Head Coach Sean McVay – – October 5, 2017

(Opening Remarks)
“Today from an injury standpoint, (S) Lamarcus Joyner was still out today with his hamstring. He’s day-to-day. (C) John Sullivan was a limited participant. He took part in individuals and he’s been on that rest program, but we’re taking care of him with that groin and just a minor knee. But, he should be good to go for the game.”

(On Sullivan playing every snap against Dallas)
“John’s such a tough player. I felt like he knows his body, he’s done it for such a long time. He felt really good going through Friday’s practice and he knew he was going to battle through and he felt good throughout the course of the game. I know he was sore afterwards. It was a physical game against an excellent defensive team with the Cowboys. But, John played like we expected, which is at a very productive level. He did a great job communicating in the noise and he’s been a really productive player over his career and continue to come away impressed with his knowledge of the game and his ability to command the calls and communication up front.”

(On his evaluation of DT Michael Brockers at DE against Dallas)
“I think he was excellent. He was a game ball for us and really, he influenced and affected the game the game in a lot of ways, some of them that don’t show up on the stat sheet. But, getting pressure on (Cowboys QB) Dak (Prescott), forcing him to change his arm angle, make some throws where it leads to some pass breakups and things like that. I just think his ability to play with some length, his athleticism, some of those opportunities where he’s playing a gap removed from where he was at that nose (tackle) position gives him some versatility and he showed up and played like the player that we expected to. I thought it was also a great opportunity for (DT) Tanzel Smart to get some more snaps inside. Like we’ve said about him over and over, he continues to do all the little things the right way and he’s playing productive football.”

(On what he attributes Gurley’s increase in yards each week to)
“I think he’s getting better and I think we’re getting more comfortable as an offense in just being able to execute at a high level. He’s an excellent football player. Like we’ve said, anytime that you’re able to have the success that he’s had individually, it’s always a credit to him and his teammates and I think you look at some of the things in the pass game, good protection, (QB) Jared (Goff) has been able to get through some progressions, find him as an outlet or if he was a primary and when the ball is in Todd’s hands good things happen. I think he is seeing things the right way. The thing that we were most impressed with, with Todd in the last game was I thought he got stronger as the game progressed. Some of those runs on that last drive, 10, 11-yard runs where he’s moving the chains, keeping the clock running, running through some arm tackles are what makes Todd special and we expect to see the same thing moving forward.”

(On if Gurley being more involved in the passing game is a schematic change)
“I think we just try to find ways to get players in good situations and try to put them in spots that kind of help bring out their strengths. I think one of the things that you look at with Todd that we’ve said all along is he’s a complete back. He’s always been recognized as a very good runner, but now that he’s playing a little bit more in some of those known passing situations, watching the way that he’s worked throughout the course of the offseason and leading into training camp and now the regular season, he works on it. He’s getting better, he’s getting more comfortable and you can see his ability to make plays has been a big difference for us in a lot of situations.”

(On WR Sammy Watkins status)
“Sammy was good. He was feeling better, moving around good, so I think anytime that you get those illnesses, those bugs, hopefully it’s just a 24-hour thing and that’s what it seemed like it was with Sammy.”

(On what he’s seen on film from Seattle QB Russell Wilson)
“Really, even since his rookie year – when I was in Washington we played them in the playoffs and continue to come away impressed with the way that he leads and the way that he continues to compete from the first snap all the way to the end. You can see that his players believe in him. He’s got a rare ability to create off-schedule. I think he can push the ball down the field, he’s accurate in intermediate and short and you can see, he’s comfortable staying in the pocket and making accurate throws and they’ve got some really good skill players. But, there’s nothing that Russell can’t do. I think he’s rare and special as a leader and really as just a football player. But, the main thing that I think is really impressive is that he’s got the ability to beat you with his arms or with his legs and when he scrambles he does a great job of kind of keeping his eyes down field, being able to create those explosives. You look at, he hits an explosive to (WR Tyler) Lockett, but then if the rush lanes aren’t consistent and there’s an opening, he’ll put his foot in the ground and run for a 20-plus yard touchdown. He did both of those things just last week on Sunday night, so it’s going to be a great challenge. He’s one of the better players in this league and when you have a quarterback that’s dynamic like that, it makes it a monster to defend.”

