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January 1, 2018 at 11:30 pm #79858
znModeratorRams Historic Turnaround: Seven Stats to Know from 2017
Kristen Lago
Despite a loss to the 49ers in Week 17, the Rams secure the NFC’s No. 3 seed and will host their first playoff game in 12 years — welcoming the Falcons to the Coliseum on Saturday for Wild Card weekend. It was a remarkable turnaround for Los Angeles, which went from a 4-12 record just one year ago to an 11-5 finish this season.
Check below for seven of the most eye-opening stats from the Rams 2017 regular season:
FROM WORST TO FIRST
The Rams have completed arguably the most impressive year-to-year turnaround in NFL history. After ranking No. 32 in scoring just one year ago, the club led the league in that regard this season, averaging 29.9 points per game.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rams are the first team in the Super Bowl era to go from worst to first dating back to 1966. The only other team in NFL history to accomplish the same feat was the 49ers in 1965. Plus, the Rams — with 478 points overall — more than doubled their point total from last season (224).
GURLEY FOR MVP
Running back Todd Gurley has had an MVP-caliber 2017.
The Georgia product led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (13), yards from scrimmage (2,093), and total touchdowns (19). In addition to his 1,305 yards on the ground, Gurley has also developed into a threat in the passing game — posting 788 receiving yards, which is second on the team.
These numbers are especially remarkable when you consider Gurley’s stats from last season. In just 15 games, the running back more than doubled his yards from scrimmage and tripled his touchdown total from last year.
THE NFL’S LEADING SCORER
Kicker Greg Zuerlein finished the season as the NFL’s leading scorer with 158 points. Zuerlein played in just 14 games this season — being placed on the injured reserve with a back injury in Week 15 — but still managed to come out on top.
He averaged 11.3 points per game and completed 95 percent of his field goal and extra-point attempts. In addition to being selected as a Pro Bowler, Zuerlein also finished with the 10th highest single-season scoring total in league history.
GOFF’S HISTORIC SEASON
Quarterback Jared Goff finished 2017 having completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 3,804 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. In his second pro season, Goff became the first ever Rams QB to throw for at least 25 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in the same season.
His 28 touchdown passes are also the most by a Rams quarterback since 2001 when Kurt Warner threw for 36. Plus, the Cal product’s 100.5 passer rating is the highest by a Rams’ quarterback since 2002. Warner (109.2 in 1999) and Trent Green (101.8 in 2000) are the only two players above Goff on the list.
MCVAY MAKES HISTORY
Head coach Sean McVay first made history back in January 2017. At just 30-years old, McVay became became the youngest head coach in modern NFL history.
Just one year later, McVay has led the Rams to an 11-5 record and the club’s first NFC West title since 2003. At 31-years old, McVay became the youngest coach to win his division since John Madden in 1970 (34 years old) and the youngest head coach in NFL history to make the playoffs.
LOS ANGELES — PICK CITY
And while much has been made of the offense’s development this season, the L.A. defense also had an impressive 2017. In all, the Rams recorded 18 interceptions — the most by the franchise since 2007.
Nine of those interceptions came against NFC West opponents. That is the most picks for the Rams against teams from their division since 2001.
PLAYOFF BOUND
On Saturday, the Rams will host the Falcons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs. It will be the first time the Coliseum has hosted a playoff game since 1994.
The Rams’ Wild Card game marks the 28th time that the team has made the postseason and the first time that the club has appeared in playoff action since 2005. It will also be the first time since 1984 that L.A. has hosted a Wild Card contest.
January 1, 2018 at 11:33 pm #79859znModeratorIt’s playoff week for the Rams, and it still feels a bit surreal
VINCENT BONSIGNORE
The four words no one thought they’d hear in connection with the Rams anytime soon arrived special delivery at the stroke of midnight to usher in New Year’s.
Playoff week is here.
