Rams Hire Former Chicago Bears Coach to Coach RBs

[RamFan503]

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/01/28/skip-peete-rams-running-backs-coach
Ex-Bears asst. Skip Peete becomes Los Angeles Rams RBs coach

by Thayer Evans

Former Chicago Bears running backs coach Skip Peete is the new running backs for the Los Angeles Rams, according to a source.

Peete was out of football this past season after coaching the Bears’ running backs from 2013–14. He inherits Rams star running back Todd Gurley, who was a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie after rushing for 1,106 yards with 10 touchdowns on 229 carries this past season.

Prior to the Bears, the 52-year-old Peete was the running backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 2007–12 and the Oakland Raiders from 1998–2006. He was UCLA’s running backs coach from 1996–97 after coaching wide receivers at Rutgers in ’95.

Peete was also Michigan State’s running backs coach from 1993–94. He got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in ’88. Peete coached Pitt’s wide receivers for three seasons before moving to running back coach for his final two years with the program.

A Phoenix native, he played wide receiver at Arizona from 1981–82 before finishing his collegiate career at Kansas in ’86.

Peete’s father, Willie, is a former longtime NFL and collegiate coach, and his brother, Rodney, played quarterback in the NFL for 16 seasons.

The Rams relocated to Los Angeles earlier this month. They went 7–9 this past season under coach Jeff Fisher, who has 27-36-1 mark in his four years with the franchise.

 

[Hey Man]

Nice, sounds like a good hire. he has a really talented back to work with.

 

[Memento]

Hopefully, he can get Mason and Cunningham rolling when Gurley needs a breather.

 

[den-the-coach]

Not sure how I feel about this hire I thought Ben Sirmans did a really good job and the Rams brought him from the collegiate ranks. Not sure if Mike Groh had any input, however, I'm interested to see what he gets out of the other running backs as I hope the Rams trade Mason and hopefully Peete can get something out of Malcolm Brown & Benny Cunningham.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I want to see Gurley implemented more in the passing game.
Actually, considerably more.

 

[PressureD41]

I would be okay w/ flipping Mason for a 3rd or 4th Rd pick which would be the sweet spot for a potential starting OC gets drafted, Oh and its deep class too

Edit: Im w/ Dodgersrf, TG3 needs to show off those soft hands of his. I want a few RB screens to TG3 every week also, that and it slows down the DL which in turns helps the QB. Say a rookie 1st rd QB perhaps

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Seems like Groh has some say

 

[Merlin]

Coaches Corner: Skip Peete
Posted Dec 10, 2014

Eli KaberonBears Web Writer

Pro football is in Skip Peete's genes. His father, Willie, worked in the NFL for many years, coaching for the Buccaneers, Packers and Bears. His brother, Rodney, played 16 seasons in the league as a quarterback for six different franchises. Now Skip is in his 16th season coaching in the league, the last two as the running backs coach for the Bears.

That background has helped Peete churn out elite players at ever coaching stop he's been to. This week, ChicagoBears.com chatted with the coach about his family history, the team's slate of running backs and what he enjoys about the job.

What role did your family play in your decision to go into coaching?

Well actually, my father tried to talk me out of coaching. He had been a coach all my life, and he explained to me the time you spend away from family. As a coach, you miss some things from your kids as they grow up. Little league baseball and football and basketball games, same as high school, that you are not going to be there for. So if coaching is something I wanted to do, I had to understand I would miss out on those. I kind of thought about it, and then my college coach influenced me. I got a degree in broadcast journalism and I always thought that was fascinating. Whether that was behind the scenes or in front of the camera, I had a chance to do both when I was in college, and I thought it was a lot of fun. But my coach invited me to the University of Pittsburgh to spend the spring there, and try to make a decision of if that's what I wanted to do. Once I did that, I realized the excitement that I had as far as working with young men, watching them develop, teaching them the fundamentals of that position and then seeing them have success that that's what I wanted to do.

Skip Peete goes over plays with running backsMatt Forte and Ka'Deem Carey.
Since your coaching career began, how has the position of running back changed?

I don't know if it has necessarily changed, I would say maybe there's a little bit more emphasis put on the passing game than when I first originated in pro football. But pro football has always been, in my mind, a passing game. So the ability of a running back to pass protect as well as run pass routes is extremely important. Some guys don't have a whole lot of experience in that area coming out of college and you kind of have to work with them, but they eventually become guys who are capable of being a pass protector and run routes. As far as the position evolving, I know a year ago people talked about the diminishing role of the running back, about how guys aren't getting drafted as high. But in my mind, if you look at all successful teams, the running back plays a very important part of what they do. Even if you are a pass-happy team, there has to be somewhat of a balance to keep a defense honest.

