https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/20...david-edwards-los-angeles-rams-rob-havenstein

How David Edwards fits with the Los Angeles Rams

By Jake Kocorowski May 29, 2019, 9:11am CDT
Mary

The last of the four Wisconsin Badgers selected in the 2019 NFL Draft, offensive lineman David Edwards found a home with the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.

Drafted in the fifth round with the 169th overall pick, Edwards landed with an organization that is not just riding high off a Super Bowl berth but also has experience on the offensive line with a key former Badger in right tackle Rob Havenstein.

Joining us to break down how Edwards—the former prep quarterback turned college tight end turned standout college right tackle—fits in the Los Angeles offense, Turf Show Times Joe McAtee answered some of our questions.

Related

2019 NFL Draft: OT David Edwards scouting report
Overall, what were fans’ impressions of the teams’ draft selections, and particularly of Edwards’ name being called in the fifth round?
There’s always a bias for fans to over-grade things. That being said, a majority of Rams fans gave the team a “B” for the draft. I think the main thing I’d point out is that the Rams aren’t in a huge position of need when it comes to this year’s draft class having an immediate impact. Much like last year, the Rams don’t have a ton of playing time up for grabs among their rookies. Unlike a majority of NFL teams who went into the draft looking for immediate starting talent as well as long-term support to develop into their second and third seasons, the Rams didn’t have a ton of openings heading into the draft.

That being said, I think most understood that there was plenty of upside to be had in drafting for the medium-term future. Edwards is a fine example of that.

While starting right tackle Rob Havenstein signed an extension last August that locks him in through 2022, starting left tackle Andrew Whitworth is going to retire after this season. So whether Edwards sticks at right tackle as the backup to Havenstein or if he contends for the starting gig to replace Whitworth next season or even if he kicks inside, he’s got the luxury of climbing the NFL learning curve and not having to come in and immediately produce.

And I think that’s why many, myself included, are excited about the pick. There’s no immediate demand. He can grow into a future role with time. So his success at this level will be one less of execution and more of adaptation.

How is the depth and talent on the offensive line for the Rams right now?
Depth, good. Talent ... waning. But with promise.

The Rams’ 2018 line was perhaps the best Rams offensive line of my lifetime. While their performance occasionally spurred unnecessary hyperbole, it did so only because they were so good. As we know though, all good things must come to an end. The Rams moved on from starting left guard Rodger Saffold and starting center John Sullivan. And while the Rams were proactive in drafting two replacement candidates in Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen, those two have yet to prove anything at this level while Saffold and Sullivan have played a combined 267 games. And now with Edwards and fellow 2019 draftee Bobby Evans in tow, the Rams have more potential on the OL depth chart than they have had since 2015. The difference is that in 2015, the Rams’ remaking of the line came out of an era of failure for that unit. This remaking is coming out of an era of unquestionable success.

Which leads me to my next question--what could the plan be for him in the position group?
I think that’s going to be up to Edwards and Rams offensive line coach Aaron Kromer. Because there’s no immediate slot for him, Edwards can just soak up the tutelage from the coaching staff and Whitworth and take the opportunities that come to him.

Take someone like Austin Blythe, for example. Blythe was a seventh-round pick for the Indianapolis Colts in 2016 who joined the Rams a year later. As a backup in 2017, Blythe vacillated between different positions in support. A year later, and Blythe was tabbed to take over at left guard when Jamon Brown had to serve a two-game suspension. Blythe’s play was sufficient for him to maintain the starting role thereafter. His more natural position might well be at center, but he might continue to serve the Rams best on the center’s right side.

That might be the kind of path forward for Edwards. To commit himself to the grind of the background. Of training camp and preseason and practices and preparation in hopes for an opportunity in the future that might arise to make sure that if (when?) it comes, he’s ready to make the most of his shot.

What instances or development could propel him up the depth chart?
Injury first and foremost, but that’s always the case. I think though that the more natural, and hopeful, progression is that timeline I mentioned above. That he could impress the coaching staff over the course of 2019 without the playing time to back it up that leads him into 2020 and beyond with a chance to compete for regular snaps.

Whitworth will be gone next year. Blythe hardly has his position locked down and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. And who knows how Noteboom and Allen or whoever gets the left guard and center spots will perform in terms of long-term viability there.

There will be opportunities for promotion. Whether or not Edwards is the beneficiary of them will likely depend on how he looks in private to the staff.

So another former Badger, Rob Havenstein, inked an extension last season with the organization. How has he been utilized, and will he likely lock down the right tackle spot in 2019?
Yeah, Hav is locked in long-term as the starting right tackle and for good reason. He’s been very good since the Rams took him in the second round of the 2015 draft. Contractually, he’s a Ram through the 2022 season, though the Rams could truncate the deal as early as the 2021 offseason if they so choose with little penalty.

The big question for him is internal. Whitworth’s retirement will be a huge marker for the line both for his on-field contributions but also in the locker room. He’s a natural leader. Not only did he earn that right over the years and early on with the Rams, but (perhaps more importantly) he’s proved he deserved it ever since. His departure is going to leave a hole that’s bigger to fill than just playing left tackle.

Barring a free agency replacement next year, Havenstein is going to be the senior presence on the Rams’ offensive line in 2020 when they move into the new stadium in Inglewood. That’s not to suggest he needs to start making major media appearances or be the kind of vocal presence that so many attribute to “leadership.” But veteran presence matters. Rookies and young depth coming on board in the years to come are going to look to Hav for stability and guidance. That’s just unavoidable.

So while the line as a whole undergoes a transformation, Hav’s career is going through one as well. He’s no longer the young upstart. He’s heading toward a mid-career peak with more responsibilities as a team leader to come as he heads into his fifth season.

10 Observations from OTA No. 4


1) OTA No. 4 got going at noon on a clear, sunny day in Thousand Oaks, Calif. While the special teams period was ongoing to start the session, quarterbacks were on the second field going through a drill to simulate passing on the run. Jared Goff and Blake Bortles, for instance, were moving in a large circle, throwing the pigskin back and forth.

2) During individual drills, the offensive line worked on double teams with the guards and tackles, while centers had to execute a one-on-one reach block against a player lined head-up against him. Those kinds of combination blocks with the guards and tackles are a foundation of the team’s zone run scheme.

3) With the offense and defense still on separate fields, the offensive unit worked on installing red zone plays, running them against air. Before the offense ran each play, head coach Sean McVay would provide detailed instructions on the routes for each receiver. And each eligible receiver would get a ball — so if there were two receivers going out, two would have to make a catch, same if there were three.

4) The Rams continued working on a number of misdirection plays during a jog-through session with just the offensive unit. With O players lining up opposite the starting 11, the Rams worked in different players to go through plays like regular running back handoffs and jet sweeps to wide receivers.

Go to Full Article--
[www.therams.com]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...ts-to-sean-mcvay-what-kind-of-man-would-i-be/

New Rams safety Eric Weddle refuses to give away Ravens secrets to Sean McVay: 'What kind of man would I be?'
The former Ravens safety won't be sharing any intel ahead of the Ravens-Rams game in Week 12

After signing Eric Weddle this offseason, the Rams can expect the two-time first-team All-Pro selection to provide them with stability in their secondary, but they cannot expect him to divulge his former team's secrets ahead of the Ravens-Rams Monday night matchup in Week 12.

Weddle won't be providing Sean McVay with any intel that could help his new team defeat his former team that cut him earlier this offseason. At least that's what he told Sports Illustrated's Andy Benoit in a video released on Thursday.

"I can't give all our secrets away," Weddle told Benoit after Benoit asked him about a specific aspect of the Ravens' coverage last season.

"You don't play for them anymore," Benoit responded.

"Those are my guys, though," Weddle said. "Could never turn back on my guys over there."

When Benoit later noted that he hopes Weddle will be more willing to share the Ravens' secrets with his new coach ahead of their Week 12 matchup, Weddle shot down that notion.

"Coach McVay knows what he's doing," he said. "He doesn't need much."

"What kind of man would I be if I rat out my guys that I played three years with?" Weddle added when Benoit said he didn't believe him.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/watch_SITV/status/1131578028260175873?s=20


Weddle spent the past three seasons in Baltimore after nine sensational seasons in San Diego with the Chargers. With the Ravens, Weddle met high expectations by never missing a game and averaging 50.3 tackles and 3.3 interceptions per season. All together, Weddle is a 12-year veteran who's been to six Pro Bowls, has been named first-team All-Pro twice, and has racked up 29 interceptions in a career that could end in Canton depending on how the next few years go. The Ravens cut him in March before going on to sign Earl Thomas in free agency, and the Rams quickly scooped Weddle up.

