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Practice Report 12/9: Goff Returns, On Track to Start Sunday
Myles Simmons
That’s what happened with rookie quarterback Jared Goff, who was excused from Wednesday’s session with an illness. The No. 1 overall pick was back for Friday’s practice, having caught up on what he missed from Wednesday during Thursday’s players’ day off.
“I feel good,” Goff said Friday. “That was a little one-day deal — a little stomach deal. I’m fine now. Fatigued me a little bit, but I’m good.”
According to head coach Jeff Fisher, Goff “bounced back, had a good day. So that’s encouraging.
“We didn’t see you guys yesterday, but he came in and spent most of the day here,” Fisher added, adding Goff spent a lot of time with center Tim Barnes. “So he’s caught up and he feels good.”
“I think yesterday I was able to regroup and get back to myself. And today felt normal,” Goff said.
The quarterback said he wanted to practice Wednesday afternoon, but physically just was not able to do so.
“I watched the film — Case did a good job — and was able to get some good reps mentally,” Goff said.
Through three starts, Goff has completed 53.7 percent of his passes for 509 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Now through those three weeks, Goff said he can see the possibility of teams perhaps being able to gameplan him a bit better.
“They definitely have more stuff to look at that they can probably, try to gameplan for,” Goff said. “Again, it’s only been three games, so I don’t know how much. But, there’s definitely been a little bit, yeah.”
Nevertheless, Goff has continued to feel more comfortable the more in-game experience he gets.
“I think the last three games, obviously, that I got under my belt, I’ve been able to get some reps, and some experience,” Goff said. “As well as in practice, getting more reps in practice helps as well. This will be my fourth game now, and I expect to continue to progress and continue to get better.”
One aspect of Los Angeles’ offensive performance that must improve this week to compete with the Falcons is third-down efficiency. The Rams finished just 1-of-12 in the category, and according to Goff, “everything” about the situation has been a point of emphasis.
“Part of it is putting stuff together that will work this weekend, and part of it is our job in executing,” Goff said. “We need to do our job on third down. Need to throw completions, need to protect, need to catch the ball — everything in between.”
While Atlanta’s ranked No. 28 in total defense, No. 29 in scoring defense, and No. 32 against the pass, the Rams are not taking the Falcons lightly. Though he’s 36, Dwight Freeney has shown he can still get after quarterbacks with 3.0 sacks this year. And in his second season out of Clemson, Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley has shown he can make an offense’s day miserable, as he’s No. 2 with 10.5 sacks and is tied for the league lead with five forced fumbles.
“They’re explosive pass rushers,” offensive coordinator Rob Boras said this week. “We’ve got our work cut out in protecting the quarterback, whether it’s third down — let alone first and second down.”
“I think we’re just going to do what we do,” Goff said. “We have a good plan coming in. We got a good week of practice in. Today was a really good day, I thought. Got some good work in and we feel confident, regardless of what they wanted to do on defense, regardless of what they have done on defense. We feel confident in what we’ve done and just want to continue to get better.”
INJURY REPORT
Aside from Goff — who is expected to start — the Rams have six players listed on their injury report.
Wide receiver Tavon Austin (chest) and offensive linemanRodger Saffold (hand) were both full participants in practice all week and are expected to be available to play Sunday.
Defensive end Robert Quinn(concussion) was a full participant in Friday’s session and is listed as questionable.
Cornerback E.J. Gaines (thigh) and running back Benny Cunningham (neck) did not practice Wednesday or Friday. Gaines is listed as questionable, but Cunningham is doubtful.
Fisher said second-year running back Malcolm Brown will be ready to fill in for Cunningham’s on offense.
“Malcolm had a really good week, so we’ll be in good shape there,” Fisher said. “Hope to get Benny back next week.”
Fisher did not address who could return kicks in Cunningham’s stead.
On the other side, Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (groin) and defensive end Adrian Clayborn (knee) have been declared out.
Star wide receiver Julio Jones (toe) did not participate in practice all week and is listed as questionable. Left tackle Jake Matthews (knee) was limited in practice on Friday — his only session of the week — and is also listed as questionable.
EXTRA POINTS
— Both Fisher and Rams general manager Les Snead addressed a report from this week about the nature of their relationship on Friday.
“Les and I have been on the same page since Day 1,” Fisher said. “We communicate all the time, we work together, we make decisions together. … There are no issues between Les and I — by no means. We agree to disagree and we’ve had a fun run, but we’re certainly disappointed — as I said on Tuesday — in the outcome and where we are. And we’ve got work to do. But we’re doing it together.”
