Offensive Line Hurting The St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams fell to 4-5 following a 37-13 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Despite being under the .500 mark, the Rams still sit at 2nd in the NFC West and are still alive in the playoff discussion – sitting just two games out of a possible playoff spot. Despite their standings, panic might be starting to set in for the city of St. Louis.

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The panic comes from the current state of the offensive line. Already down one starter (Rodger Saffold), the Rams have likely lost Jamon Brown for the season and have lingering injuries to Rob Havenstein that is leaving their ability for success in doubt.

Oct 11, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; St. Louis Rams guard Jamon Brown (68) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Entering Week 10, the Rams are likely to have both starting guards from Week 1 on injured reserve – losing Rodger Saffold to a shoulder injury in Week 5 and likely losing Brown following Sunday’s loss. “We had a few injuries, ‘JB’ (OL Jamon Brown) doesn’t look good,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said following the game. “It looks like a lower leg fracture. So he’ll probably be done.”

These injuries at guard now thrust Garrett Reynolds into the starting lineup at left guard and Cody Winchmann into the starting lineup at right guard. The Rams also run into problems with depth due to injuries. They have no guards on the roster to serve as backups, nor do they have one on the practice squad. This could lead to the return of Brandon Washington to the Rams roster as emergency depth due to a lack of quality free agents.

The offensive line problems do not end there, however. Fisher also mentioned that rookie tackle Rob Havenstein sustained a calf sprain in the game, adding to his list of lingering injuries on the season that have included an ankle problem.

When Havenstein missed a game earlier this season, Reynolds moved to right tackle. For this to happen again, the Rams would need to use rookie Andrew Donnal, who was inactive on Sunday, as a guard.

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The other options would be to use Donnal as a tackle, or swing Darrell Williams over to the right side of the line. This would leave the line possible having

and Winchmann on the left side of

along with Donnal and Reynolds on the right side of the line.

These offensive line changes will continue to hinder the Rams’ 31st-ranked offense. St. Louis currently sits ahead of only San Francisco in offensive yards per game, averaging just over 309 yards per game. They are the NFL’s worst passing team, ranking 32nd at just 178.7 yards per game.

The protection issues have led to Nick Foles posting his lowest completion percentage of his career at just over 56%, and a seven to six touchdown to interception ratio. Foles has only been sacked 13 times, 3rd fewest in the NFL, but he has been pressured and hit 61 times, 8th most in the NFL. Adjusting protection schemes and personnel will only magnify that problem.

The changes are also starting to effect Todd Gurley and the Rams running game. After four-consecutive games at over 125 yards, Gurley has been held to 89 and 45 yards in the past two weeks. His 45-yard performance was on 12 carries, resulting in just 3.8 yards per carry. Gurley was frustrated for most of the 2nd half unable to find any open holes and forcing the Rams to go to the air.

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With one of the worst offenses in the NFL and serious questions surrounding the offensive line, Fisher and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti will have to be creative to keep Foles protected and get Gurley back in form. If they do not, the offensive line issues can, and will be the undoing of a promising season in St. Louis.