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LA Rams Add RB Lance Dunbar, WR Mike Thomas To PUP List; S Maurice Alexander, CB/S LaMarcus Joyner,
- By tomas
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 8 Replies
With just one day remaining until the 2017 Rams Training Camp presented by AT&T kicks off, the team made the following changes to their roster – placing several players on the Active/PUP and Active/NFIN lists.
Active/PUP:
Lance Dunbar
- Running Back, North Texas
Michael Thomas - Wide Receiver, Mississippi
Active/NFIN:
Maurice Alexander - Defensive Back, Utah State
Cory Harkey - Tight End, UCLA
Lamarcus Joyner - Defensive Back, Florida State
Login to view embedded media View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Alexander-Joyner-Among-Those-Placed-on-NFIN-List/6bb12c10-8c22-412d-b4f0-96cd58a05dcf
Active/PUP:
Lance Dunbar
- Running Back, North TexasMichael Thomas - Wide Receiver, Mississippi
Active/NFIN:
Maurice Alexander
- Defensive Back, Utah StateCory Harkey
- Tight End, UCLALamarcus Joyner
- Defensive Back, Florida State Login to view embedded media View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Alexander-Joyner-Among-Those-Placed-on-NFIN-List/6bb12c10-8c22-412d-b4f0-96cd58a05dcf
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Poll
What would an Alec Ogletree contract extension look like for the Rams?
- By JKBOGEN
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 9 Replies
What would an Alec Ogletree contract extension look like for the Rams?
After recent reports, Rams inside linebacker Alec Ogletree spoke out and told Gary Klein of the LA Times that he and the Rams were working on a new deal that would extend Ogletree past his last year and beyond with the Rams. Here we look at what a potential Ogletree deal would look like.
Ogletree was one of the Rams two first-round picks back in 2013, the other was WR Tavon Austin who has already received his new deal. Ogletree however, has not and you could easily argue despite being picked 22 picks after Austin, he has been the more productive player. Ogletree came into the league as a very talented outside linebacker that could easily run sideline-to-sideline and make plays all over the field. He instantly started on the outside when he got to the Rams as Rams legend James Laurinaitis stayed on the inside as the captain of the defense. Little did Ogletree know that the Rams had huge plans for Ogletree which ended up turning him into the man in the middle and the captain of the defense after the Rams parted way with Laurinaitis.
In his first year inside, he dealt with some lapses in a role he was still learning, but he ended up being selected as a second-team All-Pro. Going into this year the Rams have his fifth-year option picked up, but they know they have their minds made up and want the 25-year old Ogletree for the long haul. That is why the two continue to work on a deal. Ogletree has played in 52 games and has started in all of them, he had the unfortunate broken fibula that caused him to miss 12 games in 2015, but he came right back in 2016 and played his heart out.
The 6-foot-3, 242-pound linebacker has accumulated 406 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, 32 pass breakups, five interceptions and a touchdown as pictured above. So now it's time to see what his contract numbers look like according to Spotrac.
Statistical Comparisons:
Luke Kuechly: 100% Games Played, 6 solo tackles per game, 4.44 stops per game, 74.84 coverage catch % per year, 89.2 average rating
Bobby Wagner: 78.13% Games Played, 5.52 solo tackles, 3.92 stops per game, 74 coverage catch % per year, 82.3 average rating
Brandon Marshall: 93.75% Game Played, 5.5 solo tackles, 3.5 stops per game, 71.88 coverage catch % per year, 86.6 average rating
Dont'a Hightower: 78.13% Games Played, 3.28 solo tackles, 2.32 stops per game, 77.05 coverage catch % per year, 86.7 average rating
Alec Ogletree: 62.5% Games Played, 6.25 solo tackles, 3.7 stops per game, 78.79 coverage catch % per year, 58.1 average rating
AVERAGE: 87.50%GP, 5.08 SOLO/GM, 3.55 STOPS/GM, 74.44 COV CATCH %/YR, AVG RATING 86.20
Contractual Comparisons:
Luke Kuechly: 5 years, $61,801,565, $12,360,313 annual, age when signed: 24
Bobby Wagner: 4 years, $43,000,000, $10,750,000 annual, age when signed: 25
Brandon Marshall: 4 years, 32,000,000, $8,000,000 annual, age when signed: 26
Dont'a Hightower: 4 years, 35,000,000, $8,875,000 annual, age when signed: 27
*Calculated Market Value* Alec Ogletree: 5 years, $44,513,451, $8,902,690 annual, age when signed: 25
AVERAGE: 4.3 YEARS, $43,075,391, $10,135,386 ANNUAL, AGE WHEN SIGNED: 25
With the contract Spotrac is projecting for the Rams linebacker, it would appear that the Rams would spend almost nine million dollars annually on him and would put their cap number in 2018 at $29,157,911 in free space left to re-sign impending free agents Trumaine Johnson, Connor Barwin, E.J. Gaines, Ethan Westbrooks, Dominique Easley, LaMarcus Joyner, Cody Davis, Nickell Robey-Coleman among others and of course an extension for Aaron Donald.
The hope is that the Rams extend Aaron Donald, Alec Ogletree and LaMarcus Joyner long term before any of them have the title of free agent next to their name. It's safe to say judging by this projected deal, Ogletree would be getting a nice payday, but with the amount of talent and overall leadership he brings to the table for the Rams. It almost seems like a bargain for the Rams inking a rising star as they move closer to their future stadium in Inglewood.
After recent reports, Rams inside linebacker Alec Ogletree spoke out and told Gary Klein of the LA Times that he and the Rams were working on a new deal that would extend Ogletree past his last year and beyond with the Rams. Here we look at what a potential Ogletree deal would look like.
Ogletree was one of the Rams two first-round picks back in 2013, the other was WR Tavon Austin who has already received his new deal. Ogletree however, has not and you could easily argue despite being picked 22 picks after Austin, he has been the more productive player. Ogletree came into the league as a very talented outside linebacker that could easily run sideline-to-sideline and make plays all over the field. He instantly started on the outside when he got to the Rams as Rams legend James Laurinaitis stayed on the inside as the captain of the defense. Little did Ogletree know that the Rams had huge plans for Ogletree which ended up turning him into the man in the middle and the captain of the defense after the Rams parted way with Laurinaitis.
In his first year inside, he dealt with some lapses in a role he was still learning, but he ended up being selected as a second-team All-Pro. Going into this year the Rams have his fifth-year option picked up, but they know they have their minds made up and want the 25-year old Ogletree for the long haul. That is why the two continue to work on a deal. Ogletree has played in 52 games and has started in all of them, he had the unfortunate broken fibula that caused him to miss 12 games in 2015, but he came right back in 2016 and played his heart out.
The 6-foot-3, 242-pound linebacker has accumulated 406 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, 32 pass breakups, five interceptions and a touchdown as pictured above. So now it's time to see what his contract numbers look like according to Spotrac.
