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The Gruelling Process of Doing Laundry | Victorian Farm EP2 | Absolute History
As autumn ends, winter-proofing begins in earnest – essential work if the livestock and crops are to make it through the cold and frost. The team stock up on animal feed using a host of Victorian machinery. Peter faces his biggest challenge so far – building pigsties. Ruth tackles the laundry, a gruelling four-day process that Victorians tackled weekly. The ram arrives on the farm – ensuring he gets the ewes pregnant is essential if they are to produce lambs in the spring. The team take delivery of a Shire horse and Alex learns to drive him. And there is a traditional Victorian Christmas to look forward to, including decorations, cookery and church carols. They celebrate Christmas Day with friends they have made over the past four months.
AgamemnonI’m just hoping this goes easy on me, presuming I’m positive.
Good luck, Mac. I hope everything goes well.
AgamemnonHow Cheese Was Made 100 Years Ago
The team follows a flock of sheep up on to Dartmoor, where it was traditional for many shepherds to take their flocks for summer grazing. Alex and Peter get to grips with shearing, while Ruth takes the fleeces off to a wool mill to find out how it was processed and manufactured.
Agamemnonhttps://www.therams.com/news/from-the-podium-les-snead-jared-goff-training-camp
Monday, Aug 03, 2020 07:51 PM
From the Podium: Rams GM Les Snead, QB Jared Goff discuss acclimation period, changes
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Stu Jackson Staff WriterThis contains a 40 min. video of Snead.
Agamemnonhttps://www.therams.com/news/from-the-podium-sean-mcvay-first-training-camp-presser
From the Podium: McVay discusses COVID-19 risk mitigation, creating competitive situations
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Stu JacksonStaff Writer
Rams head coach Sean McVay held a video conference with local media on Sunday to discuss the start of Rams Training Camp presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union and other important topics. Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from that virtual conversation:
“Guys are chomping at the bit to get back and understand that that’s going to be part of how we have a successful season, guys handling themselves the right way with regards to the risk mitigation.”Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins experienced a COVID-19 outbreak earlier this week which reportedly infected 21 players and staff members and occurred due to players not following protocols. That incident, along with multiple St. Louis Cardinals players and staff members testing positive, has resulted in the postponement of 17 different MLB games so far.
With the Rams scheduled to have their first team meeting Monday, it is serving as a timely and important reminder of the discipline and accountability required of players from the facility to ensure the NFL season goes smoothly.
McVay also said it is the coaching staff’s responsibility to make sure it emulates the proper behavior it is asking of the players.“We’re gonna have a lot of time before September 13 comes around to get a lot of good competitive work against one another.”
Even in the absence of preseason games and inter-squad scrimmages, the Rams will still find ways to create competitive situations to evaluate their 80-man roster. One of those ways will be a couple of scrimmages at SoFi Stadium this month.
Besides scrimmages, the third day of the ramp-up phase in their training camp schedule – Aug. 15 – will be the first opportunity to create competition in an offense versus defense team setting, while Aug. 17 will represent the first true practice where players will be able to go up against one another in a non-walk-through setting.
Until then, McVay said the early phases of camp will allow the coaching staff to test players “above the neck,” i.e. in non-contact settings like walk-throughs.McVay talks COVID-19 adjustments to training camp
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“If there’s legitimate safety and health concerns, we’re going to do nothing but support these guys.”The amended Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFLPA and NFL included an option for players to opt-out of the 2020 season due concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
While offensive tackle Chandler Brewer made the decision on Friday, McVay said he does not anticipate any other Rams players to opt out before the deadline (which could reportedly be as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday).
McVay would be supportive if other Rams players opt out, and said it’s important to continue having open and honest dialogue with them.“It’s been good. I’ve got a couple robo-cams following me right now, every move I make in my office, so I have zero privacy.”
Asked about his Hard Knocks: Los Angeles experience so far, McVay gave insight on the intimate approach the film crew is taking to document the Rams’ training camp.
