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Game Preview: Rams, 49ers Face Off on Thursday Night

The Rams will travel to the Bay Area to face the 49ers in their first road game of the season on Thursday Night Football. Los Angeles will look to build on Sunday’s loss to Washington, where the team tied the contest in the fourth quarter, but ultimately fell 27-20. With a short turnaround this week, the Rams had to move on quickly from that loss, and has been focused on achieving their first divisional win of the season.

“I think if there’s ever a week to have a short memory, it’s this one,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “Being on a short week — being in a Thursday night game, you have to move on pretty quickly and I think we have.”

“Clearly we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted, but now it’s time to put that one away, learn from the mistakes, and continue to try to do some of the good things as we move forward in San Francisco,” head coach Sean McVay said. “But, what you love about the NFL is you can’t dwell on a win or loss too long — it’s got to be that next-up mindset and mentality.”

Once again, this week’s matchup brings with it a high level of familiarity between the coaching staffs — bringing together former coworkers, roommates, and even family members. For offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur, this week marks the first time he will coach against his brother, Mike, the 49ers’ wide receivers coach.

Both worked together most recently in Atlanta under current San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan. Plus, he and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh were once roommates at Central Michigan, when they served as graduate assistants for the program.

“Really, I know so many guys on that staff, I’ve coached with a lot of those guys before, whether it was in Houston or in Washington,” LaFleur said. “So I’m sure there will be some mixed feelings because you always want your closest friends and obviously in my brother’s case, I always want them to do well — but not at the cost of our team and what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

The 49ers will be looking for their first win of the season, after coming up short against Seattle last week. On Sunday, San Francisco was dominant defensively, limiting the Seahawks to just one touchdown that came on the last drive of the contest. And although they will be without linebacker Reuben Foster and safety Eric Reid — nwho suffered an ankle and knee injury, respectively — Goff and running back Todd Gurley still acknowledged the challenge that this defense will present them with.

“They’ve drafted really well up front defensively and have consistently for the last few years with Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and the guy they just got with Solomon Thomas this past year,” Goff said. “They do get their hands up and have the ability to knock passes down. It really does make it difficult at times, so it’s something that we’ve got to be aware of.”

“Last year when we came up there, they stopped everything. We didn’t get it going, but it doesn’t matter,” Gurley said. “At the end of the day, they know what we’re going to do and we know what they’re going to do. It’s about winning one-on-one matchups and going out there and out-whipping your dude more than he does you.”

Expect the Rams to try and get into an offensive groove early on, presenting the 49ers with a balanced mix of running and passing plays. Although last week, wide receivers like Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, and Cooper Kupp received limited targets, the focus this week will be on effective ball distribution against a solid San Francisco secondary.

“They’re good. We played them last year so I have some experience with some of the guys they’re returning,” Goff said. “They’re long and have good ability to get across the field. They’ve got some big guys in the back half as well as in the safeties and have the ability to come down hill pretty strong, so it’ll be a good game.”

Through two games this season, Goff and company have shown tremendous improvement from last year, and while they struggled last week, there were some big plays to be remembered — including a 69-yard completion to tight end Gerald Everett, and an incredible Gurley touchdown where he hurdled over his defender to make it into the end zone.

Overall, the Rams offense has not had as much trouble putting up points on the board this season, but will need to avoid penalties, turnovers, and incomplete passes in order to consistently drive down field and finish.

Defensively, the Rams will aim towards tightening up their run defense, which allowed the Redskins 229 rushing yards with an average of 5.9 yards per carry — the most since the Cardinals put up 268 yards in 2011.

“Well, it’s all on coaching number one. If we didn’t play well, it’s on me,” defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “But, yeah, we didn’t play the run very well and we’re upset about that, but we’re going to do something about it. Obviously, the first quarter kind of shocked us and they have a good running game.”

On Thursday, the Rams will match up with yet another team who is expected to focus on the ground game. San Francisco ran for 159 yards against a Seattle defense that is known for being solid against the run. The 49ers’ success came in large part thanks to running back Carlos Hyde, who is currently averaging 7.0 yards-per-carry with 169 yards overall.

“You have to stop the run first in any game that you play in in this league,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “If you can’t do that, you leave yourself open for a lot of stuff. We definitely expect them to try to run the ball again, but we’ll be prepared this week. It’s going to take all 11 guys coming down hill and making tackles.”

And while the Rams defense still has an edge over a 49ers offense that has yet to score a touchdown in two games, the team will still need to focus on correcting the mistakes made against Washington and executing effective coverage against both the run and passing game.

