Ok - so some of you might remember me posting these threads before. Well I’m getting ready to move and my wife found my trivia game. So here goes.

Please open and read the following as it contains the rules. When I have time, I will format it properly.

DO NOT POST AN ANSWER BUT INSTEAD RESPOND TO THE POLL.

Good luck and have fun.

Look below the quote for the question.

RamFan503 said:

I will try to keep up on these. It may not be daily or even weekly and I will also probably be posting some trivia from the NFL as a whole. Good luck and have fun.

Note: These questions will change daily or weekly. I will unsticky them as soon as I post the answer.

OK so here is the deal. Years ago I found an LA Rams Trivia Game in a Goodwill. I pretty much bought it as a piece of memorabilia. Now with the Rams moving back, I thought it might make for a fun game for some of us old timers. Odd thing is that about 70% of the questions have nothing to do with the Rams.

So here is what I will do. I will post the questions that are Rams related and let you guys answer TO THE POLL I will then post the answers the next day. These are not easy questions as far as I can tell but maybe the memory function of my brain has been compromised.
.View attachment 11961
There is only basically one rule. No search engines or internet sites to look up answers that you will post later. I realize some will still look up the answers. I know I would if I didn't have the cards. But I want to see how many out there actually know the answers. So if you do feel like looking them up on the internet, just don't post the answers. Comment all you want. Honor system people!

Now - keep in mind. I said the internet is off limits. But if you have books, magazines, football cards, etc... feel free to use them. That may seem hypocritical but it's about time some of us got some use out of all that stuff we've bought over the years.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

We all know the Rams set a huge record for attendance at the Coliseum in the 50s. Who was it against?

I know that power rankings mean absolutely nothing. It is just fodder for the talking heads. But sometimes I wonder what some of the talking heads are looking at when assessing teams for their power rankings. The topic of conversation with the Rams has become they lost to the Saints, they "barely" beat the Seahawks, how will the offense move on without Kupp and the defense is struggling.

1. Yes, they lost to the Saints...in their house...after tying the game up from being down 21...and were at the time undefeated and "due to lose".

2. The Seahawks are not a push over. They been very competitive in almost every game they have played, with chances to win.

3. Did they not see how the Rams offense continued to hum like a well oiled machine with Kupp not in there this season already? Josh Reynolds had 2 TD's against the Packers. Robert Woods is being GROSSLY overlooked by the media. He is VERY important to this offense.

4. Yes, the defense is struggling, but so is the Saints defense and the Vikings defense, and the Chiefs defense. The point I am making is defenses across the league are struggling. The Rams are 2 or 3 plays away from beating the Saints and rolling into Monday night and 10-0.

Monday night will be a huge challenge, the Chiefs offense is VERY good, but so is the Rams offense. The
Chiefs defense is also struggling. To me they are almost carbon copies of each other. Either way, 9-2 or 10-1 looks good to me going into the bye. HORNSUP!!!

Awesome

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...s-week-13-rams-bears-week-14-into-prime-time/

The NFL has made the prime time schedule better in December.

The league announced today that flexible scheduling has been employed for both Week 13 and Week 14, moving better games into the Sunday Night Football slot than the ones that were previously scheduled.

In Week 13, the Sunday night game on December 2 will now be the Chargers at the Steelers on NBC. The 49ers-Seahawks game that had originally been scheduled for prime time has now been moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX.

In Week 14, the Sunday night game on December 9, will now be the Rams at the Bears on NBC. The Pittsburgh Steelers-Raiders game originally scheduled for prime time has now been moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX.

The rest of the Week 13 and Week 14 schedules will remain in place.

Variation on a theme.

FO:
Rams front office has never been better. It is clear they are all rowing in the same direction towards fielding a competitive team for as long as they can through the christening of this new football palace in LA. It felt like Fisher's way (even if MILDLY successful) still wouldn't have resulted in this fast-paced craziness that LA loves -- perfect for the next decade in their new home. Think Lakers. The number of fans may dwindle a bit after a down season or two, but the love affair from a few great years can easily fill Stan's seats for a decade.

AD:
I love AD. He is clearly a generational level player who brings a unique dimension to the d-line. However, I also think there was a reason the FO took as long as they did to work out his contract. I believe there was a philosophical discussion on whether it's worth allocating that much spend on a position that can be accounted for by the opposing offense. The only real way to green light this move is to take advantage of the low contract of the rookie QB (more on that later) and put some high-end pieces around him. And even that hasn't worked out so far. It may turn out this wasn't the best move, but it's really hard to fault the FO when you're dealing with the uniqueness and star quality of AD. If he continues to behave like an arse on camera though...

QB:
Goff went from bust, to system QB, to where he is now, where it seems 50/50 between "still a system guy" and "elite". No matter where you place him, it is clear the Rams are going to have some big decisions to make in few years. We've seen it before, in this era of the new rookie deals QBs (why couldn't be a year earlier? yeah SB, good for you). Seahawks tried their best to deal with this a few years back, before Wilson's new deal, and chose to go all-in on him. What will we do? It's pretty clear to me that McVay is a superstar OC/HC. I think this is the one thing about which nobody can argue (even Ram haters). So, who's to say we wouldn't be better off with a QB a tier below Goff that could succeed in McVay's system and use that money to keep the team competitive for its first decade in their new digs?