For McVay, this is his second direct experience with Hard Knocks – the first was in 2016 when he was Washington’s offensive coordinator. The Rams were indirectly involved last year via their inter-squad training camp scrimmage against the Oakland Raiders, who were the subject of the show’s 2019 edition.
The first episode of Hard Knocks: Los Angeles will premiere Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. pacific time.McVay’s 22 minute video at the site.
AgamemnonRams cut four more players, get down to 80 before camp starts
Rams cut four more players, get down to 80 before camp starts
Cameron DaSilva
3 hours agoThe NFL is allowing teams to carry more than 80 players into training camp, but the ones that do will have to go with a split-squad approach during practices and meetings. Any team with 80 or fewer players, however, will be able to have everyone working in the same group.
The Rams appear to prefer the one-group plan as they’ve once again trimmed their roster ahead of training camp. On Saturday, the team waived five more players: linebacker Daniel Bituli, running back James Gilbert, defensive end Greg Reaves and defensive tackle Sam Renner.
All four of them were signed as undrafted free agents this year, and given the nature of training camp during the pandemic, they seemed unlikely to make the 53-man roster anyway. However, it’s unfortunate that they won’t even have the chance to compete for a spot due to the NFL limiting camp sizes.
The Rams would’ve had to get down to only 80 players by Aug. 16 anyway, so they’re trimming their roster ahead of time by moving on from players toward the bottom of the roster.
Agamemnon“He’s the best football player I’ve probably ever seen, honestly. There’s nobody like him.”
Three straight years in the Top 10 for @AaronDonald97 💪#NFLTop100 x @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/jt1OPegYLr
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) July 30, 2020
AgamemnonThe Travels Of Medieval World | Secrets Of The Castle (5/5) | Absolute History
Ruth, Peter and Tom look at the castle’s place in the wider medieval world. 13th century Europe was a busy, developing, connected place, where work, trade, pilgrimages and Crusades gave people the opportunity to travel across the continent and beyond.
AgamemnonThe Importance Of Stonemasons & Blacksmiths | Secrets of the Castle (4/5) | Absolute History
The team delve deeper into the secrets of the skilled communities who built medieval castles. The stonemasons working on the castle walls are dependent on blacksmiths, whose metalwork was magical to the medieval mind-set.
Agamemnon13th Century Interior Design | Secrets of the Castle (3/5) | Absolute History
Ruth, Peter and Tom enter the surprisingly colourful world of medieval interior design. The castles that we see today are in fact scarred by centuries of decay. Most of their original roofs, carpentry and interior finishes have long since disappeared, but in their heyday they were lavishly decorated.
AgamemnonA Castle Fit For Fighting | Secrets of the Castle (2/5) | Absolute History
The 13th century was known as the golden age of castle building. Most are still standing to this day, but many of the secrets of how they were constructed have been lost in time. How were they built? What methods were used?
AgamemnonIsn’t gambling money supposed to help the Cap sometime?
The Supreme Court Just Made the NFL a Lot Richer. So Why the Fight?
The court’s ruling effectively allowing all states to legalize sports gambling promises to juice revenues, engage a new audience and make individual teams a lot more valuable. After years of lip service against gaming, the league’s real problem was that it will have less leverage over states than over a federal solution. Now the fight will be between owners and players over how to share out the new bountyAndrew Brandt
May 15, 2018Although it is always difficult to read the tea leaves about court cases, especially in the United States Supreme Court, I noticed a clear preference from the Court for striking down PASPA, the law preventing implementation of state sports betting, when I attended oral arguments on December 4, 2017 (discussed here). Well, the tea leaves were right. The world as we know it with sports betting in this country changed yesterday at 10 a.m. with the 7-2 opinion in favor of New Jersey, allowing that state, and a caravan of others to follow, to implement sports betting. Welcome to the future.
Here is a quick look at the opinion, with a longer discussion of the impact on the NFL and beyond:
The OpinionLet’s clear up some confusion about what the decision did or did not say. The Supreme Court did not grant a consitutional right to sports gambling. This is a case about states’ rights prevailing over federal “authorization.” As the opinion of Justice Alito noted: “We have always understood that even where Congress has the authority under the Constitution to pass laws requiring or prohibiting certain acts, it lacks the power directly to compel the States to require or prohibit those acts.”