“I’m well aware of what has come out. And I can say this — I think it’s painted a picture [that’s] totally different. Relationship’s really good,” Snead said. “We’ve worked together from the start, in every decision. Every decision that’s made — especially from a personnel standpoint.”
Snead spoke at length with reporters on many issues regarding the Rams and the team’s performance in 2016, which will be covered on the site in articles to come.
— Earlier this week, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan told members of the Los Angeles media that he feels his strong chemistry with Jones comes from their years of experience together. According to Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, that’s something that comes across on film.
“You can tell the things that they do where, really, there’s no hand signals — there’s just eye movements and there’s just nods,” Williams said Friday. “And there is a feel that they trust each other in the spaces on the field. You’ll see the ball being thrown into space before the break occurs. And that’s the trust you have of going and practicing and playing with somebody rep, after rep, after rep. So, yeah, you’ll see that on film. And hopefully we can disrupt some of that. We’ll see.”
— It’s no secret that running backTodd Gurley has had a tough season in his sophomore campaign. It’s been nearly a calendar year since the last time the running back rushed for 100 yards, as he has just 679 yards on 211 carries with four touchdowns in 2016. Averaging just 3.2 yards per carry, Gurley needs 321 yards to reach 1,000 yards in both his first and second NFL seasons — an average of 80.25 yards in the last four games.
And while Los Angeles clearly has plenty to work on offensively, Gurley said it would mean something to everyone for him to reach that mark.
“Obviously, I feel like it would be important to us as far as the offense, just knowing the struggles we’ve been having. It’s still a good accomplishment,” Gurley said. “But at the end of the day, looking for wins. But the big boys up front definitely want to get that for me for sure. So they’re definitely going to be working.”
— The aftermath of Sunday’s game will be a quick turnaround, as Los Angeles plays on Thursday Night Football in Seattle for Week 15.
Fisher said coaches will be back at Cal Lutheran following the matchup against Atlanta in order to start preparing for the Seahawks.
“It’s about getting your bodies back, and restoring, and hydrating, and recovering — so that’s what we’re going to do,” Fisher said. “We’ll come back Sunday here after the game and coaches will start gameplanning. … That’s just the nature of the Thursday games and travel.”
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve not had a Thursday night away game,” Fisher continued. “We’ve been home, fortunately. So it’s a different challenge. But we’ll educate the players and communicate with them.”
[www.therams.com]
Myles Simmons
That’s what happened with rookie quarterback Jared Goff, who was excused from Wednesday’s session with an illness. The No. 1 overall pick was back for Friday’s practice, having caught up on what he missed from Wednesday during Thursday’s players’ day off.
“I feel good,” Goff said Friday. “That was a little one-day deal — a little stomach deal. I’m fine now. Fatigued me a little bit, but I’m good.”
According to head coach Jeff Fisher, Goff “bounced back, had a good day. So that’s encouraging.
“We didn’t see you guys yesterday, but he came in and spent most of the day here,” Fisher added, adding Goff spent a lot of time with center Tim Barnes. “So he’s caught up and he feels good.”
“I think yesterday I was able to regroup and get back to myself. And today felt normal,” Goff said.
The quarterback said he wanted to practice Wednesday afternoon, but physically just was not able to do so.
“I watched the film — Case did a good job — and was able to get some good reps mentally,” Goff said.
Through three starts, Goff has completed 53.7 percent of his passes for 509 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Now through those three weeks, Goff said he can see the possibility of teams perhaps being able to gameplan him a bit better.
“They definitely have more stuff to look at that they can probably, try to gameplan for,” Goff said. “Again, it’s only been three games, so I don’t know how much. But, there’s definitely been a little bit, yeah.”
Nevertheless, Goff has continued to feel more comfortable the more in-game experience he gets.
“I think the last three games, obviously, that I got under my belt, I’ve been able to get some reps, and some experience,” Goff said. “As well as in practice, getting more reps in practice helps as well. This will be my fourth game now, and I expect to continue to progress and continue to get better.”
One aspect of Los Angeles’ offensive performance that must improve this week to compete with the Falcons is third-down efficiency. The Rams finished just 1-of-12 in the category, and according to Goff, “everything” about the situation has been a point of emphasis.
“Part of it is putting stuff together that will work this weekend, and part of it is our job in executing,” Goff said. “We need to do our job on third down. Need to throw completions, need to protect, need to catch the ball — everything in between.”
While Atlanta’s ranked No. 28 in total defense, No. 29 in scoring defense, and No. 32 against the pass, the Rams are not taking the Falcons lightly. Though he’s 36, Dwight Freeney has shown he can still get after quarterbacks with 3.0 sacks this year. And in his second season out of Clemson, Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley has shown he can make an offense’s day miserable, as he’s No. 2 with 10.5 sacks and is tied for the league lead with five forced fumbles.