What's interesting is that when the Chargers broke up with Weddle, they didn't part on great terms. In the aftermath, Weddle talked about how the Chargers were dead to him and how he wouldn't ever forget what happened. He appears to have parted ways with the Ravens on much better terms.

He's right, though. If McVay is the genius we've made him out to be, he probably doesn't need that much help breaking down the Ravens' defense. The game won't be played until the end of November. By that point, McVay will have access to plenty of tape on the Ravens' new-look defense (they also lost C.J. Mosley and Za'Darius Smith in free agency).

And if Weddle ends up leaving the Rams on good terms after the season and latches onto another team, the Rams can rest easy at night knowing Weddle won't spread their own secrets.

Saw an article on Robert Aguayo, which made me wonder - what other amazing NFL busts have there been? I know there have been a bunch.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...om&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral

ROBERTO AGUAYO VS. THE YIPS
He was the most touted kicker in a decade. Then in a blink, he was out of the league. What happened? Aguayo opens up to B/R about his struggles, his recovery and his goal of an NFL return

Some nights, Roberto Aguayo would just stare at the wall in his home and cry. Think to himself: What is happening? Stare at his foot: Why aren't you doing what you've always done? Stare at himself in the mirror: Why can't you do this?

The pressure weighed on him. Consumed him. Pressure of missing another kick. Of being drafted in the second round out of Florida State in 2016 after Tampa Bay traded up for him in a stunning move. Of letting everyone down.

He was angry. Angry at the fans who called him a "bust" and a "headcase." Angry at the reporters who'd ask him over and over why he was failing. Angry because the painful reality was that they were all right. He was being paid to do a job that he could not do. He was not delivering. He was not living up to expectations.

And he didn't have answers. Not for fans, for reporters, for himself. It might have been this, it might have been that, but he did not have one clear-cut answer. Nothing beyond: I don't know. I'm human. I sucked today.

He was failing. In front of America. He did not have the luxury of failing privately in the comfort of his own home, as most of us do. He did not have the luxury of time to adapt from college to the NFL, as most kickers do. No. He was Roberto Aguayo, the second-round kicker. And it nearly broke him that he was no longer Roberto Aguayo, the greatest college football kicker of all time. Now, he was Roberto Aguayo, the 22-year-old who could not make a kick.

"I'm a different person now," says Aguayo, now 25. He's sitting in the living room of his home in Jupiter, Florida, in early May, next to his wife, Courtney Aguayo, and their two toy poodles: Groza, named after the prestigious Lou Groza Award that Aguayo received in 2013 as the nation's best collegiate kicker, and Stella, who is so tiny Aguayo can cup her in his palm.

Aguayo has essentially lived two very different lives: the one at the highest highs and the one at the lowest lows. He's been praised; he's been condemned. He's been confident; he's been insecure. He's been the highest-drafted kicker in a decade, and he's been cut. First from the Bucs, in 2017, after he went 22-of-31 on field goals as a rookie. Then, he bounced briefly to the Bears, the Panthers and, most recently, the Chargers. Los Angeles waived him in September 2018 despite his going perfect in the preseason: 3-of-3 on field goals and 6-of-6 on extra points. He kicked the game-winning field goal in the Chargers' final exhibition.

As he tries to make an NFL comeback this season, he knows there will be teams who may not give him another chance. Who may not care how hard he has worked to overcome his struggles, to grow, to change. To become mentally tougher, wiser.

"I know I can get back," Aguayo says. "People are probably like: 'Oh, he's done. He can't do it anymore.' No. I did it at a high level in college.

"I never got a chance to show it again. I know I can. I'm hitting the ball well now. At the end of the day, it's a matter of opportunity."

But every day that passes, he sinks further into limbo. He's not yet ready to give up on his NFL career but not ready to move on to a different career either. His identity has been tied to kicking for so long. That's what made him feel good. Feel special. Feel like an expert at something. He believes he was made to kick. He believes this ability, what made him nearly untouchable at Florida State, doesn't just disappear.

"I'm ready now," he says. "I'm confident. I found myself." He takes a deep breath.

He's finally ready to talk about what happened.

One afternoon, before the start of the 2016 season, Aguayo huddled with his new Tampa Bay teammates for a team meeting. The coaching staff discussed things the Bucs needed to improve from last season. Kicking was one.

"We don't have that problem anymore!" one player shouted, pointing to Aguayo. "We got him!"

Whoa, Aguayo thought to himself. Does this mean I can't ever miss? Am I expected to be perfect? A robot? He already felt the weight of a few things: Playing alongside grown men whose livelihoods depended on his ability to make field goals. And of course, the second-round tag.

Before he'd missed a kick in the NFL, he was already getting the "Do you think you deserve to be drafted that high?" question from reporters. It planted a tiny seed of doubt within him. Do I deserve to be here? Can I do this? Part of him thought he could. Part of him thought he couldn't. His swing wasn't where he wanted it to be. Everyone thought it was perfect, though. Aguayo never missed a kick from closer than 40 yards during his time at FSU and finished with one of the best overall field-goal percentages in NCAA history.

He had incredible leg strength too. Could kick it a mile. Drill a 60-yarder like it was nothing. But he didn't think he was necessarily accurate. He'd thrived with a swing he'd made up in childhood, from playing both soccer and football, but he thought he scrunched down too much, relied on his groin too much. He wanted the ball to rotate end over end, and it wasn't. He felt his body was working harder than it needed to in order to hit a consistent ball flight.

So despite all the success in college, he began tweaking his swing before his rookie NFL season. Small changes—preventative measures to prevent groin, back and hip injuries in the future. "I compared it to the way Tiger switched his swing," Aguayo says, referring to the changes Tiger Woods made in 2004 despite having already won eight major titles.

Golf is Aguayo's other passion. He plays it, watches it, finds comfort in it.

"People were like: 'Dude, Tiger, you were really good. Why would you change your swing?' But he wanted to do it to get better," Aguayo says.

And so did Aguayo. But instead of improving his kicking, the more immediate result was a lack of confidence. He felt a little off, but he couldn't be. He needed to be on every kick. He didn't want to admit to his coaches, to anyone, that he didn't have it all down.

Sure enough, Aguayo hit the uprights on his first preseason kick against the Eagles in early August 2016. Then the misses started piling up. His swing didn't feel developed enough for him to trust. Doubts crept in. "It's like, I can make this," Aguayo says, "but also, I couldn't. I could miss it."

Misses created more anxiety, which created more frustration, which created more misses. A cycle of confusion. Why is this happening? What's wrong with me? That's when he began to think. Not act, think. It was like watching himself kick instead of kicking.

Missing was a foreign experience. So was getting death threats. Being called terrible, trash, a failure, every time he stepped onto the field. He had never not succeeded before. He kicked with such force, even back at South Lake High School in Groveland, Florida, that his kicks sounded different. Like a shotgun going off. "He was a big kid, a very strong kid," says Walter Banks, his high school coach. "We actually thought about playing him at linebacker at first because he was so athletic."

He had always been confident. So confident that by the time he got to college, he used to wink at Florida State's coaching staff after drilling impressive kicks. "He was such a natural," says Dustin Hopkins, Aguayo's former FSU teammate who now kicks for the Redskins. "He didn't have any doubt what he was going to do when he went out there."

The rhythm of his life, then, was make, make, make. Have fun. Win. He helped the Seminoles win a national championship in 2013. "He was just a savant," says Tim Brewster, FSU's former tight ends coach who is now an assistant for North Carolina. And everyone adored Aguayo: women, fans, teammates, coaches, analysts. "I was just on. In the zone," Aguayo says. "No one could touch me."

But as the season in Tampa Bay continued, he was out of the zone, his mind and body out of sync. His coaches kept asking him what was wrong, and he didn't know. He had trouble pinpointing the thing.

Then Max Homa, this year's PGA Tour champion, comes on his TV on this afternoon in May. Aguayo stares at Homa for a few seconds. They don't know each other, but Aguayo seems to feel a sort of kinship with him. Feels understood by him, as he does with most golfers. They confront similar mental challenges to kickers.

"It's like this podcast I heard Max on. He said he got his PGA Tour card taken away twice. He missed, like, 15 out of 17 cuts," Aguayo says. "He told a reporter that, 'When I was around these guys in tournaments, I felt like I wasn't supposed to be there. I felt like my game wasn't good enough to be there. I just felt like I was a kid among men, like, why am I here? I suck.'

