InvaderRam wrote:

as in please don’t crush my spirit.

at least not this season.

After a week of hype, Rams face a prove-it game against talented Cowboys

By RICH HAMMOND

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/30/after-a-week-of-hype-rams-face-a-prove-it-game-against-talented-cowboys/

ALLAS — Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

The Rams have been caught in a landslide of positivity since their last game. Sean McVay? Boy genius. Jared Goff? The right choice as No. 1 pick. Todd Gurley? The NFC player of the month, no less.

At this rate, if the Rams could stay off the field, there might soon be parades held in their honor. Alas, the NFL schedule dictates that they return to the field after a nine-day break, and Sunday’s road game against the Dallas Cowboys isn’t an ideal way for the Rams to sustain their surprising momentum.

NFL coaches will downplay the existence of “benchmark” games, but this is one for the 2-1 Rams, with their high-scoring offense and their underachieving defense. The Cowboys went 13-3 last season. The Rams have won a combined total of 13 games since the start of the 2015 season.

“Obviously the goal is to win every game,” Gurley said, “but going into Dallas, they’re ‘America’s team.’ They’re coming off a 13-3 season last year and they have one of the best running backs in the league. They have a great defense. They have the league’s sack leader right now. It’s an opportunity for us to go up against a great team and see where we are and see how we’ve come.”

That about says it all.

The Rams have put themselves in about as good a position as possible. They should have handled a hobbled Indianapolis team, and they did. They should have beat San Francisco, and they did, barely. The Washington game basically was considered a toss-up going in, and the Rams lost on a late touchdown.

A 3-0 start would have been marvelous, but even 1-2 would have been a disaster. This is the first time this season that the Rams are the clear underdogs, and even with all of the plaudits the Rams have received, they seem to be taking a slow-go approach to their recent good times.

“Any time you have success, you have confidence,” Goff said, “whether it’s in practice or in the film room or wherever. It’s not just on game day. The whole team is feeling pretty good right now. We’re grounded and we want to get better, but we believe in each other, and I think that’s the biggest part.”

Then again, that’s easy for a Rams offensive player to say. The Rams, shockingly, are the NFL’s highest-scoring team entering the fourth week. They’ve have to deal with Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, the NFL’s sack leader, but the status of talented linebacker Sean Lee is a game-time decision.

It’s not quite as rosy for the Rams’ defense, which struggled against Washington and San Francisco and now will be without starting safety Lamarcus Joyner and, perhaps, his backup, Cody Davis.

The Rams must attempt to slow a balanced Dallas offense led by quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, and improve after they allowed 39 points to a weak 49ers offense.

“I feel like it wasn’t as bad as we thought,” Donald said. “We definitely made a lot of mistakes here and there, but it isn’t anything that we can’t clean up. I’d rather have it happen now, early, than later. We’re going to be good.”

Now would be the time to show it. After the Dallas, the Rams have a tough home game against Seattle, then the annual weird two-week stretch in which they play an East Coast road game (in Jacksonville) then stay on the road for an additional week before a “home” game in London (against Arizona).

A victory over Dallas would put the Rams into a full-blown national hype cycle, even though, as Goff noted this week, the Rams started 3-1 last season and lost 11 of their final 12 games.

“You break the season into quarters,” Goff said. “If we’re able to finish this one with a win, that would be a good quarter for us and we’d be ready to go for a good second quarter.”

Bonsignore: The Rams really are better than last year, and they can beat the Cowboys

By VINCENT BONSIGNORE

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/30/bonsignore-the-rams-really-are-better-than-last-year-and-they-can-beat-the-cowboys/

IRVING, TEXAS — Jared Goff didn’t play the first four games last year. But no one had a better vantage point from which to witness the Rams 3-1 start than he did watching from the sideline.

Or the eventual buckle of the bridge they built and subsequent collapse, for that matter.

Goff is playing now, of course. And there isn’t anyone more responsible than the second-year quarterback from Cal for the 2-1 record the Rams take to Texas on Sunday to play the Cowboys.