Justice Alito looked at the legal environment at the time of PASPA (majority of states had bans on gambling) in 1991 and compared it to the present environment. In that sense, this compares to recent tolerance and legalization of marijuana. Thus, for most states, authorization would have to come through repeal of marijuana sales, which were basically repealing state prohibitions.
It is a new time and new place for sports betting, a far cry from the past. Speaking of which …
The NFLThe NFL, led by Roger Goodell and his priority of moral conduct, has forever opposed gambling as a threat to its cherished “integrity of the game.” As recently as four years ago, the league shut down a Fantasy Football convention—involving Tony Romo and dozens of other players—because it was in a convention hall annexed to a casino. Since then, however, the league’s position has, in their words, “evolved” with some mixed messages (some would say hypocrisy).
The NFL has recently embraced fantasy sports companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings, all the while noting that the league does not have an equity stake in either, as Major League Baseball and the NHL (DraftKings) and FanDuel (NBA) do. Of course, influential NFL owners Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft were early investors in DraftKings (Cowboys’ players walk out to the field through the DraftKings Fantasy Lounge). Goodell and league executives have distinguished fantasy from gambling, noting that it does not involve team outcomes but rather a mashup of player outcomes. I have found that reasoning perplexing, since if the NFL was worried about nefarious influences, those forces would have more chance of influencing an individual player outcome than a team outcome involving dozens of interdependent parts.
What Will Betting on the NFL Look Like Now? U.K. Bookmakers and Gamblers Give Us an Idea
Of course, the NFL’s embrace of gambling has gone beyond fantasy sports. Several teams have had training camp practices at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, home to an ornate casino. The Lions have a sponsorship deal with MGM. In Green Bay, one of our primary gate sponsors was the Oneida Nation Casino, and our players stayed at the hotel abutting that casino on nights before home games.
And then the NFL ceded its moral high ground. In January 2017 it formally approved relocation of the Raiders to Las Vegas, the country’s gambling mecca. I remember covering those ownership meetings and asking owners about their concerns with the Vegas market. Their apprehension involved whether Vegas would sustain a team long term, whether it was more than a tourist market, etc. What, I asked, about gambling? That was low on their list of concerns. Hearing that, I knew at that moment that the NFL was ready to embrace gambling. Indeed, in discussing the Raiders’ relocation, Roger Goodell praised the regulations in Nevada—the same ones he fought in New Jersey!
So why was the NFL fighting this case so hard? Well, the league preferred, and still prefers, a federal legislative solution that the NFL could influence through its lobbying, over a solution dictated by the Supreme Court and the states. The league is not used to negotiating without a position of strength. Now it will have to try to negotiate “integrity fees” with the states—an ironic term for a league worried about gambling affecting integrity—without its usual leverage.
No matter what happened in the Court and in the states, the NFL has had to be preparing for this inevitability. I have long advocated that the NFL needs to hire a CGO, a Chief Gambling Officer, to get control of this space and determine controls for players, coaches, referees, executives, etc. Now more than ever, the NFL needs a Gambling Czar, akin to the “Head of Integrity” role in various European sports.
Follow the moneyThe question all the leagues and ommissioners were asking yesterday and today is, of course, this: “How can we best monetize?” Whether it’s the integrity fees, sponsor possibilities in the gambling space, alignment with a certain casino over others, etc., Roger Goodell is likely hearing from his senior executives about the most efficient and profitable ways to monetize this result (besides continue to lobby Congress for a national solution).
The real value to the NFL from sports betting may not be as quantifiable but it is dramatic. Gambling is an incredible fan engagement tool that hooks in fans with no rooting interest in the teams that are playing. And the data is dramatic. According to Nielson Research, bettors make up just 25% of the NFL audience but watch nearly 50% of all NFL regular season game minutes. And then there was this statistic:
• Number of games viewed by the average NFL non-betting fan: 16
• Number of games viewed by the average NFL betting fan: 35This is powerful data for a league looking under every rock for new sources of revenue. It is the reason fans with no rooting interest engage with the NFL. This is not new information to the NFL, but it certainly crystallizes the power of gambling.
