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Rams Insider says team's OL shell game just 1 week before season is alarming

By Bret Stuter

Oct 22, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell (5) celebrates his touchdown scored against the Pittsburgh Steelers with guard Steve Avila (73) and wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell (5) celebrates his touchdown scored against the Pittsburgh Steelers with guard Steve Avila (73) and wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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The LA Rams are in the words of the former Molly Hatchett trademark rock and roll popular hit from 1979 entitled Flirtin' With Disaster. It's not the first time that the team has taken one approach to positioning offensive linemen throughout training camp, but then, at the last minute, reversed their decision to shuffle the starting five with too little notice before the start of a new NFL season.

Of course, when I or other bloggers cite the perils of making these types of wholesale changes with not time to cement them before the start of the 2024 NFL season, the comments in Rams forums and facebook swell with the snarky 'stay in your lane,' rebuke. Apparently, questioning the wisdom of these types of decisions upsets some fans.

So we won't be doing that here. At least not on my word alone. But we will be challenging the wisdom of the decision to start free agent Jonah Jackson at center, and restore Steve Avila to left guard, just days away from the start of the 2024 NFL season.

The difference is that we are simply going to piggyback on the topic raised during the phone-in caller segment of the ESPN 710 Los Angeles Rams Talk podcast, and let you process what this may mean for the team in the season opener on Sunday Night Football on the road against the Detroit Lions.

It's the Crown Jewel of NFL broadcasting for Week 1, an anticipated wildly entertaining rematch that pits two NFL starting quarterbacks again their former teams:

Television producers love to get games on the nationally televised game that have compelling reasons for NFL fans everywhere to tune in to watch. This game checks all of the boxes:

  • Prior year playoff teams? CHECK
  • 2 starting quarterbacks facing previous team? CHECK
  • Controversial play that triggered season-ending injury? CHECK
  • A photo finish form NFL Playoffs decided by one point? CHECK
  • 2 teams with Super Bowl aspirations this year? CHECK

This game is custom-made for the Sunday Night Football debut to the 2024 NFL season. But unbeknownst to the NFL schedulers, the Rams coaching staff has added a tad more drama than need be.

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