Now that the bye week is has passed us and we have had the chance to take a collective sigh of relief and say out loud "Hey, The Rams don't suck anymore" we move on to the next edition of

The Mightly Los Angeles Rams travel east to take on the Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Janoris Jenkins and the rest of the New York Football Giants.

Can the Rams take a bite out of Eli Apple and finally get the W against Eli Manning?

First poster who comes closest to the actual winning score, including the correct winning team, we be given a $10,000 RoDollar prize to be picked up in the sports book. Duplicate predictions go to the first person to post.

Predict the exact winning score and pick up your $25,000 RoDollar prize in the sportsbook

If anyone cares about stats or PFF measurables... here's the assessment on Goff

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000870774/article/midseason-qb-index-tom-brady-carson-wentz-wow

Rank 17

Jared Goff

Consider it a great sign the Rams were able to get wins over the Jaguars and Cardinals without Goff needing to do that much. The bad news: He has increasingly struggled when not protected well as the season wears on, ranking No. 28 by Pro Football Focus when under pressure. The good news: He's not under pressure that much. Goff shows off progress in other areas on a weekly basis, including his ability to get the Rams into the right play before the snap.

2017 stats: 7 games | 59.9 pct | 1,719 pass yds | 7.7 ypa | 9 pass TD | 4 INT


My Take:
I'm excited on how well the Rams are playing as a team. I feel like we're doing a solid job on all sides of the ball. However, I've been on the record with stating my concern that Jared Goff, being a number 1 overall pick just a year ago, fails to be the "reason we win", but more just a game manager at this point. I hope he develops more into that game changer we pray for, but I'll take the wins as he's getting there.

Don't complain. Peter King has probably read this article at least 20 times with tears in his eyes and trembling hands.
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http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/21227039/can-tom-brady-leave-football-terms-tb12-method

Tom Brady's Most Dangerous Game
The Patriots legend thinks he can play until he's 45 without sacrificing body, mind or integrity. But his future is not just in his hands.
by Tom Junod and Seth Wickersham


ILLUSTRATION BY RICHARD ROBERTS

It happened all at once, the way it happens to boxers. He had been baited into throwing a pass to the wrong man, and suddenly he stood exposed, with not only the play but nature itself turning against him. His teammates seemed to have disappeared; he was the last man in position to stop the wrong man from running all the way down the field and turning the game into a rout.

He tried his best, as he always does, but he was alone against a younger, faster opponent, and when he dove, he missed by a foot rather than by an inch and appeared simply to fall down, in pieces. Even those who root against him might then have pitied him, because it was one of those moments when the essence of sport is revealed to be cruelly and coldly biological: Tom Brady, in the course of throwing a pick-six to Robert Alford of the Falcons in the second quarter of Super Bowl LI, had grown old.

Later, in the fourth quarter, Brady threw another pass over the middle to Alford. It was worse than the pick-six. Brady wasn't tricked; he was forcing the ball into traffic with the game on the line. This time, though, Alford didn't catch it. This time the ball caromed off his fingertips, still in play. It went up, came down, and Brady's intended receiver, Julian Edelman, leaped for it.

He grabbed at it, but then so did gravity, and the ball fell toward the ground. But it didn't land on the ground. It landed on a trivet of Alford's splayed legs and Ricardo Allen's outstretched arms, and Edelman got his hands under it, in one of those moments when the essence of sport is revealed to be cosmic. By the measure of a vibrating inch, Tom Brady had overturned the verdict of time.

THE OLDEST STORY in sports is not an athlete dying young. The oldest story in sports is an athlete getting old and playing past his prime, somehow hoping to avoid the inevitable. In September, Tom Brady released a book titled The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Peak Performance, in which he attempts to rewrite the oldest story in sports.

It is a brief against the inevitable, irresistible not because it supplies its readers with their own blueprint for beating the clock or because it provides access to the teachings of Brady's fitness adviser and business partner Alex Guerrero, but rather because Brady is living his method, and we don't know how his story ends.

Of course, we know how he wants it to end. In an interview with ESPN the day after the Patriots played the Falcons in a mid-October Super Bowl rematch, he says, "I want to play for a long time," as if he were at the start of his career rather than near the end. Indeed, the 18-year veteran said this year that he wants to play until he's 45.

He wants to win a couple of more Super Bowls so his already unprecedented career is impossible to replicate. But his on-the-field ambitions might be a mere prelude to what he wants to achieve off the field, because The TB12 Method captures a man attempting to transform himself from a transcendent figure in sports to a transcendent figure in the culture.

Brady declares that he is "on a mission" and wants to "inspire a movement." That his movement is about something he calls "pliability" -- muscles trained to become "long, soft and primed" instead of "short, dense and stiff" -- is less telling than the moral case he makes for it.

"Pliability is not just for elite athletes," he writes. "It's for anyone who wants to live a vital life for as long as possible." The Method is not of the locker room. Instead, it reflects the values of a global elite for which human longevity is human destiny, and of which Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, are members in good standing.

There is just one catch to all this: To transcend football, Brady has to keep playing it. He has made himself a test case -- the test case -- for the ideas that form the foundation of TB12, his brand. "If you want proof that pliability and the TB12 Method works, I'm it," he writes. He doesn't just want to play until he's 45; he has to play until he's 45, or else he's not Tom Brady, architect of the impossible.

Up against aging, injury and, possibly, the inscrutable long-range plans of his future Hall of Fame coach, Bill Belichick, Brady is playing a dangerous game within a dangerous game, and before he transcends football, he has to manage a feat almost as rare and unlikely: He has to survive it, with his body, his brain and his dignity intact.


BOB DONNAN/USA TODAY SPORTS

ON THE WEEK 7 night when the Patriots and Falcons meet, New England enters the game at 4-2, in a 2017 season distinguished by its rate of attrition across the NFL, with elite player after elite player finding talent no protection from injury. Brady himself has acknowledged how often he's been hit as the season has worn on; he is said to be playing with an aching left shoulder, and when, early in the game, he moves out of the pocket and throws deep to a receiver, the pass finds its fluttering way, once again, into the hands of Robert Alford.

But then Brady gets a reprieve. As he let go of the ill-fated ball, he was hit hard and high, and, in the context of the 2017 season, yet again, by the Falcons' Adrian Clayborn. Clayborn is called for roughing the passer. Two plays later, Brady proves what every coach in the NFL already knows -- that he is a man who makes the most of second chances -- and tosses a touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks. The rout is on, with a pass thrown to Alford once again emblematic of the smiling face of fortune in Brady's career, except for this: He won a reprieve from an errant throw.

He did not win a reprieve from another hard shot to his head.

TAKE A LOOK at him, at the Boston convention center, back in June. He is sharing a stage with two friends, Edelman and Tony Robbins, at one of Robbins' motivational extravaganzas. It is four months after Brady's fifth Super Bowl win, a day after the conclusion of the Patriots' minicamp, and he looks as relaxed as it is possible for him to look, his crisp denim shirt open over his clean white tee.

When Robbins, smiling toothily in his headset, leads the crowd in rhythmic clapping, Brady gamely claps along. He is wearing his own headset, smiling his own toothy smile, and he appears for all the world to be an aging athlete doing what aging athletes have always done -- trying to find a way off the field by turning himself into a salesman.

Now take another look, keeping something very important in mind. He is Tom Freaking Brady, and so he is no more a standard-issue jock-turned-pitchman than he is a standard-issue NFL quarterback. Sure, he has something to sell, The TB12 Method and all its associated paraphernalia, from a $250 resistance band kit to a $200 cookbook.

But he is not just hawking his wares; he is trying to start a movement. And so Robbins and Edelman are on hand not simply as friends, or even as comrades in arms. Robbins is a mentor, a glimpse of what Brady wants to become. Edelman is a disciple, an initiate into the mysteries of the TB12 Method. And the three men, seated onstage and rhythmically clapping, represent a tableau of belief, even when Robbins asks Brady about the minicamp.

"I walked off the field at practice and thought, 'I am the worst quarterback in the NFL,'" Brady says. "'How could I have possibly made those throws? How could I be so dumb to do that?'" He smiles impeccably. "If it's not perfect for me, I lose sleep."

It is hard to believe him when he talks like this. But he makes it hard to disbelieve him, because there is no way to explain his career without resorting to the inexplicable, and because he so clearly believes the unbelievable to the bottom of his soul. No matter what he happens to say, he means every word.

He tells Robbins' audience the story of how he came to the Patriots as the 199th player in the 2000 NFL draft, with no one but him believing he had a chance to replace Drew Bledsoe as the starting quarterback. It is not just a story he has told many times before; it is the only story he has ever told, yet the audience is rapt because the people know there's a miracle at the end.

So take one more look at him as he tells of how his belief in himself was tested by struggle and then hardened into an implacable will, and of how that will now finds its perfect expression in the creation of the TB12 Method. It is one month after Bundchen told the world her husband has a history of undiagnosed concussions, including one he suffered last season.

When Robbins asks Brady why he created TB12, he answers that he has been motivated by watching his idols fall. "Joe Montana had to retire because his body didn't hold up," he says. "Steve Young had to retire because he kept getting head injuries." Brady seems to imply that he can somehow avoid their fates by rigorous practice of the TB12 Method.

And now in his book, he states outright that the responsibility for injury rests in part with the injured. "When athletes get injured, they shouldn't blame their sport -- or their age," he writes. "Injuries happen when our bodies are unable to absorb or disperse the amount of force placed on them."

He is challenging himself to accomplish feats unprecedented and miracles untold, and he is defending the game of football with the determination of a man defending his own legacy. His message is unmistakable: Football helps those who help themselves.

"THERE'S ALWAYS THIS baseline balance for me to find before every game," Brady says in the interview after the Falcons game. "Really, our goal with the book that I wrote was to describe all of those things. ... I've been doing it for so long it's not hard for me to understand. It's very simple, and it's probably more frustrating that more people don't just understand it."

The TB12 Method is Brady's first real book, but there is little surprise in the fact that it doesn't take the form of a memoir, an autobiography or a tell-all -- that it isn't even really about Brady. Never in the business of self-revelation, he reveals nothing in his book except that he is very much in the business of Tom Brady. Still, The TB12 Method is an exercise in unintentional self-disclosure.

