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By Joe Curley, Ventura County Star
https://www.vcstar.com/story/sports...aventure-grad-hill-spotlight-rams/1410937002/
Sean McVay’s postgame news conference was cut short by a fire alarm that filled the Los Angeles Rams locker room at the Coliseum with a piercing siren. But it was hardly the first potential emergency the Los Angeles Rams coach had been faced with Sunday afternoon. By the time the Rams were closing out their 35-23 “Fight for LA” win over the neighboring Los Angeles Chargers, they were doing so with a secondary that screamed, “In case of emergency, break glass.”
The Rams, who were elevated by some oddsmakers during the week as the NFL’s Super Bowl favorite, lost both of their All-Pro cornerbacks, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, in the middle of the game."That was crazy," said cornerback Troy Hill, the St. Bonaventure High graduate.
Peters was helped off after injuring his right calf midway through the second quarter. Talib suffered an ankle injury making a tackle in the third quarter. Both are question marks this week as the Rams prepare to host Minnesota on Thursday night. “If those guys aren’t able to go,” McVay said, “there’s going to be some big voids that we’ve got to be ready to fill.”
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The Rams closed out the game in the fourth quarter with the cornerback duo of Hill and Sam Shields with slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman mixed in.“Fortunately, (cornerback) coach (Aubrey) Pleasant does a good job getting all those guys getting ready to go,” McVay said. “Sam got a chance to play a lot today. We know how much Robey’s played in a lot of our sub packages.“And Troy Hill, when you go back to last year, he’s played good football for us.”
It was a situation with which Hill had prior experience. A part-time starter a year ago, Hill was thrust into the lineup when starter Kayvon Webster was lost for the balance of the season with an Achilles’ injury last December.He also was thrust into action due to injury the last time the Rams were featured on “Thursday Night Football,” making the key pass breakup on a decisive two-point conversion in the Rams’ 41-39 win at San Francisco last September.
“You don’t expect it to be like that,” Hill said. “But I’ve learned from the past years. … I might as well stay ready.”The former Oregon cornerback opened eyes with his performances down the stretch against Seattle and Tennessee and was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded cornerback of the NFL’s wild-card playoff round, despite the Rams’ loss to Atlanta.
Hill played so well that Rams general manager Les Snead suggested in the offseason he would have returned as the starter, had the team not had the opportunity to pull off marquee trades for Peters and Talib.“We went and beat Seattle and Tennessee with him,” Snead said in March. After the Rams made headlines by adding the two All-Pros at his position, Hill responded with “an unbelievable offseason program,” said Pleasant in June.
“He solidified himself as having the ability to be a legitimate starter in this league,” Pleasant said. “I think one thing that you can do as a player is to start focusing on things that you can’t control. The game, at defensive back, is so fickle and there’s such a small room for error, if you’re worried about everything else, you’re never going to be your best self.”Relegated to a reserve role by stars, Hill has done his best to learn from them.
“You can tell they’re smart,” Hill said. “They understand the concepts and things like that. That’s one thing that I’ve been trying to pride myself on, trying to learn the little things, the ins and outs about the game. You can tell, especially with Talib, he knows a lot about the game.“That’s all I’ve been trying to do. They’ve got a lot of confidence in themselves of what’s going on. That’s coming from a lot of film study.”
Hill wasn’t troubled by Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers, who seemed more focused on challenging Shields, on Sunday.Rivers, who was held to 226 yards passing, was only able to throw for 33 yards in the fourth quarter against the Rams’ backup cornerbacks.But Hill knows Minnesota could construct a game plan to target him.
