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znModeratorZak Keefer@zkeefer
A great Jim Irsay story.Days before 98 draft. Polian was getting nervous, worried that Manning would end up the next Bernie Kosar.
“Can you live with Bernie Kosar?!?!?” he screamed at Irsay, pounding his fist on Irsay’s desk.
Irsay never waffled. Manning was the pick.
znModeratorfrom Bonsignore: https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/raiders/raiders-vote-to-ban-tush-push-but-eagles-signature-play-survives-3375704/
Playoff seeding stays the same
Wednesday started with the Lions withdrawing their proposal to overhaul the way the NFL seeds teams for the playoffs.
The league currently makes the four division winners in each conference the top four seeds. Detroit wanted to change that so a wild-card team with a better record than a division winner would get home-field advantage in the first round.
Raiders owner Mark Davis was against the proposal. He believed it could penalize teams that play in a stacked division, while a second-place team in a weaker division could have a better record simply because it played easier opponents.
Many of Davis’ colleagues agreed. The proposal didn’t even make it to a vote.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that owners could still consider a different seeding format in the future.
“I think they are interested potentially in looking at some type of reseeding,” Goodell said.
znModeratorAs a senior in high school, Rams RB Jarquez Hunter won a powerlifting State Championship by squatting and deadlifting 575 pounds respectively… while wearing cowboy boots.
Here's how Hunter's powerlifting prowess molded him into an explosive runner:https://t.co/yshsP7FvEi
— Wyatt Miller (@wymill07) May 19, 2025
znModeratorCredit to @AndrewWhitworth and others for “pushing” for offensive linemen to be recognized. Long overdue and deserving https://t.co/Az5Pi5MyO7
— Kevin Demoff (@kdemoff) May 21, 2025
“@NFL Protector of the Year Award”
This award means everything to the big guys up front. The Protector of the Year isn’t just about stats—it’s about the mindset, grit, and leadership it takes to be the foundation of a football team. It’s time the men who lead, protect, and…
— Andrew Whitworth (@AndrewWhitworth) May 21, 2025
znModeratorfrom PFF Wide Receiver Rankings: Top 32 – https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-pff-wide-receiver-rankings-top-32-2025-season
5. PUKA NACUA, LOS ANGELES RAMS
Nacua missed time in 2024 but still finished with the league’s highest receiving grade at 93.0, pushing his two-year total to nearly 3,000 receiving yards. He’s neither the biggest nor the fastest, but few receivers are more difficult to cover.16. DAVANTE ADAMS, LOS ANGELES RAMS
Adams posted his lowest receiving grade since 2016 with a 76.8 in 2024, a concerning trend as he enters his age-32 season. Still, his elite production over the past five years warrants some benefit of the doubt — especially now that he’ll be working with Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay.znModeratorA ban of the Push Tush play that the Philadelphia Eagles popularized did not receive enough votes at today’s league meeting in Minneapolis. The play remains alive. There will be more tush pushes this season. pic.twitter.com/sy1DOIznqP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 21, 2025
znModeratorJared Verse 2024 Season Highlights
znModeratorAccording to Pro Football Focus’ Lauren Gray, Stafford finished the 2024 season with the fourth-lowest checkdown rate among quarterbacks. Stafford’s 7.7% checkdown rate was only behind Caleb Williams, Brock Purdy and Daniel Jones.
znModeratorthe Los Angeles Rams benefit by welcoming all three coordinators back for the new 2025 NFL season. That means OC Mike LaFleur, DC Chris Shula, and ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn are back to continue their oversight for another NFL season.
The Rams have had revolving doors at all three coordinator positions since hiring Sean McVay in 2017 to take over as the team’s head coach.
znModerator.@MichaelBrockers believes that the Rams are currently the biggest threat to the Eagles in the NFC 👀 pic.twitter.com/ptGIDHI4mM
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 19, 2025
znModeratorfrom 2025 NFL Win Totals: Over/Under Predictions for All 32 Teams— https://www.si.com/nfl/2025-nfl-win-totals-over-under-predictions-for-all-32-teams
Los Angeles Rams: 9.5
Prediction: OverThe Rams appear to be one of the better teams in the NFC after signing wide receiver Davante Adams. If Matthew Stafford has another productive season, this talented team could contend with the Eagles and Lions in the conference. Los Angeles also has the benefit of playing four games against the subpar AFC South.
