Rams mailbag: Rich Hammond

from Rams mailbag: Rich Hammond

https://theathletic.com/1486461/2019/12/24/rams-mailbag-free-agent-priorities-possible-coaching-changes-and-contract-situations/?=twittered

Is hiring a OC/QB Coach with experience an option this upcoming offseason?!

If you’re a Rams fan — and I know you are — you should hope so. Not even necessarily a coordinator. Sean McVay can call the position whatever he chooses, whether it be “senior assistant” or “analyst” or whatever. Steve Wyche of NFL Network, one of the best reporters out there, said on air this week that McVay might be open to adding someone like that to his staff. That’s a good thing. It’s not a failure on McVay’s part. This season — and really, going back to the end of last season — got more challenging, and it doesn’t hurt to have another voice and another set of eyes. I’ve yet to hear what the negatives would be for a move such as this one.

Littelton. Is he top priority? Or someone else.

I know this is going to be an unsatisfactory answer, but I always want to be as honest as I can be … There really is no “top priority.” Things basically get done (or don’t get done) on their own schedule. Think back to the Aaron Donald contract situation, which I know we all remember with great fondness. You could say Donald, during that time, was the Rams’ “top priority,” but they ended up getting several other deals done before Donald, including the Todd Gurley extension.

It’s fair to say, though, that the first step for the Rams, in terms of assessing their offseason moves, involves which free agents (or players with options) are most likely to return. That would include guys such as Littleton, Andrew Whitworth, Austin Blythe, Michael Brockers and Eric Weddle. You assess who might return and then the possibilities to replace them, either internally or externally. So it’s not necessarily a checklist, to where the front-office folks sit in a room and say, “OK, let’s start with Cory Littleton.” Everything is happening at once. Specific to Littleton, since you asked about him, negotiations have been ongoing for a quite a while and obviously nothing has been completed. That’s not a great sign if you’re hoping to see him back in 2020.

Rams going to move on from Wade Phillips?

It seems as though it’s at least a possibility. Reports surfaced over the weekend that defensive coordinator Wade Phillips might not return in 2020. At least one of those reports came out immediately after a national reporter touted his one-on-one chats with McVay, although those puzzle pieces were not directly put together. Beyond that, it’s not really my place to comment on the reports of others, unless I have some particular reason to refute it, and I do not.

Phillips is in the final year of his contract, so certainly there’s a chance he might not return in 2020. My presumption is that those conversations will take place, in depth, after this weekend.

with @SoFiStadium opening are the #Rams done traveling abroad?

This is a question I’ll have to circle back to during the offseason, and I will do so. The quick answer is: not necessarily. The Rams were required to play one “home game” each year that they played in a temporary stadium. Obviously that’s now over, as the Rams are set to move to Inglewood. The other factor, though, is that a team hosting a Super Bowl — which the Rams will do at the end of the 2021 season — is required to play an international game within a five-year window.

I have not asked about this in quite a while, but at one point, the Rams seemed inclined to make the argument that because they’ve already played so many international games related to the stadium opening that they should not have to do another one because of the Super Bowl. That said, I heard rumblings in recent weeks that the Rams might play in Mexico City in 2020. There’s also a chance that they could be selected as a visiting team and not have to give up a home game. Stay tuned on this.

–When will the Big Reveal be, for new @RamsNFL uniforms?
–Will you get a tour of the new Press Box soon?

The last time I checked, which was in late September, the Rams had not made a firm decision on the rollout. From what I’ve gathered, the draft is a possible time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was later than that, or even closer to the start of training camp.

I do hope to get a tour of the press box! The Rams have done a great job of inviting reporters into the stadium throughout its construction and it’s been fascinating to track the progress. I know the location of the press box and it looks as though it will be in a good spot, but I’m eager to set foot in it.

McVay seems to struggle to vary his play calling, particularly on screens. Why do you think that is? Is it because of the coaches that have left recently and he’s not hearing the input? If I can tell when the team is going to run a screen or boot leg, I’m sure other teams can.

