First player in NFL history with back to back months as special teams player of the month.

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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/30/coach-hiring-firing-season-rams-sean-mcvay-nfl-notes-mmqb

Sean McVay’s Rapid Rise With Rams Offers NFL Coaching Search Lessons
By Albert Breer


HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES

The moment Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff and general manager Les Snead knew they had the right guy to be the team’s next head coach came when Sean McVay started talking about staffing, and Wade Phillips’ name first came up.

McVay planned to bring the ex-Broncos, Bills and Cowboys head coach to run his defense, but it wasn’t just the idea of stacking the staff that got the Los Angeles brass excited about the idea. It was deeper than that, going back to the research they’d done after firing Jeff Fisher a month earlier.

They were told, first and foremost, to focus on the person. And McVay’s tentative inclusion of Phillips told the interviewers two things about the interviewee. It spoke to McVay’s reputation, that a respected coach with Phillips’ credentials, and options, would choose to go with the young Redskins offensive coordinator. But even more, it struck the Rams’ guys that McVay, then 30, didn’t feel threatened by Phillips.

“His true confidence in his expertise actually allows him to be extremely, extremely humble,” Snead said Wednesday night, between draft meetings. “That gives you the element where he’s not threatened. It’s just, ‘Hey, we’re two people who, let’s call it what it is, are good at what we do and we respect each other. And that respect will make us great teammates.’”

On Sunday, the Rams will be in Arizona. With a win there, they’ll lock up their first winning season in 14 years, and they’ll do it with a quarter of the schedule left. Suffice it to say, they feel pretty good that they got the right coach, and person.

We’re starting with the Rams, and for a very specific reason—it’s about to be coaching search season, and a lot of teams screw it up. Just look at the numbers, and the turnover, and you’ll see how many get it wrong. Over the past seven offseasons, there have been 51 coaching changes. Seven teams haven’t made changes, meaning the other 25 are averaging two changes during that stretch.

The Rams certainly hadn’t been above the fray either. Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo lasted three seasons apiece, and Fisher hung on for five, with the three of those guys combining for zero trips to the playoffs.

So how did a franchise that got it wrong for a decade finally get it right? Pay close attention if you root for one of those teams that’ll be looking in a few weeks. We’ll take you through it...

• Define what you want. The Rams fired Fisher with three weeks left in the season, which allowed them to start the process early, and it kicked off with some research. More specifically, the team started panning people inside the building (players, trainers, scouts, equipment people) about what was lacking. Then the Rams started to kick the tires on the methods of some other teams, like the Steelers.

The biggest thing to come from that work: Xs-and-0s were a small piece of what the team should seek, which was part of why the Rams inquired about position coaches like Steve Wilks and Mike Vrabel. And yes, McVay has that part of it, but it was more important, based on their own self-study, for the Rams to emphasize accountability, communication and energy. McVay quickly made it clear he had those things, too.

“You’re hiring the person,” Snead says. “Going with that, you quickly realize the head coach is directly managing some of the most important people in the building, and that’s the 53 players on the roster, and the 15-20 coaches.”

• Identify and assess the coach’s weaknesses. This one was easy for the Rams to find; McVay hadn’t yet turned 31 when he was interviewed. Over time, though, it became clear that age was really the only roadblock standing in the brass’ way.

Within the first 20 minutes of McVay’s interview, Snead made a note to himself: “Age doesn’t matter. It’ll be if we want to hire him or not.” And the research backed that up. For every Lane Kiffin washing out, you had a Mike Tomlin thriving. For the Josh McDanielses and Raheem Morrises, you have your Jon Grudens.

“Thirty doesn’t matter, it might actually be a positive here,” Snead said. “Those most important people in your building? Hey, most of them are in their early 20s.”

• Vet the candidate. The Rams actually reached out to the agents of players who played for the team, but not unit, of each candidate. So in McVay’s case, that meant Snead and Demoff gathering testimonials from Redskins’ defensive players, all of whom helped the push the process along.

“It was unanimous,” Snead said. “I can remember showing Sean the texts, and it was relayed through their agents, what players he’d touched, coached, mentored along the way had said about him. It was one of the more touching moments for Sean to see it. And again, it was unanimous: ‘home run,’ ‘no-brainer,’ ‘hire him tomorrow,’ ‘best teacher I’ve had,’ ‘best motivator,’ ‘best coach to put us in position succeed as a unit, as well as individuals.’ A potpourri of compliments from a lot of different personalities on that team.”

• Project him. This is where the Xs-and-Os come in, via board work.

