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znModeratorWell…some creative-writing-reconfigure-er needs to complexify The Mummy.
Mummies as monsters are a 19th century invention too. They have a strange history. It was a fad among Victorian elites to buy mummies and hold unwrapping parties, yes unwrapping the mummies. They would then take photos of themselves posing with the unwrapped mummy corpses. They would also grind mummies into a powder that was then popularly consumed in drinks as a health benefit. The powders were also used to make a special brand of paint.
Arthur Conan Doyle has a mummy story. It’s really a story about how the true manly English gentleman would never go native in the imperial world. Here: Lot No. 249 — https://www.dfw-sherlock.org/uploads/3/7/3/8/37380505/1892_september_lot_no_249.pdf
Here’s an article about Victorian mummy fascination: Why Were the Victorians So Obsessed With Mummies? — https://www.history.com/articles/mummy-unwrapping-parties-egyptomania
znModeratorGroup including 49ers minority owner agrees to buy Seahawks for what is said to be record price
The Paul Allen Estate has agreed to sell the Seattle Seahawks to a group led by the Khosla family, which owns a minority interest in the San Francisco 49ers, the estate announced Saturday.
The agreed-upon purchase price is $9.612 billion, according to two league sources who were granted anonymity to discuss the confidential matter. Should NFL owners ratify the deal (at least 24 of the other 31 team owners must approve), it would set a record for an NFL franchise’s sale price, outpacing the previous mark by approximately 50 percent.
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks. We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement on behalf of the Khosla family.
According to a memo the NFL sent to team executives, a copy of which was obtained by The Athletic, Neeru Khosla, an educator and entrepreneur, will serve as controlling owner of the Seahawks. She is believed to be the first minority woman to have sole control of an NFL franchise.
Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and the couple’s son Neal Khosla, the CEO of AI healthcare company Curai, will also have interest. Neal Khosla, according to the NFL’s memo, is expected to have “a significant leadership role” in the ownership group. To adhere to NFL ownership rules, the Khosla family must divest its interest in the 49ers.
Allen’s estate announced it had begun the formal sale process of the franchise 10 days after the Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60. It was the franchise’s second Super Bowl victory during the Allen family’s nearly three decades of ownership. Seattle also won four NFC championships and 11 division titles during the span.
The sale to the Khosla family will be the third time the Seahawks have changed ownership groups since the franchise joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1976. The Nordstrom family owned the team until 1988, when it sold it to real estate developers Ken Behring and Ken Hofmann for $80 million.
Behring had planned to move the team to Anaheim, Calif., but Paul Allen ensured it stayed in Seattle when he purchased it for roughly $200 million in 1997. He served as controlling owner until his death in October 2018 from complications from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The team was placed in a trust and his sister, Jody Allen, was named the executor and trustee of his estate. Per the terms of the trust, Jody Allen, was tasked with eventually selling the franchise, along with Paul Allen’s other pro sports interests, and donating the proceeds to charity.
The estate’s sale of the Portland Trail Blazers to a group led by billionaire Tom Dundon for approximately $4.25 billion was finalized in March.
The sale processes for the Blazers and Seahawks were led by Allen & Co., a boutique investment bank with no relationship to Paul Allen. The bank, according to the NFL’s memo to teams, “reported a very robust interest” in the Seahawks.
The Seahawks are the third NFL team whose controlling interest was sold in the last four years. The Washington Commanders were sold to a group led by private equity investor and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris for $6.05 billion in 2023. The Denver Broncos, held in a trust established by former owner Pat Bowlen, were sold to the Walton-Penner family for $4.65 billion in 2022.
znModeratorWhy do you think the whole Frankenstein story has been so popular, for so many generations?
Just a simple little theory…but it manages to rise above its own occassional klutziness to be a story of monstrosity that is open to constant re-configuring. Monsters don’t work if they are obviously just one limited possible meaning. The creature is a particular vivid thing, but it’s also open-ended–you can keep re-framing it to have an array of mythical resonances. Science as transgression, deformity, social injustice, the madness of ambition, the abject and outcast, the articulate and sympathetic soul in monstrous form, the compulsive vengeance of the hurt and wronged, the irrationality of misogyny, birth and physicality as a workshop of filthy creation but bound to soulful longings–lots of anxieties, dark wishes, and the instability of Othering all in one. Jekyll/Hyde and Dracula are the same thing. Very specific, detailed things in very specific situations but open to multiple resonances, some of which haven’t even been invented yet.
