How Liberals Tried to Kill the Dream of Single-Payer

Prominent progressives have undercut a cherished policy goal of the left. They’re wrong on both the politics and the economics.

BY ADAM GAFFNEY
March 8, 2016

Jonathan M. Metzl is the Director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society; and a Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University.

https://newrepublic.com/article/131251/liberals-tried-kill-dream-single-payer

Around the time that the insurgent campaign of Bernie Sanders hit its stride, a chorus of liberal pundits and economists began to coalesce around a decidedly grim message for the 60 million people in America who remain either uninsured or underinsured: Give up on your pipe dream.

The liberal retreat on single-payer is in line with a long history of centrist Democratic thinking that haplessly confuses rearguard action with political vision.

Single-payer, Paul Krugman wrote in one of a series of posts in January, “isn’t a political possibility,” and is in fact “just a distraction from the real issues.” Last week in the American Prospect, sociologist Paul Starr went further in describing single-payer as a “hopeless crusade for a proposal that will go down to defeat again, as it has every time it has come up before.” And in an earlier article, he argued that even if single-payer was possible, other priorities should take precedence. Hillary Clinton is on the record agreeing with such sentiments: As she put it, single-payer “will never, ever come to pass.”

Single-payer universal health care, in other words, is dead on arrival. Time to move on.

Their essential arguments are twofold: Single-payer reform is politically impossible on the one hand, and economically infeasible on the other. However, they are very wrong on both counts. The first argument rests on a severely impoverished political vision, the second on inexcusably flawed economic and policy assumptions. Though the Sanders campaign is facing increasingly daunting obstacles to the Democratic nomination, the American health care question is not going anywhere. These criticisms therefore require greater dissection and contestation—before they congeal as the conventional wisdom.

Let’s first admit the obvious: The political terrain for transformational health care reform is currently quite adverse. A single-payer bill would encounter colossal resistance from, for instance, the health insurance lobby, which is understandably in no great rush to be legislated off the face of the planet (nor does the pharmaceutical industry look forward to long-avoided price negotiations with the government). It’s also true that a Democratic sweep of both houses of Congress is unlikely in the coming election. And Democrats are, in any event, divided on the issue, as this primary election demonstrates.

To proceed, however, from an admission of these facts to an acceptance that the cause should be abandoned is to concede the contest before the first shot has been fired. This is something the Democratic Party has excelled at—with disastrous consequences—for decades. Conservatives, in contrast, have been far more willing to adopt ambitious, long-range political goals, even when contemporaneous political forces are arrayed against them.

As Daniel Stedman Jones describes in his Masters of the Universe: Hayek, Friedman, and the Birth of Neoliberal Politics, the articulation of an initially unpopular, highly ambitious, anti-New Deal “neoliberal” program—outlined and promoted in the decades following World War II by economists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman and associated think tanks—took decades to “bear fruit.” But when political and economic circumstances changed in the 1970s, conservatives had an ambitious program ready to launch, and the right-wing revolutions of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher could begin in earnest. From the 1980s onward, Jones writes, Hayek’s early “ideological vision” became reality with a vengeance:

The free market became the organizing principle for microeconomic reform … Trade unions were vanquished and the power of labor was diluted … Market mechanisms became the models for the operation of health care … The purity that Hayek advocated was meant as an optimistic and ideological and intellectual tactic rather than a blueprint. The results have been extraordinary.

In the years since Reagan and Thatcher, conservatives have had continued success in pushing the political center—on economic, if not social, issues—further and further rightward. Yet just as the right marched forward to the drum of Hayek, liberals have far too often been content to passively follow behind, albeit while maintaining something of a respectable distance. Nowhere is this clearer than in health care.

This story is well known and often told: Many—perhaps most—of the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act are derived from (formerly) conservative health policy proposals. As the sociologist Jill Quadagno describes in a 2014 article in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, the ACA’s “employer mandate” was drawn from Nixon’s 1974 “Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan” (itself a counterproposal to Ted Kennedy’s single-payer plan). Meanwhile, the individual mandate was first articulated by Stuart Butler at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. And by 1993, Republicans in Congress were proposing a bill (the Health Equity and Access Reform Today Act, or HEART Act) that, as she puts it, had “nearly identical” provisions to the ACA, including “an individual mandate, an employer mandate, a standard benefit package, state-based purchasing exchanges, subsidies for low-income people, [and] efforts to improve efficiency…” (She also does note a few differences, most prominently the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, which is by far the law’s most beneficial provision.)

Yet like Nixon’s 1974 bill, the 1993 Republican embrace of this individual mandate-based plan was provoked, in part, less by an earnest desire to expand health coverage than by a legitimate fear of single-payer reform. The economist Mark Pauly—one of the authors of a slightly earlier version of an individual mandate-based plan prepared with the hope of enticing the first Bush administration—acknowledged this in a 2011 interview with Ezra Klein at The Washington Post: The idea was to deflect “the specter of single-payer insurance,” as he told Klein.

Today, of course, Republicans are no longer afraid of the menace of single-payer, for a perfectly good reason: The mainstream of the Democratic Party has largely abandoned it. As Steven Brill noted in America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System, when the Democratic Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus began formulating a health care agenda after the election of President Obama, he was clear about “one thing” above all else: His proposal would not look like single-payer. Instead, Baucus’s plan would, as Brill writes, be a “moderate plan … that could attract bipartisan support.” Yet despite this massive concession to (or embrace of) conservative health care principles, the ACA failed miserably in attracting bipartisan support: It didn’t even earn a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate. So much for the much-vaunted politics of compromise.

Today, Republicans have by and large abandoned earlier “moderate” positions on health care, and instead tried to lamely recycle various tired nostrums—Health savings accounts! Insurance across states lines! Medicare vouchers!—to a weary nation. Yet the net effect of this push and pull has meant that the health care center has veered rightward to a striking degree, such that today, liberals like Starr and Krugman contend that a law that is largely the same as the Republican HEART Act from the early 1990s should—with perhaps a few tweaks down the road—form the core of our health care system.

Republicans are no longer afraid of the menace of single-payer, for a perfectly good reason: The mainstream of the Democratic Party has largely abandoned it.
The liberal retreat on single-payer is in line with a long history of centrist Democratic thinking that haplessly confuses rearguard action with political vision. Passing a federal single-payer bill would, no doubt, necessitate key electoral victories, a powerful campaign at the governmental level, and a formidable grassroots struggle. Useful initial steps in this direction might include the election of a president determined to pass single-payer, the restoration of single-payer to the platform of the Democratic Party, and vigorous support for such reform by pundits and scholars in high places. That none of these things may wind up happening is a cause of the alleged political “impossibility” of single-payer—not its result.

This brings me to the second of the two core arguments of the single-payer naysayers: “Medicare-for-all” would come at a price we simply cannot afford. The most recent iteration of this argument traces back to Kenneth Thorpe, an economist at Emory University, who published an analysis asserting that the Sanders plan (itself based on calculations of the economist Gerald Friedman, who has also taken a lot of criticism from Krugman and others for his optimistic economic projections under a President Sanders) would be about twice as expensive as his campaign has argued. Thorpe’s numbers spread like wildfire: After being initially reported and evaluated by Dylan Matthews at Vox, they’ve been cited by Starr, Krugman, the editorial board of The Washington Post, and basically everybody else. “[H]is health-care plan rests on unbelievable assumptions,” noted the Post, “about how much he could slash health-care costs without affecting the care ordinary Americans receive.”

But there are many ways to look at the issue of single-payer financing. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler, health policy professors at the City University of New York School of Public Health and lecturers in medicine at Harvard Medical School, efficiently took apart Thorpe’s numbers in two point-by-point by critiques. To get into the nitty gritty of the major errors in Thorpe’s economic assumptions, I’d direct readers to their article at the Huffington Post. And notably, as they describe in The Hill, Thorpe had himself previously found single-payer to be entirely affordable—indeed, he once asserted that it would reduce costs even as it expanded coverage.

Friedman, Thorpe, and Starr have also engaged in an exchange at the Prospect about these issues. In truth, it seems that more economic analysis may be needed with respect to the precise mix of taxes that are necessary. But the reality is that the specific taxes laid out in Sanders’s slim single-payer proposal are relatively unimportant at the current time; they would have to undergo significant reexamination and revision as the proposal was transformed into an actual bill. At this stage, it’s more useful to take a step back and look at the debate over the affordability of single-payer in more general terms, by asking three larger questions. First, what new costs would a single-payer system generate? Second, what savings would single-payer deliver? And third, could the new costs roughly balance the savings?

First, when speaking about new costs, I mean actual new expenses, not existing private expenditures that become public expenditures. The difference is crucial: with the proper mix of progressive taxes, the transition from private to public spending can be achieved without imposing any economic burden on the non-affluent (and indeed, lightening it for many). But actual new expenses, in contrast, can be seen as a legitimate source of real “new spending.”

For instance, according to the latest estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics, some 29 million people were uninsured in 2015. Covering these individuals requires cash. It’s worth pointing out, however, that many of these individuals are already using health care, with some of the costs either coming out of their own pockets or being passed on to other public or private payers. Replacing those existing expenditures will have zero effect on overall national health spending. At the same time, many of these individuals are, sadly, currently forgoing health care, and to the extent that universal health care allows them to go to the doctor or get tests or medicines they’ve so far been avoiding, some new money will indeed need to be spent.

Second, proposals for “Medicare-for-all” usually call for the elimination of cost sharing, which is to say no copayments, deductibles, and co-insurance. I’d argue that this is an essential aspect of real universal health care (with some notable exceptions, such payments are absent from the systems of Canada and the United Kingdom). The harms of such payments are all too real: As a result of out-of-pocket exposure, an analysis of survey findings published by the Commonwealth Fund last year put the number of underinsured Americans—the insured who lack sufficient coverage against the cost of medical care—at 31 million in 2014. Though discarding such out-of-pocket payments might sound like a pricey proposition, to the extent that these monies are already being spent, their elimination would be a wash, with no net effect on overall national health expenditures. But again, as is the case with the uninsured, insofar as some individuals and families are avoiding health care because of out-of-pocket payments, the elimination of these financial barriers would result in some real increases in health care utilization.

There are some other points to be made (like the additional costs of providing universal long term care and dental care), but in reality these two items—covering the uninsured and improving coverage for the underinsured—are the main new costs that a single-payer national health program would have to cover. Taking that into consideration, is single-payer indeed “unaffordable”?

To answer, we have to look at the opposite side of the equation, at the potential for efficiency savings in such a transition. And clearly, the biggest source of savings is the reduction of the vast bureaucratic apparatus that undergirds the entirety of the health care system, as Himmelstein and Woolhandler emphasize (and have studied in depth). This “apparatus” is devoted to such critical tasks as the compilation of lengthy itemized hospital bills, the pursuit of medical debtors, the design of needlessly complex yet shoddy insurance products, the issuance of bills to innumerable payers, the endless clinical documentation necessary to generate proper payment from insurers, and so forth. Overall, this represents a massive, parasitic drain on the American economy. And so, too, does our unnecessarily high pharmaceutical expenditures. But it is, in particular, the issue of administrative savings that has received insufficient attention in discussions on health care reform.

Frustration with the lack of accurate discussion around such savings (and around single-payer more generally) led several physicians—including myself, Andrea Christopher (a fellow in general medicine at Harvard Medical School), Himmelstein, and Woolhandler—to organize an open letter contesting this crystallizing critique of single-payer. The letter was published in February in the Huffington Post, and has been signed by more than 920 physicians and medical students. It makes this bottom-line point about the balance of savings and costs:

We devote 31 percent of medical spending to administration, vs. 16.7 percent in Canada—a difference of $350 billion annually. And single-payer systems in Canada, the U.K., and Australia all use their bargaining clout to get discounts of 50 percent from the prices drug companies charge our patients. The potential savings on bureaucracy and drugs are enough to cover the uninsured, and to upgrade coverage for all Americans—a conclusion affirmed over decades by multiple analysts, including the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office.

Moreover, our letter notes that expansions of health coverage have historically been accomplished without massive increases in health care utilization: Essentially, doctors devote more attention to those who are sick and somewhat less to those who are well, resulting in relatively modest increases in health care use. “Experience in many nations over many decades,” we conclude, “provides convincing evidence that single-payer reform is both medically necessary and economically advisable.”

We can, in other words, afford to provide comprehensive health care to everyone in the nation, free at the point of use, with “one large network” of physicians and hospitals available to all. Currently existing private spending will be largely replaced by public spending, which would require a mix of new taxes. Overall health spending would stay roughly say the same, though future cost increases could be much better controlled. The number of the uninsured would fall from some 29 million to near zero. At the same time, the rest of us who are already insured would be able to stop worrying about which providers are in- or out-of-network, whether or not a doctor’s visit or a medication is worthwhile in light of a steep copayment, how to decipher a daunting medical bill, or the loss of coverage that might accompany dismissal from a job, loss of a partner, or the descent into poverty. This, to me, seems like a very good bargain.

Paul Starr, who (as noted) has penned several recent articles dismissing single-payer (as well as blasting Sanders’s candidacy more broadly), is perhaps most famous for his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 book The Social Transformation of American Medicine. It’s a book that I read as a first-year medical student, and that has shaped my understanding of the American health care system greatly. In it, he traces the emergence of the American medical profession, and follows how our failure to publicly organize the health system gave way to the rise of a “corporate medical enterprise,” a sector—as he notes in the final chapter—that is “likely to aggravate inequalities in access to health care.” Clearly, this has come to pass.

But I wish to conclude by turning to the very first words of the book. “The dream of reason did not take power into account,” the book begins. “The dream was that reason, in the form of the arts and sciences, would liberate humanity from scarcity and the caprices of nature, ignorance and superstition, tyranny, and not least of all, the diseases of the body and the spirit.” Power—whether of the medical profession or of the corporatized organizations that have since superseded it—complicated the fulfillment of the dream.

The dream, however, is not yet dead. With respect to health, the idea that all lives should be as long and as healthy as is possible—a vision that can only be fulfilled by the universal and equal provision of the very best that modern medical science has to offer—still burns bright. But now, in twenty-first century America, it is not just conservatives, but many liberals, who are among the powerful standing in opposition to its fulfillment.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/03/02/colin-kaepernick-robert-griffin-rg3-trade-future
Mar. 3, 2016
The End is Near for Flawed QBs Griffin and Kaepernick

At the top of the game four years ago, the fall back to reality has been fast and infuriating for Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick. Both players face uncertainty in 2016 and the future doesn’t look any better
Alex Brandon/AP

Carson Wentz and Jared Goff were the two most-discussed quarterbacks at the combine last week. Right behind them were Robert Griffin and Colin Kaepernick. Just four years removed from RG3 winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and Kaepernick piloting an NFC championship team, both find themselves at the center of trade talks. Griffin was pushed there by his team, Kaepernick by his agents. (It’s unknown whether San Francisco will act on his request.)

Griffin, with his astronomical $16.15 million 2016 salary, almost certainly will be released prior to March 9, when his salary becomes fully guaranteed. Kaepernick’s salary is $11.9 million on an embarrassingly team-friendly contract that can be voided with little penalty before April 1. Or, rather, it could have been. Kaepernick’s current injury situation presents complications here (more on that later).