“There were moments in there where I felt like I could run his offense,” Snead says. “I wasn’t gifted with genetic capabilities of some of these QBs, their minds to take in info and process it so quickly. But there were moments where it was like, ‘I certainly couldn’t throw it like they do, but I may be able to play QB for this guy.’ He was so clear and concise and such a good teacher. … You could see the chess being played but it was in a manner where you felt like you were playing checkers.”

So the Rams got him with Goff in a similar setting, and Goff told Demoff and Snead afterwards: “I hope we’re hiring that guy, because after spending two hours with him, I don’t want to play for anyone else.”

• Have the timing line up: This wound up working out for the Rams. The Redskins’ ouster on Week 17 allowed them to get to McVay quicker than they thought they’d be able. That means by the time a second team, the Niners, decided to bring him in, McVay had already built a relationship with the Rams. Demoff called McVay before the San Francisco interview and told him, “Do well, but not too well.”

The Niners interview went well. But by then, the Rams were moving to make him their coach. And this advanced a train of thought they’d come to adopt in coming to a comfort level with his age.

“Get him now, don’t let somebody else get him,” Snead said. “Don’t come out of this saying he’s a year away, and then in a year, somebody else gets him, because that somebody else is gonna beat you with him.”

It’s an understatement to say this all worked out. The Rams are in first in the NFC West, second in the NFL in point differential, and second in points scored, a year after being as listless as they come offensively. Jared Goff’s broken through, Todd Gurley’s revitalized, the offensive line’s stabilized and Phillips is doing what McVay figured he would with the defense.

Is there another McVay out there for someone in 2018? It’s hard to say now. But above all else, the process we just outlined should give teams a decent idea of who they’re hiring. It did for the Rams, who, by the way, aren’t as stunned as you might think about their new coach’s swift assimilation to the role.

“It’s the easy thing to say. But I’d probably be lying [to say I’m surprised],” Snead says. “He hasn’t exceeded expectations because you just had gut intuition that he was going to be special. Did I think we’d go from 32nd to 2nd in points per game? Maybe not. Did I think we’d have eight wins? I’m never thinking how many wins you’ll have after 11 games. So I don’t think he’s exceeded our expectations. But …”

Whatever McVay’s doing sure is working.

I am from Marin County, went to Cal and live in Berkeley. I have been a Jared Goff fan for a loong time. And let me just say, Jared Goff is the exact same guy I've been watching since he was on the Elite 11 TV show in high school. Even then, there was this automatic tendency to underestimate him. He consistently ranked second or third on the show but never first; different guys would leapfrog him to get the top spot. The coaches would always briefly acknowledge his performance on camera ("well you have to have Jared up there"), but they hardly every showed him. Then he got to Cal, where the majority of fans were rooting for RS frosh Zach Kline to win the starting QB spot. Still, it was pretty obvious who the better player was. Cal proceeded to be absolutely atrocious with Goff as the starter, but his talent was obvious. We also saw that he never got down on himself; he just kept slinging it no matter what else was happening. By his junior year, he was in total command of the offense at the line of scrimmage. The preternatural pocket presence, the wow throws, the spreading the ball around, it was all there. It's super gratifying to see him do it now against the best in the world. And just like before, people will damn him with faint praise until he forces them to acknowledge the truth. Honestly, 16 is perfect for him; he does have Joe Montana-like qualities. I think Walsh would have loved him too, biggest reasons being his feet and that he throws a catchable ball.

Anyways, I'm a traditional Niner fan but I gotta say it's been a long time since I rooted for a team like your Rams. There are a lot of other truly great players on this team, and it feels like a special year. This is my first post, thanks for reading.

Goff has 300 more passing yards on the year.

Goff averages 8.2 YPA, Wentz averages 7.5.

Goff has a 62% completion percentage, Wentz has 60%.

The only difference is that the Rams have been pounding it in with Gurley near the goal line while Wentz gets TD passes.

Goff has been better at everything this year except for TD passes but apparently this 1 statistic means that Wentz is God’s gift to football and Goff is just a mediocre guy.

/End rant.

Surprised this isn't posted yet. Anybody who says Bruce shouldn't be in the HOF should be man hoe slapped and punched in their nipple dick!!! Dam good videos!

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCEEEE!!!!!!!



http://www.nfl.com/m/share?p=/videos/good-morning-football/0ap3000000885087/Bruce-My-numbers-alone-are-why-I-deserve-to-be-in-HOF

Welcome to Numbers Wednesday, where we write posts on players who do and do not care about them.

We led off with DeMarco Murray not caring about his stats. Right around the same time that was published, Rams great Isaac Bruce was joining powerhouse morning show Good Morning Football to discuss a myriad of topics, including his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Bruce was a finalist for the most recent class, but was left behind as former teammate Kurt Warner got the call to join the Hall. For Bruce, who retired in 2009, it should only be a matter of when, not if.

