.

One of the most impressive coaches w/ daily energy to teach and grow together I have a been around.
He’s the Definition of being the “Energy Bus!”

Elevates any room he’s in, and the people around him want to be better for him!

Been deserving of that HC opportunity for too… https://t.co/1hXB5bUAyr

— Andrew Whitworth (@AndrewWhitworth) December 19, 2023

The Rams have walkthroughs today on the short week.

DNP: Tre Tomlinson (hamstring), Joe Noteboom (foot)
Full: Rob Havenstein, Ahkello Witherspoon, Tutu Atwell, Ronnie Rivers.

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) December 19, 2023

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/lists/rams-grades-week-15-commanders-report-card/?taid=6581f528ec1315000112be8c&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2023/12/19/rams-matthew-stafford-stats-metrics-rankings-nfl/?taid=6581e5ea176f5f0001b79621&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

Matthew Stafford has completed 64% of his passes for 1,250 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only two interceptions since the Los Angeles Rams exited their bye week in Week 10. Besides those numbers, the advanced metrics show just how good Stafford has been for the Rams in recent weeks.

According to rbsdm.com, Stafford has the sixth-best EPA per play (0.197) and the seventh-best success rate (47.7%) among quarterbacks who have at least 150 plays since Week 11. The experienced signal-caller is also registering the ninth-highest completion percentage over expected (0.6) in that span.

Demarcus Robinson has scored a touchdown in each of the last 3 games.

It’s great to see his involvement and chemistry with Stafford grow. With Atwell returning and the Tight Ends contributin, the Rams may be at their most lethal this Thursday pic.twitter.com/dT9VHaUiki

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) December 19, 2023

Rodrigue: Rams have some say over their destiny, now what will they do with it?

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/5144793/2023/12/17/la-rams-playoff-position-nfc/?source=emp_shared_article

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams arrived at SoFi Stadium on Sunday morning with little say over their postseason hopes and dreams. All they could do, they knew, was try to win the one ahead of them.

By kickoff of their Week 15 game against Washington, they had gotten a little help from their frenemies across the NFL — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (quarterback Baker Mayfield helping the Rams in December? You don’t say …), who beat the Green Bay Packers, and the Carolina Panthers’ victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Beating Washington 28-20 now means the 7-7 Rams currently have possession of the No. 7 seed in the postseason hunt. It means, as inside linebacker and captain Ernest Jones aptly put it, “not having to depend on someone else to lose all the time.” It means more serious tones are used by the many, many voices on the outside who pointed at this roster in May and openly laughed.

“I’m not surprised,” said coach Sean McVay of his team’s position after going 4-1 since the bye week. He’s not lying, either — McVay has earnestly championed the potential of this team since May, no matter the surprised faces people pulled in response to that sentiment. “(But) there is a lot of football left. There are a lot of teams in contention. Hey, let’s see what the hell we can do moving forward against a great challenge on Thursday.”

But here’s the thing about controlling your destiny, about having a say: If you’re not careful, you can cough it up in a blink. The Rams almost — almost — lived that nightmare Sunday, after two early fumbles by lead running back Kyren Williams, shortcomings in the red zone (McVay owned up to this as bad play calls on the first drive, when the Rams stalled from the 4-yard line and ultimately kicked a field goal) and a late Commanders aerial attack between quarterback Jacoby Brissett and star receiver Terry McLaurin. A 20-0 lead through the initial two-and-a-half quarters got a little too close for comfort.

Williams lost two fumbles, one in the second quarter as he got to the Washington 10-yard line and the other at about the Washington 41-yard line on a short pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Rams had 242 yards of first-half offense (and had held Washington to 83 net yards and no points) but just 13 points to show for it, between the fumbles and the red zone gaffes.

A beautifully designed play-action shot from Stafford to receiver Cooper Kupp on the second play of the third quarter went for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Stafford hit Demarcus Robinson for a pretty corner end zone touchdown catch with 13:31 left in the game. The Rams successfully went for two after the score.

Williams still got the goal-line carry that resulted in his touchdown, which came after the first of his two fumbles.

“(I said) that I’ve got a lot of confidence in him, those are very correctible things,” said McVay, and he showed it. Williams had 15 second-half carries (he totaled 27 carries for 152 yards and a touchdown) and closed the game out on the ground in the final minute-and-a-half. It was, as McVay noted, a known-run situation at that point to burn the Commanders’ timeouts and the clock, which meant seeing a defense that loaded up the box. Williams and the Rams’ offensive line asserted on the first two snaps of the possession to force Commanders coach Ron Rivera’s hand on his timeouts.

