• March 28, 2024

The Key Matchup: Eagles Offensive Line vs. Rams Defensive Front

I’m very concerned about this game and the matchups of the Eagles inexperienced offensive line against a talented Rams defensive front. If the offensive line can hold it’s own, the Birds receivers will torch the mediocre Rams secondary. On the other hand, if they can’t block these guys, it will be a long day for Michael Vick and the Eagles offense. All they have to do is give Vick some time early and the Eagles will jump on St. Louis and allow the Birds offense to grab a quick lead and force the Rams to play catchup.

The Rams defensive line sacked the quarterback 43 times a year ago. Their best pass rusher is right defensive end James Hall, who registered 10.5 sacks a year ago, but he will be handled the Birds best blocker Jason Peters, so he’s not a concern. There is reason for concern elsewhere.

Let’s take a look at some of those matchups:

Left Defensive Tackle Fred Robbins 6’4″ 325 vs. Right Offensive Guard Kyle DeVan – 6’2″ 306 – The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t like the thought of veteran defensive tackle Fred Robbins matched up against rookie right guard Danny Watkins, so they signed former Indianapolis guard Kyle DeVan. He’s not anything to write home about, but he knows Howard Mudd’s “jump set” technique of pass blocking.

Steve Spagnuolo brought Robbins to St. Louis and he’s a good inside pass rusher. He had six sacks last season, so he’ll be a challenge for DeVan, who is listed at 6’2″ but standing next to him, he seemed more like 6′ or 6’1″ at best. He’s probably going to have an arm length disadvantaged, so he’s got to be quick on his feet to stay in front of Robbins.

Right Offensive Tackle – Todd Herremans vs. Left Defensive End Chris Long – Of course Herremans is new on the right side of the line and new at the offensive tackle position. He will face a huge challenge because of the noise in the Dome. He’s got to hear the snap count and not come out of his stance too early or too late.

Herremans has been used to sitting there right next to the center, but being out at tackle hearing the snap count is a much tougher job. He also must get used to faster pass rushers than the defensive tackles.

Long isn’t a speed burner around the corner, but he never stops coming. He gives tremendous effort and does a good job with his hands. Herremans will need to win the hand fight by getting his hands on Long, while he’s trying to knock the tackle’s hands down.

I think Herremans will get his biggest test on 3rd downs when the Rams bring in rookie first round draft pick Robert Quinn, who is a pure pass rusher. They will move Long inside against Eagles left guard, Evan Mathis.

Left Guard Evan Mathis vs. Right Defensive Tackle Justin Bannan – Mathis a veteran guard, who has started 22 games in his seven year career. I feel there’s a reason he’s been a backup for all of his career, but he has a chance today to show what he can do.

He’s a good athlete for a guard, who is a better pass blocker than he is a run blocker. Mathis moves well and does a good of getting position on defensive tackles rather than overpowering them. Bannan is a run stopping defensive tackle, who isn’t much of a pass rusher. He won’t have a problem pass blocking Bannan, but he will have a challenge of run blocking the big fella.

Mathis will have to handle defensive end Chris Long on third downs and that will be a challenge because he’s faster, quicker and has better pass rushing technique than Bannan.

Center Jason Kelse vs. Crowd Noise In The Dome – Of course I must mention that rookie center Jason Kelce will be playing the first game of his NFL career. The Rams will move a defensive tackle over his head on most of the defensive fronts. He’ll be challenged to run block Bannan and pass block Robbins. He’s got to be patient on his pass blocks and persistent with his run blocks.

Kelce’s biggest challenge will be snapping the ball and communicating properly despite that ridiculously loud noise in the Edward Jones Dome. Count how many times something goes wrong with the snap. How many times will the snap be too early and how many times will it be too late? If you end up forgetting about the noise then you know the rookie did a great job.

The winners of this matchups will likely help their team with this opening day battle.