“They’re explosive pass rushers,” offensive coordinator Rob Boras said this week. “We’ve got our work cut out in protecting the quarterback, whether it’s third down — let alone first and second down.”
“I think we’re just going to do what we do,” Goff said. “We have a good plan coming in. We got a good week of practice in. Today was a really good day, I thought. Got some good work in and we feel confident, regardless of what they wanted to do on defense, regardless of what they have done on defense. We feel confident in what we’ve done and just want to continue to get better.”
INJURY REPORT
Aside from Goff — who is expected to start — the Rams have six players listed on their injury report.
Wide receiver Tavon Austin (chest) and offensive linemanRodger Saffold (hand) were both full participants in practice all week and are expected to be available to play Sunday.
Defensive end Robert Quinn(concussion) was a full participant in Friday’s session and is listed as questionable.
Cornerback E.J. Gaines (thigh) and running back Benny Cunningham (neck) did not practice Wednesday or Friday. Gaines is listed as questionable, but Cunningham is doubtful.
Fisher said second-year running back Malcolm Brown will be ready to fill in for Cunningham’s on offense.
“Malcolm had a really good week, so we’ll be in good shape there,” Fisher said. “Hope to get Benny back next week.”
Fisher did not address who could return kicks in Cunningham’s stead.
On the other side, Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (groin) and defensive end Adrian Clayborn (knee) have been declared out.
Star wide receiver Julio Jones (toe) did not participate in practice all week and is listed as questionable. Left tackle Jake Matthews (knee) was limited in practice on Friday — his only session of the week — and is also listed as questionable.
EXTRA POINTS
— Both Fisher and Rams general manager Les Snead addressed a report from this week about the nature of their relationship on Friday.
“Les and I have been on the same page since Day 1,” Fisher said. “We communicate all the time, we work together, we make decisions together. … There are no issues between Les and I — by no means. We agree to disagree and we’ve had a fun run, but we’re certainly disappointed — as I said on Tuesday — in the outcome and where we are. And we’ve got work to do. But we’re doing it together.”
“I’m well aware of what has come out. And I can say this — I think it’s painted a picture [that’s] totally different. Relationship’s really good,” Snead said. “We’ve worked together from the start, in every decision. Every decision that’s made — especially from a personnel standpoint.”
Snead spoke at length with reporters on many issues regarding the Rams and the team’s performance in 2016, which will be covered on the site in articles to come.
— Earlier this week, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan told members of the Los Angeles media that he feels his strong chemistry with Jones comes from their years of experience together. According to Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, that’s something that comes across on film.
“You can tell the things that they do where, really, there’s no hand signals — there’s just eye movements and there’s just nods,” Williams said Friday. “And there is a feel that they trust each other in the spaces on the field. You’ll see the ball being thrown into space before the break occurs. And that’s the trust you have of going and practicing and playing with somebody rep, after rep, after rep. So, yeah, you’ll see that on film. And hopefully we can disrupt some of that. We’ll see.”
— It’s no secret that running backTodd Gurley has had a tough season in his sophomore campaign. It’s been nearly a calendar year since the last time the running back rushed for 100 yards, as he has just 679 yards on 211 carries with four touchdowns in 2016. Averaging just 3.2 yards per carry, Gurley needs 321 yards to reach 1,000 yards in both his first and second NFL seasons — an average of 80.25 yards in the last four games.
And while Los Angeles clearly has plenty to work on offensively, Gurley said it would mean something to everyone for him to reach that mark.
“Obviously, I feel like it would be important to us as far as the offense, just knowing the struggles we’ve been having. It’s still a good accomplishment,” Gurley said. “But at the end of the day, looking for wins. But the big boys up front definitely want to get that for me for sure. So they’re definitely going to be working.”
— The aftermath of Sunday’s game will be a quick turnaround, as Los Angeles plays on Thursday Night Football in Seattle for Week 15.
Fisher said coaches will be back at Cal Lutheran following the matchup against Atlanta in order to start preparing for the Seahawks.
“It’s about getting your bodies back, and restoring, and hydrating, and recovering — so that’s what we’re going to do,” Fisher said. “We’ll come back Sunday here after the game and coaches will start gameplanning. … That’s just the nature of the Thursday games and travel.”
“Since we’ve been here, we’ve not had a Thursday night away game,” Fisher continued. “We’ve been home, fortunately. So it’s a different challenge. But we’ll educate the players and communicate with them.”
[www.therams.com]
