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znModeratorLos Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Puka Nacua has recorded 120+ receiving yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his career in a single season. He has tallied 17 games with 100+ receiving yards since 2023, which is tied for the most in the NFL in that span.Josh@JoshiosTweets
Puka Nacua against the LionsWild Card Game: 9 rec, 181 yards, 1 TD
Today: 9 rec, 187 yards
Stu Jackson@StuJRams
“He’s like PacMan, he just eats up yards.” – Sean McVay on Puka Nacua***
No one can cover Puka Nacua
Man or zone. Press or off. One-on-one or doubled. No one can cover Nacua. He beats every type of coverage defenses throw at him, putting up big numbers for the second straight week. He caught nine passes for a career-high 181 yards, including two key fourth-down conversions in the first half that led to a touchdown. And it’s easy to make the case that he is No. 1 in the league at his position with all that he does for the Rams.
znModeratorRules Analyst @DeanBlandino takes us through this call that was ultimately ruled a touchdown for the Rams ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/blmIKtRds0
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 14, 2025
znModeratorNate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Rams 41
Lions 34Matthew Stafford bounces back from an early pick with a big game to survive some leaky secondary play.
The Rams are 11-3 and just clinched a return to the playoffs.
Big one at Seattle in four days.
Ramblin’ Fan@RamblinFan
Rams running backs have another 3 TD game.J.B. Long@JB_Long
LA clinches a playoff spot for the 7th time in 9 seasons under Sean McVay. The only years in which they’ve not been to the postseason? Following SB journeys.11-3, with 3 to play. They’ll take the field in Seattle on Thursday Night in 1st place in the NFC.
Wyatt Miller@wymill07
It’s their second straight week scoring over 40.znModeratorLindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
“We will see what’s going on with Davante,” – Sean McVay, postgame. As a follow McVay says it was same hamstring he’s already aggravated, that Davante seems optimistic, but also that McVay can’t imagine it’s good for Thursday (vs. the Seahawks).znModeratorTo quote @TomBrady, an absolute piss missle from Matthew Stafford to Colby Parkinson for six!
📺 @NFLonFOX | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/4OCFJe8QZ9
— x – Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 14, 2025
znModeratorLos Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Puka Nacua just became the fifth player all-time with at least 100 receptions and 1,200 receiving yards in two of his first three seasons, joining Justin Jefferson, Michael Thomas, Brandon Marshall and Anquan Boldin.Today marks the second time he’s hit the 100-catch mark in his career. He joins Torry Holt as the only receiver in franchise history to hit the 100-catch mark in two different seasons (Holt, 2003, 2005).
Los Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
Puka Nacua has 336 receiving yards combined over his past two games. The last Rams player to have at least that many receiving yards in a two-game span is Torry Holt in 2003.znModeratorPackers lost.
znModeratorMahomes hurt.
Bills beat Patz in NE
znModeratorNate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Rams WRs Davante Adams and Tutu Atwell are ACTIVE today against the Lions.CB Ahkello Witherspoon is a healthy scratch. A bit of a surprise.
Rams inactives:
CB Ahkello Witherspoon
OL Beaux Limmer
RB Jarquez Hunter
S Tanner IngleWith Stetson Bennett as the emergency QB.
I guess this is what Sean McVay meant about how challenging the game day 48-man roster is. They made Ahkello Witherspoon inactive in order to get Tutu Atwell up
S Jaylen McCollough is also active. He came down with an illness this weekend and was listed as questionable. Some key depth as the Rams continue to manage Quentin Lake’s absence.
znModeratorA rather large game, today. Imagine if they lose it. They will be underdogs in Seattle, I’m sure. If they lost that one, too, they’d be 10-5 and probably behind Detroit for the last playoff spot. And even if they squeak in as a 7th seed they’d end up having to play in Lambeau or Seattle, etc.
Big game.
w
But if they win, the earth will regenerate and all people will live in peace, and there will be no want–all will have the food, shelter, medicine, and companionship they need.