“It’s a long season,” Hill said. “But I’ve got to keep preparing myself. You never know what’s going to happen. I’ve been here. I’ve got a lot of experience under me.”With just four days to prepare for visit by another NFC Super Bowl favorite, the Rams may need both Shields and Hill to start Thursday. “If those guys are called to step up in a short week, then we’ll have confidence that they’ll be ready to go,” McVay said.
https://www.vcstar.com/story/sports...aventure-grad-hill-spotlight-rams/1410937002/
Sean McVay’s postgame news conference was cut short by a fire alarm that filled the Los Angeles Rams locker room at the Coliseum with a piercing siren. But it was hardly the first potential emergency the Los Angeles Rams coach had been faced with Sunday afternoon. By the time the Rams were closing out their 35-23 “Fight for LA” win over the neighboring Los Angeles Chargers, they were doing so with a secondary that screamed, “In case of emergency, break glass.”
The Rams, who were elevated by some oddsmakers during the week as the NFL’s Super Bowl favorite, lost both of their All-Pro cornerbacks, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, in the middle of the game."That was crazy," said cornerback Troy Hill, the St. Bonaventure High graduate.
Peters was helped off after injuring his right calf midway through the second quarter. Talib suffered an ankle injury making a tackle in the third quarter. Both are question marks this week as the Rams prepare to host Minnesota on Thursday night. “If those guys aren’t able to go,” McVay said, “there’s going to be some big voids that we’ve got to be ready to fill.”
The Rams closed out the game in the fourth quarter with the cornerback duo of Hill and Sam Shields with slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman mixed in.“Fortunately, (cornerback) coach (Aubrey) Pleasant does a good job getting all those guys getting ready to go,” McVay said. “Sam got a chance to play a lot today. We know how much Robey’s played in a lot of our sub packages.“And Troy Hill, when you go back to last year, he’s played good football for us.”
It was a situation with which Hill had prior experience. A part-time starter a year ago, Hill was thrust into the lineup when starter Kayvon Webster was lost for the balance of the season with an Achilles’ injury last December.He also was thrust into action due to injury the last time the Rams were featured on “Thursday Night Football,” making the key pass breakup on a decisive two-point conversion in the Rams’ 41-39 win at San Francisco last September.
“You don’t expect it to be like that,” Hill said. “But I’ve learned from the past years. … I might as well stay ready.”The former Oregon cornerback opened eyes with his performances down the stretch against Seattle and Tennessee and was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded cornerback of the NFL’s wild-card playoff round, despite the Rams’ loss to Atlanta.
Hill played so well that Rams general manager Les Snead suggested in the offseason he would have returned as the starter, had the team not had the opportunity to pull off marquee trades for Peters and Talib.“We went and beat Seattle and Tennessee with him,” Snead said in March. After the Rams made headlines by adding the two All-Pros at his position, Hill responded with “an unbelievable offseason program,” said Pleasant in June.
“He solidified himself as having the ability to be a legitimate starter in this league,” Pleasant said. “I think one thing that you can do as a player is to start focusing on things that you can’t control. The game, at defensive back, is so fickle and there’s such a small room for error, if you’re worried about everything else, you’re never going to be your best self.”Relegated to a reserve role by stars, Hill has done his best to learn from them.
“You can tell they’re smart,” Hill said. “They understand the concepts and things like that. That’s one thing that I’ve been trying to pride myself on, trying to learn the little things, the ins and outs about the game. You can tell, especially with Talib, he knows a lot about the game.“That’s all I’ve been trying to do. They’ve got a lot of confidence in themselves of what’s going on. That’s coming from a lot of film study.”
Hill wasn’t troubled by Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers, who seemed more focused on challenging Shields, on Sunday.Rivers, who was held to 226 yards passing, was only able to throw for 33 yards in the fourth quarter against the Rams’ backup cornerbacks.But Hill knows Minnesota could construct a game plan to target him.
“It’s a long season,” Hill said. “But I’ve got to keep preparing myself. You never know what’s going to happen. I’ve been here. I’ve got a lot of experience under me.”With just four days to prepare for visit by another NFC Super Bowl favorite, the Rams may need both Shields and Hill to start Thursday. “If those guys are called to step up in a short week, then we’ll have confidence that they’ll be ready to go,” McVay said.