At face value, the idea of acquiring Griffin or Kaepernick seems enticing. Both are young, big-name quarterbacks with prior NFL success. But experienced quarterbacks don’t become available unless they’re flawed. And given these flaws, I believe it’s likely they’ll be out of the league before either wins another 10 games.

The Kaepernick Case

First off, let’s ask why he is requesting a trade. The fresh start he needs seemingly found him when the Niners hired head coach Chip Kelly, whose system is built for a mobile quarterback.

But it’s also a system built on quick decision-making, which is far from Kaepernick’s forte. Kaepernick is slow to process coverages (when he processes them at all) and doesn’t have a great feel for moving around in the pocket. Kaepernick can be hard to catch when he runs around, but too many of his run-around plays are fruitless because they never should have been run-around plays to start.

Staying patient in a crowded pocket has never been a strength for Colin Kaepernick.

Too often Kaepernick will look to abandon the pocket the instant he reaches the top of his dropback. Coaches hate this because it nullifies the play’s route designs. It can also create pressure where none existed. If you’re breaking down and moving at the top of your drop, the primary place to move is up in a pocket that hasn’t fully formed, putting you closer to interior pass rushers and compromising the room you have for stepping into throws. Or, you can move laterally, out of the pocket, which puts defensive ends in play. Remember, offensive tackles can’t see the quarterback; they’re blocking under the assumption that he’ll be in the pocket. When the quarterback flees, his technique and his blockers’ techniques are likely to break down. Also, the throwing windows and angles are altered, which often leads to minus results.

And then there is Kaepernick’s poor understanding for why certain plays are called. Case in point: multiple times in recent years, the Niners have opened a game with a simple fullback flare pass to the flat. It’s a play you call to get your QB comfortable and to put yourself in at least second-down-and-medium right out of the gates. There isn’t a more basic concept in pro football. Unfortunately, Kaepernick, several times, has failed to pull the trigger on these throws, opting instead to kick off the game with a randomized, sandlot throw. That he’s repeated this mistake more than once is baffling, especially considering that he threw an interception in this scenario on the first play of the Raiders game two years ago. (The Niners went on to lose that one.)

If a nearly four-year starting quarterback can’t be trusted to even attempt—let alone complete—something like a fullback flare on the game’s first play, then he can’t be trusted. You can’t construct, let alone perfect, a passing attack with such instability.

All of these flaws speak to an ill understanding of basic progression reads and coverage diagnostics, as well. Because if Kaepernick consistently knew what he was looking at on his dropbacks, there’s no way his pocket poise and decision-making would be so erratic. Adding to this: when Kaepernick does play with patience, he has a tendency to be late with the ball or to flat-out leave open receivers untargeted.

Given their flaws, I believe it’s likely both Griffin and Kaepernick will be out of the league before either wins another 10 games.

Could Kelly adjust to accommodate Kaepernick? Perhaps. But that runs counter to the way Kelly historically has done business. Besides, Kelly could argue that his approach makes a QB an inherently quicker decision-maker. By getting to the line and snapping the ball so promptly, Kelly’s offense hinders an opponent’s ability to disguise coverages. The defense barely has time to get set. This creates predictable looks, aiding a quarterback’s sense of passing anticipation.

However, Part B of Kaepernick’s issues is that he has an elongated throwing motion. This isn’t necessarily the worst thing. After all, no one can argue that as a pure arm talent, Kaepernick, when he’s mechanically sound and decisive (which is not often enough), is as impressive as almost anyone in the league. But elongated motions jibe with slower-developing downfield plays, not with the quick-hitting, snap decision-making that Kelly’s scheme demands.

The Niners brass presumably does not believe the advantage from Kelly’s unique approach can offset Kaepernick’s weaknesses. Because why else would Kaepernick be asking for a trade? Unless his advisors are complete morons, Kaepernick’s only rationale for wanting out of the rare offense that caters to his mobility is if he believes he won’t be the one running that offense come September. Kaepernick’s camp is reading San Francisco’s writing on the wall.

Complicating matters is that Kaepernick is still recovering from surgeries on his shoulder, knee and thumb. What makes his contract team-friendly is that it can be voided without penalty any time before April 1. That is, unless he’s not healthy. Presumably, the Niners would love for doctors to clear Kaepernick now, putting the option of cutting him back on the table. And Kaepernick, presumably, would love to stay on the mend until after April 1, making his 2016 salary guaranteed.

But remember, the Niners most likely believe Kaepernick cannot be The Guy. Which means if he is on the roster in 2016, he could very well get the treatment that Washington gave RG3 in 2015. Once he was in Kirk Cousins’s rearview mirror, Griffin became nothing more than a liability. Had he suffered an injury that carried into this offseason, the NFL’s fifth-year option rule would have made his $16.15 million salary in ’16 fully guaranteed. So, Washington, playing it safe and smart, kept Griffin off the active roster.

Kaepernick’s shoulder injury could ultimately keep him—and his $15.9 million cap number—on the books in 2016. Rather than risk swallowing that bitter pill again in 2017, the Niners could entrench Kaepernick on the bench and out of harm’s way.
The RG3 Outlook

Let’s keep some perspective here: if Griffin were a decent player, he would not have been ostracized in ’15. Griffin’s weakness showed up glaringly after he returned from his knee injury in 2013 and worsened as defenses saw more of him.

Headlining Griffin’s problems was that he had little to no pocket refinement (among other issues). It’s not enough to simply make throws from the pocket. In fact, in an offense as well-designed and as heavily predicated on play-action as Washington’s, throws from the pocket can be routine because so many of the reads are clearly defined. But straightforward passing designs and play-action tend to happen on first or second down, when the threat of a run is still there and the defense is in a vanilla coverage. Most NFL games, however, are decided by what happens on third down.

Robert Griffin III’s slight frame hasn’t been able to stand up to the hits he’s taken when straying outside the pocket.

It’s here where Griffin’s shortcomings really show up. Too often when he moves in the pocket, he covers too much ground, compromising his readiness to throw. This also hurts the pass protection, as the exaggerated movement can put him closer to pass rushers who wouldn’t have been factors. And it lengthens the time it takes to wind up and release the ball.

Adding to Griffin’s physical lack of pocket subtlety and nuance is his limited comprehension of how routes relate to certain coverages. Time and again in 2014, Griffin failed to identify some of football’s most basic route combinations. There were even cases of his defined reads—that is, plays that present just one obvious place for the ball to go—being ignored. Head coach Jay Gruden or offensive coordinator Sean McVay would call a pass and have no idea whether it would be executed correctly. Worse, neither would the receivers. How can you coach a dangerous but frankly emotionally unpredictable guy like DeSean Jackson if he’s getting open but not seeing the ball?

Tying into all of this was a lack of anticipation in Griffin’s passing. In the NFL, you don’t necessarily have to sense receivers being open before they are, but it makes a world of difference if you can. And, naturally, there are a handful of routine plays each game that call for a little bit of anticipation. But Griffin, with his limited understanding of coverage-and-route relationships, never had an opportunity to develop any anticipation. And if you can’t develop it on your own, you can’t develop it at all. Most coaches agree: anticipation is one of the few quarterbacking traits that cannot be taught.

Exacerbating matters for Griffin is that Gruden shied away from the zone-read game that had bolstered him as a rookie. Gruden felt the 6-foot-2, 223-pounder could not endure much beating. Defenses had always been extra physical against Griffin because he had no feel for protecting himself. Most the hits he took had a double-dip return: one from the hit itself, the other from when his body splattered to the ground. Griffin doesn’t have Cam Newton’s size or Russell Wilson’s compactness. He’s a gangly, exposed runner. This realization was the coup de grace to his NFL career.

* * *

In talking casually with dozens of coaches throughout combine week, there were two camps of ideology on Griffin and Kaepernick: in one camp were those who don’t think they can play in the NFL (more coaches felt this way about Griffin than Kaepernick); in the other were those who think they can play but don’t know in which system.

Of course, it only takes one team’s final decision-maker to roll the dice. Which is why we probably won’t see the last of either QB in 2016. But as far as RG3 or Kaepernick being a team’s clear-cut starting quarterback? We’ve absolutely seen the last of that.

I just can’t help myself. Honestly, this is just really a way for me to justify sitting in front of my pc every spring reading about these guys.

15: Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2079755/vernon-hargreaves-iii

Player Overview
It isn’t often that a true freshman comes into the SEC and is an immediate standout, but that’s precisely what Hargreaves accomplished in 2013, earning first team All-SEC honors from the media and league coaches after tying Janoris Jenkins’ freshman record at Florida with 11 pass breakups and intercepting three passes.

He was even better as a sophomore, leading the conference with 13 pass breakups and intercepting another three passes, including one in the end zone with just 1:20 remaining to seal Florida’s Birmingham Bowl win over East Carolina. A finalist for the Thorpe Award in 2015, Hargreaves earned All-SEC honors for a third straight season as a junior with a career-high four interceptions,

Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: It is hard not to gush about Hargreaves as he combines quickness, balance and route-recognition to excel in coverage with rare physicality and open-field tackling ability to be just as effective in run support and when blitzing off the corner. He possesses good size for the position with a compact, athletic frame.

When lining up in press man coverage, Hargreaves gets a stiff initial punch in on the receiver at the snap and shows good balance and light feet dropping into coverage, fluidly changing direction and the acceleration to remain in the hip pocket of receivers. He’s equally effective in off coverage, reading the quarterback’s eyes and breaking quickly downhill to disrupt passes. Hargreaves’ lack of height is mitigated by impressive body control, timing and competitiveness in jump-ball situations. He possesses excellent hand-eye coordination to slap the ball away as it arrives as well as good hands for the interception (six in two seasons).

Scouts will also appreciate that unlike some of the other highly regarded defensive backs throughout the country, Hargreaves is far from just a cover corner. He’s very aggressive in run support, fighting his way through blocks and showing zero hesitation in taking on bigger ballcarriers. On most occasions, Hargreaves makes the effective stop, often significantly cutting short the yards gained in impressive fashion.

WEAKNESSES: An inch or two shorter than scouts would prefer, which shows up too often on film. Hargreaves can get himself in trouble by attacking ballcarriers too high, clawing at the football while ‘rassling opponents to the ground rather than wrapping up and driving them to the turf. He also takes such aggressive angles in pursuit that he can be forced to lunge at ballcarriers, occasionally missing as he swipes at their legs.

Needs to improve his cushion and spacing, allowing his eyes to spend too much time in the backfield.

IN OUR VIEW: Hargreaves plays with a decisive reactor to maintain proper positioning and make plays on the ball (38 career passes defended), but his timing and spacing have room for improvement. Although he has only ordinary size, Hargreaves is above average in three main areas for the position: play speed, instincts and competitive toughness.

NFL COMPARISON: Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns — More than just the Florida jersey, Hargreaves and Haden are similar in that they aren’t the biggest or fastest but both exhibit the instincts and competitive toughness needed for the NFL.

–Rob Rang & Dane Brugler (2/9/16)

43: Kevin Dodd – DE, Clemson

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1983517/kevin-dodd

Player Overview
With Shaq Lawson commanding most of the attention at right defensive end, Dodd was able to blossom at left defensive end in his first year as a starter. He finished the 2015 season with 23.5 tackles for loss and 12.0 sacks, which ranked second on the team behind Lawson. A relative unknown prior to the 2015 season, Dodd made the most of his starting opportunity and is an ascending NFL prospect.

Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: Passes the eye test with the quickness and power blend to win the edge, showing development throughout last season with this hand technique and timing. Shows terrific initial quickness to beat tackles and guards, as well as the agility and balance to get skinny to penetrate the gap between them.

His quick, strong hands allow him to rip his way through would-be blocks and he uses his long arms to lasso ballcarriers. Improved discipline and patience to hold back-side contain, stack the edge and cut off runs to the outside. High motor player and fights through the whistle, wearing down offensive linemen. Pushed himself in the film room and on the practice field to seize his opportunity to start in 2015.

WEAKNESSES: Not a twitched up rusher who can easily change speeds in his rush, lacking cat-like quickness. Needs to better keep his balance through gaps. Doesn’t consistently use his hands to convert speed to power and isn’t much of a bully.

Undeveloped pass rush repertoire and needs to add more to his bag of tricks to fool blockers. Tends to think too much and play overly patient at times. Lack of hand tactics will cause his rush to stall. Only one season of starting experience and productivity. Benefited from playing opposite Shaq Lawson, rarely facing double-teams.

COMPARES TO: Kony Ealy, Carolina Panthers – Similar to when Ealy entered the league two years ago, it will take some time for Dodd to adjust to the pro game, but all the skills are there for him to develop into a reliable starter.

IN OUR VIEW: Based on traits, Dodd checks several boxes for the NFL with the size, length, athleticism and strength potential to be effective in the NFL. He also improved his ball awareness and discipline as his reps increased last season, showing encouraging growth that indicates he isn’t near his football ceiling.

–Dane Brugler & Rob Rang (2/10/16

45: Braxton Miller – WR, Ohio State

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1824414/braxton-miller

Player Overview
Miller made the switch to wide receiver from quarterback over the 2015 offseason, and his athleticism and versatility paid off for the Buckeyes throughout the year. He finished fourth on the team with 26 catches for 341 yards and three touchdowns, added 260 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries and even completed his only pass – albeit for three yards.

Miller told the Columbus Dispatch in June that he is the “best athlete” in all of college football, and he might be correct with that assessment. While he may not have had the traits to play quarterback at the next level, he is a very interesting prospect as a receiver.

In 2013 as a junior, he passed for 2,094 yards, 63.5 percent completions and a 24-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio, earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors. Miller showed improvements as a passer throughout the season, compelling scouts to take a “wait-and-see” approach as the Ohio State quarterback entered his senior year. But he missed the 2014 season with another injury to his throwing shoulder and J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones helped lead the Buckeyes to last year’s College Football Playoff.

Many thought Miller would transfer to pursue playing quarterback elsewhere, but he chose to stay in Columbus and focus all of his energy on transitioning to wide receiver.

Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: Athletic body type and solidly-built for the position. Extraordinary athleticism and speed with sudden, explosive cutting ability. Tremendous balance and body control in all of his movements.

Multiple gears to separate in his routes or as a ballcarrier. Understands hesitation in his patterns, setting up defenders before bursting in different directions. Vision to be a home-run threat whenever he touches the ball.

In his one season as a receiver, showed the locating ability to track and keep his focus through the catch. Capable of the acrobatic reception. Strong arm as a passer and spins a pretty ball. Deceiving body strength to squirm out of would-be tackles. Highly productive three-year quarterback and looked natural making the transition to a skill player in 2015 – versatile player who affected the game as a receiver and rusher.

Holds several school records and was a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. Mature leader and determined individual who wants to be great.

WEAKNESSES: Raw route-runner and lacks experience at the receiver position. Needs work with his footwork, especially at the stem of patterns. Natural hands, but had some drops in 2015, especially with the fastball.

Still learning how to properly adjust to throws and attack at the highest point. Too much east-west and will get himself in trouble looking for the big play. Alligator arms and too concerned with what’s going on in the middle of the field – often braced himself for contact or showed tentativeness in space before securing the catch.

