McVay learning and growing

[LouisvilleRam]

Glad McVay is finally getting everyone's approval after a 61-29 record and our second trip to the Super Bowl in the last 4 years

 

[Steve808]

McVay is all about winning. For a while he was in Jared Goff's corner. Supporting him every step of the way. When it became clear Goff hit his ceiling, and maybe regressed some, he knew he had to do something. He coulda stuck with Goff. Won games. Made the playoffs. But no way they get to the Superbowl without Stafford.

Just being a winning coach who could make the playoffs was not good enough for McVay. He wants a championship in the worst way and is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. No matter who's feelings get hurt. Now he's one win away from that happening. If it does happen I have a feeling he won't be satisfied with just one.

The awesome thing is I believe that McVay is going to bring the Rams a handful on Lombardi trophies and I really hope we get one ten days from now. I believe the matchups are in favor of the Rams so as long as we play our game and our defense holds up, I think we've got a good chance.

Of course, you still have to play the game. Scoring points early will be a good sign.

To be honest, I was hopeful but didn't think we'd make the superbowl this year after losing to the whiners on the last week.

Let's go Rams!

 

[Mojo Ram]

3 points.

There's no doubt in my mind that McVay remembers that. He'll have a better gameplan this time, and have his offense prepared if it requires a Plan B.

 

[Ellard80]

OK, he is not done "growing" just yet.
On Sunday when the Rams had a critical 3rd and a foot, the Rams came out in the Fuck!ng SHOTGUN !!
That should never, ever happen. The Rams did not complete the pass on 3rd down. QB sneak on 4th and gave the ball back to the Niners.
Sean, here is when you do. QB under center, RB behind him and give it to Sony. IF you are going to throw, fake the hand off and pass the ball. IF it does not work, do in again and actually hand the ball off.
When I seen the Rams come out in shotgun I jumped off the couch so hard that I got a head rush and almost fell over. Then the sneak and we gave the ball up.
There are simply too many things than have to go right on a basic pass play. Odds are not good enough. Simple task usually means simple solution, run the Fing ball.
AND Sean, those 3rd and 2 plays where you decide for some reason to throw the ball over the top 20+ yards down the field have to go. They are cool when they work and make you feel good but the odds are not in out favor. Try a simple short pass to Kupp, OBJ, Higgs or dump off to RB. Those have a much higher odds of success.
And ALWAYS do it under center AND sometimes, sometimes maybe just run it on 3rd and 2.
Shotgun should only be used when it is pass play only. Runs out of it suck.
There, I said it.
Now go win the game Sean and win me over at the same time.

i guess you missed the touch down pass to kupp on 3rd and 1 from empty in the 4th quarter

 

[RamWoodie]

What I like is McVay is finally controlling his "Mike Martz factor", which was forcing his deep pass game. He's leaned to be patient quite a bit. He's also learning to be able to adjust on the fly.

Still there are thing that make me scratch my head...like that crazy 3rd and 1 pay against the Niners (and no one has yet asked about that play).

Indeed...he has grown quite a bit and has more growing to do. I think finally outdueling Shanahan last Sunday will show in the SuperBowl too.

 

[FarNorth]

OK, he is not done "growing" just yet.
On Sunday when the Rams had a critical 3rd and a foot, the Rams came out in the Fuck!ng SHOTGUN !!
That should never, ever happen. The Rams did not complete the pass on 3rd down. QB sneak on 4th and gave the ball back to the Niners.
Sean, here is when you do. QB under center, RB behind him and give it to Sony. IF you are going to throw, fake the hand off and pass the ball. IF it does not work, do in again and actually hand the ball off.
When I seen the Rams come out in shotgun I jumped off the couch so hard that I got a head rush and almost fell over. Then the sneak and we gave the ball up.
....

And stop throwing bombs fifty yards downfield from inside our own 10 yard line, especially in the 4th quarter of the NFC championship with the game on the line against a team with a great pass rush. Too many things can go wrong. If Tartt catches that ball we hand a free possession back to the Niners near midfield and maybe lose the game.

Still, imo McVay has grown since the Rams' November slump. McVay remembered Sony Michel and rebalanced the run and the passing game. He has been more patient, consistent and strategic in his play calling, and this has in turn has made Stafford more effective.

McVay and Stafford do so many things well that it seems a bit churlish to call out errors. But imo they can reach an even higher level of offensive football if they cut back on identifiable mistakes and bad habits, both in play calling and execution. Would like to see them get there. That would be a good start toward future championships after this one.