Statistical Comparisons:
Luke Kuechly: 100% Games Played, 6 solo tackles per game, 4.44 stops per game, 74.84 coverage catch % per year, 89.2 average rating
Bobby Wagner: 78.13% Games Played, 5.52 solo tackles, 3.92 stops per game, 74 coverage catch % per year, 82.3 average rating
Brandon Marshall: 93.75% Game Played, 5.5 solo tackles, 3.5 stops per game, 71.88 coverage catch % per year, 86.6 average rating
Dont'a Hightower: 78.13% Games Played, 3.28 solo tackles, 2.32 stops per game, 77.05 coverage catch % per year, 86.7 average rating
Alec Ogletree: 62.5% Games Played, 6.25 solo tackles, 3.7 stops per game, 78.79 coverage catch % per year, 58.1 average rating
AVERAGE: 87.50%GP, 5.08 SOLO/GM, 3.55 STOPS/GM, 74.44 COV CATCH %/YR, AVG RATING 86.20
Contractual Comparisons:
Luke Kuechly: 5 years, $61,801,565, $12,360,313 annual, age when signed: 24
Bobby Wagner: 4 years, $43,000,000, $10,750,000 annual, age when signed: 25
Brandon Marshall: 4 years, 32,000,000, $8,000,000 annual, age when signed: 26
Dont'a Hightower: 4 years, 35,000,000, $8,875,000 annual, age when signed: 27
*Calculated Market Value* Alec Ogletree: 5 years, $44,513,451, $8,902,690 annual, age when signed: 25
AVERAGE: 4.3 YEARS, $43,075,391, $10,135,386 ANNUAL, AGE WHEN SIGNED: 25
With the contract Spotrac is projecting for the Rams linebacker, it would appear that the Rams would spend almost nine million dollars annually on him and would put their cap number in 2018 at $29,157,911 in free space left to re-sign impending free agents Trumaine Johnson, Connor Barwin, E.J. Gaines, Ethan Westbrooks, Dominique Easley, LaMarcus Joyner, Cody Davis, Nickell Robey-Coleman among others and of course an extension for Aaron Donald.
The hope is that the Rams extend Aaron Donald, Alec Ogletree and LaMarcus Joyner long term before any of them have the title of free agent next to their name. It's safe to say judging by this projected deal, Ogletree would be getting a nice payday, but with the amount of talent and overall leadership he brings to the table for the Rams. It almost seems like a bargain for the Rams inking a rising star as they move closer to their future stadium in Inglewood.
MMQB: Interview with David Baker - President of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 0 Replies
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/07/28/d...-of-fame-president-enshrinement-class-of-2017
Talking Football with David Baker, Who Delivers the Hardest Knock in the NFL
The president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame talks about last year’s canceled game and what it's like to deliver the good news to finalists who’ve made the cut
KALYN KAHLER
David Baker has served as president of the Hall of Fame since 2012.
MARK ALBERTI/ ICON SPORTSWIRE
David Baker is the NFL’s closest thing to a fairy godmother. As president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it’s his job on the eve of the Super Bowl to knock on the hotel room doors of the finalists who made the cut. If Baker pays you a visit, you’re in. If he doesn’t, well, better luck next year.
The most common response to the sight of Baker at the door? Tears of joy. In advance of next week’s enshrinement ceremony, Baker spoke to The MMQB about what’s it’s like to deliver the good news, how the Hall of Fame has moved on since last year’s field conditions caused them to cancel the game, and whether he’s ever found himself talking to all the busts when he leaves his office at night.
KAHLER: What is it like to deliver the good news?
BAKER: When I knocked on the door for Brett Favre . . . he opened the door, and I made a joke, like, Provided that you don’t come out of retirement again, because then you’ll have a five-year waiting period. And he laughed, and I said, You’re going to go to Canton as one of the best players, coaches and contributors of all time. And you could tell by his body language. He put his hands in his pockets, and he kind of hung his head like a little kid in humility. And this is Brett Favre.
We then take him over to the NFL Honors show, and we introduce the Hall of Fame class to the nation right in the middle of it. Our guys go up on stage and shake hands and we do this press conference afterwards. I stood next to Brett at the press conference and said, “How are you doing?” And he says, “Are you kidding? I just shook the hand of Roger Staubach!”
You would have thought they would have known each other from somewhere, but he says, “You don’t understand. All my life I dreamed of being Roger Staubach.” And he paused for a second and said, “Now I guess I’m on his team.” The reverence for it has been enormous.
KAHLER: What were the reactions from this year’s class when you knocked on their door?
BAKER: Terrell Davis was crying, Jerry Jones was crying, Morton Anderson cried, I don’t think Kurt Warner cried, but they were screaming and yelling. The knock on the door is very emotional. There is another emotional moment the day after the Super Bowl when we do our orientation.
After about an hour and a half of talking about what the best four days in football are going to look like at the most inspiring place on earth, we then ask them to share something about their life that you wouldn’t know from their statistics or their bio.
And of all my favorite things I get to do, from giving the rings in the fall at their stadium, giving the gold jackets at the dinner, to knocking on the door, that is the coolest day because invariably, guys share things that are incredibly profound. I think in this class every one of them cried on that Monday.
Sometimes it is about somebody who helped them make it when they thought they couldn’t go on. I think of last year’s six speeches (we had two posthumous) the word love was used 148 times. There are some deep emotions in this. Each guy has a unique story.
You’ve got Morton Andersen’s story. Morton Andersen gets cut at 38 years old and he was close to the record for scoring. So he tells his wife, I’m going to stay in shape and I am going to get that record. He goes down to the park every day and kicks in his cleats and helmets and shoulder pads. Pretty soon, Pop Warner kids are playing, so he is kicking around with those kids.
Two years go by and he is still kicking down there and he’s the old 40-year-old guy dreaming of playing between Pop Warner games. And all of a sudden the Falcons call him and he tries out against three young kids and he makes it and plays for another five years and obliterates the record.
When he tells his story on that enshrinement stage, there are going to be all kinds of people, guys waiting for a job, sitting on a couch waiting for their call, that will be encouraged by that.
KAHLER: Were you surprised by any of the selections in the Hall of Fame class of 2017?
BAKER: What I’ve learned in my four years of doing it, is the process is hard. It’s hard, and I’m genuinely surprised every year. I don’t think there was any one year where I knew who was going to be selected. I get the envelope, I’m the first one to get it and it’s always amazing. There are so many differences and different things.
And really it is up to each voter—there are 48 selectors and then you have to get 80% of those guys. But each one of those selectors has to take into their account, what was important? I think what I have learned is that the process works really well and what I really respect is how it is revered, not only by the guys who make the selections, but also by those who are selected.
KAHLER: Do you have a favorite enshrinement speech from the four years you have been in this job?
BAKER: I am always thinking about television and timing and all that stuff, so any 12-minute speech is my favorite one. I would say, for me, here’s another thing, when I come out of my office, my office is right next to the bust room. Last year, despite the things we do to keep the line moving, the line to go through the bust room a year ago was three-and-half hours long.
People stand in line to do that, which is incredible! Right behind that we have a large screen that just constantly plays enshrinement speeches. Many times I have gone by there and it will be 11 o’clock at night and it will be just those busts and me.
