July 22, 1983



Login to view embedded media

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20114211/the-nfl-stats-matter-most-2017-offseason-bill-barnwell

The NFL stats that matter most

You've heard the (perhaps apocryphal) quote from Bill Parcells before. "You are what your record says you are," has some element of truth behind it, yet the phrase fails to tell the entire story. If records were the best measure of future performance, we wouldn't see upsets like the 7-9 Seahawks stunning the 11-5 Saints during the 2010 playoffs.

In many cases, the simplest or most traditional statistic tells either an imperfect story or a fraction of the bigger picture. In trying to break down football games and understand which elements of performance correlate best with winning, I've come to rely on a toolbox of statistics and concepts that give me a better sense of what's actually happening on the field. Let's go through them and understand why they work (and where they come up short), starting with broader team metrics.



Team statistics
DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average)
DVOA was created by Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders and serves as his site's core metric. The stat measures a team's success on a given play (through points and yards gained or lost) versus what would have been expected after accounting for the down, distance, game situation and quality of the opponent. The result is expressed in percentages, so a team with a DVOA of 10 percent is that much better than the league average on a play-by-play basis.

The most helpful element of DVOA is that you can split it all kinds of different ways to figure out, say, a team's performance on offense in the red zone or their defense on third down. (The scale flips for defensive DVOA since you're trying to prevent the other team from scoring, so a DVOA of minus-10 percent is better than a DVOA of 10 percent on that side of the ball.) DVOA also does a better job of correlating with winning in the future than a team's win-loss record itself.

You can read more about DVOA here. It can also be applied to players, but it's a far less effective metric for individual team members given the difficulty in comparing players across different schemes and styles. Individual DVOA has some limited uses, such as comparing running backs on the same team who play behind the same offensive line.

2017 impact: The Texans made the playoffs at 9-7 but finished a staggeringly low 29th in DVOA, sandwiched between the abysmal 49ers and Rams. On the other hand, the Eagles finished fourth in DVOA -- between the Falcons and Steelers -- but won only seven games, thanks in part to a tough schedule. DVOA would expect Houston's record to decline and Philadelphia's to improve next season.

Point differential
A team's point differential is also a better measure of future wins than its actual win total, a reality that holds true in many other major professional leagues. As an example, consider the 99 teams who finished 8-8 between 1989 and 2015. The 51 teams with a point differential greater than or equal to zero won an average of 8.6 games the following year. The 48 teams who posted a negative point differential won an average of 7.3 contests the next season.

We can figure out how many games a team "should" have won in a given season based off their point differential by calculating their Pythagorean expectation, a metric invented by Bill James for baseball and applied to football by Daryl Morey. The latter figured it out for Stats Inc. before going on to run the Houston Rockets. The formula spits out a winning percentage, which fans can multiply by 16 to get an expected win total. More often than not, teams whose win total outstrips their Pythagorean expectation will decline the following year, as was the case with the 2016 Panthers and Broncos. The opposite is true for teams who underperform their Pythagorean expectation, which helped push the Cowboys, Giants and Titans toward winning records last season.

2017 impact: The Raiders won 12 games but outscored their opponents by only 31 points, producing a Pythagorean expectation of 8.7 wins. That gap -- 3.3 wins -- is the fourth-largest since 1989. They're likely to decline. The Jaguars, meanwhile, went 3-13 with the Pythagorean expectation of a 5.9-win team. Jacksonville might not be great, but that 2.9-win gap suggests the Jags should be looking up in 2017.

Record in close games
Closely related to the gap between a team's point differential and their actual record is how they perform in close contests. Historically, with precious few exceptions, teams will win games that are decided by seven points or less about 50 percent of the time. (I'm using seven points as opposed to eight to make it easier to compare teams across eras when the two-point conversion was not part of the NFL game.)

Evidence suggests that teams like the 2001 Bears, a squad that went 8-0 in games decided by seven points or fewer, are extremely unlikely to keep that up year after year. The following year, those same Bears went 4-6 in one-score games, with their overall record falling from 13-3 to 4-12.

To be clear, teams aren't "due" to decline and have a subpar record the following year; that's the gambler's fallacy. Teams with particularly good or bad marks during a year of one-score games are equally likely to be great or terrible in those games the following year. Our expectation is that they'll be average, which is what we call regression toward the mean.

2017 impact: The Dolphins went 8-2 in one-score games last season, with seven of their final eight wins coming by seven points or fewer. It's unlikely they'll be as effective in close games again. Meanwhile, the Chargers were 1-8 in one-score contests. They're likely to improve, but so were the 2016 Chargers after the 2015 version of the team went 3-8 in those same games. Even if teams with terrible records in one-score games might improve 90 percent of the time the following year, nothing is guaranteed in the NFL.

Quarterback statistics
Yards per attempt and adjusted net yards per attempt
The simplest individual metric with which to judge quarterbacks is yards per attempt (YPA), which shouldn't require much explanation. YPA correlates well with winning, but the complicated passer rating statistic is better.

Passer rating is built on an antiquated framework and doesn't fit the modern game, so if we're going to use raw data to create a complex quarterback stat, we might as well use one built more recently that boasts a stronger quantitative underpinning. Adjusted net yards per attempt (or ANY/A) uses more modern research by Chase Stuart to estimate the value of touchdowns and interceptions while also incorporating sacks, which evidence suggests has plenty to do with quarterbacks despite being commonly blamed on the offensive line. You can find out more about ANY/A here.

2017 impact: Despite receiving praise for his hot start, Carson Wentz had a dismal rookie season by ANY/A, ranking between Blake Bortles and Case Keenum at 27th among qualifying passers. NFC East rival Kirk Cousins, meanwhile, finished fourth overall, ahead of Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.

The Pro-football-reference.com index statistics
One of the problems with comparing quarterbacks is accounting for the era in which they play. Right now, for example, we're in an era when both passing stats and scoring are at all-time highs. What passes for average in the modern game would've been deemed superstar numbers as recently as 25 years ago.

The indispensable Pro-football-reference.com (PFR) adjusts for era in several key metrics with their index statistics, such as Sack Rate+ (Sack Rate Index) or ANY/A+. PFR measures the number of standard deviations above or below the mean that a player accounts for in a particular category, and multiplies it by 15 to create the index stat. It's not a perfect methodology, but this does an excellent job of putting things in context in terms of key quarterback rate stats.

2017 impact: Jared Goff was staggeringly bad as a rookie, posting the worst ANY/A+ since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 among quarterbacks with 200 passes or more. He narrowly beat out a group of terrifyingly awful rookie passers, including Ryan Leaf on the negative side and, more promisingly, Terry Bradshaw on the positive path. Nobody wants to start with a terrible campaign, but with a much-improved offensive line, Goff could still get better.

Total QBR
QBR, a metric developed by ESPN Stats & Information, incorporates several elements of quarterback play that aren't often accounted for in other quarterback metrics, including penalties and fumbles. It adjusts for context, giving far more credit for a 7-yard gain on third-and-6 than it does for the same yardage on third-and-13, because it's built on an expected points framework. It also uses evidence to divide credit for a play between a quarterback and his receiver, which makes sense on a fundamental level. When Dak Prescott tosses a screen pass 1 yard downfield to Ezekiel Elliott and the latter jukes four defenders out before taking it to the house, it's debatable whether Prescott deserves 10 percent or 15 percent of the credit for the play. It's far less plausible to suggest he deserves 100 percent of the yardage.

I wouldn't suggest QBR is perfect, although its biggest problem previously -- the fact that it wasn't adjusted for the quality of the opposing defense -- has been fixed. If one passer has a QBR of 60 and another is at 55, I wouldn't use QBR to suggest one is definitively better than the other.

At the extremes, though, QBR is useful. If a quarterback is sixth in the league in QBR when he's not pressured but 29th in QBR when the defense is on him, I'm confident the game tape will back up the idea that he struggles more under pressure than most passers. If a quarterback is 10th in passer rating and 28th in QBR, I'm going to see whether there are mitigating factors that could be inflating his traditional stats. No measure is perfect, but QBR is the most effective one-number metric for quarterbacks dating back through 2007.

2017 impact: Tyrod Taylor was far more effective as a quarterback by QBR than he was by popular perception last year, finishing ninth in the league with an opponent-adjusted Total QBR of 68.2. The Bills can move on from Taylor after this season, so the QB may very well hit the market next year underrated by traditional metrics.