But knowing what he knows from last year, don’t expect Goff to be doing any victory laps even if the Rams march into AT&T Stadium and beat the Cowboys.

“We started off 3-1 last year and saw the way that went,” Goff reminded everyone. “So, it doesn’t mean much. It’ll be good. It means we started off well, but you break the season into quarters and if we are able to finish this one with the win, it would be a good quarter for us and be ready to go for another good second quarter, is the plan. But right now we’re just focused on going out there Sunday and playing as best we can.”

Goff might only be a second-year NFL quarterback. And really just a first-year one considering he spent the majority of last season as the backup to Case Keenum. But give him credit for the prudence he shows in putting the Rams fast start in perspective. It has, and will, serve him well.

But we’re under no such decree or guidelines.

So let’s just say what everyone is thinking.

The Rams’ 2-1 start this year is in no way, shape or form similar to the same start they got off to last year. The one that ultimately crumbled into a 4-12 disaster and created the kind of carnage that results from almost an entire coaching staff losing their jobs and a dramatic makeover of the roster.

This feels different. It looks different. And frankly, it is different. Which renders comparisons to last year utterly useless and pointless.

No matter how cleverly the Rams try to cover that up.

“A win is a win. It’s hard to get a win in this league,” Tavon Austin said, “It’s all the same to me.”

You’d expect Austin to play the skeptical or low-key card given the losing he has experienced since coming aboard in 2013. It takes a mental toll, being part of the 21-40 record Austin has endured the past four years, and while he, as much as anyone else, should recognize the nuanced contrasts between this year and years past, he isn’t ready to go there just yet.

Maybe we all shouldn’t, no matter how much instincts and experience tell us things are different this year compared to last. How the league-leading 35.7 points per game the Rams are averaging is no mirage, given the superior talent they assembled and the imaginative coaching Sean McVay has added and the growth and maturity of Goff, whose performance thus far is among the best in the NFL.

Best to just play it safe, even if it’s just to protect us in the event the proverbial other shoe drops. The one that’s crushed the hearts and souls of the Rams and their fans for more than a decade as losing season after losing season has piled up.

Is it OK to feel better about things?

“Yeah I think so,” Goff said. “We feel good right now.”

But maybe it’s best we keep it in perspective.

“I don’t know if you want … think any of it long term right now,” he added. “We’re so focused on Dallas and what we’re doing right now that we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’ve played three games, we’ve won two of them. At the end of the day, we’re 2-1 and that’s the only stat that matters and we know that. We know that you go into the details of what happens in each game and there’s things that we do well and there’s things that we can work on. And that’s really what we’re focused on the most is how we can keep improving and keep getting better and ultimately just become the best team we can each Sunday.”

Maybe that other shoe starts descending against the Cowboys. They are arguably the best team in the NFC and will have the benefit of playing in front of the 100,000 fans that will cram Jerry’s World.

It wouldn’t be a shock. Conventional wisdom suggests that’s exactly what will happen. Heck, in some necks of the woods, it’s the odds-on favorite outcome.

The Wise Guys have the Cowboys winning by nearly a touchdown, and you’d be hardpressed to find anyone who has the Rams strolling into AT&T Stadium and robbing the place before high-tailing it back to L.A. sitting pretty at 3-1 with the Seahawks coming to town next week.

Best to roll with the odds on this one, if only to insulate your heart from a week’s worth of misery.

Right? Not so fast.

If you trust your instincts and believe your eyes you fully understand things are different with the Rams this year.

That makes hope real and elevated expectations warranted.

Other than past history, which has zero to do with what will happen Sunday in Texas, there is really no compelling argument to be made against the Rams going toe to toe with the Cowboys and returning home with a victory.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. This is real.

What’s done isn’t just done. It’s quite revealing.

Goff is emerging as a very good quarterback. And he will keep getting better.

The Rams didn’t just flip their wide receiver group from last year by deleting a handful of names and replacing them with others. They improved the position dramatically by adding dependability and professionalism in Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp and explosiveness in Sammy Watkins. Andrew Whitworth and John Sullivan have been game changers on the offensive line. You talk to people in the NFL, and there is high praise for the job McVay and his staff have done in offensive schemes, imagination and play calling.

