Speed_Kills

they didn’t draft Everett to not target him.

I talked to Tory Holt on NFL radio today and he agreed with me and he also said that prior to the injury the Rams defense could not cover Everett. That was a quote.

laram

Rivers has come up short a time or two and thrown some costly INT’s BUT if YOU think he’s been overrated for some time pop in the tape of his performance vs the Rams defense in 2014 which IMO was their best defense to date.

Top 3 in sacks, and top 5 in rush defense.

One of the best performances that I’ve seen from a qb in the face of a vaunted pass rush.

IF he stays away from TO’s….he’s still THAT guy!

Ahead of Rams-Chargers, here's a breakdown of where the two teams stand … https://t.co/svDQIIHTT8

— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) September 21, 2018

Austin Blythe remains Rams' starting RG, Jamon Brown to be backup https://t.co/uEuTtYU0rO via @theramswire

— RamsNewsNow (@RamsNewsNow) September 21, 2018

Who has the edge in this week’s Fight for LA? Both @Rich_Hammond and I picked the Rams: https://t.co/SB788ZBXFA

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) September 21, 2018

"When you’re working toward the same goals, it’s really easy to get along.”

Quotes + Notes: 📝 » https://t.co/27R3sC0Tzw pic.twitter.com/eDrK8YV9iy

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 22, 2018

Matt Waldman’s RSP NFL Lens: QB Jared Goff’s Vertical Arm

Matt Waldman
2 months ago

link: https://mattwaldmanrsp.com/2018/07/29/matt-waldmans-rsp-nfl-lens-qb-jared-goffs-vertical-arm/

Matt Waldman’s RSP NFL Lens examines a 67-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff that covers 61 yards from the pitch point to the catch point.

——————————————-

Quarterback arm strength is overrated. You only need enough to ride the NFL ride and with the exception of about 1-2 plays a month, the rest is usually superfluous. Even in these isolated situations, there is often a more efficient or wise solution available to the quarterback.

I only look at practical applications of arm strength. There are various ways one must examine the dimensions of arm strength; the vertical game is only one of them. A player who has good arm strength for the vertical game is Jared Goff.

But if you listen to the “fan-alysts,” Sean McVay was actually the Rams quarterback via video game controller. McVay’s offense gives Goff easy opportunities and he used the radio transmission into Goff’s helmet in a unique way that transformed Goff from an imminent bust to a competent quarterback.

Silly.

Of course, McVay’s offense and coaching helped Goff. So did the offensive line and receiver upgrades. However, let’s not go overboard: McVay implemented a good process and supporting cast around a talented quarterback.

I had to say it because there are (otherwise) observant and intelligent people who’ve not truly watched Goff and rely on half-baked analysis.

This leads us back to arm talent. Check out this 67-yard touchdown pass. Goff delivers his ball off a play-action boot and it’s 61 yards in stride to Sammy Watkins, splitting the Giants’ zone for a touchdown.

View this post on Instagram

Goff 61-yard throw from pitch for 67-yd TD

A post shared by Matt Waldman (@mattwaldmanrsp) on Nov 5, 2017 at 3:28pm PST

It’s an easy throw off a hitch with the back foot in alignment with the target point. And the throw has the velocity and placement that even Sammy Watkins didn’t anticipate arriving in stride because he actually has to extend last-second to make the reception.

Drew Brees’ practical range is 50-55 yards. Matt Ryan’s is typically 40-45 yards. Brees, Ryan, and Goff are intelligent quarterbacks with skills to execute rhythm passing plays in and outside the pocket.

Although Brandin Cooks lacks a full-service game that Sammy Watkins potentially provides any team, the Rams realize that Goff has the vertical skill to let a Cooks run under the target without forcing a contested catch. When a quarterback can do this for Cooks — and Tom Brady couldn’t at his age — it will activate the most dangerous part of Cooks’ game and minimize one of his greatest weakness — winning contested plays at the catch point.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by zn.

Rams vs. Chargers: 4 key matchups to watch in Week 3

Cameron DaSilva

Rams vs. Chargers: 4 key matchups to watch in Week 3

The Los Angeles Rams and Chargers will square off on Sunday in the first “Fight for L.A.” regular season matchup. The Rams have owned the battle since the Chargers moved to town last year, both on the field and off it.

However, this is the Chargers’ first chance to set the record straight and prove they’re the better team in sunny L.A. If the Rams want to move to 3-0, they’ll have to win these key matchups, many of which favor them.

Rams CBs vs. Chargers WRs

The Chargers have a solid group of receivers, which will give the Rams their first real challenge of the season. Although they move around the formation from play to play, expect Marcus Peters to draw Mike Williams on the left side, Aqib Talib and Tyrell Williams on the strong side and Keenan Allen being covered by Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot.

That could change based on how the Rams and Chargers play things, but expect to see plenty of these matchups on Sunday. Talib has to be physical with Mike Williams on the outside to disrupt his timing with Philip Rivers, while Peters has more of a speed threat on the other side.

