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January 16, 2019 at 12:45 am #96771
znModeratorNdamukong Suh finally makes his presence felt with the Rams
Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — In case it wasn’t obvious enough by the situation — fourth-and-1, one-score game, start of the fourth quarter, ball near field goal range — Mark Barron confirmed it right before the snap. The veteran inside linebacker saw Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Noah Brown go in motion and set up right behind tight end Rico Gathers, a dead giveaway that an inside run was coming. The Los Angeles Rams’ defense had spent the entire week focused almost exclusively on containing Ezekiel Elliott, simultaneously fighting the incessant notion that their star-studded unit was generally inept against the run.
When the biggest moment presented itself at 7:40 p.m. PT on Saturday, they were ready.
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Ndamukong Suh was the first to get free.
“I saw what they wanted to do, played off the center and tried to close up the gap,” Suh said. “My hands were tied, so I just went in head first.”
Suh’s helmet was the first object to make contact with Elliott, right before a mob of his teammates swarmed in to help, taking possession away from the Cowboys and changing the complexion of an eventual 30-22 victory that saw the Rams advance to the NFC Championship Game and flip an entire narrative on its head.
The Cowboys were supposed to dominate the run on both sides, with the NFL’s leading rusher in their backfield and a stout defense that had allowed only 3.8 yards per carry. But it was the Rams’ offense, suddenly a two-back system with Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson, that amassed 273 yards on the ground. And it was the Rams’ defense, fresh off surrendering an NFL-worst 5.1 yards per carry in 2018, that limited the Cowboys to a mere 50 rushing yards, their lowest output all season.
“We knew we could stop the run — it was just a matter of doing it,” Barron said. “It really wasn’t that hard. It was everybody being where they’re supposed to be and doing what they’re supposed to be doing. It was really simple.”
The Rams are going to need a lot more of that on Sunday (3:05 p.m. ET, Fox) when they face a New Orleans Saints offense that features the devastating two-prong attack of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram.
The Rams are going to need more performances like these from Suh.
On Saturday night, in what became the Rams’ first playoff victory at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in more than 40 years, Suh jumped off the film in a way he rarely had all season. The numbers — two quarterback hits, one tackle for loss — weren’t gaudy. But Suh displayed the quintessential balance of ferocity and discipline, consistently winning at the point of attack and constantly clogging holes to help keep Elliott at 2.3 yards per carry.
Suh was given the highest grade on the Rams’ defense by Pro Football Focus, which had him with four pressures in 30 pass-rush snaps and a run-stop percentage of 11.8.
When it mattered most, he might have been the best player on the field.
“It’s a great compliment,” Suh said late Saturday night. “At the end of the day, how I look at it is I’m still going to play at an elite level. Given opportunities, which I was given today, I’m going to make plays. This atmosphere, being at home, great fans, and it’s the playoffs — you bring it all or you go home. And I’m not trying to go home anytime soon.”
The Rams stacked the box, as expected, against the Cowboys. They played in their base set (four defensive backs, two interior defenders and two edge rushers) on 35.3 percent of the snaps in which the Cowboys ran “11” personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers). During the regular season, the Rams were in base sets on only 8.2 percent of opponents’ “11” personnel snaps.
“We knew that they were going to run, try to get Zeke loose,” Rams outside linebacker Samson Ebukam said. “And we knew that if we could contain Zeke, the game was basically over.”
At the nine-minute mark of the first quarter, Suh sprinted from the hash marks to the numbers to stop Elliott for no gain. At the 10-minute mark of the third quarter, Ebukam set the edge to help Suh slam Elliott for a 2-yard loss. Nine minutes later, Aaron Donald went basically unblocked into the backfield and stuffed Elliott for a loss of 4. And in the final minutes of regulation, inside linebacker Cory Littleton sniffed out a shovel pass in the flat and tackled Elliott for another 2-yard loss.
The Rams outgained the Cowboys 459 yards to 308, accumulating 11 more first downs and running 21 more offensive plays.
But it was their defense, agonizingly inconsistent throughout the year, that finally made its presence felt.
“We arrived,” Rams coach Sean McVay said, “and you could feel our guys at the point of contact.”
The Rams face an entirely different challenge against the Saints.
Their run game is just as lethal, but their passing attack, led by future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, commands respect. The Rams can’t load the box against the Saints like they did against the Cowboys. They’ll need more coverage in their backfield, which means their interior players must stay disciplined in their gap assignments.
“It’s going to be a huge point of emphasis this week,” McVay said. “They can beat you both ways — they can run it or they can throw it — and that’s what really presents such a great challenge.”
Suh came over on a one-year, $14 million contract and has been overlooked with the Rams, mostly because his teammate, Donald, put together a historically great regular season with 20.5 sacks. But Suh still compiled 4.5 sacks and the metrics say he defended the run well, even while adjusting to operating as a nose tackle.
On Saturday, Barron felt Suh played his best game of the season.
“To me he did,” Barron said. “He was just dominant.”
