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znModeratorWell.
Gawd-dammit.
znModeratorHe tapped into a vein of concealed bigotry that is now gushing like an oil well in Texas.
I agree with this. And this is a huge portion of how I see it. American right-wing populism has a long deep history of both overt and “under the radar” bigotry. The problem is that many of the people who are most affected by bad economic policies are not particularly interested in analyzing those issues as being economic.
It’s a world where muslims defiantly kill western whites at will so we are war with a religion, and black lives matter types defy ordinary law and order. All of that has gotten worse (from that perspective) in the last couple of years.
You subtract that component and trump doesn’t even win in the republican primaries.
I actually don’t see much of interest in the effort to claim Trump as the bad prophet who tapped into people’s economic malaise. I think it is far more accurate to say he tapped into their ordinary american right-populist racism and xenophobia.
This is why you don’t see any backlash against his economic policies and appointments. Most of his supporters don’t even know about the term “neoliberalism” and so are in no position to notice that if anything, he is a far more dangerous neoliberal crusader than any non-republican who did run against him or (to cast the net wider) even might have opposed him if the primaries had gone differently. To the trumpists, this stuff just does not register. It’s not what counts about him to those who support him.
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znModeratorBonifayRam wrote this:
Kromer is correct that the 11 OL’ers under contract are a very young cadre, with Saffold & Barnes being the well seasoned old farts @ only 28 yrs old. David Arkin {OG/RT/OC} is 29 but has only suited up for 3 games. Saffold who has played in 83 games in 7 seasons is the most experienced of the unit. However his body does have some major repair worked on many previous wrecks. Barnes who has suited up for 77 games, does have some dents too in his shoulders & last season with his foot but is in much better shape wise than Saffold.
When the Rams last changed HC & OL coaches in 2012….of the 12 Ram OL’ers from 2011 only 2 remained as Rams (Saffold & Barnes) and only one played in the 2012 season. A very BIG turnaround, for sure. Things are a bit different in the OL in 2017 from back then. There is a much bigger investments of OL’ers through the draft in 2014 & 2015 than what we had invested back in 2010-11.
In terms of just who has suited up, after Saffold and Barnes, the next group consists of Robinson (46 games), Rhaney (32 games), Havenstein (28 games), Wichmann (24 games) Donnal (21 games), Brown (20 games) and Murphy (16 games). They are barely broken in yet.
And injuries are an issue. Brown has had two surgeries his first two seasons & one IR, Wichmann has had two high ankle sprains in his first two seasons, & Havenstein had one nagging injury after another after another in 2016. Then there’s Williams who is another injury OL waiting to happen after two NFL seasons with physical health issues.
znModeratort’s that these Trump voters(not all of course) are given way too much credit. They are portrayed as the hard working blue collar crowd, fed up with the screwing from Washington.
Yeah that’s the myth. The actual demographics are different.
znModeratorI hate to do this, and I ain’t being all heavy or nothin, but, it’s probably not fair to discuss another poster (even a former one) in public, even indirectly.
February 18, 2017 at 5:08 pm in reply to: Eagles sportswriter asks, should Philly pursue Britt? #65375znModeratorGroh could be a resource in that respect, having worked with Britt very recently.
And I imagine that Groh could very well tell them, Britt had his bright moments last year, and his tough moments in the times he played hurt. But, he also checked out on the team part of the time–lazy routes, that kind of thing.
I like this writer’s chutzpah, though. He assumes Wentz could be this and Goff won’t be: “the idea of locking in with a long-term (and perhaps top-end) signal-caller would be appealing to the eight-year veteran.”
There are a lot of chapters yet to go in the “which of the top 2 qbs drafted in 2016 will make it?” story.
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znModeratorZac Stacy retires after three seasons in NFL
Running back Zac Stacy has retired from football after three seasons in the pros, a career cut short by a broken ankle in 2015.
In a post on Instagram on Thursday that he titled “Thank You Football,” Stacy says playing football was “a life changer” for him and thanked those who supported him throughout his playing career.
The speedy and versatile Stacy was a fifth-round draft pick by the Rams out of Vanderbilt in 2013. After two seasons with the Rams, he was acquired by the Jets in 2015.
Stacy played in just eight games for New York and saw his 2015 season — and ultimately, his career — end when he injured his ankle while returning a kickoff against Buffalo. He spent the rest of the season on injured reserve and was released last July after failing his physical.
Stacy, who did not play in the NFL last season, finishes with 1,355 yards rushing and nine TDs, along with 53 catches for 358 yards and a score. His best season came as a rookie in 2013, when he ran for 973 yards and seven TDs.
February 18, 2017 at 3:18 pm in reply to: Has the Large Hadron Collider disproved the existence of ghosts? #65370znModeratorThen explain Captain Daniel Gregg, big guy.
Game, set, and match.
He’s not a ghost so much as a Class 5 Free Roaming Vapor in human form. The people who designed and operate the Hadron Collider make no claims about disproving THEIR existence.
You guys act like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was a truthful documentary.
NO! Well yeah okay…based on a true story. Sure. Everyone concedes THAT much. BUT not the actual story captured on live film. (The captain would never have allowed that.)
znModeratorI don’t know if “numb” is the word. I am stunned.
Even though I know the strategy is exactly “Shock and Awe,” and I see it coming, I am just finding myself more and more speechless.
Oh that’s nothin.
Wait till you see what Trump’s been up to.
znModeratorLaFleur Brings QB Expertise to Offensive Coordinator
By Myles Simmons
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Los Angeles’ new offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur. From coaching Atlanta’s quarterbacks in Super Bowl LI to now studying film in his Thousand Oaks office, LaFleur is getting up to speed on everything Rams.
