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A Reminder to the Members
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 3 Replies
First of all, thanks to the many members who contribute articles here at ROD. Your time and effort is appreciated. But remember to include a link with every article. It's a courtesy we show to all the authors and sites for their work. Thanks! Carry on...
Greatest Rams Alphabetically...K
- By Farr Be It
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 10 Replies
Well, I've gone off the rails. Stay with me, here. I could have combined with L and really made An impressive list of all time great Ram players. But no. I'm going to expose the letter K for its dearth of greatness. For its ordinary status of under-achievers and stone-handed tight ends that it is. Except....yes!
I'm going there! This list is headed by the greatest Ram since Isaac Bruce about to catch 100 balls!
No: Justin King
F-No: Joe Klopfenstein
I'm going there! This list is headed by the greatest Ram since Isaac Bruce about to catch 100 balls!
- Cooper Kupp! :yay:Wooo! Rules be damned! I see the future, and it's full of kupps...
...and trophies and stuff! - Bob Klein
- Larry Kelm
- Lance Kendricks
- Todd Kinchen:boxing:
- Jeff Kemp
- Rick Kay
- Eddie Kennison
- Mike Karney
- Jimmy Kennedy
No: Justin King
F-No: Joe Klopfenstein
The Play That Will Define the 2017 NFL Season - the Run-Pass Option
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 0 Replies
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/...s-option-rpo-aaron-rodgers-ben-roethlisberger
The Play That Will Define the 2017 NFL Season
Meet the not-so-secret weapon that Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and others are using to flummox even the league’s best defenses: the run-pass option
BY KEVIN CLARK
The life cycle of NFL schemes is predictable. A play gets invented by some innovative coach and chugs along for a few years with some success, but doesn’t really enter the mainstream football conversation until the play wins big games. Then it gets stolen by everyone in football, and after defenses adjust, it dies a gradual death.
No one was talking much about the read option at the NFL level until it started getting teams deep into the 2012 playoffs. Remember when Colin Kaepernick did this?
In 1940, the T formation—where the backfield shape forms a T—became the scheme du jour because the Chicago Bears used it to torch the Redskins in the NFL title game, 73-0.
Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee7fZykLH60
The West Coast offense wasn’t revolutionary until Bill Walsh started winning Super Bowls with it.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6mFQvZxX88
Another play is about to have its moment: the run-pass option. The play is simple but can be almost defense-proof. The quarterback has multiple run or pass options on a given play and the decision on which play to run isn’t made until after the ball is snapped.
Unlike other plays in the post-snap-decision genre—the option or the zone read come to mind—these plays can include any kind of pass that the play-caller wants to include in the playbook. It’s already ubiquitous at the college level and growing at the NFL level, and it’s hard to find a coach who doesn’t think it’s influence is about to take off. “It’s already here in the league,” said Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien, “and it’s a trend you’re going to see more of.”
The RPO has the one trait that NFL teams can’t ignore: it works. Pro Football Focus’s Michael Renner calls the play “free yards.” He found the average NFL game featured about five RPOs last year, the first year the company tracked the play. The Bengals—the Bengals—had the most yards of any team on RPOs last year, at an average of 6.2 per play, or more than a half yard higher than the league average for yards per play in general
At the end of last season, Trent Dilfer told me that these plays had about a 90 percent completion rate league-wide when the quarterback opted to pass. The RPO, in part, fueled Dak Prescott’s record-breaking rookie season, and most college systems run some variation of the play. Unlike many college schemes, it translates well to the NFL level.
“I think this play can be great for a lot of teams,” said Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
In simplest terms, Packers coach Mike McCarthy told me, the RPO is a rewriting of what’s possible on a play. Green Bay runs the play with Aaron Rodgers, and it basically works like this: Once the quarterback determines what the defense is doing after the snap, he has three options—two passes and a halfback run, or vice versa—all of which are designed to be executed quickly.
For most of his time in the league, McCarthy said, plays were either “locked” plays, in which you’d come to the line and run the called play no matter what, or “two-way” plays, where you could audible into a pre-set adjustment. “So what the RPO is, it’s the expansion to the ability to run a three-way play,” he said.
That means you can basically do anything—multiple types of runs or passes—on a given play. Crucially, most plays feature changes before the snap, but the RPO adjusts to the defense after the snap, giving the offense maximum flexibility.
Mike Kuchar, who runs football-research company X&O Labs, said the concept is simple: There’s going to be one defender, typically an outside linebacker, on a given play who is going to commit to playing the run or pass post-snap. Once that player makes their decision, you run that play “to the space he vacated.” If he commits to the run, you pass, and if he doesn’t, you run.
All decisions are made quickly after the snap. “It’s the modern-day triple-option,” he said, referring to the old-school run option in which a quarterback can keep the ball, or has two options to give it to his fullback or running back.
But the most dangerous option in this play comes in the passing game. The Cowboys had success with a “third-level” RPO last year, which requires the quarterback to read the safety and helps exploit secondaries even more. “I’ve seen so many more RPOs this preseason,” Kuchar said. The play looks like this:
Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Mike/status/883340468414795777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theringer.com%2Fnfl%2F2017%2F8%2F25%2F16201116%2Fmost-important-play-2017-run-pass-option-rpo-aaron-rodgers-ben-roethlisberger
The RPO play is equipped to dominate the modern defense, which has become faster and more athletic in recent years in order to keep up with offenses that consistently trot out three and four receivers. The RPO works because it doesn’t rely on trying to outrun anyone; it relies on going to the most empty part of the field in the most efficient way possible.
Various offensive coordinators said the two biggest traits needed to run the play as a quarterback are quick hands (to get the ball out before the defense can recover) and decision-making (to pick the right option). The vast majority of NFL quarterbacks have both.
