OL this year (How it looks right now)

[WestCoastRam]

I'm a little surprised McClendon not being praised more. He seems like almost a guy you start RT away or a back up way way better than Bruss RT now and he seems very road graterish .......what were your guys overall thoughts on him a bit more polishing and he could be a steal no?

Him being injured during OTAs and most of camp has been an issue. All we've had to go on is his college tape, the Rams coaches saying how much they like him and vibes.

But man, hard to watch the game yesterday and not love what you saw from a guy who's really kinda playing out of position at LT. Really excited to see what he can do against the Raiders and rest of preseason.

 

[fanotodd]

If Zach Thomas keeps playing the way he is... gonna be real hard to put him on practice squad without someone grabbing him. Right now (if we take draft status out of it), I don't see how you keep Bruss over Thomas.

And McClendon looks like a revelation. Even when he gets beat, still gets in the way of the rusher.

Agree. I think Thomas would get snatched up. If not immediately, at some point when injuries begin during the real season.

Bruss, OTOH, could easily be stashed on the PS right now. I can’t see a team willing to put him on their 53MR when he is obviously still in development.
I can’t see the RAMS wanting to do that either. Guys like Anchrum, McClendon, even MacAlister looked more promising.

I will say Bruss looked better as the game went, but that likely had to do with the drop-off in competition. We’ll have to see what he offers in week 2.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Agree. I think Thomas would get snatched up. If not immediately, at some point when injuries begin during the real season.

Bruss, OTOH, could easily be stashed on the PS right now. I can’t see a team willing to put him on their 53MR when he is obviously still in development.
I can’t see the RAMS wanting to do that either. Guys like Anchrum, McClendon, even MacAlister looked more promising.

I will say Bruss looked better as the game went, but that likely had to do with the drop-off in competition. We’ll have to see what he offers in week 2.

Yeah, we have two more preseason games and joint practices to get a real sense of where the guy is at. There's time to show improvement... but having these other truly promising guys muddies the picture.

 

[tklongball]

I didn't see Avila, How did he look yesterday?

 

[tklongball]

My recording picked up with 5 min left in the 2nd Qtr.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Yes. Bruss looks like he's 9 on the depth chart right now. Generally we'll keep at least that many.

1. Avila
2. Havenstein
3. Jackson
4. Allen
5. Anchrum
6. Noteboom
7. Shelton
8. McClendon
9. Bruss

But that is precarious real estate for a lineman. So from there you can end up cut if one of the UDFAs impresses enough to overcome the hope and promise in the minds of the decision makers re: your draft status. Bruss being a 3rd round pick will almost surely keep him around, that plus him coming back from injury. Worst case they would make up some bullshit about a setback and IR him if they had to, something like that. So I wouldn't call him safe but he's probably gonna make the cut.

I'd say that for now both Zach Thomas & Mike McAllister have jumped ahead of Bruss. Still, there's plenty of time for a lot to happen that changes these opinions. I don't care if Bruss ends up on the Practice Squad, if some team is that desperate to pick him up, they can have him, I'm not going to lose sleep over it, although a yet undisclosed hang-nail might get him on our PUP list.

 

[Faceplant]

I'm a little surprised McClendon not being praised more. He seems like almost a guy you start RT away or a back up way way better than Bruss RT now and he seems very road graterish .......what were your guys overall thoughts on him a bit more polishing and he could be a steal no?

Agreed. McClendon was a road grader out there last night.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Just one comment on Bruss as a Practice Squad candidate. That has to be mutual. If a player is released and the team wants to sign him to the PS, the player has to also agree. He could sign elsewhere on another team’s PS.

From what I saw last night (just an initial watch), Bruss was brutal in pass protection. For me, the biggest surprise of early camp reports, was Bruss playing exclusively at right tackle. I am hoping it’s an initial step in a return from his injury … comfort because it’s most familiar and less traffic.

I did see some good run blocking snaps from him but, even with improvement, Bruss does not look like a RT to me; and, I am right about this stuff 18-19% of the time.

 

[Merlin]

I'd say that for now both Zach Thomas & Mike McAllister have jumped ahead of Bruss. Still, there's plenty of time for a lot to happen that changes these opinions. I don't care if Bruss ends up on the Practice Squad, if some team is that desperate to pick him up, they can have him, I'm not going to lose sleep over it, although a yet undisclosed hang-nail might get him on our PUP list.

