Which NFL teams are likely to move on from their head coaches this season?@AlbertBreer runs down potential openings and potential surprises https://t.co/sItBafCW58

— The MMQB (@theMMQB) December 27, 2019

zn wrote:

goff: a couple of beautiful back-to-back dimes including a crucial 3rd and 8

That 2nd pass was a classic Goff beauty.

…

aeneas1

goff: a couple of beautiful back-to-back dimes including a crucial 3rd and 8

It’s amazing how long Larry Fitzgerald has played at a high level. I remember reading a quote where he said Rams Ron Bartell is one of toughest Corners he’s ever played. In the prime of Fitz career I always thought Bartell matched up against him good as anyone in the league pic.twitter.com/etbFZPbp8L

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) December 27, 2019

ESPN Los Angeles@ESPNLosAngeles
McVay: “The only thing we can do is finish the season right way against the Cardinals… but we gotta figure out how to just be more consistent on all three phases.”

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
This being party season, if you end up at a get-together and get caught up in a conversation in which someone wonders aloud about how the @Rams can attract fans to SoFi Stadium drop this on them: The Rams are averaging more fans at the Coliseum this year than SoFi Stadium seats.

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#LARams Thursday Injury Report: pic.twitter.com/uinqrl5y5v

— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) December 27, 2019

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Rams DC Wade Phillips: “I enjoy coaching and I want to continue.”

Phillips acknowledges that he’s heard the rumors out there about his position with the Rams.

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Phillips on his evaluation of the Rams’ defense: “Some areas we’ve really done well, better than last year’s team – the run game, those kind of things overall. Yards per carry is way down from last year, but we didn’t get as many turnovers and that’s a key thing to me.”

Rams DC Wade Phillips: “I know it’s a sudden end when you know it’s the last game, but we’re still looking forward to this. We can still have a winning season. We’re playing on pride and character, and that’s two things I think we really have on this football team.”

Sosa K@QBsMVP
Brandin Cooks is by far having the worst year of his career:

– Only 58.2% catch percentage (2nd fewest)
– 2 TD’s (fewest)
– 8.1 yards/target (fewest)
– 41.8 yards/game (fewest)
– 29 first downs (2nd fewest)
– 39 receptions (fewest by far)

And this is in 13 games vs 10 as rookie

The Rams are gonna need a big bounceback season from Cooks in 2020. One thing to note: Goff missed Cooks down the field with good separation on at least 2-3 passes this season.

Gil Brandt@Gil_Brandt
Of all the non-playoff qualifiers this season, the Rams have to be considered the one with the brightest future.

PFF LA Rams@PFF_Rams
Tyler Higbee’s play in recent weeks has been otherworldly, proving to be not only a top receiving threat among TEs but WRs as well

In the last 5 weeks among all WR/TE (min 20 targets), he’s graded:
– 3rd in Receiving
– 6th in Overall Offense
– 6th in Fumble

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Rams HC Sean McVay on DL Michael Brockers (knee): He’ll be limited in practice, but they’ll be smart about it. Brockers’ ability, understanding of the defense would make them comfortable with him just taking mental reps in order to be as physically ready as possible for Sunday.

Brandon Lloyd only played 11 games as a ram but he sure brought the spectacular catch to the team. Here are his highlights against the Cardinals in 2011 pic.twitter.com/AXfTkM26ND

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) December 26, 2019

Rams’ Jared Goff takes encouragement and hard lessons from season

KEVIN MODESTI

link: https://www.dailynews.com/2019/12/24/rams-jared-goff-takes-encouragement-and-hard-lessons-from-season/

THOUSAND OAKS — Jared Goff’s disappointing year is ending with an encouraging month.

After going all of November without a touchdown pass, the quarterback with the league-high $110 million guaranteed contract has been himself again in December and will take his best statistical stretch of the season into the Rams’ finale against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum.

It’s either one more example of the inconsistency that’s costing Goff and the Rams a chance to defend their NFC title, or a reason for hope that he and the coaches have found answers that will pay off in 2020.