Even if the signal-caller struggles with the big picture of NFL quarterbacking (and there are many of those), the RPO creates easy passes or wide-open runs if he properly reads one or two keys. Done right, it’s the perfect modern play.
Todd Haley, the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, said the team runs it effectively because Ben Roethlisberger is one of the fastest distributors in football, and thus his instincts and ability to quick-throw allow the team to pounce on defenses with it.
“The thing that helps is that it keeps everyone alive on a play,” Haley said. “Any time every skill guy on the field think they can get the ball, they’re excited.”
* * *
Every NFL coach is fairly confident that nothing is new. If a team ran plays that started with a snap into shotgun and ended with all 11 guys doing a full rendition of Guys and Dolls, other coaches would claim Clark Shaughnessy was running that with the 1949 Rams.
Kuchar thinks the RPO originated at Purdue during the Joe Tiller–Drew Brees era, when the Boilermakers would combine bubble routes with runs and make a read after the snap. It was now-Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, he said, who popularized the play when he was Auburn’s offensive coordinator.
“Once he started it, it’s now hard to find someone at the college level who is not doing it.” Kuchar also mentioned Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as someone designing the best RPOs in the NCAA.
The trickle up to the NFL level has been slower than the explosion in the college game. The Carolina Panthers have used the play with Cam Newton. Their offensive coordinator, Mike Shula, said the play is helpful because, with the lack of blocking tight ends throughout the NFL, you need quicker options to get the ball out as soon as possible—and the RPO is an extremely quick play since it requires the quarterback get the ball out of his hands in about a second. This is especially important if the defense is bringing significant pressure.
If these plays become widespread, it would change the face of defense. Paul Guenther, the Bengals defensive coordinator, said the key to containing such a play is to disguise coverages. Essentially, offenses in an RPO read which play they’ll go to by checking out easy-to-read seven-man defensive fronts. So disguising the player with the responsibility to commit to a run or a pass early is a good way to mess with an RPO team.
Kuchar said the biggest difference between college and pro RPOs is the protection schemes. Unlike in the NFL, where a quarterback’s going rate is above $20 million, some college RPOs rely on the quarterback rolling to the perimeter of the field and leaving him open for big hits. That won’t fly in the pros.
But, Kuchar said, the NFL has evolved to where they’ve taken college RPOs and designed blocks for everyone on the field and kept the quarterback in the pocket instead of a perimeter rollout—it defeats some of the purpose of the college RPOs, which rely on ignoring one player entirely in the blocking scheme to create a numbers advantage elsewhere, but NFL teams will take the tradeoff.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9112877/Stick_Draw_RPO_Image.jpg)
Kuchar also said that teams in college and the pros are getting more aggressive with the routes they are calling in RPOs. After years of focusing on quick, short passing, teams are going downfield, designing RPOs with skinny post routes or other big-play patterns. The ceiling of the RPO still hasn’t been scratched.
* * *
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher made news last fall when he dubbed RPOs “illegal,” suggesting they often led to an ineligible man downfield but that refs rarely called the infraction. There is a subtle but crucial difference between ineligible man downfield in the pros and college.
In the NFL, offensive linemen cannot be more than 1 yard (as opposed to 3 in college) downfield at the time the ball is thrown. This complicates the professional RPO, since offensive linemen, cognizant of the R in the RPO, explode forward to block for a run at the beginning of the play. Even if the quarterback opts to throw, the pass will oftentimes be so short and quick that run blocking principles will be in effect.
This is going to create a massive gray area once the play reaches its peak.
“It’s hard to see [linemen downfield] as an official,” O’Brien said. “There’s a lot of examples where that’s not called.”
Referee Jerome Boger told me that the gray area was a topic of interest at the league’s refereeing meetings before the season. He said referees are supposed to be watching the play closely this season and that calling ineligible receiver downfield is simply a matter of watching the timing of the play with greater scrutiny.
So, as long as the referees allow some envelope pushing, the RPO is going to be The Play of 2017. When there’s a play that is dubbed “free yards” by smart people, you can expect it to spread. So, how hot can this play get?
Bengals backup A.J. McCarron thinks it’ll retain its popularity just because it ensures teams won’t have to rely on “checkdowns,” which are essentially audibles into short passes that do little more than gain a handful of yards.
Designing a play with a big pass option that can be utilized post-snap will always be appealing. “Every team can pass out of the gun,” McCarron said, “but this allows you to run out of the gun. And if you wanted to, you could run this under center, too.”
Bengals quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor also said the RPO is an efficient way to keep possession since all of the plays are designed to limit risk and thus turnovers.
So, given all the advantages they seem to provide, will the RPOs have a multiseason run before flaming out, as the read option did? Or will it become like the shotgun pass or crossing pattern from a slot receiver—something that endures for long enough that it’s hard to remember a time it wasn’t part of the game?
“And then in four years,” Lazor said, talking about the life cycle of the read option and RPO, “someone will be asking me about the new thing, and asking if it will be the new RPO.”
The Play That Will Define the 2017 NFL Season
Meet the not-so-secret weapon that Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and others are using to flummox even the league’s best defenses: the run-pass option
BY KEVIN CLARK
The life cycle of NFL schemes is predictable. A play gets invented by some innovative coach and chugs along for a few years with some success, but doesn’t really enter the mainstream football conversation until the play wins big games. Then it gets stolen by everyone in football, and after defenses adjust, it dies a gradual death.
No one was talking much about the read option at the NFL level until it started getting teams deep into the 2012 playoffs. Remember when Colin Kaepernick did this?
In 1940, the T formation—where the backfield shape forms a T—became the scheme du jour because the Chicago Bears used it to torch the Redskins in the NFL title game, 73-0.
Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee7fZykLH60
The West Coast offense wasn’t revolutionary until Bill Walsh started winning Super Bowls with it.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6mFQvZxX88
Another play is about to have its moment: the run-pass option. The play is simple but can be almost defense-proof. The quarterback has multiple run or pass options on a given play and the decision on which play to run isn’t made until after the ball is snapped.