Did you ever hear John Madden’s story that he is convinced that when the last man has left and the janitor has swept the floor and he turns out the light, that those busts talk to each other? And Derrick Brooks line was, I hope not, because I’m looking at Warren Sapp for the next fifty years.
I remember John Elway talking about his dad and his sister. Cris Carter talking about his mom and his grandmother, I certainly think a guy like Tony Dungy, talking about being the first African American coach, a guy like Fritz Pollard, an African American head coach in 1922, that’s 26 years before Jackie Robinson stepped on the field for the Dodgers. There is just so much history and everyone gets to be a part of the story.
KAHLER: What did you guys learn from last year’s canceled game to make sure that something like that won’t happen again?
BAKER: First of all, I don’t paint the field, but it is my responsibility to make sure it is painted right. So we take full responsibility for that. Second of all, we went to great lengths to make sure that we could take care of those fans that were at that ballgame. With a few exceptions, we think we’ve done that. Thirdly, to make sure that it never happens again, everything that is on that field this year is sewn in—it’s not painted.
Our mission is to honor the heroes of the game. Preserve its history, promote its values and celebrate excellence everywhere. When we say honor the heroes of the game, that’s a preseason game. Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers aren’t going to play in that game.
My son, Sam, who played for the Atlanta Falcons for seven-and-a-half years, was a first-round draft choice in 2008 and ended his career during a preseason game at NRG Stadium against Jadeveon Clowney. Whether you are the 90th guy or the first guy, if the Hall of Fame doesn’t protect that player, Good Lord, who would? That was a very difficult night.
KAHLER: What did your son think of your decision to cancel the game for player safety?
BAKER: I don’t think I’ve said this publicly yet. My son Sam had been at the enshrinement, but he left at like 4 o’clock that day before the game. When I got home it was about 2 a.m. and I put my phone down on the nightstand and I sat down on my bed and loosened my tie, and I’m ripped.
I get this text from him and he said, Hey dad, just landed. Heard what happened. My phone is blowing up with NFL players who respect the heck out of what happened. And that meant a lot to me. We went into the locker rooms, and I know it was disappointing to parents who wanted to see their kids play, or those guys 45-90, who are trying to make that squad.
But in both locker rooms, guys clapped, so we take it real seriously. We have a beautiful new stadium. It is no longer a high school stadium in which an NFL game is played, it is now a small venue NFL stadium.
Talking Football with David Baker, Who Delivers the Hardest Knock in the NFL
The president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame talks about last year’s canceled game and what it's like to deliver the good news to finalists who’ve made the cut
KALYN KAHLER
David Baker has served as president of the Hall of Fame since 2012.
MARK ALBERTI/ ICON SPORTSWIRE
David Baker is the NFL’s closest thing to a fairy godmother. As president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it’s his job on the eve of the Super Bowl to knock on the hotel room doors of the finalists who made the cut. If Baker pays you a visit, you’re in. If he doesn’t, well, better luck next year.
The most common response to the sight of Baker at the door? Tears of joy. In advance of next week’s enshrinement ceremony, Baker spoke to The MMQB about what’s it’s like to deliver the good news, how the Hall of Fame has moved on since last year’s field conditions caused them to cancel the game, and whether he’s ever found himself talking to all the busts when he leaves his office at night.
KAHLER: What is it like to deliver the good news?
BAKER: When I knocked on the door for Brett Favre . . . he opened the door, and I made a joke, like, Provided that you don’t come out of retirement again, because then you’ll have a five-year waiting period. And he laughed, and I said, You’re going to go to Canton as one of the best players, coaches and contributors of all time. And you could tell by his body language. He put his hands in his pockets, and he kind of hung his head like a little kid in humility. And this is Brett Favre.
We then take him over to the NFL Honors show, and we introduce the Hall of Fame class to the nation right in the middle of it. Our guys go up on stage and shake hands and we do this press conference afterwards. I stood next to Brett at the press conference and said, “How are you doing?” And he says, “Are you kidding? I just shook the hand of Roger Staubach!”
You would have thought they would have known each other from somewhere, but he says, “You don’t understand. All my life I dreamed of being Roger Staubach.” And he paused for a second and said, “Now I guess I’m on his team.” The reverence for it has been enormous.
KAHLER: What were the reactions from this year’s class when you knocked on their door?
BAKER: Terrell Davis was crying, Jerry Jones was crying, Morton Anderson cried, I don’t think Kurt Warner cried, but they were screaming and yelling. The knock on the door is very emotional. There is another emotional moment the day after the Super Bowl when we do our orientation.
After about an hour and a half of talking about what the best four days in football are going to look like at the most inspiring place on earth, we then ask them to share something about their life that you wouldn’t know from their statistics or their bio.
And of all my favorite things I get to do, from giving the rings in the fall at their stadium, giving the gold jackets at the dinner, to knocking on the door, that is the coolest day because invariably, guys share things that are incredibly profound. I think in this class every one of them cried on that Monday.
Sometimes it is about somebody who helped them make it when they thought they couldn’t go on. I think of last year’s six speeches (we had two posthumous) the word love was used 148 times. There are some deep emotions in this. Each guy has a unique story.
You’ve got Morton Andersen’s story. Morton Andersen gets cut at 38 years old and he was close to the record for scoring. So he tells his wife, I’m going to stay in shape and I am going to get that record. He goes down to the park every day and kicks in his cleats and helmets and shoulder pads. Pretty soon, Pop Warner kids are playing, so he is kicking around with those kids.
Two years go by and he is still kicking down there and he’s the old 40-year-old guy dreaming of playing between Pop Warner games. And all of a sudden the Falcons call him and he tries out against three young kids and he makes it and plays for another five years and obliterates the record.
When he tells his story on that enshrinement stage, there are going to be all kinds of people, guys waiting for a job, sitting on a couch waiting for their call, that will be encouraged by that.
KAHLER: Were you surprised by any of the selections in the Hall of Fame class of 2017?
BAKER: What I’ve learned in my four years of doing it, is the process is hard. It’s hard, and I’m genuinely surprised every year. I don’t think there was any one year where I knew who was going to be selected. I get the envelope, I’m the first one to get it and it’s always amazing. There are so many differences and different things.
And really it is up to each voter—there are 48 selectors and then you have to get 80% of those guys. But each one of those selectors has to take into their account, what was important? I think what I have learned is that the process works really well and what I really respect is how it is revered, not only by the guys who make the selections, but also by those who are selected.
KAHLER: Do you have a favorite enshrinement speech from the four years you have been in this job?
BAKER: I am always thinking about television and timing and all that stuff, so any 12-minute speech is my favorite one. I would say, for me, here’s another thing, when I come out of my office, my office is right next to the bust room. Last year, despite the things we do to keep the line moving, the line to go through the bust room a year ago was three-and-half hours long.
People stand in line to do that, which is incredible! Right behind that we have a large screen that just constantly plays enshrinement speeches. Many times I have gone by there and it will be 11 o’clock at night and it will be just those busts and me.
