tweets … 10/15 & 10/16

CRamsFly

Whitworth has had an incredible career and has defied Father Time (let’s hope he continues). It’s amazing that not only has he had such a long career in a critical position, but also how well he is continuing to play (top 5 OT every year, including this season). When the Rams signed him a few years ago, I was just hoping that he could play decent enough for 1-2 years and never expected that he would play at an All-Pro level every year! :shock2:

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aeneas1

offensive points scored, allowed, and differential:

rankings – offensive categories:

rankings – defensive categories:

Aaron Donald had a game wrecking day against the 49ers in week 7 of the 2018 season. #99 had FOUR sacks and numerous run stops for negative yardage! pic.twitter.com/RAGYf6tsfe

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) October 15, 2020

Where's Tyler Higbee been since that 3 TD day in Philadelphia?

At least in the @RamsNFL Week 5 at WAS, he was holding the fort on two of the biggest plays: Woods 56y TD & Everett 40y pickup.

May not be winning fantasy matchups, but he's definitely helping win games. pic.twitter.com/T8OtYF3vSR

— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) October 15, 2020

Fun to watch how the Rams have schemed 1v1 matchups for Donald on 3rd downs by rushing five, using games opposite him, and occupying the other four OL. pic.twitter.com/HOKcC01Y9t

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) October 15, 2020

He's correct.

The problem though is/can be two-fold.

1.) Neutralizing him with a scheme shift might neutralize the stronger parts of your offense. Not only can that be a net neutral but can even be a net negative if it forces you to play into your weakness too often. https://t.co/UeedxeNp1n

— BTHRams (@BTH_Rams) October 15, 2020

This is why the (soft) criticisms of Donald when he doesn't get sacks are so, so wafer-thin.

He doesn't impact the game as soon as he steps on the field. He impacts it beforehand. Opponents define their own performance limits based on him (and Jalen Ramsey, but let's not now).

— BTHRams (@BTH_Rams) October 15, 2020

PFF’s Top-5 offenses this season:

1. Seattle Seahawks – 86.8
2. Green Bay Packers – 86.2
3. Cleveland Browns – 84.7
4. Los Angeles Rams – 84.0
5. Minnesota Vikings – 81.0 pic.twitter.com/DPfLHWADwk

— PFF (@PFF) October 15, 2020

LMU93

Rams scoring defense by quarter

1st- 3.4 ppg (8th)
2nd- 10.0 ppg (24th)
3rd- 2.0 ppg (4th)
4th- 2.6 ppg (1st)

Majority of the 50 points (10.0 ppg) allowed by the Rams in the 2nd quarter has come in the final minute. They have given up a score- 3 TDs and 2 FG- in the final minute before halftime each of their 5 games. That’s 27 points.

Double team rate (x) when pass rushing as a defensive tackle by pass rush win rate (y) as a defensive tackle.

Grady Jarrett has the highest win rate, Aaron Donald has been doubled more than any above average pass rusher. pic.twitter.com/QcVlzbQ8ZI

— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 16, 2020

Rams Wire@TheRamsWire
Aaron Donald not basking in glory of 4-sack game: ‘That’s last week’

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– Could we see more Burgess this week due to the Jordan Fuller injury?

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
I think that’s a possibility, but keep in mind that Jordan Fuller and Terrell Burgess are two different types of safeties. It sounds like Staley wants to see what is possible for Burgess in more of a strong safety/hybrid safety role, and less of a traditional center-field role, and that is kind of what John Johnson already does for them. Burgess is a really smart player and has gotten opportunities when the Rams need extra defensive backs on the field. I think we’ll see him quite a bit, just not in that role we had seen with Fuller.

– What has been the biggest reason for improved offensive line play?

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Health and consistency/continuity. Also, repping against Aaron Donald in training camp didn’t hurt at all. One of my favorite days all year was when McVay told us that Donald was getting a rest day in training camp … so that the line could also get a break.

– Troy Reeder really got involved in the action this Sunday. This rotation at linebacker must get easier with some of these guys really standing out, or is there still no concrete plan for who to consistently put in behind the defensive line when Ramsey plays the nickel?

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
I think the Rams would want to have Micah Kiser in that role full-time, with Kenny Young coming in on some downs to complement him based on scheme. Troy Reeder was really successful Sunday, (11 tackles, three sacks), but don’t forget that what the Rams were specifically doing in their scheme helped him find his way a lot easier.

For example, the defensive line created a few “green dog” opportunities for him, in which Donald took on a double team, the rest of the guys were singled and they were able to open rushing lanes. The plan then for Reeder was for him to wait back a half-step because his “man” was trying to help block and therefore didn’t need to be tracked across the field, and Reeder was able to easily step up into the pocket and sack the quarterback.

Because the Rams had Ramsey in the slot and extra defensive backs on the field with Fuller playing, they had the flexibility to play Reeder closer to the line of scrimmage, where he is better, and less in coverage, where he is not as good. Kiser is a more complete linebacker, so they’ll really want him to be in that role permanently because they won’t always be able to scheme their linebackers in the same way they did Sunday.

– What led to McVay deciding not to script the first drive? Is this the first season they have not scripted the first drive?

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
It was interesting to hear this week that the Rams don’t script their opening drives and, from what it sounds like, never have done so under McVay. Part of this is a “feel” thing — he and quarterback Jared Goff prefer to operate without a script — and part of this is because they have so much versatility at their skill positions on offense that they don’t want to remain rigid within a script and limit some of the things their players could do. McVay also noted this week that the maturity and savvy of their offensive players means they don’t have to lean on the structure of a script to get a feel for game flow.

The Rams assemble their priority calls based on how the installation periods went against the scout team in that week of practice, and then pull from them as needed on an opening drive. So I would probably describe what the Rams do as less of a script and more of a charcuterie board. Their plays are breads, crackers, cheeses, dips, various meats and even pickles. All of these are the Rams’ most delicious items in singularity; it’s up to them how to assemble each bite.