Tag: nfl news

Rams film room: Why McVay deserves more credit than OL for neutralizing Khalil Mack

The Rams held Khalil Mack in check on Sunday, and it wasn’t just because the offensive line played well.

One of the most surprising performances from Week 11 in the NFL was the one by the Rams’ offensive line. With two new starters up front at left guard and right tackle, and another making his first start of the season at center, the Rams completely neutralized the Bears’ pass rush.

Jared Goff threw the ball 18 times and was only pressured once – a rate of just 6%, which is the lowest of his career. The Rams did a great job shutting down Khalil Mack, who didn’t record a single hit on Goff.

This performance left many wondering how the Rams locked up one of the game’s best edge rushers with a rookie right tackle in Bobby Evans. While he got plenty of praise in his first NFL start, Sean McVay deserves much more credit for drawing up a game plan that limited Mack’s impact.

It all started with the play selection. Goff only attempted 18 passes all game long, which was the lowest total of his career. That immediately limited the number of chances Mack had to wreck the passing attack.

Secondly, when the Rams did throw the ball, they drew up plays to get the ball out of Goff’s hands quickly. It was either screens or quick throws to receivers, giving Mack very little time to get going towards the quarterback. Even wiser, the Rams chipped Mack at the line of scrimmage often and doubled him with an extra blocker.

Here’s how every dropback by Goff broke down for Mack:

  • Drop into coverage: 7 times (two nullified by penalty)
  • Pass rush: 6 times
  • Screen passes: 4
  • Not on field: 4 plays

So of the 19 times Goff dropped back (he scrambled once), Mack only had six true opportunities to rush the passer. The Rams rarely left their blockers on an island, either. He was often double- and triple-teamed, like on this play, for example.

It starts with Tyler Higbee chipping Mack at the line. Andrew Whitworth then makes Mack go way outside, and he’s helped by Austin Corbett on the inside. Mack still almost gets there, but Goff does a good job of eluding the rush.

On this play early in the game, Higbee locks up Mack initially to set up the play-action. Then, Johnny Mundt, who was lined up as a fullback, comes over to help block and keep Goff clean in the pocket.

It’s a well-designed play, and a rare instance where a tight end is left alone to block Mack at the start.

Here’s another example of the Rams using a chip at the line to redirect Mack’s pass rush. Everett knocks him to the outside, which gives Evans some time to get out wide and force Mack to the outside.

By the time Mack first makes contact with Evans, Goff is unloading the pass to Kupp for a huge gain.

The Bears moved Mack inside on this play in an attempt to prevent a tight end from chipping him, and it was one of his best reps of the game. He got a one-on-one opportunity against David Edwards at right guard and nearly got to Goff.

Again, Goff does a good job to step up and avoid the rush, throwing a beautiful pass to Michael Thomas, who dropped it.

When facing an elite pass rusher, one of the best ways to neutralize him is by throwing screen passes. This is an example of the effect that can have, and the Rams threw passes like this one four times when Mack was on the field.

Higbee and Mundt were left alone to Mack, and holding easily could’ve been called on Mundt, but Goff got the pass away to Gurley for a good gain.

In the one instance where Evans was left alone against Mack, he nearly got bull rushed all the way into Goff’s lap for a sack. Mack is one of the strongest edge rushers in the league, so it’s no surprise he walked the rookie backwards with ease, but Goff helped him out by throwing the ball quickly to Gerald Everett for a first down.

The offensive line deserves credit for the job it did against the Bears’ defensive front. However, when it comes to Mack, they were helped by tight ends and conservative play calls.

He had very few opportunities to actually rush the passer, and when he was left alone against one blocker, he nearly got to Goff.

This isn’t to take away from the job the offensive line did – they had a pass-block win rate of 79%, their best of the season – but unless the Rams are going to be this conservative each week, the group up front still has something to prove.

[vertical-gallery id=625717]

NFL Week 12 power rankings: Rams slotted lower than four 5-5 teams

The Rams stayed put in this week’s power rankings, slotted below the Steelers and Panthers.

