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znModeratorThe 16th CB gets ~8 million per year, according to “Over the Cap”.
Well if he keeps playing this way, he’ll
be a top-ten CB by the end of the year.The average if the top 5 CBs in terms of amount per year is about 13.2 M. The top 4 all get about 14 M a year. I doubt he would accept anything less than that.
October 22, 2015 at 12:14 am in reply to: Justice Cunningham hopes to offer help for Rams at tight end #32715znModeratorGood video. Cunningham is a much better fit for this team than Cook. imo
My sense is that at this point, even if Cook recovers and plays well down the stretch, Rams fans in general are fed up with him.
Some believe he pulled up short against GB on that one INT. I don’t. I accept the explanation that he was sitting in a spot in the zone, and that Foles just threw a pressure-driven pass to the wrong place. His thing about Ferguson and the hands up gesture also plays into this for some, IMO.
But either way, as we know it’s not just that bad play, or that one action (which I defend btw…ie the action). He just doesn’t play well enough in general for anyone to stand by him.
,
October 21, 2015 at 10:36 pm in reply to: Justice Cunningham hopes to offer help for Rams at tight end #32713znModeratorJustice Cunningham vs Tennessee (2012)
October 21, 2015 at 9:35 pm in reply to: as we prepare for the post-bye era: reporters preview the BROWNS game #32710znModeratorPractice Report 10/21: Gurley’s Prep for Cleveland
Myles Simmons
The Rams have started to establish their identity on offense, and it’s one that clearly starts with the run game.
With running back Todd Gurley rushing for 305 yards over his last two games — 146 against Arizona and 159 against Green Bay — the offense has certainly done well to open up holes for him. The running back, however, did admit Wednesday he didn’t necessarily realize he’d taken so many carries up at Lambeau Field. That is, until he did.
“I looked up at the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter and I was at 25 and was like, ‘dang, it didn’t really feel like it.’ Then once I said that, I started to get a little tired,” Gurley said with a laugh. “I’ll try not to jinx myself next time.”
After that game, Gurley said he was able to utilize the bye week well in order to get fresh for Cleveland.
“Came back and felt good,” Gurley said. “Had a good practice yesterday and today. Definitely a good couple days off.”
The rookie went back to Georgia to watch the Bulldogs beat Mizzou and enjoyed his time at the old stomping grounds. In a way, going back and watching the game accentuates the differences between the college game and the pros.
“[Players are] bigger, stronger,” Gurley said, adding that there’s a level playing field. “Everybody is the same speed or even faster. Guys react a lot faster — they know their stuff.”
And that’s the case with this week’s opponent, Cleveland. Though the Browns rank No. 30 in overall defense and No. 32 against the run, players and coaches alike quelled the notion Cleveland is a pushover.
“They’ve got a good combination of experience on the defense and some youth on the defense,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “They drafted well. Big man from Washington [DT Danny Shelton] is a load. Inside, he’s a penetrator. He’s going to be a tough match-up for our interior three.”
“They’re very well coached, excellent players,” offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said. “You look at them on the back end, they have proven players — three ex pro bowlers. Excellent front seven, athletic, can run, play hard, well-coached.”
Gurley himself said Cleveland’s defense has played better than its ranking.
“Those things sound good, but at the end of the day, when Sunday hits and you get on the field it’s all about executing and not letting that man across from you beat you,” Gurley said. “Those guys can come Sunday and play like the No. 1 defense. Those guys had a great game against the Broncos, so I never look at the ranks.”
Still, as Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine said on Wednesday, Sunday’s matchup will pit one team’s weakness against another team’s strength.
“What it comes down to is the fundamental stuff,” Pettine said of the Browns’ run defense. “It’s something we’re well aware of and we know that — by far — this is our biggest challenge of the year to stop the run.”
As the Rams continue to establish their strong ground attack, Gurley realizes the likely consequence is facing more defenses with a safety in the box. But that’s no matter to him.
“That just leaves room for the receivers,” Gurley said. “As long as we win, I’m not complaining.”
But Gurley’s two road performances provides a lift not only for the running back, but also the offensive linemen.
“When you run the ball how we’ve run the ball, you become confident in what you do,” offensive guard Jamon Brown said. “Obviously, there’s still things we can do better and constantly try to work on those things day in, day out. We are confident with the things we’ve done to this point.”
“I’m definitely confident in myself and know what I’m capable of,” Gurley said. “But those guys up front have done a great job putting in extra work every day at practice. So we know what we’re capable of.”
INJURY REPORT
The Rams had one of their longest injury reports of the season on Wednesday with a number of players sitting out.
Wide receiver Tavon Austin (knee), tight end Lance Kendricks (hand), defensive end Chris Long (knee), running back Tre Mason (ankle), and defensive end Robert Quinn (knee) all did not participate.
“Tre’s got a little ankle going. He didn’t practice today,” Fisher said. “Tavon did not practice with a little hamstring. Rob didn’t practice with the knee. We had a couple other guys that we rested.”
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins (concussion) participated on a limited basis.
Also, while he’s listed on the injury report because he remains on the active roster, linebacker Alec Ogletree (DNP, ankle) will be out this week.
CONSISTENCY OUTSIDE THE DIVISION
Though the Rams have played only five games, the club has played better inside the division than they have outside of it. Fisher has often said the team is built to compete and win within the NFC West. While there may not be a specific factor the team can put its finger on so far, St. Louis will need to to improve its consistency no matter the opponent in order to achieve its goal of playing football after Week 17.
“I don’t think there’s anything there,” quarterback Nick Foles said. “We just didn’t execute well in those games. Defense gave us opportunities to win the games we lost. We’ve just got to put more points on the board and stop hurting ourselves, really.”
And while the defense may have looked solid up at Lambeau Field on Oct. 11, linebacker James Laurinaitis viewed the game differently.