QB continued:
I have a solution for the QB dilemma. Since the QB is such a unique position, and the NFL even has a suite of special rules around protecting these guys, why not take the QB salaries off the cap? The QB could be like the NBA/MLB of NFL with either no cap or luxury cap driven. The rookie deal and everything else could remain the same, just after the first deal, it comes off the books, so to speak. Problem solved.

Go Rams. Rams 63, Chiefs 49.

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/st...les-rams-quarterback-jared-goff-enjoying-ride

After enduring all the unfair bust stuff and the disrespectful system stuff it’s nice to read about what a good QB he is, how calm he is and what great throws he can make. 9-1 helps, and bandwagons get jumped on, but after years of supporting crap teams and inconsistent teams that could win a few grudge divisional games per season, I am just loving reading an article like this and thinking “this is my QB” instead of “I wish this was my QB.” Same goes for the coach of course but it’s sweeter when you have endured reading unfair crap about the guy in the past. A few years ago could any of us have imagined being assured of a winning season after 10 weeks? We waited 10 plus years for one and then the second one takes 10 weeks to arrive! Sorry for the gush, just loving being proud of my team!

Just want to point out what a great move this is by the organization. Nicely done from ownership on down, makes me proud to be a Rams fan.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...llot-thousands-of-mnf-tix-to-first-responders


By Jeremy Bergman

Tickets of the moved Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Rams game will become available on Wednesday, with thousands of admissions allotted to Los Angeles-area first responders.

The league announced Tuesday that the contest between the league's top two teams, originally scheduled to be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, will now be played at the L.A. Coliseum on Monday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. PT, because Azteca's playing surface did not meet NFL standards.

The Rams said Tuesday that Rams season ticket members can sign into their Rams Account Manager account to purchase their current seats until Thursday at 5 p.m. PT. Starting Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT, season ticket members will have a three-hour presale before the general public to purchase up to four additional seats.

The general public can begin purchasing tickets on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT on therams.com.

The club also said that it will be "providing thousands of complimentary tickets to first responders who are bravely protecting the greater Los Angeles community, as well as people who have been impacted by our community's recent tragedies."

Over the past seven days, the Los Angeles metropolitan area has been ravaged by the Woolsey fire and devastated by a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, near where the Rams facility is located. The fire has burned about 150 square miles of land, destroyed around 435 homes and business and claimed the lives of at least two people. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fire had reached 35-percent containment, according to The Los Angeles Times. The shooting claimed the lives of 12 people, including a police officer.

Due to the quick turnaround, the team announced that tickets for the MNF match will be mobile only. Fans may access their mobile gameday tickets right from the Los Angeles Rams or Ticketmaster mobile app and enter the stadium.

But on the field it’s a far different thing.

I thought that by game 10 the gelling would surely have already occurred. Clearly it hasn’t, has it?

I’ll leave the x’s and o’s to others, but I will say this.

This D is not playing nearly as well as a unit as their talent would indicate. That’s usually a result of faulty coaching. When previously dominating players suddenly are struggling, what else should we conclude?

Wade owns this D and if he has square plugs going into round holes, talented as those square plugs might be, then I’ve gotta lay the blame at his feet.

Fowler has helped.

Talib’s return should be a huge help.

But geez. How in the world do they allow 273 rushing yards to the Seahawks? And give Wilson an easy 90+ rushing yards? Boggles the mind.

I love this team as much as any poster, but that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna ignore the obvious. This currently functioning D is gonna kill us in the playoffs. It’s gonna be the Atlanta fubar all over again unless SOMETHING changes.

The Emperor has no clothes, y’all.

I thought this was pretty funny and wanted to share.
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I read the article and have seen quite a few references to the "0-35" in 1pt games in the 4th or something like that.

I was thinking about that last night after watching NFL network and I was like.. that can't be right. (I thought about the hail mary from a couple years ago) So I figured the stats were being played with a bit in that case.

At any rate I'd agree that Rodgers isn't one of those best dudes that comeback but that 0-35 thing was a somewhat misleading stat.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/comeback.cgi?player=RodgAa00

Also for your viewing pleasure (this stat is obviously like many affected by how long the QB has been playing).

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/gwd_career.htm
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/comebacks_career.htm

I feel so very, very fortunate that the Rams have Sean McVay for their Head Coach and Jared Goff for their QB! There is NO Head Coach I would rather have than Sean McVay and NO QB that I would rather have than Jared Goff!!! The Rams future is in such great hands with these two very special men! Of course, I will also add that there is NO RB that I would want other than Todd Gurley or Defensive Player than Aaron Donald!!! I can only hope that they will all be Rams for many, many years (Preferably, Their entire NFL Careers!)!

Still the 1st drive and I have already lost count on the holds.