It won’t be completely universal–there will still be some who, even after all these year, remain unable to get over the Bettis trade.
But mostly things would be pretty good.
…
znModeratorGames that matter
A few games are just mismatches (Raiders at Eagles, Cardinals at Texans, Titans at SF, Colts w/ Rivers in his first game at Seattle). Maybe there will be an upset.
As for a real game. At 4:25:
Packers at Denver
That one will be interesting.
znModeratorNFL sets deadline for every stadium to install new playing surface
Every NFL stadium will have to install a new playing surface by the start of the 2028 season, the league announced Thursday.
NFL field director Nick Pappas detailed the plans for the program that will provide each team “a library of approved and accredited NFL fields” before the start of next season.
Teams will then have two years to install the new approved playing surfaces, whether they are grass, synthetic or a hybrid.
Pappas said the fields will have undergone extensive testing and been approved by a joint committee with the NFLPA. He compared to the testing that has led to new standards for helmets.
“It’s sort of a red, yellow, green effect, where we’re obviously trying to phase out fields that we have determined to be less ideal than newer fields coming into the industry,” he said.
“This is a big step for us. This is something that I think has been a great outcome from the Joint Service Committee of the work, the deployment and development of devices determining the appropriate metrics, and ultimately providing us with a way to substantiate the quality of fields more so than we ever have in the past.”
Pappas said fields have been tested in labs and on site using two main tools with one called the BEAST that is a traction testing device that replicates the movements of an NFL player and another called the STRIKE Impact Tester that helps determine the firmness of each field.
The goal of the league is to find fields that are as consistent as possible across all 30 NFL stadiums, as well as at each stadium throughout the season. Pappas said the “key pillars” for a field are optimized playability, reducing injury risk and player feedback.
The NFL has no plans to require natural grass fields across the league with the league’s chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills saying there is no “statistically significant differences” in lower extremity injuries or concussions that can be attributed to the type of playing surface or a specific surface despite widespread preferences from players for grass fields and complaints about surfaces such as the one at MetLife Stadium where the New York Giants and Jets play.
“The surface is only one driver of these lower extremity injuries,” Sills said.
“There are a lot of other factors, including player load and previous history and fatigue and positional adaptability and cleats that are worn.
“So surfaces are a component, but it is a complex equation, and so I’m excited about where we are in the work because I think we’ll get away from a very crude measurement of artificial here and the grass here, and now we can say for any individual surface, let’s look at the biophysical properties of that surface. How might those correlate with injury? And then, obviously, how do we optimize them?”
Pappas also shared plans for the Super Bowl to be held on Feb. 8 at the San Francisco 49ers home at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The field has been growing at a sod farm about two hours east of the Bay Area with Pappas making several visits over the past 18 months to monitor the field.
The league will plan to install the field around the third week in January — or later if the 49ers could be hosting playoff games.
znModeratorfrom Stu Jackson: https://www.therams.com/news/top-rams-news-previews-and-predictions-for-rams-vs-lions-in-week-15-2025
Experts make their predictions for Week 15
Here’s a collection of analysts’ predictions and previews for Rams-Lions:All five of NFL.com’s analysts picked the Rams to beat the Lions on Sunday.