“Every Sunday, our goal is to be the best defense on the field. You look at last week and a lot of people, I feel, said, ‘Gosh the defense played good against Green Bay.’ I don’t see it that way,” Laurinaitis said. “They forced four takeaways, scored on one of them, we only had three and we didn’t score. That’s a big difference there.”
“If we get to work with six points, we hold them to three and we go on,” Laurinaitis continued. “If we can have that mindset — because we have that talent — then we’ll start to elevate our game.”
October 21, 2015 at 11:04 am in reply to: Six Weeks In, Neither Side is Winning Foles for Bradford Trade #32696znModeratorNeither Side is Winning Foles for Bradford Trade
Well…that seems fair.
.
znModeratorTight end Jared Cook, Rams shrug off trade rumors
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — Without any football to discuss, the combination of a bye week and an approaching trade deadline stirred up the St. Louis Rams rumor mill over the weekend.
In this instance, Rams tight end Jared Cook was the perceived target as one report had the Rams shopping him and another had teams calling the Rams about him.
On Tuesday, Rams coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged that the Rams received calls about Cook but also insisted that Cook is not up for sale before the Nov. 3 trade deadline.
Jared Cook
Jared Cook has been the target of trade speculation over the past week.
“I have no interest in trading Jared,” Fisher said. “He’s a big part of our offense. I don’t know where that originated from or came from. I clearly wasn’t aware of it. Jared’s fine. He’s a big part of this. Those kind of things happen. People call. He’s not the only person that people called us about last week. There’s injuries. We’re not to the trading deadline. People have interest in players. This day and age they’ve got more information. If they sense that some players that you have may fit their system, they’re going to call. You either say, ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”Whether anything progressed far enough for the Rams to offer a yes or no answer is unclear but what is clear is that just because Fisher says a player isn’t available doesn’t mean that’s the case. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford should offer an easy reminder of that.
So while Fisher may publicly say that he doesn’t want to trade Cook, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t happen if the right offer comes along. That’s actually the part that’s more difficult to discern. Cook has two more years on his contract with a base salary of $7 million in 2016 and $7.1 million in 2017. The Rams would have to take an accelerated cap hit of nearly $2.7 million if they dealt Cook this year to cover the remaining portion of his prorated signing bonus.
Any team that dealt for Cook would not owe any guaranteed money but it’s fair to assume they’d want to keep him longer than one season which would mean doing so at his current price tag or negotiating an extension. Complicating matters further from the Rams’ perspective is a lack of options at tight end with Lance Kendricks recovering from finger surgery.
But a Cook trade could make sense if the Rams get the right offer if only because it seems unlikely that they’ll retain both Cook on his current contract and re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Cory Harkey, who is a favorite of the coaching staff.
For his part, Cook said he didn’t bat an eyelash when he was informed of the trade rumors over the weekend, nor did he get a call from the Rams or his agent on the subject.
“If there was something I needed to know, they would have told me,” Cook said. “There’s a lot of people that put things out there that really isn’t credible a lot of the times, everywhere around the world. It’s your choice to pay attention to it, it’s your choice to take in what they are saying or it’s your choice to ignore it.”
Cook clearly took the latter option over the bye week with more important things to worry about. Since signing the lucrative five-year contract that brought him to St. Louis in 2013, the Rams offense and his role in it has changed dramatically. Originally signed to be essentially an oversized slot receiver in a wide-open passing attack, Cook has re-adjusted to a scheme that now asks him to attach to the line and run block on a more regular basis.
The blocking is still a work in progress for Cook but he’s quietly drawn plaudits from the coaching staff for his improvement in that area. His performance against Green Bay offered perhaps his best run blocking effort yet. For what it’s worth, he earned a +1.6 run blocking grade from Pro Football Focus for his work against the Packers.
Despite the changing roles, Cook said he’s not upset about what the Rams are asking him to do.
“You’re not about to go to your job and tell your boss this is what you want to do, this is how you have to do it,” Cook said. “No, you are about to do what they ask you to do and what this team needs. I’m here for what this team needs. If they need me to run block right now, I’m happy to do that.”
The Rams could also use a more consistent pass-catcher in addition to the run blocking. Pro Football Focus credits Cook with four drops on the season and he’s also lost on some 50/50 balls that he could have hauled in. The drops have been more bothersome because of their timing, as most would have gone for a first down or a touchdown.
For the season, Cook has 15 catches for 169 yards, which ranks second on the team in both categories. Asked if he’d like to get the ball more or if getting him involved earlier would increase his production, Cook again made it clear he’s not fretting about his role.
“It’s making me become a tight end overall which is improving my game so I have nothing to complain about,” Cook said. “It’s different but that’s what my job entails. I’m not a very selfish person. I just come to work doing my job and doing what they ask me to. So if they ask me to block a little bit more, that’s what I’m here to do.”[
znModeratorPFF ranks the Rams defense 2nd overall.
1st in run defense.
5th in pass rush.
13th in pass coverage.
They rank the offense 27th.
22nd in passing.
16th in rushing.
znModeratorIsn’t CB supposed to be strong in this draft too? Didn’t I hear that somewhere?
znModeratorMore matchup stuff. Cleveland is a must pass offense, that ranks 25th in rushing yards…going up against the Rams defense.
The Browns defense is 30th overall and 32nd against the run.
Prediction:
Rams 456,000, Browns -7
Though it won’t be as close as the score makes it seem.
.
znModeratorPFF NFL POWER RANKINGS FOR WEEK 7
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/10/20/pff-nfl-power-rankings-for-week-7/
20. St. Louis Rams
In the fourth quarter, Todd Gurley has 179 yards on 16 carries. That is the second-highest yardage total in the fourth quarter in the league.znModeratorPFT’s Week Seven power rankings
Mike Florio
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/10/20/pfts-week-seven-power-rankings/
1. Patriots (5-0; last week No. 1): Revenge is a dish best served when the adversary runs one of the dumbest plays in the history of organized sports.
