How can Rams fix several bad decisions before facing the Patriots in Week 11?
By Bret Stuter
Rams made several fatal errors in Week 10
Let's be honest, I don't think anybody can defend the offensive struggle in Week 10 and suggest that the Rams deserved to win with that effort. Despite taking the football field three times in Miami Dolphins territory, the Rams didn't score a touchdown, That will seldom win a football game.
But the offense never seemed to be in any type of groove. Replacing steady-freddie center Beaux Limmer with veteran Jonah Jackson turned the nearly-automatic snap of the football into a roulette wheel. Some suggest that it was the uncertainty of the snap that bothered Stafford throughout the game, and that is hard to dispute after the fact.
The Rams offensive linemen did not play in Week 10. How poorly did they play? Per Pro Football Focus, the Rams offensive linemen graded out with:
- Left tackle Alaric Jackson - 65.3 overall
- Left guard Steve Avila - 62.8 overall
- Center Jonah Jackson - 51.9 overall
- Right guard Kevin Dotson - 61.7 overall
- Right tackle Joe Noteboom - 57.0 overall
Those are not very promising grades, particularly at the midseason mark, at home, in a game that the team needed to win.
While some fans may bash swing tackle Joe Noteboom, consider this. The Rams helped out starting RT Rob Havenstein with a tight end nearly a third of the time on average since the BYE. So why would the team suddenly pull that type of tight end assistance when the backup takes the field?
That is something that I will never figure out.