Running back statistics
Success rate
A Football Outsiders statistic that serves as a check on the efficiency implied by yards per carry, success rate measures the rate at which a rusher keeps his offense "on schedule." In most situations, a successful run picks up 40 percent of the needed yardage for a conversion on first down, 60 percent on second down, or 100 percent on third/fourth down, with adjustments for game situation in the fourth quarter.

The strength of this stat is also its weakness: It penalizes players who rack up most of their yardage with a few big runs if they aren't also efficient. That sounds like it would hate a boom-or-bust back like Barry Sanders, but the stats suggest Sanders was more efficient than you remember, especially earlier in his career. Big plays are always nice, but unless you're Barry Sanders, it's far tougher to sustain those bigger plays from year to year.

2017 impact: Jay Ajayi turned into a franchise back once the Dolphins gave him the starting job, as the second-year man averaged 4.9 yards per carry, which was good for eighth in the league. Those numbers are buoyed by several big plays: Ajayi was the only back in football with four carries of 40 yards or more. Ajayi's success rate on runs was just 43 percent, which was 32nd among 42 qualifying backs.

Wide receiver/tight end statistics
Catch rate
One of the more basic statistics on this list, catch rate is simply the number of passes a receiver catches divided by the number of targets in his direction. Targets can be murky -- there are some passes that get arbitrarily assigned to a receiver even though they're not remotely catchable or get batted away before the receiver ever has a shot at catching the ball -- but overall, a receiver's catch rate is a worthwhile measure of efficiency. If two players each catch nine passes for 80 yards, the receiver who caught those nine passes on 10 targets is far more effective than the one who needed 17 targets.

2017 Impact: Brandon Marshall saw his catch rate fall from 63.4 percent in 2015 to 47.2 percent last year, the worst figure in football for receivers with 100 targets or more. Playing with Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't help matters, but then again, Fitz was playing quarterback in 2015, too. He'll have to hope the presence of Eli Manning under center -- arguably the best quarterback Marshall has caught passes from during his decade-long career -- helps him turn that catch rate around.

Air yards per target
The other element of receiving -- one that influences catch rate greatly -- is the degree of difficulty on a player's reception attempts. A deep threat like DeSean Jackson can be wildly effective if he posts a catch rate of 55 percent, while an underneath wideout like Danny Amendola needs to be closer to 70 percent to justify his spot in the receiving rotation. The range of air yards per target for wide receivers varies from more than 16 yards per target (Jackson, J.J. Nelson) down to fewer than 6 yards per target (Anquan Boldin, Adam Humphries).

The classic example is Colts tight end Jack Doyle. Over the past three seasons, Doyle has caught 80.2 percent of the passes thrown to him, the best figure in the league for a wide receiver or tight end. Not coincidentally, the average pass to Doyle has traveled fewer than 5 yards in the air, which was also the lowest figure in the league for any wide receiver or tight end by more than half a yard.

2017 impact: The Raiders signed Cordarrelle Patterson, presumably to pitch in as a returner and help stretch the field on offense. By the time he finished his tenure with the Vikings, though, Patterson was almost exclusively a target on screen passes. The average pass to the speedy Patterson traveled just 4.7 yards in the air last season, the lowest among wideouts by a comfortable margin. The second-lowest average among wideouts was the 5.7-yard mark recorded by Humphries.

Receptions per route run
A measure of how integral a player is to a passing game, receptions per route run analyzes the frequency with which a receiver demands the football on the field. Receptions aren't created equal -- some players come onto the field for only designed passes in their direction, while others are catching checkdowns when the offense breaks down.

The leading reception rate among wideouts last year was the 23.5 percent mark posted by Kansas City's Tyreek Hill. Theo Riddick trailed him, but led the way at running back with 21.2 percent. The leading star wideout in this category is A.J. Green, who caught the ball on 19.6 percent of his routes. Perennial rival Julio Jones was below him at 18.4 percent. The top tight end? C.J. Fiedorowicz at 19.2 percent. I didn't see that one coming, either.

2017 impact: Hill has gone from being a third wideout and part-time offensive weapon for the Chiefs to the team's presumed top wide receiver this season. Can he continue to rack up receptions at a league-best rate as an every-down wide receiver this year?



Pass rusher statistics
Quarterback knockdowns
Sacks are the most meaningful statistic used to judge pass-rushers, but they're too few and far between to be our only gauge. The difference between a great season (12 sacks) and a solid, unremarkable campaign (eight sacks) is one sack per month. Judging players that way tends to be dangerous, which is why we generally discount stats like rushing and receiving touchdowns because of their year-to-year volatility.

Another way to judge a pass-rusher's effectiveness is the number of quarterback knockdowns (also called quarterback hits) he racks up in a given season. This number includes sacks (where the quarterback hits the turf), but doesn't include strip sacks (where the edge rusher bats the ball out of a quarterback's hands).

While the best pass-rusher in the league might make it to only 15 sacks, the league leader in quarterback knockdowns will often approach 35 hits. The knockdowns put J.J. Watt's dominance in perspective. When healthy, he puts even other great edge rushers to shame:

Vic Beasley Jr. led the league in sacks last season with 15.5, but Aaron Donaldtopped the hit charts with 31. More on Beasley and his 2017 prospects in a second.

Sacks per knockdown
While any pass-rusher getting to the quarterback is doing the right thing, the difference between a sack and a knockdown can come down to a fraction of a second or a lone step. Over the past five years, regular pass-rushers (guys with 10 or more hits in a given season) have turned about 43 percent of their knockdowns into sacks.

Players who have a disproportionately high or low percentage of sacks per knockdown are likely to see their sack total rise or fall accordingly the following year. On the low side, the obvious candidate to improve after 2015 was Jets defensive end Leonard Williams, who turned his 21 hits into just three sacks (14.3 percent). Last year, he jumped from three sacks to seven and made his first Pro Bowl. The opposite example was Washington linebacker Preston Smith, who had eight sacks on 10 hits during his rookie year. Despite moving into a starting role last season, his sack total fell to five.

2017 impact: Beasley is a prime candidate for regression this year. He racked up 15.5 sacks on just 16 knockdowns, and while he had several strip sacks that wouldn't count as knockdowns, it's extremely likely that his sack total will fall back to earth in his third season. His 96.9 percent sack-per-knockdown rate is the second-highest over the past five seasons. For comparison, Nick Perry had the second-highest rate in 2016 all the way down at 68.8 percent.

It's impossible to produce a worse rate than Jihad Ward, who did not record a sack during his rookie season despite producing 10 knockdowns. He'll get his first sack in 2017. Datone Jones (8.3 percent) and the wildly underrated Tom Johnson (8.7 percent) also qualify. One more notable candidate is Lions star Ezekiel Ansah, who recorded just two sacks on 15 hits during an injury-plagued campaign.

Kicker statistics
Adjusted kicker stats
Football Outsiders tracks the efficiency of kickers, expressing them versus league-average in a given range after adjusting for the weather and altitude of the kick. The latter variable is critical, given how much easier it is to hit from distance in Colorado. The result is expressed in points above or below league-average. FO also tracks the same stats for punters, kickers and return men, though those are also far more subject to the abilities of the blocking units than the field goal kickers themselves.

2017 impact: The worst kicker in football last year was Tampa Bay's Roberto Aguayo, who the team traded up for in the 2016 draft and was worth a league-low minus-15.2 points last season, missing nine field goals and two extra points. The Bucs signed Nick Folk this offseason and gave him a $750,000 signing bonus, suggesting Aguayo's time in Tampa might not last.

Hidden special teams statistics
Hidden football stats sounds like the secret menu at a restaurant, but it's an amalgamation of numbers tracked by FO. Their "hidden" special teams statistic consists of elements of special teams that matter but are out of the opposing team's control. The stat takes the opposing team's kickoff placement and punt distance into account, but most crucially, it accounts for the opposition's performance on field goal attempts.

FO expresses this metric in terms of points of field position, and the range is quite enormous. The luckiest team in the league last year was the Dolphins, who received 20.1 points of "hidden" help. Meanwhile, the unluckiest team was Chicago, who lost 13.3 points of field position from the opposition. That's a 33.4-point swing. Indeed, despite Chicago's volatile weather conditions, opposing kickers connected on a league-best 94.3 percent of their field goals against the Bears, while teams hit only 74.3 percent of their field goals and 89.5 percent of their extra points against Miami.

2017 impact: You would expect the Dolphins to regress toward the mean, as teams haven't displayed much ability to hold on to these hidden benefits, but Miami doesn't appear to be budging. They've ranked in the top three of special-teams luck since 2013 and haven't ranked outside of the top seven since 2010. Indeed, since that 2013 season, opposing kickers have successfully converted a league-low 77.5 percent of their field goal tries against the Dolphins. The Patriots (77.9 percent) are the only other team in the league below 80 percent.