Five of six Sports Illustrated staffers picked the Rams to win against the Lions. https://www.si.com/nfl/2025-nfl-week-15-staff-expert-picks
Six of 11 ESPN experts chose the Rams to come out on top on Sunday. https://www.espn.com/nfl/picks/_/seasontype/2/week/15***
from https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-picks-week-15-2025-nfl-season
Detroit Lions AT Los Angeles Rams
MONEYLINE: Lions +210 | Rams -258
SPREAD: Rams -6 | O/U: 54.5Why Ali Bhanpuri picked the Rams: When I took Dallas over Detroit last week, I did so with the expectation Amon-Ra St. Brown wouldn’t be suiting up. So when the Lions announced their inactives shortly before kickoff, and No. 14 wasn’t one of them, I was immediately filled with regret. With St. Brown on the field, I figured the Lions’ quick passing attack would carve up the Cowboys’ zone. And did it ever. Fast-forward one week, and Detroit, still in the thick of the NFC playoff race, now faces another zone-heavy defense that, as the Next Gen data reveals, actually runs zone at the exact same rate as Dallas (80.6%). But unlike the Cowboys, who struggled to move Jared Goff off his spot, the Rams have one of the best pressure groups in the league. Can Jared Verse and Byron Young get to Goff quickly enough, and frequently enough, to disrupt the veteran’s ability to pick apart their defense? I’m not sure, which is why I’m still predicting a solid offensive outing from Detroit. (Well, that and Jahmyr Gibbs, obviously.) What gives me pause about the Lions, then, is how their defensive tendencies match up with the Rams’ hyper-efficient offense. No team has run man coverage at a higher rate this year than Detroit, and no QB has a better TD-to-INT ratio against man looks than Matthew Stafford (21-1). Unless the Lions’ pass rush can consistently win up front, their aggressiveness on the perimeter (despite multiple injuries in their secondary) could come back to bite them. Just as a second straight pick against the Lions could come back to bite me. With this win, L.A. becomes the first NFC team to clinch a playoff berth this season.
znModeratorIt starts in the trenches.
More on Coach Kromer and his offensive line ⤵️
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 13, 2025
znModeratorwow. and avila is the highest drafted player among the five. he was drafted in the second round. a testament to the players listed as well as the oline coach.
Well to put it all down in black n white.
LOT. Jackson is a UDFA. As such he joins all the other on-a-2nd-contract-as-a-team-franchise-LOT types in NFL history.
LOG. Avila, as mentioned a 2nd rounder, making him from loftier origins than the others.
OC. Shelton, a bounce-around “ronin” type. Originally a UDFA who signed with SF in 2017. Went to the Arizon practice squad in 2018. Rams signed him in 2019. Eventually started all of 2023 for the Rams. Rams let him walk to Chicago as a FA in 2024, then re-signed him in 2025. Helps I suppose that Rams OL coach Ryan Wendell was a former starting OC for NE (played in super bowl XLIX). His contract avg. with the Rams is 6 M, which ranks 10th among centers.
OG. Dotson, originally a 4th round pick by Steelers in 2020, traded to Rams for a switch of Rams 4th and 5th round picks for Pitt’s 5th and 6th round picks. Acquisition type: “bargain trade.”
ROT: McClendon, 5th round pick in 2023. That has to be the best 5th round in NFL drafting history. Rams 2023 5th rounders: McClendon, TE Dennis Allen, Nacua.And I agree IR, a lot of this is the OL coach. Rams have had a long list of top-notch OL coaches (Hanifan, Boudreau, Kromer). IMO, Ryan Wendell is even a notch above.
We’ll see if he turns out to be on a par with the best of them from Rams history: Hudson Houck (83-91). But then Houck had multiple high picks to work with (Pankey = 2nd, Kent Hill = 1st, Harrah = 1st, Slater = 3rd). In contrast, Wendell has made the most out of a lot of bargain “finds.”
So yeah I credit Wendell for a lot of this. It’s not just the coaching, unlike other Rams OL coaches I named he is also good at finding draft picks too. Avila and McClendon were both drafted in 2023, Wendell’s first year with the Rams. You have to go back to 1997 to find the last time Rams landed 2 good OL in one draft (Pace and Tucker). (Before that it was Harrah and France in 1975).