Willing blocker, but still very raw and needs technique work. Ball security needs tightened with 30 career fumbles (three fumbles in 2015 as a non-quarterback). Doesn’t have any special teams experience.

Health is a concern with his past medical issues – missed two games due a left knee sprain (Sept. 2013); injured his throwing (right) shoulder in the 2013 Orange Bowl that required surgery (Feb. 2014); re-injured the same shoulder that summer (Aug. 2014) and missed the 2014 season after labrum surgery; left game due to concussion symptoms (Nov. 2015).

IN OUR VIEW: After starting three seasons as Ohio State’s quarterback, Miller moved to a hybrid H-Back position in 2015 for his final season of eligibility and adapted well. He enters the NFL as a wide receiver or running back, not a quarterback and his 2014 shoulder surgery ended up being a blessing in disguise, allowing Miller to speed up the inevitable transition to a skill position for the next level.

Miller is a gifted and exciting open-field athlete with game-changing speed and the twitched-up ability to be elusive, not slowing down in his cuts. He showed signs of being able to translate his ability to read defenses as a passer to reading coverages in his routes, but is still unpolished in this area and will need time as he continues his development at wide receiver.

The No. 1 concern moving forward for Miller is durability – true competitor, but can he stay healthy? Overall, while still raw, Miller is a special athlete for his size with considerable upside, putting him in the top 50 overall range. He will likely be a gadget player as an NFL rookie before competing for a starting role in year two.

–Dane Brugler (1/25/16)

76: Sterling Shephard WR, Oklahoma

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1996786/sterling-shepard

Player Overview
Shepard finished his Sooners career with 223 receptions for 3,482 yards and 26 touchdowns and was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as a senior. He earned an invitation to the Senior Bowl, where he earned the Practice Player of the Week award among wide receivers.

Shepard’s family connection with Oklahoma football is a heart-warming tale. He wore No. 3 for the Sooners in honor of his late father, Derrick Shepard, who was a receiver for OU from 1983-86.

“That’s been a lifelong goal of mine to play at Oklahoma,” Shepard told Texans TV at the Senior Bowl. “I’ve seen a lot of great receivers go through there and seen the mark they’ve made for themselves and I definitely wanted to be one of those top guys. Fortunately, I was able to do that with some great coaching and a lot of guys around me that are good.”

The Sooners’ pass catcher also has the talent that makes it more than simply a feel-good story.

He led Oklahoma in receiving as a junior in 2014 with 51 catches for 970 yards and five touchdowns, averaging a conference-best 19.0 yards per reception.

Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: Coordinated athlete with electric feet off the line of scrimmage and at the top of his route to gain separation and give his quarterback a target. He has quick eyes to make snap decision, tracking the ball well to make tough grabs look easy. Displays quick feet and movements at the line of scrimmage to avoid press and works well in tight spaces with his shifty moves and quick eyes.

Shepard is a nightmare to cover because he possesses the straight-line speed to beat defenders over the top, as well as the quickness and balance to change directions in a flash. He shows soft, reliable hands to pluck the ball outside of his frame, as well as the awareness and toughness to “body catch” when necessary to protect the ball.

Brings additional value with punt return experience.

WEAKNESSES: Shepard has an undersized frame that makes him often out-matched vs. physical corners. Quicker than he is fast.

IN OUR VIEW: Shepard routinely proved to be a mismatch during one-on-one drills against cornerbacks at the Senior Bowl, using his short-area burst to create spacing and give his quarterback a clean target. If the corner doesn’t make contact with Shepard off the line of scrimmage, it’s too easy for the smallish, but talented receiver to make something happen.

Shepard has shown toughness throughout his career and frankly, he’ll need to continue to play with this chip on his shoulder to enjoy similar success at the next level.

–Dane Brugler/Rob Rang (2/1/16)

111: Tyler Higbee, TE Western Kentucky

Player Overview
Higbee signed with Western Kentucky as a wide receiver in 2011 and left in 2015 as a first-team All-Conference USA pick who tied for the nation’s best among tight ends with eight touchdowns.

During his first fall at Western Kentucky, Higbee played in 11 games, starting one contest. He finished that season with two receptions but scored one time from 63 yards out.

In 2012, Higbee made the move fulltime to tight end and redshirted. In 2013, he played in seven games with three starts. He finished with 13 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown.

In 2014, Higbee had 15 receptions for 230 yards and four scores as the backup. He enjoyed his finest season as a senior, playing in nine games, catching 38 passes for 563 yards and scoring eight times.

Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: Outstanding size and a terrific frame. Has length and above average straight-line speed. Can move for a 250-pounder.

In terms of hands, Higbee gets the job done. He pretty much catches everything thrown his way and can make the tough grab in traffic. Can go high and get the ball as well as getting down low. Former wide receiver is a good route runner. A load to bring done and has shown the ability to break tackles after the reception and gain additional yardage.

Solid as a blocker; tough and physical at the point of attack and does his job. Doesn’t blow anybody off the ball but he will put his hat on a defender and stay in front of him.

WEAKNESSES: Good, solid, all-around player without being a standout in any one area. Could be a little more dominating in the run game. Limited production until his senior season, and the jump in the level of competition will be significant. One-year starter still learning nuances of position.

IN OUR VIEW: This is a nice looking tight end prospect who has worked hard to put himself in this position, especially after making the position change. Along the way, Higbee has added 60 pounds. He’s athletic and versatile and in the right offensive system Higbee could really be a nice weapon in the NFL because he’s a guy that can be good in the run game and evolve into a tight end that work the middle of the field in the passing game and become a real threat.

–Jamie Newberg (1/12/16)

193: Joe Schobert – OLB, Wisconsin

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2001175/joe-schobert

Player Overview
Schobert was a semifinalist for both the Bednarik and Lombardi awards following a senior season in which he ranked fourth in the FBS with 14.5 tackles for loss and sixth with 9.5 sacks to go along with six forced fumbles and 12 pass breakups.

That culminated a productive career in which Schobert started 24 of 41 games, compiling 149 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. He also recorded six forced fumbles and 12 pass breakups.

Strengths Weaknesses
STRENGTHS: Despite a frame which appears better suited off the line of scrimmage, Schobert’s quickness, underrated strength and awareness make him a tough draw for offensive linemen at the point of attack. He frequently slips past blockers, showing terrific spatial awareness, balance and lateral agility to dance and disrupt, often “making the play” by forcing ballcarriers into the arms of his teammates, who get the credit in the stat book.

While he lacks ideal bulk, Schobert doesn’t shy from contact, generating space from blockers (offensive linemen, tight ends and backs, alike) with an impressive punch. He attacks double-teams, ducking his head and squirming his way through the gap, showing terrific balance, determination and leverage in doing so. His quick, light feet allow him to close quickly on the ballcarrier and he’s a generally reliable open-field tackler, showing patience and sound technique.

Schobert plays with terrific instincts, latching onto backs to destroy screens and releasing from his primary downfield coverage responsibilities to attack once the ball has been delivered. He shows good vision and awareness to slice through traffic, taking calculated risks on his pursuit angles. Sells out to make the tackle, tripping up ball-carriers with extension and hand-eye coordination.

WEAKNESSES: While surprisingly stout for his size, Schobert is more pesky than powerful at the point of attack. His limited frame gets Schobert washed out too often in the running game, with a number of his tackles coming yards downfield only after he has spun away from blockers.

His lack of ideal length also shows up in pass coverage, where bigger tight ends were able to use their size advantage to win on contested throws. Schobert flirts with over-aggression, taking risky angles in pursuit and leaving his teammates in precarious positions.

IN OUR VIEW: More than the sum of his parts, Schobert is the kind of hyper-active, ultra-productive defender who can “surprise” at the next level despite his less-than-ideal size. He’s effective in a variety of roles, showing terrific quickness, balance and surprising strength to be a factor in run support, coverage and rushing the quarterback.

Though he played mostly outside linebacker and defensive end at Wisconsin, Schobert’s instincts and comfort in the pit could allow his future NFL team to experiment with him inside, as well.

–Rob Rang (@robrang) (2/13/16)

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/neandertal-human-trysts-may-be-linked-to-modern-depression-heart-disease/

Neandertal–Human Trysts May Be Linked to Modern Depression, Heart Disease

Interbreeding may have influenced modern risks for depression, heart attacks, nicotine addiction, obesity and other health problems, researchers said

By Charles Q. Choi, LiveScience on February 12, 2016

Ancient trysts between Neanderthals and modern humans may have influenced modern risks for depression, heart attacks, nicotine addiction, obesity and other health problems, researchers said.
The Neanderthals were once the closest relatives of modern humans. Scientists recently discovered that Neanderthals and modern humans once interbred; nowadays, about 1.5 to 2.1 percent of DNA in people outside Africa is Neanderthal in origin.
“This raises several fascinating questions like, ‘What effect does the Neanderthal DNA that remains in modern humans have on our biology?'” said study senior author John Capra, an evolutionary geneticist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. [See Photos of Our Closest Human Ancestor]
Now, for the first time, researchers have directly compared Neanderthal DNA with the clinical records of a significant portion of adults of European ancestry. The scientists discovered that this archaic genetic legacy has had a subtle but significant impact on modern human biology, they said.
“Neanderthal DNA influences a broad range of traits relevant to disease risk in modern humans,” Capra told Live Science.

Modern humans have inherited many physical traits from the Neanderthals. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Feb. 12, 2016 issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by C.N. Simonti at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, and colleagues was titled, “The phenotypic legacy of admixture between modern humans and Neandertals.”
Credit: Michael Smeltzer, Vanderbilt University
The researchers first identified about 135,000 Neanderthal genetic variations found in modern humans. Next, the scientists analyzed a database of more than 28,000 adults of European ancestry from the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network, a consortium of nine hospitals across the United States. This data linked patient genetic data with versions of those individuals’ electronic health records that were stripped of identifying details such as names and addresses.
The data helped the researchers determine if each person had ever been treated for medical conditions such as heart disease, arthritis and depression. It also helped the scientists determine what Neanderthal genetic variants each person carried.

THIS GRAPHIC SHOWS NEANDERTHAL-INFLUENCED TRAITS.
CREDIT: DEBORAH BREWINGTON, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

Ultimately, the researchers found that Neanderthal genetic variants were significantly linked to increased risk of 12 traits, including heart attack and artery thickening.
Surprisingly, the investigators also found a Neanderthal genetic variant that significantly increased the modern human risk for nicotine addiction, the researchers said. However, this does not mean that Neanderthals smoked tobacco, Capra said.
“Tobacco was found solely in the Western Hemisphere until Europeans brought it back from expeditions to the Americas,” Capra said. The Neanderthal DNA that boosts the risk of nicotine addiction may have had a completely different and potentially beneficial effect “that exhibited itself 50,000 years ago,” Capra said.
Some of the scientists’ discoveries confirm previous ideas. For example, earlier research suggested that Neanderthal DNA influenced skin cells known as keratinocytes that help protect the skin from environmental damage such as ultraviolet radiation and germs. The new findings suggest that Neanderthal genetic variants increase the risk of developing sun-triggered skin lesions known as keratoses, which are caused by abnormal keratinocytes.
“When we started this study, we expected that if we found anything at all, we would find an influence of Neanderthal DNA on bodily systems that are involved in interactions with the environment,” Capra said. “We hypothesized this because Neanderthals had been living in Central Asia and Europe for hundreds of thousands of years before our recent ancestors ever reached these areas—and thus had likely adapted to the distinct environmental aspects of these regions, compared to Africa, in terms of climate, plants and animals, and pathogens.”
Capra and his colleagues also found that a number of Neanderthal genetic variants influenced the risk for depression, with some variants increasing the risk and others reducing it.
“The brain is incredibly complex, so it’s reasonable to expect that introducing changes from a different evolutionary path might have negative consequences,” study lead author Corinne Simonti, a graduate student of human genetics at Vanderbilt University, said in a statement.”
The researchers suggest that some Neanderthal genetic variants might have provided benefits in modern human populations as they first moved out of Africa thousands of years ago. However, those variants may have later become detrimental in modern, Western environments, the scientists said. One example is Neanderthal DNA that increases blood clotting; while this can help seal wounds and prevent germs from entering the body, it can also increase the risk for stroke, miscarriage and other problems, Capra said.
The researchers suggest that Neanderthal DNA may not have contributed to differences in skin colors between modern humans, unlike what previous research has suggested. Instead, differences in modern human skin color probably developed very recently, Capra said. “Neanderthals may also have had a range of skin colors,” Capra added.
Future research can compare Neanderthal DNA with data gleaned from other sources of medical information, such as lab tests, doctors’ notes and medical images, the researchers said. “There is still much to learn about the effects of interbreeding on different populations in recent human history,” Capra said.
The scientists detailed their findings online today (Feb. 11) in the journal Science.
In Photos: New Human Ancestor Possibly Unearthed in Spanish Cave
Denisovan Gallery: Tracing the Genetics of Human Ancestors
In Photos: Neanderthal Burials Uncovered

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher –– 12/16/15

(On if he’s ready for the game)
“We are ready. They had a great day today. Today’s Friday for us in our world and then we have a walk-thru this evening, which becomes Saturday and then we go tomorrow. So yeah, we had a good day. Legs are back and it looked like everybody is doing well.”

(On how CB Janoris Jenkins came out of the concussion protocol)
“He’s been cleared and he was full practice today and he’s probable.”

(On if Jenkins playing will help)
“That’ll help, yeah.”

(On if RB Todd Gurley and T Rob Havenstein were full practice today)
“Yes. Everybody was full and probable. They’re both probable. So we healed up. We’ve got a big challenge. The thing is, from a defensive standpoint, it’s stopping their run. They’re really well-coached up front and they can run the football. The back is a really good back. The young back out of the backfield has got a bunch of catches and they create match-ups for you. Their tight ends are blocking real well. They do a lot of different personnel groupings and it’s a well-coached offense. We’ve got to keep (Tampa Bay QB) Jameis (Winston) in the pocket.”

(On if he was happier with his run defense last week)
“No. We were a little better, but still, we gave up some plays. It’s going to happen. People are going to run the football at times against you. You’ve got to tackle. You’ve got to be gap sound in your fits. This team can run the football. You go back and look at some games, they ran it against some decent defenses.”

(On if he’s heard any news on WR Stedman Bailey)
“He’s progressing. As I mentioned, he’s out of intensive care. He’s in-patient. It appears that within the next week or so, he’ll be released from the hospital, so it’s good news.”

(On if Bailey will make an appearance at Rams Park)
“Don’t know. Eventually he will. But, don’t know whether he’s been cleared to travel right now.”

Rams Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams – 12/16/15

(On if the team is practicing at the Edward Jones Dome tonight)
“We’ll go through a walk-thru tonight, which is kind of cool. (Head Coach) Jeff’s (Fisher) been doing that for a long time on our Thursday night schedule, so we’ll go down there tonight and simulate some things tonight. We’ll go through our final things. What we do is we cram all of our practices into short week. Tonight’s like our Saturday, like on a true week. This morning was a lot like our Friday practice, which is good. We’ve got all of our reps. I think our guys have done a very good job of adjusting to the schedule. A lot of credit goes to (Director/Sports Medicine & Performance) Reggie (Scott) and (Head Strength & Conditioning Coach) Rock (Gullickson) and their staffs on getting those guys ready to go. From the assistants and everybody on is that they have to handle the information quick. Guys process it quick. We’ve had some good work this week, so I’ll be anxious to see them play tomorrow night.”

