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June 25, 2024 at 10:21 pm in reply to: Stafford. You know, that Mark Stafford guy, the quarterback #151270
znModeratorznModeratorznModeratorSince hiring Coach Sean McVay, no other running back has averaged more yards per carry than Kyren Williams (5.0 ypc in 2023). While there is always room to improve, the real growth for his rushing production most likely lies in keeping him healthy and upright throughout the 2024 NFL season.
znModerator, I’ve cringed plenty of times at the stuff the white-males have said (and ‘not said’) about race during the caitlin clark discussions.
Yeah, mainstream Caitlin Clark discussions are painful.
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znModerator…
At one point, Eisen’s co-broadcaster jumps in and talks about hearing these stories growing up. At about 8:09 Eisen responds, and says that for him Jackson’s words from that moment remind us that the past was ugly and it’s okay to bring it up.
I was sort of struck there by the fact that Eisen missed what his co-broadcaster was saying. His co-host was saying, I grew up hearing about this history–he was saying, it was part of my upbringing to know that history (not just racism generally, but as per this discussion, the history of racism in baseball specifically). Eisen then responds by repeating that for him, the point is that it’s okay to discuss that history, and so Jackson’s words were important. I know what Eisen was doing–he was addressing the Maga tendency (but not just Maga) to say move on, racial conflict is over, and (to paraphrase the right-wing discourse) why are you being (wait for it wait for it the big word is coming…)…”divisive”. Okay. But at the same time…and it wasn’t this huge faux paux, just a “difference” that led to a missed moment. So while he was saying that absolutely yes people need to hear and talk about that history and that it’s valuable to do that, I also wanted him to add that at the same time some people–his co-host in this case–grew up knowing all about that history. But he didn’t even really hear that.
znModeratorJourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigueThe Rams will open eight training camp practices at LMU to fans, the team announced. July 25, 26, 27, 29, 30 and Aug 1 and 3..Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigueReplying to @JourdanRodrigueAnd July 30, which makes 8 Jourdan you dummy.Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigueReplying to @JourdanRodrigueJuly 31Whew man I take a few days away and my brain entirely shuts downznModerator@speed_kills@speedk1llsIMO they are the strongest they have been at WR3 since Cooks left. The instant Robinson got on the field the passing game picked up. Once he got his chance he never looked back. He was clutch in several games and Stafford looked 4 himznModeratorThey talk about McVay and the Rams for the first couple of minutes.
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znModeratorBrandon Thorn of Trench Warfare and Establish the Run recently ranked the NFL’s offensive line groups. Coming in at number 11 and in the “solid offensive lines” tier was the Rams. Said Thorn,
“Head coach Sean McVay‘s transformation from utilizing a zone-based run scheme to a downhill, gap-based one will be complete this year, as the line is slated to have one of the heaviest in the league, particularly on the interior. Last year’s standout rookie left guard, Steve Avila, is moving inside to center to make room for free-agent signing Jonah Jackson from the Lions. With Kevin Dotson coming off of a career year, and as long as Avila can settle into the pivot (which he played more of in college than guard), this will be one of the best interior trios in the NFL. Add in the ever-steady presence of right tackle Rob Havenstein, and the unit really just has one main question at left tackle with Alaric Jackson. Jackson was adequate last year at tackle over 15 starts, but there needs to be improvements in pass protection for him to avoid being picked on too much by higher-end competition.”
znModeratorFrom https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/6/22/24183689/rams-tight-end-depth-chart-colby-parkinson
former Seattle Seahawks tight end, Colby Parkinson.
In free agency, the Rams signed Parkinson to a three-year contract worth up to $22.5M. That seems like a lot for a player that had never exceeded 25 receptions in a season and recorded over 300 yards once in four years.
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Seattle has typically been a heavy tight-end team, utilizing 12 personnel at the 10th-highest rate last year and fourth-highest rate in 2022. With that said, especially last year, their pass rate out of 12 personnel has been relatively low. They threw out of 12 personnel just 50 percent of the time last year which ranked 18th in the NFL. That was much lower than their 2022 rate of 57.1 percent which was the seventh-highest. It’s worth noting that also Parkinson’s best year as a receiver.