It’s tough. I’m not making any excuses for McVay, because I have no problem taking him to task, but imagine what it’s like to be down there on the sideline having to make these split-second decisions. This was part of my argument for why having additional help might be good for him. Things happen so fast that perhaps a coach/play-caller isn’t even aware of some of his tendencies and that sort of thing. It’s not a bad idea to have something of a live self-scout — one who is not a position coach — who can help guide McVay on that sort of thing. I don’t necessarily think he’s been that predictable, but I understand what you’re saying.

Is cutting/releasing Brandon Cooks a possibility this off-season?

According to the great site Over The Cap, Brandin Cooks will carry a dead-cap total of at least $16.8 million if the Rams cut him before the start of next season. So that probably answers the question better than I can.

Any chance they would trade Everett with Higbee’s emergence? Unlikely, but what do you think they could expect in compensation?

No, I don’t think so. And while I’m a fan of Gerald Everett and his continued potential, I don’t really think there would be much of a market for him beyond perhaps a lower-round draft pick. Everett and Tyler Higbee are two very different players, and I don’t think the emergence of Higbee negates the need for Everett. If anything, perhaps McVay can find ways to use Everett in new ways, as parts of different formations, to create some matchup issues for opponents.

Any predictions on who will play RT next year? Is Allen staying on the bench or is that a camp battle?

That’s a great question about right tackle. The Rams have a decision to make here. Let’s just go with the facts first. Rob Havenstein turns 28 in May, he’s a proven NFL starter and he has a salary-cap hit of approximately $8 million per season through 2022. Even though Rams fans kind of soured on Havenstein because he had some issues at the start of the season — he wasn’t alone in that, remember — should the Rams decide to shop Havenstein, there probably would be a pretty decent market for him.

Before they even thought about that, though, they’d have to be certain that Bobby Evans is ready to take over full time. Based on what I’ve seen over the second half of the season, I’d feel pretty good about that, but the way things went for the Rams’ line in 2019 makes me a little hesitant to say they should feel confident. That said, if moving Havenstein frees up money to upgrade/sustain at another position, then sometimes those tough decisions must be made.

I’m sure someone else has already asked, but why does he abandon the run at the first sign of trouble? Dont tell me its because you’re behind!

No, I don’t think so, because sometimes this even happens with McVay in close games. I don’t necessarily think McVay is unique when it comes to this. Look no further than last Saturday’s game. Even though the 49ers were in a close game (and leading for part of it) and even though they were running the ball well, Kyle Shanahan still passed more than he ran. I think it’s the default for some coaches, particularly some of these young guys who “grew up” more on the passing side of things.

The other thing, more specific to the Rams, is that some of this has been circumstantial. When the Rams don’t have run-game success (they have not, for the most part, this season), that usually means that they end up in longer-distance second- and third-down situations. When a team runs the ball on first down and picks up five or six yards, it is more likely to run the ball again on second down. When the first-and-10 play is a one- or two-yard gain, then second down leans toward a passing situation. Too often, the latter has been the case for the Rams this season. That said, in general I agree with your assessment, and it’s been one of my continuing criticisms of McVay as a play-caller. There haven’t been many, to be honest, but that’s one.

what is Sean’s template for his offseason evaluation process? Does he evaluate coaches first players second? Does he look for new schemes from innovative college programs etc?

I think you’ve probably listed them in the correct order. Evaluate the staff, evaluate the personnel and then look for ways to innovate and improve. The asterisk to this would be that players constantly are being evaluated. That happens every week and, really, every day in practice. But certainly when you get to the end of a season, it presents a new and better way to sit down with a complete set of thoughts and data and really do in-depth evaluation. I think in this case, though, the first step will be to look at the staff. If for instance, theoretically (and I’m just basing this off the reports mentioned above), the Rams were to bring in a new defensive coordinator, that new coach might have different opinions on things such as scheme and personnel, so you’d want to have that in place first.

With higbee pretty clearly being breakout player of the year, who do you think breaks out next year?