So it can affect you but then it just don’t come all wrapped up with one simple “moral.”
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znModeratorHence all the “Bride of Frankenstein” movies.
It’s been a long time since I read that book, probably over 40 years, but I liked it a lot at the time, and was just amazed it was written by a woman.
I MEAN 19-YEAR OLD! 19-YEAR OLD! That’s what I MEANT, SWEARTOGOD!!!
I always heard the theme of the book was human’s shouldnt play god and too much faith in technology is bad, etc.
But i didnt get any of that from the actual writing. Seemed to me it was a story about parenthood. Frankenstein was a REALLY bad parent. Abandoned the creation, like, five minutes after he made it. And so, the child became bitter and monstrous.
The book was incredibly ‘repetitive’. Internal dialogue was: page 50. “i regret making the monster”. page 51. “I regret making the monster.” page 52. “I regret making the monster.” And on and on until the very end. I mean, no growth, no change…just that. Over and over. Until the end.
Read it again sometime. Tell me what ‘you’ think.
I cant speak about the second or third version though. Percy edited a version, and Mary edited one…or somethin.
w
vMy own 22 cents.
In a lot of ways the novel is 2 things at once that are very tied to the time it was written. First, it is both a homage to and a critical/revisionist re-write of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Not many people read PL anymore but if you do, the fact that Shelley’s novel is sparring with Milton’s epic is apparent on every single page. (The reigning “great English written work” in the early 19th century was PL, it was without competition as what you had to read if you were to be considered literate.) What the novel does in particular is turn Milton’s essentialist ideas of women completely upside down. So it is about domestic space and women’s morally, socially, and culturally significant grounding of it. Basically, the novel is about Victor completely ignoring and trampling on that. His ambition makes him blind to domestic space so he destroys it, not through his own direct actions, but through ignoring it and disregarding what the novel sets up as its centrality to a moral and grounded life.
Victor is therefore constantly presented as being blindly ignorant. For example, when the creature says I will be with you on your wedding night, he assumes the creature will be coming for him. It doesn’t even occur to him it will be coming for Elizabeth. An even deeper reveal of this terrible ignorant blindness is when he is making a female creature for his male creation as he had promised, and decides he cannot stand the idea of them reproducing. So instead of just making the female so it cannot reproduce–simple enough, right?–he tears the unfinished thing to pieces. It takes a long time and a lot of violent emotional energy to tear a body to pieces when all you have to do is not give it a uterus (and yes female anatomy was understood well enough at the time so that a trained doctor familar with human physiology ought to know that).
This is one of the places where the novel echoes Milton instead of revising/critiquing PL. There is a moment in PL where Adam, disraught over having eaten the fruit and now fallen, blames everything but himself. For example he blames God–did I solicit you to make me? He also blames Eve, and does so in a way that is deeply misogynist. He basically says, why did God create women? Couldn’t he think of a better way to reproduce than to create “this fair defect of nature” (yes female anatomy is here called a “defect”). The whole passage:
“Oh why did God, Creator wise, that peopled highest Heaven/ With Spirits masculine, create at last/ This novelty on Earth, this fair defect/ Of Nature, and not fill the world at once/ With men as Angels, without feminine?”
Victor unconsciously echoes this in his actions–why do we need women to reproduce? This, written by a woman whose mother died from giving birth to her and who had already lost her first child to what was then the common blight of infant mortality.
And then of course there’s the fact that to make the work of creating the creature easier on him, he makes it hugely disproportionate and therefore monstrous. It never occurs to him that the creature will have to live with that as a sentient and emotional being. He only cares about accomplishing his goal. The equivalent today are the rich guys who want to manufacture more AI data centers without giving a damn about what they do to the environment, which is beyond awful (data centers are also hard to live near since they make constant whining noises because of their immense cooling systems).