The man who gazes at us from the book's cover is a fair-skinned Californian, who after spending the better part of his life in the elements has somehow acquired nary a line or wrinkle, not a scar nor even, for that matter, a freckle. It is not so much that he looks young as that he refuses to look old.

When his wife mentioned his concussions, she did so once and never again, and Brady has batted away questions about long-term neurological effects as "none of your business." The word "concussion" never appears in The TB12 Method.

The phrase "brain injuries" does, but only when Brady is talking about techniques to "get ahead and stay ahead" of them, "especially in the off season." He answers questions about concussions by saying that his body is none of your business even as he begins to build a business around his body.

It has become customary to think of Brady as an athlete without limits, one who overturns expectation by refusing to concede an inch to anyone else's idea of the inevitable. But The TB12 Method offers a portrait of a ferociously limited human being, albeit the world's "most hydrated" one. Every day, he wakes up at 6 in the morning and immediately drinks 20 ounces of purified water, augmented with TB12 electrolytes, which, as he tells us, contain the "72 trace minerals" generally lost in perspiration.

As a result, he says, he is so well-hydrated that "even with adequate exposure to the sun, I won't get sunburned," and he presumes that the muscles under his skin look like "beautiful tenderloins" instead of "shriveled jerky." He trains about four hours a day, and on most days, he "does pliability" with Guerrero, who, with hands capable of generating "50 newtons of force in a single finger" -- about 11 pounds -- applies "targeted pressure" to Brady's muscles.

"On the rare occasions when I don't have the benefit of working with Alex," he either does "partner-pliability" or goes solo with a jar of coconut oil he applies himself and a TB12 "vibrating sphere." He eats abstemiously, with few portion sizes bigger than the palm of his hand, but also with a purpose, to maintain the "alkalinity" of his body.

And he sleeps in the same determinedly therapeutic fashion, repairing to bed at 9 each night in a room uncontaminated by either technology or pet dander. He keeps a glass of water by his bedside and sleeps, famously, in TB12 "bioceramic recovery wear," which is also for sale from TB12 and which Brady also considers part of a "movement" -- the "tech-enabled apparel and sleepwear" movement.

Last year, he writes, he was so pleased with how he was throwing at a workout that "I remember thinking, 'My ability to sustain my peak performance over the past 10 years is almost unbelievable to me.'" With his "oxygen-rich blood" and his muscles "firing at 100 percent," he can now afford to say "I rarely get fatigued, I never get headaches and I never cramp." He all but pronounces himself invulnerable. He is not one of them, the irreparably damaged players we've come to pity even as we root them on.

"I can recover from Sunday's game significantly faster than players who may be 10 or 15 years younger than me," he writes. But the stakes are even larger -- and the odds even longer -- than that, because Brady seems to be asking his readers to acknowledge not simply that he can recover but that he is unscathed, as if he were not playing in Sunday's games at all.

"In fact, two years ago, I took a hit on my knee during a practice, requiring an MRI. The doctors who read the MRI joked afterward that my knee looked so healthy, they seriously doubted I played professional football."

BRADY WRITES, "SUSTAINED peak performance isn't about luck" and claims that "much of the success I've been lucky enough to have in my career I owe to a lifelong 'will-over-skill' mindset." However, if Alford had caught the ball Brady threw to him instead of Edelman, or if the ball had followed its natural course and fallen to the turf instead of being held up by a thicket of arms and legs -- or if Pete Carroll had just handed the ball to Marshawn Lynch in Super Bowl XLIX -- we might be having an entirely different conversation about Tom Brady.

He wouldn't be an immortal, and instead of talking about the efficacy of the TB12 Method in prolonging prime performance, we'd be shaking our heads about another NFL great reduced to chasing his own ghost. Brady didn't only get good against Seattle and Atlanta, he also got lucky.

Luck has not always gone his way. David Tyree ended Brady's dream of an undefeated 2007 season when he caught Eli Manning's desperate heave against his helmet, a catch at least as improbable as Edelman's. And at the start of 2008, Brady tore two ligaments in his left knee, an injury so severe there were doubts about his ability to recover.

When he suffered complications from surgery, he hired Guerrero, with whom he had worked in the past, to find a better way. Now Brady credits Guerrero's "genius." He hugs him when he sees him and calls him "Alejandro." He overlooked issues in Guerrero's past -- Guerrero paid a judgment to the Federal Trade Commission to settle charges that he claimed dietary supplements could help cure cancer -- and went into business with him.

He also brought teammates into his TB12 fold, mostly converting a circle of players that includes Danny Amendola, Dont'a Hightower, Rob Gronkowski and, of course, Edelman.

To what extent does Brady now think he controls his fate? "The moment another player's helmet makes contact with my body, my muscles are pliable enough to absorb what's happening instantly," he writes. "My brain is thinking only lengthen and soften and disperse before my body absorbs and disperses the impact evenly and I hit the ground." Or, more simply, as he puts it in the interview, "I know my focus on pliability has helped me avoid so many injuries and bounce back so quickly from hits."

Yet he remains an NFL player, and for any NFL player, the cruel whims of the game are not restricted to what happens on the field, especially when he's a New England Patriot and plays for a man with a formidable method of his own.


NILS ERICSON FOR ESPN

BILL BELICHICK IS the coldest decision maker the game has ever known. He is a virtuoso strategist, but the essence of the Belichick Method is not only about plays but also about personnel, and knowing the earliest possible moment to let go of players who make the mistake of thinking they're indispensable.

For the better part of two decades, Brady has stood as the exemplar of the Belichick Method, the coldest quarterback for the coldest coach. But he has also stood as its test, a question that one day Belichick would have to answer, the ultimate inevitability of his and Brady's careers.

Belichick appeared to have come up with his answer in 2014, when, in Brady's own words, "the youth had worn off" and the quarterback was still trying to adjust his game after five years of postseason struggle. Smart defensive coaches had started challenging him, clogging the middle of the field in order to force him to throw outside. In 2013, Brady's yards per attempt had fallen to 6.92, his lowest since 2006, and he completed only 17 of 68 throws beyond 20 yards.

"We gotta be able to throw downfield," Belichick said, according to people on his staff, and though Brady, working with Guerrero, was already starting to talk about playing into his 40s -- prompting eye rolls from some Patriots staffers -- that wasn't the question that consumed New England personnel evaluators.

The question was whether his skills were in irrevocable decline, and in the 2014 draft, Belichick seemed to come up with an answer by drafting Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round, the first signal that he was personally invested in a future that did not include Tom Brady and that the Belichick Method would never give way to mere sentiment.

The Chiefs drubbed the Patriots on Monday night early in the 2014 season, and Brady played so poorly -- so creakily -- that talk turned to whether he was, at long last, finished. A few days later, Belichick asked running backs coach Ivan Fears to speak to the team. Fears spoke about the importance of attitude, then turned to Brady and, with the entire team looking on, said, "Your body language reeks of fear."

In response, Brady did what Brady does: He willed himself to get better. He says he "doesn't remember" Fears saying that to him, but he will always remember the necessity, at that moment, for mental toughness. "It's an attitude adjustment," he says. "Not ever being satisfied. Things obviously have not been easy for me in my career."

What ensued over the next three seasons was arguably the greatest sustained performance by an aging athlete in the eternal history of athletes growing old -- a performance so consummate that it convinced Brady that, thanks to the TB12 Method, he wasn't really aging at all. Brady credited Guerrero for keeping his body intact, and Guerrero credited himself, but the Patriots credited adjustments Brady had made to his game.

He wasn't too proud to throw the ball into the dirt at the first sign of danger, and he wasn't getting hit as much. And when the team saw how fresh his arm was at the end of a 2016 season that began with his serving a four-game suspension, talk among the coaches turned to the question that will follow Brady as long as he plays: Can he do 16 games again?

Belichick is seeking to secure an immortality of his own. No one knows how much longer he'll coach, but his friends give him two or three more years, enough to ensure that his two sons, Stephen and Brian, both Patriots assistants, are secure, and possibly long enough to establish a truly dynastic succession.

He'd told friends for the past year that he wanted to coach Garoppolo as a starter and that he was confident he could win a Super Bowl with him. That, of course, would have required him to decouple himself from the player who has changed his life and his legacy, and so the question always was: Would he do it? Would he actually move on from TB12?

On the night of Oct. 30, that question was answered -- for now, at least -- when he traded Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second-round pick. The trade came out of nowhere, surprising people close to Belichick, Brady and Garoppolo.

But while it's easy to see the move as a demonstration that Brady is and always will be the one exception to the Belichick Method, it instead serves as confirmation that the Method will always win. Did Belichick trade his backup out of loyalty to a 40-year-old quarterback, or because cutting bait at exactly the right time is what he alwaysdoes and always will do?

For the short term, Brady will find himself in the position of being the future of the Patriots -- with no end in sight. The Garoppolo trade can be seen as an expression of faith not only in Brady, but also in the TB12 Method. The apparent vote of confidence comes even as Brady has found himself in the middle of a conflict between the Patriots and Guerrero, with Guerrero blaming the team's trainers for injuries some of his clients have suffered and with Belichick making it resoundingly clear that Guerrero has no actual role on his staff.

"There's a collision coming," a friend of Belichick's says, and even without Garoppolo itching to supplant him, Brady is aware of the competing legacies at the heart of the Patriots' historic success. He says now that he "hopes" he doesn't play for anyone else, but "I'm also not naive to think I can't."

And Brady is not the only one to have written a book. At the end of his 2005 collaboration with David Halberstam, The Education of a Coach, Belichick makes a case for luck as a prerequisite for greatness and uses Brady as the prime example.

When Brady was suspended at the beginning of 2016, Garoppolo took his place, in an echo of the start of Brady's career. But there is only one Brady. Garoppolo played well, but for either a want of luck or willpower he lasted only five and a half quarters before being knocked out with a shoulder injury and eventually giving way to Tom Brady and the Method.


DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP PHOTO

ONE DAY LAST year, the two scientists whose company created the software product Brain HQ were surprised by a phone call that came to their office in San Francisco. It was Alex Guerrero, telling them Tom Brady was using the brain exercises they'd been developing, and they were surprised for a couple of reasons.

