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znModeratorWell I’m not going to spend my life on this subject but I don’t see anything that you wrote that runs counter to my basic premise that children are born narcissistic -by necessity-and “learn” to be less so-or they don’t. I also understand this may be inconsistent to those who believe that children are born inherently good and become less so through the influence of a corrupt society. (which is what I believe Billy is saying)
The problem is your “premise” (ie. peconception) is refuted by science.
Children are born as developmental animals who are hard-wired to become empathetic animals as their brains develop. So yeah it’s hard-wired. Like almost all hard-wired human brain things, it can be influenced by a wide range of environmental and social and cultural issues but it’s there.
And a reminder. Chances are great that the majority of the scientists we cite (and we barely scratched the surface) are parents too. So they know all about children firsthand too.
znModeratorI don’t think the desire to be generous, kind, giving, ect. is “innate” at all. I’m not sure you have children Billy ( I’m betting you don’t) but if you have I suspect you would agree with me on this.
I bet all the psychologists who did the studies we’re citing have children.
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Child development
Sympathy is a stepping stone in both social and moral development. It generally arises between 2–3 years old, although some instances of empathic emotion can be seen as early as 18 months. Basic sharing of emotions, a precursor for sympathy, can be seen in infants. For example, babies will often begin to cry when they hear another baby crying nearby. This emphasizes the infant’s ability to recognize emotional cues in his or her environment, even if not able to fully comprehend the emotion. Another milestone in child rearing is the development of the ability to mimic facial expressions. Both of these processes act on sensory and perceptual pathways, yet executive functioning for empathic emotions does not begin during these early stages. Decety and Michalska (2010) believe that early affective development and later development of executive functions create a disparity between how children and young adults experience another person’s pain. Young children tend to be negatively aroused more often in comparison to the older subjects.
February 9, 2017 at 10:13 pm in reply to: Jason Cole: Rams receivers did not respect Jared Goff #65136znModeratorTo be honest, I dont get enough from that to think it means anything, if it even happened like Cole says.
A lot went wrong last year. Hard for me to take just this or that story as meaning much.
znModeratorNow you would just say, Race, Gender, Class, talk about em all in an intersectional related way, and dont emphasize one over another.
w
vYOu;re doing that be reasonable, thoughtful thing.
I didn’t watch my buddies die face down in the muck to just end up being “reasonable.”
znModeratorNot sure I want to debate this but I can tell you from being a parent and a grand parent my experience is that infants are the most narcissistic creatures around. Here is a Stanford study on how infants learn to be selfless and are not born that way.
http://www.parents.com/blogs/baby/2015/01/07/news/are-babies-born-selfish/
I’m a parent too. Along with being the child of a developmental psychologist.
W, no offense intended…but you can’t respond to EVERYTHING by saying “well from what I have personally seen….”
This is a fact—the psychology of infants and children points to empathetic structures in even developing minds. That’s years of exhaustive study that goes way beyond what you think you personally know. And from what I have read, advanced empathetic structures start to emerge around 4 or 5 years old. There are even signs of it in 12 month old infants.
So remember, much more than other mammals, we are born in effect premature and so definitely incomplete. Our brains and selves aren’t even formed yet. We actually DEVELOP and that means the brain develops.
So no you can’t generalize about humans from infant behavior that way. Human behavioral mechanisms actually develop with the brain.
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znModeratorWe really arent that far apart, for me, its more a matter of emphasis and a matter of ‘what audience are you aiming’ at.
Audience? The truth. (As near as that can be found or approached).
I am a leftist because to me the truth leads you there, and that is where there’s MORE truth. I actually believe that.
When I see some blithe jingoistic american dismiss the dark side of our history, I see someone living in myths in order to protect some (to me dubious) core beliefs.
When I see some blithely angry millennial go on about genocide to native people, I basically see just another slogan. It doesn’t move me.
To me, making the USA uniquely awful in its history is just the jingoistic view turned upside down.
It’s not uniquely awful in its history. To pick up on today’s theme, I challenge anyone to spend a day reading widely long and deeply about the story of the Kempeitai’s medical experiments on people. (Which to be fair is more than I’ve ever done…I have never actually finished anything I’ve read about that. Just can’t do it.)
To me the problem is that we need to challenge ourselves to be better. IMO that doesn’t come from inverted dark patriotism (what I call vampire patriotism.) I just don’t have much patience for that. It always strikes me as being more of the same, just upside down. I don’t find it the least bit enlightening or progressive.
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znModeratorOh I don’t think we’re born with compassion, sharing, caring and empathy to others-at all Billy Babies are the most selfish living things around. It’s not “instinctual” at all.
Yeah it is, W. Human infants are among the only animals on the planet who respond sympathetically to pain inflicted on others, for example.
Being a dependent infant is not so much “selfish” as it is just simply that, physical dependency. In fact compared to other mammals, relative to overall lifespan ratios, human infants are THE most dependent largely because they are, in effect, compared to other mammals, born prematurely and have a much longer span of absolute dependency built into their development.
