After spending the past 26 years coaching at the college and NFL level – exclusively on offense and primarily the offense line – Aaron Kromer might be facing the biggest challenge of his career.
The new Rams offensive line coach is taking over a unit that ranked among the worst in the NFL in 2016 and in the process helped undermine the Rams’ ability to move the ball, score points, create running space for Todd Gurley and protect rookie quarterback Jared Goff.
The Rams’ offensive struggles are multiple, but there is little doubt a majority of the issues rests at the line of scrimmage.
It’s Kromer’s job to get that fixed. And in a hurry. Over the long haul that could mean revamping the majority of the unit by bringing in better players. But in the short term, it will mean rehabilitating the current group and lifting them to a point they can be dependable.
Kromer recently sat down to talk about the challenge he faces, and his impressions on the players he is now entrusted with.
Q: The Rams offensive line was the recipient of a lot of criticism last year and struggled quite a bit. Based on what you’ve seen of the unit, what are your impressions so far?
A: I see youth. Anytime you’re in a situation where you have a line that (the majority) of guys are under three years in the league, it takes time to develop. So I look forward to molding this group. (Assistant line coach) Andy (Dickerson) and I, and my son Zak (the offensive quality control assistant), working with this group and working with (head coach Sean McVay’s) offense and understanding how we fit in the offense and what he wants us to get done.
I think it’s an exciting group because they are young. They still want to learn. Not that everybody doesn’t, but they want to know how do you want to do it. And when you get in those kinds of situations, it’s favorable for a coach.
Q: Greg Robinson was the second overall pick in the 2014 draft but has not develpped as quickly or adequately as expected. What can you bring to the table that can get from Greg what others weren’t able to?
A: There’s always high expectations for guys, and it’s always hard for anybody in these situations. But I think I can still do more work with him, as far as watching tape. But I hate to judge a guy before I get a chance to talk to him, work with him and decide that, hey you’re better doing this, or playing that technique or you’d be better thinking this simple thought rather than having to think about all these other things.
I look forward to working with the whole group, and making them better. That’s my goal. And that’s the test. My goal is to take them from whatever level they’re at right now, to help them ultimately get an A in the class.
Q: Obviously this is a group that took its lumps, on the field and off. How much of what you can do will be rehabilitating their confidence level?
A: I think as you gain technique and as you become a better player, that’s when you build confidence. So as – hopefully – we can teach them some things for them to have some success. And once they start playing and having success from play to play that becomes quarter to quarter, half to half and game to game.
It’s going to take time, it’s not going to happen overnight. And I don’t know what time means. I don’t know if that’s a month, or a year, I don’t know what it means because I haven’t worked with them. But I feel like it’s a group that has athleticism and size and I just look forward to teaching them what I know will help make them better.
Q: Is there a particular philosophy or scheme you are most committed to?
A: The number one thing is individual technique and from there, what fits our personnel? Sean has a great vision of what he wants this offense to look like and what plays will be run and how fast it will go and how we’ll function collectively as an offense. And we just have to fit our players in, and adjust that vision to our guys.
What do they do best? Once we figure that out, I think we’ll emphasize one thing more than another.
Q: Todd Gurley struggled in his second year last season, but he showed the previous season what kind of running back he’s capable of being. What are your impressions of him, and what do you think you and the line can do to get him untracked?
A: He’s a player with talent and size. We have to get him to the line cleanly. We have to get him through the line cleanly and allow him to utilize his vision. That’s our job. And we look forward to getting that done.
Q: How much interaction is there between the offensive line coach and the quarterback in terms of making blocking calls and reads at the line of scrimmage, and will you be dealing with Jared Goff directly on that?
A: We’ll see how that all works here, but usually it’s the responsibility of the offensive line coach to teach someone – be it the quarterback coach and he teaches the quarterback or the quarterback personally – that these are the looks we’re looking for to run a certain play or if we want to get out of a play and throw the ball vs. certain looks. And that’s a process we’ll work through. But there’s definitely communication with the quarterback and the offensive line, and the running game, that’s imperative.
Q: Does Goff’s inexperience play any role in how you approach him?
A: Absolutely. And that goes back to molding an offense to fit what we do best. In other words, are we going to be best just running plays and understanding how to adjust no matter what they do, to the running game? Or do we want to have a lot of responsibility for the quarterback? And we’ll find out. Because I think this quarterback’s smart. And I think he’s got a little bit of playing time under his belt now – not much, but a little bit – so we’ll see how much he can do and how much we want him to do. Because there’s a lot of times we don’t need to have (the quarterback) involved.
Contact the writer: vbonsignore@scng.com
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