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https://theathletic.com/4355109/2023/03/27/rams-offseason-plan-les-snead/?source=emp_shared_article
PHOENIX — Rams general manager Les Snead would argue the team has often been “quiet” this time of year because its dependency on compensatory draft picks has meant allowing multiple players (often initially drafted in middle or later rounds) to depart in free agency.
Of course, this offseason carries a slightly different context from many of the Rams’ previous ones.
“We’re the ‘boring’ Rams this year,” Snead said with a half grin and a heavy dose of sarcasm, referring to the team’s first few months of 2023.
After an injury-plagued 5-12 season in 2022 that marked the worst record of the Sean McVay era and worst ever by a defending Super Bowl champion, the Rams released veterans Leonard Floyd and Bobby Wagner and several other players departed in free agency (including both starting safeties, at least one starting defensive lineman and all of their specialists). They traded star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Snead even quipped that his teenage kids noted despair from the fans in online forums when the Vikings scooped up kickoff returner Brandon Powell.
The moves they did make to retain or acquire talent have not been flashy. Interior offensive lineman Coleman Shelton was re-signed to a team-friendly deal earlier this month. Monday, reserve defensive lineman Marquise Copeland signed a one-year deal instead of the Rams’ tendering him as an exclusive rights free agent. They have restructured offensive lineman Joe Noteboom, vice president of football administration Tony Pastoors said Monday, and center Brian Allen accepted a restructured deal.
Yet chief operating officer Kevin Demoff recently penned an open letter to season ticket holders that outlined a vision for a Rams team that expects to contend for the playoffs — a sentiment he doubled down on in comments Monday evening at the NFL’s annual meetings at the Biltmore Resort and Spa.
What is the reality? The Rams are somewhere at the beginning of a new window, yet borrowing elements of previous models and patterns, enabled by the luxury of continuity they have experienced as a group: Snead, McVay, Demoff, Pastoors.
For example, Snead brought up the 2019-20 season as an example of waiting out a group of linemen to develop with some continuity … and as the last time “the narrative” was that the Rams were “boring” and “quiet.” The Rams may do the same thing with their linemen this year, though Snead didn’t rule out adding to their group via the draft.
More parallels: Pastoors cited more pressure “probably” getting put on Snead and his crew of scouts and draft analysts this offseason, citing a 2017 class that featured several immediate contributors. Pastoors also hearkened back to the McVay of 2017 — who was then a 30-year-old whom nobody really expected to win as many games as fast as he did.
“When he arrived … everyone thought we were gonna be terrible. I can honestly tell you, Sean did not. He kept walking around like, ‘We’re gonna be fine,’” Pastoors said. “I think that’s his mindset right now. He feels really good about the coaches he brought in. I think he feels really good about some of the core pieces we have.
“It’s just, there are more unknowns right now.”
Pastoors expects between $55 million and $65 million in salary-cap space in 2024, achieved by “taking on pain” (the angst of almost $53 million in dead money all at once in 2023) and staying disciplined in their spending this season. They also have a first-round pick in 2024 (and for the first time since 2016), though Snead teased they could package that pick in various ways.
Quips and sarcasm aside, all representatives of the Rams in Phoenix this week have expressed what seems like genuine optimism about what they can accomplish in 2023. That there are low expectations from the public about them because of what happened in 2022 may help. Several times this offseason, McVay has referenced “getting back to 2017,” when nobody quite knew what to make of the Rams and they could outscore opponents even as they eventually made big changes to their defense through 2019 and 2020 to create a group of players they have mostly parted from.
Whether their optimism becomes reality won’t become clear until months from now. The Rams will first turn to the draft, then continue to plug remaining holes with cheap veteran acquisitions — moving into more of a “cost control” complement to the three major contracts on their roster: quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
“As Tony just chatted with y’all, there has definitely been intent to engineer a healthier, more sustainable cap situation so that when we do get to a moment where we think, ‘OK, let’s press the gas again’, you have the capability to do it,” Snead said.
“So, this year is quiet intentionally.”
Further updates from Snead and Pastoors, and more team and league sources from the first couple of days in Phoenix:
• The Rams traded Ramsey to the Dolphins earlier this month for a 2023 third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. As they, and Ramsey/his representation openly discussed trade considerations for weeks prior to the move, Miami emerged as the preferred destination (and had expressed early interest in making the move).