“If I’m getting the ball that many times, I have to have great ball security,” Williams said. “Keep it high and tight, no matter what the situation is. Be more aware. That’s on me. I’m going to fix it, and be better next week. … It means everything (that McVay stuck with him). He was telling me right when it happened, ‘I’ve still got trust in you. I’ve still got 100 percent trust in you.’”

McLaurin made an outstanding catch in the end zone with 7:24 left to play that brought the Commanders to a 14-point deficit, then a possession later Brissett hit McLaurin for 49 yards to move the ball to the 1-yard line.

On both plays, second-year cornerback Derion Kendrick was in coverage. After McLaurin’s catch set the Commanders up at the goal line, Kendrick was flagged for pass interference on a fourth-and-7 that gifted the Commanders a fresh set of downs, which they used to score (again on fourth down).

“I mean, you saw it. It was an individual guy being able to win right there,” McVay said. “McLaurin is a really good player. But I think there are some learning opportunities that we can have — both from our coaches and from our players in terms of how we want to play some of those situations. Those are the things that occur in this league, when you’re asking guys to be able to match up sometimes it doesn’t go down for you. But it’s always about the response. There are a lot of things that we can all do better today.”

The one positive from the entire sequence was that it killed a ton of clock. Still, there is reason to be concerned about the breakdowns, especially with Ahkello Witherspoon’s status for Thursday night’s game in question after he exited in the fourth quarter with a groin injury.

“Man, there are so many things that we can learn from,” McVay said. “It’s a lot easier to be able to learn when you find a way to win. The turnovers, some of the red zone sequencing starting with myself could have been so much better. … But I did like the grit that I saw from our group toward the latter part of the game.”

If Williams was a great example of that, second-year cornerback Cobie Durant was, too.

Durant, who said he has “finish the race” written on a large whiteboard in his home, has seen his playing time diminish a little but made the most of the snaps he did get — in particular, a blocked extra-point attempt after the Commanders’ last touchdown that McVay pointed to as a momentum-killer for Washington’s surging offense.

“I line up, and (the special teams coaches) told us in the meeting all week, ‘The end is not blocking the edge rushers,’” Durant said. “I just timed up the snap, and as I went I didn’t feel a nudge or anybody pushing me. I see the holder, he had to pick the ball up off the ground. I knew I was going to block it, then.

“I’m taking advantage of (my) opportunities when they come. Just have to make plays. … It means a lot. Being available wherever they want me to be — they could ask me to be at long snapper and I’d go in and long snap! I’d just need a little practice on that, though. Just being available and being the playmaker that I am. I preach that all the time to myself. I write it down on my board … ‘finish the race’, finish what I started.”

There is no time for any real rest this week, with the New Orleans Saints (also 7-7) in town Thursday night. As soon as McVay broke down the team in the locker room after the game, athletic trainers and medical staff began rolling out large massage tables and the cushions that players lay on while getting recovery treatment on their legs and hips.

“It’s both (above the neck and physical preparation),” said Stafford of the short week. He finished the game 25-of-33 for 258 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. He was also sacked three times and hit six times.

“It’s obviously tough, it’s not an opponent in-division that we really know, got to kind of dive in and see kind of what they are doing, what their team looks like this year from a defensive standpoint for me. And then I came out this one pretty clean, so that’s a good thing. But it’s always a challenge. … Adrenaline will kick in (and) it will be fun.”

There’s no time to think about what this moment can mean for a possible playoff run, either. The Rams have a say in their own destiny, yes — and right now, a 56 percent chance at the postseason, according to the New York Times’ simulator. If they beat the Saints, that increases to 77 percent and if they beat the New York Giants in Week 16, to 96 percent.

If, if, if. McVay knows they need to look at themselves, not the possibilities.

“Unless you told me the season ended right now, it doesn’t mean anything to me,” he said. “How we move forward and how we handle our business over the next 72 hours and then leading into the game on Thursday is what is most important.”

Kyren Williams’ best plays from 155-yard game | Week 15

dude Stafford https://t.co/6eJAsEbVWN pic.twitter.com/oi7TCGDAYm

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) December 17, 2023

.@HoustonTexans awesome job today Case Texans get to #8. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/Qp8qDRRiOI

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) December 18, 2023

…

Case Keenum helped win one for the Texans by, among other things, making a couple of throws to Robert Woods.