(On what he sees from Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston on film)
“Very, very impressed. I think (Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator) Dirk Koetter…I have a lot of respect for him. Dirk and I coached together many years ago. I think he’s done a fantastic job with the kid. You can see why he was the first pick and he and (Titans QB) Marcus (Mariota) both deserved to be up there in the draft. They have played very well. Jameis is really improved as the year’s gone on. He’s not afraid to throw it into tight coverage. You have to be able to do that to play quarterback at our level. You can’t be afraid of small windows of opportunity – he’s not. He’s done a very good job and you can tell from a leadership standpoint, there are those natural leaders and there are those guys that kind of evolve into leadership. You can see he’s a natural leader. You can see those guys respond to him. So, I’m anxious to see him in person. On film, he looks very, very good.”

(On Buccaneers WR Mike Evans)
“Very big. We went against him last year, had a chance to see some of him last year. Our guys in the match-up, there’s still a few guys there from our early game last year on the match-ups. I talk to our guys all the time about making a book and basically, you’re always taking notes. You’re taking notes on guys in practice you’ll practice against. You’re taking notes on guys in the preseason, during the regular season because in our league, you could end up anywhere in free agency, you bounce around. So hopefully, they took some notes from last year, and understand some of the techniques and some of the presence of physical ability on those guys. Mike does a very good job. He’s got a big catch radius. He runs very well for a big guy, too. We went against some this year, some big guys anyway. Last week, we had some big guys. So hopefully, we can transition into this plan, too.”

(On Buccaneers RB Doug Martin averaging almost 100 yards a game)
“I know our guys are sick and tired of me this week of pounding that point in the meeting, but he has had, on film, the most explosive runs that I’ve seen anybody all year long we’ve played. He has really done a great job in the explosive runs. They’ve done a very good job in their run-blocking scheme. (Buccaneers Offensive Line Coach) George Warhop, I’ve known him for a long time, too, their line coach does a really good job. I see his teachings and his fundamental skill sets of what he asks his guys to do is very recognizable to me. Hopefully, it will be recognizable to our guys. But, I think Doug has played very well. He’s healthy this year. He’s played healthy this year and he’s been really explosive. Once he gets out there in the open field, it’s a tough time getting him down.”

(On if Winston is harder to bring down than the average quarterback)
“He’s very strong. He’s a big guy, but there’s a lot of the guys in this league. One of the most dominant guys in the pocket is Ben, whenever you play (Steelers QB Ben) Roethlisberger, but we’ve even kind of said a few things about that similarity in the pocket. He doesn’t go down easy. He’s very strong in the pocket. He’s got decent speed, not great speed, but you have a hard time bringing him down because of his size.”

(On the difference in Tampa Bay’s offensive line this year compared to last year establishing their run game)
“I think they’ve played it with each other a little bit longer. I know last year (Buccaneers G) Logan (Mankins) had just gotten there at the end of the regular season. You can see his leadership also there. They’ve moved some pieces around and it’s just one more time around with the coaching staff there. Don’t discount Dirk Koetter’s ability to get his point across. I really respect him a lot. In coaching, in teaching, in sales, in leadership – whatever it is, you’ve got to get people to listen to you. Dirk has that skill set. Dirk has an ability to get anybody, whether you’re a future Hall of Famer or whether you’re a guy that just barely made the team, he can get you listen to him. He’s done a very good job, in a short amount of time, of getting them all on the same page.”

(On where he coached with Koetter)
“I was at Jacksonville. Yeah, I left the Redskins and then went down there with him and with (Jack) Del Rio and those guys. He did a really good job down there. Mike Tice was there, too, Andy Heck and all those guys. It was a pretty good staff.”

(On when Koetter was at Missouri)
“He was there. I ran into him obviously being from the state and everything, I ran into him, too back in those days, too. I didn’t know him as well until I worked with him.”

(On if he’s trying to emphasize the things he’s seen Winston not do well or is he trying to give him new looks)
“You’d hope… I think he is a very, very study conscious young man. I think the word on the street, we tease about that a little cliché, that he is a study-a-holic. But, you would hope that a young guy hasn’t seen some of the pictures that we can paint and disguise. But, he’s done very well. Dirk does a good job on causing defenses to all of a sudden show their hand on how you pull the defense out of showing your hand. Now, it becomes more of a mono e mono, one on one match-up, can you win your match-up? But, we hope that we can present some pictures to him. We’re based that way, anyway. It’s been kind of…my portfolio is to do that quite a bit. When you’re at this time of the season, you’ve got a lot of snaps on film. There’s no doubt in my mind, he’s studied them all.”

Rams RB Todd Gurley – 12/16/15

(On how he got to know Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston)
“We played in a high school All-American game back in high school, so we’ve been cool ever since then.”

(On if they’ve kept in contact over the years)
“Yeah, that’s my boy.”

(On if he’s been exchanging messages with him this week)
“Just texting me. He texted me earlier and told me good game and just asking, ‘How you doing? How you feeling?’ We talk once a week, so we always talk.”

(On how meaningful it will be to get 1,000 rushing yards)
“It’ll be cool. Shout out to my linemen and the whole team for helping me get there. I definitely didn’t do everything on my own.”

(On if his lighter practice schedule this week has helped him get ready for the game)
“This is my first Thursday night game, so there’s definitely a big difference from playing Sunday to Sunday than going Sunday to Thursday. Coach has looked out for me earlier in this week. Just got to be ready to go tomorrow.”

(On what he thinks about the Rookie of the Year race)
“I’m not worried about all of that. Just trying to finish the season off strong.”

(On if it normally takes a few days to get the body back after having 20-25 carries)
“Oh yeah, it definitely takes until about Tuesday or Wednesday to start feeling back right again.”

(On what he sees from the Tampa Bay defense)
“Very physical front. They’ve got the Tampa 2. They’ve got some great players, great linebackers. Definitely got great speed. Just a good awareness to the ball. (DT Gerald) McCoy down there in the tackle position. He’s just a game wrecker. You definitely have got to be aware of him.”

(On if he was excited that coaches wanted to run the ball in the second half of the Detroit game)
“You definitely get excited. I feel like my biggest thing last game was that I had those two plays at the end of the half that I felt like could have went for big yards. I missed the trap and the screen play, so I was definitely eager to get back out there in the second half.”

(On how much he relishes in facing another elite back even though they don’t face off head-to-head)
“It’s always, like you said I’m not playing against him, but when you see a guy over there doing his thing, it definitely motivates you to want to get on the field and put up some yards. So, that’ll definitely be good. He’s a great running back.”

(On if he likes the color rush uniforms)
“Yeah, they’re pretty cool. Something different. It’s pretty cool.”

from BEST PLAYERS AT EVERY POSITION FROM WEEK 14

Todd Gurley and Cam Newton highlight Khaled Elsayed’s list of the top performers at every position in Week 14.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/12/14/pro-best-players-at-every-position-from-week-14/

Running Back: Todd Gurley, Rams (+2.6)

This is more like it from Gurley, who found his spark this week and promptly used just 31 snaps and 16 rushes to put a world of pain on the Lions. When he’s good, he’s very good.

Defensive interior – Ends: Aaron Donald, Rams (+6.9), and Kawann Short, Panthers (+6.7)

Another appearance for Donald, who had three sacks, three further hits, and another hurry, as he continues to make his case for Defensive Player of the Year. Short might not be at that level (yet), but with two sacks and two forced fumbles, he’s already something of a playmaker.

Cornerbacks: Trumaine Johnson, Rams (+5.2) and Ronald Darby, Bills (+4.1)

We were starting to worry if Darby had hit a rookie wall, but he was back to his best as he allowed just three-of-seven balls into his coverage to be completed, breaking up two for good measure. Johnson had one of the plays of the day with his patient pick-six, continuing his much improved season.

The Best Offensive Minds

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/12/02/nfl-mike-martz-adam-gase-mike-mccoy-mike-mccarthy-best-offensive-minds

Mike Martz, architect of The Greatest Show on Turf, breaks down the game-planning and play-calling of the NFL’s top three offensive coaches. Here’s what you should know about Mike McCoy, Adam Gase and Mike McCarthy
by Robert Klemko

SAN DIEGO — Football always seemed like war to Mike Martz. Not the carnage and loss—those don’t compare—but the strategy. Calling shots with the big-picture view of a general, he loved the way offensive football felt like moving 18th-century battalions into the right position to stun the opposition. Attack and counterattack.

Fitting then, that his favorite book isn’t one of the Lombardi biographies or the spiritual tome My Utmost for His Highest, sitting within arm’s reach on the auburn desk inside the basement office of his San Diego home. It’s 1776, David McCullough’s telling of the bloody birth of the United States. Of particular interest to Martz are the military exploits of the Revolutionary War’s most famous general.

“I kind of thought I knew George Washington and his career,” he says. “But the author wrote this book so personally. Washington never buckled, and if he did, nobody ever knew about it.

“The thing I really admire is he was always a step ahead. Even though it might have hurt him, the emotion of losing New York, you have to find a way to get back in the fight. That’s a lot like football: Take the emotion out of it and fix the problem.”

Three years removed from his last coaching gig as the Bears’ offensive coordinator, Martz, 63, spends most of his days in his three-story home, which sits on a hill in a cul-de-sac neighborhood overlooking the coast. His office is just big enough for a desk and a few dozen mementos that tell the story of a football life.

[​IMG]
Mike Martz, best known for overseeing The Greatest Show on Turf, in the basement office of his San Diego home, where he watched game tape with The MMQB. (Robert Klemko)

There’s a framed photo of his grandfather’s 1902 Yankton High football team, which won South Dakota’s state championship. (Martz keeps a vacation home in South Dakota, where he was born, and has made a hobby of photographing its cascading mountains and snowscapes.) There’s a game ball from a 2002 win over the Raiders, the Rams’ first victory after losing Kurt Warner and five straight games to start the season.

There’s a signed bat from Stan Musial, the baseball Hall of Famer who lunched with Martz when Martz was the head coach in St. Louis. Authentic NFL helmets, given to him an equipment manager friend in 2000, line the ceiling. There’s a sun-bleached Super Bowl XXXIV replica trophy from 1999, Martz’s first season as the Rams’ coordinator.

After 38 years of coaching, Martz’s legacy boils down to the Greatest Show on Turf, the record-setting offense he engineered with coach Dick Vermeil and quarterback Kurt Warner in St. Louis. They were innovators who introduced the new concepts they dreamed up on napkins and notepads, picking apart defenses with the likes of Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

I’m meeting with him in his basement, seeking the answer to a broad-sweeping question: Who are the NFL’s new offensive pioneers?

“There was a time in the league when people were really creative, but that’s gone,” says Martz, picking through a pile of game-film DVDs that coaching friends and former protégés have mailed him. “There are a few guys who really know what they’re doing and are trying new things—or just putting a twist on old things.”

Martz entered the NFL in the early 1990s, as Buddy Ryan’s zone blitz or “zone dog” concepts were giving offenses fits. Watch any VHS tape of an NFL game from that decade and you’ll see two receivers releasing on third down, sometimes with tight ends and running backs held in to block—an unthinkable and downright boring tactic by today’s standards.

“At the time, defense dominated football,” Martz says. “Offense didn’t have an answer for zone dog, so they just brought in more guys to block. It was frustrating. Defense dictated the game. We tried to flop that.”

Martz’s answer was to vary personnel groups, creating mismatches by running the same play out of five different formations. He and his offensive contemporaries began emphasizing pre-snap motion to identify coverages and defensive plans. Soon enough, offenses began dictating the game. The 2000 Rams set an NFL record with 7,335 yards from scrimmage, surpassing the 1984 Dolphins’ mark by nearly 300 yards. (The Rams’ mark has since been surpassed by the 2011 Saints and the 2013 Broncos.)

Using the numbers system for offensive play-calling handed down by Don Coryell, which is still in vogue with a handful of coaches, Martz came into his own as a game-planner and a play-caller just as the Rams accidentally discovered Warner, a former Arena league quarterback who turned out to be one of the greatest passers in a generation.

Twelve years and two Super Bowl appearances later, Martz resigned from his coordinator job in Chicago after the 2011 season, citing philosophical differences. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler later suggested the game had passed him by. Martz, who declined to speak about Cutler, says the opposite. Part of him wants another shot. A larger part of him is happy just watching the occasional game tape.

As he loads up the first DVD, Martz takes one look at the Broncos’ offense and the Colts’ defense and sighs.

“You know what’s funny?” he says. “I just realized I don’t know half these guys’ names anymore.”

What he recognizes these days is great coaching.

The three names Martz wants you to know—Adam Gase, the Bronco’s offensive coordinator; Mike McCoy, the Chargers’ head coach; and Mike McCarthy, the Packers head coach—are the types of game-planners and play-callers who make him long for the action on Sunday afternoons.

Adam Gase — Matchup Nightmares

Martz uses a clicker to go through Denver’s season-opening win over the Colts. We watch every play two or three times, an old habit for the coach. On Mondays after games he might have watched the tape four times—by himself, with the coaches, with the quarterback, and, finally with the offense.

We’re on a hunt for the coaching identity of Adam Gase, the Broncos’ 36-year-old coordinator. He began as a scouting assistant in Detroit in 2003 under Steve Marriucci and worked his way up to quarterbacks coach by 2007, the last of Martz’s two years as offensive coordinator with the Lions. After two seasons in Denver, Gase is arguably No. 1 on the unofficial list of head coaching candidates for 2015.

Martz hones in on one particular run. With 9:28 left in the first quarter, Montee Ball runs off tackle for four yards. No big deal, right? Watch again. There’s motion on the bottom of the screen. Gase knows from his film study that it’s de facto policy for the Colts to drop the strongside safety into the box when the offense is in a bunch formation, and to retreat the weakside safety. So he motions a receiver into bunch, and Manning immediately calls for the snap.

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Ball takes the handoff with both safeties out of their ideal positions; one is even retreating away from the play. If Ball had made it beyond the first level, he had nothing but open field.

“This is big,” Martz says. “Playing defense is about rules. If you understand their rules, you can put them in bad positions.”

The Broncos have had problems running the ball, ranking 27th in the NFL in yards per game. Some of that falls on Manning as a play-caller. But Martz also sees it as a symptom of inexperience. Gase only sprinkles in the occasional zone-blocking run. “If you want to run zone-running plays, you have to do it over and over again. You have to have reps,” Martz says. “Twenty years ago it was difficult to evaluate quarterbacks because they might have thrown 120 times a year. Now it’s 450. You used to be able to evaluate running backs. Now that’s switched.”

Where Gase thrives, though, is in the passing game.

Second quarter, 6:50 remaining. Martz recognizes an old standby: 288 special, so named by Coryell. Two receivers run identical posts on the left side of the field, hence ‘88’.

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On their way to winning Super Bowl XXXIV, Martz ran this exact play on the Rams’ first snap of their divisional-round victory over the Vikings in January 2000. Isaac Bruce took the inside post route 78 yards for a touchdown. On the Fox broadcast, John Madden exclaimed, “He did it!” So confident was Dick Vermeil that he told the broadcast crew they would run 288 on the first play. In the aftermath, Madden drew it up as only he can.