Unlike other plays in the post-snap-decision genre—the option or the zone read come to mind—these plays can include any kind of pass that the play-caller wants to include in the playbook. It’s already ubiquitous at the college level and growing at the NFL level, and it’s hard to find a coach who doesn’t think it’s influence is about to take off. “It’s already here in the league,” said Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien, “and it’s a trend you’re going to see more of.”
The RPO has the one trait that NFL teams can’t ignore: it works. Pro Football Focus’s Michael Renner calls the play “free yards.” He found the average NFL game featured about five RPOs last year, the first year the company tracked the play. The Bengals—the Bengals—had the most yards of any team on RPOs last year, at an average of 6.2 per play, or more than a half yard higher than the league average for yards per play in general
At the end of last season, Trent Dilfer told me that these plays had about a 90 percent completion rate league-wide when the quarterback opted to pass. The RPO, in part, fueled Dak Prescott’s record-breaking rookie season, and most college systems run some variation of the play. Unlike many college schemes, it translates well to the NFL level.
“I think this play can be great for a lot of teams,” said Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
In simplest terms, Packers coach Mike McCarthy told me, the RPO is a rewriting of what’s possible on a play. Green Bay runs the play with Aaron Rodgers, and it basically works like this: Once the quarterback determines what the defense is doing after the snap, he has three options—two passes and a halfback run, or vice versa—all of which are designed to be executed quickly.
For most of his time in the league, McCarthy said, plays were either “locked” plays, in which you’d come to the line and run the called play no matter what, or “two-way” plays, where you could audible into a pre-set adjustment. “So what the RPO is, it’s the expansion to the ability to run a three-way play,” he said.
That means you can basically do anything—multiple types of runs or passes—on a given play. Crucially, most plays feature changes before the snap, but the RPO adjusts to the defense after the snap, giving the offense maximum flexibility.
Mike Kuchar, who runs football-research company X&O Labs, said the concept is simple: There’s going to be one defender, typically an outside linebacker, on a given play who is going to commit to playing the run or pass post-snap. Once that player makes their decision, you run that play “to the space he vacated.” If he commits to the run, you pass, and if he doesn’t, you run.
All decisions are made quickly after the snap. “It’s the modern-day triple-option,” he said, referring to the old-school run option in which a quarterback can keep the ball, or has two options to give it to his fullback or running back.
But the most dangerous option in this play comes in the passing game. The Cowboys had success with a “third-level” RPO last year, which requires the quarterback to read the safety and helps exploit secondaries even more. “I’ve seen so many more RPOs this preseason,” Kuchar said. The play looks like this:
Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Mike/status/883340468414795777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theringer.com%2Fnfl%2F2017%2F8%2F25%2F16201116%2Fmost-important-play-2017-run-pass-option-rpo-aaron-rodgers-ben-roethlisberger
The RPO play is equipped to dominate the modern defense, which has become faster and more athletic in recent years in order to keep up with offenses that consistently trot out three and four receivers. The RPO works because it doesn’t rely on trying to outrun anyone; it relies on going to the most empty part of the field in the most efficient way possible.
Various offensive coordinators said the two biggest traits needed to run the play as a quarterback are quick hands (to get the ball out before the defense can recover) and decision-making (to pick the right option). The vast majority of NFL quarterbacks have both.
Even if the signal-caller struggles with the big picture of NFL quarterbacking (and there are many of those), the RPO creates easy passes or wide-open runs if he properly reads one or two keys. Done right, it’s the perfect modern play.
Todd Haley, the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, said the team runs it effectively because Ben Roethlisberger is one of the fastest distributors in football, and thus his instincts and ability to quick-throw allow the team to pounce on defenses with it.
“The thing that helps is that it keeps everyone alive on a play,” Haley said. “Any time every skill guy on the field think they can get the ball, they’re excited.”
* * *
Every NFL coach is fairly confident that nothing is new. If a team ran plays that started with a snap into shotgun and ended with all 11 guys doing a full rendition of Guys and Dolls, other coaches would claim Clark Shaughnessy was running that with the 1949 Rams.
Kuchar thinks the RPO originated at Purdue during the Joe Tiller–Drew Brees era, when the Boilermakers would combine bubble routes with runs and make a read after the snap. It was now-Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, he said, who popularized the play when he was Auburn’s offensive coordinator.
“Once he started it, it’s now hard to find someone at the college level who is not doing it.” Kuchar also mentioned Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as someone designing the best RPOs in the NCAA.
The trickle up to the NFL level has been slower than the explosion in the college game. The Carolina Panthers have used the play with Cam Newton. Their offensive coordinator, Mike Shula, said the play is helpful because, with the lack of blocking tight ends throughout the NFL, you need quicker options to get the ball out as soon as possible—and the RPO is an extremely quick play since it requires the quarterback get the ball out of his hands in about a second. This is especially important if the defense is bringing significant pressure.
If these plays become widespread, it would change the face of defense. Paul Guenther, the Bengals defensive coordinator, said the key to containing such a play is to disguise coverages. Essentially, offenses in an RPO read which play they’ll go to by checking out easy-to-read seven-man defensive fronts. So disguising the player with the responsibility to commit to a run or a pass early is a good way to mess with an RPO team.
Kuchar said the biggest difference between college and pro RPOs is the protection schemes. Unlike in the NFL, where a quarterback’s going rate is above $20 million, some college RPOs rely on the quarterback rolling to the perimeter of the field and leaving him open for big hits. That won’t fly in the pros.
But, Kuchar said, the NFL has evolved to where they’ve taken college RPOs and designed blocks for everyone on the field and kept the quarterback in the pocket instead of a perimeter rollout—it defeats some of the purpose of the college RPOs, which rely on ignoring one player entirely in the blocking scheme to create a numbers advantage elsewhere, but NFL teams will take the tradeoff.
