journalists setting up the Eagles game…including Thomas & etc.

LATSCH: 5 Things To Watch Following Rams’ Bye
By Nate Latsch

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/10/01/latsch-5-things-to-watch-following-rams-bye/

ST. LOUIS — The Rams are back to work after getting a few days off for their bye week and they have a big challenge in front of them on Sunday in Philadelphia against an Eagles team that is 3-1.

Here are five things I’ll be watching for as the Rams (1-2) tackle the rest of their regular season schedule:

• Quarterback situation

Ah, yes. Of course. Could we really start anywhere else?

Austin Davis has played well in relief of Shaun Hill, posting a 72.3 completion percentage with three touchdowns, three interceptions and a QB rating of 93.1.

But coach Jeff Fisher has said that the veteran Hill will be the starter when he’s healthy enough to be and that could be the case this Sunday in Philadelphia, considering Hill has been healthy enough to active the past two weeks.

This will be what everyone is talking about this week but I don’t think Fisher will tip his hand until Sunday because he doesn’t have to.

For the record, Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said at his press conference Tuesday that they were preparing for both quarterbacks.

“Yes but luckily they are identical players,” Davis told reporters. “One’s a little younger. One’s a little older. One’s got more experience. One’s got less. But when you look at their skill sets, they are very similar quarterback skill sets.”

• Zac Stacy

The second-year running back had his best game of the season against the Cowboys, rushing 12 times for 67 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and catching five passes for another 54 yards.

Stacy had more touches a week earlier in Tampa — he carried the ball 19 times for 71 yards and a touchdown but did not have a catch — but the Dallas game gave us a glimpse of the breakout player we saw a year ago as a rookie fifth-rounder out of Vanderbilt.

Stacy averaged 3.9 yards per carry over 11 attempts in the season opener against the Vikings and then 3.7 yards per carry against the Bucs, so his increased productivity in that department against Dallas was a welcomed sight.

The Rams need to get Stacy and the running game going and they’ve taken good steps forward in both of those areas the past two games.

• Aaron Donald’s snap counts

The rookie defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh has flashed the ability that earned him just about every national college football defensive award possible a year ago, but we’d like to see him even more.

Working in a rotation at defensive tackle, Donald played 31 snaps against the Vikings, the same amount as Kendall Langford and one less than Michael Brockers. Against the Bucs, Donald played 25 snaps and recorded his first sack, while Langford played 35 and Brockers 33. In the last game, against the Cowboys, Donald played 27 while Brockers played 31 and Langford played 30.

In the long run, rotating those three players — Alex Carrington has also rotated in with that group, but not with the same frequency — should help each of them remain fresher throughout the season.

But it would be great to see what the first-rounder Donald, who grades out as the Rams’ most effective defender according to Pro Football Focus, could accomplish with more playing time.

• Greg Robinson’s playing time

On the flip side is the Rams’ other first-round pick, No. 2 overall, who has played just 10 snaps on offense in the first three games — and nine of those came in the season opener when Rodger Saffold left with an injury.

I understand what the Rams are doing here. They want to go with veterans along the offensive line and bring the 6-foot-5, 332-pounder along slowly as he transitions from playing left tackle in Auburn’s run-heavy offensive attack to playing left guard in a more complex NFL scheme.

But it’s still disappointing to see a guy who looks like he can help in the run game — that was his calling card coming into the NFL, after all — not get a chance to show if he can do that at this level.

Robinson is still young and has the athletic ability to develop into one of the better offensive linemen in the league, so we’ll have to wait to see how this goes the rest of the season. It’s unlikely that Jake Long, Saffold, Davin Joseph and Joe Barksdale can all go the rest of the season without missing some snaps due to injury, which would open the door for Robinson at some point.

• Trumaine Johnson’s return

The third-year cornerback is slowly working his way back from the knee injury that sidelined him during the preseason and forced rookie sixth-rounder E.J. Gaines into the starting lineup.

Gaines has held his own at that spot but the Rams defense should benefit from getting the bigger (6-2, 208) and more experienced Johnson in there, which could even push Gaines inside in a position to compete for snaps with second-rounder Lamarcus Joyner in nickel packages.