(On if WR Tavon Austin can be more of a change-of-pace running back as opposed to a deep threat)
“I think the thing that makes Tavon special is that he can be all of those things because he is special as a receiver, he’s got the ability to track the ball down the field. But, when you put him in that home position, he’s got natural run instincts, so anytime that you have a moveable piece like Tavon is for our offense right now, I think you can expect to see his role to continue to grow as he gets more comfortable. We’ve got to do a good job of finding ways to put him in those good spots, but last week to be able to carry the football and do some different things – there’s a 2nd-and-long, he gets a 14-yard run and puts us back in 3rd-and-manageable and then just some of the other things that we’ve talked about with the jet sweeps, with some of the things he can do as a receiver that we want to continue to get him more involved with. He’s very valuable for us and that versatility serves you well.”

(On if he’s constantly designing ways to get Austin carries as a runner)
“I think he gives you the ability to do some different things, so you do want to find creative ways to get the ball in his hands. I think when you look at some of the things that he’s done over the course of his career, he’s been special and dynamic with his ability to, whether it’s the (end) arounds, whether it’s lining up in the home positon, these are things he’s done before. But, I think really for us it’s just about finding ways to get him touches and get him involved in the offense because of what he can do.”

(On what he learned about his team being down early and coming back to get a win)
“I think the biggest thing that we came away impressed with was just especially in such a great atmosphere and environment, going down like we did and it didn’t feel like anybody blinked and that’s what we talk about all the time – being a mentally tough team, try to be our best when our best is required regardless of the circumstances and I thought our guys did that. They just kept fighting, they just kept playing the next snap and that’s what it’s about. When you’re focused on one snap at a time and not worried about what happened before, but correcting those things, but not letting it affect your ability to move forward, you’re going to give yourself a chance. We’ve got good football players, I think our coaching staff has done an excellent job. To be able to go and get a big win like that was very important for our team, but it was just one game. Now it’s about, let’s see if we can follow up a good performance against a great Seattle Seahawks team coming in here with (Seahawks Head) Coach (Pete) Carroll having them ready to go.”

***

Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips – October 5, 2017

(Opening remarks)
“We’re going to try to play the second half defense that we played last weekend from now on. I was pleased with the way we played in the second half. We did learn something about a scrambling quarterback and I think hopefully that will carry over. (Cowboys QB Dak) Prescott can really move around and now we’re playing a guy that’s probably the best – one of the best ever at it. So, we’ve got to contain the guy, but if you contain him, he can still really throw the football well. He presents big problems and they’re still a good running team. I think they’ve had the most yardage in the league in the last two games, offensively, so they’re clicking pretty well.”

(On if he believes in the momentum that could come from playing a solid second half as a defense)
“Oh yeah, I believe in that. I think part of it’s playing together. I thought our team, defensively, has really played well under pressure in those situations – two-point plays that won games and things like that. Stopping the Niners at the end of the game and then coming out the second half and playing as well as we did against Dallas. So, I think things are coming together that way, but like I say, this is one of the top offenses in the league with an elite quarterback, so it’ll be a big challenge.”

(On what went into the decision to flip DT Michael Brockers and DT Tanzel Smart and if he got what he wanted out of that switch)
“Yeah, I thought we did. I thought Michael Brockers had a great game wherever he played. He had a tremendous game. I thought he dominated the line of scrimmage in the run and the pass, he made several big plays for us. He caused an interception, and he batted a ball down, he got several hits on the quarterback. I thought he played really well.”

(On if there was anything in particular that made him want to try Brockers at different positions)
“No. We just looked at it. He’s a really good player at any position he plays. We just told him he’s stronger, especially against the big offensive tackles that Dallas had. He played really well against those guys, so that shows you how good he can be.”

(On how CB Kayvon Webster looked coming back from an injured shoulder)
“Kayvon came in, I thought he played pretty well. He dropped an interception, I know we’d like to have that one, but he was in position to make a play and get an interception. It helps having him back just because of his speed. We can matchup – we matched up (Cowboys WR) Dez (Bryant) with (CB) Trumaine (Johnson) and any of the speed receivers he was on, so they didn’t catch many balls on him at all, so I thought he had a good game.”

