Dare

Shula is using Verse as a true OLB not simply as an edge. If he played edge fulltime his production would make him a lock for defensive ROY. But Shula is trying to develop him into a well rounded OLB not simply a pass rushing specialist. He’s doing the same with Young and it’s working. The OL doesn’t know if only one is rushing or if both are coming.

The bottom line is that the defense is aggressive and exciting to watch. They were beating up a decent OL of the Vikings. Their contain of  the qb was better than earlier games as well, which doesn’t bode well for Purdy and Murray.

The Ram pass defense is ranked 18th in the NFL and improving. It’s their early season issues with the run that drags the total defense ranking down to 22nd. I think by the end of the season the defense will be ranked in the top half of the NFL.

wv wrote:

Geez, have you guyz watched the Jared Verse mic-d up vid. Quite the trash talker.

Matthew Stafford’s best throws from 4-TD game vs. Vikings | Week 8

"You could see the gap between Stafford and a guy I love, Sam Darnold."@ColinCowherd reacts to Rams' 30-20 win over Vikings pic.twitter.com/lDiocB6vHM

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) October 25, 2024

Anatomy of a Play: Matthew Stafford Used His Brain and His Arm for a Major Touchdown Pass
Matthew Stafford of the Rams combines arm talent and football smarts as few quarterbacks ever can, and it burned the Vikings on one big play.

Doug Farrar

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/los-angeles-rams/matthew-stafford-demarcus-robinson-vikings-brian-flores

Now that the Minnesota Vikings have dropped two straight games after a 5-0 start to the season, and Brian Flores’ usually amazing defense has looked far more mortal over that time, there are some who are worried that the rest of the NFL has “figured out” Flores’ petri dishes of evil pass-rush and coverage switches pre- and post-snap, and this team will be a paper tiger from here on out.

In truth, what the losses to the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams really showed is that if you want to beat Flores’ defense, you need a quarterback who can read a defense like first-period French in 0.1 seconds, the arm talent to exploit those football smarts, and a chemistry with a play-caller that lets the quarterback play both in and out of structure.

The Vikings just got charred by two of the very few quarterbacks who have all those attributes — Jared Goff in a 31-29 nail-biter on October 20, and Matthew Stafford in Thursday night’s 30-20 Rams win that was uglied up by one of the worst calls you’ll see all season from one of many officiating crews that shouldn’t be allowed to wear stripes to manage third-grade recess.

That debacle aside, the most consequential play of the game may have been Stafford’s 25-yard touchdown pass to receiver DeMarcus Robinson with 2:40 left in the third quarter. The Vikings were up 17-14 at this point, and while there were cracks in Minnesota’s defense against a version of Stafford making effortlessly ridiculous throws all over the field at SoFi Stadium, this may have been the killer.

And it came about from something Stafford said to Robinson in the huddle before the play.

Before this play, the Vikings had played man coverage on just one of Stafford’s 34 passing attempts — this 14-yard in-and-up to Puka Nacua with 13:29 left in the first half.

So it was highly interesting that Stafford had a sense he’d see it again here.

“It was kind of a designed little choice route inside for Cooper [Kupp], but to be honest with you, there’s something that happened in the huddle before the snap,” Stafford said postgame. “I’m like ‘Hey, D-Rob. we may be alive on this,’ and just felt like we might catch man coverage. They’d been doing a bunch of show man, drop [into] zone the whole game, trying to keep it in front of them, and I felt like they might get aggressive there, and they did. And then he did a hell of a job going and making a play. That’s what D-Rob does. He makes plays for us, and when his number was called, he made it tonight.”

Both plays were against Cover-1, and on the Robinson touchdown, it was Josh Metellus as the deep safety as opposed to Cameron Bynum, who was the deep-third guy on the Nacua catch. Metellus is a good overall player, but he’s lined up at free safety on just 37 of his 432 snaps this season, and there are reasons for that. When Stafford saw cornerback Shaquill Griffin pressed up on Robinson with questionable help up top, that probably reinforced his theory.