There's no evidence that teams can pull this off deliberately from year to year, so it's interesting to see what's happening with Miami. They've turned over most of their special teams personnel during that four-year stretch, but one exception has been special-teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who has been on the books since 2010. Miami hasn't been especially impressive on special teams over that time frame, with an average rank in FO's metrics of 19th.

It's bizarre that the Dolphins would be middling at special teams on the whole, but great at this single, seemingly uncontrollable element of the game. Bruce Arians criticized Rizzi and the Dolphins for barking out snap counts before an extra point last season, though Arians has a history of complaining about special-teams plays. The snap count maneuver would be illegal, but it's hard to imagine the Dolphins executing such a tactic for the better part of a decade without being scolded by the league at some point.

It's tempting to credit Miami's fans for inducing misses, but opposing kickers have hit 77.6 percent of their kicks against the Dolphins at home and a nearly identical 77.5 percent of their tries at Miami over that time frame. The same fans were also around in the previous decade, however, and opposing kickers hit on a far more standard 83.2 percent of their tries back then.

That's one of the fun things about pairing advanced statistics with football: Sometimes you stumble onto something important and seemingly meaningful -- and have absolutely no explanation for it.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-brian-quick-needs-to-perform-at-camp

• According to ESPN staff writer John Keim, Washington Redskins wide receiver Brian Quick “didn’t look great” at minicamp, and will need a strong training camp to earn a roster spot.
• The sixth-year veteran played 697 snaps for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016 before signing with Washington in free agency. Although he saw a career high in both receptions (41) and yards (564), he achieved a PFF overall grade of just 53.0, which ranked 87th of 115 qualifying wide receivers.
• Quick averaged 1.28 yards per route run in 2016, which ranked 60th of 96 wide receivers with at least 40 targets. He dropped 5 of his 46 catchable targets in 2016, for a drop rate of 10.87, which ranked 73rd.

[www.espn.com]

The Los Angeles Rams open training camp July 29 on the campus of UC Irvine in Southern California. Here’s a 53-man roster projection.

QUARTERBACKS (2): Jared Goff, Sean Mannion

The Rams opted all along to stay young at quarterback because they need to see what they have in Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, and Mannion, a third-round pick in 2015. Goff will enter as the starter, and Mannion will serve as his backup. New head coach Sean McVay appeared to crack the door open for competition during the offseason program, saying, "We’re trying to win football games, and whoever we feel like gives us the best chance is who’s going to play behind center." But nothing has changed. Goff is the starter.

RUNNING BACKS (3): Malcolm Brown, Lance Dunbar, Todd Gurley

The Rams signed Dunbar during the offseason, and he might end up taking some targets away from Gurley. Dunbar could serve in a role similar to Chris Thompson, who specialized in catching passes out of the backfield for McVay's offense in Washington. On the ground, though, it'll be all Gurley all the time. Depth-wise, Aaron Green was a tough cut at this position.

FULLBACKS (2): Cory Harkey, Sam Rogers

Yes, McVay does see a role for fullbacks in his offense. He used a sixth-round pick on Rogers -- a solid blocker who also produced as a runner and a receiver for Virginia Tech -- because he finds his skill set appealing. Harkey has by far the most experience, but is he versatile enough to lock down a role under the new coach? Zach Laskey is another option.

WIDE RECEIVERS (7): Tavon Austin, Pharoh Cooper, Cooper Kupp, Bradley Marquez, Josh Reynolds, Nelson Spruce, Robert Woods

I had Mike Thomas in here initially, but then he was handed a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Austin and Woods are the two main receivers. Beyond that, there are a lot of different ways McVay can go, which is just the way he likes it.

TIGHT ENDS (3): Gerald Everett, Tyler Higbee, Temarrick Hemingway

The Rams are very young at tight end, with all three of these guys coming in the past two drafts. They're all big, athletic players who can be factors in the passing game, and it will come down to either Everett or Higbee as to who will be the primary target at this position. It could be both.

OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Austin Blythe, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal, Rob Havenstein, Pace Murphy, Rodger Saffold, John Sullivan, Cody Wichmann, Andrew Whitworth

Right tackle is still somewhat open, but Brown is the favorite to lock down the starting spot. Blythe, claimed off waivers in May, seems on track to be the backup center, with Donnal and Wichmann looking like primary backups at tackle and guard, respectively. With the last spot, I chose Murphy over Darrell Williams.

DEFENSIVE LINE (7): Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, Dominique Easley, Matt Longacre, Mike Purcell, Tanzel Smart, Ethan Westbrooks

The Rams have carried no fewer than eight defensive linemen on their initial 53-man roster the past three years, but the switch to a 3-4 look requires fewer of them. I have Westbrooks, Purcell, Longacre and Smart, a sixth-round pick this year, as the backups to Donald, Brockers and Easley. Morgan Fox is also vying for a spot, among others.

LINEBACKERS (7): Mark Barron, Connor Barwin, Samson Ebukam, Josh Forrest, Bryce Hager, Alec Ogletree, Robert Quinn

The Rams didn't have much need for linebackers under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who deployed only two of them most of the time. But Wade Phillips requires more depth. Beyond Barron, Barwin, Ogletree and Quinn, it's pretty wide open. Nicholas Grigsby, Carlos Thompson, Ejuan Price and Cory Littleton are also in play, but I went elsewhere. Keep your eyes on Forrest, who saw his rookie season cut short because of a torn ACL, and Ebukam, an under-the-radar fourth-round pick.

CORNERBACKS (5): E.J. Gaines, Trumaine Johnson, Mike Jordan, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Kayvon Webster

Phillips said during the offseason program that the secondary is "stronger than what people think." We'll see. Gaines and Webster are vying for a starting spot at cornerback opposite Johnson. Robey-Coleman can be a major weapon in the slot. Troy Hill could've competed for a backup spot but is suspended for the first two games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

SAFETIES (5): Maurice Alexander, Blake Countess, Cody Davis, John Johnson, Lamarcus Joyner

It'll be Alexander and Joyner as starters, but Joyner could resume his role as a slot corner in substitution packages. That would open it up for Davis or Johnson, a third-round pick this year, to receive snaps at free safety. I had Countess beating the likes of Isaiah Johnson and Marqui Christian, but it might be a toss-up.

SPECIALISTS (3): Johnny Hekker, Jake McQuaide, Greg Zuerlein

Nothing has changed here. Nothing needs to.

Didn't see this posted anywhere if so please delete.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/new...ion-over-jared-goff/q3zswkni6ynf1v6algfyftsle

Rams great Eric Dickerson: Sean Mannion should start over Jared Goff

• Thomas Lott Omnispo
  
  Updated at 2:41 p.m. ET
  
  If the Rams were going strictly off numbers produced in college, then Sean Mannion would have an argument to earn the starting job over former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff.
  
  Both had good numbers in college, having at least one season with 35 or more touchdown passes, both had 4,000-yard passing seasons and both succeeded in a very good Pac-12.
  
  It will never happen though because of the money Goff is making and the cachet that comes with having the No. 1 overall pick on the roster.
  
  But that will not stop former Rams great Eric Dickerson from saying he would start Mannion over Goff from game one.
  "For me, my guy that I would start the season with would be Sean Mannion," he said on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" Friday afternoon. "I've been saying that since last year, give him a shot, you drafted him, he was great at … Oregon State, playing in a pro-style offense. He's a big guy, he's got a great arm.
  
  
  "I was at practice early last year before I got kicked off the sideline, and I was standing next to some of the guys, I said, 'He can throw it, he really can throw it,' and I said, 'Why they don't play him?' They said, 'The money.'"
  
  Mannion stands 6-6 and weighs 227 pounds. He completed nearly 65 percent of his passes in college while throwing for more than 13,000 yards and 83 touchdowns. Since getting drafted by the Rams, he has played in two games, but has completed 9 of 13 passes.
  
  In the meantime, Goff went 0-7 as a starter in 2016 and completed less than 55 percent of his passes while throwing seven interceptions to five touchdowns as a rookie.
  
  
  http://trc.taboola.com/performmedia...MudGFib29sYXN5bmRpY2F0aW9uLmNvbTIId2F0ZXIxNjQ

You never know who could be reading here at ROD. Happy birthday Henry!
**************************************************************************
Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/888431577331412992

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELLQK6CQQ64

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0jNsnElXjw

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKWONlRugsI

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZb7EfvwnqE

They cut off the last part of the game but the Rams won 23-3. Henry Ellard had 6 receptions for 132 yds with 1 touchdown.

