VB: Donald’s dominance, Goff’s struggles, & other takeaways from Rams-Browns

Aaron Donald’s dominance, theories on Jared Goff’s struggles and other takeaways from Rams-Browns

Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/1234880/2019/09/23/aaron-donalds-dominance-theories-on-jared-goffs-struggles-and-other-takeaways-from-rams-browns/?=twittered

CLEVELAND — The Rams’ locker room had mostly emptied by the time Aaron Donald met with the media late Sunday night. A couple hours earlier he notched his first sack of the season in the Rams’ 20-13 win over the Browns, and his impact stretched far beyond dragging Baker Mayfield to the ground.

Donald essentially took up residence in the Cleveland backfield all night, and when he wasn’t applying pressure on Mayfield he was dictating terms in run defense. It was a vintage Donald performance on a night the Rams desperately needed it.

But he wasn’t satisfied as he talked about getting things cleaned up and being even better.

“I feel like I left a lot of plays out there,” Donald, ever the perfectionist, mused.

“Aaron Donald!” came a booming shout across the locker room, as the unmistakable voice of Rams safety Eric Weddle echoed off the walls.

The not-so-subtle message was lost on no one. Weddle has seen a bunch of great defensive players over his 13-year career, but Donald is a different animal altogether. And while Donald, the two-time defending NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has a keen self-awareness that detects the need for improvements, everyone else sees a player who continually dominates games.

“Every play, he can make a difference, and he does for us,” Weddle said. “We build most of our game plan around him and the command he brings from the opponent. The slide of the lines, the protection calls, what they can and can’t do because he is on the field.”

And as we’ve learned from the first three games of this season, Donald’s impact and the way he has lifted the entire unit — in conjunction with the strong play of Weddle and fellow newcomer Clay Matthews — is the reason the Rams are 3-0 heading into Sunday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That represents a significant change in how the Rams win games, compared to the last two years when they rode their powerful and explosive offense to consecutive division titles and an appearance in last season’s Super Bowl.

An inexperienced offensive line, coupled with some key injuries and a much different usage of Todd Gurley, has resulted in an uneven start for the offense. Jared Goff, perhaps because of the aforementioned issues, has not played at the Pro Bowl level he displayed the last two years. They are all reasons why the Rams have labored to put together four quarters of consistent offense.

The Rams have been forced to lean more heavily on their defense. That makes them quite a bit different than what we’ve typically seen, the victory over the Browns being the latest case in point.

Here are four other observations from Sunday night.

What’s wrong with Goff?

It’s an explosive and complex question. The Rams are undefeated after all, and in each of the three wins Goff has delivered in moments that became the difference between winning and losing. By that measure, he is playing winning football even if it doesn’t put up the gaudy stats we are used to seeing from him.

Nevertheless, his performance certainly looks more labored and forced than in years past. And it’s cause for examination, although I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone to begin panicking.

Goff’s quarterback rating the last two years was above 100, but it’s sitting at 84 this year and that’s a clear sign of some issues. Part of it is his fault, as he’s been inaccurate on some throws he typically delivers with precision and he has thrown three interceptions (with four touchdowns).

Goff threw two touchdowns against the Browns, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. The question is: How much blame should Goff take?

From my vantage point, it should be shared more than shouldered, given what’s going on around Goff. The offensive line remains a work in progress, and losing Austin Blythe and Tyler Higbee — a tight end who greatly impacts the Rams’ run and pass blocking — only exasperates that issue.

Meanwhile, between Gurley’s lower usage rate and his general ineffectiveness when utilized, Goff no longer has the same weapon in the backfield. As a result, Goff is being asked to do more while working behind a line that is weaker compared to 2017 and 2018 and operating without an optimal Gurley alongside him.

His play has reflected that, although it’s important to reiterate Goff has played well enough to lead the offense on critical touchdown drives in the second half of all three wins. When the Rams absolutely need him to deliver, he’s been up to the challenge.

And against the Browns, a number of those big moments came when he used his legs to buy time and on third downs to keep drives alive.

“I thought he made some big-time throws,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “Any time you have to evaluate the quarterback position when you throw it as many times as he did tonight, there’s always going to be some things we can learn from. I thought his ability to escape the rush, make some plays on his own, do things off schedule, was big-time.

