Charles Robinson@CharlesRobinson
Wade suspected the writing was on the wall when the team parted company with DL coach (and Phillips confidant) Bill Johnson last offseason. There were some indications the defensive staff was going to get younger and more scheme-driven under McVay moving forward.

From the team perspective, I think there was some frustration over relying on the fundamentals of playing sound football rather than a premium placed on scheming and changing looks to expose weaknesses. Too much reliance on just beating strength on strength.

Something interesting: I truly believe that when Sean McVay went through the experience of seeing New England largely change its stripes in the Super Bowl in terms of how it attacked the Rams, it gave him some food for thought in terms of being able to turn a scheme on a dime.

McVay not only wants to be more involved in some of the defensive conceptualizing moving forward, but he wants coaches challenging themselves to be more creative every single week based on the opponent. Be better physically in-game, but think better mentally in preparation.

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
`My guess on letting Wade Phillips leave? Maybe coach McVay believes Aubrey Pleasant is ready to take over as defensive coordinator. It’s been two years since McVay sent Pleasant to the NFL career development symposium as a Rams representative in 2018.

It bears mentioning that the defense performed the best of the Rams three phases in 2019. Defense was 9th in DVOA. Offense was 16th. Special teams was 23rd

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
According to sources, don’t expect any other shakeups on the defensive side of the ball today. However, once a new defensive coordinator is named, the staff will be evaluated. Also, some assistants are among candidates for positions at college level, so could be further changes.

Moving forward, it will be very interesting to see who Sean McVay hires as the Rams defensive coordinator. Wade Phillips’ ran a 3-4, so there could be at least a short-term setback with personnel if they switch to a 4-3.

Cian@Cianaf
Rams defensive coordinator is probably the worst job in football. Limited talent and you’re not getting anything to upgrade it, but there are still massive expectations in a franchise where nobody is ever going to blame McVay when things go wrong.

DOWNTOWN RAMS [DTR]@DowntownRams
Really feel for Wade. Maybe his best defense with the #Rams and is a year removed from coordinating one of the best defensive performances against arguably the greatest postseason QB of all time.

Rams to move on from Wade Phillips as DC

Nick Shook

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001094960/article/rams-to-move-on-from-wade-phillips-as-dc

The Rams’ move into their long-awaited new home will not include Wade Phillips.

Los Angeles is not bringing back the veteran defensive coordinator, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source informed of the situation. Phillips’ contract expired with the end of the 2019 season and the Rams are declining to renew it.

In terms of yards allowed per game, the Rams actually improved from 2018 to 2019, going from allowing 358.6 per contest (19th in NFL) in 2018 to to 339.6 yards per outing in 2019 (13th in NFL). Phillips’ defense also did this while weathering the loss of Aqib Talib to a rib injury (before ultimately trading him to Miami) and John Johnson to a shoulder injury, trading Marcus Peters to Baltimore and incorporating Jalen Ramsey into Los Angeles’ secondary in the middle of the season.

But as pretty much everything went with the Rams this season, shellackings at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys outweighed season-long measurements and ultimately shaped perception of the defending NFC champions, who couldn’t manage to make a return trip to the playoffs. With the 72-year-old Phillips’ contract expiring, now seemed to be the right time for the two parties to go their separate ways.

Phillips made it clear Monday he’s not done coaching, as long as a team will have him in 2020.

NFL Wild Card PFF ReFocused: Minnesota Vikings 26, New Orleans Saints 20

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-wild-card-pff-refocused-minnesota-vikings-26-new-orleans-saints-20

In what was supposed to be a shootout on paper, it was defense that triumphed for the Minnesota Vikings, pulling a huge upset by defeating the New Orleans Saints 26-20 in the Superdome. Despite losing all of their slot cornerbacks heading into this game, the Vikings limited the effectiveness of arguably the best slot weapon in the NFL (Michael Thomas), who saw only eight targets all game despite being covered largely by safeties and linebackers. Overall, Minnesota limited the entirety of the Saints offense outside of Taysom Hill, who was the only player to consistently make plays for New Orleans all game. Hill accounted for 125 of the Saints’ 324 yards and one of their two touchdowns on offense. By contrast, Drew Brees had his third consecutive iffy game, but the first one that actually looked as much from the raw numbers. Hill had the longest pass of the game, and Brees’ interception to Harris was a real turning point of the game.

