.@TG3II + @AaronDonald97 Land in Top 10 of #NFLTop100

Read 📰 » https://t.co/rjCFBFqCRX pic.twitter.com/WVWj3MMJLr

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) June 21, 2018

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Gurley, Donald Land in Top 10 of NFL’s Top 100

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/gurley-donald-land-in-top-10-of-nfl-s-top-100

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and running back Todd Gurley are both among the top 10 in the NFL’s annual list of the top 100 players for 2018.
NFL Media announced the members of the top 10 on Thursday morning, listing them only in alphabetical order. The full rankings will be revealed on Monday during an NFL Network two-hour special beginning at 5 p.m. PT.

Donald played in only 14 games in 2017, but was still named the AP Defensive Player of the Year after recording 11.0 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hits, five forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. The Pitt product’s fourth season continued a run of dominance to begin his career, as he’s now registered 39.0 sacks since 2014. He’s made the Pro Bowl in all four years and has been named a first-team All-Pro each season since 2015. This is Donald’s fourth career appearance on the Top 100, but his first time landing in the top 10.

As is well known, Gurley had a tremendous bounce-back season in 2017, finishing with a league-leading 2,093 yards from scrimmage, 19 total touchdowns, and 13 rushing touchdowns. He also finished second with 1,305 yards rushing and led L.A. with 64 receptions en route to winning his first AP Offensive Player of the Year award. Gurley was also named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career. It’s Gurley’s second appearance on the top 100 and also his first time in the top 10.
With this reveal, Los Angeles has seven total players on the top 100 list: left tackle Andrew Whitworth (No. 87), cornerback Marcus Peters (No. 79), defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (No. 61), cornerback Aqib Talib (No. 53), quarterback Jared Goff (No. 38), Donald, and Gurley.

from PFF: Ranking all 32 offensive lines by pass-blocking efficiency

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-ranking-offensive-lines-by-pass-blocking-efficiency

…

15. LOS ANGELES RAMS
2017 pass-blocking efficiency: 78.6

Best individual PBE: John Sullivan, 97.7

The Rams’ unit went from drastically underachieving in 2016 to becoming a strength of the team in 2017. The line allowed just 151 pressures on their 551 passing plays. Veteran free agent acquisitions John Sullivan and Andrew Whitworth both performed at a high level throughout the season, and both ended the year ranked 18th among their respective positions with PBE ratings of 97.7 and 96.1, respectively. While Whitworth showed slight signs of decline in 2017, he still ranks first among qualifying tackles over the PFF era with a career pass-blocking efficiency of 97.0.

No better way to end Rookie Experience Week than a BBQ at @EricDickerson's with Doug Smith, David Hill + Ivory Sully! #LARams pic.twitter.com/wR8R2YyInq

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) June 21, 2018

The eight-figure investment the NFL has made in this stadium in London is one of the more underplayed big stories in the league over the last couple years. https://t.co/lbBEJt8XVi

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 20, 2018

Watch as @alywagner makes history as the first woman to call a men's #WorldCup match on American television. #MORIRN pic.twitter.com/rkQEqP3PEm

— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) June 15, 2018

Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters: How a Pair of Risk-Taking Corners Could Give the Rams the Edge

ANDY BENOIT

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/06/20/los-angeles-rams-aqib-talib-marcus-peters-defense?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=themmqb&utm_source=twitter.com

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — After the 2017 season, Aqib Talib got a call from Broncos football czar John Elway: The veteran cornerback, who’d just finished his fourth season in Denver, was being traded to San Francisco. “I told him, ‘I ain’t even gonna take no physical in San Fran, so there won’t be no trade,’ ” Talib says.

Elway asked which teams Talib would play for on his existing contract. (That deal was worth $11 million in 2018 and $8 million in 2019.) There were only three: the Patriots, Cowboys and Rams. This late in his career, Talib craved familiarity.

“I’m going on year 11, man. I’m not trying to go learn a whole new system. I wanted to go somewhere I’d be comfortable.” Talib says this while sitting on the curb of the sidewalk between the Rams’ practice field and parking lot.