So the entire key to Victor’s character is that he is presented as being massively blind, and the main thing he is blind to is (according to the novel) the grounded, moral centrality of the domestic sphere, that is the sphere of women. This story btw is reproduced by the fact that the narrator, Walton, gives up his ambitious quest to find a passage through the artic, and returns to his sister.
BTW the novel hints at how Victor brings the creature to life. It’s galvanism, or the belief that life was tied to the influence of electric pulses. People actually believed at the time that that was true. The novel doesn;t dwell on it, but galvinism is the only hint offered, and we know from Mary Shelley’s correspondance that she discussed galvanism with Percy Shelley and Byron before writing the novel. Obviously the movies have all picked up on this so that they show lightning being used.
Mary Shelley wrote it young but she was the daughter of 2 of the most significant reformist writers of her era, Mary Wollstonecraft (who as we know died giving birth to her), and William Godwin, the leading voice of philosophical anarchism (of the kind we know from Chomsky). Godwin was also a novelist, and you can see very heavy echoes of his most important novel, Caleb Williams, in Shelley’s novel. Caleb Williams is an old heavy 3-decker and is not read today, it’s too much work, but it was one of the most important novels in its time that set out to critique English social structure and its built in injustices.
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znModeratorThis one felt worth posting separately: adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A, basically total dropback efficiency) vs. dropbacks per game for every current playcaller since 2021.
Monken beats everybody with 17+ games to their name over this period, including former playcallers. pic.twitter.com/QrZQG3GrwC
— Ryan Heath (@RyanJ_Heath) July 9, 2026
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According to fantasy football analyst Ryan Heath, the Rams are in the top quadrant for adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A, basically total dropback efficiency) vs. dropbacks per game, meaning that despite their high volume of passes, they remain one of the most efficient units, constantly balancing risk assessment with conservative choices.
Looking at the rankings, the majority of playcallers in the top quadrant either run balanced offenses and/or have a mobile quarterback who is able to extend plays and limit sacks. The Rams have neither, making their success even more impressive.
It’s also important to note that the Rams’ passing efficiency, while limiting the number of times Stafford drops back compared to their other pass-happy offenses in the NFL, is a massive reason why Kyren Williams has recorded three straight 1,000-yard seasons in the midst of the McVay passing strategy.
znModeratorLos Angeles Rams offensive line coach history
https://pro-football-history.com/franchpos/35/16/los-angeles-rams-offensive-line-coach-historyRyan Wendell
Wendell is the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams since the 2023 season, a total of three years. The team made it to the playoffs three times (2023-2025) and had a 3-3 record under Coach Wendell in playoff games.Kevin Carberry
Carberry was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2021-2022 seasons, a total of two years. The team made it to the playoffs one time (2021) and had a 4-0 record under Coach Carberry in playoff games. In 2021, the Los Angeles Rams faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI and the Rams, under the direction of head coach Sean McVay, won 23-20.Aaron Kromer
Kromer was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2017, 2020 seasons, a total of two years. Kromer’s record as the team’s offensive line coach was 21-11-0, making him the third-most successful offensive line coach in Los Angeles Rams history. The team made it to the playoffs two times (2017, 2020) and had a 1-2 record under Coach Kromer in playoff games.Paul T. Boudreau
Boudreau was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams and St. Louis Rams in the 2006-2007, 2012-2016 seasons, a total of seven years.Steve Loney
Loney was the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams in the 2008-2011 seasons, a total of four years. Loney’s record as the team’s offensive line coach was 12-52-0, making him the least successful offensive line coach in Los Angeles Rams history.John Matsko
Matsko was the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams in the 1999-2005 seasons, a total of seven years. The team made it to the playoffs five times (1999-2001, 2003-2004) and had a 6-4 record under Coach Matsko in playoff games. In 1999, the St. Louis Rams faced off against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV and the Rams, under the direction of head coach Dick Vermeil, won 23-16. In 2001, the St. Louis Rams faced off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI and the Rams, under the direction of head coach Mike Martz, lost 17-20.John Benton
