Rams OT Robert Havenstein 'still a little rusty'By Alden Gonzalez
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www.espn.com]
IRVINE, Calif. -- Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Robert Havenstein had his second full day of practice Tuesday, running through drills after spending most of training camp sidelined with an injury to his right foot. The 24-year-old out of Wisconsin is "still a little rusty, but it's all steps in the right direction."
Havenstein is unlikely to play in the final preseason game Thursday against the Vikings in Minnesota but the Rams are hopeful that he will be ready by the Sept. 12 regular-season opener against the San Francisco 49ers -- a development that could provide a lift to an offensive line that could use one.
Based on pass-protection rate (the percentage of plays in which the offense controls the line of scrimmage on dropbacks from the quarterback), the Rams ranked 23rd out of 32 teams last season. Their adjusted sack rate (sacks per pass attempt, adjusted for down, distance and opponent) ranked 24th. And, heading into 2016, Pro Football Focus ranked their unit -- basically unchanged over the offseason -- second-worst in the NFL.
But Havenstein, the first of four offensive linemen drafted by the Rams last year, could help change those stats by continuing to make strides.
The 6-foot-7, 321-pound behemoth of a man was pressed into 13 starts as a rookie and was the only offensive tackle to play 12-plus games and not give up a single sack in 2015. Havenstein believes having a year of NFL experience can have "a lot of impact" in his development.
"Obviously you kind of have a better understanding of the inner workings of just the NFL as a whole," Havenstein said. "But at the end of the day, it’s still football. You have to go out there, prepare and perform. I guess that doesn’t change from year to year."
