second year in L.A.

With second year in L.A., Rams focused on ‘laying roots to grow’

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/34606/with-second-year-in-l-a-rams-focused-on-laying-roots-to-grow

LOS ANGELES — Perhaps the best way to describe this year’s Los Angeles Rams is that they finally have their feet back under them.

Last year, which marked their initially celebrated return to L.A., was a blur. They moved swiftly and suddenly from St. Louis, conducted an offseason program in Oxnard, California, spent an inordinate amount of time at UC Irvine, drove 90 miles north to Thousand Oaks, California, checked into a regular-season facility that was still under construction, then played an arduous schedule that included four flights to the Eastern Time Zone and one trip to London. When the smoke cleared, the Rams were 4-12, with the game’s worst offense and no head coach.

The L.A. market moved on before the Rams could even catch their breath.

“In Year 2, the focus of this organization is on laying roots to grow — across the board, whether that’s on the coaching staff, changes we made personnel-wise, players, culture, across the front office and the organization,” Rams COO Kevin Demoff said. “It’s about planting the seed so that we’re growing. Last year, you didn’t have time to think, you didn’t have time to grow. You were always reacting. And this year, with a year under our belt, you have a chance to plan, to analyze, to be thoughtful. And hopefully starting this year and moving forward, you’ll see that plan come to fruition.”

Jeff Fisher has been replaced by Sean McVay, an offensive whiz who, at 31 years old, is the youngest head coach in modern NFL history. An entire coaching staff has been put in place, save for three holdovers. Nearly half of the players on the roster were not here last year. And when the games start counting, as many as 13 of 22 will either be new starters or playing new positions.

To help Todd Gurley find holes and keep Jared Goff upright, the Rams splurged on left tackle Andrew Whitworth, signed center John Sullivan, moved Robert Havenstein to right guard and installed Jamon Brown as the right tackle. To give this passing attack a chance, they signed free-agent receiver Robert Woods and used three of their first four picks on pass catchers, drafting tight end Gerald Everett, slot receiver Cooper Kupp and vertical threat Josh Reynolds. On defense, the mild-mannered Wade Phillips replaced the fervent Gregg Williams as coordinator, implementing a 3-4 scheme and bringing in two players with whom he’s familiar, outside linebacker Connor Barwin and outside cornerback Kayvon Webster.

The Rams will still be one of the NFL’s youngest teams. Their quarterback, Goff, is 22, with still a lot of room to grow. But Demoff won’t call this a rebuild, because the Rams are already a high-caliber team on defense and on special teams. For them, it’s all about how quickly McVay and his staff can turn around the offense — an offense that has been last in the NFL in yards each of the last two years and one that has spent 10 years outside the top 20 in Defense-adjusted Value Over Average.

“I think it’s definitely a retool, maybe changing the culture, reprioritizing some of the processes and how we do things, to maximize what we have, and to build in some players that can help lead that transformation,” Demoff said. “Transformation is a better word than rebuild. Transformation takes what you have and makes it better.”

The Rams need to be better as quickly as possible. They have new competition in the market and a lot of people to win over. They’ll be at the StubHub Center by 4:30 p.m. PT Saturday, conducting the first of two scrimmages with the now-Los Angeles Chargers, who uprooted from San Diego in January. In three years, the Chargers will share the $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood, California, with the Rams. And in the meantime, each team will fight to carve out its own fan base, a process one can thrive at only by winning.

The Chargers appear to have the better team now, but the Rams believe they are building something special and are not as far off as others might think. Asked about the Chargers now sharing the market, Demoff stressed that the Rams’ real competition comes from the Seahawks, 49ers and Cardinals, the three teams that share their division.

“Everything you do is with the division in mind, to go win the NFC West and to keep growing,” Demoff said. “Where market comes into play is you have to find a way to be relevant in your play. I think we found that out last year. There are 10 professional teams here and two major universities. If you fade into oblivion, you fade.”