“On the two touchdown drives that we did have, he had some major conversions. Both of those third-down touchdowns that he had — the third-and-6 to Cooper (Kupp) where they bring zero pressure and basically drop and he ends up delivering a great ball. Then the same thing when he hits Cooper on the outbreak in route on the third down and I think it’s 10 or 11 (yards) there. Those are big-time throws that we had to have, and those aren’t real high-percentage downs for offenses.

“When you have a quarterback playing like that, that’s big.”

It’s been enough for the Rams to win their first three games, but they need more, obviously. And that is going to have to come from a combination of Goff being more consistent, the offensive line improving and Gurley being more like Gurley again.

Growing pains for O-line

Clearly, it wasn’t a great night for Jamil Demby, the second-year lineman who replaced the injured Blythe at right guard. It was a difficult set of circumstances, given it was Demby’s first career start and it came on the road in a raucous environment that required the Rams to go to silent counts.

That put a lot of added pressure on Demby, who in addition to his blocking duties had to communicate with Goff and then relay the snap order to center Brian Allen. One of Demby’s penalties was caused by him moving early at the line of scrimmage moments after arm-gesturing to Allen to snap the ball.

That’s not an excuse, obviously, but it was a factor. And overall, save for some improvements in the second half, the offensive line struggled to protect Goff and open holes for Gurley.

“I think they did OK,” McVay said. “That’s a really good (Cleveland) front. You know, there were some things that, until you go back and look at the tape, it’s hard to say. There were some costly errors that we did make in some crunch-time situations with some communications. I thought overall, they found a way in the second half to get a couple of touchdown drives together. That ended up being the difference in the game.”

The Rams hope to get Blythe back this Sunday and that certainly will help. But they also need Joe Noteboom, who replaced veteran Rodger Saffold at left guard, to lift his game.

For now, the line is a work in progress, and with the Rams opening this year with two new starters and with an inexperienced group of backups, their only option appears to be internal improvement.

McVay’s iffy play-calling

As often is the case, McVay was critical of himself after Sunday’s game for not doing enough to get his offense going. Some of that is just his humble nature, but he had a point, particularly in regard to the two times he opted to throw the ball in short-yardage situations that stalled drives.

On one, Goff was sacked and the Rams had to settle for a field goal rather than a touchdown. On the other, Goff forced a ball that was intercepted, giving the Browns one last chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.

In each instance a run seemed more likely, given the score and circumstance and, well, the fact that the Rams had Gurley ready to be activated.

You just wonder if McVay is a little spooked with the state of the offensive line and the effectiveness of Gurley and whether that has crept into his play-calling a bit.

“It was tough to get us into a rhythm, and it starts with me,” McVay said. “I keep saying it. I can’t keep sitting up here and saying the same thing. I have to find a way to get it fixed and be better for our football team. Really, there are no excuses other than I just have to do better.”

Big night for Matthews

Matthews’ return home to Southern California has turned out to be the boost he (and the Rams) needed. His four sacks through three games already exceeds last season’s total (3.5) with Green Bay.

Part of that is Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips using Matthews in a way that accentuates his pass-rush skills — last year he was asked to drop back in coverage more than at any point in his career — but perhaps Matthews also has more to offer than anticipated.

He showed as much against the Browns with two sacks on a night when his father, Clay Jr., was inducted into the Browns Ring of Honor. The elder Matthews was honored at halftime, and his son joined part of the ceremony when he ran out of the locker room and onto the stage to hug his dad.

“It was awesome to see,” Matthews said. “It was a fun event this weekend for the Matthews family. Unfortunately, I was not able to take part in it. But to be out there and see his name along some of Cleveland’s truly all-time greats was remarkable to see. I was able to catch him at the tail end of his speech at halftime. It was cool to see. It looked like he got emotional up there.

“For me as his son, growing up I figured everybody’s father did the same thing. I would not say he did not do anything special, as he played 19 years. Now, I’m in my 11th year and understand what it takes to play at a top level and dealing with injuries and persevering. To see this city, that gave back to us so much and he gave back to them so much, and to award him by putting him in the Ring of Honor is special.”