That is not the same thing as becoming an adult who lacks empathetic connection or a sense or cooperative action. When we attack adults for bad behavior, we often say they are acting like a baby–that is, you’re supposed to transcend that kind of absolute self-centered dependency. That’s what we mean by maturing.
At the same time, yes, psychologically, all kinds of social structures are built into infants that lend themselves to empathetic and cooperative connection. It’s just there, it has been found and studied.
znModeratorMy own view is that it matters more to shine light on the war-crimes of the country you are IN.
My view is that doing a distorted or mythed-up version of anything is never progressive. And to me, ANY bumper-sticker, street slogan, reductive approach to ANYTHING is always in danger of being mythed-up if it has not already crossed that line already. In terms of highlighting and examining the war horrors of one’s own national history, absolutely we should do that and DO do that. This is the only conquering nation I can think of that is ambivalent about its own foundational conquest. So there actually is a lot of that. Apparently not enough to stop it from continuing, but struggling among other forces, that awareness is there.
To me this whole thing is really really tricky.
I see myths on the left about american war crimes that will not convince anyone of anything precisely because they ARE myths, and it is easy to expose them as such.
And meanwhile super-patriots deny all that stuff, or worse, glory in it.
You will find I will usually just simply resist the bumper-sticker version of anything. No matter where it comes from. Fascists, the right, moderates, liberals, and fellow lefties.
To me it is always better to be dialectical.
So for example in the Pacific theater, the USA fought in many cases to restore european colonists to local power. Their anti-japanese rhetoric was insanely racist. They made fire-bombing the population regular military policy. There were race riots in the pacific at places where black cargo workers were considered unwelcome by some white troops. This just goes on.
And. The Kempeitai are among the biggest monsters to ever exist. Right up there with Stalin and Hitler’s Germany, and in many respects–if this is even possible–far more horrifying. I have no second-thoughts about the defeat of the Kempeitai. And at the same time mixed in with all of this, local peoples such as in New Guinea and the Solomons welcomed americans for driving out the japanese, and these were people and places where the USA had no imperial/territorial ambitions.
To me if you’re not dialectical about things like that, then, the way I see it, it’s falling into the bottomless pit of sloganizing.
The left needs honest internal dissent too.
February 9, 2017 at 3:10 pm in reply to: reporters & analysts on the superbowl…including Cosell #65109znModeratorGreg Cosell’s Super Bowl Review: Inside the play that flipped the Patriots’ Super Bowl win
Greg Cosell
There has been a lot of criticism of Kyle Shanahan, the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator in Super Bowl LI. One of the plays that has been second-guessed is a pass play when the Falcons could have run it on a third-and-1 in the fourth quarter. That play that resulted in a crucial strip-sack.
What you won’t hear often is the play Shanahan dialed up should have been a huge gain. One key mental bust might have cost the Falcons an enormous play that could have sealed a Super Bowl win.
The Patriots went with “Cover 1,” a man concept, with a double team on Julio Jones. Safety Devin McCourty played inside and over the top of cornerback Eric Rowe, who had Jones. The Patriots had dedicated double teams on Jones often in the second half. That singled up Aldrick Robinson from the inside slot on cornerback Malcolm Butler, and Robinson ran right by Butler on the deep sail route. Robinson was wide open with nobody between him and the end zone (McCourty stepped up to take away Jones), and that’s where Ryan was going with the ball when he was hit by Dont’a Hightower. It’s reminiscent of Von Miller’s sack on Cam Newton, when Newton was trying to throw to a wide-open Devin Funchess deep downfield in Super Bowl 50.
Ryan didn’t have a chance to throw it because running back Devonta Freeman never recognized Hightower as a blitzer. Hightower aligned outside of flexed “X iso” tight end Austin Hooper, and Freeman focused inside. Freeman was surprised Hightower rushed and was not in position to pick him up on what should have been an easy blitz pickup. With one more beat, Ryan would have been throwing deep to a wide-open Robinson.
znModeratorTo me, it’s vital to remember that even in the midst of supposedly “just wars,” even the supposedly “good guys” commit war crimes and atrocities**.
In all fairness I covered that BT. Namely, when I said, “in the interests of precision, can you think of any participant in any war that did not commit war crimes?”
When it comes to ww2, I have no regrets.
My view always is, look to the future and find ways to alter our actions.
And, again, it was just a vote. If you don’t agree, that’s your vote, and our votes then differ.
February 9, 2017 at 11:44 am in reply to: Jason Cole: Rams receivers did not respect Jared Goff #65106znModerator. His snap count would be an interesting stat.
791.
It wasn’t that high compared to other WRs but not horrible. I would say he was at the bottom of the top third.
znModeratorAnd in both, there were all kinds of war crimes committed by “our side.”
