Still don’t really understand the current situation with LB Terrell Lewis & DL A’Shawn Robinson. My understanding (What very little there is of that!) is that they will be able to added to the Rams active Roster in a few weeks or so??? But, Can anyone please tell me exactly why (Injury, Corona Virus, Personal Reasons, etc) they are not available right now and is there a pretty good chance that they WILL be ready to play and contribute in a few weeks or do you think it will be much longer before they actually come back? I really think the Rams Defense could definitely use both these players so my fingers are crossed that they will both make it back sometime this season!!!

Rams look to get an early leg up on the NFC in first road test of season

If you believe that Dallas and Philadelphia will ultimately contend for the NFC East crown and a Wild Card berth – which I do – then what an opportunity this weekend is for the Rams.

Not only would 2-0 feel markedly different than 1-1 going to Buffalo, but Los Angeles would hold head-to-head wins over two NFC playoff contenders.

Consider that Washington was the only NFC East team to earn an opening week win; likewise for New Orleans in the South.

As the Rams vie for what figures to be the best division in football again in 2020, a leg up on the NFC postseason standings would be a tremendous early-season boon.

In McVay's Way

Despite Philadelphia losing from up 17-0 at Washington last Sunday, the Eagles have to rate as one of the most difficult challenges for the Sean McVay Rams.

Outside the division, they're the only franchise to defeat him twice.

On each occasion at the Coliseum, the fundamental formula was the same: building a double-digit lead, playing from in front, disrupting the interior of the Rams offensive line, and winning the turnover battle.

Here's to flipping the script in Philadelphia in Week Two.

Difference Between One and Two

Last week, the contrast between the blueprints for Carson Wentz and Jared Goff could not have been more striking.

According to Pro Football Focus, the top selection from the 2016 draft generated an average depth of target of just 4.9 yards, the second-lowest mark of the week behind Jaguars' Gardner Minshew. Per usual, his accuracy and McVay's design allowed the Rams targets to do what they do best. Over 70 percept of Goff's passing yards were gained after the catch. L.A. also ran the ball 40 times. Combined with heavy pre-snap motion and play-action, this kept the imposing Dallas pass rush at bay and made for a very successful game plan. No surprise, Goff had the lowest rate of negatively-graded plays, per PFF.

Meanwhile, the second pick averaged 12.3 air yards per attempt Sunday, per ESPN Stats & Information, leading the NFL. Only two quarterbacks took more deep shots than Wentz. Behind a patchwork offensive line, stuck in the pocket with hardly any designed roll-outs, this was a recipe for disaster; Wentz took a career-high eight sacks. Also undermining the Eagles approach was a running game that picked up only three first downs and averaged 3.4 yards per carry.

One would have to think that with Aaron Donald coming to town, Wentz and Doug Pederson will revise that approach in Week Two, potentially even borrowing elements of the Rams strategy that was so effective against the Cowboys.

Red Alert

Well, effective in every respective but one: the red zone.

Before the season, we documented what a strength this was for the 2019 Rams, but also how volatile a statistic red zone performance can be.

The Rams regressed to the mean in the opener, going two-for-five inside the opponent's 20-yard line and coming away with just 20 points.

Nickell the Nickle

Can't ask for much more than Cooper Kupp against former teammate Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot this week.

"(They) definitely made each other better," McVay recalled of their competitions in practice over the years.
The Rams opted to let Robey-Coleman move on this offseason, trusting they had his replacement on the roster in Troy Hill (who played 61 snaps in the slot against the Cowboys).

"Troy was that rare kind of guy that can start on the outside, he can start on the inside, but the instincts, you see his ability to negotiate traffic," McVay said of that roster decision. "He's tough."

The Aaron Donald Portion of The Program

The best defensive player on the planet led the NFL with 10 pressures in Week One. This is not noteworthy.

I love McVay's offense. Not just because he is successful, but also because many of his concepts are based
out of the single wing offense ( Pop Warner's brilliant contribution to football).
There are a couple key elements from the single wing that McVay uses wonderfully.

1. The Mesh- The mesh is where at the beginning of the play there are 3 and sometimes 4 backs or receivers
meeting at the same time or in quick sequence creating ball fakes that threaten the defense in
3 or more different directions. Usually these threats will involve a sweep + inside run + counter + play action pass or QB
bootleg in opposite direction as sweep. If done correctly it can leave the defense in complete confusion.