And while the defense has yet to hit its stride under new coordinator Wade Phillips, there is enough talent on hand to suggest they’ll eventually get things stabilized on that side of the ball.

The Rams don’t just feel different this year. They are different.

And there is no reason to think they can’t go to Texas and beat the Cowboys.

Let the Rams play the perspective game. It’s the right approach. The prudent thing to do.

But if you’re a Rams fan turning on the TV Sunday morning, remember this: This is a different team than the one you’ve been watching the last decade or so. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Your instincts are sound.

If you want to play it careful, go ahead.

But deep down you know things have changed.

This is a winnable game.

There, I said it.

Thanks H.

Without overdoing it, I like to consolidate threads so we don’t disperse things on the 1st page. That drives other threads down.

Right now the merge function doesn’t work so I have to sometimes ask guys to move posts. I don’t want to over do that, either.

I get that sometimes posters can’t tell when a topic is already going.

If I can do it that way, I try to favor the new post. That only works if the already-going thread has only me in it. Then I can move everything to the new or or just delete mine.

Anyway I won’t ask this that much but I appreciate the help when I think I should ask.

…

…

Award shows Rams’ Todd Gurley is back on top

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/29/award-shows-rams-todd-gurley-is-back-on-top/

ptember 29, 2017 at 9:10 pm
It sort of came and went with a whimper. And it’s not like anyone gets hung up on in-season recognition. Player of the Week honors. Player of the Month recognition. It’s nice and all. But not exactly what players and teams focus on.

But it is worth remembering, at least as it relates to Todd Gurley being named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Month, just how far he fell last year in his regrettable sophomore season and just how far he’s climbed back up this year. Which makes this distinction mean just a little bit more.

“For sure. Like I said, you have your ups and downs in this game. Every year is not going to be a good year and, obviously, I figured that out last year,” Gurley said. “All you can do is move forward, just keep working hard, control what you can control and just take it day-by-day preparation, and once the season comes you just let all the anger out that you had and that you worked hard for in the offseason. So, that’s why I felt like I’ve been doing a great job of doing now.”

Gurley ran for 241 yards and four touchdowns in September while adding 13 catches for 140 yards and two scores. In the process, he’s helped the Rams solidify a respectable ground game the last two games while also being a productive asset in the passing game.

The Rams, partially as a result, have been the NFL’s best offense over the first three games while averaging a league-high 35.7 points per game.

“There’s a lot of other really great players in this league and a lot of guys that did an excellent job in the NFC offensively, but anytime you get an award like that, we’re very happy for Todd,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “It’s a reflection of the offensive unit as a whole. He certainly has done a lot of great individual things, but a lot of that stuff doesn’t occur without great blocking up front, good job by (QB) Jared (Goff) distributing the ball in the pass game, making sure we’re not running into some of those bad looks.

“Todd will be the first to tell you, he’s got high expectations for himself and what you feel good about with that award is that is a reflection of the unit as a whole and I think those guys have done a nice job. But, it’s three games and we’ve got a lot of football left to be played and we know that in this business it’s a very humbling game where it’s, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ And we’ve got a great challenge against a very good defensive opponent for the offense and for Todd and those guys are doing a good job this week of getting ready for that.”

Gurley’s production this year can be partially traced to the significant upgrades the Rams made on the offensive line, adding left tackle Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan, a much better receiving corps with Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Tavon Austin and Gerald Everett. It was important to McVay he didn’t prejudge Gurley based on last year before assessing him alongside the improvements.

“When you look at Todd, what you want to make sure is that instead of just looking at the numbers, you watch the tape and really see what’s the reason for why you think maybe things didn’t go the way that you wanted last year,” McVay said. “What you see when you watch the two years that he’s been in the league, before you get with him is you see an excellent talent and you see a guy that has got great natural run instincts, fearless competitor.