“It’s better than finishing poorly,” Goff said Tuesday after a walk-through practice. “You always want to show you can bounce back and respond, not only personally but more so for our offense in general.”

Goff said his November slump, culminating with a rout by the Baltimore Ravens, highlighted what he needed to improve on.

“I just became a little bit more accurate and started playing a little better,” he said.

He added that this is “never a consolation” for a team’s lost season.

The contrast between Goff’s numbers this month and earlier in the season is striking, even if it’s easily overlooked because the Rams fell out of the playoff race in December while going 2-2, beating the Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks before losing to the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.

In the past four games, Goff is completing 66.7% of his passes (up from 61.2% in the first 11 games), for 7.7 yards a throw (up from 7.3), 331 yards a game (up from 272) and 2.0 touchdowns a game (up from 1.0), and has been sacked 0.75 times a game (an improvement from 1.5). His interception rate of 1.0 (vs. 1.1) is about the same. It adds up to a passer rating of 95.7 this month (vs. 80.3 for the season’s first three months).

That’s the difference between the efficiency of the Rams’ passing game being bottom-10-quality for most of the season and top-10-quality recently.

The credit goes to more than Goff. More rollouts, and more play-action thanks to heavier use of running back Todd Gurley, have helped the offensive line to keep the heat off. The breakout month by Tyler Higbee, the first tight end since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to catch at least seven passes for at least 100 yards in four consecutive games, has given Goff another prime target.

“You knew they were going to figure it out (because) that’s what great coaches and players do,” said Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, whose team was the first to see the improved L.A. passing game when Goff had his highest-rated game in 2019 and the Rams won 34-7 in Glendale, Ariz., on Dec. 1.

“They’re a prideful group. They went back to the drawing board after that Baltimore game — you could see — and came back firing.”

There’s more to work on for Goff, 25, completing his fourth NFL season after signing a four-year contract extension in September worth $33.5 million a year.

In both the 44-21 loss to the Cowboys and the 34-31 loss to the 49ers, Goff threw damaging interceptions in the two minutes before halftime. The first set up the Dallas touchdown that made it 28-7, and the second was returned 46 yards by Fred Warner for the touchdown that gave San Francisco its first lead.

Goff said Tuesday the Warner interception is “one that will eat at me.” He said he didn’t see Warner when he threw a short second-down pass toward Malcolm Brown, but should have known the linebacker would be there and should have thrown the ball away.

Rams passing-game coordinator Shane Waldron praised Goff’s ability to learn from mistakes.

“Unfortunately we’ve had a few in those two-minute situations, where that quick reaction, if it doesn’t play out exactly the right way, then the next responsibility is to take care of the ball (and) find a throwaway,” Waldron said Tuesday. “It’s something he can learn from and keep learning from.”

The Rams (8-7) will need more months like this in 2020 from Goff and the rest of the offense. Without the errors, of course.

“You wish you could go back last week and not throw the interception at the end of the half, and finish with a touchdown (instead of a field goal) on that last drive (against the 49ers) and make it so that we are playing for something this week,” Goff said. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Whatever we did wasn’t good enough.

“But it was definitely on the ascending (path).”

Rams vs. Cardinals: 4 key matchups to watch in Week 17 https://t.co/XOAhB7bKfQ

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) December 26, 2019

The 1965 Rams did not play as well as they would have liked to but they finished the season strong finishing 3-1. Roman Gabriel and the Rams defense defeated the cardinals 27-3 in the LA coliseum! TE Billy Truax had a breakout game with the 59 yard touchdown pic.twitter.com/7FLZo4J7oO

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) December 26, 2019

from Chris Wesseling, NFL 2010s All-Decade Team: Tom Brady, J.J. Watt earn spots: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001091563/article/nfl-2010s-alldecade-team-tom-brady-jj-watt-earn-spots?campaign=Twitter_atn