Also, this OL has been relatively injury free. Avila was out for a while, then Hav. As Rams fans know only too well, OL injuries only really get bad when you have multiple starters all out at the same time.
znModeratorMatthew Stafford-Jared Goff trade continues to be a win-win for Rams and Lions https://t.co/siZEIfzUF5
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) December 13, 2025
znModeratorfrom Nate Atkins: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6881140/2025/12/11/rams-offensive-balance-13-personnel/?source=emp_shared_article
[Note: this point has to do with the fact that 3-TE sets ie. 13-personnel sets force defenses to play base setsd instead of nickel, but in different ways the Lions and Seattle defenses challenge that.]
“I think it’s helped to give us an identity,” McVay said of the 13-personnel sets….
Defenses will adjust to what a team shows on film, and the tests are coming in different ways. The Lions live almost exclusively in base defense to keep two of their best defenders on the field together, linebackers Jack Campbell and Alex Anzalone. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks often live in nickel and dime personnel to confuse quarterbacks behind a potent pass rush, and they can afford to do so with a run defense that has not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season.
With two games in five days that could decide a loaded NFC West race, the Rams have to lean into their most multiple and personnel-diverse ways to keep their best players at peak form.
December 13, 2025 at 3:47 pm in reply to: rams striving for perfection–Rams benchmarks this season #160185znModeratorRams’ offense is as balanced as ever thanks to a 13-personnel revolution
Nate Atkins
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams lined up at the 3-yard line with the end zone in sight. From under center, Matthew Stafford looked across at an Arizona Cardinals defense still in nickel personnel. He eyed the tight ends on both sides of his line. And he knew what was coming next.
“They run small people,” Stafford said, “and we run 13 (personnel).”
Blake Corum took the inside handoff behind Davis Allen as an offset fullback and followed him nearly untouched into the end zone.
The Rams rolled to a 45-17 win over the Cardinals, led by an explosive offensive performance. In addition to racking up 530 yards, they scored three rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 2001.
However, Sunday’s formula was different in flavor from those “Greatest Show on Turf” days. Led by Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, those Rams teams found balance by running Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk behind Hall of Famer Orlando Pace, with defenses stretched on the perimeter to guard Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce and Hall of Fame semifinalist Torry Holt.
This season’s Rams have their own fearsome perimeter duo in Davante Adams, who leads the league in receiving touchdowns, and Puka Nacua, who ranks second in the league in receiving yards. But the balance has come through the less heralded members of the offense.
The Rams ran 40 of their 70 plays on Sunday with three tight ends on the field. It’s not only their most in a game this season or in the Sean McVay era, but it’s also the most plays any team has run in that personnel grouping since the NFL’s Next Gen Stats began charting back in 2016.
The Rams are now 5-0 in games in which they’ve run 13 personnel for at least 10 snaps.
“When you’re playing with tight ends who can see the game through the same lens, it’s helpful when those last-minute, last-second moves before the snap happen,” tight end Colby Parkinson said.
This is an evolution that is part intentional and part circumstantial.
After years of living almost exclusively in 11 personnel with one tight end and three wide receivers to lighten opposing defenses, McVay and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur wanted to sprinkle in some two-tight end sets as a way to expand an under-center, play-action approach that could shift more of Stafford’s responsibilities from his arm to his mind now that he’s 37 and managing a degenerative back issue.
For the first six games, an extra tight end was merely their appetizer to the main entree.
Then Nacua sprained his ankle against the Baltimore Ravens, and the offense stalled in the fourth quarter. A week of practice with few distractions while staying in Baltimore ahead of an overseas trip to London offered time to experiment for McVay, who coached tight ends with Washington from 2011 to 2013.
On the first drive against the Jacksonville Jaguars the following week, wide receiver Tutu Atwell pulled his hamstring. So the Rams went to a new three-tight-end package as an emergency valve to bridge them to the bye week. And then a breakout ensued.
Los Angeles scored four red zone touchdowns out of 13 personnel to beat the Jaguars 35-7. The tight ends combined for eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. However, the real emergence came through the one healthy starting wide receiver, Adams, who scored three touchdowns.