The Seahawks simply haven’t been a team that consistently uses their tight ends in the passing game. … Last season, Seattle ranked 22nd in tight end targets and were 26th and 21st in 2021 and 2020 respectively. Again, in 2022 when the Seahawks were more tight end usage heavy in the passing game, ranking fifth in the NFL with 136 targets, Parkinson had his best season as the third tight end in the offense.
Parkinson has simply been under-used in Seattle. In 2022, among tight ends with at least 25 targets, he ranked 19th in total EPA despite just a 5.9 percent target share…. The 5.9 percent target share should raise significantly in the Rams offense. In a down year, Higbee had a 12 percent target share last season.
…going back to 2022, as a receiver Parkinson ranked ninth in yards after the catch per reception and his 1.56 yards per route run ranked 11th.
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McVay has already expressed his excitement in Parkinson and has said,
“You saw him climb the ladder, make a big catch today…I thought Shane (Waldron) did a great job utilizing his skillset in Seattle where you could really get a good evaluation…He’s definitely going to add real value. We’re looking forward to being able to getting the pads on and playing real football when we can kind of get a little bit better evaluation in a full speed setting. But the size, the instincts, just the overall character, we’re certainly excited about him.”
The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue has also mentioned that Parkinson’s size and speed ‘pops in practices.
znModeratorznModeratori remember when martz hired lovie and the rams d turned around in 2001. did they have to make drastic personnel changes? is that when they added lewis, pickett, and archuleta?
Fwiw here’s what I remember about that.
Well part of the 2001 turnaround was the 2000 collapse. Before 2000 every single DL starter had off-season surgery, and then some of them like Farr got injured during the season. Carter had back issues. Plus of course turns out that Giunta was not up to it as a solo coordinator.
In 2001, they added draft picks (Polley, Archuleta) and free agents/trades (Ahonotu, Fields, Aeneas) and then guys already on the roster stepped up (Zgonia, Young, Little). They also had on-the-roster vets who stayed steady, like Fletcher and Wistrom. Picks like Lewis and Pickens didn’t really do much.
The differences between then and now?
- the defense didn’t really collapse in 2023 like it did in 2000
- back then, the most they lost was Carter, who while good was no Donald
- 2024 depends heavily on 2023 and 2024 draft picks, much more than 2001 depended on draft picks…actually, frankly, 2001 was a disappointing draft
- 2001, they changed the scheme by hiring an outside coach; obviously in 2024, they promoted their own guy, so at least there’s general scheme continuity
It’s really hard to say right now how good they will be in 2024. In 2000/2001, it was a collapse then a turnaround. In 2023/2024, it’s a slower building process heavily dependent on young players in the front 7 plus a first-time coordinator.
June 23, 2024 at 3:28 pm in reply to: mass shootings & guns … including Trump getting shot at #151254znModerator…
Off-duty guard charged with killing Seattle-area teen after mistaking toy for gun, authorities say
https://apnews.com/article/toy-gun-teen-killed-guard-charged-bbe66178f764d1b944fb40b3ff4a3452
SEATTLE (AP) — An off-duty security guard in a Seattle suburb has been charged with second-degree murder by prosecutors who said that he fatally shot a 17-year-old six times in the back as the teen and his friends tried to return a toy gun that the guard believed was a firearm to a sporting goods store.
King County prosecutors charged Aaron Brown Myers on Monday in the death of Hazrat Ali Rohani outside a Big 5 Sporting Goods Store in Renton, Washington. Myers, 51, also faces a second-degree assault charge after authorities say he held another teen at gunpoint.
Rohani and two other teens were headed into the store at about 7:30 p.m. on June 5 to return a malfunctioning airsoft gun, Rohani’s friends told police. They walked in front of Myers, who was sitting in his vehicle waiting to pick up his son from a martial arts class.
Myers told police that he noticed one teen carrying what he believed was a Glock handgun, and thought he saw another teen put a firearm into his waistband. Thinking he needed to stop an armed robbery, Myers told police that he didn’t have time to call 911, and instead got out of the car and pointed his gun pointed at the teens.