GCOBB

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A Look At Week One In The NFL

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It Wasn’t A Masterpiece, But The Eagles Win Comfortably 31-13

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runtheball09
runtheball09
September 11, 2011 10:34 am

listening to eye of the tiger on vodka number 1. why is kerry collins on here I don’t give a shit… lets do this!! E A G L E S < eaaaaaaggggleeees!!!

runtheball09
runtheball09
September 11, 2011 10:38 am

nevermind i got it. didn’t know they signed him. must have skipped that in my excitement. the good thing about watkins is we’re going to have him for a while because he’s so young… oh wait… well the thing we can count on about him is that he’s been playing this game his whole life… oh wait… well nevermind then. nostrovia

larrwd
larrwd
September 11, 2011 10:48 am

lol @ runtheball im glad we got devan hes only 26 same age as watkins.. why spend a fist round pick on a 26 year old rookie .. those old rookies never pan out

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 10:59 am

A couple more Rotational PLayers for the Rams who could pose some issues

DE Eugene Sims at 6-6 270 lbs is a tall, raw pass-rusher but has some great reach to block some passing lanes
DE CJ Ah You at 6-4 265lbs who had 4 Sacks last season.

Back-ups at DT
Darrell Scott is 6-3 320 lbs and can move a pile, he’s a 3 Year Player who will spell Fred Robbins quite a bit and can get in the backfield..
Gary Gibson is a 6-3 315 lbs (from Rutgers) who is more of a run-stuffer than a penetrator

I think a real key is the Rams LB Corps who are very experienced and heady players (though they lack pure athleticism, they make up it by having the smarts and are sound tacklers …
MLB J Laurenitis, OLB B Leber are quality players with size,strength but are not Blizters and Pass Rushers, they are more of Drop back in Zone coverages LB’s
The Wildcard is 1st Year Starter LB Bryan Kehl who is a 6-2 245lbs and has the speed to rush the passer and athleticism and had such a strong Summer Camp and Pre-Season that the Rams decided to go with him and released Veteran LB Nigal Digg’s and are very high on this kid..
The Top Backup at LB is Brian Poppinga who came from the Packers and is another big body who is more of a run stuffer, short-yardage and sound tackler

A big key in this game to me , is can the Eagles get their TE’s/3rd WR Avant/Smith and RB’s McCoy/Brown) matched up with these LB in the short passing game and out in space for this is a big advantage for the Eagles who Speed should be able to take advantage. If the Eagles can do this early and oftenm this should be able to open up things deeper but if the Eagles come out with bombs away out of the gate, they are playing into the Rams hands and will expose Vick to their pass rush..

mubi
September 11, 2011 11:01 am

i am confident this line will figure something out and win the battle in the trenches!!!!

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 11:09 am

Check this:
2010 – 6’5 Heremans), 6’4 (McGlynn), 6’5 (Wells)…….
2011 -6’4 (Mathis), 6’3(Kelce), 6’1(DeVan)….

Its last year’s opening day middle o-line vs today’s starting middle o-line…..the incredibly shrinking line…..though it makes sense if you have a 5’9″ starting QB I guess.

jakedog
jakedog
September 11, 2011 11:25 am

hey runtheball, what vodka # you on now, and don’t forget “going the distance” from the rocky soundtrack, greatest psycheup song eve, lmao

wmonell
wmonell
September 11, 2011 11:30 am

slept only 2 hours last night, and 13 total hours in the past 5 days (idk why)
anyways, already got my run in, ive been pumped since i woke up at 2am lol
listened to all types of genres on my morning run, eminem, jason mraz, skream, etc. and was thinking about our eagles/rams game

its the nfl and anything can happen, of course
i dont think we are unstoppable or will go undefeated or are a lock for a superbowl appearance
but the optimism i portray is not to balance out the negativity on here, it’s really how passionate i feel as you do with your opinions
but the thing is, i flat out believe in our team and franchise, and that we will win a ring (finally) within the next 2 seasons

this rams game tho, people jumping on their bandwagon for making positive steps in the right direction, i applaud them thus far
keep it real, were an upper-tier franchise and we win games in the regular season, to give ourselves a chance int he playoffs
we didnt go out and add slouches, and no one improved their team (overall) more than we did
i feel you on the ol and lb concerns, they are less concerns to me because we havent paid attention to ol and lb for awhile now
the final 2 seasons of mcnabbs career here, his oline was suspect and he had no weapons, mcnabb/reid did a lot with a little
the defense hasnt been the same since the great JJ, esp. at lb
the only difference there really is at those positions (of concern), is that were going with a few rookies instead of veterans witha track record

