Tag: Sean McVay

Sean McVay says he would support players’ on-field protests

Sean McVay wants his players to express themselves freely, even if that means protesting on the field.

Sean McVay scrapped the Rams’ regularly scheduled meetings on Monday and instead opened the floor for his players to discuss the current issues taking place in America, namely the senseless death of George Floyd while in police custody. He allowed players to voice their concerns and opinions on the matter, their views of the protests taking place across the country and experiences with racism and oppression that they’ve had in the past.

During a conference call with media members on Tuesday, McVay explained why he felt it was important to hear from players and let them grieve during this trying time rather than talking about football as they previously planned to.

He also said he’d be supportive of players who decide to kneel during the national anthem or show other displays of protest when the season begins, which is a shift in his previous stance on the matter.

“Absolutely. I think it would be extremely silly of me if I’m sitting here saying that I’m going to listen to learn and try to have empathy and understanding to not allow guys the platform if they feel like it’s the right way to represent the healing and some of those solutions that we’re looking to,” McVay said. “I absolutely would be open and wanting to listen, and yes, be open to that.”

When anthem protests became more widespread a few years ago, McVay didn’t say players couldn’t use join the movement by kneeling during the national anthem. However, he did say that he wanted to maintain the same approach that Jeff Fisher established previously, which had players lined up along the sideline with one hand over the heart and the other holding their helmet.

McVay says his stance on anthem protests hasn’t necessarily changed, but he does want to allow players to express themselves freely.

“I don’t know that anything’s changed, but I think it just reiterates having an empathy and understanding and allowing people to be able to handle the situations and what they see best fit,” he said. “That’s the thing that I would say. It’s understanding – OK, what is it that you’re trying to get done? And being able to understand that and I think you can just listen as much as anything.”

In the past, Robert Quinn was a player for the Rams who demonstrated one form of protest, raising his fist during the anthem. Johnny Hekker also put his arm around Quinn in support of his movement.

There are still three months until the start of the regular season, but given the current landscape of the country, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see at least a few Rams players protesting in one form or another.

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NFL not allowing joint practices, hitting Saints preseason hard

The NFL banned joint practices for the 2020 preseason in light of the coronavirus pandemic, limiting how the New Orleans Saints can work.

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The New Orleans Saints have often chosen to meet up with some of their preseason opponents for joint practices after training camp, but they won’t be allowed to do that in 2020; ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that the NFL said as much in a leaguewide memo to its teams.

With the novel coronavirus pandemic still putting stress on America’s health infrastructure, the NFL wants to limit contact between its teams as much as possible. So the Saints and every other team will have to wait a year to share the practice field with one another.

It’s a big blow to the Saints’ usual preseason strategy. New Orleans has held joint practices with recent preseason opponents including the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, and New England Patriots, and were expected to do the same with the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the inaugural game at their new SoFi Stadium. The Saints will also scrimmage with the Texans again this summer, so it’s possible they hoped for another series of shared practices.

Sean Payton has enjoyed the benefits of these joint practices, as do many coaches around the NFL. One of them is his Rams counterpart Sean McVay, who explained last summer that, “There’s a premium on some of these practices where we’re going to get a chance to compete against the Chargers twice while we’re out here and then the Raiders twice when we go up to Napa. If we feel like we’ve gotten the work necessary, then that can [really] almost serve as the preseason work in a little bit more of a controlled setting.”

Losing these opportunities to practice at a higher speed against different opponents could mean the Saints are set to open the year a little foggier than normal. With padless practices so common these days, players simply don’t get the time to run and rehearse at full tempo like they used to.

Then again, this Saints team is moving into 2020 with a lot of continuity. Most of their starting lineup is returning from last year’s roster, and they don’t have many newcomers under bright spotlights. Maybe extra time working together before the regular season starts is what they need to avoid the slow starts that have plagued them the last few years.