And this is just the beginning. With the NFL recently inking a new $1.5 billion partnership with Verizon, think about the possibilities of in-game betting from a mobile device, wagering on the next touchdown, the next field goal, the next play! The NFL knows its key challenge for future growth is attracting and maintaining younger viewers; engaging them in this space is a strategic way to do so.
On a macro level beyond incremental gains in operating revenues, every NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball franchise just became more valuable. Gambling will bring more engagement, more eyeballs, more ancillary revenue opportunities, more, well, money. And with more money there is more value. Franchise values, about to have a new and impressive data point with the Carolina Panthers sale, will continue to soar with this new fan engagement tool at the starting gate.
With David Tepper Buying the Panthers, Donald Trump Faces More NFL Resistance
Thus, while the NFL expresses some disappointment with the ruling (it had “won” at every other level for the past five years), the league can take solace in the fact that while “integrity” will never be the same, profits will rise. The Supreme Court ruled against the NFL but may have turned on the spigot for millions, even billions, in future revenue potential.
Whither the NFLPA?Beyond the expected surge in NFL revenues, there is the important matter of the players’ participation in this windfall. The NFLPA joined other players’ associations last week with a statement that, to me, translated to “We are going to want our piece of this!” And the union made a statement upon the decision as well, noting it will “monitor developments closely.”
I can see this setting up as either a way to develop some trust or, more likely, another friction point between the NFL and NFLPA, two sides that have never had mutual trust. The NFL will certainly say that the increased revenues from gambling will be part of overall revenues, thus increasing the salary cap and allowing players to share in the uptick. That, however, is unlikely to be enough for the product, the players, who will want earlier entry points into the revenues generated from their games.
Unless the NFL has a plan for players to share gambling-related revenues beyond a cap increase, the news from today will only add to the issues dividing the two stakeholders.
MoralityAnd a final word on the issue of morality. I understand we are at a different time and place with taboos in our society including, now, marijuana and gambling. And I get that it is bothersome to some people, including the man I’ve referred to as the “Conduct Commissioner,” Goodell. However, Goodell is a steward for NFL owners determined to squeeze out revenue opportunities when they present themselves. “Moral integrity” did not have the same appeal to the NFL when Nevada was offering the Raiders $800 million in stadium subsidies.
This is not your father’s NFL in many ways, the latest one being the “integrity” of gambling. The United States Supreme Court has seen to that.
AgamemnonRams begin trimming camp roster, waive four players
Rams begin trimming camp roster, waive four players
Cameron DaSilva
1 hour agoThe Los Angeles Rams have already begun trimming their roster ahead of training camp, waiving three players on Saturday. They parted ways with safety Jake Gervase, tight end Ethan Wolf, wide receiver Greg Dortch and center Nate Trewyn.
This is in conjunction with the NFL’s roster limits for camp. Every team will need to trim its roster to only 80 players by Aug. 16, though they’re permitted to carry up to 90 players before then.
However, if a team has more than 80 players on its roster before Aug. 16, it will need to split the team into two groups to limit the number of people in the facility.
The Rams now sit at 85 players on the current roster, so they’ll need to cut five more players in the next three weeks or so. None of the players they cut this weekend were particularly surprising, though some believed Dortch might compete with Nsimba Webster for the primary return specialist job.
Gervase spent the most time with the Rams of the four, joining the team as an undrafted free agent last year. He spent most of the season on the practice squad but was promoted in October and appeared in two games.
AgamemnonHe reminds me of Cooper Kupp. They have about the same 40 time. 😉
.