(On how DT Aaron Donald is progressing)
“Yeah, I thought he played great. He had a sack called back. He had a sack he wished he had on one of the big plays. I don’t know how many hits he had on the quarterback, but he had a bunch. I mean, more than – against a really good offensive line, I thought he dominated some really good players. He looks like he’s getting into shape and he looks like he did on film, which I thought he was a great player and I think he is. We’re always going to try to match him up one-on-one as much as we can, not let them double team him and I thought we did that pretty well last game.”

(On how important it is to establish the pass rush against the Seahawks early in the game)
“Well, the quarterback is the key. You say, ‘Well, their offensive line has not played well.’ But the last two games, they’re going almost 500 yards, so it’s hard to say they didn’t play well. They get beat some, but the quarterback makes up for it and they’re pretty solid most of the other times. He throws well from the pocket, but if anything breaks down, or if he just decides to run around and make a – instead of a three-and-a-half second pass, he makes it to six seconds, sometimes he just does that. He doesn’t see what he wants, he just starts scrambling around. He’s not pressured, he just starts moving around to give him more time and he’s able to do that, so it causes a lot of problems defensively.”

(On how comfortable he is with allowing CB Trumaine Johnson to shadow the opposing team’s receivers)
“He’s versatile enough to do that. We thought it was a good matchup because of size, number one. Dez is obviously a big receiver, ran a lot of slant routes and things like that where he can bully you, when he catches the ball, he can go for extra yards if you don’t have somebody that’s his size. Trumaine did a good – the first play of the game was really my fault. I thought they were going to play it deep, but I didn’t convey that with the players, so really that was the only big pass they had on him the whole game. So, I thought he did a good job, but he can match up, sure. He can matchup with smaller receivers, too, but it just depends on what we think they’re going to do. But he’s smart enough, it’s not easy to play different sides and play zone and sometimes man, because we weren’t playing man on him all the time either. Some guys can’t play left side or right side or can’t play both, but he’s versatile enough to do that. That gives us some avenues that we can utilize.”

(On receiving the game ball and what it has been like being around this group of guys and how much he enjoys working with them)
“I can’t say how much I like these guys. It’s more fun obviously when you’re winning, but I think this team has reacted really well to (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) and his message to try to do the right things. The game ball is for all of the players, first. Especially the defensive players in the second half and the offense and special teams, it’s really for everybody. It was nice of them to give it to me. I did tell the players that they deserved it, but they can come by my house and look at it anytime, so it’s available for them anytime because they all helped do that.”

(On what kind of problems RB Todd Gurley II presents to opposing defenses with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield)
“I’m glad he’s on our side (laughs). That’s for Seattle and the rest of the teams to worry about. I’m just glad he’s on our team. He’s a fantastic player – a really great individual too. I mean, you guys have been around him, I can’t say enough about him as a person too. Football is important, but I think that’s important too. I’m really happy for him because he works hard at what he does. He’s certainly talented, but he utilizes his talents.”

InvaderRam wrote:

makes me wonder what carroll’s plan is. do they drop guys in coverage?

Apparently that’s what Dallas did. And in fact it visibly slowed Goff down a bit and dropped his completion percentage from 70-something percent from the first 3 games to 58-something percent in that game. It also opened up things for Gurley.

InvaderRam wrote:

thing is rams are near the bottom in pass attempts. so while the total may be low the percentage is high.

That’s true. But either ESPN is counting hurries, or their numbers are from before Dallas, or they don’t have the same numbers as NFL.com and/or vice versa. Because 23 of 123 is 18.7%. And 31% of 123 is 38.

Problem is I don’t know where to find “hurries.” So I don’t know how to calculate this.

.

#LARams LIVE: DC Wade Phillips https://t.co/CpUBLeKYeQ

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 5, 2017

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll sees a big difference in Rams quarterback Jared Goff

Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-report-20171004-story.html

The difference is obvious to Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

Last season, the Seahawks harassed Rams rookie Jared Goff during a Thursday night game at CenturyLink Field, a game that featured cornerback Richard Sherman’s plowing into the quarterback with a sideline hit.

On Sunday, a much more confident Goff will lead the NFC West-leading Rams against the defending division champion Seahawks at the Coliseum.