McVay uses the jet motion, which I love. threatening the sweep with Woods or Kupp combined with trap , pass, counter threats
or whatever combo his badass offensive mind comes up with.

Another beautiful threat of the mesh is that you will have several plays that all look identical pre-snap. sound familiar ?
I coached the single wing for many years and on more than one occasion I would have refs come up to me
after the game and confess " coach, I had no idea where the ball was half of the time". ( Pop Warner was a genius)

2. The concept of- using a tight formation to create space
If you watched the game Sunday night, you heard the announcers speak on it.
It seems most everyone is in love with some sort of spread offense.looking to create space by spreading
the defense pre-snap with spread formations. But there are also advantages to the tight formations.
The tight formations create more space from side to side, making the flats much more difficult to cover.
We saw McVay tearing the Cowboys up, in the flats.
Another advantage is that it makes pick plays much easier to achieve.

The year Sean Peyton was suspended he helped coach his sons football team and had to face
a single wing team. Here is a quote from Sean after being routed in the championship.

“We spent all week, we talked to Bill Parcells and Jon Gruden and asked them how to defend the single wing,” said Payton. “You have no idea how much time we spent. You guys put 58 points on the board.”

The Pop Warner Offense That Confounded Sean Payton, and What It Says About Offensive Innovation in the NFL

Much of the talk this offseason has been about stopping the read-option, but in Asshole Face’s year away from the NFL, he had trouble with a much different offensive attack: the single wing. D…

grantland.com

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Jimmy G already working on his
" Mom, The A.D. nightmares are making me pee my bed again" technique.



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Here's why any answer after mine is wrong.

A) Mean right hook
B) Mean Trans Am

The rams are rollin into week 2 coming off a big win at the SOFI palace while the Eagles are reeling after blowing a 17 point lead to Washington. Will the Rams finally get a W in Philly, who they are 0-6 against, or will Philly right the ship and avoid an 0-2 start?


Predict the final score of the game, with the correct winning team,and the closest to the actual score will win 5k ROD credits. Guess the exact final score and double the prize to 10k.

Remember , the first person to post a score claims that score, so try not to duplicate anyone. See if we can get past 5 post b4 we get a duplicate this week LOL

Lived a long life. Let's see if we can be respectful and non-political here...

Rules, here; LINK

Have at it!

This is a great listen if you want to learn more about Kenny Young. He's an articulate man and was the only athlete on the debate team at UCLA. He sounds like a driven player and is a 'We Not Me' guy. Great listen!

Quite a few areas that many fans were concerned about, huh? After only one game here’s my way-too-soon take on things coaches got right and others that maybe coaches missed.

First, the things that coaches look like they got right.

Not drafting an OL player high because talent was already on the roster to succeed.
Extending the aged Whit is looking brilliant now.
Rams nailed that draft for the secondary, making JJ look very expendable for next season.
Jefferson looks like a HR pick.
Staley and O’Connell looking like great hires so far.

Now, things that are still up in the air if not outright mistakes.

Noteboom at LG.
Akers and/or Hendy vying to be staters. All due respect, but if MB is our bell cow, we’re in trouble.
Edge is looking iffy, especially after the Lewis injury.
Jury is also out on ILB although the All 22 showed that Kiser and Young played better than originally thought. Stay tuned on this one.
Sloman hasn’t won too many over just yet.

So, it’s a mixed bag. Then again, it’s after only one game with 3 new Coordinators and a lot of rust on the players due to weird Covid offseason.

Thoughts?

And in no particular order...

Will OL run blocking improve after knocking off some rust last week? Would be nice to see the occasional big hole for our RB rotation. Boom is gonna be under my microscope, that’s for sure.

Will someone emerge as a force on edge opposite Floyd? Heaven knows we need one. Can Polite get more than one snap, Coach? Cough, cough.

Speaking of Floyd, I’d like to see a bit more from him this week.

Is this the week that the front 7, other than AD, start feasting because of AD’s presence? They’re overdue, IMO. C’mon...

Will we see the ‘real’ Micah Kiser this week that AD and coaches have been praising? Fingers crossed.

Will Sloman have a solid day so that some of us can breathe again?