200 IQ play by @CooperKupp! 🧠

📺 @NFLonCBS | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/P8v6pKEw8Y

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 18, 2023

.@DMarcoFarr1 + @StuJRams share their 'Keys to the Game' on the @littlecaesars Pregame Live Show. pic.twitter.com/dyHY5olBE9

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 17, 2023

Inside the demise of Chargers’ Brandon Staley: ‘Too smart for his own good’

Daniel Popper

https://theathletic.com/5141270/2023/12/15/brandon-staley-chargers-demise/

The beginning of the end for Brandon Staley came at a news conference in Wisconsin.

It was Nov. 19. The Los Angeles Chargers had just lost to the Green Bay Packers, 23-20, to fall to 4-6. A season with the highest of stakes was slipping through Staley’s fingers, and the Chargers coach could not hide the emotion of the moment.

His defense had imploded on the Packers’ game-winning touchdown drive. The Chargers committed a pass interference penalty on a third-and-20. Two plays later, two defenders collided, leading to a missed tackle on a 35-yard catch-and-run. Two plays after that, the defense failed to line up quickly enough pre-snap, and a blown coverage allowed receiver Romeo Doubs to run free for the go-ahead 24-yard touchdown.

At the lectern after the loss, Staley reiterated that he had “full confidence” in himself as the defensive play caller. The Chargers had given up the most passing yards in the league through 11 weeks. When asked about the apparent disconnect between his confidence and the product on the field, Staley said the quiet part out loud: “I know we give ourselves a chance to win every single week with the game plans that we have.”

The Chargers fired Staley on Friday morning, less than a month after he uttered these words. The team also fired general manager Tom Telesco, who was in his 11th season. Giff Smith takes over as interim coach. JoJo Wooden is the interim general manager. This amounts to a full-blown organizational reset. “We are clearly not where we expect to be,” owner Dean Spanos said in a statement, “and we need new vision.”

In the end, Staley’s greatest strength — an unwavering belief in himself — became his downfall. The news conference moment in Green Bay revealed this for the world to see. In the same answer, without another question being asked, Staley said he was “fully responsible” for the defensive performance. His true feelings, though, were rooted in his initial statement: The plan was good enough; the execution was not.

There is a fine line between conviction and arrogance, between confidence and hubris. At times, Staley toed that line with an admirable deftness. Too often, however, he crossed it, both publicly and privately.

“He’s a good, smart f—ing coach,” a team source said of Staley. “Too smart for his own good sometimes.” This was a sentiment shared by multiple team sources throughout Staley’s three seasons as head coach. Each was granted anonymity so that they could speak freely.

On the broadest of levels, ownership’s decision to fire Staley and Telesco came down to a clear case of missed expectations. There was no ambiguity in the organizational goals for this season. Push for the franchise’s first AFC West title since 2009. Make the playoffs. Win a playoff game. Contend for a Super Bowl.

The Chargers, from the Spanos family to Telesco to Staley, believed they had a championship-caliber team. It is why they restructured four contracts in the offseason — Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, Mike Williams and Keenan Allen — pushing almost $40 million in cap charges into 2024. They felt like 2022 had been derailed by injuries. They wanted one more shot with their existing nucleus.

It was a gross miscalculation — of the roster and of Staley. The Chargers have not come close to reaching any of their goals.

They are 5-9.

Staley’s defense ranked 29th in EPA per drive this season, according to TruMedia. They ranked 31st in EPA per drive over his entire stint as head coach and defensive play caller.

Staley drove the decision to fire offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi in January and replace him with Kellen Moore. Through 13 weeks, before quarterback Justin Herbert’s season-ending finger injury, the Chargers offense ranked 18th in success rate, according to TruMedia. Moore was supposed to fix the run game. The Chargers rank 30th in rushing success rate.

Nothing has gone according to plan for the Chargers this season. Some of it was predictable. Some of it was unforeseen.

Cornerback J.C. Jackson, whom the Chargers signed to a five-year, $82.5 million contract in the 2022 offseason, made a remarkable comeback from a ruptured patellar tendon. He rehabbed quickly enough to be back on the field for training camp and the season opener. Physically, he was ready to contribute. Mentally, he was not committed in meetings and his day-to-day preparation, team sources said. The Chargers made Jackson a healthy scratch in Week 3 as an attempted wake-up call. The next week, team sources said, Jackson refused to enter the game against the Las Vegas Raiders when Michael Davis suffered an injury. The Chargers traded Jackson to the New England Patriots three days later for a late-round pick swap.

They will wear a $20.83 million dead-money charge for Jackson on the 2024 cap, according to Over the Cap.

The Chargers whiffed on their character evaluation of Jackson. Staley and Telesco both bear the blame.

