LA Rams: Brand new big bad boys on the offensive line

If you haven’t heard, the LA Rams are fairly committed to a starting offensive line for the 2021 NFL season featuring left tackle Andrew Whitworth (6-foot-7, 330-pounds), left guard David Edwards (6-foot-6, 308-pounds), offensive center Austin Corbett (6-foot-4, 306-pounds), right guard Bobby Evans (6-foot-4, 312-pounds) and right tackle Rob Havenstein (6-foot-8, 330-pounds). As they are were all lined up and worked to harmonize in Organized Team Activities (OTAs), one impression was unanimous from any and all observers.

My goodness, they’re big. Like stampeding elephants big. The LA Rams offensive line of scrimmage will be entrusted to powerfully pulverizing pachyderms. By choice.

Even as the rest of the roster is loading up with speed, athleticism, and versatility, the team’s approach to the offensive line is taking a far different approach. Will it work out for the team? That jury is still out, but the stakes have never been higher.

Los Angeles Rams

The LA Rams best offensive line to date, measured by the success of the team reaching the Super Bowl to face the New England Patriots, was made up of Whitworth, left guard Roger Saffold (6-foot-5, 323-pounds), offensive center John Sullivan (6-foot-4, 312-pounds), right guard Austin Blythe (6-foot-3, 298-pounds), and Havenstein. Their success was tied to the left side, where a younger Whitworth paired with Saffold to dominate practically anyone foolish enough to take them on.

Since that time, the Rams have been vulnerable to A-gap blitzes. Those are blitzes that attack the offensive line on either side of the offensive center. This year, it appears that the offense plans to counter that with bigger bodies at the interior. Bigger bodies take up more space, are tougher to move off their base, and can be far more problematic in the jostling crowds of the interior line of scrimmage.

It’s all part of the new chapter being written by LA Rams offensive line coach Kevin Carberry. Even with losing starting center Austin Blythe to free agency, the LA Rams have been projected among the Top-10 offensive line groups by Pro Football Focus for 2021. And the decision to sit out this year’s rookie offensive linemen crop was clearly coordinated with Coach Carberry.

It is certainly a bold debut for the LA Rams’ new offensive line coach. While it certainly sends a huge message of confidence, it’s a surprising high-stakes gamble that will compound the Rams investing so much in new veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford’s strong arm will need ample time for plays to develop downfield. The Rams are banking on an untested offensive line configuration to hold up for 17 regular-season games, plus post-season play.

Can they do it? That remains to be seen. They certainly are a bunch of brand new big bad boys though. That’s for sure.