“There’s so much evaluation that needs to [go on], especially for myself — I know there’s other guys who have a better feel for our roster than I do right now, to be honest with you, but there’s a ton of evaluation that’s taking place as we speak,” LaFleur said Thursday, having arrived in Southern California at the beginning of the week. “I think I’ll have a better feel a week or two from now.”
LaFleur and head coach Sean McVay know each other well from their shared time in Washington from 2010-2013, when they worked under Mike and Kyle Shanahan. But that friendship is a significant part of why LaFleur elected to depart the Falcons.
“We’ve developed a pretty strong relationship. I think there’s a mutual respect for our coaching abilities,” LaFleur said. “It was just one of those deals where I was fortunate enough to work for a great organization and Dan Quinn, he allowed me the opportunity to further my career as well.”
“He’s a guy that able to develop a really close relationship with in Washington,” McVay said last week. “Detail oriented, good communicator, been around some of the most productive offenses over the last couple of years. You look at what Atlanta was able to do. A lot of the things that we do philosophically will be very similar.”
McVay and LaFleur’s shared experiences should help both in coming up with a playbook for Los Angeles’ offense. But that does necessarily mean the process will be easy.
“There’s going to be a ton of work,” LaFleur said. “As coaches, you always feel like you’re behind the eight ball. I’m confident that we’re going to carve out enough time and have a very detailed, thorough plan that’s well thought together.
“It truly will be a system that is going to marry the run with the pass,” LaFleur continued. “I know we both believe in that, and the benefits that it gives, really, not only the quarterback, but all the players on our team.”
At this point in the offseason, McVay has already stated he plans on calling the Rams’ offensive plays, so that is one duty LaFleur will not have as offensive coordinator. LaFleur envisions his job as making sure the offense stays up to task during the season.
“A big thing that I’m going to have to do is try to help organize and kind of like set the table for Sean, because he’s not always going to be able to be with us,” LaFleur said. “There’s many more obligations and duties as a head coach. Just make sure that the rest of the staff, we’re all on the same page, kind of lay the table for him.”
He also expects to be spending plenty of time in the quarterbacks room, given that it’s his area of expertise. LaFleur’s spent six years as a QBs coach in the NFL.
“We haven’t really totally discussed all of the responsibilities but I would think I that I’ll be heavily involved in dealing with the quarterbacks,” LaFleur said. “It was the same way when I was with Kyle in Washington and in Atlanta. He was heavily involved. Because you want to know what the, and I think Sean will be, too. You want to know what the play-callers are thinking. It’s only going to help the quarterback.”
With McVay, LaFleur, and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson all experienced in bringing up signal-callers, there will be plenty of coaching available for 2016 No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. And those three voices don’t expect an issue when it comes to conveying one consistent message in teaching the system.
“I don’t think so because got a lot of respect for ‘Oly,’” LaFleur said. “Obviously, he’s been a coordinator for a long time, quarterback coach. We’ve had a lot of discussions and I think we all see the position the same way. So when you see it the same as the other guys it makes for a much easier transition.”
“That’s why it’s very important to have Matt and Greg in place where if you’re not able to be a part of the offensive meetings, or whatever is going on, you trust that their leadership will continue to have that same messaging, so that our quarterbacks know exactly what the expectations are,” McVay said. “I don’t think you can have enough good coaches in the building.”
As for Goff, LaFleur said he’s looking forward to working with the second-year QB. LaFleur relayed he studied Goff during the 2016 pre-draft process, and now has been taking a close look at his Rams game film.
“From what I’ve seen on tape, he’s got some of the key attributes that you always look for in a quarterback. He’s a natural thrower,” LaFleur said. “You never want to see your quarterback getting hit too much, but he doesn’t shy from contact. I think that’s true of any good quarterback in this league. You have to be able to hang in there in some uncomfortable pockets and some uncomfortable situations where you’re going to take a hit and deliver the football. He’s proven that he’ll do that on tape.”
LaFleur anticipates his experience with coaching quarterbacks — like 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan in Atlanta — should aid his ability to help develop Goff.
“I was in Washington when we drafted Robert Griffin and Kurt Cousins, so, to help them through, we worked together with those guys for two guys,” LaFleur said. “It’s going to help me in this situation dealing with a second-year player.”
“I think I’ve grown a ton from the time I was working with those guys, then you do work with a veteran like Matt Ryan and you have a Matt Schaub in the room, who is a veteran quarterback that’s played at a really high-level himself and you just take everything you learn from all those situations,” he continued. “I think it’s only going to help me dealing with a second-year quarterback that really, truly, has rookie-like experience.”
And so LaFleur enters his new job as one of many tasked to help turn around the Rams’ offense. But what will it take to make L.A. a consistent performer?
“I don’t think you really truly know until you start to work with these guys. We have a system that we’re going to put in place,” LaFleur said. “But I think at the end of the day, you have to be able to adapt to the players that you have and put them in the best position to be successful.”
znModeratorjrry32 wrote this:
WRs, SCHEME & TALENT
One of the many mistakes that the Fisher-led Rams made was our inability to create an offensive identity. That led to us just picking talented players rather than identifying guys who fit our scheme. Ultimately, it left us with an offense of mismatched parts. We had a bunch of guys who all fit different schemes because we failed to create an offensive identity. From my understanding of McVay’s scheme, it’s much more aggressive vertically and less challenging mentally for WRs. But they need to improve at WR.
Generally I’m feeling good right now. I believe in the guys tasked with developing Goff, and I believe in Goff. I think Goff has the goods to be as good as any QB in the game. That said, in order for Goff to take that step forward, we need to add offensive talent.
Personally, I don’t think Britt should be a priority. I’d rather have Garcon. Garcon is more proven, doesn’t have the baggage, and knows the scheme. I’ve more or less accepted that Britt is gone. I’m good with it. I don’t trust Britt without Fisher. The last time Jeff Fisher was fired Britt became a locker room cancer. We already had some issues with Britt quitting on routes in 2016. Quick? Some of our guys talked about players on this team going through the motions and mailing it in late last year. Brian Quick is an obvious example of a guy who mailed it in. His attitude is cancerous. Good riddance.
