Head Coach Sean McVay –– November 29, 2017

(Opening Remarks)
“From an injury standpoint, guys that did not participate with their typical rest – (T Andrew) Whitworth and (C John) Sullivan, (LB) Mark Barron as well. (CB) Kayvon Webster did not participate with his ankle, (WR) Josh Reynolds with an ankle, (WR) Robert Woods with his shoulder, (TE) Tyler Higbee with an illness. (RB) Malcolm Brown, (CB) Nickell (Robey-Coleman) and (RB) Lance Dunbar were all limited with obviously Malcolm’s knee, Lance’s knee and then Nickell’s thigh, so good shape there.”

(On what has been the biggest difference for him this season as a head coach as opposed to previous seasons as an offensive coordinator)
“That’s a good question. I think the biggest thing is just the amount of time that you spend with some non-football related things. They do a great job here with just the amount of people, different help whether it be (Rams General Manager) Les (Snead), (Rams Senior Director of Communications) Artis (Twyman), (Director/Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott), (Rams Head of Strength and Conditioning) Ted (Rath) – just being kind of involved in every phase of what’s going on in the building. But, we’ve got great people in place and then when you look at it from our coaching staff, a lot of guys that can kind of alleviate some of the stress as far as when you’ve got great leaders in place like we’ve mentioned with (Rams Defensive Coordinator) Wade Phillips, (Rams Special Teams Coordinator) John Fassel. On the offensive side of the ball a lot of good, veteran coaches and then (Rams Offensive Coordinator) Matt LaFleur has done a great job as our offensive coordinator. I think it’s just continuing to get to know guys, but in a lot of ways there are some similarities and get up there, have a good message for the team every single week and go over a couple things and you have access to all the meeting rooms, so that’s pretty nice too. It’s been a great experience so far and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

(On his process of communication with QB Jared Goff before the snap)
“No, it’s not any different and really, we’ve got different phases of our offense. We operate in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage – we’ve got a lot of smart players and we change up our tempos throughout the course of the game and really, just like anything else, whether Jared is calling a couple plays in the huddle or one call, we do the same thing, we just do it at the line of scrimmage. But, we talk about it all the time, the quarterbacks being an extension of the coaching staff and that is certainly what Jared has become, that’s what (QB) Sean (Mannion) is and there’s a lot of times we’ll snap it outside of the 15 seconds, under the 15, we’re doing various tempos throughout the course of the game. To say that you’re in his ear – because I’ve seen some of the things out there, I think it’s a discredit to what Jared has done and really, when you just look at it with the experiences that I’ve had in Washington and here, it’s totally at the quarterbacks’ discretion whether they want to have you be able to talk to them, give them any sort of reminders or if they say, ‘Just give me the play and then let me go ahead and just play the position.’ It just so happens that in Washington with (Redskins QB) Kirk (Cousins) and with (Redskins QB) Colt (McCoy), who I worked most closely with, those guys said, ‘Yeah, we can tune you out if we don’t need it and then if there’s any little last tip and then like anything else, we’re on our own after 15 and that’s no problem and that’s what they preferred. That’s exactly how Jared and Sean and (QB) Brandon (Allen) like it here as well. But, he’s doing a lot of different things at the line and that’s really a credit to him because a lot of that communication goes on after that 15 second window and then like I said, there’s different various tempos that we operate with. But, to say that I’m in his ear the whole time, that wouldn’t be the case.”

(On if Goff has the option to change a play at the line of scrimmage without him telling Goff to make a change)
“Absolutely. We’ve got certain where we’ve got packages of plays and we might say, ‘Hey, we’re looking to run it.’ And he knows the menu that we’re operating off of or we’re looking to throw it and based on some of the looks that we’ve gone through throughout the course of the week with our weekly preparation and that’s where it’s beneficial sometimes to snap it quick, snap it outside of that, but those guys are programed. That’s part of what the week of preparation is, is becoming that extension of what we’re looking for, but you do, just like you have to give him a huddle call when we get up to the line of scrimmage you still have to give him a direction of, in terms of what are we looking to do right here? Run or pass and then what are the menu of plays that we’re operating on with those potential options that we have at our disposal.”

