I agree with Invader. There’s a salary cap. And the Rams weren’t the only team with room under the cap. Besides which… most of the additions to the players they drafted were via trade, not FA. Who was a FA? Suh?

That doesn’t resemble the Steinbrenner Yankees.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/04/05/sean-mcvay-los-angeles-rams-trades-brandin-cooks-ndamukong-suh-marcus-peters-aqib-talib?utm_campaign=themmqb&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

QUICKLY
The 32-year-old head coach will work with a team big on talent, but big on potential problems too. Why he’s confident it will work. Also, Dez Bryant on the brink, Lamar Jackson’s strange draft season decision-making, what RG3 brings to Baltimore, a draft prospect drawing Ray Lewis comps, high praise for Baker Mayfield and what Johnny Manziel is doing right
By ALBERT BREER April 05, 2018
Ten months ago, Sean McVay was still a 31-year-old curiosity, the Rams were coming off their 10th consecutive sub-.500 season, and the NFL’s return to L.A. was barely registering in the city’s crowded entertainment marketplace. And yet, it was right then and there, at OTAs’ end, that the stage was set for this year’s splash.

The coaching staff was running a scored offense vs. defense drill—first side to five wins; the defense won, and that meant the offense had to take a lap around the Oxnard, Calif. practice field. That’s when something funny happened. As the offensive players went to pay off the loss, the defensive players turned around too, running with guys they beat when they didn’t have to.

“You want those sorts of things to organically happen,” McVay said Wednesday evening, over his cell on his drive home. “It wasn’t something that had to be motivated by a coach—Hey, you should run, too. This goes back to where my grandfather’s history has an effect on some of the core beliefs and values that we preach day-in and day-out with the Rams.”

Making his way through traffic, the coach recalled asking his grandfather, long-time San Francisco 49ers personnel czar John McVay, what made the dynastic Niners of the 1980s so different. The elder McVay brought up Bill Walsh and George Seifert—and all the help they had, and how it related to that June day in L.A.

“Their best players were the best examples of what it looks like to do things right day-in and day-out,” Sean McVay says. “Those were the standards. Nobody was above those standards because these were the guys that led the way. Everybody followed. When your best players are coachable, receptive, accountable on a daily basis, and all your guys demonstrate what it means to do right on the practice field, in the meeting room, and they have a selfless mindset and mentality. That’s when good things can happen.”

The Rams acquired Marcus Peters five-and-a-half weeks ago from the Chiefs. They then dealt for Broncos corner Aqib Talib, before signing Dolphins castoff Ndamukong Suh, a move followed by Tuesday’s trade for receiver Brandin Cooks. Each player has had his problems, and each was let go for a reason—this isn’t the first time for three of the four.

And somehow, the Rams are confident this will be different, largely because of what they’ve established over the last year. It’s in that scene from last June, and what it represents. And it’s in their best players not just being the right kind of athletes, but the right kind of people.

In this week’s GamePlan, we’ll look at why Dez Bryant is on thin ice in Dallas, check out the Lamar Jackson weirdness, check in on Robert Griffin III, explain why NFL business is still robust, and dive into the importance of knowing who will throw the ball for your team, courtesy Jay Gruden, coach of the suddenly quarterback-stable Redskins.

But we start with the biggest story of the week, and that’s the Rams (again) and their big trade (again), and maybe the most important question for this team: Given the egos, varied personalities, expectations, and contract situations, how in the world are they going to make it work?

We’ve seen this fail before. The Eagles won their division in 2010, and hatched the Dream Team in 2011. The Cowboys had big years in 2007 and 2014, and dice-roll acquisitions (Pacman Jones in 2008, Greg Hardy in 2015) took down an all-in Jerry Jones in the years to follow.

So one more time: How does this work where the others didn’t? As McVay sees it, it starts with guys like Aaron Donald, Jared Goff and Todd Gurley, their experience during last year’s turnaround, and their willingness to repeat what it took to get to a division title and fight the temptation to feel like they’re starting this year where they left off last year.

“One of the things I’ve heard Coach Belichick say, when you look at the consistency the Patriots have had over a handful of years, ‘You wipe the slate clean,’” McVay says. “What we did last year won’t do anything for us. We’ve gotta recommit and focus on building from where we left off while understanding that what we did last year won’t get us any yards, won’t get us any sacks. You’ve gotta earn it every day.”