The Rams obviously will continue to miss defensive end Chris Long, but Johnson could be a key piece of this St. Louis defense that no one is talking about right now.

Rams notes: Team begins preparing for Sunday game in Philadelphia
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-notes-team-begins-preparing-for-sunday-game-in-philadelphia/article_1746058f-8225-5770-9265-761ca5352c12.html

Coming off their Week 4 bye, the Rams returned to Rams Park Wednesday afternoon for their first full practice in preparation for Sunday’s noon game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

This is the first of 13 consecutive weeks of football for the 1-2 Rams.

“They’re fresh and they’re ready to go,” coach Jeff Fisher said of his players. “We’re pleased with what took place last week. We focused on specific things for different players and we got a lot done — the guys that needed rest got rest (and the) young guys that needed technique work got that. Guys got away, we brought them back yesterday mid-morning and got them back in the swing of things.

“They understand the challenges that are ahead of us this week. This is a good (3-1 Eagles) football team — this team could be 4-0. You’re talking about a team that has five returns for touchdowns already. They played the 49ers well (losing 26-21 on the road Sunday) and we’ve got our hands full. … Our guys understand that the key this week is preparation. You have to prepare for an uncommon opponent. We have to prepare the best we can for their up-tempo offense.”

INJURY REPORT

The Rams’ initial injury report of the week includes just five players. Center Barrett Jones (back) and cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson (knee) and Brandon McGee (foot) did not practice while receiver Tavon Austin (knee) was limited.

Back-up quarterback Shaun Hill (thigh) took part in the full workout, working with the scout team.

Austin, the team’s top draft pick a year ago, did some extra work after practice and is hoping to return to action on Sunday.

“I feel good. Definitely good to be back out there,” said Austin, who had three catches 34 yards and five carries for 26 yards before being hurt late in the first half of the team’s Week 2 win at Tampa Bay. “I’m trying to stay positive, to stay patient. I just want to move forward and try to make some plays to help the team any way I can.”

Fisher said that Johnson, a starting cornerback, continues to make progress after being hurt in the preseason.

“He’s getting closer,’’ the coach said. “Doing some good things inside, actually, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was ready to start running on land here pretty soon.”

For Philadelphia, center Jason Kelce has been ruled out due to a sports hernia while inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks (calf) and cornerback Brandon Boykin (hamstring) sat out Wednesday’s workout. Banged-up players practicing included tight end Trey Burton (Achilles), cornerback Nolan Carroll (ankle), tight end James Casey (knee), tackle Matt Tobin (ankle), safety Earl Wolff (knee) and receivers Josh Huff (shoulder), Brad Smith (groin) and Jeremy Maclin (hamstring). Both Smith, a former quarterback, and Maclin, a Kirkwood High product, enjoyed record-setting careers at the University of Missouri.

ROAD TO RECOVERY

Jones, a highly decorated offensive lineman from Alabama selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, did some work on the side Wednesday and continues to rehab after undergoing back surgery during training camp.

“It was really a minor deal, as back surgery goes,” he explained Wednesday. “But it feels really good. It helped a ton. I feel like a new man.”

Jones, who earned All-America honors at three different positions while winning three national titles with the Crimson Tide, was limited to just four games a year ago after undergoing foot surgery at the end of his college career. After working hard in the offseason to prepare for his second pro season, he was sidelined early in training camp.

“I just felt a lot of pain in my back and shooting down my legs. Nerve pain,” the 6-foot-4, 308-pound Jones said. “It was very frustrating because I felt good about the way I was playing. But that’s just a part of football and now I’m looking to bounce back. I feel like this is a small setback and that I’ll be able to play football again soon.”

CROWD NOISE

The Rams are one of the few teams in the NFL who do not pump in crowd noise to help prepare for hostile road stadiums.

“I think if you make a big deal of the crowd noise, then it becomes a big deal during the game,” Fisher explained. “In camp, we have a few drills (with players simulating crowd noise) from the back of the end zone, but that’s all we do. We communicate in the huddle and have to go silent count and all those things. I think if you make such a big deal over it, it becomes a concern, becomes a distraction not only on the practice field but on Sundays.”