[jwplayer 6Q40ShvH-ThvAeFxT]

With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the Rams needed a win in the worst way on Sunday night – especially after the Vikings and 49ers had already won earlier in the day. They seized the opportunity and beat the Bears 17-7, improving their record to 6-4.

The Rams entered Week 11 at No. 18 in Doug Farrar’s power rankings for Touchdown Wire, so surely this victory would be enough to push them up at least a few spots, right? Not exactly. They stayed put at No. 18, which is the lowest position for any 6-4 team.

In fact, the Rams are ranked behind four 5-5 teams in the power rankings: the Steelers (17), Panthers (16), Titans (15) and Eagles (14).

Here’s Farrar’s explanation for putting the Rams where he did.

Incredibly, the Rams came into their Sunday night game against the Bears without having scored an offensive touchdown in 19 straight drives. Things didn’t get any better on their first drive, when Todd Gurley fumbled on his team’s first play from scrimmage. Jared Goff ended the Rams’ second drive with a truly awful interception to linebacker Roquan Smith on a sideline throw. Sean McVay’s offense finally broke the streak on their fifth drive of the evening, when Gurley scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. The Rams kept their postseason hopes alive with a 17-7 win, but not all is well with that offense. Per Next Gen Stats, Jared Goff was pressured on just one of his 18 dropbacks, but he was able to complete just 11 passes in 18 attempts for 173 yards, no touchdowns, that really bad pick, and a couple of decent throws called back by penalties. The heat map shows a quarterback who can’t carry the offense on his back, and the dropback total reveals a coaching staff well aware of that fact.

There’s no doubt the Rams are struggling to find their identity on offense, and they certainly aren’t deserving of being ranked inside the top 10. However, putting them behind the Panthers, who were blown out by the Falcons and who the Rams already beat in Week 1, is surprising.

The Steelers beat the Rams, so that makes some sense, but the Titans and Eagles have worse records than Los Angeles and hardly look like playoff contenders.

All the Rams can do is take care of what they can control by winning the games on their schedule. Next up is a big test against the Ravens on Monday Night Football. If they win that game, they’ll definitely make a jump in every analyst’s power rankings.

[vertical-gallery id=625717]

Rams ‘feel good’ about Robert Woods situation: ‘He’s in a good place’

Sean McVay said there’s no concern about Robert Woods’ wellbeing as he tends to a personal matter.

[jwplayer 6Q40ShvH-ThvAeFxT]

Robert Woods was a surprise scratch from Sunday night’s game against the Bears, being announced as one of the team’s seven inactives just 90 minutes before kickoff. He had to tend to a personal matter and wasn’t at the Coliseum, which created some cause for concern.

Sean McVay didn’t find out about Woods’ situation until a few hours before the game started, which made Sunday’s win even more impressive.

After the game, McVay didn’t have much of an update on Woods, saying he had to talk to the wide receiver before commenting on when he might be back with the team. On Monday, it was much of the same from McVay in terms of Woods’ status, but he did say there’s no concern about Woods’ wellbeing.

“No, we feel good. He’s in a good place,” McVay said. “We feel good about where the situation is at and his wellbeing, and that’s very, very important to us.”

McVay added that Woods is obviously still handling the personal matter and that the team will have “a little bit more of an update on that later on in the week.” Right now, they’re remaining quiet on the situation out of respect for Woods and his family.

The Rams do have an extra day to prepare this week with the Ravens coming to town for a Monday night matchup. If Woods can’t play, the Rams should at least have one of their other starting wide receivers back with Brandin Cooks (concussion) expected to play.

[vertical-gallery id=625717]

Rams are home underdogs for first time in 2 years with Ravens visiting

The Ravens enter as 3.5-point road favorites, having won each of their last four games by at least 14 points.

[jwplayer sBxIfxtt-ThvAeFxT]

For just the second time all year, the Los Angeles Rams won’t be the betting favorites over their opponent. And for the first time since Week 17 of the 2017 season when the Rams rested their starters, they’re home underdogs.