"So, I don't want to say it was the same thing, but kind of," Aguayo says. He just wasn't ready.
During games, he'd sit on the bench, hoping he wouldn't have to kick. When he did kick, he'd tell himself: Don't think bad thoughts. But the bad thoughts swarmed him. He knew he was going to miss. No matter how many times he told himself to Pick a spot and hit it, breathe, relax, you're great, you can do this, it didn't matter.

"I'd miss again, and the pressure cooker got bigger and bigger," he says.

When he wasn't on the field, he was anxiously trying to figure out a fix. Is it this? Or is it that? Should I be getting seven hours, 30 minutes of sleep or eight hours and 30 minutes? Am I lifting too much? "The wheels were always turning," Courtney says. "24/7 obsessing."

He spiraled into a deep depression. Courtney, the only person he confided in, kept him from collapsing. "She was the only person that I felt like I could feel safe around," Aguayo says.

He was seeing several therapists but didn't feel he could trust them. They were contracted by the Bucs organization. He felt judged by everyone. And he felt like admitting pain was a further sign of weakness. Some nights, he'd just cry.

One night, Courtney came home and found him sitting on their creme-colored couch, next to two, maybe three, empty beer bottles, staring blankly at the wall. "Numb," Aguayo says. "You don't know what that feels like unless you're going through it, unless you've been in it."

His sadness crowded their home. Suffocated rooms. Stole sleep. Courtney often took showers at random hours just to cry, so he wouldn't hear. She had to be strong, though she felt empty. Roberto, deeply tied to his faith, questioned God for the first time in his life.

He grew frustrated with people who had never played the game telling him to simply: Believe! It's all mental! It's all in your head! Just clear your mind! He felt ashamed, watching his mother, Martina, scurry to the family's car after games, as if trying to hide from the embarrassment. From him.

He didn't feel comfortable opening up to his father either. His dad, Roberto Sr., was the one who had drilled him into doing 50 kicks this foot, 50 kicks that foot every night throughout childhood. His dad had built a goal with uprights by hand, so Roberto and his brother, Ricky (who succeeded Roberto as FSU's kicker), could kick late into the night until their feet disappeared in the darkness.

His dad was tough on him if he missed, Roberto says. So Roberto didn't want to talk to him about his struggles in Tampa Bay. He didn't want to burden him. Roberto began telling his parents not to wear anything with his name on it. Eventually, he told them to stop coming to the games. He didn't want to let them down. He was also trying to protect them from the taunts. One man was so nasty, so loud, screaming insults at Roberto's parents in the family section one game that a mother of a teammate had to tell the man to stop.

Some of his teammates offered encouragement. "Guys would be like: 'We're behind you. You got this,'" says Andrew DePaola, a former Bucs long snapper who is now with the Raiders. "It was, Is there anything we can do to help with this kid? Because not only was he our starting kicker, responsible for putting points on the board, but he was also young."

Still, Aguayo withdrew. Hung out with his friends less. He didn't think he was deserving of doing any activity outside of kicking. Even golf wasn't as fun anymore. He felt paranoid when he left his home, sure strangers would mock him. If a woman was walking her dog, approaching him but not saying anything to him, he would think, She knows I'm a failure.

Once, he showed up to the Apple Store in a gray hoodie and sunglasses, not wanting anyone to think, See, he's not upset about missing. He's out having a blast at the Apple Store! "What are you, some kind of celebrity or something?" an Apple associate asked him. Aguayo shrugged.

Some of his close friends fell away too, making him feel worse. "They just looked at me like I'm an alien, like, What is wrong with you?" Aguayo says. "It's like, I'm still the same person."

In Week 11 of that 2016 season, he went 4-of-4 on field goals and was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. But he finished the season with a dismal 71 percent field-goal percentage, the worst among NFL kickers making more than five attempts.


When Roberto missed an extra point and a 47-yard field goal in his first preseason game against Cincinnati in 2017, Courtney knew he was going to get cut. She immediately deactivated his Instagram so he wouldn't return to his phone afterward and see awful messages. Indeed, he was cut the next day, and then the moment aired on HBO's Hard Knocks not long after. The worst moment of his life was now on loop, on any device, available for all to ridicule.

Driving away from the facility, Aguayo broke down crying. Courtney stayed on the phone with him to make sure he got home safely. "I couldn't live up to the expectations that were on me," Aguayo says. "I take full responsibility." In a strange way, he felt relieved. A weight had been lifted. It was done. He needed a change of scenery. A new team. A new start.

First, he would marry Courtney. July 8, 2017. One of their friends said it was not a good time. "There are waves in the ocean," the friend said. "Make sure there's still water before you make a change like that."

But Courtney and Roberto knew life didn't work like that. Things were as they were. Good, bad, horrible, great. They loved each other. And marrying her, in a way, was Roberto's first step toward healing. Toward finding himself. Because Courtney didn't see him as the rest of the football world did: a kicker, a bust. To her, he was just Roberto. The guy she had been with since college.

She had no idea, at first, while they were at FSU, that he played football. And, when she found out, she didn't much care. She liked how kind he was, how funny he was. "Your accomplishments don't make you who you are," she'd tell him then. "I'm not going to treat you like the best person ever because you make field goals. I'm going to treat you like the best person ever because you treat me with respect and love."

He was nervous when he asked her to be his girlfriend during his junior year. No other woman made him nervous. Nothing in life made him nervous. Not kicking. Not school. "She's just always been there for me," Aguayo says.

And so, during the nightmare in Tampa Bay, she saw him at his lowest and said, I'm staying. Even when he was too depressed to be there for her. Too locked in his own storm to realize she was knee-deep, right next to him. It made both of them stronger. Made Roberto realize that football can come and go, but he had found the person who was going to be there for life.

He was picked up by the Bears in late August of that year. Every night, while in Chicago, he and Courtney read a chapter of Tim Tebow's book Shaken. He began to read dozens and dozens of books, like The Power of Your Subconscious Mind. He'd binge movies and podcasts about overcoming adversity.

"I'm not gonna feel sorry for myself. I'm not gonna tell myself, 'I can't do it anymore,'" he told himself. "I'm coming back."

One day, a Bears staffer asked Aguayo if he had any hobbies outside of football. He mentioned golf. She recommended he read and watch Seven Days in Utopia, a story about a young golfer who has a dreadful debut on the pro circuit. He drives as far as he can, encountering a rancher. Aguayo sums up the rancher's advice: "What's it going to say on your gravestone? Does being a golfer really matter, or is being true to who you are, what you believe, matter?"

That's when Aguayo realized that he has always defined his self-worth through making kicks. Not his work ethic or his character. He continued to read books about the mental side of the game, all the while battling Connor Barth for the Bears job. Aguayo was released after about three weeks. "It was a blessing," Courtney says. "He wasn't really ready to be on a team yet."

Instead he had time to work on his swing without the pressure of performing. Of coaches watching him. His mechanics started to feel better. Stronger. He was beginning to build some trust.

Then in late October, he made the Panthers practice squad, not missing a kick in his tryout. Cam Newton approached him on his first day in the locker room. "Hey, I'm Cam Newton," Aguayo remembers Newton saying.

"Hey, I'm Roberto Aguayo."

"I know who you are. Welcome," Newton said. He began to walk away and then turned back around. "Man, I gotta get my two cents in. You just need to get your swagger back, and you'll be good. You'll be fine."


That meant everything to Aguayo. His teammates treated him with respect. Graham Gano, the Panthers' kicker and fellow FSU alum, became a mentor, an older brother to him. It felt like a redshirt year in which Aguayo could take time to learn.

"He just had to stay confident," Gano says. "He was trying to figure it out. When he was with us, he was hitting the ball great. … Him being with us, it helped me be better as a kicker. Everybody enjoyed having him here."

By December 2017, he realized all that learning had paid off. He finally had the elusive swing he had been searching for. "The lightbulb clicked," he says. He was using more quad than groin. He scrunched far less. He felt calmer.

He was released from the Panthers shortly after the breakthrough, but still, he felt better. By January, when he signed a reserve/future contract with the Chargers, his mind was clear. He even felt excited. He wanted to kick. That confidence, that in-the-zone feeling he had in college, was back.

I can do this, Aguayo said to himself one game while sitting on the Chargers bench. But he wasn't just saying it. He felt it. Believed it. Realized how much he had grown. This time, his mind quieted. There was no, Am I going to miss? He just let go. It felt good, especially the game-winning kick. "I had no demons. I had nothing to think about. I had nothing to worry about," he says.