“I think it’s just making sure that we’re sound with gap integrity. But, I think the thing that was encouraging, is that as the game progressed, guys settled in,” McVay said. “Now, what we have to do a good job of is not letting what happened at the early stages of the game happen period. Let’s settle in a little bit sooner, [and] try to alleviate that.”

As the team continues to adjust to a new 3-4 defensive scheme, many of the players in the front seven have transitioned into new roles this season, including Ogletree and outside linebacker Robert Quinn. And while Ogletree acknowledged the difficulty of learning a new defense, he does not blame the scheme for the team’s defensive struggles in Week 2.

“Some stuff was us being out of position a little bit and not getting off a block here or there, not staying in our gap,” Ogletree said, “But it wasn’t necessarily not knowing where to line up, that wasn’t really our problem. Some of it was not doing everything correctly throughout the whole play… There’s still a lot of learning to do, but [Wade] makes it simple for us and we feel good about what we’re doing.”

Overall, it should be an exciting contest between two NFC West rivals as the Rams look to beat the 49ers for the first time in three games. The Thursday Night matchup kicks off at 5:25 p.m.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed him just being electric on the sidelines. I saw him jumping around about a play and pointed him out. My friends laughed cause I said "Ted Rath Strength and Conditioning coach"

This guy is an absolute animal on the sideline.

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I love these
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I just saw the Ram Redskin game on reddit, and I have to say, I have never seen Todd Gurley run as angry as he did against the Redskins. Even in his rookie year, I didn't see this kind of abandonment as I did in this game. I think he gave up some last year, because this is a different runner. You can call it scheme if you want to, but that's only part of it. He was hurting people on Sunday. If he keeps this up, we are going to grow into a very dangerous team. Do any of you have any guesses on what has turned the "light" on for Mr. Gurley? He was timid against Indy a bit too, something has changed.

https://www.thescore.com/news/1378451

Sherman blasts NFL for injury reports, believes focus is to help gamblers

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman ripped into the NFL for what he believes to be the disingenuous handling of injury reports.

Sherman was listed as questionable on the Seahawks' injury report with a hamstring injury prior to suiting up for their Week 2 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Last season, the NFL investigated the Seahawks for potentially not disclosing a knee injury which Sherman played through. The Seahawks were issued a warning but no further sanction.

Sherman believes the injury reports are purposefully designed to mislead the public about player injuries.

"I guess from what I understand the rules are for gamblers, for Vegas to make sure the odds and everything are what they are supposed to be, which is apparently what the league is concerned about when talking about injuries and things like that,” Sherman said via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. "So maybe someone should look into that, because I thought we weren’t a gambling league or were against all of those things. But our injury report is specifically to make sure the gamblers get their odds right."

Sherman added that the injury reports are "meaningless on paper".

"They've got to put that his ankle is sore, his hip is sore or he’s got a bruise on his hand. But guys are tough - if you are going to play, what’s the point?"

As the season progresses, it'll be compelling to see whether Sherman's point resonates league-wide

Follow me on Twitter: @ljramsfan and help me get more followers.

In honor of Niners Week and with these two coaches forever linked. Ready, break!

Just found this online when trying to persuade my eldest son to wear his skull cap in a rugby match tomorrow.

Those battered and bruised white horns are a thing of beauty...

as he fears he may fall off the planet...

Sammy Watkins is also a flat-Earth truther
https://www.thescore.com/news/1378002

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The worst of the players unions just continues to amaze. With everything that's gone on in recent years the put this joke back in charge. I guess we'll have player discipline decided in the courts for another decade. They seem to prefer that to negotiating.

Week 2 has passed us by leaving our fellow Rams brethren drowning our sorrows as we witnessed the mighty Rams fall to the Redskins just a few days ago in a hard fought battle that brought us back to this little blue green marble we call Earth.
But pick your heads up because the Los Angeles Rams are headed 385 miles North to visit the San Francisco 49ers in a heated NFC West matchup.

Thats right folks, it's Whiner Week score prediction time !!!


Winner of $10,000 RODollars will the first person who correctly predicts the winner while getting closest to the actual final score. Predict the exact final score and win a whopping $25,000 RODollars

So ease off the brakes, check your rear view mirrors for police, and stomp your feet on the gas pedal and get those score predictions in.

In the Niners game.....I listened to Wade Phillips interview from earlier today, and he gets it. He knows that the Niners can do to us the same as the Redskins if he doesn't adjust. Can our smaller, lighter backfield hold up to downhill running backs looking to hurt them? I guess we'll see. But I fully expect that Wades D. will do what teams having been doing to us for years...stacking the box and daring the QB to beat us (Hoyer).