“In a nutshell, we were going to have to get under the cap — engineer a healthier cap situation,” said Snead, who added that even at last season’s trade deadline they had gotten calls inquiring as to whether the Rams would consider moving Ramsey.
“We knew he might be someone you didn’t just have to release, you can (get back) some draft capital. With that being said, working with Jalen, he had places he would rather go.
“I think all teams, when they make a trade like that, would like (to have) the player be jacked to go. … So we did allow teams to connect with Jalen. At that point, tried to engineer a win-win situation.”
• Stafford has a clean bill of health heading into the offseason, Pastoors said, after missing most of last spring and summer with an elbow injury. Stafford couldn’t throw until late into training camp, but Pastoors said he is “ready to go, gonna be part of the offseason.” The Rams recently picked up the option on his contract, which already contained language that essentially guaranteed his 2023 and 2024 salaries early in the league year. Picking up the option means the Rams could prorate some of that total as if it were a bonus.
“We’ve committed,” Pastoors said. “He’s our quarterback.”
• Yes, the Rams are still monitoring the situation with receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was a brief (though important) member of their Super Bowl team but who also has spent the last year recovering from ACL surgery.
Snead said the team is “definitely” discussing Beckham, however, “I think Odell is going to have to determine where he wants his next chapter to be.”
The Rams have outlined what they are willing/able to contractually do where Beckham is concerned, but there doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency at this point in the calendar year and Beckham will also continue to evaluate his options.
• The Rams are still playing out the idea of trading receiver Allen Robinson, who they signed last spring to a three-year, $46.5 million deal. Robinson’s role didn’t manifest the way the group initially envisioned when they recruited him in free agency, as part of a rapid pivot after losing out on Von Miller (who signed with the Bills). As free agency began, the Rams granted Robinson permission to seek a trade. At that time, team and league sources said that the Rams would be willing to take on part of Robinson’s $15.2 million in guaranteed salary dependent on the pick exchange an acquiring team would be willing to offer.
Those efforts are still ongoing, but the Rams haven’t ruled out Robinson remaining part of their offense in 2023. Robinson’s role in the offense would have to be schematically different if he stays — more versatile, Snead indicated, instead of being the one-on-one player they initially believed Robinson would be similar to Beckham.
“We always say, ‘What are the superpowers of each player, how do we get the most out of them?’ ” Snead said. “Him and Cooper (Kupp), a lot of times you feel like him being in a role like Cooper could be the most beneficial. But are you going to take one or two off the field?
“Now, you have to figure out how you make that work. That would be on Sean and Mike (LaFleur, the Rams’ new offensive coordinator) to figure out how to make that work.”
• Snead confirmed that Long, who they acquired as part of the Ramsey trade, had been on their draft board around the same area in which the Dolphins selected him (No. 81 in 2021). Veteran tight end Tyler Higbee is entering the final year of his contract and backup Brycen Hopkins will be a free agent after 2023.
“He had some nice ball skills at (Boston College),” Snead said. “It was interesting when we were going through the trade. What we always try to do is look at players who are still on their rookie contract, that maybe — obviously you can’t go ask for their ‘best’ players on rookie contracts, they’re jacked to have them. But, OK, who had not played as much? Who did we have some affinity for in the past, would a change of scenery/situation help?”
Old, new, and borrowed: How Sean McVay’s Rams offense is evolving once again
By Jourdan Rodrigue and Ted Nguyen.When Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay assumed control over the team in 2017, he took an already widely recognized concept — motion — and utilized it at a higher frequency than any coach in the NFL at that time.
The early years of that offense utilized motion to create advantages for outside zone, play action and screens. This helped his overall system — from the pass to the run game — become as quarterback-friendly as possible. When McVay and the Rams traded for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford in 2021, their philosophy shifted toward the dropback passing game.
This season, the Rams are back among NFL teams deploying the highest frequency of motion concepts — but now, their motions look a little different as McVay’s philosophy has evolved. They’ve used motion on 65 percent of plays through four weeks (No. 4 in the NFL, according to Sports Info Solutions), but rather than largely using it to create favorable angles in the run game (and they still do), they’re also using it to create significant advantages for the passing game.McVay’s evolution has not stopped there.