Tired of hearing of this stupid ass criticism over the Rams and not the other team? Click the link and you'll see the weakness of the other top teams! But THAT doesn't matter.

https://ramsondemand.com/powerrankings/angry-ranks-week-11.33/

congrats to @BriansRams for winning last weeks contest with the score of 34-31...2 points off the final score! Your winnings will be transferred to your account soon.


well believe it or not I had almost a whole post done in Spanish to commerorate the game being held in Mexico City. But alas, Shakiras hips must have destroyed the field, leaving it unplayable even to the NFL standards.


So here we are, back in La La Land as the 9-1 Rams host the 9-1 Chiefs in what is being talked about as the game of the year. The league hasnt had 2 teams both with just 1 loss meet this late in the season since 1990, and the over/under is setting records in Vegas as we speak.


So what do you think the score is going to be?

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I am posting out here from santa monica nearby the santa monica pier in a hotel.Man a dream come true,I have always dreamed of seeing a Rams game in LA and i FINALLY got to do so sunday against the seahawks.I got some good classic LA Ram colors at the stadium but the BEST stuff i found was at hollywoods store in dowtown hollywood. Man what an exciting game.I just KNEW in the final closing minutes the Rams would preserve the victory because Pete the cheat always throws games in big games.LOL

some will disagree here of course but it was so obvious to me he took a payoff to throw that superbowl game.Ever since then I when I watch the seahawks play,i have noticed that in BIG games like a primetime game that he always throw the game.Lol yesterday was a big game so i just knew he would throw it again and was not surprised in the least when he called for that onside kick.I feel sorry for seahawk fans that dont get it this guy is a criminal even worse than belicheat.Belicheat at least cheats to WIN.

a real big bonus for me was I ran into Warren Beatty and got him to sign my hat.I told him his movie HEAVEN CAN WAIT is what kept me going when the Rams moved out of LA.the most depressing moment in my life and i told him the Rams just are not the Rams if they dont play in LA.He then shook my hand and said-your a true fan. Man it was a dream come true enough as it was seeing a Rams game in LA but i cant believe i spotted warren beatty,what a bonus AND got him to sign my hat.what a bonus that was!!!!!!! yahooo!!!!!

https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=318706

Let's talk about the Rams

yeah this might be a fun game


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I'm not overly worried - their defense looked more porous than Rocky Dennis in Mask.
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Interior line has to be stout in this one, the Saints were able to move the ball so easily because Suh and Donald were mostly taken care of with the OL.

The biggest issue will of course be can the defense do anything because the Saints managed to turn the Rams into a passing team.
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Penalties
Chiefs 92
Rams 46

Turnovers
Rams +7
Chiefs +5

Defensive Coordinators

Chiefs =Sutton
Rams=Wade Phillips

We'll beat ourselves
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Seriously - The Rams 'over the top' help is garbage, their safeties may literally be worse than KC's.
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This is our statement game. We lose to the Rams after losing to NE we'll be paper tigers.
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Talib saw the writing on the wall and GTFO of Denver. He wants nothing to do with Mahomes
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We have NOTHING to worry about. This is going to be a glorified scrimmage.
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What we really need to talk about is the coin toss, we have to go offense first it could be a bad day
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Let's Butt**** the Rams.
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Somebody even want to bother to tell me how you stop Gurley?

I expect Sutton will drop everyone to slow down Goff and Gurley will give us the good ol’ Leveon Bell treatment.
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I sure wouldn’t.

They live off of running the ball and using hard PA to get Goff clean pockets and easy throws. I’d send lots of pressure knowing that I’m not going to stop them much either way, but maybe you get some TFLs or big sacks/INTs that way.
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Pat is going to whip it out and Molly Whop their defense.

I'm more afraid of golden retriever puppies than Goff. Little, fluffy, waggy, golden retriever puppies. Gurley will be nothing more than a receiver come the 3rd quarter.

37-31 Chiefs. Rams get the obligatory 10 in garbage time.
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Our defense still stinks bad. Forget stopping them, it wont happen. Just hope you get the ball last and have a shot for the win.
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We'll play pure bend don't break. They'll move down the field easily so it comes down to if we hold them to field goals or touchdowns.
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The ram defense is good enough to get a few stops.

Our defense will give up 6 TD's. Their punter might not as well suit up.
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Rams defense is overrated IMO

their d line is easily their biggest strength. Aside from that, I’m not particularly impressed. Just like our D, their biggest weakness is the middle.
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The Rams defense is a one man show basically. Two when Suh decides to give max effort.

We can put up plenty of points on them IMO. Question is will KC be able to make a few big plays on defense or special teams.
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They're not going to 'stop' Hunt either - especially if we run in the face of the exact opposite side you'd think, directly at the right side of Rams D line.
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We own the Lambs and will dominate them again.

At least they can get some tequila and tacos after their loss.
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Sports Media really seems to be stroking on Goff's knob, but I think they are blowing smoke up everybody's ass. What real adversity has he faced? Has he ever came back from a deficit like Mahomes has?
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He survived a rookie year having to play for Jeff Fisher. I’d say that counts.
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Toad's keys to the Rams game
1) PP = Protect Pat
2) Limit penalties
3) Be special on special teams
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I've never been so unafraid of a team in my life.
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They ****ing suck!!!!!
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That stadium will be Arrowhead South by the time the game is over. An entirely new market down there will be stealing Chiefs jerseys and wearing them proudly.