Did you ever hear John Madden’s story that he is convinced that when the last man has left and the janitor has swept the floor and he turns out the light, that those busts talk to each other? And Derrick Brooks line was, I hope not, because I’m looking at Warren Sapp for the next fifty years.
I remember John Elway talking about his dad and his sister. Cris Carter talking about his mom and his grandmother, I certainly think a guy like Tony Dungy, talking about being the first African American coach, a guy like Fritz Pollard, an African American head coach in 1922, that’s 26 years before Jackie Robinson stepped on the field for the Dodgers. There is just so much history and everyone gets to be a part of the story.
KAHLER: What did you guys learn from last year’s canceled game to make sure that something like that won’t happen again?
BAKER: First of all, I don’t paint the field, but it is my responsibility to make sure it is painted right. So we take full responsibility for that. Second of all, we went to great lengths to make sure that we could take care of those fans that were at that ballgame. With a few exceptions, we think we’ve done that. Thirdly, to make sure that it never happens again, everything that is on that field this year is sewn in—it’s not painted.
Our mission is to honor the heroes of the game. Preserve its history, promote its values and celebrate excellence everywhere. When we say honor the heroes of the game, that’s a preseason game. Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers aren’t going to play in that game.
My son, Sam, who played for the Atlanta Falcons for seven-and-a-half years, was a first-round draft choice in 2008 and ended his career during a preseason game at NRG Stadium against Jadeveon Clowney. Whether you are the 90th guy or the first guy, if the Hall of Fame doesn’t protect that player, Good Lord, who would? That was a very difficult night.
KAHLER: What did your son think of your decision to cancel the game for player safety?
BAKER: I don’t think I’ve said this publicly yet. My son Sam had been at the enshrinement, but he left at like 4 o’clock that day before the game. When I got home it was about 2 a.m. and I put my phone down on the nightstand and I sat down on my bed and loosened my tie, and I’m ripped.
I get this text from him and he said, Hey dad, just landed. Heard what happened. My phone is blowing up with NFL players who respect the heck out of what happened. And that meant a lot to me. We went into the locker rooms, and I know it was disappointing to parents who wanted to see their kids play, or those guys 45-90, who are trying to make that squad.
But in both locker rooms, guys clapped, so we take it real seriously. We have a beautiful new stadium. It is no longer a high school stadium in which an NFL game is played, it is now a small venue NFL stadium.
Training Camp - Day 1
- By CGI_Ram
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 120 Replies
Login to view embedded media View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/McVay-Prepares-To-Take-On-First-Training-Camp-As-Head-Coach/aa71814f-e603-4f1e-8f56-74453b5b106e
McVay Set To Take On First Training Camp As Head Coach
A new head coach only gets one shot at his first NFL training camp.
Rams head coach Sean McVay will get his chance tomorrow with the opening practice of 2017 training camp. Though McVay has been with the team throughout the offseason program, Saturday marks his first chance to truly set the foundation for a strong season.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, McVay expressed his enthusiasm to get started and his eagerness to take the field with his team.
“I know myself and all the coaches are all excited to get going and I feel like the players share that same feeling,” he said. “It’s about that daily improvement. If we do that, we feel like we’ll make those incremental improvements every single day that will lead to good things when those games come around on Sundays.”
But those good things won’t come easily. McVay inherited a Rams team that has not seen a winning season since 2003 and has yet to make the playoffs in the last decade. And last season’s 4-12 record was not exactly the dynamic return to Los Angeles that Rams fans were hoping for.
As most Angelenos know, sports fans here in L.A. can be some of the toughest critics out there. However, McVay expressed confidence that training camp would allow them the space needed to create a good product for fans on the field, a product that will carry over into the regular season.
“I think the thing with training camp is like we’ve talked about — it’s really coming together as a team and figuring out a way for everybody to reach their highest potential,” he said. “Because ultimately as coaches, it’s our goal to try to help these players reach their highest potential and come together as a unit. It’s about us trying to be the best football team we can be.”
The next three weeks will be a significant indication as to what the team will look like. McVay, along with the rest of his staff, has had to face a number of challenges in the time leading up to Saturday’s camp, including various contract negotiations and roster changes.
Fortunately for Rams fans, football comes naturally to the young coach, and even in his time off, McVay’s mind was always on the game.
“I did try to get away a little bit. I went on vacation with my family and with my girlfriend,” he said. “It was good to get away, but sometimes you get that playbook out, or you get some of the things out that you want to [get] going into the offseason program. But, it’s exciting to be back and be around these players. This is what you love to do.”
Both his players and staff members alike have experienced that love firsthand. General Manager Les Snead has spent the last seven months getting to watch McVay adjust to life as a head coach and is quick to comment on McVay’s passion for the game..
“I could go on for days,” Snead said. “[McVay] has a passion for football — eats, sleeps, breathes football. He is all about football. We have joked that we have got no life skills, but we can do football and I think every decision he makes is all about ‘how do you help the Rams?’”
McVay will set out to achieve that goal during training camp over the next three weeks by continuing to instill and establish a new identity for his Rams team — promoting an attitude within the Rams organization that is focused on the “we” and not the “me.”
“We’re always trying to embody a culture where it’s established through our character and communication,” he said. “There’s something special about being a part of something bigger than yourself. When you have great teams, that’s when it ends up becoming a championship opportunity.”
“When you look around the sports environment you see a bunch of great individuals, but for some reason they haven’t achieved it,” he added. “They always want to be a part of a team. And when you go through some of the adversity we’re inevitably going to face, and some of the good times, it’s all about that journey.”
And for McVay, that journey begins tomorrow as he takes the field for his first training camp as an NFL head coach.
The QB gap: How one camp is taking on quarterbacks' struggle to transition to NFL
- By Ramlock
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 14 Replies
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – One year ago, at the debut of the QB Collective camp, a precocious young offensive coordinator from the Washington Redskins came to Westlake High School to teach NFL quarterbacking nuances like drop-back footwork, play-action passing and downfield reads to elite high school players. Sean McVay arrived at the field to see Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, throwing routes with his Los Angeles Rams teammates on the school’s turf field.
One year later, McVay returned to the QB Collective camp as the youngest head coach in NFL history. His career trajectory and a franchise’s fate are tied to his ability to pass on the camp counselor conundrum he’d tackled the prior year: How do you take talented young quarterbacks with extensive backgrounds in spread-offense systems and streamline their development? McVay, 31, chuckled at the serendipity of it all. “It’s a small world,” he said.
The small world McVay joked about comes in part because of the basic disconnect between NFL offenses and the spread and tempo schemes that have proliferated in high school and college for the past 15 years. As the game has spread out and sped up, evaluating the quarterback position has become one of the trickiest formulas in all of sports. “When you look at the quarterback position, it’s the most important position in all of sports,” McVay said. “It’s also the most difficult.”