Give me a WR who knows the system with a track record of success over Britt. I think Garcon’s game will age better than Britt’s. I think Garcon has a much better track record. I think Garcon is a better leader for this young WR corp. And I think Garcon’s knowledge of the scheme would come in handy.
We need a proven player. I’ll pay market value for that. The market value on a player like Garcon or Jackson is $7 million to $9 million per year. I have a feeling that both end up in the $7.5 million to $8.5 million per year range.
If we re-sign Tru, we can’t afford all of the FA signings. That’s the struggle.
Austin would play the Jamison Crowder role. Austin hasn’t proven himself to be a deep threat.
I bet Thomas makes this team. Special teams alone will get him on the team. I’m taking Thomas over Marquez. I think Thomas is every bit the special teamer that Marquez is. And I think Thomas has shown a lot more potential at WR. Marquez doesn’t really offer much as a receiver.
No guarantees that Cooper or Spruce develop into anything.
OL
PFF actually ranked Buffalo’s OL around #10 in the NFL in both 2016 and 2015. So Kromer has been getting it done. In terms of scheme, he ran a PBS in New Orleans and Buffalo. I’m not sure what they ran in Chicago, but my bet is that it was a PBS.
Kromer normally looks for bigger, stronger guys. He values power/physicality and run blocking pretty highly. His philosophy is to build inside out. He believes that building a strong interior OL will significantly improve tackle play. I don’t think he’s going to be content with the interior OL. I can see this team going out and paying one of the top OGs on the market while also adding a Center in the draft and/or FA.
If I’m spending big FA money on an OL, I need to get a quality starter. Getting a mediocre LT doesn’t do anything for this team imo. A good/great OG does far more for this OL than a mediocre LT. So I think he’ll roll with Saffold or Greg at LT. There’s potential there. I’ll see what Kromer can do. Even if Greg doesn’t improve, we can do a lot to protect him if the we significantly improve the interior OL.
It seemed like our issues along the OL often came from blown assignments rather than our guys just getting manhandled. Greg and Saffold got repeatedly killed this year on stunts.
DEFENSE
I trust Phillips. He builds a scheme around what he has.
Wade generally prefers athletic, rangy ILBs. Wade’s scheme is all about attacking the ball. Look at the height and weight of Denver’s ILBs. They weren’t using thumpers. If you look at Denver, they’ve treated their ILBs as replaceable. They’ve largely looked for rangy, instinctive ILBs. I don’t know who was evaluating their ILBs, but that person is brilliant. He had Danny Trevathan (6’0″ 237) and Brandon Marshall (6’1″ 242) his first year in Denver. They let Trevathan leave in FA and replaced him with Todd Davis (6’1″ 230). Trevathan was a 6th round pick. Marshall was a 5th round pick whom the Jaguars cut. Todd Davis was a UDFA whom the Saints cut.
That’s why I’m not sweating the ILB spot. Personally, I think Barron and Ogletree can handle it. In fact Ogletree is a great fit for this scheme. Phillips is not going to use Ogletree in a thumper role. His role as a 3-4 ILB won’t be any different than his role in Gregg Williams’s defense. If anything, it’s probably a bit easier for him.
He reportedly did not want to work for the Redskins because he didn’t want to have to rebuild that defense. He took our job because he felt our defense had the right pieces.Barron and Hayes are the two guys who don’t 100% fit. Hayes could play a rotational role at DE. Barron could play ILB or SS. The other players fit this scheme perfectly well. Quinn has an identical body to a number of successful OLBs in Wade’s scheme. He’s the prototype for what Wade wants in a WOLB. The same is true of Ogletree at WILB.
znModeratorin theory this should all work. i see a better mix on the offensive staff than the previous regime to be honest.
Yes on both counts.
Interesting that for example Olson had a chance to be a coordinator and turned it down to be the qb coach for the Rams. (A lot of it had to do with living in LA, which I think was because of family.)
He has been a coordinator and/or qb coach since 2001. (Though he was at Purdue for a year in 2002…actually that was his 2nd stint at Purdue.) So that’s 5 years as a pro qb coach and 10 years as a pro coordinator.
And then guess who he coached in college before that. He was the qb coach at Purdue when Brees was there.
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znModeratorThis stuff has been posted before but it bears repeating.
1. KROMER HAS MCVAY TYPE BLOODLINES.
Kromer was the OL coach under Gruden in Oakland, then under Callahan (Callahan was McVay’s first choice as OC but it was blocked). Kromer then went to be the OL coach in Tampa under Gruden.2. OL COACH, RANKINGS ACROSS THE YEARS FROM 2009.
Here’s PFF rankings on the OLs he has coached since 2009. (PFF though does not have rankings for 2008, the year before Kromer was in N.O.)
N.O.
2008 Before Kromer, just not good (no ranking)
2009 4th
2010 14th
2011 1st
2012 4th2013-2014 he’s a coordinator for Chicago
2012, before Kromer, OL ranked 30th
2013, with Kromer, ranked 19th
2014, 15th
Though with the Bears, again, he’s the coordinator, and not the direct position coach.Buffalo
2014, before Kromer, 30th
2015, with Kromer, 8th
2016 11thznModeratorMatt LaFleur looking forward to facing some familiar foes
RICH HAMMOND
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lafleur-744290-coach-rams.html
The old Rams-49ers rivalry, damp in 2016 when both teams were awful, might be reignited, at least in the coaches’ offices. Now it’s LaFleur vs. Shanahan, and La Fleur vs. LaFleur.
Matt LaFleur, the Rams’ new offensive coordinator, will coach at least two games next season against two of his former colleagues from Atlanta: new 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and LaFleur’s younger brother Mike, hired this month by Shanahan as the 49ers’ receivers coach.