Goff, under first-year coach Sean McVay, is the NFL’s eighth-ranked passer.

“There’s a dramatic change in terms of his efficiency and all that,” Carroll said of Goff during a teleconference Wednesday, adding, “He’s grown and he’s made the big jump that you can make, and that you hope guys make, from Year 1 to 2. And it’s certainly in effect.”

Goff has completed 67% of his passes, seven for touchdowns, with only one interception.

He passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in a 35-30 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium that improved the Rams’ record to 3-1.

Now he faces the 2-2 Seahawks, traditionally regarded as one of the NFL’s top defensive units under Carroll.

“People say it all the time,” Goff said. ‘”They don’t do much and they know they don’t do much, but they do it so well.

“And they do it consistently well for so long now that they’ve proven to be hard to beat.”

Andy Benoit‏@Andy_Benoit
#Cowboys Film: Cooper at LG was an issue. Came to a head with mental and physical mistakes to derail two 2-pt tries mid-4th qtr.

#Cowboys Film: Bryant 18 yds big-time QBing Prescott. Saw Ogletree coming clean and climbed pocket for timing throw, knew hit was coming.

#Cowboys Film: Prescott missed on a few throws. Has lately been a playmaker more than a ball-distributor.

#Cowboys Film: WR Bryant continued to struggle against press coverage (Trumaine Johnson). Production came vs. off-coverage.

#Rams DL Brockers has great technique and the strength to use it for disengaging from blocks.

#Cowboys Film: Elliott runs with a powerful swivel. Very good on wind-backs and related styles.

#Cowboys Film: 3rd-4 red zone #Rams doubled Beasley and Witten, leaving CB Johnson 1 on 1 vs. Bryant near boundary. Johnson won thoroughly.

#Rams #Cowboys Film: Brockers deflection prevented a likely pick-6 for Davis. Prescott rushed snap out of empty w/ not everyone on same page

#Rams #Cowboys Film: FS Davis poor job from centerfield on Morris 70-yd counter run.

A tale of two tackles: The Bengals clearly miss Andrew Whitworth during 1-3 start

http://www.espn.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/28365/a-tale-of-two-tackles-the-bengals-clearly-miss-andrew-whitworth-during-1-3-start

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals’ coaching staff and front office put on their best face in the offseason regarding the offensive line, professing their high hopes for the unit despite losing Pro Bowlers Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler.

Through one quarter of the season, it’s safe to say the new line hasn’t exactly produced the results they wanted.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has been sacked on 10.2 percent of his attempts this season, which would be a personal high for a season. He’s been sacked 14 times through four games. The Bengals allowed 13 sacks at this point last season before eventually finishing with a total of 41.

The problem is that Whitworth and Zeitler aren’t walking through the door anytime soon, and there are few options to fix the situation.

The Bengals have three tackles on the roster, and a trade seems unlikely. Any long-term fixes to the unit will probably come after the season, when the Bengals should either sign a priority free agent or pursue a tackle high in the draft.

At this point they haven’t publicly admitted they possibly made a mistake in 2015 when they drafted Cedric Ogbuehi in the first round and Jake Fisher in the second. The idea at the time was for Ogubehi to become Whitworth’s successor, but that hasn’t happened. He’s never seized the starting job despite being given every chance since the beginning of last season.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis refuted the notion that the line is struggling.

“I don’t know that they necessarily (struggled),” Lewis said following the Browns game, when the Bengals gave up three sacks. “We had a ‘struggle’ play or two, but I thought they played a better football game, and they’re going to have to continue to do that.”

The Bengals shook some things up after starting 0-2, and began rotating at almost every defensive position. Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander said it’s a similar philosophy on offense.

“I think the mix we’ve had the last couple of weeks has helped all their play,” Alexander said. “We’ve got three players so why not? We rotate defensive linemen, we rotate every other position. We’ve done it here for years.”

However, the offensive line must work together as a cohesive unit. Rotating offensive linemen is not the same as rotating defensive linemen, which has actually produced results for the Bengals this season.

Instead, the rotation points to the same mess as last season, when Ogbuehi rotated with Eric Winston at right tackle after failing to secure the starting job early in the season. Even Fisher, when given an opening after Ogbuehi’s struggles, couldn’t put his stamp on the job.

