VB Q & A … 9/18

Rams Q&A recap: Vinny Bonsignore on the biggest NFC West threat, Sunday’s Coliseum crowd, Jared Goff’s critics

Alex S.How do the Rams feel in division after the thumping of AZ?

Vincent Bonsignore @Alex S. Good. But no one is focused on what they’ve done. Sounds like a cliche but it’s about what’s ahead. Two tough games looming

robert S.Are the 49ers the only nfc west team that is even a threat this yr? Az looked bad as did Seattle,last night?

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. Barring any injuries, yes. And I question just how big a threat they really are, to be honest. The Rams are a very, very good football team. It’s going to take a max effort from the other team and breakdowns on their part to get them this year. That can and probably will happen at some point. But you better be ready to take advantage

Cesar C.Any update on Ogbonnia Okoronkwo ? I’m not sure if anyone asked yet, I’m just excited to see him rush QBs

Cesar C.And yes, i copied and pasted his name

Vincent Bonsignore @Cesar C. working off to the side during practice. We’ll see where he’s at when he’s eligible to come off IR. But could be a redshirt year for him

Vincent Bonsignore @Cesar C. No explanation needed!!! Ha

Andy H.What’s the consensus across the NFL about Goff? The local guys have been killing him with their hot takes. Thanks!

Vincent Bonsignore @Andy H. Mostly good. But there are some people who stupidly and prematurely went out on a limb on him early and haven’t brought themselves to come around yet. But the people who know, know.

robert S.I have seen theories and studies that say it is better to go for 2 after every td. Any way McVay does that since it worked last week?

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. I’m going to ask this week. Jared told me: “It’s basically just another short yardage play.” He didn’t even know where exactly the ball was lined up – the 2 or the 3. But they certainly showed they can go get those two when needed

Cesar C.I can’t see the games here in Chicago other then the nationally televised games, but is Kelly getting any touches? He ran hard in preseason. I’m curious to see what he could do with the first unit. I thought he would get an extended look when Gurley left against Arizona

Vincent Bonsignore @Cesar C. He hasn’t been on active roster yet for a game. Keep in mind blocking is hugely important at that position – especially on third downs as Todd and Malcolm show – so he could be going through a learning curve on that end. They like him a lot, though. Just need to be patient.

Rick P.Any news on a permanent training facility/home office?

Vincent Bonsignore @Rick P. Nothing new. But I’d imagine by this time next year we’ll have clarity, if not sooner

Jed K.
How is Sam Ficken’s range? I saw him hitting a 65-yarder on his Instagram. That was just during practice though. What would be a realistic range during game time?

Vincent Bonsignore @Jed K. I’d say 55

Vincent Bonsignore And that is pushing it

tim S.
Do you think the Rams could/should sign Blythe to a team friendly extension? Also, would Sam Shields be given a big workload if anything happened to Peters or Talib?

Vincent Bonsignore
@tim S. He’s under contract through 2019. So no need just yet

Benjamin M.Has anything in practice, or in offensive focus changed since LaFleur left?

Vincent Bonsignore @Benjamin M. No, not really. With or without him there were going to be new wrinkles, add ons, this year

robert S.
Charger game is first real test. What is the plan to stop Phillip Rivers? Without Bosa rams can probably score but Rivers is a gunslinger and will take chances. And he has decent receivers

Vincent Bonsignore
@robert S. I agree. Chargers have a lot of talent and present a host of issues on both sides of the ball. Marcus Peters has Rivers’ #, so we’ll see if that continues

Christopher W.
Obviously this isn’t your call to make, but can you think of any reason the Rams elect to start Brown over Blythe, outside of injury?

Vincent Bonsignore
@Christopher W. If they earnestly feel he’s the best option, then he gets the nod. That’s how it always has to work.

robert S.
Any chance rams can go 16-0? They would probably be favored against any team now

Vincent Bonsignore
@robert S. Always a chance. But man…..that’s hard to do

Robert A.
The rams seem a bit then at back up wide receiver with both Cooper and Thomas on IR. Any chance Hodge gets called up?
If not, who replaced Thomas on special teams?

Vincent Bonsignore
@Robert A. I expect more moves between now and tomorrow and yes, WR is a position I’m keeping an eye on

Robert A.
Any news on Barron, hoping he is ready to go for the vikings game. We could definitely use him in that one.

Vincent Bonsignore
@Robert A. Week to week proposition

robert S.
A note of caution. Rams started 1969 season 11-0, then lost the final 3 games to Minnesota, Detroit and Baltimore Colts. Then lost heartbreaker of a playoff game to vikes. We gotta keep it uo

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. Yes you have to play through the finish line

Talfourd K.
I saw M. Christian had 30 snaps on D against Cardinals. I have not watched the tape to track him, but does that mean he is essentially playing Mark Barron’s role at ILB? I’d love to hear more about how Wade is working him in . I saw Robey had 29 snaps, so it would seem we played a lot of D with 3 CB’s and either 3 S’s or, again, Christian as an ILB.

Vincent Bonsignore
@Talfourd K. Yes they bring him in as a hybrid LB/S who can run support nut also cover.

robert S.
Why isn’t Roman Gabriel’s #18 retired? I love Kupp but it bothers me to see him wear it. Roman was mvp in 1969 and was a dominant qb as well as my childhood favorite. My dad took me to Coliseum in 1969 for my first game as an 11 yr old and was in awe of Romam

Vincent Bonsignore
@robert S. Not sure why. But at this point, it would be hard to justify taking it off Cooper.

robert S.Do you ever hear from any st Louis reporters? Most said rams were hopeless. Now what do they say?