Add on to the list if you can think of any.
****************************************
https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2016/10/19/13269818/the-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

Actor Robert Patrick:

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/robertpatrickT2/status/745657264057442304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F19%2F13269818%2Fthe-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uTO31B1R2c


Guitarist/Singer Brad Paisley:



Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E89kMqTrE3o


Magic Johnson(Basketball legend), Holly Robinson Peete(Actress):



Snoop Dogg(Rapper):



Tom Morello(Guitarist):

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAeN87DuLcd/


Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/tmorello/status/404005771240669184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F19%2F13269818%2Fthe-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2016/10/19/13269818/the-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

“I’ve been a Rams fan since I was a wee lad. Kurt Warner signed SUPER BOWL MVP on this helmet. I actually had to cancel a Rage Against the Machine show in Belgium to fly back for the game. Don’t tell the Belgians!”

Actor Danny Trejo:

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/officialDannyT/status/777554780457623552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F19%2F13269818%2Fthe-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

Actor Terry Crews:

Crews played for the Rams, Chargers, and Redskins.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5iMuIYNW_8

Bassist Flea and the Red Hot Chili Peppers:

Jae Hong, Associated Press

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/CandaceDBuckner/status/777595829624397824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F19%2F13269818%2Fthe-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/kdemoff/status/763232855887536128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F19%2F13269818%2Fthe-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

Actor Ty Burrell:



Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/785516250634092544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F19%2F13269818%2Fthe-most-passionate-celebrity-la-rams-fans

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZsh_Tfs8bk


Rapper Kendrick Lamar:

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/07/21/wade-phillips-los-angeles-rams-defensive-coordinator

Talking Football with Rams’ Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips
By Jonathan Jones


CBS Sports

Four decades after entering the NFL as a defensive line coach for the Houston Oilers, Wade Phillips is still near the top of his game as a defensive coordinator. A football institution, Phillips has seen just about everything, and he shares those tales in his book, Son of Bum: Lessons My Dad Taught Me about Football and Life.

The MMQB caught up with Phillips this summer to talk about the book, his life since its release this spring, and how he’s preparing for his coordinator gig with the Los Angeles Rams.

JONES: Your book is out and there are pieces of it across the internet. You chronicle Jerry Jones firing you and Jay Gruden’s weird interview with you and Bob McNair asking you not to interview with the Bucs in what you considered your last chance at a head-coaching job. Have you gotten any action or blowback from folks on sharing these stories?

PHILLIPS: No, I don’t think so. I don’t know if it was tell-all. It’s just kind of what goes on in football. And certainly I’m going to try to get to Jerry Jones’ Hall of Fame induction. We’ll be in training camp, but I’m going to try to get there.

Of course, Morten Anderson we drafted [Phillips was the defensive coordinator for the Saints in 1982 when they took Anderson] and LT [LaDainian Tomlinson] is also going in. But you know it always seems like folks make things bigger than they are. All those situations are kind of what goes on in football.

I just told it the way I saw it, and it may be different the way somebody else saw it. I thought it’d be interesting. Obviously there are no hard feelings in football because you’re going to get fired or you’re not going to get a job. All those things happen. I just wanted to tell the stories about coaches a little bit.

The only reason the interview thing was different is because I don’t get interviewed that much. When I come in they know what I’ve done and they’ll say, Will you take the job if I offer it to you? Even though Marty Schottenheimer had two long interviews with me. Buddy Ryan called me up on the phone and asked, Will you be my coordinator?

JONES: What’s received the most reaction since the book came out?

PHILLIPS: I’ve had so many people say they’ve enjoyed the book. The average fan, whether they’re a fan of the Broncos or whoever, got something out of it instead of this or that happening. You can pick out different things. I thought the story about [my dad] betting all his money on a racehorse to have enough money for me to get paid for when I was born was a good one. It’s mostly about coaching but it’s how to coach and what I learned from my dad and the father-son thing.

JONES: You wrote this with Vic Carucci. Was it as difficult as you thought it’d be or was it easier?

PHILLIPS: I think Vic made it easy. We just talked about stuff. He put it all together. It’s mostly stories about stuff and we just went through my career of this story and that story. Then I went back in the end—I really did—and I didn’t want to make anyone look bad because I didn’t feel that way about anybody in the book. Maybe I didn’t clean it up enough, I don’t know.

JONES: Oh, it’s plenty clean but those stories are good. Anyway, the book is out and you’re with the Rams now and you’ve made the defense switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4. You’ve done that several times in your career, including with the Broncos. Why do you seem to enjoy taking a 4-3 and turning it into a 3-4 so much?

PHILLIPS: I do think you’re more mobile with four linebackers and three linemen than you are with three linebackers and four linemen. I think every team I’ve been with has been in the top five in sacks, and I don’t think that’s by coincidence; I think it’s because of the schemes you can do with a 3-4. [Indeed, a Phillips-led defense has been in the top five in sacks every year he’s been a defensive coordinator since 2011.]

Most of your pass coverage is a four-man rush, so they know where the rush is coming from in a 4-3 most all the time. . . . You know four guys are coming in a 3-4 but you have to account for where the fourth guy is coming from, and I think that’s where it gives you an advantage.

The zone blitzes that [Dick LeBeau] came up with and started, those things are a lot easier to run from a 3-4 because any time you drop an outside guy, he’s a linebacker, whereas in the 4-3 you drop him and he’s a defensive end and not used to dropping. . . .

In a four-man front, the center either blocks one way or the other to help. And in a three-man front, the center has to block the guy in front of him, so now you get more one-on-ones. Basically they have to block five-on-five because they don’t know where the other guy is coming from.

JONES: You’ve been coaching for a while and you’ve coached some of the greats. More recently, I think everyone would agree you’ve had the two best, J.J. Watt and Von Miller, in terms of pass-rushing ability . . .

PHILLIPS: Yeah, Reggie White and Bruce Smith weren’t bad either.

JONES: Yes, yes, of course. Those guys weren’t scrubs. So who tops Wade Phillips’s list of all-time great pass rushers?

PHILLIPS: Oh, I don’t know. Certainly different eras are different, because I’ve been through different eras. Reggie White and Bruce Smith both were so dominant when they played. Reggie was the most powerful guy I’ve ever been around. He had 21 sacks in 12 games in that strike year, and that was the most dominant performance of anyone I’ve been around.

Bruce was just consistent. He was going to do it every year, and he did it for a long time. J.J. Watt and Von Miller are up there, and DeMarcus [Ware] is still climbing. But you know I coached Curley Culp and Elvin Bethea, who are in the Hall of Fame, in my first year coaching. So I’ve been lucky to coach some great defensive players.

JONES: Your Twitter feed has plenty of viral tweets. Do you know before you tweet something that it has viral potential? Or do you just tweet whatever the hell you’re feeling?

https://twitter.com/sonofbum?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

PHILLIPS: I just do whatever I think. You try to be careful on there. You offend fans of another team when you boast about you winning and that kind of stuff. But really I’m talking to my fans, or fans of the team I’m coaching. But no I’m not real careful on there. I probably should be.

JONES: You’ve dealt with generational gaps before—for decades with players—but now you’re facing the biggest gap with a head coach. You’re 40 years Sean McVay’s elder. Have you had any moments where you’ve said, Wow, you’re four decades younger than I am?

PHILLIPS: He’s like the other coaches, basically. I’ve been everywhere, even where I was the youngest, at 27, and I was coaching with my dad. He obviously was a lot older than me. I’ve worked with older coaches, and the older I get I work with younger coaches. It’s all about football and what they know and how well they relate with each other and the players. That part doesn’t change, age-wise or not.

JONES: Well speaking of, and my last question for you, I know you just turned 70 a couple weeks ago. How’d you celebrate?

PHILLIPS: I did, thanks. Yeah, I’m in Cancun right now and enjoying it.



JONES: Oh. Well, I’m really sorry to bother you.

PHILLIPS: That’s all right.

I am watching NFLN this morning, with a NFLN LA checking in, and I wondered about the new home of NFLN LA offices at the Ram's complex. I remember seeing the video scanning the new stadium and some other buildings in the complex, which made me wonder if the new station would open earlier than the stadium? same time? It would be awesome if they built the new studios early so they could report on location about the progress of it!

Anyone know?

I'm listening to a Philly sports radio station where they are gushing about the Iggles. "Our first Football Friday of the year, call with your Eagles stories." I am enjoying hearing the good an the bad experiences of true Eagles fans, and really, they are telling hard luck stories mostly because that's been the Eagles history since the merger. This is not my team, but I identify with the old school fans of the days with black and white TV's...blackout home games, and fighting over the sports page on Sunday mornings.....Most of which the young ones have no clue about. But still, listing to fans love on their team is endearing to me, which is why I listen to them.