First, Brady wanted to meet them. And second, he was not using the exercises in ways for which they were intended. "We improve people who need improvement," says Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science. "Old people, people who've suffered cognitive damage, but not a guy at the top of his game using our exercises to get better."

So Mahncke and Posit Science founder Michael Merzernich flew to Boston and visited Brady and Guerrero at the TB12 training center. "The first thing that was pretty wild was that they had a personal team of neuroscientists," Mahncke says. "And we're like, 'This is the kind of thing you can do when you're the greatest quarterback of all time.' But what he told us was pretty striking.

He said, 'I'm at the point where I want to be the best in every possible way. I came across the exercises in Popular Science, and I can already see the difference in my brain function. This kind of brain training is like physical conditioning. It can help anyone.'

"That's just not how we thought of brain training before," Mahncke says. "If you have bad cognitive function, we can help you. But Tom was using the same exercises that people in much worse condition use. We didn't have to change the science at all. He was just using them at a totally different level."

Did Brady decide to engage in brain training because he felt himself on the verge of rising to a new level or because he felt himself falling behind as a consequence of trauma already suffered? Mahncke didn't know; he had never asked. But he wanted to make one thing clear: "I talk to Tom a bunch, and this might surprise you, but he never talks about concussions, at all."

But the question holds, because either Tom Brady is a football player who, like other football players, has suffered multiple concussions, or he is a football player who, unlike most other football players, has found a way to rise above the game's inherent assault on body and brain. It is not only his wife who says he is the former; many Broncos believe they noticed him in an all-too-recognizable daze during the 2015 AFC championship game.

Yet he not only speaks in his book of his determination to stay ahead of brain injuries; he speaks unsparingly of those who let injuries get ahead of them. Famous for being unforgiving of himself when he makes mistakes, he turns out to be unforgiving of players who make the mistake of getting injured. "If our bodies can handle the force, it doesn't matter what sport we play or how old we are. That's why age isn't my problem!"

He has little sympathy for anyone whose experience might contradict the overarching TB12 narrative. "Players say the biggest reason [for early retirement] is their fear of the long-term effects of playing while injured. I don't have that fear. They have no idea they can have a body or a career free of the pain that athletes of the past have endured."

By the end of The TB12 Method, he is not even talking about injuries, trauma or even sport. He is professing his faith that "we can decelerate the aging process as most people experience it today." As an athlete, he is already an immortal, but he begins to emerge as an Immortalist too, someone convinced that the answer to the question he poses near the close of the book -- "What does it mean to naturally age?" -- is that aging is unnatural and not to be accepted without a fight. It sounds grandiose. But after the Falcons rematch, he puts the fight in a humble context:

"The reality for me is not how long I want to live but the quality of life. I love playing football, I love everything about it, I want to do it for a long time. And at the end of that, I still want to do all the things I love to do. And that's what it's about for me. It's about doing what I love to do for as long as I'm here. You can't take any of these days for granted.

But I also want to do what I have to do to prevent long-term damage to my body playing sports. Afterward, I still want to be able to ski, to surf, and do the things I love to do. I still want to be able to throw the ball around with my kids and play soccer in the backyard and have fun in life."

It's not that Brady wants what no one else has. He wants what everyone else has, or thinks they have. He toys with the notion of immortality because, as a human being who has played nearly 300 games in the NFL, his mortality is demonstrably accelerated and actuarially advanced. To do a job for as long as he loves and to stay whole, it doesn't seem like much to ask. But then again it is asking for the world.


Fitness guru Alex Guerrero/JESSE BURKE

OF COURSE, BELICHICK and the Patriots are also asking the world of Brady. They are not only committing to a 40-year-old quarterback; they, with the Garoppolo trade, have blocked Brady's simplest means of a graceful exit. He has decided not to stop. Now he also can't fail.

What would count as a failure for Tom Brady? Playing until he's 41 instead of playing until he's 45? Never winning another Super Bowl? Getting released at age 43 from the Patriots and spending the last days of his career hobbling around for the Browns, still angry that they took Spergon Wynn in the sixth round of the 2000 draft instead of him? Or getting all he wants -- playing until he's 45 and winning two more Super Bowls -- only to discover 15 years later that he has recurring headaches and his memory is hazy and he can't follow the route to the nearest TB12 training center?

None of these scenarios is far-fetched and none of these scenarios is inevitable, and the scenario that probably scares him the most -- the one in which, for all his investment in brain training and bioceramic sleepwear, he ends up just another athlete staying on a little too long and getting out a little too late -- is the most likely.

He is so accustomed to thinking in terms of the impossible that he often forgets to think in terms of the probable, and he's so intent on thinking in terms of willpower that he misses the simple power inherent in accepting one's fate. People do run out of luck, especially on the football field. And with the Method, he defines unavoidable occurrences in his sport as failures and risks making failures of his teammates and his friends.

So let's go back to Tom Brady throwing a pass to Julian Edelman. This time they're not playing for high stakes in the Super Bowl; this time they're playing for no stakes at all, in a preseason game against Detroit. Edelman lines up in his familiar place in the slot; he dances upfield, then catches a ball Brady throws over the middle.

It's an ageless play run by two men who have made ageless plays their business. Then three Lions close in. Edelman tries to do the impossible -- he tries to evade them all -- and when he pivots left, his right knee gives out, extending so unnaturally that it snaps him into the air with the force of a slingshot. He falls to the ground and rolls over clutching his knee, in an agony of ruin, knowing his season is over.

By Brady's logic, the injury could not have been a matter of luck -- there is no luck. It could not have been the game -- don't blame the game. It has to be a failure of pliability. "What will happen when an athlete with tight, dense, stiff muscles ... runs and makes a sharp cut?" he writes. "If these functions overload a muscle, bone, tendon or ligament, he will get injured." But here's the problem: Edelman practices pliability. He "certainly gets some deep-force muscle work," Brady says. How then can Edelman have failed?

But then something else happens. Over the course of the season, even as Brady maintains an MVP-level form, others go down -- all members of the pliability circle. Hightower with a knee issue and a pectoral tear. Amendola with a concussion. Gronk with a groin problem.

Brady himself has an aching shoulder. But he not only keeps showing up, he keeps prevailing, left alone with his Method, his singular talent and his unflagging determination. The game might never beat TB12. But it will do its best to make him the last man standing.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...rdon-to-meet-with-nfl-regarding-reinstatement

Will he get it this time?

Probably not.

Thinking more about this J Garoppola trade, could the 49ers be in a very similar position as the Rams were in the 2012 draft?
They apparently have their franchise QB and look to be sitting right now either first or second in draft order.
I dont know where the top college prospect's project right now but It's conceivable some team might offer the same as the Redskins gave the Rams for RGIII!
I don't like the thought of this at all!

http://www.skysports.com/nfl/news/1...=referral&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

Please help your UK Brothers and Sisters watch the Texans @ Rams game in Week 10.

Sky are giving the match choice up for a vote and the Rams game is currently neck and neck with the Cowboys @ Falcons game.

#ukrams

I have 2 cats and had to get my 14 year old put down about 3 weeks ago because she had liver disease. The other 2 are 19 and 16 years old, and the 19 year old is in pretty rough shape. Because both are ageing I just want to get a new kitten (maybe 2) to liven up the house.

I’ve always wanted to get a unique cat breed (not something huge and dangerous) but a bobcat was the one exotic cat I’ve always wanted to get. I don’t think it’s the best choice at this point because they’re atleast a couple thousand dollars.

I’ve been thinking about getting a Maine Coon Cat because they’re the biggest domestic breed in America, are extremely friendly around people and other animals, and have longer hair that is unique. These also go for about $1000 on average but they’re much less wild and seem to have great personalities.

Is there any unique cat breed that I’m unaware of that would be suitable for what I’m looking for?

2017 LA Rams prepare for "The Back 9"


The Los Angeles Rams rolled into their bye week after sinking a "hole in one" when they shut out the Arizona Cardinals 38-0 in London. They also sent a message to a few more of their doubters in the NFL hierarchy. They now begin their quest to finish strong on the back 9 of their regular season schedule.

After winning 5 of their first 7 games, these 2017 Rams have shown resilience, character, unity and seem to have taken on the personality of their new coaching staff. You can see it with this years team by their confidence, swagger and the composure they've displayed during periods of adversity in many of their games prior to the bye week.

Led by first year head coach "offensive magician" Sean McVay and the ageless "defensive wizard" Wade Phillips, the personnel on this roster has transitioned well to the new leadership and their coaching philosophies. Added to McVay and Phillips is long time special teams guru John "Bones" Fassel and this group together is a compelling trifecta of NFL coaches.

There are other solid pieces to the coaching staff that makes this team click. Offensive line coach Aron Kromer, offensive coordinator Matt LeFleur and QB coach Greg Olson. Even under the radar additions like Aubrey Pleasant and Ejiro Evero handling the secondary along with various other competent assistants completes a very strong 2017 coaching staff. Not to be overlooked strength and conditioning coach Ted Rath and athletic trainer Reggie Scott and the importance that they've been to the team

This feisty and talented young Rams team has its share of flaws and the NFL critics along with many of their fans will continue to point them out right up until the last game of the season. Regardless of the critique that will follow the Rams like it does with every team in the league, this team has taken a big step up in pedigree over their first seven games and has made this one of the most enjoyable seasons to witness for us fans giving us hope for making a playoff run.

Even with their flaws and seven games of film tallied up for the next nine teams of opposition to review, unless this Rams team folds under pressure like a beach chair on the white sands of a Florida beach, there isn't a lot of evidence to make a strong case that they will simply stumble and eventually fade from playoff contention.

This Rams team has taken their fans on a wild joy ride and they've bought into HC Sean McVay's vision and program. Even the new slogans McVay and his staff chose at the beginning of training camp such as, "We Not Me" and the Rams post game unity chant in the locker room, "Family on Three".."1-2-3 Family!" has permeated this roster of players with a belief in themselves and a newfound winning culture.

These 2017 Rams team have arguably been one of the top three most entertaining and fun teams in the NFL to watch this season.

We all know there are still nine games left that will determine the fate of McVay's Rams and what stands in front of them, isn't a bunch of easy Par five wide open clear fairways for this team to simply play it safe and conservative.