(On if Goff called an audible on the WR Josh Reynolds touchdown)
“That was all him. That was a bad call by me. We got a max drop 8, we had a man beater on in that certain situation – they dropped out of there and went to a drop 8, three-man rush and he did an excellent job being able to sit in there, remain a passer, great protection and then he’s directing traffic and that’s what special players do. When you get some of the loaded zone looks like a three-man rush, often times you’ll see things happen off-schedule. He just happened to be able to go off-schedule, but stay in the pocket because the protection was so good and you look at the way he’s directing traffic, Josh and him are on the same page, he delivers a great ball where he kind of speeds it up at the top and Josh is able to get his first-career touchdown. That’s good players making a bad play call look very good right there.”

(On if is running more no huddle than he did at the beginning of the season)
“I would say we’ve mixed up the tempos more. I think that’s a credit to our players because the more that you can do in terms of changing up the tempo throughout the course of the game, we feel like is an advantage to our offense and we’ve got a lot of smart players that have kind of absorbed the material where we can really run almost our entire offensive playbook at the line of scrimmage or coming out of the huddle. I think based on the feel and the flow of the game we’ve kind of change it up throughout the course. You look at it, we did it a little bit against New Orleans and then the second half we’re pretty much exclusively huddling up. So, it’s just predicated on whatever we feel like is the best way to change the tempo up throughout the course of the game and if we’re able to stay manageable. It’s been something that we have kind of evolved into where it’s gotten a little bit more, but we’re changing up tempos throughout the course of the game and I think that’s a credit to our players being smart and being able to absorb that material.”

(On people saying that the way he communicates with Goff pre-snap is cheating)
“To my knowledge, a lot of guys operate that way where you’ve got really 40 seconds to operate and then coming out of a clock stoppage you really have 25. But, that communication that you have the ability to utilize between the coach and the quarterback is 25 seconds on a 40 second play clock and then it’s 10 seconds when you’re coming out of a clock stoppage because it cuts off at 15. The experiences that I’ve had, that’s kind of been standard operating procedure. Like we’ve said, we’re all a product of our experiences and environments that we’re placed in and most important is it’s about the players and if you’ve got players that like to be able to have some extra information, great and they can always decipher if they want to utilize it or not. The players that I’ve been around have liked that, but it is a part of the game and it’s something that we’re utilizing in different ways and we feel like it’s the best way for us. I think Jared has done a great job of it this year.”

(On what area Goff has most improved in from last season)
“I think it’s hard to say just because I wasn’t with him last year. But, with our coaching staff this year I think he’s done a great job just taking those incremental steps and just moving in the right direction where he’s got full command of our offense. You look at the play we were just talking about, I think that’s a great representation of a mature quarterback to be able to make those types of plays. You look at some of the plays where he’s got a pure progression read and he gets to (RB) Todd (Gurley II) as an outlet, stays in the pocket kind of just hitching in place and feeling the soft spots and able to find Todd and Todd goes for 31 (yards) on a check down – on a second down he’s able to create a first down. Even the first third down of the game on the first drive, really good job by him where they show kind of a pressure look, they bail out of there again, play a max-drop eight coverage, pulls the ball back, resets to his back on a check down and then Todd makes somebody miss and gets a first down. So, there was a lot of examples throughout that game of him just demonstrating a quarterback that’s in control, making good decisions and that’s why we’ve felt confident being able to kind of operate the way that we did because of the way that he’s playing.”

