WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Continuity along the Rams' offensive line has been somewhat fleeting this season.
Their projected starting five from training camp wasn't on the field for the first two weeks as Alaric Jackson served a two-game suspension. During that same span, starting left guard Steve Avila and starting center Jonah Jackson sustained injuries that landed them on Injured Reserve.
Stability arrived after the Rams inserted Justin Dedich and Beaux Limmer into the starting lineup – they mounted a 3-game win streak – but just as Los Angeles appeared set to have its original starting five available for Week 10 against the Dolphins, Rob Havenstein sustained an ankle sprain in Week 9 against the Seahawks that sidelined him for that Monday Night Football loss, and he is likely to this week as well. As Avila and Jackson returned, Joe Noteboom filled in at right tackle for Havenstein, creating a new combination with three starters in action for the first time in multiple weeks.
"Your guess is as good as mine," head coach Sean McVay said Wednesday, when asked by a reporter whether there will be a time this season that they play their projected five starters on the offensive line. "I do know this, those guys have wanted to be out here and it's been... 2022 was a different year, but in terms of the amount of moving parts and where guys are out for not the whole year, but extended periods of time, that affects your ability to develop some continuity. I feel for those guys. It's been challenging and unique circumstances for sure. You certainly hope so, but here we are ten weeks in and it just seems like you're getting more resilient to be able to handle it but I do feel for the guys. That's one of the worst parts about this is the amount of work, time, effort, and dedication that goes into preparing for a season and then when a lot of things happen, especially for these players, that are totally out of their control and it limits their availability to be able to go out and compete with their teammates and be factors for our team. That's been challenging."
Evaluating the performance of L.A.'s offensive line against Miami, McVay credited the Dolphins defense for what it was able to do, but also acknowledged three of the Rams' five starters not having played football "in months." As much as a team tries to simulate those live reps in practice, it only goes so far compared to the actual experience.
"You always want to make sure that as a coach you're putting guys in positions to have success," McVay said. "I know guys are competing to the best of their ability, but there were some things that we expect better, and you also look at yourself and say, 'Are we doing exactly the right things?' Even though if we might think that, let's learn from it and let's apply it moving forward."
Regaining that continuity will be critical ahead of Sunday's game against the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. While the Patriots' pressure rate of 31.3% is tied with the Raiders for sixth-lowest in the NFL going into Week 11, per Next Gen Stats, they're 13th in team sack rate (7.1%) and coming off a Week 10 performance in which they sacked Bears quarterback Caleb Williams nine times.
Asked whether it's more important to get live reps for the five offensive linemen that were starters at the beginning of the season or if it's about having the best five out there regardless at this point in the season, McVay said it's about finding "what is the best group that collectively plays together, not just individual pieces."
"What does that look like? What's that evaluation? How quickly can you get some guys that are back up to speed to be able to play the way that they're capable of?" McVay said. "There's a callus that is developed. There's a feel for the flow of the game. There are reps that were banked the other day that you can't simulate in these practice settings just based on how we operate, not to mention that you're a little bit later. Now here we are on a short week where your physical reps are even more limited. Our goal is to be able to figure out, what is the best way to put that unit together based on the guys that we do have? And to try to be able to put ourselves in a position to go compete to get the result that we're hunting up in New England. That's where our focus is this week."