The Rams have also transitioned into a predominantly gap scheme running game, a far departure from McVay’s outside zone roots. They currently lead the league in gap scheme run usage and rank at the bottom of the league in zone run percentage. This is, in part, a reaction to the light box and odd front schemes that have taken over the NFL — which, ironically, has been partially due to McVay’s offensive success.
“When you do get to those gap schemes, you do get a little bit more downhill physicality out of it — rather than what we’ve primarily been in the past, of a wide-zone/mid-zone team where it’s stretch and cut, stretch and cut,” right tackle Rob Havenstein said last month. “We still obviously do a lot of that, but it’s definitely good flavor especially with some of the size that we have up front.”McVay entered the 2023 season with a directive to his young, half-overhauled Rams roster: to ingrain a new level of physicality throughout his team, starting with the run game.
“Coach said in our meetings, ‘We’re gonna be a gap scheme team this year,’” running back Kyren Williams said. “I love those gap schemes, because it’s a whole lot of movement — but if you understand it, it makes it a lot easier and makes it clearer when the holes are supposed to hit and where you’re supposed to go.”
The 2023 Rams’ base run is DUO, a gap scheme run that is designed to create physical, vertical double teams at the point of attack:Week 1, 9:32 remaining in the third quarter, second-and-7
The 2023 Rams often use speed motion to quickly get blockers on the side of the run before the defense can react. Here, they lined up in a bunch to the offensive right with a tight end to the left. This put the passing strength away from the running strength, which made it difficult on the defense. Receiver Puka Nacua (17) was sent in motion to block the corner to the run side.
Week 4, :59 remaining in the second quarter, third-and-1
Here, receiver/fullback Ben Skowronek (18) lined up outside of Nacua and motioned away from the run side. Nacua had to fold inside to block nickel Kenny Moore (23).
Moore knifed into the backfield aggressively, but Nacua quickly reacted, got in front of him, and pancaked him.
The Rams have at times been able to disguise some of their DUO concepts using their motion rules. They have sent tight end Tyler Higbee in motion, often from a simple pre-snap look on the back side of a formation to a pre- or at-snap “escort”-style motion to the front side. This can sometimes look like a sift block, or in a power concept, a “blast.”
“Tyler’s a psycho,” Havenstein said. “He’s a guy who loves that contact … now he’s doing a lot of stuff where he’s on the front side of things. In the past, he’d be on the back side taking those shots. But now, it’s getting him movement.”
A phrase often attached to McVay’s passing schemes over the years is “illusion of complexity” — running a variety of concepts out of very simple, often identical pre-snap looks. By implementing more disguises into their run game, they are aiming to similarly infuse the illusion of complexity into that phase.
This is aided by receivers who are above-average blockers in the run game. One of the reasons the Rams’ early McVay offenses were so prolific with receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods was because they were highly effective in all of their blocking surfaces.The Rams have always majored in 11 personnel (three-receiver sets) but early in McVay’s tenure some joked that what they really ran was “11.5 personnel,” because Kupp and Woods could also run 12 personnel concepts (two tight ends) and more out of 11 personnel pre-snap looks — in part because of their effectiveness as run blockers.
Nacua still needs development as a blocker, but his willingness to do so sticks out.
“His size and his physicality, that’s what allows him to be able to throw down those run blocks, you see he’s filling the gap and he’s taking on safeties and linebackers,” former Rams star receiver and Hall of Fame semifinalist Torry Holt said. “That’s what Robert Woods had done really well, that’s what Cooper Kupp does really well. Puka is just continuing that trend.”
Nacua joked this week that his job in the run game might get “easier” once Kupp returns to the field from a hamstring injury, which could happen as early as this Sunday in Philadelphia. His implication was that the extra attention Kupp draws as a receiver may mean opposing defenses will be tempted to drop more players into “shell” coverages, which means fewer players blocking up front.The plays the receivers make away from the ball can help hold the disguise of play-action concepts, because if executed effectively teams don’t know whether they will be blocking down into the run game or coming off the line in the pass game.