Kuchar also said that teams in college and the pros are getting more aggressive with the routes they are calling in RPOs. After years of focusing on quick, short passing, teams are going downfield, designing RPOs with skinny post routes or other big-play patterns. The ceiling of the RPO still hasn’t been scratched.
* * *
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher made news last fall when he dubbed RPOs “illegal,” suggesting they often led to an ineligible man downfield but that refs rarely called the infraction. There is a subtle but crucial difference between ineligible man downfield in the pros and college.
In the NFL, offensive linemen cannot be more than 1 yard (as opposed to 3 in college) downfield at the time the ball is thrown. This complicates the professional RPO, since offensive linemen, cognizant of the R in the RPO, explode forward to block for a run at the beginning of the play. Even if the quarterback opts to throw, the pass will oftentimes be so short and quick that run blocking principles will be in effect.
This is going to create a massive gray area once the play reaches its peak.
“It’s hard to see [linemen downfield] as an official,” O’Brien said. “There’s a lot of examples where that’s not called.”
Referee Jerome Boger told me that the gray area was a topic of interest at the league’s refereeing meetings before the season. He said referees are supposed to be watching the play closely this season and that calling ineligible receiver downfield is simply a matter of watching the timing of the play with greater scrutiny.
So, as long as the referees allow some envelope pushing, the RPO is going to be The Play of 2017. When there’s a play that is dubbed “free yards” by smart people, you can expect it to spread. So, how hot can this play get?
Bengals backup A.J. McCarron thinks it’ll retain its popularity just because it ensures teams won’t have to rely on “checkdowns,” which are essentially audibles into short passes that do little more than gain a handful of yards.
Designing a play with a big pass option that can be utilized post-snap will always be appealing. “Every team can pass out of the gun,” McCarron said, “but this allows you to run out of the gun. And if you wanted to, you could run this under center, too.”
Bengals quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor also said the RPO is an efficient way to keep possession since all of the plays are designed to limit risk and thus turnovers.
So, given all the advantages they seem to provide, will the RPOs have a multiseason run before flaming out, as the read option did? Or will it become like the shotgun pass or crossing pattern from a slot receiver—something that endures for long enough that it’s hard to remember a time it wasn’t part of the game?
“And then in four years,” Lazor said, talking about the life cycle of the read option and RPO, “someone will be asking me about the new thing, and asking if it will be the new RPO.”
Another Uniform Thread - What's Up, Buttercup?
- By 551staaa
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 6 Replies
I excerpted this from a 9/14/94 Los Angeles Times article. It's a fun explanation of why the Rams switched to blue and white uniforms.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Who else in the NFL had the audacity to wear yellow jerseys on Sunday? The Rams of 1951 may have looked like banana splits, but with Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin cranking up 54-14 and 48-21 victories, no one seemed to laugh much.
"I love 'em," says Mickey Dukich, the Rams' director of video operation for the past 39 years. "It was sad to give them up. They were unique, distinctive. Very clean-looking."
The Rams gave them up in 1957 because television, in an ominous sign of things to come, ordered them to.
"The games were broadcast in black and white then," Dukich says, "and the gold came out as gray on TV sets. It conflicted with white jerseys and light blue jerseys, like the ones the Detroit Lions wore. Television wanted more of a contrast."
The Rams switched to blue and white, but "not without a struggle," according to Dukich. "Dan Reeves, who owned the Rams then, told our equipment manager, Bill Granholm, to try to find a gold or a yellow that came across as white, or near it, when it was photographed in black and white.
"Bill went through a lot of different shades, but none of them worked until he found a light-colored yellow with blue on it. We went to the Coliseum one afternoon, he'd model it on the field and I'd shoot it from the top of the stadium. Sure enough, it came out white on the film. We were told we'd be able to use it.
"But then Dan Reeves asked Bill the name of the color. 'Buttercup yellow,' Bill told him.
"That did it. Mr. Reeves said, 'No way, I'm not going to let the reporters know my team plays in buttercup yellow.' It was back to blue and white after that."
The Rams remained in blue and white throughout the '60s and into the '70s, until Carroll Rosenbloom bought the team in 1973.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Who else in the NFL had the audacity to wear yellow jerseys on Sunday? The Rams of 1951 may have looked like banana splits, but with Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin cranking up 54-14 and 48-21 victories, no one seemed to laugh much.
"I love 'em," says Mickey Dukich, the Rams' director of video operation for the past 39 years. "It was sad to give them up. They were unique, distinctive. Very clean-looking."
The Rams gave them up in 1957 because television, in an ominous sign of things to come, ordered them to.
"The games were broadcast in black and white then," Dukich says, "and the gold came out as gray on TV sets. It conflicted with white jerseys and light blue jerseys, like the ones the Detroit Lions wore. Television wanted more of a contrast."
The Rams switched to blue and white, but "not without a struggle," according to Dukich. "Dan Reeves, who owned the Rams then, told our equipment manager, Bill Granholm, to try to find a gold or a yellow that came across as white, or near it, when it was photographed in black and white.
"Bill went through a lot of different shades, but none of them worked until he found a light-colored yellow with blue on it. We went to the Coliseum one afternoon, he'd model it on the field and I'd shoot it from the top of the stadium. Sure enough, it came out white on the film. We were told we'd be able to use it.
"But then Dan Reeves asked Bill the name of the color. 'Buttercup yellow,' Bill told him.
"That did it. Mr. Reeves said, 'No way, I'm not going to let the reporters know my team plays in buttercup yellow.' It was back to blue and white after that."
Alec Ogletree still looking for a new deal
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 37 Replies
http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-report-20170824-story.html
Rams middle linebacker Alec Ogletree still looking for that new deal
Gary Klein/Contact Reporter
Jae C. Hong / Associated Press Photo
The season opener is about two weeks away and the Rams have yet to get a deal done with one of their top defensive players.