The collision of top NFL offensive minds – McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Mike Shanahan – with 30 of the elite high school quarterback prospects at the second annual Quarterback Collective camp in mid-July was designed to bridge the yawning gap between the basics of NFL offenses and the lower levels of football. The QB Collective, founded by former NFL player and coach Richmond Flowers, has turned into a high-level X-and-O boot camp for the country’s top young quarterbacks. The invitation-only camp is free for the participants, and it’s billed by Flowers as the “anti-showcase.” Instead, it’s awash in drill work, reading defenses and a ballet instructor’s focus on footwork from coaches who volunteer their time to teach. The details are taught by NFL assistants, former NFL quarterbacks and top private quarterback tutors. It’s Flowers’ long-term goal for the instruction, ideals and philosophies taught at the QB Collective to become a syllabus of sorts for the skills necessary to play the position at the highest level.
View photos
Some of the nation’s best high school QB prospects attend the QB Collective camp in hopes of learning how to better prepare themselves for the NFL. (Photo credit: Twitter/@qb_collective)
The camp comes at a fascinating time for quarterback play. The NFL has never been closer for top high school prospects but the skill sets between the levels has seemingly never been further away. The top five quarterbacks drafted by the NFL in 2017 came from spread systems. In college last year, 84 percent of snaps came from either the shotgun or pistol formation, according to ESPN. This comes at a time that five-star quarterback recruits find themselves aiming for a three-year college plan, as blue-chip quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater, Deshaun Watson and Josh Rosen accelerated their academic schedules to graduate early. Quarterbacks like Goff, who played in a spread Air Raid system his three years at Cal, arrive with big statistics – 43 TD passes his final season – but little basic understanding of pro offenses. “It’s effective offense,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of college spread systems. “These guys are putting up 50 points a game and 600 yards. They shouldn’t change. That’s going to help them win.”
But winning in college doesn’t always translate to the NFL, which the campers at the QB Collective appeared to be noticing at an early age. As the world between high school and the NFL shrinks, a compelling tension has risen. Will more of the country’s top young quarterbacks eschew spread- and tempo-based systems for more direct NFL training at pro-style programs like Stanford, Alabama and Michigan? Has the desire for a quick path to the NFL altered the recruiting paradigm?
– – – – – – – – – – – –
JT Daniels threw for 67 touchdowns and six interceptions as a sophomore last season for California powerhouse Mater Dei High School. He projects to be that school’s next great quarterback, a lineage that includes Heisman winners Matt Leinart and John Huarte and recent No. 1 quarterback recruit Matt Barkley.
Daniels projects as the country’s top quarterback recruit in 2019, as he already has heavyweight offers from Alabama, Michigan, Washington, USC and Stanford. He attended the QB Collective to pick the brains of the NFL coaches, not surprising for someone who plans on majoring in cognitive psychology. “The way the mind works and how we function has always amused me,” he said.
The way Daniels approaches his college decision may be instructive for how the minds of future recruits work. He says it’s too early to drill down on specific schools, but his philosophy on how he’s picking a school mirrored many of the other top quarterbacks at the QB Collective. “I need a pro-style, at least a multiple pro-style offense,” Daniels said. “I’m not a spread QB. I can move when I have to, but I fit the pro-style system the best.”
That’s also the most direct line to NFL success, a notion that underscores that shorter distance between blue chips and the green room. Justin Fields, the top uncommitted quarterback in the 2018 class, de-committed from Penn State in June. The Nittany Lions run an effective spread offense heavy in run-pass option plays, which are effective but not considered ideal training for the NFL. Fields didn’t specifically mention Penn State, but did say NFL preparation played into his upcoming decision. Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Auburn are among his top choices. Fields is looking for a multiple offense that can utilize his dynamic athleticism running the football yet still get him prepared for the NFL. “I’m choosing an offense that fits me and will also get me prepared to play in the NFL,” Fields said.
That notion got repeated over and over by campers at the QB Collective. They showed up to learn footwork from Kyle Shanahan (who coached barefoot thanks to lost luggage), dropbacks from former NFL quarterback Rich Bartel and philosophy from former Redskins coach Jim Zorn. They learned about NFL progressions, play-action passes and how the first motion of a pro-style drop should be like falling into a pool. None of the quarterbacks played primarily under center in high school, something they realized has to change at some point for them to thrive in the NFL. “I feel like it’s pretty big,” said Tanner McKee, a four-star 2018 recruit who will enroll in college in 2020 after a Mormon mission. “Learn it before you go to the NFL, before you are tested against the best. I don’t know if [a pro-style system is] a complete decision-maker for me, but it’s pretty important.”
View photos
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan teaches high school prospects the finer points of a dropback. (Photo credit: Twitter/@qb_collective)
When discussing spread offenses, it’s foolish to deal in absolutes. With the spread offense the norm now in college football, there are many more quarterbacks drafted from spread systems than pro-style. Dak Prescott’s rapid ascent with the Cowboys shows it’s more important how a quarterback learns and develops in a system than how the system is defined. Kyle Shanahan’s ability to tailor distinct systems to the divergent styles of Robert Griffin III as the coordinator of the Redskins (2010-13) and Matt Ryan as the coordinator of the Falcons (2015-16) illustrates that coaches need the dexterity to adjust to their talent.
Even with colleges adapting to their recruits, the recruits are starting to realize what they don’t know. And that’s an intriguing notion that could trickle up and impact the recruiting game the next few years. “One thing that I want to prioritize is the offense getting me to the next level as far as the National Football League,” said Hank Bachmeier, a top quarterback recruit in 2019. “I’m looking at an offense that’s going to get under center and mix it up and just have multiple sets.”
– – – – – – – – – – – –
The varied skill sets developed dependent on a collegiate system can best be shown through the 49ers’ two rookie quarterback additions. The 49ers drafted Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard in the third round, an unexpectedly high selection after his 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during his senior year. But Shanahan admits that seeing Beathard as a quarterback in a pure pro-style offense helps front offices. “It’s much easier to evaluate people when you see them doing what you want them to do,” Shanahan said. “Then you’re not guessing.”
He added: “You get to see them play the position.”
To contrast, Southern Miss quarterback Nick Mullens played in a pure spread system in college. He threw 38 touchdown passes his junior year, but went undrafted. The 49ers coaches saw him at the East-West Shrine game and admired his dropback footwork and ability to take a snap from under center. They loved his answer when asked how he learned those skills and ended up signing him as a free agent. “He said he YouTubed it,” Shanahan said with a laugh. “He looked at YouTube and tried to figure it out. Two weeks on his own. That’s the type of mentality and personality that gives you a chance.”
What the QB Collective illustrated was just how steep the learning curve is to master NFL quarterbacking concepts. Former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels walked off the field after the first session and compared the lack of basic footwork and under-center skills to going to an elite high school basketball camp where none of the participants knew how to shoot free throws. That begins with the snap, which Zorn said should be essential for young quarterbacks to learn to do from under center. “How do you put the hands underneath the center’s butt and not get grossed out?” Zorn said. “You have to teach your center what to wear and sometimes what not to eat.”