This is a free-flowing “my vote is” response and not an effort to win anything. Just contributing to the mix. Given that, in the interests of precision, can you think of any participant in any war that did not commit war crimes?
And this isn’t coming from, obviously, any kind of jingoistic patriotic “place.”
My own feeling about WW2 is, the japanese practiced vivisection as a technique of medical research on human bodies. (I have never made it through an entire article or chapter about this without just stopping cold and putting it down.) And that’s just one of the things they did. So, no deep soul-searching from me about that one.
And that’s quite deeply NOT aimed at the japanese as an ethnicity/nationality/people. The Kempeitai (military police) was the basis of the Japanese military fascists power and dominated ordinary japanese society in ways that went beyond even the Gestapo in Germany (and I am of course not even mentioning Germany whose monstrosities are just better known). What we call “the japanese in ww2” are a mixture of policies, some of which, like the domination of the Kempeitai, was just an historical outcome and not a fore-ordained social/cultural inevitability.
I know that Vietnam pro-war types would speak in much the same way about the americans being relatively speaking the good guys in WW2 as a way of, strangely, trying to silence current anti-war arguments. I remember those days. They were kind of using a half-truth to make a bad case.
My own view is that a genuine coming to terms with all that amounts to looking forward and saying “must stop doing that.” Cause the past? Well every human being on the entire planet today is either living in a place that had once belonged to someone else and was taken by conquest, or they are among the conquered (like Australian original native people, who did not find other people there when they got there many thousands of years ago, so don’t qualify as conquerors). So I tend not to get moved by arguments about this or that group’s war history. It’s ALL war history.
znModeratorYou say he might not believe that stuff – he’s just saying it to build a political base. But if he doesn’t believe in that stuff, what’s the point of building a political base that believes in that stuff? I mean, he’s trying to create a world where that stuff is the norm, right? Why would he want that if he didn’t believe in it?
Well see also, it’s pretty much enough that he doesn’t condemn it.
So if you said build a left-oriented political base, would I include (made up for the sake of the discourse) the Sons of Stalin (whose slogan is “a purge or two wouldn’t be a bad thing right now.”)
Well no. I would also shun them if not openly condemn them.
I mean who thinks that white supremacists are useful allies. Even mainstream republicans don’t do that.
znModeratorReport: Split between Steve Sarkisian, Alabama mutual amid deteriorating relationship with Nick Saban
https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/steve-sarkisian-alabama-mutual
It looks like the split between Alabama and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian may not only have been mutual, but planned.
Sources confirmed to SB Nation that Sarkisian and head coach Nick Saban saw their relationship deteriorate after the National Championship because of differences in offensive “system philosophy.”
Those sources confirmed that Saban knew about Sarkisian’s contact with the Falcons and that the two sides “planned to move on following National Signing Day.” According to the sources, the relationship between Saban and Sarkisian was “too similar” to his relationship with former offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, which was famously rocky.
“There was an effort on Saban’s part not to repeat the same problem. This wasn’t going to work out,” a source close to Sarkisian told SB Nation.
The Falcons confirmed that they were hiring Sarkisian on Tuesday afternoon, just two days after losing the Super Bowl and a day after former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was officially announced as the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach.
February 9, 2017 at 2:12 am in reply to: Rams go after Mark LaFleur for OC…and then, hire him #65080znModeratorSean McVay Brings Matt LaFleur On Board to Help Retool Rams’ offense
The Los Angeles Rams continued their coaching staff overhaul Wednesday morning by announcing that former Atlanta Falcons quarterback coach Matt LaFleur will take over as offensive coordinator. LaFleur will reunite with Rams new head coach Sean McVay after the two worked together as assistants for the Washington Redskins from 2010-13.
According to ProFootballTalk.com, McVay still plans on calling the plays for the Rams’ offense, but he will also use the previous time spent with LaFleur to help the unit reach their full potential. Keep in mind the 37-year-old LaFleur aided in the development of Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins while coaching for the Redskins, which is why the team is excited to now have him on board to help with the development of Jared Goff.
LaFleur worked under new San Francisco 49ers head coach and former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan the last two seasons while helping Matt Ryan and the Falcons improve from seventh offensively in 2015 to the highest-scoring offense in 2016. Not to mention Atlanta’s berth in Super Bowl 51, despite the devastating loss to the New England Patriots.
LaFleur’s main focus will be on the development of Goff in 2017, as the former California star will enter next year still in search of his first career win. How successful this new coaching staff is during their first season together will most likely fall on the shoulders of Goff since management traded six picks before the 2016 draft to acquire him. As a rookie, Goff finished with a 39.7 PFF grade after officially taking over as the starter in Week 11.
That number can be misleading due to the Rams lack of diverse play-calling and mediocre offensive line play. Goff completed just 54.6 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,089 yards to go along with five touchdowns and seven interceptions in the eight games he appeared in.