Vikings receiver Adam Thielen has been a significant absence for most of the season, but he dug the team a huge hole early in the game only to redeem himself in overtime. Thielen fumbled the ball on the opening drive after the Vikings won the toss and unusually elected to take the ball. He also was flagged for a holding penalty that erased a first down run by Dalvin Cook and had a key drop in the first half, but it was his impressive catch over Patrick Robinson in overtime that brought Minnesota down to the goal line where they were able to convert.

The Vikings did an excellent job against the New Orleans offense for the most part, but consistent conservatism almost cost them. Just before the half, down by seven, they elected to kick a field goal when their second down run lost yardage only to be rewarded with an interception by All-Pro snub Anthony Harris snagging an interception as the Saints tried to take advantage. Late in the fourth quarter, they again went hyper-conservative and gave the Saints the window to tie it up and force overtime.

The Vikings now play the San Francisco 49ers, a team that can’t have been expecting to meet Minnesota in the playoffs. They have shown that they have the capability of creating a defensive gameplan to match any offense in the NFL, but they need to team it with an in-game process that underpins rather than undermines that gameplan with its decision making to progress deep into the playoffs. For the Saints, they again head into an offseason where the Brees succession plan will loom large and raise questions about whether they can have one last run at a Lombardi Trophy, just like last year, and the year before that.

Jason Peters said he spoke to Jadeveon Clowney after his hit on Carson Wentz. Told him it was a “dirty hit.” Said Clowney said my bad, but that’s about it. #Eagles

— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 6, 2020

==

Kevin McFarlane@KMcFarlane10
He was being blitzed got outside the pocket then the guy from behind started tackling him and Clowney jumped on top of him head first. What are you looking at? When was he running past the line of scrimmage at any point?

Tony Dungy@TonyDungy
Doesn’t matter. He is out of the pocket and not in a throwing motion. He’s running toward the goal line so in the officials’ terminology he is now a “runner” until he starts to slide. Which he never did. So he only has the protection that any ball carrier would have.

==

Zach Ertz played through two rib fractures, a rib cartilage fracture and a kidney injury, he revealed. pic.twitter.com/JY5ppv0JFC

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) January 6, 2020

One of these quarterbacks is fragile. #LARams #Eagles pic.twitter.com/tdyPmy3sZo

— 𝕽𝖆𝖒𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙 (@WillramWallace) January 5, 2020

Adam Caplan@caplannfl
Josh McCown remains in at QB.

McCown played with Emmitt Smith.

Emmitt Smith has been in the Hall of Fame for a decade.

==

Let Josh Cook.pic.twitter.com/u8IRiBc0B9

— PFF (@PFF) January 5, 2020

Eagles trying to overcome:

No QB1
No WR1
No WR2
No WR3
No RB1
No RT1
No RG1
TE1 playing w lacerated kidney

And that's just on offense

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 5, 2020

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Saints are now the first team in NFL history to have six straight playoff eliminations by one score and the second team since the Packers from 2013-15 to be eliminated in three straight postseasons on the final play of the game.

Geoff Schwartz@geoffschwartz
Saints up 10-6. Then Brees foolishly throws that INT into double coverage. Since then it’s been all Vikings.

Steve Wyche@wyche89
Vikings needed that TD drive. Now a two-possession game at 20-10. It is so quiet in the Superdome right now I can actually have a conversation with the folks next to me.

==

Kirk Cousins heating up, Vikings go up 20-10 in third quarter https://t.co/WPEjrsFpbS

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 5, 2020

Trump’s advisers have maintained that they were operating on credible intelligence showing that Soleimani was involved in imminent plans to attack U.S. interests in a handful of countries. They have not detailed that intelligence, and Democratic lawmakers, among others, have raised questions about its veracity.

Even if it were true, why would killing Soleimani prevent or mitigate these alleged attacks?

…

Trump’s Biggest Fox News Boosters Suddenly Stop Railing Against ‘Deep State’ Intelligence

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-biggest-fox-news-boosters-234154938.html

Suddenly, it appears the U.S. intelligence community is back in good standing over at Fox News.