znModeratorThe best players at every defensive position since 2000 🐐 pic.twitter.com/erzC37Eekd
— PFF (@PFF) May 19, 2025
znModeratorEven if Kyren Williams does not sign an extension this offseason, he is confident he will remain in place with the #Rams beyond 2025:https://t.co/kDFeBUX4Km
— Pro Football Rumors (@pfrumors) May 20, 2025
znModeratorfrom Picking the NFL’s All-Underrated Team for 2025:
Byron Young, Los Angeles Rams
There’s more. From 12/4, https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2024/12/04/rams-byron-young-stats-turnovers-forced-nfl/76762815007/
According to Next Gen Stats, Young is the only player in the league who has forced at least five turnovers via pressure this season. T.J. Watt and Danielle Hunter are tied for second with four, and five other players (including Verse) have three.
znModeratorfrom Picking the NFL’s All-Underrated Team for 2025: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25197686-dont-sleep-these-players-picking-nfls-all-underrated-team-2025
Byron Young, Los Angeles Rams
Young hasn’t received the accolades of batterymate and 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, but the third-year pro has been consistently productive, topping 60 total tackles with at least 7.5 sacks in both professional seasons. The 27-year-old took up Pilates in the offseason to help improve his conditioning and technique, and he told the team’s website that he’s already seeing benefits.
“Just growth that has me being the best player I could be,” Young said. “I’m just seeing this part of my life that I definitely needed for years, and I just didn’t notice it. I’m glad I found it. But I’m looking at being a lot stronger, faster, fit, being able to do plays longer, last longer than O-linemen (or) whoever I’m going against. So, I see that kind of improving everything all around. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Young admittedly benefits from playing for Rams front seven loaded with young talent. But he’s a talented player capable both of setting the edge and getting after the quarterback—as evidenced by his strong tackle numbers and a dozen tackles for loss a year ago.
znModeratorRams’ Matthew Stafford ‘definitely excited’ to have Davante Adams on board in 2025: ‘He fits right in’
https://www.nfl.com/news/rams-matthew-stafford-definitely-excited-davante-adams-he-fits-right-in
An offseason of change in Los Angeles included the departure of Matthew Stafford’s close friend, Cooper Kupp.
Don’t worry: They still stay in touch. But as the Rams quarterback admitted Wednesday, it has required some adjusting.
“Yeah, I’ve been texting with him some, just checking in on him,” Stafford said of Kupp, now with the rival Seahawks, on NFL Network’s Schedule Release ’25. “He’s a few miles away in a different colored jersey and all that kind of stuff, but when we get to talking and texting it’s the same old stuff, just giving each other a hard time and having fun. I did ask him about this, I was like ‘Am I going to be able to say what’s up to you pregame? What’s the deal?’ He’s like ‘I’m going to give you a big bear hug.’
“So I’m excited. Obviously it’s tough when you’ve played with a guy and had as much success as we’ve had together and then move on, but you play this game long enough you understand it’s part of the business, and I think he gets that too. But at the same time, I’ll be happy to see him. Hopefully he plays great, and we come away with a win. I’m always pulling for him, always pulling for Coop, but always want the Rams to be coming out on top.”
The Rams didn’t simply let Kupp walk without finding a replacement for him, signing Davante Adams to a two-year, $44 million deal that provides Stafford with a fully capable veteran who brings a well-established reputation for being a playmaker. The hope is the two quickly establish a rapport and Adams ends up producing at a rate higher than Kupp did in his final season, in which he effectively disappeared from the offense for stretches.
If Adams can rediscover some of the form that once made him the top receiver in the league, he’ll fit in nicely opposite Puka Nacua. Stafford believes the new partnership will go well.
“Absolutely, he’s been great,” Stafford said. “Obviously played against him in the division [when Stafford was in Detroit], have been a fan of his from afar on the other sideline for a long time, and what he’s been able to do in the league kind of speaks for itself, but then getting to be around him personally every day, working with him, throwing to him, just seeing the kind of professional that he is, he fits right in.