“So, to say that you’re surprised by this, the way that he’s worked day-in and day-out, you’re not surprised because those are the expectations that you have for a great player like Todd. To answer your question though, you didn’t have any worry that he wasn’t the guy that he was his rookie year just based on the numbers and the production – still had a whole lot of confidence in him and that’s been merited by what he’s done so far.”

Game Preview: Rams, Cowboys to Face Off in Week 4

Kristen Lago

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Game-Preview-Rams-Cowboys-to-Face-Off-in-Week-4-/5f9fe827-7a6a-4849-9c1d-0e60ad7b5bc9

The Rams will be on the road for the second-straight week this Sunday as they travel to Arlington to take on the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Week 4 contest brings together two teams that share a rich history and rivalry together, dating back to their first game in 1960.

“I’ve always been a fan of the game [and] you have an appreciation for what’s taken place before,” first-year head coach Sean McVay said of the history between teams. “I think that embracing that history is part of it, [but] I also think it’s important to know that this is a storied franchise on both ends and we’ve got a great challenge.”

The series has spanned 57 years and 32 games, but Sunday will mark the first regular-season since 2014, when the Cowboys mounted a comeback to defeat the Rams 34-31.

However, this season’s contest will look a bit different from the last. Dallas’ offense now features the dynamic duo of quarterback Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott and the team is coming off a 13-3 finish, while Los Angeles enters the game under a different coaching staff and with many new faces on both sides of the ball.

“What coach Garrett’s done with his team, it’s going to be a great challenge and an excellent atmosphere,” McVay said. “And I know our guys are looking forward to it.”

One thing the two teams will have in common entering Week 4 is their records, as both the Cowboys and the Rams will look to improve to 3-1. But after recording a 4-12 record last year, it’s Los Angeles that has the most to prove. Not only does the team sit in sole possession of the top spot in the NFC West, but also the offense as a whole has shown immense improvement under McVay.

“We know that we’re going to have to be at our best to get our third win against an excellent Cowboys team,” he said. “They go 13-3 last year, 7-1 at home, with great road win for them this week. I’ve got a lot of respect for this organization and head coach Jason Garrett, just from having gone against them a couple times a year, so it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

The tough matchup against the Cowboys — highly regarded as one of the league’s top-tier programs — should provide a benchmark test of sorts for the Rams as they enter the second quarter of the season.

“It’s an opportunity for us to go up against a great team and see where we are and how far we have come,” Gurley said. “Every week you have to come with it and if you can finish, this is the first quarter of the season. If you can finish 3-1, you are going to be right where you want to be.”

The Rams are currently the league’s highest-scoring team through three games with 107 points and quarterback Jared Goff has looked vastly improved over his rookie season. Goff enters Sunday’s game with 817 passing yards, five touchdowns and just one interception, while running back Todd Gurley was named September’s NFC Offensive Player of the Month after recording an 149-yard, three touchdown performance in Week 3.

An improved receiving corps and offensive line has also bolstered the offense through the addition of dynamic playmakers like Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins as well as strong veterans on the line like center John Sullivan and left tackle Andrew Whitworth.

And though the Cowboys strong suit is their offense, the Rams will still need to be ready for a tough Dallas defense. On the offensive line, expect the right side — comprised of right guard Jamon Brown and right tackle Rob Havenstein — to be challenged by defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. The NFC Defensive Player of the Month has 6.5 sacks this season and has been one of the most consistent players on the Cowboys’ defensive line.

“I think when you just flip on the tape, he’s a scary player,” McVay said. “Excellent effort, he’s got a variety of ways that he can get to the quarterback and they move him around, I think he plays the run very well as well. He’s done a great job by winning his one-on-ones and that’s what the great players in this league do and he’s certainly playing like that right now.”

And although Gurley may not need to worry about linebacker Sean Lee — who will be a gametime decision for Sunday — middle linebacker Jaylon Smith is also a dominant force on the Dallas defense. In Monday night’s game against the Cardinals, Smith recorded seven tackles and a forced fumble.

In the secondary, Rams’ receivers will face a young, but challenging group of cornerbacks and safeties including Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods. The duo combined for nine tackles and two pass deflections in Week 3.

