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

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.

Rams Insider D'Marco Farr 'Very concerned' about Rams OL shell game

This may not be a brand spanking new topic, but it does challenge fans to the logic of making this decision this late in the offseason. So let's recap. The LA Rams starting offensive line suffered injuries to three projected starters:

• LT Alaric Jackson - Ankle injury (now complicated by two-game suspension)
• LG Jonah Jackson - Shoulder Injury (just returned to practice)
• RT Rob Havenstein - Ankle/foot injury

Facing opening the season with two backup offensive tackles, and a less than 100 percent healed left guard, the coaching staff has elected to swap the rehabbing Jonah Jackson with former starting left guard Steve Avila. That creates a starting offensive line configuration for Week 1 that looks like this:

• LT Joe Noteboom (backup)
• LG Steve Avila
• C Jonah Jackson (a bit banged up, not experienced at center for some time)
• RG Kevin Dotson
• RT Warren McClendon (backup)

So as stated in slide one, Brittany called in to ask thoughts, impressions, and concerns over the Rams last minute shell game over offensive linemen. Here's the video clip that she posted herself:

D'Marco Farr was impressed by the question, and instantly weighed in with his response over how he feels about the Rams offensive line:

"A little nervous. This is a great question, actually. So there is an issue going into Detroit (to face the Lions in the season opener), that Steve Avila was the center. That's the guy who has been training as the center. He was the starting left guard last year. He is great.

Moved him to the center. So you go through camp, three preseason games, with him as center, but a week before you play (the) Detroit (Lions), you are going to slide him over to guard? And, slide in Jonah Jackson who you just signed from Detroit as a center. So you are flipping your guard and center spots.

So that is something to be concerned about going into Detroit. That is a BIG big deal.

HUGE concern, yes. That is worse than not having your (starting) tackles.

(Like 1 to 10, what is your concern?)

10. (Wow!)

You are flopping your center and your guard a week before (the game)? What are we doing?"

Rams Insider, D'Marco Farr

I love D'Marco Farr's insight. He is a straight shooter who speaks from the heart, and is not the least bit hesitant to point out the lack of logic in this more. But is there something else afoot?

Crazy like a fox: Does Beaux know what's up?

From the moment that the LA Rams selected Arkansas interior offensive lineman rookie prospect Beaux Limmer with the 217th overall pick in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft, we loved the pick. Of course, it's always fun when the team selects a player that you had mocked to them previously, but the fact that the team grabbed a potential NFL starting offensive lineman deep on Day 3 is always worth celebrating.

No, we are not bandwagoners here. We loved the chances of Beaux Limmer making the 53-man roster and even took a very controversial position of asking how long this team could justify keeping him out of the starting five.

Now this question seems far less controversial.

Here is what I mean. With the team moving Jonah Jackson to center, Avila returns to his 2023 position, a position that he excelled at last season. But Jackson, who has not played center for years, is suddenly blocking and handling the football with every snap? Yes, I suspect that the Rams have a plan in place.

After wowing the coaching staff in preseason with playing 94 offensive snaps at center, allowing no quarterback sacks, getting called for two penalties, and putting up incredible video footage, I suspect that the Rams project his as a starting center as well. With Jonah Jackson at center, and with an injury history, Jackson in at center gives the team every excuse to insert Beaux Limmer into the center position with Jonah Jackson's first injury.

When the Rams finally get everyone settled on the offensive line, this team could boast Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Beaux Limmer, Kevin Dotson, and Rob Havenstein as the starting five. While Jonah Jackson was a solid versatile IOL signing, I'm already leaning in the direction of rookie Beaux to take over.

Too far-fetched? Too sneaky? Too underhanded? I don't think so. If Jonah Jackson succeeds at center and plays well, all's well that ends well. But as soon as backup LG Zach Thomas was claimed by the New England Patriots, the team was forced to reshuffle the deck. Stay tuned. I suspect that Beaux Limmer will eventually start this season. Perhaps fans will finally forget missing out on the chance to draft center Creed Humphrey in the process.

As always, thank you so much for reading.