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The Rams got the play from Norv Turner, who at the time “used to run the heck out of it,” Martz says. But Gase runs his own tweaked version of 288, which demonstrates his ability to create mismatches. On this play against Indianapolis, Gase positions his best pass-catching tight end, Julius Thomas, in a three-point stance, and a blocking tight end as the wing. Thomas will cross the field and the face of the defense.

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Consider these contingencies:

A) If the Colts are in man defense, Gase and Manning know the linebacker will cover the tight end on the inside while the better-qualified safety will check the wing, because most offenses position the more agile player as the wing. Julius Thomas would then be covered by linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. No-brainer.

B) If the Colts are in a Cover 2, Manning will try to look off one of the safeties and throw the open post.

C) If it’s Cover 3, Thomas might still be open underneath, and you can always check down to the running back.

The Colts were in man coverage, and Thomas beat Jackson (of course) for a 35-yard touchdown.

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“As a coach,” Martz says, “you have to have an answer for the quarterback so he knows where he’s supposed to go with the ball against every coverage. If Thomas was the wing, the safety would cover him. But by sticking him inside, now that linebacker has him. The safety wants to cover, and it’s logical for the safety to cover him, but he’s told not to.

“That, by design, is outstanding. It’d be easy to put him on the wing, but Adam knows the defense’s rules. All the little details work out really well. Very few people do this.

“They’ve got good players, and he knows what to do with them. He puts guys in position to have success. It would be easy to do the same stuff over and over, but each week he’s going to create.”

Mike McCoy — Deciphering Defenses

My trip to San Diego included a conversation with Mike McCoy on the progress of Philip Rivers. It was McCoy who had impressed upon Rivers in 2013 the value of what some call the dink-and-dunk: As a quarterback, read almost everything in the passing game from low to high, rather than from high to low. Asked how many quarterbacks would be better in that sort of offense, McCoy said, “All 32 of them.”

Martz’s offenses were never so patient, but in the Chargers head coach he sees football’s best offensive mind, saying, “I think right now he might be the best head coach in the league.”

Martz pulls up San Diego’s signature win of the season, a dethroning of sorts of the Seahawks in Week 2.

“Here’s how they won this game, and it wasn’t a fluke,” Martz says. “Real low risk, didn’t ask Rivers to hold the ball long or throw it down the field. Just run downhill on these guys. A team like Seattle that does a lot of stuff on defense, they can stunt themselves right out of the running game.”

During their opening drive, which resulted in a field goal, the Chargers lined up in a left-heavy formation, got set, and then abruptly shifted to the right, sending Seattle’s defense into disarray. The result: a four-yard gain off tackle.

Here’s what the Seahawks’ defense looked like just before the ball was snapped:

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“Whether it’s a good play or a bad play, he’s got them on their heels,” Martz says. “To get three yards on these guys is tough in the running game. No. 93 doesn’t even have his hand on the ground and he’s getting ear-holed at the snap.

“Anytime you can get a defense just a half a step off, you’ve got a leg up on them.”

A testament to Seattle’s defense, the Chargers had less than 70 rushing yards in their 30-21 win. Most of the offensive production rested on Rivers and the passing game. At the beginning of the next drive, the Chargers’ formation caused Seattle’s linebackers to betray a careful disguise.

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Antonio Gates motioned inside from the right, and nobody on defense moved a muscle. That’s by design: Carroll and Quinn want the passer to think he’s playing against a zone, but it’s really a man defense with rules that say the strongside linebacker covers the slot receiver and the safety covers the second receiver from the sideline.

“Seattle’s whole thing is disguising the coverage and beating you at the line of scrimmage before you recuperate,” Martz says. “That’s how they won the Super Bowl.”

The hope is that a five-man rush can get there before Rivers figures it out.

But the Chargers’ pre-snap alignment gives Rivers a glimpse of Seattle’s scheme. Because the running back is to the right of the quarterback on the three-receiver side, linebacker Malcolm Smith lines up over the center. Though he doesn’t want to betray Seattle’s ruse, Smith also doesn’t want to get beaten on a route to the strongside flat. “Rivers recognizes this,” Martz says, “and you don’t figure that out without being prepared and having a very specific understanding of how the defense will react to your sets.”

Rivers knows it’s man coverage, and he also knows linebacker Bobby Wagner is responsible for Antonio Gates, who catches the ball 15 yards downfield.

“Know the man coverage beater on every play,” Martz says. “The first thing he’s looking at is the linebackers. If they’re out of position, he’s not even looking downfield. He’s checking down. That’s too easy.”

Mike McCarthy — Understanding Tendencies

Great football tickles Mike Martz. Outstanding audibles make him squeal. Well-drawn-up plays send him into man-crush mode.

“You want to talk about a great coach?” he asks. “Check out Mike McCarthy.”

His level of preparation is what stands out the most. We watch only 30 seconds of Green Bay’s Week 5 victory over Minnesota before identifying something special.

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On first-and-10 near midfield, Rodgers recognizes a defensive alignment and checks to a run off the left guard. Eddie Lacy takes the handoff for 29 yards, setting up a Packers touchdown.

“This is a run check. See the two tackles, outside shade on the guards? You never have that unless it’s third-and-long. It’s probably going to be a double plug up the middle by the backers. So you check to this run, and if he gets through there, there’s no scraping linebacker. You’ve got to look at a lot of tape and really understand the defense to know that’s going to happen.”

The ensuing touchdown was an eight-yard flip to Randall Cobb, who has 922 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns through 12 games. Says Martz, “I tried to get Chicago to draft him, but they said, ‘No. Too little, not really a receiver.’ ”

We skip ahead to Rodgers’ 66-yard touchdown bomb to Jordy Nelson, who beats safety Harrison Smith with a double move to the post. The play appears to be a masterly combination of ability, planning and execution. Martz explains the concept of boundary coverage. When the offense is on a particular hash mark, the wider side of the field is known as ‘field.’ Some coordinators will ask one safety to cover the short half, and two other players to split the larger ‘field’ in half.

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“This cracks me up. McCarthy knows that when he’s in a certain personnel, [Vikings head coach Mike] Zimmer will leave the safety on the short side of the field responsible for half the field with the safety and the other cornerback responsible for the other half. His stat guy is telling him that.

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“He runs play-action to give Jordy Nelson time to execute the double-move,” Martz says. “The receiver on the bottom runs a dig, because McCarthy knows the safety will bite on it. That leaves Jordy Nelson and No. 22 [Smith] all alone back there. Any safety back there might not be able to cover that.

“This is what it’s all about. When you know the defensive rules and you don’t take advantage of them, you ought to be fired.”

* * *

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Retired NFL players talk about struggling to find what comes next. After his last coaching gig, Martz got an immediate answer: television. He worked as an analyst for Fox for a year but found the work impersonal and the workplace fractured by politics.

The idea of getting back into coaching is enticing, and he has no shortage of friends still in the business. Of the 22 players who started during his senior year at Fresno State, 17 went into coaching. (Martz was a tight end.) There are consulting offers to be had, similar to Al Saunders’ role in Oakland. But being the experienced voice that chimes in with advice doesn’t appeal to Martz. Eventually, he’d want to run the show.

“I think about going back all the time,” he says. “But you can’t just kind of go back. You’ve got to go back and do it right.”

For him, that would mean going to a team that values innovation around a traditional dropback quarterback.

“Personnel guys fall in love with a guy who can make plays with his legs,” Martz says of quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III and Michael Vick. “You tell a personnel guy, ‘OK, your job depends on whether he can win games for us, and if you’re telling me he’s going to win us games by running the football, you’re nuts.’ Then they start having second thoughts.

“Your quarterback has to be a terrific passer first. See the field, make good decisions, and then throw it straight. That’s where RG3 fails. He wants to hold onto the ball when he should let it loose. You can’t cloud up the fact that this game is still played by passers.”

It’s something that Gase, McCoy and McCarthy know better than anyone else.

RamView, November 29, 2015
Game #11: Bengals 31, Rams 7

It’s Thanksgiving time in Cincinnati, and somewhere Jeff Fisher is saying, as God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly. In this week’s spiritless, feckless, hapless, worthless blowout loss to the Bengals, his team soared like turkeys and looked every bit like a team just playing out the string. Pass the gravy.

Position by position:
* QB: Nick Foles’ (30-46-228, 3 INT, PR 49.9) toughness this season has been admirable, and he made a couple of good plays this week, but those were tiny flowers poking out of the massive heap of, um, compost that is the Ram offense and Nick’s game. After the offense started the game with an ugly 3-and-out, Foles threw ugly passes behind Jared Cook and Kenny Britt before hitting Cook over the middle for 16. He’d keep the drive alive on 3rd-and-2 by scrambling and backing over A.J. Hawk, but, classic Fisherball, classic Foles, settled for a 3-yard pass to Brian Quick on a 3rd-and-8. More classic Fisherball, the Rams got the ball back across midfield, gained one yard, punted. Down 17-7 before halftime, Foles appeared to rally. Always under pressure from the right side, he hung tough to hit Britt for 18 and beat a 3rd-and-7 blitz to hit Britt for 15 more down to the Bengal 22. The Rams should at least close the gap, right? No, Foles forces a throw for Cook inside the 5 but George Iloka breaks it up and tips the ball to Reggie Nelson for a Bengal INT. That play pretty much turned the tide. The Rams couldn’t get the running game or quick screen game going. The D gave up a quick TD to get the offense pressing even more, and Foles pressed his way into a back-breaking pick-six. Flushed out of the pocket near his goal line, he rolled left, then tried a goofy, cross-body, cross-field throw he thought Bradley Marquez would come back to, but Leon Hall came back to it instead to put the Bengals ahead 31-7. The Rams got across midfield to end the 3rd, but Foles led off the 4th with what I wish was his last throw as a Ram. Britt was wide open down the sideline had Foles’ throw been decent, but, hurried by the Bengal pass rush, Nick made a typical Foles deep throw, an awful, back-footed lob that future Hall-of-Famer Iloka fair caught for Cincy’s third INT. Everything about Foles – technique, decision-making – falls completely apart under pressure. Sean Mannion (6-7-31) got to close out this preseason-quality effort like he closed out games in August, running the 2:00 offense. Unfortunately, his one throw that stood out was the incompletion, an out route that didn’t make it to the sideline on the bounce. Foles wasn’t helped at all by his overmatched row of turnstiles posing as an offensive line, nor by his drumsticks-for-hands receivers. You’ll never see Foles yelling at his teammates or throwing them under the bus in the press, but maybe he needs to. He’s bad and they’re making him look awful.

* RB: Tavon Austin (4-63 rush, 6-33 recv) was the only spark the Ram offense had, and that was mainly on one play. In the 2nd, Todd Gurley took a snap in Wildcat formation and handed off to Austin, who got a solid edge block from Cook (!), zipped around an overpursuing DE and launched into hyperspeed. Britt got him 25 yards’ worth of interference to top off a 60-yard run. That set Austin up for a 5-yard jet sweep TD two plays later behind more solid blocking from Cook (!!). That’ll be the last time “solid blocking” is discussed here, though. It’s remarkable that Gurley (9-19) even gained as much as 19 yards, because he was met in the backfield almost every carry. No one blocked Carlos Dunlap on either of Gurley’s first two runs. The second was a 3-yard loss on 3rd-and-1 because no one blocked Iloka, either. His next carry, two Bengals pinned him behind the LOS but he surged past them and turned a 3-yard loss into a 4-yard gain. No matter, Geno Atkins engulfed him the next play for a 3-yard loss (and an airplane spin). Had Gurley not broken the tackles he did, he would have totaled about 5 yards. He had nowhere to go inside or outside. Fox’s announcers commented that even Earl Campbell wouldn’t have gotten far this week behind the Rams’ blocking. For all he’s been for the Rams this season, young Gurley isn’t that.

* Receivers: None of the Rams’ big receivers play big; Nick Foles, among others, could use one who does. Before halftime, a really good TE with the inside track to a goal line throw would have gone up and got it, won the jump ball. Jared Cook (4-58), though, gets beaten from behind by Iloka, who created an INT. The Ram offense discovered the quick slant this week, which led to a wildly-productive game for Kenny Britt (6-63). Dre Kirkpatrick got credit for a pass breakup, but the incomplete pass that ended a drive in the 2nd that the Rams started across midfield was off both Britt’s hands. A really good WR comes down with that ball. Or catches the 4th-and-6 pass in the 4th that was off both Britt’s outstretched hands. Then there’s Brian Quick (2-8), who must believe every ball thrown TO him is actually being thrown AT him. He doesn’t catch balls as much as he tries to get them to stop attacking him. We saw it yet again in the 3rd, when he let a 3rd-and-9 back shoulder throw into his body and muffed it at the sideline. And do the Rams throw so many 3rd-down passes short of the sticks expecting a big WR to break a tackle? Does it ever happen? Britt and Cook blocked well on the Rams’ TD drive. Britt had a couple of catches that set up, well, the INT meant for Cook. Britt was wide open down the sideline on Foles’ last INT but the QB missed badly. But there’s still several drives a game you can count on the Rams’ big receivers to kill because they don’t play big, at least not consistently. Lance Kendricks’ blocking lately has been the epitome of someone not playing big. Unless he’s getting a good run at somebody, he’s getting nothing done as a lead blocker, and he looked very tentative in that role this week. Also, didn’t I hear the Rams signed Wes Welker (2-12) a while back? Where did he go? With the running game and screen game shut down, these guys needed to step up. At most, they did a little. There’s no one here who can, or maybe wants to, take over a game when time calls for it. All I see are guys happy to be well-compensated bit players on a (if they’re lucky) 5-11 team.

* Offensive line: Like the Wal-Mart greeter who gets to open the store on Black Friday, the Rams were immediately overrun up front and stayed that way. They blocked so poorly early on, it wasn’t apparent they were actually trying to obstruct the Bengals. No one blocked Dunlap on the first two runs, nor Iloka on the second. I’d put that on makeshift RT Garrett Reynolds, who I don’t think ever knew what he was supposed to be doing that opening series. I’m certain Iloka was supposed to be his block. And Dunlap was the guy in front of him, and usually going around him, all day. The Rams did not show the strength to win battles inside and did not show the speed or athleticism to block the Bengals on the move outside. They tried to move block for Gurley in the 1st and nearly got him buried after Kendricks whiffed horribly and Demetrious Rhaney let a LB run right by. Gurley made chicken salad out of um, those substandard ingredients, but Geno Atkins gave him the bird the next play, humiliating Tim Barnes and spinning Gurley down for a big loss. The Rams got the ball back at midfield only to have Atkins bury Tre Mason. He beat Rhaney AND Greg Robinson, who actually blocked him into the hole. Reynolds got beaten repeatedly as Foles tried to drive the Rams at the end of the half. Foles actually survived the first half without getting sacked (thanks to a defensive hold), but it didn’t last long. Atkins split Barnes and Cody Wichmann to drill him in the 3rd. Austin lost 5 to start the next drive because Cory Harkey ended up having to block Dunlap AND Iloka, and he whiffed on Dunlap. A quick screen to Austin went nowhere the next play because Robinson couldn’t lead out in time. Dunlap beat Reynolds for the millionth time to flush Foles into throwing his pick-six. Dunlap and Atkins weren’t the only Bengals at the party. Wallace Freaking Gilberry blew up a swing pass for Gurley in the 3rd by getting in Foles’ face. Robinson got beat in the 4th by Chris Carter, who does not do nothing but catch TDs, to rush Foles’ third INT. Carter and Frankenberry were a handful for the future Auburn draft bust the whole 2nd half. In the 4th, his whiff on Carter nearly got Gurley buried, then on 3rd-and-1, he took back a first down pass to Austin with his millionth holding penalty of the season, forced to tackle Dingleberry after getting beaten by the Bengal backup. On Foles’ final flailings late in the 4th, Wichmann got beaten badly by Dunlap rushing from DT to blow up a screen, then Robinson lost yet again to the immortal Huckleberry to force another bad throw. Where to start? Reynolds was awful, but at least he was playing out of position against a likely Pro Bowl DE. We knew the inexperienced Wichmann, the lightweight Barnes and the inexperienced AND lightweight Rhaney were going to have major trouble containing the Bengals’ dominant DTs, and they didn’t surprise us. And Robinson has gone full Jason Smith. Who in this league can he block if he’s going to get run over by backups every week? If not for Jared Cook’s blocking during the Rams’ only TD drive, I’m not sure the Rams landed a good block all game. They could not, and did not, start an NFL-quality line this week. The results made that obvious.