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Rams had ‘really powerful’ team meeting in wake of recent events

Given the current state of America, Rams coach Sean McVay put football on the back burner and brought the tragic death of George Floyd to the forefront during Monday’s team meeting. Rather than continuing to work through the virtual offseason and …

Given the current state of America, Rams coach Sean McVay put football on the back burner and brought the tragic death of George Floyd to the forefront during Monday’s team meeting. Rather than continuing to work through the virtual offseason and game-planning for the 2020 season, McVay opened the floor to his players.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, McVay said it was a “really powerful” team meeting where players shared their experiences and their thoughts on the social injustice that has taken place in the United States.

He took the opportunity to educate himself on experiences players have had throughout their lives.

Defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day appreciated McVay’s approach to the team meeting on Monday, sharing this on Twitter to show his gratitude. He also

While it’s currently unclear if any Rams players participated in any of the protests that have taken place in recent days, McVay said he would support any kind of demonstration by a player in response to the recent events.

On Tuesday, Rams players took part in a movement that was declared “#BlackoutTuesday.”

Several players showed their support for the movement, including Jalen Ramsey, Nsimba Webster, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Terrell Burgess. Andrew Whitworth also shared a post of his own on Instagram.

 

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#blackouttuesday

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McVay has repeatedly been praised by players for his ability to relate to them, as well as the support he shows on a regular basis. This latest decision to turn a football meeting into one where players could voice their opinions and share their experiences with each other is another example of why McVay is a coach that guys love playing for.

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Play-action prowess critical for Jared Goff, Sean McVay in 2020

The Los Angeles Rams missed the playoffs in 2019. Jared Goff struggled on play-action last year, how can he and Sean McVay fix that?

(In this series, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield takes a look at one important metric per NFL team to uncover a crucial problem to solve for the 2020 season. In this installment, it’s time to look at how the Los Angeles Rams and in particular Jared Goff struggled on play-action in 2019, and how Goff and Sean McVay might address that issue in 2020).

Two seasons ago the Los Angeles Rams rode a forward-thinking offense and a stout defense to Super Bowl LIII. Jared Goff seemed light-years removed from the potential draft bust he looked as a rookie and anyone who ever bumped into Sean McVay on the street was interviewed for a coaching job with another organization.

Their offense was one of the major reasons for their success in 2018. The Rams were second in the league in yards per game, averaging 421.1 yards in each of their contests. They were second in the league in points per game, averaging 32.9 per outing. In terms of Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, the Rams were also the second best offense in the league, with an Offensive DVOA of 24.6%, and a Weighted Offensive DVOA (which places an emphasis on recent performance) of 19.3%.

As you might expect, they trailed Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in all of these categories.

How did the Rams and McVay build such a formidable offense? It began with their outside zone running game. The team relied heavily on 11 offensive personnel, which gave them a majority of nickel and sub packages to operate against, but then would run the ball against the lighter boxes that were created. In 2018 the Rams utilized 11 offensive personnel on 1,113 snaps – a whopping 89% of their plays – by far the most of any team in the league. But they ran the football on 447 of those plays, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and notching 25 rushing touchdowns.

Here is an example from that season of how 11 personnel gave the Rams lighter boxes to run against, and the favorable blocking angles that are created due to personnel and alignment:

From the end zone angle, watch as Todd Gurley is untouched until he is into the secondary:

What did all of this create? Favorable conditions for throwing off of play-action. McVay would often combine presnap motion with play-action elements, to get the defense moving before the play and give Goff some easy reads and throws. Like on this play:

Brandin Cooks comes in jet motion before the snap, and as this play begins Goff fakes a sweep to him, as well as a run to the left with Gurley. This is all eye candy for a Sail concept to the right side, with a deep corner route and an intermediate route from TE Tyler Higbee. Cooks continues to the right flat, giving Goff an outlet. But the QB doesn’t need to take that, as his tight end is open on the out route. Because of the motion and the eye candy, the linebackers are slow to get into their drops here. As Cooks releases to the flat, he pulls the cornerback down toward the line of scrimmage, expanding the throwing window for Goff to hit the out route.