2. Bengals (6-0; No. 3): At some point, the Bengals will be on to New England. And that could be bad news for the Patriots.
3. Packers (6-0; No. 2): It’s hard to hold the No. 2 spot when giving up more than 500 yards passing.
4. Panthers (5-0; No. 7): Cam Newton is old enough to make a clutch throw in a hostile environment.
5. Broncos (6-0; No. 4): Even if they lose no games in the regular season, one and done is looming in January.
6. Jets (4-1; No. 8): When does the Jets coach start spouting off about how much he hates Bill Belichick and Tom Brady? Oh wait, that guy’s gone.
7. Steelers (4-2; No. 10): The Steelers haven’t won with this many quarterbacks since the days of Bradshaw, Gilliam, and Hanratty.
8. Falcons (5-1; No. 5): The only good news from Thursday night is there likely won’t be another Falcons punter immortalized by a statue outside the Superdome.
9. Cardinals (4-2; No. 6): Maybe the Cardinals really haven’t beaten anyone.
10. Vikings (3-2; No. 15): With Mike Wallace, Stefon Diggs, and Charles Johnson, the Vikings could have the best three wideouts in the NFL.
11. Rams (2-3; No. 12): The good news? The Rams finally have climbed past Seattle and San Francisco in the standings. The bad news? Both of those teams stink right now.
October 20, 2015 at 10:32 pm in reply to: Six Weeks In, Neither Side is Winning Foles for Bradford Trade #32673znModeratorNick Foles vs. Sam Bradford, Revisited
Bernie Miklasz
http://www.101sports.com/2015/10/20/nick-foles-vs-sam-bradford-revisited/
As for the big, compelling, headline-raising trade through which the Philadelphia Eagles and your St. Louis Rams swapped starting quarterbacks …
Do we have a winner?
Nope. It’s going to be a while to determine that. If, indeed, we can ever make a conclusive judgment.
If you watched the former battered Ram Sam Bradford pitch against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, you will know that he did not remind anyone of, say, Aaron Rodgers. Philadelphia rolled to a 27-7 win over NYG, but mostly because of the play of the Eagles defense. Among other security measures enacted during the game, the Eagles defense intercepted Giants QB Eli Manning twice (including one returned for a pick six) and cleaned up after Bradford’s three messy interceptions. The Philly offense turned the ball over four times in the game, but the Eagles defense wouldn’t allow the Giants to cash in the takeaways for points. That’s why Philadelphia won to even its record at 3-3.
The post-game reviews of Bradford’s play were unkind.
This take from CSNphilly.com pretty much summed up the tone of the Philadelphia-area media’s assessment of Bradford’s play: “As hard as he tried, Sam Bradford couldn’t give this divisional game away.
The Eagles dominated the Giants the lopsided score was not a result of strong quarterback play… really the Eagles won in spite of Bradford… all three of Bradford’s interceptions came on awful throws downfield. His final pick came in the end zone, Bradford’s fourth interception in the end zone already this season. That is a staggering number. No other NFL quarterback has more than one interception in the end zone in 2015.”
The media beatdowns continued for Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft who was sent to Philadelphia for Foles after five hard and at times brutal seasons in St. Louis that included a lot of losing, a carousel of receivers and offensive linemen, multiple coaches, and two season-ending knee surgeries.
A couple of weeks ago, two retired Eagles made some disparaging comments concerning Bradford’s toughness and poise. The former running back Brian Westbrook called Bradford a “shaken” quarterback.
The former fullback Jon Ritchie, speaking on a Comcast SportsNet TV show, observed that Bradford “looks scared at times, which is about the worst thing you can say about an NFL quarterback.” Ritchie added: “Maybe I’m reading into this, but when he was in St. Louis, there was a knock on him that he just didn’t want to get hit. And now that he’s gone through the rehabilitation of two severe knee injuries two years in a row, I feel like that’s cropping up again. He does not want to be hit.”
Foles has had his own issues in St. Louis.
There was the mediocre game in Washington … a late, terrible interception that locked up a win for Pittsburgh … and the harried, four-interception breakdown at Green Bay that included two pickoffs after the Rams had advanced to inside the Packers’ 10-yard line.
Foles also delivered some strong — even sensational -play in a leading role in the wins over Seattle and Arizona.
In the Rams’ two wins, Foles has completed 67 percent of his passes, averaged 9.18 yards per attempt, thrown four TDs without an interception and posted a passer rating of 122.
In the Rams’ three defeats Foles completed only 52 percent with two TDs and five INTs. He averaged 5.42 yards per attempt and had an awful passer rating of 52.5
If you look at each quarterbacks’ season stats there isn’t much difference. The bottom line on the standard QB stats:
Bradford ranks 21st among regular NFL quarterbacks in completion percentage (63.2), yards per passing attempt (6.85), 28th in TD-INT ratio (1.0), and 28th in passer rating (80.0).
Foles ranks 29th in completion percentage (57.4), 27th in yards per attempt (6.78), 23rd in TD-INT ratio (1.20), and 29th in passer rating (77.6.)
Both have been dreadful (for the most part) in their third-down passing. Foles has a third-down passer rating of 60.8, and Bradford is wallowing at 48.5.
If you forced me to select the quarterback that’s played better so far, I’d go with Foles. My reasons are based on coaching and advanced statistics that include pass protection and performance under pressure. Essentially, I believe Foles gets the benefit of the doubt over Bradford because Foles is dealing with a more difficult set of circumstances.
Coaching? Chip Kelly or Jeff Fisher. One is considered an innovative, creative, and highly evolved designer of the passing game. The other prefers tackle football and a brawny rushing attack. (Do you really need me to match the coach with the description? I didn’t think so.)
