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LMU93
I think the ripple effect of upgrading even one OL spot can be quite a bit- combined with assumptions that Edwards and Evans develop further. A lot of questions and options though.
Overall I think their OL played much better starting with the Chicago game- so the final 7 games. You can even go back to the Atlanta game though vs ATL and CIN they were playing against really poor defenses. But still. It was the first 6 games that things were really ugly and they improved from there.
I concur that a ripple effect would be there with even one upgrade provided the two youngsters you mentioned take a step forward. However, that's contingent IMO on LT which is where the big decision is. If we lose Whit and he's replaced by Noteboom, I think it's likely that LT performance next year is a step down from what it was this year and certainly from 2017-2018. That could offset any positive ripple effect.
I also agree that the OL played better of the final 7 games. But I'm asking everyone who I discuss this with, how much better? IMO, the OL was better but it still was, meh...average at best. I think we all just got excited because it was no longer horrible like the first half of the season.
And IMO, average is not enough if we want a top performing offense. I like Goff but I understand his limitations - performing under pressure being the biggest. If we think he's going to be able to lead the team back to a top 3 offense behind a merely average OL, I believe we will all be disappointed.
If I'm the Rams execs, I wouldn't risk my job by again betting solely on the youth they have.