Adding these elements together it should be no surprise that Goff was one of the league’s best performing passers when using play-action in 2018. According to charting data from Pro Football Focus, Goff saw an increase in Yards per Attempt of 2.5 yards when using play-action versus traditional dropback throws in 2018, which was fifth-best in the league. He also led the league with 15 touchdown passes on play-action throws. Goff was the only quarterback in the league to eclipse 2,000 yards passing when using play-action, and he had an NFL passer rating of 115.0 when using play-action, sixth-best in the league.

But there were warning signs for the Rams offense down the stretch in 2018, and even through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl. Starting with a late-season game against the Detroit Lions – the very game those clips are taken from – Matt Patricia perhaps laid the groundwork for stopping this defense. How? By ignoring the movement before the play and playing some simple zone coverage schemes in the secondary. The following week, Vic Fangio and the Chicago Bears copied this model, leading to plays like this:

Here, the Chicago Bears get a big stop on an outside zone running play by ignoring the motion. They simply slide their defenders, which gives them the ability to set the edge and stop this run in the backfield. Two plays later they would post a safety, enabling them to take over the game. 

This schematic element would be copied by additional opponents of the Rams. The Philadelphia Eagles would employ it a week later in a huge win over the Rams, and as you might expect it was part of Bill Belichick’s game plan in Super Bowl LIII. In addition to using Cover 4 and calling two defensive plays in the huddle (and switching to the second one after the radio in Goff’s helmet was turned off) Belichick’s defense also ignored the motion.

By adding these elements together, teams seemed to have an answer for the Rams. This was something that defenses copied into the 2019 season. For example, watch this play from the Rams’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last year:

The Rams use pre-snap motion before this play but the Steelers simply ignore it, and when Los Angeles tries to run rookie Darrell Henderson to the right side on an outside zone running play, they managed a stop.

Without the ability to run with the effectiveness from a year ago, and with these new defensive tweaks to work against, the play-action game also suffered. Here it is on film:

The Rams use jet motion before the snap, and the Steelers’ defense simply ignores it, sliding rather than trailing the motion man. The Rams use play-action here, but the second level defenders do not bite on the fake and retreat into their underneath zones. Goff faces pressure in his face, and the throw is off target and intercepted.

What did this add up to for Goff in 2019? An NFL passer rating of just 85.9 when using play-action, which ranked him 23rd in the league, among 24 qualified passers (defined as those who attempted 50% of a team’s passes).

Furthermore, Goff had just four touchdown passes when using play-action, but threw five interceptions, tying him for second in the league.

So it is incumbent upon McVay and the offensive staff to get the play-action game going again, but how? It might start with a movement away from the outside zone game, which has been the foundation block of their offense, and a move towards more of a north/south game relying on designs such as duo, inside zone and some more gap/power concepts. In the second half of the season Goff’s numbers actually improved on play-action. He posted an NFL passer rating on play-action of 91.7 during Weeks 10-17, a big improvement from the 78.6 mark posted in Weeks 1-9. How bad was that 78.6? It placed him dead last in the league.

During the second half of the season, the Rams incorporated more of those above concepts into their running game.

You can also see a potential move towards these designs in their selection of Cam Akers in the second round, a running back from Florida State. Akers posted 904 yards after contact according to PFF charting data, placing him 12th in FBS in that category, a good trait for a north/south runner. He also did his best work between the tackles, and particularly between right guard and right tackle. PFF charted him with 221 yards and 6.7 Yards per Attempt on runs between the RG and RT, for four touchdowns. His best work anywhere along the offensive line.

By combining a more north/south approach as we saw last season and with the addition of Akers, the Rams can get back to some of their offensive success. Particularly with the play-action part of the game, which was such a huge piece of their success in 2018, and part of their downfall in 2019.