Aaron Donald?
That high-profile contract dispute continues to play out, but the Rams and middle linebacker Alec Ogletree also appear to be at a standstill.
Rams executives have said for more than a year that they wanted to extend young players that form their nucleus and have evolved into leaders.
If Ogletree does not sign a new contract, he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Essentially, he said, he is “on a one-year deal” unless an agreement is reached.
“Play this season, see how it goes,” he said, “and if we get a deal done before then great.
“If not, we’ll take it from there. I’m just focusing on one thing at time: getting ready for this season, Game 1, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Ogletree was named a second-team All-Pro last season after recording a career-high 136 tackles and two interceptions for the Rams. He’s set to earn $8.37 million in base salary this season.
Ogletree is calling signals for a defense that has been without several projected starters for the first two preseason games.
Donald is absent and linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerback Kayvon Webster have not played because of injuries or what coach Sean McVay has characterized as preventive maintenance.
The Rams defense, Ogletree said, has “done a lot of good stuff, but we also had a couple mistakes here and there,” during preseason victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders.
The unit will try to correct those mistakes and minimize others against the Chargers, with Ogletree leading the way.
“He’s obviously a great football player,” McVay said, “But I think what he represents in the locker room, in the meeting room and the way that he goes about his business every single day is what sets him apart.
“We’re fortunate to have a player like him.”
Rams middle linebacker Alec Ogletree still looking for that new deal
Gary Klein/Contact Reporter
Jae C. Hong / Associated Press Photo
The season opener is about two weeks away and the Rams have yet to get a deal done with one of their top defensive players.
Aaron Donald?
That high-profile contract dispute continues to play out, but the Rams and middle linebacker Alec Ogletree also appear to be at a standstill.
Rams executives have said for more than a year that they wanted to extend young players that form their nucleus and have evolved into leaders.
If Ogletree does not sign a new contract, he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Essentially, he said, he is “on a one-year deal” unless an agreement is reached.
“Play this season, see how it goes,” he said, “and if we get a deal done before then great.
“If not, we’ll take it from there. I’m just focusing on one thing at time: getting ready for this season, Game 1, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Ogletree was named a second-team All-Pro last season after recording a career-high 136 tackles and two interceptions for the Rams. He’s set to earn $8.37 million in base salary this season.
Ogletree is calling signals for a defense that has been without several projected starters for the first two preseason games.
Donald is absent and linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerback Kayvon Webster have not played because of injuries or what coach Sean McVay has characterized as preventive maintenance.
The Rams defense, Ogletree said, has “done a lot of good stuff, but we also had a couple mistakes here and there,” during preseason victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders.
The unit will try to correct those mistakes and minimize others against the Chargers, with Ogletree leading the way.
“He’s obviously a great football player,” McVay said, “But I think what he represents in the locker room, in the meeting room and the way that he goes about his business every single day is what sets him apart.
“We’re fortunate to have a player like him.”
Jared Goff already notices a difference with Rams' new O-line
- By Riverumbbq
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 16 Replies
4:30 AM PT
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Rams' offense flowed better -- better than it did at any point last season -- during Saturday's preseason game against the Oakland Raiders, which offered the first meaningful sample size under this new, offensive-minded coaching staff. Jared Goffwas more efficient, Todd Gurley was more patient, the receivers and tight ends were more, well, open.
But there was something else: The pocket looked cleaner, a product of a new offensive line that should be a lot stronger on Goff's blind side.
Goff himself is already noticing the difference.
"No doubt," the second-year quarterback said. "I think just as a whole, they’ve really worked together. They’re starting to jell, and I think you saw that last Saturday. The Oakland defensive line is no slouch. They’ve got some dudes over there, and they did a great job keeping them away and giving me a good pocket. It wasn’t just throw it and get hit; it was clean the whole night. It was. No one really around me."
Behind the Rams' offensive line last season, Goff absorbed an NFL-high 25 sacks over the final six weeks and Gurley averaged 1.59 yards before first contact for the entire season, ranked 41st among 42 running backs with enough carries to qualify.
The Rams have since replaced
Greg Robinson, one of the game's worst left tackles, with Andrew Whitworth, one of the game's best. They kept Rodger Saffold, their best offensive lineman last season, at left guard. And they brought in veteran center John Sullivan, who spent last season as a backup under Sean McVay -- now the Rams head coach -- with the Redskins and seems to be fully recovered from prior back injuries. On the right side are third-year players Rob Havenstein (tackle) and Jamon Brown (guard).
Gurley needed only eight carries to reach 38 rushing yards Saturday, and Goff only took one sack, courtesy of reigning defensive player of the year Khalil Mack. Through the first two preseason games, Pro Football Focus has the Rams' first-team offensive line allowing just three pressures on 109 pass-blocking attempts.
That is stunningly low for any team, but particularly the Rams.
"It’s been a good camp," Gurley said. "We’ve been getting better. Each game, we’ll see how we do. We just have to go out there and just compete and communicate. Even though I might have a 1-yard run, we may have done one or two things, whether it’s me or a lineman or someone back side -- 1-yard runs can always be 20-yard runs. It’s just the little things, going out there and communicating. Then the next game, having the same exact look and making sure we get it right.”
Alden GonzalezESPN Staff Writer
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Rams' offense flowed better -- better than it did at any point last season -- during Saturday's preseason game against the Oakland Raiders, which offered the first meaningful sample size under this new, offensive-minded coaching staff. Jared Goffwas more efficient, Todd Gurley was more patient, the receivers and tight ends were more, well, open.
But there was something else: The pocket looked cleaner, a product of a new offensive line that should be a lot stronger on Goff's blind side.
Goff himself is already noticing the difference.