“It’s definitely going to be a transition,” Matt LaFleur told reporters Thursday, then joked, “We’re going to have to have a LaFleur family trophy that gets presented after our games. It’s going to be different, there’s no doubt about it. Those are some of my best friends. I love those guys, but not on game day, I can promise you that. There’s going to be some extra incentive to take it to them.”
The Rams would like to stay ahead of the 49ers in the NFC West standings, but they hope LaFleur can bring much more, and perhaps bring a little of the Matt Ryan magic to this coast.
LaFleur worked with Ryan, this year’s NFL MVP, for the past two seasons as the Falcons’ quarterbacks coach. LaFleur, who has never been a coordinator at the NFL or major-college level, won’t call plays for the Rams. Coach Sean McVay, who hired LaFleur this month, will retain those duties, but LaFleur will work as something of an offensive CEO and as part of the team that (hopefully) will develop Jared Goff.
LaFleur said it’s possible that McVay, who at 31 is the youngest head coach in the NFL, might hand over play-calling duties to LaFleur, 37, but LaFleur said he has plenty of work for now.
“We have a system that we’re going to put in place,” LaFleur said. “Sean and I worked together in Washington and I think, philosophically, our views are very similar, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to adapt to the players you have and put them in the best position to be successful.”
LaFleur was Washington’s first-year quarterbacks coach in 2010 when McVay, then 24, landed a job on the staff as a low-level assistant. LaFleur knew it wouldn’t take long for McVay to rise.
“I thought, ‘This guy is going to be a head coach someday’” LaFleur said of McVay. “It’s no surprise to me, how fast it’s happened, because he has a lot of the traits you look for in a leader. Number one, he’s got so much energy. He’s very knowledgeable. He’s got the work ethic.”
McVay identified LaFleur as his top offensive deputy, but had to wait three weeks to make the hire official because LaFleur and the Falcons advanced to the Super Bowl, where they suffered a devastating loss to New England.
LaFleur said he took a couple days to decompress with his family, then started work with the Rams on Monday. And while LaFleur talked about the importance of a balanced offense, it’s clear that the focus will be on improving Goff, who had uneven results in seven games as a rookie starter last season.
The Rams hope McVay, LaFleur and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson will form a strong trio of coaches to support Goff, but they’re not alone.
In the six weeks since the Rams’ season ended, Goff has started working with Tom House, the USC product, former pro pitcher and former pitching coach who has transitioned in recent years to work with NFL quarterbacks.
House works alongside Adam Dedeaux, grandson of legendary USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux. LaFleur praised their work with Ryan last year and expressed excitement about working with Goff.
“From what I’ve seen on tape, he’s got some of the key attributes that you always look for in a quarterback,” LaFleur said. “He’s a natural thrower. You never want to see your quarterback getting hit too much, but he doesn’t shy away from contact. That’s true of any good quarterback in this league.
“You’ve got to be able to hang in there in some uncomfortable pockets and uncomfortable situations, where you’re going to take a hit and deliver the football. I think he’s proven he will do that, on tape. That said, we want his jersey clean at the end of the game.”
znModeratorLaFleur’s aim is to turn lowly Rams into high-flying Falcons
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) As Matt LaFleur was helping the Atlanta Falcons prepare to play New England in the Super Bowl, he took special interest in one particular game, a 26-10 victory by the Patriots over the Los Angeles Rams.
LaFleur knew he would be joining new Rams head coach Sean McVay’s staff as offensive coordinator and ”paid a little more attention to that game,” the 37-year old said Thursday.
What that film showed is the scope of the challenge awaiting LaFleur, McVay and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson in overhauling the worst offense in the NFL last season. Quarterback Jared Goff made his third career start against the Patriots, throwing one of the five touchdown passes during his erratic rookie season. Running back Todd Gurley rushed for just 38 yards, and the Rams finished with 162 yards.
It was a stark contrast from the Falcons’ prolific offense, which led the league in points per game and yards per play in LaFleur’s second season as quarterbacks coach. However, LaFleur won’t make firmer judgements based on tape alone.
”I don’t think you really truly know until you start to work with these guys,” LaFleur said. ”We have a system that we’re going to put in place. Sean and I worked together in Washington. I think philosophically, our views are very, very similar. But I think at the end of the day, you have to be able to adapt to the players that you have and put them in the best position to be successful.”
LaFleur was quick to credit the Falcons’ improvement to greater familiarity with the scheme, personnel upgrades and hard work put in by the players during the previous offseason.
Goff is already doing his part to improve, working with pitching guru Tom House. Goff made the decision to work with House on his own, but LaFleur endorses it, having seen first-hand the impact House had on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
”They offer some things that maybe we can’t as coaches from just a strength and conditioning standpoint in terms of how these guys train and keep their core strong, keep their shoulders strong,” LaFleur said. ”You’re talking about a long season for these quarterbacks. I didn’t see Matt Ryan fall off from Day 1 to the Super Bowl, his arm strength was as good as it was at the beginning of the season.”
Goff should also benefit from the tutoring of LaFleur, McVay and Olson. While it is still to be determined how much LaFleur will work with Goff on a daily basis, LaFleur believes the similar philosophy and approach shared by all three coaches will prevent conflicting messages from overloading 2016’s No. 1 overall draft pick.
”When you see it the same as the other guys it makes for a much easier transition,” LaFleur said.
The immediate challenge for LaFleur is assessing the talent level on the current Rams’ roster and preparing for the draft and free agency, understanding exactly how a supporting cast contributes to the success or failure of a quarterback. As a college quarterback at Saginaw Valley State, LaFleur was throwing to two future NFL receivers, joking that ”it didn’t matter if I threw a good ball or a bad ball, odds are they were going to make me look good.” The Falcons benefitted from the signings of center Alex Mack and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, upgrading an offense that thrived on balance.