Since Trump’s election, an inescapably common refrain of the president and his biggest boosters in conservative media has been to rail against the “deep state.” The Russian election interference probe, they’ve repeatedly said, was nothing more than a coup or disinformation campaign perpetrated by the anti-Trump intelligence community.

Over the past 24 hours, however, incessant Fox griping over “deep state” suddenly went quiet, replaced by sober pleas that—when it comes to the info allegedly justifying Trump’s ordered airstrike killing Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani—the U.S. intelligence community’s findings should be heeded and taken seriously as unimpeachably correct information.

Immediately after the Pentagon confirmed U.S. responsibility for the strike, claiming it “was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans,” Fox News host Sean Hannity—perhaps the most well-known “deep state” critic in media—heaped praise upon the intelligence community.

“The ability of the military, our intelligence community, the State Department, and the president making the call, very quickly, you know, understood that the Iranian forces on the ground bore a direct threat to the American people,” said Hannity, calling into his own show on Thursday night. “Once the intelligence was confirmed, once the understanding that they were there to sow the discord and discontent, the president acted as quickly as possible, taking out this top general.”

“But I will say the big headline is, this is a huge victory for American intelligence, a huge victory for our military, a huge victory for the State Department, and a huge victory and total leadership by the president,” the primetime host, who has spent more than two years and countless on-air segments railing against shadowy “deep state” intelligence, concluded.

By Friday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went even further than the Pentagon, saying that it was necessary to take out Soleimani as it disrupted an “imminent attack,” adding that “the risk doing nothing was enormous” and the “intelligence community made that assessment and President Trump acted decisively last night.”

Following Pompeo’s assertions, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade—who last month chastised a Daily Beast writer for not asking Lisa Page about a deep-state conspiracy theory—openly defended and applauded the intelligence community.

After Fox News star Geraldo Rivera sarcastically noted the “U.S. intelligence has been excellent since 2003 when we invaded Iraq, disrupted the entire region, for no real reason,” he told Kilmeade not to “start cheering this on” while claiming his colleague “never met a war you didn’t like.”

“I will cheer it on. I am elated,” Kilmeade exclaimed, adding that it’s “not true” that he loves war.

During a later appearance on Fox News’ The Daily Briefing, host Dana Perino—a former Bush White House press secretary—repeatedly claimed an attack was “imminent,” asking Kilmeade what the consequences would have been if Trump didn’t act.

“What everyone is missing, it’s not our choice,” the Fox & Friends host replied. “These things are happening. It’s how we react to what is happening.”

Kilmeade—no longer skeptical of intelligence officials—also insisted that the president didn’t need to brief Congress before killing the Iranian leader because he needed to act quickly due to the information obtained.

“But if you want him to get congressional approval over a strike that is time sensitive when an attack is imminent and he landed at the airport? Are you kidding me?” Kilmeade huffed.

During Friday’s broadcast of Fox Business Network’s Varney and Co., anchor Stuart Varney also seemed a bit amnesiac over his previous missives against the intelligence community. Despite claiming in the past that the “deep state” was trying to undermine Trump’s presidency, the pro-Trump host credulously touted Pompeo’s “imminent attack” claim throughout his show.

“That’s what Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, told Fox News earlier this morning, that there was an imminent attack and the president ordered the killing to stop that imminent attack,” Varney proclaimed at one point. “Good cause to do it.”

In a later segment, Fox & Friends Weekend host and unofficial Trump adviser Pete Hegseth—who once noted that the “American people didn’t vote for the Deep State”—also found newfound praise for the intel community, adding that Trump likely waited until the “intelligence lined up.”

A Fox News guest, however, seemed to reveal one of the biggest self-contradictions.

Former Trump adviser Christian Whiton lamented Friday on Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtime that it is “really sad” that Democrats “aren’t willing to give our president and our military the benefit of the doubt in a crisis.”

A few weeks ago, though, Whiton gave no such benefit of the doubt to a member of both the military and intelligence community. During an interview with Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, Whiton called former National Security Council member and impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman a “deep state crybaby” who “poured himself into an Army outfit to go and frankly speak contemptuous things against the commander-in-chief.”