The receiver, who starred as part of the "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams, recorded eight 1,000-plus-yard seasons in his career. He broke 15,208 yards receiving for his career (to go with 91 touchdowns) and retired with the second-most receiving yards of all-time, trailing only Jerry Rice in the category (he's now fourth all-time).

If you want to pound the record books when making Bruce's case, that should be enough. He agrees.

http://www.nfl.com/m/share?p=/videos/los-angeles-rams/0ap3000000776909/Isaac-Bruce-catches-a-73-yard-TD-in-Super-Bowl-XXXIV

"When I retired, I was second [in receiving yards] all-time," Bruce said while speaking with GMFB's Kay Adams, Peter Schrager, Nate Burleson and Kyle Brandt. "The second person ever to touch 15,000 yards. On top of that, I was a guy who performed on the biggest stage. I closed out a game, Super Bowl XXXIV. It's everybody's dream when you're in your backyard. You want to have the winning touchdown catch, and that was me. It actually happened in my career.

"When you just look at the numbers, if you're really building cases off of numbers, how do you say no?"

Bruce is right -- you'd be hard-pressed to find someone with a legitimate reason to say no. There simply isn't a credible argument to the contrary.

It's a common expectation to see Bruce on stage in Canton, Ohio, in the next few years. The best receiver in one of modern football's best offenses ever will have his own bust -- and out of appreciation for his contributions to the game, it should be sooner, rather than later.

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Yet another reason to hate Chris Simms. What is this assholes problem? I swear he has a vendetta against Jared Goff for some weird reason. Get a life Simms....

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/2...hat-rams-play-calling-is-cheating-or-immoral/

Jared Goff, Sean McVay push back against claims that Rams’ play-calling is ‘cheating’ or ‘immoral’
By RICH HAMMOND


Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

NFL coaches are allowed to talk to their quarterbacks through the in-helmet headset until the 40-second play clock ticks to 15, at which point communication is cut off. That time typically is used to call plays while players are in the huddle, but in the Rams’ case, it seems as though they sometimes get to the line of scrimmage early, then have Coach Sean McVay, left, make calls or adjustments for Jared Goff, right. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Image


THOUSAND OAKS — Sean McVay, perhaps the most excitable coach in the NFL, can say a lot in 25 seconds. Rams quarterback Jared Goff is charged with processing all those words.

Is it too much? After studying film, writers and commentators theorized this week that McVay feeds audible calls to Goff, through in-helmet communication, while the Rams are at the line of scrimmage.

That is, even in the strictest of NFL rules interpretations, totally legal. A coach is allowed to talk to his quarterback until the 40-second play clock ticks to 15, at which point communication is cut off. That time typically is used to call plays while players are in the huddle, but in the Rams’ case, it seems as though they sometimes get to the line of scrimmage early, then have McVay make calls or adjustments.

McVay has come under some media criticism from pundits who apparently feel that relaying audibles to a quarterback is a step too far. Quarterbacks, some said, should have to make some decisions on their own, and not be force-fed information about what plays to audible to, and where to throw the ball.

“To say you’re in his ear – and I’ve seen some of the things out there – I think it’s a discredit to what Jared has done,” McVay said after Wednesday’s practice at Cal Lutheran.

“With the experiences that I’ve had in Washington (as offensive coordinator) and here, it’s totally the quarterback’s discretion as to whether they want me to talk to them and give them reminders, or if they say, ‘Just give me the play and let me play the position.’”

If anything, McVay is just doing a better job of maximizing his time by speeding up the Rams, and both Goff and McVay noted that Goff has the ability to ignore McVay and change to something totally different.

McVay said that, to his knowledge, most NFL coaches operate the way he does, going up to the 15-second mark of the play clock if needed. Both Goff and McVay seemed a bit flummoxed that commentators around the league might take issue.

“Sometimes he talks all the way up to 15 seconds,” Goff said of McVay. “Sometimes he talks for five seconds. Sometimes he talks for 10 seconds. It all varies. Just like every other quarterback in the league, it stops at 15 seconds and we run the play. But he’s great on the headset, though. He does a great job, and gives me as much or as little information as I need.”

It doesn’t seem to be a problem within the league, though, perhaps because McVay isn’t the only coach to do it. He’s just the first one to be noticed. The Rams play Arizona on Sunday, and during a conference call on Wednesday, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians expressed no problem with McVay’s communication.