Benton was the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams in the 2004-2005 seasons, a total of two years. The team made it to the playoffs one time (2004) and had a 1-1 record under Coach Benton in playoff games.Jim Hanifan
Hanifan was the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams in the 1997-2002 seasons, a total of six years. The team made it to the playoffs three times (1999-2001) and had a 5-2 record under Coach Hanifan in playoff games. In 1999, the St. Louis Rams faced off against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV and the Rams, under the direction of head coach Dick Vermeil, won 23-16. In 2001, the St. Louis Rams faced off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI and the Rams, under the direction of head coach Mike Martz, lost 17-20.Ed White
White was the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams in the 1998 season. White’s record as the team’s offensive line coach was 4-12-0, making him the third-least successful offensive line coach in Los Angeles Rams history.Steve Greatwood
Greatwood was the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams in the 1995-1996 seasons, a total of two years.Dan Radakovich
Radakovich was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams and St. Louis Rams in the 1979-1981, 1995 seasons, a total of four years. The team made it to the playoffs two times (1979-1980) and had a 2-2 record under Coach Radakovich in playoff games. In 1979, the Los Angeles Rams faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIV and the Rams, under the direction of head coach Ray Malavasi, lost 19-31.Jim Erkenbeck
Erkenbeck was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1992-1994 seasons, a total of three years.Hudson Houck
Houck was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1983-1991 seasons, a total of nine years. The team made it to the playoffs six times (1983-1986, 1988-1989) and had a 4-6 record under Coach Houck in playoff games.Jim Ringo
Ringo was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1982 season. Ringo’s record as the team’s offensive line coach was 2-7-0, making him the second-least successful offensive line coach in Los Angeles Rams history.Foster Andersen
Andersen was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1978 season. Andersen’s record as the team’s offensive line coach was 12-4-0, making him the most successful offensive line coach in Los Angeles Rams history. The team made it to the playoffs one time (1978) and had a 1-1 record under Coach Andersen in playoff games.Ray Prochaska
Prochaska was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1966-1970, 1972-1976 seasons, a total of ten years. Prochaska’s record as the team’s offensive line coach was 99-35-6, making him the second-most successful offensive line coach in Los Angeles Rams history. The team made it to the playoffs six times (1967, 1969, 1973-1976) and had a 3-6 record under Coach Prochaska in playoff games.Bobb Mckittrick
Mckittrick was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1971-1972 seasons, a total of two years.Ray Wietecha
Wietecha was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1963-1964 seasons, a total of two years.Lou Rymkus
Rymkus was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1958-1959 seasons, a total of two years.Joe Madro
Madro was the offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1955-1957 seasons, a total of three years. The team made it to the playoffs one time (1955) and had a 0-1 record under Coach Madro in playoff games.znModeratorL.A. Rams News: The Seahawks still have a great defense https://t.co/SoJ7mrHc0B
— TurfShowTimes (@TurfShowTimes) July 11, 2026
znModeratorElvis
last i heard DA said no felony charges but they were still considering misdemeanors. And there don’t have to be charges for the league to take action.
Even though we don’t really know what’s going on or what the likely timeline is, the Rams probably do…
PARAM
I don’t know about a suspension. The NFL has let a couple of DV issues go unpunished recently. Diggs and the KC coach. … The woman dropped the restraining order. Probably won’t cooperate with the investigation.
znModeratorTom Brady was asked about A.J. Brown and why there's always drama at the WR position:
"I swear to God, it's just déjà vu. I've been seeing the same sh*t since 2000 when I came into the league… It's like the Real Housewives of the NFL."
Brady then explained why the WR position… pic.twitter.com/sr2wtsqe8L
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 10, 2026
znModeratorNFL Stats@NFL_Stats
QBs with the most passes dropped last season:Trevor Lawrence – 45
Bo Nix – 43
Caleb Williams – 29
Matthew Stafford – 28
Patrick Mahomes – 27
Dak Prescott – 25
Jared Goff – 25
Justin Herbert – 25
Cam Ward – 23
Baker Mayfield – 20znModeratorfrom 2026 NFL offensive infrastructure rankings: Which teams have best set up their quarterback for success?
