BobCarl provided this:

IND: reports the Colts are expected to put in an interview request for Eagles OC Frank Reich regarding their head-coaching vacancy.

NE: Patriots OC Josh McDaniels’ agent, Bob LaMonte, has terminated his relationship with McDaniels after he decided to bail on the Colts’ job.

Rams Land in Top-10 Among Early 2018 NFL Power Rankings

Kristen Lago

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Land-in-Top-10-Among-Early-2018-NFL-Power-Rankings-/519dd050-3473-4aca-8939-81f073688af2

The official offseason may have just begun for the NFL, but it is never too early for sports analysts to begin posting their 2018 Power Rankings. Below is a roundup of the first predictions for how the Rams will stack up this season:

ESPN.com: No. 9

“The Rams will retain most of the NFL’s top-scoring offense but could have some work cut out if they can’t keep their defense together. Connor Barwin, Trumaine Johnson, Lamarcus Joyner and Nickell Robey-Coleman will all be free agents, and all four ranked in the top nine in snaps played among Rams defenders.”

Sporting News: No. 6

“Sean McVay, Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley and Jared Goff is a pretty good core group, and there should be hope in LA this young team is just scratching the surface.”

FanSided: No. 7

Season Review:

“From a 4-12 record and seven straight losses to close the season to 11-5 and the team’s first winning campaign and division title since 2003. In his first year at the helm, Sean McVay won NFL Coach of the Year honors as the team finished first in the league in scoring (478) one year after totaling an NFL-low 224 points in ’16. Second-year quarterback Jared Goff came into his own and the team featured both the offensive and defensive players of the year in running back Todd Gurley and interior force Aaron Donald. While Wade Phillips’ defense had its moments, it didn’t totally adjust to the coach’s 3-4 scheme.”

2017 Turning Point:

“After a surprising 7-2 start, McVay’s club was manhandled by the eventual NFC North champion Vikings at Minnesota. But Goff, Gurley and company returned home and put an end to the New Orleans Saints’ eight-game winning streak courtesy of an impressive 26-20 victory.”

NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison: No. 8

“For all intents and purposes, the Rams are in fantastic shape heading into the NFL Scouting Combine, having just pulled off the NFL Honors triple crown. The front office has plenty of cap space with which to fill voids in what could be a challenging follow-up act for Coach of the Year Sean McVay. Aaron Donald will have a much easier time repeating as Defensive Player of the Year if Los Angeles can retain corners Nickell Robey-Coleman and Trumaine Johnson in the secondary. Also set to hit free agency: receiver Sammy Watkins. Maybe he didn’t enjoy Todd Gurley-like productivity, but that doesn’t mean the former Clemson speedster wasn’t impactful. Defenses have to respect him vertically, and for all the reliability of Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, they don’t scare defensive coordinators. Before we go, Gurley winning Offensive Player of the Year was awesome. Mainly because he was awesome. His labors in the passing game, where he averaged more yards per catch and caught more touchdowns than any other running back, deserve more praise than a simple sentence here.”

Athlon Sports: No. 8

“The Rams had the Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and the Coach of the Year in 2017 as the biggest surprise story in the league. While that turnaround was capped off with a division title, it didn’t translate to postseason success. The team is still young and growing and will be an NFC contender once again in 2018 even if the league will figure out the Rams a bit more instead of taking teams by surprise like they did last year.”

Source told me McD was assured he's the Pats next HC as part of the deal.

We shall see.

— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) February 7, 2018

JackPMiller wrote:

I hear from Eagle fans telling me, that this is the start of a dynasty. My neighbors are telling me they are going to win three straight Super Bowls, will win 10 of the next 12 Super Bowls. They said their Eagles will probably have a couple of down years in this so called dynasty. I live in Eagles territory by the way.

Good. Beating them is going to be fun, then.

..

I saw bits of that game, not the whole game.

My reaction–why wasn’t Doug Pederson hired as a head coach before this?

BTW, Pederson was Foles’s qb coach in Phil the year NF was drafted (2012).

…

Rams’ Sean McVay named NFL coach of the year, while Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald win awards

RICH HAMMOND

link: https://www.ocregister.com/2018/02/03/rams-sean-mcvay-named-nfl-coach-of-the-year-while-todd-gurley-and-aaron-donald-win-awards/

A year after the Rams made him the youngest coach in NFL history, Sean McVay rose to the top of his profession, and the Rams’ success in 2017 also elevated two of their star players.

The Associated Press named McVay as the NFL’s coach of the year at the league’s annual awards ceremony, held Saturday in Minneapolis. Todd Gurley won the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award and Aaron Donald won the Defensive Player of the Year award.

It marked the first time in the awards’ 45-year history that all three awards went to the same team, and only the second time that the top offensive and defensive players were teammates. Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis and linebacker Ray Lewis won top-player honors in 2003.

Gurley had been considered a strong candidate for league MVP honors, but that award went to New England quarterback Tom Brady. The Chargers’ Keenan Allen won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award after he returned from a torn ACL and caught 102 passes.

