What has made the Steelers OL such an excellent unit over the years starts w/how well they work together, both as pass & run-blockers. My favorite area is the latter, specifically on combo blocks.

Clips of them getting hip-to-hip/shoulder-to-shoulder & pinning DL (weeks 1-9)👇 pic.twitter.com/zeylnlhP25

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) November 7, 2019

My favorite Rams/Steelers moment was this vintage toe tapping @IsaacBruce80 touchdown in 2007. It was significant because this was his last TD and final home game in his great 14 year Rams tenure. Even towards the end of his career, Mr. Ram Isaac Bruce could still dazzle ya! pic.twitter.com/eqfUrQsXQh

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) November 5, 2019

https://www.therams.com/news/rams-pro-football-focus-tidbits-week-10
MOST DEFENSIVE RANKINGS RISE AFTER BYE WEEK

In our midseason recap, we highlighted how well the defense graded out in four of the five categories evaluated by PFF. Even with the bye week, that’s still the case – and in some instances, its rankings rose.

L.A.’s defense stands as the fourth-highest graded overall defense entering Week 10 after entering the bye week at fifth. Its run defense moved up one spot, from seventh to sixth, while its coverage moved down one spot from seventh to eighth. Its pass rush remained at third.

Regardless of the movement, the point remains that the Rams’ defense is still a top 10 unit even with the performances across the league in Week 9.

The fact that each random billionaire’s thoughts on Elizabeth Warren is a news story is itself a powerful demonstration of the disproportionate political influence of the very rich.

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) November 7, 2019

Can the @steelers contain @AaronDonald97?
And is Pittsburgh's defense for real?@WillieMcGinest answers that and previews #LARvsPIT 👇

📺: @NFLTotalAccess pic.twitter.com/1pQZEjXVdL

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) November 7, 2019

California@California_Art_
is Cooks going to miss the remainder of the season ?

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
I don’t think so. But they are going to be careful obviously.

from https://www.therams.com/news/clay-matthews-ready-to-rejoin-rams-defense

“Never realized how I much I enjoyed eating until you have your mouth wired shut,” Matthews said. “But it was one of those ones that sucks, no doubt about it. Not only being hurt, but you don’t realize how much you use your mouth every day, having your mouth wired shut. Especially when your kids don’t listen to you, but that’s another story.”
…
From there, it was a matter of sticking to a straightforward rehab program.

“And then once it came off, obviously it just took a long time, as it does with any kind of broken extremity, to get those muscles firing and stuff. Eating, chilling, talking, doing exercises with jaw mobility is the best thing I could do.”

Matthews has endured his fair share of injuries: A broken nose during a charity softball game in the summer of 2018, breaking his thumb twice in three months during the 2013 season, an ankle and a hamstring in 2016. This one, though, was different.

“Obviously I’ve never experienced this before and it was very much a freak injury,” Matthews said. “Unfortunate, but hopefully we can put it all past us now and move forward without any more hiccups.”

How can the Rams make a playoff push? Here’s a 10-point plan

Rich Hammond

https://theathletic.com/1356551/2019/11/06/how-can-the-rams-make-a-playoff-push-heres-a-10-point-plan/?=twittered

It’s time to reset expectations when it comes to the Rams. With eight games remaining, the Rams have a 5-3 record and sit three games behind the shocking leaders of the NFC West, the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

Sure, the 49ers could collapse. This particular group has never played meaningful late-season games together, and San Francisco’s schedule includes strong opponents such as New Orleans, Baltimore, Green Bay and Seattle (twice). There’s also a game with the Rams on December 22 up north, one that could be huge.

So yes, in a dream scenario for the Rams, the 49ers’ wagon crashes, the Seahawks drop a couple winnable games and the Rams — perhaps boosted by a stronger defense and a fresh Todd Gurley — surge to a third consecutive division title and a wild-card-round home game.

But probably not.

It’s more likely that the Rams, given their challenging slate of remaining games and significant questions about their offensive production, will battle Seattle (7-2) and Minnesota (6-3) for the two wild-card spots in the NFC (while making sure teams such as Carolina and Philadelphia don’t sneak up from behind).

That’s not what anyone expected two months ago, but it’s reality. And frankly it’s not ridiculous to think the Rams might slip out of a playoff spot altogether.

In order to avoid, perhaps, a 9-7 record and an early vacation, here are the 10 things the Rams must do in the second half of the season.

