These are the highest-rated QBs in the Red Zone!#GiantsPride #GoSaints #FlyEaglesFly #SKOL #Jets #BroncosCountry #Bucs #GoPats pic.twitter.com/4STr28KEHV

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) October 31, 2017

These are the highest-rated QBs on 3rd Down!#FlyEaglesFly #GoPats #Jets #OnePride #LARams #ChiefsKingdom #Browns #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/bi9FYriCGu

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) October 31, 2017

These Offenses produce the most Explosive Plays!#GoPats #LARams #FlyEaglesFly #HereWeGo #BeRedSeeRed #ChiefsKingdom #InBrotherhood #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/2jX0cQAXHz

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 1, 2017

These players have the most 3rd down conversions this season!#Chargers #SKOL #HereWeGo #Bucs #GoPats #BeRedSeeRed #Seahawks #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/jfQqnnRU2P

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 2, 2017

from NFL QB Power Rankings: Deshaun Watson’s torn ACL changes everything; Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott in top 5 after 8 weeks?

http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2017/11/nfl_qb_power_rankings_carson_wentz_dak_prescott_de.html#incart_river_index

…

10. Jared Goff – Los Angeles Rams

2017 Stats: 133-of-222 passing for 1,719 yards with nine touchdowns, four interceptions, sacked once.

Week 8 Stats: BYE WEEK

Previous Ranking: No. 13

Why Goff is No. 10: Goff’s game and skill-set continues to improve, and in London it was his ability to make plays on the run that added a new wrinkle thanks to two scrambles. New head coach Sean McVay’s play-calling and Goff’s week-to-week consistently has the Rams in the thick of the playoff race.

Fwiw. Rams played the McAdoo Giants last year in London. That was the infamous game where the Rams were driving on them to tie with 50 seconds left but Brian Quick ran the wrong route and Keenum through to where he was supposed to be in the endzone for an easy INT. So they almost had an overtime London game.

Jared Goff’s career as a Ram has started a lot like Eli Manning’s when he broke in with the Giants

Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-goff-eli-manning-20171101-story.html

The quarterback was taken No. 1 in the NFL draft, and then sat for nine games before he got his first start.

He struggled mightily as a rookie — drawing criticism from fans who questioned whether the team mortgaged its future to acquire him — before finding his footing during his second season and putting his team on track for the playoffs.

Jared Goff?

No, that was Eli Manning.

The two-time Super Bowl champion went 1-6 as a starter in his first season with the New York Giants in 2004, and then led them to an 11-5 record and playoff appearance in Year 2.

Goff, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, appears to be on a similar second-year trajectory.

He was 0-7 as a starter last season, but has helped lead the Rams to a 5-2 start heading into Sunday’s game against Manning and the 1-6 Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Goff said Wednesday that he was a “big fan” of the 36-year-old Manning, who has passed for 330 touchdowns and nearly 50,000 yards during 13-plus NFL seasons, winning two Super Bowls.

“The way he plays the game,” Goff said, “and the way he goes about his business.”

Goff, 23, has completed 60% of his passes, nine for touchdowns, with four interceptions.

He bounced back from a middling performance at Jacksonville with a more efficient game in the Rams’ 33-0 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in London.

“He seems to be gaining confidence,” Giants coach Ben McAdoo said of Goff, adding, “The system seems to fit his skill set.”

Goff is “making steps in the right direction,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

Playing at a similar level that Manning achieved during his career is the goal.

“The decision-making, playing with the timing and the rhythm — any time that you talk about the quarterback position, those are the things that you mention,” McVay said, “and Eli embodies that and that’s what Jared’s striving to do.”

This season, Manning has completed 64% of his passes — 10 for touchdowns, with five interceptions — for a team hit hard by injuries and locker-room issues.

The Giants lost star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. because of an ankle injury. They also are roiling in the aftermath of a suspension imposed this season upon cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and this week upon cornerback Janoris Jenkins.

“It happens, you know,” Manning told New York reporters Wednesday, adding, “We got to, obviously, go about our business and then when guys come back, you don’t think about it and you keep going.”

Manning demonstrated perseverance early in his career after making a declaration before he was drafted.

Manning played in college at Mississippi and had said before the 2004 draft that he would not sign with the then-San Diego Chargers if they selected him with the first pick.