Can’t wait to see how Staley modifies his personnel vs the Eagles differently than he did vs the Cowboys. Also, is there gonna be a trend toward either Hill or Williams at outside CB? Will Burgess or Long get to see the field? Will Rapp’s improved health give him more snaps at the expense of Fuller, and if so, by how much? I’ve got a feeling that the Eagles might be surprised by a Staley new wrinkle or two. In fact, I’ll be stunned if we don’t see a few new Staley wrinkles this week.

How will McVay attack the Eagle D? I suspect that it might be different than we saw vs the Cowboys. All plays might be on the table.

Should be a fun game to watch, y’all. Should be a tight game, but then again, I look for the Ram O and/or the Ram D to explode on some luckless opponent soon. I think both are underrated by the pundits and some fans.

Rams-Cowboys All-22: Robert Woods, Kenny Young featured on big plays



The NFL had a technical glitch (allegedly) that delayed the release of the all-22 coaches film on Week 1 games, but things were back to normal on Thursday morning for those who like to see the whole field. All-22 footage can reveal plenty of information that we wouldn’t catch from the TV edit.

Here are a few notes from around the internet on how the Rams beat the Cowboys 20-17 in Week 1.

Robert Woods gains 30 over the top of Jaylon Smith

@RamsBrothers details delivers this all-22 shot of Jared Goff’s intermediate middle pass to Woods for the marquee play of the go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter. Goff has a spread in front of him and takes a large scoop of Woods by sailing a pass over the outstretched leaping arms of Jaylon Smith and the receiver picking up about 18 more yards for a gain of 30.
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Starting to think they only built SoFi for the new all-22 angle. (kidding)

Jaylon Smith was taken advantage of all night. Woods isn’t his assignment here, but Smith was desperate to make a play. He received a 28.7 overall coverage grade vs. the Rams, compared to 60.8 last year. pic.twitter.com/B36pe4SxQY
— Rams Brothers (@RamsBrothers) September 17, 2020

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How Rams clever coverage led to a sack against Cowboys - Andy Benoit

Apparently Andy Benoit is breaking down plays for the Rams now? Or he’s freelancing. But on Thursday he posted his thoughts on Michael Brockers’ key sack of Dak Prescott on the first drive of the second half, resulting in a punt that setup the Malcom Brown touchdown drive that featured that Robert Woods catch.


Brockers took advantage of his sack opportunity, but Benoit details how the secondary and a fleet-footed Kenny Young at linebacker were able to force Prescott to take the fall.

On the play before the Jordan Fuller play, a Jordan Fuller play

Cowboys all-22 Twitter also delivers, this time on a failed pass attempt from Prescott to Amari Cooper in the red zone. Fuller would deliver the big tackle soon after.
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#DallasCowboys All-22 Thread:

3rd & 5 w/1:58 in 3rd Qtr, Cowboys have trips to the left, Gallup singled out on the right, Ezekiel Elliott motions back into the backfield, Zeke runs a wheel route...

Rams Jordan Fuller (#32) is all over Amari Cooper after Lamb & Schultz clear pic.twitter.com/1VkU766inz
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) September 17, 2020

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The all-22 of Fuller’s tackle can be found here:
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So this is the 4th & 3 play as Zeke starts in the backfield motions to Prescott’s right, a mesh concept is being ran with Lamb crossing the face of the defense, Schultz attempts to create a natural pick, Fuller does a great job pre-snap recognition & communication #CowboysNation pic.twitter.com/pIDmFvZD7h
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) September 17, 2020

Click to expand...

Twitter Thoughts

So far the all 22 is confirming the Rams playing 2 deep. Some missed opportunities for Dak to connect with Jarwin tho. Still bummed about his injury smh
— Skywalker Steele (@SkywalkerSteele) September 17, 2020

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The topic starts on Monday. You can check out the thread for yourself as I’m not going to post the entire thing in here. But they do not seem like the usual confident bunch that they are.

I know you can't get carried away from one match up, but seeing this last night after our garbage game isn't instilling me with confidence.
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I think it depends on the injury list for the Eagles. I am hoping they kept guys like Sanders and Johnson out of the Washington game to get them healthy for the long run. We'll see.
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Anyone who thinks the Rams arent going to steamroll the Birds, is a delusional fanboy.

Rams 34

Eagles 16
__________________________

Why are the Rams getting points? I'd take the Rams and the Points and bet the house.