With Peters playing so badly and Talib out, I just don't think that secondary matches up with our weapons at all. Their best hope is to pressure Mahomes into mistakes, but so far he has been historically amazing outside the pocket.

Chiefs have just as good of a running game as the Lambs. I think we can gash them on the ground by doubling Donald and getting to that second level. We know how Peters tackles.

Their offense is a handful, no doubt, and will put up 30 on us, but the Chiefs are built for a shootout. Mahomes can get us a TD in 12 seconds if we need one. As long as we don't make a bunch of dumb penalties to extend their drives, I think we can get enough stops to still win by 10.
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I hope they run press man like they ran vs the Saints. I'd love to see Peters try to jam Tyreek at the line. He'd be seeing deuces by the time he realized what was going on.

Also, run right at Peters all game.
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I love the chiefs but I think this game will be like NE whoever has the ball last wins.
I believe the D is getting better but this is the best offense we can face without practicing against our 1's so giving up some points wouldn't be horrible.
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The only thing that could make this game like NE is if Mahomes comes out all geeked-up in the first instead of just taking command and playing his game.
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You have to know that with the criticism Peters has been taking he is REALLY NOT looking forward to this game.
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I'll call it now; he's getting pulled from this game. Pulled or ejected, one of the two.
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Time to take out the trash.
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Or if the refs are on the "LA Express"...which they already are. If you watched the Chargers game last week....the WR stepped out of bounds with half his foot and they still let the TD stand. It was a Patriots-level call...even Chargers fans were "WTF".

Like I said earlier...this game has implications for BOTH LA teams. It's really the Chargers best shot at gaining a game on KC....then think of the ratings on that Thursday night game.

I dont see a fairly officiated game in either of those two...so KC is going to have to be humming.
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Rams will clobber us
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Rams > Cards

We better see a huge improvement over this week.
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Hopefully Andy has the team watch this week's game, because the rams will copy it on defense. The difference is they are a lot better. Thankfully most teams are not that talented.
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Donald and Suh vs. a reclamation project at LG, a 3rd string C, and an undrafted FA practice squad signing 2nd year guy at RG.

Yeah, I'm nervous.
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Is the Chiefs' offense better than the Rams?

I think Mahomes is way better than Goff, and the skill players are better, but their line is way better than KC's.
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If the Rams commit to the run it'll be a long day. Hopefully they aren't smart lol.
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Going to be up to the offense to basically make them a passing team.
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Rams are front runners

Interesting ass video haha

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http://www.footballzebras.com/2018/11/week-11-referee-assignments-2018/

Chiefs vs. Rams (Mexico City) ESPN — Clete Blakeman (split crew)
*****************************************************************
This ref did the first Rams game at Seahawks.

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/st...les-rams-quarterback-jared-goff-enjoying-ride

By Tim Keown

Not long ago, the keepers of football's sacred texts detected a tragic flaw. The college game was spreading out and speeding up. It had become too simple, too bloodless -- and the repercussions could cripple the NFL. What they were witnessing was an insult to the thousands of men who sacrificed their bodies and brains on the game's altar. A quarterback standing 15 feet behind the center, catching a snap and throwing the ball to a receiver before the defense could even react?

This was an act of pure expedience, a shortcut in a sport that does not abide them. Who was left to teach a young quarterback to nudge up close to the center, put his hands in another man's haunch and take a proper snap? A quarterback should be close enough to feel fear, and to smell a nose guard's rancid breath, and the suggestion that these gimmicky offenses would work in the NFL -- against grown-ass men, they thundered -- was an affront to the legacies of every great American who ever took the time to teach a man the seven-step drop.

But one by one, the thundering old men were replaced by younger men who identified an opportunity within the perceived decay, and the sacred texts began to be rewritten. These new men, unburdened by the psychic lore of Joe Namath's creaky knees or Joe Montana's jigsaw-puzzle spine or Y.A. Tittle's bleeding forehead, took the obvious skills of the spread quarterbacks and set them loose against NFL defenses.

And now what is this we have before us -- fun? Yes, a league that can't define a catch without seven pages of footnotes is being overrun by this most endangered concept. Fun destroys the myth that everything must be difficult and exhausting and earned. Fun puts the game's inherent martiality at risk. Turns out you can make your way down the field faster, more efficiently and far more often by standing back there and finding the receiver most open.

The first time I saw Goff play quarterback, he was a sophomore in high school, so skinny he had to wave his arms to make a shadow. Even then, with his Marin Catholic jersey billowing around him, the ball left his hand and traveled audibly through the air, and those watching lifted their heads and tracked it in dumbstruck silence, none more helplessly than the thick-ankled defensive backs trying to track it down.

Through 39 wins over three varsity seasons, a silly percentage of his throws ended with the receiver jogging into the end zone and Goff jogging nonchalantly to the sideline in that same upright two-beat trot you see now, as if throwing 50-yard touchdowns was just another way to spend an afternoon. He always gave the impression he was waiting around for something that -- finally -- might be worth celebrating.