We rank all 32 supporting casts by grading play callers, offensive lines, and weapons to see which teams have set their quarterbacks up for ultimate success
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2026-nfl-offensive-infrastructure-rankings/…
Tier 1: The Best Ecosystems (4-1)
4. Dallas Cowboys (4.40)
3. Detroit Lions (4.40)
2. Chicago Bears (4.45)
1. Los Angeles Rams (4.45)
We have another two ties in the elite group, where it seems like we’re splitting hairs.Dallas and Detroit both received above-average grades for their play callers in Brian Schottenheimer and Drew Petzing. The Cowboys’ slight advantage on the offensive line (where Detroit used to be the best in the NFL but is now merely pretty good instead of great) is made up for by the Lions’ significant advantage at running back, where Jahmyr Gibbs is arguably the league’s best and Javonte Williams leads a very thin group behind him for the Cowboys. The pass catching groups are both excellent, with both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, and Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams ranking highly on our aforementioned wide receiver duos list.
And then we come to the two best offensive ecosystems in the NFL: Chicago and L.A. Ben Johnson and Sean McVay are two of the very small handful of best offensive minds in the league. The pass catching groups have either huge stars (Rams) or great depth (Bears). The offensive lines are above-average to good, and the running backs are solid. When you account for the quarterback, the Rams have the advantage, and that’s why Matthew Stafford was able to win MVP last year, but in a vacuum, Caleb Williams has just about as good a chance for success on a play-to-play basis as he does because of the talent around him on all areas of the field.
znModeratorfrom Best Offensive and Defensive Coordinator Combos in the NFL for 2026: https://www.si.com/nfl/best-offensive-defensive-coordinator-combos-nfl-2026
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2. Los Angeles Rams: OC Nate Scheelhaase–DC Chris Shula
2025 offensive rank: 1
2025 defensive rank: 17This might appear as a coaching duo getting a bump in these rankings for the benefit of having worked under McVay, who’s known for developing future head coaches. But Shula and Scheelhaase received interviews in the latest hiring cycle for reasons other than working under McVay.
Shula quickly expanded on what Morris did before leaving for Atlanta in 2024, and did that with a front office that didn’t spend much money on that side of the ball. After the team stopped neglecting the defense this offseason, there’s a strong possibility that this becomes the best defense in football after the trades for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie.
Scheelhaase is only entering his third year as an NFL coach, but he earned plenty of respect for the work he did as the offensive coordinator at Iowa State. He might not call the plays as McVay’s OC, but he showed his worth last season as the pass-game coordinator by taking the Rams’ offense to new heights and helping Matthew Stafford capture his first MVP.
znModeratorfrom PFF, A data-driven look at NFL quarterback-receiver partnerships: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-data-driven-look-at-nfl-quarterback-receiver-partnerships
[on QB-WR, Stafford & Nacua rank 6th]
[on QB-RB, Stafford & Nacua rank 2nd]
Matthew Stafford–Kyren Williams (0.51 EPA/play): Five receiving touchdowns on 53 targets with zero turnover-worthy plays — the safest high-end connection at the position. Stafford posted a 125.7 rating throwing Williams’ way.
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[and then here’s a surprise one, under the category of “The most efficient duos of all time”]
5. Case Keenum-Kenny Britt, 2015–16 (0.742 EPA/play): The only duo in the top 15 without a single turnover-worthy play — zero across 84 targets. Keenum and Britt both graded positively on 41.7% of their targets, producing 11.3 yards per target from one of the era’s least-heralded passing games.
znModeratorIts kindof a reality-based West African war-genocidal-dystopian story, told by a child-soldier who turns out to be…a mystery.
He’s a ghost. It’s a new trend in ghost stories, where we see the world from the ghost’s perspective, and in the process ghosts become an entirely different kind of metaphor.
znModeratorSince 2023, only 12 players have had at least seven sacks in all three seasons. Turner is one of the 12, and the other 11 are all edge rushers. That makes him the only defensive tackle who has had at least seven sacks in each of the last three years.
znModeratorA.I.