 

[Merlin]

Some things he needs to learn from:

1. Reeder is a liability vs a good back. Mixon will eat him up. I think part of the problem is that Jones seemed to not know where to line up at times, or at least Reeder was beckoning to him pre-snap quite a few times to move him. Also he looked to be at fault on Kittle's TD, though I don't know that for sure since I don't know the call. So we may end up with Reeder again and hopefully he doesn't get isolated too badly, but if it's me I sit him and start Jones. Jones snuffs out short passes with good tackling in space, gets in lanes smoother/quicker in zone, and is more decisive to the flats.

2. Put someone in charge of challenges. Lot of folks have mentioned this and I just have to say put someone in that job and if they fuck up fire them. It's important. Never challenge anything unless your guy with that ONE JOB is jumping up and down on the channel screaming to you to throw it.

3. Players lining up offsides. Rams aren't the only team that does it. Refs have created this problem by not calling it when it's there. Guys up front on defense need to show more care in ensuring they're not lined up over the LOS. We don't need to wait until a 5 yard penalty fucks us in the Super Bowl to be aware of that.

4. Run game balance is critical. You would think at this point he knows this. In fact of course he knows this. But he let the Patriots make him quit the run in the last Super Bowl. That 9er game should be all he needs to be reminded how important it is to keep running it at a minimum amount even when it's being stopped. Keep it balanced. And when your run game starts to roll stick with it, but I admit he doesn't have that problem he in fact will dial up runs when he's chunking teams. It's when it's not working early that he tends to abandon it. But hopefully that is something he's over now.

 

[gogoat1]

i guess you missed the touch down pass to kupp on 3rd and 1 from empty in the 4th quarter

I did not miss it. The play was inside the 20. Changes things.
That was not a play I am critical of. The problem is when he chucks it 40 yards downfield when we need one foot. What are the odds of the 40 yard chuck ? What are the odds of a off tackle run getting one foot ?
He has these weird plays, all or nothing when we will need several more first downs to score in most cases.
Inside the 20 you can always kick a field goal unless you need the TD.
Now 2nd one one, chuck it. I like the GSOT style "deep in".

 

[TexasRam]

Glad McVay is finally getting everyone's approval after a 61-29 record and our second trip to the Super Bowl in the last 4 years

haha yea. Good one.

And honestly, a week ago everyone was thinking the Chiefs were the Dynasty with their 4 Championships in 4 years. Now it's Chiefs 2 Super Bowl appearances and Rams 2 Super Bowl appearances in 4 years. Likely with the same number of Lombardys. And guess what KC, your defense sucks and Mahomes struggles keep popping up since his Oline has been degraded a bit.

 

[TexasRam]

And stop throwing bombs fifty yards downfield from inside our own 10 yard line, especially in the 4th quarter of the NFC championship with the game on the line against a team with a great pass rush. Too many things can go wrong. If Tartt catches that ball we hand a free possession back to the Niners near midfield and maybe lose the game.

Still, imo McVay has grown since the Rams' November slump. McVay remembered Sony Michel and rebalanced the run and the passing game. He has been more patient, consistent and strategic in his play calling, and this has in turn has made Stafford more effective.

McVay and Stafford do so many things well that it seems a bit churlish to call out errors. But imo they can reach an even higher level of offensive football if they cut back on identifiable mistakes and bad habits, both in play calling and execution. Would like to see them get there. That would be a good start toward future championships after this one.

Yea when I saw that long bomb I was thinking what in the actual hell is Mcvay thinking. Your in the 4th quarter of a championship game going deep lol. Maybe they saw something with the pass rush, like the D line of the Niners was getting tired or something. I mean after the Tartt drop they come right back to Odell on a long one. The problem with those deep shots to Jefferson is he cant track a ball and adjust to save his life. So if it's underthrown is going to be uncontested. I often feel Mcvay just gets tired of the long methodical approach vs tough defenses. Rather just try to get behind the defense and take the risk. I mean look at the interception to Odell in OT in the week 18 game.

 

[Kupped]

I guess improvement, and continued improvement.... and showing that he's trying to improve.. and improving enough to get to the Super Bowl isn't enough right now.
Lol
He's 36.

 

[PhillyRam]

As frustrating as it is to watch him toss TOs all over the place I can't honestly recall a game where it really came back to bite.

Am I not remembering right?