RAM-BLINGS

• Philadelphia’s Darren Sproles was named NFL Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday after a career-long 82-yard punt return touchdown in the Eagles’ loss to the 49ers last weekend. It was the fourth punt-return score and sixth total kick-return touchdown for Sproles, who earned Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 2.

In the game, the Eagles became the first team in NFL history to score on a punt return, a blocked punt and an interception return in the first half of a game.

• In a practice squad move, the Rams have released defensive end Kortnei Brown and re-signed tight end Brad Smelley.

Rams vs. Eagles preview
By Phil Sheridan and Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/philadelphia-eagles/post/_/id/8166/rams-vs-eagles-preview

The season hit the quarter mark for the Philadelphia Eagles, who are 3-1. Thanks to a bye week, the St. Louis Rams (1-2) will reach that mark Sunday in a game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Already missing quarterback Sam Bradford, who tore his ACL during the preseason, the Rams had backup quarterback Shaun Hill injure his calf. That opened the door for Austin Davis, who completed 30 of 42 passes for 327 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Dallas Cowboys before the bye week. He will start against the Eagles.

For the Eagles, the issues aren’t clear cut. Their offensive line has been plagued by injuries, and that has led to issues in the running game and with Nick Foles’ play. The Eagles didn’t score an offensive touchdown in Sunday’s 26-21 loss in San Francisco.

They are trying to get back to top form. The Rams are trying to find their top form. ESPN NFL Nation reporters Nick Wagoner, who covers the Rams, and Phil Sheridan, who covers the Eagles, talked it all over.

Phil Sheridan: The Rams have been uncharacteristically weak when it comes to rushing the passer. Robert Quinn had 19 sacks last season and has zero through three games. How much of that is the absence of injured defensive end Chris Long? Can the Rams get it going this week without him?

Nick Wagoner: The Rams certainly miss Long and when it comes to the pass rush, that’s where his absence is most felt. But there are bigger things at play than Long’s absence when it comes to rushing the passer. For one, the Rams haven’t been able to stop the run well enough to put themselves in a lot of pass-rush situations. Through three weeks, the Rams had been passed on the least in the league and by a good margin (Oakland was next and teams had tried 16 more passes against it). That’s because teams have had so much success running the ball that they haven’t had reason to abandon it. Also, when teams do throw it, they are getting the ball out quick and doing everything they can to negate the Rams’ pass rush. But to be clear, the Rams still have to be better when the opportunities arise. They’ve had some head-scratching defensive play calls where they’ve only rushed three on third-and-long, moments you’d think would be perfect for them to dial it up. I’m sure the hope is that they can right the ship against the Eagles’ run game this week and set up opportunities to get after the quarterback.

Philadelphia’s run game has disappointed recently but the Rams have struggled to stop the run as well. How much of the struggles the Eagles have had running the ball is related to injuries on the offensive line? If not, what are other issues that might need addressing?

Sheridan: Sometimes the obvious answer really is the truth. I’d say the offensive line problems are 90 percent of the issue in the Eagles’ running game. There is an element of defensive coordinators reacting to the Eagles’ 2013 success by stacking the box and daring Nick Foles to beat them. And there is something to the notion that LeSean McCoy sometimes turns what could be a 2-yard gain into a 4-yard loss by trying too hard to break every run. Sometimes it’s best just to hit the hole, get what’s there and move on to the next play. But ultimately, being without guard Evan Mathis, center Jason Kelce and tackle Lane Johnson has greatly affected the Eagles’ running game. Johnson will be back Sunday, but not the other two. Still, I expect Chip Kelly to try hard to get McCoy going this week.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher named Austin Davis his starting quarterback earlier this week. Was that the right move? Does he give them the best chance Sunday?

Wagoner: The answer to both questions is yes. Davis has played well enough to earn another start and Fisher said the Rams plan to stick with him for the rest of the season. He gives the Rams the best chance to win now while also providing hope that he could at least develop into a long-term backup and at best put together enough good performances to be in the mix as a starter long term. He leads the league in completion percentage and has showed a knack for coming through in big moments like the team’s win in Tampa Bay. He has made and will make mistakes, but Fisher doesn’t intend to have a quick hook if those mistakes pile up. Most important, the Rams seem to feed off his energy and enthusiasm, which should make him a welcome addition in the huddle moving forward.

