Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › press sets up the Houston game
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November 9, 2017 at 6:35 pm #77190
znModeratorNovember 9, 2017 at 8:08 pm #77192znModeratorTexans are sticking with Tom Savage this week
Darin Gantt
Texans are sticking with Tom Savage this week
The Texans may talk about other quarterbacks this week.
But they’re sticking with Tom Savage as their starter.
Texans coach Bill O’Brien told reporters today that Savage can improve, and that “I do expect him to be the starter” this week against the Rams.
That’s not necessarily a surprise, as he’s been around there all year, and they went and retrieved T.J. Yates from the basement they keep him in last week to go with Matt McGloin, after Deshaun Watson was lost to a season-ending knee injury.
But as long as there’s a vacancy or a team that could otherwise be competitive if they had a real quarterback, the questions about Colin Kaepernick are coming.
O’Brien talked around them mostly, saying he and General Manager Rick Smith talk about everybody. But it didn’t take a long look between the lines to know where this one’s heading.
“I like the guys that we have and we’ll continue to try to coach them,” he said.
Later, he was asked again and said: “Colin Kaepernick is a good football player, hasn’t played in a while. These things are going to continue to be discussed.”
Of course, as long as Bob McNair owns the Texans, no one’s going to expect them to be the team to give Kaepernick an opportunity. But with the way Savage played yesterday (like crap, by his own admission), the Texans football department may come to realize the opportunity they have that’s being squandered.
November 9, 2017 at 11:05 pm #77203znModeratorTexans focus on containing Rams’ Todd Gurley, Tavon Austin
Aaron Wilson, Houston Chronicle
Todd Gurley is capable of running through or away from defenses. And Tavon Austin has rare speed as a hybrid running back and wide receiver.
The Los Angeles Rams running game is particularly tough to stop this season.
They rank fifth in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging 131.9 yards per game.
Gurley has already rushed for 681 yards and seven touchdowns.“Downhill, cutback runner, great speed, great vision, good balance,” Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel said. “They do a nice job running the ball. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”
The Texans rank ninth in rushing defense, allowing just 96 yards per game on the ground.
Chasing around Austin, a four-time all-state running back growing up in Baltimore, Md. who played some running back at West Virginia, could be difficult to slow down.“It’s very challenging,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “Obviously a very fast guy, got great quickness. Put him in a lot of different places, get him the ball in a lot of different ways. He’s an explosive player, no doubt about it.”
Austin has rushed for 169 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries.
“He’s a fast back,” Texans inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney said of Austin. “They like to get him the ball on jet sweeps, lot of outside plays. We’ve got to do our job and run to the ball. Everybody’s hamstrings are going to be loose. We to the fly to the ball and get him down.”
November 9, 2017 at 11:10 pm #77204znModeratorThese are the top Defenses at defending Play Action!#HTTR #TitanUp #SKOL #KeepPounding #HereWeGo #Bengals50 #Jaguars #GoNiners #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/hnD8AIAvgG
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 9, 2017
November 9, 2017 at 11:22 pm #77212znModeratorWatched #Texans 3rd Down Pass Defense the last 4 games: Holding QBs to 47% completion, 45% blitz, allowing just 18% of those to convert for 1st downs.
Was surprised by the amount of MAN coverage: 82%. Very solid Defense overall! pic.twitter.com/JpMiOKtBhN
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 7, 2017
November 10, 2017 at 5:30 pm #77247znModeratorWhat They’re Saying: The Houston Texans
Each week TheRams.com will be taking a look at what Los Angeles’ opponents have to say about facing the Rams. Heading into Week 10 of the regular season, check out what the Houston Texans’’ coaches and players had to say about their matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum:
On what he has seen in terms of development from QB Jared Goff:
“Jared has shown a lot of improvement from last season to this season. The Rams are doing really good right now. I always told people that when he was a rookie. He was young and seeing Jared how he went at Cal, what he needed to do was get comfortable, get comfortable with his teammates, with the system. I talked to him. He really likes his head coach, his teammates and they got him Sammy Watkins.”