McVay became the fourth Rams coach to earn top honors from the AP, and joined Dick Vermeil (1999), Chuck Knox (1973) and George Allen (1967). Donald became the Rams’ first-ever defensive player of the year. Gurley joined fellow running backs Eric Dickerson (1986) and Marshall Faulk (1999, 2000, 2001) as Rams winners of the top award for offensive players.

“We’ve definitely got a lot to build on,” Donald told reporters in Minneapolis after his award announcement. “We’ve got a young hungry coach with a lot of young hungry players. The sky is the limit.”

The Rams took a major risk last January when they hired McVay, two weeks before his 31st birthday. The Rams not only finished 11-5 — a seven-win improvement — and made their first playoff appearance in 14 years, but they led the league in scoring, just one year after they scored the fewest points in the NFL.

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Players gave much of the credit to McVay, the offense’s architect and play-caller, who in particular helped Gurley transform from a 2016 bust into one of the league’s most dynamic players.

Gurley led the league in yards from scrimmage (2,093), total touchdowns (19) and rushing touchdowns (13) and finished second in rushing yards (1,305) to Kansas City’s Kareem Hunt.

As the centerpiece of the Rams’ offense, Gurley enjoyed a fine bounce-back season. He was the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year in 2015 but had a fairly dismal 2016, with 1,212 yards from scrimmage.

“That’s why I love sports,” Gurley said. “You’re not going to have a good year every year. But there’s no better feeling that winning games.”

McVay focused on the Rams’ offense, but certainly enjoyed the defensive support provided by Donald, who has been a Pro Bowl selection in each of his four NFL seasons.

Donald missed all of training camp and the first game of the season because of a contract holdout (and also sat out the regular-season finale by McVay’s decision) but totaled 11 sacks and five forced fumbles in 14 games in his first season in coordinator Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense.

Not since Warren Sapp in 1999 had an interior linemen been named the AP’s top defensive player.

“That’s one of the best to ever do it,” Donald said. “For my name to be next to that guy’s name is beyond a blessing.”

Donald’s contract status remains a major issue. As of now, he is set to play out the 2018 season under the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, but Donald still seeks a new deal. Because of rules that govern NFL contracts, it’s unlikely that Donald will stage a significant holdout this year, but Donald declined to share his thoughts on how the player of the year award might impact contract negotiations.

“I’ve got a great team (of agents) with me,” Donald said, “so I’m going to let those guys handle it.”

New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara won the AP’s offensive rookie of the year award, while Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore was named defensive rookie of the year.

Rams Win Three Top Awards at NFL Honors

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Win-Three-Top-Awards-at-NFL-Honors/04f5a422-9338-48d1-92d5-fbb39da62c3a

MINNEAPOLIS — After a historic turnaround season, the Rams also made some history at Saturday’s NFL Honors.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Los Angeles became the first team to ever win AP Offensive Player of the Year, AP Defensive Player of the Year, and AP Coach of the Year.

Running back Todd Gurley, defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and head coach Sean McVay earned each honor, respectively, providing a fitting finish to what was a terrific 2017 season.

“That means a lot to our organization and really it’s a reflection of those players,” McVay said in a press conference following the ceremony. “You look at what Todd and Aaron were able to do, how instrumental they were of the success that we did have. Being able to win a division for the first time in a long time, it was something that we’ll use as motivation moving into the offseason.

“It does feel a little bittersweet only because you remember the Falcons game and those are thing that I know I want to do a better job for our team — the way that I can look at myself critically and figure out how we can get better,” McVay continued. “But it’s a great night for the organization and very happy for those guys and our team.”

McVay called Coach of the Year “truly the ultimate team award” during his acceptance speech, before thanking members of the organization from Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke on down.

“I feel so blessed to be able to work with a great group of guys,” McVay said in his speech of the Rams’ players. “Guys that from day one we’re accountable to each other, we’re committed to each other. They did things the right way. And they built a culture amongst themselves that is something as a coach, you feel proud to be a part of.”

Hired as the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, McVay led the Rams to an 11-5 record and their first NFC West title since 2003. And as the offensive play caller, McVay helped make Los Angeles just the second team in NFL history to go from last to first in scoring from one year to the next.

“Very humbling and flattering to be able to receive this. But this is a reflection of our team and our organization,” McVay said. “Great team, great coaches, great players and I’m just happy to be a part of it. Obviously, ultimately what you want to be doing this time of year is still practicing and getting a chance to compete — what the Eagles and Patriots are doing — but I think tonight is a great representation of our organization. I’m very happy for Todd and Aaron, I think it’s very well deserved and ultimately great players like that make you better coach. But humbled to accept this award on behalf of our team and that’s exactly what this is tonight.”

Aside from being the first team to win all three awards, Los Angeles became the first team since 2003 to sweep the AP Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards — and only the second team in history to accomplish that feat.

