PFF LA Rams@PFF_Rams
#LARams CB Troy Hill stepped up and had a career year in 2019 following some significant turnover in the #LA secondary

Among all defensive backs with at least 500 snaps, Hill ranked 14th in NFL Passer Rating when Targeted and 25th in Overall Defensive Grade

from Former Cardinals QB Carson Palmer recalls when he realized Rams DT Aaron Donald was special

Former Cardinals QB Carson Palmer recalls when he realized Rams DT Aaron Donald was special

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Appearing on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Palmer recalled when he and his teammates realized it.

It was in 2015 and the final game the Cardinals would ever play in St. Louis. It was a 27-3 win that improved the Cardinals to 10-2 that year en route to their division title.

Palmer recalled near the end of the game after Donald was seemingly in the backfield in every play, asking his teammates in the huddle to try and block No. 99.

Lyle Sendlein, the team’s center, according to Palmer, responded by saying, “Block him? I can’t even see him!”

Donald finished the game with seven tackles, two for loss, a sack and five quarterback hits. “He was in the backfield every single play,” Palmer said.

Rams GM Les Snead traded away from Bobby Wagner in 2012, a decision he hasn’t forgotten.

He now has a “Bobby Wagner Rule” in the draft https://t.co/noIvM2Blmy

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) May 7, 2020

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from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2020/05/07/nfl-draft-rams-cam-akers-total-package/

Snead has changed his view in the draft and has tried to avoid getting cute by trading down to add more picks, while potentially missing out on a player the team really likes.

“I call it the ‘Bobby Wagner Rule. There’s a lot of ways to carve a draft strategy … but the ‘Bobby Wagner Rule’ would be, if a player falls to you and you really want that human being, don’t get cute and don’t worry about those extra draft picks,” he said. “Just take that human being and the rest will take care of itself. Some of the best lessons in this business are learned the hard way.”

Back to back @robertwoods plays here. Showing off his agility and toughness. Also great throw by Jared on the 2nd play rolling out and getting his feet set again pic.twitter.com/NhxJsvZUsC

— HoldenCantor (@HoldenCantor) May 6, 2020

#LARams RB Darrell Henderson was able to show promise in his rookie year, ranking 6th in Yards After Contact per Attempt (min. 35 attempts)

Henderson will look to build on that in his sophomore season with Gurley gone pic.twitter.com/WmOTwmrSOO

— PFF LA Rams (@PFF_Rams) May 6, 2020

Great play by ⁦@RGabriel4HOF⁩
Bernie Casey with the catch#LARams pic.twitter.com/rH1L3DXJEa

— Old Time Football 🏈 (@Ol_TimeFootball) May 6, 2020

Chris Long @JOEL9ONE was a technician as an edge rusher! So many moves and this time we see the club punch to the right tackle to free his path to quarterback for a sack!

2012 pic.twitter.com/AOqUwQUC8o

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) May 6, 2020

Can afford his own mowed, lined football field and a camera man but can’t get his receiver a hat or some sunglasses? https://t.co/m2Sl0elrNI

— Johnny Hekker (@JHekker) May 6, 2020

PARAM

What I saw?

Early on I saw an inexperienced OL despite having two experienced tackles. They played like I’d expect. I think the lack of reps in preseason hurt. At the time I believed that “they practice together all week so they’ll be fine” explanation. They weren’t. But I thought their play improved against TBay, Seattle and SF (for 1 series). We’ were sitting at 3-3 and should have been 4-2, maybe even 5-1 if the D stops Tampa.

Against TBay, Goff dropped back 68 times and was sacked just twice. Woods and Kupp had 22 receptions, 285 yards; Gurley, Cooks, Everett and Higbee had another 22 for 230 yards. But we only had 34 points as an offense because Goff threw 3 picks. Blame the O line? Sure, they weren’t there yet. But that should be plenty to win. They put up 29 against Seattle and drove the ball close enough to win it in the end. The pass blocking improved but the run blocking was slow to get stronger. Against SF we came out pounding the ball. 7 runs @ 8 yards per and then Noteboom went down on the second series. Later, a failed 3rd and 1, then 4th and 1 from the goal line in the first half, then a fumbled pitch to Henderson on the first play of the third turned that game (as well as the injury) .