“It’s not the first time it’s been done, that’s for sure,” Arians said. “When you have a young quarterback in a new system, it helps tremendously. You wish you could talk to him all the way to five seconds, but when they cut it off at 15, it’s hard. But no, that’s a great tool.”

Not everyone agrees. Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms went on a national radio show Monday and declared McVay’s tactics to be not only “cheating” but also “immoral,” a rather personal level of vitriol.

Simms didn’t mention that, just as McVay can be in Goff’s ear when the Rams are at the line of scrimmage, it’s not an inherent advantage. The opposing defensive coordinator is allowed to talk to one of his players – usually the middle linebacker – until the same 15-second mark on the play clock.

So, yes, McVay might be clueing in Goff on which matchup to exploit but, at the same time, the defensive coordinator very well could be exhorting his linebacker to blitz through a certain gap.

“It’s about the players,” McVay said. “If you have some players who like to have some extra information, great. They can always decipher whether they utilize it or not. The players I’ve been around, they like that. But it is a part of the game and it’s something that we’re utilizing in different ways.”

Regardless, it’s still up to Goff to make the plays, and last Sunday against New Orleans, he showed that his success isn’t completely dependent on McVay.

Late in the second quarter, Goff dropped back, stood in the pocket and motioned for rookie receiver Josh Reynolds to change his route. Reynolds cut to the back of the end zone and Goff threw a 7-yard touchdown pass which gave the Rams an important 10-point lead.

“That was all him. That was a bad call by me,” McVay said. “He did an excellent job to be able to sit in there, to remain a passer with great protection. He was directing traffic, and that’s what special players do. … Josh and him are on the same page, and he delivers a great ball.”

Mod Edit: Remember to include link, author's name, and to credit whoever took the pics.

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I hope he gets a chance to play again.

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/36645/11-for-11-the-2017-rams-by-the-numbers

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Rams are really good. This much is no longer debatable. They're 8-3 with a plus-123 point differential that stands as the second-highest mark in the NFL. They're ranked third on ESPN's Power Rankings despite ranking 27th when the season began. Their Super Bowl odds are 14-to-1 after opening at 100-to-1. Can we just hand Sean McVay the Coach of the Year trophy already? (Do they get a trophy?)

The Rams, who have already clinched their first non-losing season since 2006, have scored the second-most points and allowed the seventh-fewest. Defense-adjusted Value Over Average -- or DVOA, a Football Outsiders metric that measures a team's success on a given play versus what would have been expected given several factors -- has them ranked sixth on offense, fifth on defense and second on special teams.


The Rams aren't just good; they're well-rounded, young and, relatively speaking, healthy. They've already done what few would've ever imagined and now stand as the No. 3 seed in their conference, with a one-game lead on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. Below, we identified 11 stats that help tell the story of the resurgent, mystifying 2017 Rams through their first 11 games.

Buffalo Bills' LeSean McCoy (549) has more. This is crucial, because so many other factors are at play here. It's a product of a better offensive line, a better receiving corps, a better scheme and a better quarterback. Last year, in five more games, Gurley compiled 442 yards before first contact, ranked 20th.

62: The number of quarterback pressures by Aaron Donald, according to Pro Football Focus. Donald leads the NFL, even though he spent the entire summer holding out and did not play in the Rams' first regular-season game. The 62 pressures are seven more than the next interior lineman (the Cincinnati Bengals' Geno Atkins) and four more than the next defensive player (the Los Angeles Chargers' Joey Bosa). Donald has a team-high six sacks, but that doesn't even begin to describe his impact on the entire defense.

129: The number of points scored by kicker Greg Zuerlein. That's 18 more than the second-place Stephen Gostkowski. Zuerlein is on pace for 188 points, which would break the record of 186 set by Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006. Zuerlein has made 32 of 34 field-goal attempts, including five of six from 50 or more yards.

8.2: Jared Goff's yards per passing attempt. It's the third-best mark in the NFL, behind only the Houston Texans' Deshaun Watson (8.33 in seven games before landing on injured reserve) and the New England Patriots' Tom Brady (8.27). Goff averaged only 5.3 yards per attempt last year. His 2.9-yard increase is on pace to be the largest year-to-year improvement since John Brodie from 1960 to 1961, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (minimum 200 attempts).

25.0: This is the passer rating from opposing quarterbacks when targeting safety Lamarcus Joyner, according to data compiled by Pro Football Focus. That's the second-lowest mark at his position (minimum 19 targets). Joyner excelled as a slot corner the past two years -- a position he'll still play intermittently -- and has been outstanding at safety this season. Pro Football Focus gives him the ninth-highest grade for a safety in the NFL.