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INTERIOR LINEMEN
Aaron Donald (Rams, 2014-19)

Thanks to analytics sites such as Football Outsiders and Pro Football Focus, we’ve made tremendous advancements in the understanding of defensive value over the past decade. That said, we’ve yet to find the numbers capable of shedding proper light on Donald’s dominance as an interior force facing and shedding double teams to make plays for himself and elevate his surrounding talent. As ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out at midseason, the Rams had allowed an 82.5 passer rating and a 42.2 QBR with Donald on the field, compared with a 130.5 passer rating and an 81.2 QBR when he’s on the sideline. That helps inform Donald’s impact. But what about his effect on teammates? Dante Fowler and Clay Matthews had averaged less than one combined sack and QB hit per game in their final two years with Jacksonville and Green Bay, respectively. Since they joined Donald’s defense, they are hitting the QB nearly two times per game. Asked what surprised him most upon joining the Rams, venerable defensive coordinator Wade Phillips exclaimed, “Aaron Donald, because he’s better than everybody, and I didn’t know he was better than everybody. I thought he was good, but I didn’t know he was better than everybody. But he is.” That simple description should accompany his bust in Canton some day: “Better than everybody.”

”’

SPECIAL TEAMS
PUNTER
Johnny Hekker (Rams, 2012-19)

Essentially the Justin Tucker of punters, Hekker has ushered in a golden era for foot specialists. The rare punting Goliath at 6-foot-5 and 241 pounds, Hekker has mastered the nuances of the position, confounding opponents with an arsenal of trick kicks that enable him to limit touchbacks, pin returners inside the 10-yard line and leave precious little space to run. A few years back, a New York Times article even explored the hypothesis that Hekker might be better at doing his job than anyone else in the league. It should come as no surprise then that Bill Belichick once acknowledged that Hekker is as good as any punter in history.

from Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury – Conference Call – Dec. 24, 2019

(On QB Jared Goff having one of his better games of the season against the Cardinals in the Week 13 game and his play the last three games after and if he’s seen anything different from Goff and the Rams passing game)
“He’s (QB Jared Goff) a great player and (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay) is a genius offensive mind. They had their lull there where they had some tough outings. You knew they were going to figure it out, that’s what great coaches and players do and I think that’s all that is. They’re a prideful group, they went back to the drawing board after that Baltimore game – you could see – and came back firing. Unfortunately, we were the first team they played, and they got after us pretty good. They’ve been playing at a very high level ever since. I’m sure they will be that way Sunday, so we will have to play our best game.”

…

(On LB Dante Fowler Jr., DT Aaron Donald, and LB Clay Matthews and what he sees from the Rams pass rush and what’s made it effective when it’s been really working)
“You nailed it. All three of those guys are tremendous players. They’ll rotate in the guys that can get home as well. It’s as dominate D-line as we’ve faced. (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) does a great job with scheme and changing up pressures and letting those guys have their one-on-ones. Last time we played them, they got after us. So, we’re trying to put together a better plan this week and hopefully to be a little more competitive.”

Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Jalen Ramsey’s season is over. He’ll miss Sunday’s game with a knee injury, which should be healed in a month to a month and a half

PFF: What went wrong for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019?

https://www.pff.com/news/pro-rams-what-went-wrong-2019

Les Snead has built the Los Angeles Rams’ roster with reckless abandon in recent seasons, actively pursuing trades and wielding a generous wallet in contract negotiations at the expense of future flexibility. There is a certain allure to pushing all your chips into the center of the table and aggressively chasing wins right now. That approach to roster building nearly brought a Lombardi Trophy home to Los Angeles in Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots. The approach is not nearly as attractive when the losses begin to build, though. After being officially eliminated from the postseason with a Week 16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams are finding that out firsthand.