I envy their media situation.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/m...-happened-in-the-falcons-super-bowl-collapse/

Matt Ryan explains exactly what happened in the Falcons' Super Bowl collapse

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- It's not like Matt Ryan pulled the curtains closed, kept the light at bay, or never left his bed, eating meals brought to him every four hours as he watched bad daytime game shows and simply obsessed about a ring that should have been his, yet somehow got away.

No, it wasn't that bad, but getting over the gut-wrenching overtime loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI last February put the Atlanta Falconsquarterback in a dark place for a while that was tough to escape.

"I wasn't depressed or anything like that," Ryan said. "'In a funk' is the better way to describe it."

Winning a Super Bowl was supposed to be crowning moment of a season that had him sticking his dirty bird out to the legion of vultures that had somehow gathered around his game during his first nine years, picking apart his every move. This was a player who had helped transform the Falcons from a perennial loser into a playoff contender in his first five years in the league, putting up some impressive numbers along the way. Yet there were still many heading into last season who wondered if he was good enough to be a franchise quarterback.

All Ryan did was put up amazing numbers last season while winning the league MVP. And he appeared to be on his way to winning a Super Bowl ring -- the supposed ultimate coronation for quarterback elite -- and would have been the game's MVP if the Falcons had held on and won. Leading by the score of 28-3 in the third quarter, it seemed like a done deal.

Matt Ryan, Super Bowl champ.

Then it fell apart. Not so much for him, but for the Falcons as a team. As you know by now, the Patriots rallied to tie the game and then win it in overtime, giving Tom Brady his fifth ring and keeping Ryan from getting his first.


Ryan looks on in disbelief after the Falcons blew a 25-point lead to the Patriots. USATSI

Shortly after that game, I chatted with Ryan in the bowels of NRG Stadium and he seemed out of it, almost shocked to be standing there after what he had just witnessed. Ryan has always been a stand-up player, win or lose, a player who would take the heat if he didn't play well or the team didn't perform. Sure, he met the media after the Super Bowl, but this was a man with glazed look on his face, almost a zombie look, the one you know if you see it.

"It was bad that day," he said later.

It stayed that way for a while after, too.

The hangover

Ryan watched the game a few days later, then watched it a second time and even a third. It was cathartic, he said. The first time he watched to see what went wrong. The second time he watched it like a quarterback trying to learn from it.

"I made notes of what we could have done differently and what we did right and wrong," Ryan said.

He was done with it, but Falcons coach Dan Quinn later asked him to watch it one more time. It helped to a certain extent. It was a tough loss, but you can't just sit around and get caught up in it all and let it ruin you moving forward.

"The third time was to just flush it out of the system," Ryan said. "That helped. It was advice I got from people I was close to try and embrace that and deal with it as quickly as possible and start to move on. But, it did take a little longer to get over because we were so close."

Ryan spent a few weeks after the game wallowing in the loss. But then things started to brighten up. His wife, Sarah, helped him get past it.

"She has no time for that," Ryan said. "She puts up with my s--- all during the season. She said, 'It's over. I am not dealing with this. You have to move along.'"

So he did. He went to California to work with his throwing coaches Tom House and Adam Dedeaux. That helped get him on to 2017.

"As I worked, I started to feel better," Ryan said. "Getting back to work is one of the best things you can do to get over it. Doing what you love to do helps, and working to get better is what I love to do."

For the second year, he gathered some of his teammates in South Florida in March to get a head start on offseason work. It was there that Ryan said he knew for sure that he'd moved on, and that those players who came to work with him had done the same.

Anatomy of a collapse

While the loss is behind him, evaluating it is isn't. When a lead is blown like that, big things stand out. It makes it naturally play back in your mind when you are the guy leading the offense, and when reporters and fans keep saying the same thing: if you only did this or that.

There are two situations from that game that stand out, ones that naturally I asked Ryan to discuss.

One came with the Falcons leading 28-12 with 8:31 left in the game. Atlanta faced a third-and-1 from its own 36. Then offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan -- who is now the coach in San Francisco -- called a pass play.

The play was a touchdown, too, as Aldrick Robinson was wide open as Ryan set to unload. One problem: Running back Devonta Freeman whiffed on his assignment, which let linebacker Dont'a Hightower crash into Ryan as he cocked to throw, causing a fumble that the Patriots recovered.

It was an aggressive call for sure -- a run certainly might have been a better option -- and it proved to be a play that turned the momentum clearly in the favor of the Patriots.

"It was either Aldrick sneaking out the back for a touchdown or Julio (Jones) on the cross," Ryan said. "Either way, it's a first down."


Dont'a Hightower crashes into Ryan, causing a pivotal fumble in Super Bowl LI. USATSI

It was -- for the Patriots. They took it from there to score to make it 28-20 with the two-point conversion. Even so, the Falcons looked to have the game wrapped up on their next possession.

On a second-and-8 from the Patriots' 49, Ryan threw a high pass to Jones, who made an unreal catch, toe-tapping to get his feet down while extending to grab the ball. It was a 27-yard gain to the New England 22 with 4:40 left in the game. The Falcons were in field-goal range for a kick that would have made it an 11-point lead if good.

"We made the play to win the Super Bowl to Julio," Ryan said.

It should have worked out that way, but what followed was one of the worst clock-management series in the history of the sport -- and that's saying something. With the game on the line, on the biggest stage, it was indeed a how-not-to on how to win a game.

The Falcons ran the ball wide to Freeman on first down for a loss of 1. On second down, they decided to pass. But with a center Alex Mack banged up, Trey Flowers came inside to sack Ryan. Some suggested Ryan could have thrown inside for a quick pass, but my review of the tape shows nobody open. He had no chance. It was a loss of 12.

A holding call on the next play negated a 9-yard completion that would have put them back in field-goal range and then Ryan threw incomplete on third-and-33 from the 45. The Falcons punted and New England took the ball 91 yards on the ensuing drive for a touchdown and scored the two-point play to tie it.

The Falcons could have taken three knees and the Super Bowl was probably theirs to win. Or at least run it right up the middle three times and kick the field goal.

So what happened?

Shanahan got greedy, probably caught up in his battle with Bill Belichick, the greatest coach of all time. Quinn didn't veto the calls -- something he said he will learn from -- and Ryan had no chance to change the plays.

"Kyle's play calls -- he would take time to get stuff in," Ryan said. "As I was getting it, you're looking at the clock and you're talking 16 seconds before it cuts out. You don't have a lot of time to say, 'There's 16 seconds, no, no, no, we're not going to do that. Hey, guys, we're going to line up and run this.' You're talking about breaking the huddle at seven seconds if you do something along the lines.

"With the way Kyle's system was set up, he took more time to call plays and we shift and motion a lot more than we did with (former coordinator) Dirk (Koetter). You couldn't get out of stuff like that. We talk about being the most aggressive team in football. And I'm all for it. But there's also winning time. You're not being aggressive not running it there."

Turning the page

You know how it ended. Brady was propped up, rightfully so, for winning his fifth Super Bowl, while Ryan walked off a mess of a loser. I've known him a long time, and he was as mentally broken after the game as any time in his career.

This was a man stung to his core.

Some of it surely has to do with the way he's perceived. Even after winning the MVP last year, he doesn't seem to get the due he deserves. The doubters call him a playoff failure, even if that's misguided. They praise the offense, but rave about his weapons, almost taking him for granted, or using the fact he has Jones to take a shot at Ryan.

That's why last year's playoff run was so special. In the three postseason games, Ryan averaged 338 yards, threw nine touchdowns and no picks. He completed over 70 percent of his passes and posted a passer rating over 125 in all three games.

The misinformed who try to blame the Super Bowl loss on him need to realize he completed 73.9 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, no picks and a passer rating of 144.1 in that game. Even if you do blame him, Ryan doesn't seem to care, and he isn't sure why there are those who still don't give him the credit he deserves.

"I don't know … I don't worry about it too much," Ryan said. "I think that everybody has their opinions and everybody has their perspective. I know what I am capable of doing. I am confident in my abilities."

This will be his 10th season. He's learned a lot since coming into the league as the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. One thing that has intensified in that time is his drive to be the best.