Then there are the mitigating factors. Center Corey Linsley has not played since Week 3 because of a heart-related medical issue. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Williams suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 and is out for the season. Receiver Joshua Palmer missed six games with a knee sprain. Herbert broke his left middle finger in Week 4 trying to make a tackle after an interception. That injury affected his play.

And yet as left tackle Rashawn Slater said Thursday night, “This is the f—ing NFL. People get hurt. S— happens.”

The painful truth: The Chargers had their chance to make a deep postseason run in 2022. They battled through an injury-riddled season before rattling off four straight wins in December and January to make the playoffs. As the Chargers prepared to kick off their Week 18 matchup at the Denver Broncos, they had already locked in fifth place in the AFC. The result of the game did not matter for seeding. Staley, though, played his starters into the third quarter of the meaningless game. Williams suffered a back injury in the second quarter. He missed the collapse in Jacksonville, when the Chargers’ season ended after they blew a 27-point lead to the Jaguars.

This decision was the clear line of demarcation in Staley’s Chargers tenure. Williams could have been the difference in the second half of the playoff loss, when the offense was struggling to move the ball. Staley ultimately acknowledged he played his starters to try to maintain momentum and rhythm. He likened his decision to Tom Coughlin’s playing his New York Giants starters in the regular-season finale in 2007 against the then-undefeated Patriots. The Giants lost that game but went on to win the title, beating New England in the Super Bowl.

Still, this choice from Staley befuddled many in the organization, from the top down.

The Chargers never truly recovered from that entire week — the Williams injury, the second-half meltdown in Jacksonville, all of it.

Five of the Chargers’ first six losses in 2023 were by 3 points or less. Their failure in late-game situations, offensively and defensively, became a defining characteristic of this version of the team.

“We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and be real with ourselves,” defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day said.

Staley was hired to produce an elite defense. He had done so in his lone season as an NFL coordinator, with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020. He failed to come close to that with the Chargers in three seasons.

Staley is a brilliant schematic coach. He can develop a game plan on the whiteboard capable of stopping any offense. The only problem is the game is not played on a whiteboard. There were weeks when this brilliance shone through, like in a win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 14 last season. But more often, the scheme and plans were too layered and complex for the players to grasp and execute consistently. Players detailed how Staley and his defensive staff would try to build in answers and rules for every minute facet of opposing offenses — every route, every motion. At times, players said, this bogged down the unit as a whole.

They were overthinking, and they could not play fast as a result. That showed up in some noteworthy losses this season — Miami in Week 1, Kansas City in Week 7, Detroit in Week 10.

Staley’s inexperience was exposed in this stubborn commitment to a defensive vision that simply was not working. There was a disconnect between how some players wanted to play and how Staley wanted to play.

Telesco’s demise, meanwhile, was a gradual culmination over 11 years. He produced just two playoff wins, and one of those came in 2013, his first year on the job.

Telesco was a decent drafter: Allen, Bosa, Hunter Henry, Williams, Desmond King, Derwin James Jr., Uchenna Nwosu, Justin Jones, Drue Tranquill, Alohi Gilman, Slater, Asante Samuel Jr., Palmer, Tuli Tuipilotu. And, of course, Herbert. He also had his blemishes: Jerry Tillery, Quentin Johnston, Tre’ McKitty, Kenneth Murray Jr., Nasir Adderley, Forrest Lamp, Dan Feeney, D.J. Fluker.

He had his free-agency wins, like Casey Hayward. And he had plenty of losses, like Jackson and Bryan Bulaga.

On the aggregate, Telesco has a solid eye for talent. But he failed in two primary areas: Building a consistent offensive line and developing depth from spots 23 to 53 on the roster. Telesco inherited Philip Rivers. He acquired Herbert. He certainly did not prioritize protecting Rivers. With Herbert, Staley urged the organization to invest in the trenches when he was hired in 2021. The Chargers signed Linsley and guard Matt Feiler in free agency that year and drafted Slater and Zion Johnson in the first round in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022. The offensive line, however, was never the strength of this roster over Telesco’s 11 seasons.

For this season in particular, the Chargers desperately needed a functional run-blocking tight end. Despite a loaded draft class, the Chargers did not add a tight end to their room. It has dramatically affected their rushing offense. McKitty was supposed to be that player, but the Chargers cut the 2021 third-round pick on Halloween of this year.

“Building and maintaining a championship-caliber program remains our ultimate goal,” Spanos said. “And reimagining how we achieve that goal begins today.”

The Chargers overestimated what they had this season, and it all went up in flames Thursday night in Las Vegas.

It was not every player, but there was a clear, discernible lack of effort as the Chargers wilted against the Raiders.

The locker room Staley and Telesco had built was fractured.

And together, they paid the price.