1. Win the next two games

No, this isn’t just coach-speak, “the next game is the most important game” dreck. The Rams really must win their next two games. They play at Pittsburgh this Sunday, then host Chicago next week. Neither game is a walkover, but look at what’s next. In four of the following five weeks, the Rams play Baltimore, Seattle, Dallas and San Francisco, all of which project as double-digit-win teams.

The Rams are 5-3. History says that to make the playoffs, they must finish at least 10-6, and perhaps 11-5. So where can one find five or six wins on the Rams’ remaining schedule? There are two games against Arizona. For the sake of argument, mark both down as Rams victories. That’s seven. How many wins can the Rams expect out of that Ravens-Seahawks-Cowboys-49ers set? Two, at best? That’s nine.

So if the thought is that 10 wins are enough for a playoff spot, then a split with the Steelers and Bears would be OK, but that’s really living on the edge. The Rams should win both games. They can throw the ball well enough to outscore the Steelers’ meager offense, and while the Bears’ defense is tough — everyone remembers last year’s slog at Soldier Field — Chicago is not the team it was in 2018.

2. Improve the run game

My colleague Vinny Bonsignore will address this in greater detail this week, but the Rams must figure out a run-game rotation, stick with it and get production. Given whatever is going on with Gurley, plus Malcolm Brown’s ankle injury and sporadic usage of rookie Darrell Henderson, the whole thing looks out of sync. Never mind the statistics (which aren’t great); the whole thing just doesn’t look right.

Maybe Gurley, fresher than ever, is ready for a greater workload. Maybe Brown will return and lead the way with a physical element. Maybe the Rams can build a package around Henderson’s amazing speed. Regardless, the Rams need a clear identity in their run game, and that’s particularly important given their remaining schedule. The Rams’ remaining opponents, as a whole, have better pass defenses than run defenses (Pittsburgh and Chicago are exceptions), so they will need to thrive on the ground.

3. Take care of the ball

This is always important, but each of the Rams’ final seven opponents has created more turnovers than it has allowed. This will be most important this week because the Steelers have a plus-11 turnover margin, second-best in the NFL (they have recorded 11 interceptions, third-best in the league).

The Rams are OK here. They are dead even in turnover margin, in part because quarterback Jared Goff has settled down and hasn’t thrown an interception in his last three games. That must continue, and perhaps the Rams’ new-look secondary can come up with a few more interceptions.

4. Get Matthews going

Clay Matthews arguably was the Rams’ best-performing defensive player before he broke his jaw in the Week 5 loss to Seattle. He had recorded six sacks, including at least one in each game, and showed impressive versatility at linebacker as he brought much-needed improvement to the Rams’ outside pass rush. He will be back soon, and that’s great news for the Rams.

It’s not as though they’ve been bad at outside linebacker in his absence. Dante Fowler, with 6.5 sacks in eight games, has been strong and consistent, and while Samson Ebukam perhaps didn’t step up as much as hoped, Obo Okoronkwo performed well in limited usage. If Matthews resumes his high level of play, the Rams could be formidable on the edge, and that’s also important because they also need to …

5. Get Donald going

Look, don’t read too much into this. Aaron Donald is a dominant force, no less so than in 2017 and 2018 when he won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. He is as strong, fast and disruptive as ever, and he’s a nightmare for opposing offenses that almost always have to double-team him.

Donald can’t do everything himself. He needs support (and pressure) from other defenders to give him those extra milliseconds he needs to get to the quarterback. If Matthews and Fowler can bring outside pressure and cornerback Jalen Ramsey can help buy more time with tighter coverage, that will help Donald. And oh by the way, he’s coming on. Donald has four sacks in his last three games.

6. Innovation from McVay

There might be a lesson to be learned from the Rams’ future stadium-mates. Last week, the Chargers fired offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and replaced him with Shane Steichen. Previously bland and underperforming on offense, the Chargers switched things up against Green Bay and improved. They quickened their tempo, ran more out of the shotgun and made much-needed tweaks.

The point isn’t that the Rams need to emulate the Chargers. It’s that minor changes — not an overhaul — are possible in the middle of a season, and Sean McVay certainly is capable of coming up with adjustments to put his players in better positions. He’s had a full week to work on it.

7. Better guard play

This is the most obvious of all. Early in the season, the entire Rams’ offensive line was kind of a mess, and that surprisingly included veteran tackles Andrew Whitworth and Rob Havenstein. Their play has picked up of late, and first-year center Brian Allen has been relatively steady, but the two guard positions still need some work.