“(McVay) likes the plays to look the same, and then all the sudden you see Puka motioning down, you see Kupp motioning down — they’re acting like they are blocking, but all of the sudden they’re up in a route,” Holt said. “They are able to marry the run game with the passing game.”
Though the Rams’ offense isn’t as reliant on play action as they once were, Stafford is still using play action on about 21 percent of his dropbacks this season.The Rams’ run game is now deployed out of under center and shotgun looks. As a result, so is their play-action game.
According to TruMedia, Stafford is 11-of-23 when running play action from under center, for 233 yards (10.6 yards per attempt) and 0.23 EPA/dropback. He is 10-of-15 when running play action from shotgun, for 146 yards (11.2 yards per attempt) and 0.45 EPA/dropback. McVay strictly used to run play action from under center, but the threat of a run possibly coming from a shotgun alignment can help alleviate pressure in otherwise known passing situations. McVay started adjusting the play-action diversity when Stafford initially got to Los Angeles (and its frequency dipped dramatically), but now the Rams have also increased their play selection of runs and passes out of either look.
“Obviously when you’re in third down and in obvious pass situations, you’re mostly in the gun,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “Being able to have a variety (of run and pass concepts) as opposed to just dropping back and maybe mixing it in one run here and there, I think that was something that Sean wanted to add to this offense and I think us as a staff have put together a menu to allow that to happen and make it so it’s not, ‘Hey, Matthew’s back there, it’s going to be dropback and the defense is pinning their ears back.’”
A play in the Rams’ Week 4 overtime win in Indianapolis demonstrated the Rams’ evolving deployment of motion within their play-action pass (disguised run) game:
Week 4, 9:05 remaining in the second quarter, first-and-10
Here, Nacua motioned inside like he was going to block DUO but instead of blocking, he ran through the C-gap to run a dig route.
Stafford faked DUO, which caused the nickel to step toward the line of scrimmage.
Nacua ran to the second window and Stafford hit him with a dart downfield. Nacua didn’t seem to mind that he ran a “gasser” on the play, Stafford chuckled this week, essentially a semi-circle to get to a spot on the field about 15 yards directly ahead of where he originally stood pre-motion.
“There’s some plays where we put our guys in some gasser situations before the ball is even snapped,” Stafford said. “But I bet if you asked him if he wanted a 30-yard catch on it, he’d say, ‘I’ll do it every time.’ It’s a sacrifice those guys make but I think on the back end it gets them a little bit better access — so they’ll take it.”Like many other coaches in 2023 (not so coincidentally, several come from the same coaching “family”), McVay also uses short motions, which are built to get the receiver running full speed before the snap. Short motions can have variants that include running a few steps toward the middle of the field, or to the sideline.
Teams often use speed players for this type of motion. The Dolphins deploy it for Tyreek Hill with great effectiveness (the Dolphins, Packers and 49ers and now even the Bengals all run the “jogging start” motion), and the Rams often deploy the short motion for third-year receiver Tutu Atwell. Atwell was also the first Rams player to run the jogging start motion that Nacua ran in the above concept, in Week 1 against Seattle for a 44-yard gain.
The new motions the Rams are using for Atwell aren’t just beneficial in helping to move defenders or showing a quarterback “tells” pre-snap about how the defense will react to certain plays. They also get Atwell a “wind-up” of sorts. He is a smaller-framed receiver who should not be attempting to get off the line of scrimmage straight into a hit or jam from a defender. Instead, Atwell gets moving in space before the snap and can click into his second or third gears much earlier in the play progression post-snap — and often in doing so, avoids the contact off the line that would slow him down.
“It’s a couple different things that you can see (the defense doing when a player goes in motion) to help the quarterback gain information,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said last month when speaking about the Rams’ 2023 offense. “Oftentimes, they do call two plays at the line of scrimmage. So the quarterback’s job is to take (that) information and get to the best play possible. They do a great job with Tutu, motioning him to create releases — you see that a lot in Miami, you’re seeing that a lot in L.A. too. Motioning to utilize that speed, to complement different routes.”
Week 2, 6:27 remaining in the first quarter, first-and-10
On this play, the Rams had Atwell — the player they mostly put in the short-out motion — run a dig.