“It just tells you the type of players we have on the team,” Gurley said. “We all help each other out. Absolutely we have some talent, but we’re nothing without the whole nine yards and everything together. And then we also have a coach who’s up for Coach of the Year so that just shows us why we’re in the situation we’re in, being able to come away with those awards.”

Gurley is just the third Ram to be named AP Offensive Player of the Year — the first since 2001. He’s also only the third running back since 2010 to receive the honor after finishing the year No. 1 with 2,093 yards from scrimmage, 19 total touchdowns, and 13 rushing touchdowns.

“It means a lot for sure. Just thankful for my family, for my teammates, coach McVay — coming in and just changing everything around for us. Our first playoff appearance in a long time, and for Goff to have the year he did, the O-line, everybody,” Gurley said. “And then for me and AD to win Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year — it’s crazy. So, definitely blessed and thankful to be in this position.”

The running back’s turnaround is particularly impressive considering the results of his 2016 campaign.

“That’s what I love about sports man. You’re not going to have a good year every year. That’s why you go through the bad times to enjoy the good times like this,” Gurley said. “It just shows you the people we are and the type of team we were to be able to go through that rough stretch and bounce back — to be able to turn everything around. No better feeling than winning games, especially in the NFL.”

Donald noted that he was feeling a bit emotional after receiving his first Defensive Player of the Year award.

“It’s just a dream come true,” Donald said. “Words can’t really express how I’m feeling right now. Trying to hold back the tears, trying to man up a little bit. But it’s truly a blessing.”

The former AP Defensive Rookie of the Year had a stellar 2017, despite playing just 14 games in the regular season. Donald tied a career high with 11.0 sacks and led the league with 91 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. That performance made him the first interior lineman to win Defensive Player of the Year since Warren Sapp in 1999.

Donald said knowing that means, “Everything. That’s one of the best to ever do it. So, even for my name to be next to that guy’s name that’s beyond a blessing. My dad’s been telling me since I was 12 years old working out in my basement, trying to work to get to this point — hard work pays off. You put the body of work and it’s going to pay off for you. It’s just been paying off big.”

With these three awards in tow from NFL Honors, it’s easy to feel optimistic about the future of the L.A. Rams. But 2018 will be a new season, and that means the club will have to get back to work in order to stay atop the NFC West.

“I think it’s something we can draw on, something we can build off where it’s not about starting over. I do feel very fortunate to be a part of it,” McVay said. “We’re excited. I know that there will be some raised expectations, but we love that. We won’t shy away from it. What it’s going to be about for us is staying with our process and developing a standard of performance, and that’s one day at a time, one practice at a time. We’ll relax a little bit but when we come back we’re going to attack this offseason program the right way and we’re very excited about that.”

Mike Martz Opens Up About Patriots Cheating Allegations In Super Bowl XXXVI

Logan Mullen

Mike Martz Opens Up About Patriots Cheating Allegations In Super Bowl XXXVI

Ten years ago to the date, a bombshell story was published in the Boston Herald alleging that the New England Patriots filmed the St. Louis Rams’ practices prior to the two teams meeting in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Although the report was retracted and an apology was issued three months later, the notion has stuck with the Patriots and often is fodder for those looking to make a case against New England’s dynasty since the turn of the millennium.

The Rams head coach at the time, however, doesn’t hold the Patriots at fault if they did, in fact, videotape St. Louis’ practices.

Mike Martz spoke candidly about the ordeal Friday on FOX Sports 1’s “Undisputed,” and it certainly doesn’t sound like he’s someone who is holding ill feelings regarding the situation.

“I don’t know if they did or not, I’ve been told that they filmed all of our practices,” Martz said. “If it helped them, I didn’t see it in the game necessarily. I don’t know what the stats were, but we had like 450 yards, and they had like 150. They didn’t spy on the right thing then. We lost that game because we turned the ball over three times, not because somebody spied on us. So if they did spy on us, it didn’t affect us, so I don’t really care about that, I really don’t.”

Here are his full comments:

"We had like 450 yards and they had like 150 yards. They didn't spy on the right thing then. We lost that game because we turned the ball over 3 times, not because somebody spied on us."

Former Rams head coach Mike Martz on the Patriots spying before Super Bowl XXXVI pic.twitter.com/WZpINNwQox

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) February 2, 2018

Tough to argue with Martz’s logic, although to be specific, the Rams had 427 net yards to the Patriots’ 267. Some Rams players from that team still question if the Patriots actually did film their practices, with running Marshall Faulk being chief among them, as well as quarterback Kurt Warner to a degree. The head coach, however, certainly sounds like he has moved past it.

Herzog wrote:

So Billichek was fined 500 k and the Pats has to give up draft picks…. for not doing anything wrong? I feel like I’m in crazytown

No he broke a rule and the Patz were punished for breaking that rule. The rule was taping. The NFL rule is you cannot tape signals.

To quote from the account at the time, they were fined for “use of equipment to videotape an opposing team’s offensive or defensive signals.”

THAT is the rule they violated.

.