At right guard, Austin Blythe has proven he can play at a high level, but better consistency is needed. At left guard, the Rams are expressing confidence in rookie David Edwards, but they also added Austin Corbett in a trade with Cleveland last month. They need to make a call pretty quick here. If Edwards is the guy, then fine, but if there’s any thought of Corbett stepping in, the Rams probably shouldn’t wait long.

8. Stout run defense

For some reason, the Rams’ run defense remains a problem for some fans. It’s actually fine. The Rams allow an average of only 3.6 yards per carry, which is third-best in the NFL, and they allow an average of fewer than 100 rushing yards per game.

They better keep it up. The Rams are about to see some teams — Baltimore, Seattle, Dallas and San Francisco — that like to run the ball a lot and do so with good efficiency. These are teams that tend to control time of possession and put themselves in a lot of third-and-short situations. Inside linebacker will be an important position for the Rams, and Bryce Hager is expected to return soon from a three-game injury absence.

9. Return to ‘Mr. Automatic’

Look, kickers have it rough. They’re the only people on the field expected to be perfect. But it’s fair to note that Greg Zuerlein hasn’t exactly been “Mr. Automatic,” the moniker given to him by Goff.

Zuerlein has made 16 of 20 field-goal attempts, which is good. He has made all 22 extra-point attempts, which is great. He is 4-for-4 from beyond 50 yards, which is superb. But he’s also only 3-for-7 on attempts between 40-49 yards, which is … weird. To be certain, Zuerlein’s time-expiring miss in the Seattle loss wasn’t the Rams’ only miscue in that game, but they can’t afford that inconsistency in the kicking game.

10. Goff needs to win a game

He’s won a lot of games. Twenty of them, in fact over the past 14 months. This isn’t a generic “Goff needs to be better” item. Given the Rams’ tough slate of remaining games, at some point they’re going to be locked in a tight, fourth-quarter battle, and it’s going to be up to Goff to win the game. No matter how the line is playing and no matter how dynamic Gurley is or isn’t, the game will be on Goff’s shoulders.

This upcoming run of games is going to be more of a challenge than it was for him in 2018, but if the Rams are going to make the playoffs, Goff, more than any other single player, must lead them there.

The highest coverage grades among LBs

Cory Littleton 📈 pic.twitter.com/0IKLHeLbX4

— PFF (@PFF) November 7, 2019

Rams RB Todd Gurley has 92 rushing attempts through eight games, putting him on pace for a career-low (by far) 184 https://t.co/mPUcqM0oAn

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 7, 2019

J.B. Long@JB_Long
Will the #LARams ignite their running game in the back half of the schedule?

The oddity is they’ve already faced defenses ranked 32, 29, 22, 21, and 20 against the run (DVOA). So while I’d like to believe they will…

Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Sean McVay said Brandin Cooks has NOT cleared concussion protocol yet

Cooks is out this week vs. Pittsburgh

J.B. Long@JB_Long

Unlike with Cooper Kupp’s injury in 2018, the silver lining to Brandin Cooks being out is that Josh Reynolds can play his role (albeit, differently).

Whereas last year, the #LARams took a step back at two positions (Woods covering for Kupp in the slot; Reynolds for Woods).

Also sounds like barring any setbacks in practice this week, #LARams expect OLB Clay Matthews and RB Malcolm Brown back for Week 10 at PIT.

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on the expected reception for Rams DT Aaron Donald on Sunday: “He will be well received because he is a member of our community. This is a guy that’s Pittsburgh born and raised.”

nittany ram wrote:

Might be a good time to get the running game going.

Well they’re 8th best in yards allowed per carry.

They’re the 11th ranked defense overall. (Interestingly the Rams are 12th.)

It looks like the key to this game is that the Rams D has to hold the Steelers offense down enough for the Rams O to get chances to score some.

Unless the Rams O just surprises us and takes it to the Steelers D from the get go.

Andrew Siciliano@AndrewSiciliano
I learned something new today.

First time the Rams and Steelers franchises played a game?

December 4, 1938

It was the very first @NFL game in New Orleans.

Cleveland Rams 13
Pittsburgh Pirates 7
Tulane Stadium

Bud Dupree named AFC defensive player of the week https://t.co/IxzUFQzs1s

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 6, 2019

Both teams are looking to extend win streaks of their own.

First look at Sunday's matchup against the Steelers!

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 6, 2019