“That’s the kind of guys since I’ve been here in L.A. we’ve had, I’ve been lucky enough to throw to a bunch of guys that take the game seriously, love going out and competing and trying to find a way to get better. He’s no different, and we’re definitely excited to have him and I know for me as a quarterback I feel lucky for all the guys I’ve been able to throw to, and he’s definitely up there.”
znModeratorThe Rams face every bird team in the NFL this season:
Eagles, Ravens, Seahawks (twice), Cardinals (twice), and Falcons.Can they survive the Bird Gauntlet?#RamsHouse #NFL2025 #BirdGauntlet #RamsSchedule #LAFB pic.twitter.com/XOzCZaOWjI
— LAFB Network (@LAFBNetwork) May 20, 2025
znModeratorLos Angeles Rams: at Eagles, Week 3
There is no shortage of bitterness on the Rams’ side about how their last matchup ended in the 2024 divisional round. Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia offense ran all over the young Rams defensive line last season, even setting single-game rushing records in the process. The Rams believe they’ve fixed their run defense — and this contest will be an early chance to prove it. — Jourdan RodrigueSan Francisco 49ers: at Rams, Week 5
The 49ers tried to do a quickie, Rams-like revamp this offseason. Did it work? We’ll get an indication in Week 5 when the 49ers visit their division rival for a Thursday game in prime time. There are perhaps no more similar squads in the NFL. They run the same offense, have similar roster-building philosophies and often go after the same players in free agency and trades. The 49ers landed Christian McCaffrey; the Rams got Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams. — Matt Barrows and Vic TafurSeattle Seahawks: at Steelers, Week 2; vs. Rams, Week 11; vs. Vikings, Week 13
These three games feature the best subplots: DK Metcalf hosting his old team months after asking for a trade, Cooper Kupp against the team that deemed him no longer good enough, and Sam Darnold hosting the team that let him walk in free agency after a career year. All three players likely downplay the significance of those storylines in the lead-up to the games, but they’re all fierce competitors and will want to have huge games and lead their new clubs to victories. — Michael-Shawn DugarznModeratorfrom Ranking the top 25 players under 25 entering the 2025 NFL season: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-ranking-top-25-players-under-25-2025-nfl-season
2. WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
Three-year grade: 92.5
Snaps played since 2022: 1,642
Average WAR since 2022: 0.51Nacua burst onto the scene in 2023 as a fifth-round rookie, making an immediate impact as a high-end target earner and elite receiving weapon for the Rams. He has yet to look back.
Through two seasons, Nacua has delivered a 92.4 PFF receiving grade and 2.92 yards per route run — both of which lead all qualifying players for this list and rank second among all players overall during that span. Even though he missed time with injuries in 2024, Nacua made the most of his opportunities, leading the position in PFF receiving grade (92.6) and yards per route run (3.23) as 2024’s most efficient receiver.
6. EDGE Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams
Three-year grade: 89.3
Snaps played since 2022: 933
Average WAR since 2022: 0.42The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year finished the 2024 season with 89 quarterback pressures — the most in the league — and managed a top-10 PFF grade in all three major defensive categories for the position (overall, run defense and pass rush).
Verse also generated the fifth-most PFF WAR (0.42) for his position, putting him in elite company alongside Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt. He didn’t finish as a league leader in the sack column, but that shouldn’t discount just how dominant he was on a play-to-play basis, evidenced by his top-10 PFF pass-rush grade and sixth-best win rate (19.7%) among defensive linemen.
znModeratorIt’s impossible to overstate the significance of this.
😎
Say what you will, but at his peak, he was the best route-runner in the league. https://t.co/OAsXJSbIAW
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 18, 2025
znModeratorEvery Matthew Stafford throw of 20+ air yards from a clean pocket in 2024: pic.twitter.com/926NMLYFmR
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) May 15, 2025
znModeratormy whole bloodline watching me, ashamed that I will once again put the entirety of my mental health in the hands of a football team
go rams pic.twitter.com/edAosWBo7n
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) May 18, 2025
znModeratorThe Orlovsky vid was fascinating.
w
vHoly shit that’s an absolute must watch. Wow.
