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Athletic Football Show Podcast NFC West Preview


First of all, this podcast is a great listen when you want to know more about football in general. Second, amazing preview of NFC West and of the Rams in particular with a few nuggets you probably didn't know (like losing our trainer to Vikings and sports science guys to Eagles, thoughts on new coaches, etc...) and the future of the offense and defense.

Rams are 3rd team previewed after 9ers and Hawks.
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Are there any Rams who never disappointed you?

We as fans can change our opinions of players very quickly and for a variety of reasons. Often, it’s because the player has disappointed us in some way: on the field, off the field, too much ego, disloyalty or selfishness. When you put guys on a pedestal, they often fall.

So… are there players who never disappointed you?

Off the top of my head, a few jump to mind…

Jack Youngblood
Jackie Slater
Isaac Bruce
Torry Holt
Steven Jackson
Aaron Donald
Andrew Whitworth
Cooper Kupp
Matthew Stafford

Who makes your list?

Your scouting notes from first preseason game?

Here's mine:

Tomlinson looks great out there, real comfortable. For a smaller guy he had a huge presence.

Ethan Evans will be a stud. Loved his ability to boom the long ones and also pin the short ones.

Puka NAcua does not look like a rookie. Liked how he was always next to Kupp on the sidelines.

Tyler Johnson making it really hard to cut him.

Anchrum played all through third quarter. To my mind, that means he is unlikely to be the starter.
I'd imagine Boom will start at RG.

Bruss, ouch. Glad he's found a better position but he still has a long way to go.

Byron Young didn't show me a lot. Glad he had that one pressure, but frankly he looked a bit lost out there.

Tanner Brown a bit scary out there. I'll try to give him one mulligan for the rookie yips. But the miss to the left was really bad. He recovered a bit, his second XP was dead center.

Z Evans looks buried on the depth chart for now. So does McCutcheon. Is Lance McCutcheoin the next Nelson Spruce? Fan favorite who doesn't get much playing time.

Keir Thomas looks like he deserves a spot for sure.

Hardy with some speed.

Did anyone notice Mathis or Hampton?

Bennett already looks better than Wolford and Perkins.

Overall, my two biggest standouts were Tomlinson and Ethan Evans.

Big Whit Is A Great Interview

A portion of the clip nay have been posted elsewhere, where Whitworth only talks about the Rams. I like Rich Eisen's easygoing style anyway, but Andrew is just stellar guest. I can listen to him talk about the NFL for as long as he is able to on a program. He is funny in a low-key, non-hot take sort of way. He even talks about (and gives Rich Eisen) a friendship bracelet he made at 2am with Ryan Fitzpatrick in the lobby of a hotel. Give it a watch!. Also, is Big Whit the best interview subject among current and former Rams? I would rank Jackie Slater right behind him....

Login to view embedded media View: https://youtu.be/ftX9RegVzOM

Brandon Staley

There are a whole lot of rumblings about if the Chargers don't go deep into the playoffs is Staley's job in jeopardy? If the Chargers fire him after this year do the Rams re-hire him?

IMO it should be an emphatic "Hell Yeah." McVay can kick Raheem upstairs to a "consulting" job for a year so he can see how a real defense is run.

This defense has top ten potential due to the talent they have on defense. If this defense can return to being a top 10 unit with the offense they have the Rams are a legit SB contender.

My Preseason Guess of Final 53

QB
Matt Stafford ———————Stetson Bennett———————Brett Rypien

I’m going with three QBs since the third one is an emergency QB won’t count against the 46 eligibles to play.

RB
Cam Akers ————————-Kyren Williams(KR) —————Royce Freeman/Zach Evans

TE
Tyler Higbee ———————-Bryson Hopkins ————.——Davis Allen/Hunter Long

WR
Cooper Kupp ——————-- Puka Nacua ———————- Xavier Smith(PR)
Van Jefferson ———————Demarcus Robinson
Tutu Atwell ————————Ben Skowronek

OL
Alaric Jackson ——————Joseph Noteboom
Steve Avila
Brian Miller ——————— Coleman Shelton
Tremane Anchrum ———-Warren McClendon
Rob Havenstein —————Logan Bruss

S
Jordan Fuller —————— Tre Tomlinson ————— Russ Yeast
John Johnson lll ————- Quentin Lake

CB
Cobie Durant ———————- Derion Kendrick -—————-Robert Rochelle
Ahkello Witherspoon - ——-Timarcus Davis

OLB
Michael Hoecht——————-Ochaun Mathis
Byron Young————————Nick Hampton

ILB
Ernest Jones———.————- Kelechi Anyalebechi
Jake Hummel

DL
Aaron Donald———————Maurice Copeland
Ernest Brown lV——————Bobby Brown lll
Kobie Turner————————Jonah Williams

P
Ethan Evans

K
Tanner Brown

LS
Alex Ward

I know you won’t agree with every choice I made, so please post what changes you’d make instead and why.