The simplicity of many spread offenses has also slowed the ability of prospects to read defenses. Mike Shanahan spent about 90 minutes on a white board going over the basics of defenses, which is the football version of a finger-painting lesson from Picasso. Mike Shanahan’s biggest chalkboard message was a simple one: “You need to understand defenses better than defensive coordinators do. It’s kind of a fun start for a lot of these young guys to be able to draw up a fronts, linebackers where they drop [and] coverages.”
View photos
Former NFL coach Mike Shanahan talks to high school prospects during the camp. (Photo credit: Twitter/@qb_collective)
Rosenfels bounced around the NFL for 12 seasons, arriving in the league just as the spread era began to expand in college football in 2001. He played with plenty of spread quarterbacks who flailed upon arriving in the NFL. “It’s ugly early,” he said, adding: “To play quarterback you have to be comfortable all the time in an uncomfortable situation. These guys are uncomfortable in an uncomfortable situation. You end up looking really bad.”
That’s why learning the footwork basics, learning to read defenses and communicating in the huddle are things that need to be picked up along the way. Zorn said that the one-word play calls and sideline placards with a zebra or sunflower fail to prepare quarterbacks for the reality of the NFL. There, a play call is more likely to be: Spread-Orange-Tight-Right-Fullback-Short-Divide-Lead-15.
“You have to make yourself know this stuff,” he said. “You can’t go to the NFL without knowing how to communicate in the huddle, on the line of scrimmage and have the presence to see what’s going on and make changes.”
As the time gap between high school and the NFL shrinks for top prospects and the skill set continues to vary, it will be interesting to see the reverberations in recruiting and beyond. But as a two-day NFL cram session for high school prospects showed, it takes more than YouTube to become an NFL quarterback.
One year later, McVay returned to the QB Collective camp as the youngest head coach in NFL history. His career trajectory and a franchise’s fate are tied to his ability to pass on the camp counselor conundrum he’d tackled the prior year: How do you take talented young quarterbacks with extensive backgrounds in spread-offense systems and streamline their development? McVay, 31, chuckled at the serendipity of it all. “It’s a small world,” he said.
The small world McVay joked about comes in part because of the basic disconnect between NFL offenses and the spread and tempo schemes that have proliferated in high school and college for the past 15 years. As the game has spread out and sped up, evaluating the quarterback position has become one of the trickiest formulas in all of sports. “When you look at the quarterback position, it’s the most important position in all of sports,” McVay said. “It’s also the most difficult.”
The collision of top NFL offensive minds – McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Mike Shanahan – with 30 of the elite high school quarterback prospects at the second annual Quarterback Collective camp in mid-July was designed to bridge the yawning gap between the basics of NFL offenses and the lower levels of football. The QB Collective, founded by former NFL player and coach Richmond Flowers, has turned into a high-level X-and-O boot camp for the country’s top young quarterbacks. The invitation-only camp is free for the participants, and it’s billed by Flowers as the “anti-showcase.” Instead, it’s awash in drill work, reading defenses and a ballet instructor’s focus on footwork from coaches who volunteer their time to teach. The details are taught by NFL assistants, former NFL quarterbacks and top private quarterback tutors. It’s Flowers’ long-term goal for the instruction, ideals and philosophies taught at the QB Collective to become a syllabus of sorts for the skills necessary to play the position at the highest level.
View photos
Some of the nation’s best high school QB prospects attend the QB Collective camp in hopes of learning how to better prepare themselves for the NFL. (Photo credit: Twitter/@qb_collective)
The camp comes at a fascinating time for quarterback play. The NFL has never been closer for top high school prospects but the skill sets between the levels has seemingly never been further away. The top five quarterbacks drafted by the NFL in 2017 came from spread systems. In college last year, 84 percent of snaps came from either the shotgun or pistol formation, according to ESPN. This comes at a time that five-star quarterback recruits find themselves aiming for a three-year college plan, as blue-chip quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater, Deshaun Watson and Josh Rosen accelerated their academic schedules to graduate early. Quarterbacks like Goff, who played in a spread Air Raid system his three years at Cal, arrive with big statistics – 43 TD passes his final season – but little basic understanding of pro offenses. “It’s effective offense,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of college spread systems. “These guys are putting up 50 points a game and 600 yards. They shouldn’t change. That’s going to help them win.”
But winning in college doesn’t always translate to the NFL, which the campers at the QB Collective appeared to be noticing at an early age. As the world between high school and the NFL shrinks, a compelling tension has risen. Will more of the country’s top young quarterbacks eschew spread- and tempo-based systems for more direct NFL training at pro-style programs like Stanford, Alabama and Michigan? Has the desire for a quick path to the NFL altered the recruiting paradigm?
– – – – – – – – – – – –
JT Daniels threw for 67 touchdowns and six interceptions as a sophomore last season for California powerhouse Mater Dei High School. He projects to be that school’s next great quarterback, a lineage that includes Heisman winners Matt Leinart and John Huarte and recent No. 1 quarterback recruit Matt Barkley.
Daniels projects as the country’s top quarterback recruit in 2019, as he already has heavyweight offers from Alabama, Michigan, Washington, USC and Stanford. He attended the QB Collective to pick the brains of the NFL coaches, not surprising for someone who plans on majoring in cognitive psychology. “The way the mind works and how we function has always amused me,” he said.
The way Daniels approaches his college decision may be instructive for how the minds of future recruits work. He says it’s too early to drill down on specific schools, but his philosophy on how he’s picking a school mirrored many of the other top quarterbacks at the QB Collective. “I need a pro-style, at least a multiple pro-style offense,” Daniels said. “I’m not a spread QB. I can move when I have to, but I fit the pro-style system the best.”
That’s also the most direct line to NFL success, a notion that underscores that shorter distance between blue chips and the green room. Justin Fields, the top uncommitted quarterback in the 2018 class, de-committed from Penn State in June. The Nittany Lions run an effective spread offense heavy in run-pass option plays, which are effective but not considered ideal training for the NFL. Fields didn’t specifically mention Penn State, but did say NFL preparation played into his upcoming decision. Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Auburn are among his top choices. Fields is looking for a multiple offense that can utilize his dynamic athleticism running the football yet still get him prepared for the NFL. “I’m choosing an offense that fits me and will also get me prepared to play in the NFL,” Fields said.
That notion got repeated over and over by campers at the QB Collective. They showed up to learn footwork from Kyle Shanahan (who coached barefoot thanks to lost luggage), dropbacks from former NFL quarterback Rich Bartel and philosophy from former Redskins coach Jim Zorn. They learned about NFL progressions, play-action passes and how the first motion of a pro-style drop should be like falling into a pool. None of the quarterbacks played primarily under center in high school, something they realized has to change at some point for them to thrive in the NFL. “I feel like it’s pretty big,” said Tanner McKee, a four-star 2018 recruit who will enroll in college in 2020 after a Mormon mission. “Learn it before you go to the NFL, before you are tested against the best. I don’t know if [a pro-style system is] a complete decision-maker for me, but it’s pretty important.”