"No doubt," the second-year quarterback said. "I think just as a whole, they’ve really worked together. They’re starting to jell, and I think you saw that last Saturday. The Oakland defensive line is no slouch. They’ve got some dudes over there, and they did a great job keeping them away and giving me a good pocket. It wasn’t just throw it and get hit; it was clean the whole night. It was. No one really around me."
Behind the Rams' offensive line last season, Goff absorbed an NFL-high 25 sacks over the final six weeks and Gurley averaged 1.59 yards before first contact for the entire season, ranked 41st among 42 running backs with enough carries to qualify.
The Rams have since replaced
Greg Robinson, one of the game's worst left tackles, with Andrew Whitworth, one of the game's best. They kept Rodger Saffold, their best offensive lineman last season, at left guard. And they brought in veteran center John Sullivan, who spent last season as a backup under Sean McVay -- now the Rams head coach -- with the Redskins and seems to be fully recovered from prior back injuries. On the right side are third-year players Rob Havenstein (tackle) and Jamon Brown (guard).
Gurley needed only eight carries to reach 38 rushing yards Saturday, and Goff only took one sack, courtesy of reigning defensive player of the year Khalil Mack. Through the first two preseason games, Pro Football Focus has the Rams' first-team offensive line allowing just three pressures on 109 pass-blocking attempts.
That is stunningly low for any team, but particularly the Rams.
"It’s been a good camp," Gurley said. "We’ve been getting better. Each game, we’ll see how we do. We just have to go out there and just compete and communicate. Even though I might have a 1-yard run, we may have done one or two things, whether it’s me or a lineman or someone back side -- 1-yard runs can always be 20-yard runs. It’s just the little things, going out there and communicating. Then the next game, having the same exact look and making sure we get it right.”
Pharoh Cooper Showing Versatility at Wide Receiver
- By CGI_Ram
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 18 Replies
http://yi.nzc.am/rqjIn
Cooper Showing Versatility at Wide Receiver
Second-year wide receiver Pharoh Cooper
has been all over the field lately.
Throughout training camp at UC Irvine, and now in practices at the team facility at Cal Lutheran, Cooper has appeared to distinguish himself as a do-everything kind of wideout.
While many players may be called “wide receiver,” not all of them play exactly the same position within the group. In head coach Sean McVay’s offense — and most across the league, for that matter — the three wide receivers are termed ‘X,’ ‘Z,’ and ‘F.’
That kind of terminology is nothing new, and is used in nearly all levels of football. But in McVay’s offense, it’s important for young receivers to learn all three spots for positional flexibility.
“We want to be able to move guys around and the way that we try to operate is, when you teach things as far as our plays, we teach concepts,” McVay said on Thursday. “It’s not like, ‘Alright, this is the only way we’ll do it, so this is the only route you have to know on this given play.’ Guys have to know where to line up in any specific spot and our formations allow us to try to move guys around.
“The more that guys are able to absorb, the more you can kind of have them do those versatile things and run different types of routes,” McVay continued. “So it is very important for guys to have an above-the-neck approach that gives them a chance to know what’s the full concept, as opposed to just individual routes and what the Z, the F, or the X receiver does on any given play.”
Cooper is a player who embodies that philosophy for Los Angeles, having taken snaps at all three different spots from the offseason program to now. The wide receiver said he’s very comfortable with each position, being able to jump in whenever and wherever he’s needed.
“With the offense that coach has put in, there’s a lot of concepts so everybody has to know what to do,” Cooper said Thursday. “One time, I could line up on the outside. And the inside, I have to know what to do if I’m the ‘Z,’ the ‘X,’ or the ‘F.’ So he stresses that a lot about knowing the offense inside and out.”
“Like today, we were in ‘12’ personnel — I think Sammy was getting taped up or something — so I just jumped in at ‘X’ and ran the play when Sammy couldn’t do it,” Cooper added. “So, I’m very comfortable. I can go out there at X, F, Z — whatever it is, I’m good with the playbook.”
Cooper said McVay and wide receivers coach Eric Yarber have done well to teach the new system, and distribute reps in practice. That’s part of why the South Carolina product has been able to pick things up so quickly. But he’s also taken advantage of extra reps when given the chance.
“Really at first, I was just playing Z. Then I was at F, then some injuries went down and I was actually starting at the X. So [I learned] just by that. And, like I said, the concepts are kind of easy,” Cooper said. “So everybody knows that to do. One formation, the F and the X can switch, and you can still know what to do. So just getting experience at all the levels, starting at each one of them individually, helps a lot.”
Cooper Showing Versatility at Wide Receiver
Second-year wide receiver Pharoh Cooper
has been all over the field lately.Throughout training camp at UC Irvine, and now in practices at the team facility at Cal Lutheran, Cooper has appeared to distinguish himself as a do-everything kind of wideout.
While many players may be called “wide receiver,” not all of them play exactly the same position within the group. In head coach Sean McVay’s offense — and most across the league, for that matter — the three wide receivers are termed ‘X,’ ‘Z,’ and ‘F.’
That kind of terminology is nothing new, and is used in nearly all levels of football. But in McVay’s offense, it’s important for young receivers to learn all three spots for positional flexibility.
“We want to be able to move guys around and the way that we try to operate is, when you teach things as far as our plays, we teach concepts,” McVay said on Thursday. “It’s not like, ‘Alright, this is the only way we’ll do it, so this is the only route you have to know on this given play.’ Guys have to know where to line up in any specific spot and our formations allow us to try to move guys around.
“The more that guys are able to absorb, the more you can kind of have them do those versatile things and run different types of routes,” McVay continued. “So it is very important for guys to have an above-the-neck approach that gives them a chance to know what’s the full concept, as opposed to just individual routes and what the Z, the F, or the X receiver does on any given play.”
Cooper is a player who embodies that philosophy for Los Angeles, having taken snaps at all three different spots from the offseason program to now. The wide receiver said he’s very comfortable with each position, being able to jump in whenever and wherever he’s needed.