(On the differences between this Cardinals team and the one they saw in Week 7 and what problems they face against this team)
“Absolutely. This is a great football team and they’re strong in all three phases. (Cardinals Head) Coach (Bruce) Arians is a great football coach. To say they lost their spirit, I don’t know about that. I think we had some fortunate luck where the defense got some turnovers and right before the half you’re able to kind of get some points that changes a little bit of the momentum. But, they’re excellent in all three phases. When you look at them offensively, really impressed with some of the things that (Cardinals QB Blaine) Gabbert has done the last couple weeks – you just watch his athleticism when he’s able to move in the pocket, buy some time and deliver the ball down the field. They’re going to have some great shot plays in Coach Arians’ offense. (Cardinals WR) Larry Fitzgerald is a first ballot Hall of Famer and then (Cardinals RB) Adrian Peterson is as well, so they’ve got great players. You see some of their young tight ends making some plays, their line is competing hard. Then flip it over to the defense, they’ve got some guys – (Cardinals DE) Chandler Jones leading the league in sacks, you look at (Cardinals CB) Patrick Peterson, still one of the best corners in this league and I’ve been really impressed just watching some of their rookies come along – (Cardinals S) Budda Baker starting at safety now with (Cardinals S Tyvon) Branch going down and you feel his impact. They do a nice job utilizing him. (Cardinals LB Haason) Reddick is getting better, so they’ve got guys on all three levels that can make plays. You look at ‘Honey Badger’ (Cardinals S Tyrann Mathieu) is a guy you certainly feel – big time pick that he makes in Jacksonville game that he makes on a rollout concept to the short field great players find a way of just being in the right spot at the right time and that’s what he’s done, a handful of examples, really since he’s been playing in Arizona. It’s going to be a great challenge. They play really well at home. It’s a great atmosphere. When I was in Washington we went there last year, so we’ve got to have a great week and we better be ready to go if we’re going to expect to get our ninth win.”

(On if he’s expecting to win 33-0)
“No. Absolutely not. I think one of the things that you learn real quickly is that each week provides new challenges and this is a very good football team that I know Coach Arians will have his team ready to go and we’ve got to have the same mindset and mentality that we have really every single week and be ready to do a good job with this week of preparation.”

(On how big the jump is from the first year to the second year as a quarterback)
“I wouldn’t say that I’ve had probably enough experience to really draw on that. I’ve worked with some special people, special players. Probably the most recent when you just look at dealing with Kirk and Colt in Washington. I think just watching those guys get a better ownership and really, what we’ve become offensively is what the players end up being good at because it’s not about us as coaches, it’s about adapting and adjusting to your personnel and trying to put these guys in the best spots. Some of the things that we might have done in Washington or that (Rams Offensive Line) Coach (Aaron) Kromer was doing in Buffalo or Matt in Atlanta are going to be different because we’ve got different players, but we’ve got very good players and we want to continue to try to accentuate their skillset. But, just looking at the maturation – I think you’ve seen Jared grow and I don’t want to say confidence because he’s always had a lot of confidence, but I just think now being able to week-in and week-out get that experience, draw on it both from a positive and then learn from some of the things that we’d like to do a little bit differently – he’s handled everything really well, done a great job just kind of handling things in stride and I think his players and his teammates really respect him. He’s got a nice way about leading that’s authentic and genuine and I think that really was what resonates with your teammates.”

(On if there is a specific moment that he has seen out of Goff this year where he took a leadership role)
“I think he’s always been a good leader. I think there’s a whole lot of communication that occurs outside of what we’re exposed to as coaches that makes guys special and that’s whether it be in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage, just with your teammates when coaches aren’t around there are a lot of things that go on that there’s a respect that’s earned, that kind of takes place that’s only really amongst players. I think he’s done that, but the thing that you continue to come away impressed with, with Jared is just the mental toughness, the resolve, the play that continues to stand out even though it didn’t work out in the end for us is the Seattle game when he’s had a couple turnovers, a lot of guys come into that two-minute drive when we’ve got to have a touchdown to win the game where you’re almost afraid to lose instead of going to attack a win and with a fearless mindset and mentality. The way he rips that seam 35 yards down the right hash in between (Seahawks S Kam) Chancellor and (Seahawks CB Richard) Sherman to Higbee is a credit to kind of the way that’s he’s wired and I think that’s what’s going to give him a chance to be really special.”

