Has McVay been targeting the Patriots from the start?

[rking4441]

You know since hearing more and more coverage for the Super Bowl and the history of the McVay/Belichick relationship it has me wondering, has McVay been targeting Belichick the whole time? I watched an interview where McVay spoke about the one time he coached against Belichick as the Redskins OC in 2014 I believe. The Pats crushed the Redskins and McVay talked about what he learned. The Redskins also had joint practices with the Patriots and he spoke about how they wasted no time, they were a well oiled machine even in practice.

Fast forward to being hired as the Rams HC. People talk about how McVay hires coach Phillips for his wisdom and vast experience but what if it was specifically for his success and experience against Belichick? They had AD and a talented D last year, which underperformed, but they knew they didn’t have the personnel to run Wade’s D the way he likes. This offseason they picked up Suh, Talib and Peters. Wade now had a complimentary to AD to create interior pressure which is the most effective against Brady. Talib and Peters gave Wade the flexibility he needed on the backend to be more aggressive on the front end. And last but now least was the Dante Fowler trade!!!! They picked up one of the edge rushers who has had enormous success against Brady!!! This D was made for a Tom Brady led Offense. I’m not saying they will shut the Patriots down, I’m saying this D was built for Tom Brady!

One more move, and possibly the most important, was the trade for Brandon Cooks! Now I know the Rams were in talks with Watkins but let the Chiefs “outbid” them. But then the Rams made the trade with the Patriots for Cooks. His contract is very similar to Watkins so how did the Rams get out bid?, they wanted Cooks alll along and gave Belichick an extra 6th rounder to seal the deal! Cooks is a bright articulate player who fit the needs of the Rams WR Corp. But what if the biggest reason to trade for Cooks was the information that he could provide for just this game? He knows what Brady likes and doesn’t like. He knows the limitations and tendencies of the other offensive players and DB as well! I know I’ve heard that the Pats have detailed information on Cooks, but he has information on the Patriots organization! What was their SB preparation schedule? Ask Brandon!!

I’d like to finish up by noting some of the distinct advantages the Rams have against the Patriots defense and how this all ties together. Bill Belichick is a defensive coach. Over the years the one thing you could count on is that Brady would produce and the Patriots defense would deliver. Looking back over the years one of the schemes that has been effective against the Patriots defenses is the zone run game which is the base for the Rams offensive. Combine that win all the shifts and motions that open up the play action. This has also been a weakness of the Patriots defense. The Rams biggest strengths happen to be the Patriots weaknesses! Is this by accident or design? It seems that coach McVay leaves very few stones unturned and is it a stretch to think he knew any sustained success meant being successful against the most dominate dynast in NFL history? Why think to dominate your Div or Conf if you couldn’t beat the Patriots? They’ve been the representative of the AFC 9 times since 2001!!! You would have to face them at some time to win a Super Bowl so aim high! Do you guys think I’m off base or is the passing of the torch about to happen and the start of a new dynasty about to begin?! Just remember what all his players say, Genius, and maybe we are just starting to see the depth of it!

 

[FaulkSF]

I'm guessing McVay subscribes to the if you know the enemy and you know yourself you need not fear the result of 100 battles. Think you nailed it @rking4441

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

Heckuva job, rking4441, I like your indepth analysis and the way you think outside the box. I am hoping that you are 100% correct in your assertions as that will mean a dominating performance by our Rams and, finally!, revenge against the Evil Empire.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[H.Birdman]

Great post.

 

[jhbchristopher]

Great observations, think you might be reading into it a bit though. McVay runs a very similar offense to Shanahan and he would, he coached under both of them for quite a while. On the Philips hire, I would think it made more sense then anything, McVay is an offensive coach and young. I would think Les had a lot of say in hiring Philips and also the personal moves to pick up all the defensive pieces that are critical to a Philips defense. I think your on the right track with your thoughts, the only changes I would make is teams always try to emulate greatness, BB is pretty great and I would look at it as more of an organization then just McVay. Great post, I think it shows that at the moment the Rams are bigger than any one person.