Still, these are individual people coming in, and as such each had to have his tires kicked before the Rams took them on. What eventually made McVay and GM Les Snead comfortable with injecting these newcomers into what they believe has become a pretty good mix was a tie binding the four—their passion for football. That showed up in the research the team did. For example:

• In tape study of Peters, coaches noticed how positively he responded to bad plays, and his concept recognition, which could only be the result of hard study.

• Talib was with McVay in Tampa in 2008 and, of course, Wade Phillips in Denver, and he was a Broncos team captain last year. So the Rams know him, and feel like, at 32, he should be a positive influence on Peters and others.

• Rams strength coach Ted Rath was with Suh for six years in Detroit, and he vouched for the maniacal manner in which the former All-Pro takes care of himself. The Dolphins had issues with his selfishness at times, and the Lions with his temper, but he does seem to still love football.

• McVay called around on Cooks, and heard that he’s universally liked off the field, and relentless on the practice field. Then, just after the deal went down, a Patriots assistant texted the Rams coach and told him Cooks didn’t miss a single practice rep in 2017.

There’s no assurance, of course, that all of it will hold up; McVay will be first to tell you that. There’s also risk involved in depleting the team’s war chest of draft picks. The Rams don’t pick until 87, haven’t had a first-round pick since taking Goff first overall two years ago, and are already out their second-round pick for 2019.

The team’s counter on this front is in its ability to make more out of third- and fourth-round picks, which it believes is a product of McVay’s clarity in what he’s looking for. Three major contributors in 2017 were rookies drafted in that range (WR Cooper Kupp, OLB Samson Ebukam and S John Johnson), where a team that already has blue-chippers can find its middle-of-the-roster talent.

Given that he’s armed with a third-rounder and three fourth-rounders, Snead will have a chance to go looking again in that area. And the team expects to get a couple comp third-rounders next year to add to its 2019 haul, which should help to make up for the ’19 second-rounder dealt as part of the Peters deal.

For now, the focus is back where it was last year at this time, and that’s on building and bonding.

canadaram wrote:

I mentioned this elsewhere on the internet, but for the Rams this season either ends up a rousing success or a fantastic disaster. There is to be no in between.

Yes, it certainly looks that way. It is not going to be a boring season, that’s for sure.

Very nice read.

They are properly terrified.

Now…just got to deliver their fears to them in a red hot package.

Herzog wrote:

seems like we have a lot of holes to fill. Maybe we should consider bringing Barwin back.

The Rams have said they want him back, and I don’t think there is any obstacle to that. If the Rams actually DO want him, they will get him. It’s not like Barwin is going to get a contract offer somewhere that the Rams just can’t match. He’s basically a JAG, and he has more value to the Rams than he does to any other team. If he signs elsewhere, it will only be because Wade doesn’t actually want him.

Well…they traded away their team leader in tackles. Ogletree had 95 combined solo and assisted tackles last year. So, obviously, without him, that’s 95 more TDs the Rams will give up on the season…unless someone steps up there.

zn wrote:

league sources say Rams done due diligence in Odell Beckham Jr. in a possible trade.

Skuze me, what?

I want no part of that.

Yeah, 3 years/$30 million is more or less what I was hoping for, too.

I don’t love this, but I’m not running the cap, so I’m going to forget about it and just be happy to watch the show.

And a Show it will be, for better or worse.

Not Williams finest debate.

If I was a Mod, I would move this to the Huddle board. I just don’t think football has any place on this board. Personally.

They are trying to impeach the judges now.

I have always wondered what happens when Jessica Donnell-Trieste marries Thomas Neiman-Jones.

Are their kids names Amanda Donnell-Trieste-Neiman-Jones?

zn wrote:

a 1 and 3 2s.

Better be worth it.

…

Whether that works for the Jets or not will be seen down the road, I guess, but I would take that deal without hesitation if I was the Colts. Move down 3 spots for 3 second rounders?

In a heartbeat.

I am down on TEs, period. I agree with WV. Conwell was the most recent likable TE.

I don’t understand it. A professional football player should be able to both block, and catch a pass. Heck, I played a lot of flag football in my youth, and I could block, catch, pass, and run. I don’t understand why professional athletes are no good at it.

There was a guy named Big Tex. And there were several Vikings fans. The only one I remember, though, is Mjollnir’s Wrath because he could actually communicate. Like SaintsAlive. They were welcome additions.

CaliforniaTom. Big Tex. Oh, and Happy4LA.