Playing for Kelly in Philadelphia, Foles had a passer rating of 100.5 over 2013 and 2014. Granted, Foles’ 2013 season was vastly superior to his ’14 campaign — but the ’14 season wasn’t a disaster and Foles displayed a deft touch in running the Kelly offense. Bradford hasn’t. After spending his time in St. Louis playing for two defensive-minded head coaches in Steve Spagnuolo and Fisher you’d think Bradford would be thriving in a quarterback-enhancing offense, but that hasn’t happened. At least not in his first six games as Kelly’s personal-choice quarterback.
Foles also gets my vote because he’s endured substantially more pass-rush harassment than Bradford this season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Foles has faced pass-rush heat on 44.8 percent of his dropbacks — the second-highest rate among NFL starters. Bradord has received more reliable protection, having to deal with QB pressures on only 26.7% of his dropbacks. That’s one the lowest figures in the league. Sam has been kept safe by the Eagles’ body guards, but he continues to be jumpy in the pocket.
Given that Foles frequently has defenders buzzing at him and smacking him, he’s done rather well; his “under pressure” accuracy rating from Pro Football Focus is the fourth best among NFL quarterbacks. Bradford — despite having to cope with considerably fewer pocket invasions than Foles — ranks 16th in accuracy under pressure.
In terms of PFF’s adjusted accuracy (which dismisses dropped passes, intentional throwaways and balls swatted down at the line), Foles gets the edge over Bradford. Foles ranks 12th in adjusted accuracy (89.6) and Bradford is 24th at 81.1.
According to PFF, Foles has been superior to Bradford in deep passing (attempts of 20+ yards in the air) and in play-action passing.
I’m not saying that Foles is Kurt Warner circa 1999, or Marc Bulger circa 2006.
Or even Neil Lomax circa 1984.
But I see more things to like about Foles than Bradford.
At least for now. Because as Peter King of Sports Illustrated and “Monday Morning Quarterback” pointed out on our radio show on Tuesday, rust still could be a factor with Bradford. When Bradford started this season’s opener for the Eagles, it was his first regular-season action in 694 days.
The two knee injuries kept Bradford sidelined for one year, 10 months and 25 days. That’s a long layoff. I think Bradford will settle in and improve. But how long will it take? And how much will Bradford improve? I don’t know. And of course Bradford could stay at this level and be nothing more than an average quarterback.
As for Foles, he had such extreme performances in Philadelphia, it’s still difficult to decipher his true value. Or accurately gauge a reasonable level of expectations — specifically as the Rams’ QB. And playing quarterback for the Rams is radically different than running Kelly’s offense.
The Rams offense has struggled to score points for many seasons. You’d have to go back to 2006 to see the Rams ranked among the top 10 offenses in the NFL for points scored from scrimmage. The 2006 Rams were 10th in points from scrimmage that season. Pardon the brief trip down memory avenue, but looking back on it, that ’06 really had quite the collection of playmakers. Bulger passed for 4,301 yards, 24 touchdowns and had only eight interceptions. Steven Jackson rushed for 1,528 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 90 passes for 806 yards. Wide receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce were aging but combined for 167 catches, 2,286 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. And remember the WR Kevin Curtis? He caught 40 passes that season, which was no big deal. But four of the 40 went for TDs, and he averaged 16 yards per reception (or more) in five games. Problem is, we were still spoiled by the “Greatest Show” Rams offense, so the ’06 version didn’t seem to be anything special. Yeah, right.
Little did we know. Beginning in 2007, here’s where the Rams have ranked (in sequence) annually among the 32 NFL teams in offensive points from scrimmage: 28th … 29th … 32nd … 23rd … 32nd … 28th … 22nd … 23rd.
So far this season the 2015 Rams are ranked in O-scrimmage points (77) last among the 10 NFL teams that have played five games so far.
Given the head coach’s extensive history of below-average scoring offenses, how many quarterbacks could significantly elevate the performance of the Fisher School of Offense? Foles can make a difference. But I wasn’t counting on miracles here. Perhaps rookie RB Todd Gurley can get this engine zooming and put Foles into position to make plays. Foles ranks fifth among NFL starters this season with a 111.3 passer rating on play-action throws. Gurley obviously has the impact talent that can set up run-obsessed defenses to get burned by Foles passing after he fakes the handoff to Gurley.
Earlier in this piece I noted Foles’ flaws and poor numbers in some categories. But Foles, unlike Bradford, doesn’t play in a quarterback-friendly offense. Foles doesn’t have a passing-game guru for a coach. And Foles has been under fire way more often than Bradford. With so much working against him, Foles is outperforming Bradford. Context is an important consideration here.
I don’t know if Foles can continue to hold up under such extreme duress; the Green Bay pass-rush assault made him antsy and prone to making panicky throws. That was a bad sign. But Bradford has been handed the keys to a luxury car, and he keeps crashing it. Foles has been handed the keys to a car that’s banged up, missing parts, and keeps getting vandalized due to a lack of protection. Bradford is behind the wheel of a Cadillac but is steering rather erratically. Foles isn’t winning any races while driving this hoopty, but he’s more effective at driving a hoopty than Bradford is at driving a Caddy.
znModeratorNick Foles looking to bounce back, offer more for Rams after bye
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — Five games into his fresh start with the St. Louis Rams, quarterback Nick Foles’ comfort level is a good barometer for the offense at large.
Which is to say that Foles’ development in the Rams’ scheme is much like the scheme itself: A work in progress.
“I felt like I progressed,” Foles said. “There definitely has been some growing pains and I’m learning. But, where I want to be right now, I want to keep improving every day. I am where I am right now, but I want to keep getting better. I want to keep building, keep improving. The big thing is just being consistent every week and putting us in a situation where we can win the game.”