No way the Birds win that game.
___________________________
Rams win and cover the spread
___________________________
I'd almost just put Sudfeld in so he can get killed instead of Wentz
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Honestly.....that line give me a lot of confidence in the Eagles......huge letdown to a crap team, Rams coming cross country after beating the Cowboys on National TV........you have to look at who you're playing and WHEN. We get back Sanders and Lane and all of the sudden....wham! The Eagles win! And in no way shape or form am I saying the Eagles are better than the Rams but what I am saying is.....this really does set up well for them.
_____________________________
Say what y'all want. Eagles straight up own the Rams. Won the last 6 games vs these jokers.

Eagles still trash but Rams do not like playing the Eagles.
_____________________________

Lane says he'll play. Now is he healthy or are they putting in a limping Lane?
I think it'll be a defensive battle


______________________________

I really don't care as long as the Cowboys and Giants keep losing.

Once again it looks like we'll have a division nobody wants to win.
______________________________

Eagles has always handled Aaron Donald. Mcvay has never beat Dougy P. Team is getting healthy. The line screams Eagles win.

One thing was certain, Doug always outcoach Wade no matter if he had Foles or Wentz. With that said Wade isn't the rams DC anymore.
______________________________
I'm guessing the Rams might put Ramsey on Ertz. He is a bigger CB and I could see them viewing Ertz as the main key to our offense. Then, they will probably have the other CB and a safety on Jackson. So, that means Goedert and or other WR, whether it is Reagor, Ward or Hightower will have to be productive. The problem is that the Eagles might have to use one of our TEs in maxprotect, so that could limit Goedert on some plays. The OL continuity will still be an issue, even if Lane comes back. They have to work together for a few games to get things cohesive. I hope Sanders holds up. I'm getting the feeling they are rushing him back.

______________________________
Washington is better than people think and Dallas is worse than people think. Eagles should get Lane back and have matched up well against the Rams during the DP-Mcvay era. I think we match up well against them again, for the first time in what seems like forever our defense has the advantage outside where Robey-Coleman can take Kupp and Slay can take Woods. HFA advantage isn't what it used to be but travelling cross country sucks even more. I was bearish on Eagles last week, Im bullish this week.
_______________________________

The line is back to a pick in most places, but the Westgate Superbook has the Eagles -1.

Rule #1 of betting week #2? Don't over-react to week #1.

The Rams are coming off a big win on national TV against the hated Cowboys. Smoke and wild fires have disrupted their routines. They're flying cross country for a 10am body clock kickoff. On top of that Barnett, Johnson and Sanders will all be back in the lineup.

Bounce back game. I'll take the Eagles in a pick and OVER the 46.

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Opposing View: Eagles head coach Doug Pederson talks Jared Goff/Carson Wentz matchup

For the duration of their NFL careers, it will be a storyline that follows Rams quarterback Jared Goff and Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz: The 1st and 2nd overall picks respectively in the 2016 NFL Draft and the inevitable comparisons.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson sees some of the commonalities between the two players.

"Both quarterbacks have had a lot of success with their teams," Pederson said on a conference call with Rams beat writers Wednesday morning. "Obviously, Jared was the one that took the Rams to the Super Bowl a couple seasons ago and Carson had an MVP-type season that year we went, and so there's some similarities there."

As Pederson somewhat alluded to, both players have led some of the league's most productive offenses in recent years since becoming pros.

Goff was in his second season as a full-time starter when he completed 64.88 percent of his pass attempts for 4,688 yards with 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Those career-bests for completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns in a single season helped Los Angeles finish No. 2 in the NFL in both total offense and scoring en route to an appearance in Super Bowl LIII.

A year earlier, Wentz completed 60.23 percent of his passes for 3,296 yards with 33 touchdowns (a career-high) and seven interceptions, helping Philadelphia produced the No. 7 total offense and No. 3 scoring offense in the NFL. The Eagles won Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots, but a knee injury sustained against the Rams in the regular season prevented Wentz from playing in postseason.

While L.A. did not reach the Super Bowl that year, Goff helped it rank No. 10 in total offense and No. 1 in scoring in Sean McVay's first season as head coach.

"Both quarterbacks have had a lot of success, both quarterbacks are in two different styles of offenses," Pederson said. "And they do things very well in both of their respective offenses. Carson, for us, he continues to get better, continues to grow and learn, and understands the game. I mean, both guys are relatively young five years in, but they've played a lot of ball."