29.71: Pharoh Cooper's average yards per kickoff return, which accounts for the best rate in the NFL. One of those was returned for a touchdown. Since replacing Tavon Austin in Week 6, Cooper is also averaging 12.06 yards per punt return, ranked third. Each week, Cooper -- a fourth-round pick out of South Carolina in 2016 -- seems to grow a little bit more comfortable as a returner.

9.55: Yards per play on screen passes, the second-highest mark in the NFL -- trailing only McVay's former team in Washington, which is averaging 9.95 yards on screens. If you've watched the Rams this year, you know that the screen game -- a lot of which comes off play action -- has been huge for them. Play action, in general, has been an important weapon too. The Rams are averaging 8.41 yards per play on play action, ranked 12th.

19: Turnovers forced by the Rams' defense, tied for fifth-most in the NFL and one more than it forced all of last season. The Rams didn't come up with any turnovers Sunday, but they could've -- should've -- had at least three interceptions against New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is a master at creating pressure and letting his linebackers and defensive backs make plays on the ball. The Rams have 12 interceptions, also tied for fifth.

5.15: The number of yards allowed per punt return from the Rams' coverage unit, the sixth-lowest mark in the NFL. A lot of the credit for that goes to Johnny Hekker, a three-time First Team All-Pro. Hekker set a record last year for punts downed inside the 20-yard line. But he attempted 98 punts that season, second-most in the NFL. This year, 27 players have attempted more punts than Hekker. And that's as good a sign as any for the Rams' offense.

28.6: The percentage of times an opponent's drive has ended in a touchdown or field goal. That's the fifth-lowest mark in the NFL, and it's a good measure for the overall effectiveness of a defense (though field position certainly plays a factor here, too). The Rams' defense is allowing 1.55 points per drive, which ranks sixth. As Phillips said last week, while somewhat dismissing his unit's struggles defending the run, "Points are the key thing."

11.58: Yards before first contact per reception. It's the highest mark in the NFL. What does it tell us? That Rams receivers have a lot of room to run after the catch -- which means they're very open, which means McVay's scheme is creating a bevy of explosive plays. The Rams had 8.72 yards before first contact per reception last year, which ranked 29th.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...n=fb-nf-sf174757311-sf174757311&sf174757311=1

6) Los Angeles Rams


The Rams are rolling, with Todd Gurley and Jared Goff driving an offense that ranks fourth overall, second in scoring, sixth in passingand ninth in rushing. Los Angeles is strong in point differential (plus-123), turnover differential (plus-9) and sack differential (plus-12). Sean McVay is proving himself to be a gem of a coach -- offensively, I don't think he ever does the same thing twice in one game. My concern is about the quarterback position, as well as Goff is playing. It's clear he's going to be very good for a very long time. But as of right now, the difference between Goff and Carson Wentz is considerable. Wentz brings a different element to the field, an attitude that says I know I'm going to get the job done. He's so much surer of what he's doing. I'm not sure Goff has the same kind of conviction, and I have a hard time envisioning him as a Super Bowl quarterback in Year 2.

Nice and short post this week as I have a scratched cornea and the light from the screen bothers my eye.

You guys know the rules.


Predict the final score with the correct winning team from this weeks tilt against the Arizona Cardinals.

First poster who comes closest to the actual score will win $10,000 RODollars.


Guess the exact final score and winning team and collect $25,000 RODollars.

All prizes to be picked up in the sports book.


Good Luck


@Zodi was last weeks winner for the 3rd time this season.

Wow, nice for Goff. And our entire special teams unit lol.

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Five Rams — running back Todd Gurley (RB), wide receiver Pharoh Cooper(RS), kicker Greg Zuerlein(K), punter Johnny Hekker(P), and defensive tackle Aaron Donald(DT) — continue to lead all NFC players at their respective positions in voting for the 2018 Pro Bowl.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, with 422,491votes, leads all players in balloting as of Nov. 29.

But Gurley and quarterback Jared Goffare among the top ten vote-getters thus far, coming in at No.6 and No. 8 with 321,388 and 279,700 votes overall.

Fan voting for the 2018 Pro Bowl will continue online and on web-enabled mobile phones at therams.com/probowl until Thursday, December 14.

Fans can also vote for who they want to see on the 2018 Pro Bowl roster via Twitter through a Direct Message (DM) Voting Experience.

The 2018 Pro Bowl, will be televised live from Camping World Stadium on ESPN and simulcast on ABC. Players for the game are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 88 All-Star players who will be selected to the Pro Bowl.

NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on Friday, December 15 while final Pro Bowl rosters will be announced on Tuesday, December 19 live on NFL Network’s Pro Bowl special “NFL Total Access: Pro Bowl Players Revealed” at 5:00 PM PT.