“I mean, they do a lot of different things. They’re very multiple and have changed some of the stuff they’ve done,” Goff said. “They mix up coverages, mix up fronts, mix up blitzes and do a good job of it. I think they’re talented in all three phases.”

“[They’re] a good defense, we see them flying around,” Woods said. “A fast defense and they’re able to just disguise [their coverages]. They play solid, fly to the ball and they are a fast group of guys that like to attack the quarterback and attack the ball.”

While Dallas’ does boast a strong defense, the real challenge for the Rams does not lie with their offense. Instead, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and the Los Angeles defense will have to answer a tough question come Sunday: Can the Rams defense stop Prescott and a high-powered Cowboys’ offense?

“[It’s] a premiere challenge,” defensive coordinator and former Cowboys’ head coach Wade Phillips said. “You know, when you’re playing a really good offensive team, that’s when you have to step up and be a really good defensive team. I think we’ll get better in some of the areas that we need to, but we’ll find out.”

The Rams’ defense has been a bit up-and-down this season, starting off the season on a high against the Colts, but allowing a combined 66 points and 806 yards in their last two games. But many players, like defensive tackle Aaron Donald, do not seem worried.

“I feel like it wasn’t as bad as we thought,” Donald said of last week’s performance against the 49ers. “We definitely made a lot of mistakes here and there. But it’s nothing that we can’t clean up. And I’d rather it happen now — early — than later. So we’re going to be good.”

Fortunately for the Rams this week, outside linebacker Connor Barwin has a lot of experience playing against the Cowboys and had some tips on how to stop the formidable Dallas’ offense, led by Prescott and Elliott.

“In my experience last year, the quarterback is the real deal,” Barwin said. “He can really do it all. He can make plays from outside the pocket, he can make plays from inside the pocket and then he can make plays with his feet. So we will have to be at our best against him.”

“It’s a common theme — You stop them, you stop them, and then a guy gets out of their gap and Ezekiel will crease you for a 40-yard run,” he continued. “ We would play really well against him at times, but as soon as one guy makes a mistake up front, Ezekiel is great at getting north very quickly. So it’s about being focused and physical for the entire game, for 60 snaps not 50 snaps and that is how you stop the run.”

In the secondary, one matchup to watch this week will be between cornerback Trumaine Johnson and wide receiver Dez Bryant. Though Dallas has a slew of other offensive weapons, including tight end Jason Witten, stopping Bryant will be a No. 1 priority for the Rams and Johnson seemed ready for the challenge after practice on Thursday.

“He’s a competitor and he’s a dog,” Johnson said. “I have been playing Dez since I have been in the league and I will have to be aggressive with him, I have to be ready to compete and it’s going to be fun. I can’t wait.”

Overall, Week 4 should be one of the toughest games the Rams have faced thus far and could come down to a series of key matchups on both sides. Kickoff for the Rams vs. Cowboys is set for 10 A.M. To find out where you can watch the contest, click here.

Billy_T wrote:

Have you read any good books lately?

Oryx and Crake.

.

Zooey wrote:

Joyner IS out. I read that somewhere. Dunno about Davis

Davis is probably out too. But not definitively.

Complicating Joyner situation a bit, McVay said S Cody Davis has “a tweak in his quad.” Team optimistic, but Davis is questionable for Sun.

— Myles Simmons (@MylesASimmons) September 29, 2017

==

Rams could be doing a safety dance against Cowboys. https://t.co/yc8jkGofEJ

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) September 29, 2017

Take the Rams over Cowboys

http://nypost.com/2017/09/28/take-the-rams-over-cowboys/

Rams (+6) over COWBOYS: After too many years of broad mediocrity under Jeff Fisher, Rams hierarchy let Fisher go last season during franchise’s first year back in Los Angeles. New coach Sean McVay appears the jockey change highly regarded young QB Jared Goff needed, as the Rams are off to encouraging 2-1 start. Cowboys won their opener, but after getting drilled in Denver, were not impressive wrestling the Cardinals into submission Monday. ’Boys have underperformed for years off Monday nighters, and it appears coaching adjustments and slick drafts could take this Rams talent base a long way. L.A. Express picking up steam … hop aboard these Rams, for one unit.