Criminal charges were not filed against Los Angeles Rams … (etc.)That stuff’s in the Alaric thread in case you want to compare details. Here: https://theramshuddle.com/topic/alaric-arrested-again/#post-164747
The Rams still need to develop a LOT back up. They have a 2-3 possible candidates and camp should sort that out. Last year though they went with D.J. Humphries, which didn’t work out so well. He’s one of the primary reasons the Atlanta game went sour. Both Dotson and Jackson were out in that game, leading to Stafford throwing for less than 60%, with 3 sacks and 3 INTs plus a subpar conversion rate (6 of 17 on 3rd/4th downs).
I have finally come to the conclusion that yes, offensive line injuries probably do matter, so you really actually do need good OL depth. That’s after me saying the opposite going back years now.
It’s even an issue for that Mahomes guy:
Scott Kacsmar@ScottKacsmar
Six of the roughest games of Mahomes’ career came with a backup at LT:2019 IND (career-low 13 PTS at that point)
2020 SB 55 (1st blowout loss)
2023 LV Xmas (2 DEF TDs)
2024 SB 59 (largest deficit)
2025 HOU
2025 LACOnly one missing: 27-3 loss vs. 2021 Titans (they had Remmers at RT that day though)
Also dislocated his kneecap at 2019 DEN when Fisher was out.
OL continuity has become a bigger problem, specifically the tackles.
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znModeratorI’m wondering if this is still the “new OL thread.”
No it’s not. It’s titled “OL thread (May thru July)”
I don’t know how you missed that.
znModeratorFootball Insights put together composite rankings from various analysts and outlets, which landed the Rams at No. 3. No one ranked them lower than sixth, and one outlet even put them second behind only the Broncos.
Denver ranked first, followed by the Eagles, Rams, Bears and Buccaneers. The 49ers came in at No. 8, the Seahawks were 15th and the Cardinals ranked 21st.
Last season, the Rams allowed just 23 total sacks, which was tied with the Broncos for the fewest in the NFL. Stafford had plenty of time to throw from the pocket, which is a major reason he was so successful throwing down the field to his receivers.
znModeratorA look at how NFL offenses finished their drives during the 2025 regular season.
The Rams led the league in touchdown drive rate, while the Raiders finished dead last. pic.twitter.com/L6q7JHCCll
— Nutshell Sports (@NutshellSportz) July 8, 2026
znModeratorForty-seven of Garrett’s 125.5 career sacks have come with his team trailing, the third most of any player since individual sacks became official in 1982.
😯
znModeratorfrom ESPN, Execs, coaches, scouts rank top NFL edge rushers for 2026: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49237026/ranking-nfl-top-10-edge-rushers-2026-execs-coaches-scouts
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1. Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams
Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 1
Age: 30 | Last year’s ranking: 1It’s a clean sweep for Garrett, who was No. 1 on every ballot. That’s rare for this exercise, which usually features at least one detractor. But Garrett is undeniable after a season for the ages that included an NFL-record 23 sacks — and perhaps an even more impressive 33 tackles for loss.
Garrett had a stronghold on the voting last year too, well before his banner season.
“He doesn’t get enough credit for just how powerful he is and how you feel that up close,” an NFL coordinator said. “Everyone talks about Aaron Donald’s power, but Myles is just as strong.”
Garrett won on more than 20% of his 448 pass-rushing attempts despite facing a double-team nearly 30% of the time. What makes him great is what he has to overcome.
“He’s seen every type of help an offense can give — slide to him, chips from tight ends and running backs, only run plays away from him — and he has a game plan or counter for all of it,” a separate NFL coordinator said. “From a mental standpoint, it’s really impressive.”
As an NFC executive added, “His ability to feel and navigate at the line without much wasted movement is elite.”
As is Garrett’s intense fitness routine in the offseason.
Forty-seven of Garrett’s 125.5 career sacks have come with his team trailing, the third most of any player since individual sacks became official in 1982. And his eight-game streak of at least one sack ties for the third longest all time.
znModeratorAbsolutely awesome This Is Football with Lavonte David.
I asked him the biggest scheme change during his career and he gave a *great* deep dive into how offenses create mismatches using heavy personnel—especially McVay/Shanahan.