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. I have not heard from any of them. I mean, it was hard to see all this coming after 2016. But the Rams felt very strongly in Goff and McVay. It probably happened quicker than even they expected. But they felt they’d get here with those two as the lynchpins and Los Angeles as the backdrop.

Talfourd K.
Per your point about Kelly and blocking, both Gurley and Malcom had a few dominant blocks against the Cardinals that I saw on Twitter.

Vincent Bonsignore
@Talfourd K. I wanna say Todd was darn near perfect on pass blocks last year. He’s really good at it. And Malcolm is solid across the board. Very reliable backup.

robert S.
Vinny would you take the rams and give up 6.5 pts? No hemming and hawing!

Vincent Bonsignore
@robert S. I do think they win by more than a TD

Rahim A.How’s Everett coming along. Are their still some health issues going on. Also was there anything linking Rams and Josh Gordon. Did FO put any feelers out?

Vincent Bonsignore @Rahim A. Getting better and working his way back by the day. I expect him to be a bigger part of the game plan moving forward.

robert S.How long will Ficken be with the team?

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. Until Greg is fully healthy

Kolby M.Might be completely off topic but is there any updates on Okoronkwo? Another weapon coming off the edge would be nice since Ebukam looks like he’s taken a couple steps this year

Vincent Bonsignore @Kolby M. He works to the side every day. We’ll see when he’s eligible to come off the IR. But might be looking at a redshirt year for him

leslie C.Great win by the rams, however it seems injuries to the back up wrs may be a concern. Do the rams activate someone from the practice squad or keep 4? Do they have a wr who could fill in at either slot or on then outside?

Vincent Bonsignore @leslie C. I think they are comfortable with the four they have for now

robert S.Vinny do you think rams r satisfied with backup qb? Heard a lot in preseason. I don’t have confidence in Mannion. Rg3 anyone?

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. Yes, kind of. But confidence has a lot to do with belief that DSean McVay will coach the back-up up and put him in good position

Tom T.Vinny, are the Rams tight ends out of favor or is this part of Sean McVay’s plan to alter his play calling this season?

Vincent Bonsignore @Tom T. Not at all. Gerald has been working his way back from a shoulder injury, so he fell behind a little bit. He showed what he can do on Sunday. Plus, it’s tough getting them out of 11 personnel. They are so good out of it

V S.The team chemistry seems very strong. A lot of big names putting egos aside. How much of that is coming from respect for coaches? What could cause the chemistry to breakdown? How much do players appreciate things like the day off last week and being treated like adults?

Vincent Bonsignore @V S. It’s partly the coaches but it’s also reflective of how smart this team is. It kind of reminds me of some of the Lakers teams I covered – Fox, Fisher, Kobe, later Pau. Super, super smart.

robert S.Also expected to see Mannion and reserved maybe midway thru 4th qtr Sunday. Why risk injury when game is in hand?

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. Those are always tough calls when to bring a guy in and what purpose it really serves

Tom T.Is Jim Hill the “Helen Thomas” of the Rams Press Corps? He seems to ask the first question in every press conference.

Vincent Bonsignore @Tom T. Always!!!!!!!

Tom T.Watching the Bears on MNF last night. It was interesting seeing all the jet sweeps and even a touchdown on a shovel pass. It looked very Rams-like. Do Nagy and McVay have any
connection?

Vincent Bonsignore @Tom T. Reid, Andy.

Vincent Bonsignore Nagy is a longtime Reid guy.

Mayumi S.What do you think about Goff’s accuracy?
I think he should hit the TD PASS to Woods. His long passes are quite overthrown. Should be adjusted soon?

Vincent Bonsignore @Mayumi S. Excellent accuracy. Excellent vision. He just rushed the throw on Woods, I don’t read anything into that. Don’t agree on the overthrows. He puts it there

Ryan M.You do you think the best edge rusher is other than Ebukam? I havent been as impressed by Easley as some writers are. Who do you think takes the majority of snaps at OLB opposite of Ebukam?

Vincent Bonsignore @Ryan M. As a standup rusher, yes, Easley is showing up pretty well. Franklin-Myers is pretty good out of a stance as a rotation guy. He’s got a nice natural rush skill set.

robert S.There are very few charger fans around here yet. I would expect that the crowd this week will be 90% plus ram fans. Thoughts?

Vincent Bonsignore @robert S. I think there will be more Chargers fans then you might think. Keep in mind, the prices to StubHub are very high because of the lack of seats. A Chargers fan who won’t pay that price at StubHub might be ok with paying less to see them at the much bigger coliseum

Matt Y.Hey Vinny, I have a couple questions for you. Is Wade looking to coach for a few more years? Are the Rams grooming someone on staff to learn from him and replace him eventually. Also, any word on the naming rights for the stadium? Farmer’s Field seemed like a thing for a couple years and ground was never even broken. I’m surprised a sponsor hasn’t jumped at the chance to get a couple years of publicity during construction.

Vincent Bonsignore @Matt Y. 1: Wade hasn’t indicated anything about wanting to step down any time soon. But at his age, it won’t be a surprise whenever he does announce he’s stepping down or planning to. Aubrey Pleasant is someone they really like. Joe Barry – their LB coach – is a former defensive coordinator. So there are candidates on staff. 3. They are sorting through various offers. I’m told no shortage of interested companies looking to come on board. I expect it to break reacords

Daniel R.How have ticket sales gone for this sunday? Last weekend was surprisingly very full and mostly rams fans. I’m guessing near capacity for this weekend?

Vincent Bonsignore @Daniel R. I expect mid 60,000’s throughout the season. Packers-Eagles will probably get into the 70,000s. Vikings maybe too, although Thursday night might dissuade some people