The fun was returning too. After training, he'd ask Courtney: "What do you want to do today? Where should we go?" At first, she was taken aback. Roberto wants to do things? They'd go to the restaurant Lemonade, and he'd order his favorite, the ahi tuna poke bowl. They'd walk around Fashion Island in Newport Beach, enjoying the sun coming down, enjoying just being together.

The perfectionist inside of him was still there. He still burned to make every kick. But the volume of the harsh critic inside him decreased. Just enough so he could hear himself. Trust himself. No one is perfect but God, he told himself.

Aguayo was let go despite the stellar 9-of-9 showing with the Chargers but says, "I know my time is going to come back again."

But will it?

Sometimes he fears that no matter how improved his swing is, no matter how clear his mind is, teams still won't give him another shot. "Am I baggage to teams? Am I bad publicity? Am I just washed up now?" he says. "Is that what they think about me?

"I can't control that."

He is less bothered nowadays when people ask him if he's still kicking. "He's so much more mentally prepared," says John Carney, a close friend and former Pro Bowl kicker. "Now he has the information and tools to be a consistent kicker not only on a daily basis, but a weekly basis and throughout an entire season."

Aguayo has learned to process his emotions too, seeing them less as an indication of weakness and more as vulnerability necessary for moving forward. "A lot of guys could be easily be like: 'I'm done. I'll do something else. Hang it up,'" says Cody Parkey, a close friend and former kicker for the Bears. "But he's had a good attitude this whole time, like, 'I'm gonna stay ready.'"

Aguayo doesn't have any regrets. He believes things happened the way they did for a reason: to humble him, to make him more appreciative. Kicking had always come easy to him. Sure, he worked hard, but the ability was naturally there.

He doesn't want to get a desk job just yet, but he's had to contemplate a Plan B. Maybe something in broadcasting. Maybe something in golf. He recently completed an internship with the PGA of America, but wages were minimal. Courtney works as a Pure Barre instructor. Sometimes Roberto is disappointed in himself for not providing financially.

The other day, he was listening to a Joel Osteen podcast, sitting at his kitchen table. The episode chronicled a baseball player who had lost everything but finally made his way back to the pros. Aguayo began to tear up, almost choking on his eggs. That could be me one day.

Every night, he envisions what it will feel like to return to an NFL field. He imagines himself looking up to the sky and thanking God. He has memorized the names of the people he will thank when he hits his game-winning kick. He anticipates the postgame interview, when a reporter asks, "Did you ever think you were going to get back here?" to which he replies: "Yeah. I did. I did think I was going to be back here."

Then he wakes up. Wakes up to the reality that none of this has happened yet. Maybe it won't. And he realizes he has a daily choice: feel sorry for himself or work out. And so, around 8:30 a.m., he drives 10 minutes to the local high school, carrying a bag of 10 footballs. The muggy sky, filled with giant, fluffy clouds, begins to gray. It's going to rain. He kicks and kicks and kicks until he can't anymore.

Aguayo hardly ever goes into the trophy room upstairs in his home, but today he makes an exception. There is a shelf with all of his books. His national championship ring from Florida State. It sparkles like it's never been out of the box. But all of this seems like dust of a past life. A life not worth revisiting.

Except for one thing: a framed photo of him, mid-kick, as a 12-year-old in Pee Wee. "That's little me," he says, cracking a smile. He was scrunching a little. His head was down, his leg was all the way through. The ball sailed above the line of scrimmage, no chance of getting blocked. "I like that. That swing," he says. "It was just…it was just…" He pauses for a few seconds. "It wasn't tainted, you know what I mean? It was free."

Courtney walks in. "You're so dramatic!" she says jokingly. They share a laugh. She knows what he means, though. Back then, he was free. He didn't need to be perfect. He didn't need to make money. The joy was in the kicking. The doing. Being a kid.

They talk about having kids someday. Roberto often thinks about what they'll be like, ever since he took a child-psychology course at Florida State. He thinks of the day his future son will discover Google and ask him, "Dad, what happened?"

Aguayo pictures himself being calm. Not angry, not ashamed, as he begins to tell his story. "Eventually you learn you fight through adversity," he imagines himself saying. "That's what me and your mom fought through. That's what we went through. It taught us to be better people."

___________________________________________________
He should never have been taken that high. No kicker is worth it, especially not one who was never known for really long kicks. Without the pressure of being taken in the second round, I suspect he'd have done better.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-smith-warns-agents-to-plan-for-work-stoppage

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith Warns Agents to Plan for Work Stoppage

Rumblings about an NFL work stoppage have been percolating for months, and NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith has reportedly added a new wrinkle to the proceedings.

Per Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal, Smith sent an email to every NFL agent saying that the union is "advising players to plan for a work stoppage of at least a year in length" when the collective bargaining agreement ends after the 2020 season.

Just 100 days from the NFL's centennial season, the looming threat of a work stoppage continues to be a hot topic in league circles.

ESPN.com's Adam Schefter reported in January that teams were using language in new coaches' contracts to protect themselves in the event of a work stoppage that impacts the 2021 campaign.

The NFLPA responded to that report on Twitter:


NFLPA

✔@NFLPA
https://twitter.com/NFLPA/status/1084499719693500416

These contract provisions were also seen in the lead up to the 2011 lockout . Take note.

Adam Schefter

@AdamSchefter

Players and agents have expressed their dislike of the NFL's current CBA, which was agreed upon in 2011.

"The NFLPA absolutely failed the NFL players," one unnamed agent told the Boston Globe's Ben Volin in 2013. "It's the worst CBA in professional sports history. It's pushing the veterans out of the game and cuts the rookie pay in half. How is that a good deal?"

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman told reporters last September a lockout is "going to happen."

Per ESPN.com's Dan Graziano, changes the NFLPA would like to see made in the CBA include an increased share of league revenue from the current 47 percent rate, obtaining greater guarantees in contracts and decreasing free-agent limitations (e.g., the franchise tag, fifth-year rookie options).

The NFL and NFLPA have started negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, though there's no indication the two sides are close to an extension.

As the CBA hovers over the league and players union, the 2019 season will begin Sept. 5 when the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears.


Smith told The MMQB's Albert Breer two years ago that a lockout before the 2021 season was "almost a virtual certainty."

_______________________________________________________

Hopefully the Rams can win a Super Bowl or two before then. Sounds like they think it will be nasty.

Looks like another year where the narrative will be Rams... Superbowl or Bust year.

My god, it is such lazy writing. This guy has AD99 with 16.5 sacs last year. Good grief, is that all the attention to detail that is required to be a writer for NFL.com?

The article is OK, but geez.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...franchise-super-bowl-or-bust-for-rams-in-2019

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/allbrightnfl/status/1133109635999764480?s=21



Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/allbrightnfl/status/1133120951430860800?s=21



Suck on that Florio :mrburnsevil:

I love the veteran leadership we added to the defense this year. I think adding Matthews and Weedle with Talib already on the team could make this defense so much better than people realize. There is nothing these guys haven't seen and nothing they won't know how to adjust to.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2837684-predicting-every-nfl-teams-surprise-rookie-gem#slide18

Predicting Every NFL Team's Surprise Rookie Gem
Gary Davenport
Ever since the NFL draft, there has been a ton of talk about this year's rookie class. Much of it has centered on high picks like quarterback Kyler Murray, edge-rusher Nick Bosa and defensive lineman Quinnen Williams.

However, every year rookies rise from obscurity to surprise the NFL. In 2018, Denver Broncos tailback Phillip Lindsay became the first offensive undrafted free agent in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Fourth-round wideout Keke Coutee was a significant contributor for a Houston Texans team that won the AFC South.

It's admittedly an uphill struggle for any of the Day 3 picks and undrafted free agents listed here to have that sort of rookie impact. Quite a few won't make the 53-man rosters—that's just the reality of being a late-round draft pick.

But these rookies have the talent to take advantage of a situation that puts them in position to do more than just make the team. They can make contributions relatively early in their careers.


Los Angeles Rams: DT Greg Gaines

1. 
   
   
   Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson thinks Greg Gaines, a 6'1", 312-pounder out of Washington who the Rams took in the fourth round, has the potential to be that nose tackle.
   
   "He did a really good job in the Senior Bowl where those seniors play against some of the top competition against guys that will be drafted into the NFL," he said, via Myles Simmons of the team's website. "To see a guy like that productive in Senior Bowl situations, as well as what he did at Washington, I think that's a huge huge statement being voted by his college peers as one of the top defensive linemen in the Pac 12—I think that's a big deal."
   
