[Indrid Cold]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/06/18/los-angeles-rams-2018-nfl-preview

By Andy Benoit June 18, 2018

1. Brandin Cooks was a steal. For the 23rd overall pick, the Rams add one of football’s fastest wide receivers to an offense that already averaged more than 25.6 points a game last year (including playoffs). Cooks also has outstanding throttle-down ability, a potentially lethal weapon for a speedster. He will be an X-receiver, aligning up on the line (as opposed to off the line, where you can go in motion).

On third down, Cooks will often be by himself on the weak side. This is where he’ll most influence coverages. If a safety rolls over the top to help against Cooks, then Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp will capitalize on the other side. Coach Sean McVay is masterly at featuring those two in designer route combinations. Against zone, McVay gets them matched on linebackers and safeties. Against man-to-man, he uses switch releases and natural rubs to create space. It helps when the receivers do their part. Woods has become a meticulous underneath route-runner who occasionally surprises with big-play ability. Kupp has a shrewd understanding of why certain plays are called and of how routes relate to coverages.

Rolling a safety over to help on Cooks not only leaves more one-on-one coverage on the other side, but it renders the defense predictable. No play-caller is more dangerous than McVay when facing predictable looks. When a safety does not help on Cooks, the Rams themselves might be predictable, but only because many of their calls will fall along the lines of “Hit Brandon over the top.”

2. Jared Goff is the right quarterback to lead McVay’s system. He’s a timing and rhythm thrower, which helps in a scheme that emphasizes play-action. He can be better than McVay’s previous QB, Kirk Cousins, because he has enough high-level attributes to function when things break down—assuming they don’t break down too often. He’s not Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson outside the pocket, but his vision is sharp and his arm is strong enough to cash most of its checks. What Goff must improve is his footwork, which sometimes wavers. And though he’s tough under pressure, he’s still developing the mental comfort needed to make throws with bodies around him.

3. No team has a better backfield passing game. It helps when your backfield features Todd Gurley. He’s sensational in space. Once McVay realized this, he made backfield screens and designer routes to the flat staples of his scheme.

4. One reason Gurley had 788 receiving yards is his offensive line, particularly All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth and nearly All-Pro (one vote shy) left guard Rodger Saffold, who was outstanding blocking in space on the perimeter. Another reason is that Jared Goff paid close attention to the body language and mechanical nuances that are important for baiting a defense on screens. All of this speaks to strong coaching. Offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur and QB coach Greg Olson worked closely with Goff last year. This year it will be new OC Shane Waldron and QB coach Zac Taylor, who were promoted from within. For the linemen, it’s veteran assistant Aaron Kromer, who oversees much of the running game. Kromer’s O-line as a whole was the NFL’s most improved unit in 2017.

5. Tavon Austin only played 22 percent of the snaps last year, but his presence was significant on most of those. True, not significant enough to justify his restructured $5 million salary, which is why he was dealt to Dallas for a sixth-round pick. But Austin as a movable gadget piece added a lot of dimension and deception to L.A.’s approach, in both the run and pass game. McVay understands that jet-sweep action, ghost reverses and orbit motion (where a motioning player loops deep behind the running back) skew a defense’s numbers and assignments. It’s imperative McVay find someone to fill Austin's role. If it's not an ancillary receiver like Pharoh Cooper, Josh Reynolds or Mike Thomas, expect it to be Kupp. He’s not as dynamic as Austin, but he has the requisite attributes.

6. It’s exciting to see high-risk playmaking corners like Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib together, especially with a rangy safety between them (rising fifth-year converted slot man Lamarcus Joyner, who’s also a demonic hitter). It’s even more exciting when you have Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh pushing the pocket in front of them. The one concern: who will collapse the pocket? Robert Quinn was no longer worth the $11.4 million he was owed, so he got traded to Miami. In his stead is Matt Longacre. He’s a hardworking finisher who plays faster than you’d guess, but he doesn’t have Quinn’s suppleness. Opposite Longacre, questions abound. What can second-year man Samson Ebukam do with more snaps? Michael Brockers is as technically adroit as anyone, but is he twitchy enough to turn the corner on obvious passing downs? These are important questions, because if the Rams’ pass rush cannot get home, the gambles that Peters and Talib like to take become detrimental.