The Richardson, Texas, native explained, “I’m comfortable if I can live at my house in Dallas and go just around the corner to work. I cut my bills in half. Or if I can go play in a defensive scheme that I’ve played in before. So I told him Dallas, New England or L.A.”

The Rams, it so happened, had already visited with Elway, and it wasn’t long before Talib got a call from L.A. coach Sean McVay. On March 9, Talib, who has been named to the last five Pro Bowls and was All-Pro in 2016, was dealt to L.A. for a fifth-round pick.

It was just one of four mega moves by the Rams in what has become the most intriguing, aggressive offseason in recent memory. On April 3 L.A. traded the 23rd overall pick to New England for wideout Brandin Cooks. A week earlier, the Rams signed free-agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a one-year, $14 million deal. And, before trading for Talib, they dealt a 2019 second-round pick and a 2018 fourth-rounder to Kansas City for Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters and a sixth-round pick. Many believe the moves give L.A. a defense capable of matching the big-play aptitude of its vaunted offense.

Talib is a creature of habit. He keeps a meticulous notebook on each week’s upcoming opponent. “I go through first- and second-down plays on Wednesdays. Go through their big personnel—‘21’ [2 running backs, 1 tight end] and ‘12’ [1 back, 2 tight ends]. See what they like to do.

“Usually teams have an [offensive identity], they like to do something. They line up like this, they like to do that. Or they line up like that, and they like to do this.

“Thursday we go through all third downs—third-and-short, third-and-intermediate, third-and-long. Teams tend to do the same thing over and over again if you really watch. They might make it look different, they may dress it up a little.

“Fridays I do the red zone, situational stuff, two-minute. Things like that.”

This pattern is standard across the league, but you can’t help but smile at Talib’s enthusiasm as he describes it.

Though still an upper-echelon defender, Talib isn’t even the most dynamic corner Los Angeles traded for this offseason. That’d be Marcus Peters, who is new to Wade Phillips’s scheme and these days is often found sitting next to Talib, asking questions.

Both corners are more matchup-oriented than zone-oriented, but neither has traveled with specific receivers much in recent years. Talib very often played on the left side in Denver. And it was noted constantly that the left side is where Peters played in Kansas City. Many were perplexed that he didn’t shadow No. 1 receivers. Asked how often he heard about this, Peters, sitting in an outdoor lounge near the Rams’ locker room, says, diplomatically but edgily, “Man, I just do what the coaches ask of me.”

Judging from their work this spring, Rams coaches will often ask Peters to play on the right side. He has little concern about the switch. Same goes for Phillips. “We’re a ‘corners over’ defense,” the veteran defensive coordinator explains. “Our corners go with the wide receivers wherever they are. If both are on the left, both corners are on the left. If both on the right, vice-versa. So we haven’t worried too much in the past, because you have to learn to play both sides anyway.” Notably, the Chiefs have also been a “corners over” defense, with Peters taking the slot against two-receiver packages. But you only get this formation a few times a game.

Wherever he is, Peters plays to his help, be it from teammates or the sideline. “It’s training wheels, man. The art of a corner ain’t nothing but training wheels. You’ve got two of them, and you’re in the middle. So it don’t matter what side you’re going to lean to, it’s always going to balance out.”

Still, some players lament flipping sides. It can be a drastic adjustment in technique. In March, Bears guard Josh Sitton put it into context every person can imagine, saying it’s like “trying to wipe your ass with your opposite hand.”

Asked about this, Peters, either deflecting or just plain missing the point, smiles and says, “I don’t know who wipes with their off hand. That’s nasty.”

Talib and Peters knew each other before joining the Rams, though not well. Neither can recall their first encounter.

“I might have first met him when [my Broncos] won the Super Bowl in the Bay,” says Talib. “I think one of those first nights we went out with Marshawn [Lynch, a Bay Area native].”

“Damn, where’d I meet him at,” Peters ponders aloud, resting his chin in his palm. “Probably on the phone. Or sometime before we played Denver. I’ve always been a fan of his.”