But the Chargers did so anyway after working out a trade with the Giants. The Chargers sent Manning to New York for quarterback Philip Rivers and three draft picks, including a No. 1 pick in 2005.

Kevin Gilbride was Manning’s position coach during the quarterback’s first three NFL seasons and then became offensive coordinator for Giants teams that won Super Bowls in the 2007 and 2011 seasons.

Future Hall of Famer Kurt Warner was the Giants’ starting quarterback in 2004 before the Giants made the switch to Manning and lost six games in a row.

“For a while there now, it was tough to watch,” Gilbride said during a phone interview.

But Manning finished the season by leading the Giants to a victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

“What you see is the poise, the equanimity, the composure,” Gilbride said, “because he’s getting torn at 100 different ways and you just see whether or not he can deal with that.

“Because you have veteran teammates looking askance at you like, ‘What the freak is he in here for?’ Or the fans. ‘We wasted a draft pick on this guy?’ and so on and so forth. I just watched the way he handled it.”

Gilbride also coached Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, Drew Bledsoe and Mark Brunell, among others.

“All the great ones, there’s a calmness about them,” he said. “They just don’t get frazzled very easily, and Eli’s definitely of that ilk as well.”

McVay has made similar comments about Goff. How he keeps his composure after setbacks. How he does not get rattled.

Asked how Goff compares to Manning, McVay noted that “Eli’s a Hall of Fame-caliber player.

“If we’re talking about that, then things are going really well for us, and for Jared moving forward into the future.”

Fancy Stats Analysis
The Rams have done everything possible to make Jared Goff’s job easier. It’s paying off.

Mike Renner

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2017/10/26/the-rams-have-done-everything-possible-to-make-jared-goffs-job-easier-its-paying-off/?utm_term=.2cc997e5badf

The articles penned on former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Jared Goff this offseason weren’t pretty. A simple Google search for “Jared Goff Bust” nets dozens of articles picking apart the Rams quarterback. With good reason. Stuart Chase of Football Perspective concluded that, when adjusting for era, Goff’s rookie season was worse statistically than Ryan Leaf’s.

The thing is, though — and I’m sure you’ve noticed this — playing quarterback in the NFL is hard. It’s on the coaches to make that incredibly difficult job as easy as humanly possible. The Rams’ staff a season ago did not hold up its end of the bargain. The new regime, Coach Sean McVay and offensive coordinator Matt LeFleur, has been on the opposite end of the spectrum.

The phrase “quarterback friendly” gets thrown around a lot to describe a system, but it’s really just a synonym for good scheming. If you’re not making life easy at the most important position on the field, then what exactly are you doing? McVay’s system has certainly earned the moniker, but let’s examine exactly how he’s done it.

[Fantasy football: Carson Wentz would make a great sell-high candidate]

Take the Pressure off the Position

While last year’s regime tried to take some pressure off their quarterback by going run heavy, it backfired with one of the least effective rushing attacks in the NFL. There are more ways to ease a quarterback’s burden than by taking the ball out of his hands.

One of the simplest and most effective ways is the play-action pass. It’s no coincidence that the Texans’ offense went from looking like a bumbling mess to one of the best in the league after it became the most play-action heavy team in the NFL. Similarly, it’s no coincidence that Goff has seen a considerable turnaround in his performance after utilizing play action on 14.1 percent of dropbacks last year (second lowest rate of any QB in the league) to 26.1 percent of dropbacks this season (sixth highest rate in NFL).

[Cam Newton walks out of another news conference]

It’s incorrect to think that you need a strong running game to use play action. While you’re not going to fool anyone if you use it on third-and-10, in any reasonable situation where the offense could run the ball, it works. Defensive linemen and linebackers still have to execute their run assignments. Below are the numbers league wide with and without play action.