After a bye week of more self-scouting and with Atwell’s trip to injured reserve, the Rams decided to try more 13-personnel sets, particularly when they reached the red zone and the space tightened on the deeper perimeter routes they could run. Adams often remained the solo receiver with three tight ends on the field, and he kept scoring touchdowns, with at least one in six straight games.
All of a sudden, the three-time All-Pro receiver the Rams signed as a replacement for Cooper Kupp has gone from a shaky start with a new quarterback to the NFL’s leader in touchdown receptions with 14.
Defenses naturally adjusted to the touchdown binge Stafford and Adams have found. They’re always trying to keep an eye on Nacua, who got healthy from the ankle injury. So, as defenses deployed more dime and nickel looks, the Rams leaned into the 65-35 split they’ve always wanted in the backfield with Kyren Williams and Corum.
Since Week 9, the Rams’ run game ranks first in the NFL in expected points added, success rate, early-down success rate and first-down rate, according to data collected by Rams.com. The past two weeks, Williams and Corum have combined for 365 yards on 8.1 yards per rush and five touchdowns.
It’s the kind of run game Stafford has rarely gotten to work with in his career after going four calendar years in Detroit without a single 100-yard rusher.
“When he has that run game for him to have a breath before he throws it, it just opens up so much for him,” right guard Kevin Dotson said.
And when a 17-year quarterback is the one making pre-snap decisions on downs where a run or a pass is just as likely, he gets to be the one catching the defense by surprise rather than the reverse. That’s often how the no-look highlights come. And it’s a key reason why he has a league-high 35 touchdown passes this season with just four interceptions.
“He sees the game like no one I’ve played with before,” Parkinson said.
Any adjustment in approach and identity comes with a cost, and the Rams have felt that with Atwell. After signing a one-year, $10 million deal to return to Los Angeles, a player with 8.7 career yards per target didn’t have a clear role after he got healthy. The need for cleaner special teams led to different priorities on the game-day roster, and the Rams let three games go by before risking losing Atwell for the season.
But they’re making room for him now, as McVay said that Atwell will be activated ahead of Sunday’s home game against the Detroit Lions.
The benefits of the 13-personnel movement have outweighed the cost. One advantage is the runway it’s created for fill-in right tackle Warren McClendon Jr., who excels in pass protection but needs refining as a run blocker. Now, he’s insulated by a tight end to his right on a majority of plays.
Another has been finding a role for Terrance Ferguson. The team’s top draft pick in April saw just eight snaps in the first five games due to blocking concerns. It’s a progression that can often take a rookie tight end an entire year to build the strength needed for the pro game. That’s all a lesser concern when he’s one of three tight ends on the field as opposed to the lead option.
With 198 snaps over the past eight games, Ferguson has learned firsthand the nuances of the game through what Stafford, McVay and LaFleur are calling. That experience has grown with the loss of Tyler Higbee, and Ferguson saw a season-high 45 snaps in Sunday’s win.
“Thirteen personnel causes a lot of problems for (the defense). A lot of base defenses are a lot simpler, so they can’t do as many things out of it because nickel is everyone’s 11-personnel set,” Ferguson said. “It makes it easier on us. It’s the mismatches 13 personnel creates with the big bodies blocking safeties, and if you want to put big guys out there, we can run routes as well.”
The other benefit has been load management.
Adams has dealt with two hamstring injuries in his 12th season. When one popped up early in the game against the Carolina Panthers, the Rams leaned more into the run game and tight ends.
Nacua’s season was off to an explosive start as a high-volume option, only for injuries to his head and ankle to force questions of how to make his physical yards-after-catch style sustainable. Since he returned, his snap count has fallen to below 75 percent in all but one game. Now, he’s more of a drive starter and third-down option than the man carrying each possession.