7. Another concern with this D: its coverage inside. Alec Ogletree, traded to the Giants, was a quality cover linebacker. His absence hurts, especially in a Wade Phillips scheme that moves its corners around against unbalanced formations. (This forces linebackers to cover in unfamiliar spots outside.) In Denver, Phillips didn’t have great coverage linebackers, so he replaced one with a third safety in obvious passing situations. But that may be difficult here because…

8. The third concern on defense is the lack of depth. The front-line rotation is decent with run-stuffer Tanzel Smart and versatile inside-outside guys Ethan Westbrooks and Dominique Easley. But at linebacker and safety? (Crickets.)

9. The lack of depth becomes extra interesting when you consider how creative Phillips is with personnel packages. He’ll take away your run plays out of three-receiver sets by playing three corners and just one safety behind his base front seven. He’ll interchange his defensive backs and rotate at safety. He’ll tinker with his slot, where Joyner and Nickell Robey-Coleman are both good options. With so many unknowns this year, will Phillips sub less and rely on more every-down players? Or will he try to mix-and-match his way out of it by substituting in even more specific ways?

10. Aaron Donald is football’s best 3-technique, but it’s hard to understand how a defensive tackle on the league’s 30th ranked yards-per-attempt rush defense can run away with the Defensive Player of the Year award. Donald surely wasn’t to blame for the run D, but he was still part of it. No doubt that poor run D helped inspire the pursuit of $14 million one-year free agent rental Ndamukong Suh.

BOTTOM LINE: The offensive and defensive playmakers should be prolific enough to offset the defensive deficiencies, but this is not the flawless team that many people see.

[69RamFan]

A few things that I don't agree with this reporter, and its obvious that he doesn't watch every RAMs game...

He mention putting Reynold and Thomas in motion for the jet sweep or even Kupp, whats is he smoking,,,

IMO, it will either be Cooper, Cooks or Woods... doing the Jet sweeps...
all three of these player are more elusive and two of them are pretty fast....

Reynolds and Thomas are tall lanky guys... you need them to play on the outside..

He mention that we don't have a deep back end, primarily safeties? Actually this will be the deepest we will have in years on the backend....
not to mention we will have two starting all pro bowlers CBs.... add in NRC for the slot....
Then you could bring in Sam Shields or even Hill to help out in Safeties or Countess...
I haven't even mention Peterson, in which I think he might have a tough time making the team...
Then you have SS Christian if he stays healthy...
Maybe the backup are unknown to him or the national media,,, but they can fill in if needed....
Especially if we give tons of pressure to the QB with our three headed monsters up front.

As far as our LBers,,, starting on the inside,,, once again, he is not a local reporter and has no idea about Littleton.... in which he as range to cover too... same for Barron... and fighting for playing time will be Wilson and Kiser...

On the Outside,,, Longacre played outstanding last year,,,, and will only continue to play even better this year with our front three in the middle.. and Sam Ebukam will dominate on the other side... I can see him getting 10 sacks being single covered... Plus we will have OO, Young and Lawler rotating in.....

This is the deepest team from the start of training camp we had on paper since the GSOT years....
and if we win the SB... Then I will mark them down as the best assemble team the RAMs has put together...
But the key, they must win it all to be call the best.... IMO

[aeneas1]

7. Another concern with this D: its coverage inside. Alec Ogletree, traded to the Giants, was a quality cover linebacker. His absence hurts, especially in a Wade Phillips scheme that moves its corners around against unbalanced formations. (This forces linebackers to cover in unfamiliar spots outside.) In Denver, Phillips didn’t have great coverage linebackers, so he replaced one with a third safety in obvious passing situations. But that may be difficult here because.

for the 2017 season the gang at pff ranked ogletree 60th in pass coverage among the 67 inside linebackers who saw 500+ snaps... but most rams fans didn't need pff to tell them that ogletree was far from a "quality coverage linebacker" in wade's 3-4.