"I've always said the same thing about Jared," says his father, Jerry, a former big league catcher. "If you walk into a stadium in the fourth quarter and you had no idea what was going on, you wouldn't know if he had thrown four touchdowns or four picks."

Now the game is infinitely faster, the men playing it so big and strong they can be mistaken for machines moving across a screen. Goff has traveled the distance from skinny to thin -- "I know how to fall" is how he explains his durability -- as his game has embarked on a consistently upward trajectory.

The Rams, 11-5 last season, were stung by the wild-card home playoff loss to the Falcons; after a revelatory second season -- 3,804 yards and 28 TDs -- Goff started slowly in his first playoff game and never got rolling. This year, after an 8-1 start, the memory of that loss had him eager to talk about the one or two games in which the Rams' offense started slowly before starting to roll. He roams the sideline during the slow times repeating the same message: "It'll pop." In every game, even the Week 9 loss at New Orleans, he's been correct.

There's a common reason prescribed when young QBs start reading defenses and identifying coverages and throwing to the right receiver through the narrowest of slots. McVay says it first: "The game is slowing down for Jared." It's accepted wisdom, but in reality the only way for the game to seem slower to the quarterback is for the quarterback's brain -- through repetition and recognition -- to accelerate.

"If I can look out over a defense and say, 'That route's not going to be there,' then I don't need to spend a lot of time on it," Goff says. "It allows me to get through everything a little quicker."

That works well with McVay, who coaches like he's always trying to beat the yellow. He plays defensive back against his receivers at practice and talks so fast that punctuation never has a chance. He exists in the realm of lines and angles, the world an equation that must be solved before time runs out.

"He does something every day to amaze me," offensive tackle Rob Havenstein says. "The details he picks up are incredible. He'll pop into our meetings and tell us why we're doing this or how we're changing this. He'll leave, and we'll sit there and look at each other for a minute, shaking our heads, and then someone will say, 'Yeah, that'll work.'"

The NFL has become a cult of coaches and quarterbacks. You can't win without a guy who can play the position and a guy who can teach it. One has to be able to command a room, the other a huddle. The Rams are unique; Goff and McVay's combined age (56) is 10 years less than Bill Belichick's, and McVay, at 32, is younger than two of his starting offensive linemen.

"I don't think you can put an age to what his brain does," says center John Sullivan, who is five months older than McVay. "His brain is just his brain. It could be 10 or 110 -- doesn't matter. Not everything around here fits with tradition when it comes to age."

I ask McVay if he can cite specific throws Goff has made this season that show his growth. It feels a little cheap, like a dad asking his kid to recite baseball stats at a holiday party, but let's face it: The temptation is too great. McVay, famously, is someone who can be asked about random plays and recount the details like they're the names of his siblings, so asking him to provide some concrete examples of his quarterback's improvement seems like an ethical imperative.

He doesn't have to think. The throw is right there, playing on a screen in his mind:

"I look at the timing and rhythm with which he threw Josh Reynolds his second touchdown against the Packers," he begins, setting the scene from the Rams' Week 8 win. "You want to be able to throw that three-stage footwork -- he tempos his drop on a three-step-from-the-gun footwork and lets it go when his back foot hits, recognizing the coverage concept. The difference between taking that and taking a hitch is a catch-tackle, or maybe a catch-incompletion, and a touchdown with a catch-transition."

I should probably tell McVay he's giving me too much credit with this explanation, but interrupting him when he's talking football seems like an unforgivable transgression. The way it looked to the untrained eye, though, tight end Tyler Higbee ran a short sit-down route to Goff's right, and Reynolds ran a deep slant in the seam behind Higbee. Just as a linebacker drifted toward Higbee, Reynolds split the two deep safeties and turned to find the ball arriving in his hands.

Reynolds' explanation is less technical than McVay's, but it requires its own level of translation. "Once I saw the dime linebacker sit on the cheese [Higbee; think mousetrap], I knew the ball was coming before I laid eyes on Jared," Reynolds says. "As soon as I turned, the ball was on me." McVay was suggesting that last season Goff might have settled for the first open man -- Higbee -- for a modest gain, rather than waiting that extra second -- with the rush coming -- to see the play through to its greatest glory.

"In play-action, we run a lot of what we call three-level throws," Goff says. "Usually, it's something vertical, something intermediate and then something like a checkdown to a running back or a tight end. When I was just starting to understand things last year, it might have been" -- here he nods his head three times while moving his eyes higher each time -- "one-two-three. Mechanical. Now I can see before the snap: OK, that deep ball is probably not going to be open, so this throw is probably going to the intermediate guy. You start to play the percentages, see what's most likely going to take place."