As Myers approached, one of the teens moved to the side and the other two stopped, raised their hands and one placed the airsoft gun on the sidewalk, telling Myers numerous times that it was a “BB gun,” not a firearm.
Myers then pushed one of the boys onto the sidewalk and straddled him, according to the probable cause document filed by Renton police. Myers continued to point his firearm at Rohani as he held his hands out in front of him, showing Myers that they were empty, police said. Rohani started to back away and Myers opened fire, hitting the teen once in the right side and six times in the back.
Video shows Rohani clutching his abdomen as he falls to the ground, calling out for his mother. The other teen ran for cover and called 911.
Rohani died at the scene and police immediately took Myers into custody.
Myers’ lawyer, Michelle Scudder, said in an email that Myers sincerely believed he was witnessing the beginning of a violent crime and wanted to stop it before anyone got hurt.
“Mr. Myers and his family are devastated by this tragedy and the fact that it resulted in the loss of a young man’s life,” Scudder said. “We are confident that over the course of this investigation the evidence will show that Mr. Myers’ only intent that day was to protect himself and others from serious harm or death.”
Myers said he had a “duty to intervene,” prosecutors said.
“The defendant failed to take the obvious step of securing the toy gun, rather than assaulting the teen who had carried it,” King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Burke said in a court filing.
Myers was being held in King County jail on $2 million bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 24 in Kent, Washington.
“Only a high bail, electronic home detention, and surrender of all firearms will protect the community from an untrained civilian who believes he has a duty to shoot people who have not hurt anyone,” Burke said.
It’s unclear where Myers works as a security guard.
Myers had tried to intervene in what he thought was a crime in March 2022, police said. He called 911 and told police that he saw a person on a bicycle pointing a gun at people, police said. He followed the person to a store until police arrived. Officers determined the person did not have a gun and posed no threat, police said.
“In this case the defendant attacked three teenagers who had not committed any crime and at every stage of the interaction chose to escalate with more and more violence, until it culminated in the defendant taking the life of” Rohani, Burke said.
znModeratorDaniel Jeremiah@MoveTheSticks
Always fun to see what words come to mind when studying players. Florida State edge Jared Verse–carnage, rugged, violent, powerful, jolting are a few of the words on my sheet.***
from JB Scott: https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/6/23/24183774/rams-olb-depth-chart-jared-verse-byron-young
The OLB room is starting to get crowded in Los Angeles. Once the pecking order is established in training camp, how should we expect things to look?
While Young impressed as a rookie, at age 26 there are questions around how much room he has left to grow at the NFL level. He also hit the “rookie wall” last year and there was a substantial drop in production from the first half of the season. There’s a chance, if not probable, that Verse steps in and is the Rams’ best OLB on day one. That’s a fair expectation of the 19th overall selection and who most draft experts had solidly ranked in the top three EDGE rushers from this class.
Starters: Jared Verse & Byron Young
The first thing that sticks out about the combination of Verse and Young is how their skillsets, at least on paper, seem complementary. Verse is a physical, violet EDGE who makes his presence felt. He’s more explosive than fast. On the other hand, Young is somewhat undersized and wins with speed and high motor.
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There will be opportunities; who makes the most of them?
Brennan Jackson, 2024 4th rounder
Nick Hampton, 2023 5th rounder
Ochaun Mathis, 2023 6th rounderznModeratorPro Football Rumors@pfrumorsBrandon Aiyuk’s asking price on a #49ers extension has changed based on this offseason’s other receiver deals. The team has moved on from trade consideration, but the stalled status of negotiations remains the source of questions on his future.As had been speculated, #49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk is reportedly shooting for guaranteed money in the mid-to-upper-$80MM range on his next contract, which would be a new record.June 22, 2024 at 1:57 am in reply to: Rams off-season assessments & rankings & early previews #151249znModeratorThey do the Rams starting at about 40:30 in.
znModeratorHe has high praise for Scarneccia (sp?) here, not surprisingly. Said Scar coached the practice squad guys as meaningfully as the starters. “Everybody on the Patriots got coached”
Everyone knows this but I still like to harp on the fact that the Rams OL coach, Ryan Wendell, played under Scarnecchia. Played center in fact.
znModeratorPARAM
The common “bitch” with giving Stafford more money is two-fold. “He’s always injured” and “He’s 35….how many more years does he have?” A check of the first claim shows over the last 4 years, he’s missed 8 games due to injury and played 15 games or more 3 times. A check of the second claim requires checking other QBs who’ve retired to see how long they played.