“I think it’s helped to give us an identity,” McVay said of the 13-personnel sets. “It’s really done a lot of the things that I talked about relative to taking advantage of all our players. But it’s also lessening the workload that allows some of the skill players, particularly the wideouts, to be fresher in some known pass situations. …
“I do think the multiple personnels and the more multiple we can be while taking advantage of our players, and then how does that ultimately give us matchup and tactical advantages both from a personnel and a schematic standpoint against the upcoming opponent, are all the factors. It’s an organic evolution based on some things that ended up happening.”
Defenses will adjust to what a team shows on film, and the tests are coming in different ways. The Lions live almost exclusively in base defense to keep two of their best defenders on the field together, linebackers Jack Campbell and Alex Anzalone. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks often live in nickel and dime personnel to confuse quarterbacks behind a potent pass rush, and they can afford to do so with a run defense that has not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season.
With two games in five days that could decide a loaded NFC West race, the Rams have to lean into their most multiple and personnel-diverse ways to keep their best players at peak form.
In a season that was supposed to be all about Stafford, Adams, Nacua and Williams, the 13-personnel revolution has become the glue.
znModeratorNate Atkins@NateAtkins_
The Rams have activated WR Tutu Atwell from injured reserve. He’ll make his return tomorrow against the Lions.The Ram have also downgraded S Jaylen McCollough to questionable with an illness. That will be something to watch with Quentin Lake also out.
December 13, 2025 at 12:51 am in reply to: rams striving for perfection–Rams benchmarks this season #160180znModeratorHow McVay modernized the Greatest Show on Turf | Kurt’s QB Insider
znModeratorfrom https://www.nfl.com/news/11-outrageous-next-gen-stats-entering-week-15
The Rams Dominant Defensive Line
The Rams’ defensive line has been a force in 2025. Byron Young ranks in the top five in the NFL with 11.0 sacks, while teammate Jared Verse ranks eighth with 53 pressures. Braden Fiske (32) and Kobie Turner (36) each rank in the league’s top ten for pressures among defensive tackles. Young and Verse each have four turnovers caused by pressure this season, tied for the most in the NFL (Will Anderson Jr., Aidan Hutchinson, Josh Hines-Allen, Montez Sweat). Going back to the start of 2024, Young leads the NFL in the metric with nine; Verse is second with eight.
znModeratorCody Alexander@The_Coach_A
Who has the most diverse defensive scheme in the NFL?👉 Easy, the Vikings.
But the other four might surprise you, especially why the Raiders are on the list…
5) San Francisco 49ers (7.6/10): The Quarters specialist. Unusually high usage of Cover 4 and Cover 6.
4) Las Vegas Raiders (8.4/10): “The Throwback.” A pure Cover 3 / Base personnel team that rarely blitzes. Sound familiar…?
3) Los Angeles Rams (8.8/10): The Light Box defense. Heavy Dime personnel, relying on confusion and stunts rather than blitzes.
2) Detroit Lions (8.8/10): The “Anti-Vikings.” Heavy Base personnel, heavy Man coverage.
1) Minnesota Vikings (10.0/10): The enigma wrapped in a paradox. Flores’ combination of max-blitz and max-zone coverage is a complete anomaly.
znModeratorJeremy Reisman@DetroitOnLion
Dear God.The Rams’ OL is an absolute machine in run blocking. Here are their PFF run blocking grades:
LT: 88.7, 2nd among all OTs
LG: 78.1, 6th among all Gs
C: 83.8, 4th among all Cs
RG: 87.5, 4th among all Gs
RT: 86.9, 6th among all OTsznModeratorWhen McClendon has been on the field in pass protection this season, the Rams have allowed just a 20.7% pressure rate and 2.9% sack rate with an average time to throw of 2.78 seconds. The league average for teams in those categories are as follows: 34.1% pressure rate, 6.4% sack rate and a 2.83-second time to throw, according to Next Gen Stats. So, with McClendon at right tackle, they are allowing significantly less pressure and fewer sacks with a time to throw that’s similar to the average team.