The Rams won their first eight games for the first time since 1969 because the roster is loaded with great players: Todd Gurley is an MVP favorite (along with Mahomes), and Goff is in the conversation; Aaron Donald could repeat as defensive player of the year; Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods are on track for 1,000-yard seasons, as was Cooper Kupp before a season-ending knee injury. Reynolds, who will move into Kupp's role as Goff's third receiver, cites a less obvious reason why the Rams have been able to keep defenses guessing. "We're a really smart team," he says. "Everybody in here is smart, and that makes a difference."

The Rams' extensive playbook grows as the season wears on. McVay is free to introduce concepts midseason and knows they'll be understood. "Obviously, we're expected to know the plays," Havenstein says. "But they've been teaching us more about the why of it -- why we block a certain defense a certain way, why a certain play will work when the defense gives us a certain look. When you understand something, it makes it easier to add new stuff."

Each week, they're being taken deeper and deeper into McVay's brain, a hoarder's garage of expansive concepts, granular diagrams and, not least of all, slogans -- "We Not Me," "You Know What You Know," "The Standard Is the Standard." Those words can seem meaningless from the outside -- a mind-numbing expansion of the it is what it is culture -- but within the team, they represent a shared language to wall off intruders. You know what you know is McVay's way of saying, We know what nobody else does.

"I feel like I get a pretty good look inside his mind," Sullivan says. "He's a freak -- in a good way. I've seen the videos of him reciting plays."

Guard Rodger Saffold, at the next locker, interjects to tell Sullivan, "Just like you."

"No, I'm not like that," Sullivan says. "Not like that."

"Don't let him fool you," Saffold says to me. "He remembers, yeah he does. 'Hey, do you remember that play from 2009?' That's this guy right here."

"Nah," Sullivan says, embarrassed. "I can recall certain things. Probably not the way [McVay] can, though. I don't think anybody can."

The sibilant hiss of the word manages to compound the insult: System quarterback. Was it inevitable? Did McVay's ascendance require that Goff become an extension of his coach and not the curator of his own talent? Before the Rams' Week 7 game in Santa Clara, I listened to a 49ers radio analyst say that Goff couldn't throw a spiral before McVay showed up. And two weeks later, before Goff had thrown a pass against the Saints, Fox's Troy Aikman said, "When [Goff] signs his next contract, he should give Sean McVay 10 percent."

The storyline began to develop a year ago, when the Great Helmet Communication Conspiracy opened a window for those who were seeking sorcery behind McVay's methods. Goff was miked during a game, and McVay's voice could be heard in the background as Goff stood at the line and surveyed the defense.

"People misconstrued it," McVay says. "They thought, 'All right, they're just getting to the line and telling him what to do.'" The communication between the coach and the quarterback cuts off when the play clock reaches 15 seconds, and McVay says, "Jared's making all the calls. He has the mastery of the offense."

System quarterback?

"To call him that is a discredit to all the good things he's doing," McVay says. "As coaches, you want to be able to put your players in a system that's conducive to their success. But there are 32 guys in the world that are starting quarterbacks, and it's a very, very elite group. And then to play at the level he's playing is really impressive -- the level of throws, the understanding of what defenses are trying to present, the off-schedule plays he's able to make in rhythm.

I think sometimes that is received as, 'Well, a lot of guys can do what he's doing,' and I just don't think that's the case. I think he's doing some special stuff, and I think as a result of him playing quarterback he makes it a good system."

The system runs on balance, in scheme and in personality. "I think sometimes I can get too excited," McVay says, "and the consistency of Jared's demeanor helps me keep it in perspective. I look at him during games, so composed and refreshingly secure in himself, and I have to remind myself: Hey, that's what you want to be."

And while he's at it, McVay wants to know the system that could conjure what he saw in Minnesota, when Goff completed 26 of 33 passes for 465 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. It was one of just 49 perfect quarterback ratings (158.3) in the NFL since 1950. Only three of those were by quarterbacks with at least 30 passes thrown, and of all of them, Goff has the most yards and is tied for the most completions.

Statistically it could have been the best quarterback performance in history, and there was one throw in particular that nobody could believe. Late in the first half, with the Vikings leading by three and the Rams at the Vikings' 19-yard line, Goff rolled far to his right and lofted a pass off one foot.

"He's throwing it away," Rams quarterback coach Zac Taylor thought to himself, adding now, "I was thinking about the next play." Instead, Goff was throwing a geometrically perfect pass -- the angle, velocity and location -- that somehow scissored between two defenders and landed in the hands of Cooper Kupp in the back corner of the end zone.
In short, says Taylor: "It was one of the most remarkable passes I've ever seen."

Less than 48 hours after the Rams have defeated the Packers on the last Sunday in October, Goff is being photographed as he walks around the team's complex in Thousand Oaks. November is two days away, yet the temperature is in the high 80s, the Santa Ana winds crackling through the hills like radio static. Locals instinctively check the hillsides, expecting smoke.

The Rams are the last undefeated team in the NFL, a few days away from their first loss, and Goff's most immediate concern is a stamp on the underside of his wrist from a Halloween party the night before that everybody keeps mistaking -- annoyingly -- for a tattoo. There's also a wrap on his left ankle and yellowing bruises on his left biceps. When the photographer asks him to sit on a curb for a pensive shot, he starts to bend down and then stops.