Stat No PA PA
Comp % 60.60% 62.10%
YPA 6.5 8.1
TD Rate 3.70% 6.00%
INT Rate 2.30% 2.40%
Time to Throw 2.45 2.81
QB Rating 82.3 97.6
Pressure Rate 29.60% 32.30%
Those splits are eye opening, and should be shown to every coach in the NFL. It affords a QB much more time, without subjecting him to meaningfully more pressure and results in so many more favorable opportunities down the field. Goff’s numbers with and without play-action mirror the NFL rates almost exactly:

Stat No PA PA
Comp % 59.00% 62.50%
YPA 7.0 10.1
TD Rate 4.80% 1.80%
INT Rate 2.30% 0.00%
Time to Throw 2.52 3.2
QB Rating 102.2 86.3
Pressure Rate 30.10% 32.10%
Deploying Weapons

The talent difference between the 2016 Rams offense and the 2017 Rams offense is undeniable. The entire starting receiving corps turned over for the better from a season ago. The impact of players such as Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, Cooper Kupp, Gerald Everett and Andrew Whitworth on the offense is undeniable, but it’s the way they’ve utilized those new and existing weapons that’s allowed them to lead the NFL in points per game (30.3).

Tavon Austin is no longer being asked to be a legitimate receiver. Kupp has been given the freedom to dominate the underneath route tree from the slot. And Todd Gurley is being schemed many more runs that test the edges of opposing defenses. Gurley’s best attribute is his ability to elude tackles with either agility or power in space. His vision has never been his strong suit, and his numbers suffered a season ago because he was often pounded directly into the center of a porous offensive line. Only 37.4 percent of his runs hit outside the tackles a season ago and a lot of those were him bouncing out with no hope inside. This season, 48.3 percent of his runs have hit off tackle and the results speak for themselves.

The Check down

One aspect of Goff’s game this year that has been drastically different is the rate at which he targets running backs. Any Gurley fantasy owner should have noticed this already. A season ago Goff had 190 targeted passes, 24 of which came to running backs (12.6 percent). This year on 208 dropbacks, Goff has targeted his backs 37 times (17.8 percent). Now five percentage points may not seem like a lot, but that translates to almost two plays a game. Those same two plays a season ago resulted in panic from their quarterback. With no outlet, those plays were sacks. They were interceptions. They were ugly. Now they’re positive plays that lead to far less stress on a young quarterback.

That’s truly the key. The biggest visual difference between Jared Goff from Year 1 to Year 2 is his stress level. He went from looking like he had never seen a pass rush before to operating the pocket like a veteran. A whole book can be written on all the differences from this year to last in L.A., but at the end of the day, it comes down to doing everything possible to make the quarterback’s life easier.

‘A lot of good stuff going on’ with Sean McVay’s Rams

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/36129/a-lot-of-good-stuff-going-on-with-sean-mcvays-rams

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — It began on ESPN, with a talkback for SportsCenter and an in-studio appearance on the radio. Later Friday, it was off to The Rich Eisen Show, where Snoop Dogg suggested a play. Then, on Sunday, it was the NFL pregame show on Fox, where Michael Vick wore his high school jersey.

Sean McVay spent a substantial portion of his first bye week as an NFL head coach making the media rounds, which helped give him a sense for the buzz that surrounds his Los Angeles Rams.

“There’s a lot of good stuff going on right now,” McVay said. “We want to try to keep that momentum going, and how you do that is you take things one day at a time, one game at a time.”

The Rams are 5-2, off to their best start in 14 years and coming off a 33-0 drubbing of the division-rival Arizona Cardinals. Their plus-74 point margin trails only that of the Philadelphia Eagles, thanks to an offense that has already scored 212 points — 12 shy of last year’s total with nine games left — and a defense that has given up the sixth-fewest yards per game over the past four weeks.

“The excitement is there,” Rams sixth-year cornerback Trumaine Johnson said. “There’s no way around it; it’s everywhere. But at the same time, it’s still on us to be even better. Each game is important for us. It’s getting bigger and bigger. We just have to stay consistent.”

The Rams practiced Monday, their first substantive session in a week and a half, and took their normal day off Tuesday. Wednesday marks the start of installations for their Sunday road game against the 1-6 New York Giants. Their challenge now is to block out the noise, maintain their edge and basically doubt their own hype.

The Rams entered this season as the NFL’s second-youngest team, behind only the winless Cleveland Browns. But they also added four players who have been on playoff teams — left tackle Andrew Whitworth, center John Sullivan, outside linebacker Connor Barwin and cornerback Kayvon Webster.