Foles and the Rams have been in position to win four of their five games so far, coming away with victories against NFC West division foes Seattle and Arizona but falling short despite opportunities against Pittsburgh and Green Bay. While you’d be hard-pressed to find any player who will say the bye week comes at a bad time, Foles would probably be the first to say that the Rams’ bye last week came at an ideal time.
The Rams’ week 5 loss to the Packers was Foles’ worst NFL game, a combination of his own mistakes, receiver miscues and an offensive line that allowed the Packers to batter him to the tune of three sacks and 12 quarterback hits on 33 drop backs. Foles threw four interceptions, two more than he’d thrown in any of his previous 32 career games. Foles’ 1.5 QBR was also the worst of his career amongst games in which he’s thrown more than one pass.
Despite the many hits and the costly turnovers, Foles kept getting up and going back at it. If nothing else, he’s already proved to teammates that he’s not afraid to keep coming even when things aren’t going well.
“He’s tough, not just physically but mentally tough,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “He’s a guy that even when things aren’t going well you won’t see him on the sidelines pouting. He’s not going to get down because he threw a pick. He really just forgets about it and goes out there the next drive and just plays and knows the next drive is going to be successful. I think in the long run that’s going to help us. You have a QB who is even keel like that, it allows the guys around them to have more confidence. He’s not going to shy away from his mistakes. When you have a guy who is not too high or too low like that, a lot of times it bodes well in the long run.”
But the Rams will need more than intangibles from Foles in the long run. While Foles already has a good grasp on the offense, he hasn’t yet reached the point where he’s completely comfortable. That’s a process that takes more than one offseason and six NFL weeks to reach.
Along with that, Foles also doesn’t have an extensive amount of freedom to make adjustments at the line of scrimmage. He says he has some leeway depending on the play call but also acknowledged that as he gets more experience in the system, he’ll get more chances to identify things and make adjustments at the line.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Foles said. “I have a long ways to go. I have a long ways to go. I have a lot of work to improve. That will be the case for as long as I play the game. I’ll always have a lot of room to improve on. That’s why we go out there each and every day and try to get a little better.”
Foles also made it clear that some of the early part of this season has been spent shaking off the rust after missing the last half of the 2014 season because of injury. He doesn’t use that as an excuse but he’s also trying to do that while acclimating to an offense that went through well-documented changes during the offseason.
Foles is playing for a new quarterbacks coach and new coordinator with the league’s youngest offensive line and a mostly unproven group of pass catchers, so it’s understandable why his play has been up and down in the first five games. And there hasn’t been much rhyme or reason behind Foles’ success or mistakes since he’s been under pressure in pretty much every game. Sometimes he beats it consistently, as he did against Seattle and Arizona, and sometimes he struggles mightily like he did against Green Bay and Washington.
Which is why Foles could be found during the bye week spending extra time on the practice field working on timing with receivers. Based on what we know about the team, Foles doesn’t need to return to the Pro Bowl level of 2013 (though the Rams wouldn’t mind). Instead, he needs to be more consistent in the face of pressure and keep turnovers to a minimum. That, along with the emergence of running back Todd Gurley, would go a long way toward getting the Rams where they want to go in 2015.
“I think it’s just learning a new system,” Foles said. “It’s not, like we’ve said, second nature. The offense I had been in was second nature to me because I had been in it for two years and felt real comfortable. You’re learning a new system, so as you learn, you just got to get to the point where it’s second nature so you can just go out there and react to it. I’m getting more and more comfortable each week.”
October 20, 2015 at 10:06 pm in reply to: as we prepare for the post-bye era: reporters preview the BROWNS game #32669znModeratorWithout playing, bye week was good to the Rams
By Nick Wagonerhttp://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/22634/without-playing-bye-week-was-good-to-the-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams were in the midst of four days off Sunday as most of the rest of the NFL was in action. On Monday morning, there was no kvetching about a loss or celebrating a win.
Instead, the Rams and their fans were able to kick back and watch as the NFC West took another step toward forming its 2015 personality. For a division that’s been one of the league’s best over the past few years, it hasn’t looked the part much this season and certainly didn’t on Sunday.
So while the Rams remain 2-3 as they prepare to return to action this week against Cleveland, they actually gained ground in the division on a crazy football Sunday.
Here’s a quick run through the happenings in the NFC West and where the Rams stand coming out of the bye:
The division-leading Arizona Cardinals have looked like world-beaters in four blowout wins this year. Save for a loss to the Rams, the Cardinals appeared nearly invincible — until Sunday’s trip to Pittsburgh. Despite another big offensive performance, the Cardinals were plagued by the same things that hurt them against the Rams in a 25-13 loss to the Steelers. Pittsburgh rushed for 142 yards in the second half (sound familiar?), the Cardinals couldn’t finish drives with touchdowns and had some costly turnovers.
znModeratorThat works better with a laugh track.
And I hate laugh tracks.
Still it;s more watchable with one.
znModeratorthe one question i gotta ask myself. can he be as good as eli manning?
i’d say he definitely could be as good as eli manning. and i’d also say that gurley would rival any running back the giants had.
Interesting way to look at it.
Foles can be good for long series of games.
Conversely, when the Giants OL fell apart in 2013, so did Eli. Just like our Nick does.
So the parallel is useful I think.
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October 20, 2015 at 9:23 am in reply to: Minnesota Vikings: Should the team move on from Cordarrelle Patterson? #32639znModeratorMadden was great coach.
Have you ever seen the NFL Network’s “a football life” episode on Madden? I thought it was interesting.
He had a knack for making (actually) being smarter than the next guy sound folksy.
znModeratorGrowing pains continue for young offensive line
Jim Thomas
IMO of course but that one (just previous) is the best article I have read on the Rams OL this year.
