[Elvis]

https://www.sgvtribune.com/2018/08/13/r ... n-in-2017/

Rams might have their tight ends play bigger roles after surprising little production in 2017

By RICH HAMMOND | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: August 13, 2018 at 6:30 pm | UPDATED: August 13, 2018 at 8:08 pm

IRVINE – Sean McVay’s 2017 offense didn’t match the hype.

Sure, the Rams astonished the world by scoring the most points in the NFL last season, but heavy usage of tight ends had been anticipated. Instead, Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett stayed in the shadows.

McVay, the Rams’ coach and playcaller, made his name in Washington as a tight-ends guru, but that group remained an afterthought for the Rams last season as receivers and running back Todd Gurley dominated the attention of quarterback Jared Goff. With the Rams in need of a new red-zone target, perhaps that will change in 2018.

Sammy Watkins, who led the Rams with eight receiving touchdowns last season, is gone, so the opportunity exists for a player such as Higbee, who is entering this third season, to break through.

“Definitely we want to feature him more and get him a little more involved,” quarterback Jared Goff said after Monday’s practice at UC Irvine. “If we can get him the ball some more and get him some more touches, that will even open us up a little more. Then Gerald and Temarrick (Hemingway), same way.”

That type of thing can’t be predicted for force-fed, but the change in distribution last season, away from tight ends, was stark for a McVay-run offense.

In 2015 and 2016, the two seasons McVay called plays as Washington’s offensive coordinator, tight ends accounted for 24.6 percent of the team’s pass targets and 27.5 percent of its catches. Last season, Rams tight ends totaled only 17.0 percent of team targets and 15.3 percent of catches.

Certainly, part of it is personnel. Washington featured Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis, which might have been the best tight-end duo in the NFL. So perhaps it could be said that McVay was more of a Reed fan – he totaled 1,638 yards and 17 touchdowns in those two seasons – than a fan of tight ends in general.

The Rams would be thrilled if McVay joined the Higbee fan club, and he would seem to be their best hope.

Higbee, a fourth-round pick of the Rams in 2016, thus far has been a training-camp standout still looking to make a regular-season impact. Higbee caught 11 passes in his rookie year and only 25 as a starter in 2017, and he has two touchdowns in 32 regular-season games.

Tight ends coach Shane Waldron recently described Higbee as doing “a good job of doing a little bit of everything. He does a lot of dirty work.” That’s important, because blocking also is a huge part of the job description, but the Rams also think they can get more offensive production out of that position.

Higbee has been the most consistent of the group. Everett had a few flashy moments as a rookie last season, but struggled with consistency. Hemingway, who also is entering his third season, missed all of last season with an injury but seems to have some downfield skills.

Will they be the breakthrough group of 2018? Higbee joked that they’ve been lobbying McVay.

“Always,” Higbee said with a smile. “In the tight-end room, we’ve even been talking to him about more ‘1-3’ or ‘0-4’ personnel. Get four tight ends in the game. You want to be able to create those mismatches with our personnel. I think it could benefit us.”

That’s not the worst thing, at least for the Rams offense.

“Literally, if A.D. was here, he would just (mess) up the whole practice,” running back Todd Gurley joked. “You get the handoff and he’s right there. A guy like that, you have to sit him back and tell him to tone it down a little, just so you can get good reps.”

CAMP NOTES

Cornerback Aqib Talib returned to practice after he missed Sunday’s session with an ankle injury. The Rams gave veterans such as Gurley and offensive linemen Andrew Whitworth, Rodger Saffold and John Sullivan the day off. … McVay again declined to announce whether he will play any starters in Saturday’s preseason game against Oakland, but the expectation is that he will not. … McVay called off evenings meetings after an end-of-practice challenge in which rookie offensive lineman Joseph Noteboom cleanly caught a punt. The Rams will not practice Tuesday, as part of their predetermined schedule.

[TomSlick]

https://www.sgvtribune.com/2018/08/13/rams-might-have-their-tight-ends-play-bigger-roles-after-surprising-little-production-in-2017/

Rams might have their tight ends play bigger roles after surprising little production in 2017

By RICH HAMMOND | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: August 13, 2018 at 6:30 pm | UPDATED: August 13, 2018 at 8:08 pm

IRVINE – McVay again declined to announce whether he will play any starters in Saturday’s preseason game against Oakland, but the expectation is that he will not.

Interesting approach...if true, how unique is it to not play starters in the first two preseason games?

[RedAlice]

Interesting approach...if true, how unique is it to not play starters in the first two preseason games?

I think the issue is Rams play the same team they play Week 1.

Isn’t that kind of unique for preseason?

Not sure. Seems like it is tho.

[/zn/]

Seems like this TE optimism is fading. Right now I will be content if (1) Everett is healthy enough to contribute some, and (2) Higbee can be an at least average option. Way it looks now, TE is not a Rams strength. (Though I won't protest if proven wrong. )

[Kid Charlamagne]

Seems like this TE optimism is fading. Right now I will be content if (1) Everett is healthy enough to contribute some, and (2) Higbee can be an at least average option. Way it looks now, TE is not a Rams strength. (Though I won't protest if proven wrong. )

Not looking too good, Everett is out til who knows when, Mundt got carted off, Hemingway forgot how to catch, which leaves Higbee, yikes.

[Elvis]

Interesting approach...if true, how unique is it to not play starters in the first two preseason games?

It is pretty unusual but i think it's smart. If i had to bet, i'd say teams are gonna play their starters less and less in the preseason and the Rams are probably gonna be leading the way.

A1 did a pretty nice breakdown of last year's preseason snaps here:

viewtopic.php?p=125947#p125947

[69RamFan]

It is pretty unusual but i think it's smart. If i had to bet, i'd say teams are gonna play their starters less and less in the preseason and the Rams are probably gonna be leading the way.

A1 did a pretty nice breakdown of last year's preseason snaps here:

viewtopic.php?p=125947#p125947

The difference from this year compared to last year....
Last year, we were learning a new system on both sides of the rock...
So they needed more time to jell together...
We have the same offensive starting unit except for Cooks this year... and everyone seems to be in sync in camp after being together for a year... They are playing fast... including the D....

I see no reason to play the starters against the Raiders...
We lost Peterson from last week during a pre season game...
so no need to lose a starter for a meaningless game... especially they are playing great in camp.... IMO

So we should see a very low snap count for most of the starters.....

[Turtle]

I see a better year for the tight ends than the last one. I think coach wants more production from them and now entering a 2nd year in the system we should see some wrinkles they just couldn't pull off last year.

I like Higbee and think he's developing in to a solid TE and am very interested to see Everrit