Niners haven't scored one TD this year, and I believe we can hold them to FG's as well. We have to employ the new elements in our offense that the Niners have not faced before: Cooper Kupp, Sammy Watkins, Gerald Everret (if he's ok), and a better version of Jared Goff (McVay Edition).

We can win this game. We SHOULD win this game. It probably won't be the end of the world if the Rams lose in frisco, but it would effectively end my belief in a winning season. We have to beat inferior teams like this or we are just in it for the learning experience and next year is the breakout year...

All I can say, is FUKK NEXT YEAR. The future is now...

Well, they probably costs us the game anyway. They at least prevented us from taking a 24-20 lead against the Redskins in the 4th Quarter. I'm talking about a running play to Gurley at the 3:38 mark on this video:

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The line creates a good initial hole and Gurley hits it, but look closely at the 3:42 mark. Havenstein stumbles and falls to the ground instead of finishing his assignment and blocking #22, who ended up being the first defender to get significant contact on Gurley.

Now watch the play again and look at Robert Woods at the top of the screen. I don't know if he was taking the play off or what but he fails to engage anyone. This includes Josh Norman, who was standing right in front of him and ended up knocking the ball out of Gurley's hands while he was stumbling (from the tackle Havenstein failed to block).

If both those guys perform their assignments and finish out the play, Gurley is taking that run to the house. Blocking matters folks, and the devil is in the details.

Family, and friendly, ties bind Rams coach Sean McVay to a lineage of NFL greatness
Gary KleinContact Reporter




Framed photographs, plaques and magazine covers adorn nearly every inch of wall space, memorabilia from a life in football that spans more than seven decades.

A few are keepsakes from Massillon High in Ohio. Others are from college days at Miami (Ohio), coaching stops in the World Football League and the NFL and his Super Bowl-winning years as a San Francisco 49ers executive.

Game balls commemorating milestone victories are shelved above a window framing picturesque Folsom Lake glistening just outside.

John McVay guides a visitor around the room and stops in front of life-size cardboard cutouts of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young, who stand sentry at the end of a pool table.

Rams coach Sean McVay, at 31 the youngest coach in modern NFL history, has visited this space, an enclave within the home his grandfather shares with his wife Susan.

After Rams owner Stan Kroenke presented him with a game ball for guiding his team to a season-opening victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Sean spoke of perhaps one day having a collection similar to his grandfather’s.



Gruden and also met a young real estate developer named Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

New York Giants staff in 1976, but midway through the season McVay was summoned to meet with team executive Andy Robustelli and owner Wellington Mara. They told him Arnsparger was fired.

“They said, ‘Bill’s leaving. You’re it,’” McVay recalls. “I said, ‘I don’t want to be it.’ They said, ‘You’re it.’”

After two-plus seasons with the Giants, he also was fired.

He had become friends with Bill Walsh, whom the 49ers hired as coach in 1979, through clinics, and he knew DeBartolo, now owner of the 49ers, from his time in Dayton. DeBartolo invited McVay to work for the team on the personnel side.

“I was on the next plane,” John says.

Thus began one of the most successful partnerships in NFL history.

The 49ers won three Super Bowl titles under Walsh and two under coach George Seifert.

John McVay “was the founder, really, in a lot of ways, of the 49ers dynasty,” says Jon Gruden, Jim’s son and an ESPN “Monday Night Football” analyst who coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory in the 2003 Super Bowl and gave Sean his first coaching job.


Says Sean: “He was kind of the unsung hero. He was always in the background — never was a guy that needed the credit.”

During the 1979 draft, the McVays’ connection to the Grudens began to emerge and pay dividends.

Walsh could not figure out why Montana had not been selected in the first two rounds. He asked McVay if he knew anyone at Notre Dame. He did. Jim Gruden was a Notre Dame assistant.

“[Walsh] says, ‘Call him and see what’s going on. How come no one’s taking Montana?’” McVay recalls. “I called Jimmy. I said, ‘He’s supposed to be not very fast and doesn’t have a good arm.’

“Jim says, ‘Just take him. Just take him.’”

The 49ers selected Montana in the third round and he led the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles, the last in 1989.

Sean McVay was 3 at the time.

As he grew up in suburban Atlanta, Sean became a 49ers fan. When the team came to town for games against the Falcons, he attended practices and rode the bus with the coaches and players. Young once tossed him a towel as he ran onto the field before a Monday night game.

“At the time, that’s just kind of what it is,” Sean says. “Now you look back at it and realize what a unique experience it was.

“I think there were a lot of things you subconsciously pick up that maybe you might not otherwise. The competitiveness, the interactions with the players, all those things that seem natural because you’re around it.”