when the eagles come up, the media (including g. cobb at times) begin with “the dream team” or the “so-called dream team”
and then they go on to discuss our ol/lb issues
hmm…how are we at qb/rb/wr/te/dl/db
other teams get the praise of having great staffs, what the hell do we have?
reid, morningweg, washburn, mudd, april, lynn, and castillo has years put in (everyone has flaws)
we have former players as position coaches and about as much talent across the board as the rest of the league
(mainly, the packers/chargers/steelers/patriots – the top 5 teams in my eyes)
regardless if you agree with my top 5 teams or anything else ive said…

so what makes someone think that josh mcdaniels can work a miracle in 5 weeks?
i love bradford, but ever heard of a sophomore slump?
jason campbell had promise in washignton, but he’s had different off. coord. for most of his career (no, he’s not on bradford’s level, but that could affect the kid somewhat, it happens)
were talking about the rams, a rebuilding franchise with a familiar face in spags, led by laurenitis
who is in their secondary besides mikell? (i know, but do you or the media? lol)
their d-line, long has promise but was not a force last season, so…their ebst d-lineman is their rookie quinn that has played as many downs as casey matthews?
scheme? sure, they’ll overachieve a little bit

i just hate empty statements or critiquing that is one-sided, not just eagles football
what in the world makes you think this game will be even close?
eagles speed in a dome (both sides of the ball)
you dont even know your “new look eagles team”
we have a shut down corner that will take the best wr away
the best off-corner in football and the fastest nickel corner in football, theyre all pro bowlers
d-line, cole has never had this much help, adding jenkins and babin makes our pressure consistently relentless
ur beloved chaney racks up tackles, and one of my favs in coleman is doing so as well (15 tackles in final 2 games of the season, 11 in a preseason game)
perhaps we run a little more, or throw some west coast quick passes more than usual to negate the blitz
we are the best home run team in the league, even on the ground (mccoys long tds and vick, add ronnie brown to that list)

34-17 philly is my prediction for week one, the rams will give a good effort at home, i do expect them to score early because our defense doesnt get off to that quick of a start, but we’ll see wont we

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 11:53 am

Danny Watkins not active today. Your 1st round pick isnt good enough to be active on the opening day roster.lmao. I would like to know what other 1st round pick isnt active in the NFL. Out of all the other players you could of taken with that pick the Eagles pick a player, a friggin guard. who cant get on the field today. That scouting department has alot of questions to answer. To top that off I havent seen much from Jaquawn Jarrett eithier. I personally didnt hear his name not once this camp, Dont give me that rookie shit. We are starting a rookie at MLB and center.

gloomysmitty
gloomysmitty
September 11, 2011 11:53 am

ITS GAMEDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

gloomysmitty
gloomysmitty
September 11, 2011 1:02 pm

IT’S GAMETIMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE IM CHANGING MY SCORE 35-17 BIRDS SHADY 15ATT FOR 85 YD 2TDS MIKE VICK 20-29 2TDS AND 1 RUSHING TD DJACK 4-65 THE D IS GOOD AT SPOTS HERE AND THERE BUT NOT GREAT NOT BY ALONG SHOT NOT YET ATLEAST ASANTE ALSO GETS A PICK THAT SETS UP ONE OF SHADYS TDS

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 1:05 pm

To Dag,
Just fyi, the Packers Top Pick (OL Derreck Sherrod), who some eve had the Eagles selecting in various Mock Drafts) was inactive in the Packers Opener..
Sherrod was a 3 year Starter at LT for Old Miss and was switched to LG by the Packers this Camp in hopes of him winning the Starters Spot, He did not and has stuggled similarly like Watkins has…

gloomysmitty
gloomysmitty
September 11, 2011 1:15 pm

BAD FIRST DRIVE NEED TO RUN THE BALL ALITTLE MORE WITH SHADY AND RONNIE TO KEEP THAT D OFF VICK

gloomysmitty
gloomysmitty
September 11, 2011 1:18 pm

EVEN WORST START BY THE D AND IF SAM BRADFORD HAS MORE THAN 165 YDS PASSING TODAY I DRIVE MY CAR INTO A RIVER

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 1:34 pm

Casey Matthews is horrible.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 1:40 pm

Finally a turnover. Other than that run d looks…um…porous?