Goff’s struggles were compounded by Gurley’s sophomore slump, rushing for 221 fewer yards and four fewer touchdowns despite playing in four more games than his rookie season. LaFleur and McVay understand the importance of a strong running game from their time together in Washington, especially in helping a young quarterback get comfortable.
”It just alleviates pressure on everybody, from the offensive line to the quarterback,” LaFleur said.
znModeratorThe Staff: Aaron Kromer
Get to know new Rams offensive line coach Aaron Kromer as he sits down for an exclusive one on one interview with Rams reporter Dani Klupenger.
http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/The-Staff-Aaron-Kromer/b9113245-e4ff-4ca1-966f-27c7a08a0d17
February 16, 2017 at 8:24 pm in reply to: McVay, Phillips, + new assistant coaches…vids & transcripts, 2/10 & 2/15 #65331znModeratorThe Staff: Joe Barry
Get to know new Rams assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Barry as he sits down for an exclusive one on one interview with Rams reporter Dani Klupenger.
http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/The_Staff_Joe_Barry/d4bb3679-7af5-4a3e-a05e-babc7c827487
February 16, 2017 at 8:23 pm in reply to: McVay, Phillips, + new assistant coaches…vids & transcripts, 2/10 & 2/15 #65330znModeratorThe Staff: Joe Barry
Get to know new Rams assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Barry as he sits down for an exclusive one on one interview with Rams reporter Dani Klupenger.
http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/The_Staff_Joe_Barry/d4bb3679-7af5-4a3e-a05e-babc7c827487
February 16, 2017 at 8:22 pm in reply to: McVay, Phillips, + new assistant coaches…vids & transcripts, 2/10 & 2/15 #65328znModeratorBarry Glad to be Back in L.A., Working With Rams’ LBs
Myles Simmons
New Rams assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Barry is no stranger to Southern California. Barry spent his formative years in Los Angeles, playing linebacker at USC in the early 90s, then returning to USC as the program’s linebackers coach in 2010.
Barry’s history should make for a special reunion when he walks into the Coliseum as a Rams coach for the first time.
“I played at SC and I coached at SC, so to now go back and be able to coach for two years with the Rams, I can’t wait,” Barry said last Friday. “Little shoutout to the Trojans — the last time I was actually in that stadium, we beat UCLA 50-0. So I’m excited to be back in there.”
Barry comes over from Washington, where he spent the last two seasons as the club’s defensive coordinator. He said he had a few choices of jobs this offseason, but picked the Rams in large part because of his strong relationship with head coach Sean McVay.
“We worked together the last two years — he was the offensive coordinator, I was the defensive coordinator — so we got to be very close, worked hand in hand,” Barry said, adding he wasn’t surprised McVay received a head coaching job despite his age. “ I knew as soon as he went on these interviews, he was going to get a head job, just because I know what type of guy he is, I know how passionate he is, how smart he is. So, no, it did not shock me one bit.”
Barry also cited working with defensive coordinator Wade Phillips as a factor that brought him to L.A.
“To have a chance to work with [McVay], to have a chance to work with Wade Phillips — I pinch myself, I really do,” Barry said. “And to be back in Southern California with the Los Angeles Rams, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
While coaches are still early in their evaluation process, Barry said he’s been impressed with the Rams’ defensive effort from last season.
“Defensively, I know I’m very excited watching these guys. Going back and having watched 16 games, these guys play hard. They love football. You can tell they’re totally into it,” Barry said. “And for a starting point, that’s great. Now, we’ve got to implement coach Phillips’ system. But that’s what OTAs are for, that’s what minicamp is for, that’s what training camp is for.”
With the Rams switching from a 4-3 base defense to a 3-4, there will be some clear adjustments from a linebackers standpoint. Despite Los Angeles’ heavy reliance on nickel packages in 2016 — often leaving Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron as the Rams’ only linebackers on the field — Phillips said he’s not concerned about the relative inexperience in the rest of the room.
“I’ve been in this situation before. We’ve always come up with something. I don’t foresee a problem,” Phillips said. “We have some linebackers, some of them haven’t played much, but they look like they’re good players.”
Of the linebackers currently on the Rams’ roster, Barry said he’s been particularly impressed with Ogletree and Barron.
“Obviously, NFL coaches watch all the film every single week so you get to follow these guys’ careers,” Barry said. “And when Sean brought me on here, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I get 52 and 26?’ So they’re great guys, obviously great players. But everything that I’m hearing, they’re great leaders, they love the game, they love to prepare, they love to practice.”
Given the stipulations of the latest collective bargaining agreement, coaches cannot do much but have friendly conversations with players until the offseason program begins. But from the few times Barry has talked with Ogletree, he’s sensed the middle linebacker’s desire to be great.
“I coached Derrick Brooks in Tampa Bay for eight years — and that was something that Derek was just — it fueled him, it fired him to be the very best every single day he walked in the building,” Barry said. “Alec and I have already had that conversation. And the great thing is, he wants that. He wants to be the best linebacker.
“He doesn’t just want to be a good linebacker in this league, he wants to be elite. He wants to be the best,” Barry continued. “So when a player has that passion and that desire, that’s fun to coach.”
Between Barry and Phillips, the Rams have plenty of coaching experience to build their defense heading into 2017. And Barry is as eager as anyone to get the process going.
“I’m so excited to be here,” Barry said. “So excited to be with Sean. So excited to be with coach Phillips. And I can’t wait to get back in the Coliseum — I can’t wait for our players to get back in the building in April. I’m chomping at the bit.”
February 16, 2017 at 7:48 pm in reply to: Goff getting outside coaching help + other things Goff #65324znModeratorGoff working out at QB training facility in Los Angeles
Alden Gonzalez
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff, coming off a trying rookie season, has been working with noted quarterback coaches Tom House and Adam Dedeaux.
