Rams Q&A: Rich Hammond

Rams Q&A: Rich Hammond
https://theathletic.com/1389822/2019/11/18/live-qa-with-rams-writer-rich-hammond-on-tuesday-from-noon-to-1-p-m-pt/?=twittered

A lot has been said about Snead and Demoff taking care of their players, which is important, but am I wrong for thinking they’ve acted too early on guys.

I hear what you’re saying. And I don’t think you’re out of line with that, particularly given the history of giving other big deals to guys like Tavon Austin and Alec Ogletree. But the thing about the NFL is, generally speaking it’s pretty easy to get out of those deals, certainly easier than it is in any other pro sport. You might have to eat a bit of dead-cap money for a year or two, but they’re usually not crippling. That’s when it comes to your, let’s call them, mid-level guys like Higbee. Obviously making mistakes on your high-paid skill-position players can be more problematic, but with Higbee specifically (since you mentioned him), there’s a potential “out” after 2020 that wouldn’t include a ton of dead cap.

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I do not know the specifics of Woods’ situation, other than that it’s a personal matter and that Woods himself is not in any personal peril. He’s a very popular teammate so I know there was concern on Sunday, and he’s a very valuable player so losing him at the last minute certainly made things more difficult. The Rams are off today, so we’ll see if he’s back in the building tomorrow and practicing.

That’s one thing you can definitely say about the Rams. They keep their stuff quiet. It’s also a reason why you don’t hear public bickering within their contact negotiations. They keep it inside.

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[Ravens] I seriously cannot wait for this game. It absolutely is the game in which we find out if the Rams are capable of turning it on and making a big run, or if this season is going to end on Dec. 29 or perhaps with a dismal wild-card round loss. I have to say…I’ve yet to take a full deep dive into the Ravens’ defense, but I think the potential is there for the Rams to move the ball. There’s certainly more potential than there was a few days ago, when we all thought the Rams’ O-line was going to be a disaster. The key clearly will be if the Rams’ defense can keep up their recent stellar play (against subpar offenses), keep that Ravens offense from chewing up the time of possession and keep Lamar Jackson from taking over the game. Vegas has the Rams as 3-point underdogs. That’s not bad.

the idea of Webster as the scout-team Lamar Jackson. Would not surprise me at all. The thing that gets me about Natson — and he’s not alone in this — is the number of fair catches inside the 10. Don’t do it! For the most part, though, he seems to do well with ball security, even when he gets bounced around a little.

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seems like Goff’s regressed

to me, with Goff it’s not necessarily the 300-yard games or his completion percentage. It’s more of, what is he doing with the ball and is he making good decisions? He does seem to be forcing more and perhaps he’s influenced by the Rams’ offense not being up to par and perhaps feeling like he needs to do more. That’s dangerous territory.

Has there been a regression this season? Yeah, I don’t think it’s out of line to say that. Now, how much of that is the O-line? Gurley? Play-calling? That’s kind of the question. I think we pretty much knew from the start —based on 2016 — that Goff needs some support, certainly more than someone like Wilson or Mahomes. So as the Rams build around him, they’ll have to keep that in mind.

what do you mainly attribute the apparent regression of the offense this year, as compared with the previous two years? It is an oversimplification to place this solely on offensive line issues, or is there more to it than that?

definitely think it starts there but there’s always more to it. We saw, even at the end of last season with a healthy offensive line, that defenses were throwing different stuff at McVay (6-1 front, etc.) and it was working. I do think Sean was a little slow to adjust — is it even fair to use the word “stubborn”? — but the O-line plays a huge part in all of this. It trickles down to EVERYTHING. Other factors would be the fact that Goff has regressed with some of his decision-making and, of course, the run game being completely out of sync because of Gurley’s usage.

Goff had a rough first half, but once he realized he wasn’t about to be obliterated by the Bears D he looked more comfortable. It makes me think part of his issues this season are hurrying (due to lack of protection/time) and trying too hard to make plays

I’ve said it many times this season, that Goff often has the look of a quarterback expecting to get sacked. Just his body language and the way he gets rid of the ball. That’s really not a mindset you want your quarterback to have. You look at film of him in 2017 and 2018, and he’s calm, keeping his eyes downfield and stepping into throws. Often this season, it has looked very different.

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I think they need to stay with 12 personnel. The opportunities were still there in the pass game, and that will only increase with Cooks/Woods back (and with Gerald Everett, given that something seemed to be going on with him Sunday). Stay with that 12 personnel as the foundation, to help the line and establish the run game, and then look for big plays in the pass game. Ravens love to win the time of possession battle. Rams have to be mindful of that.

I certainly don’t think they’ll be able to run the exact same stuff against the Ravens with the same success. I was just shocked that they were able to be as good as they were against the Bears.
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Who do you see being part of the OL rotation next season and beyond? Whitworth is in the last year of his contract and no first round pick for two years.

Noteboom now is recovering from major knee surgery. Presumably he will be ready for the start of the season but that’s a long recovery and if, for instance, the thought was to have him move to left tackle, he’s now not going to have a normal offseason to make that transition. Not to punt the question, but I think a lot of that will be answered over these last six games. If guys like Corbett, Edwards and Evans can really hold down spots as regulars, that solves a lot of problems. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Whitworth return on a smaller, one-year deal, but that’s just me spitballing, not reporting that…

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on a scale of 1-10, how important is re-signing Cory Littleton? What would you give the importance of re-signing Dante Fowler?

Probably an 8 on Littleton and a 6 on Fowler. And that really doesn’t have to do with my opinion of either player. It’s more the fit within the defense and the likelihood of finding a capable replacement. Littleton does a lot and is trusted, and (as we’ve seen) things are a little thinner at ILB. I really, really like what Fowler has done, but there’s a good chance he has priced himself out of the Rams’ neighborhood, and they’re probably better-suited to replace him internally right now.