5 Rams stories from the last week for Cardinals fans to know

A look around the NFC West to see what is going on with the Arizona Cardinals’ division rivals.

The end of the week has come in the offseason and it is time to go around the NFC West to see what has been going on with the Arizona Cardinals’ division rivals.

What is new with the Los Angeles Rams? Here are some stories for Cardinals fans to know about from the last week.

Jalen Ramsey won’t hold out if no extension before camp

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams have not agreed to a new deal with Ramsey, whom they acquired via trade last year. However, Ramsey isn’t going to hold out. He believes it will get taken care of.

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Clippers’ Doc Rivers loves Sean McVay as a coach: ‘He’s a gift’

Doc Rivers is extremely impressed by Sean McVay as a coach.

Sean McVay has enlisted the help of some recognizable names in sports this offseason during the Rams’ videoconferences, specifically Clippers coach Doc Rivers and future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.

Rivers was the first to speak to the team during the virtual offseason program, talking to players about staying prepared during this trying time and continuing to work despite the inability to go into the facilities.

Players relished the chance to hear Rivers talk, but Rivers took plenty away from the chance to speak to the Rams, too. He came away impressed with McVay as a coach, raving about him in an interview with Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.

“I’m telling you, he’s a gift,” Rivers said. “His ability to say the right thing at the right time, for someone as young as him, to see the big picture, to be selfless, is absolutely amazing. Very few young coaches are as secure as him. Meaning, they lose in the Super Bowl and he took it on himself. ‘Guys, that was my fault, I have to do better.’”

McVay’s ability and willingness to hold himself accountable in times of adversity is one of his best traits. He’s an excellent coach and a bright offensive mind, but coaches love his attitude and relatability on and off the field.

It helps that McVay has the look and voice of a leader, commanding whatever room he’s in at a given time. Rivers mentioned that McVay is one of the coaches who gets him to stop at the TV whenever he’s talking.

“I love him. I love listening to him. he’s one of those guys — there’s a lot of coaches, but he’s one for me — you’re walking by the TV and you see him talk and you stop and turn the sound up. Because he’s going to say something that you can use later,” Rivers said.

McVay is entering one of the most important seasons of his career, needing to help the Rams bounce back after a disappointing 2019 campaign. It was the first time the Rams have missed the playoffs since 2016, even though their 9-7 record was respectable by most standards.

McVay is under contract through the 2023 season and is in no danger of losing his job, but he and the Rams’ fans would love to get back to the playoffs next season.

Sean McVay refuses to say the Rams are rebuilding: ‘That’s making excuses’

Sean McVay doesn’t think the Rams are in rebuilding mode.

Just because the Los Angeles Rams made major changes to their roster and coaching staff doesn’t mean they’re going through a rebuilding phase. That occurred in 2017 when Sean McVay and Wade Phillips were hired, Andrew Whitworth and Robert Woods were signed and the front office took a more aggressive approach to roster-building.

McVay is aware that the Rams fell short of expectations last season. He knows the decisions to part ways with Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks seem like reactionary ones. He’s also aware of the talent Los Angeles still has on the field and the potential that this coaching staff has.

And for that reason, he won’t say the Rams are in rebuilding mode after three straight years of finishing above .500 with one Super Bowl appearance.

“I would never refer to it as that. I think that’s making excuses and running away from the expectations, which we’ll never do,” he said this week. “We expect to win, we expect to prepare to win. We’ve got great people in this building – coaches, players alike. Our goal and expectation is to prepare to win every single game we play in. I believe we go into it that way. We didn’t do what we needed to do last year. I own that. I take full responsibility for it.”

Expectations for the Rams have been set lower this offseason after a 9-7 finish in 2019. Oddsmakers have set their win total at only 8.5, while their Super Bowl odds as of two weeks ago were 14th-best in the NFL at 30/1.

And with the NFC West looking like the toughest division in football, the deck is somewhat stacked against the Rams. McVay doesn’t care what the public perception is, though, and is only focused on improving in 2020.