In Goff’s best game in 2016–the year before Orlovsky–he went 20 of 32 for 214 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT, and a qb rating of 100.3. In his other 6 starts combined he averaged a qb rating of 57.5, with 2TDs in those games combined. He was also sacked 26 times in 7 games, which averages out to an unacceptable 3.7 per game.
So 2 things.
1 is the old refrain that Goff was no good. Inherently. In spite of being a green, untrained qb from a college spread who didn’t have the coaching and played in a mediocre offense for a team that had just relocated. You know…the “excuses.”
The other is, how did he pull off that one good game? 😳
In contrast, in 2017, he had 10 games with a qb rating in the 90s or above, including 2 about 145, and a season average of 100.5. He was also sacked just 25 times in 16 games, averaging 1.56 per game.
znModeratorCaleb Williams' father Carl wanted no part of the Chicago Bears selecting his son Caleb with the first pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Turns out, all of Carl's fears came true. Talked with @SethWickersham about his Williams story, and how things are better for Williams now. pic.twitter.com/xCFQvhFRv7
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 17, 2025
znModeratorTurns out, @danorlovsky7 is quite familiar with the idea of a quarterback taken first overall in a draft, and given no help whatsoever with NFL-level concepts. Here's Dan's recall of when Sean McVay hired him to help Jared Goff learn to watch tape. pic.twitter.com/a6IV8sydnS
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 17, 2025
znModeratorYeah, I agree with all that. It’s kinda great, though, because using the QB salary as a starting point, the Rams have a better QB and more cap space available outside the QB for other players.
+1
znModeratorBrock Purdy is making about $10 million a year more than Matthew Stafford. Over 20% more than Stafford.
Nick Wagoner@nwagoner
#49ers QB Brock Purdy’s 5-year, $265 million extension is the largest raise in NFL history and makes him highest paid Niner of all time at an average annual salary of $53 million.Niners and Purdy always hoped to have this done before on field portion of OTAs. Mission accomplished.
…
ME: on Purdy’s contract. That’s just the “starting qb 2nd contract” game. The market determines that, it’s not based on “worth.” The market goes up every year. If you have a starting qb up for a 2nd contract, you either pay him what the market is paying for starting qbs up for 2nd contracts that year, or you let him walk.
Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence signed 2nd contracts in 2024, and their deals were in the 55 M a year range, so if anything Purdy’s deal is a bit at the low end of that market.
Stafford, in contrast, turned down deals for more money to stay with the Rams. Plus he’s not in the “2nd contract for a starting qb” market. Deals past contract 2 are not as uniformly defined.
…
znModeratorThis clip of @JaredVerse1 playing TE in high school is crazy…
No wonder he has been asking McVay to play on offense. That stiff arm was cold-blooded 😤 pic.twitter.com/cHsLjuxh8q
— Rams Bros. (@RamsBrothers) May 16, 2025
znModeratorThe Rams pulled off one of the hardest things to do in professional sports: Staying competitive while retooling *at the same time.*
Both @ByKevinClark and I ranked them as a top 5 front office.
📺: https://t.co/thyIRoxZZp pic.twitter.com/04Zfi74qdJ
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) May 15, 2025
…
from https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2025/5/16/24431527/rams-nfl-front-office-rankings-mina-kimes
ESPN’s Mina Kimes explained this and how impressive it was in a podcast ranking the best NFL front offices. Said Kimes,
“Do you remember the two-track thing with the Warriors where they were like, we’re both playing for the present, but also building for the future at once? It was like a stated strategy…“the point is, this idea that a team can both be all-in with older players, but then also rebuilding at the same time with younger players. The Rams did it. It’s so hard to do. And the Rams did it. And you have to give Les Snead all the credit in the world. The fact that they did ‘F Them Picks’, won a Super Bowl, and then immediately became competitive again, through, in part, the strength of their draft picks is unbelievable. Just the last two years – Steve Avila, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Puka Nacua. This last year – Jared Verse, Braden Fisk, Kam Kinchens…The defense post-Aaron Donald was supposed to go off of a cliff. The fact that it didn’t is Les Snead’s like masterclass to me.”
znModeratorDespite the 49ers having the easiest schedule, @AdamSchefter isn't that confident in San Francisco 😳
"This team lost a lot more talent than people realize." pic.twitter.com/mgC8Kx653I
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 15, 2025
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