Mike Shanahan hired Sean onto his Washington Redskins staff two years later. He worked the 2014-16 seasons under Redskins coach Jay Gruden, another son of Jim Gruden.

“We go way back as far as our families are concerned,” Jay Gruden says.

After last season, Sean McVay interviewed with the 49ers and Rams. The Rams hired him and, a few weeks later, the 49ers hired 37-year-old Kyle Shanahan, Mike’s son.

The young coaches’ teams will square off Thursday night.


Retired 49ers General Manager John McVay shows off where he would like to sit at the planned new home of the 49ers at the Preview Center in Santa Clara on Sept. 27, 2011. (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)
Sean already has collected some personal mementos. A group photo of NFL coaches and a framed photo of McVay and his parents on the day he was introduced as the Rams’ coach sit on a shelf behind his desk, just to the right of a printout of John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success.” He keeps an autographed copy of Walsh’s book “Finding the Winning Edge” nearby, and is a regular reader of Walsh’s “The Score Takes Care of Itself.”

He also has started a room at his home in Encino. A jersey presented to him by Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins is there along with a keepsake commemorating his hiring by the Rams.

As John McVay surveys his own room, he says his grandson was on his way to a successful career as a head
coach.

“I used to call him a kid, but I’ve got to quit doing that,” he says. “He’s got some amazing experience.”

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-mcvay-49ers-20170918-story.html

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http://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-r...-sean-mcvay-quick-to-put-the-blame-on-himself



THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The theme of Sean McVay's postgame availability on Sunday was guilt. The Los Angeles Rams' rookie head coach spent the moments following a 27-20 loss to the Washington Redskins blaming himself, for everything from Todd Gurley's early struggles to Jared Goff's late interception to the offensive inconsistencies as a whole.

The following phrases filled the transcript from McVay's press conference:

"It starts with me."

"I know that we'll look at ourselves critically in the mirror, coaches included, starting with me."

"I've got to do a better job."

"I probably could have given us a better play."

"I've got to do a better job for our team as a whole."

As he was preparing to become the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, McVay sought guidance. And one of the core pieces of advice came from Jon and Jay Gruden, who told him to take responsibility when needed. The Rams entered the season with the NFL's second-youngest roster, but their head coach is exceedingly young too. They're all growing together.

"We always talk about coachability," McVay, 31, said Monday. "Certainly if I’m not being coachable or being critical of myself when I’m not doing the things that I need to do to try to be helpful in trying to achieve wins, and putting players in good spots, then that’s something that you have to be aware of. You can’t be afraid to admit that."

McVay pointing the finger at himself wasn't an act; he legitimately believes he let the offense down.

McVay never felt he "allowed our players to get into a rhythm." The Redskins' highly effective running game chewed up so much clock that the Rams' offense ran only nine plays in the first quarter. On their next play from scrimmage, Gurley fumbled. And when they got the ball again, they trailed 13-0 with just more than 12 minutes left before halftime.

"So you've got 10 plays," McVay said. "And I thought then that I let those circumstances affect the way that you go about your normal rhythm, as opposed to just staying one play at a time, like you talk about, to try to keep your run-pass balance, knowing that you still have a whole game to get back in it."

In other words, McVay panicked.

Gurley ultimately was effective on the ground, picking up 88 yards on 16 carries and running for a touchdown (he had a touchdown catch too). But the Rams were too reliant on their passing game. They threw the ball on seven of their first nine plays, and when the fourth quarter began, Gurley had only nine carries. The Rams went into their Week 2 game hoping to establish the run early, but McVay scrapped those plans when they fell behind.

After it was over, McVay lamented his own "uncharacteristic decisions" and "indecisiveness."

"We always talk about letting our approach and our preparation lead to good performance, and the process over results always," McVay said. "I thought, regardless of the way that some things played out, when you go into a game, you always envision kind of how you want to try to put your players in good spots. I didn’t necessarily follow through with that plan, based on the way things played out. I think there are times when you have to do that, but I thought there was a handful of situations where I didn’t need to do that, and I did. And it made it tougher on our players than it should’ve been."

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The Timeline: Greatest Show on Turf chronicles one of the greatest offenses in NFL history, the 1999-2001 St. Louis Rams. Lead by QB Kurt Warner, RB Marshall Faulk, WR's Issac Bruce and Torry Holt, and Head Coach Dick Vermeil the "Greatest Show on Turf" broke multiple records and won Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans. Watch The Timeline: Greatest Show on Turf Thursday 9/21 following Thursday Night Football on NFL Network.

-------------------

Set your DVRs!

Jeff Triplette will head the crew for Thursday night's NFC West matchup between the Rams and 49ers,

http://www.footballzebras.com/category/assignments/



:headexplosion::help::banghead::rant:
This is not funny............