“It’s important that myself and other guys that have ever been in that situation continue to encourage guys to realize the standard needs to keep rising,” Whitworth said. “The season goes on, the expectation will grow, the pressure will grow, the games will get bigger, and your standard of what is good and what is expected out of you has to rise with it. That’s really going to be the hard part going forward, and it’s not easy to do. We have to continue to raise our level and raise what we expect of ourselves.”

The Rams, coming off a 4-12 showing and 10 consecutive losing seasons, are eighth in ESPN’s Power Rankings. ESPN’s Football Power Index gives them a 55 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 16 percent chance to win the NFC West. Their Super Bowl odds are now 20-to-1, after opening at 100-to-1.

Their schedule will get tougher soon, with five of their final eight games coming against teams that currently have a winning record. But they’re fully healthy, and their players should only continue to grow under new schemes.

“I think we’ve got a mature team, and I think we’ve got the right kind of guys in that locker room to be able to handle both the good and the bad,” said McVay, who, at 31, already seems to have changed the Rams’ culture. “The one thing that’s been impressive about this team is that in seven weeks we’ve experienced a lot of different things — some good, some bad — and I’ve always really enjoyed and appreciated the way we have responded from some of the bad things.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s game between the Giants and the Rams

Art Stapleton

http://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/nfl/giants/2017/10/31/looking-ahead-sundays-game-between-giants-and-rams/818023001/

Early line

Rams by 3.5: The Giants are 7-0 against the Rams since 2002, outscoring them 216-124 over that span. That includes a 17-10 victory last season in London at Twickenham Stadium during the NFL’s International Series. Just judging by this season, though, it would appear that these two teams are headed in opposite directions. The Rams have won two in a row and lead the NFC West behind 31-year-old head coach Sean McVay, whose presence has invigorated the Los Angeles offense. The Giants have lost all three of their home games this season after finishing 7-1 at the Meadowlands in 2016.

In the spotlight

Rams LT Andrew Whitworth. The one that got away. Giants fans and those of us in the media will spend the week again talking about how Big Blue brass opted not to pursue Whitworth in free agency. That will shift attention to Giants LT Ereck Flowers, of course, and his unsteady play at best in stark contrast to that of the 35-year-old Whitworth, whose presence at left tackle has been viewed as a game-changer in helping the Rams reinvent their offense.

New York Giants tight end Evan Engram (88) runs upfield
New York Giants tight end Evan Engram (88) runs upfield during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, in Denver. (Photo: AP Photo)
Game plan

The Rams’ offense has been fun to watch under McVay with the emergence of former No. 1 pick Jared Goff at quarterback. This has also been a bounce back season for RB Todd Gurley, who is averaging 131 all-purpose yards per game, which is second in the league. A focus for the Giants will be to slow Gurley down, which they did last season (92 total yards). The Giants have allowed eight touchdowns to tight ends in seven games.

The Giants will again be challenged offensively if Justin Pugh (back) is unable to go. Rams All-Pro DT Aaron Donald will wreck the game if given a chance. Eli Manning could really use WR Sterling Shepard back in the fold. His ankle injury has kept him sidelined the last two games. TE Evan Engram has 11 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns with Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Shepard sidelined.

Rams Power Rankings: Week 9

Kristen Lago

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Power-Rankings-Week-9/b1a3ec07-625c-42b2-bbd8-11e6e4ed3a35

After taking the bye week to relax and unwind, the Rams will be back in action for Week 9 of the regular season. Los Angeles will be on the road for the third-straight game as it travels east to face off against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Every week, TheRams.com will be taking an aggregate look at where the team ranks in different outlets across the sports media landscape. Here are the power rankings for the Rams heading into Week 9:

NFL.com, Elliot Harrison Rank: 2

Last Week: 2

Change: –

“ Flying silently — although never on Twitter — is the work of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Broaching such hot topics as Medicare can only be surpassed by the performance of the defense he directs. That’s why the Rams are so high. The upside of the defense means this team can get even better. After allowing 26.3 points per game over the first four contests of the season, the defense has shut the door, giving up a meager 11.0 ppg in the past three outings. Against the run, Phillips’ unit is allowing 85.3 rush yards per game since Week 5. Before Week 5, that figure was at 151.2. Oh, and the defense is primarily responsible for winning the last two games, too.”