Some people have said, it was an immediate improvement when Noteboom went down. I think that improvement was already happening despite the 3 game losing streak. It’s why it continued with the other 4 guys all still playing but with a rookie instead of JN. The next 3 games are against 1-5 Atlanta, 0-7 Cincinnati and BigBen-Less Pittsburgh. Did they look better? Yes. Did they play better? Sure. Not against a good D like the Steelers though. Of course two guys go down in that game so before they get to the Chicago game, they’re down to two more lineman. Whitworth and Blythe were the only two who started the season and Blythe missed a game early on, a win.

So the process started all over again. Not against stellar competition again but Edwards, Corbett and Evans got better the more they played. We got another reprieve and took advantage of it, going 3-1. But those first two games the OL didn’t look distinctly improved. Chicago where we scored 17 points, then Baltimore where we looked like a bad O line. But facing a quick 28-0 deficit can aid in that. Against Arizona and Seattle they looked better. I thought Evans played better, faster than the other two. And they got better as a unit, playing in 7 straight.

But looking back on the OL’s season it wasn’t good, mainly because of injuries and inexperience, breaking in two waves of O lineman. I thought Noteboom and Allen played better than they were credited. Inconsistent? Yes. Edwards got better but played longer (10). Havenstein and Allen played 9, Evans and Corbett 7 and Noteboom played alot less than 6 considering he went down on the second series of the SF game. The rollouts? They helped. They’ve been a part of the offense but not as much as they were last year. But we didn’t have 2 rookies and a so-called bust from Cleveland in 2019. So they were a bigger part of the offense once the youngsters appeared, wisely. What would have been wiser is if he’d have employed that before the injuries. Were they a very good line last year? No. Were they terrible? No. On the season it was terrible because we had to break in practically 5 guys from scratch, the bust with 1 start to his credit.

Forecast? So for 2020 we get experience back with Whitworth, Havenstein and Blythe. And we get less experience with Evans, Edwards, Corbett and Allen, even less with Noteboom, when they’re healthy but they’ve all been under fire. 3 vets and 5 guys with between 6 and 10 starts last season. Better than five first time starters including two rookies. Do I think the line is going to be better in 2020? Yes. They’re going to be more experienced too. That can’t hurt. I’m encouraged that the powers to be are encouraged. I hope Whitworth can start faster than last year. Havenstein too because it’s hard to give up on him as he’s 27 with 5 years experience. They’ve got Blythe, Edwards, Evans and Corbett plus the rookie Anchrum and Shelton, who saw time last year for 3 spots on the OL. Noteboom and Allen when they’re healthy. If they’re not ready it’s PUP for 6 weeks and then 5 weeks or less to practice. So if we have any issues, I hope it doesn’t occur until those two are ready.

Bottom line is this. That line, with 9 different starters played well enough to win 9 games. The line that starts this year hopefully finishes it but if there are problems I don’t think we’ll be in trouble nearly as much as last year. No greenhorns even at the backup positions. We have enough talent to win. Hell we won 9 games with that line discombobulated for at least 6 games. Hopeful? A little. Unreasonable? Absolutely not

T. Higbee had 43 catches in the final 5 games of last year. All while displaying great yards after catch & contact ability, which you can’t teach! 89 has arrived, given the opportunity. With McVay expected to continue this system, how many receptions do you see for Higs in 2020? pic.twitter.com/1966xWoyn3

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) May 5, 2020

Aaron Donald sacked each starting quarterback of the division foes last season. All three will be returning as starters in 2020…As will be AD99 😈 pic.twitter.com/7lkxXGafzD

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) May 5, 2020