Rams still shuffling OL as Allen and Corbett battle for Center job…

Rams still shuffling O-line as Corbett and Allen battle for center job

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva

It seemed all offseason that Austin Corbett was in line to be the Rams’ starting center, with Bobby Evans stepping in at right guard next to him. That’s the way the tandem worked in the spring and through training camp.

But the Rams flipped the script on Monday, the second-to-last day of camp. Brian Allen was taking first-team reps at center with Corbett at right guard. It was a surprising change this late in camp, even if there is still a month to go until the regular season starts.

Sean McVay explained the decision after practice, praising Allen for the way he’s been playing lately.

“(Allen) is doing a great job. He has played really well,” McVay said. “We’re still in the middle of evaluating what does it look like to figure out that best combination of those five guys up front. But the way that Brian has played consistently throughout camp – like we’ve said, we know Austin Corbett can be a really good right guard. Bobby Evans has shown that he can be a starting-caliber player for us well. So, it’s really a reflection of how well Brian has played and we’re going to continue to evaluate that.”

Allen struggled in 2019 as the team’s starting center before suffering a knee injury that ended his season and limited him last offseason. Now that he’s fully healthy, he’s impressed McVay with the strength he’s shown and the job he’s done holding up in the middle.

It sounds like this is more about Allen’s ascent than any decline from Corbett, which is a good problem for the Rams to have. If Allen continues to play well and earns the starting center job, it will allow Corbett to stay at center, meaning there will be just one change along the starting line instead of two.

“If you look at Brian Allen, he looks physically impressive,” McVay said. “He’s strong. He’s sturdy. You can see all the work that he has really put in. I think you can see that he’s feeling really good being another year removed from that knee injury. So, we’re able to operate the same. I’ve been really pleased with Brian Allen. I think just his command, his commitment to being ready to go – I couldn’t say enough about how impressive the poise and just how steady (OL) Austin Corbett has been when he bumps inside. Corbett’s going to be a guy he’s going to be on the field for us. It’s just a matter of is it at center, at that right guard? Brian Allen, been a very positive camp for him. Expect him to continue on this trajectory.”

The biggest hurdle when it comes to rotating centers is the rapport that they have to develop with the quarterback. There’s more that goes into playing center than guard or tackle, needing to identify blitzers, call out blocking assignments and help the quarterback read the field pre-snap.

Corbett has experience at center but he only played right guard last year, so that will be a change for him if he does wind up starting at center. McVay is making sure to give both guys opportunities with Matthew Stafford, and it sounds like he has some good chemistry with Allen and Corbett.

“I think you balance the reps just like kind of what we’ve been doing – whether it’s a 60-40 split or a 50-50,” McVay said. “We’re still early and we haven’t had as many opportunities as you’d like to put the pads on, especially for those guys up front. I think Matthew has got a good rapport with both of those guys. You definitely don’t minimize the importance of it, but what you feel really good is we’ve got two guys that we feel confident can start at center for us.”

Even though camp ends on Tuesday, the Rams have three preseason games and about a month to decide on their starting center – which will then determine who starts at right guard, be it Corbett or Evans.

The most surprising part about all of this is that Allen’s emergence seems so sudden now that camp is winding down.