And one might argue that the Rams’ increase in 13 personnel sets may have given him extra help in pass protection, but that hasn’t been a factor in his success. In addition to total pressure rate allowed, McClendon has also allowed the lowest pressure rate in one-on-one situations at just 2.5%, according to Next Gen Stats. And his impact has been felt on the ground as well.
When the Rams run the ball in McClendon’s direction, they average 5.7 yards per carry, a 57.8% success rate (plays that keep the offense on schedule to score on a given possession), 1.6 yards before contact and a 12.5% stuff rate (carries that go for zero or fewer yards), according to Next Gen Stats. Here are the league averages in those stats for all designed runs: 4.3 yards per carry, 41.8% success rate, 1.0 yards before contact and an 18.0% stuff rate. Those differences are more than significant, they’re monumental.
😯
znModeratorWarren McClendon Jr. has become one of the league’s top offensive tackles statistically in Rob Havenstein’s absence
Wyatt Miller
Backup offensive linemen are usually the players that opposing defenses pick on. They are thrown into the fire with little-to-no reps alongside the rest of the starters and forced into one of the toughest roles in the sport.
Therefore, it’s extremely uncommon for a backup offensive lineman to enter the starting lineup sporadically and lead the league in pressure and sack rate allowed at his position. But that’s what Rams offensive lineman Warren McClendon Jr. has done.
Among offensive tackles with at least 200 pass blocking snaps, McClendon has allowed the lowest pressure rate in the NFL at 1.9%, according to Next Gen Stats, and hasn’t given up a sack. He’s been a brick wall at one of the most important positions on the field, and one that’s essential to the Rams’ scheme given their proclivity for outside zone runs and play-action bootleg passes.
But for McClendon, those are just insignificant numbers. His main priority is not letting down his teammates and the future Hall of Fame quarterback that’s slinging it behind him. So far, he hasn’t.
“I’m just doing my job,” McClendon told theRams.com. “I really try not to get too big in on the stats and stuff like that. Just trying to do my job. I don’t want to let anybody down.”
In his third NFL season, McClendon has emerged as a starting-caliber player and a potential long-term successor to 33-year-old Rob Havenstein. More extensive film study and an increased understanding of the offensive system has helped facilitate McClendon’s breakout season.
Havenstein missed Weeks 5-7 with an ankle injury, and has been on Injured Reserve since Week 12. But his presence in the facility has been a huge help to McClendon, who often picks his brain, along with other veterans in the offensive line unit, to see how they approach certain situations.
Even during games, Havenstein will give McClendon tips, he said on Rams Revealed, whether it’s a critique on his set, the depth of his drop or how he’s using his hands. Havenstein is always looking for ways to support his 24-year-old teammate.
“After every series, he’ll come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, good series there or, hey, I saw this,'” McClendon said.
His film study during the week has also evolved thanks to Havenstein and other veterans. He’s now noticing things he “wasn’t even thinking about” last season, including nuances like how players’ stances change on different downs and distances, and what tendencies that may indicate. He’s anticipating defenders’ movements rather than guessing.
Plus, center Coleman Shelton always puts his fellow blockers in the right spots with pre-snap communication and clear protection calls. That’s been beneficial for McClendon in both the run and pass game.
“Just having (Shelton) basically just tell everybody what they’re doing so I can just go do it, I’m not thinking, and I can just kind of play free,” McClendon said.
That newfound confidence and self-assured play style hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.
“I think the totality of his body of work, whether it’s in protection, run game, ownership and understanding (has improved),” said head coach Sean McVay. “The way that he’s worked has allowed him to be able to have good experiences when he’s playing in these real games.”
“I think his physical and playing maturity (has improved) if that makes sense,” said offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. “Everything has just calmed down for him.”
When McClendon has been on the field in pass protection this season, the Rams have allowed just a 20.7% pressure rate and 2.9% sack rate with an average time to throw of 2.78 seconds. The league average for teams in those categories are as follows: 34.1% pressure rate, 6.4% sack rate and a 2.83-second time to throw, according to Next Gen Stats. So, with McClendon at right tackle, they are allowing significantly less pressure and fewer sacks with a time to throw that’s similar to the average team.
