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 by den-the-coach
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   870  
 Joined:  May 22 2015
United States of America   Fifty-four Forty or Fight
Veteran

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Matt LaFleur, right, worked with quarterback Robert Griffin III when LaFleur was the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins. LaFleur is the Rams' new offensive coordinator. (Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press)

Matt LaFleur, new Rams offensive coordinator, will try to get run and pass games working together

Gary Klein

The feeling won’t go away. Matt LaFleur, the Rams’ new offensive coordinator, suspects it never will completely.

As quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons, he recently experienced an epic Super Bowl defeat to the New England Patriots.

And the aftermath.

“I was grieving for a couple days, there’s no doubt about it,” LaFleur said Thursday when asked whether he has been able to move past the loss, “but if you live in the past you’re not going to go anywhere with your future.”

LaFleur began looking ahead this week when he arrived in Thousand Oaks to join new Coach Sean McVay’s staff.

Much like McVay, at 31 the youngest coach in modern NFL history, the 37-year-old LaFleur is a young but experienced coach who appears even more youthful than his age.

After coaching quarterbacks for the Falcons, Washington Redskins and Notre Dame, this will be LaFleur’s first opportunity as an NFL coordinator.

McVay said last week that he developed “a really close relationship” with LaFleur during their years working together in Washington.

“Detail oriented, good communicator, been around some of the most productive offenses over the last couple of years,” McVay said. “You look at what Atlanta was able to do. A lot of the things that we do philosophically will be very similar.”

cVay, the Redskins offensive coordinator and play-caller the last three seasons, will call plays this season as the Rams attempt to rebound from a 4-12 finish and try to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

During an interview with a small group of reporters at the Rams’ training facility, LaFleur said he would “help organize and kind of like set the table” for McVay.

“If he feels comfortable with me doing it, eventually, then maybe we’ll go that route,” LaFleur said of calling plays. “We gotta lay the foundation first.”

LaFleur, along with McVay and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, will be part of a triumvirate focused on developing quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft.

LaFleur worked the last two years in Atlanta with nine-year veteran Matt Ryan, this season’s NFL most valuable player. His focus turns to getting the most out of Goff, a second-year pro the Rams traded six draft picks to move up and select last April.

LaFleur got a close-up look at Goff during the 2016 NFL scouting combine.

“He was pretty impressive,” LaFleur said.

In December, LaFleur was focused on the Rams’ defense before and during the Falcons’ 42-14 rout at the Coliseum in what proved to be Jeff Fisher’s final game as Rams coach. In his fourth start, Goff completed 24 of 41 passes for 235 yards, with two interceptions.

LaFleur has begun to intensely evaluate Goff, who passed for five touchdowns, with seven interceptions, in seven winless starts.

“From what I’ve seen on tape, he’s got some of the key attributes that you always look for in a quarterback. He’s a natural thrower,” LaFleur said. “You have to be able to hang in there in some uncomfortable pockets and some uncomfortable situations where you’re going to take a hit and deliver the football. He’s proven that he’ll do that.”

LaFleur said Goff was “experimenting” this off-season with quarterback trainers Tom House and Adam Dedeaux, who have aided Ryan, Tom Brady and others with their mechanics and conditioning.

“I was happy to hear it because I have seen the benefits,” LaFleur said. “What those guys do is pretty valuable, and it’s not always obviously [possible] with the time constraints that we can work with these guys.”

Along with assessing Goff, LaFleur is evaluating other offensive personnel as the Rams prepare for the start of free agency and the draft. He and fellow coaches must find ways to improve an offense that ranked as the NFL’s worst the last two seasons.

The new system is expected to include many of the elements that drove the Falcons’ and Redskins’ high-powered attacks in recent seasons.

“It truly will be a system that is going to marry the run with the pass,” LaFleur said.

“First and foremost, you’ve got to be committed to it,” LaFleur said of the running game. “And you’ve got to have a system in place that you believe in. And I think if you can get that running game going, everything plays off each other.

“If you get your running game going, your passing game is going to be better.”

The Rams have not had a winning season since 2003. They appear a long way from a Super Bowl appearance.