Rams head coach Sean McVay pointed to the Rams’ ability to deal with the Vikings’ pressure concepts, and a reduced rate of blitzes, as a factor in how Minnesota might have wanted to go for something different on this play.

“Early on, they did it a little bit but they didn’t pressure nearly as much as they had shown on tape,” McVay said of the expected blitz stuff. “I thought Stafford was hot from the jump. They slowed that down and really they didn’t pressure a whole lot in general. They brought the pressure at the end… but for the most part they didn’t do nearly as much as what they had shown. Coach Flores does a great job mixing it up, but I thought we were able to really get run, pass, keep the ball in play. I thought even being able to push the ball down the field because our offensive line was holding up, even if we didn’t hit it, it ended up loosening things up. The big play was DeMarcus Robinson’s touchdown on the go ball down the far sideline. They played a man coverage, caught him right there. I thought Stafford played really well, and I loved his response.”

All the Vikings could do was to tip their collective caps, and move on to next week. Sometimes, no matter how good you are, the guy you’re facing just has a bit more on the ball in the most important moment.

InvaderRam wrote:

verse early favorite for droy. turner last year third place finish. nacua runner up oroy last year. some good drafting by the rams.

Plus in 2023/24, 4 out of 7 combined 6th rounders are contributing players this season: Ethan Evans, Karty, Limmer, Whittington. Evans may be better than Hekker was.

To understate it a bit, teams don’t usually have a 57% hit rate in round 6.

Rodrigue: Rams wins hard to come by this season, but this one meant something

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5871879/2024/10/25/rams-win-cooper-kupp-puka-nacua-vikings/

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — This was a game loaded with meaning. And with feeling.

The Rams may still only be 3-4 after beating the powerhouse Minnesota Vikings 30-20 on Thursday night. Yet this win mattered a little more, and not just because it felt like it could be a turning point for a team that spent the first part of the season reeling under injuries. Star receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua both returned to the field after missing four and five games, respectively, to injuries. There were many reunions between the two teams. The Vikings are coached by Kevin O’Connell, who was the offensive coordinator when the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, and there were crossovers everywhere from players to staff and even strength and conditioning departments. Small clusters of players and coaches met with each other on the field before warmups began. Andrew Whitworth, the beloved left tackle for that team, was on the Amazon Prime broadcast crew. The championship banners hung in the rafters at SoFi Stadium, from where confetti once fell, and the memories of it didn’t feel quite so distant that night as they sometimes do.

To further add to the emotional weight: Kupp, the anchor of that Super Bowl team, has been the subject of trade calls to the Rams from other teams over the last couple weeks as the Nov. 5 deadline approaches and with the Rams’ season previously on the brink. I reported this on Sunday, for my column Monday (among other outlets); the speculation only crescendoed into a prime-time game that had legitimate implications toward the Rams’ roster construction and personnel.

McVay confirmed postgame that teams have called the Rams about Kupp (adding that some of what he’s seen on the topic is speculative, or untrue), and said, “I’m really glad to have Cooper Kupp back with us, and that’s what I expect to stay that way.”

Kupp stayed focused through the short week of preparation after Sunday’s win against Las Vegas. “I’m not thinking about that stuff, I’m not weighing anything against that,” he said, “it is what it is — there’s all that stuff out there, but there was something I think kind of cool about all of that stuff going on outside of the facility but on a short week every minute was spent preparing (and) trying to get ready to come out here and play. It gave me the opportunity to focus on being where my feet are, being able to prepare as best I can and come out here and let it rip.”

Nacua was activated off injured reserve on Thursday afternoon, despite not getting much practice since those are largely walk-throughs ahead of a TNF game. Head of sports performance Reggie Scott visited McVay’s office early in the week and told McVay he believed Nacua might “have a chance to go” where previously the target was the Week 9 game at Seattle.

“He said, ‘I don’t know, I’m feeling pretty good. He went and had a workout session where he ran routes and did a great job, his movement looked good,’” McVay said, “I talked to him and I said, ‘Do you want to try to give this thing a shot?’ He said yes, he took part in the walk-through on Tuesday. Did a little bit more movement on his own. And then yesterday in practice he looked really good. Once you tease me, you’re goin’.”