Much has been made about the big-play potential of the Rams’ offense, which led the league in scoring last year and has since added a true No. 1 speed receiver in Cooks. That hype will continue; McVay has coveted Cooks for years, and has been even more smitten since seeing him in practice. Receivers like Cooks are precisely why the Rams knew they needed quality corners. Plus, having those corners frees up their scheme.

“In [Talib’s and Peters’s] case, you can put the pressure on them to take out one receiver,” Phillips says. “That helps so much when you’re trying to design what you want to do. It’s such a matchup league, you know? If you have a guy that can match up, you can design different things on defense to help other areas.”

Whereas before the Rams had a play-stopper in Trumaine Johnson (whom they finally let walk in free agency this offseason), they now have a pair of play-makers. Talib and Peters might rank 1 and 1A in terms of aggressiveness at their position. Their off-coverage, route-jumping style is high-risk, high-reward.

“High risk is high reward,” says Peters flatly. “There’s a select few of us that can do it, to be honest. That’s what makes us so unique.”

Peters is quick to cite the value of the defensive backs coaches he has worked with since high school—listing each by name—and is grateful that all of his coaches told him “to just be Marcus. They never told me to change nothing about my game. We just want you to go out and be yourself.”

It takes a certain level of humility—even courage?—for a coach tell Peters this. Because the 25-year-old corner won’t just take chances—he’ll sometimes deviate completely from a designed coverage. A perfect example was his interception last year in Week 3 at the L.A. Chargers.

“I know exactly what you’re talking about,” he says quickly at mention of the play. You’ll sometimes see a corner improvise and convert zone coverage into man coverage. But on that play, Peters did the opposite, converting man coverage into zone. It’s almost unheard of, since going zone on your own means letting your assigned receiver run free. “Can’t too many of us do it,” he says.

It wasn’t done on a whim. “Philip Rivers doesn’t like throwing that route against me,” Peters explains, elaborating on how the intended target, veteran tight end Antonio Gates, relies more on body positioning than speed these days. It was this knowledge that inspired Peters to go rogue and attack the ball.

Some of Talib’s coverage decisions can be perilous as well, but as with Peters, his gambles tend to be premeditated. “If we’re in Cover 8 [a form of two-deep zone] and I get a certain look? That’s a play for me,” Talib says. “If we’re in Cover 1 [man-to-man], that’s a catch and tackle. I ain’t really trying to do too much. So I figure out where my opportunities are, on what looks.”

Many corners study tendencies based on a wide receiver’s split—in other words, how far out the receiver is aligned. “But I think nowadays teams do a good job of running a lot of stuff from the same splits or just switching up their splits consistently,” Talib says. “It’s not like back in the day when somebody would line up at the bottom of the field numbers and run the Bang-8 [skinny post] every time. My rookie year that’s how it was—it was clockwork, every time.

“Now, it’s a new age of football. Splits are not as specific as back in the day. It’s more the receivers themselves now. The deep guys, the intermediate guys, the reverse screen guys. You just got to know the body that you’re covering and have a good idea of what you’re going to get.” Talib then goes into elaborate details on the various things you get based on personnel packages and situations. This is the lens through which he studies opponents.

You get the sense that his favorite moments are in hurry-up situations. “It’s like playing Nintendo,” he says. “Remember in Nintendo when you were hurrying you’d always go to the same playbook? NFL offenses are the same way.”

This line of thinking will make the Rams a fascinating defense in 2018. Corners who play tendencies and attack routes are lethal when they’re behind a dominant pass rush that can force quarterbacks to throw on the defense’s schedule. But if the pass rush doesn’t get home, these same corners become susceptible to double moves and late breakdowns in technique. We’ve seen this throughout Peters’s and Talib’s careers. The Rams may have the league’s best interior rush with newcomer Ndamukong Suh and especially Aaron Donald, but they’re thin and unproven on the edges.

Phillips isn’t worried. “The rush helps the coverage, the coverage helps the rush, you know? Chicken or the egg sometimes. But we had 48 sacks last year, so we feel like we’re going to have a good rush. And then when you’ve got guys of that caliber [on the corners], it will help us not only in the coverage but maybe turnovers too. That’s what we’re looking for.”

