Rounding Up Rams' Offseason Buzz, Post-Minicamps

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2503674-rounding-up-st-louis-rams-offseason-buzz-post-minicamps

Rounding Up St. Louis Rams' Offseason Buzz, Post-Minicamps
By Steven Gerwel, Featured Columnist Jun 23, 2015

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The excitement of the offseason is officially over. Minicamps and OTAs have come to an end, and it's time for fans to endure a long summer break before training camp opens.

It's a depressing time of year for NFL fans, but there's light at the end of the tunnel. Training camp opens in just over a month, the preseason begins in about two months, and the regular season kicks off in just over 70 days.

Until then, headlines will be scarce and the lack of exciting developments will become overbearing.

Before the summer break begins, here's one last roundup of St. Louis' latest offseason headlines.

Tre Mason Is Prepared for a Competition at Running Back


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m33oxe0lnco


When the Rams drafted Todd Gurley at No. 10 overall, second-year running back Tre Mason took it personally. He posted his infamous "Doubting me?" tweet minutes after the selection, and he recently admitted to Joe Lyons of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the pick caught him off guard.

"I was in shock, really, because I thought I did a good job last year," said Mason. “At that time, with a pick like that, it’s a replacement.’’

It's easy to sympathize with Mason's reaction, but he's looking at things the wrong way.

The Rams typically stick with the "best player available" strategy on draft day. The selection of Gurley wasn't a response to Mason's play on the field. Gurley was simply the top prospect available and fits the run-first philosophy St. Louis is trying to build.

We can apply the same logic to the selection of Aaron Donald in the first round last year. It wasn't an insult to Kendall Langford or Michael Brockers. The Rams simply felt he was too good to pass up, and it turns out they were right.

So, the best thing for Mason is to put shattered egos aside and compete for his job, like a professional. Thankfully, that's exactly what he's willing to do, according to Lyons.

“At the end of the day, the goal is to win a championship and the only way I can do that is to just keep doing me, to become the best me I can be," said Mason. “I’ll just continue to chase greatness. That’s been the mindset since school; find the record and go out and break it."

Mason ended his 2014 rookie campaign with 765 total rushing yards and four touchdowns. In his nine starts he averaged 78 yards per game, which would have put him over 1,200 rushing yards had he started 16 full games.

With that kind of production, there's little doubt Mason will have a big role to play on offense, regardless of his concerns.

Not to mention, there's no clear timetable for Gurley's return from his knee injury. Until he returns, Mason will be the unquestioned workhorse back for the St. Louis offense.

There's room for more than one back in the Gateway City.

Expectations Are Soaring for the Defense
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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

One of the key benefits for the Rams—one that's not getting enough attention—is the fact that the defense will be entering its second year under coordinator Gregg Williams.

The unit had a sluggish start during its first year under Williams in 2014. A group renowned for its lethal pass-rush had just one sack in the first five games. The defense also allowed 24.4 points per game during that stretch, which would have ranked 21st in the NFL had it kept that pace.

Familiarity with Williams' system will help the Rams avoid another sluggish start. In fact, Williams insists that he already sees a difference, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“The guys took it to heart and really had a very good spring in the weight room, in the training room and then here on the field,” Williams said. “It’s light years ahead of where we were last year because they didn’t know me, I didn’t know them."

Doing away with introductions and the learning of terminology is a nice advantage. It allows the defense to skip the baby steps and get down to business. The players can spend less time learning the playbook and more time honing their skills on the field.

That kind of comfort in a system will inevitably produce confidence among the players. And according to Fox Sports, there's certainly no shortage of confidence from the defensive veterans.

"Last year, we were going into the season still trying to really get familiar with the scheme," said defensive end William Hayes. "Guys came in this year with a different mentality. We didn't come in this year trying to figure things out. We've already got everything figured out. We know what's expected of us. And we know the schemes like the back of our hand. It's going to be scary this year."

Linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar also shared his thoughts.

"It's about time for us to push into that top five defense in almost every statistical category, and I think that's what we're aiming to do, and I think that's what we're going to accomplish," Dunbar said. "I think we can go head-to-head with any offense in this league, and I think we can stand toe-to-toe with any defense."

Expectations are high at Rams Park, but it's a necessary mindset.

The offense will feature a new quarterback in Nick Foles and a new coordinator in Frank Cignetti, as well as three new starters on the offensive line. The group will have its growing pains, which is why the team will rely heavily on its star-studded defense.

If the defense makes good on its word, the Rams will be in great shape.

Jeff Fisher Hoping for an Incident-Free Summer Break
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Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

With minicamp and OTAs wrapped up, the St. Louis players will enjoy a nice stretch of summer break for over a month. That's a nice perk for the players, but head coach Jeff Fisher will be a nervous wreck for the next six weeks.

The 42-day break is more than enough time for players to stumble into off-the-field incidents, such as injuries and legal issues. According to a report by Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, it's definitely a concern for Fisher.

“Well, it starts with wave runners, then it moves over to four wheelers, then it goes to family picnics and all that stuff, water skiing and all that," Fisher said. "Then it goes into the off-the-field stuff and be smart. Those messages are being sent as we speak.”

Wagoner mentions that Fisher stresses the dangers of summer break to his player in great detail. He even shows them numbers and statistics, outlining the increased rate of off-the-field incidents during downtime.

"We basically throw the stats up," Fisher said. "We have statistics by position groups. I have statistics based on months and years of experience in the league."

It's certainly a frightening time of year for the coaching staff. One careless injury to an elite player could put the season in jeopardy before it begins.

However, the break does have its benefits. It serves as a chance for injured players to heal before training camp. The Rams have been fortunate enough to avoid any serious injuries during OTAs, but the vacation will have the players fresh and ready to roll for training camp.

But until training camp arrives, no news is good news.

Steven Gerwel is the longest-tenured Rams featured columnist at Bleacher Report and served as the Rams' game-day correspondent in 2014. You can find more of Gerwel's work by visiting his writer profile or following him on Twitter.
 

snackdaddy

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Tre Mason should not look at it like Gurley's the replacement. Mason's pretty good himself. Those two can make a two headed monster for Fisher's run first plan. Usually its one power guy and one speed guy. But they both have power and speed. They're both capable of hitting a homerun from anywhere on the field. Take the right approach and Mason can parlay this into a good thing.
 

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Tre Mason should not look at it like Gurley's the replacement. Mason's pretty good himself. Those two can make a two headed monster for Fisher's run first plan. Usually its one power guy and one speed guy. But they both have power and speed. They're both capable of hitting a homerun from anywhere on the field. Take the right approach and Mason can parlay this into a good thing.

Problem is that his history demonstrates Fish loves to have a horse and when he finds it he rides it. Once Gurley gets that job it's gonna be his, and he's gonna get the carries.

The nice thing for Mason is he can be the horse this season if he comes in and kills it. Fish will keep him in that starter's role with most of the carries if he plays well enough, since that gives the prize draft pick more time to ensure his health is there. So really the determining factor is his play and that's what I hope to see.

Beyond this season I believe Mason's value is insurance against Gurley being injured; even assuming Gurley comes into this offense and kills it, his history shows he will get dinged up and miss games. Having a depth guy at RB who can step in and bust big plays is an enormous benefit.

Granted, it is possible Mason has such a great season that he becomes too valuable for that role, as well, in which case the Rams would have decisions to make. But that's a ways off, and would be a really good position to be in.
 

