New Rams tight end grew up in Bloomington


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'Lay the foundation'


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Everyone is resigning, it is time for the Rams to start tampering away and getting some guys into the horns.

By Randy Karraker
September 14, 2012



I thought it was interesting to watch the Packers and the Bears on Thursday Night Football, to see the difficulties both teams are having with their offensive lines.

The Packers have major issues at left tackle with Marshall Newhouse now starting. He’s had a great deal of difficulty in the first two games. His backup, Derek Sherrod, is out with a leg injury. So a rookie by the name of Don Barklay is the number one backup at both tackle positions in Green Bay. Clearly, the Packers have problems to deal with after giving up five sacks to the Bears on the heels of giving up three to San Francisco.

The Bears are starting a line of J’Marcus Webb, who protected Keith Null and practiced against Eugene Sims at West Texas A&M, at left tackle…Seahawks castoff Chris Spencer at left guard…then Roberto Garza at center, Lance Louis at right guard, and Gabe Carimi at right tackle. None of those players are Pro Bowl types, and they showed vs. the Packers that, as a unit, they need lots of work. Jay Cutler was sacked seven times, and the Bears had just 96 yards on the ground.

That’s just a snapshot of offensive line problems throughout the league. On Sunday night, Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times, and the Steelers ran for just 75 yards against Denver. Starting left tackle Max Starks has spent periods between being a Steeler and being out of football the last couple of years. Left guard Willie Colon used to be a right tackle. The Steelers tried to replace right guard Ramon Foster with first round draft choice David DeCastro, who landed on injured reserve. The usually contending Steelers have major questions on the offensive line.

The Super Bowl Champion Giants are starting another former Seahawk, Sean Locklear, who struggled at right tackle, at left tackle. Waiver wire pickup Kevin Boothe is their left guard. Eli Manning was sacked three times and hit numerous others in the Giants opener. Their opening opponent, Dallas is playing Tyron Smith, who has NEVER played left tackle, at left tackle. They have serious problems at guard, with two new players there, and Doug Free is having difficulty adjusting to the left side. Tony Romo was sacked twice and was on the run for much of the Cowboys’ opener.

Philadelphia lost left tackle Jason Peters to an Achilles injury during the off-season, and signed Demetress Bell away from Buffalo. Bell was beat out by King Dunlap, who was a mediocre right tackle. Evan Mathis, who couldn’t cut it with Indianapolis, is Philly’s starting left guard. The result? Michael Vick was harassed into four interceptions against Cleveland.

The Ravens just benched their left tackle, Bryant McKinnie, to put disappointing former first rounder Michael Oher at that position, and start rookie Kelechi Osemele on the right side. The Jets are starting an undrafted...

By Jim Thomas



PHOENIX, Ariz. • Make no mistake, signing Jake Long goes a long way toward shoring up the Rams’ offensive line.

“It’s a huge step for us,” coach Jeff Fisher said.

And now that Long is a Ram, the projected starting offensive line should read something like this:

Long at left tackle; Rokevious Watkins (or a player to be determined) at left guard; Scott Wells at center; Harvey Dahl at right guard; and Rodger Saffold at right tackle.

Keep in mind that it could be Shelley Smith at left guard or Robert Turner if he re-signs as an unrestricted free agent. But if Alabama’s Chance Warmack is available at No. 16 overall or even No. 22 — do the Rams take him and plug him in at left guard?

Or what if Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson unexpectedly drops to No. 16? Maybe the Rams take him, plug him in at right tackle and then tap Saffold on the shoulder and tell him he’s playing left guard.

Those are all possibilities. But Saffold, remember, was unhappy about a potential switch to right tackle, according to his agent, Alan Herman.

“It’s not an issue,” coach Jeff Fisher said Monday.

Herman could not be reached to comment Monday.

Officially, general manager Les Snead said the Rams haven’t decided who’s playing left or right tackle for the team next season. But it’s hard to imagine paying someone (Long) what could be $9 million a year and have him play anything but left tackle.

“We’ll sit down and discuss where’s the best fit for everyone,” Snead said. “Rodger’s started here as a right tackle. I think nowadays on the offensive line, no position punishes you financially. And you could even make a move and be better at a (different) position than you are now.

“So we’ll sit down and discuss that internally with the player and even his agent. But Rodger’s a team player and he’s young. If he comes in and consistently plays like he did at the end of last year, Rodger will be fine and we’ll be better.”