And one might argue that the Rams’ increase in 13 personnel sets may have given him extra help in pass protection, but that hasn’t been a factor in his success. In addition to total pressure rate allowed, McClendon has also allowed the lowest pressure rate in one-on-one situations at just 2.5%, according to Next Gen Stats. And his impact has been felt on the ground as well.
When the Rams run the ball in McClendon’s direction, they average 5.7 yards per carry, a 57.8% success rate (plays that keep the offense on schedule to score on a given possession), 1.6 yards before contact and a 12.5% stuff rate (carries that go for zero or fewer yards), according to Next Gen Stats. Here are the league averages in those stats for all designed runs: 4.3 yards per carry, 41.8% success rate, 1.0 yards before contact and an 18.0% stuff rate. Those differences are more than significant, they’re monumental.
Of course, these are team-wide stats that aren’t solely reflective of McClendon’s impact, but of the Rams’ schematic success that McClendon has directly contributed to. Still, it isn’t a coincidence that Los Angeles has been one of the most successful offenses in football in both phases when he’s on the field.
That reality may be surprising to some, because of how backup offensive linemen are typically targeted by defenses, but to the teammates that see him putting in work on a daily basis, this emergence has been a long time coming.
“He’s not the type of guy that you have to worry about messing up something,” said offensive lineman Kevin Dotson. “He knows what to do. He’s good at taking coaching, he’s good with taking criticism, stuff like that, knows it’s never from a hostile place or anything like that and takes it and uses it the next play. You’ll see it, you’ll see the improvement on the next time because he’s not gonna let it happen again.”
The nature of football is forward-thinking, however. For all the success he’s had, the focus is always on the next game, and Week 15 will bring McClendon’s toughest challenge yet in defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. LaFleur described Hutchinson as “an absolute freak” who ranks second in the NFL in quarterback pressures with 75, according to Next Gen Stats.
But, like most weeks, McClendon was in the film room with Havenstein after practices, studying tendencies and preparing for battle against one of the league’s best.
znModeratorSosa Kremenjas@QBsMVP
The Lions have allowed the 5th-most yards and 2nd-most TDs to WRs this season. No reason to believe the Rams shouldn’t be ready for a true shootout.Not to mention — no Brian Branch or Kerby Joseph.
69RamFan
To include their starting CB Terrion Arnold,
he was sent into the IR from the beginning of this month!!!
That’s three starting DBs missing on their backend!
Stafford should be firing on all cylinders
Just to add,
three of their OL, LT/Decker/shoulder, G/Awosaki/foot, & G/Mahogany/fibula,
are on the injured report with limited practice as of Friday.G/Mahogany a starter, is coming off the IR in the 21-day window,
he is being limited, sounds like they are trying to rush him back,
because their OL is really not solid as of today!znModeratorWhy is Alaric Jackson listed as DNP on Friday’s report?
They report no injuries so who knows, but it does not appear to be injury related.
znModeratorWyatt Miller@wymill07
Sean McVay said everyone should be good to play in Sunday’s game. Davante Adams will be listed as questionable, but McVay would be “very surprised” if he doesn’t play.znModeratorSosa Kremenjas@QBsMVP
The Lions have allowed the 5th-most yards and 2nd-most TDs to WRs this season. No reason to believe the Rams shouldn’t be ready for a true shootout.Not to mention — no Brian Branch or Kerby Joseph.
znModeratorLos Angeles Rams PR@TheLARamsPR
According to @PFF, Puka Nacua ranks 1st in offensive grade (94.6) and receiving grade (94.6) among all skill position players in the NFL.Nacua is also T-1st in receptions (93), 2nd in Rec Yds (1,186), 7th in yards after catch (432) and 11th in Rec TDs (6), according to TruMedia.
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