If you know anything about football, you know this...

[AvengerRam]

If the Rams want to become a contending team, they need to fix the offensive line. Do that, and everything falls into place.

Steven Jackson (or whoever is back there) can run the ball...

Bulger has time to throw...

Receivers have time to get open...

The defense does not have to play as many snaps...

The concept is that simple.

Doing it... well, that's not so simple. Here's how I would approach it:

1. Give Greco and Schuening a chance. There is no way to know how they will perform (and no chance that they will get better) if they are inactive.

2. Try Alex Barron at guard. He is regressing as an OT and, in my mind, is not the long-term solution at either OT spot. If he is willing, he could give OG a try (a move which has revived the careers of guys like Leonard Davis and Robert Gallery).

3. Draft an OT in the first round of the draft. An absolute must.

4. Look for OL help in free agency.

Until this issue is addressed, everything else is just talk.

[moloch41]

So, you're saying NOT to go the tight end route in the first round of the draft then?

[Mooselini]

Yes. I agree. Draft an OT and a Center this year. We need both immediately. We can also sign two FA OL players to get this thing rolling. We REALLY need it.

Give Greco a chance at RT and move Barron to G. Move Cogs to Center.

[renrawtruk]

Steven Jackson (or whoever is back there) can run the ball...

Bulger has time to throw...

How about:

Steven Jakson (or whoever is back there) can run the ball...

Bulger (or whoever is back there) has time to throw...

[The Special One]

Totally agreed. The most important thing we need to fix is at Center. We need a quality player there who can be a mainstay. Leckey has been horrible all year. If we can grab a good C in the draft, then go for it. If not, try and throw a lot of money at a quality FA, like Matt Birk. Of course getting Birk would be out of this world.

Greco and Scheuning have to get their opportunites. And we should draft a LT in the 1st round this year, IMO. Age and diminishing abilities are quickly catching up to Orlando Pace.

[shower beers]

So, you're saying NOT to go the tight end route in the first round of the draft then?

They feel a very conservative second round TE will be a necessary sacrifice, you know for the greater good.

[mde8352gorams]

So, you're saying NOT to go the tight end route in the first round of the draft then?

Hysterical....love the sarcasm!


Go Rams!

[RAMFANRAIDERHATER]

Anybody who questions the importance of a good O-line and D-line need to look no further then the New York Giants. Can anyone really say they're better at the skill positions on offense then the Rams? RB? WR? QB? No, they're not. What they do well on the O side is protect the QB and open up running lanes and on the defensive side, they tackle well and put pressure on the opposing Qb without having to blitz.

Pretty simple, really. DO those things well and everything else will come.

[RockinRam]

I really want to see Scheuning and Greco play the RG and RT position, respectively, before we go and draft a guard or right tackle in the draft. I say, next week we need to ACTIVATE them and start them on the right side. Leckey should be gone next season. I think he's smaller than Steven Jackson, and he can't block to save his paycheck.

[Azul e Oro]

I wholeheartedly agree as well. We will never regain the middle of the field without better pass pro from the center position. It is also where Bulger is at his best; short to mid-range accurate passes that make use of his quick release.

Every problem we have on the o-line is exacerbated by this weakness. Bell is vulnerable to the inside because he has to choose whether tocompensate for Pace's weakened right arm or Leckey's inability to hold his ground.Ditto for Cogs who has to choose between helping Leckey or Barron & often chooses incorrectly.

Our backs/TEs-who are weak at blitz pick-up anyway-have to stay in the backfield or engage blitzing LBs & safeties too long to help as outlet receivers in the middle.

It's an old story.

None of our WRs have the savvy/technique/physique to get to the ball like Boldin & Fitzgerald even when the pass pro is effective.The high octane sandlot ball that Avery provides is a lottery, not a sustainable strategy.

The loss of Setterstrom looms large at this point, limiting but not eliminating our options for a major shuffle without exposing a rookie to brutal growing pains.But Devaney's eye for talent seems to have been sharp regarding Avery so why not try one of the rooks inside @ RG & let Cogs smash mouths from C ? Keeping Romberg active as an emergency back-up at center seems like a waste.

Either our schedule & the math have made the rest of this season a lab experiment or Az are one nasty hit on Warner away from looking like The Cowboys; a boatload of talent without a rudder & a thin-hulled defense that too easily springs leaks.

So wild experimentation that will all but eliminate the possibility of wins for us this year-scrapping the whole line,playing Green,etc is premature but we can adapt and be a little bolder.

Yesterday's debacle will be repeated in NY-they are a similar team to AZ-strong passing attack , good pass rush, and good vs the run- if SJ's leg isn't right, Kreider isn't benched, and the middle of the o-line isn't much better without reducing the TEs to extra o-linemen.

I'm sure Haz wishes he had McMichael,Setterstrom, a healthy SJ,etc, but as grandma used to say, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Haslett can't control our luck with injuries & the bounce of the ball-see Wade's INT-turned-handoff - but he can make better pre-game decisions; being a players coach is good but allowing them to dictate personnel decisions is wrong. And he made some dubious game day decisions; the coin toss deferral, declining the penalty which would have put AZ in 2nd & 19 at their own 15 yd line, running out the first half clock instead of attacking, etc.

We'll no doubt be discussing the longterm fixes on the o-line & elsewhere throughout the winter but there are corrections & adaptations that Haslett can make now to show he is a contender for next year.

[Bar-bq]

If the Rams want to become a contending team, they need to fix the offensive line.

But Av,

Don't you know that Bulger "sux"?
Haven't you heard about how he's not getting it done behind our amazing OL?

Obviously, the solution is to draft Tim Tebow as quickly as we can, put him behind center, and watch all our troubles melt into nothingness.

[shower beers]

But Av,

Don't you know that Bulger "sux"?
Haven't you heard about how he's not getting it done behind our amazing OL?

Obviously, the solution is to draft Tim Tebow as quickly as we can, put him behind center, and watch all our troubles melt into nothingness.

He'd probably be a better Fullback than what we have now.

[C-Mob 71]

Yeah Tim Tebow is a beast, play him at center. Imagine the possibilities, Center Sneaks and Center Flea Flickers. Forget the "Wildcat Foramation" lets go for the "Tebow Formation"!