It’s been a fait accompli for a couple of weeks now, the only question was who the Rams would play and where. They told the Seattle Seahawks who’s boss of the NFC West two weeks ago then sealed the division title last week with a win against the Titans. All that remained was figuring out whether they went into the playoffs as the third or fourth seed, the determination of which rested on where all the chips finally settled at the close of Sunday.
Nevertheless, crossing all those T’s and dotting all those I’s Sunday and then waking up New Year’s Day knowing the Rams will commence preparations for the Atlanta Falcons (5:15 p.m. Saturday, Ch. 4) is, well, still a bit surreal.
I has been 13 years since the Rams last played in the postseason. They haven’t played a playoff game in Southern California since 1986 and they haven’t hosted a postseason game at the Coliseum since the 1978 season.
There isn’t a Rams fan anywhere who sincerely believed any of that would change to start this season, no matter how good they felt about new coach Sean McVay or the effect he would have on Jared Goff and Todd Gurley and what can only be described as the morbid offense the Rams fielded in 2016.
And yet, here they are.
Heck, here we are.
The Rams are about to host a playoff game at the Coliseum in six days.
And if you want to put all that in perspective just know the last time that actually happened, Pat Haden was their quarterback, Ray Malavasi was the coach – after replacing George Allen, who the Rams fired two preseason games into the 1978 season after hiring him just a few months earlier – and the opponent was none other than Roger Staubach, Tom Landry and the Dallas Cowboys.
A year later the Rams left Los Angeles for Orange County seeking a better stadium situation by trading the Coliseum – showing its age even then – for Anaheim Stadium. In doing so they gave up a piece of Los Angeles they’re still trying to reclaim. The move to St. Louis only deepened the wound, but the bleeding really began when the Rams abandoned Los Angeles in 1978.
And while they triumphantly returned last year after spending the previous 21 seasons in St. Louis and L.A. celebrated by packing the Coliseum 92,000 strong early in the season, the combination of a terrible 4-12 finish, a severely outdated venue and Los Angeles still figuring out how exactly to embrace their former heroes resulted in a bit of a clumsy reunion. Rather than taking Los Angeles by storm, they found themselves easing their way back in. Instead of throwing open our arms collectively and without question to embrace them – outside of their hardcore and passionate base – many in Los Angeles opted for wait and see.
It wasn’t anyone’s fault, And really not all that surprising.
The NFL left Los Angeles vacant for 22 years. It was literally open game for two decades, resulting in some fans deciding to watch the NFL as fantasy football devotees and others falling in love with the Cowboys or Packers or Giants or Saints or Seahawks or any other of the 32 teams.
And no matter how much Raiders fans or Rams fans want to claim Los Angeles as their territory and theirs alone, it’s all just a bunch of big talk.
No one NFL team owns Los Angeles. Fandom runs the spectrum here, including many who are simply fence sitters not yet aligned with a particular team.
Maybe it’ll always be that way, or for the foreseeable future, with the Rams incrementally expanding off the impressive base that remained during their 22 years away from Los Angeles and the Chargers cultivating their niche in the crowded L.A. sports landscape. It’ll take time before either team truly gets into the bloodstream of Los Angeles in the way the Dodgers and Lakers find themselves.
Not to say the process can’t be expedited.
Which brings us to Saturday and the Rams first playoff game in Los Angeles since the 1978 season.
It can’t be overstated how important the Rams’ remarkable turnaround season is to their re-entry into the Los Angeles, especially after last year’s disastrous first step back.
To go from one of the worst offenses in modern NFL history to the highest-scoring team in the league while opening a window to a bright, exciting future with young stars such as Goff and Gurley and Aaron Donald leading the way is everything the Rams could have hoped for as a rebound.
And to now offer Los Angeles a home playoff game – at night even – in the iconic stadium they abandoned 40 years ago on their way to their state-of-the-art home awaiting in Inglewood in 2020 isn’t just a rare treat, it’s exactly what the Rams needed as they go about reclaiming the heart of Los Angeles.