 

[RamBall]

Actually McVay had spoken to WP before he interviewed for the Rams HC position. And WP had heard about McVay from Wes Philips who spoke very highly of SM. And I'm sure it didnt take long for WP to buy into what SM was selling.

 

[Montanaramfan]

I've been thinking that McVay has been setting things up for the last six weeks or so. I heard a stat today that said something like 29 times the Rams went into shotgun last week and they passed every time. McVay isn't stupid. He knows Belichick will pick up on that. Is there a chance McVay will cross him up this week? Also, what has happened to our screen game? It seems like I remember a lot more screens last year than this year. One of the best ways to beat the blitz is to screen and the Patriots blitzed the heck out of Mahomes last week. I think we'll see a variety of screens this week, not only to Gurley but to WRs and our TEs. And I wouldn't put it past McVay to steal a play or two from the Chiefs or even the Patriots playbook. I'd also like to see us go with 3 WRs in their bunch on one side, Gurley on the other side and CJ in the backfield. And I'm still begging for a halfback pass from the left-handed Gurley inside the ten yard line. Tell me that wouldn't be money. Okay, I guess two weeks probably is too much time for me to sit around waiting for the kickoff;-)

 

[dang]

As bright and engaging as McVay is - it was a leap of faith for Phillips to join the Rams. Add that Phillips was no spring chicken so he wasn't probably looking for something that was going to take 3-4 years to come together. I believe there was an agreement from the front office to give Phillips everything he wanted in year 2 so that he could build the defense he wanted - and - an agreement from McVay to let Phillips run the defense as he saw fit without interference. Those 2 factors plus some key pieces available (Donald, Brockers, Joyner, Ogletree??) is what sealed the deal.

 

[99Balloons]

Mc Vay should be smart enough not to take the disingenuous flattery from Billicheat and not even text back-and-forth with that snake. BB was trying to get some clues and subtle information from McVay. I'm sure BB would not even give McVay true advice even if asked otherwise.

Look at what Brady said when a reporter asked what advice he would give Jared Goff. Brady said something to the effect that it's crazy to give the enemy advice. That tells me that these Patriots are smart and play for the kill.

I'd say fuck these cheaters. Once a cheater, always a cheater. I want the Rams to win it all and cannot wait this Sunday for the Rams to put the hurt on these Patriots and run up the scores on them.

Go Rams.

 

[jrry32]

Nah. McVay just put together a team and coaching staff that could win it all. I don't think he cared what team was in our way.

 

[jrry32]

I've been thinking that McVay has been setting things up for the last six weeks or so. I heard a stat today that said something like 29 times the Rams went into shotgun last week and they passed every time. McVay isn't stupid. He knows Belichick will pick up on that. Is there a chance McVay will cross him up this week? Also, what has happened to our screen game? It seems like I remember a lot more screens last year than this year. One of the best ways to beat the blitz is to screen and the Patriots blitzed the heck out of Mahomes last week. I think we'll see a variety of screens this week, not only to Gurley but to WRs and our TEs. And I wouldn't put it past McVay to steal a play or two from the Chiefs or even the Patriots playbook. I'd also like to see us go with 3 WRs in their bunch on one side, Gurley on the other side and CJ in the backfield. And I'm still begging for a halfback pass from the left-handed Gurley inside the ten yard line. Tell me that wouldn't be money. Okay, I guess two weeks probably is too much time for me to sit around waiting for the kickoff;-)

We had been doing that for most of the year. We rarely ever ran out of the shotgun. Dallas keyed in on that tendency, and we burnt them on the three or so shotgun runs in that game. I agree that McVay is aware of his tendencies.

 

[XXXIVwin]

McVay traded for Cooks because he’s a kick-ass player, not because he had inside info on the Pats.