To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Believe me... we shared in the joy. One of our friends shot a video of T and I hugging about 1 foot away from my TV when we came back inside after the kick went through... she literally crys when she watches the vid.
The Rams’ group of tight ends isn’t necessarily well-known, but it certainly contains candidates to have a breakout season.
In the first two years of head coach Sean McVay’s tenure with L.A., tight ends have averaged 53.5 receptions for 613.5 yards with four touchdowns per season. That’s not just one player — that’s all tight ends. So if there’s room for improvement for a team that’s finished No. 1 and No. 2 in scoring in the last two years, this is one position where it could come from.
Tyler Higbee is entering his fourth season, and presumably his third as a full-time starter. His number over the last two years have been remarkably similar — 25 receptions for 295 yards with one touchdown in 2017, followed by 24 receptions for 292 yards with two touchdowns in 2018. Higbee also had a notable touchdown reception late in the NFC Championship game in New Orleans. He’s strong as an in-line blocker, but can also make the tough catch on the sideline. He played 71.6 percent of the Rams’ offensive snaps last year, in on most of the first- and second-down situations.
Gerald Everett, Los Angeles’ first pick in the 2017 draft, split time with Higbee last year — mainly entering the game in known-passing situations. He caught 33 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. He also took a couple carries for 16 yards, displaying his versatility. Everett had a strong offseason program, making a number of impressive catches day after day during OTAs. If tight end production is going to improve this season, it appears as if Everett will be a significant reason why.
Los Angeles’ hasn’t used much 12 personnel since McVay’s arrival — featuring one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers — but that could change if Everett continues to emerge.
Elsewhere at the tight end position, Johnny Mundtreturns for what will be his third season with the Rams. After spending 2017 on the practice squad as an undrafted free agent, Mundt was on the active roster for the entirety of the 2018 season. He mainly played special teams, though, taking just 40 offensive snaps throughout the course of the year.
For depth heading into camp, Los Angeles also added three undrafted free agents to the roster this offseason in Keenan Brown, Romeo Brooker, and Kendall Blanton.
The Rams roster is getting stronger and deeper each year under McVay. There is little chance the Rams don’t try to strengthen their receiving Corp from last year. Natson was serviceable as a return man when Cooper went down but he was not a viable WR. Someone new is likely to fill the WR5 and/or WR6 positions. Not sure who but keeping Natson and Hodge as WR5/6 would not be ideal to strengthen the Rams roster.
People have heard of pop-rock and pop-culture -- sometimes I get the feeling that PFF is sort of pop-football analysis. IMO, there's nothing wrong with pop-anything, it's just preference.
Look, yeah, it's great to focus and make judgments about a particular unit, it's what fans do. But, 2 things stand out.
(1) Scheme matters. The Rams' constant threat of a screen and the usage of PA + Max protect help pass blocking a lot. Zone blocking and the double teams help run blocking. I didn't see where/how PFF factored scheme into their analysis.
(2) Rams' blocking is a group effort. The Rams use TE, backs and WRs in their blocking schemes. Higbee is big in the run game -- wasn't it the SB where if HIgbee was in the game, it was a run call? Also Higs allows the Rams to slide pass pro and he's usually in there blocking when the Rams go max-protect. People will remember blocks by Brown and Gurley where they put rushers on their ass. I didn't see if/how PFF took any non-OL into account in their analysis.
PFF - it is what it is. People like it, great, w/e.
Since my first name is Charlie I'll use C instead of S for snackdaddy. I assume were using first names not last names.
QB: Carson Wentz(Coulda gone with Cam Newton)
RB: Christian McCaffrey
RB: CJ Anderson(Coulda gone with Chris Carson but he's a seahag. Screw him)
WR: Cooper Kupp :yess:
WR: Cole Beasley
TE: Chris Herndon(Pickings were slim but Herndon was the name of the little town I grew up outside of Fresno)
Flex: Brandin Cooks(I know, I know. But he's a Ram so its close enough)
The LB group as a whole looks like Fowler, Littleton, Kiser, Matthews, Ebukam. Rapp might be seeing some time there in certain packages. Hager's an established special teamer. Makes me wonder if there's even a roster spot for Obo. I hear plenty about some of the other guys but nothing on him. A lot of us thought he was a steal at the time he was drafted.
Ex-Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton was a 20-game winner, won two World Series games, spent 10 years in the big leagues — and made a bigger impact with a pen in his hand than a baseball.
The author of the groundbreaking hardball tell-all “Ball Four” died Wednesday following a battle with a brain disease linked to dementia. The Newark, N.J., native died in the home he shared with his wife Paula Kurman after weeks of hospice care. He was 80.
Bouton, wearing No. 56 for the Bombers in the 1960s, threw so hard in his early years that his cap routinely flew off his head as he released the ball. By the time he reached the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969, the sore-armed Bouton reinvented himself as a knuckleballer.
That same year, Bouton spent a season collecting quotes, notes and anecdotes about life in the big leagues for his acclaimed book “Ball Four." Released amid a storm of controversy, the account of Bouton’s tumultuous year was the only sports book cited when the New York Public Library drew up its list of the best books of the 20th century.
In “Ball Four,” Bouton exposed in great detail the carousing of Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, the widespread use of stimulants (known as “greenies”) in major league locket rooms, and the spectacularly foul mouth of Seattle Pilots manager Joe Schultz.
“Amphetamines improved my performance about five percent,” Bouton once observed. “Unfortunately, in my case that wasn’t enough.”
Bouton, across his 10-year pro career, posted a medicore lifetime record of 62-63, with an ERA of 3.57.
But for two seasons, on the last of the great 1960s Yankees teams of Mantle, Maris and Berra, Bouton emerged as a top-flight pitcher.