Nick Foles burst on the scene last year but seems like he’s fallen back to the pack a bit this year. What are you seeing from him in his second season and has he regressed or is it more a function of other pieces around him not working as well?

Sheridan: It’s a combination of things. Before the San Francisco game, Foles was leading the NFL in passing yards. It’s just that expectations are really high for him now, and he has not quite been meeting them. The offensive line is involved in this aspect of things, too. Foles was able to set his feet and make his throws at his leisure most of the time last season. That luxury is no longer afforded him. The result is that he’s been just a little off, especially on deep throws. That’s enough to make them ineffective, which means Foles isn’t making defenses pay for the attention they’re paying to the run game. If Foles can do what he did against Washington, for example, it will help all facets of the Eagles’ offense.

The Rams’ defense has had trouble stopping passes in the middle of the field, an area the Eagles like to exploit. Would an improved pass rush fix that or is it more about the state of the Rams’ secondary?

Wagoner: I don’t necessarily think the pass rush is the main reason for it, though a better pass rush should help against any and all pass attempts. There have been times when the Rams haven’t gotten to the quarterback and it’s opened passes up over the middle of the field. But to me, the Rams need to get better play from their linebackers, safeties and corners working out of the slot. They like to use safety T.J. McDonald in the box on a consistent basis, and though that’s where he’s best used, they do it so often that it leaves the other safety, Rodney McLeod, fending for himself on the back end a lot. Beyond that, it seems like middle linebacker James Laurinaitis is being asked to do too much back there, being used almost like he’s working in a Cover 2. Either way, the Rams certainly can’t afford to be soft in the middle of the field against Zach Ertz and Darren Sproles this week.

To what do you attribute the Eagles’ defensive struggles and what are some areas the Rams could exploit?

Sheridan: The Eagles are vulnerable in every facet of the game, but they do find ways to make plays as well. They simplified their defense last year in order to hasten the transition to a 3-4. This year, coordinator Bill Davis has tried to add complexity. That has meant some growing pains. Washington and Jacksonville had a lot of success with quick passes, while Indianapolis and San Francisco relied heavily on their running games. So both approaches are possible. The Eagles did a much better job rushing the quarterback Sunday, sacking Colin Kaepernick four times after going two weeks without a sack. If they’re able to keep that up, it will put pressure on the Rams to adjust.

==========
Rams at Eagles: Stats of the Week

69

Number of passing attempts against the Rams in 2014, the lowest in the league before their Week 4 bye and now the fewest attempts by an even bigger margin.

0-for-10

Nick Foles “completed” two passes to 49ers defenders on balls thrown 20 or more yards Sunday. He completed zero such passes to Eagles receivers, the most attempts without a completion since ESPN Stats & Info began tracking that data in 2006.

Rams’ defense needs higher gear
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-defense-needs-higher-gear/article_ed64cac4-58da-5076-838f-fb13d72076f7.html

A week ago in preparing for Philadelphia’s offense, San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had the 49ers’ scout team rotate wide receivers and running backs after every play. As soon as the previous play was completed, the next set of backs and receivers were lining up, according to the Oakland Tribune.

In addition, Fangio purposely sent calls in late to his defense on the practice field, to simulate the kind of confusion that Philly’s up-tempo, no-huddle offense can cause.

This week at Rams Park, the Rams’ scout team offense ran a play about every 20 seconds, which is quick, leaving the starting defense with little time to catch its breath and get lined up properly.

Such is life when trying to defend the Eagles. It’s not just the plays they run, it’s how quickly they run them.

Second-year Eagles coach Chip Kelly brought a version of his fast-break offense from Oregon, and it worked like a charm in 2013 when Philly set franchise single-season records for points, total yards, touchdowns and passing yards.

The quick pace gets defenses on their heels, tires them out and can lead to busted plays and missed assignments.

“You prepare for the tempo,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “It stresses your communication. You have to be good with hand signals. You have to change hand signals midgame because you don’t want them to get a bead on what you’re doing. But at the end of the day, you have to have great eyes vs. this group.”