A season ending outside of postseason contention is shining a light on any and all deficiencies that Los Angeles has shown this season, including the fact that…

JARED GOFF IS PAID LIKE AN ELITE QUARTERBACK, BUT HE’S BEEN FAR FROM IT WITH THIS OFFENSIVE LINE

It’s hard to talk about what is at the root of the Rams’ offensive struggles this season and not begin with the offensive line. That unit went from fifth in PFF pass-blocking grade in 2018 to 31st in 2019, ahead of only the makeshift group that protects Ryan Fitzpatrick in Miami. Every quarterback is affected by pressure. Some are affected more than others, and Goff can safely consider himself part of that “some.”

Throwing out his disastrous 2016 rookie season, Goff ranks sixth in PFF overall grade from a clean pocket (92.7) since 2017. Over that same stretch, his 45.9 grade under pressure ranks 20th. That is the second-highest rank difference of any quarterback in the sample, trailing only Matthew Stafford (fourth from clean pocket and 22nd when under pressure). The traditional numbers under pressure are even uglier. Goff’s completion rate on those throws of just 42.4% ranks 30th among 32 qualifiers. Those aren’t the types of numbers that you’re hoping for from your $134 million man at quarterback.

When Goff has time to stand tall and let it rip without defenders around his feet, it’s not hard to see why the Rams were willing to make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. He’ll have some lapses, but he’ll also make some of the best throws that you’ll see at the NFL level in those situations, which was the case for much of last year. Not only was he getting clean pockets, but he was getting extended clean pockets. That extra time was crucial for the brand of passing offense that Sean McVay and the Rams want to run.

In 2018, 66% of Goff’s dropbacks lasted 2.5 seconds or longer, the highest rate of any quarterback in the league. The Rams were able to hold up in protection for Goff and let the crossing and long-developing routes that they like to utilize, particularly off play action, develop. This season, that number is down to 54% (16th among quarterbacks). The poor pass protection up front has sped up Goff and hurt what the Rams did so well on offense a season ago.

It’s no coincidence that his career season in 2018 came when the Rams’ offensive line was a top-five pass-blocking unit. The Rams have paid Goff like one of the top quarterbacks in the league, and in order for that to be a reality right now, the Rams simply have to be better up front. Goff has not proven that he can overcome adverse conditions like other elite quarterbacks around the league (*cough* Russell Wilson *cough*). Since he’s who the Rams have hitched their wagons to, they’ll either have to work this offseason to ensure the conditions are closer to what he saw in 2018 or hope for improvement in Year 5. Either way, it’s not an ideal start for the Rams’ nine-figure investment.

THE RAMS ARE PAYING BIG-TIME MONEY AT SUBOPTIMAL POSITIONS

It’s a shame that the running back position isn’t more valuable in the NFL. The players at the position are some of the most exciting and dynamic players in the game, and they take perhaps the most physical punishment of any position. The truth is that the skillset is largely replaceable, though, and their primary task – running the football – is driven by a host of other factors that are more important than the talent level of the running backs themselves, primarily game situation and run blocking.

The most valuable aspect of a running back’s game is the ability to make an impact in the passing game. Todd Gurley was outstanding in that regard in 2017, posting a receiving grade of 91.1 and 12.3 yards per reception (highest of any running back in the last three seasons with 50 or more receptions).

Since then, with the injury issues that he has dealt with, Gurley’s role as a receiver has taken a massive hit to the point that he has the lowest receiving grade of any running back in the NFL this season (32.4). Gurley is averaging just 0.51 receiving yards per route run (fourth-worst among running backs) and has dropped six passes (tied for second-most at the position). He has actually been pretty strong as a runner this season, but his complete lack of impact in the passing game makes his contract an albatross for the Rams moving forward.

To an extent, the same argument can be made for Aaron Donald‘s contract. It’s hard to fault the Rams’ for locking up Donald long-term. The guy is an absolute monster and has been the best player in the NFL, regardless of position, for several seasons now. His 268 pressures since the start of the 2017 season are 44 more than the next closest defender (Cameron Jordan) and 70 more than the next-closest interior defender (Fletcher Cox). He is a force that can-not be stopped.