Like the immense pressure on a pro golfer high up the leader board facing the back 9 holes in the final round of a PGA championship, this Rams team will need to show they can remain poised when the pressure mounts and adversity punches them in the gut. They will have to battle their way out of any sand traps, bunkers and thick rough on their quest to return to the NFL's 12 team playoff tournament.

The final nine games left on the Rams schedule will match them up against some heavy weight opponents that are fighting for their own right to earn a playoff berth. The importance of winning or losing any of these remaining games just adds more anxiety, drama and excitement leading up to the next game on the schedule. Each victory or loss will be magnified ten fold with very little room for McVay's Rams to bogie away any winnable games.

With the bye week now behind them, each passing game will add an extra abundance of butterflies, suspense and adrenaline for Rams fans around all around the world. Especially the faithful fans that have stuck with this team year after year and remained loyal to the team with curled horns on their helmet. All those consecutive agonizing seasons before this year have made this one an unexpected surreal experience that we can all appreciate on the highest level in the world of pro football.

If these 2017 Rams are as good as several of us fans believe, they will stand their ground and continue their rise to the top of the leader board. Should they persevere and continue the momentum that they had built up heading to their bye week, like a battling ram they will smash their way through most of the nine obstacles in front of them. If this is indeed their time they will stay the course and become one of the final 12 contestants invited to the NFL's annual post season party.

The Rams players should be ultra focused at the highest level, let alone well rested for the challenges that stand in front of them on the back nine of their schedule. They ended the bye week as one of the most healthy teams in the NFL and there is no excuse or sand trap game "cliche" for them not to be ready for anything the Giants bring to the table this coming Sunday in New York.

The Rams are about to take us on a journey that none of us fans or NFL pundits can guarantee what the eventual outcome will be. Like many of you, I'm already feeling the anxiousness and excitement as our team gets ready to tee off on this nine game journey. Enough of the golf metaphors, it's time for some Rams football again and I'm ready to enjoy each game one at a time with all of you great fans part of the amazing Rams family.






The entertaining and surprising 2017 Los Angeles Rams are 5-2 after their first seven games and there are no clever reasons or bogus excuses from fans or NFL experts that can prove they should have a better or worse record.

Like the great "hall of fame" coach Bill Parcells said, "you are what your record says you are"

The Rams haven't started a season 5-2 since 2003. That adds up to 14 long grueling years that us faithful and loyal fans have patiently waited for.

What does their 5-2 start tell us within the scope of the big picture?

Just as their new head coach Sean McVay mentioned in a recent press conference, “‘Who were you talking about after seven weeks in the NFL last year? What were guys’ record?’ Nobody cares. Because, really, it’s about what you do at the end.”


Let's rewind the tape and take quick review of how the first seven games for the 2017 Rams season got them to where they are today.




(1-0) At Los Angeles Week 1* Rams 46 Colts 9 "Luckless Colts Dominated"


LOS ANGELES >> Just before Rams quarterback Jared Goff disappeared into the Coliseum tunnel late Sunday afternoon to celebrate his first win as an NFL quarterback, he paused, peeked over to a hundred or so fans shouting his name from the stands and raised his right arm to the sky.

The roar that immediately erupted was unlike anything we’ve heard from the Coliseum for an NFL team in what seems like forever. Not two minutes before, 31-year-old Rams head coach Sean McVay did the same exact thing as he exited the stadium on the way to his team’s excited locker room after dropping a 46-9 hammer on top of the Indianapolis Colts.

The eruption was just as loud. There was hope in the air. You could feel it, sense it and even hear it. So was confidence and faith. It was everything the Rams immediately let slip through their fingers upon returning home to Los Angeles last season after spending the previous 21 years in St. Louis. Their 4-12 finish did more harm than anyone cares to admit, although one look at the crowd on Sunday revealed a humbling reality.

But also somewhat understandable, given how the Rams stumbled all over themselves last year. It was a bad look. And it had devastating effects. For now, Los Angeles is taking a collective wait-and-see attitude before deciding when, and if, it pours its heart out for the Rams. Which made the fans reaction as Goff disappeared into the Coliseum tunnel so important.

After building a year’s worth of skepticism and cynicism and even anxiety, they were letting their guard down a little bit after soaking in the Rams thoroughly entertaining and dominant win over the Colts. Goff masterfully delivered a season-opening masterpiece that, for one day at least, erased the horrible stench from last year. The offense was efficient and explosive and imaginative.

Even without All-Pro tackle Aaron Donald, the Rams defense was fast and active and disruptive while taking two interceptions to the end zone. To put the day in perspective, the 37-point margin of victory more than doubled the Rams combined margin of victory in their four wins last year. So yeah, there was hope in the air. And a huge sigh of relief that the Rams may have gotten it right with drafting Goff first overall last year.

The kid everybody was in such a rush to declare a bust after a miserable rookie season looked every bit like a high-end NFL quarterback. Operating behind a rebuilt offensive line that kept him clean for most of the afternoon, he picked apart the Colts on 21-of-29 passing for 306 yards, one touchdown and a 117.9 quarterback rating.

“Expected of him,” said new Rams wide receiver Robert Woods. “We see it at practice. We see him making these throws, calling these plays, very poised and confident. You see him out there today, making those throws, giving receivers chances like Cooper Kupp to go up and make plays on the ball. I mean, I would say that’s confidence and you saw it here today.” It’s a performance we never saw last year from Goff across seven forgettable starts.

And one far too many fans and pundits prematurely predicted he wasn’t capable after watching him struggle as a rookie. They underestimated just how bad Goff had it, of course. The offensive line was terrible, the wide receivers incompetent and the coaching archaic, ineffective and unimaginative. He was also a 21-year-old kid making the jump from a college spread offense to a traditional NFL system.

Those aren’t excuses. It’s reality. A year later, with everything around him decidedly better and a contemporary, imaginative coaching staff in charge, Goff looked like a completely different player. “He’s a number one overall pick for a reason,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “He’s a damn good football player and he did a great job as far as scheming what we were doing.”

Funny how that works, right? Give a smart, strong-armed, accurate throwing quarterback real perimeter weapons, a better scheme and time to stand in the pocket and throw the ball and good things happen. “I think with the additions we’ve made and everything we’ve done in the off-season, that’s how it’s set up,” Goff said. True, true. But a good quarterback is also required. Goff wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but he efficiently spread the ball across nine different receivers while standing tall and confidently in the pocket while scanning the field and finding the open man.

“Very impressed,” said McVay. “I think that’s the goal – make good decisions, throw the ball with anticipation and accuracy in the timing and rhythm of the play and I thought he consistently did that today. Taking care of the football is a huge part of it and I thought he was able to get a handful of different guys involved in the pass game and that’s what you want to be able to do when we do have a handful of playmakers at the skill guys with our receivers, tight ends and backs. So, credit to Jared. I am very pleased with him today.”

The Rams drafted Goff with those attributes in mind. That it didn’t come together for him in year one didn’t cause panic from Rams building as much as it sprung them into action rebuilding the infrastructure around him. Coaching included, moving on from Jeff Fisher and replacing him with McVay. The bevy of moves they made during the offseason were specifically designed to get Goff on the right track.

But it was on him to take it from there. He did exactly that on Sunday in a way few could have anticipated. “I thought he was tremendous,” Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “I didn’t know how he’d be with a new group, a new offense, but I thought he was great. No moment was too big. He was in control.

“Communication was great. Demeanor was great. I think he feels, not so sure safe is the right word, but I think he knows he’s got a good group with him. And we’re here to protect him as an offense, and as coaching staff with Sean, to help him be successful.” Goff did his part on Sunday. And the rebuilt offense around him followed his lead.


http://www.sgvtribune.com/2017/09/1...-more-than-a-win-on-sunday-they-created-hope/


(1-1) At Los Angeles Week 2* Redskins 27 Rams 20 "Run Defense Exploited"


Redskins Run Wild in L.A., Trample Rams for First Win

Jared Goff’s late interception thwarts Rams comeback vs. Redskins

LOS ANGELES — Kirk Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grant with 1:49 to play to give the Washington Redskins a 27-20 victory Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams and rookie head coach Sean McVay.

Cousins capped the winning 70-yard drive by finding Grant in the front left corner of the end zone. The Rams had tied the game at 20 on Greg Zuerlein’s 40-yard field goal with 7:16 to play. It was set up on a trick play, when punter Johnny Hekker completed a 28-yard pass to Josh Reynolds to the Washington 17. But two penalties stalled the drive and the Rams had to settle for the field goal.

Chris Thompson scored on runs of 61 and 7 yards for the Redskins (1-1). Mason Foster sealed it with 1:37 to go by intercepting Jared Goff. Cousins had a much better day than in a season-opening loss to Philadelphia, when he had three turnovers. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions.

McVay, 31, worked for the Redskins for seven seasons, including the last three as offensive coordinator under Jay Gruden, before being hired by the Rams as the youngest head coach in modern league history. Despite McVay’s familiarity with the Redskins, it didn’t translate into a win for the Rams (1-1).

Washington was in control most of the afternoon, including jumping ahead 13-0 early in the second quarter after Thompson took a toss and ran in from 7 yards, getting the ball just inside the pylon. Late in the second half, on second-and-6 from the Washington 39, Thompson took a delayed handoff from Cousins out of the shotgun and burst through the defense for his long TD run and a 20-10 lead.

The Rams, who didn’t look near as sharp as they did in routing Indianapolis a week earlier, made a game of it thanks to a spectacular play by Todd Gurley. Midway through the third quarter, Gurley caught a swing pass from Goff, hurdled cornerback Bashaud Breeland and then reached for the pylon to complete the 18-yard play and pull the Rams to 20-17.

Gurley also scored on a 1-yard run midway through the third quarter. His fumble helped set up a 22-yard field goal by Washington’s Dustin Hopkins in the second quarter. With the Redskins trying to add to a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter, Hopkins’ 51-yard attempt bounced off the right upright. Goff didn’t have nearly the day he did a week earlier, when he threw for a career-high 306 yards to get his first win as an NFL starter. He was 15 of 25 for 224 yards, with one TD and one interception.
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2017/09/17/redskins-beat-rams/


(2-1) At San Francisco Week 3* Rams 41 SF 49ers 39 "Goff & Gurley go off"


Finally, a really fun game. On “Thursday Night Football,” no less.

