Last season Drew Brees performed much better against man coverage than zone -- he had the second-highest EPA/P disparity in favor of man. Last week the Rams ran 78% zone, second-most of any team. Brees faces the Rams tomorrow. ESPN's coverage classification is powered by NFL Next Gen Stats.
What went wrong for L.A. at the end of last season? Here's what the Rams found, and why they think they're in good shape.
Rams safety Eric Weddle said he received seven stitches to close the laceration on his head that he suffered last Sunday against the Panthers. Weddle cleared concussion protocol and will play Friday. As for how he felt prior leaving the game Week 1, Weddle said he felt "great" and like he was 25 years old again (He's 34).
Sean McVay was asked Friday about managing Todd Gurley's workload and whether there's a difference between using him as a receiver or ball carrier. Gurley had one target in Week 1 and 14 carries. "That's a good question," McVay said. "I would just say, you want to get him involved in a variety of ways and it's not exclusive to just running the football. He catches the check down on the second play of the game. Those are things that you do want to get him more involved in the pass game. He's shown how productive he is, when you just look at when he's got his opportunities. That's something that I have to do a good job of giving him the opportunity to get more involved in different ways that's not exclusive to running the football. I don't necessarily know if it's part of the workload, but it is part of being smart and getting him involved and getting him touches. Whether that be through throwing the football or running it."
The Rams injury report on Friday: DL Michael Brockers (Shoulder) Full; OLB Clay Matthews (Back) Full; S Eric Weddle (Concussion) Full; RB Todd Gurley (Not injury related) Did not practice.
Dante Fowler, whose pressure on Drew Brees forced an overtime interception in the NFC Championship Game, is already off to a hot start.
The no-call in the NFC title game haunted the Saints all offseason, but they can put it further behind them by beating a playoff contender on the road.
Todd Gurley was asked how his body felt after the Week 1 game. "I'm fine, soreness after the game, nothing too crazy." Gurley rushes for 97 yards on 11 carries, 64 of those yards were in the fourth quarter. Gurley was asked if splitting carried with Malcolm Brown early in the game helped keep him fresh. "I felt good in the fourth quarter," he said. "I don't control substitutions. That's out of my control."
"He's a young guy that's got a whole lot of talent that I feel like if he just keeps working, he can take over this league. He's got natural ability that a lot of guys don't got. He can rush the passer naturally. Once he keep working on his technique and little things, I really think he can be one of the top guys in the National Football League when it comes to rushing the passer." - Aaron Donald on OLB Dante Fowler
Rams injury report on Thursday: DL Michael Brockesr (Shoulder) DNP; OLB Clay Matthews (Back) limited; S Eric Weddle (Concussion) limited; LT Andrew Whitworth (Not injury related) DNP.
Sean McVay said Thursday that he's "optimistic" that DE Michael Brockers (Shoulder) and OLB Clay Matthews (Back) will be available Sunday against the Saints.
Rams QB Jared Goff used to let McVay fix many of his problems, but teammates say they've seen more leadership from Goff since the Super Bowl.
Rams injury report for Thursday: DL Michael Brockers (Shoulder) DNP; OLB Clay Matthews (Back) DNP; S Eric Weddle (Concussion) Limited.
As they prepare to play the Saints in a rematch of last season's NFC Championship Game, the Rams are still fielding questions about the infamous pass interference no-call that helped send them to Super Bowl LIII.
Will the Bengals have their star running back on the field against the 49ers? NFL Nation provides the latest updates direct from locker rooms.
Sean McVay says Todd Gurley's practice schedule will be similar to the every-other-day pattern he's been on. "It is really just predicated on whether it's a normal three-day work week," McVay says. "He'll work two out of those three days, that was kind of the plan we had going in."
Tremendous praise for Rams DT Aaron Donald from Drew Brees. "I don't even have names for all the moves he can do to get to the quarterback. You cannot block him with one guy. He's just that good a player. He's such an impact player, he can change a game. I don't know if I've ever seen anybody like him."
Sean McVay says safety Eric Weddle is on track to play Sunday against the Saints. Weddle was placed into concussion protocol after he took Christian McCaffrey's knee to his head last Sunday. The collision also caused a head laceration that caused Weddle to have a bloody face. "He's feel long good," McVay says. "I think he was asymptomatic, so he's on track."
The Rams announced a few transactions: DB Dominique Hatfield - waived/injured, C Aaron Neary waived/injured, LB Trevon Young waived/injured.
Aaron Donald was disappointed in his Week 1 performance against the Panthers. The two-time NFL DPOY recorded only 1 tackle and 1 QBH. But, he did take on a double team on 64 percent of his pass rushes, according to ESPN metrics using NFL Next Gen Stats. The Panthers' focus on Donald allowed OLB Dante Fowler to break free for two sacks. Fowler also posted the highest Pass Rush Win Rate by any player in the league at 62 percent.
Sunday's matchup between the Rams and Saints will be the fifth time, including playoffs, that Jared Goff and Drew Brees have faced off. In their previous four meetings? Goff has won 2, Brees has won 2. Goff has thrown 9 TDs, with 4 INTs. Brees has thrown 11 TDs, with 1 INT. Goff has averaged 8.1 yards per attempt, Brees has averaged 8.0. Goff's QBR is 60, Brees' is 76. Per ESPN Stats & Info.
Who were the best rookies in Week 1? We picked the best newbie for every NFL team while ranking them from 1 to 32.
J.B. Long and D'Marco Farr join Rams head coach Sean McVay as they recap the week one victory over the Panthers. They give high praise to Cory Littleton after his big game. Audibles returns! As fans get a chance to tweet Coach McVay a question. Also, the guys preview the NFC Championship rematch against the Saints.
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2(29) | Taylor Rapp | S | Washington |
| 3(6) | Darrell Henderson | RB | Memphis |
| 3(15) | David Long | CB | Michigan |
| 3(33) | Bobby Evans | OT | Oklahoma |
| 4(32) | Greg Gaines | DT | Washington |
| 5(31) | David Edwards | OT | Wisconsin |
| 7(29) | Nick Scott | S | Penn State |
| 7(37) | Dakota Allen | ILB | Texas Tech |
| TEAM | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 31 | 17 |
| Los Angeles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 30 | 27 |
| Seattle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 21 | 20 |
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 27 | 27 |