View photos
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan teaches high school prospects the finer points of a dropback. (Photo credit: Twitter/@qb_collective)
When discussing spread offenses, it’s foolish to deal in absolutes. With the spread offense the norm now in college football, there are many more quarterbacks drafted from spread systems than pro-style. Dak Prescott’s rapid ascent with the Cowboys shows it’s more important how a quarterback learns and develops in a system than how the system is defined. Kyle Shanahan’s ability to tailor distinct systems to the divergent styles of Robert Griffin III as the coordinator of the Redskins (2010-13) and Matt Ryan as the coordinator of the Falcons (2015-16) illustrates that coaches need the dexterity to adjust to their talent.
Even with colleges adapting to their recruits, the recruits are starting to realize what they don’t know. And that’s an intriguing notion that could trickle up and impact the recruiting game the next few years. “One thing that I want to prioritize is the offense getting me to the next level as far as the National Football League,” said Hank Bachmeier, a top quarterback recruit in 2019. “I’m looking at an offense that’s going to get under center and mix it up and just have multiple sets.”
– – – – – – – – – – – –
The varied skill sets developed dependent on a collegiate system can best be shown through the 49ers’ two rookie quarterback additions. The 49ers drafted Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard in the third round, an unexpectedly high selection after his 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during his senior year. But Shanahan admits that seeing Beathard as a quarterback in a pure pro-style offense helps front offices. “It’s much easier to evaluate people when you see them doing what you want them to do,” Shanahan said. “Then you’re not guessing.”
He added: “You get to see them play the position.”
To contrast, Southern Miss quarterback Nick Mullens played in a pure spread system in college. He threw 38 touchdown passes his junior year, but went undrafted. The 49ers coaches saw him at the East-West Shrine game and admired his dropback footwork and ability to take a snap from under center. They loved his answer when asked how he learned those skills and ended up signing him as a free agent. “He said he YouTubed it,” Shanahan said with a laugh. “He looked at YouTube and tried to figure it out. Two weeks on his own. That’s the type of mentality and personality that gives you a chance.”
What the QB Collective illustrated was just how steep the learning curve is to master NFL quarterbacking concepts. Former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels walked off the field after the first session and compared the lack of basic footwork and under-center skills to going to an elite high school basketball camp where none of the participants knew how to shoot free throws. That begins with the snap, which Zorn said should be essential for young quarterbacks to learn to do from under center. “How do you put the hands underneath the center’s butt and not get grossed out?” Zorn said. “You have to teach your center what to wear and sometimes what not to eat.”
The simplicity of many spread offenses has also slowed the ability of prospects to read defenses. Mike Shanahan spent about 90 minutes on a white board going over the basics of defenses, which is the football version of a finger-painting lesson from Picasso. Mike Shanahan’s biggest chalkboard message was a simple one: “You need to understand defenses better than defensive coordinators do. It’s kind of a fun start for a lot of these young guys to be able to draw up a fronts, linebackers where they drop [and] coverages.”
View photos
Former NFL coach Mike Shanahan talks to high school prospects during the camp. (Photo credit: Twitter/@qb_collective)
Rosenfels bounced around the NFL for 12 seasons, arriving in the league just as the spread era began to expand in college football in 2001. He played with plenty of spread quarterbacks who flailed upon arriving in the NFL. “It’s ugly early,” he said, adding: “To play quarterback you have to be comfortable all the time in an uncomfortable situation. These guys are uncomfortable in an uncomfortable situation. You end up looking really bad.”
That’s why learning the footwork basics, learning to read defenses and communicating in the huddle are things that need to be picked up along the way. Zorn said that the one-word play calls and sideline placards with a zebra or sunflower fail to prepare quarterbacks for the reality of the NFL. There, a play call is more likely to be: Spread-Orange-Tight-Right-Fullback-Short-Divide-Lead-15.
“You have to make yourself know this stuff,” he said. “You can’t go to the NFL without knowing how to communicate in the huddle, on the line of scrimmage and have the presence to see what’s going on and make changes.”
As the time gap between high school and the NFL shrinks for top prospects and the skill set continues to vary, it will be interesting to see the reverberations in recruiting and beyond. But as a two-day NFL cram session for high school prospects showed, it takes more than YouTube to become an NFL quarterback.
MMQB: 49ers Preview - 10 Things You Need To Know
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 0 Replies
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/07/28/san-francisco-49ers-2017-training-camp-season-preview
San Francisco 49ers Preview: 10 Things You Need To Know
ANDY BENOIT
The MMQB’s Andy Benoit ranks every NFL team based on roster talent and gives 10 thoughts on each club throughout training camp. The No. 30 San Francisco 49ers managed to fill the least desirable coaching job with the best candidate this offseason, but Kyle Shanahan doesn’t have the same type of offensive weapons he had in Atlanta. He’ll need quarterback Brian Hoyer to manufacture offense through play designs
1. It was smart of Niners owner Jed York to give new head coach Kyle Shanahan and new GM John Lynch unprecedented six-year deals. Given San Fran’s front office turmoil and three head-coaching changes over the last three years (each questionable in its own way), these were the least attractive GM and coaching jobs this year.
Most new head coaches get three- or four-year contracts. By committing to six years, York managed to fill the least desirable job with the market’s top candidate, Kyle Shanahan.
2. Shanahan was brilliant as the offensive coordinator in Atlanta. Obviously, it helped that he had a veteran star QB, arguably the game’s best wide receiver, two dynamic running backs and a stable O-line. Shanahan masterfully diversified his formations to create favorable mismatches, and by intertwining his receivers’ routes on each side of the field to create answers against multiple coverages.
You don’t need a Julio Jones or a Devonta Freeman to do this. As long as Shanahan’s QB knows where the ball goes—and usually, journeyman placeholder Brian Hoyer does—the Niners can manufacture offense through play designs. It won’t be as pretty or lucrative as it was for Shanahan in Atlanta, but it will be more consistent than the Chip Kelly, Colin Kaepernick-led offense of a year ago.
3. The receiving abilities of tailbacks Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman made Shanahan’s play designs so potent in Atlanta. They allowed the Falcons to line up in one formation and shift to another. The defense would have to tip its hand in response, and usually there wasn’t a linebacker who could cover either back.
Incumbent Niners running back Carlos Hyde is a solid inside runner who can occasionally turn the corner, but he’s not a Freeman- or Coleman-like chameleon in the passing game. He had 163 yards receiving last year. If fourth-round rookie tailback Joe Williams can become a receiving threat, he’ll secure a big role.
4. There are two plus-sized offensive linemen on the right side who move well: third-year tackle Trent Brown and last year’s first-round guard Josh Garnett (a tremendous pull-blocker). Mobile right side O-line tandems are rare.
5. Pierre Garçon joined the select club of players who have earned a lucrative third contract in their NFL careers. The soon-to-be 31-year-old signed for $47.5 million over five years as a free agent. He’s worth it. Garçon is still one of the strongest in-breaking route runners in football. And his willingness as a blocker helps this outside zone running game.