Nacua finished with 106 yards off seven catches (nine targets), while Kupp had 51 yards off five catches plus a touchdown (he also drew two pass interference penalties that proved very costly to the Vikings.)

As it turns out (she said sarcastically), having two top receivers — at least two receivers who draw the kind of attention Kupp and Nacua did on Thursday night — can make a pretty big difference for an offense. Not only did the Rams score a first-quarter touchdown for the first time all season, they also crossed the 20-point mark for just the second time this season and finished with their most points scored.

Veteran receiver Demarcus Robinson caught two touchdowns, both on single-coverage opportunities that he won.

“You can’t double-cover everybody on the team, you’ll leave somebody open,” he said, smiling. “Those guys get a lot of those double coverages, so that leaves me a lot of one-on-one time. Matthew was able to see that … I’m a pretty good player myself, too. I’m able to get open a little bit.”

The Rams only allowed four pressures the entire game, according to Next Gen Stats. Matthew Stafford was not sacked. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ NFL-leading defense often features a significant blitz frequency, but in the Rams’ case while Minnesota did at times show pre-snap looks as though they’d send extra rushers, they often dropped those players into coverage after the snap. Early in the game, the Rams’ effectiveness at running the ball combined with some quick passing by Stafford helped neutralize pressure, and as the game continued and defenders had to account for both Nacua and Kupp’s presence on the field, there just weren’t many extra left to send at Stafford.

“They didn’t pressure nearly as much as they had shown on tape,” McVay said. “I thought Matthew was hot from the jump, they slowed that down and really they didn’t pressure a whole lot in general. They brought the pressure at the end when we threw the little smoke screen out to Cooper, but for the most part they didn’t do nearly as much as what they had shown. …

“Coach Flores is a great coach. I think we were gonna be, we had to be ready for everything.”

This also helped open up how the Rams were able to distribute space even in condensed areas such as the red zone. For the first time all season, they were a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone, and all trips resulted in touchdowns.

Stafford, who played very well minus one interception on a pass intended for Robinson in the second half, came flying out of the tunnel during pregame player announcements with his finger pointing to the stands, his other hand beating his chest and he had that kind of darkly chaotic energy he sometimes lets out of the box right before he steals a couple souls (if you know, you know). During the game, he even slipped out of two would-be takedowns, hunching into a crouch and letting the pass rusher slide over him before taking off and throwing a touchdown pass to Kupp on the run.

“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” said Kupp, “we were just talking, someone just recently did that — ducked through, ran up and made a play. It was literally this morning, (Stafford) was like, ‘You know, I’m just too old to be making that move. I’m too old to be doing that.’ I had a great view of him doing the exact thing! After he threw the ball I was looking for him like, ‘you liar.’ … But he was pumped after that. He had that ‘Matthew Stafford walk’ going on the sideline.”

It wasn’t just the offense that fed off of Stafford’s vibe, the defense got a lift as well. After allowing touchdowns on the Vikings’ opening two possessions, a defense that has improved each week started getting more pressure on Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold.

Rookie outside linebacker Jared Verse, in particular, seemed to build momentum as the game continued. He got chipped by extra blockers in the early minutes, but told me postgame he adjusted to work around the edge and leaned on his power rush and seemingly endless energy to bull back his assignments at times. Verse finished the game with 1 1/2 sacks, a tackle for loss and two additional quarterback hits.

“When they get tired, I’m not gonna get tired,” Verse said. “I’m gonna keep talking, I’m gonna keep being loud, they’re gonna get more tired. They’re gonna fall down. They’re gonna be quiet. … It’s a mind game. It’s like chess.”

And that really embodies what Thursday night became for the Rams, despite all of the weight, emotion, feeling, whatever. That is the type of energy the Rams transferred back and forth between each other out of the tunnel and as the game unfolded, and in every phase (even the punter — Ethan Evans pinned the Vikings on the 5-yard line with 1:53 to play and an 8-point lead; this set up a safety that featured a controversial no-call as Rams’ Byron Young got ahold of Darnold’s face mask).