Great eyes?

“You have to discipline your eyes and keep ’em in the right place,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “You can’t get distracted by a lot of the subtle things that they do offensively. That’s what they’re trying to do is to get you to go someplace else with your eyes.

“When you do that, you’re not seeing what you’re supposed to see. Namely, the wide receiver running by you, or the running back cutting back against the grain. That’s how the Eagles can create creases at the line of scrimmage, or seams in the coverage.”

For a still-young Rams defense that has experienced occasional trouble staying assignment-sound against more conventional offenses, Philadelphia’s approach is cause for concern. More so than any other week, sound preparation has been key for the Rams.

On film, Laurinaitis said the Eagles run a lot of the same plays, or similar plays. And if they’re successful with something, they’ll run it over and over until you stop it. Kind of an old-school style but with a modern approach. What can cause confusion, particularly in the high-tempo environment, is that the Eagles may run that same play but with different personnel, alignments or motion.

If you get caught looking at that window dressing and think something different is coming, that’s when you get gashed with a big play.

“Those are things that have hurt us, quite frankly, in the first three games,” Laurinaitis said. “There’s been great defense and then there’s six plays, seven plays where we have bad eyes — and boom, it’s a big play.”

That puts focus, discipline and communication at a premium Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

“The last thing we can have is bad communication, and just give them free plays,” Laurinaitis said. “They’re gonna make plays on their own, but you give them free plays, you’re already behind the eight-ball.”

The communication process from play to play goes from sideline to middle linebacker. Once Laurinaitis gets the play, he must repeat it to everyone else on defense and make sure they get lined up properly. Obviously, when facing a quick-tempo offense such as Philadelphia, all of that must be done quickly and without benefit of a huddle.

“My lungs will be tested,” Lauriniaitis said. “It’s a different beast when you’re able to huddle up, talk to your guys.”

That’s where the hand signals come into play, as well as code words.

While at Southern Cal in college, Rams safety T.J. McDonald played against this style when Kelly was coaching Oregon in the Pacific-12 Conference.

“It’s fast,” McDonald said. “They’ve got different levels of speed. In college, they would go fast, and there would be some plays they’d go even faster. It’s definitely high-tempo, so the quicker you can get (them) off the field, the better.”

Getting lined up right is tough, McDonald said, only “if you make it tough.” It can be a simple as listening to the play call and following the plan.

One other by-product of the Eagles’ up-tempo style is that it makes substitutions difficult. NFL rules give the defense time to sub if the offense sends in different personnel, but you’ve still got to be able to do so quickly. And if the defense wants to send in different personnel on its own — without the offense doing so — that’s all but impossible against this style of offense.

Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said he has 19 separate personnel packages based on what the opposition is doing, maximizing his players’ individual strengths, and taking into account injury situations.

But that will have to be limited to some degree Sunday against the Eagles.

“When you have package limitations as far as subbing on and off the field, really what you end up doing is you simplify your game (plan) and we have,” Williams said.

Stretch of Doom? Rams enter brutal part of schedule
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/stretch-of-doom-rams-enter-brutal-part-of-schedule/article_1ad2f60c-f91e-53f6-b33b-62f669daddfa.html

Last summer in World Cup soccer, the United States squad found itself in the so-called Group of Death with stiff competition in the form of Germany, Portugal and Ghana.

For the next eight weeks, the Rams’ football team finds itself in the Stretch of Doom. Starting on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the Rams (1-2) play eight consecutive games against teams that either made the playoffs, won at least 10 games — or both — in 2013.

The stretch includes defending Super Bowl champion Seattle, Super Bowl runner-up Denver and NFC powerhouse San Francisco (twice). Philadelphia won the NFC East, Kansas City and San Diego were wild-card teams and “poor little” Arizona went 10-6 but didn’t make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive NFC West.

Making matters tougher, five of those eight games are on the road, including three in a row: at KC (Oct. 26), at San Fran (Nov. 2), and at Bill Bidwill’s Place (Nov. 9).

The Rams haven’t won in San Francisco since 2007, are 2-5 in Arizona since 2007 and have lost their only two games at Arrowhead Stadium, aka the Sea of Red, by a combined score of 103-44 since the move to St. Louis.

