After successfully fielding an undefeated streak in the weeks proceeding the bye, taking care of business against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams decided to make a change heading into Week 10's edition of Monday Night Football, some of which were by choice, some of which decidedly weren't.
First came the decision to start Joe Noteboom at right tackle. Officially back and ready to play after getting injured back in September, Noteboom replaced Rob Havenstein, who landed on the injury report with an ankle injury. Then came the much more controversial decision to take rookie center Beaux Limmer – plus left guard Logan Bruss – off the field following seven weeks of quality play and replace him with Jonah Jackson, who signed a big-money contract to play left guard but has instead been moved to center following uncertainty about second-year pro Steve Avila.
Asked how he felt the offensive line played in Week 10, McVay didn't exactly give the unit a rousing endorsement, even if he hopes the tape shows him a few more positives in the end.
“Yeah, it didn’t seem very, you know, it seemed like, you know, I wanna be able to look at the tape, but there was a lot of things that were not in alignment with what we’re looking for. And there’s… that’s why, you know, you hear us talk about the importance of the continuity, got a lot of respect for that defense, they did a nice job, but there was too many things that it just seemed like we were off and never gave ourselves a chance. And it’s not exclusively on the line, that’s, you know, as a whole, collectively, we’re all in this thing together, and we’ll look at it, and we’ve gotta be able to improve, and everything’s on the table.”
Interesting stuff, right? But wait, it gets even more so, as McVay had plenty more to say on the matter, including why he decided to re-orient the Rams offensive line after preaching continuity over the past few weeks following the bye.
Sean McVay explains why the Rams started Jonah Jackson
Asked why the Rams decided to remove Bruss and Limmer from the field in favor of Week 1 starters Avila and Jackson after finally getting things going on the ground and through the air after the bye, McVay noted that, when the duo were given the go-ahead to return to the field, he wanted to give them a shot on the field to see how it shook out.
“You know, they were both, both Steve and Jonah were ready to go, wanted to be able to see what that looked like,” McVay told reporters. “Jordan, you never know exactly, but always try to do what we think is best, and still be some good film to look back at and see, alright, what do we think is the best way to put guys in the right spots to give them a chance to be successful on, ultimately, our offense.”
Did McVay make the correct call? Based on social media reactions, the answer is clearly no, as despite being a 23-year-old rookie sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, Limmer didn't allow a sack on almost 500 pressures, even if he allowed four penalties, three QB hits, and ten total pressures through eight games. While some of this might come down to a desire to keep both Jackson and Avila on the field, considering the former's contract and the latter's quality play in 2023, if Limmer gives the Rams the best chance to win the NFC West and make it to the playoffs once more, McVay might have to make a tough decision that makes one of his offensive linemen – plus some fans – very upset.
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