Allen is obviously Los Angeles’ top wideout, which makes Robey-Coleman so valuable in this game. He’s one of the best slot corners in the game today despite not receiving that sort of recognition.

Page 2 of 4
Rob Havenstein vs. Melvin Ingram

Ingram is the focal point of the Chargers’ pass rush with Joey Bosa sidelined. He plays both sides of the line, but more often than not, he lines up across from the right tackle. As a premier pass rusher, he’ll be going up against the Rams’ best offensive lineman through two games. Ingram will look to use his speed around the edge to beat Havenstein, but that won’t be easy.

With Ingram being the Chargers’ best edge defender, Havenstein has a tall task on his hands. Ingram is a player who can go off for three sacks in a game, which would be bad news for Jared Goff and the offense.

Goff has been kept relatively clean in the pocket thus far, and it’s why he’s played well in the first two games.

Page 3 of 4
Cory Littleton vs. Melvin Gordon

Melvin Gordon carved up the Bills last week, but not just on the ground. He caught six passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns, adding a rushing touchdown on nine carries. In total, he had just 66 total yards, but those three touchdowns loomed large. The week before, he was far more impressive, catching nine passes for 102 yards.

Littleton has to contain Gordon both in the running game and when Rivers targets him through the air. He and the rest of the Rams did a great job covering David Johnson a week ago, but now they’ll have to turn their attention to Gordon and even Austin Ekeler.

Page 4 of 4
Aaron Donald vs. Dan Feeney

The Chargers’ offensive line has been one of the worst in the NFL this season, so there are a bunch of favorable matchups. Ndamukong Suh versus Mike Pouncey, Samson Ebukam versus Sam Tevi, Michael Brockers versus Michael Schofield. The list goes on, but Donald against Feeney might be the most lopsided matchup of them all.

Donald should nab his first sack of the season on Sunday with the shakiness that is the Chargers’ offensive line, so don’t be surprised to see him get to Rivers once or twice. Los Angeles will almost certainly double team Donald on the interior, but that’s tough to do with Suh, Brockers and Ebukam all on the defensive front.

Still, Donald will win this matchup with ease and prove to be his dominant self once again.

Philip Rivers, Jared Goff experts at creating explosive plays

Eric D. Williams

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-chargers/post/_/id/24782/philip-rivers-jared-goff-experts-at-creating-explosive-plays

COSTA MESA, Calif. — The battle for L.A. this Sunday between the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers offers an opportunity to see two of the most explosive offenses in the NFL at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Chargers are tied with the Denver Broncos for the most explosive plays — rushes of 15 yards or more or passing plays of 20-plus yards — through two weeks with 17, while the Rams are tied for fifth with 13.

Jared Goff Vs. Philip Rivers
Here’s a closer look at how Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff and Los Angeles Chargers QB Philip Rivers are performing since the start of the 2017 season.

RIVERS GOFF
Comp. pct. 64 62
Yds./att. 8.0 8.1
TD/Int. 34/11 31/8
Total QBR 62 58

“We’ve had plenty of those,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. “Some of those have been short throws and long runs. Those have been just fine, too. It’s been really good.”

Led by a 15-year veteran in Rivers, the Chargers are No. 3 in the league in total offense (445 yards per game) and No. 3 in passing yards (329 per game).

While the Rams, led by third-year signal-caller Jared Goff, are averaging 33 points per game — No. 5 in the NFL.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, since the start of the 2017 season Goff averages 6.7 yards after catch (YAC) on his completions, the highest rate in the NFL, while Rivers and Blake Bortles are tied for second at 6.2.

Both Rivers and Goff focus on being a point guard on the field at the quarterback position, getting the ball out on time and into their playmakers’ hands.

With Rivers and Goff meeting for the first time during the regular season, the 36-year-old veteran quarterback said he has been impressed with the development of his counterpart.

Rivers has seen the “comfort level” Goff has in the offense and knows that last year “they scored a ton of points.”

“He seems to fit well in that scheme too,” Rivers said. “They’re doing a lot of things to move him around in games you’ve seen that keeps him on the move. Shoot, he’s going to be one of the young guys that you imagine is going to be around a long time.”

Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn echoed Rivers’ sentiments about Goff. Lynn said he played in a similar scheme to Rams head coach Sean McVay’s latest iteration of the West Coast offense as a player with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos, and believes Goff is a perfect fit.

“I grew up in that system,” Lynn said. “He’s executing it right now really well and moving around a lot. He’s throwing on the move. He’s more of an athlete than what people give him credit for. He can move the ball down the field with his legs as well.”

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Goff said he watched Rivers and admired his style of play.

“He’s a guy that I’ve definitely watched and tried to steal things from, the way he plays the game and the way he works,” Goff said. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about him from the people who’ve played with him.”

While Goff made the Pro Bowl and led the Rams to the team’s first NFC West title since 2003 last season, McVay seemed unwilling to compare the Cal product to a player with the pedigree of Rivers.