“With the offense that coach has put in, there’s a lot of concepts so everybody has to know what to do,” Cooper said Thursday. “One time, I could line up on the outside. And the inside, I have to know what to do if I’m the ‘Z,’ the ‘X,’ or the ‘F.’ So he stresses that a lot about knowing the offense inside and out.”
“Like today, we were in ‘12’ personnel — I think Sammy was getting taped up or something — so I just jumped in at ‘X’ and ran the play when Sammy couldn’t do it,” Cooper added. “So, I’m very comfortable. I can go out there at X, F, Z — whatever it is, I’m good with the playbook.”
Cooper said McVay and wide receivers coach Eric Yarber have done well to teach the new system, and distribute reps in practice. That’s part of why the South Carolina product has been able to pick things up so quickly. But he’s also taken advantage of extra reps when given the chance.
“Really at first, I was just playing Z. Then I was at F, then some injuries went down and I was actually starting at the X. So [I learned] just by that. And, like I said, the concepts are kind of easy,” Cooper said. “So everybody knows that to do. One formation, the F and the X can switch, and you can still know what to do. So just getting experience at all the levels, starting at each one of them individually, helps a lot.”
Rams learn that with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, there’s substance behind the hype
- By Zero
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 18 Replies
Rams learn that with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, there’s substance behind the hype
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/2...e-hype/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips walks the field during the Rams training camp at UC Irvine on Tuesday, August 1, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
By RICH HAMMOND | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: August 24, 2017 at 2:55 pm | UPDATED: August 24, 2017 at 4:58 pm
THOUSAND OAKS — Even before they met him, the Rams bought into the idea of playing for defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. His 40-year resume, Super Bowl ring and wry sense of humor didn’t hurt.
Then, after a few weeks in meeting rooms and on the field, the Rams discovered Phillips’ substance.
“It was surprising how much the defense works, really,” tackle Michael Brockers said. “I was surprised at how smart Wade is. When he calls stuff, if you execute it and you do it the right way, it’s going to work. That’s been the biggest surprise to me, is just seeing it come to fruition.”
Certainly, there’s a long way to go. The contract holdout of star lineman Aaron Donald continues, and injuries to linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerbacks Kayvon Webster and Nickell Robey-Coleman have prevented the first-string defense from playing together during the preseason.
So from the outside, the Rams’ defense remains a bit of a mystery, and not one that will be solved during Saturday’s exhibition game against the Chargers. The Rams, insist, though, that things are coming along nicely.
“You see (players) in meetings kind of seeing it all come together,” linebacker Connor Barwin said. “Guys are able to see the whole system. ‘I see what we do in this situation and how this play works.’ It’s a good feeling when you see guys seeing results show up in tape. It makes them buy in more.”
Phillips’ history of being a turnaround artist is undeniable. Over the past 15 years, he has taken over defenses in Atlanta, San Diego, Houston and Denver and made immediate statistical improvements.
Any concern over Phillips and the Rams involved not his system, but existing players fitting into it.
The Rams asked defensive end Robert Quinn to move to outside linebacker. Mark Barron, a natural safety who played outside linebacker last season, moved to inside linebacker. Brockers, previously a 4-3 defensive tackle, shifted to nose tackle. Barwin, who played linebacker under Phillips in Houston, has moved back there after a season at defensive end.
Quinn and Barron missed most of training camp and probably won’t play together until the Sept. 10 season opener against Indianapolis, but Quinn said off-field installation of the defense has been smooth.
“I think the guys have made a great adjustment,” Quinn said. “The system might seem complicated to everyone else, but I think Wade simplifies it for us. Guys have been able to adjust a little bit easier, because he makes it, while you’re in the classroom, easier to understand.”
Brockers had a more basic concern. No lightweight at 302 pounds, Brockers understood that he was 20-30 pounds lighter than the average NFL nose tackle, but then he did a little research into Phillips.
“At first, it was kind of scary, coming from a 4-3,” Brockers said. “You’re thinking you should be a big, burly nose tackle, but you look at Wade’s history and he usually doesn’t have those. In Denver, he didn’t really have a large tackle, so I fit in perfectly.”
That seems to be the consensus among the Rams, in part because Phillips values versatility.
The Rams might have one of the fastest defenses in the NFL, but there are questions about size. Neither Barron nor Alec Ogletree is a traditional, stout middle linebacker, and, of course, the Rams have yet to incorporate Donald into their defense.
Still, there’s optimism. Phillips is known to be a stickler for details, but also will explain a concept as many times as is necessary for a player to understand it. Rams players say that nuances of the system might take a little while to learn, but once it is installed, the system is simple to run and player-friendly.
“Maybe it’s simple,” Barwin said, “but I think Wade has a really high standard, where you’re not allowed to make mistakes. Because of that standard, guys learn it and know it. But I also think once you learn the system, it can be complicated to the offense but simple to us. Because there’s really just a few things that we do, but we move different people around and make it complicated to dissect what it is.”
SITTING OUT
Cooper Kupp, the Rams’ leading receiver in the preseason, will not play Saturday against the Chargers, Coach Sean McVay said after Thursday’s practice at Cal Lutheran. Kupp apparently is dealing with a minor groin injury and did not practice.
McVay said the status of linebacker Robert Quinn and cornerback Kayvon Webster had yet to be determined, and that cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman would not play.
SPECIAL GUESTS
The Rams hosted comedian/actor Kevin Hart and actor Scott Eastwood at practice, and they filmed scenes for an upcoming online show. Hart attempted to field a punt (he fumbled) and raced receiver K.D. Cannon in a 40-yard dash (he lost) as Rams players and coaches cheered and jeered.