He is a young Andy Reid in many ways. Creates a good culture, probably better than Reid in that area, but his gameday clock and TO management suffers at time as i think he tries to be too perfect on some calls... Again very much like Reid.

 

[JYB]

This weekend was really a great testament to just how much McVay has grown. I think it's easy to forget or maybe take for granted just how young he is and how much he can still learn.

I didn't appreciate just how much the defensive scheme was tweaked until I rewatched some of the games and listened to a couple of podcasts. The Rams finally pulled a Patriots and came out with a D that was really opponent-specific. They went big up front.. brought secondary closer.. used Reeder and Jones together at ILB.. and just fucked the 9ers run game up. Totally. It was beautiful. How much of this was solely Morris and how much of it was collaboration, I have no idea.. but that this happened under McVay's watch speaks really well to what they can do, moving forward. McVay made it a goal to learn more about different defenses over the last few years and it looks like his teams are starting to integrate multiple concepts. Awesome.

The offensive game plan was balanced and mature. I've talked a lot about identity, and that offensive game was exactly the identity I'd hoped for. A tough run game that at least maintains the legitimate threat of the run balancing the offense. A mix of really smart pass designs.

Most importantly, maybe, to me... he just looked more mature, serious and in control on the sideline than I think I've ever seen him. He's been that way all through the playoffs.. but he's balancing his really fun, upbeat traits with a slightly more serious and level headed tone. I love it.

He's truly ascending as a coach and it's awesome to see.

Agreed. Now about those challenges...

 

[JYB]

From what I saw on the last challenge his elbow never touched the ground. I wanted more replays but they just showed the one and moved on.

But even so, it appeared his forward progress had been stopped. It was a stupid challenge.

 

[JYB]

i guess you missed the touch down pass to kupp on 3rd and 1 from empty in the 4th quarter

I too despise empty backfield on 3rd and 1. You're TELLING the defense you're going to pass and they don't need to pay any attention to the run. Makes completing a pass that much more difficult. I hope to never see that formation again, but I know that's a pipe dream. Nevertheless, I would love to see a QB draw in that situation (ie, shotgun/empty backfield in 3rd and 1) in the SB. I think it would be very wide open.

 

[Psycho_X]

He was hired when he was 30. 30! He was going to learn and grow no matter what because no one who is 30 years old doesn't need to get wiser. The disrespect the guy has gotten over the last few years from his own teams fans has been laughable at times.

He was 30 and is still in his mid 30s.
- And he hasn't had a losing record.
- He has already brought us the most playoff wins of any Rams coach ever (sorry to those of you pining for the days of never playing in a super bowl under John Robinson).
- Has been to two Super Bowls already.
- All while having massive staff turnover every year as other teams recognize his ability to hire talented coaches.
- The ability him and his staff have every year to coach up low round picks, UDFAs, and players brought in mid season or later and make them contributors and often times leaders of this team.

The guy is rare and while he does do things on occasion that goes against my thinking in the moment you can't look at the whole picture and not feel lucky to have him. I hope he doesn't get burned out and is our coach for the next 20+ years because we will be top dogs in the NFL during that time.

 

[Mojo Ram]

He was hired when he was 30. 30! He was going to learn and grow no matter what because no one who is 30 years old doesn't need to get wiser. The disrespect the guy has gotten over the last few years from his own teams fans has been laughable at times.

He was 30 and is still in his mid 30s.
- And he hasn't had a losing record.
- He has already brought us the most playoff wins of any Rams coach ever (sorry to those of you pining for the days of never playing in a super bowl under John Robinson).
- Has been to two Super Bowls already.
- All while having massive staff turnover every year as other teams recognize his ability to hire talented coaches.
- The ability him and his staff have every year to coach up low round picks, UDFAs, and players brought in mid season or later and make them contributors and often times leaders of this team.

The guy is rare and while he does do things on occasion that goes against my thinking in the moment you can't look at the whole picture and not feel lucky to have him. I hope he doesn't get burned out and is our coach for the next 20+ years because we will be top dogs in the NFL during that time.

I've been a fan since LA to St Lou and back to LA. This is the long timers who don't care about the moves. There are many who fall into that category here on ROD.

I suppose that the other segments of the fanbase...

1. Original LA stint (No St Lou) + return to LA
2. St Lou + return to LA
3. Return to LA only

...its possible that these fans have a different perspective on what's been good, what's been bad, great and awful in relative terms over the years and decades. Maybe that has nothing to do with it. Idk.

