Getting better vibes each day with what we're hearing. I'm curious if our "new" OL coach was part of a successful unit before why he was not elevated before now. It isn't like we didn't have plenty of evidence of the OL struggling the past few seasons. Maybe it's an NFL thing to not want to shake things up midseason but OC and OL were clearly struggling much of the year and I'm surprised we didn't see Johnson get his shot as OC or Popovich get his shot at OL at some point. I'm hoping all we're seeing from Caley's feedback from peers materializes here as the defense is good enough here to make a better run with a much more balanced offense supporting them.
I don't know everything about what makes an OL click, but I can tell when it doesn't. The thing that concerns me most is Seth Payne's comments about poor technique. THAT is something teachable like not jumping early or lining up in the wrong place. I'd like to see a consistently clean backfield whether we are running or passing. I just want to Win it all. Simple concept, yet difficult by design.
Well the Oline was dog poo at pass blocking in terms of scheme, fundamentals and technique. They were also a dumpster fire in run blacking as far as scheme, fundamentals and technique. But he wasn’t responsible for any of that apparently.
Apparently he was the “run block guy”. And some other guy was the “pass block guy” and Strausser oversaw it all.
My strong suspicion is that the coaches - and personnel - were ill-matched to Slowick's system. They literally brought Strausser out of retirement to run a ZBS he had no experience with. Caley's time with New England has me hopeful we'll get a nice combination of the Pats' gap-scheme run concepts and the Shanahan passing game. I really like taking the best of past systems and fitting them here, based on personnel. And I don't think this is Nick exerting NE-influence. DeMeco Ryans runs this team; I'm sure he knows McVay pretty well - coached against him 2/year - and Caley came with McVay's seal of approval. From there, I have zero issue with Caley grabbing guys he knows. That's what he should do. I also think DeMeco is probably going to be more hands-on with the offense. He knows how to stop it; he needs to hand Caley the keys to making it unstoppable. I remain excited by the hire (even if I thought they should've fired every offensive coach).
They have to erase anything with the word zone from the playbook including wide zone that the rams run. Ain't no Patriot Way ex going to teach our slow guards how to run any of that. The play action is going to have to come through gap schemes. I'm more than ok with that. I was taking a look at the "Nascar offense/ John Carroll Alumni offense" and crossed referenced it with the Kubahan in 2 important factors: Play action and RPOs. Play Action attempts and Yards for a former Texans QB in 2020: 94 for 834 yards. Play Action attempts and yards for Seven: 94 for 1036 yards With our line not having to decipher the kryptonite zbs, defenses are going to finally respect the play action. RPO attempts and yards for a former Texans qb in 2020: 56 attempts for 519 yards RPO attempts and yards for Seven: 38 attempts for 330 yards I expect more opportunities in the RPO next season.
The Rams offense is constantly evolving, and they’ve moved away from WZ with, reportedly, Caley playing a large role in successfully revamping the OL. They run more gap-zone now - which is what NE ran when Caley was there. And it was dictated by defenses catching up to the wide zone and finding the better fit for their personnel. I’ve legitimately not heard one item about Caley that concerns me. Doesn’t mean he won’t fail spectacularly - he might! - but the resume is terrific and should have Texans fans excited.
Yes and we ran it here in 2019/2020. My bigger point was that our play action will be more effective now than under the Kubahan for the 2 past seasons because our linemen won't be so confused. We ran a lot of PA and RPOs in those forgotten qb seasons. I should have included the Rams 2025 play action attempts. It's even more than when they zoned Rams PA- 2025: 151 pass attempts for 1,400 yards. 2021: 122 pass attempts for 1,247 yards. unlike the Falcons who rarely use PAs (64 play action pass attempts) all year.
All this talk about Caley and Popovich... they're obviously EXTREMELY important. But an under-the-radar development from this past season that has me intrigued is the idea that the first quarter of the season shamed Larmey Tunsil. He was, and always been, an elite pass blocker. But after 3-4 games, he cut way down on the penalties. And by the end of the year - especially after Howard moved next to him - he finally showed some juice in his run blocking. I have a long-held suspicion that Tunsil might not be maximum effort guy. But if he comes into 2025 ready to take his game to the next level - and if they sign a monster, like the guard from KC, with Howard starting at LG... this might be a drastically better OL before they ever install the new scheme. I'm hoping a fire has been lit under Laremy Tunsil.