LaFleur is excited about moving forward from his Super Bowl experience.

“As bad as it hurt to lose that game I definitely want to get back there, win, lose or draw,” he said. “Hopefully next time we’re back there, it’s a lot better feeling.”

[www.latimes.com]

 by Hacksaw
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   24523  
 Joined:  Apr 15 2015
United States of America   AT THE BEACH
Moderator

It just hit me. the Rams offense became the priority. The focal point. Gotta love it.
Gotta give the D what it needs but I am looking forward to seeing what new pieces they bring in on the O side of the ball. Next season can't start soon enough...

 by gmansrams
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   44  
 Joined:  Feb 19 2017
United States of America   LA Coliseum
Undrafted Free Agent

Think Goff's work with Tom House should benefit him greatly prior to start of OTA's. McVay's success season one will be tied directly to Goff's development. McVay's offense is similar in nature to Josh McDaniels offense in New England in that the offensive design puts the onus on the qb. Despite the OC under the Fisher regime, the qb was given two reads at LOS. McVay's offense will not only offer the qb more options at the LOS, it will also require the qb to have a greater understanding of the opponents defensive packages and alignments. Having Goff's mechanics fixed by OTA's will allow McVay, Lafluer and Olsen to concentrate on pre snap reads, hot reads etc..

 by Elvis
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   38381  
 Joined:  Mar 28 2015
United States of America   Los Angeles
Administrator

gmansrams wrote:Think Goff's work with Tom House should benefit him greatly prior to start of OTA's. McVay's success season one will be tied directly to Goff's development. McVay's offense is similar in nature to Josh McDaniels offense in New England in that the offensive design puts the onus on the qb. Despite the OC under the Fisher regime, the qb was given two reads at LOS. McVay's offense will not only offer the qb more options at the LOS, it will also require the qb to have a greater understanding of the opponents defensive packages and alignments. Having Goff's mechanics fixed by OTA's will allow McVay, Lafluer and Olsen to concentrate on pre snap reads, hot reads etc..


Strong points, and welcome aboard...

 by dieterbrock
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   11512  
 Joined:  Mar 31 2015
United States of America   New Jersey
Hall of Fame

As much as this news makes me enthusiastic about the Rams offense/Goff learning curve, it also pisses me off.
THIS is what NFL teams with their prized rookie.
THIS is what teams do to develop their "Franchise QB"
Drafting a QB #1 overall and basically ignoring his development, while allowing some crappy journeyman QB to get all the quality reps/snaps is some serious 7-9, I mean 4-12 bull crap....

 by snackdaddy
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   9631  
 Joined:  May 30 2015
United States of America   Merced California
Hall of Fame

dieterbrock wrote:As much as this news makes me enthusiastic about the Rams offense/Goff learning curve, it also pisses me off.
THIS is what NFL teams with their prized rookie.
THIS is what teams do to develop their "Franchise QB"
Drafting a QB #1 overall and basically ignoring his development, while allowing some crappy journeyman QB to get all the quality reps/snaps is some serious 7-9, I mean 4-12 bull crap....


Yeah, Fisher really hurt Goff and the team with that philosophy. There was a reason Goff wasn't ready. He never got the opportunity from the beginning. When you give up the farm for a possible franchise quarterback, screw that "He's got to earn the job. Its not fair to Case Keenum" crap. Goff earned the job the day he was picked number one. Otherwise you don't make that trade.

 by Elvis
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   38381  
 Joined:  Mar 28 2015
United States of America   Los Angeles
Administrator

It must have been hard to learn the Cignetti offense: The QB had to consider the game situation, down and distance, the defense, the complicated verbiage, the QB had to process all of that before throwing a 3 yard out route...

 by BuiltRamTough
7 years 1 month ago
 Total posts:   5357  
 Joined:  May 15 2015
Armenia   Los Angeles
Hall of Fame

You could make the case that Fisher didn't want to start Goff bc he knew the line was bad and didn't want to get Goff hurt.

I don't buy that though.

Fisher thought he could win 9-6 point games with Keenum/defense/special teams etc.

Old school football basically.

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