House and Dedeaux run 3DQB, a quarterback training facility based in Los Angeles. And one of their many notable clients is reigning MVP Matt Ryan.
Matt LaFleur, the Rams’ new offensive coordinator, spent the past couple of years as Ryan’s quarterbacks coach and is happy to see Goff receive similar instruction.
“I’ve seen the benefits,” LaFleur said while meeting with Rams reporters on Thursday. “What those guys do is pretty valuable, and it’s not always obviously with the time constraints that we can work with these guys. And I think they offer some things that maybe we can’t as coaches, from just a strength and conditioning standpoint in terms of how these guys train and keep their core strong, keep their shoulders strong.
“You’re talking about a long season for these quarterbacks. I didn’t see Matt Ryan fall off from day one to the Super Bowl. His arm strength was as good as it was at the end of the season. I think a lot of that was a credit to how he trained.”
LaFleur, who began his new job on Monday, indicated that Goff is still “experimenting” with his offseason program and that working with House and Dedeaux took place before LaFleur even joined the Rams.
MMQB.com earlier reported that Goff had been working out with House and Dedeaux.
House, who spent eight years pitching in the big leagues throughout the 1970s, began coaching quarterbacks by helping Drew Brees overcome major shoulder surgery in 2006. From there, House also worked with Tom Brady. And down the road, he teamed with Dedeaux, a former minor league pitcher and the grandson of celebrated USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux.
The two formed 3DQB around 2011. The program uses biomechanics to help get the most out of quarterbacks, their training composed of four key aspects: functional strength and conditioning, mechanics and motion analysis, nutrition and the mental side.
Heading into 2016, 3DQB was working with the likes of Brees, Ryan, Brady, Blake Bortles, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, Carson Palmer, Joe Flacco, Marcus Mariota, Eli Manning and Case Keenum, who began the season as the Rams’ starting quarterback.
Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, supplanted Keenum as the Rams’ starter in Week 11 and struggled over his last seven games, all of them losses. During that stretch, Goff had the NFL’s fewest yards per attempt (5.31), second-worst Total QBR (22.2), fourth-worst completion percentage (54.6) and fourth-lowest touchdown-to-interception ratio (0.71).
LaFleur, who will work closely with new quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, watched Goff at the combine last year.
“From what I’ve seen on tape, he’s got some of the key attributes that you always look for in a quarterback,” LaFleur said. “He’s a natural thrower. You never want to see your quarterback getting hit too much, but he doesn’t shy from contact. I think that’s true of any good quarterback in this league. You have to be able to hang in there in some uncomfortable pockets and some uncomfortable situations where you’re going to take a hit and deliver the football. He’s proven that he’ll do that on tape.”
February 16, 2017 at 7:18 pm in reply to: Wyche thinks Garcon could sign with Rams & other vids #65323znModeratorznModeratorNBC Just Implicated Mike Pence In The Flynn-Russia Cover-Up
link: http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/02/15/nbc-just-implicated-mike-pence-flynn-russia-cover/
The firestorm of controversy engulfing former National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn and President Trump over Flynn’s secret communications with Russian officials isn’t sparing Vice-President Mike Pence.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and White House Counsel Dan McGahn warned the White House that Flynn had lied about discussing sanctions in his calls with the Russian ambassador and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians in late January.
But NBC News is reporting that Trump decided not to share that information with Vice-President Pence until February 9th – six days ago.
Pence had spent the previous week on the media circuit defending Flynn before the world, making this revelation extremely embarrassing for him. It shows that Pence isn’t trusted or respected in the White House – or that this story is being leaked by Republican officials to insulate Pence from the fallout of this scandal so that he can smoothly take over when Trump is impeached or resigns in disgrace.
But once Pence was informed about the potentially treasonous communications by Gen. Flynn, he felt no need to actually do something about it. Rather than publically condemn him for misleading the White House or for attempting to conspire with representatives of a foreign power as a private citizen, Pence did nothing. The Washington Post reports that:
But even as Flynn flailed, Pence did not urge Trump to fire him, or lash out against him. Instead, said two officials familiar with the situation, Pence was disappointed and suggested that Flynn could publicly apologize. Others within the White House, however, thought what Flynn had done was egregious and unacceptable.
“The vice president is a very forgiving man,” said one White House official.
It just goes to show that the avowed anti-LGBT religious extremist is just as much of a hypocrite as the rest of the false patriots in the Republican Party. If they cared about the security of this nation as much as they claim to – or held the Trump administration to the same standards they held President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton – they’d be demanding for congressional investigations for the whole Trump team.Once again, it falls to the Democrats to make sure justice is served in this nation.
znModeratorI think they will look for a vet that knows something about the new system.
I have a suggestion then (not that they return my calls anymore).
Keenum.
Keenum played in the Kubiak WCO in Houston from 2012-2013. He also knows Wade Phillips because Wade was Houston’s interim coach at the end of 2013.
Kubiak has deep WCO bloodlines, having been the OC in Denver under Shanahan Sr. for 10 years.
So while Keenum hasn’t been in the WCO since 2013, he has been in it.
znModeratorRand Paul on Flynn: ‘Makes no sense’ to investigate fellow Republicans
CNN)Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday an investigation into the resignation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would be excessive and it would not make sense to investigate other Republicans.
“I think that might be excessive. It looks like the President has handled the situation, and unless there’s some kind of other evidence of malfeasance, this sounds like something that was internal White House politics and it looks like the President’s handled it,” Paul told the “Kilmeade and Friends” radio show.
Flynn resigned Monday evening amid revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about conversations he had in December with Russia’s ambassador to the US about sanctions placed on Russia. Pence had defended Flynn on television and denied he discussed sanctions after initial reports of the conversations.
And while several other Republican senators have called for investigation of the incident, Paul said it would not make sense to have more investigations, especially of fellow Republicans.