* Defensive line/LB: With Andy Dalton (20-27-233, 3 TD) getting the ball out quickly behind one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, and without Robert Quinn again this week, the Ram front had about as much impact as you’d expect: no sacks, 376 yards of total offense. Jeremy Hill (16-86) took off for 15 on Cincy’s first play, with the Rams getting no penetration at DT and James Laurinaitis getting taken out by the lead-blocking TE. Dalton beat a blitz with a shovel pass to Tyler Eifert for another 15, and the Bengals were on the way to their first TD. The D had Cincy 3-and-out to end the 1st. Eugene Sims tipped a pass, Michael Brockers blew up a run and Laurinaitis and Mark Barron shut down a screen to Gio Bernard. But special teams gave the Bengals the ball back and deflated the D. Dalton scrambled by Aaron Donald for 5. All the Rams but Sims (who got blocked) bit like amateurs on a 30-yard reverse that got Marvin Jones inside the 10. Rodney McLeod made a nice goal-line run stop, though, and Daren Bates a nice end zone pass breakup, to hold the Bengals to 3. Those looked like big plays when the offense drew to within 10-7. So what do the Rams do? (deflating balloon sound) They gave Dalton forever to dump off to Hill for 14. Hill made four Rams miss on a 3-yard run. Then he got 12 more up the gut as Laurinaitis got canceled out by the blocking TE again. Dalton mostly threw quickly, and the Rams didn’t get near him when he didn’t. Eifert made it 17-7 and it wouldn’t get any closer. Hill ground up clock in the 2nd half with Chris Long jumping inside too hard, or Donald or Laurinaitis overrunning the play, or Brockers getting knocked 10 feet downfield and pancaked. Fortunately, Will Hayes, with one of the few quality QB pressures of the day, got Dalton to throw a bad INT in the 3rd. Hayes was the only Ram lineman to get off the LOS that play. In the 3rd, the whole line overplayed a 52-yard screen to Bernard that set up another Bengal TD. Other teams’ DEs blow our screens up all the time; can we return the favor one of these days? Barron was one of the few bright spots, with 10 tackles and several clutch stops. The Rams didn’t give up much in the 4th, not that the Bengals were really trying. And you still had Donald whiffing, Hill running through a stupid overshift for a big gain, Hayes getting mauled by Andrew Whitworth, Laurinaitis and Akeem Ayers getting stumped in the hole. The Rams didn’t make plays and often didn’t get in place to make plays. The world’s most amateur scouting report mentioned last week that part of Cincy’s blocking strategy is to get defenders overplaying and wash them out of plays; the Rams never adjusted to it. Physical and strategic failure in the “war” in the trenches.

* Secondary: The Ram defense was ultimately doomed by a mistake-filled game in the secondary. 3rd-3 the opening drive, they’re playing tight zone coverage but Janoris Jenkins still lets A.J. Green (6-61, 2 TD) inside for a drag route and down to the 10. The next play, Jenkins and Rodney McLeod brilliantly jump a short route to the feared Mohammed Sanu while leaving Green open by five yards behind them for a simple TD. Another classic screwup by those two. Tyler Eifert faked Marcus Roberson (starting for injured Trumaine Johnson) into sitting on a short route the next drive and burned him deep, but McLeod saved Roberson’s bacon by blasting the catch away. In the 2nd, Daren Bates, not falling for the lineman-eligible play, saved the Rams 4 points with an excellent leaping pass breakup in the end zone. The Rams appeared to have settled down a little. Not for long. Bates and T.J. McDonald gave Eifert a free run down the right seam for a 21-yard TD. Gee, think you might want to cover a guy down there who has 11 TDs this year? Make it 12. After halftime, Jenkins got a gift INT from Andy Dalton and the Rams appeared to settle down again. Nope, not for long. Joyner and Mark Barron got blocked as Giovani Bernard took off with a simple screen pass for 52, then Green got another free run in the red zone for an 18-yard TD. James Laurinaitis didn’t get enough of a drop, McLeod didn’t close on him, ball game. The Rams have been FAR better than this in the red zone this season, but this week, they looked as confused in coverage as they have since the beginning of last season. This team’s latest very disappointing development.

* Special teams: Special teams stood out mostly for penalties, committing FIVE of the team’s seven. Back-to-back false starts on a punt that Johnny Hekker plonked into the end zone anyway. (Hekker clubbed his first punt a whole 37 yards to tee up Cincy’s opening TD drive.) Chase Reynolds ran into the punter to turn a 3-and-out into an 85-yard, nearly 7:00 FG drive. Holding by Bates on a kickoff to bury the Rams deep in their end for Hall’s pick-six. The only bright spot, possibly on this whole team, was Zach Hocker blasting a couple of kickoffs out the back of the end zone. WHO? He’s the emergency kicker the Rams had to pick up because Greg Zuerlein (hip) was out. With this week’s sloppy play, I have to reluctantly add STs coach John Fassel to this year’s list of Rams disappointments. I really thought special teams could put the Rams over the top this year. But like so much of this team, they’ve regressed instead.

* Strategery: Expecting Frank Cignetti to get a lot done in Cincinnati with this offensive line, these receivers, and a QB the team doesn’t want starting was not realistic. Breaking out the Wildcat formation a couple of times was creative and quite productive. He didn’t forget Austin this week and used him instead of just decoying with him. And after 10 weeks, the Ram offense finally discovered the slant route. But the Rams have scored four TDs in four weeks. Cignetti’s game plan was riddled with design flaws. I thought they needed more quick-developing plays like the quick slants. What was a slow fake end-around that sets up a slow screen pass to slow Britt supposed to be good for? Yeah, a loss. You know who has made a career out of getting open at the LOS within about a second? Wes Welker. Where was he? What was the only time Foles looked remotely comfortable all day? Running the 2:00 offense before halftime. So why not run no-huddle in the 2nd half? I’m not sure if a couple of plays were poor execution or poor design. Cook got a penalty attempting to run a route from the backfield before the snap one play. That’s great play design, IF you’re the Toronto Argonauts. Late in the game, Cincy’s been jumping quick screens all game, so they’ve got Bradley Marquez and Austin flanked right and running… the same route? Austin gets the ball but gets nowhere with Marquez’ route pulling in an extra defender. Huh? The Rams didn’t have the personnel on offense to get much of anywhere against Cincinnati. They didn’t have the game plan, either.

Gregg Williams’ defense didn’t seem very well prepared. I think he was trying to mix up coverages enough to confuse Dalton but ended up confusing his own guys instead. The number of zone coverage breakdowns was appalling, and communication back there was poor to the point that Williams should have just simplified everything and gone to man while it was still a game. Bengals OC Hue Jackson (once interviewed here for that role; Fisher hired Brian Schottenheimer) fooled Williams repeatedly, whether with screen passes away from blitz pressure or the Marvin Jones reverse that gave the entire defense whiplash. The Rams were off-balance and overpursued enough to make you think they weren’t coached up enough on Cincinnati’s style of play. Nothing happy to find in any of this happening at this point of the season.

I don’t know if Jeff Fisher is trying to win now, in the future, or ever. I don’t know why Gurley’s in the game in the 4th quarter down 31-7, getting a minor injury, and getting rolled right back out there. I don’t know why Welker’s back returning a punt at the end of the game. Not like that’s a high-velocity-impact-rich environment to send a guy with a concussion history into or anything. And I absolutely don’t know why Fisher was calling timeouts in the final minute of this dog. Bengals fans, Rams fans join you in booing that oddball move. All the times Fisher has failed to call timeouts in his time here and he’s using them then?

Does Kroenke think this brand of football is going to sell for long in any stadium in any city?

* Upon further review: Didn’t look like a very challenging game for Craig Wrolstead and crew. Fisher had a beef before the Bengal FG that he wasn’t getting proper opportunity to match up on defense. On the 52-yard screen to Bernard in the 3rd, T.J. McDonald took a blatant block in the back that would have called it all back and possibly stopped a TD drive. Not seeing much else, I’ll try to appreciate that an officiating crew having a quiet game is usually also having a good game. Grade: B-minus

* Cheers: If you ask Fox, the highlight of this week’s broadcast was Tony Siragusa’s porkpie hat, which I’m pretty sure he bought thinking it was made out of pork and/or had pie in it. Such keen analysis from Charles Davis and Siragusa that the Rams needed to run outside more after Gurley got stuffed up the middle a couple of times, when that was what the Rams tried first. And it didn’t work the rest of the game, either, except for one long run. Analyze that. Thom Brennaman read off Fisher’s coaching record at the end of the game like a rap sheet: 6 winning seasons in 21 as a head coach, no playoff win since 2003. Brennaman’s leading the Fire Fisher Brigade in the media, for whatever it ever amounts to.

* Who’s next?: The Rams return for what could be their final stand in St. Louis, three straight home games that will take this season down the homestretch. It’ll start with the team that might well leave vs. the team that did leave. The Rams broke a three-game losing streak in the series when they surprised Arizona in the desert in October, 24-22. That left them 7-8 there since moving to St. Louis, while they’re only 5-9 here.

The Rams won the first meeting this year behind clutch red zone defense, which will be difficult to repeat without Quinn, and was a very unusual performance against Carson Palmer this season anyway. He leads the league (yes, even Brady) in TD passes (27) and QB rating (108.9) and is 3rd in passing yards. Arizona is also tied for 5th for fewest sacks allowed. I mentioned in the first Arizona preview that Palmer’s improved footwork has really helped his line and his receivers, but now, he’s also getting some of the best line play he’s gotten as a Cardinal. LT Jared Veldheer was outstanding last Sunday night against the Bengals and RT Bobby Massie kept the feared Carlos Dunlap off the stat sheet. Veldheer and LG Mike Iupati really got the running game going on the left side. Chris Johnson is by far Arizona’s leading rusher and is a lot more patient than I remember, not trying to bounce everything outside. All the Arizona backs are good receivers, and with Larry Fitzgerald, are all huge options on screens. With the trouble that play has given the Rams lately, they HAVE to be on point against it for Arizona. And with Fitzgerald one of the league’s very best blocking WRs, Jenkins HAS to be able to get off blocks and prevent short passes from turning into big plays, which didn’t happen vs. Chicago and Baltimore. Gregg Williams is the one Rams DC in a decade to recognize Fitzgerald is the key to stopping the Cardinal offense and has been willing to devote extra attention to him. To get away with that, he’ll have to pressure Palmer enough to keep him from hitting one of his million deep threats, including John Brown, Jaron Brown, and now J.J. Nelson. (Michael Floyd, too, if his hamstring isn’t a bother.) Blitzing will get into Palmer’s head and get him making dumb throws. Williams got to him last time with safety blitzes. He’ll need Aaron Donald whipping center Lyle Sendlein up front, maybe from that 3-man front that’s disappeared from the Ram defense, to set the table for the DEs. Williams has solved the Cardinal offense before; the Rams will need some more successful equations from their defensive mad scientist.

Algebra isn’t the Rams’ strength on offense; it’s been a long time since they solved the Cardinal defense for C^2 or P^2. Calais Campbell had a season-high 10 tackles against them in October and has been blowing up Ram blocking schemes his entire career. So I really liked what Cincinnati did with him; they double-teamed a DT next to him and ran thattaway. Depending on his ankle injury, avoidance may also be the best policy with Patrick Peterson. He smothered A.J. Green last Sunday and asphyxiated Kenny Britt (0-0) in October. Whoever’s QBing the Rams, assuming he can get rid of the ball, will be much better off picking on Jerraud Powers. After getting burned by Austin (6-96, 2 TD) and Gurley (146 yards) in the first meeting, if anyone’s going to be ready for the Rams’ two-man show on offense, it’ll be Arizona. Their defensive calling card remains heavy blitzing. No one in their front has a lot of sacks, but they have a lot of players who can get to the QB, and that blitz made Cincy’s vaunted o-line look pretty average. The soft, gooey center of the Ram o-line (and the backs) will have to deal with a lot of blitzes right up the gut by Deon Bucannon from safety and by battering ram/LB Kevin Minter. Even if they can pick that up, Jason Sm, er, Greg Robinson will be more than challenged at LT. Rookie OLB Markus Golden was a handful for Andrew Whitworth, so he’ll be beating Robinson all game, and Dwight Freaking Freeney, who I did not know was still in the league, or a Cardinal, has 3 sacks in the last 4 games and is guaranteed to burn Robinson at least once as a spot rusher with his legendary spin move. OC Cignetti’s task again this week is to try to keep his QB from getting shelled. He’ll have to rely on draws and screens and the slant passes he’s finally discovered after 10-11 weeks. Gurley’s biggest successes in Arizona were behind move blockers, if Cignetti remembers what those are. (Preferably Harkey; Kendricks is useless.) And whether or not they’re running well, the Rams have to keep play-action in the game plan. This is always effective against Arizona because they are overaggressive. The Rams aren’t going to dictate anything on offense against Arizona, or probably anybody else this year. They’re going to have to learn to counterattack.

Jeff Fisher built a team designed to win games in the NFC West, where the Rams are 3-0, but forgot about the rest of the league, where they’re a dismal 1-7. And now that they’re back in the division for a week, they get a red-hot Cardinal team that’s won 5 in a row and has been waiting two months for payback. What might be the last shot St. Louis gets at Bill Bidwill doesn’t look like it’s going to end well.

— Mike
Game stats from espn.com

Concussions and their long term effects on the brain are beginning to be studied in public school students. Based on the results thus far some doctors are calling for the ban of tackle football in highschools.

But doesn’t it follow that college football should be banned for the same reasons (not that there’s a chance of that happening given the money involved)? Then what happens to the NFL if its farm system is abolished? Should it matter?

http://www.bioethics.net/2015/10/medical-ethics-and-school-football/

MEDICAL ETHICS AND SCHOOL FOOTBALL
by Steven H. Miles, MD and Shailendra Prasad, MD, MPH

This is a special pre-print posting of an editorial scheduled for the January 2016 issue of the American Journal of Bioethics.