I don't disagree on McAllister being above him in terms of who is the better 3rd depth chart option. But the draft position matters because it speaks to upside and will increase Bruss' chances to make the roster.

Also would they make an example of him year two when he had a big injury? Just feels like they wouldn't but who knows. So much comes down to where and how they feel he's deficient. If, for example, it's a give-a-fuck problem, or a confidence problem where he doesn't trust his knee then it might not be fixable. Rams play their cards tight too. So it's gonna be interesting either way.

 

[Pupped]

I want to see more of Thomas.
Yeah.. dumping Bruss would stink… but if Thomas is developing, you got him for free.
If they get lucky… Between McClendon, Anchrum & Thomas.. they have a starting right guard next year. Looks like Boom & Anchrum this year.

But.. yeah… Thomas was a sixth rounder with physical traits close enough to what Bruss had coming in. He’s had a year to learn and get stronger, and didn’t have a catastrophic knee injury. Maybe he just wins out.

And maybe Bruss gets PUP’d or something with “knee swelling” or something,

 

[Memphis Ram]

This week's practices and game vs. the Raiders might tell the Rams quite a bit.

From what I've read, the Raiders DLine really handled the 49ers OLine this week in joint practices and they are destroying them today in the preseason game. And Crosby didn't even suit up.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I don't disagree on McAllister being above him in terms of who is the better 3rd depth chart option. But the draft position matters because it speaks to upside and will increase Bruss' chances to make the roster.

Also would they make an example of him year two when he had a big injury? Just feels like they wouldn't but who knows. So much comes down to where and how they feel he's deficient. If, for example, it's a give-a-fuck problem, or a confidence problem where he doesn't trust his knee then it might not be fixable. Rams play their cards tight too. So it's gonna be interesting either way.

16 more Days before the final cuts to 53, so Bruss has a little time, but if he can't make the jump, being IR'd or assigned to the Practice Squad in favor of better talent works for me. jmo.

 

[WestCoastRam]

This week's practices and game vs. the Raiders might tell the Rams quite a bit.

From what I've read, the Raiders DLine really handled the 49ers OLine this week in joint practices and they are destroying them today in the preseason game. And Crosby didn't even suit up.

Max Crosby is a top 5 edge rusher and the rest of their line is no joke. It's gonna be hell on the oline.

 

[WestCoastRam]

16 more Days before the final cuts to 53, so Bruss has a little time, but if he can't make the jump, being IR'd or assigned to the Practice Squad in favor of better talent works for me. jmo.

The problem with IR-ing him (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that he can't practice with the team then... and that's the only thing that will make him better.

 

[Memento]

I am not giving up on Bruss yet. The injury was regarded as him “needing a new knee”, and O-linemen don’t tend to recover from those kinds of injuries as quickly. Does he require more time? Absolutely. Do Zach Thomas and Warren McClendon deserve a spot over Bruss? Absolutely. But I am absolutely not going to give up on him yet.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I am not giving up on Bruss yet. The injury was regarded as him “needing a new knee”, and O-linemen don’t tend to recover from those kinds of injuries as quickly. Does he require more time? Absolutely. Do Zach Thomas and Warren McClendon deserve a spot over Bruss? Absolutely. But I am absolutely not going to give up on him yet.

An IR designation is NOT giving up on him, it does get him another year of strength training for that knee.

 

[fanotodd]

Max Crosby is a top 5 edge rusher and the rest of their line is no joke. It's gonna be hell on the oline.

Yeah, I think a lotta things are gonna get sorted out this week.

 

[Allen2McVay]

...

And maybe Bruss gets PUP’d or something with “knee swelling” or something,

I don't believe a player can be put on the PUP list once Training Camp begins.

 

[TheTackle]

I looked hard at the guards that we might draft that year and really liked Zach Thomas along with Bruss. We shouldn’t get caught up on where they were drafted. Let’s keep the best 9 players.

On Bruss, he needs to play guard IMO because he doesn’t have the feet to play RT. He doesn’t have much time to make his case to make the team. His pass blocking is a concern especially because he came out of Wisconsin where he was known for his run blocking. If he can’t develop the techniques to handle pass blocking he will be a bust

 

[Memphis Ram]

McVay said that Thomas tweaked his knee last night. No word on how serious yet.