If you tuned in Thursday night, you probably didn’t expect much. The San Francisco 49ers hadn’t scored a touchdown in either of their games this season. The Los Angeles Rams showed signs of life, but they’re still the Rams. We didn’t expect a classic.

Maybe it’s not a classic, but it might be the best “Thursday Night Football” game we’ve seen, the best game of this young NFL season – and nobody saw it coming. The Rams finally prevailed 41-39 in an entertaining, high-scoring game. It was the highest scoring game in “Thursday Night Football” history.

This Sean McVay-Kyle Shanahan rivalry might be fun. McVay, the Rams’ new coach, has improved his team’s offense tremendously. The Rams traded blows with the 49ers, who have their own offensive guru in Shanahan, and we had a tight, high-scoring and thrilling game into the fourth quarter. The 49ers rallied late. They scored, recovered a fumble on a kickoff return and scored again.

The 49ers missed a two-point conversion with a little more than two minutes left – they had to go for two because the 49ers missed an extra point early in the fourth quarter – so they needed an onside kick. And the 49ers recovered it to keep their hopes of winning alive. The Rams’ defense finally made a couple plays to win it. Linebacker Mark Barron made an incredible stop on a screen pass to Carlos Hyde, who would have gotten deep into Rams territory had Barron not wrapped him up, and Aaron Donald got a fourth-down sack to seal the Rams’ win. It wasn’t easy, however.

The Rams needed big nights from many of their offensive stars. L.A.’s offense showed up in a big way. It’s the first time it has scored 40 or more points in multiple games in a season since 2006, and this season is only three games old. You can see McVay’s influence on the offense already. Jared Goff, who struggled so much as a rookie last season, had 292 yards and three touchdowns.

Todd Gurley, who struggled last season, had 149 total yards and three touchdowns. The Rams haven’t played offense this well in more than a decade. They’re exciting all of a sudden. The 49ers finally showed some signs of offensive life too. Brian Hoyer rebounded from a terrible start to the season with 332 yards and two touchdowns. Hyde had two touchdowns. Pierre Garcon had 142 yards receiving. This game had a little bit of everything.

Had you said before kickoff that the 49ers would score 39 points, nobody would have believed it and there’s no chance anyone would have believed they lost while scoring 39. But this was a thriller on Thursday night. Maybe all the stories about how scoring in the NFL was down and would never rebound were a little premature.


https://sports.yahoo.com/surprise-s...e-us-great-thursday-night-game-035758659.html


(3-1) At Dallas Week 4* Rams 35 Cowboys 30 Rams "Statement game in Dallas"


ARLINGTON, Texas — “Middle-school offense.” Todd Gurley didn’t mince words, and good for him.

A year ago, the Rams were lost. They ran the ball like a team clad in cement shoes. Touchdowns drives were as infrequent as traffic-free jaunts on the 405. Frustration mounted, and finally Gurley let loose after a game and opined that a group of teenagers could organize an offense equal to the Rams’ attack. Turns out, the offense just needed Coach Sean McVay, who might pass for a high school senior if he shaved.

Gurley, sullen and criticized last year, now arguably is the NFL’s top all-purpose threat, and is the main reason why the Rams are the league’s surprise team. After a bumpy first half, the Rams responded with brilliance Sunday afternoon and rallied for a 35-30 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. “When you’re winning, I’m telling you, it makes everything so much better,” Gurley said with a big grin.

What a turnaround. Gurley led the Rams in rushing (121 yards on 23 carries) and receiving (94 yards and one touchdown on seven catches) Sunday and accounted for more than half of the Rams’ 412 yards. His turnaround is the main reason why the Rams have a 3-1 record and flying higher than anyone expected. This isn’t perfection. The Rams looked dreadful on defense in the first half, when they allowed 24 points and 287 yards and trailed by 11 points. These lengthy lapses have been too frequent for the Rams this season, and success won’t be sustainable if they continue.

But not only did the Rams clean up things on defense in the second half, when they allowed six points and 153 yards, but the Rams also now have an offense potent enough to survive defensive hiccups. That’s why this year’s 3-1 record feels much different than last year, when the Rams finished 1-11. The Rams had great balance on offense against the Cowboys, as quarterback Jared Goff had a steady day (21 of 36, 255 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions) and they ran for 168 yards.

The Rams nursed a small lead for most of the fourth quarter and held the ball for more than 10 minutes. The Cowboys regained momentum in the middle of the quarter, when they pulled within 32-30 but failed to convert on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt. In need of first downs, with 7:08 left, the Rams turned to Gurley. He carried the ball seven times and caught one pass as the Rams bled more than five minutes off the clock and took a 35-30 lead on kicker Greg Zuerlein’s seventh field goal of the game.

The defense made one final stop to secure the victory and the Rams jumped around on the sideline like, well, a bunch of excited middle-schoolers. “The biggest thing for us,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said, “is whenever we’ve seen some adversity, we’ve been able to stay calm, stay focused and continue to play our game.” It’s amazing how a successful running game can calm nerves.

A year ago, the Rams seemed to have no idea what to do with Gurley. They ran him up the middle, into a wall of defenders, and when that didn’t work, they just tried it again and again. Gurley averaged 3.2 yards per rushing attempt. McVay, also the Rams’ play-caller, has made things look different. He sends receivers in motion to pull attention from Gurley, and McVay had the wild idea of actually throwing the ball to Gurley.

The Rams’ run blocking has improved, and Gurley looks more motivated, perhaps in part because he has coaches who are putting him in positions to succeed. With 362 rushing yards and 234 receiving yards through four games, he’s almost halfway his 2016 all-purpose total of 1,212. Gurley also has become only the third running back in NFL history to total at least 575 yards from scrimmage and at least seven touchdowns in his team’s first four games. The others? Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith. A year ago, Gurley looked broken. McVay’s offense, and some offensive upgrades, provided the fix.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily if you can ‘fix’ him,” McVay said. “I mean, this guy is a great player. … Just because last year, from a numbers standpoint, maybe it wasn’t what we would have liked, that doesn’t take away from some of the things he did on tape, when you really study it. These are things that we expect from Todd, and I know he expects of himself.”
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/10/01/rams-defense-hangs-on-for-huge-road-win-over-dallas-cowboys/


(3-2) At Los Angeles Week 5* Seahawks 16 Rams 10 "Humbled by Seattle's Defense"


Seahawks shut down high-scoring Rams for 16-10 victory

LOS ANGELES (AP) When Todd Gurley stretched the ball toward the goal line, Earl Thomas soared in with perfect timing and a martial arts-style chop to the running back's arm, knocking the ball out for a touchback. After an impressive start to the season, the Rams thought they were ready to run past the NFC West's perennial power.

Thomas and the Seattle Seahawks barely swatted away the upstarts in a defensive performance full of timely brilliance. Russell Wilson passed for 198 yards and a touchdown, and Thomas forced two of the Rams' five turnovers in the Seahawks' 16-10 victory Sunday. Jimmy Graham scored late in the first half in a defense-dominated win for the Seahawks (3-2), who shut out the NFL's highest-scoring offense in the second half and won despite getting outgained 375-241.

''We all played so well on defense,'' Thomas said. ''Even when our back was against the wall, we squared up in the red zone. This is the No. 1 offense, and we did a great job.'' Thomas made enormous plays early and late. The veteran safety stripped Gurley at the pylon to kill the Rams' opening drive, and he intercepted Jared Goff's fluttering pass at midfield with 6:02 to play.

Sheldon Richardson also came through with two big plays, diving to intercept a deflected pass in the third quarter before scooping up Goff's fumble near midfield with 2:45 left. ''He's going to be all right,'' Richardson said of Goff, who went 22 of 47 for 288 yards with three costly turnovers. ''He's not the same guy from last year. But he's no Tom Brady yet.''

Goff moved the Rams 55 yards in the final 1:09, but Seattle's defense made its final stop. Rams rookie Cooper Kupp barely missed a diving TD grab on third down, and Goff's fourth-down pass to Kupp was too low. ''For our guys to come through and finish like that, that's as exciting as the game gets,'' Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.

Tavon Austin rushed for a 27-yard TD for Los Angeles (3-2). After a quick start to the season that caught the NFL's attention, the Rams wasted their strong defensive game when new coach Sean McVay's offense ran into the Legion of Boom. ''We had a 12-play drive and a 13-play drive that went for no points, so it wasn't so much we weren't moving the ball,'' Goff said. ''We just weren't finishing drives. We got into the red zone and didn't do a good job. That's where it shows up. You see why Seattle has been so good for so long defensively.''

Wilson didn't have big numbers, but the quarterback put on a performance of vintage resourcefulness, repeatedly wriggling away from the Rams' pursuing defense to make plays. Blair Walsh's two second-half field goals turned out to be the difference for Seattle, which managed just 97 yards in the second half. Austin, the wide receiver used more often as a ball carrier by McVay, scored the game's first points when he took a handoff and high-stepped to the end zone early in the second quarter.

Wilson then threw an interception to Rams rookie John Johnson, who returned it 69 yards before Wilson made a possible touchdown-saving tackle. Thomas forced Gurley's fumble on a play that was ruled a touchdown on the field, but went to video review because it could have been seen three ways: A touchdown, out of bounds on the 1, or a fumble and touchback. Officials eventually ruled Gurley had lost control of the ball an instant before stepping out of bounds.

''I did a great job watching the Bruce Lee movies, and it kind of carried over to the football field,'' Thomas said of his chop. Thomas made an incredibly similar play against the St. Louis Rams in 2014, chopping the ball out of Benny Cunningham's hand at the goal line. Kupp, the Rams' impressive third-round choice, barely missed the biggest catch of his young career on a tough ball. ''I expect to make that play,'' said Kupp, who had three catches for 44 yards. ''I can't say anything about whether it was behind me or a one-hand catch. If I'm putting my hands on the ball, I've got to make that play.''
https://www.si.com/nfl/game/1744808


(4-2) At Jacksonville Week 6* Rams 27 Jaguars 17 "Thank you Special Teams"


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) The Los Angeles Rams have won games with offensive prowess, defensive stops and Greg Zuerlein's leg. Now, they can add special teams to the list. Pharoh Cooper returned the opening kickoff 103 yards, one of two special teams touchdowns that helped the Rams beat the up-and-down Jacksonville Jaguars 27-17 on Sunday.