Regarding that experience, Goff has played 55 career games and Wentz 57. Yet Sunday's game is just the second time the duo will face off in the regular season.

The Rams and the Eagles last met in the regular season on December 16, 2018, but Wentz missed the contest due to a back injury. The year before, he threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns before suffering the aforementioned knee injury to help lead the Eagles to a 43-35 victory over the Rams on December 10, 2017. Goff passed for 199 yards and two scores in the loss. Both teams combined for 762 total yards of offense in the contest.

"They've both done well. It's been unfortunate, though, with Carson, with his injury history, not being able to finish a couple of those years," Pederson said. "But for the most part, they've had success."

While the matchup makes for an appealing storyline, Pederson personally doesn't put much emphasis on it given the experience gained by both players.

"I think every matchup matters for both guys," Pederson said, when asked if the matchup matters to Wentz. "Maybe in the first year or the second year when both quarterbacks are young, but now that we're into year five, I think it's just a matter of playing football and helping your team win."

I just seen this on YouTube, pretty funny.



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Really? Super Bowl last year, and Jets, Giants, and Dolphins 3 out of the next 4 weeks! How did they score such a cushy soft schedule?

I was panicking like a whore in church about an hour ago...

To begin with, the nightmare that many successful students have is that you wake up one morning and realize that morning is the final for a difficult class that you didn't attend all year. Not only that, but you don't know where the room to take the test is located and you're late!

Welp, this is my final semester for an MA in History. I take Oral and Written exams to gain the degree. Last night I was looking at a web page devoted to this and there were no review questions. I wasn't worried because I assumed that Sept 25 was when the review questions from three professors would be posted and nothing was. Other classes useing this same format would use that date as a due date and not a post by date. I began to think this because my University started back up in mid August and I had nothing yet from this "class." I emailed the professor coordinating this graduate committe of three to see when the questions would be submitted, and then her questions appeared magically on the website with no explanation.

Just for her specialty (American Colonial History) she had 2 questions that covered two pages, requiring the synthesis of 9 sources. The first question had to do with creating a college level course for early colonial history, which engages the main theses of the sources into a sophisticated central idea. Explain why the students should care about the central idea. There is more to the question but that's too much minutiae for this forum

The second question is the development of American slavery. Where did it come from? How did it begin? How did it evolve? or did it evolve? One of the sources is Many Thousand Gone by Ira Berlin, which is several hundred pages long (great book) itself., let alone the other 8 sources.

Just this one of three professors review questions were given me today to be answered/completed by Sept 25, and I hadn't recieved 2/3rds of the questions. It was the nightmare in a slightly different form. Would my years of post graduate work go up in flames? I am still trying to recover (It was as I originally thought, the profs have until Sept 25th to submit questions, not that I have to turn in some paper amswering those questions by Sept 25th)

Anyway, tell me your nightmare that came true....or almost came true..

First, we need to remember that these players are more rusty than in normal years due to Covid restrictions. Really affects sharpness for runners, blockers, and tacklers. Should improve rapidly, of course. Obviously, all teams are similarly affected, so there’s no real advantage or disadvantage. Just saying that we need to be a bit more patient than in ‘normal’ years.

Second, and this is more important, I think, both O and D sides of the ball seem now particularly well built by Snead/McVay to be able to execute a variety of schemes and game plans which enables them to better cope with varying strengths and weaknesses of each team on their week to week schedule. It might almost look like different O’s and D’s game to game. This seems like a deliberate design and I don’t think this can be overstated.

Rams have always been somewhat flexible, but I don’t think ever to the degree they now are.

I am rather happy with our two corners who have been taking snaps as the Nickel-Back post in the first gm. Hill & Williams tighten up their coverages after showing some looseness. Seemed that Troy Hill & Darious Williams shifted back & forth from #2 outside corner to Nickle often. Our #4 corner David Long did not get on the field for a snap with the defense. Neither did back up Nickel-Back rookie Terrell Burgess.

Sure appears that NRC has been running his mouth in Eagleland this week. I found three press articles on this. Thought I might share them with any who might be interested. I for one voice back in Jan/Feb that UFA NRC was overpaid & overhyped....guess I will see if I was wrong. Rams had paid for a Nickle corner NRC services over $5 million in 2018 & over $6 million in 2019. NRC signed for a little over $1 million with the Eagles.