(On how he prevents his team from overlooking a team that they already beat 33-0 when the game against the 10-1 Eagles is looming)
“I think that our players respect the fact that each week presents new challenges in this league and if you’re not ready to go you get humbled very quickly. It’s too competitive, there’s too many good players, good coaches that certainly you have an idea of what your remaining schedule looks like, but to say that you’re ever going to look an opponent, especially a division opponent, that’s had a lot of success coming off a great win against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that’s been rolling would be silly. We’ve got a lot respect for Arizona. Going to their place where they’ve done a great job playing at home and winning a lot of football games, we’ve got to be ready to go and that’s our only focus right now.”

***

QB Jared Goff – November 29, 2017

(On the touchdown pass to WR Josh Reynolds this past game, what occurred before the play, and if Head Coach Sean McVay was talking to him before that play happened)
“Yeah. We were at the line of scrimmage and looking at the defense. He called the play and dropped back, like I said, they dropped eight and moved Josh around. Tried to scramble a little bit and he made a good play.”

(On if that’s the kind of play he thinks he could’ve made last season in terms of directing players where to go in the middle of the play)
“I don’t know. It’s all growth. It’s for sure a play I’ve made in the past, but at this level for sure it’s all growth and all continuing to get better and I can’t speak on whether I could’ve done it last year. I don’t know. I didn’t get the opportunity to, I guess.”

(On what McVay’s like on his headset)
“They give us 25 seconds and at the 15 second mark, it’ll cut off. Sometimes he talks all the way up until 15 seconds, sometimes he talks for five seconds, sometimes he talks for 10 seconds – it all varies. Just like every other quarterback in the league, it stops at 15 seconds and we’re on the play. He’s great on the headset though. He does a really good job and gives me as much or as little information as I need and does a great job.”

(On what the most difficult thing for him now that he’s gotten to this point and where he thinks he progressed most mentally this year compared to last year)
“I think just as time goes on you just continue to see and feel better, see things happen more and everything’s not moving so fast. You’re able to react better because you’re seeing it and it’s not just happening. You’re expecting it and I think a lot of it goes on as well as a lot of anticipation. I’m anticipating things better, because I’ve seen them before. I’ve had more experience. With that being said, I’ve only played however many games, so I hope that continues to grow, and continue to get better. But definitely, the more you play and this happened in high school, it’s happened in college, the more games you get, the more experience and the better you can anticipate things.”

(On up-tempo offense and if he’s running the huddle more than back when things started)
“It varies every game. Sometimes we do a lot of it, sometimes we slow it down. It depends on situations in the game. It depends on what we’re trying to do. I guess certain defense, what we’ve seen on film so it varies. In the last whatever, I guess eight weeks or so, we’ve done quite a bit of it, but I think it all varies. When we have the ability to speed it up and slow it down, I think that’s the best part about it is how smart our guys are and how able they are to, if we want to sure we can speed it up, and then we can slow it down in the huddle and just change tempos on guys. I think that’s what’s hardest for defenses is when you do change tempos, so we try to do our best to do that.”

(On how much leeway he has to change the play and if he does that very often)
“Not too often, no. Most of the time he calls the play and he knows what he’s talking about, so I let him do it. But there’s plenty of times where it gets below 15 and we have to adlib it a little bit. It doesn’t happen often, but there are times where that’ll happen and it’s been really good so far though the way we’ve been communicating. Obviously, we’ve had success with it, so it’s been a good experience so far.”

(On what kind of game he expects on Sunday since the Cardinals have adjusted to QB Carson Palmer being out)
“No, absolutely. We know that that game was…I think the score of that game’s not indicative of the way the game was really going up until the end of the first half. We were able to pull away there at the end of the first half, but up until four or five minutes left in the first half it was a 7-0 game, I believe, or 10-0 game – I can’t quite remember. But, it was a close game and we know them, they know us so, it’ll be a tough division game no matter what. I know they’ll be ready to play.”