   Gaines isn't the most athletic player, but he's hard-nosed and has a high motor. And he will be afforded the opportunity to make his presence known from Day 1.

https://www.therams.com/news/daily-dose-who-is-the-rams-most-dangerous-new-weapon

Daily Dose: Who is the Rams’ most dangerous new weapon?
Myles Simmons
Monday, May 27, 2019 09:30 AM

Each weekday, theRams.com will be taking a look around the internet for the top Rams headlines of the day. Here’s a look at what’s out there for Monday, May 27 about your Los Angeles Rams.
PREDICTING THE STORY OF THE SEASON

We’re still a few months away from the Rams taking on the Panthers to kick off the 2019 campaign, but ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters have given a prediction for thaw the story of the season will be for each of the league’s 32 teams.

For some teams, that question is about quarterbacks or new head coaches — how will they respond to their circumstance?

But for the Rams, reporter Lindsey Thiry boils it down to one question: Will the Rams return to the Super Bowl?

“The Rams must regroup as they go into the 2019 season and put their disappointing 13-3 Super Bowl loss to the Patriots behind them,” Thiry writes. “Their roster had some turnover at key positions, including two spots on the offensive line, but quarterback Jared Goff is more comfortable going into Year 3 of coach Sean McVay's scheme.”

WHO’S THE MOST DANGEROUS NEW WEAPON?

The Rams made a number of roster moves in both free agency and the NFL Draft to re-up the roster for a run at Super Bowl LIV. According to Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton, of all the acquisitions, safety Taylor Rapp is Los Angeles’ most dangerous new weapon.

The criteria?

“The selections feature players who have versatile skill sets or display top-notch abilities in a specific area of their games.”

Here’s what Moton had to say specifically about Rapp:

“Rapp's versatility will allow him to see the field early in his career. … In all three of his seasons at Washington, Rapp logged at least 51 combined tackles. The coaching staff could utilize him as a small linebacker in nickel or dime sub-packages, but wherever Rapp lines up, he's capable of making a play.”

LONG LOCKDOWN

Speaking of new and dangerous weapons, the Rams selected Michigan cornerback David Long in the third round of the NFL Draft. And according to Pro Football Focus, Long had the lowest completion percentage allowed of any 2019 selection.

No CB in this past draft class allowed a lower completion percentage on targets than Rams CB David Long pic.twitter.com/YouD7JmRAx

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) May 27, 2019

https://www.therams.com/news/otas-a-time-of-steady-improvement-for-robert-woods

OTAs a time of steady improvement for Robert Woods

Last season was a career year for wide receiver Robert Woods.

Not that anyone in L.A. was really knocking his talent before — but in 2018, No. 17 shattered his career highs in receptions (86) and yards receiving (1,219), also setting a career high with six receiving touchdowns. Plus, he showed his versatility within head coach Sean McVay’s offense, taking 19 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown — including a 56-yard rush that helped propel the Rams to victory in Seattle during Week 5.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/ramsnfl/status/1132307838544564225?s=21


So what’s Woods working on during the offseason program for an encore?

“Just finding something from film — whether it’s breaking tackles, attacking the ball, [being] more physical,” Woods told therams.com. “Finding ways to make guys miss out here without pads — just finding a way to juke a guy. Just for me, I just try to challenge the yards after catch. It’s kind of like flag [football] out here right now, so if I can avoid being touched, then I can avoid being tackles.”

When it comes to the quarterbacks who have thrown passes to Woods over the course of his career, there’s been a decent amount of instability. From E.J. Manuel, to Kyle Orton, to Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo — this will be the first time for Woods as a pro that he’ll have the same staring quarterback for a third consecutive season.

Woods and signal-caller Jared Goff have already established solid chemistry, but how can they improve it?

“Just keep it going, really. Just improve on the little things that we were missing,” Woods said. “But other than that, stay consistent, keep doing what got us to this point, keep working. Just precision and communicating in the meeting rooms, out here on the field — whether it’s extra throws, or pre-practice — so we just always stay on the same page.”

As for the offense as a whole, Woods said he can see how McVay has continued to add elements to an already-complex offense to prevent the Rams from being stagnant in 2019.

“He’s still finding ways to find more cuts, find more routes, more concepts to improve and make this offense more unstoppable,” Woods said of McVay.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...-whether-they-considered-trading-up-in-draft/

Jon Gruden reveals how Raiders felt about Kyler Murray, whether they considered trading up in draft

The Oakland Raiders were one of the big stories of the 2019 NFL Draft, an impressive feat considering Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden didn't even need to draft a quarterback to get any buzz. Having three first-round picks helps. Plus, there was always the thought they might try to nab Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray in some kind of bold trade up.

Such a deal never materialized -- and the Arizona Cardinals would take Murray with the top pick overall anyway -- and it was never going to materialize according to Jon Gruden. There was chatter about Murray slipping down the board, but even then it doesn't sound like the Raiders were interested in the Heisman Trophy winner.

The Raiders coach spoke to Peter King of NBC Sports during the draft weekend (King ran the interview in Memorial Day's FMIA column) and opened up about Murray.

"We all loved Murray. That doesn't mean we were gonna take him. How do you not love his performance, his playing style, what he accomplished? I had a blast with him [during a pre-draft workout]," Gruden said. "We didn't think about going up to number one. We did look at [Nick] Bosa, [Quinnen] Williams, but not going to one. We did our homework on the quarterbacks. You gotta know who's coming into the league at that position. There was a lot of speculation that we were gonna take a quarterback.

"I kept watching a guy on NFL Network saying we're going up to get Murray. Then he says we're going up to get [Dwayne] Haskins. Then he says we're going up to get [Drew] Lock. We're trading [Derek] Carr. I don't understand it."

Color me guilty among those who believed Gruden might get a little loose in the first round and do what he needed to acquire a young quarterback.

At the end of the day, they passed on those guys multiple times. Murray wasn't there, but you have to believe they could have gotten him if they wanted. Haskins was never in play for them at No. 4. They passed on Lock four times, making multiple selections before the Broncos took the Missouri quarterback.

I still don't believe the Raiders are all in on Carr, but I do think their bet on him this year makes sense. They surrounded him with lots of weapons, including Antonio Brown (trade), Tyrell Williams (free agency) and Josh Jacobs (draft). If Carr is good, they'll win games and Gruden will be justified in his offensive spending spree.

If Carr struggles, his contract is easy to get out of after 2019, with the Raiders battling just $5 million in dead money in 2020. They would create more than $16 million in cap space by cutting Carr after this season. And there's also the option of keeping Carr on his relatively small deal -- he averages just over $21 million per year over the next three years -- drafting a quarterback and letting him develop behind Carr as the team moves to Las Vegas.

Gruden not taking a quarterback in the next two drafts would be borderline shocking. But he didn't feel he needed to do it this draft, and certainly didn't feel he needed to pressure Carr by making a huge move up to grab Murray.

As much as we all wanted some blockbuster, old-school Raiders trade up for the top quarterback, it apparently was not a thing that was likely to happen.

To all that serve and have served, I thank you.

Watch: Rams LBs coach mic'd up during OTAs

The Los Angeles Rams have the long holiday weekend off after three days of organized team activities last week, but they’ll be back in action this coming week. It’s an important time for coaches to work with younger players even though no live contact is allowed, coaching them up on small nuances of the game.

Linebackers coach Joe Barry is very vocal in practice and the Rams gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at his coaching style from last week’s OTAs. He was mic’d up for practice and can be heard sharing tips with players.

See Video Here:
[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Or Here:
[twitter.com]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...were-installing-a-new-offense-this-offseason/

Lamar Jackson had no idea Ravens were installing a new offense this offseason

With the Ravens hiring a new offensive coordinator this year, it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone in Baltimore that the team would be installing a new offense this offseason, but apparently, no one told Lamar Jackson.

When Jackson showed up for the team's first round of offseason training activities (OTAs) last week, the Ravens quarterback literally had no idea that he was going to be spending his week implementing a new offense.

"Coming in, I didn't know we would have a totally different offense," Jackson admitted, via the Ravens' official website. "When I got here, coach was like, 'Yea, we have a totally new system. You're going to have go through this and that.' It's been getting to me a little bit."

Although the Ravens offense ranked ninth in the NFL in yards per game last season, the team still decided to dump offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg after Baltimore's 23-17 playoff loss to the Chargers. To replace Mornhinweg, the Ravens brought in Greg Roman, who basically decided to start over from scratch, which means Jackson had to learn on the fly last week, and apparently, it doesn't sound like he got off to a hot start.