“I just don’t think it’s useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party. We’ll never even get started with doing the things we need to do, like repealing Obamacare, if we’re spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans. I think it makes no sense.”
znModeratori think i read somewhere that olson is good at drilling qbs on that kind of stuff.
Yeah that’s a big thing.
“Coach Olson taught me so much about protections,” Carr said. “We were one of the top two or three most-pressured teams in the NFL while still being one or two in least amount of sacks. His big deal is eliminating hits on the quarterback.”
that was was from 2015 when Olson went to the Jagz
Here’s the rankings on the Jagz sack percentage from 2014-16
2014 before Olson: 32nd (11.3%, which is just freaking awful)
2015: 10th
2016: 11thlink: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/report-greg-olson-to-rams-as-quarterbacks-coach/
znModeratorit was in regards to all the criticism grob has been receiving.
I actually tried to separate it from all that. That is, it can also be read just as a description of how much goes into setting up protections. To me that’s one of the big issues with Goff–it seems to me he has to get better at that.
February 14, 2017 at 11:26 pm in reply to: Trump campaign aides had repeated contacts with Russians prior to the election #65299znModeratorMemos: CEO of Russia’s state oil company offered Trump adviser, allies a cut of huge deal if sanctions were lifted
Natasha Bertrand
http://www.businessinsider.com/carter-page-trump-russia-igor-sechin-dossier-2017-1
A dossier with unverified claims about President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia contained allegations that Igor Sechin, the CEO of Russia’s state oil company, offered former Trump ally Carter Page and his associates the brokerage of a 19% stake in the company in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions on Russia.
The dossier says the offer was made in July, when Page was in Moscow giving a speech at the Higher Economic School. The claim was sourced to “a trusted compatriot and close associate” of Sechin, according to the dossier’s author, former British spy Christopher Steele.
“Sechin’s associate said that the Rosneft president was so keen to lift personal and corporate western sanctions imposed on the company, that he offered Page and his associates the brokerage of up to a 19 per cent (privatised) stake in Rosneft,” the dossier said. “In return, Page had expressed interest and confirmed that were Trump elected US president, then sanctions on Russia would be lifted.”
Four months before the intelligence community briefed Trump, then-President Barack Obama, then-Vice President Joe Biden, and the nation’s top lawmakers on the dossier’s claims — most of which have not been independently verified but are being investigated by US intelligence agencies — a US intelligence source told Yahoo’s Michael Isikoff that Sechin met with Page during Page’s three-day trip to Moscow. Sechin, the source told Yahoo, raised the issue of the US lifting sanctions on Russia under Trump.
Page was an early foreign-policy adviser to the Trump campaign. He took a “leave of absence” in September after news broke of his July trip to Moscow, and the campaign later denied that he had ever worked with it.
Page, for his part, was “noncommittal” in his response to Sechin’s requests that the US lift the sanctions, the dossier said. But he signaled that doing so would be Trump’s intention if he won the election, and he expressed interest in Sechin’s offer, according to the document.
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump suggested the sanctions could be lifted if Moscow proved to be a useful ally. “If you get along and if Russia is really helping us,” Trump asked, “why would anybody have sanctions if somebody’s doing some really great things?”
Page has criticized the US sanctions on Russia as “sanctimonious expressions of moral superiority.” He praised Sechin in a May 2014 blog post for his “accomplishments” in advancing US-Russia relations. A US official serving in Russia while Page worked at Merrill Lynch in Moscow told Isikoff that Page “was pretty much a brazen apologist for anything Moscow did.”
Page is also believed to have met with senior Kremlin internal affairs official Igor Diveykin while he was in Moscow last July, according to Isikoff’s intelligence sources. The dossier separately claimed that Diveykin — whom US officials believe was responsible for the intelligence collected by Russia about the US election — met with Page and hinted that the Kremlin possessed compromising information about Trump.
It is unclear whether Isikoff’s reporting is related to the dossier, which has been circulating among top intelligence officials, lawmakers, and journalists since mid-2016.
A scramble for a foreign investor
After mid-October, the dossier said, Sechin predicted that it would no longer be possible for Trump to win the presidency, so he “put feelers out to other business and political contacts” to purchase a stake in Rosneft.
Rosneft then scrambled to find a foreign investor, holding talks with more than 30 potential buyers from Europe, the US, Asia, and the Middle East. The company signed a deal on December 7 to sell 19.5% of shares, or roughly $11 billion, to the multinational commodity trader Glencore Plc and Qatar’s state-owned wealth fund. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is Glencore’s largest shareholder.
The “11th hour deal” was “so last minute,” Reuters reported, “that it appeared it would not close in time to meet the government’s deadline for booking money in the budget from the sale.”
The purchase amounted to the biggest foreign investment in Russia since US sanctions took effect in 2014. It showed that “there are some forces in the world that are ready to help Russia to circumvent the [West’s] sanction regime,” said Lilia Shevtsova, an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House.
“In Russia we have a marriage between power and business, and that is why all important economic deals need approval and the endorsement of the authorities,” Shevtsova said. “This was a very serious commercial deal that hardly could have succeeded without the direct involvement of the Kremlin.”
The privatization deal was funded by Gazprombank, whose parent company is the state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Page holds investments in Gazprom, though he claimed in a letter to FBI Director James Comey in September that he sold his stake in the company “at a loss.” His website says he served as an adviser “on key transactions” for the state-owned energy giant before setting up his energy investment fund, Global Energy Capital, in 2008 with former Gazprom executive Sergei Yatsenko.
There is no evidence that Carter played any role in the Rosneft deal. But he was back in Moscow on December 8 — one day after the deal was signed — to “meet with some of the top managers” of Rosneft, he told reporters at the time. Page denied meeting with Sechin, Rosneft’s CEO, during that trip but said it would have been “a great honor” if he had.