(On if he was pleased with the way he was able to move the ball around after this past game being the first game without WR Robert Woods)
“Yeah. No doubt, no doubt. I think I was most pleased with the guys stepping up. I didn’t really have any doubts about it, but you never know until they truly get out there like (WR) Josh Reynolds, and go out there and you can tell it wasn’t too big for him. The stage wasn’t too big. He really performed well and then (WR) Cooper (Kupp) and (WR) Sammy (Watkins) were their usual selves and maybe even elevated their play a little bit with Robert being out, but yeah that was the best thing to see.”

(On if it has come easier this season to have command of the team as opposed to coming into start during the middle of the season last year)
“Yeah, sure. I think any time you’re in the whole time, that can definitely help and having the first team reps the whole year definitely helps.”

(On this being the first time that he’s going to see a divisional opponent for the second time during the season and if that changes his preparation)
“It doesn’t really. You go about your same weekly routine. The only thing that does change is you know they’ve seen whatever you put on film up to this point for a second time and you know that they’ve probably got some tendencies from when they did plays us and understand maybe a little bit more of what we do offensively. But I don’t think it changes my routine much at all.”

(On his perspective of how rookies TE Gerald Everett and WR Cooper Kupp and have performed to this point)
“They’ve been great. I think the best thing about them is that getting late into the season, you see a little bit of fall off from rookies sometimes. I think both of them have continued to try to get better and I think you can see it daily on the practice field and on Sundays as well. Both of them have really put the work in and really tried to get better. And even (WR) Josh (Reynolds) hasn’t played as much as the two of them, but his ability to keep getting better and really just not letting the ‘rookie wall’ as they say, come into play. All those guys have done a great job.”

(On how the game is slowing down for him this year compared to last year)
“I think it goes back to what I was saying earlier. I think you’re able to anticipate a little better. I think at every level I’ve played at – when I was young in high school it was the same thing, there’s a progression. When I was young in college it was the same thing, there’s a progression as time goes on. You start to see things a little better, you start to anticipate, you start to understand things a little bit more and that’s the same thing that’s going on in the NFL. With that being said, I’m just continuing to try to get better and try to continue to improve. By no means am I anywhere to where I want to be, just everyday come out and work hard.”

(On if there’s anything he did before the season to take more command of this team)
“I just try to be myself. I think that’s the best policy – is be yourself and be genuine. I think guys respond well to that, but there are things that obviously the quarterback is responsible for as far as offseason stuff. I try to do my best to do what I thought was best and whatever I think the starting quarterback should do. So, that was in the offseason and from there I’ve grown tremendously in that regard. But yeah, just continue to try to be myself and be genuine, I think guys respond well.”

(On what he means by being responsible)
“Just getting guys together in the offseason, throwing routes I don’t know, stuff like that. Just regular basic quarterback stuff.”

(On if he feels like doing those offseason activities had a legitimate impact on the team’s performance this year)
“Oh, no. I think that’s my job and that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

"The dream is free but the hustle is sold separately."

Sounds of the Game: #LARams vs. Saints 🔊 pic.twitter.com/GQjjEpJKAo

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 30, 2017

Saints sound a familiar lament after running into Rams

MARK WHICKER

link: http://www.dailynews.com/2017/11/26/whicker-saints-sound-a-familiar-lament-after-running-into-rams/

LOS ANGELES — With few exceptions, NFL teams are having bad games in the presence of the Rams.

At this point it might not be coincidence.

The Saints had not lost since mid-September. They were leading the league in yards per rush and yards per pass. They had the fewest three-and-outs, and were seventh in touchdown percentage within the red zone.

They came to the Coliseum on Sunday with the Rams in attendance.

“I just thought we were pretty sloppy offensively,” coach Sean Payton said.

“We never seemed to get into a rhythm,” quarterback Drew Brees said.

“I take this loss personal,” defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “We gave up too many big plays.”

Meanwhile, the Rams did their thing and wound up winning, 26-20, to raise their record to 8-3.