He also wasn’t even the most valuable non-QB in his own division over the past three years heading into the 2019 season, because he doesn’t directly impact the most important aspect of defense: coverage.

It’s great to have great players, and Donald is undeniably great, just as Gurley was great before being slowed by injuries. He makes the Rams’ defense significantly better by commanding (and beating) double teams at a high rate. As great as it is to have players like Donald, this season for the Rams goes to show – just as the Chicago Bears’ and Khalil Mack’s season does – that elite pass-rushers just aren’t going to move the needle if their offense and passing game can’t get the job done on the other side of the football.

THREE FIRST-ROUND PICKS FOR TWO PLAYERS WITH CAREER-WORST SEASONS IN 2019

The Rams have been no stranger to trading draft picks for proven NFL commodities, shipping multiple first-rounders out for Brandin Cooks and Jalen Ramsey in recent seasons while also working smaller deals for Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters, Dante Fowler Jr., etc. Focusing on the Cooks and Ramsey trades, three first-rounders in that short of a span is a lot of draft capital to give up for a non-quarterback, especially given the deficiencies we’ve seen from Goff that were touched on earlier. Both Cooks and Ramsey looked to be immediate high-impact players at high-impact positions, though.

Including last season with the Rams, Cooks earned a passer rating of 112.2 on his targets from 2014 to 2018, ranking fourth among wide receivers with 400 or more targets in that time frame. He was one of the premier field-stretchers in the NFL with speed to burn, and he had the best season of his career with Goff in 2018. He was one of the top-25 wide receivers in terms of PFF receiving grade in the NFL. Early returns were good.

2019 has been a different story for Cooks. He has posted career-lows in PFF overall grade, receiving yards per route run, passer rating when targeted, and nearly every receiving metric in the book. Cooks, along with the Rams’ offense as a whole, has failed to be impactful.

Meanwhile, their midseason acquisition –Ramsey – had been one of the top shutdown cornerbacks in the NFL since entering the league in 2016. From 2016 to 2018, Ramsey’s coverage grade of 90.4 ranked sixth among cornerbacks over that period, and he also ranked in the top six in completion rate allowed (52.9%) and passer rating allowed (71.6) among cornerbacks with 150 or more targets.

Like Cooks, the success of prior seasons for Ramsey didn’t carry over to this season. He has recorded career-lows in 2019 in PFF grade, completion percentage allowed, and passer rating allowed. His results with the Rams were better than his early-season results with the Jaguars, but Ramsey has still been outperformed by the man he replaced, Marcus Peters (for a considerably larger draft pick investment).

Both Peters and Ramsey began playing with their new teams in Week 7, and since that point, Peters has the fourth-highest coverage grade among cornerbacks while Ramsey sits at 26th. On the season as a whole, their ranks are fourth and 40th, respectively. When you trade two first-round draft picks for a player, you expect that to result in an immediate upgrade, and at least to this point, that hasn’t been the case for the Rams.

WHAT OPTIONS DO THE RAMS HAVE MOVING FORWARD?

The lack of early return from the Ramsey trade is part of the larger issue that has made this season for the Rams so disappointing. The aggressiveness they showed in roster building demands immediate results, and those results didn’t come in 2019. Now, the Rams are limited in the ways that they can improve on this 8-7 team thanks to limited cap room (including an impending massive contract that they will owe to Ramsey) to go along with a barren stock of high draft selections.

They made their bed with the guys on the roster, and now they must lie in it. The talent is there for a Super Bowl run – we saw it less than a year ago – but the Rams have put themselves in a situation where they can no longer go big-game hunting with cap space or draft capital to improve the roster. They’re in a situation where they’re relying on improvement from their investments like Goff, Gurley, Cooks, Ramsey, and Rob Havenstein to consistently perform at the level they’ve shown they were capable of in the past. If that doesn’t happen, things aren’t going to get any better for the Rams in 2020, and there isn’t a whole lot of light at the end of the tunnel.