“You’re talking about two really good quarterbacks,” McVay said. “We’re very hopeful that Jared’s going to continue to progress, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him, but you’re talking about a guy that’s had nine straight, 4,000-yard [passing] seasons and is surefire Hall of Famer.

“So I think we have a long way to go if we’re talking about that, but I know we feel like Jared is on the right track. We certainly feel like we’re in good hands with him leading the way and have a lot of confidence in him.”

Kurt Warner@kurt13warner
I so hate that label – tell me a great QB who wasn’t a SYSTEM QB? Fball is about creating a system that fits your personnel/talents! How many QBs do u know that changed systems and had equal success in both???

Dan Orlovsky@danorlovsky7
14 months ago they called him a “bust”-now they call him a “system QB”….maybe, just maybe @JaredGoff16 is….Good!?!?!

AvengerRam

I was looking at the Chargers’ lineup and stats thus far, and its clear that their biggest outside threat is Keenan Allen.

As we are now starting two former AFC West players at CB, I looked at Allen’s numbers against the Broncos (Talib) and Chiefs (Peters) last year. Here’s what I found:

Keenan Allen vs KC/DEN (per game averages): 4.5 receptions, 47.8 yards, .25 TDs
Keenan Allen vs. everyone else: 7.0 receptions, 100.2 yards, .50 TDs

Now, of course, Allen was not always covered by Peters and Talib, but I think those numbers show enough to say that our CBs fared well against Allen last season.

Philip Rivers’ numbers against Denver and KC were not as clear. Against Denver, he fared very well… with passer ratings of 99.6 and 105.1 in the two meetings. His worst two games, however, were against the Chiefs, with putrid ratings of 37.2 and 49.2. Peters was a big reason, as he notched 5 passes defended and 3 interceptions in those two games. This year, against a Peters-less Chiefs team, his passer rating was 103.7.

These are very small sample sizes, no doubt, but interesting nonetheless.

Guess we’ll see on Sunday whether these are trends.

NFL Week 3 CBS Chargers @ Rams Preview

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-week-3-cbs-chargers-rams-preview

CHARGERS

Ekeler and Gordon are weapons in the passing game

Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon are integral pieces to the Chargers passing game, ranking second and third among all running backs in yards per route run. Ekeler has been a wildly productive receiver out of the backfield, averaging 4.32 yards per route run and forcing four missed tackles through the first two games.

Derwin the swiss army knife

The Chargers are utilizing rookie safety Derwin James as a versatile defender all over the field. He lines up deep as a safety, as a linebacker in the box, on a receiver in the slot, and even occasionally on the defensive line. James is currently grading as PFF’s 8th best safety (82.8) with the fourth-highest pass rushing grade (81.5). Derwin James vs. Todd Gurley will be a fun matchup to watch.

Can Rivers adapt to life without Hunter Henry?

Over recent seasons, Philip Rivers has been incredibly productive targeting Hunter Henry. When targeting the tight end, Rivers has produced a 143.7 passer rating and a staggering 12:0 TD to INT ratio. With Henry out for the season, it’s going to be fascinating to see who steps up.

Hayward’s still one of the best

The Rams’ high-powered passing attack will have to navigate past one of the best cornerbacks in the game on Sunday. Last year, Casey Hayward was not only our highest-graded cornerback, but he also ranked in the top-10 in most of our advanced coverage metrics.

RAMS

Don’t bite on the play fake!

No team ran more play action passes on first down than the Rams last year, so the Chargers would be wise to keep an eye out for that on Sunday.

Defending the crossing route

Last year, the Rams defense allowed a passer rating of just 55.4 on crossing routes – the best mark among NFL defenses. The Chargers may have to look elsewhere if they want to move the ball.

Gurley does it all

Fresh off signing the richest contract ever by a running back, Todd Gurley is showing why he is worth the money. He racks up 1st downs and touchdowns at the highest rate in the NFL, and he is near impossible to bring down at the point of first contact, both as a runner and receiver.

Donald and Suh wreaking havoc

Ndamukong Suh has lived up to expectations through the first two games, pairing with Aaron Donald to form the league’s best interior defense. Donald is up to his usual tricks, grading as PFF’s 2nd best interior defender (91.5 overall grade) while Suh ranks 12th (84.5 overall PFF grade). Chargers center Mike Pouncey (70.7 overall grade, eighth among centers) will have his hands full trying to contain Donald and Suh.

nittany ram wrote:

The greatest non-Rams game ever.

Another one that ranks pretty high up there with me is the 1977 double-overtime AFC divisional playoff game with Oakland in Baltimore. It’s the so-called “ghost to the post” game. That was a great game too.

J.B. Long@JB_Long
Based on PFF’s analysis, #LARams offensive line has yet to allow a QB hit, much less a sack, through two weeks.

(Some of you might wonder, as I did, “What about the strip sack at OAK?” They charged that one to Goff, not Havenstein. I think the Rams QB would agree with them.)