"I'd say, my first day, I sucked. Second day, I did better. Today, it was all right but it could've been better," Jackson said, via ESPN.com. "I'm always trying to be perfect in practice."

Although Jackson's self-assessment is that he sucked, Ravens coach John Harbaugh doesn't feel the same way. After watching his starting quarterback go through three days of OTAs, Harbaugh was actually somewhat impressed at the way Jackson looked, especially considering everything the quarterback had to learn this week.

"He's looked good," Harbaugh said. "I think all the quarterbacks are doing a real good job. We've rebuilt the offense. There's been a lot of work on all the little things that go into it from cadence, from huddle, from terminology, just installing the offense. It's a process, so we're not exactly clicking on all cylinders yet, but I'm really happy with the progress and where we're going."

The good news for Jackson is that if anyone should be able to utilize his talents, it's Roman, who was the 49ers offensive coordinator in 2012 when Colin Kaepernick helped lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl. The two quarterbacks have a somewhat similar skillset and if Roman's success with Kaepernick is any indication -- the 49ers quarterback went 25-14 with Roman as his offensive coordinator -- then the Ravens could have an explosive offense in 2019.

Although Jackson doesn't have the offense down yet, the good news for the quarterback is that he has plenty of time to learn it. Not only do the Ravens still have seven OTA sessions left to go this offseason (May 28, May 30-31, June 3-4, June 6-7), but they also have a mandatory minicamp (June 11-13) before kicking off training camp in late July.

https://www.12up.com/posts/todd-gur...-concern-for-rams-moving-forward-01dbtb151b0m
Todd Gurley's Knee Injury Reportedly a Major Concern for Rams Moving Forward
by Austin Pert

The decline in snaps and production late last season for Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley was both a surprise and point of confusion for many, as there appeared to be no sign of any injury suffered or any reported ailments from the running back.But according to Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer, Gurley's knee is a source of long term concern for his franchise.

UPDATE: Rams RB Todd Gurley’s knee issue is a real concern for him and the team, per Jay Glazer.

Gurley, 24, started with his knee issues at Georgia when he suffered an ACL tear in his left knee.

Since then,… https://t.co/xN9WkSjbmy

— ProFootballChase (@pfootballchase) May 25, 2019

According to the report, Gurley has developed arthritis in his left knee, just one of the many issues he's had with the knee since suffering a torn ACL during his junior season at the University of Georgia in 2014.

Reoccurring swelling of his knee is the biggest concern in the medium-to-long-term future, having been a cause for his reduction of carries a season ago."I think the biggest test will be what happens early in the season," Glazer said in his weekly column in The Athletic. "If he runs and [the knee] doesn’t blow up and the Rams are able to use him as a workhorse, then a lot of those concerns will go away. If not, they’re going to have to get a little creative."

After rushing for 1,251 yards in the first 14 games of the regular season, Gurley sat out the last two weeks of the regular season before rushing for 115 yards in the divisional round playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys. However, getting only 45 combined yards on 14 carries against the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl raised eyebrows for fans who weren't already concerned about the ball-carrier's health.

The Rams did trade up in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft to select Memphis RB Darrell Henderson with the 70th overall pick, so it's possible that LA is preparing for a potential Gurley setback.

Sports
Legendary Green Packers Quarterback Bart Starr Dead at 85
Daniel Goldblatt,TheBlast 45 minutes ago

• 
  

Bart Starr — who was the MVP of the first two Super Bowls as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers — passed away on Sunday. He was 85.

Starr had been in declining health since suffering a serious stroke in 2014.

The team released a statement about his passing, saying:

We are saddened to note the passing of our husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Bart Starr. He battled with courage and determination to transcend the serious stroke he suffered in September 2014, but his most recent illness was too much to overcome.

While he may always be best known for his success as the Packers quarterback for 16 years, his true legacy will always be the respectful manner in which he treated every person he met, his humble demeanor, and his generous spirit.

Our family wishes to thank the thousands of friends and fans who have enriched his life – and therefore our lives – for so many decades and especially during the past five years. Each letter, text, phone call, and personal visit inspired him and filled him with joy.

His love for all of humanity is well known, and his affection toward the residents of Alabama and of Wisconsin filled him with gratitude. He had hoped to make one last trip to Green Bay to watch the Packers this fall, but he shall forever be there in spirit.

Bat Starr played for the Packers from 1956 until 1971 after being a 17'th pick in the NFL Draft. He was also the teams Head Coach from 1975 to 1983. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.


https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/legendary-green-packers-quarterback-bart-154227704.html

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...shotgun-formation-exclusively-or-close-to-it/

Cardinals may use shotgun formation exclusively or close to it

The infiltration of the college offense into the pro game continues, and that likely will result in another franchise embracing shotgun formation, most if not all of the time.

As Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic explains it, the Cardinals are expected to rarely put quarterback Kyler Murray under center.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury initially was coy on the topic, but it became clear that he’s got no qualms about a shotgun-heavy approach.

Asked this week whether the team may spend 90 percent or more of its time with the center snapping the ball through the air to the quarterback, Kingsbury said, “I’m not sure.” He then elaborated in a way that suggested he is sure.

“That’s another thing we’re working through, to see what the best balance for us is,” Kingsbury said. “Last year, Kansas City was 80 percent-plus. They were decent on offense. Pretty good. So, we’ll see. Whatever fits our team best is what we’re going to do.”

What fits the team best is shotgun formation. It’s what Kingsbury used at Texas Tech, and it’s what Murray used at Oklahoma.

And it’s what Kingbury believes in. Here’s his answer when asked about the advantages and disadvantages of shotgun: “I’ve never seen disadvantages. Some people say there are. I don’t. . . . Some other people have theories about it, but I think you can do everything just as well from shotgun as you can under center.”

Kingsbury sees plenty of advantages to shotgun formation.

“It just eliminates having to get away from the center,” he said. “Those are big guys pushing back in your face right away. So you’re seeing a clearer picture sooner. Whereas when you’re under center, it takes a while to see the field and see that clear picture. To me, you’re able to see it clearer pre-snap and post-snap.”

To me, it’s becoming clearer that the Cardinals’ ratio of shotgun formation will be much higher than 80 percent.

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...lay-action-jared-goff/?utm_source=thescoreapp

Cooper Kupp's return will dramatically help Jared Goff on play-action

Cooper Kupp’s absence was undeniably felt for the Los Angeles Rams last season after he tore his ACL in Week 10. Sure, the Rams exploded for 54 points in Week 11 against the Chiefs in that Monday night shootout, but the offense wasn’t the same the rest of the way.

Jared Goff obviously suffered the most, seeing his stats slide without Kupp on the field. That’s understandable considering that Goff’s passer rating when targeting Kupp is 129.9 in his career. Kupp was Goff’s security blanket underneath, oftentimes coming open for easy completions and first downs.

Play-action is where Goff missed Kupp the most. According to Pro Football Focus, his play-action numbers plummeted without Kupp.

With Kupp out, there was no facet of the Rams’ offense that was impacted more than play action — which is less than ideal for a quarterback that used it at the second-highest rate in the NFL last season. Goff’s play-action passing grade dropped from 93.0 prior to Kupp’s injury to just 66.4 after his exit. Even though his passer rating only dropped 20.0 points from 125.9 to a somewhat respectable 105.3, the film showed the two different sides of Goff’s play with and without Kupp on the field.

Play-action is a huge part of the Rams offense. Defenses have to account for Todd Gurley, so when they see play-action, they can’t help but react to the fake handoff.

With how often the Rams run play-action from under center, Goff frequently turns his back to the defense when he fakes the handoff to Gurley. That’s not easy for a quarterback to do, but having Kupp running crossers or underneath routes definitely helps Goff.

According to PFF, “Goff has targeted crossing routes 16.3% of the time in that span — more frequently than any other route.” That’s no surprise considering Kupp’s 90.4 receiving grade and 4.29 yards per route run on crossers both rank in the top 10.

The Rams offense should get back to the way it was playing early in the 2018 season once Kupp returns. He may not be a full participant in training camp, but he’s expected to be ready for Week 1, which is most important. You can bet there won’t be anyone happier to see the Eastern Washington product back out there than Goff.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...es-of-getting-back-to-the-super-bowl-in-2019/

Three moves the Rams should make to boost their chances of getting back to the Super Bowl in 2019
L.A. is up against the cap but could use some depth on the edge and at guard

The Los Angeles Rams went all in for the 2018 season, and their boldness paid off. The Rams were one of the best teams in the NFL from wire to wire, and eventually represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. They came up short in that game and did not exactly shower themselves in glory with their performance, but they'll return much of the same core in 2019 and they should be expected to once again find themselves among the inner-circle contenders for the Lombardi Trophy.