Four decades after the Rams’ last playoff game in Los Angeles, Jack Youngblood remains a name revered and Lawrence McCutcheon and Wendell Tyler and Nolan Cromwell and Isiah Robertson and Jackie Slater still roll off our tongues with ease and admiration.
In the immediate scheme of things, the Rams are focused on beating the Falcons and securing a ticket to the second round against the Vikings. They believe they can beat anyone, anywhere at anytime. And are ready to prove it on a climb they think can reach the highest rung. Saturday begins that march.
In the grander scheme of things, Saturday provides the perfect stage for the Rams as they continue to find their way back home.
It’s playoff week in L.A.
And it still feels a bit surreal.
January 2, 2018 at 3:14 am #79865znModeratorRams complete a near-unprecedented journey from worst to first
Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams scored only one touchdown in Sunday’s 34-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but it really didn’t matter. They finished the regular season as the NFL’s highest-scoring team, one year after finishing as the NFL’s lowest-scoring team.
“Man,” Rams left guard Rodger Saffold said, “that’s amazing.”
Really, though, it’s historic.
The Rams are now the only team in the Super Bowl era, which began in 1966, to go from last to first in scoring from one season to the next. The only other team throughout history to accomplish that feat was the 1965 49ers, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau. The Rams went from averaging 14.0 points per game in 2016 under Jeff Fisher to 29.9 points per game in 2017 under Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in modern NFL history.
“It’s amazing,” Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson said. “It’s a blessing.”
The Rams finished with an 11-5 record and remained the No. 3 seed in the NFC despite resting their starters and dropping the finale. They’ll now host the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday (kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC) and can advance to face the Minnesota Vikings on the road in the second round with a win.
The Rams ended a 12-year playoff drought largely because their offense finally caught up to their defense.
It started with McVay, the 31-year-old who is already considered one of the game’s sharpest offensive minds. He brought with him a slew of talented coaches, including offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, who previously worked with Matt Ryan; quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, a longtime offensive coordinator; and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who helped the Buffalo Bills become the NFL’s best rushing team over the past two years.
Then sixth-year general manager Les Snead added all the right pieces, including left tackle Andrew Whitworth, center John Sullivan and three standout receivers — Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. Through all that, Jared Goff made significant strides as a second-year quarterback, enough to be named a first alternate for the Pro Bowl. And Todd Gurley re-established himself as a premier running back, enough to be considered for the MVP award.
“The mentality that we have now has been pretty much a complete 180 from the year before,” said Saffold, in his eighth year with the organization. “I expected success, but going from worst to first, that’s amazing to me.”
“Sean, like any player would say, came in, and he set the expectations and the bar for how this team should be producing,” Rams left guard Jamon Brown added. “It’s not a shocker that we stand first in the NFL in scoring.”
Many would disagree. The Rams weren’t just bad on offense last year, they were deplorable. And their offensive struggles date back much further than that. They finished each of their previous 10 seasons outside of the top 20 in Defense-adjusted Value Over Average and through that went eight years without producing a 1,000-yard receiver.
Then McVay came along.
True to form, McVay — the likely coach of the year — deflected credit. He noted that a lot of the Rams’ points have come from a Wade Phillips-led defense that forced 28 turnovers and a John Fassel-led special teams unit that featured the game’s most productive kicker, Greg Zuerlein.
“I thought our players did a nice job of being able to consistently play pretty well throughout the course of the year; coaches put guys in good positions,” McVay said. “We talk about points as being one of the most important factors, but for us it’s about winning football games and doing those things the right way. Next week is a great challenge, and I know we’re excited about that.”
January 2, 2018 at 2:23 pm #79873znModeratorSean McVay's current team saw the biggest jump in yards per drive this year on offense while his former team saw the biggest dip. pic.twitter.com/80DuTQfWZ1
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) January 2, 2018
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