Health professionals should call for ending public school tackle football programs. We disagree with the perspective and the argument of a recent report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that supports the current organization of reforms of youth tackle football.

About 1.1 million students play on junior and high school football teams. Another three million play in non-school programs. Youth football is slowly dying. The number of players on junior and high school football teams has fallen 2.4% over the last 5 years. Pop Warner Football, the largest non-school based program has seen its number of student athletes fall 9.5% (23,612 athletes) from 2010 to 2012. Data is not available for other youth leagues.

We agree with the AAP that the rare deaths (seven through October 2015) or catastrophic neck injuries do not, of themselves, tip the balance against school football. Tragedies occur in other sports and activities that young people pursue. Youth football also brings high risks of sprains, strains, ligamentous tears and fractures but these risks are roughly comparable to other sports.

Public schools should end their football programs because of the high prevalence of concussions. Five to twenty percent of students experience at least one concussion in a season of play. Nine to twelve year old players experience an average of 240 head impacts per season; high school players average 650 head impacts per season. An initial football concussion increases the risk of a subsequent concussion three or four fold not simply for the balance of that season but for the following season as well. Catastrophic brain injuries, though rare, are far more common in high school and college players who have experienced a previous non-catastrophic concussion. The brains of children are more susceptible to long-term damage from concussion than adults. Although the frequency of concussion in football is about the same as in hockey, fifty times as many students play football than hockey; football causes far more brain injuries. The brain is an irreplaceable organ, the health of which is foundational for the ability to learn, socialize and for fully realizing life’s physical and vocational opportunities.

Research about the consequences of school football for cognitive function is foreboding and evolving in a discouraging way. Youth football head trauma (aside from catastrophic brain, head and neck injuries) has not yet been proven to progress to the dementia, Parkinson’s disease, behavioral disorders, and mood disorders seen in professional players. Even so, school football concussions are often followed by weeks of impaired school academic performance, memory disturbances, headaches and absenteeism. High school cheerleaders have impaired cognition for at least days after a single concussion even when claiming to be asymptomatic. Cognitive dysfunction or neuron injury occurs after repetitive mild to moderate athletic concussions; catastrophic injuries or instances of prolonged loss of consciousness are not required to cause such harm. Even when measured cognition returns to baseline, symptoms of concussion often persist. A season of collegiate play leads to persistent cognitive dysfunction that is roughly proportional to the magnitude of head impact. One study shows that greater later-life cognitive impairment in NFL players is correlated with exposure to competitive football before twelve years of age. Evidence about the effect of youth football is evolving but is sufficient to show that school football is likely to adversely affecting school performance in the short term and may, if the trauma is not stopped, may proceed to permanent cognitive dysfunction over the long term.

A downward trend for deaths and for head and neck injuries is attributed to 1976 bans on head butting and spear and facemask tackles. However, these illegal tactics persisted despite bans. Students however do not reliably accept information about concussion and often fail to report concussive symptoms. Coaches inconsistently evaluate for signs of concussion and often fail to remove injured players from games.

Inevitably, lawsuits are being filed against youth football in the wake of the successful suit against the National Football League. In 2015, an Iowa court awarded a player a million dollars for negligence in diagnosing and acting on a concussion four years after the state had implemented legal reforms to reduce football injuries from head trauma. Pop Warner Football is being sued for the suicide a young player. A young athlete who suffered a severe concussion sued the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), asked a court to order medical testing of former high school players going back to 2002. The judge dismissed the suit paradoxically noting, “IHSA is simply a governmental entity charged with safeguarding student athletes . . . (Imposing) broader liability on this defendant would certainly change the sport of football and potentially harm it or cause it to be abandoned.” In other words, the potential harm to the athletic program itself counterbalanced the failure to protect against an actual severe concussion. At least three high schools in the country discontinued football programs this year due to concerns for player safety.

School football is caught between worsening scientific findings, evidence showing that new rules of play or coaching or equipment have a modest effect on concussions, parents who are not allowing their children to play, and lawsuits aimed at leagues and school personnel. Anecdotally, many prominent professional players, including Mike Ditka and Joe Namath, publically say that they would not let young relatives play football.

Un-informed Consent

Proponents of school tackle football, including the AAP, propose informed consent as the best way to ensure parents and children understand and accept the risks of school football. However, existing consent forms are deeply flawed. They do not quantify risk or they minimize it with misleadingly contextualization (e.g., “There is a degree of risk in all daily activities.”) The consent forms do not rebut the ungrounded hope of 26% of parents, especially those with economic and educational disadvantages, that their child will turn school participation in to a professional athletic career. Even when parents have been educated by the team and signed consent, many student players do not understand the symptoms or potential consequences of concussion.

An honest consent form for football might include language like this:

Concussion: “The risk of having at least one concussion in any season of play and practice is anywhere from one in five players to one in twenty players. It is not known how many of these students suffer more than one concussion. After one concussion, that the risk of additional concussion(s) in that season or in a following season is increased three or four fold. A concussion increases the risk of a later catastrophic brain or neck injury that may result in paralysis or death. Studies show that football concussions are highly likely to cause headaches and difficulty concentrating or performing schoolwork for a week, several weeks or even longer.

School football as a pathway to a professional football career: About one of every sixteen high school football players will play on a college team. About one in 1,200 high school football players ever play on a professional team. The average professional career is 3.3 years. Professional football players have much higher rates of depression, thinking problems, and physical disabilities than the general public.

Insurance: The team (has /does not have) a team physician/nurse to monitor for fitness to play. Such persons will try to detect athletes with concussions but their success at preventing concussions or other injuries is very limited. General medical insurance is the student’s responsibility. In the event of a catastrophic injury, the school does not provide or pay for long-term rehabilitation or vocational retraining, long term care or adaptive aids like crutches or wheelchairs. The school does not provide disability insurance for lost income.

The Dual Loyalty Problem of School Football

Medical ethics often addresses issues of dual loyalties. In such issues, the physician’s primary duty to a patient’s choice and well-being is potentially compromised by a contending personal interest or institutional pressure. Dual loyalty conflicts are seen in prison health care, military medicine, occupational medicine, research with human subjects and so on. Dual loyalties can affect a team physician or coach’s assessment and counseling of an aspiring football player. Risks may be minimized as students sign up to play. The potential for training, equipment, rules and refereeing to reduce concussions may be overstated. Injured players may be prematurely permitted or encouraged to ‘choose’ to return to play. Such issues affect the authenticity of choices of students who are also influenced by appeals to ‘school spirit,’ the mirage of a pro career, or peer pressure especially in smaller communities that have few candidates to fill a team roster.

Dual loyalty conflicts also work at an institutional level. School football is big business and a large part of popular culture. It is fiercely protected as is evident in the words of a judge who dismisses an injured player’s lawsuit for fear it might “harm” the sport.

The AAP’s child-centered mission is “to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.” This mission unambiguously states that dual-loyalty conflicts must be resolved by keeping youths’ health paramount.

However, the AAP’s report on youth tackle football balances health with the interests of the youth football industry. Its lead authors are experts on the clinical science of sports injuries but both coach sports where concussions are frequent. The report inexplicably omits discussing the effects of concussion on academic performance (the reason for going to school). It argues for respecting the ‘choice’ to play without noting how that schools, parents, coaches or the unrealistic aspirations for a pro career may pressure ‘choice’. It fails to offer an evidence-based template for informed consent, essentially preserving the current model of consent as a liability waiver. The report is optimistically speculative as when it suggests that neck strengthening might decrease the catastrophic neck injuries or cautions that that raising the age at which tackling is allowed might increase injuries. Throughout, the report upholds the tradition of youth tackle football against “fundamental change” even though scientific evidence is clearly trending in the opposite direction.

As long as football is played, primary prevention of injuries with the best equipment, coaching, rules of play and procedures for assessing and managing players will be needed.

However, we believe that this is a time for “primordial prevention” that remediates “environmental, economic, social and behavioral conditions, cultural patterns of living known to increase the risk of disease.” For health care professionals, primordial prevention might commend ending support for football in public schools. By this option, health professionals would oppose public support for bonds to build stadiums or athletic facilities for junior or senior high school football. They would oppose public school programs granting academic credit for playing football or leave of absences for practice or games. Such a proposal would not ban youth football. Private play and private leagues, like the Pop Warner program, would continue. Young people choosing such programs would play purely for the game and not be lured by ‘school spirit.’ Health professionals would continue to promote life long exercise programs and school physical education programs. However, under this proposal, the medical community could help students, schools and society leave a sport on which the sun is setting.

• This topic was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by nittany ram.

RamView, November 22, 2015
Game #10: Ravens 16, Rams 13

Stick a fork in the Rams, who found every way to lose they possibly could and lost the worst-played football game of the season against the worst team they’ll see this season until they get home and look in the mirror. This season does not look salvageable at this point, and this coaching regime shouldn’t be.

Position by position:
* QB: Typical fan I am, I was calling for Nick Foles to be removed at halftime last week, and this week, I wanted to pull Case Keenum (12-26-136, 75.2 PR) in the 3rd quarter. Keenum got off to a decent start, hitting Kenny Britt for 16, the kind of downfield timing pass that has fled from Foles’ repertoire. Keenum made the most of his mobility, also an edge he has over Foles, late in the 1st. He rolled right, pump-faked to prevent a sack, pulled it down and fired deep while scrambling across the line of scrimmage (with his back foot just legal) for a long DPI drawn by Jared Cook. That set up a TD, but like any ball Keenum was called upon to throw more than 25 yards downfield, was well underthrown. After a 9-yard hitch to Britt early in the 2nd, Keenum didn’t complete a pass that counted the rest of the half. He threw well short of a well-covered (as always) Tavon Austin and was lucky to avoid an INT. He followed that with a poor sideline throw for Britt on 3rd down that never had a chance. Coming out of halftime, Keenum threw a bomb that came up so short, the refs picked up a flag for DPI because it was uncatchable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Next pass, he misses Austin on an out route with a throw so bad it looked like the ball was tipped. It wasn’t. After an 0-for-7 stretch that made Steve Walsh look like John Elway, it sure looked like Foles Time to me. Or how about the following possession, when Keenum tripped coming out of center, tried a diving handoff to Todd Gurley, which naturally didn’t work and gave Baltimore the ball? Patience with Keenum seemed rewarded when he hit Lance Kendricks for a 30-yard TD to put the Rams up a seemingly insurmountable 13-3. But no lead is safe when Jeff Fisher’s Rams are on a mission to lose. They fumbled the ball away twice and let Baltimore tie the game. Keenum made a clutch play to get out of trouble and put the Rams in FG position late. He rolled left and had nothing, but found Benny Cunningham on the back side for a 20-yard play. So OF COURSE the Rams missed the FG. Baltimore didn’t want to win the game, either, and gave the Rams another late chance to break the tie. Instead it was a chance to break Keenum. Timmy Jernigan drilled his head into the ground on a free play. Keenum clutched his helmet, came up looking like a puppet with its strings cut, but STAYED IN THE GAME long enough to overthrow a pass and give up the game-losing fumble on a sack. Case Keenum was a total joke for about half the game, but was also a gamer who just about made enough plays to win it. Still, when he’s poor at throwing sideline passes, can’t throw much more than 20 yards downfield, doesn’t know how many fingers I’m holding up, and Jeff Fisher STILL considers him the best option at QB, it says a lot about the state of the St. Louis Rams in 2015.

* RB: The Sports Illustrated cover jinx got Todd Gurley (25-66), as the ground game never really got off the ground. He did score the Rams’ first TD on 3 runs inside the 10 behind Cory Harkey’s lead-blocking and Garrett Reynolds’ strong inside work. Todd had a very entertaining 5-yard run in the 2nd. He swept right and shoved down a useless Lance Kendricks and classically leg-pumped his way through several tacklers. That set up a 3rd-and-1, though, where everyone knew Gurley was getting the ball and Baltimore dropped him for a loss. That’s the problem right now, everyone knows Gurley’s getting the ball because the Rams have little else. Gurley found less and less running room, and soon, not even clean handoffs. Keenum tripped and blew one in the 3rd for one turnover. Brandon Williams met Gurley well behind the line early in the 4th and punched out another. Gurley didn’t see much/enough of the ball in the 2nd half until Baltimore tied the game at 13. With the Ravens thinking pass, Gurley knocked out 16 yards on 3 carries to kick off a drive that got the Rams in FG position. Gurley never had a breakaway run; his longest carry was 7 yards, and the Rams did not seem likely to win under those conditions. They seemed even less likely while getting Gurley 6 carries over most of the second half of a game they should have been putting away.

* Receivers: The Rams got a couple of big plays at tight end. Jared Cook (4-31) beat Jimmy Smith deep and drew a 49-yard interference penalty that set up the Rams’ first TD. Lance Kendricks (2-43) got wide open on the backside of a fake rollout play and put the Rams up 13-3 with a 30-yard TD catch. No such impact yet again at WR. Kenny Britt (2-24) was pretty much done after catching the first pass of the game. He and Keenum weren’t in the same book, let alone on the same page, on a couple of blitz adjustments. Tavon Austin’s (1-5) 16-yard end-around set up Kendricks’ TD, but he was mostly a decoy. He wasn’t open for a step, again, on the one deep ball tried his way and he had a drop to start the Rams’ final drive. Wes Welker (2-13) made a couple of nice grabs but was barely a factor in the offense. Keenum’s mobility bought the receivers extra time, but the only time it seemed to matter was on Cook’s long DPI. I doubt any QB short of Russell Wilson has enough mobility to give any of these guys the time they need to get open.

* Offensive line: Last week’s injuries turned the o-line depth chart into an impossible shell game. The plan was to move Garrett Reynolds to LG and give Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann their first career starts at RT and RG, respectively. This held up for a quarter thanks to excellent run-blocking by Reynolds and Cory Harkey. From the 10 after Cook’s long DPI, Gurley followed Harkey and Reynolds for 4, then Harkey for 5 more, with Reynolds and Greg Robinson really bending the edge back. Gurley scored behind a strong combo block by Donnal and pulling Reynolds. But Donnal, whom the Rams drafted despite a myriad of injuries in college, lasted barely a quarter before bowing out with a season-ending knee injury. That’s a hidden play of the game. It forced Reynolds to kick out to RT, Wichmann to LG and put Demetrious Rhaney in at RG, and the Rams rarely competed well on the line afterward. Reynolds had been the only thing holding up Tim Barnes’ and Wichmann’s soft play in the middle. He started getting beaten both pass- and run-blocking as soon as he got out to RT. Robinson’s bitterly disappointing play continued with YET ANOTHER holding penalty to start off the 2nd. Gurley couldn’t convert 3rd-and-1 the next drive after Robinson and Wichmann got blown up. The middle line could not handle Brandon Williams. Gurley got stuffed again the following drive after Robinson and Barnes got pushed well back. Then Courtney Upshaw rolled past Robinson off the snap on 3rd down to force Keenum to scramble wildly. Barnes, who created a false start in the 1st half by forgetting the snap count, (note: he is the CENTER) remained a liability in the 2nd, getting blown off the ball and failing to get to his spot in time on pull blocks. After success with Harkey lead-blocking, the Rams got away from that, but Lance Kendricks continues only to be useful as a move blocker. They rely too often on him to make in-line blocks, like when he didn’t block Elvis Dumervil at all as Gurley got stuffed early in the 2nd. Rhaney was also a weak link. Williams smoked him when he forced the critical Gurley fumble in the 4th. Robinson helped get Gurley going to start a drive late in the 4th, but it bogged down into a FG try (that missed) after Rhaney was beaten inside and Barnes pushed back to get Gurley stopped again. Barnes lost a hand-fight with Timmy Jernigan badly on the play where Keenum was concussed, while Robinson idiotically shoved Upshaw RIGHT TO Keenum to force the game-losing fumble. Way to get your QB blindsided, Robinson. The Rams ultimately proved superior at finding ways to lose as a decade-long broken record of o-line injuries and failed high draft picks keeps scratching on.