Given that they have one of the best and deepest rosters in the league, and the majority of the players on it played significant roles on last year's squad, the prescription for the Rams to get back to the Super Bowl is largely about improving on the margins. Anything they can do to put guys like Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Eric Weddle, and John Johnson in position to succeed is a good idea.

Here are three ideas we've got.

1. Sign Nick Perry to add depth on the edge

The Rams have the best interior pass rusher in the league in Aaron Donald, and a strong secondary rush man on the interior in Michael Brockets. They brought back Dante Fowler Jr. on a one-year, $12 million deal, and also brought Clay Matthews over from the Packers on a one-year deal.

But Matthews will be 33 years old this season, Fowler sandwiched his eight-sack 2017 with four sacks in 2016 and 2018, and recorded only two sacks in eight games with the Rams last season, and there is not much in the way of depth behind those guys. Matthews seems likely to spend at least some of his time playing inside linebacker, with Samson Ebukam acting as the rush man off the edge opposite Fowler.

Can 2018 draft picks Trevon Young, Justin Lawler, and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo really provide the edge depth this team needs? Probably not. That's where Perry, another former Packer, comes in.

He missed much of last season due to injury, but recorded 18 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, and 18 tackles for loss in 2016 and 2017. With the Rams having only $6.6 million in cap room, according to Spotrac, they cannot afford to go big-game hunting, even now that signings don't affect the compensatory pick calculations. So taking fliers on low-money, moderate-upside guys is the fix here, and Perry fits the bill.

2. Sign Shawn Lauvao to provide interior OL insurance

Apart from the game-wrecking abilities of Donald, the real strength of the Rams over the past two seasons has been their offensive line. They got a boost for 2019 when star left tackle Andrew Whitworth decided to forego retirement and return for another year, but they took a(n expected) hit when guard Rodger Saffold left for a four-year, $44 million deal with the Tennessee Titans, and they also let center John Sullivan leave in free agency, declining to pick up his option.

Now, the unit that last season ranked sixth in Adjusted Sack Rate and first in Adjusted Line Yards, per Football Outsiders, is down two important starters. And the starters along the interior of the offensive line are set to be Joseph Noteboom (a third-round pick who played 78 snaps last season), Brian Allen (a fourth-round pick who played 36 snaps last season), and Austin Blythe (a former waiver pickup who was the weakest member of last year's line, but is pretty serviceable).

That's not exactly the dominant group they had a year ago. The Rams are, as mentioned, up against the cap, so signing a big free agent here is likely out of the question. But bringing in Lauvao, who has experience playing for Sean McVay from their days in Washington, would be a nice move to add some depth and potentially a starter inside. Like Perry, he missed a bunch of time due to injury last season, but he has started 90 games in his career and could provide some value inside.

3. Diversify the offense

Last season's Rams operated almost exclusively out of 11 personnel. When they had all their best players healthy, they were damn near impossible to stop. Every play looked the same right up until the moment it wasn't, and all the shifts and motion and fakes took defenses a while to figure out, and it led to Gurley scooting up the middle or around the edge untouched, or Goff firing bullets into absurdly wide windows that allowed Cooks and Woods and Kupp to make hay after the catch.

But then Kupp got banged up. Gurley got banged up. Kupp came back, and then tore his ACL. Gurley stayed banged up. Teams stopped reacting as strongly to the shifts and motion and fakes and suddenly the running lanes weren't as open and the throwing windows weren't as wide. It took the Rams a bit to get their offense back on track.

They'd do well to come into the 2019 season with a slightly more diversified attack. First of all, changing formations would help keep guys like Kupp healthy, by not having him play quite as many snaps. It'd also give the Rams a chance to create some advantageous matchups with their tight ends, Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee, like they did in that shootout against the Chiefs. Similarly, they could rotate Gurley out of the game and let rookie Darrell Henderson get some burn. Or even put them on the field together.

McVay's offense is all about creating tiny tweaks on familiar looks in order to make the defense confused about what's coming. It worked remarkably well with the Rams relying on one formation to the exclusion of almost all else. It will work even better if they can run the same stuff out of 12 or 21 or 20 personnel, forcing the defense to think and account for even more than they already had to last year.

https://www.therams.com/news/five-takeaways-from-the-first-week-of-otas

Five takeaways from the first week of OTAs

It’s been a while since we’ve been able to watch the Rams offense and defense at the same time on the same practice field.

The last time was early February in preparation for Super Bowl LIII. And while names and faces have departed and arrived since then, the core of the team is largely the same — as is the club’s ultimate goal.

With Sean McVay now entering his third year as Rams head coach, here are five takeaways from the first three OTAs.

1) KUPP’S RECOVERY

Wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been an integral part of the Rams’ offense since his arrival in 2017. He suffered an ACL tear in Week 10 of last season, but is on the mend and appears on track to play to start the regular season.

“I’m taking it day-by-day,” Kupp said this week. “It’s just about attacking this week, attacking the day as best as I possibly can. And I feel good about where I’m at.”

“I know Cooper is itching to get involved. He’s like a kid standing on the sidelines that just wants to be able to grab a ball and go play. So he’s making great progress,” McVay said.

Aside from doing rehab work on the side with trainers, Kupp was involved in some aspects of practice — like the club’s jog-thru 11-on-11 periods during the week. That’s a good sign, as Kupp can likely expand what he does on the field over the course of the next few weeks, gearing up for training camp in late July.

2) INTEGRATING THE NEW PIECES

Even without pads, it’s easy to see why the Rams wanted to add veterans safety Eric Weddle and linebacker Clay Matthews to their defense.

Weddle was all over the field in Los Angeles’ three OTAs over the course of the week, picking off a pass in 7-on-7 on Thursday. His communication skills are also readily apparent, as he calls out little adjustments pre-snap that can make a difference. He also takes time after plays to go over whatever just happened with members of the secondary.

As for Matthews, he has the versatility to line up as a standard outside linebacker on early downs, and then to be a sort of wild card in known-passing situations. It’s hard to get an exact read on things when players are without pads, but as a crafty veteran, Matthews knows how to beat blocks up front and pressure the quarterback. Especially playing in the same front as defensive tackle Aaron Donald and edge rusher Dante Fowler, Matthews could have plenty of opportunities to get to the QB.

3) DONALD’S PRESENCE

It seems sort of strange since he’s the two-time defending AP Defensive Player of the Year, but this is the first time that Aaron Donald has attended OTAs since McVay took over as head coach.

“It’s nice having him around this time of year. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed him,” McVay joked on Monday.

The defensive tackle — who turned 28 on Thursday — has been setting the standard when it comes to work ethic and performance.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/ramsnfl/status/1131752863665803265?s=21


“He brings that intensity to the D-line. He’s pushing us in the weight room, just to get better,” fellow defensive lineman Michael Brockers said. “I appreciate that he’s out here because that’s a big-name guy. Usually you see them, they’re doing their own thing. But he’s out here working, working with us and getting better — so we appreciate that.”

4) GOFF TO WOODS CONNECTION REMAINS STRONG

Over the last two seasons, quarterback Jared Goff has targeted wide receiver Robert Woods 215 times — significantly more than any other receiver. It’s warranted, as Woods has undoubtedly emerged as one of the better wideouts in the game.

That chemistry shined bright throughout the week, with Goff and Woods connecting on a number of completions, particularly in 7-on-7 drills.

Just on Thursday, for example, Goff connected with Woods on a deep pass down the left sideline, and then on a deep out to the right sideline during the same period.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/ramsnfl/status/1131695005943312384?s=21


Talking to Woods following Thursday’s practice, he said one of the biggest things he’s trying to work on during Phase III is picking up yards after the catch. Obviously there’s no tackling and no pads on at this point, so Woods equated it to somewhat like flag football. But, he said, if corners aren’t touching you, then they wouldn’t be able to tackle you. So that’s where he’s looking to make tangible improvements.

5) WHAT ABOUT THE ROOKIES?

In many ways, L.A. gets its rookies involved rather quickly. The first-year players arrived last week, just as the Rams were wrapping up Phase II of the offseason program. Now, some are getting their feet wet with the first team at the highest level.

