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http://www.vcstar.com/story/sports/nfl/ ... 004389001/

Rams offensive coordinator LaFleur to face former team in playoff opener

Joe Curley

This weekend won’t be any tougher than last for Matt LaFleur, who coached against his younger brother Mike, the San Francisco receivers coach, for the second time this season last Sunday.

But the playoffs arrive Saturday, and with them, defending NFC champion Atlanta. Which means the Rams offensive coordinator will see plenty of familiar faces across the field Saturday at the Coliseum.

“So you try to get the meet and greet out of the way early and then go back into the locker room and … just get your mind right for the game,” LaFleur said. “There's always time for that stuff post game.”

LaFleur was the Falcons quarterbacks coach a year ago, when quarterback Matt Ryan was the NFL Most Valuable Player and Atlanta held a 28-3 lead in the third quarter before losing to New England in overtime of Super Bowl 51.

The 37-year-old arrived in Thousand Oaks two weeks later, ready to turn the page after becoming Sean McVay’s offensive coordinator.

“I really have tried not to put too much thought into it, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said on Thursday at the Rams’ football headquarters at Cal Lutheran University.

“I think when Saturday arrives, and I start to see a lot of those guys, then it will kind of hit you a little bit, but to be honest with you our preparation’s just like any other week.”

LaFleur was part of the coaching staff that transformed the Rams offense, which became just the second team in NFL history to go from worst to first in points scored.

The Rams led the NFL by scoring 29.9 points per game and were also eighth in rushing (122.1 yards per game) and 10th in passing (239.4).

Meanwhile, the Falcons, which lost LaFleur and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who is now the San Francisco head coach, have dipped to 15th in scoring despite an offense that still has all its pieces, including Ryan, running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu and tight end Austin Hooper.

“I don’t know if they’re necessary different because they’re going to play their scheme,” LaFleur said. “But what I can tell you is they are so much more experienced and it really shows through. I got a lot of respect for all those coaches there and when you look at their players, they’ve got great speed across the board and you can tell that those guys have played together for a while now.”

The two offensive coordinators have been two of the biggest stories of the week. As LaFleur prepares to face his former team, Atlanta first-year coordinator Steve Sarkisian, the former USC head coach, prepares to return to the Coliseum.

Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn argued that despite the coaching changes, the Falcons remain the same team, offensively.

“I think we’re more similar than different and the reason that I say that is from a philosophy standpoint, we’re really committed to how we want to play and that starts for us in the run game,” Quinn said. “That’s all 11 (players), the way we want to run wide zones and then the play-action that comes off of that. That’s kind of our calling card and we really are committed to that.”

If the Falcons haven’t change offensively, than LaFleur’s familiarity with the Falcons should be “very helpful,” as McVay labeled it.

“I think at the same time, too, you look at the tape and you want the guys, especially defensively, to be able to react,” McVay said. “I think you can sometimes maybe give too much information and slow guys down. That was something that you had to be real mindful of especially when we played Washington for me earlier in the year.”

The head coach said it was best to serve that information to the players in “bite-sized increments.”

“It’s not something that will slow down and kind of make you over think some things,” McVay said.

Quinn said he could see LaFleur’s influence on the Rams offense, along with McVay.

“Both guys are really sharp, really equipped,” Quinn said. “The quarterback play, the technique, so they’re really getting trained well at the position and you can see the offense coming to life.”

Especially, Quinn said, in the way the Rams tend to use the whole field to space their receivers, which goes back to what LaFleur and McVay learned in their previous stop together at Washington.

“It’s really a good scheme,” Quinn said. “It’s the three-level routes that can happen. I think one of the hallmarks even going back to Kyle (Shanahan) and his time at Washington. I know Sean and Matt, they’re all kind of connected in some way.”

LaFleur is connected to 11 members of the Falcons coaching staff that remain from last year’s run. He figures he’ll find time to catch up with many of them after the game is decided.

“I'm sure I'll stick around a little bit later and talk to those guys, because like I said, I've got so much respect for really everybody I worked for on that staff,” Lafleur said. “There's a lot of good people. (Assistant head coach/receivers coach) Raheem Morris is a good friend of mine and I stay in contact with all those guys. But we'll have plenty of time for that after the game.

“You try not to ever distract from what you're there to do and ultimately, we're all there to win a football game.”

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