"I knew how good a player he was because I coached against him," Quinn said. "What I didn't know was how good a competitor he is. This guy is a top competitor. I found that out. And I found out his football smarts are way up there. He's got his s--- together as a man, as a player, as a leader. We're real fortunate that he went from already being a good player to going even further. That's where it gets hard. He took his good game and made it better. That's hard to do. He's ready to go for it again. That's one of the things I most admire about him is his willingness to get a little better every year."

That work helped the Super Bowl sting eventually fade for Ryan. Not go away, just fade.

"There's always going to be a little sting," Ryan said. "You never lose that. Hopefully we've got four Super Bowl victories after this one, but that doesn't mean we won't still be like, 'Damn, let's talk about the other one we should've had."

Great listen. Not a huge Keeshawn fan, but I enjoyed the banter between him and McVay at the end.

http://www.rams-news.com/sean-mcvay-state-rams-audio/

Credit: Rams News: www.rams-news.com

I know, it's the offseason and we get lots of silly threads. I wasn't sure where to put this post - as most of the threads are related to offense.

That being said, I know that in the past years under Fisher we ran a bend but don't break defense. A defense that often leads to your D being left on the field for longer periods, but is hoping for opportune takeaways as a result.

To my knowledge Wade Phillips doesn't have this bend but don't break philosophy. How do you think that will affect our D? How about our O with more potential possessions? Tavon getting more PR opportunities?

I see our D as being able to hold up through a game a bit better. If we aren't getting dragged on these 80 yard drives only to hold them to a field goal. I'd have to think our players will have more energy.

Anyway, what do you all think?

http://m.therams.com/news-and-event...Orlovsky/7883dabf-5b66-44bf-a8fa-9ff6d84b4d5f
Camp arm at its finest.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...examining-the-nfls-coverage-scheme-tendencies

Taking a closer look: Examining the NFL's coverage scheme tendencies
BY SAM MONSON


SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 15: Cornerback Richard Sherman #25 of the Seattle Seahawks almost intercepts a pass by the Los Angeles Rams at CenturyLink Field on December 15, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

As always in the NFL, there are many different ways to climb a tree, and how teams defend the pass can vary wildly from scheme to scheme. We know that very broadly some teams run predominantly man coverage while others favor more zone, but diving even deeper into those broad buckets can show us some interesting trends about how each team plays defense.

ACROSS THE NFL
The league is overall a zone-heavy league. All 32 teams combined to run zone coverage on 59.0 percent of snaps with just 34.9 percent man coverage (the remaining 6.1 percent falling into a miscellaneous category including prevent, red zone, and goal line defenses which can contain elements of both and don’t sit accurately in a typical coverage shell).

The most commonly used coverage shell in 2016 was Cover-1, with teams running that version of man coverage or ‘man-free’ on 28.5 percent of snaps last season. Only one other coverage shell was over the 25 percent barrier, and only two other coverages were used on more than ten percent of coverage snaps.



The least used of the broad bucket coverages was, rather predictably, Cover-0. While man coverage is certainly heavily used, teams rarely do so without a safety net of that deep-lying free safety, and attacked with no plan-B on just 2.3 percent of coverage snaps, which still means that teams ran this hyper-aggressive, hyper-risky coverage 481 times last season combined.



No team in 2016 ran man coverage on more than 50.0 percent of their snaps, but a few came close. The Tennessee Titans ran more man coverage than anybody else – on 49.6 percent of their snaps, with the Kansas City Chiefs not far behind on 48.9 percent.

The Chiefs were wildly more successful with that coverage given a far superior cast of coverage defenders tasked with executing it, and the Titans asking so much of such a limited group of defensive backs was one of the main reasons for some of their struggles against the pass last season.

Those two teams also represent the only two teams in the league that ran more man coverage than zone coverage once the various miscellaneous coverages are taken out of the equation. The Chiefs actually ran man coverage 6.5 percent more than they ran zone overall.

The New York Giants were the league’s most aggressive team in terms of running man coverage without a safety net, deploying Cover-0 on 5.4 percent of their coverage snaps, or 38 times over the course of the year. Only three teams (the Broncos at 32 and Saints at 34) ran Cover-0 more than 30 times last year and four sides ran it just once each.



While no team ran more than 50.0 percent of their snaps in man coverage, many teams were far more zone-happy than that. The Carolina Panthers led the way, with almost eighty percent (79.9) of their snaps coming in zone coverage of some variety or other. They ran just 12.3 percent of their snaps in man coverage, and lined up in Cover-3 alone 237 times over the course of the year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (75.2) and Cincinnati Bengals (72.2) were the only other two teams to play more than 70.0 percent of their snaps in zone coverage, while even the man-coverage champion Titans still ran zone coverage 45.7 percent of the time.



The staple man coverage shell, Cover-1 effectively puts every coverage defender on an island except for the deep-lying free safety, who is there as a safety net to the whole operation should somebody blow their assignment or get badly beat.

Nobody used Cover-1 more than the Houston Texans, who ran it on 43.4 percent of their coverage snaps, but the Texans were significantly less likely to remove that free safety and try to generate pressure on top of the man coverage, and virtually never ran man coverage with two high safeties, so ran less man coverage overall than some other teams.

The Arizona Cardinals (42.2) and Kansas City (40.6) were the other two teams to run Cover-1 on more than 40 percent of their snaps.



What was once the league’s biggest trend in coverage, the staple of Super Bowl sides like the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was used on just 12.4 percent of snaps league wide last season.

The Steelers led the league in time spent in Cover-2, with 26.7 percent of their snaps, but only they and the Saints (25.2) deployed that coverage on more than a quarter of their snaps. The Chiefs ran Cover-2 on just 2.3 percent of their snaps, and five NFL teams deployed this coverage shell on less than three percent of their coverage snaps.



It won’t surprise anybody to see that the Seattle Seahawks led the league in snaps in a Cover-3 defense, at least from a percentage standpoint. Seattle ran Cover-3 on 54.0 percent of their snaps, with members of that coaching tree taking the system to Atlanta (51.5) and Jacksonville (46.4) making up the rest of the top three.

The Falcons actually ran 45 more snaps overall in Cover-3 than the Seahawks, but that represents a lower percentage of their total snaps on defense last year. Cover-3 was the second-most common coverage deployed league-wide last season.



Cover-4 or ‘quarters’ coverage has become much more common over the years, with NFL teams deploying it on 9.1 percent of their snaps as a group in 2016, but it actually lagged behind Cover-6, which was used on 9.6 percent of the time.

Both of these coverages feature two deep safeties, but Cover-6 splits the field in half and shows a Cover-2 look to one side of the field and Cover-4 to the other. Both coverages use plenty of matchup principles to combat modern NFL route concepts and plays.

While a team like the Seahawks barely used these coverages (1.9 percent combined), the Carolina Panthers were running one or other of them on a third of their defensive snaps, and the Oakland Raiders even more at 34.4 percent.



11 NFL teams used one or other of these coverages on more than a quarter of their defensive snaps in 2016.

Other Notes:

• The Bucs were extremely quick to jump to bespoke red zone coverages, running some variety of non-standard red zone coverage shell on 7.4 percent of their overall snaps.
• The Texans ran more goal line defense than anybody, with six snaps of goal line coverages, one more than Detroit.
• The Dallas Cowboys ran prevent defense 15 times in 2015, four more than any other team, while eight sides only deployed a true prevent once all season.
• While the Seahawks are seen as strictly a Cover-3 defense, they ran man coverage 36.5 percent of the time, and had plenty of snaps in which Richard Sherman saw man assignments mixed into overall zone coverage shells.
• No team faced more pass plays than the Falcons during the regular season, with 752 snaps against the pass. Buffalo at 611 faced the fewest.

Lead singer of Linkin Park hung himself at the age of 41 today. He had six kids.

I don't normally get weird about celebrity deaths but I grew up listening to this band. This one stings a bit.

If anyone ever feels alone, you're not. It's ok to talk and it's ok to admit you're not fine. Let's be there for each other when we need to be.

RIP Chester.

View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Where-Are-They-Now-With-Torry-Holt/f8fd8528-7540-4b46-8146-739a6c4ec506

Where Are They Now? With Torry Holt
Shannon Elliott/External Football Affairs



Rams Insider caught up with Torry Holt to see where the former Rams wide receiver is now…

Torry Holt played for the Rams from 1999-2008. The seven-time Pro Bowler still ranks second in team history in receptions (869), receiving yards (12,660) and receiving touchdowns (74). Holt originally joined the Rams as the team’s sixth overall choice in the 1999 NFL Draft.

Q: What is your current occupation?