Over the course of the week, safety Taylor Rapp got some time in with the first defense in certain packages, particularly in 7-on-7 work. He made a nice pass breakup in the middle of the field on Tuesday. Fellow safeties Weddle and John Johnson could frequently be seen checking in with Rapp, making sure he was up to speed.

https://www.therams.com/news/holy-s...f-available-year-three-leading-mcvay-s-offens

“Holy smokes we’ve got a lot of stuff available.” Year three leading McVay’s offense, Goff has his goals for OTAs

In his third round of OTAs as the leader of the Los Angeles offense, quarterback Jared Goff has been reminded just how thick head coach Sean McVay’s playbook is.

“You forget how much offense we actually have because weekly it’s so narrow and so focused, and then you come back to this period and it’s like holy smokes we’ve got a lot of stuff available,” Goff said following Day 1 going against the defense.

“It’s good though, it’s good to kind of work out and find out what we like, try different things.”

Different things that sometimes work and sometimes don’t, and do or do not end up on the sidelines in McVay’s bag of tricks on Sundays. Goff stood at the podium at the team’s facility in Thousand, Oaks, Calif. and, without going into specifics, recounted a few plays from the formative OTAs period that wound up working on gameday.

Now in preparation for year four, OTAs represent the chance for the head coach and quarterback to add layers to the league’s No. 2 offense in 2018. And the process is becoming easier for Goff.

“It’s very seamless now to where we can just kind of add little words, little nuances and change things at the line of scrimmage more often. I feel like I’m starting to understand it fully even more,” Goff said.

A greater understanding of McVay’s offense isn’t the be-all, end-all for Goff in the offseason’s first half. An improved completion percentage for the fourth-consecutive year is a personal goal that came to mind for the 24-year-old QB, and with training camp just over two months out, getting through progressions more quickly is the first step.

“I talk about any way to get completions and that’s really a big one, working through a little bit quicker. And continuing to fully understand each concept and understand what we are trying to get done in every play,” Goff said. “That all will lead to more completions and more yards.”

https://www.statnews.com/2019/05/24/former-nfl-players-die-at-faster-rate-study/


A new study of more than 6,000 former professional athletes found that National Football League players died at a rate that was almost 1.3 times higher than Major League Baseball players. It’s the first to compare mortality rates between two groups of professional athletes; previous studies that compared professional athletes to the general population showed a lower risk of death for football players.

The findings, published Friday in JAMA Network Open, come amid growing concern about head trauma among current and former NFL players and their risk of developing the neurodegenerative disease CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The NFL players died of neurodegenerative diseases at a higher rate than MLB players, though both groups of athletes were more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than brain diseases.

“There is so much press and buzz around the neurocognitive stuff, and that was one of the important things to come out of this,” said Marc Weisskopf, an environmental epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a study co-author. “But for cardiovascular disease, the number was higher, and since it’s more common, let’s not lose sight of the fact that it’s a very important issue.”

Previous studies looking at mortality rates among NFL players compared them to the general population and found that NFL players tended to fare better. One study from 2012 found that NFL players had overall decreased mortality as well as lower cardiovascular mortality than the general population. Another paper that year also found that overall mortality in NFL players was reduced, but did find that they had rates of neurodegenerative mortality that were three times higher than the general population.

But the limitation with these and other previous studies that compared professional athletes to the general population, experts say, is that they contained a “healthy worker bias.” Employed people already tend to be healthier than the unemployed, but as professional athletes, this effect is likely to be enhanced when it comes to NFL players versus the general population, explained Kathleen Bachynski, a public health and sports safety researcher at NYU Langone Medical Center.

“That can muddy things up,” she said.

With the new study, there’s a more apples-to-apples comparison — two kinds of elite athletes — helping to eliminate such a bias.

“I think that’s kind of the crux of why they chose to go with another comparable, elite, athlete group,” Bachynski said.

Researchers looked at data from the NFL cohort, which was a database constructed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the ’90s and contains information on former players who participated in at least five seasons between 1959 and 1988. Weisskopf and colleagues then generated a comparable dataset for former MLB players. By then matching the 3,419 NFL players and the 2,708 MLB players to the National Death Index — which contains records and causes of deaths of U.S. citizens — the researchers compared mortality rates between the two groups.

The new work found that NFL players were about 2.5 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease and almost three times more likely than MLB players to die from neurodegenerative disease.

“That ‘three times more likely’ sounds dramatic, but we have to think in terms of absolutes,” Weisskopf said.

“Obviously we want to eliminate any difference, but it’s important to keep in mind that that is a small number,” Weisskopf said of the deaths from neurodegenerative disease.

Among the NFL players in the study, far more died of cardiovascular disease than neurodegenerative disease: nearly 500 versus 39, respectively.

“Cardiovascular issues are things we know we can do something about,” Weisskopf said. “If that message isn’t getting out there, we want to make sure people can get that.”

In a statement, an NFL spokesperson said: “The NFL and NFL [Players Association] have a long-standing and on-going commitment to provide current and former NFL players resources for their health and well-being on and off-the-field to achieve physical and emotional wellness.”

Neither organization funded this study, although many of the authors have received funding from the groups for other work.

“It is a sobering message,” said Dr. Dermot Phelan, a sports cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who consults with the NFLPA and helps with its events that screen prospective NFL players. “It does highlight the fact that we need to be extra vigilant and players need to participate in more of these [screening] facilities.”

But what may be driving these disparities is still a mystery and more research is needed to tease out the reasons. Fundamental differences between the two sports may only partially explain some of the findings.

NFL players often weigh more than MLB players, for instance, and are even incentivized to bulk up to handle the high levels of contact. But excess weight is also associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease.

Even if differences in the games could explain the findings, it’s unclear whether they are relevant to today’s players.

“The cohort is from an older generation and all of these changes may have nothing to do with playing in the NFL or playing in the MLB,” Phelan said.

NFL rules have also changed in recent years to promote safety: Certain types of blocks and tackles are not allowed, for instance, and there are now penalties for head-to-head contact on the field.

“‘Monday Night Football’ in the ’90s used to show ads that showed two helmets crashing together,” Bachynski said. “It’s really only recently we’re saying, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t celebrate that.’”

Still, “it’s all part of a life in football,” said Dr. Ross Zafonte, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston and a co-author of the new study. “It’s a life in this sport and perhaps we can do something by changing how people exit [the sport].” If you no longer actively play, for instance, but continue to train aerobically and eat right, he said, “it is possible that we could affect that [risk] and affect it pretty significantly.”
___________________________________________________________________________

They downplay it to some extent, I think. The average player now is bigger, stronger, and faster than most of the players in the study - the most recent ones played 5 years before 1988, and most were much further back. Players have gotten much larger since 1988 - for instance, all-time great Anthony Munoz was listed at 278 pounds - I can't think of an LT close to that weight nowadays. The collisions for years were harder than back in the old days.

theramswire.usatoday.com]
Allen, Noteboom named Rams' key homegrown players for 2019

usatsi_11976642.jpg

By: Cameron DaSilva | 14 hours ago

The Los Angeles Rams’ roster is a good mix of homegrown talent and acquisitions from trades and free agency. From top to bottom, they have one of the best depth charts in the NFL.

Heading into 2019, there will be several new starters both on offense and defense, particularly in the trenches. Brian Allen and Joseph Noteboom are expected to slide in at center and left guard, respectively, replacing John Sullivan and Rodger Saffold.

NFL Media’s Gregg Rosenthal sees those two linemen as the most important homegrown players for the Rams entering next season.

Noteboom and Allen were taken in the third and fourth rounds of last year’s draft to play left guard and center, respectively. (Noteboom could also be a candidate at left tackle when Andrew Whitworth retires.) They were groomed for one season before Rodger Saffold left in free agency and center John Sullivan‘s contract option was declined. These are the transitions that good organizations handle without disruption, and there is little internal consternation about the changes. Rams offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has already proven to be a terrific developer of talent, helping last year’s line play with impressive cohesion.

The Rams will have some competition on the offensive line with David Edwards, Bobby Evans and Jamil Demby all on the depth chart, as well. However, after having a year to learn from veterans, Allen and Noteboom clearly have the advantage over the rest of the group.

If Allen struggles to call out blocking assignments and pre-snap reads right away with Jared Goff, it could take some time for them to develop the chemistry that was previously present with Sullivan. The biggest concern with Noteboom is his play strength, which is lacking when compared to Saffold.

No matter how you cut it, Allen and Noteboom will have to step up next season. If the offensive line takes a significant step back, so will the entire offense.