Granted, what happened last season with a team often has little bearing on what transpires the following year. We get it. But the seven teams awaiting the Rams from now through Nov. 23 have shown little-to-no signs of falling off the gridiron map.

They have a combined record of 19-10 entering Sunday’s games. (We’re counting San Francisco’s 2-2 mark twice, because the Rams play them twice in this stretch: Oct. 13 in St. Louis and Nov. 2 out west.)

Philadelphia (3-1), Arizona (3-0) and San Diego (3-1) are division leaders; Denver (2-1) and Seattle (2-1) would be wild-card teams if the season ended today.

San Francisco and Kansas City (2-2) overcame sluggish starts to 2014 with rousing victories last weekend.

So what can be said to the Rams as they enter this unreal stretch except for: “Best of luck fellas”?

Obviously, neither coach Jeff Fisher nor any of his players can afford to think that way, or think big-picture. If they did, they might get a headache. The NFL is a week-to-week business, and this week it’s the Eagles in a noon (St. Louis time) kickoff.

“We have to focus on Philly, we really do,” Fisher said before the start of the practice week. “Yeah, when the schedule came out, you looked at it and you saw those consecutive weeks where there’s six, seven (games) against playoff teams, and Arizona who was 10-6 last year.”

But things can change.

A quarterback can go down. A defense can spring leaks. For example: Minnesota, minus running backs Adrian Peterson and quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater (for now) looks a lot different than it did on opening day four weeks ago in St. Louis.

“You can’t dwell or spend too much time on the schedule,” Fisher said. “It really is a very simple process. It’s pay attention to who you’re playing next.”

That would be Chip Kelly’s Eagles. Four weeks ago, winning in the City of Brotherly Love seemed like an impossible task. And now? Not so much.

The Eagles play Sunday without two of their starting offensive linemen — two good ones at that in Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis and ascending center Jason Kelce. Quarterback Nick Foles is battered and bruised. Although Foles hasn’t played poorly, he hasn’t been as effective as he was during his Pro Bowl campaign of 2013.

Deluxe running back LeSean McCoy has been stuck in neutral, averaging less than three yards a carry. On the other side of the ball, Philly’s 28th-ranked defense has had trouble stopping the run and the pass.

With young Austin Davis officially crowned as the starting quarterback, and Zac Stacy finally running like he did for much of last season, the Rams have growing confidence on offense. Davis is spreading the ball around, and the receiver corps — wideouts and tight ends — are making plays.

Now if only the’ defense would show up. Don’t be confused by the Rams’ ranking of 12th in total defense. The unit is 30th in run defense, is yielding 23.7 points a game and is last in the NFL with only one sack in three games.

In terms of the pass rush, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said, “We had some opportunities this past week (against Dallas). We whiffed and just missed with some free rushers.”

Overall, Williams added: “We’ve got to do a good job on not giving up some of the big plays. A few of those plays you can’t explain why some smart guys like that would (miss assignments).

“But we’ve been real pleased with how hard they’ve been playing, and they’re getting better each and every week. We’ve just got to try to not have the unexpected one or two plays a game that causes points on the board.”

If there was ever a chance to get this pass rush going, this looks like the week. Foles is not very mobile and the Eagles’ offensive line is vulnerable in the middle.

The NFL is a matchup game, and that’s a matchup the Rams’ underachieving defensive line needs to exploit Sunday.

“Every week is an opportunity to make a big play,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “With them being a little hurt, we should take advantage of it. When you have those matchups, you have to take advantage of them. And that’s what we have to do this week.”

Unless the Eagles change what they’ve been doing all along under Kelly, Foles will attempt several deep shots in the passing game. Deep shots general involve seven-step drops; they take a little more time to develop. In theory, the Rams should have some chances to unleash what has been a surprisingly ineffective pass rush.

If the Eagles can get McCoy on track, it’s an entirely different dynamic because then Philadelphia can get its play-action game going and keep the Rams off-balance.

But McCoy is struggling to the point of frustration, with only 39 yards rushing in 29 carries over the last two games.

“He’s frustrated now, and let’s keep him that way,” Brockers said.