6. The most fascinating question with the 49ers: Who will line up along the defensive line, and where? Most of the players, including recent Oregon first-round picks DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, were drafted for a 3-4. But first-time defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is installing a Seahawks Cover 3-style scheme, which features a 4-3 front.
But don’t overthink this part of it. The contrast of a 3-4 versus a 4-3 gets overblown. In today’s NFL, both schemes feature similar one-gap principles. More than that, about 65% of snaps involve a nickel defense, which usually means straight 4-3 principles. This is why rookie No. 3 overall pick Solomon Thomas should play the defensive tackle role that he played 85% of the time at Stanford.
Yes, at 273 pounds, Thomas would be the lightest defensive tackle in the NFL. But he can kick over to defensive end on running downs. As for those other two: Buckner, who played with better leverage in the second half of his rookie season, has the power to be an excellent nickel defensive tackle. That would leave Armstead playing wide 9, a less-than-ideal role for him but one that he at times played last season.
7. Saleh’s Seahawks-style Cover 3 is a single-high safety zone coverage where defenders drop to landmarks on the field. But here’s the thing: the rest of the league’s Seahawks-style Cover 3 defenses—Atlanta, Jacksonville and, of course, Seattle—all increased their snaps of man coverage down the stretch last year. You wonder if offenses have concocted too many ways to attack that Cover 3.
8. The Niners may not have good enough corners to play regular snaps of man-to-man. Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser, lanky Rashard Robinson and rookie Ahkello Witherspoon are all recent mid-round picks. Typically, mid-rounders don’t suffice at the most athletically demanding position in football. Last year the Niners, who struggled often in pass defense, played a lot of two-deep coverages because the coaches didn’t trust these corners one-on-one.
9. San Francisco’s best corner, Jimmie Ward, has moved to free safety. He’ll now play centerfield. That means San Francisco’s most gifted and versatile defender, Eric Reid, will be the high-hole safety, playing a few yards behind the linebackers down in the box. Both players have toggled between multiple positions over the past two years. It will be interesting to see how they perform now at static positions.
10. I’d bet last year’s defensive coordinator, Jim O’Neil, snickered ruefully when the Niners got Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster near the end of the first round. Injuries, and the resulting deficiencies, at linebacker are what hurt this defense most in 2016.
San Francisco 49ers Preview: 10 Things You Need To Know
ANDY BENOIT
The MMQB’s Andy Benoit ranks every NFL team based on roster talent and gives 10 thoughts on each club throughout training camp. The No. 30 San Francisco 49ers managed to fill the least desirable coaching job with the best candidate this offseason, but Kyle Shanahan doesn’t have the same type of offensive weapons he had in Atlanta. He’ll need quarterback Brian Hoyer to manufacture offense through play designs
1. It was smart of Niners owner Jed York to give new head coach Kyle Shanahan and new GM John Lynch unprecedented six-year deals. Given San Fran’s front office turmoil and three head-coaching changes over the last three years (each questionable in its own way), these were the least attractive GM and coaching jobs this year.
Most new head coaches get three- or four-year contracts. By committing to six years, York managed to fill the least desirable job with the market’s top candidate, Kyle Shanahan.
2. Shanahan was brilliant as the offensive coordinator in Atlanta. Obviously, it helped that he had a veteran star QB, arguably the game’s best wide receiver, two dynamic running backs and a stable O-line. Shanahan masterfully diversified his formations to create favorable mismatches, and by intertwining his receivers’ routes on each side of the field to create answers against multiple coverages.
You don’t need a Julio Jones or a Devonta Freeman to do this. As long as Shanahan’s QB knows where the ball goes—and usually, journeyman placeholder Brian Hoyer does—the Niners can manufacture offense through play designs. It won’t be as pretty or lucrative as it was for Shanahan in Atlanta, but it will be more consistent than the Chip Kelly, Colin Kaepernick-led offense of a year ago.
3. The receiving abilities of tailbacks Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman made Shanahan’s play designs so potent in Atlanta. They allowed the Falcons to line up in one formation and shift to another. The defense would have to tip its hand in response, and usually there wasn’t a linebacker who could cover either back.
Incumbent Niners running back Carlos Hyde is a solid inside runner who can occasionally turn the corner, but he’s not a Freeman- or Coleman-like chameleon in the passing game. He had 163 yards receiving last year. If fourth-round rookie tailback Joe Williams can become a receiving threat, he’ll secure a big role.
4. There are two plus-sized offensive linemen on the right side who move well: third-year tackle Trent Brown and last year’s first-round guard Josh Garnett (a tremendous pull-blocker). Mobile right side O-line tandems are rare.
5. Pierre Garçon joined the select club of players who have earned a lucrative third contract in their NFL careers. The soon-to-be 31-year-old signed for $47.5 million over five years as a free agent. He’s worth it. Garçon is still one of the strongest in-breaking route runners in football. And his willingness as a blocker helps this outside zone running game.
6. The most fascinating question with the 49ers: Who will line up along the defensive line, and where? Most of the players, including recent Oregon first-round picks DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, were drafted for a 3-4. But first-time defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is installing a Seahawks Cover 3-style scheme, which features a 4-3 front.
But don’t overthink this part of it. The contrast of a 3-4 versus a 4-3 gets overblown. In today’s NFL, both schemes feature similar one-gap principles. More than that, about 65% of snaps involve a nickel defense, which usually means straight 4-3 principles. This is why rookie No. 3 overall pick Solomon Thomas should play the defensive tackle role that he played 85% of the time at Stanford.
Yes, at 273 pounds, Thomas would be the lightest defensive tackle in the NFL. But he can kick over to defensive end on running downs. As for those other two: Buckner, who played with better leverage in the second half of his rookie season, has the power to be an excellent nickel defensive tackle. That would leave Armstead playing wide 9, a less-than-ideal role for him but one that he at times played last season.
7. Saleh’s Seahawks-style Cover 3 is a single-high safety zone coverage where defenders drop to landmarks on the field. But here’s the thing: the rest of the league’s Seahawks-style Cover 3 defenses—Atlanta, Jacksonville and, of course, Seattle—all increased their snaps of man coverage down the stretch last year. You wonder if offenses have concocted too many ways to attack that Cover 3.
8. The Niners may not have good enough corners to play regular snaps of man-to-man. Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser, lanky Rashard Robinson and rookie Ahkello Witherspoon are all recent mid-round picks. Typically, mid-rounders don’t suffice at the most athletically demanding position in football. Last year the Niners, who struggled often in pass defense, played a lot of two-deep coverages because the coaches didn’t trust these corners one-on-one.
9. San Francisco’s best corner, Jimmie Ward, has moved to free safety. He’ll now play centerfield. That means San Francisco’s most gifted and versatile defender, Eric Reid, will be the high-hole safety, playing a few yards behind the linebackers down in the box. Both players have toggled between multiple positions over the past two years. It will be interesting to see how they perform now at static positions.
10. I’d bet last year’s defensive coordinator, Jim O’Neil, snickered ruefully when the Niners got Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster near the end of the first round. Injuries, and the resulting deficiencies, at linebacker are what hurt this defense most in 2016.