Mevis gone

[Mojo Ram]

So since the game I was thinking the fumble turned out to be a bad thing. It brought out all of McVays faults. If they go and score or kick a field goal McVay would have kicked into high gear all the way to a TD and then hopefully a 2point conversion. It's pretty fucked up.

Exactly. McVay did mention game flow in the context that it is one thing that determines his decision making, not just analytics and all that. He struggles in this area.

Read the room so to speak. Shutting down the offense at the 40 yrd line in that situation with the game flow moving as it was, and handing it to your notoriously struggling ST’s. Prime time, home game, Stafford moving the ball at will, time left not a factor….

He didn’t read the room at all.

 

[DzRams]

I'm not calling McVay a disease but he is definitely a symptom of a problem.
Seriously. How many games did we lose last year because of special teams? Including a playoff game that kept us out of the super bowl.
And what did he do to fix that problem?
Picked up one backup linebacker who did pretty good on special teams?
I don't care if they have to get a specialist in to stop returns.
One to work with the kickers.
And one to teach returns.
There's no monetary limit they can put on how many coaches you bring in.
We are 2-3 which means we're three games behind San Francisco.
I don't know what kind of blinking red light has to go off for McVay to wake up but I'm still not sure it has.

How can a HC be a symptom? The ST unit reflects his and Snead's investment. Of the five metrics to measure ST investment, we ranked 31 out of 32.

The HC is the source. Ground Zero.

This doesn't mean I think he should be fired. It just means that until he gets serious about the problem, not much will change. All of the other problems, including the ST coach, are symptoms.

My hope that the blinking red light has gone off is that his language about the problem is changing, he started making changes this offseason, and he didn't opt Monday for the easy scapegoat by canning the ST coordinator (not that I mind he be fired). This tells me that he understands that he's the problem. It starts and ends with him.

But there's only so much he can change mid-season with subpar personnel and not much practice time devoted to ST in training camp. The issue is bigger than specialist/coaching. It's players and lack of execution.

 

[Soul Surfer]

How can a HC be a symptom?

I'm trying to be gentle and I'm very grateful what Sean McVay has brought us compared to where we were with Fisher.
But yeah. Not good.

 

[Soul Surfer]

The HC is the source. Ground Zero.

True fact.
And unfortunately, I haven't heard him take complete responsibility for it which would be a great start.

 

[XXXIVwin]

Yeah, good post but I don’t really equate the example given and the situation Monday night in OT.

You’re in the Super Bowl and losing in the 4th qtr, that demands aggression.

McVay’s conservative nature rears its head regularly in a few situations these days.
1) Late in the first half with possession of the ball
2) When he gets up by 2 or 3 scores(at any point during the gm)
3) In the second half with a lead
4) On 3rd and longs in non-critical drives we get the give up hand off
5) And now, apparently when tied and driving (successfully) for the winning TD on a tired defense.

He’s only aggressive when losing on the scoreboard

Great list. Items 1-5 are well described and sadly accurate.

Overall I'd say I agree with you "about 85%" regarding McVay's excess of caution.

A few thoughts:
1. I think that "occasionally" McVay was aggressive (even with a lead) in 2025. My source? "Trust me bro." Seriously though... I can't remember exactly when or which games, but I remember thinking a few times last year, "McVay is going for it here and being more aggressive than normal." Rams went for it 30 times on 4th down in 2025 (11th most in the league) and converted 20 times for a 67% success rate.

2. Just to underline it, McVay explicitly said he was "sick" about his decision on 3rd down at the end of the Bills game. So at least he acknowledged right away that he was overly conservative.

3. Let's face it and at least acknowledge the other side of the coin-- yes, McVay is conservative, but he wins a lot of games that way. We as fans might forget or overlook all the times that McVay wins games with his analytics driven conservative approach. Unnecessarily close wins? Maybe. But a lot of wins nonetheless.

4. Just to contradict myself... i think McVay shows a nice mix of aggression and conservatism with his play calling in general. Rams consistently have an elite offense every damn year. So yeah, SITUATIONALLY he has too many conservative tendencies. But overall as an OC he's got a nice mix.

5. Agreed that McVay isn't always great at "reading the room" as you say and letting his instincts flow. On the other hand, McVay is an absolute meticulous freak. His photographic memory is just otherworldly. So maybe it's just the price we pay for his strengths. He can get overly cerebral and not ride that crest of feeling enough.