That’s what happens when Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens come to town. According to BetMGM, the Ravens are 3.5-point road favorites over the Rams in Week 12, which is a Monday night matchup on Nov. 25.

This comes as no surprise, given the way each team’s season has gone. Yes, they’re only separated by two games in the overall standings, but the Ravens are second in the NFL in scoring margin (plus-14.5), while the Rams are seventh (plus-4.5).

Baltimore also ranks first in points scored, second in yards and first in rushing across the board. The defense is playing extremely well, too, ranking sixth in points against and 14th in yards. The Rams are 10th in points and yards allowed.

Baltimore has been absolutely dominant in its last four games, too. The Ravens have scored at least 30 points in each game, beating the Seahawks by 14 points, the Patriots by 17, the Bengals by 36 and Houston by 34.

The Rams have a fighting chance with the league’s fifth-ranked rush defense, also ranking second in yards per carry allowed. However, they haven’t faced a quarterback with the skill set that Jackson has, which makes this a daunting matchup for the Rams.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Sean McVay shares injury updates on Brandin Cooks, Rob Havenstein

Sean McVay said Cooks is likely to return on Monday night, while Havenstein is doubtful.

The Rams were without several key players on Sunday night against the Bears, most notably Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods and Rob Havenstein. Cooks has missed two games with a concussion, while Havenstein is dealing with a knee injury that he suffered against the Steelers.

The Rams were still able to beat the Bears 17-7, holding their offense in check behind a great defensive effort. On Monday, McVay shared updates on Cooks and Havenstein, but said there’s nothing new on Woods, who is still “handling that personal matter.”

“We’ll probably have a little bit more of an update on that later on in the week,” McVay said.

Regarding Cooks, the Rams expect to have him back on Monday night against the Ravens as he’s made good progress in the concussion protocol.

“We do [expect him to play]. He’s been in great spirits, he’s been in good shape. The anticipation is that he will be able to play this week,” McVay said.

Havenstein’s outlook isn’t as positive, though. It was originally considered a multi-week injury, and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be on the field against the Ravens. McVay wouldn’t rule him out just yet, though, which does leave the door slightly open for him to play.

“I would say he’s probably going to be doubtful for this week,” the coach said. “He is making good progress. To have a finite answer on exactly when he’ll play a week from today is difficult. I think the anticipation – just originally with that injury – was that it’s probably going to be a couple weeks. That’s why he’ll most likely be doubtful, but you don’t want to rule him out quite yet.”

Bobby Evans did a great job in Havenstein’s place, all but neutralizing Khalil Mack and any other pass rushers that lined up across from him. He got a lot of help from the tight ends chipping at the line, but it was a solid performance by the rookie.

In other injury news, Michael Brockers went down briefly with an elbow injury, but he was able to return to the game. McVay didn’t express any concern on that front.

[vertical-gallery id=625717]

The Huddle’s Blitzed Podcast: Episode 119

The Huddle presents another season of The Blitzed Podcast. In this episode, Steve and Harley bring you B.P.N. NFL News, making the most from being out of the playoffs in a dynasty league by targeting players that can help you next year and management tips and DFS Pay to Plays, Stay Aways and Value Plays.

The Huddle presents another season of The Blitzed Podcast. In this episode, Steve and Harley bring you B.P.N. NFL News, making the most from being out of the playoffs in a dynasty league by targeting players that can help you next year and management tips and DFS Pay to Plays, Stay Aways and Value Plays.

Huddle up, tune in and Get Blitzed!

 

Jared Goff raves about how Rams OL played vs. Bears: ‘Couldn’t be prouder’

Bobby Evans was the focus of Jared Goff’s attention on the offensive line Sunday.

Despite only scoring 17 points, and despite only gaining 283 yards of total offense, the Rams still seemed to improve on that side of the ball Sunday night against the Bears. Jared Goff’s numbers don’t tell the whole story of his performance, since a big play was dropped by Michael Thomas and a 51-yard touchdown to Josh Reynolds was called back due to penalty, but he looked more comfortable than he did against the Steelers.