I've done some criticizing of McV myself, but at this point i'm just nitpicking.

Rams consecutive Winning seasons regardless of HC:
1948-1955 (8)
1966-1971(6)
1973-1980(8)
1983-1986(4)
2017-2021(5)

Even the GSOT teams didn't exceed 3 straight winning seasons. I became a fan in '79 so this is easily the best, most successful, sustainable run of my lifetime. That's a fact.

Kroenke, Demoff, Snead & McVay are responsible for that.
I honestly don't expect a bottoming out any time soon either. IMO the 9-7 season in '19 was what we're going to see in terms of drop off, "bad" seasons from here on out(17 games now). Maybe an 8-9. I just see a real program here now. No more cellar dweller type of fall outs. 2, 3, 4, 5 win seasons just aren't going to happen.

Honestly i'm not cheerleading here fellas. This is a winning program. These pushing all the chips forward, All in, dream team narratives are LAZY takes from the media. I could spell out why for the 50th time but nah.

We do need this championship though, lol. It's been too long... just like this post.

 

[Ellard80]

I too despise empty backfield on 3rd and 1. You're TELLING the defense you're going to pass and they don't need to pay any attention to the run. Makes completing a pass that much more difficult. I hope to never see that formation again, but I know that's a pipe dream. Nevertheless, I would love to see a QB draw in that situation (ie, shotgun/empty backfield in 3rd and 1) in the SB. I think it would be very wide

The 49ners were playing a base -run defense... with an interior line that dominates our interior - you try to run the ball up the gut or play action... running is likely going to fail... play action might work. We have run play action in that situation against them 3 times this year - once for a TD and the other two times were failures.

The concept of empty in that situation is that their likely in heavy run personnel and you get an edge in match ups by having the field spread.

3rd and 1 late in the 3rd we did exactly what you said - 3 plays in a "guess if we are passing or running" formation

no gain run
failed play action
failed QB sneak...

we had 5 3rd and one situations in the game...

Running the ball worked 1/4 times... those are not good odds.
Passing the ball from a non empty formation worked once - just straight dropped back worked - play action failed (0/1)
Empty formation was (1/1) for a Touchdown.

The 49ners had two chances to run the ball on short yardage late in the 3rd... both failed (2 and 1.. 3rd and 2)

So while you may "despise" what you wish in the game the trends and results speak for themselves.

 

[Merlin]

Empty backfield isn't the problem the issue was the protections when we were in empty backfield. Given protections in empty the defense is the one feeling the pressure with that short yardage.

That said I think it's stupid to go empty in the shadow of your own goal. Unless you really trust your pass pro matchups. But since that period where they had so many issues with the empty sets they have improved greatly in pass protections. If they protect as well as they have thus far in the playoffs for one more game we have a great chance to hoist that Lombardi.

 

[JYB]

The 49ners were playing a base -run defense... with an interior line that dominates our interior - you try to run the ball up the gut or play action... running is likely going to fail... play action might work. We have run play action in that situation against them 3 times this year - once for a TD and the other two times were failures.

The concept of empty in that situation is that their likely in heavy run personnel and you get an edge in match ups by having the field spread.

3rd and 1 late in the 3rd we did exactly what you said - 3 plays in a "guess if we are passing or running" formation

no gain run
failed play action
failed QB sneak...

we had 5 3rd and one situations in the game...

Running the ball worked 1/4 times... those are not good odds.
Passing the ball from a non empty formation worked once - just straight dropped back worked - play action failed (0/1)
Empty formation was (1/1) for a Touchdown.

The 49ners had two chances to run the ball on short yardage late in the 3rd... both failed (2 and 1.. 3rd and 2)

So while you may "despise" what you wish in the game the trends and results speak for themselves.

Good point about the Niners strong run D. But I don't believe this small sample size in this one game is sufficient evidence that it's a good strategy. First, 3rd and 1 (or less) is different than 3rd and 2 or 3rd and 3. This game aside, I suspect there's a far higher probability of converting third and 1 by run than by pass. And if there's a back in the formation, a defense has to respect run first in that situation. But if it's empty backfield, it can focus solely on defending the pass -- a much easier proposition.

Harkening back to the week 18 game against the Niners, that 3rd and very short empty backfield set, IMO, resulted in a gift 3 points to the Niners and gave them momentum. I have zero problem passing in third and short. I just don't think it's a good strategy to tell the defense that that's what you're going to do.