"Can't do that," he says, shaking his head. Asked why, he laughs and says, "It's Tuesday." It's the only explanation needed. A few minutes later, he winces as he pulls on his jersey and pads. Task complete, he exhales the way you do when you finally catch your breath. "I'm only 24," he says, "but it's Week 9, without a bye."

So much of the job is appearances. Quarterbacks like Matt Ryan stroll into a postgame news conference dressed like CEOs. Cam Newton does one thing, Aaron Rodgers another. Everyone has a brand, and Goff's can be loosely described as informal star. "Cali cool," Taylor calls it.

When Goff first came into the league, he would arrive for a game, unbutton the first two buttons of his dress shirt, pull it over his head and bury it on the floor of his locker. So when he took to the podium after a game, he always looked a little like he was wearing ... well, a shirt that had been buried at the bottom of a locker.

He's more particular now -- he uses hangers, and his mom helps him with his outfits for home games -- but every once in a while, Jerry will dare to venture into the unknown.

"Jared, how about a suit this week?"

"Nah, Dad, I'm good."

Just two years ago, Goff was called a bust, and worse. ("You know what you know" is how he describes that situation.) Last year was his quiet rebuttal, but this one feels like an arrival: second only to Mahomes in passing yards through nine games, on the short list for MVP, leading a team that expects to play through January. He has helped to change the paradigm; he is part of the revolution.

It can be hard to tell. Goff's organic nonchalance transcends circumstance and outcome. Against the Saints, with just under 10 minutes left, he threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Kupp to put the Rams a two-point conversion away from erasing a three-touchdown deficit. His reaction? The same as the one in Minnesota, and the same as the one throughout high school, which is to say almost no reaction at all.

His dad says the most emotion he's seen from his son came in Seattle, after a successful quarterback sneak on fourth down late in the game clinched the Rams' fifth win. Havenstein, the offensive tackle, sits at his locker and mimics the most effusive Goff celebration with an almost apologetic fist pump and a strangled "Yuh!" It's modesty, sure, but that's only part of it. It's how confidence looks when someone is still waiting for a moment he deems worthy of celebrating.

It's starting to feel like a revolution, and every revolution needs a frontman. Rams quarterback Jared Goff, under the progressive vision of head coach Sean McVay, is the leader of one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses. Just two years after 2016's top pick suffered through the turgid, sclerotic final days of the crumbling Jeff Fisher empire -- losing all seven of his rookie starts -- Goff is an ascendant star, an MVP candidate, a player who symbolizes the promise of the new over the stubbornness of the old.

"It's funny that the spread quarterback was seen as such a scary thing going into every draft," Goff says. "I played in the spread, Patrick Mahomes played in the spread, Deshaun Watson, Mitchell Trubisky -- the NFL is so stuck in its ways sometimes. If you don't innovate and adapt, you're going to be left behind. It's about coaches; how do you get the best out of your players? It's not by forcing someone to run what you want to run. It's how you can make A the best A can be."

This was a moment -- adapt or die -- and it called for something that's not exactly rampant in the NFL: men with the vision and confidence to change the paradigm. As it turns out, they didn't come to kill the game; they came to save it.

Just thought to check up on this.

2018 thru 10 Games:

Cooks: 51 Rec, 857 Yds (6th), 3 TDs

Watkins: 39 Rec, 515 Yds (31st), 3 TDs

I sure like Cooks, but it feels like he's had more than 3 tds. I was a little shocked its only been 3. Antonio Brown has 10 tds.

They're playing head-to-head this Monday night!

In Peter King's FMIA article there was mention of the Chiefs electing not to practice at altitude, that they had looked at data or whatever. I find this to be an under-the-radar type thing where I wonder if it's going to affect them.

With Mexico City being over 7.3k feet elevation I have to think this might be a decision that influences the outcome of the game.

Good for him. Seemed like a good dude while playing for the Rams.
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A lot of us (including myself) have been down on the defense and after giving up an average of 38pts the last two weeks that has increased.

However one really nice trend I've seen and I very important one- getting stops with the game on the line.

In those "clutch situations" at the end of the game our defense has done its job nearly every time.

Many times its been Donald coming through with a sack/pressure when it was needed.

End of Vikings game Donald makes a key sack.
End of Vikings game Franklin-Myers strip sack ends game.
End of Seattle game they get down to our 24 then a bunch of penalties and good defense they end up punting
End of Raiders game Peters pick six puts the game away for good.
End of Packers game - Donald Sacks Rodgers late in the 4th - 25 yard punt gives us great field position
End of Packers game - Special teams with the great strip fumble.
Late in 4th quarter Seattle - Fowler strip sack sets up key TD
End of game Seattle - Donald puts pressure on Wilson forces a rush throw to end game.

So this trend of finishing on defense at the game is encouraging.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/...es-steelers-week-11/ah7vq20py7gs125oenust0qa7

1. New Orleans Saints 8-1 (last week: 1)

The Saints ran and passed at will in Cincinnati, and they also made big plays on defense. They keep finding ways to pile on to what they already do well.