The Rams (4-2) also blocked a punt for a score - Malcolm Brown returned the loose ball 8 yards in a pile of teammates - and improved to 3-0 on the road for the first time since 2001. ''When I hit that sideline, I just took off and prayed that I didn't get caught,'' Cooper said. ''We had a great day in special teams. ... Special teams play is something we all take pride in and you can tell it really shows.''

The units were Jacksonville's downfall. The Jaguars (3-3) gave up 17 points on three special teams gaffes - the long return, the block and a 16-yard punt that set up a field goal. Making it an even longer day for the home team, Jason Myers missed two 54-yards field goals that could have made a difference. ''It's very disappointing,'' Jaguars special teams captain Arrelious Been said.

''We can't sit back and wait for offense and defense to do it. We've got to go out there and do it.'' Jacksonville's defense did its part, holding the high-scoring Rams to 249 yards and 12 first downs. But the unit got little help outside of rookie Leonard Fournette's big run to open the game. The Jaguars botched a decent chance to tie the game early in the fourth quarter when Blake Bortles fumbled on one play and then threw an interception on the next. It cost Jacksonville a shot at ending its inconsistent ways to start the season.

Los Angeles essentially sealed the victory on Greg Zuerlein's 29-yard field goal with 2:32 remaining. It should make for an enjoyable few more days in Jacksonville. The Rams will remain in the city for four days before continuing an 11-day road trip in London. ''I think our guys just embrace that mentality where you come into a stadium and they have this breakdown of, `We're all we got. We're all we need,''' Rams coach Sean McVay said. ''These players are mentality tough. That's becoming the identity that you hear us talk about all the time.''

The Jaguars, coming off an impressive victory at Pittsburgh, still haven't won consecutive games in more than a year and lost for the ninth time in 10 games at EverBank Field. ''Why we're so volatile in our play? I don't know,'' linebacker Paul Posluszny said. ''They just made more impact plays than we did that forced the outcome of the game.'' Fournette set the tone again by scoring on the first play from scrimmage.

After Cooper's kickoff return, Fournette took a handoff and went 75 yards for his sixth rushing touchdown and seventh score of the season. Fournette finished with 130 yards on 21 carries, but only 55 yards after his first run. He also injured his right ankle late in the game and did not return, but expects to be fine. Todd Gurley ran 23 times for 116 yards for the Rams. Robert Woods caught five passes for 70 yards. And Jared Goff was 11 of 21 for 124 yards, including a 4-yard TD pass to Gerald Everett. The difference, though, was special teams.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/rams-score-twice-on-special-teams-beat-jaguars-27-17/


(5-2) At London Week 7* Rams 33 Cardinals 0 "Wade's Defense pitches a Shutout"

LONDON — Wade Phillips shrugged a couple weeks ago. He seemed almost bored by the questions, even as everybody who followed the Rams wondered what in the world was wrong with their defense.

Apparently it wasn’t anything Phillips, with his 40 years of NFL coaching, couldn’t fix. The magic happened at halftime three weeks ago at Dallas. Since then, the Rams have allowed only 39 points in 14 quarters. The high point came Sunday, when the Rams’ defense shut out Arizona, 33-0, knocked quarterback Carson Palmer out of the game and shut down running back Adrian Peterson.

The Rams forced two more turnovers Sunday and held the Cardinals to 193 yards and 10 first downs. “It’s just us coming into our own,” linebacker and team captain Alec Ogletree said. “We didn’t start how we wanted to start. We knew we had the players and the ability to do a lot of stuff, but you just have to keep chugging along, keep plugging at it until you get it right. We still have some things to work on and get better at. We definitely haven’t peaked yet, for sure. There’s definitely a lot more to come.”

The transition to Phillips’ 3-4 scheme was clunky, and it probably didn’t help that star lineman Aaron Donald missed all of training camp and the season opener because of a contract holdout. The Rams allowed 99 points in their first 14 quarters, and they couldn’t stop Dallas in the first half of that game. Then everything turned, dramatically and quickly, and the Rams have been thriving in areas where they struggled early in the season.

Run defense is foremost. Arizona’s Adrian Peterson rushed for 134 yards against Tampa Bay a week earlier, but the Rams held Peterson to 21 yards on 11 carries. Peterson’s longest run was for 6 yards. “That’s how you do it,” Rams lineman Michael Brockers said. “If you get 11 hats to the ball and stop him before he gets started, man, he turns into a normal human being (instead of) the Hall of Famer he truly is. I think that’s what we did today and we did a good job at it.”

he Rams stuffed Peterson early, then played increasingly good pass defense and started to get to Palmer in the second quarter. The big play came with under six minutes left in the second quarter, when Ogletree smashed Palmer on a sack and broke Palmer’s arm. The injury is expected to require surgery, and Palmer could miss the rest of the season.

Arizona crossed midfield only once after Drew Stanton took over for Palmer. “It’s unfortunate,” Brockers said. “You don’t want to hurt anybody, but when you get out there and you get that quarterback out, it messes up the rhythm of their game and I think we just took advantage of it.”

Todd Gurley, who never rushed for more than 85 yards in a game last season, topped the century mark for the fourth time in his past five games, as he gained 106 yards on 22 carries. Gurley scored on an 18-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and also caught four passes for 48 yards.

“Whenever he’s getting going, it obviously helps our whole offense,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “I love handing off the ball and letting him run. There’s nothing better than that, letting him go. Then obviously it opens the pass game a lot more, so any time we can get him going, we want to. “I think it’s a testament to the guys up front. I think (Gurley) would say the same thing. It’s nice having the holes he’s having now, and him doing the rest.”

Gurley did agree with Goff, and deflected praise, but he’s clearly running with more confidence than in 2016. The Cardinals hadn’t allowed an opposing running back to rush for 100 yards this season. “It felt good,” Gurley said. “Coach did a great job with the play-calling and the line was doing a great job of creating holes, and me and Malcolm (Brown) were able to have a couple big runs.

The Rams had high praise for the way Coach Sean McVay handled their week. Last year, when the Rams lost to the New York Giants, they spent almost a full week in London, with the hope that it would acclimate them to the time change. It didn’t work, as the Rams looked flat. This time, the Rams spent four extra days in Jacksonville and didn’t arrive in London until Friday morning.

“The way we did it this time was way better. Way better, I think,” Goff said. “We felt good. I think you can ask anybody. We felt really, really good (Saturday) and the day before and all the way throughout the week in Jacksonville.” McVay pushed the credit for the sharp play back onto his players.

“I think it’s them,” McVay said. “We’ve got mature players. We’ve got high-character players in that room, and they knew we were coming on a business trip. They did a great job of just taking it one day at a time. That’s a credit to our players.”
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/10/2...-improved-in-shutting-down-arizona-cardinals/


"The Journey begins in New York"


2017 Los Angeles Rams remaining opponents "The back 9" Rams current record 5-2

Statistics are skewed a little bit because some teams have played one more game than others.

Regardless the sample size 7 & 8 games is all we have to give us for a barometer of how these teams stack up against each other on paper.


Rams Points Per Game 30.3 Rank #2
Off Pass Yards 241.6 Rank #13
Off Rush Yards 127.6 Rank #6
Off 3rd Down Conversion 48.98% Rank #1
Rams Points Allowed 19.7 Rank #11
Def Pass Yards 205.0 Rank #9
Def Rush Yards 123.1 Rank #25
Def 3rd Down Conversion 36.36% Rank #12
Total Sacks 23 Rank #7
Takeaways Fumbles 3 Interceptions 9
Point Differential +74 Rank #2
This team is exciting & has stunned most of the NFL media with their quick turnaround in less than a year.

(Game 8) AT New York current record 1-6

Points Per Game 16.0 Rank #30
Off Pass Yards 213.1 Rank #20
Off Rush Yards 83.3 Rank #27
Off 3rd Down Conversion 32.61% Rank #29
Points Allowed 22.3 Rank #17
Def Pass Yards 258.7 Rank #27
Def Rush Yards 120.7 Rank #23
Def 3rd Down Conversion 40.78% Rank #22
Total Sacks 13 Rank #24
Takeaways Fumbles 4 Interceptions 3
Point Differential -44
East Coast trip with both teams coming off a bye week. NYG has nothing to lose & not to be taken lightly.

(Game 9) VS Houston current record 3-4

Points Per Game 30.7 Rank #1
Off Pass Yards 229.1 Rank #16
Off Rush Yards 138.3 Rank #3
Off 3rd Down Conversion 36.05% Rank #25
Points Allowed 26.9 Rank #29
Def Pass Yards 238.0 Rank #22
Def Rush Yards 96.6 Rank #9
Def 3rd Down Conversion 35.56% Rank #10
Total Sacks 17 Rank #14
Takeaways Fumbles 3 Interceptions 8
Point Differential +27 Rank #10
Watson is dangerous throwing & running with the football. The Texans are capable of beating any team at any venue.

(Game 10) AT Minnesota current record 6-2.

Points Per Game 22.4 Rank #14
Off Pass Yards 238.5 Rank #14
Off Rush Yards 120.0 Rank #13
Off 3rd Down Conversion 42.73% Rank #7
Points Allowed 16.9 Rank #4
Def Pass Yards 200.8 Rank #7
Def Rush Yards 81.4 Rank #4
Def 3rd Down Conversion 27.72% Rank #2
Total Sacks 24 Rank #6
Takeaways Fumbles 3 Interceptions 7
Point Differential +44 Rank #5
The Vikings defense is among the leagues best & Keenum, Sam or Teddy can be efficient.

(Game 11) VS New Orleans current record 5-2

Points Per Game 27.3 Rank #6
Off Pass Yards 271.7 Rank #4
Off Rush Yards 118.7 Rank #14
Off 3rd Down Conversion 38.10% Rank #10
Points Allowed 20.7 Rank #12
Def Pass Yards 224.4 Rank #17
Def Rush Yards 120.3 Rank #21
Def 3rd Down Conversion 46.81% Rank #29
Total Sacks 19 Rank #12
Takeaways Fumbles 2 Interceptions 9
Point Differential +46 Rank #4
These are not your Saints from the previous 5 years. This team is rolling and looks like a legitimate contender.