10. Aaron Donald is football’s best 3-technique, but it’s hard to understand how a defensive tackle on the league’s 30th ranked yards-per-attempt rush defense can run away with the Defensive Player of the Year award. Donald surely wasn’t to blame for the run D, but he was still part of it. No doubt that poor run D helped inspire the pursuit of $14 million one-year free agent rental Ndamukong Suh.

it's only hard to understand if you find the concept of attacking today's nfl offenses hard to understand - the nfl is a passing league, it's not a "three yards and a cloud of dust league", getting after the opposing qb is what it's all about, and no one on the planet is better at it than donald.

of the top 10 defenses that allowed the fewest yards per rush attempt last season, only 2 ranked in the top 10 in offensive points allowed - in fact these 10 teams averaged a 20th ranking in offensive points allowed. hell, the bottom 10 teams is rush yards allowed per attempt averaged a 13th ranking in offensive points allowed.

compare that to making life difficult for a qb:

anyway, i've never been much of a fan of benoit's take on anything football after the hit job he did on goff before the goff/wentz rams/eagles showdown last year... he painted wentz as a superstar who was superior to goff in every way, who carried the eagles on his own, while goff was just a mcvay cog and little else, whose success in 2017 had nothing to do with talent and everything to do with playing in a very friendly qb system... what a friggin' idiot.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7082&hilit=benoit

[sloramfan]

timing and rhythm thrower??

that's BS.. i see goff scanning the field, going through progressions on probably at least 1/2 of his throws... and he can be lethal when flushed.. i'm not even gonna talk about toughness...

ogletree?... don't get me started..

rams pass rush not able to get home?.. i'll be as shocked as anyone.. doesn't this guy know that good coverage compliments the pass rush, as much as a pass rush puts the secondary in a highly favorable sitch... rams appear to be loaded in both categories..

this guy appears to me to have some sort of bias against my rams, or maybe i'm just too sensitive...

maybe not as flawless as we think?

but what if they are...

go rams

slo

[/zn/]

6. It’s exciting to see high-risk playmaking corners like Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib together, especially with a rangy safety between them (rising fifth-year converted slot man Lamarcus Joyner, who’s also a demonic hitter). It’s even more exciting when you have Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh pushing the pocket in front of them. The one concern: who will collapse the pocket? Robert Quinn was no longer worth the $11.4 million he was owed, so he got traded to Miami. In his stead is Matt Longacre. He’s a hardworking finisher who plays faster than you’d guess, but he doesn’t have Quinn’s suppleness. Opposite Longacre, questions abound. What can second-year man Samson Ebukam do with more snaps? Michael Brockers is as technically adroit as anyone, but is he twitchy enough to turn the corner on obvious passing downs? These are important questions, because if the Rams’ pass rush cannot get home, the gambles that Peters and Talib like to take become detrimental.

It could be that Ebukam developing in his 2nd year improves this situation (rookie pass rushers rarely do much). But even if the situation on the outside this year ends up being no different from last year, that's not that bad---last year they were 4th in sacks and 4th in sack percentage. So finding a good outside rusher on the roster (like if SE improves in year 2) would just be gravy.

...

[Hacksaw]

It could be that Ebukam developing in his 2nd year improves this situation (rookie pass rushers rarely do much). But even if the situation on the outside this year ends up being no different from last year, that's not that bad---last year they were 4th in sacks and 4th in sack percentage. So finding a good outside rusher on the roster (like if SE improves in year 2) would just be gravy.

...

Dig the positive juju.

[/zn/]

It could be that Ebukam developing in his 2nd year improves this situation (rookie pass rushers rarely do much). But even if the situation on the outside this year ends up being no different from last year, that's not that bad---last year they were 4th in sacks and 4th in sack percentage. So finding a good outside rusher on the roster (like if SE improves in year 2) would just be gravy.

Dig the positive juju.

Here's more of the same, from the man himself.

Wade Phillips: “The rush helps the coverage, the coverage helps the rush, you know? Chicken or the egg sometimes. But we had 48 sacks last year, so we feel like we’re going to have a good rush. And then when you’ve got guys of that caliber [on the corners], it will help us not only in the coverage but maybe turnovers too. That’s what we’re looking for.”


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