2. Kansas City Chiefs 9-1 (last week: 3)

The Chiefs proved they can win a gritty game when Patrick Mahomes and Kareem Hunt are not automatic. That bodes well for the tougher conditions in December and in the playoffs.

3. Los Angeles Rams 9-1 (last week: 4)

The Rams’ defense still had plenty of leaks against the Seahawks, this time with more woes against the run than against the pass. Their front-line pass rush proved it can still come to the rescue in key moments.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-rank-for-every-team-entering-week-11#slide31

1. New Orleans Saints (8-1)

It was fair to wonder if the New Orleans Saints might be due for a bit of a letdown in Week 10. After all, the team was on the road after a thrilling win over the then-undefeated Rams last week.

Shame on us for considering that possibility for even a moment.

All the Saints did Sunday was outscore a pretty good Cincinnati Bengals team, 44-7, over the game's final three quarters. It was absolute dominance on both sides of the ball.

Davenport was more than impressed by the showing—he was blown away:

"The Saints are leaving very little doubt about who the NFL's best team is. The offense is loaded with skill-position talent, has one of the best lines in football and a quarterback who may finally get an MVP award this year. The defense gets outshined by that offensive onslaught, but it may well be the best of any of the league's marquee teams. I knew these Saints were good, but they're proving to be even better than I thought. That's kinda scary."

2. Los Angeles Rams (9-1)

Sunday's home date with the Seattle Seahawks was an important game for the Rams. It was both a tune-up for next week's Mexico City brouhaha with the Kansas City Chiefs and a gut check after the Rams lost their first game of the season a week ago in New Orleans.

It was a success on both counts.

Yes, the Seahawks gave the Rams all they could handle. That's to be expected in a division game. But the combination of Todd Gurley (160 total yards) and Jared Goff (318 passing yards) on offense and Aaron Donald (2.5 sacks) on defense was just too much for Seattle—as it's been for most of L.A.'s foes this year.

However, it wasn't all good news for the Rams. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp went down in the second half with a knee injury and, per Nick Shook of NFL.com, the team fears he tore his ACL.

It's a big blow—even for an offense as loaded as the Rams'.

https://nflspinzone.com/2018/11/12/nfl-power-rankings-week-11-2018-cowboys-titans-chargers/

1. New Orleans Saints (1)
One week after making the biggest statement possible by taking down the previously undefeated Los Angeles Rams, the New Orleans Saints absolutely embarrassed the Cincinnati Bengals on the road in a game that was well over by halftime.

Hanging on to a 35-7 lead at the half before going on to win 51-14, the Saints continue to make a strong case when it comes to being the top team to beat in the NFC, and when looking at the fire power they have to work with on offense, it’s tough to argue against that statement.

Whether it was Michael Thomas adding two more touchdowns to his season total to the running game looking unstoppable at times with Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, Cincinnati just couldn’t find a way to stop New Orleans on offense. And when considering the Saints didn’t even record a single punt, this shows what kind of game this was for the NFC South leaders heading into Week 11.

Even more exciting for the Saints, thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers taking down the Carolina Panthers in embarrassing fashion as well, New Orleans now has a comfortable two-game lead in the division. With an upcoming meeting against the defending champions in the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans will be looking to make another statement when it comes to the NFC playoff picture.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (2)
Between only having one loss along with the fact they would be playing at home, Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals was expected to be an easy win for the Kansas City Chiefs. And even though it was closer than expected after only defeating the Cardinals by 12 points, the most important factor is the Chiefs held on for their ninth win of the year.

By hanging on to a 20-7 lead at halftime, Kansas City seemed to be in well control early on before their offense failed to score a single point in the third quarter. The Cardinals deserve plenty of credit for competing with the Chiefs the way they did, but also football fans will be the first to point out that this was the perfect example of how Kansas City is in fact beatable.

When it comes to their next matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs know they can’t afford to see another similar performance like this one since this has the potential to be quite the high-scoring contest. Kansas City knows they’re not going to be perfect every week, but what took place against Arizona should be viewed as a wake-up call to avoid situations like this the rest of the way.

3. Los Angeles Rams (3)
After suffering their first loss of the season to the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, the last thing the Los Angeles Rams wanted to see happen was the team suffer a second loss in a row on Sunday, only this time to the Seattle Seahawks. Earlier in the year, the Seahawks gave the Rams quite the scare after Sean McVay’s squad held on for the two-point win, and even though it was close once again, the defending NFC West champions held on when it mattered the most.

With the win, Los Angeles now has a comfortable four-game lead in the NFC West, which means they could very well have the division locked up by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, although it won’t be easy to take down the Kansas City Chiefs next week. Still, when looking at the talent the Rams possess on both sides of the football, it would almost be impossible for them to fall short of winning the division title, and the main focus will continue to be on battling for that top seed in the NFC.

Between Todd Gurley extending his touchdown streak to 13 games along with Aaron Donald officially setting a new career high in sacks, Los Angeles has plenty to be proud of from this win. However, when seeing how the defense allowed the Seahawks to put up 31 points, it’s clear the Rams still have some areas in need of improvement.