That’s partly because the Rams’ new-look offensive line played well against a formidable front. Goff wasn’t sacked a single time, was only hit once and the Bears pressured him just once on 18 dropbacks. Bobby Evans more than held his own against Khalil Mack at right tackle, and Austin Corbett looked equally good at left guard.

For a quarterback who’s taken a beating this season, Goff was thrilled with the way his big men up front played. He specifically mentioned the job Evans did against Mack on the edge, which was viewed as a favorable matchup for the Bears.

“Huge. Huge. Can’t stress it enough,” Goff said of how well the offensive line played. “You think about Bobby Evans making his first start against Khalil Mack, who’s arguably the best rush-end in the league and it was a non-factor. He did his thing. He stepped up, he did his thing. We were doing different things to help them out, but not that much, to the point where he was just playing well.”

With regards to the rest of the front, Goff liked what he saw from Corbett, David Edwards, Austin Blythe at center and of course, Andrew Whitworth at left tackle.

“David Edwards continues to get better, continues to do his thing. I thought Austin Blythe directed the offense, directed the O-Line like a champ up front, and then Austin Corbett stepped in as well,” Goff continued. “Last week was his first time playing, and this week to just come in there, the way that all of them are just so non-reactive, every single play is just so dialed, so focused, so steely-eyed, and just ready to go. And obviously Whitworth is who he is and we know that, but I just thought those guys just stepped up so well and I couldn’t be prouder. Couldn’t be prouder.”

The Rams showered Evans with praise in the locker room after the game, with Sean McVay singling him out as the one to break down the huddle. For a player making his first start, it went about as well as it could’ve.

This does complicate things for the Rams, though. Rob Havenstein, who he replaced, isn’t out for the year and could be back as early as next week against the Ravens. After seeing the way Evans played – albeit, with plenty of help from the tight ends – will McVay send him to the bench and put Havenstein back in the lineup?

Havenstein has struggled this season after playing extremely well in 2018, but the Rams just gave him a contract extension last year and he’s one of the top-paid right tackles.

It was only one game, but Evans is at least making things interesting up front for a team with very little continuity on the O-line.

[vertical-gallery id=625717]

Todd Gurley could be in for bigger workload after Sunday’s performance

Sean McVay suggests Todd Gurley’s workload could grow after Sunday’s performance.

Prior to Sunday’s win over the Bears, Todd Gurley hadn’t gotten more than 20 touches in a single game this season. His workload was greatly reduced in the first 10 weeks of the year, limiting his production out of the backfield.

Bu Sean McVay finally let him loose against Chicago, giving him 28 total touches, including 25 carries. He turned those opportunities into 133 yards and one touchdown, helping lift the Rams to a 17-7 win at home.

Getting Gurley the ball was a concerted effort on McVay’s part, and he was repaid by the All-Pro back putting together arguably his best performance of the year.

“That was part of the game plan tonight and I thought he did a great job,” McVay said. “What I loved the most about what Todd did, is after we put the first carry on the ground, he didn’t flinch, he came back and had some good, tough, physical runs and made some good catches out of the backfield and he was a big-time contributor tonight.”

Gurley was running the ball well last week against the Steelers, picking up 73 yards on 12 carries, but he didn’t get a single touch in the fourth quarter and was barely on the field. McVay didn’t want to make that mistake again, so he fed the running back from start to finish.

“Like we talked about, I didn’t think I did a good enough job against the Steelers of kind of recognizing the way that he was running and you don’t want to make the same mistake twice,” he said.

So where does that leave the Rams offense heading into Week 12? There are still questions to be answered, specifically with the passing game. However, the balance they displayed offensively was encouraging, to say the least.

As a result of Sunday’s performance, Gurley could be in for a larger workload moving forward.

“I think so. That’s an ideal situation, but we’ll continue to look at this film and we’ll see how we want to put together our next game plan. Anytime you get Todd involved like that, it’s usually always a good thing for our offense.”

Keeping the Ravens offense off the field next week should be a priority, and one way to do that is by running the ball and controlling the clock. Don’t be surprised if Gurley gets another 20-plus carries against Baltimore on Monday.