Given the possibility/probability of changes on the defensive side, I’d probably look there. How about outside linebacker Obo Okoronkwo? I think it still needs to be determined whether Okoronkwo has the ability to be a three-down player, but if Dante Fowler does not return in 2020, it seems likely that Okoronkwo would at least be given a chance to earn a bigger role. Maybe I’m thinking a little with my heart here, because I’m a fan of Okoronkwo’s skill set and his attitude. He still has to earn it, of course.

Could the Rams realistically restructure or move any of thre larger contracts on next years books? Cooks is the first that comes to mind.

Sure, this can always happen, and that’s why I roll my eyes a little when people talk about the Rams being “done” because they have some salary-cap challenges. First, they’re carrying over approximately $8 million in cap room from this season, and that’s a lot. Second, as you said, we regularly see top players restructure and turn base salary into bonuses and that sort of thing, to create short-term cap relief for the team. There are other things that a team can do, in terms of deferments, etc., but those aren’t always wise moves. But there are ways, and this is why teams specifically hire cap specialists who have Ivy League degrees and who are much better at math than most of us!

One silver lining has been getting Edwards, Evans, Corbett significant playing time vs serious competition. Do any of them “stick”? (Noteboom? Allen?) Thanks

yes, I think the offensive line situation is going to arguably be the most fascinating on the team. But let’s back up a second. Before the Rams figure out how those other guys are going to fit in, by far the biggest question involves who is going to start at left tackle? Is Andrew Whitworth open to returning for a final season? Can the Rams find someone for the short term on the free-agent or trade markets? Is one of the young guys ready to move over?

I’m skeptical about the last part. Technically, Joe Noteboom or Bobby Evans could play left tackle, but Noteboom is coming off a serious knee injury and won’t have a full offseason, and while Evans has done a commendable job as a rookie at right tackle, it would be asking a lot of him to become the full-time left tackle at the start of his second NFL season. So that is, by far, the biggest issue the Rams need to figure out. I think, all things considered, the best option would be to bring back Whitworth for one more season (assuming he’s up for that), but that’s not certain.

But yes, I think there’s going to be a lot of evaluation and healthy competition during the offseason. Another decision for the Rams involves Austin Blythe, who played very well after a move to center. Do the Rams re-sign him based on that, and keep him at center, or go back to Brian Allen? Do they trade Rob Havenstein? I think, as you said, the “silver lining” of the second half of the season is that some of these young linemen have showed they can play. If the Rams decide to move on from Blythe and/or Havenstein, they have some good options.

How much was offensive line?
Why the losses to bad teams?
Is there hope for next year?

A lot was the offensive line. And I feel like we — and by “we” I mean “I” — probably got too far away from that when I started to dissect things like McVay’s play-calling, Goff’s efforts and even the defense. Yes, independent of anything else, those areas were problems, but I feel as though the offensive line really was the root of it all. If you don’t have a solid, cohesive offensive line, you don’t have much. I’ll continue to assert that the Rams made a big mistake last offseason by believing they could replace from within and not add any veteran depth. They paid for that early in the season, and by the time things started to come around a bit — Austin Blythe providing a big upgrade at center, Bobby Evans doing a commendable job at right tackle — it was too late.

The Rams, to date, have lost to San Francisco, Dallas, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Every one of those teams has at least seven wins this season, so there’s not a particularly “bad” loss on the ledger, but certainly it was surprising to see the Rams lose some of those games (particularly Tampa Bay and Dallas). The Rams ended up in a super-tough division and they let a couple winnable games get away.

Is there hope for next season? Of course! The Rams likely will be a 9-7 team with a lot of in-their-prime talent. The gap between the playoff teams and the non-playoff teams is so narrow. Every free-agent signing matters. Every contract matters. Every draft pick matters. The Rams made a few too many mistakes last offseason, and that no doubt was complicated by how long their season went and the condensed offseason (no excuses, but it’s a factor). If they’re smart and sharp over the next few months, there’s no reason to think they can’t go back to the top of the NFC West.