There’s a long road ahead, of course. I can’t help thinking about something veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein told me earlier in the week: A good team first needs to learn how to win together.

They are slowly getting the “together” part handled, as players return from injuries. After back-to-back home wins, they might be getting a taste for the rest of it too.

Shout out to Demarcus Robinson. Two TDs from Stafford in this big win

Robinson has been in limbo as of late, filling in as the #1 WR with Kupp and Nacua out. He is back in his best served role. It certainly looked like last season with this kind of production pic.twitter.com/RLRD18ku4t

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) October 25, 2024

wv wrote:

Well, the Oline looked pretty awful (i thot) against the Bears.   Who was the weak link against the Bears?

That was before the bye and here was the problem. They didn’t have their receivers, so the offense was hamstrung. Same against the Raiders last week except they managed to win that one.

Also, over the bye they benched Bruss for Dedich.

And here’s the difference. The Bears are 7th in the league in pressure percentage and got 25% pressure in that game (according to PFR). The Vikes are 3rd in the league in pressure percentage and got less than 12% (though we don’t have official stats up yet at PFR on that.) That difference stands out. (Added by edit: here’s Rodrigue on pressures allowed in that game: “The Rams only allowed four pressures the entire game, according to Next Gen Stats. Matthew Stafford was not sacked.” I don’t know how PFR stats will differ on that.)

So yes the OL improved after the bye–odds are that came from the coaches reviewing film and taking the chance to adjust and tighten things up–and getting the receivers back made the offense harder to defend in general. Apparently replacing Bruss with Dedich also fixes a weak spot.

It’s the same as last year. Last year, they re-grouped at the bye after a tough start and came out both healthier and stronger overall as an offense.

It helps that the defense is improving bit by bit too, and that a new first-time coordinator is figuring out what he has and how to use it, while at the same time young players are improving game by game.

Seattle will be a test. They are first in the league in pressure percentage.

😂🤘🏽💙💛😎 pic.twitter.com/X8rw6jICPM

— Rams_Chick07 (@Rams_Chick07) October 25, 2024

I’ve beat this drum before but get ready cause I’m gonna beat it some more.

Rams scored big when they signed OL coach Ryan Wendell.

Look at the OL against the Vikes. They have 2 rookie injury replacements, 1 a 6th round pick and 1 a UDFA. But they allowed no sacks against the Vikes, who coming in were 3rd in the league in sacks and 4th in pressure percentage. Plus the Rams could run the ball.

That OL currently consists of 2 UDFAs, including the LOT, plus a 4th rounder and a 6th rounder, with Hav being the one high pick (2nd rounder). When Avila gets back it will be 2 2nd rounders.

Jackson is playing great at LOT, and you just virtually never see a team starting a UDFA at LOT.

You don’t make a good OL out of nothing that way unless you have a top OL coach.

Rams have had a long line of good OL coaches (Hanifan, Boudreau, Kromer) but here’s the thing–Wendell not only fields effective units, he finds the players too (OL coaches have huge input in who gets signed or drafted to the unit). The other Rams OL coaches could field effective units when healthy but they were not as good at finding draft picks and UDFAs. Wendell is superb at that–which we can safely say after just 2 years of him on the job.

And you know what’s great? OL coaches usually do not get promoted and leave–they tend not to become offensive coordinators and/or head coaches. So they can last for years on your coaching staff.

The Vikings' offensive drive chart after their two first-quarter touchdowns. Credit to Chris Shula and the rest of the Rams defensive coaching staff for adjustments made that helped hold Vikings to just six points the rest of the game pic.twitter.com/yxRo5V6zgP

— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) October 25, 2024

.@rams @TurnerKobie @JaredVerse1 defeating blocks at the POA. The only way to become proficient at this is to witk at it. @AlPoodie #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/oICQv1Oe5H

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 25, 2024