[vertical-gallery id=625717]

Watch: Sean McVay gives victory speech, gets game ball from Rams

Sean McVay got a game ball from the team for carrying them through adversity.

The Los Angeles Rams have faced a great deal of adversity this season, more so on Sunday night than ever before in 2019. They faced the Bears without two starting wide receivers, two starting offensive linemen and had three tight ends who were banged up throughout the week of practice.

Yet, despite missing several key players, the Rams pulled out a 17-7 win at home to improve to 6-4 on the year. Sean McVay couldn’t have been more pleased with the way his team responded to the challenges they faced, specifically losing Robert Woods to a personal issue just hours before the game.

After the victory, McVay gave a great speech in the locker room, specifically pointing to the job the offensive line and defense did in the game. He had rookie Bobby Evans break down the team, and afterwards, special teams coach John Fassel announced to the locker room that McVay would be getting a game ball.

“We just decided as a coaching staff and as players that when you talk about adversity, we’ve got a leader who always carries through the highs and the lows. And he does a lot of stuff behind the scenes, and when it’s time to work, he keeps us focused on the mission. The game ball is for you, man,” Fassel said to McVay.

https://www.facebook.com/Rams/videos/469119213719464/

Next up, the Rams will face the Ravens on Monday night in Week 12. The team rallied around Evans, David Edwards and the new-look offensive line, and they hope to keep it going against a good defensive front.

[vertical-gallery id=625717]

Rams showed a different side of their offense in win over Bears

The Rams went run-heavy on Sunday night, which is different than what we’ve seen all year.

From their very first play on offense, the Rams set out to prove they could win a game on the back of their rushing attack. Granted, Todd Gurley lost a fumble on Los Angeles’ first play from scrimmage, but Sean McVay didn’t abandon the run or put Gurley in the proverbial doghouse.

Instead, he called another 24 running plays for Gurley and five more for Malcolm Brown, too. In total, the Rams finished with 34 rushing attempts, 30 of which were by running backs. It was the second-most times they’ve handed the ball off to running backs all season, doing a great job to ride Gurley to victory.

Sean McVay said afterwards that it was all part of the game plan, giving the ball to Gurley as much as they did. And it truly showed a new side of the offense that we hadn’t yet seen this season. This was the second time all year the Rams had more rushes (34) than pass attempts (18), with the other game being almost an even split (30 rushes, 28 passes vs. New Orleans).

But the changes offensively go deeper than just running the ball more often. It all started with their personnel adjustment. The Rams utilized 12 personnel (one running back, two receivers, two tight ends) on 34 plays Sunday night, which is their most in a game all year. On those plays, Gurley rushed for 92 yards on 22 carries.

It was by far the Rams’ most effective personnel grouping when it came to running the ball.

What was really good to see was Sean McVay’s ability to adapt. Just hours before the game, the Rams found out that Robert Woods wouldn’t play as he tended to a family matter. For a team that’s so reliant on having three receivers on the field at a time, this was a big problem for the Rams.

Rather than simply replacing Woods with Mike Thomas or JoJo Natson in the starting lineup and continuing to roll with three receivers on the field at almost all times, McVay adapted. He had tight ends Tyler Higbee and Johnny Mundt out there together often, with a mix of Gerald Everett, too.

The Rams even used an I-formation with Mundt as a fullback, which isn’t something often seen in McVay’s offense. Higbee and Mundt were non-factors in the passing game as receivers – neither was targeted even once – but they were great as blockers and opened holes for Gurley.

Instead of relying on Jared Goff to sling the ball around the field as he often does, the Rams only had him throw the ball 18 times behind their new-look offensive line – his fewest in a game all year. The result was a low pressure rate and a safe game by Goff.

The question now is whether the Rams will continue to utilize this new run-first approach in the future. When Woods and Brandin Cooks return, expect to see them assume their usual roles on offense. Cooper Kupp should play the majority of the snaps, too.

But if the Rams truly want to run the ball more often, 12 personnel might be the answers – which will cost a wide receiver playing time.