ESPN.com Rank: 8

Last Week: 7

Change: -1

“The Rams are off to one of their best starts in years, but they need to cut down on turnovers in order to keep winning. They’ve fumbled 15 times this season (lost eight of them), which is tied for fourth-most in the NFL, and have a turnover margin of zero.”

Yahoo! Shutdown Corner Rank: 7

Last Week: 6

Change: -1

“Next up for the Rams is an interesting game at the Giants. The Giants aren’t good, but the Rams are flying across country for an early game, which can be tricky. It’s one of those games where if Los Angeles is for real — and there’s no reason to believe they’re not — this shouldn’t be a tough game.”

The Washington Post Rank: 5

Last Week: 5

Change: –

“It’s back to work for the Rams, who come out of the bye attempting to remain one of the league’s most surprising success stories. The post-bye portion of their schedule begins with a game they should win Sunday against the Giants at the Meadowlands.”

USA Today Rank: 6

Last Week: 7

Change: +1

“Their last two games were in Jacksonville and London, both wins. Now Rams visit New York Giants post-bye, hoping to end season 3-0 on Atlantic’s coasts.”

CBS Sports, Pete Prisco Rank: 5

“They come off their bye with a long road trip to play the Giants. But they’ve had some long ones already, including at London two weeks ago. Are they ready to push for a division title?”

Sports Illustrated Rank: 8

Last Week: 7

Change: -1

Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio Rank: 8

Last Week: 7

Change: -1

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT’S RANKS — NEW YORK GIANTS

NFL.com — 29

ESPN.com — 30

Yahoo! Shutdown Corner — 29

Pro Football Talk — 30

The Washington Post — 29

USA Today — 29

CBS Sports — 30

Bleacher Report — 29

Sports Illustrated — 28

from NFL contenders/pretenders: Bills, Rams are for real; Falcons off

Adam Schein

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000870408/article/nfl-contenderspretenders-bills-rams-are-for-real-falcons-off

…

Los Angeles Rams (5-2)

My respect for Sean McVay is well-documented. I love McVay’s attitude, Xs-and-Os savvy, swagger and all-star coaching staff. Clearly, all of that rubs off on his players. Jared Goff has turned a corner, while Todd Gurley is back to being a force. Consequently, the Rams rank second in points per game at 30.3. (Shout-out to Andrew Whitworth, too. When discussing this offense’s improvement, the left tackle’s addition cannot be overlooked.)

Meanwhile, Wade Phillips’ defense is only getting better. After a slow start under the new DC, the Rams have yielded just 11.0 points per game over their last three contests. The schedule going forward looks quite manageable. And the Rams are really, truly good.

This is a great story. Los Angeles will have a playoff team this season — just not the one many people anticipated in the preseason. Amazing what a real coach can do.

Goff’s passer rating improvement is the 4th-best all-time

Cameron DaSilva

Jared Goff's passer rating improvement is the 4th-best all-time

Much has been made about Jared Goff’s improvement in his second season, and rightfully so. He’s looked like a completely different quarterback, completing 60 percent of his passes for an average of 245 yards per game with nine touchdowns and four interceptions.

His development goes beyond the stat sheet, too. He’s looking off defenders, throwing with anticipation and moving far better in the pocket. Everything about his play has been substantially better than last season.

To put it into perspective, his passer rating change has been one of the best in NFL history. According to the Rams’ media guide, Goff has improved his passer rating by 26.7 points. That’s the fourth-largest improvement from a quarterback’s rookie season through Week 8 of Year 2, only trailing Derek Carr, Jeff Garcia and Josh Freeman.

Goff ranks 14th in passer rating at 90.3, but that number was far higher earlier in the season. Through the first four weeks of the season, Goff’s passer rating was 112.2. In the past three games, it’s been just 65.9, dropping his overall mark by a whopping 21.9 points.

It won’t get any easier for the second-year quarterback on Sunday against the Giants, but not having to face Janoris Jenkins should ease the burden. Still, New York’s secondary and pass rush are among the best in the league, even if their 1-6 record doesn’t reflect it

In fact i hope i get to see the game….

well it’s going to be longer than Tuesday night that’s for sure but I do have wood thanks for asking