The battle for 3rd WR has to be the most intense, don’t you think?

I mean, sure, the competition at LOT, OC, and 3rd CB are pretty fierce, too. We may not know those winners until opening day.

But 3rd WR? Goodness.

Nacua
Atwell
Robinson

Coaches and beat writers have been raving about the camp of all 3 of these guys since the jump. I don’t envy Yarber, LaFleur, and McVay these decisions although it’s certainly 3 ‘champagne problems’.

Honestly, I foresee some sort of rotation for these guys once season starts. Maybe for a series at a time for each? Or maybe some 4 WR sets? (And I’m hoping for more 12 sets, dammit)

To their respective credit, these 3 guys are not making it easy on their coaches but Ram fans are loving it. I know I am.

Rams worst team talent wise in NFL?

Rams Worst Team in NFL Talent Wise\

What the hell?

QB should be 10 at minimum

RB should be higher

WR 25 - really? with Kupp

TE should be higher with Higbeast alone

Off Ball LB 32? - wtf with Jones? Come on

CB and Safety are not 32 and 29 respectively

The only one I agree with is Edge - they don't have any known talent at this time

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CGI

Tremayne Anchrum's volunteer work with kids undergoing chemo

I remember watching an interview of Anchrum and being really impressed with him. Then I saw this video about his volunteer work with kids undergoing chemo treatment. Holy cow, what an amazing human being he is.

The vid starts a little slow, Anchrum doesn't show up until 5:45 into the video. If you watch the whole video, it's guaranteed you'll be a big fan of Tremayne Anchrum.

OL this year (How it looks right now)

Looks like Jackson will be the LT which is fine. He's a bit more physical than Noteboom since Joe's injury. He's not the same. I think they will try to start him at RG to get used to playing on the right side and then start him at RT in 2024. That will give them time to see if McClendon can make the transition to RG in 2024.

I think center will come down to the wire. I think Allen will start but I'm not confident he can finish the season. If he goes out then I think Shelton takes over going forward with McAllister at backup.

OL 2023
LT Jackson
LG Avila
C Allen
RG Noteboom
RT Havenstein

Swings: OT/OG Thomas, OT/OG Bruss, C/OG McAllister, C/OG Shelton


OL 2024

LT Jackson
LG Avila
C Shelton or McAllister
RG McClendon
RT Noteboom

Swings: OT/OG Thomas, OT/OG Bruss, C/OG McAllister, C/OG Maginn

I have no problem with either OL configuration. In 2024 the OG could be the strength of the OL.

The run attack this year will be primarily to the left which is where they will be strongest this year. In 2024 if McClendon can play RG then the run attack should be very balanced either left, right or inside.

I’m tired of Odell

I keep seeing Odell’s quotes claiming that if he hadn’t been injured in the Super Bowl, then he would have had 200 yards receiving and been MVP in a dominant win over the Bengals.

1. The Bengals surely would have changed their coverages after the first quarter to put more pressure on Odell.

2. It’s all speculative BS

3. Does anyone on the planet, aside from Odell, believe that if Kupp had gone down with a knee injury in the first quarter, that Odell could have carried the team to victory as the only legitimate receiving threat?

4. He needs to just STFU and give Kupp the credit that he deserves.

Rant off:

What is the secret of the Rams’ (recent) success?

Since 2017 when Sean McVay took over, the Rams have been one of the most successful teams in the NFL.

Winning seasons: 5 of 6 years
Playoffs: 4 of 6 years
Total wins (regular season and playoffs): 67 (3rd in NFL)
Playoff wins: 7 (2nd in NFL)

Apart from McVay, what is the common denominator during this period?

QB? No, the Rams have had two starters during this time.
RB? Certainly not.
WR? Kupp (when healthy) has been there throughout, but he's had many running mates.
OL? Whitworth and Havenstein were mainstays from 2017-2022, but is that really the core of the team?
Aaron Donald? Certainly a big part of it, but he can't do it alone (See 2014-2016).
Les Snead? Again, certainly a factor, but he wasn't able to build a winner with Jeff Fisher.

This makes me wonder... are we/others underestimating the McVay factor?

This year will be a good test. If McVay can take a small veteran core, mesh it with some young bucks, and come up with a winner, his legacy will be greatly enhanced.

I'm not betting against him.

A Popular Movie That You Never Saw....

I've been surrounded by those who flocked to see a movie that for whatever reason I had no desire to see.
The most popular series that I never watched, aside from clips, was The Matrix.
Another set of movies that I had no desire to see were all of the Star Wars series after the original three movies,

I liked the physical nature of old style special effects (think Aliens). I won't pay to watch CGI bullcrap, so that wipes out almost all Marvel movies.

List those movies that others loved, but you decided against...
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