“I don’t really care what the narrative is, I care about the belief I have in our players, our coaches, and how excited I am for us to attack this opportunity and write our own story, really.”

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McVay: ‘A lot of dialogue’ about contract between Rams, Jalen Ramsey

Sean McVay could see Jalen Ramsey resetting the cornerback market with his new deal.

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Sean McVay’s first offseason with the Los Angeles Rams wasn’t completely smooth sailing. During the summer, he had to handle the absence of Aaron Donald, who skipped training camp as part of his holdout for a new contract. McVay said all the right things about Donald and his desire to sign an extension, but he’s probably hoping he doesn’t have to go through the same thing with Jalen Ramsey this year or next.

Ramsey is entering the final season of his rookie contract in 2020 before he becomes a free agent next offseason. Last year, he showed up to Jaguars training camp in a Brinks truck, and has made it abundantly clear that he wants to be paid like one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.

He said this week that he’ll attend training camp this year with or without an extension, but according to an ESPN report from last year, all bets are off if Ramsey is tagged in 2021.

While the two sides haven’t yet agreed to a deal, there seems to be some progress. McVay spoke to reporters this week and said the Rams and Ramsey’s agent have talked a lot, but there have been some hurdles to overcome.

“There’s a lot of dialogue,” McVay said. “I think it’s really in that back-and-forth and trying to really communicate. There’s been so many things [that] have caused a different rhythm just based on the other stuff that we’re navigating through. So it’s hard for me to say exactly what the specifics of those conversations have entailed.”

McVay didn’t get into what has caused the “different rhythm” in these conversations, but it can be assumed that the coronavirus pandemic has thrown a wrench into things. Not only has it been impossible to hold in-person meetings, but there’s a chance the 2020 season will be altered in some way, too.

A loss in revenue with no fans in stadiums or a shortened season would likely lead to a lower-than-expected salary cap in 2021, which Los Angeles could be taking into account in these negotiations – especially given the team’s cap situation.

McVay wouldn’t take it personally if Ramsey did hold out, drawing off what he learned from Donald’s time away from the team two and three years ago.

“What I would say I’ve learned more so than anything over the first couple years that you have a perspective on now is it’s not personal. It really isn’t,” McVay said. “Aaron and I had a great relationship throughout. His not being there had nothing to do with our dynamic but just figuring out, all right, how do we come to a happy medium of how we agree upon being able to take care of your family based on the merit and production and understanding how we fit it all together as a team. So lot of layers. Ideally, you always want your guys there, but I don’t think you allow it to be a distraction. But those are things you certainly hope to avoid.”

Ramsey likely has his eyes set on a salary of at least $17 million per year on his next contract, raising the bar that Darius Slay and Byron Jones set this offseason at just under $17 million annually.

McVay was asked whether he thinks Ramsey could reset the cornerback market, and his answer wasn’t surprising.

“I think so. He’s established himself as an upper-echelon player since he got into this league,” he said. “I absolutely believe that’s something because of what he’s done on the field and I think the best is yet to come. I genuinely believe that about this guy.”

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Sean McVay addresses RT situation, is confident Havenstein will bounce back

The Rams will most likely let the RT situation play out in camp.

There are a lot of positions on the Rams’ depth chart that still don’t have starters set at the top. The offensive line has four such positions with only left tackle settled at this point in the offseason.

Based on salary, right tackle should have its starter already written in ink, but not even Rob Havenstein’s $8.1 million can assure him the starting job in 2020. Bobby Evans took over at right tackle late last season after Havenstein was injured and played relatively well as a rookie.

That’s created somewhat of a tricky situation heading into next season because Havenstein is paid like a top tackle, but he didn’t play like one last year.

With no OTAs or minicamp taking place right now, this competition will likely be settled once training camp begins. The lack of on-field work has complicated things for the Rams and their coaches, but at the very least, they can feel good about having two starting-caliber players at right tackle.