This season, you have two rookies – Ka'Deem Carey and Senorise Perry. Where have those two young players improved since they came to the team?

Starting with Ka'Deem, he is a talented runner. He has good vision, I think he runs with good balance. He runs with some violence; he's a violent runner. He wants to punish the defender instead of letting the defender punish him. Not everyone runs with that style. I would say Senorise is a little bit different in that he will try to avoid the hit to utilize his speed and quickness to try and get around the defender. Both of them, I think, coming out of college, weren't really exposed to route running and catching the ball out of the backfield. That area is the area they've improved the most. I'd say for most backs coming out of college, the pass protection aspect and understanding defenses is probably the biggest aspect they need to improve on. If you understand the structure of the defense, you understand the responsibilities of the d-linemen and linebackers and safeties on certain fronts, coverages, and things of that nature, it will help you do your job that much easier.

Then there is Matt Forte. From a coaching perspective, what makes him such an efficient all-around player?

I think Matt is very unique in a lot of ways. First and foremost, he's an extremely intelligent guy. He has a great understanding of the defense, the defensive schemes, so he understands the responsibility of the d-linemen and linebackers on certain fronts. Matt is a very talented runner, with good vision and balance. He's faster than some people think he is. In the passing game, he's capable of running all the routes out of the backfield. He can also align out as a wide receiver and run some of the routes out of a wide alignment, and he's shown to be a physical and capable pass protector. This guy can play in any situation. Probably his biggest trait is that he trains so hard and that he gets his body in such good condition that he rarely gets tired.

Does Matt remind you of anyone else you've coached previously?

They've all been a little bit different. But he probably reminds me of a guy I coached in college, Curtis Martin. Curtis Martin was an intelligent back, had a good feel of both run and pass. They're all-around backs, utilize them in both run and pass.

Finally, you mentioned the challenges and stressful parts of the coaching job. What is the most fun part of being the running backs coach?

The games. You go out there and watch young players, hopefully, execute the game plan you put in during the week. When they have success in the game, you've worked on that all week and talked about it, explained what the scenarios could be and then see the success over the course of the game. To see the smile on their face, that's what makes me happy. Watching young guys who really have no idea what pro football is all about, and watch them blossom into a professional running back and have success doing it, you feel like you had the opportunity to have some success.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Real nice pick up. Helps develop backs into complete players with a lot of success. Lots of experience should bring some freshness and leadership, I like it.

 

[jap]

I want to see Gurley implemented more in the passing game.
Actually, considerably more.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Gurley Man heave the rock downfield every once in a while too. He's done it in college; let's see if he can improve his selling-the-run feint and catch some defense flat-footed with an intermediate to deep throw.

 

[Limey]

I want to see Gurley implemented more in the passing game.
Actually, considerably more.

I agree, but I think I read that they held back from that last season to safeguard his knee. Something about the twisting motion as he had to look back for the ball and then turn forwards again increasing the risk to the knee. Hopefully this season his knee will be 100% and they will be able to fully use passes to get him into more space.

 

[jap]

I agree, but I think I read that they held back from that last season to safeguard his knee. Something about the twisting motion as he had to look back for the ball and then turn forwards again increasing the risk to the knee. Hopefully this season his knee will be 100% and they will be able to fully use passes to get him into more space.

Yes, they held back on quite a bit because of the knee. However, I expect TGII to be much more fully 100% this upcoming 2016 season. That's why I want him integrated into the passing game more, as a receiver and a once-in-a-while passer. I want him to be able to terrorize the LB's and DB's in the open field with his strength, speed, quickness, agility, balance, & vision.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I like the idea of drafting RB's late and signing UDFA's at the position every year. Good running backs can be found there.

The Rams need a solid #2 guy behind Gurley.

1. I like Mason, but after year 2, he strikes me as more a change of pace guy... Not "the guy" if TG were to miss a game.
2. Cunningham is perfect for 3rd downs. I don't think I want to mess with his role, although he strikes me as more similar to TG if required to start a game and run the offense the same.

But again, I'd throw a dart or two every year late in the draft now that we have Gurley as our workhorse.