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znModeratorDo i wanna know who or what “ruxin” is?
TV reference
Though I had to look this up, cause I don’t watch tv much
In fact the sound of a laughtrack can cause me to throw bricks at the tv monitor
http://rafibomb.tumblr.com/post/69541849072/the-league
Have you ever seen “The League?” it’s the show that has been airing right after Always Sunny for the past several years. It’s nominally about a group of friends and their Fantasy Football league that they have together….
…there’s an episode where Ruxin and Sofia want to have another child and Ruxin discovers that he has a low sperm count
znModeratorI suspect those passing numbers will begin to drop over the next several weeks as the Rams face more pedestrian QBs.
Interesting details, thanks fer posting.
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znModeratorGrowing pains continue for young offensive line
Jim Thomas
There are times when Jamon Brown and Rob Havenstein still feel like rookies. But as Havenstein points out, they’re well beyond the stage where they can use that as an excuse.
“Once you cross those white lines, you’ve gotta play like a guy who’s been there,”said Havenstein, a second-round pick from Wisconsin last spring. “I’m out here for a reason. They expect me to perform. I expect me to perform. My guys around me expect me to perform.”
Almost since the day they were drafted, the expectation was that Havenstein would be the team’s opening-day starter at right tackle and Brown would be an opening-day starter at guard on what would be the league’s most inexperienced offensive line.
For most of training camp and the preseason, Brown and Havenstein lined up side-by-side with Brown at right guard. Brown was subsequently switched to left guard where he has started the first five games of 2015.
“Obviously, I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” said Brown, a third-round pick out of Louisville. “But just looking back at the game we played against the Packers, watching that film let me know there’s still a lot more out there for me to learn. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing.”
The same can be said basically for the entire starting line. With the exception of Rodger Saffold, who’s now out for the season with a shoulder injury, the unit had little or no NFL experience entering the season.
It was anticipated, almost expected really, that the group would struggle early and have its share of ups and downs. That’s exactly what transpired over the first one-third of the season.
“They’re way ahead of where I thought they’d be in the run game,” coach Jeff Fisher said before the team’s long bye weekend. “I think we have some work to do in the pass game, just in subtle techniques.
“It’s not a matter of having mental errors and things like that. They know what to do. The group has to work together.”
After the Rams employed the same starting five throughout the first five games, Garrett Reynolds steps into the right guard spot in place of Saffold for Game 6 this Sunday against the visiting Cleveland Browns.
Largely because of injury, continuity has been a rare commodity for this unit under Fisher. From left to right, the Greg Robinson, Brown, Tim Barnes, Reynolds and Havenstein unit expected to start against Cleveland will be the 17th starting combination in the 53 games since Fisher began as Rams coach in 2012.
That averages out to roughly one new starting combination every three games, and that’s far from ideal.
The struggles of the O-line this season have been difficult to categorize, because it has been different players at different times, and different problem areas in different games. The Rams had a lot of difficulty run-blocking during the first three games, but things started to click in a big way the past two contests against Arizona and Green Bay.
Part of the reason for that obviously was the arrival of running back Todd Gurley in the lineup. But it goes beyond that because the unit does seem to be blocking better in the run game.
The Rams averaged 71.3 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry in their opening three contests. In the past two games, it’s 177.5 yards per contest and 5.7 yards per carry. Gurley accounted for 305 of the 355 yards rushing against Arizona and Green Bay.
“I think we’re still pushing to kinda solidify our identity,” Brown said. “We’ve had some success in the run game. We have an incredible backfield in Todd Gurley, Tre Mason, and Benny (Cunningham).
“But for us, the goal is to continue to grow. So that’s a thing where we’re not getting content, or we’re not (satisfied) with what we’ve done. We’ve gotta keep pushing.”
Conversely, the unit did a decent job of pass-blocking in the first four games. Perhaps even better than decent, with Nick Foles sacked a modest six times for the season entering Green Bay. He was sacked three times at Lambeau Field, and hit — usually very hard — on nine other occasions.
All told, eight of Foles’ 19 incomplete passes in that game were throws that came nowhere near the intended receiver. Those eight were all cases where the pass trajectory was either disrupted or the ball was purposely thrown away because Foles was hit or scrambling on the play. In addition, Foles was hit on two of his career-high four interceptions, which affected the flight of the ball.
There was no one culprit when it came to allowing hits. A review of game film by the Post-Dispatch showed Robinson was the primary blocker on three of the hits, Saffold on 2½, Havenstein on 1½, and Brown and Reynolds on one apiece.
When it came to the three sacks allowed, they were even more split up, with Barnes, Reynolds, Mason, tight end Lance Kendricks, and fullback/tight end Cory Harkey all bearing some responsibility depending on the play.
Twisting and stunting by Green Bay defensive linemen and linebackers caused problems for the Rams’ young blockers, and it’s something they should expect to see from every opponent until they show they can block it better.
“Going into the preseason, when me and Rob were on the same side, we saw a lot of that early,” Brown said. “Obviously, splitting us up, putting us on two different sides, made it a little harder to kinda pinpoint us and pick us out.
“But we’ve still had our share of twists and games, different things that were thrown at us. And I think teams are gonna continue to do it because it’s the hardest thing to pick up. … So we’re preparing for that obviously.”
Picking up those stunts and blitzes is a matter of technique, communication, and vision.
“The guys are doing great, they’re learning,” Reynolds said. “You know it takes a while to get used to who you’re playing next to, and that’s when you start seeing something special happening. You see little glimpses of it right now.”
More than glimpses are needed as the season progresses, in order for the offense to progress.
znModeratorFive Takeaways: Bye Week
By Myles Simmons
Though the Rams did not have a game on Sunday, they did hold a week of practices to self-scout and make corrections during their bye. Here are five takeaways from the sessions.