McVay: Longacre Will be ‘Ready to Go’ for Training Camp

Kristen Lago

https://www.therams.com/news/mcvay-longacre-will-be-ready-to-go-for-training-camp

Both OTAs and minicamp marked an important time for the Rams, allowing the franchise to welcome in several additions while perfecting its scheme on offense, defense, and special teams.
But the offseason program also allowed Los Angeles to continue rehab work with some of its veteran players. One example was outside linebacker Matt Longacre.
Longacre is in line to take on a starting role next year, but was sidelined throughout the offseason after undergoing back surgery and finishing 2017 on injured reserve. Fortunately for the Rams, head coach Sean McVay was optimistic about Longacre’s outlook, saying he would be “ready to go” come training camp.

“Unless there’s a setback, he should be ready to go and we’re expecting big things from Matt,” McVay said. “We know that Matt has been an extremely productive player for us and he’s going to take on a large role moving forward, but he’s feeling good.”
In 2017, Longacre was mainly used as a depth piece on the outside, but made an impact when called upon. Through the first seven games of the season, the three-year veteran led the team in sacks. He finished the year with 5.5 sacks and 23 total tackles, before suffering a season-ending injury.
And because he is projected to step into such a large role in 2018, McVay and the rest of the coaching staff wanted to be cautious with his offseason reps — ensuring he would be at his best for the regular season.
“We wanted to be real smart with that back injury and knowing that he’s got some history in this system, he’s got that comfort level and we’re expecting some really good things from him when we start up training camp,” McVay said. “He should be ready to go.”

Amazing picture of Tunisians watching their World Cup match yesterday – in a 2000-year old amphitheater pic.twitter.com/BswYfDA9TV

— Michele Steele (@ESPNMichele) June 19, 2018

Waldron Expects Gurley to Continue Improving as Dual-Threat Running Back

Kristen Lago

https://www.therams.com/news/waldron-expects-gurley-to-continue-improving-as-dual-threat-running-back

When running back Todd Gurley first joined the Rams in 2015, it was clear what strengths he would bring to the franchise. In his time at Georgia, Gurley made a name for himself as a dynamic rusher who provided a rare blend of power and speed.

And while he continues to demonstrate both skills as one of the top running backs in the league, last season proved that Gurley can bring more to the table than just his abilities as a rusher.

In 2017, Gurley recorded 64 receptions for 788 yards and six touchdowns — nearly doubling his production from the previous two seasons combined.

And now, as he gets set to enter his second season under head coach Sean McVay, Gurley is ready to continue developing as a true dual-threat running back.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Gurley said recently, “but my main focus is to help the team as much as possible. Focus on running the ball and the routes will take care of themselves.”

Throughout the offseason, passing game coordinator Shane Waldron said the team made a point to have all five running backs go through drills with the receivers. By doing so, Gurley and the rest of the room will have more opportunities to compete in both the running and passing game.

But Gurley in particular has taken that emphasis one step further.

After each practice, the running back can often be found catching passes at the jugs machine — a habit that has helped him to improve his individual receiving abilities, in addition to the route-running he does with the rest of the team.

And for that reason, Waldron is confident that Gurley will continue to improve as a receiver in 2018. Although, admittedly, he was unsure of just how much better the Georgia product could be after such a stellar 2017.

“Man, he’s pretty good right now,” Waldron said with a laugh. “But the one thing with Todd is you see him everyday, he does all that stuff like a pro. So I think like anything else, even though he is one of the greatest in the world at what he does, his work ethic and [with] what he puts into it in getting those extra reps, I think he can do nothing but improve.”

Will Earl Thomas still be with the Seahawks this upcoming season? "We keep hearing Dallas."

ICYMI: https://t.co/7qj50Cr8mM pic.twitter.com/s9Zn0eUbWH

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 19, 2018

wv wrote:

edit – couldnt get the tom tomorrow cartoon to fit

Fixed it.

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The Top 100 Players of 2018 revealed players ranked No. 20-11 last night. Here they are pic.twitter.com/YMywOkyxRW

— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) June 19, 2018