Sean McVay addressed the position on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, saying he’s confident Havenstein will rebound from an injury-plagued 2019 season. He also mentioned that Evans could play guard, which adds to the intrigue along the offensive line.

“What you feel good about at right tackle is Rob Havenstein is such a tough player. He was pushing through some injuries that I do think led to not seeing him play consistently at the level we’re accustomed to. I’m fully confident that he’ll get back to that. He’s feeling good,” McVay said. “I thought Bobby Evans being able to step in and play well toward the latter half of the season was really good for his confidence, but I’m not convinced that guy couldn’t play guard, either. So I think we’ve got some guys that are versatile – we know we have players that can play – but it’s about finding ways to get the best five on there and certain guys might have a little bit more position flex and I think until we get out and are really playing football again, that’s the challenging part of what these times entail.”

Havenstein was rewarded with a contract extension before the 2018 season, and he made the Rams look smart for giving him a new deal. He played at a level deserving of a Pro Bowl nod two seasons ago, allowing just two sacks, committing only two penalties and earning an overall grade of 86.4 from PFF.

Last year, it was a different story. He gave up five sacks and committed eight penalties in about half the snaps played in 2018. His PFF grade dropped off precipitously, falling to 50.9.

As McVay mentioned, Havenstein battled through injuries, which impacted his performance. He missed the end of the year with a knee injury, and even after he returned to practice in full, the Rams held him out as a precaution.

Evans was playing well enough to allow Havenstein to rest and recover, but he also got a lot of help from his tight ends with double-teams and chips at the line. Havenstein was left on an island, so to speak, much more often when he was healthy.

This is an important position for the Rams to figure out, especially with how often teams put their best pass rushers on the strong side against right tackles. If Havenstein can’t rebound in 2020 and Evans beats him out by a wide margin, he could be on the trade block in an attempt to recoup a draft pick and free up $4.66 million, according to Over the Cap.

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Sean McVay not among favorites to win 2020 Coach of the Year

McVay is +2200 to win Coach of the Year next season.

In Sean McVay’s first season with the Rams, he found immediate success. He led Los Angeles to an 11-5 record, their first playoff appearance since 2004 and won NFL Coach of the Year. He did all that at the age of 31.

The Rams got even better and made the Super Bowl in his second season, but he didn’t receive a single vote for 2018 Coach of the Year, which went to Matt Nagy. Last year, Los Angeles regressed to only 9-7 and McVay was nowhere near the conversation for the award.

Coach of the Year is a difficult award to predict because the best coach doesn’t always win it. For instance, Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches in the NFL, but he hasn’t won it since 2010. It’s often given to the coach who does the most with the least talent or overcomes significant injuries to his team.

The Rams lost a lot of talent this offseason, so could that put McVay in the discussion for Coach of the Year again in 2020? The oddsmakers aren’t overly confident. At BetMGM, McVay is only 22/1 (+2200) to win it, which ranks 14th among all coaches.

What will work against McVay in the race to win this award is the fact that there’s often voter fatigue and the same coach hardly ever wins it twice. It’s not like Offensive or Defensive Player of the Year, which can be quantified based on stats. Coach of the Year is much more subjective and based on each voter’s view of how a coach did.

Belichick, who will be without Tom Brady in 2020, is the favorite at 10/1 (+1000), followed by Mike Vrabel of the Titans and Mike McCarthy of the Cowboys at 14/1 (+1400).

No coach since 1991 has won the award with fewer than 10 wins, so the Rams will need to finish at least 1.5-2 games above .500 next season for McVay to have a chance. In fact, the last coach to win Coach of the Year with fewer than 11 wins was Marvin Lewis in 2009 when he led the Bengals to a 10-6 record.

If McVay is to have a legitimate shot, the Rams likely need to go at least 13-3 and have another year with a potent offense like they had in 2017 and 2018.

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