oldschoolramfan wrote:

Jackie Slater remembers a story……

“It was Nov. 15th, 1992 and the Rams were playing the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. The Rams were 2 touchdown underdogs and the team knew that the coach was not happy about that.”
Slater continues……”Coach Knox walks in to the locker room and just looked at us for a long time. Then, he finally say’s, 14-point underdogs? And then, he spits on the floor, put his cap on and walked out to the field. Nothing else needed to be said.”

The Rams beat the Cowboys 27-23 that day.

That was the last time the LOS ANGELES RAMS played the Dallas Cowboys……..25 years later, they meet in Dallas on Sunday to revive one of the NFL’s best rivalries.

Rams still figuring out things on defense, but with Dallas coming up, they better hurry

RICH HAMMOND

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/28/rams-still-figuring-out-things-on-defense-but-with-dallas-coming-up-they-better-hurry/

THOUSAND OAKS — It’s not time to worry about the Rams’ defense. Give that another couple days.

Thus far, the scheme of new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has underwhelmed. The Rams rank 26th in the NFL in points allowed per game (25.0) and 22nd in yards allowed (343.7), and last week the Rams ended up in a shootout against a San Francisco team that previously hadn’t scored a touchdown.

The challenge doesn’t get easier this Sunday, as the Rams travel to face a balanced Dallas offense that includes quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and tight end Jason Witten.

“We look at it as a big challenge,” Phillips said after Thursday’s practice at Cal Lutheran. “I think we’ll see a lot about our team this week, as far as where we are, to match up against that premier offense.”

The Rams clearly are having some issues. After their dominating season-opening game against an Indianapolis team that lacked its quarterback and center, the Rams allowed 27 points and 385 yards in a loss to Washington, then 39 points and 421 yards in a way-too-close victory over the 49ers.

Run defense remains an issue, cornerbacks have been beat on big plays and, last week, the 49ers converted on nine of their 18 third-down attempts.

On the other hand, Phillips pointed out that special-teams miscues sent the Rams’ defense onto the field in unusual circumstances multiple times, and Phillips said the unit would get a boost from the expected return of starting cornerback Kayvon Webster, who missed two games with a shoulder injury.

Phillips also hinted that the Rams might move Michael Brockers, who has been one of the most productive players up front, away from nose tackle and to a defensive tackle role.

“A premier challenge,” Phillips said of Dallas. “When you’re playing a really good offensive team, that’s when you have to step up and be a good defensive team. I think we’ll get better in some of the areas we need to, but we’ll find out. That’s why we play the games, to see what happens. But I like our group.”

Phillips’ recent history shows that early-season struggles, when he takes over and transitions a team from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 front, are not uncommon.

In 2011, Phillips took over an awful Houston defense. In the third game of that season, the Texans allowed 40 points and 454 yards in a loss to New Orleans. Houston finished that season ranked fourth in points allowed (17.4 per game) and second in yards (285.7).

In 2004, Phillips’ San Diego defense allowed an average of 28 points in its first three games. The Chargers finished that season 11th in the league, with an average of 19.6 points allowed per game.

Even in Denver in 2015, when Phillips took over what had been a fairly stout defense, the Broncos twice allowed 40-plus points. So while these early bumps for the Rams shouldn’t automatically cause panic, another bad week or two might counter the narrative that Phillips is a turnaround artist.

“It goes both ways,” Phillips said. “One year we started 0-3 in Buffalo and made the playoffs. Then, I think in Denver in our first game we gave up 170 yards. It’s all about how you play and who you’re playing, too. I’m looking forward to this one.”

In his last four stops as defensive coordinator (Denver, Houston, San Diego and Atlanta), Phillips has improved his teams’ points-against and yards-against totals in the first year. Not since 2005 has a Phillips-coached defense finished out of the NFL’s top 10 in points and yards.