The Rosneft deal, Page added, was “a good example of how American private companies are unfortunately limited to a great degree due to the influence of sanctions.” He said the US and Russia had entered “a new era” of relations but that it was still “too early” to discuss whether Trump would be easing or lifting sanctions on Moscow.
Page’s extensive business ties to state-owned Russian companies were investigated by a counterintelligence task force set up last year by the CIA. The investigation, which is reportedly ongoing, has examined whether Russia was funneling money into Trump’s presidential campaign — and, if it was, who was serving as the liaison between the Trump team and the Kremlin.
The dossier claims that Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort asked Page to be the liaison. That claim has not been verified. Manafort served as a top adviser to a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine from 2004 to 2012 and emerged as a central figure in both the dossier and the intelligence community’s early inquiries into Trump’s ties to Russia.
February 14, 2017 at 11:21 pm in reply to: Trump campaign aides had repeated contacts with Russians prior to the election #65296znModeratorDid Trump Aides Speak With Russian Intelligence Before the Election?
According to The New York Times, the FBI found that several associates of the president had been in contact with Kremlin intelligence officials, despite months of official denials.If the leaks that doomed Michael Flynn were a signal from the intelligence community, perhaps the message they intended to carry was: You ain’t seen nothing yet.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-russian-contacts/516762/?utm_source=atlfb
The national security adviser’s abrupt resignation Monday night, which the White House says was a firing, came after it became clear that Flynn had lied to the public and to Vice President Mike Pence, alleging he had not discussed sanctions against Russia’s ambassador to the United States. On Tuesday evening, The New York Times added a set of new, if in some cases merely suggestive, information about further contacts between the Trump team and the Russian government—some of it directly contradicting statements made by Trump aides.
The newspaper reports that four current and former intelligence officers say that Trump political and business associates “had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election.” The contacts came in the context of Trump repeatedly praising Russian President Vladimir Putin on the trail, as well as what intelligence officials and the Obama administration say were Russian efforts to boost Trump’s presidential hopes with hacks targeting Hillary Clinton and her political allies.
The report directly contradicts statements made by Trump aides. In early November, just after the election, the Russian deputy foreign minster said the government had been in touch with the Trump team. Campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks, who is now at the White House, said then, “We are not aware of any campaign representatives that were in touch with any foreign entities before yesterday, when Mr. Trump spoke with many world leaders.”
In January, Vice President Mike Pence—whom Flynn also misled about his discussions with Kislyak, leading Pence to give misinformation in a CBS News interview—was adamant there had been no communication.
On Tuesday, during a perplexing press briefing at the White House, Press Secretary Sean Spicer once again said he did not believe that any Trump team members had been in touch with the Russian government before the election. “There’s nothing that would conclude me… that anything different has changed with respect to that time period,” Spicer said.
The Times says the NSA began intercepting conversations because they involved Russian intelligence operatives. Intelligence officials were curious to see if Trump’s associates were colluding at all in the hacks, which targeted the Democratic National Committee. They didn’t find any evidence they were. But they have looked closely at Flynn; Roger Stone, a flamboyant political operative who left the Trump campaign early on but continued to advise Trump; Carter Page, who left the campaign amid scrutiny of his relations in Russia; and Paul Manafort, who was Trump’s campaign manager for a time, and previously did business in Russia, at one advising a Kremlin client who was president of Ukraine.
Manafort denied any knowing contacts, but his response to the Times acknowledged that he may very well have been in touch with Kremlin agents.
“I have never knowingly spoken to Russian intelligence officers, and I have never been involved with anything to do with the Russian government or the Putin administration or any other issues under investigation today,” Manafort said, but added, “It’s not like these people wear badges that say, ‘I’m a Russian intelligence officer.’”
The Times also reports that the FBI continues to investigate a controversial dossier of allegations about Trump, prepared as opposition research by a former British intelligence official, revealed in a CNN report in January, and then published by BuzzFeed. The report’s author, Christopher Steele, seems to be held in high esteem by some intelligence figures, and FBI officials have made contact with some of his sources—but they have not, as yet, managed to confirm the dossier’s more salacious allegations.
The new report breaks serious new ground, but it also leaves a great amount unknown, and many questions unanswered. It’s unclear how closely the conversations reached to Trump, or what their substance was. Furthermore, intelligence agencies often investigate leads but find they lead nowhere, or find nothing prosecutable—a lesson highlighted by the inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Then again, the American public may not have to wait long to learn more. If the leaks continue at this pace, despite provoking Trump’s fury, the picture should grow clearer over the coming days.
znModeratorjust curious if its fixable
Depends on what it is, and, there’s probably not one explanation.
There’s several possibilities and I think more than one is in play.
* Gurley. Lost weight, lived in the fast lane, lost explosion, didn’t work out like he did before the 2015 season.
* Boras. My theory is he could not adjust well to defensive adjustments. So the Rams always scored more in the 1st quarter. This is significant because in 2015, a lot of Gurley’s big runs came in the 2nd half after the Rams adjusted to the way defenses were playing the run.
* teams tried to take Gurley away and they never quite had the qb who could take advantage of that. I like Keenum and think he’s a great #2 but he got worn down as defenses tightened up on the Rams passing game.
* OL? I suppose it’s a lot to ask to get a solid OL overnight from a group of same-year draft picks. Hav playing hurt made it even worse. I think moving took time away from football prep and study for the whole team, and on top of it they installed what was in effect a new offense…which personally I would not have done during a move. So a combination of factors just made the OL less effective.
* Cause of the above and more, they were all pressing and uncomfortable, you could see that practically all season.
I’m sure that’s not all.
I keep saying it was a perfect cluster storm of different things.
.
znModeratorThere’s some missing puzzle pieces with this whole Gurley/OL/scheme/can’t run story.
Nothing I read about it clears it up either. It just adds more pieces, and ones are still missing.
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