I have watched about 18 games (full) from week 1 and 2:

State of the NFL:
1. Schemes seem a lot more important than the athlete in the passing game: Meaning, on most 3rd downs the WRs aren't beating corners, the scheme is putting them in the position. I know, some WRs are...but, it looks pretty rare to me.
2. 1/2 the teams seem to have a worse O line than the Rams---that says a lot considering our line is not so special.
3. Many offenses are struggling; I wonder if the defenses have caught up from the last 5-6 years of heavy abuse.
4. The Falcons have a small, fast LB, too (Jones?)---like Buchanon, Trevian, Barron etc...I think in a few years every team will have small LBs who can cover the slot like a FS, but are tough enough to play the run.
*Many LBs are sill in the 230s---which they were in the 1980s, too (and many in the 1970s, too).....while all the other positions are much bigger.
*So, maybe the hybrid LB/Safety becomes like a slot corner in that they become 'starters' on 2nd-3rd down.
5. In general, I am not so sure there is a team that looks so great; Denver with that QB--maybe....come on, can he be that good....What other team looks so good in all phases? Atlanta---their Defense is not that good, is it?

NFC West:
The rams in comparison to the Division:
*might have the best WRs (beating ARiz)
*For sure the best O line
*The best "in pocket" QB. (Have you seen Wilson in the pocket?)
*A good enough running game in comparison; 49ers might be better....might, might;we will see Thursday

Seattle:
* Wow, their O line is worse than the atrocious 2016 version. I mean, 'wow', bad.
*Seattle has a new 'tough' RB in Carson--tougher as Turbin and as tough as Rawls.
* Their pass rush looks better than every; Sheldon RIch is a probowl-level player...The rams could have cut Barron for him and I would be happy. He along makes the whole defense 'different'.
*Their offense looks like the 2016 Rams...without Wilson they are getting 180 yards out of that offense. Jimmy Graham is doing nothing, and Baldwin only 'wins' on 8-12 yard routes (if you know NFL, you know what I mean, here)
* I truly believe if we put up 17 points in each game, we can beat Seattle twice (assuming Wade gets it together)
*We could have a shot at the division, because Seattle looks soooo bad. HOwever, the last 2 years Wilson has dug them out of the grave, so he will do it again and get them to 10-6 at least. He made an amazing throw to win it on Sunday. IF the Rams can approach 9-7, it will be a nice dog fight this year...
* How does Pete allow the worst O line 3 years running? Really, wow, he believes in O line coach Cable too much.

Arizona
*Arizona has their LT hurt, and their O line looks bad. Lupati is hurt, but really, he is a mediocre at best in pass pro.
* They lost David Johnson for a while---that is like us losing Faulk and Bruce.
* Palmer is 'shorting' a lot of throws. Larry Fitz 3 catches on 6 targets for 21 yards--wow, bad. They had 3 points against the Colts with about 10 minutes to play in the game...then Palmer let it rip...but, that ONLY works against the Colts.
*Their D does not look dominating at all. Calais Campbell was awesome...big loss. Buchannon their 215 LBer also is hurt, I believe. Their 2nd corner J Bethel looks really bad to me...and their 3rd corner is the FS, I guess.

49ers
*Their O does not look good because it is a whole new system and their WRs don't look ready. Garcon hasn't done a thing. M Goodwin won on two fly/9 routes, but the ball wasn't there...that looks like their only chance to beat us (and turnovers of course).
* Their D looks pretty good to me; Reid, the FS, is out.
* Next year they may have a top 5-8 D, but this year maybe top 15???
*HOyer did great with Shanny before, but they don't have a 'NFL' line. He threw 3 balls the entire game over 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. He was mauled....

It was an 'upset' to beat Arizona and Seattle---now it should just be like one 8-8 team beating a 9-7 team....big, big change from the last 3 years with AZ and 6 years with Seattle.

Maybe I will edit and add more.

Summary as it regards the Rams:
The Rams aren't a 10-6 team, nor a 9-7 team right now.....but in the next 5-6 weeks they will play like a 10-6 team I believe....Wade just has to get the Defense 'right'...YOu all know that Barron, Ogletree, Quinn and good NFL players....the system seems to be against them right now. Barwin is done,and our corners need a great pass rush.
So, I hope the Rams could somehow go 4-3 at the bye and then tear it up. Honestly, I think they are capable to beat every team left on the schedule except for the high powered Saints (and I don't think they match up well with Mariotta in Tenn, but maybe I am wrong on that).

Much needed depth. Hopefully he quits doing stupid shit.

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