They had hit their first real roadblock last week in a no-doubt 24-7 loss at Minnesota. Their first response to that backward step was right out of the Barney Fife playbook: Nip it in the bud. It certainly was their best performance against a quality team.

The Saints gave the Rams full tribute. There were 112 penalty yards for New Orleans, some unforced, some not. There was bad field position, with no Saints possession beginning outside their own 25, but that wasn’t a coincidence either. The Rams’ punt team allowed zero return yards.

“I thought they hurt us with some returns,” Payton said, referring to Pharoh Cooper’s brazen game-opening dash that set the Rams up on the 41 and led to a breezy touchdown drive that ended in Sammy Watkins’ hands.

“Their pass rush was a factor, too. We’ll have to watch tape to see if we got the ball out quick enough, or if it was a problem with the protection. I didn’t see us affecting their passer as much as I’d like. And when we look at the tape we’ll see some hidden yardage. But I thought they were better in every area today. There are a lot of areas we can look at.”

Like these, for instance:
— The Saints were averaging 25 first downs. They made 14.
— They were converting 40 percent of third downs. They were 3 for 13 Sunday, for 23 percent (although their defense held L.A. to 3 for 14).
— They were averaging 418.7 yards. They gained 346 and had 197 after three quarters.
— They were averaging 31:40 of possession. Here they had 24:34.

And still New Orleans cut the margin to six with just less than two minutes left. Its onside kick could have led to an even more creative comeback than the one that beat Washington last week, but Watkins grabbed it instead.

In no way did it feel like a six-point game and it would have been a demolition derby if third-round rookie Alvin Kamara hadn’t made the bus. Of those 346 yards, Kamara ran for 87, with 74 on one memorable touchdown run, and caught for 101.

“He’s exciting every time we get the ball to him,” Brees said.

Wade Phillips’ defense brought everyone else to a standstill. Brees kept throwing underneath on third downs, primarily because he was hoofing his way out of the pocket, and the Rams were not missing tackles.

“Our ability to just make them play another snap was a key component,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

Payton, the coach who began the second half of a Super Bowl with an onside kick, made an odd call in the fourth quarter that reeked of tap-out. Down 23-10 with fourth and goal on the three, he called a field goal. There was only 10:09 left and the Saints had only two timeouts left.

“Percentages,” Payton said dismissively.

Both he and Brees offered a laurel and hearty handshake to Phillips.

“I’ve coached against him so many times,’ Payton said. “The nuances come on second and third down with what kind of personnel you’ll get, and then they rush the passer well.”

“Everywhere he goes he does a great job,” Brees said, “and now he has really good personnel here, some Pro Bowlers on that front.”

Defensively, the Saints were missing both starting corners but held off the Rams as best they could. Jordan, a Cal alumnus like Jared Goff, had two of New Orleans’ four sacks.

“I was joking with him that I was surprised he got up from the second one,” Jordan said, “but I expect nothing less from a Cal Bear. What has he improved on? Everything. He’s a totally different quarterback from last year.”

That’s documented. Now the Rams’ next stop is Arizona. Data indicates the Cardinals probably won’t play well

RT to vote @JaredGoff16 for @FedEx Air Player of the Week!!

Goff #AirAndGround pic.twitter.com/RF93d7F7HZ

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 29, 2017

Think twice about throwing it against these teams- TOP DEFENSES VS THE PASS#Jaguars #RavensFlock #FlyEaglesFly #Chargers #LARams #HereWeGo #Seahawks #Bengals50 #GoBills #SKOL #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/c08NBAveXe

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 27, 2017

These teams BLITZ the most this season#Browns #KeepPounding #GoSaints #LARams #Jets #BroncosCountry #GoPackGo #Texans #BeRedSeeRed #HTTR #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/3JXvvKTixl

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 28, 2017

These Offenses specialize in BIG PLAYS#GoPats #LARams #GoSaints #InBrotherhood #FlyEaglesFly #Chargers #OnePride #Seahawks #BeRedSeeRed #HereWeGo #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/PjwuJCI2CD