“Everyone wants to keep us out of nickel.” pic.twitter.com/6uRFzjZS9b
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) July 8, 2026
znModeratorfrom PFF Running Back Rankings: Assessing all 32 starters ahead of the 2026 NFL season: https://www.pff.com/news/pff-running-back-rankings-assessing-all-32-starters-ahead-of-the-2026-nfl-season
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10. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Williams was taken in the fifth round back in 2022 and has significantly outperformed that draft position over the last few seasons.
His 220 carries that have gone for a first down or touchdown since 2023 are second to only Derrick Henry. Williams is also fifth among all running backs in that span with 143 forced missed tackles and 2,434 yards after contact.
znModeratorfrom PFF, NFL quarterbacks are holding the ball longer than ever: The trends behind time to throw: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-quarterbacks-are-holding-the-ball-longer-than-ever-the-trends-behind-time-to-throw?utm_campaign=dhtwitter&utm_content=null&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
PFF times every dropback throughout the NFL season, and we can use that data to gain insight into how quarterbacks’ tendencies change over the course of their careers. Focusing on the last four seasons in particular, it is interesting to note that no quarterback has reduced their time to throw every year since 2022.
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[Looking at] quarterbacks who have increased the time they hold onto the ball with each passing season.
The most surprising name on the list is reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, whose time to throw has increased every year since 2022, albeit at a modest pace. Stafford still gets the ball out quicker than most NFL quarterbacks, but much of the extra time he has gained in recent years can be attributed to the improvements the Rams have made along the offensive line.
At 38 years old, Stafford obviously isn’t a scrambler. Therefore, his increased time to throw isn’t a consequence of avoiding oncoming rushers and breaking out of the pocket. Instead, Stafford has used that extra time to target receivers further downfield. There is a clear correlation between his time to throw, average depth of target and percentage of throws that travel beyond the sticks.
While the Rams’ passing attack has undoubtedly become more aggressive in part because of the emergence of Puka Nacua, Stafford has done an excellent job of keeping turnover-worthy plays and sacks to a minimum. The 2024 and 2025 seasons marked the first time in Stafford’s 17-year career that he recorded back-to-back seasons with single-digit interceptions.
Stafford isn’t the only quarterback taking more time in the pocket in recent years. A significant group of passers is taking longer than ever to get the ball out, including Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, Kyler Murray, Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert.
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Offensive line quality, wide receiver talent and, most importantly, play-calling all influence how long a quarterback holds the football over the course of a season, and those factors rarely remain constant. Despite coaching staffs placing a greater emphasis than ever on avoiding negative plays, quarterbacks are generally becoming more comfortable extending plays.
znModeratorRams LT Alaric Jackson won’t face criminal charges after domestic violence arrest
Jackson was arrested in June after a dispute with his pregnant ex-girlfriend that allegedly turned physicalCameron DaSilva
Los Angeles Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson will not face criminal charges after he was arrested for allegedly getting physical with his pregnant ex-girlfriend last month, according to The California Post. Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ivor Pine told The California Post that prosecutors are not filing charges against Jackson “at this time,” but the case remains open and can be re-evaluated in the future if there are new developments. [ https://nypost.com/2026/07/07/sports/los-angeles-rams-star-alaric-jackson-will-not-face-criminal-charges-in-pregnant-girlfriend-case/ ]
The City Attorney’s Office plans to offer alternative options to Jackson to avoid him being charged with a crime. Those options could include community service, attending a class or paying restitution, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Jackson was arrested on June 8 on a domestic violence charge for allegedly getting into a physical altercation with his pregnant ex-girlfriend, which left her with bruises and scratch marks on her body. His accuser was granted a temporary restraining order, but she later dropped the request for a permanent one.