Van Jefferson reminds me of Kupp, too. AgamemnonI remember when we was drafted. I wanted the Rams to draft him and they did. Even traded up a couple spots. I think it was 4th rounder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Jackson
St. Louis Rams
Drafted by the Rams in 2004, Jackson spent eight years with the teamJackson was drafted in the first round with the 24th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He was the first running back to be selected that year. The Rams traded picks with the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals to get Jackson. Denver traded Deltha O’Neal to Cincinnati for their first round pick. Then, St. Louis traded up to Cincinnati’s selection to grab Jackson while the Bengals chose Chris Perry to replace the departed Corey Dillon, who was traded to the New England Patriots.[10]
https://www.therams.com/news/countdown-draft-running-back-steven-jackson
Friday, Apr 17, 2020 05:14 PM
Countdown to the Draft: Trading up in 2004 to get RB Steven Jackson
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Stu JacksonLeading up to this year’s NFL Draft, scheduled to take place April 23-25, theRams.com will revisit notable draft moments in team history. In the third installment of the four-part series, we take a look at 2004 when the Rams traded up to get their running back of the future, Steven Jackson.
BackgroundOne of the centerpieces to The Greatest Show on Turf, starting running back Marshall Faulk just finished his sixth season with the the Rams in 2003. He posted a respectable 1,108 total yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns at age 30 that season, but he had also entered what is historically considered the “line of demarcation” for a running back’s production, according to a June 2003 story by Peter King in Sports Illustrated.
Given that context, it likely would not have been a surprise if the Rams used a high draft pick on an eventual successor in the 2004 NFL Draft with Faulk turning 31 in February.
Per Football Outsiders’ Sean McCormick, Oregon State’s Steven Jackson was a consensus No. 1 running back in that year’s class “who was considered a franchise back and worthy of a high first-round pick.” One look at Jackson’s credentials, and it wasn’t difficult to see why.
NFL scouts first took notice of Jackson after he rushed for 1,690 yards and 17 touchdowns in 13 games as a sophomore in college. He followed it up with 1,545 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior, then decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the draft.
According to a story posted on Jackson’s website, he underwent minor knee surgery to clear up some discomfort after his junior season. Although the procedure forced him to miss the 2004 NFL Scouting Combine, the 6-foot-2, 233-pounder later ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at his pro day.
A video on Jackson’s YouTube channel from 2011 said he was expected to be a top-five pick. One mock draft had Jackson going as high as No. 6 overall to the Detroit Lions, another No. 17 overall to the Denver Broncos.
And yet, surprisingly, he fell out of each of those ranges. The Dallas Cowboys – which, according to that same video, were Jackson’s father’s favorite team – even passed on him, trading their first round pick to the Buffalo Bills, who used the No. 22 selection on Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman.
“I mean, it was like being punched in the stomach. I couldn’t believe it at that point,” Jackson said in the video. “I scrambled, looked back to see what teams were still drafting. In my opinion, the teams that were left in the first round didn’t really need a running back.”
Ultimately, his doubts would be erased and things would work out for him. Two picks later, the Rams traded the No. 26 overall pick and their fourth-round pick to the Bengals for the No. 24 overall pick, scooping up Jackson.
“To me, there’s not too many franchises that have had the success at running back like the St. Louis Rams or the Rams franchise when they were in L.A.,” Jackson said in the video. “So many great backs have worn that helmet.”
Rams highlightsJackson made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2004, rushing for 673 yards and four touchdowns while playing behind Faulk. The Rams earned a spot in the playoffs that season, defeating the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round.
From 2005-12, he posted eight-consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, highlighted by winning the NFC rushing title in 2009. Perhaps coincidentally, one of the best games of his career came against the Cowboys – 25 carries, 160 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 34-14 Rams win in Week 7 of the 2008 season.
That string of success paved the way for Jackson to become the Rams’ all-time leading rusher with 10,138 yards in 131 games, and he is also tied with Eric Dickerson for second on the franchise’s career rushing touchdowns list with 56.
AgamemnonFrom NFL Now: What's left for the NFL and the NFLPA to work out? All the $$$ things… pic.twitter.com/PgKkYSahU0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 21, 2020
AgamemnonI disagree with the WR group. We are still top 5 overall.