Did anyone hear about this? Check out link below.

https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/11/27/16705902/zay-jones-michael-jackson-bills-video


Some type of angle illusion?
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/11/27/16705902/zay-jones-michael-jackson-bills-video

I would like to state off the topic that this is not a Austin bashing post. I actually really like Tavon, but last game was really his oppurtunity to prove his worth with Woods, Dunbar and Brown out and atleast to me he failed to make an impact as a runner or reciever.

Now with the chance of both dunbar and brown both being active on Sunday, Reynolds shining this past Sunday and Austin losing his PR job to Cooper. Is there a chance that Austin wont even be active on Sunday?

We have never had both Brown and Dunbar healthy and active in the same game as Tavon (still might not with Dunbars health). My question is, if both backup rbs are healthy and active what exactly is Austin's role?

If the Rams and Seahawks tie, the tiebreakers are:

1. H2H: Seattle wins if they sweep, so assume we split the series
2. Division record: Assume we both go 5-1
3. Common game record. Seattle went 0-2 in non-common games, Rams went 1-1, so if we tie records, then the Rams must have a worse common game record.

Therefore, Seattle owns the tiebreakers unless they somehow drop week 17 against the Cardinals.

Rams must have a better record or else they lose the division and must fight for a wild card.

Note: This is almost certainly not going to matter, because if we win in Seattle, there is almost no chance we still tie records, and if we lose in Seattle, then they win on the first tie breaker anyway.

Todd Gurley had his coming out party his rookie season 2015, in Arizona. Breaking off several long runs, and the memorable play Tyrann Mathieu ran him down, saving a touchdown. Gurley and the Honey Badger then did some pretty intense trash talk with each other.

It seems inevitable those two players will go their whole career battling each other. It is something to keep an eye on Sunday.

Hopefully Gurley builds on the good feelings with another big game at the University of Phoenix Stadium this weekend, as the Rams continue their quest for a successful inaugural season under Sean McVay.

Gurley currently has 865 rushing yards for the season. Good for 3rd in the league, after 11 games.

It is conceivable that the 3rd year back could break the thousand yard barrier with 135 yards Sunday.

Because of Gurley’s history against the Cardinals, and the type of game McVay may be planning, I believe it may happen! Let me know in the poll what you all think.

ball:

So Sean McVay has implemented a system whereby the offense quickly lines up in a formation and depending on the defensive alignment, McVay relays to Jared his playcall. Brilliant. But what’s next?

Defensive coordinators will adjust to this by deploying base alignments and a subsequent backup to thwart McVay’s call. This will create the need for another adjustment by McVay.

One way to combat this will be for Sean to occasionally call for quick snaps to occur before the defense realigns. Trust me when I say we will see a few of these in the next game if the game is close. Personally, I’d prefer he roll it out against Philly.

But the next step will be regular RPO’s so that when the defense realigns, Jared can make a second or third check to the right play. It’s going to be a fun chess match that Sean and Jared will win and will develop over the many years they establish what even Kurt Warner recognized as the Greatest Show on Surf.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/11/28/jimmy-garoppolo-to-start-for-49ers-on-sunday/

Jimmy Garoppolo to start for 49ers on Sunday
Posted by Michael David Smith on November 28, 2017


Getty Images

The Jimmy Garoppolo era is beginning in San Francisco.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told the team today that Garoppolo will start on Sunday in Chicago.

The 49ers acquired Garoppolo by trading their second-round draft pick to the Patriots the day before the league’s trade deadline, but they had been starting C.J. Beathard instead of Garoppolo. However, Beathard was hurt late in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, and that opened the door for Garoppolo to start.

It will be just the third start of Garoppolo’s NFL career. He started two games last year for the Patriots in place of the suspended Tom Brady, but he was injured in the second of those two games and didn’t start again. Outside those two games he has played sparingly but well, with a 67.7 percent completion rate and six touchdowns and no interceptions in his NFL career.

On Sunday the 49ers will get a good look at the player they already invested a second-round draft pick in, and will likely invest $25 million in with next year’s franchise tag.

I know some of you may be tired of the Fisher threads,but you read the title and clicked the link.







The term “coach killer” is football jargon used to label a player, normally a quarterback, whose on-field performance is so bad that it routinely undermines his coach’s game plan and eventually leads to the firing of the coaching staff. But there isn’t a term for when the opposite happens, when a coaching staff’s game plans are so insufficient that they undermine the skills of their quarterback. Until now …

FISHER
noun: fish·er \ ˈfi-shər \

1. A coach who makes his quarterback worse.

Origin: It is a derivative of Jeff Fisher, the former NFL coach.

