It’s hard to field a good offensive line if the players on it are changing every week. The Rams have learned that the hard way this season and it’s a huge reason the offense as a whole has struggled throughout the year.
Last season, only three starting offensive linemen missed at least one game, and in total, those three players missed just five games. Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein missed two, and Brian Allen was out for one game. In 17 games, the Rams had just four different starting offensive line combinations during the regular season.
This season, four starting linemen have missed at least two games, and several backups have gone down, too. Brian Allen missed five games, Joe Noteboom has missed three and is out for the year, Coleman Shelton just returned after missing four games and David Edwards is on injured reserve and has missed five games. Rob Havenstein is the only starter who hasn’t missed any time, knock on wood.
Through nine games, the Rams have started nine different offensive line combinations. Let’s run through them all.
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT | |
| Week 1 | Noteboom | Edwards | Allen | Shelton | Havenstein |
| Week 2 | Noteboom | Edwards | Shelton | Anchrum | Havenstein |
| Week 3 | Noteboom | Edwards | Shelton | Jackson | Havenstein |
| Week 4 | Noteboom | Evans | Shelton | Jackson | Havenstein |
| Week 5 | Noteboom | Edwards | Kolone | Jackson | Havenstein |
| Week 6 | Noteboom | Evans | Kolone | Jackson | Havenstein |
| Week 8 | Jackson | Evans | Allen | Aboushi | Havenstein |
| Week 9 | Jackson | Evans | Allen | Brewer | Havenstein |
| Week 10 | Nsekhe | Shelton | Allen | Brewer | Havenstein |
Got all that? As you can see, the only mainstay is Havenstein, who has started all nine games. Right guard has had the most turnover, with five different players starting there in nine games. Left tackle, left guard and center have all had three different players start there, too.
The Rams will likely have their 10th different combination in Week 11, too. If Jackson can return, he’ll play left tackle, with Shelton and Brewer almost certainly remaining the guards, and Allen and Havenstein staying put.
There’s no end in sight for this constant rotation along the offensive line.