“You definitely felt his presence,” McVay added. “I thought he pursued the football outstanding. I thought he was able to get [into the backfield] all night, and I thought that affected some of the different things that they were talking about, so I think he was outstanding in those early downs. When he’s able to do that, it makes a huge difference. I thought he really came with a great focus and concentration this week, and I think it showed up with the way that he was able to play.”
January 18, 2019 at 9:22 am #96854znModeratorNdamukong Suh finally looks like player who can help Rams tackle Saints
GARY KLEIN
https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-saints-20190117-story.html
The Rams gave Ndamukong Suh a one-year, $14-million contract to add another dominant presence to their defensive line.
It appeared to be a solid, if unspectacular investment during the regular season. Suh stood out at times, but as part of a front that featured star Aaron Donald he was not a game-changer.
He looks like one now.
Suh goes into the NFC championship game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday coming off a starring role in the Rams’ divisional-round playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
The New Orleans Saints feature a future hall of fame quarterback, the NFL’s best wide receiver and an unrelenting running game. Stopping the explosive Saints is objective number one for the Rams in Sunday’s NFC championship game.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Suh set the tone by stopping NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott for no gain on the Cowboys’ first play. He also helped stuff Elliott on a key fourth-down play in the fourth quarter. Suh finished with four tackles, one for a loss, and two hits on quarterback Dak Prescott in the 30-22 victory.
It was Suh’s best game of the season, coach Sean McVay said.
“You could see, he had a look in his eyes where he was ready to go,” McVay said. “It showed up with the way that he played throughout the course of the night.”
Suh, a five-time Pro Bowl player in his ninth NFL season, said “playoff football” provided the impetus.
“It’s always a goal for me to prove that I’m an elite player,” he said. “It was a platform to do that.”
Suh also had a financial incentive.
According to overthecap.com, his contract includes a bonus of $500,000 for playing 65% of the snaps and making the playoffs, a figure that increased to $750,000 for winning a playoff game and could rise to as much as $1 million if the Rams win two playoff games.
The Rams would be thrilled to pay the maximum if they defeat the Saints and advance to the Feb. 3 Super Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“One of the ultimate goals and one of the reasons why I signed here was to have an opportunity to play in the postseason,” Suh said. “I felt this team had some of the right pieces and I would be a good addition to it.”
The Rams already had traded for cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib when the Miami Dolphins released Suh in March after the third year of six-year $114-million contract that guaranteed $60 million.
Suh, who played his first five seasons with the Detroit Lions, met with the Saints and coach Sean Payton as he shopped for his next team. But the Rams wooed Suh with the prospect of playing in Los Angeles, which offered diverse post-football opportunities and the chance to join an up-and-coming team.
The pairing of Suh with reigning NFL defensive player of the year Aaron Donald was regarded as, potentially, one of the most dominant inside defensive presences in NFL history.
But it took time for defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and defensive line coach Bill Johnson to meld Suh with Donald, defensive lineman Michael Brockers and other players.
“The whole defense, that’s what you do is try to get a feel for what they really do well, what their strengths are, and if they have some weakness, try not to put them in those situations,” Phillips said.
Donald, with 20½ sacks, is on his way to another defensive player of the year award. Suh had 4½ sacks.
The two linemen communicate well and played well together all season, Donald said. And Suh asserted himself against the Cowboys.
“It’s a big game, big stage and he made his plays when plays presented themselves,” Donald said. “That’s what you expect from your guys. That’s why he’s here, to make plays like that for us and win big games and he did that.”
Now the Rams have their biggest game since the franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016, and it offers a chance to avenge a defeat at the Superdome.
On Nov. 4, the Rams suffered their first loss of the season. The Saints led 35-17 at halftime before the Rams rallied to tie the score at 35 in the fourth quarter. The Saints added a field goal and a long touchdown pass to win, 45-35.
But Rams players left the building feeling they would win a rematch.
“It’s a good template that we can look at,” Suh said of the first game. “Overall we need to be focused on starting a lot faster, tackling. … It’s the playoffs, I’m sure they’re going to have some things that we haven’t seen before up their sleeves so we’ll be ready.”
Suh appears primed for another big game after his performance against the Cowboys.
“We’re pleased with that,” Phillips said, “and we expect more from him.”
So does Suh, who said he was his “harshest critic,” despite McVay’s praise.
“Sean may of seen it as one of my best games,” he said, “but I got a lot more in the tank.”
Suh said he has dreamed about what it would be like to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time.
“I get chills thinking about it so I’m excited,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Etc.
The Rams have a giant temporary tent structure set up in the players’ parking lot, but the rain let up Thursday so they practiced on their grass field. Last week, with rain in the forecast, the Rams had considered traveling to a locale with an indoor facility but decided against it, McVay said. “When you start to explore the options, to actually think about having to go off-site and have the players leave their families and their kids — and the coaches as well — earlier, we felt like that wasn’t going to give us the reward,” he said. “We wanted to be able to keep our normal rhythm and routine, even if we did have to practice in the rain. The tent was a result of once we made that decision that we weren’t going to explore any of those other options. It would have to be so far that we would have to travel.”
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