There was speculation the Falcons may take a look at LaFleur as a replacement at offensive coordinator for, Shanahan, but those rumors were quickly put to rest after the team announced Tuesday morning the hiring of former USC head coach and Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. Now that LaFleur is officially on board with Los Angeles, let’s hope the addition pays off by helping turn around an offense that ranked at the bottom of the league in 2016 by only averaging 14 points per game.
February 9, 2017 at 2:07 am in reply to: Rams coaches (including finally the official, complete list) #65078znModeratorRams’ Sean McVay completes first staff as NFL head coach
Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams announced their full coaching staff under Sean McVay, who, at 31, is the youngest head coach in the NFL’s modern era.
Wade Phillips agreed to become the Rams’ defensive coordinator shortly after McVay got the job on Jan. 12, and Matt LaFleur committed to being the offensive coordinator after the Falcons lost Super Bowl LI, though McVay will call the offensive plays in 2017. John Fassel, the interim coach in the three games that followed Jeff Fisher’s firing in December, will remain the special-teams coordinator, as previously reported.
The Rams announced their staff on Wednesday afternoon. In a statement, McVay said: “We have a great group of talented coaches that I’m very excited to work with this year. They have a vast array of experiences and the qualities we are looking for as we build this staff. Their unique insight to the game will collectively make this team better as we prepare for the 2017 season.”
Below is a look at the offensive and defensive assistants.
OFFENSE
Aaron Kromer (offensive line): Kromer has spent 11 years as an offensive line coach for four NFL teams, including the Raiders (2002-04), Buccaneers (2006-07), Saints (2009-12) and Bills (2015-16). He also was the offensive coordinator for the Bears in 2013-14 and served as the Saints’ interim coach for the first six games of 2012, when the Saints were penalized in the infamous bounty scandal. In his two years as their offensive line coach, the Bills led the NFL with 5.06 rushing yards per carry.
Andy Dickerson (assistant offensive line): One of three holdovers from the prior staff, Dickerson spent the last five years as the Rams’ assistant offensive line coach, previously working under Paul Boudreau. Dickerson served similar roles with the Browns and Jets. He also worked in operations for the Patriots and was an offensive lineman at Tufts University in Boston.
Greg Olson (quarterbacks): He’s spent 15 years in the NFL as an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach or both, including a stint as offensive coordinator with the then-St. Louis Rams in 2006-07. His most recent stint came as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator, a post he was fired from in late October. In his first year on the job, in 2015, the Jaguars’ offense made significant strides, averaging nearly 350 yards and 24 points per game. But the unit regressed in the first two months of 2016, specifically in the running game, and quarterback Blake Bortles struggled with his mechanics.
Skip Peete (running backs): Peete returns to this post for the second year. In his first year with the Rams, in 2016, Todd Gurley, the Offensive Rookie of the Year the year before, struggled mightily, ranking 41st among 42 qualified running backs in rushing yards per carry. Peete also coached running backs for the Bears, Cowboys and Raiders.
Eric Yarber (wide receivers): Yarber has spent the last five years coaching wide receivers at UCLA. An L.A. product who won a Super Bowl with the Redskins mainly as a special-teams contributor in 1987, Yarber coached receivers in the NFL with the 49ers (2003-04) and Buccaneers (2010-11). In between, he coached receivers collegiately at Washington and Arizona State.
Zac Taylor (assistant wide receivers): Served on the Dolphins’ staff in 2012-15, coaching quarterbacks and then serving as the interim offensive coordinator for the final five games of the 2015 season. After that, Taylor took a job to be the Cincinnati Bearcats’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In Miami, Taylor played a big part in grooming quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Shane Waldron (tight ends): Spent last year as an offensive quality control coach with the Redskins, working under McVay. Prior to that, Waldron spent four years at UMass, as a recruiting coordinator, tight ends coach and offensive line coach. He also spent five seasons with the Patriots, as an operations intern (2002-03), operations assistant (2004), quality control coach (2008) and tight ends coach (2009).
Zak Kromer (offensive quality control): Son of Aaron Kromer, Zak Kromer was an entry level assistant with his father on the Bills last season. Prior to that, Zak spent four years as a student assistant for the University of Oklahoma’s football team.
DEFENSE
Bill Johnson (defensive line): Johnson spent the last eight years coaching Saints defensive linemen and was one of five assistants let go shortly after the regular season. Johnson served in the same role with the Broncos (2007-08) and Falcons (2001-06). His son, Billy, is an area scout with the Rams. The Saints ranked 27th in total defense and sacks this past season. But Johnson was part of a Super Bowl-winning staff in 2009, and the Saints ranked fourth in sacks per attempt in 2013.
Joe Barry (assistant head coach/linebackers): Barry has served as defensive coordinator with the Lions (2007-08) and Redskins (2015-16). Redskins coach Jay Gruden then let Barry go after back-to-back seasons in which his defense ranked 28th in yards allowed. Barry coached linebackers with the Buccaneers (2001-06, 2009) and Chargers (2011-14), as well as at USC (2010).