HOLT: I am vice president of Holt Brothers, Inc. I also work with Sirius XM Radio and help with the Heritage High School football team. At Holt Brothers, Inc., we have a number of businesses, but the leading one is Holt Brothers Construction where we specialize in commercial, education, health care, retail and municipal construction. Our mantra is “teamwork, persistence, focus and discipline.”

We also have the Holt Brothers Foundation, which we help support kids with a parent or guardian battling cancer after we lost our mother to Lymphoma in 1996. Also, we have Holt Brothers Football where we hold football camps yearly and teach football and life skills at those camps. Then, there is Holt Brothers Development.

Q: How do you fill your time now that you’re done playing football?

HOLT: I’ve gotten into writing, so I journal. Also, music, reading and spending ample time with my family. I have a record player so I go to the record store and I play and spin records.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjSu005_-TY

Q: What is your favorite memory while playing for the Rams organization?

HOLT: WINNING THE SUPER BOWL (laughs)! What I remember the most about that team was the unselfishness, the comradery of that football team, the respect for one another and the profound words of wisdom from Coach Dick Vermeil and his coaching staff.

Q: Is there a game you would like to go back and replay?

HOLT: Super Bowl XXXVI – the loss versus the Patriots. I would love to go back and play that game again. And if that was the case, we would come out as winners.

Q: What was your pregame ritual back in the day?

HOLT: It was week-to-week, there wasn’t one thing that I had set in stone. It just depended on how I felt that particular day. Some days I would listen to music. Some games I would take naps prior to the game in the locker room (a quick little nap). Some games I would go out on the field and warm up to get myself going.

Other games I would just come in, sit at my locker and pick up the gameday magazine and read that in its entirety, get dressed and go play. Sometimes I would just sit around and watch the other guys go through their pregame rituals, just curious to see how they got themselves going.

Q: In your opinion, who is the best player you ever played with?

HOLT: It’s hard for me to think about one player. Having the opportunity to play opposite sides with Isaac Bruce was a tremendous honor. Having the opportunity to play alongside and get in the huddle with Marshall Faulk and to stand and play on the same side as Orlando Pace. I was able to get the best view watching Orlando do his work off the line of scrimmage because he played left tackle and I played the ‘X’ position, so I was always on his side.

So prior to the snap or once the ball would snap, I would always look and got a chance to watch him in his drop step or his kick steps or if he was blocking in the run game. I would always get swallowed up in the pictures because he was so much bigger than I was so I was never seen in the pictures.

Having the opportunity to stand next to Orlando Pace, who is a Hall of Famer, Marshall Faulk, who is a Hall of Famer, Isaac – who is a future Hall of Famer – and also working with Kurt Warner, particularly in our glory days because Kurt was the bomb – he can throw that ball.

On the defensive side of the ball, it was an honor and a pleasure to play with Aeneas Williams – who is also a Hall of Famer. I just enjoyed watching Aeneas’ work ethic and how his preparation gave him the confidence to go out on gameday and play at a very high level.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeY4bn-Hp-A

Q: Who was the best player or team you ever played against?

HOLT: I enjoyed playing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They were a tough, physical football team so they brought out the best in me and a lot of my teammates.

Q: What was your favorite city to visit when you were playing?

HOLT: San Francisco – love the food, diversity, shopping and weather in San Francisco. I also loved the history of the football stadium (Candlestick Park) where we played.

Q: Which former teammates do you want to have dinner with tonight?

HOLT: Oh, that’s so hard because I would have everybody! (Az-Zahir) Hakim, Ricky Proehl, Ray Agnew, Isaac Bruce, Dré Bly, and London Fletcher…I could keep going, but that’s good. Actually, just the whole team…bring them all back!

Q: What advice would you give to the rookie Torry Holt now?

HOLT: I probably would encourage rookie Torry Holt to be more vocal, more of a vocal leader. I thought I was a good leader by example, but I probably would have challenged myself to be more of a vocal leader. I think it could have been better for the team and I think it would have been better for me, personally, as well – just in terms of growth and taking on that extra leadership.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...shifting-a-quarterbacks-offensive-coordinator

QB Study: The positive, and negatives, of shifting a quarterback's offensive coordinator
BY AARON RESNICK

In today’s NFL, player signings and teams shopping for new head coaches draw most of the interest for football fans every offseason. However, almost equally important, a change in an offensive coordinator can have a major impact in team success for a given season.

While the circumstances can vary, the turnover at the coordinator position can be intense, and there will be eight teams in 2017 with a different offensive coordinator other than the one they had entering the 2016 season.

Like a head coach or general manager, an offensive coordinator is often tied to the quarterback they either draft or inherit. A strong rapport between a coordinator and their signal-caller can make a huge difference for a team and the future of both the coordinator and player.

If a coordinator helps a quarterback reach their potential (even if it’s a one-year outlier), that could turn into an opportunity elsewhere for the OC. Due to this, many quarterbacks have had multiple offensive coordinators and how they respond to the changes can certainly vary:

ANDY DALTON, CINCINNATI BENGALS
As a rookie in 2011, Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton had now-Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden as his offensive coordinator. Dalton posted a PFF grade of 75.1 in his first year, and saw a slight increase over the next two seasons posting a grade of 78.5 in 2012 and then in 2013 recording a grade of 79.3.

After that 2013 season, Gruden got his chance in Washington and has been with the Redskins ever since. Taking Gruden’s place in Cincinnati was Hue Jackson. Dalton regressed in 2014 in his first year with Jackson as he recorded a grade of 74.8. In 2015 however, Dalton made a major leap with what is to date a career best grade of 86.9.



Of course after that 2015 season, Jackson was named the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and will be entering his second year with the franchise. The Bengals named Ken Zampese their offensive coordinator for 2016 and in positive news for the franchise, Dalton had his best first season with a new coordinator to date with a grade of 80.3.

In Zampese’s system, Dalton saw a decline in his performance when under pressure as in 2015, his passer rating of 92.9 when under duress was third among quarterbacks, while in 2016 that figure dropped to 57.1 and ranked 26th. Despite the Bengals having some key losses to their offensive line this offseason, Dalton’s track record of improving with each year under a new coordinator is an encouraging sign for the Bengals and their fans alike in 2017.

MATT RYAN, ATLANTA FALCONS
With Steve Sarkisian as the new Falcons offensive coordinator after Kyle Shanahan took the head coaching job with the 49ers, Matt Ryan is an intriguing quarterback to examine looking into the 2017 season. Shanahan not only was the coordinator under which Ryan had what is to date his second-best PFF season grade of 92.8 in 2016, but he’s the only OC where Ryan’s season grade increased in the second year of the system.

Ryan led all quarterbacks in three of PFF’s signature stats in 2016 . That includes a passer rating on deep passes of 136.1, an adjusted completion percentage when kept clean in the pocket of 84.1 percent and a passer rating of 116.5 when spending less than 2.5 seconds in the pocket.



After posting a grade of 85.6 as a rookie with Mike Mularkey calling the plays, Ryan saw a drastic dip in his second season grade which was 73.8. In his last two seasons with Mularkey, Ryan posted grades of 87.1 and 89.3, respectively. When Mularkey took the Jaguars head coaching job in 2012, Dirk Koetter filled the offensive coordinator position in Atlanta.

Ryan saw immediate results under Koetter as he posted his career-best grade of 93.8 in his first season under his tutelage. The second season with Koetter saw a dip to 82.8 which could be tied into Julio Jones having a season ending injury in week five of the 2013 season as Ryan’s grade bounced back to 89.3 in 2014. Coming off a career year to this point, it will be interesting to see the trajectory of Ryan’s grades from here on out.

His overall grades have dropped off in his second season under both Mularkey and Koetter, Ryan has performed great in his first season under a new offensive coordinator. Will that keep up with Sarkisian in 2017?

MATTHEW STAFFORD, DETROIT LIONS
A great example of a coordinator and quarterback having a strong rapport is Matthew Stafford and Jim Bob Cooter.

From 2009 through 2013, Stafford had Scott Linehan as an offensive coordinator. Stafford had what was at the time his best PFF grade to date in his final season with Linehan, but a new head coach in many instances brings about a staff turnover.

That was the case in 2014 as Joe Lombardi took over the coordinator role. Stafford’s 2014 grade took a drop to 79.3 that season, which isn’t a drastic drop compared to some others previously mentioned, however, Stafford really struggled in the first seven games of 2015 where Lombardi was the offensive coordinator. In that span, the Lions went 1-6, and Stafford only had one game with a grade that was at least “average” (70.0 or higher).