So the Rams have a new DC & a new OC & a New ST coach. I wonder how much old news & old information NRC will be able to tell the Eagles? I do think that whoever runs out for a snap @ the Slot either Woods or Kupp that NRC will not have the type of day he is thinking. I just believe the Rams will win most of the battles ongoing in the Slot post this Sunday.

What do you think?

I can't/won't EVER root for the Cheatriots to win...This week I'll simply root less for them to lose than I will the Albatross...

McVay is back on his Bull
By Mark Schofield

A few years ago Los Angeles Rams head coach was the talk of the football world. The parlor tricks of remembering sequences of plays from yesteryear or reciting the entire starting defensive lineup of the Chicago Bears captured the attention of the national media. But it was what he was doing schematically with Jared Goff and the Rams offense that deserved attention. With his creative use of motion, heavy usage of outside zone running plays with 11 personnel against light boxes – and play-action off of those designs – and some schemed throws the Rams were dangerous on offense and Goff was looking like a true number one overall pick.

But as that 2018 season wound down, some of the defenses that faced the Rams started to figure him out. First it was the Detroit Lions, then those same Bears, then the Philadelphia Eagles, and ultimately the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Their recipe? Ignore all the eye candy that McVay showed the defense presnap – usually in the form of jet motion from a wide receiver – and play quarters coverage in the secondary.

That prompted the question: How would McVay respond? Would he change his ways?

Last year was a struggle for the Rams, as they missed out on the playoffs. But they got 2020 off to a solid start with a win Sunday night over the Dallas Cowboys, and if McVay’s gameplan is any indication, he’s gotten right back on the presnap motion bull. And he’s going to force you to pay attention to that motion.

Take this example, the Rams’ first play from scrimmage on Sunday night:

This play encapsulates basically that entire buildup. The Rams use jet motion prior to the snap, and fake an outside zone running play before rolling Goff back to the left. This is vintage McVay. But also look at the defense. The Cowboys run Cover 4 on this play, just like those teams that seemed to have McVay figured out. Only here, the vertical route from the tight end creates some confusion between the cornerback and the safety, and the crossing route that eases into the boundary is wide open for Goff. But Goff does note even need to throw that, because the flat route is also open from the backside receiver slicing underneath.

Late on this drive, McVay returns to jet motion. As I said, he is going to make you pay attention to the motion man any way he can, because it will set up everything else the Rams are going to do in Week 2 and beyond. How does he do it on this 2nd and 6 play? By throwing a screen to the motion man:

Robert Woods comes in motion from right to left, and the Rams again run a play-action design off of an outside zone running look. Goff rolls to the right, and Woods is alone in the left flat, where Goff finds him with the throw. By the time the ball gets there, some of the offensive linemen have flowed to the outside, setting up a convoy for the receiver.

Look at how this sets up for Woods:


A simple screen throw, but because you did not pay attention to the motion like McVay wants you to, Woods picks up over 30 yards.

Again, if you are not going to pay attention to the motion man, McVay is going to make you pay for it:

Once more, presnap motion is key here, as Goff simply hands the football off to Woods on the end around. Having ignored the motion on the two previous plays, the Cowboys get burned for it on this running play. They are in zone coverage, so no one is trailing the receiver, and Woods picks up 14 yards again with a convoy in front of him.

What McVay is trying to force teams to do is play more man coverage and be wary of that movement presnap. Because back in 2018, that motion was often just that: Eye candy. Something to distract and confuse the defense before the play began. As defenses caught on and started to ignore it, they began to have success against McVay’s offense. If he is going to turn the tables, he needs teams to start worrying about those presnap movements. Which is what to watch for Sunday when the Rams take on the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jordan Fuller's strong debut comes as no surprise to Rams teammates and coaches

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Jordan Fuller found out he would be starting in the Rams' season-opener the week prior to it, but he seemingly already earned the role in early August and before the team had put pads on.

According to Los Angeles defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, the rookie safety proved during the team's acclimation period that he was mentally prepared to play early in the NFL. Once the coaching staff saw how he held up physically against L.A.'s offense in training camp, they knew they could trust him.