Chris Shula (assistant linebackers): Grandson of Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, Chris Shula spent the last two years as the Chargers’ defensive quality-control coach. Prior to that, Shula coached linebackers at Ball State (2010) and defensive backs at Indians (2011-13), then spent the 2014 season as the defensive coordinator at John Carroll University. McVay was Shula’s college teammate at Miami (Ohio).
Aubrey Pleasant (cornerbacks): Spent the last four years with the Redskins, working as an offensive assistant in 2013 before transitioning to defense, serving as an assistant who worked primarily with defensive backs. Pleasant worked under Barry these last two years. After Barry’s dismissal, the Redskins were reportedly getting ready to promote Pleasant to defensive backs coach, but the two could not work out a new contract.
Ejiro Evero (safeties): Evero spent 2016 as the Packers’ defensive quality control coach and five prior years with the 49ers, as a defensive assistant, offensive assistant and quality control coach. With the Packers, Evero worked closely with defensive coordinator Dom Capers and, according to the team website, was responsible for “breaking down opponent game film and analyzing their offensive tendencies, playbook development, compiling team and player reports, and coordinating the opponent scout teams the starting defense will face at practice.”
Thad Bogardus (defensive quality control): Served as defensive quality control coach with the Bills in 2014, then moved to the Broncos in 2015 and ’16, working under Phillips. Bogardus began his career as a graduate assistant at Ball State in 2012-13.
February 9, 2017 at 2:04 am in reply to: Rams go after Mark LaFleur for OC…and then, hire him #65077znModeratorThree Things to Know about Rams OC Matt LaFleur
Myles Simmons
While we’ve known for a while Rams head coach Sean McVay tapped Wade Phillips to be the club’s defensive coordinator, Los Angeles announced the rest of the team’s staff on Wednesday evening. With that, here are three things to know about the Rams’ new offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur.
1) Plenty of experience working with QBs
LaFleur, 37, is entering his first offensive coordinator role after a successful stint as the Falcons’ quarterbacks coach. Spending the 2015 and 2016 seasons in Atlanta, LaFleur helped lead quarterback Matt Ryan to his 2016 MVP season, as he reached career highs in yards (4,944), touchdowns (38), completion percentage (69.9), yards per attempt (9.3), passer rating (117.1), and a career low in interceptions (seven).
While McVay has said he will call plays for Los Angeles in 2017, becoming the Rams’ offensive coordinator is a natural step in LaFleur’s career progression.
2) Has a history with McVay
To this point, all of LaFleur’s NFL experience has come working under new 49ers head coach — and former Falcons offensive coordinator — Kyle Shanahan. That began in 2008, as LaFleur was hired as the Texans offensive quality control coach with Shanahan as the team’s offensive coordinator.
But LaFleur’s path crossed with that of McVay at Shanahan’s next stop, Washington, where the two spent four years on the same staff. In 2010, head coach Mike Shanahan hired his son, Kyle, to be the team’s offensive coordinator. And he brought LaFleur with him from Houston to be Washington’s quarterbacks coach. Under his tutelage, quarterback Robert Griffin III was named 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year after passing for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just five interceptions — compiling the league’s lowest interceptions rate (1.3 percent). Griffin also rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns that season.
In those four years, McVay and LaFleur struck up a friendship, one that should only help Los Angeles develop its offense.
3) Former college quarterback and wide receiver
LaFleur began his collegiate career as a wide receiver for Western Michigan before transferring to Saginaw Valley State to play quarterback. There, he helped lead SVSU to one Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and the NCAA Division II playoffs all three years he played.
He began his coaching career at both schools where he played, starting as an offensive assistant at SVSU in 2003 before spending 2004-2005 as an offensive assistant for Western Michigan under current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. He went back to work under Kelly in 2014, coaching the Fighting Irish quarterbacks.
February 9, 2017 at 12:51 am in reply to: Jason Cole: Rams receivers did not respect Jared Goff #65075znModeratorHere;s a link to the actual Jason Cole report: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2691948-insider-buzz-rams-wrs-did-not-respect-rookie-qb-jared-goff
znModeratorWhy Bannon is so dangerous
Let us count the ways.
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February 8, 2017 at 10:39 pm in reply to: Rams could not wait for Kyle Shanahan with McVay in the wings #65068znModeratorso i’m reading shanny ain’t hiring an offensive coordinator?
maybe the rams made the right decision.
Report: Kyle Shanahan won’t hire an offensive coordinator
Report: Kyle Shanahan won’t hire an offensive coordinator
Josh Alper
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has a lot of experience as an offensive coordinator and he will reportedly be putting that to work in his new role.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Shanahan is not expected to hire an offensive coordinator to his first 49ers staff. It’s not unusual for head coaches to call offensive plays, but the lack of an offensive coordinator is outside the norm as 30 teams have them or are expected to have them on staff in 2017 with the Browns as the only team that is going without the title.