The NFL will still evaluate Jackson’s situation to determine whether he violated the personal conduct policy, which would warrant a suspension. Jackson was previously suspended two games in 2024 for his first violation of the policy.
znModeratorLos Angeles Rams 2026 Season Preview
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znModeratorfrom Execs, coaches, scouts rank top NFL cornerbacks for 2026: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49232779/ranking-nfl-top-10-cornerbacks-2026-execs-coaches-scouts
5. Trent McDuffie, Los Angeles Rams
Highest ranking: 3 | Lowest ranking: Unranked
Age: 25 | Last year’s ranking: 4McDuffie is a top-five cornerback for the second consecutive year. Some evaluators still view him as more of a slot corner due to his size (5-foot-11), but that doesn’t tell the whole story. McDuffie was an outside corner for 500 snaps last season. Even so, some evaluators believe he’s best inside because of his strength, short-area quickness and competitiveness.
“One of the top coverage corners in the league,” an NFC scout said. “He can cover in the perimeter or the slot, can play man or zone, can pressure the quarterback, can play Cover 2 well and can jam and re-route. [He] has plus zone vision.”
The Rams gave up first-, third-, fifth- and sixth-round picks to acquire McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs, then signed him to a four-year, $124 million contract, fortifying the secondary for years to come. Over the past four years, his 6.2 yards per target ranks 10th-fewest among corners.
“Outstanding open-field tackler, and he’s always in position to make a play,” an NFL coordinator said. “You’re going to have to beat him because he won’t beat himself.”
znModerator…according to NFL analyst Ryan Paganetti, one of the most common overcorrections coaches make occurs on second down when they opt to run the football on 2nd-and-10 immediately after an incomplete pass on first down.
However, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has consistently refused to fall into that trap. Charting from Paganetti using Fantasy Points Data and nflfastR reveals that the Rams have been one of the most pass-heavy teams in the league when facing 2nd-and-10 after a first-down incompletion.
Paganetti’s data, which tracks regular-season and playoff performance for 2026 play callers from 2022 through 2025, shows McVay ranking fourth in the NFL with a 72.9% pass rate in these exact situations. Across 73 games, McVay faced this scenario 192 times, dialing up 140 pass calls compared to just 52 runs.
znModeratorPFF, Ranking the NFL’s 10 best head coaches entering the 2026 season
Virtually half the Rams games are against teams on that list.
2 v. Seattle
2 v. SF
+
Denver
LAC
Kansas City
Green Bay
= 8and that’s not even counting Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Dallas.
😮
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znModeratorfrom ESPN, Ranking 2026 NFL rosters: Best projected starting lineups — https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49231555/2026-nfl-roster-ranking-starting-lineups-projection-32-teams
by Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz, Seth Walder[me note: numbers 2-5 are Philadelphia, Seattle, Buffalo, & Baltimore]
1. Los Angeles Rams
Biggest strength: Quarterback. It’s tough to pick one strength, as edge rusher, cornerback, wide receiver and both lines are strong points on the league’s clear-cut best roster. Of course, the Rams’ Super Bowl chances hinge most on the health and continued strong play of reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford, 38. He dominated in 2025, pacing the NFL in both passing yards (4,707) and passing TDs (46) while finishing fourth in QBR. With the league’s best roster around him, Stafford is set up for another elite season. First-round rookie Ty Simpson is his new backup. — Clay
Biggest weakness: Tight end. “None” might be the best answer, but I’ll pick a position that has a lot of depth but no clear No. 1 option. Tyler Higbee is 33 years old and no longer an every-down player. That has allowed more work for veterans Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen. There is some upside here in the form of recent second-round picks Terrance Ferguson (2025) and Max Klare (2026). A Year 2 breakout from Ferguson could quickly make this another strength area. — Clay
X factor for 2026: The health of Stafford and wide receiver Davante Adams. Less than 12 months ago, Stafford couldn’t get on the practice field due to a back issue and was a major question mark entering the season. He ended up playing the whole way — and winning MVP — but there’s no guarantee that he can repeat that in 2026 at age 38. And Adams has played at least 14 games in each of the past six seasons, but I bring him up because he is 33 and the depth behind him and Puka Nacua is severely lacking. The Rams are the best team in football, but they have a couple of Achilles’ heels they must protect. — Walder
Nonstarter to know: Edge rusher Josaiah Stewart. Myles Garrett must come off the field occasionally, right? A 2025 third-round pick, Stewart had three sacks and an impressive 17.6% pass rush win rate as a rookie. He has a high motor but can also drop into coverage when necessary. — Schatz
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