(Game 12) AT Arizona current record 3-4

Points Per Game 17.0 Rank #27
Off Pass Yards 269.7 Rank #5
Off Rush Yards 63.4 Rank #32
Off 3rd Down Conversion 36.36 % Rank #22
Points Allowed 27.3 Rank #30
Def Pass Yards 246.9 Rank #23
Def Rush Yards 105.9 Rank #14
Def 3rd Down Conversion 47.71% Rank #31
Total Sacks 13 Rank #24
Takeaways Fumbles 0 Interceptions 7
Point Differential -72
Hampered by injuries & no longer the elite team they were 2 years ago. Division opponents can still be scrappy.

(Game 13) VS Philadelphia current record 7-1

Points Per Game 29.0 Rank #4
Off Pass Yards 242.5 Rank #11
Off Rush Yards 129.2 Rank #5
Off 3rd Down Conversion 47.79% Rank #2
Points Allowed 19.5 Rank #10
Def Pass Yards 256.8 Rank #26
Def Rush Yards 70.4 Rank #1
Def 3rd Down Conversion 31.00% Rank #3
Total Sacks 22 Rank #9
Takeaways Fumbles 5 Interceptions 9
Point Differential +76 Rank #1
Wentz has been a beast in his 2nd season. A legit MVP candidate & the Eagles are flying high with their defense.

(Game 14) AT Seattle current record? 5-2

Points Per Game 25.0 Rank #10
Off Pass Yards 272.7 Rank #3
Off Rush Yards 97.6 Rank #21
Off 3rd Down Conversion 43.14% Rank #6
Points Allowed 18.9 Rank #7
Def Pass Yards 216.0 Rank #12
Def Rush Yards 117.7 Rank #20
Def 3rd Down Conversion 35.48% Rank #9
Total Sacks 17 Rank #14
Takeaways Fumbles 5 Interceptions 8
Point Differential +43 Rank #6
Seattle's defense stifled the Rams in Los Angeles. This could be a season changing contest.

(Game 15) AT Tennessee current record 4-3

Points Per Game 22.6 Rank #13
Off Pass Yards 201.9 Rank #26
Off Rush Yards 124.6 Rank #9
Off 3rd Down Conversion 34.78% Rank #27
Points Allowed 24.7 Rank #26
Def Pass Yards 229.3 Rank #19
Def Rush Yards 100.1 Rank #10
Def 3rd Down Conversion 35.23% Rank #8
Total Sacks 11 Rank #30
Takeaways Fumbles 3 Interceptions 7
Point Differential -15
Mariotoa & his Titans can be a formidable foe at home in Tennessee. Could be a competitive & thrilling game.

(Game 16) VS San Francisco current record 0-8

Points Per Game 16.6 Rank #29
Off Pass Yards 211.2 Rank #22
Off Rush Yards 95.8 Rank #23
Off 3rd Down Conversion 31.09% Rank #30
Points Allowed 27.4 Rank #31
Def Pass Yards 250.2 Rank #24
Def Rush Yards 131.8 Rank #29
Def 3rd Down Conversion 46.96% Rank #30
Total Sacks 17 Rank #14
Takeaways Fumbles 4 Interceptions 5
Point Differential -86
Rams will be favored & their playoff hopes might hinge on getting this victory vs 49ers & new QB Garoppolo.


Hope you faithful Rams fans enjoyed this "Back 9" presentation.

I definitely know all of you have had a blast watching our team play this year. Go Rams!

Week 9 Ranks are up. And they are totally better than what a lawyer comes up with.

http://www.ramsondemand.com/powerrankings/power-rankings-week-9.17/

http://www.footballzebras.com/2017/10/31/week-9-referee-assignments-2017/

Rams at Giants — Ed Hochuli

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/9290/aj-mccarron
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Browns believed they completed their acquisition of Bengals QB A.J. McCarron before Tuesday's deadline, but that the league would not allow it to go through.
Schefter reports the Browns notified the NFL of the deal "moments too late," and that the league would not budge. ESPN Clevelad's Tony Grossi went as far as to report that the Browns were "celebrating" McCarron's acquisition and "forgot to call in the deal before the deadline." That seems a bit hard to believe, though we really want to. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the Browns were ready to part with second- and third-round picks. The Browns have lost control of their quarterback narrative, letting their rivals and media paint them as hapless in their pursuit of an answer under center. Oct 31 - 5:27 PM
Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter

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Today is crazy!!

This is good news for us

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Didn't notice if this was posted but, to me, it's a road map on how you go from mediocrity to success. And it all starts with the culture.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-rams-locker-room-20171027-story.html
Lindsey Thiry
Malcolm Brown enters the Rams locker room after practice, walks to a rack of towels outside the showers and grabs a stack.

On his way to his locker, he stops at those belonging to tight ends, receivers and fellow running backs, placing a towel on each stool.
The second-year pro isn’t required to pick up towels for his teammates. Neither is 12-year veteran offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth.

Whitworth tosses an armful of towels to his linemates. And long-snapper Jake McQuaide grabs enough for the specialists.


“Whoever goes first, you know, you usually grab more than one,” receiver Robert Woods says.

It’s a small gesture — far removed from anything the players on a remade roster do together on the field — but it’s indicative of the attitude of togetherness and accountability that first-year coach Sean McVay has instilled. And it seems to be working.

The Rams are 5-2 and atop the NFC West. They are positioned to make a run for the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“The head coach is the one who preaches the culture change, puts the different teaching aids in place, really creates the image that he wants this team to have,” center John Sullivan says. “It’s up to guys to buy in.”



The hallways of the Rams’ temporary facility in Thousand Oaks are lined with murals and slogans, including “The standard is the standard” and “Execute, compete and finish.”

Coaches, staff members and players favor T-shirts emblazed with “We not me.”

But it’s in the locker room, the players’ haven, where McVay’s influence is on display.

Motivational quotations hang on every door and are painted on every wall. “Do or do not. There is no try,” reads one. “Pursuing perfection requires a willingness to be uncomfortable,” reads another.

McVay calls the quotes “visual aids” but is well aware how they could ring hollow.

“Those are part of our core beliefs,” he says, “but I think that it really doesn’t mean much if it’s not how you do it on a daily basis.”

McVay worked with general manager Les Snead, coaches and team personnel to assemble a roster that would carry out his vision.

The Rams hired the 30-year-old McVay after last season, when Jeff Fisher was fired on his way to a sixth losing season with the franchise.

McVay was tasked with turning around a franchise that had not produced a winner in more than a decade. Among the issues was a locker-room culture that unraveled during a 4-12 season as resentment grew between opposite sides of the ball and in position groups.

Asked if players grabbed towels for each other last season, Brown’s face drops and his answer becomes muddled.

Did it happen, he’s asked again.

“We didn’t,” Brown says. “I just didn’t want to make nobody look bad or nothing.”

It’s a totally different vibe for sure. He changed the whole coaching staff, brought in new guys and a lot of leadership that we kind of needed.— linebacker Alec Ogletree
McVay’s cultural overhaul started with an examination of the roster.

Snead and holdovers from Fisher’s staff, including special teams coordinator John Fassel and trainer Reggie Scott, assisted in player evaluations.

“Their insight from a different perspective is very helpful to know who are those guys who influence your locker room in a strong way,” McVay says. “And these are the guys that you can build around.”

The Rams let receivers Kenny Britt and Brian Quick walk in free agency. Defensive lineman William Hayes, who played eight seasons for Fisher with the Tennessee Titans and Rams, was shipped to Miami. Left tackle Greg Robinson, the No. 2 pick in 2014, was traded.

“It’s a totally different vibe for sure,” linebacker Alec Ogletree says. “He changed the whole coaching staff, brought in new guys and a lot of leadership that we kind of needed.”

McVay sought players he calls “high-character football guys.”

The Rams signed Whitworth, Robert Woods, Sullivan, linebacker Connor Barwin and cornerbacks Kayvon Webster and Nickell Robey-Coleman.

Each player had a history with a Rams coach, or came highly recommended.

“We’ve brought in good people that are good football players,” McVay says, adding, “You couple that with some of the guys that we had in house that might have been younger but are on the rise. ...

“When you influence and integrate those types of people, that’s kind of the locker room that you want to be able to create.”


Rams quarterback Jared Goff, is surrounded by jubilant teammates after a touchdown in London. (Matt Dunham / Associated Press)

The newcomers didn’t have any difficulties ingratiating themselves with the rest.

The 6-foot-7, 333-pound Whitworth, 35, is a commanding presence for all position groups.

Woods, who played four seasons in Buffalo, instilled professionalism in a position group that eroded the locker room last season. Pharoh Cooper says it’s apparent the group is “a lot closer” than it was his rookie season.

“You can kind of tell on the field,” he says. “We all got love for each other.”

McVay didn’t stop at changing personnel. Rules and expectations also changed.

McVay met with star defensive lineman Aaron Donald during the interview process. “He was going to hold people accountable,” Donald says.

To that end, a large digital clock is mounted above the equipment counter at the front of the locker room.

After practices, as it ticks closer to 4:15 p.m. meeting time, players usually echo a three-minute warning.

Cornerback Trumaine Johnson hurries to slide on his shoes, Ogletree wipes away sweat as he reaches for his ball cap, and often players dash — belts unbuckled, shirts in hand — to make a 4:15 meeting in another building.

If they’re late, no matter what their role or status, they are fined.

“Everybody to the top player to a practice squad player,” Donald says. “Everybody gets held accountable the same way.”

Says McVay: “Nobody is above the standard.”

McVay’s ability to put players in positions to succeed, and the “brotherhood” he has fostered, has made him easy to follow, defensive lineman Michael Brockers says.

“When you have that chemistry, you have that togetherness out on the field, it shows,” Brockers says. “When one side of the ball goes down or has a bad play, the other side picks it up.”

Ogletree says players don’t want to let each other — or McVay — down.

“Once you believe in something you kind of want to give it your all,” he says.

Players recognize that it’s easy to get along when winning, but they’re also quick to point out that things are going well because they’ve invested in each other.

“You can definitely tell it’s just a better vibe,” Brown says, adding. “We all kind of mingle, it’s not just little sections.

McVay spends most of his time in his office, in meeting rooms and on the field. He works to prepare his players and coaches and to keep all of them connected.