– Texans’ TE Stephen Anderson
“Where do you begin? (Rams Head Coach) Sean’s (McVay) done a great job with this guy. Jared, I spent time with him before the draft. He’s a very bright guy, obviously drafted at No. 1 with great arm talent, intelligence, competitiveness. I think the things that Sean is doing with him make them very difficult to stop from a defensive point of view, whether it’s a quick passing game or the shots down the field with the different play-actions that they have. Obviously, (RB) Todd Gurley (II) running the football – they’ve got it going. To me, they’re one of the best teams – they’re playing as one of the best teams in the league right now, so it’s a very difficult challenge for us.”
– Texans’ HC Bill O’Brien
“Goff’s doing a great job distributing the football to everybody and it seems like you can’t really key on anyone in the offense. They are doing a great job of just having a balanced offense. Goff is definitely in a groove, their offense is in a groove so we have to disrupt that on defense in the backend and try to limit all that stuff.”
– Texans’ CB Kevin Johnson
On what makes the Rams difficult to defend when it comes to their offensive weapons:
“If you look at their receivers, they’ve got a good mixture of receivers – they have good size and speed, they have quickness, all of them are very competitive, have great hands, very smart, instinctive route runners. The tight ends do a really good job in the running game and in the passing game – Gurley at running back. They’re strong in every area. Their offensive line is playing well and they’re just doing a very good job. Obviously, Sean is doing a great job. Those guys are being put in positions to make plays and they’ve scored 50 points, they’ve scored 40 points – they’re doing a great job.”
– Texans HC Bill O’Brien
“They have a very balanced attack. They have a ton of weapons and are just kind of distributing the ball to everybody. They have a couple good receivers, a good running back, good tight ends and the quarterback is doing a good job of getting the ball to all of them.”
– Texans’ CB Kevin Johnson
“We have to stop them from scoring. They are a good team, having a good year so we have to go out there and play hard. Stop the run, build a wall from the line of scrimmage. We’ll try to focus on things we try to do every week, go out there and be able to stop them.””
– Texans’ DT D.J. Reader
On what makes a Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’ defense challenging:
“I just think when you give Wade Phillips the players that he has he really knows how to create an attacking style defense where, when you line up you just feel like these guys are all over you. They’re close to the of scrimmage with the front and with their secondary and they play up in your face type defense. They’re an attacking defense. They’re a one-gap defense. I’ve been sitting here for a couple days now watching (DT) Aaron Donald. This guy’s one of the best players I’ve seen. He’s a great player. But, then they have a lot of other guys: (LB Alec) Ogletree, (DT Michael) Brockers, and (OLB Robert) Quinn – I mean they’ve got guys up and down the roster that fit well with what he wants to do and he knows how to put it all together. He’s been doing it a long time. He’s been a pro football coach since he was basically 10 years old (laughs). He’s just been around a long time. He does a great job.”
– Texans’ HC Bill O’Brien
On what he sees from DT Aaron Donald that makes him so special:
“I just think the way that he plays the game, he’s got a very relentless playing style. He uses his hands well. He’s very quick. He’s an attacking guy, he’s tough guy. You’ve got to block him to the echo of the whistle. He never gives up on a play and he’s a great player.”
– Texans’ HC Bill O’Brien
November 10, 2017 at 8:19 pm #77261znModeratorAfter a Month on the Road, Rams Return Home to Face Texans
Kristen Lago
After more than 30 days away, the Rams will return home to the Coliseum on Sunday to face off against the Texans. At 6-2, Los Angeles is off to its best start in more than a decade and will look to improve upon that record with another win in Week 10.
So far, L.A. has won three straight games to take sole possession of first place in the NFC West standings. And while it may be easy to look towards the team’s promising future, head coach Sean McVay has instilled a “one game at a time” approach that has worked well for the team thus far.
“One of the things that we do is we take one game at a time, one day at a time,” McVay said. “I think we’re pleased with the progress that we’ve made [and] we’ll see if we can continue that. But it [will be] a good challenge against the Houston Texans.”
Because the Texans are the NFL’s youngest franchise — established in 1999 and playing their first game in 2002 — the Rams do not have much history with the club. Overall, the Rams lead the all-time record, 2-1, with a 38-13 victory in their last matchup in 2013.
But much has changed for the Rams since their last contest with the Texans. Only nine players who were on the roster in 2013 are currently with the franchise. On Sunday, the Texans will face a rejuvenated L.A. team with a variety of new faces, including quarterback Jared Goff.
The reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week is coming off one of the best performances in his career, throwing for 311 yards and four touchdowns against the Giants.
“He continues to grow and that’s demonstrated by a variety of things in that game,” McVay said. “I thought he handled and managed the [Giants’] game extremely well. So, I think there’s plays that start to demonstrate week-in and week-out why he’s making steps in the right direction.”
This week, Goff and company will be taking on a Texans defense that has lost several of its most dynamic players, including defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus — both of whom are both out with season-ending injuries. The Texans will also be without their starting defensive end Joel Heath, who is out with a knee injury.
Injuries aside, Houston has been good against the run this season, allowing just 96.0 yards per game, which ranks No. 9. But it has struggled against the passing game, where the Texans are giving up 243.1 yards per game, which ranks No. 21. In all, wide receiver Robert Woods said Houston represents one of the toughest units to match up against.
“They have a lot of big injuries on their defense with Watt being down,” Woods said. “But they are still one of the top defenses on third downs. They have defensive end Jadeveon Clowney on the edge causing problems and a very experienced secondary, so a very talented defense when you watch them on film.”
In order to be successful, Goff says the Rams will need “to continue to execute our game plan,” focusing on spreading the football to their wide variety of offensive weapons. Right guard Jamon Brown echoed his quarterback, saying that “as long as we do what we’re supposed to do and play Rams’ football, then we’ll be okay.”
On offense, the Rams will be without their No. 2 running back Malcolm Brown who is out for the next few weeks
as he rehabs an MCL injury. Lance Dunbar is expected to step in as Todd Gurley’s primary backup, and should be able to bring his adaptability to the playing field.
“I think part of the reason we brought him here is he’s a pretty versatile guy out the backfield,” offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur said. “He’s got very good receiving skills and he’s a guy that’s been in the league for six years, so he’s got that veteran experience as well.”
Defensively, the Rams have strung together a series of consistent performances, holding opponents to an average of 301.3 yards and 11.3 points in their three-game winning streak. Cornerback Trumaine Johnson said that “building chemistry with the defensive scheme and coordinator Wade Phillips” has been key to the unit’s success.
“We’re coming together and you can see it these last three or four games,” Johnson said.
This week, Los Angeles will face a Texans’ team that will be without its starting quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson underwent surgery for a torn ACL on Wednesday and will be out for the remainder of the season. In his place is quarterback Tom Savage, who started the Texans’ first game of 2017 before Watson replaced him to start the contest’s third quarter.
“Deshaun was a big part of the team in their offense and how they ran things,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “[But] they still do some of the same stuff with Savage in there. We just have to continue to be us on defense and try to limit the run game, stop them from throwing the ball deep on us and just play our game.”
Although the unit will no longer have to gameplan for Watson, it will still face a tough task in containing the Texans’ wide receivers. DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller have combined for 1,004 yards and 15 touchdowns so far this season.
“Fuller’s got great speed. He’s just so fast that he runs good routes,” Phillips said. “And then Hopkins is everything — he’s an elite receiver. He can run, he’s powerful and he can catch anything. So it’s a problem with having two wide receivers like that.”
But the Rams secondary seems up for the task. Johnson who recorded his 18th career interception last week was excited for the challenge, as was strong safety John Johnson III.
“Hopkins is a tremendous athlete,” Johnson said. “He’s fast, a first-round pick. I can’t wait, it’s going to bring some great matchups.”
“I played against Fuller in college,” Johnson III said. “He’s a fast guy and we just can’t let him get behind us that’s the biggest thing.”
For just the third time this season, the Rams could be without one of its starters on defense. Though L.A. has been very fortunate on the injury front, starting outside linebacker Robert Quinn is doubtful for Sunday’s contest as he continues to deal with an illness. Luckily, the Rams have some depth at the position with Matt Longacre and Samson Ebukam able to step in if needed.
Overall, the Rams will look to remain consistent with a big win over the Texans on Sunday. Should L.A. take the contest, it would mark just their third win in 11 regular-season games at the Coliseum since the start of the 2016 season. Kickoff for Sunday’s contest is scheduled for 1:05 p.m on CBS. The game will be simulcast on KCAL 9.
November 10, 2017 at 11:49 pm #77269znModerator -
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