How does he rank our CBs? If he predicts it truthfully, we should probably be ranked 30-32 best. Outside of Jalen Ramsey, it is not real good.
That is all the groups they do so far.
Agamemnonhttps://www.pff.com/news/nfl-defensive-line-rankings-all-32-units-entering-the-2020-nfl-season
NFL defensive line rankings: All 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season
By Sam Monson
Jul 20, 2020The PFF unit ranking series moves to the defensive line as we look forward to the 2020 season. It’s important to note that all interior defensive linemen and edge defenders have been grouped together for this exercise, so teams that run a base 3-4 will include their outside linebackers (edge defenders) in this writeup, and they will not be featured with the linebackers. The best defensive lines have both high-end players and depth, and that’s what we leaned on when putting together this ranking. Here are the best defensive lines in the NFL heading into 2020.
8. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams don’t just have the best defensive lineman in the NFL in Aaron Donald, but they have arguably the best player in the NFL, period. By any measure, Donald is by far the best pass-rusher in football, owning the best pressure rate, pass-rush win rate and PFF grade of any player at any position over more or less any period of time since he entered the league. He had 80 total pressures in 2019 after posting a league-leading 106 in 2018. The team’s problem has been assembling a supporting cast capable of helping Donald maximize his impact.
Last season, Dante Fowler Jr. was at least capable of cleaning up the havoc Donald caused inside, but with Fowler now in Atlanta, somebody else needs to step up. Samson Ebukam has been a solid run defender and an average pass-rusher, and he could be pushed for playing time by Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, who is entering Year 3 after barely playing but flashing rush ability when he has.
Inside, the Rams retained Michael Brockers after it looked like he was headed elsewhere in free agency — but only after they signed A’Shawn Robinson from the Lions, which feels a little redundant. Both players are run-focused nose tackles without the pass-rushing versatility to play alongside each other.
Greg Gaines adds to the run-stuffing expertise along the Rams’ line, while Sebastian Joseph-Day saw almost 500 snaps last season and graded solidly across the board. Third-round rookie Terrell Lewis should have a good chance to start on the edge, but his PFF grade never matched the enticing physical tools he flashed in his lone season starting at Alabama.
Agamemnonhttps://www.pff.com/news/nfl-tight-end-rankings-all-32-units-entering-the-2020-nfl-season
NFL tight end rankings: All 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season
By Steve Palazzolo
Jul 14, 2020The tight end units are top-heavy this season, as there are many teams with strong options but also many with massive question marks. It’s crucial to have playmakers at tight end in today’s NFL, and it’s clear that some teams were lacking dynamism and overall speed last season. To rank these units, we balanced star players along with depth at the position. Here are the top tight end units heading into 2020.
5. Los Angeles Rams
The tight ends became a huge part of the Rams’ passing attack last season, finishing with 1,168 receiving yards, fifth-most of any tight end group in the league.
Tyler Higbee broke out to produce the third-best receiving grade among tight ends (90.1) while catching over 80% of his targets and averaging 5.8 yards after the catch per reception. Gerald Everett finished with the ninth-best receiving grade (78.9), making the duo the only teammates to rank within the top 10. Everett is also one of the most elusive tight ends in the league, as he forced 13 missed tackles on just 37 receptions last season.
Johnny Mundt played 170 snaps for the Rams, as well, doing his best work in the run game where his 72.4 grade ranked seventh among tight ends. The Rams also added Brycen Hopkins to the mix this offseason, and the fourth-rounder adds even more speed to the unit — he was the best vertical tight end threat in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he ran a 4.66 at the scouting combine.
Hopkins is more of a big slot receiver with “move” tight end potential, but he adds a nice depth and is more of a long-term play. The Rams have one of the best pass-catching tight end units in the league, and they may be called upon even more given the team’s uncertainty at the outside wide receiver position.