Fuller reciprocated by leading the Rams in total tackles with eight in a 20-17 victory over the Cowboys, proving to be someone the can count on moving forward in the process.

"I'm very blessed for the opportunity, for my coaches believing in me and my teammates believing in me," Fuller said in a video conference with reporters Monday morning. "Obviously you come in just wanting to compete every single day, and that's just how I approached everything. Didn't set any expectations for myself, I just wanted to attack every single day and live with the results that way."

Just how much did Staley and the rest of L.A.'s coaching staff trust Fuller? The Ohio State product was on the field for 71 of the team's 72 defensive snaps Sunday night.

However, the biggest of them all was in the redzone late in the fourth quarter.

Clinging to a 3-point lead, the Rams' defense watched Cowboys' offense reach the L.A. 11-yard line with 11:46 left in the fourth quarter and elect to go for it on 4th and 3 in lieu of a game-tying field goal attempt. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott dropped back to pass and fired the ball short right to rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who was halted by Fuller one yard short of the line to gain.

Fuller said he knew in that down and instance, teams usually try to use pick plays against defensive players and create traffic, something he recognized prior to the ball being snapped. His ability to successfully navigate that traffic allowed him to make the timely play.

"He's a young that stepped us for us and made a big play for us to help us win this game," defensive lineman Aaron Donald said postgame. "He's out there on that field playing for a reason, you know, to make plays like that and help us."

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey didn't seem surprised by it either, especially after watching Fuller create multiple takeaways in training camp last month.

"Jordan has been balling all camp," Ramsey said postgame. "We are happy to have him in our secondary and he's been playing extremely well, so we expected him to do that again tonight. Very proud of him, glad to have him a part of this team."

On the other side of the ball, wide receiver Cooper Kupp said the performance reflected how quickly Fuller has adjusted to the NFL.

"For him to come in without any OTAs, without any kind of opportunity to kind of build that stuff up early on, only having training camp to be able to develop and get a grasp of the defense, he's done an incredible job of being able to adapt from college to pro and the speed and the concepts that we run at the pro level," Kupp said during a video conference Monday morning.

At the same time, it's just one game. Both Fuller and Staley recognize there are areas of Fuller's game he can work on.

An example: While Staley on Wednesday morning praised Fuller for how well he handled the tremendous amount of responsibility placed on a safety in this defense and the way he "played at times like he's capable of playing," Fuller still "missed too many tackles for the caliber player that we think he is."

Still, if Fuller's physical and mental makeup shown in training camp are as telling as they seem to be, Staley is betting on him to make the necessary adjustments to become the player the Rams know he can be – and can continue to count on – in the future.

"I know that it was his first NFL game, but we're very confident that he can play better and that he will play better," Staley said. "But at the same time, as I said to (head coach) Sean (McVay) and (general manager) Les (Snead) and (chief operating officer) Kevin (Demoff), I'm sure glad we drafted him."

Thursday Night Football: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns

Joe Burrow. Baker Mayfield. The Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns will feature two of the last three Heisman Trophy winners when they meet to kick off Week 2 of the NFL season on "Thursday Night Football."

But college success doesn't always translate into NFL superstardom. Both men would admit they have a long way to go; add up their Week 1 quarterback ratings (66.1, 65.0) and the total's still far behind reigning MVP Lamar Jackson's 152.1 to start the year. Jackson accomplished that by torching Mayfield's Browns at home, scoring 28 unanswered points in a 38-6 rout that was never close.

Burrow and the Bengals were a little more effective as the first pick of the 2020 NFL Draft made his debut. Down 16-13 in the fourth quarter, the former LSU quarterback calmly led the Bengals down the field twice. The first time ended with Burrow's first career interception on an ill-conceived shovel pass but the second appeared to win the game before wide receiver A.J. Green was called for pass interference in the end zone. A missed 31-yard chip shot field goal followed by Randy Bullock, and, just like that, Burrow's first NFL game ended in defeat.

The good news for both these quarterbacks is one has to come out with a win Thursday night. Can Mayfield show Burrow how to get the job done? Or will the 2019 Heisman winner lead the Bengals to victory in just his second career game in the league?

