stuff the Rams hafta do

Getting Jared Goff up to speed is crucial for Rams this spring

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/33500/getting-jared-goff-up-to-speed-is-crucial-for-rams-this-spring

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams’ offseason program began with T-shirts and platitudes, but some real, substantive work immediately followed.

The NFL grants teams with a new head coach an extra week in their offseason program, and there’s a reason for that. So much is involved with introducing an entire roster to an entirely new staff, and thus the Rams will have a lot on their plate this spring — all of which must be done within the constraints of a restricted on-field schedule.

In phase one, which absorbs these first two weeks, players are limited to strength, conditioning and physical rehabilitation. Phase two, the next three weeks, does not allow live contact or offense-versus-defense drills. Phase three limits teams to a total of 10 days’ worth of organized team practices, spread out over four weeks, with no live contact allowed there, either.

The Rams’ OTAs will take place May 23-25, May 30-31, June 1, and June 5-8. They’ll follow that with a mandatory minicamp June 13-15, which will wrap up the 10-week offseason program.

Below is a look at their three most important tasks.

1. Get Jared Goff up to speed.

It’s really hard to overstate just how important this upcoming season is for Goff, 2016’s No. 1 overall pick. After struggling mightily as a rookie, Goff — now operating under a system that is essentially built to help him succeed — needs to show signs that he truly has the ability to be the Rams’ franchise quarterback. And that process begins this week, while finally being formally introduced to Sean McVay’s offense.

Goff said he has a “good feel” for what that looks like, but the concepts and the verbiage are far different from what he absorbed in 2016. The Redskins were very pass-heavy while McVay served as their playcaller over the past two years. Ideally, he will establish a better balance with the running game in Los Angeles, where he has Todd Gurley. But McVay’s offense will revolve around the quarterback.

“For our quarterbacks as a whole, there’s a lot of work,” McVay said. “It’s just making sure we have that one-day approach. If you look at it where you want to go from A to Z, then you end up getting overwhelmed with the amount of information. I think as long as you just take little steps at a time, that continuous improvement one day at a time, then I feel like that will lead to the things that we want.”

2. Build chemistry with the offensive line.

That line has been completely revamped, as it should be. The Rams signed a new left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, and a new center, John Sullivan. They’ll have two players transitioning to new positions on the right side, with Greg Robinson going from left tackle to right tackle and Rob Havenstein going from right tackle to right guard. And they have a new coach, Aaron Kromer, who most recently oversaw a Bills offensive line that helped lead the league in rushing over the past two years.

The only mainstay is Rodger Saffold, who will enter his eighth season with the Rams as their starting left guard.

Sullivan was one of the game’s better centers while starting 93 of 96 games for the Vikings from 2009-14, but he missed all of 2015 with back issues. In 2016, Sullivan was a backup on the Redskins, starting once. But according to McVay, “If you didn’t know any better, you wouldn’t have known he had any back issues.” McVay praised Sullivan’s skills as a communicator and his overall intelligence. He said similar things about Havenstein, which is why he believes he can transition to guard.

Robinson, the former No. 2 overall pick who will likely be an unrestricted free agent next offseason, is the biggest question.

3. Build Wade Phillips’ defense.

Under Phillips, the Rams will convert to a 3-4 scheme. And though it will still feature a one-gap penetrating front that will in many ways be similar to what Gregg Williams previously ran, the Rams must begin to get a feel for who fits best. It starts at cornerback, where Trumaine Johnson is primed to play under his second consecutive franchise tag. How he looks in Phillips’ system could determine how aggressive the Rams will be about locking him up long-term before the July 15 deadline.

On the other side, Kayvon Webster and E.J. Gaines are expected to compete for a starting job. And on the defensive line, the Rams need to find a third starter to join Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers. Then there are a couple of key transitioning players. Longtime defensive end Robert Quinn will become an outside linebacker, though McVay has been adamant in saying that Quinn will still spend the vast majority of his time getting around the edge to rush the quarterback, like DeMarcus Ware did with the Broncos.

The biggest adjustment will be made by Lamarcus Joyner, who excelled as a slot corner the past two years but will now play free safety when the Rams are in their 3-4 set. They want to get him on the field for every snap and believe he can quickly take to the position, considering he played it a lot at Florida State.

“I think it’s just getting comfortable,” McVay said of Joyner. “He is an instinctual player, and just understanding some of those exit angles, some of those break points — based on starting from 15 yards off as opposed to down where you’re 10 yards within the line of scrimmage — will be a little bit different. But I think you’ve seen examples of great guys be able to do both across the league, and we’re hoping that he’ll be able to do the same thing for us.”