Jim Bob Cooter took over the play-calling for the Lions final nine games and Stafford responded. In six of the nine games, he had a game grade of average or better, including three that rated 83.9 or higher. Stafford’s final season grade evened out to be 76.8 in 2015, but a full year of Cooter did make a difference in 2016.

Stafford’s season grade of 85.4 established what to this point is a personal best and had another personal best in terms of passer rating under pressure. His rating of 78.2 when under pressure ranked eighth among 34 qualifying quarterbacks. Heading into 2017 with even more familiarity of the Cooter-offense, there’s reason to believe we could see yet another increase in Stafford’s performance.

THE BRUCE ARIANS EFFECT – BEN ROETHLISBERGER & ANDREW LUCK
Before becoming the Arizona Cardinals head coach in 2013, Bruce Arians was known as one of the NFL’s premier offensive coordinators. With that, he had the opportunity to work with two of the league’s top quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck.

Since Roethlisberger and Arians had an impressive five-year run which included five years of quarterback play in the “good” to “very good” tiers, it was interesting to see that Roethlisberger made a big jump in 2012, his first year with Todd Haley.

In 2011, Arians’ last in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger posted a PFF grade of 83.7 which ranked ninth among quarterbacks. However, in 2012 and working with Haley, Roethlisberger posted what was then a career-best grade of 91.6, fifth among all quarterbacks that season.



Although limited with his time with Luck, Arians’ only year with the Colts QB was during his rookie season and in 2012, Luck had a PFF grade of 77.4 which ranked 22nd among quarterbacks, but it didn’t take long for him to make a leap.

During the following year with Pep Hamilton as offensive coordinator, he had a nine-point jump to a grade of 86.4 that was good for ninth among quarterbacks. So what is it that could of attributed to Luck’s leap in 2013?

Luck’s prowess on longer-developing plays made a huge impact on his grade as in his first, and only season, with Arians, he fielded a 66.8 passer rating when taking 2.6 seconds or more after the snap to throw, 26th out of 38 qualified quarterbacks. In 2013 however, he increased that to an 81.3 (19th) and even further in 2014 to a 91.6 (seventh).

During halftime of the Falcons game last year


Login to view embedded media

I was curious about the LA based fans and what they are hearing/seeing about the two teams.

Do you feel the LA market is dominated by either fan base? I would assume the Rams with the history, but with the shit product we have put out for the last decade I could see people jumping over to the chargers.

Report: Mike Williams may need season-ending back surgery
Posted by Josh Alper on July 19, 2017, 4:14 PM EDT
AP
Chargers first-round pick Mike Williams didn’t take as long to sign as defensive end Joey Bosa did last year, but the wide receiver may not have a chance to make the same kind of impact that Bosa did when he finally agreed to a contract.

Williams missed almost all of the team’s offseason work because of a back injury suffered at rookie minicamp and a report on Wednesday casts serious doubt on his chances of getting back on the field anytime soon.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Williams may need to have surgery on a herniated disk in his back. Doing so would keep Williams from playing at all in 2017.

Williams recently had a second epidural injection in what Schefter describes as a “last-ditch effort” to get Williams ready to go at some point in training camp. Per the report, the team is hopeful that Williams will continue to respond well to the injection but is “preparing as if he will not be ready by that time.”

Wide receivers Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams and Dontrelle Inman also missed time this spring because of injuries, although there’s no sign that any similar concerns about availability for the coming season exist for that trio.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/07/19/report-mike-williams-may-need-back-surgery/

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-teaching-tape-aaron-donald-is-the-exception-to-the-rule

Teaching Tape: Aaron Donald is the exception to the rule
BY MICHAEL RENNER


LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 13: Defensive lineman Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams lines up against the Dallas Cowboys at the Los Angeles Coliseum during preseason on August 13, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

In the spring of 2014, no one knew what to make of one particular undersized defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh. To say Aaron Donald didn’t fit the NFL mold was an understatement. Measuring in a shade over six-feet and only 285 pounds, Donald was a good two inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter than the prototypical measurements at the position.

Marcell Dareus, Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Suh – the three defensive tackles prior to Donald to be drafted in the top-5 – were all at least 6-3, 300 pounds.

When it came to college production though, there were no question marks. Donald posted double-digit sack seasons twice in his four years at Pitt. As a senior, his 28.5 tackles for loss led the nation. While this was prior to our grading of college football, we did grade the 2014 Senior Bowl game where he was far and away the highest graded player there in 33 snaps.

Yet even with that elite level production, on May 8th of that year 12 players heard their name called before Donald. There were multiple teams in need of defensive tackle help running 4-3 schemes that passed on the Pittsburgh product.

Heck, even the team that eventually drafted him, the (now) Los Angeles Rams, overlooked him initially in favor of Greg Robinson (who didn’t even finish his rookie contract with the team) at the top of the draft. The rest is history as Donald has become the single most impactful defensive player in the NFL.

While many basic scouting cutoffs of size/speed/length/etc. have come from legitimate concerns, any hard-fast rule will have its exceptions. And it’s difficult to find a bigger exception than Aaron Donald. That’s why this Teaching Tape is a little different than all the others in that usually I’m highlighting how a scheme conforms to talent.

When talking about Donald, the scheme really doesn’t matter. The man could probably play off-ball linebacker at a high level. That’s how talented he is. What matters is how his immense skill set transcends all schemes and preconceived notions about how defensive tackle is supposed to be played.

The single biggest concern with Donald coming out was his ability to hold up in the running game – specifically against double teams. While one might have argued (correctly in my opinion) that it was 2014 and no one really cared about the running game anymore, but it was obviously a big deal.

Nolan Nawrocki, who infamously gave Donald a 4th/5th round grade, wrote, “Overpowered in the run game and ground up by double teams. Gets snared and controlled by bigger, longer blockers. Not a two-gap player.” The majority of scouting reports on Donald echoed the same sentiments and read as if they were written solely by looking at his measurables.

The fact of the matter is though that everyone cedes ground versus double teams. I could pull up five clips right now of Damon Harrison – the best nose tackle in the league – getting driven multiple yards off the ball. If one has a preconceived notion that a defensive tackle won’t be able to hold up versus doubles based on his size, then they are far more likely to notice the times he doesn’t.

Since entering the NFL, Donald has not only held up versus double teams, he’s also been able to make plays despite them. As with anything in football there are multiple ways to get the same job done. A couple months back I wrote about how Damon Harrison dominated doubles by attacking the point man then throwing him to the side.

Donald often takes a different approach. With his size/speed combination, he has three things he can use to his advantage: quickness, leverage and lack of a strike zone. This allows him to knife into the sweet spot of a double team and not let either linemen engage him cleanly. On the play below you can see how it’s done.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Mike/status/887695475331268608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.profootballfocus.com%2Fnews%2Fpro-teaching-tape-aaron-donald-is-the-exception-to-the-rule

Donald gets skinny from the snap, making the right guard’s contact inconsequential. It also leaves the right tackle a tiny area to engage. Combine that with the speed that Donald comes off the ball, and the right tackle has little to no shot of actually getting Donald cleanly. Nearly the exact same thing happens again in the play below.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Mike/status/887696188937564161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.profootballfocus.com%2Fnews%2Fpro-teaching-tape-aaron-donald-is-the-exception-to-the-rule

This isn’t simply a case of highlight reel scouting though, Donald took only nine downgrades against double teams in the run game all season long. That’s a tiny bit more than one every two games. Compare that with the fact that Donald made 30 total stops against the run and you have one of the most complete run defenders in the game.

When we talk about Aaron Donald though, much like in the pre-draft process, his ability in run defense should be an afterthought. The man gets to quarterbacks more often, and with more speed, than any other interior defender in the NFL. And it’s not even close.



The same traits that Donald uses to his advantage against double teams are also his calling card as a pass rusher. He’s always the low man and with his speed and small stature, offensive linemen struggle mightily to land a meaningful punch. Because of all that, no one in the league has more decisive pressures.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Gordon/status/859913698177146880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.profootballfocus.com%2Fnews%2Fpro-teaching-tape-aaron-donald-is-the-exception-to-the-rule

Look at the immediacy with which Donald wins in the video above. It’s almost difficult to believe that he only collected eight total sacks a season ago.

With Wade Phillips coming over from Denver to take the job as defensive coordinator with the Rams, it doesn’t look like Aaron Donald’s dominance is going to end anytime soon. Phillips has excelled at scheming his talent one-on-one’s over the years, a situation in which Donald is nearly unblockable. After being ranked the number one player on our preseason PFF 50, don’t be surprised if he tops the list at year end as well.

No big surprises and lots of time to change.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFISiU4XkAAfRYC?format=jpg&name=large