In 1963, he went 21-7 with six shutouts and lost a 1-0 World Series decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Don Drysdale. A year later, Bouton’s record was 18-13 with a 3.02 ERA and won a pair of World Series starts against the St. Louis Cardinals.
And then he developed a sore arm in 1965 that derailed a promising career that started just three years earlier. Bouton’s career ended after the 1970 season with the Houston Astros, although he returned for a five-game cameo with the Atlanta Braves in 1978.
Post-baseball, Bouton became a local sportscaster with WABC-TV and then WCBS-TV on the evening news, enjoying ratings success at both stops.
Bouton also suffered a pair of strokes in 2012.
________________________________
Great book. He also briefly starred in a sitcom based on the book, also called Ball Four
I'm glad. I want the Rams to have all their draft picks and a couple of supplemental picks for a change. I know the Rams will move around a lot in the draft, but the more ammo they have the better shot they'll have to pick up the players they want the most - including players to fill the holes that won't be obvious until the season has run its course.
If you have the horses to jam all 3 receivers, and I mean Kupp not Reynolds, stuff a healthy TG and get pressure on Goff then you should win the SB comfortably. If I remember right this was a tight game into the 4th and the Rams maybe should’ve tied the game. But whatever, if you believe the rest of the nfc is capable of following this blueprint I think you’ll be disappointed.
Knowing what to do and doing it are very different things, the Giants showed the world how to beat the Pats and yet they still end up in the SB year after year. Doesn’t matter if it’s Welker, Amendola or Edelman it’s the same thing and it still works.
Exactly. You fall short in your last game, you know why. You go back and get better at what you do next time. The Rams gave Brady a lot of trouble on defense. Drew Brees struggled more in the late part of the season. Is there now a blue print to stop them? I doubt it. Yet, there's now a blue print to stop the Rams.
I posted back on January 3rd that I thought that JFM would come into the 2019 season way above his 2018 playing weight. I suspected he would play DE 5 tech somewhere between 300-305 lbs with added muscle. I see no issues with this. JFM will normally have Dante Fowler lined up to his left anyway.
I just love this Snead selection from the start! I like it more today. Between Brockers JFM's this post should cause serious damage to the opponents right side OL. JFM is our future 5 tech DE in this wade defense.
I always liked the Steelers.
Classic helmet.
Has a bit of a historical meaning.
The logo on one side is totally unique and cool.
Anything with the team name or initials of the city is lame to me.
I actually am not so conflicted. Longetivity in a game like this is Hall of Fame Worthy. Why?
1. A player's genetics and training regimen must be outstanding. Like Whit, Gore has been playing at a high level for a long time with few injuries that I can remember.
2. It's also not just being old and still playing, but after year after year, fighting off a new crop of RB's who want to bump the old man off the roster...and can't do it. That's impressive as hell to me.
3. We knock injury ridden players, albeit supremely taled players, because of not being available. It's why I rank Goff above Wentz right now because of the availabity of Goff, while Carson watches Jared play football on TV.
IF Gore takes the #3 spot all time for RB's, he is the new Cal Ripken of football, an absolute iron man.
Losing Tyreek would be enormous if were were playing contenders to start the year. Easy wins.
Houston and Okafor are about the same these days. Seriously.
Ford nearly got cut before the season but his option became guaranteed with his injury. We lucked out and got a 2nd for him. Dude cost us a ring!!!
Mahomes will put up bigger numbers. Believe it or not he missed some easy ones last year. And you see games like at LAR where his mechanics went to crap. He's still learning the game,too. Bill B. gave him problems in both first halfs that we played them.
Clark by himself is a not a dominant front (that was the case in SEA, by coincidence. Still had 14 sacks BY HIMSELF), but you put Chris Jones next to him, 15.5 sacks, and you got some nastiness brewing. (Plus Honey Badger lurking in the wings? Whoa!!) Rams only have AD99 now. So our front is still better than yours.
I actually like Kpassagnon for you guys to take a defensive line spot. He came out raw out of Villanova, but I wanted us to take him in the second or third round. Now, granted, I'm a fan of the players we drafted, but Kpassagnon was one of my favorite prospects.
"The problem is, the Dolphins look like a three-win team. I've said this before: I would start Ryan Fitzpatrick the first month of the season; don't throw Rosen out there in back-to-back years. I'm not giving up on Rosen, but he has the deck stacked against him.
I find Rosen a bit of a fascinating project. I think he has the tools to succeed, I do. They MIGHT have a starter here. But... I think there needs to be a strategy with him, a longer play than the Dolphins are probably thinking.
Build him up somehow. I don’t know if he must sit, but I think sitting might be good until the climate is right to start him again.
Otherwise, he may never get it right. His development stunted and/or teams stop having confidence. Neither a good label to have.
But, I suspect the Dolphins will play him. Does that work, or backfire? Who knows.
I dunno nut, I always feel like I am bashing the old guys when we start talking like this but I’m not sure how special some of these old timers would be if they played against the defenses of today.
I know if I were a GM putting an all time team together, no RB is going first round. I’m getting a QB very early or I’m going for a legend at a premium position.
Oh I get what you're saying with all the differences between the eras be it size, athleticism, rules, playing surface, offense strategy, defense strategy, NFL season length etc. IMO it makes comparison between eras impossible. Therefore I always look at where the player stood among his peers at the end of his career. How many records did he hold? How was he rated during his career? IMO Jim Brown stands alone and above any QB when discussing the GOAT for any NFL player. It isn't close.
LOL, that would be funny.....I think people can't deny Goff is already an elite thrower; next will be elite thinking...and then 15 year run of playoffs every year he is healty....