Week 2, 13:17 remaining in the second quarter, third-and-4
Here, Atwell was put in short motion to get to full speed while running a crosser, as Nacua ran a shallow cross on the opposite side of the field.
On the play, the 49ers’ defense was in Cover 1 (man-to-man with a deep safety and robber). Safety Talanoa Hufanga was the robber. His job was to help on short to intermediate in-breaking routes. With Atwell running full speed at him, Hufanga had to help cover him.
This left the middle of the field wide open for Nacua, who was also aided by a rub.
Week 4, 15:00 remaining in the first quarter, first-and-10
On this play, Atwell was put in a short-out motion to the left of the quarterback, while Nacua ran a dig on the opposite side.
Three defenders slid over to the left when Atwell went in motion, including Moore, who was lined up inside of Nacua.
The two linebackers ran toward Atwell but Moore got good depth in his drop.
Stafford saw Moore, but he was still able to get the ball over him. Nacua made a remarkable catch, tipping the ball to himself, but he had space to do that because the other defenders were occupied by the motion.
Meanwhile, Stafford opened the season healthier than he has in years, and as a result is playing some of the best football of his career. He’s made some of the highest-level throws of the NFL season through the first four weeks. His basic statistics — 103 completions in 166 attempts (62 percent complete), three touchdowns and five interceptions — don’t reflect the overall level at which he is playing.
Stafford is seeing opportunities that many other quarterbacks aren’t, and he has the arm talent to make throws that many other quarterbacks can’t.
“He’s always been able to make amazing throws,” McVay said, after a Week 1 win at Seattle. “I think (he is) getting the opportunity to be able to continue to fine-tune what’s been a rare skill set.”
With a healthy and productive Stafford, the progression of the run game and the new layers and motions building into the pass game, McVay’s offense continues to evolve — while still keeping some elements of the things Stafford likes, such as the dropback game and plays out of shotgun.
But the offense still isn’t done growing, because it has been missing Kupp.
When Kupp returns, Nacua can play the “Woods role” — meaning he can play inside and outside and be a threat on the layered crossers McVay loves to call, while doing a bit of everything else including run blocking.
“When we’ve been at our best from that receiver position, (we’ve had) players that can do multiple things — run after the catch, (have) aggressive hands through contact, digging out (with) force and competing in the run game,” McVay said, “all of which Cooper has done for us, all of which (former WR) Robert Woods has done for us when he’s been at a really high level. I think it’s easy to say, OK, this guy’s a ‘Z’, this guy’s an ‘X’, this guy’s an ‘F’, but there’s nuanced things. There’s certain skill sets that each guy possesses. … What you’re seeing is two guys (who) can do a lot of different things with the ball and without the ball and both stay grounded through the catch. Both are very good after the catch. Both are tough in contested situations.”
Meanwhile, Atwell could be the speed threat who creates space for other players, and can help force defenses to continue to stay in zone/shell concepts to prevent explosive plays — even as the temptation for many teams could be to play more situational man concepts after watching tape of four weeks of zone-beaters from Stafford and Nacua. While he had a little more of an under-the-radar start to the season than Nacua’s, Atwell can play all of the Rams’ receiver positions and has especially become a spatial threat as McVay’s “motion man.”
“Multiple guys are (now) trusted who can get the ball,” Holt said. “For defenses, it’s like, ‘OK, now who do we stop? Do we stop Cooper Kupp, now Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell, Van Jefferson (are) getting some one-on-one opportunities? Do we take away Puka Nacua?’
“It can become a situation where it’s picking your poison, more so than whether there will be enough balls to go around.”
However, everything hinges upon the Rams getting consistent protection for Stafford week over week, especially now that he’ll be playing through a hip contusion suffered Sunday.
They’ll also have to continue their efficiency in running the ball. Sunday’s 164-yard afternoon marked their first notable rushing performance of the season, although the theory behind what they’ve been trying to do in the run game has been apparent.
“Just the work in training camp, the time under tension of getting in, getting the reps (and) making sure everything is hitting the right way, making sure everyone is seeing it the same way — it’s still a work in progress,” Havenstein said. “But I think it’s something a lot of guys have put a lot of time into.”
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