The 10 QBs ahead of him in career passing yards all played until their late 30’s or more.
Brady – 45
Brees – 41
P.Manning – 39
Favre – 41
Ben R – 39
Rivers – 39
Ryan – 37
Marino – 38
A Rod – 41
Eli – 38(Plus at 11, Ryan – 37)
If you take out the high (Brady 45) and the low Ryan (37) you get an average of 39.5. And a couple of them were injured as much as, or more than Stafford. Favre (played through most of it like #9), P. Manning, Marino, Brees, etc. Stafford is going into his age 36 year so I would bet he’s got at least 3 years to play, maybe 4. Maybe more. The guy right behind him, Elway, played through age 38 and retired after two consecutive Lombardis. I think that could be a factor in Stafford retiring prior to age 39 or 40. I’ll take that.
June 21, 2024 at 8:58 am in reply to: Rams off-season assessments & rankings & early previews #151244znModeratorfrom 100 Bold Predictions for the 2024 NFL Season: https://www.si.com/nfl/nfl-predictions-2024-season-super-bowl-mvp-awards
49. The Rams will win the NFC West
Sean McVay & Co. laid the foundation for a divisional run last year. With the 49ers reeling from a stinging overtime Super Bowl loss, the Rams can capitalize on a bit of vulnerability and ride their two-headed passing attack to a 12-win season and at least one win in the playoffs. The Rams believed last year and, I think, felt like they could do some serious damage if they’d gotten past the Lions in the wild-card round. Alas, this is a year for unfinished business and to show how quickly general manager Les Snead turned over a roster after going all in for Super Bowl LVI.
52. Kyren Williams will lead the NFL in rushing
After finishing in third place last year, the Rams’ third-year back will edge Christian McCaffrey, James Cook and Bijan Robinson, who will finish second, third and fourth, respectively. Williams will have 1,323 yards, on top of 11 rushing touchdowns and 64 accumulated first downs.
74. Joshua Karty will break the NFL’s rookie record for most points scored in a season
The Rams’ kicker, drafted in the sixth round out of Stanford, seems to have a hold on the gig, barring a disastrous summer or early fall. L.A. should also score a lot of points this year. Down goes Brandon Aubrey’s record of 157 points set last season. It’s a Karty Party all up in here.
znModeratorThe Texans shuffled constantly throughout the regular season, starting seven different offensive line combinations.
By game 12 in 2022 the Rams had started 12 different OL combinations. It’s an NFL record.
But you know, 7 OL combinations in a season, that’s pretty bad too I guess…🤒
June 19, 2024 at 2:12 pm in reply to: Rams off-season assessments & rankings & early previews #151240znModeratorJune 19, 2024 at 1:55 am in reply to: Stafford. You know, that Mark Stafford guy, the quarterback #151237znModeratorroberto clemente@rclemente2121stafford: healthy vs unhealthy?2021 + second half of 2023 (24 games):
18-6
103.4 qb rating
57 tds / 21 int
27.3 offensive pts per game
super bowl ring2022 + first half of 2023 (18 games):
6-11
84.8 qb rating
18 tds / 15 int
19.2 offensive pts per gameJune 18, 2024 at 4:26 pm in reply to: Rams off-season assessments & rankings & early previews #151232znModeratorfrom https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/6/18/24181243/rams-espn-offseason-rankings-draft-error-disrespect
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In an “offseason grades” article by ESPN’s Seth Walder, the Rams decision to trade up for Fiske at that cost was called “one of the largest and most obvious errors in the draft.”.