After 22 seasons as an NFL head coach, five leading the Los Angeles Rams, Jeff Fisher and his staff were fired last season. Like many failed staffs, Fisher’s crew probably convinced themselves that they would have succeeded if they had only found a decent quarterback. By bubble-wrapping their egos in that theory, most coaches enjoy peace of mind for many years. But poor Fisher wasn’t even afforded a year of self-delusion because Jared Goff and Case Keenum became very good NFL quarterbacks almost immediately after being freed from his tutelage.

This season, Goff is 8-3 as the Rams’ starter under the guidance of 31-year-old rookie head coach Sean McVay. Goff was 0-7 a season ago. Keenum ended up in Minnesota with the Vikings, where he assumed the starting role after Sam Bradford, another former Fisher quarterback, got hurt. Keenum has gone 7-2 for his new team. He went 4-5 with Fisher in 2016. But their records aren’t the only evidence of improvement. With a Total QBR of 18.3 last season, rookie Goff was being called the worst quarterback of all time. So far this season, his QBR is 55.2. That places him right at the league average, which is promising for a player in his second season, his first as a Week 1 starter. At the beginning of last season, Goff was deemed unfit to even be a backup by Fisher and crew. He was third on the depth chart.

All quarterbacks should improve from their first season to their second. The average QBR increase from year one to year two is +5.6. But Goff’s QBR increase of 36.9 is enormous. If he sustains his current QBR, it will be the largest increase from first to second season since the stat has been kept. However, it might not be the biggest year-to-year QBR increase regardless of level of experience. That distinction could go to Keenum, Fisher’s other 2016 quarterback. If Keenum can sustain his 77.2 QBR (second-best in the league), he will have increased his QBR by nearly 40. The Vikings are Keenum’s third team in his five-year career. The first two seasons he spent in Houston, where his QBR was 48.6 and 39.3. Then he went to Fisher’s Rams for a couple of seasons, where he had the two lowest QBRs of his career (34.8 and 37.5).

To be fair to Fisher, he is a defensive-minded coach, so maybe the quarterback failures are not a result of his poor game plans. But hiring a complementary staff is one of the chief responsibilities of a head coach. And Fisher went through three offensive coordinators in his time with the Rams, so it doesn’t seem that he knows how to find the right guy. Goff and Keenum are surrounded by more talent than they had under Fisher, so that could account for some of the quarterbacks’ improvement. That explanation, though, isn’t strong enough to restore Fisher’s reputation. Only winning could do that, and no franchise is going to give the 59-year-old anti-quarterback whisperer a chance now. Which is probably for the best.

The stats show this season’s Rams offense under McVay is more productive. Watching the video of games shows why. This season the Rams are taking big shots down the field on early downs, when the defense is most susceptible. They are using receiver motion, tight splits and receiver stacks to keep defenders from pressing receivers at the line of scrimmage and to create mismatches and angles for the receivers to get open. And every week, they run a few unique route combinations that almost guarantee that a receiver will be open down the field.

In last week’s game against the New Orleans Saints, on one play the Rams overloaded the Saints’ zone coverage with four eligible pass catchers running routes to one side. Goff completed a pass to tight end Tyler Higbee for a gain of 38 yards.

McVay has taken the responsibility of scheming success for Goff. Fisher’s 2016 offense put the responsibility on Goff and the skill players to create success. The formations were traditional and stagnant, and the schemes were simple and predictable. On first down, they would run the ball or throw short, isolated passes. Fisher’s goal was probably to keep it simple for his rookie quarterback, but the game plan was obvious to the defenses. So opponents had a good idea of what the Rams were going to do, which meant that Goff had to be deadly accurate on every play or the receivers had to be spectacular. Fisher’s attempt to coddle Goff backfired.

Although Fisher is out of the league, it doesn’t mean that his way of thinking left with him. Goff and Keenum were fortunate to find situations that suit them. Not all young quarterbacks are that lucky. They get labeled as a bad quarterback before ever getting the opportunity to play for a creative and resourceful coach. Instead, they get stuck with a coach who is searching for a superstar quarterback to ride to glory rather than getting the best out of the players he has.

Domonique Foxworth is a writer at The Undefeated. He is a recovering pro athlete and superficial intellectual.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/min/minnesota-vikings

2 little gestures he made show me that he is a great motivator and trying to get the most out of his veteran players.

1- Early during training camp there was a clip of McVay talking to the team and he asked Robert Quinn to come into the huddle with his hand up to lead the end of practice chant.