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/2...e-hype/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips walks the field during the Rams training camp at UC Irvine on Tuesday, August 1, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)
By RICH HAMMOND | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: August 24, 2017 at 2:55 pm | UPDATED: August 24, 2017 at 4:58 pm
THOUSAND OAKS — Even before they met him, the Rams bought into the idea of playing for defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. His 40-year resume, Super Bowl ring and wry sense of humor didn’t hurt.
Then, after a few weeks in meeting rooms and on the field, the Rams discovered Phillips’ substance.
“It was surprising how much the defense works, really,” tackle Michael Brockers said. “I was surprised at how smart Wade is. When he calls stuff, if you execute it and you do it the right way, it’s going to work. That’s been the biggest surprise to me, is just seeing it come to fruition.”
Certainly, there’s a long way to go. The contract holdout of star lineman Aaron Donald continues, and injuries to linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerbacks Kayvon Webster and Nickell Robey-Coleman have prevented the first-string defense from playing together during the preseason.
So from the outside, the Rams’ defense remains a bit of a mystery, and not one that will be solved during Saturday’s exhibition game against the Chargers. The Rams, insist, though, that things are coming along nicely.
“You see (players) in meetings kind of seeing it all come together,” linebacker Connor Barwin said. “Guys are able to see the whole system. ‘I see what we do in this situation and how this play works.’ It’s a good feeling when you see guys seeing results show up in tape. It makes them buy in more.”
Phillips’ history of being a turnaround artist is undeniable. Over the past 15 years, he has taken over defenses in Atlanta, San Diego, Houston and Denver and made immediate statistical improvements.
Any concern over Phillips and the Rams involved not his system, but existing players fitting into it.
The Rams asked defensive end Robert Quinn to move to outside linebacker. Mark Barron, a natural safety who played outside linebacker last season, moved to inside linebacker. Brockers, previously a 4-3 defensive tackle, shifted to nose tackle. Barwin, who played linebacker under Phillips in Houston, has moved back there after a season at defensive end.
Quinn and Barron missed most of training camp and probably won’t play together until the Sept. 10 season opener against Indianapolis, but Quinn said off-field installation of the defense has been smooth.
“I think the guys have made a great adjustment,” Quinn said. “The system might seem complicated to everyone else, but I think Wade simplifies it for us. Guys have been able to adjust a little bit easier, because he makes it, while you’re in the classroom, easier to understand.”
Brockers had a more basic concern. No lightweight at 302 pounds, Brockers understood that he was 20-30 pounds lighter than the average NFL nose tackle, but then he did a little research into Phillips.
“At first, it was kind of scary, coming from a 4-3,” Brockers said. “You’re thinking you should be a big, burly nose tackle, but you look at Wade’s history and he usually doesn’t have those. In Denver, he didn’t really have a large tackle, so I fit in perfectly.”
That seems to be the consensus among the Rams, in part because Phillips values versatility.
The Rams might have one of the fastest defenses in the NFL, but there are questions about size. Neither Barron nor Alec Ogletree is a traditional, stout middle linebacker, and, of course, the Rams have yet to incorporate Donald into their defense.
Still, there’s optimism. Phillips is known to be a stickler for details, but also will explain a concept as many times as is necessary for a player to understand it. Rams players say that nuances of the system might take a little while to learn, but once it is installed, the system is simple to run and player-friendly.
“Maybe it’s simple,” Barwin said, “but I think Wade has a really high standard, where you’re not allowed to make mistakes. Because of that standard, guys learn it and know it. But I also think once you learn the system, it can be complicated to the offense but simple to us. Because there’s really just a few things that we do, but we move different people around and make it complicated to dissect what it is.”
SITTING OUT
Cooper Kupp, the Rams’ leading receiver in the preseason, will not play Saturday against the Chargers, Coach Sean McVay said after Thursday’s practice at Cal Lutheran. Kupp apparently is dealing with a minor groin injury and did not practice.
McVay said the status of linebacker Robert Quinn and cornerback Kayvon Webster had yet to be determined, and that cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman would not play.
SPECIAL GUESTS
The Rams hosted comedian/actor Kevin Hart and actor Scott Eastwood at practice, and they filmed scenes for an upcoming online show. Hart attempted to field a punt (he fumbled) and raced receiver K.D. Cannon in a 40-yard dash (he lost) as Rams players and coaches cheered and jeered.
Here's a guy who thinks the Rams should trade for QB Tyrod Taylor
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 29 Replies
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/...ls-trade-jacksonville-denver-los-angeles-rams
Three Teams That Should Trade for Tyrod Taylor
The quarterback would make the Broncos into a Super Bowl contender, the Jaguars into a playoff threat, and the Rams into a watchable football team
BY DANNY HEIFETZ/Intern
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahJAelqtBm8
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams entered Los Angeles with a lot of puff talk about winning hearts and minds but no substantive plan to make it happen. In the past 10 years, the Rams have finished 28th, 30th, 32nd, 26th, 32nd, 25th, 21st, 21st, 29th, and 32nd in points scored. That doesn’t make for a team anyone wants to root for, and it certainly doesn’t make for a team that anybody wants to adopt.
It’s unfair to judge Jared Goff after his rookie year, no matter how disappointing it was, but he does not seem to be the guy to reverse a decade of offensive ineptitude, let alone become the Joe Namath of Los Angeles football. The Rams should say “screw it” and make another trade with Buffalo: Goff straight up for Tyrod Taylor.
Taylor might not be a superstar, but his brand of highlights would be a lot sexier if he was making the plays in Los Angeles instead of Buffalo. Combined with Todd Gurley and the perpetually disappointing Tavon Austin, the Rams would suddenly have the most diversified rushing attack in the league.
New head coach Sean McVay would have some fun drawing up plays for Watkins-bound deep balls out of play-action. Taylor could provide the skill set the Rams offense needs to win games, or at least be exciting enough to plant the seeds of a fan base out west.