1) Replacing Saffold
Undoubtedly, the biggest news to come out of last week was the club placing Rodger Saffold on injured reserve as the offensive linemen underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Saffold, who had surgery to repair his left shoulder in the offseason, went down with a right shoulder injury in the preseason and then again in Week 5 against Green Bay.
Head coach Jeff Fisher said last week that much like 2014, Saffold was willing to try and play through the season with the injured shoulder. But Fisher added the team and medical staff eventually agreed that would not be the best idea.
“Inevitably it’s going to come out again, when we talk about the condition of his shoulder,” Fisher said. “So, we just felt like for career-wise and future-wise, it’s best to get it fixed.”
With Saffold out, veteran offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds will step in at right guard. If there was any silver lining about the unfortunate injury, it’s the timing. It occurred just prior to the bye week, giving the offensive line a chance to practice with its newest member.
“You’ve got to go back in there and get used to how you communicate and things like that,” center Tim Barnes said. “You’ve just got to get used to playing next to that other person. It helps that we’ve been able to get those extra practices in there and get used to it.”
Reynolds will have some significant shoes to fill as he steps in the role, but Fisher has said that he was pleased with the way the veteran played when pressed into action against the Packers.
“Garrett plugged right in,” Fisher said. “I was fine with the way he played. He was a settling factor and was cutting people downfield and finishing plays. Yeah, so I thought he was fine.”
2) The self-scouting process
With no opponent on the docket, the Rams spent their time correcting mistakes they had noticed in film study of the season’s first five weeks. It was a time for both the offense and defense to get in some good work just against themselves.
“Just being in the weight room, being in the film room, being out there, just getting some work in this week is huge for us to go back and self-scout on what we did,” quarterback Nick Folessaid. “The good things and the things we need to improve on. It’s a good opportunity for us this week to get some work in.”
“Our coaches did a great job of self-scouting this past week,” wide receiver Stedman Bailey. “Just looking at things we could do better — third down, first-and-second down. We got some pretty good work done this week, and we’re just looking forward to building from here.”
Linebacker James Laurinaitis echoed the sentiment from the defense’s perspective.
“You really self scout and you try to say, ‘What am I tipping off to the offense,’” Laurinaitis said. “Just like we look at their tendencies and what they tip to us, what are we tipping to them? [The bye week] allows you to do it.
“Five weeks isn’t a huge sample size,” Laurinaitis continued, “but it’s good enough to where can make some changes and continue to kind of look forward to what we’re going to change and how we can confuse some offenses.”
3) Developing consistency
Aside from the self-scouting, one of the offense’s common themes for the week was developing consistency — from the quarterback on down.
“There’s some good and there’s some stuff we need to improve on,” Foles said. “Whether it be my play or just us moving the ball. Too many mental errors, too many just errors. It’s the ultimate team game in the sense, on offense everybody’s got to work together.”
One way players put in the effort of trying to improve was staying on the field after the conclusion of practice to work. That went for essentially every position group on the offense. While, for example, the line may not have been working directly with Foles for the extra sessions, the quarterback noted how much everyone was putting in.
“It’s what do you have to do to do a little more than you did before? How can I get a little bit better this week? How can I get a little bit better today?” Foles said. “You can see guys are doing that and that’s what we have to keep doing.”
4) A defensive identity
With the unit playing well over the last few games, Laurianitis said the defense has started to find an identity — and that’s a boost as the team goes forward.
“I think what we’ve done really the last two weeks is we’ve played the run pretty well and we’re starting to realize what coverages — without saying what they are — what coverages that we do well, what blitzes,” Laurinaitis said. “If we keep confusing people, making them go to their second or third read, our D-line is going to get there more often than not.”
“I really like kind of the total understanding of the concepts we’re trying to do from, really, the whole back seven,” Laurinaitis added. “And those D-linemen can’t really disguise for us. So the whole back seven has really matured a lot.”
But even with the strong play, Laurinaitis said the defense still has one critical goal it has not yet fulfilled this season: Scoring on defense.
“We talk about it every single game, and we don’t just say it to be positive. We say it because it’s really a goal of ours,” Laurinaitis said. “When you score defensively, it really changes the whole game. It’s hard to overcome it. And we have the ability to do it. And so we’ll keep harping on it, and keep practicing it, and make sure that when guys do get interceptions or fumble recoveries in practice, that we actually do take it to the end zone and score.”
5) Season records can be deceiving
The Rams now have three of their next four games in St. Louis — and those three home matchups are against teams with a record under .500. But as Laurinaitis said, those records can sometimes be a bit deceiving.
“I’m not a big fan of the whole ‘on paper’ thing,” Laurinaitis said. “I’ve done the on-paper, light part of the schedule too many times in my career early here. I know any given Sunday, you can get a team’s best.”
St. Louis’ next opponent, Cleveland, may come to town on Oct. 25 with a 2-4 record, but it’s a team that just picked off the Broncos’ Peyton Manning three times, narrowly losing the contest in overtime. And in Week 5, the Browns upset the Ravens on the road in OT.
“They just fought in a division game on the road. I know how hard that is, to win a division game on the road,” Laurinaitis said. “And I know the AFC North is no joke. So for them to go on the road and beat Baltimore there is really impressive.”
That attitude is a positive sign in terms of how the Rams should be prepared to take on whoever is coming next, irrespective of the club’s record.
znModeratorWell. It’s a very handy, featureless, substanceless way of politely saying, “they ain’t playin’ well.” To me, that characterization says nothing at all.
Not to me. It means something, and I see it in front of me. The last time I said it, in fact, was both the 2014 Vikes game and the early part of 2011 before injuries became the overwhelming issue. The first few games in 2011, they were not in sync. That means not everyone was playing with play-don’t-think energy, the various parts of the offense were not together, the timing and rhythm were not crisp, and players were pressing. I even remember reading statements from both Saffold and Bradford that year about what it meant to play when they were “not comfortable” which is how they put it. Mistakes increase, like drops and really ill-timed penalties, and players try to push themselves to make up for it and therefore increase the level of mistakes.