L.A. was given a B- grade, which doesn’t seem so bad if you’re just trying to get your final math credit to graduate college, but looks worse when you have to scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the article to find it. A B- put the Rams near the bottom-third of the order:
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The Rams spent free agency investing in veterans to improve their secondary (Williams and Tre’Davious White at cornerback and safety Kamren Curl) and the interior oftheir offensive line, as they brought in Jackson from the Lions and re-signed guard Kevin Dotson.
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These signings aren’t guaranteed wins — White is coming off an Achilles injury and the guards probably were overpriced. They bought high on Williams, who is coming off a season in which he allowed just 1.0 yards per coverage snap (average for an outside corner is 1.3), but they only guaranteed him $7 million. The message is clear. Despite losing Aaron Donald to retirement, the Rams are going for it again while they still can with quarterback Matthew Stafford. It makes sense.
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Between Stafford, coach Sean McVay and an excellent receiving duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, the Rams can contend if things break right on defense and the offensive line. The Rams did make one of the largest and most obvious errors in the draft, trading a fifth-round pick and a future second-round pick just to move up from 52 to 39 and select Fiske.
znModeratorIn podcasts she pointed out that with a huge increase in new, young personnel the Rams could not commit as much time to drilling and practicing for special teams–that time had to be spent on suddenly very young offensive and defensive units. Last year also lacked a lot of special teams veterans.
Rodrigue talking about that. Here:
znModeratorfrom https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/6/18/24180268/rams-news-les-snead-offseason-dotson-verse
.Josh Edwards from CBS Sports lauded Snead for an “admirable” 2024 offseason as he ranked LA as having one of the 10 best offseasons. Edwards placed the Rams at No. 6 in his June 17 article:
“Los Angeles was not in the best financial spot entering the offseason and the retirement of future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Aaron Donald will be felt this season. However, the Donald decision was out of Los Angeles’ hands. The response of general manager Les Snead was admirable, though.
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It was savvy to continue fortifying the offensive line with the signing of bargain trade acquisition Kevin Dotson and the signing of offensive guard Jonah Jackson. To account for Donald’s departure, the Rams selected defensive linemen with their first two selections: Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse and Florida State defensive tackle Braden Fiske.”
znModeratorroberto clemente@rclemente2121 rams 2023:
week 1-11
week 12-17I prefer to do it as weeks 1-9 (record 3/6) v. week 11-18, after the week 10 bye (record 7/1). I think the bye is a serious and significant dividing point.
It would take a lot to do all the relevant the numbers so I’ll save that part. Though fwiw I can do a quick comparison of points for/against. Before the bye, Rams points for/against averaged 19.66/22.66. In the 8 games after the bye, they averaged 28.25/21.6. That’s a 43.7% increase in scoring. The points for/against differential (ie. scoring margin) went from –3.00 to +6.65, a swing of 9.65.
If each “half” of the season was ranked against the stats for the league for the whole season, it would go like this:
PF, before bye: 23rd
PA, before bye: 22nd
point differential, before bye: 23rdPF, after bye: 3rd
PA, after bye: 15th
point differential, after bye: 5thznModeratorroberto clemente@rclemente2121
rams 2023:week 1-11
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record 4-6
offensive scoring #20
offensive tds per game #20
offensive yds per play #14
stafford qb rtg #26week 12-17
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record 6-1
offensive scoring #1
offensive tds per game #2
offensive yds per play #3
stafford qb rtg #3znModeratorYoutube vid, beluga whale that “talks”
znModeratorMcVay says that Young was green last year but this spring, it looks like he has come a long way. If that holds up, it’s a great development.
znModeratorMichael Silver@MikeSilver
Very short version of where things stand with 49ers and their receivers:
1) They drafted Pearsall in the first round. He is a big part of the present and the future.
2) If Aiyuk ends up taking their best offer, Deebo will be gone after 2024.
3) If Aiyuk doesn’t take their best offer, and (presumably) plays on the fifth-year option, it’s Hunger Games between him and Deebo to see who stays beyond 2024.
4) There’s still a chance Aiyuk or Deebo could be traded between now and the November deadline, if the offer’s good enough and/or if things have devolved with Aiyuk. -
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