LACHAMP46

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The offense will feature a new quarterback in Nick Foles and a new coordinator in Frank Cignetti, as well as three new starters on the offensive line. The group will have its growing pains....,
click link

New St. Louis Rams OC bringing flavor to the playbook
June 22, 2015 by Tyler Pinyatello

The St. Louis Rams have a new offensive coordinator, but he is not a new face to the Rams organization. Rams quarterback coach Frank Cignetti was promoted to offensive coordinator after former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer left the Rams to take the same position at Georgia University. Coach Jeff Fisher wanted to keep the same offensive scheme and not have to worry about his team learning a new offensive playbook all over again. Some people worry that coach Cignetti will call the same plays like Schottenheimer did.

People criticize Schottenheimer’s play calling abilities ever since he joined the Rams. His ability not to get wide receiver Tavon Austin the ball was the main issue people had with him. Austin saw more action in this year’s lineup as a running back but Austin lacked the ability to break tackles which led to him not gaining yards on the ground. Schottenheimer stuck to a running game week by week whether it was working or not.

Cignetti appreciates the work that Schottenheimer put in as offensive coordinator for the Rams but Coach Cignetti wants to put his own touch on this Rams offense.

Frank Cignetti as Rams OC

Cignetti has a lot on his plate this season being the Rams offensive coordinator. He has to deal with them bringing a new quarterback in who came from a spread offense, a rookie running back coming off of an ACL surgery and a young offensive line who has not taken one snap as a unit in a NFL game. One thing that Cignetti has done is made it his mission to get to know all of his players.


Frank Cignetti

Cignetti has talked to every one of his offensive players to find out what works best for them. He wants to be able to use each one of theirs strengths in his play calling. He also has made it his duty to find ways to get Austin the ball more. Cignetti has also switched to a zone blocking scheme to help his offensive line know who to block on each play and not have to worry about thinking too much on the play.

Cignetti has put an emphasis on getting quarterback Nick Foles on getting the ball out faster and using shorts passes to help with this young offensive line. The offensive playbook has been simplified so players can focus on learning the plays and not all the words involved in them.

This offense will still be a coach Fisher type of offense, but offensive coordinator Cignetti will have this offense playing to their player’s strength and keep the defense on their toes.



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hotanez

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Problem is that his history demonstrates Fish loves to have a horse and when he finds it he rides it. Once Gurley gets that job it's gonna be his, and he's gonna get the carries.

The nice thing for Mason is he can be the horse this season if he comes in and kills it. Fish will keep him in that starter's role with most of the carries if he plays well enough, since that gives the prize draft pick more time to ensure his health is there. So really the determining factor is his play and that's what I hope to see.

Beyond this season I believe Mason's value is insurance against Gurley being injured; even assuming Gurley comes into this offense and kills it, his history shows he will get dinged up and miss games. Having a depth guy at RB who can step in and bust big plays is an enormous benefit.

Granted, it is possible Mason has such a great season that he becomes too valuable for that role, as well, in which case the Rams would have decisions to make. But that's a ways off, and would be a really good position to be in.
Not true he had White and Chris Johnson in 2008 and that combo was very good. White was just to lazy and became a non factor after that.
 

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Not true he had White and Chris Johnson in 2008 and that combo was very good. White was just to lazy and became a non factor after that.

2008 was Johnson's rookie season and he immediately was given more carries than White with 251. Next season Johnson was the horse with 358 carries while White had 64.

I don't expect such a steep dropoff for Mason because he's better than White. But those two demonstrate what I'm saying.
 

hotanez

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2008 was Johnson's rookie season and he immediately was given more carries than White with 251. Next season Johnson was the horse with 358 carries while White had 64.

I don't expect such a steep dropoff for Mason because he's better than White. But those two demonstrate what I'm saying.
Only if you go by the stats you listed. First I don't agree that Mason is better than White. White had a ton of talent he was just incredibly lazy. That is the main reason he got drafted in the 2nd round and not the first. No matter what their is going to be one guy that gets more carries and yards but I think if the Oline can run block well Mason could still get 700 yards. I think they will use both of them a lot like White and Johnson in 2008.