Not being in sync is a real thing that just comes from lack of the very real synergy that is a result of playing together.
Remember from my point of view, since I know I see it when it happens, to me, when you say you don’t see it, I just think, yeah he doesn’t see it.
To you of course on the other side of the fence, when I do see it you think it’s not really there.
But…on my side of the fence, if I see it I see it.
znModeratorfrom off the net
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TackleDummy
According to the CBA any veteran player who is on the roster the first week of the regular season is guaranteed his entire annual salary. That means Cook is due his entire salary even if the Rams cut him. They need to find someone to take him and pay his remaining salary. That is probably not going to happen. I believe it is possible for the Rams to pay a portion of his salary and the new team the rest. But that portion would be added to the Ram’s dead money for Cook.
Do note that the Rams have already paid him about $2.88M of his $7M salary after this weekend. He will be due about $4.12M for the rest of the season. Each weekly paycheck is 1/17th of his base salary.
Could Rams trade tight end Jared Cook?
Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/22604/could-rams-trade-tight-end-jared-cook
EARTH CITY, Mo. — Depending on who you ask, St. Louis Rams tight end Jared Cook could be available for trade before the early November deadline.
On Sunday, two outlets reported that Cook could be available, though, under different circumstances.
At CBSSports.com, Jason La Canfora wrote that other teams have inquired about Cook’s availability (and the same for San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis).
But ProFootballTalk.com says it’s the other way around and the Rams are more vetting potential interest in Cook.
My read here is that the latter is probably something closer to the truth though nothing appears imminent on this front because Cook has a contract that could make him difficult to move even if the Rams would like to.
Cook currently counts $8.3 million against this year’s salary cap with $5 million of his base salary guaranteed. There are also two years of prorated signing bonus worth more than $2 million left on Cook’s contract beyond this year, meaning that if the Rams dealt Cook, they’d have to take on the accelerated portion of that signing bonus as one lump hit of dead money for next year.
That, of course, assumes there’s a team not only willing to take on Cook’s contract but also that the Rams would get the right compensation to do a deal.
From a pure logic standpoint, a Cook trade wouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Originally signed to play in a more wide-open offense, Cook hasn’t been used that way and hasn’t been able to have the type of breakout season many hoped he would upon signing. Additionally, the Rams gave tight end Lance Kendricks a fairly large four-year deal this past offseason and they would like to re-sign fellow tight end Cory Harkey before he reaches unrestricted free agency this offseason.
Which begs the question of whether Cook has a place with the Rams in the long-term and if he does, would the Rams be willing to have so much tied up into a position where run blocking takes precedence?
The benefit of trading Cook now is that the Rams could theoretically get compensation for him, but they also could part ways with him after the year with a cap savings of nearly $5.7 million. That, of course, doesn’t take into account that the Rams are currently banged up at tight end with Kendricks recovering from finger surgery and Justice Cunningham recently called up from the practice squad.
The Rams haven’t been shy about making trades in recent years, acquiring safety Mark Barron before the 2014 deadline. This year’s deadline is set for Nov. 3.
znModeratorfrom off the net
==
TackleDummy
According to the CBA any veteran player who is on the roster the first week of the regular season is guaranteed his entire annual salary. That means Cook is due his entire salary even if the Rams cut him. They need to find someone to take him and pay his remaining salary. That is probably not going to happen. I believe it is possible for the Rams to pay a portion of his salary and the new team the rest. But that portion would be added to the Ram’s dead money for Cook.
Do note that the Rams have already paid him about $2.88M of his $7M salary after this weekend. He will be due about $4.12M for the rest of the season. Each weekly paycheck is 1/17th of his base salary.
znModeratorOh, man.
Before this game, Wilson was:
19th in passing attempts, which is a bit high for him.
And, 35th in sack percentage, with a horrific, as in “I like horror films but that was grotesquely over the top” horrific, 12.8%.
12.8%.
znModeratorRams shopping Jared Cook
Mike Florio
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/10/18/rams-shopping-jared-cook/
Per a league source, the Rams are making calls to gauge interest in a trade for Cook, a big-money acquisition in free agency who has been good but not great in three-plus seasons with the team.
Jason La Canfora of CBS reports that teams have been calling the Rams about Cook; we’re hearing that the calls are being made by the Rams. It’s a subtle but significant distinction, since what the Rams get will be driven by the respective motivations of the buyer and the seller.
Cook has a base salary of $7 million this year, in 2016, and in 2017. Trading him would driver a $2 million cap hit in 2016.
The window for making trades closes on Tuesday, November 3
znModeratorNow dammit, good teams are supposed
to win games like this.You know, before 2014, they mostly did.
By my reckoning, in 2012-13, they had 8 games like that. Meaning, home games against teams they ought to beat. They won 5 of them.
2013:
Jacksonville W
Tennessee L
Chicago W
Tampa Bay W2012:
Washington W
Arizona (ie that year) W
NY Jets L
Minnesotta LznModeratorg back there were people
who thought he had regressed and was not the same
Jake Long who’d been in the pro-bowls.Of course he wasn’t his old pro bowl self. I just said so myself, twice.
But he was still effective.
Example: in 2013 PFF ranked the Rams OL 13th and Long 7th among left tackles.
He wasnt the hot left pass blocking LOT type, but he was a good play action LOT.
To me saying anything less than that is exaggeration.
He WAS much less of a player after the 1st knee, when he played in 2014.
But I understand that, as a Raiders fan, you naturally think less of any Rams player. I get that. It’s understandable. Just don’t try to trash Jack Youngblood.
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