Still, the Bengals felt good enough to move forward with them, partially at the expense of the 35-year-old Whitworth. His age, combined with Ogbuehi’s draft position, likely caused the Bengals to balk at the thought of giving Whitworth a long-term deal.

Whitworth signed with the Rams instead, inking a three-year, $36 million deal with $15 million guaranteed. The Rams have started 3-1 and Whitworth has allowed one sack, zero hits and zero hurries in his first four games, ranking as the top pass blocking tackle and seventh overall among tackles via Pro Football Focus.

Rams writer Alden Gonzalez called Whitworth one of the best offseason additions in the league.

The Bengals young tackles have allowed a combined 25 pressures in that same time frame, more than the Raiders’ offensive line combined. Fisher has allowed three sacks, one hit and seven hurries and Ogbuehi has allowed two sacks, no hits and 12 hurries.

If the Bengals had retained Zeitler, who signed a record deal with the Browns, or Whitworth, things might be a little different. But they also didn’t make moves to fix the situation after those players left, instead signing former tackle Andre Smith with the intention of having him play guard. Trey Hopkins ultimately won that job instead but was hurt in Week 1.

That meant the Bengals turned to T.J. Johnson, and then tried to see what Alex Redmond could do. After Redmond quickly gave up a sack, it was back to Johnson again. The Bengals really have few options at any position.

With both tackles struggling, the Bengals have essentially had no choice but to return to the rotation system, essentially trying to plug holes wherever they can. Smith, who didn’t take a snap in the first two weeks, played 70 percent of the snaps against the Browns, rotating at both tackle spots and starting at left tackle for the first time.

He gave up three hurries and Ogbuehi did not give up a pressure in his reduced role.

After a rough start, Dalton might have figured out how to work around the protection problems, getting the ball out quickly and playing an almost perfect game against the Browns with four touchdowns.

“I expect every single one of them to get the job done,” Dalton said. “You see new faces in there, or some new way of organizing the line, but it doesn’t bother me.”

That hasn’t exactly helped the run game, however, which averages only 3.3 yards-per-rush.

It’s no surprise that Dalton and the coaches have been so positive. At this point, they have to make the best of the situation. But in the offseason, the Bengals should certainly look to correct their mistakes and figure out a better way to protect Dalton. Otherwise, they’ll be looking at a third straight season of shaky offensive line play.

joemad wrote:

Wilson has been sacked by the Rams 39 times – more than any other team. That’s eight more times than the 49ers have sacked him, which is the second most of any team.

Rams are 4th in sack percentage. They are 4th in sacks too. This is interesting because they are 27th in passes against. Teams do not pass on the Rams. That’s because they are 5th in running attempts against, and 4th in yards per attempt allowed (with 4.9).

Seattle is 12th in rushing attempts and 11th in yards per attempt (with 4.4). That leaves them with Rawls and Lacy but Wilson also helps their rushing offense.

So to eyeball the obvious here, Rams have to stop the run to win.

Seattle is also 14th on defense, 10th in points allowed, 4th against the pass, BUT 27th against the run. They are 19th in sack percentage and 22nd in sacks.

Dallas was 10th on defense before the Rams game (now they’re 18th, heh heh). Washington was 11th. So we know the caliber of the Seattle defense but this year they don’t rank much better than 2 teams the Rams have already played (and they went 1-1 against them).

The Rams have won 3 of their last 4 games against Seattle but their wins were all close at the end, including one in overtime. In fact you can probably all think of dramatic defensive stops that won some of those games in the last minute. In their 3 wins the Rams point differential advantage was 66-51 or on avg. 5 points a game.

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QB's under the most pressure through 4 weeks

**includes sacks/hurries/hits@NFLFilms @ESPNNFL #GoBills #Texans #Colts pic.twitter.com/dJG0ocwCGG

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

Top RB's rushing on 1st & 10#ChiefsKingdom #LARams #SKOL @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/Rtl4N0BGgl

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

All but 3 of Todd Gurley's runs come out of these two personnel groups – here's how he does out of each one.#LARams #Rams @RamsNFL pic.twitter.com/EVSThKbrnf

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) October 3, 2017