2- In the locker room after the Saints game when giving out game balls he called on Sammy Watkins for having a big game. We all know that Kupp, Reynolds, Goff were all as or more deserving but Sean knows he has to keep Sammy happy to keep him and needs both of these guys to be leaders in the locker room and on the field.

McVay continues to impress at every turn.

After seeing how the Rams O is operating I think to myself that McVay is benefiting from Goff's abilities and skillset as Goff is benefiting from McVay's.

What I mean is when I watch the Rams I don't really feel like I am watching last years version of the Redskins, or the year before. I saw a little bit of some games here and there in sports bars and saw highlights. It doesn't look or feel the same to me. Not that it wasn't good, it was, and I think Cousins is an excellent QB. But the system has evolved or something, or is just different because Goff has some attributes McVay hasn't had before.

I will admit McVay had nothing like Gurley in the backfield to help drive the offense but sometimes the play designs unfold and often look like something we'd see from Martz with different levels being attacked like a 3-D chess game. Especially in 4 wide sets, at least from the film breakdown and replays I have seen. In other words the O is better than Washington's was because Goff gives McVay the opportunity to let himself cut loose and come up with plays and call them where he might not have been able to with Cousins. The way he buys that extra moment in the pocket with his feet really makes a difference to a play caller if he knows his WR's have more than 2 seconds to find a way to get open.

And now..............back to Gurley. Goff has become really, really good at faking a hand off, he and Gurely sell the fuck out of it..........and it is huge. Just like how the Jet Sweep freezes LB's for just that one step advantage for the offense, it is a BIG edge. Did McVay have that available to him in WASH? I dunno if Cousins is good at it or not so this is just kind of guessing on my part. It takes a bit for some of the fakes to "unfold" which is giving WR's that extra time to get a little deeper and Goff is sporting an 8.21 YPA in part because the WR's get some time to run a moment longer than they would normally.

Just a thought, feel free to add to it based on what you've seen.

They are up...http://www.ramsondemand.com/powerrankings/power-rankings-week-13.21/

And here's PFT's lawyer team photo:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-eli-manning-geno-smith-will-start-on-sunday/

Giants bench Eli Manning, Geno Smith will start on Sunday
Posted by Michael David Smith on November 28, 2017


Getty Images

Eli Manning has been benched. For Geno Smith.

In a stunning announcement Tuesday afternoon, Giants coach Ben McAdoo said Smith will start over Manning in Sunday’s game against the Raiders. The Giants are also planning to play rookie quarterback Davis Webb this season, McAdoo said, although it’s unclear whether Webb will play on Sunday.

“Geno will start this week,” McAdoo said. “Over the last five games, we will take a look at Geno, and we will also give Davis an opportunity.”

The move ends Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive regular-season starts, the second-longest streak in NFL history behind Brett Favre’s record of 297. Manning has started every game since he was named the starter late in his rookie season. McAdoo offered to allow Manning to start the game and play briefly if he wanted to keep the streak alive, but Manning said he didn’t think that would be right.

“Coach McAdoo told me I could continue to start while Geno and Davis are given an opportunity to play,” Manning said. “My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them. Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak. Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed. I will help Geno and Davis prepare to play as well as they possibly can.”

The Giants have been eliminated from playoff contention, and now they’re in full-on rebuilding mode, with their franchise quarterback taking a seat.

I realize most here aren't too concerned with Sunday's matchup, so here's a quick look at the Cards:

DEFENSE

* Their scoring defense continues to be poor, sitting at 25.3 ppg (26th).
* Passer rating against is 85.4 (13th).
* Rush defense is 3.7 ypc (6th).
* Sack percentage over the past three games has jumped from 6.29% to 8.49% (from 18th to 7th).
* Third down conversion against is 42.17% (27th). Note: last three games is 30.00% (5th).

OFFENSE

* Scoring is 18.5 ppg (24th).
* Passer rating is 81.7 (23rd). Note: home passer rating 91.5 (17th), away 72.7 (26th).
* Rushing is 3.0 ppg (32nd).
* Sacked percentage is 6.32% (15th). Note: last three games it is 4.03% (9th).
* Third down conversion is 37.58% (20th).

Cards actually don't look that bad defensively in some metrics. Their third down conversion against sucks, but of late they have been much better.

Offensively the QB position is what is killing them. It's leading to the struggles in the run game as well, as teams load it up on them. Couple areas of concern are that they've gotten better QB play at home, plus Gabbert over the past three games has played pretty well.

So overall the Rams should be able to win this game going away. But it's a divisional matchup with the first game in London being one the Rams embarrassed them in, so I expect them to get everything the Cards have. Defense needs to play like they did vs Brees this past weekend, and we should be fine.