Thursday Night Football: Cincinnati at Cleveland

Kickoff: Thursday, Sept. 17 at 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NFL Network
Spread: Browns -5.5

Three Things To Watch

1. How will the Cleveland offense recover?

Mayfield, after an uneven 2019, started off 2020 with an interception on his first drive. He wasn't the sole reason for the Browns' struggles, but the team never seemed to fully recover from that mistake. The next possession, the Browns botched a fake punt and suddenly faced a 10-0 deficit against the AFC's best regular-season team last season.

On paper, this team should have one of the league's most dynamic offenses. There's not one but two 1,000-yard rushers in Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb. Odell Beckham Jr. is a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver, and Jarvis Landry is a consistent threat in the slot.

So why were the Browns stumbling all over the field in Week 1? Beckham had just three catches on 22 yards despite 10 targets. Chubb fumbled (albeit with the team down 31-6), and Mayfield averaged a measly 4.8 yards per attempt. A team that was fourth in the NFL in penalties last year was sloppy again, costing themselves 80 yards with silly mistakes.

On paper, this group should bounce back. Mayfield tied his season-high with three touchdown passes against Cincinnati on Dec. 29. The problem in that game? He also had three picks as the team lost their regular-season finale 33-23.

When will the Browns get disciplined? If they don't... all this talent is wasted.

2. Will Cincinnati open up the offense for Burrow?

Burrow rushed for his first NFL touchdown last week and looked relatively comfortable in the pocket. However, the Bengals offense played it safe considering their prized draft pick had no preseason games to get comfortable. Burrow's longest completion was for 19 yards, and he averaged just 5.4 yards per attempt. He did miss a couple of deep connections, most notably to John Ross III in what could have become the winning touchdown.

No deep passes this week would be a losing strategy against a Browns secondary decimated by injuries. Kevin Johnson and Greedy Williams were among the cornerbacks sidelined in Week 1; rookie safety Grant Delpit is already lost for the season. The Ravens and Jackson took advantage, going 20-for-25 to a so-so group of wide receivers who ran their routes relatively unchallenged.

The Bengals have weapons that can be dangerous if let loose. Green, a seven-time Pro Bowler, caught five passes for 51 yards and looked healthy despite returning to the practice field just three days ago. Ross has the ability to go deep. And a 1-2 punch of Giovani Bernard and Joe Mixon gives them pass-catching speed in the backfield.

Will Burrow get more aggressive? And can he avoid the rookie mistakes if he does so? Your belief in him is probably the most important piece of what side you land on in this game.

3. Whose kicking game will get it together first?

The Bengals watched in horror Sunday as Bullock's left leg cramped up on his 31-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds. The miss came at the worst possible time, ending a streak of 24 consecutive field goal makes inside 40 yards.

Bullock, in his fourth season kicking for the Bengals, has been a decent player on a bad team (he hit 27-of-31 field goal attempts overall last year and drilled a 50-yard field goal Sunday against the Chargers). However, that type of last-second failure can haunt a kicker if they're not able to get over the mental hurdles associated with whiffing in the clutch.

A handful of NFL experts on Twitter seemed to suggest Bullock even faked his injury, a charge the kicker vehemently denies.

"That's not an excuse," he said to Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "That's a kick that I make 99 times out of 100. It's a freak deal. I let the team down."

At least Bullock gets a second chance. The Browns cut Austin Seibert this week after he missed an extra point, then a 41-yard field goal in Week 1. Seibert, who was 25-for-29 on field goals in a respectable first year with the team, was booted in favor of veteran Cody Parkey.

Does that name sound familiar? You might remember Parkey from the infamous double-doink heard 'round the world in January 2019. It cost the Chicago Bears a playoff win... and Parkey his job.

It's a curious move just one week into the season. Maybe Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was taking out his frustration over the team's poor play on an easy target? Either way, Parkey's got a lot to prove with just a short, three-game stint with the Tennessee Titans since that Bears miscue.

Can either kicker come through in crunch time? The answer could tip the scales in a close game.

Final Analysis

The Browns' debut under Stefanski was a head-scratcher. Yes, the Ravens remain one of the favorites to make the Super Bowl from the AFC. But only six points? With the type of offensive pieces the Browns have? You feel like they're capable of putting up 20 points or more, minimum, every game.

But the Browns were sloppy in 2019 and started off 2020 the same way. That's the type of play that will lose you football games even if, in this case, you're the better team. Add in Burrow's better-than-average debut and an upset could be brewing here in the battle of Ohio.

Prediction: Bengals 24, Browns 17