Todd Gurley on not getting the ball in 4th quarter: ‘I’m used to it’

Todd Gurley on not getting the ball in the fourth quarter: “I’m used to it.”

Todd Gurley has been a catalyst for the Rams’ offense the last two years. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2017 and 2018, and was named Offensive Player of the Year in Sean McVay’s first season as head coach.

This season has been alarmingly different for Gurley. He’s not getting the ball as much, he’s finding very few running lanes and the Rams are leaning heavily on Jared Goff’s arm. That recipe cooked up by McVay has backfired terribly with the Rams limping to a 5-4 record through nine games.

Gurley seems to have grown frustrated with the offense, specifically with his usage. In Sunday’s loss to the Steelers, Gurley didn’t touch the ball once in the fourth quarter and didn’t even play the first two series to open the final frame.

After the game, he was asked whether he wanted the ball more with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.

“Um, not really. I’m used to it,” he told reporters, via Vincent Bonsignore of The Athletic.

So, you mean to tell me the guy who led the NFL in touches, yards and touchdowns the last two years doesn’t want the ball more in the fourth quarter? That’s hard to imagine, but it says a lot about the current state of the Rams.

In two short sentences, Gurley said more than he has all season. It’s troubling enough that he apparently doesn’t want the ball more with the game on the line, but it might be even worse that he’s “used to it.”

This isn’t to say there’s a rift developing between Gurley and McVay, but it’s clear the running back isn’t happy with his role on offense. As for why Gurley didn’t get the ball in the fourth quarter of a one-score game, McVay said it was “kind of just the rotation.”

“I thought Todd really had some tough, hard-earned runs,” McVay said in his press conference. “We got some drives going, but then at the end of the day, we ended up being in some two-minute situations at the end of the game and it was kind of hard to get back into any sort of flow running the football.”

The part about the Rams getting into two-minute situations late in the game isn’t entirely true. They shouldn’t have felt rushed at any point in the fourth quarter besides their final two drives of the game. Entering the last 15 minutes, the Steelers held just a four-point lead.

And after the Rams’ sack with 12:46 left to play, Pittsburgh was only up two points. What about that situation caused the Rams to panic and completely abandon the run after Gurley racked up 73 yards on 12 carries?

McVay and the coaches have a lot of questions to answer, but none are bigger than their usage of Gurley – and the running back has clearly taken notice of his role on offense.

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NFL rules analyst Gene Steratore says Jared Goff’s fumble should’ve been incomplete

Gene Steratore believes Jared Goff’s arm was coming forward on his controversial fumble.

One of the biggest plays in Sunday’s game between the Rams and Steelers came just before halftime when Jared Goff fumbled the ball and it was returned 43 yards by Minkah Fitzpatrick for a touchdown. That gave Pittsburgh a 14-7 lead with 1:44 left in the first half, taking any sort of momentum away from the Rams. The Steelers would hold on to the lead and go on to win 17-12.

The play was reviewed, as all touchdowns are, and the ruling on the field stood as called. Well, after watching the replay several times, many fans and analysts came away wondering if Goff actually fumbled it.

It could’ve very easily been called a forward pass and incomplete, but that’s not how the officials on the field saw it. Former NFL official and CBS analyst Gene Steratore disagreed with the ruling and shared his thoughts on the play on Twitter.

He believes Goff’s arm was coming forward when the ball came out, which would’ve made it incomplete.

After the game, Goff was asked whether it felt like a pass instead of a fumble.

“It did. I haven’t seen a replay though. So I don’t know,” he said. “Once I see a replay, I’ll let you know, but it felt like I threw it, but who knows. I haven’t seen it.”

This will probably do nothing to help the way fans feel about Sunday’s game, but a former official with 15 years of experience views this play differently than those who were on the field Sunday.

Had the play been called incomplete right away, it likely would’ve stood if the Steelers challenged it. However, since it was deemed a fumble, the officials decided there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn it.

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Smith-Schuster: Jalen Ramsey said ‘so many cuss words I’ve never heard of’

Jalen Ramsey introduced a new vocabulary of curse words to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

It’s widely known that Jalen Ramsey likes to talk trash on the field. He’s a player with a lot of confidence in himself, and rightfully so. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in the league and lets people know about it.

JuJu Smith-Schuster has faced Ramsey in the past and did so again on Sunday in the Steelers’ win over the Rams. He heard an earful from Ramsey throughout the game as the two were matched up throughout the game, and afterwards, Smith-Schuster shared some insight on what Ramsey said.

Well, he said as much as he could, at least.

“It was cool, man. He talks a lot. He talks so much. He said so many cuss words I’ve never heard of, and I’m 22 years old. But he’s a good player,” Smith-Schuster told reporters.

Ramsey had some success against Smith-Schuster, but he was also called for two pass interference penalties and was beaten a few times for receptions by Smith-Schuster. The two lined up across from each other all game long, and Smith-Schuster finished with three catches for 44 yards on six targets.

He also mentioned how Ramsey is forced to follow the Rams’ scheme more closely than he had to in Jacksonville.

“It’s a lot different than him being in Jacksonville where he was able to do whatever he wants. Over here, he has to pretty much do what he’s told … so it’s different. But it was a great experience, wish we got more balls thrown at us, but it’s hard when you’re double-teamed.

Leading up to the game, Ramsey said he was “not really worried” about covering Smith-Schuster and was focused more on himself. He also said Smith-Schuster is “not Antonio Brown,” which the young receiver agreed with after the game.

“He’s right, though, I’m not Antonio Brown,” Smith-Schuster said. “I will never be Antonio Brown. I am myself. I’m JuJu Smith-Schuster. I’m not as good as him yet. I think I still have time to proceed to get to his level.”

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Rams open as 6.5-point favorites over Bears in Week 11

The Rams are home favorites over the Bears despite losing in ugly fashion Sunday.

There’s only been one game this season where the Los Angeles Rams were not favored at kickoff. Week 11 won’t be one of those games as they enter their matchup with the Chicago Bears as the favorites.

Despite losing a disappointing game to the Steelers on Sunday in which the offense scored zero touchdowns, the Rams are significant favorites over Chicago at home in Week 11. According to BetMGM, the opening line has Los Angeles favored by 6.5 points.

The fact that the Rams are at home definitely helps and pushes the line in their favor, but the home team typically only gets three points built in. So clearly the oddsmakers still view the Rams as the better team, even after that ugly loss in Pittsburgh.

The over/under line was set at 41.5 points, which is tied for the second-lowest total since Sean McVay joined the Rams. In Week 3 of 2017, the Rams-49ers game had an over/under of 40.5 points, which turned into a 41-39 shootout win by Los Angeles.

The season opener in 2017 between the Rams and Colts had an over/under of 41.5 points, and Los Angeles won that one 46-9.

This will be a prime-time matchup between the Rams and Bears with kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday night. The last time these two teams met, Chicago completely shut down the Rams offense, winning 15-6.

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