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 28, 2017

Best-rated Quarterbacks INSIDE THE POCKET, where it's hardest and most important.#GoPats #ChiefsKingdom #GoSaints #LARams #HTTR #FlyEaglesFly #Chargers #OnePride #Jets #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/6FSiiXkPrt

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 28, 2017

These teams love to throw the DEEP BALL!#Seahawks #Texans #Browns #HereWeGo #GoPats #Bucs #FlyEaglesFly #LARams #BeRedSeeRed #Skol pic.twitter.com/mKx3jWokdG

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 29, 2017

collected & formatted by LMU93

FootballOutsiders week 13 rankings

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2017/week-12-dvoa-ratings

The NFL this year is being dominated by four specific NFC teams, one in each division. So when one of those teams beats another one, in convincing fashion, it’s going to have a major effect on the Football Outsiders DVOA ratings.

The Rams will complete a run of playing the other three big NFC teams when they host the Eagles next week. Unless there’s a major change in the DVOA ratings next week, the Week 14 Eagles at Rams contest will give us a DVOA Bowl for the third straight season, a midseason matchup of No. 1 and No. 2. Last year, the Week 12 DVOA Bowl between Seattle and Philadelphia was the start of the Eagles’ late-season collapse. The year before, the Seahawks and Cardinals faced off in Week 17 but the DVOA Bowl became pointless when the Cardinals, their playoff seeding assured, sat starters at halftime.

Los Angeles Rams
Overall Rank: 1st
Offense: 7th
Defense: 5th
Special Teams: 2nd
(this week’s opponent, Arizona, ranked 23rd overall)

Passing offense: 2nd
Rushing offense: 17th

Pass Defense: 3rd
Run Defense: 19th

Special Teams
FG/XP: 1st
Kick coverage: 15th
Kick return: 1st
Punt coverage: 6th
Punt return: 26th

Offensive Line
Run blocking: 4th
Pass protection: 7th

Defensive Line
Run defense: 16th
Pass rush: 10th

Player Rankings
QB Jared Goff: 5th among 35 ranked QBs
RB Todd Gurley: 13th among 35 ranked RBs rushing; 5th among 43 RBs receiving
WR Robert Woods: 13th among 65 ranked WRs
WR Cooper Kupp: 21st among 65 ranked WRs
WR Sammy Watkins- 10th among 65 ranked WRs
TE Tyler Higbee; 37th among 39 ranked TEs
TE Gerald Everett: DNQ (less than 24 targets)

11 for 11: 2017 Rams by the numbers

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/36645/11-for-11-the-2017-rams-by-the-numbers

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams are really good. This much is no longer debatable. They’re 8-3 with a plus-123 point differential that stands as the second-highest mark in the NFL. They’re ranked third on ESPN’s Power Rankings despite ranking 27th when the season began. Their Super Bowl odds are 14-to-1 after opening at 100-to-1. Can we just hand Sean McVay the Coach of the Year trophy already? (Do they get a trophy?)

The Rams, who have already clinched their first non-losing season since 2006, have scored the second-most points and allowed the seventh-fewest. Defense-adjusted Value Over Average — or DVOA, a Football Outsiders metric that measures a team’s success on a given play versus what would have been expected given several factors — has them ranked sixth on offense, fifth on defense and second on special teams.

The Rams aren’t just good; they’re well-rounded, young and, relatively speaking, healthy. They’ve already done what few would’ve ever imagined and now stand as the No. 3 seed in their conference, with a one-game lead on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. Below, we identified 11 stats that help tell the story of the resurgent, mystifying 2017 Rams through their first 11 games.

515: The number of yards Todd Gurley has racked up on rushing attempts before first contact, second-most in the NFL. Only the Buffalo Bills’ LeSean McCoy (549) has more. This is crucial, because so many other factors are at play here. It’s a product of a better offensive line, a better receiving corps, a better scheme and a better quarterback. Last year, in five more games, Gurley compiled 442 yards before first contact, ranked 20th.