Agamemnonhttps://www.pff.com/news/nfl-wide-receiver-rankings-all-32-units-2020-nfl-season
NFL wide receiver rankings: All 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season
By Steve Palazzolo
Jul 13, 2020The PFF unit ranking series continues with the wide receivers as we prepare for the 2020 season. When analyzing wide receiver units, there’s a delicate balance between identifying teams with elite No. 1 options and those groups that run three or four deep. In today’s NFL, most teams employ three receivers as starters and the ability to put three legitimate threats on the field makes life difficult for opposing defenses. Here are the best receiver units heading into 2020.
17. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have had one of the most efficient receiving groups in the league over the last few years, and last season they tied for the sixth-best receiving grade at 78.9.
Robert Woods has progressed to become one of the best receivers in the league since joining the Rams in 2017 — his 80.4 receiving grade ranked 14th last season. Woods has been “open” on 67.0% of his single-coverage targets since 2017, fifth-best in the NFL during that time. Right behind him in that department is Cooper Kupp, who has been open on 65.2% of his targets (sixth-best in the NFL), and he has posted a receiving grade of at least 76.0 in all three seasons.
Having two of the league’s best route-runners has elevated the Rams offense during the Sean McVay era, though downfield speed is a question mark with Brandin Cooks being traded to the Texans. Second-rounder Van Jefferson will compete for that role and he has the speed to get down the field, though he must improve his ability to deal with contact. Josh Reynolds is also in the mix — he’s been a solid No. 4 option over the last two years, posting receiving grades of 65.6 and 66.5. While Woods and Kupp are strong at the top of the depth chart, replacing Cooks will be difficult as he contributed over 1,200 yards during the 2018 Super Bowl year. This offense works best when it can threaten defenses down the field.
Agamemnonhttps://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-line-rankings-all-32-units-entering-the-2020-nfl-season
NFL offensive line rankings: All 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season
By Steve Palazzolo
Jul 6, 2020The PFF play-by-play grading gives us a unique perspective regarding offensive line play, and with the 2020 season upon us, it’s time to rank the best offensive lines in the NFL. While star power has an impact, the best offensive lines have depth across the starting five and often with their backups, so those teams will be ranked higher. Of course, finding five strong starters is a challenge, and even some of the better offensive lines will enter the season with question marks.
Here are the best offensive lines in the NFL heading into the 2020 season.
25. Los Angeles Rams
No offensive line took as big of a step back as the Rams, a team that dropped from one of the league’s best to 31st during the 2019 regular season. They had eight linemen pass protect at least 250 times and only left tackle Andrew Whitworth put up a pass-blocking grade better than 61.6. Whitworth took a step back overall, grading at 72.8, his lowest since 2008. He remains as one of the better tackles in the league, and he’s been fantastic since joining the Rams, but he’ll turn 39 years old during the season.
At right tackle, Rob Havenstein’s regression remains a mystery. He had four solid seasons under his belt, including an 83.6 overall grade that ranked seventh among tackles in 2018. Last season, however, he posted a 50.9 grade that ranked 81st out of 89 qualifiers. If the Rams are going to get back on track, it must start with Havenstein.
The interior of the line saw huge turnover last season as left guard Rodger Saffold and center John Sullivan needed to be replaced, but the youth movement has gotten off to a slow start. At left guard, Austin Corbett and Joseph Noteboom both saw significant snaps, with Corbett posting the better grade at 51.8, good for 71st among guards. Right guard Austin Blythe saw his grade drop from 73.4 (12th) to 50.3 (76th) last season, so much like Havenstein, a return to form is crucial for the Rams.
Center Brian Allen finished 26th among centers with a 58.6 grade, and his biggest issue was pass protection, where his 45.4 grade ranked 33rd out of 35 qualifiers. David Edwards should also be in the mix for playing time after posting a 61.0 grade on 689 snaps as a rookie while fellow 2019 draft pick Bobby Evans remains a developmental option after a 49.4 grade on 479 snaps at right tackle last season.
Development is the key word for the Rams as they’re rolling it back with last year’s 31st-ranked unit, but with five players all within their first three years in the league, Los Angeles is expecting improvement from at least a few of them.
Agamemnon