Per Rapoport, the 49ers plan to hire Falcons offensive assistant Mike McDaniel as their “run-game guru” and Rich Scangarello as their quarterbacks coach. Scangarello was on the Falcons staff in 2015 before moving to Wagner College as their offensive coordinator. He’s also worked for the Raiders on the NFL level.
The 49ers will formally introduce Shanahan as their head coach at a Thursday press conference and his plans for the rest of the coaching staff will surely be on the agenda when he meets the media.[
February 8, 2017 at 8:49 pm in reply to: Rams coaches (including finally the official, complete list) #65063znModeratorWell I had questions above but this clears it all up.
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RAMS’ MCVAY FINALIZES COACHING STAFF
LOS ANGELES – Rams Head Coach SEAN MCVAY announced today that his 18-member coaching staff is complete.
“We have a great group of talented coaches that I’m very excited to work with this year,” McVay said. “They have a vast array of experiences and the qualities we are looking for as we build this staff. Their unique insight to the game will collectively make this team better as we prepare for the 2017 season.”
McVay previously announced WADE PHILLIPS as defensive coordinator on Jan. 19. Joining him as coordinators are MATT LAFLEUR who will oversee the offense and JOHN FASSEL who returns to the Rams for his sixth season as special teams coordinator.
McVay’s offensive staff will consist of ANDY DICKERSON (assistant offensive line), AARON KROMER (offensive line), ZAK KROMER (offensive quality control), GREG OLSON (quarterbacks), SKIP PEETE (running backs), ZAC TAYLOR (assistant wide receivers), SHANE WALDRON (tight ends) and ERIC YARBER (wide receivers).
Making up the defensive staff are JOE BARRY (assistant head coach/linebackers), THAD BOGARDUS (defensive quality control), EJIRO EVERO (safeties), BILL JOHNSON (defensive line), AUBREY PLEASANT (cornerbacks), and CHRIS SHULA (assistant linebackers). TED RATH (strength and conditioning) rounds out McVay’s staff and will enter his first season with the team as the strength and conditioning coach.
2017 LOS ANGELES RAMS COACHING STAFF
• John Fassel (Special Teams Coordinator) – Served as the Rams’ special teams coordinator for the past five seasons where his units have consistently finished in the top tier of league rankings. Was Los Angeles’ interim head coach for the final three games of 2016. Led the Oakland Raiders’ special teams (2008-11) and served as an assistant in Baltimore (2005-07) prior to joining the Rams in 2012. Is the son of former Giants Head Coach Jim Fassel.
• Matt LaFleur (Offensive Coordinator) – Entering his first NFL season as an offensive coordinator following a two-year stint with the Atlanta Falcons (2015-16) coaching quarterbacks, where he concluded the 2016 season with an NFC Championship title. Held the same position with the Washington Redskins (2010-13) where he coached alongside McVay. First NFL coaching position came in 2008 where he served as an offensive assistant with the Houston Texans (2008-09). Made five collegiate coaching stops over the course of his career which began in 2003 at his alma mater, Saginaw Valley State.
• Wade Phillips (Defensive Coordinator) – Brings 39 seasons of coaching experience to Los Angeles, which includes 25 as a coordinator (seven teams) and nine as a full-time head coach (three teams). Previously held the same position with the Denver Broncos the past two seasons where he helped led the club to a victory in Super Bowl 50. Named Assistant Coach of the Year twice by the Pro Football Writers of America (2011 & 2015). Started his NFL career with the Houston Oilers under his father, Head Coach Bum Phillips.
• Joe Barry (Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers) – Now in his 16th NFL season, including four as a defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins (2015-16) and the Detroit Lions (2007-08). In his first stint coaching linebackers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he helped lead the team to their first championship with a 48-21 win over the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
• Thad Bogardus (Defensive Quality Control) – Joins the Rams for his fourth season as an NFL assistant. Started his NFL career in 2014 with the Buffalo Bills as a defensive quality control coach and went to the Denver Broncos for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Began his career as a graduate assistant at Ball State (2012-13).
• Andy Dickerson (Assistant Offensive Line) – Enters his 11th NFL season and sixth with the Rams after serving as an assistant for the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. Also worked in operations for the New England Patriots and played offensive line at Tufts University in Boston.
• Ejiro Evero (Safeties) – Begins his first season with Los Angeles after spending 2016 as the defensive quality control coach for the Green Bay Packers. Spent five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-2015) as a defensive assistant, offensive assistant and quality control coach. Name is pronounced e-JEE-row EV-uh-row.
• Bill Johnson (Defensive Line) – Coached defensive line for nearly four decades and boasts 16 years of NFL experience. Comes to Los Angeles from New Orleans where he developed the Saints defensive line for eight years. Served in the same role with the Denver Broncos (2007-08) and the Atlanta Falcons (2001-06). Son, Billy, is entering his fifth year with the Rams as an area scout.