But he doesn’t spend much, if any, time in the locker room.

He grins when informed that small gestures, such as grabbing towels for teammates, has become the norm rather than the exception.

“That’s cool,” he says. “It’s huge.”

Think about it, Watkins, Landry, Woods, Kupp. After the season Landry, Woods, Reynolds, Kupp. We also need a TE badly. We need to prep ourselves for that Super Bowl run this season!

I also want T.Y Hilton @jrry32

http://theramswire.usatoday.com/201...er-rankings-los-angeles-rams-rise-during-bye/

NFL Week 9 power rankings: Rams continue to rise during bye
By: Cameron DaSilva



The Los Angeles Rams weren’t in action this past weekend, taking their bye week after playing the Cardinals in London. They stood pat at 5-2, while being forced to watch the Seahawks win and take over first place in the NFC West.

Seeing their first-place lead wasn’t great, obviously, but there are still nine more games for the Rams to overtake their division rivals. And, while they were resting and taking a week off, they managed to jump one spot in USA TODAY’s power rankings.

The Rams moved up from No. 7 to 6, which is their highest position of the season.

The Seahawks are one spot ahead of the Rams in the power rankings after beating the Texans 41-38 in a wild shootout on Sunday. With both teams sitting at 5-2, and Seattle owning the tiebreaker, this division is going to come down to the final weeks.

As for the rest of the NFC West, the Cardinals stayed at 27, while the 49ers remained at 31.

For a 4th round pick. What a dumb move. Why would you trade away your workhorse RB? What does that gain you? Makes no sense.

It isn't yards per game, avg time of possession, or even turnover differential.

Nope -- my favorite stat is 3rd Down efficiency. It keeps drives alive, and gives the Defense a longer time to rest and recharge.

In 2016, the Rams only converted 32% on 3rd Down, which ranked them dead last in the league.

This year, the Rams are leading the league with a 49% conversion rate. Here's hoping they can keep that up (or maybe even get over that 50% hump).

Week off lets Rams bask in their success, but now it's time to return to work


Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson, pursuing Adrian Peterson of the Arizona Cardinals, says there's "something special going on around here" because of the team's surprising 5-2 start. (Tim Ireland / Associated Press)


Gary KleinContact Reporter


The Rams on Monday returned to practice after spending their week off resting and enjoying the attention created by their surprisingly fast start.

Coach Sean McVay attended Game 2 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium and appeared Sunday as a guest on Fox’s NFL pregame broadcast. Some players traveled to be with family or friends. Others stayed close to home.

But the buzz surrounding the team was omnipresent.

“It’s big,” cornerback Trumaine Johnson said. “It’s something special going on around here.”

The Rams are 5-2 and in the playoff conversation going into Sunday’s game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

It’s another trip for a team that is 4-0 away from the Coliseum, including victories at Jacksonville and against the Arizona Cardinals in London in their last two games.

“Nobody expected us to be 5-2 right now,” Johnson said, “and that’s the fun part about it: Going out there and shocking a lot of people.”

McVay did not sound concerned about the team’s ability to process the attention.

Last season, an ankle injury kept Johnson sidelined for the Rams’ 17-10 loss against the Giants in London. Jenkins had four tackles and defended three passes in the game.

Johnson was once part of a secondary that included Jenkins and safeties Rodney McLeod and T.J. McDonald, all of whom signed elsewhere as free agents.

“Wish we was all still together but at the same time we know the business side of it,” Johnson said, “and sometimes it doesn’t work out and everybody’s got to do what’s best [for themselves].”

Lance Dunbar practices

Running back Lance Dunbar, sidelined since offseason workouts because of a left knee injury, practiced for the first time, starting a 21-day clock for the Rams to determine his status.

Dunbar could be added to the roster, put on season-ending injured reserve or released.

McVay said Dunbar moved well Monday.

“What’s great about that timetable we have is it gives us a chance to evaluate him, see how he handles it,” McVay said.

Etc.

The Rams were not expected to make any major moves by Tuesday’s trade deadline. … McVay enjoyed being on the Fox set with former players and former NFL coach Jimmy Johnson. He said one of the best parts of his job was “the platform it provides to get exposure to special people like a handful of those guys that I got a chance to meet [Sunday], kind of pick their brain,” he said. … The Rams are off Tuesday. They return to practice Wednesday.

But the buzz surrounding the team was omnipresent.

“It’s big,” cornerback Trumaine Johnson said. “It’s something special going on around here.”

New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

It’s another trip for a team that is 4-0 away from the Coliseum, including victories at Jacksonville and against the Arizona Cardinals in London in their last two games.

“Nobody expected us to be 5-2 right now,” Johnson said, “and that’s the fun part about it: Going out there and shocking a lot of people.”

McVay did not sound concerned about the team’s ability to process the attention.

Janoris Jenkins become a free agent.

Jenkins signed a five-year, $62.5-million contract with the Giants, with $28.8 million guaranteed, according to spotrac.com.

Last season, an ankle injury kept Johnson sidelined for the Rams’ 17-10 loss against the Giants in London. Jenkins had four tackles and defended three passes in the game.

Johnson was once part of a secondary that included Jenkins and safeties Rodney McLeod and T.J. McDonald, all of whom signed elsewhere as free agents.

“Wish we was all still together but at the same time we know the business side of it,” Johnson said, “and sometimes it doesn’t work out and everybody’s got to do what’s best [for themselves].”

Lance Dunbar practices

Running back Lance Dunbar, sidelined since offseason workouts because of a left knee injury, practiced for the first time, starting a 21-day clock for the Rams to determine his status.

Dunbar could be added to the roster, put on season-ending injured reserve or released.

McVay said Dunbar moved well Monday.

“What’s great about that timetable we have is it gives us a chance to evaluate him, see how he handles it,” McVay said.

Etc.

The Rams were not expected to make any major moves by Tuesday’s trade deadline. … McVay enjoyed being on the Fox set with former players and former NFL coach Jimmy Johnson. He said one of the best parts of his job was “the platform it provides to get exposure to special people like a handful of those guys that I got a chance to meet [Sunday], kind of pick their brain,” he said. … The Rams are off Tuesday. They return to practice Wednesday.

gary.klein@latimes.com

Follow Gary Klein on Twitter @latimesklein


[www.latimes.com]

After the first day of practice coming out of the bye

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It's that time of the year, well it's a little late in the season but personally anytime is a good time for a scare. I'm creating this thread with the hopes that others will share their spooky findings, it can be anything really, true/personal stories, creepy pastas, short films, favorite horror films, or clips. I'll start by posting 3 of my favorite horror shorts that I found on youtube.

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• By Around The NFL staff NFL.com
• Published: Oct. 30, 2017 at 08:23 p.m.

We have our whopper trade of 2017.

The New England Patriots have traded quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2018 second-round pick, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source involved.

ESPN first reported the news.

Around The NFL will have more on this story shortly.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000869483/article/what-to-watch-for-in-broncoschiefs-on-mnf

What to watch for in Broncos-Chiefs on 'MNF'
By Jeremy Bergman


Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Can you believe it? The AFC West is up for grabs.

When the Kansas City Chiefs were undefeated and riding high only three weeks ago, the thought of another club winning the division title was near unthinkable. But two consecutive losses to the Steelersand Raiders have muddied the waters.

The same goes for their opponent on Monday evening, the 3-3 Denver Broncos, who like Kansas City started hot but have since fizzled. Trevor Siemian has reclaimed his every-man status under center, looking completely lost in consecutive defeats to the Giants and Chargers, two teams which started 0-4.

With the Raiders' ship sinking and the Bolts' campaign re-energized, there are more questions than answers halfway through the season out on the edge of the Pacific.

Hopefully, the final showdown of Week 8 will clarify things in the weird and wild West. Here's what we'll be watching for when the Broncos travel to Arrowhead to try to knock off the Chiefs on Halloween Eve:

1. Kansas City swept Denver last year in part thanks to dominant evenings from Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Hill broke out against the Broncos on Sunday Night Football, scoring three TDs three different ways (rushing, receiving, returning). Now more involved in the passing game than on the ground, Hill will be lining up against the chippy No Fly Zone.

As will Travis Kelce, who went over 100 yards receiving in both of the teams' meetings in 2016. But how K.C. uses its weapons is unlike most offenses. Look for the Chiefs to vary where they line up Hill and Kelce as much as possible, even having them primarily in the backfield so as to avoid traditional man-on-man matchups with Aqib Talib and Chris Harris.

2. Can the Broncos frustrate Alex Smith? The Chiefs quarterback is in, or even leading, the MVP discussion halfway through the season. The leader of the NFL's second-best scoring offense, Smith has tossed 15 touchdowns with no interceptions. Zero. Picks. To get to Smith, the Broncos will have to, well, get to Smith. In their first matchup last year, Denver sacked Smith six times and hit him eight, with Von Miller (three sacks) leading the way.

Miller has terrorized Kansas City's O-line, especially Eric Fisher, for years. Since 2014, Miller has tallied 23 QB pressures and eight sacks against the Chiefs. The All-Pro pass rusher's matchup will be one to monitor closely on Monday night.

3. What is Trevor Siemian? Yes, he's a sentient human being who propels balls for a living, but what is his place in the league? The second-year starter looked to have turned a corner at the start of this season, but since Week 2, has piloted the NFL's worst scoring offense and boasts the third-lowest passer rating in that time span, sharing space on charts with DeShone Kizerand Joe Flacco.

Part of his devolution can be attributed to the struggling running game, but as the Giants game exposed, Siemian's mistakes are usually of his own making. Against one of the more vulnerable Chiefs defenses in recent years, a unit missing Eric Berry, will Siemian be able to get back on track?

4. It's the Jamaal Charles Revenge Reunion Game! There's not a lot of heat behind this storyline, but hell, there should be. For nine seasons, Charles was a yard-eating machine in western Missouri; that was before injuries derailed his potentially Hall of Fame career.

The Chiefs have since moved on to rookie standout Kareem Hunt, but Charles has found a nice home in Denver where he leads the team in yards per carry (4.7). The veteran is coming off his worst showing of the season (two yards on four carries), but in front of a sympathetic Kansas City crowd, he has the potential to shoulder a helping of the load for Denver's struggling offense.