Despite that one corner blitz…I think the oline looks fine. Vick has time on most throws.

Vick has thrown into 2x coverage at least 2x (desean and avant in endzone) Better cut that crap out (doubtful)

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 1:41 pm

Paulman thanks for pointing out 2 to 3 teams whose 1st round picks are innactive today because of being behind. Is it to much to ask to be one of the othe 28 teams whose 1st round pick is active? Amazing how Kelce was in the same boat and is our starting center.

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 1:42 pm

Agreed Vinnie Vick has enough time. Oline is playing ok.

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 1:42 pm

Vinnie

What are u watching?

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 1:43 pm

When the announcer, “wow Cadillac Williams looks strong this quarter”…there are problems

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 1:45 pm

I guess Reid has put Castillo in a better position

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 1:46 pm

The Dome is quiet now.

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 1:52 pm

Yeah, great blocking!

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 1:53 pm

Vick is killing the team right now.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 1:56 pm

you know…sometime the play (like to schmidt a second ago) are planned to allow the d line through….he hits schmidt and it goes for a while there drummer.

but of greater worry (right now) than vick’s innacuracy is the run d….

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 1:57 pm

terrible call

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 2:00 pm

This defense stinks

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 2:02 pm

good think rams treating the ball like a greased watermelon…otherwise our dream team secondary being torched

daggolden
daggolden
September 11, 2011 2:02 pm

Get Matthews off the F%$ing field Castille.

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 2:05 pm

Time to watch the Phils?

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 2:08 pm

Watch for the VIck Turnover right here deep in their zone…

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 2:08 pm

when the trow is good you gotta catch that desean

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 2:09 pm

Nothing like a deep pass!

CT
CT
September 11, 2011 2:09 pm

Matthews lOoks soft on the run. But we r winning… For now. Everyone relax

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 2:09 pm

Here it comes on 3rd and Long…

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 2:11 pm

Nice play/throw by VIck on that 3rd Down,.. MAclin now is into it for his hometown fans/family..

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 2:11 pm

Paul

Say what? Should have been a TD.

CT
CT
September 11, 2011 2:12 pm

Is Steve smith playing??

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 2:14 pm

Eagles 5 for 7 on 3rd downs today

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 2:14 pm

2nd Timeout take with 8 minutes left in the 2nd Quarter..
I see that Coach AR has really improved his time management… The EAgles have to be the worst team in the NFL in managing their time-outs versus clock management.. It’s beyond embarrassing anymore.. it’s kind of sad…

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 2:15 pm

As long as the Rams rush 4, we’re okay.

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 2:16 pm

oh a vick fumble. Never seen that before.

CT
CT
September 11, 2011 2:18 pm

Oh no protection. Never seen that before.

drummerwinslow
September 11, 2011 2:18 pm

Great blocking!

Rocko
Rocko
September 11, 2011 2:18 pm

QUINTON FN MIKELL STRIP SACKS VICK….WHAT THE F????????????????? COME ON MAAAN??????????????

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 2:19 pm

Typical Eagles… Can’t ever put a team down and away..
This team is a 9 Win Team and will struggle to reach the playoffs in my opinion

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 2:20 pm

Mikell is fired up to beat up on his old team and why shouldn’t he be…

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
September 11, 2011 2:20 pm

Dont listen to paul, hes hoping vick fails… he must work for PETA lol…. Listen there going to have so lumps early but as this game progresses and the rest of this yr goes we ll see them improve… the biggest problem is this olines inability to block well consistently… and us not being able to stop the run consistently…

vinnietheevictor
vinnietheevictor
September 11, 2011 2:21 pm

is desean even attempting to catch a punt?

paulman
paulman
September 11, 2011 2:21 pm

Good stop Defense, now let’s execute the Eagle Offense and get a Score before the half and put some Pressure on these Rams..