• Aaron Kromer (Offensive Line) – Was the Buffalo Bills’ offensive line coach the last two seasons and prior to that, served as the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach of the Chicago Bears (2013-14). Other NFL stops include the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders. Coached nine years on the collegiate level prior to entering the NFL ranks.
• Zak Kromer (Offensive Quality Control) – Comes to Los Angeles after coaching in the same capacity for the Buffalo Bills during the 2016 season. Prior to joining the Bills, he was a student assistant for the University of Oklahoma’s football team.
• Greg Olson (Quarterbacks) – Joins the Rams for his second coaching stint with the club where he previously served as an offensive coordinator from 2006-07. Resume includes nine seasons as an offensive coordinator in the NFL with four franchises and 30 years total of coaching experience.
• Skip Peete (Running Backs) – Veteran of 18 seasons as an NFL assistant returns to Los Angeles for his second season. His previous coaching stops include coaching running backs for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and Oakland Raiders. His father, Willie, was a longtime college and NFL coach, and his brother, Rodney, played 16 seasons as an NFL quarterback.
• Aubrey Pleasant (Cornerbacks) – Coached with McVay at the Washington Redskins for four seasons beginning in 2013. Started his NFL career as an offensive assistant in Washington before transitioning to a defensive quality control a year later. Became the Redskins’ assistant defensive backs coach in 2016.
• Ted Rath (Strength and Conditioning) – Enters his ninth NFL season and first with Los Angeles after spending 2016 with the Miami Dolphins as the club’s strength and conditioning coach and the previous seven seasons with the Detroit Lions in the same capacity (2009-15).
• Chris Shula (Assistant Linebackers) – Hired as a defensive quality control by the San Diego Chargers in 2015 and previously served as defensive coordinator at John Carroll University. Played college football with McVay at Miami (Ohio) and is the son of former Bengals Head Coach David Shula and grandson of Don Shula, Hall of Fame head coach of the Colts and Dolphins.
• Zac Taylor (Assistant Wide Receivers) – Comes to Los Angeles after spending 2016 as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats. Began his NFL coaching career coaching quarterbacks for the Miami Dolphins staff in 2012 and was named offensive coordinator in 2015. His brother, Press, is an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Shane Waldron (Tight Ends) – Was a member of the Washington Redskins’ staff last season and served as the team’s offensive quality control coach. His other professional football coaching experience includes the wide receivers for the Hartford Colonials (UFL), and tight ends and offensive quality control for the New England Patriots.
• Eric Yarber (Wide Receivers) – Most recently coached wide receivers at UCLA dating back to 2012 after two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and five seasons in the NFL overall. Other coaching stops include the Seattle Seahawks, Oregon State, San Francisco 49ers, University of Washington and Arizona State. Was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1986 and was part of the team that won Super Bowl XXII.
znModeratorWell, all that philosophizing is fine and well, but what about my conundrum???
I assume you’re referring to which school you sent your own kids to, the arts school or the regular public school. This from me is some free wandering within the general confines of the same topic.
This to me is always a personal decision. In my view we rightly support public schools by paying for them, and we support them out of principle. I am not for using those public funds to support private schools of any kind. That’s even in the individual instance, Mack, like yours, where particular local issues make it a difficult choice. Maybe there are some alternative ways to think of this, ones that don’t hand the ball and the game to religious and right libertarian special interests?
In terms of the adequacy or inadequacy of any given public school, at the level of principle, that to me is always a local issue. Conditions aren’t always the same. Both my kids did absolutely fine in public schools and one had special medical conditions involved that directly impacted learning. Different schools have different issues with special needs kids. That changes, I assume, from district to district and state to state.
My view is that we simply cannot afford as a society to make public school funding optional in any way shape or form that robs public schools of their general mandate. That’s on top of the fact that the people who have taken over the charter school movement are basically asking us to fund directly religious schools. That is completely unacceptable.
Way back when, in a previous century, I attended a jesuit prep high school. In retrospect, in spite of being at the time a troublesome and generally half-hearted student, I like what they offered. But I would never endorse using public money to support that school. And that’s even granting that in my case anyway there was no religious orientation directing the curriculum—it was just a secular school under the jesuit banner. Even given that, they crossed a line by being identified with a religious orientation, and to me that line has to be absolute IMO.
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February 7, 2017 at 9:03 pm in reply to: Rams go after Mark LaFleur for OC…and then, hire him #65039znModeratorRams Ink Former Falcons QB Coach Matt LaFleur As New OC
Rams Ink Former Falcons QB Coach Matt LaFleur As New OC
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Matt LaFleur is the most recent member of the Atlanta Falcons’ coaching staff to leave for another job after the team’s historic collapse in Super Bowl LI.
The ex-Falcons quarterbacks coach is leaving the team to become the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
There were reports over the weekend that the Rams were interested in interviewing LaFleur.