62: The number of quarterback pressures by Aaron Donald, according to Pro Football Focus. Donald leads the NFL, even though he spent the entire summer holding out and did not play in the Rams’ first regular-season game. The 62 pressures are seven more than the next interior lineman (the Cincinnati Bengals’ Geno Atkins) and four more than the next defensive player (the Los Angeles Chargers’ Joey Bosa). Donald has a team-high six sacks, but that doesn’t even begin to describe his impact on the entire defense.

129: The number of points scored by kicker Greg Zuerlein. That’s 18 more than the second-place Stephen Gostkowski. Zuerlein is on pace for 188 points, which would break the record of 186 set by Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006. Zuerlein has made 32 of 34 field-goal attempts, including five of six from 50 or more yards.

8.2: Jared Goff’s yards per passing attempt. It’s the third-best mark in the NFL, behind only the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson (8.33 in seven games before landing on injured reserve) and the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady (8.27). Goff averaged only 5.3 yards per attempt last year. His 2.9-yard increase is on pace to be the largest year-to-year improvement since John Brodie from 1960 to 1961, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (minimum 200 attempts).

25.0: This is the passer rating from opposing quarterbacks when targeting safety Lamarcus Joyner, according to data compiled by Pro Football Focus. That’s the second-lowest mark at his position (minimum 19 targets). Joyner excelled as a slot corner the past two years — a position he’ll still play intermittently — and has been outstanding at safety this season. Pro Football Focus gives him the ninth-highest grade for a safety in the NFL.

29.71: Pharoh Cooper’s average yards per kickoff return, which accounts for the best rate in the NFL. One of those was returned for a touchdown. Since replacing Tavon Austin in Week 6, Cooper is also averaging 12.06 yards per punt return, ranked third. Each week, Cooper — a fourth-round pick out of South Carolina in 2016 — seems to grow a little bit more comfortable as a returner.

9.55: Yards per play on screen passes, the second-highest mark in the NFL — trailing only McVay’s former team in Washington, which is averaging 9.95 yards on screens. If you’ve watched the Rams this year, you know that the screen game — a lot of which comes off play action — has been huge for them. Play action, in general, has been an important weapon too. The Rams are averaging 8.41 yards per play on play action, ranked 12th.

19: Turnovers forced by the Rams’ defense, tied for fifth-most in the NFL and one more than it forced all of last season. The Rams didn’t come up with any turnovers Sunday, but they could’ve — should’ve — had at least three interceptions against New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is a master at creating pressure and letting his linebackers and defensive backs make plays on the ball. The Rams have 12 interceptions, also tied for fifth.

5.15: The number of yards allowed per punt return from the Rams’ coverage unit, the sixth-lowest mark in the NFL. A lot of the credit for that goes to Johnny Hekker, a three-time First Team All-Pro. Hekker set a record last year for punts downed inside the 20-yard line. But he attempted 98 punts that season, second-most in the NFL. This year, 27 players have attempted more punts than Hekker. And that’s as good a sign as any for the Rams’ offense.

28.6: The percentage of times an opponent’s drive has ended in a touchdown or field goal. That’s the fifth-lowest mark in the NFL, and it’s a good measure for the overall effectiveness of a defense (though field position certainly plays a factor here, too). The Rams’ defense is allowing 1.55 points per drive, which ranks sixth. As Phillips said last week, while somewhat dismissing his unit’s struggles defending the run, “Points are the key thing.”

11.58: Yards before first contact per reception. It’s the highest mark in the NFL. What does it tell us? That Rams receivers have a lot of room to run after the catch — which means they’re very open, which means McVay’s scheme is creating a bevy of explosive plays. The Rams had 8.72 yards before first contact per reception last year, which ranked 29th.

Case Keenum Proud Of Jared Goff, Rams’ Success –Audio

Vikings QB Case Keenum talks to Adam Schefter about his time with the Rams and explains how proud he is of Jared Goff and the team’s success.

Agamemnon wrote:

That was a fun watch IMO