* Defensive line/LB: As usual, it was up to the Ram defense to carry the sputtering offense, and as has been the case lately, it was up to Aaron Donald to do a lot of the carrying. Justin Forsett (4-26) got off to a strong start. They started out running at Will Hayes, who was getting blocked 10 feet out of plays and not getting much help from Michael Brockers or James Laurinaitis. Forsett had 10- and 18-yard runs before Nick Fairley stopped the opening drive with a 3rd-down pressure on Joe Flacco. Donald brought Forsett’s day to an unfortunate end the next drive. He beat a pull block (ha, someone thought they could block Aaron Donald with a pull block) and slammed Forsett to the ground for a 5-yard loss and a season-ending broken arm. Laurinaitis stopped Jeremy Butler on a 3rd-down pass to force a FG attempt that missed, giving the Rams momentum. Hayes stuffed Buck Allen to start a 3-and-out to end the 1st. Laurinaitis had a run stop and pressured Flacco for a 3-and-out in the 2nd. After Tavon Austin muffed a punt, the D made a heck of a defensive stand to hold the Ravens to a FG. Donald shot past the center to stuff Allen for a loss, along with Mark Barron. Baltimore beat a blitz and got inside the 10, but Barron then made an excellent open-field play to blow up a swing pass to Kyle Juszczyk. Donald then split the LT and the LG to sack Flacco back at the 20 to send in the kicker. The Rams kept momentum into the 2nd half. Eugene Sims drew a hold to move Baltimore out of FG range, Laurinaitis and Brockers played a draw to Allen perfectly, and when the Ravens crazily went for it on 4th-11, Laurinaitis was all over Juszczyk to stop him well short on a dumpoff. More 3-and-outs followed. Fairley stuffed Allen, then Laurinaitis and Sims blew up and strung out a dumb 3rd-and-1 run that made the Ravens look like they were quitting. The Rams only got the one sack by Donald, but pressured Flacco effectively throughout mostly with 4-man rushes. Hayes and Sims, then Fairley on 3rd down, forced bad Flacco throws for another 3-and-out. The Ravens didn’t quit, though, and the Rams started slipping up in the 4th. Allen beat them for 14 on 3rd-and-2 on a simple dumpoff. Crockett Gillmore got open between Laurinaitis and Barron at the Ram 10 and carried them down to the 3 on a 16-yard gain. That led to a TD, but the front 7 prevented another one after a long gain by Gillmore later. Hayes stuffed Allen and Barron tackled Kamar Aiken at the 1 to help force a tying FG. The last fumble by woozy Keenum was a bridge too far, though. Allen ran for 8 as Brockers and Laurinaitis got blocked, and he ran over Brockers and Donald for 5 more to put the Ravens in winning FG range. They weren’t perfect, but even without Robert Quinn and with Chris Long just back from a knee injury, the Rams were more than good enough up front this week. Ultimately there’s only so much bad offense they can cover up for.

* Secondary: The Ram secondary was barely tested downfield at all by Joe Flacco (27-44-299) and the Ravens’ dysfunctional passing game, but they still had their challenges. One was tackling Crockett Gillmore (5-101), who they made look like Mike Ditka crossed with Mark Bavaro. After T.J. McDonald got faked out by play action, Gillmore was wide open for a short pass in the 1st and ran through Janoris Jenkins for 20. The Rams had much more success against old friend Chris Givens (2-25), who tried to talk smack harder than he tried to run routes. Jenkins broke up a pass for Givens to seal a 3-and-out to start the 2nd. The Rams got a couple of INTs off Flacco that were probably easier than any catches they had to make in pregame warmups. Flacco airmailed a terrible pass right to Rodney McLeod in the 2nd. In the 3rd, Trumaine Johnson defended a deep pass to help get another 3-and-out. When the offense gave the ball right back, TruJo took it right back, grabbing a terrible Flacco floater and returning it across midfield to set up a TD. 13-3 seemed like an insurmountable lead, but at the goal line in the 4th, McDonald got caught in a pick and a freed Kamar Aiken (5-50) beat Marcus Roberson for a TD. The Rams started the next drive by leaving Aiken all alone down the seam for 17, then leaving Gillmore wide open in the flat for a painful 46 on the same kind of play Chicago burned them on the week before. After that, Jenkins and McLeod combined with a nice goal line play to stop a rollout pass and force a Raven FG. Flacco rang up a lot of yards on a lot of short passes. The DBs could have tackled better (especially Gillmore), and they got beaten on several blitzes. It’s still fair to say they had a decent amount of control over Baltimore’s dreadful passing game.

* Special teams: Oh, the horror, the kickers had to kick OUTDOORS again this week. What’s the excuse this time? Typhoon Omar? Hurricane Edgar? Johnny Hekker was about as consistent as the St. Louis weather. After a 61-yard punt that was downed at the 1 nicely by Bradley Marquez and Cody Davis, he chunked a 38-yarder, hit a 30-yard goofball to “pin” the Ravens at their 19 and plonked a 40-yarder into the end zone. Then he hit a 63-yarder. Greg Zuerlein’s day was a mess. He had an extra point blocked that I think he shanked, but the official blame’s going to the blocking on the play. With 1:42 left, the best the Ram offense could do was to get him a 52-yard attempt to take the lead; he missed wide right. Tavon Austin’s day was a total bust. He lost five on one return trying to sweep left with it. He brilliantly signaled fair catch on another and still attempted to return it. And, his poorest play of a poor game: misjudging a punt right before halftime, kneeling and reaching out for it instead of letting it bounce, and muffing it back to the Ravens to set up a FG. Special teams cost the Rams 7 points in a game they lost by three. Never a dull day.

* Strategery: The head coach and coordinators all stink at their jobs right now. Jeff Fisher’s approach to concussions suggests he had one himself this week. I’d like to know why anyone on the Ram sideline thought it was a good idea to keep Keenum in the game after he got knocked for a loop. (Or, for that matter, while he was spraying passes around in the 3rd.) And why put the concussion-prone Welker back with Austin on punts? Is that really a great idea, Welker blocking guys with a 50-yard head of steam?

Both coordinators failed when they got away from what was already working. Like he usually does, Frank Cignetti got away from play-action too early. I didn’t see Baltimore ever stop Gurley following lead blocks from Harkey at fullback, but Cignetti got away from those, too. Gurley got stuffed twice on 3rd-and-1’s on very predictable runs right up the middle, and I don’t think either of those or either of the fumbles involving Gurley were plays that had him running behind a fullback. Also, way too many fakes to Austin without ever actually handing him the ball slowed down too many plays. The Rams need to be a lot quicker-hitting, especially behind the o-line they fielded this week. All those fakes set up exactly one handoff to Austin, which did go for 16, but wasn’t worth the number of fakes invested in it. Baltimore quit worrying about him after about the third fake. The TD call to Kendricks was a sweet one I think Josh McDaniels ran a few times here. Fake play-action rollout, come back to the TE on the backside. And it was clever to start the late FG attempt drive with handoffs to Gurley. Cignetti definitely caught them expecting pass and got that drive off to a good start. Despite those moments, this just wasn’t a cohesive gameplan. Don’t get away from plays that work and keep going back to plays that don’t. Seems like that should be Coaching 101.

Gregg Williams also skipped that class. I liked his first-half plan for its simplicity. Baltimore was never much of a threat to get the ball downfield, so Williams blitzed very little. The d-line didn’t get to Flacco with sacks, but got pressure, and that was plenty to thwart their very limited passing game. I would have been happy to just stick an extra man in the box in the 2nd half to shut down the successful runs. Nope, Williams came out of halftime blitzing. Flacco burned an all-LB blitz for 25 with a quick slant on 3rd-7. The Rams went back to failing to stop simple dumpoffs out of the backfield, even though Baltimore couldn’t get anything accomplished downfield. Then Gillmore beat soft zone coverage, which I don’t think Williams had used much, to set up the Aiken TD. Gillmore’s catch to set up the tying TD was a repeat of the Chicago game. Williams got caught blitzing Ayers, who would have normally covered the receiver who’s wide open instead and turning a simple pass in the flat into a 46-yard gain.

This is supposed to be a coaching staff that knows how to win. Instead, they find as many ways to lose as their players do. I really believe they’ve assembled the parts for a winning team here, but these guys are just never going to put it all together.

* Upon further review: Unbelievably, in a season where the Rams have seen Jeff Triplette twice, Tony Corrente’s crew managed to call the worst game of the season. He deserves the dishonor strictly for the play that got Keenum knocked woozy. Dumervil jumps into the neutral zone, stops, but is unabated to the QB. IMO the play should have been blown dead right there. Even if I’m wrong, it’s Corrente’s damn job not to let the QB get killed on a free play, and with Jernigan on top of Keenum, the play should have been getting blown dead. If Corrente’s doing his job, either Keenum’s still intact after the play, or it’s 15 on Jernigan for a late hit. But, no whistle, no late hit, woozy QB fumbles two plays later, Baltimore’s almost immediately in FG position. Wait a minute, woozy QB? How in the hell did Keenum stay on the field after a hit that had him literally holding his head in pain? And when he’s a total rag doll when his lineman initially tries to help him up? What the hell is the league DOCTOR doing while this is going on, eating crab cakes? Earlier, there was Keenum’s “backward” pass, thrown from the 27 but spotted at the 29, and in what universe is that BACKWARD? Will Hill brought Keenum down excessively late when Baltimore blew up a screen late in the 3rd. Marquez’ 30-yard catch-and-run in the 2nd never should have been called back because none of the penalties should have been called. The personal fouls after the play likely would have been avoided had the whistle been properly blown when Marquez was down. At least then the dubious illegal block called on Britt, whose man was going down on his own to tackle Marquez, would have been a spot foul, I think. Corrente did too much else wrong for me to get this recap in before Thanksgiving. Grade: Big fat F-minus

* Cheers: Today’s breaking news: not only did Tre Mason and Isaiah (Claude Wroten 2.0) Battle miss the team bus Saturday (and therefore the team flight), did you know Mason has been missing meetings and skipping treatments all season? How does Moose Johnston know this, when he does maybe two Rams games a year, and none of the regular Rams reporters do? Has anyone checked, maybe Moose talks to Kroenke, too! Moose failed to explain why Mason is still in a Ram uniform, but still, good job on the scoop.

* Who’s next?: Here’s an omen: the Rams’ last two games against the Cincinnati Bengals have been losses behind backup QBs: Kellen Clemens in 2011, Brock Berlin in 2007. Lotsa luck to anybody expecting Case Keenum to reverse that trend, even though Cincy’s lost two straight after an 8-0 start.

The Rams sure as hell aren’t going to beat the Bengals in a shootout like Arizona did; they’ll have to follow the script from Houston’s 10-6 victory last Monday night if they’re going to have any chance at all. Cincinnati’s offensive line has one of the best reputations of any line in the league. Pro Football Focus grades them the most efficient pass-blocking unit going all the way back to 2007. LT Andrew Whitworth is one of the league’s best blindside protectors and didn’t allow a sack all of 2014. Clint Boling and Kevin Zeitler both grade out as 6th-best in the league at their guard positions. Boling hadn’t allowed a sack in his first 360 snaps this season. Sports Illustrated had an in-depth piece on the Bengal line, and, skipping the details, they’re coached to pass-protect differently than any other team does, and it’s something the Ram line will have to adjust to. If they don’t, they’ll just get swept past Andy Dalton for 60 minutes. Dalton is having the best season of his career (and carrying my fantasy team). Cincy’s up at the top of the league in yards per play, yards per pass attempt, and most importantly, points per game. His decision-making and deep accuracy have both come a long way. The Texans solved him by first taking away the deep ball. Johnathan Joseph made A.J. Green pretty invisible. Green has had some games like that this year. They confused Dalton by mixing up their coverages and made him settle for tons of quick screens and checkdowns. Up front, they stunted the daylights out of the Bengals. Cincy acted like they’d never seen one. They even beat the unassailable Whitworth for a sack by my scoring. Houston also took advantage any time Tyler Eifert had to block somebody in pass pro. Eifert is approaching Gronk status as a red zone TE but did not block to his previous reputation against the Texans. They got into the Bengals’ heads with physical play and made Dalton impatient and got him forcing passes downfield into traffic. That’s a blueprint the Rams have the people to execute. They have to be aware of Giovani Bernard out of the backfield. They have to be aware that Dalton is a good enough runner to make read-option credible. They have to be alert to OC Hue Jackson’s array of bizarre line shifts. Jenkins has to prove Pro Bowl-worthy against Green. And they could really use a healthy Robert Quinn to fill the Whitney Mercilus role – he had a field day whipping up on Eifert. The 4-6 Rams can do to the Bengals what the 4-5 Texans did. I don’t expect it, but they can.

The Rams have to get the Bengals into a slugfest because I don’t see them doing much against Cincy’s defense. Their best hope is that injuries to leading sacker Carlos Dunlap (8.5), LB Vontaze Burfict and the surprisingly ageless Pacman Jones make them a little more ordinary. They’re not afraid to blitz, though I doubt they’ll need to much against the tattered Ram o-line. The Rams could be in a ton of trouble if they have to stop 6’6”, long-armed monster Dunlap with Garrett Reynolds. That has to be a 1-on-1 matchup because the Rams have no one in the middle who can compete with Geno Atkins, Aaron Donald’s primary competition for best DT in the league. Atkins is healthy again and already has 7 sacks. He and Domata Peko make up the best interior pass rush in the league, and I just don’t know how the Rams are going to stop them with Barnes, Wichmann and Rhaney. Throw quickly, Keenum. Burfict is a terrific hitter behind that line, and even if he is limited, Vincent Rey has been a tackling machine in his place. The Bengals hoard good cover corners. Dre Kirkpatrick was impressively sticky against DeAndre Hopkins. Pacman still gobbles up ground well at 32. Last year’s 1st-round pick Darqueze Dennard has played well yet has trouble getting on the field. Classic ballhawk Reggie Nelson already has 5 INTs. Front to back, both sides of the ball, the Bengals are a stacked team and a very, very legitimate Super Bowl contender.

This Rams season has been strange enough to perversely believe they’ll beat the Bengals. They beat Seattle and Arizona when no one expected it, didn’t they? But Jeff Fisher is in a spot now where he has to depend on a big upset to turn his season around. He can pull it off. I doubt he will. But he has to.

— Mike
Game stats from espn.com