LaFleur was the QB coach for the Washington Redskins from 2010-13, where current Rams head coach Sean McVay was a colleague. He then spent the past two years in Atlanta where he worked with NFL MVP Matt Ryan.
McVay still plans on calling the plays, but his experience working with LaFleur could help get the Rams’ offense back on track, with Jared Goff heading into his second season and Todd Gurley looking to get back to a caliber level.
He is the second coach to leave Dan Quinn’s staff this week after offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan took the head coaching job with the San Francisco 49ers.
znModeratorYeah, another low point.
But then it’s not like education is that important.
Sigh.
February 7, 2017 at 6:39 pm in reply to: reporters & analysts on the superbowl…including Cosell #65032znModeratorWhat The Hell Was Kyle Shanahan Thinking?
Tom Ley
You’ve watched enough football games to understand what’s supposed to happen when a team is up 28-12 and has the ball with 9:40 left to play. They run the ball as much as they can, they squeeze every second out of the game clock, and they win the goddamn game.
Here is a complete list of all the times the Falcons ran the ball after being up 28-12 with 9:40 left to play in the Super Bowl:
9:40 Tevin Coleman takes a toss to the right side for eight yards
9:00 Tevin Coleman runs up the middle for one yard, is injured
5:18 Devonta Freeman runs to the right end for two yards
4:40 Devonta Freeman runs to the left end for -1 yard
And that’s it! That is a complete list all the times Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan thought to run the ball while protecting a lead in the final minutes of the Super Bowl—this despite the fact that he was working with one of the best running attacks in the league, which had spent the first half of the game shredding the Patriots’ defense.After the game, Shanahan was asked about his decision not to run the ball more, and he defended himself rather unconvincingly. “You always want to run the ball if you can,” he said. “You gotta look at each situation when you’re getting the ball, what’s the down and distance.”
A fair enough answer, but there were two crucial moments in the fourth quarter when Shanahan’s decision to throw the ball resulted in massive swings in the Patriots’ favor. After Julio Jones’s miracle catch on the sideline, all Shanahan had to do was call for three runs up the middle and hand, at worst, a 39-yard field goal over to his kicker. Instead, he abandoned the run and his team managed to lose 23 yards.
There was a similar situation on the drive before that one. After back-to-back runs by Coleman left the Falcons with a 3rd and 1 from their own 35, Shanahan had Matt Ryan drop back instead of instead of trusting his run game to gain one yard and keep the clock ticking. Ryan was strip-sacked and the Patriots needed to go just 30 yards to pull within eight points.
It wasn’t just the play calling that was strange, either. Throughout the fourth quarter, the Falcons kept snapping the ball without letting the play clock run all the way down. I counted four instances in the fourth quarter when the Falcons snapped the ball with 10 seconds or more on the play clock while the game clock was still running. That kind of Andy Reid-ish clock management goes deservedly unnoticed when it happens in a normal game, but when you allow the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, every little thing deserves to be scrutinized.
Falcons fans will remain haunted by a plethora of horrors from this Super Bowl. If there’s one person who could have prevented all of them from coming into existence, though, it’s the guy who was unable to execute a fourth-quarter offense that every teen who’s ever played Madden could have pulled off.
znModeratorThe Bourgeois Blues
Lead Belly
Lord, in a bourgeois town
It’s a bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
Home of the brave, land of the free
I don’t wanna be mistreated by no bourgeoisie
Lord, in a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
Well, me and my wife we were standing upstairs
We heard the white man say “I don’t want no niggers up there”
Lord, in a bourgeois town
Uhm, bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
Well, them white folks in Washington they know how
To call a colored man a nigger just to see him bow
Lord, it’s a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
I tell all the colored folks to listen to me
Don’t try to find you no home in Washington, DC
‘Cause it’s a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all aroundznModeratorAccording to official league reports, Brady belongs to the eerie world of the undead.
I am not sure if that type is compelled by rule to ever retire.
February 6, 2017 at 12:43 pm in reply to: Rams go after Mark LaFleur for OC…and then, hire him #65005znModeratorWell, i blame LaFleur for teaching Ryan
how to take a sack to lose a Super Bowl.w
vbingo…..
I think they could have recovered from the sack. IMO it was the holding call that killed them.
Either way, Atlanta never had to be a clutch team all season. They were always front runners.
You;re not in clutch situations if your offense is outscoring teams by that margin all season. In fact there was only 1 game all year where the Falcons had to win the game coming from behind and that was against Green Bay’s mediocre defense. Yesterday in contrast Ryan was put in a clutch situation against a very good defense.So I blame LaFleur for coaching the Falcons to be season-long frontrunners who never learned how to play in clutch time.
Plus I think it was LaFleur who was over-inflating Ryan’s footballs.
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znModeratorAtlanta and New England play Pro Football.
What exactly do the Rams play?
You;re going to be a source of light and joy for months, ain’tcha.
znModeratorWe jinxed em somehow.
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