IRVINE, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Rams alternated the alignment of their offensive line last Sunday, and now it appears they are sticking with it.
For Saturday's preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Rob Havenstein started at right tackle (the position he played throughout college and in the NFL) and Jamon Brown started at right guard (where he spent most of the last two years with the Rams). The two were flipped throughout the offseason program and in the early part of training camp, but the Rams seem to prefer this look.
Speaking after the 13-10 win from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Rams coach Sean McVay said, "I feel like Rob’s really settling in nice at that tackle position, and Jamon will be our right guard right now unless something changes. I think it’s about those guys getting more and more comfortable."
The offensive line appears set, with Havenstein at right tackle, Brown at right guard, John Sullivan at center, Rodger Saffold at left guard and Andrew Whitworth at left tackle.
After that, it remains a question. The Rams' second-team offensive line struggled in pass protection on Saturday, with backup center Austin Blythe airmailing a snap and backup tackle Pace Murphy allowing defensive ends to blow past him on at least three occasions. The issue has been exacerbated by the knee injury that has kept a versatile Andrew Donnal from practicing.
"There were a couple times on our edges that we did get loose," McVay said. "... The expectations that our players have for themselves, that we have for them, has got to be higher than what we performed at down in and down out last night. That’s the way we’ll approach this week.”
