FO: Rams once again #1 in OL contunuity in 2020

2020 Offensive Line Continuity Scores
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Definition: Offensive line continuity scores were originally developed by Jason McKinley in the early days of FO (when FO Almanac was still Pro Football Prospectus) and we have subsequently gone back and calculated it for every team since 1999. The continuity scores are based on three variables: number of starters used; number of week-to-week changes in starting lineups; and the longest starting streak of any one five-man unit. A team can earn a maximum of 16 points in any one category (one point per game), meaning a team that started the same five linemen in all 16 games would get a perfect score of 48; 39 teams have done this, most recently the Indianapolis Colts in 2019. Hypothetically, if a team started five brand new linemen every week of the year, they would get a "perfect" score of -57, though of course nobody has ever come close to that. The worst continuity score on record belongs to the 2015 New England Patriots at 15 … a mark that was tied in 2020.

"As noted, two teams tied for first with offensive line continuity scores of 36 in 2020. One of those teams was the Los Angeles Rams, making this the third time in four seasons since they hired head coach Sean McVay that they have finished first or tied for first in that category. (The exception was in 2019, when they finished 12th; it's likely not a coincidence that was the one season McVay has missed the playoffs.) The Rams had a perfect score of 48 in 2018, and they would have done it in 2017 too if they had not rested starters in Week 17. Remember when we said the Eagles used 11 starters on the line in 2020? Well, the Rams have only used 11 real starters in the last four seasons. (Technically, they have used 14, but that includes three one-game wonders in that Week 17 game in 2017.) L.A. leads the league with an average offensive line continuity score of 39.0 since 2017, well ahead of the second-best team (Tampa Bay, 33.8). It's difficult to write off this kind of consistent excellence entirely as good fortune. This is a credit to McVay, his assistants, and general manager Les Snead for acquiring durable linemen and protecting them from injury in both practices and games, and for having a solid plan on the rare occasions when things do go wrong. In 2020, the Rams got 16 starts apiece from center Austin Blythe, right guard Austin Corbett, and right tackle Rob Havenstein. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth and left guard David Edwards missed nine starts between them, with Joseph Noteboom filling in for both."