6. To add one to your list: on Monday night McVay wasn't aggressive enough with his timeouts at the end of the first half. Bills were playing footsie and being conservative and bleeding clock. I was screaming at the TV for McVay to take a risk and call a timeout. Instead, after we make the stop we only had 20 measly seconds for a counterstrike. BAD clock management that was excessively conservative.

Bottom line... I mostly agree with you in that I wish sometimes McVay were more aggressive. Just throwing out a few observations to provide some nuance.

 

[Rmfnlt]

But there's only so much he can change mid-season

Yeah.... I fear our goose may be cooked. Hope not.

 

[TheTackle]

Like many, having watched the NFL for years, I have never seen a team have so many kicks blocked and that’s including all of the other teams playing over the same stretch. It’s almost bizarre how bad we are!

The reason they stacked the line is because they saw something we were doing. Otherwise, why are teams not doing that every week? Why have teams not been doing that every year? My wager is it’s us…

 

[TheTackle]

What needs to be fixed on FG's is the blocking. Put the 8 tallest, heaviest guys on the line.

It’s terrible because unlike an offensive play that takes 3 to 7 seconds to develop, they only need to hold the line for a fraction!

 

[DzRams]

I'm trying to be gentle and I'm very grateful what Sean McVay has brought us compared to where we were with Fisher.
But yeah. Not good.

I get it. Fans often don't do nuance well. It's possible to consider McVay a top coach while still recognizing that he has glaring weaknesses. So, I understand the gentleness. No one really wants to criticize the HC because people always assume that means we want him fired. It's an all or nothing world.

 

[Ram Ts]

Like many, having watched the NFL for years, I have never seen a team have so many kicks blocked and that’s including all of the other teams playing over the same stretch. It’s almost bizarre how bad we are!

The reason they stacked the line is because they saw something we were doing. Otherwise, why are teams not doing that every week? Why have teams not been doing that every year? My wager is it’s us…

Isn’t that the exact same thing Philly did at end of the game last year to block Karty’s game winning attempt? Loaded up to the right side.

 

[DzRams]

Great list. Items 1-5 are well described and sadly accurate.

Overall I'd say I agree with you "about 85%" regarding McVay's excess of caution.

A few thoughts:
1. I think that "occasionally" McVay was aggressive (even with a lead) in 2025. My source? "Trust me bro." Seriously though... I can't remember exactly when or which games, but I remember thinking a few times last year, "McVay is going for it here and being more aggressive than normal." Rams went for it 30 times on 4th down in 2025 (11th most in the league) and converted 20 times for a 67% success rate.

2. Just to underline it, McVay explicitly said he was "sick" about his decision on 3rd down at the end of the Bills game. So at least he acknowledged right away that he was overly conservative.

3. Let's face it and at least acknowledge the other side of the coin-- yes, McVay is conservative, but he wins a lot of games that way. We as fans might forget or overlook all the times that McVay wins games with his analytics driven conservative approach. Unnecessarily close wins? Maybe. But a lot of wins nonetheless.

4. Just to contradict myself... i think McVay shows a nice mix of aggression and conservatism with his play calling in general. Rams consistently have an elite offense every damn year. So yeah, SITUATIONALLY he has too many conservative tendencies. But overall as an OC he's got a nice mix.

5. Agreed that McVay isn't always great at "reading the room" as you say and letting his instincts flow. On the other hand, McVay is an absolute meticulous freak. His photographic memory is just otherworldly. So maybe it's just the price we pay for his strengths. He can get overly cerebral and not ride that crest of feeling enough.

6. To add one to your list: on Monday night McVay wasn't aggressive enough with his timeouts at the end of the first half. Bills were playing footsie and being conservative and bleeding clock. I was screaming at the TV for McVay to take a risk and call a timeout. Instead, after we make the stop we only had 20 measly seconds for a counterstrike. BAD clock management that was excessively conservative.

Bottom line... I mostly agree with you in that I wish sometimes McVay were more aggressive. Just throwing out a few observations to provide some nuance.

On #1, add me as a source because I recall the same thing. He definitely and intentionally upped his aggression.

But...it always felt a little off to me. When Dan Campbell is aggressive, it feels natural because you can tell that it's coming from his base nature. Many times, when McVay is aggressive, it feels forced. The numbers are telling him that he should be more aggressive, but those decisions are going against his base instincts.

Of course, we'll never know if this is true. I 100% agree with #5. "Overly cerebral" is a good description.

I largely agree with #3, too. We win a lot of close games. I feel that many of them are unnecessarily close wins. Where I differ from you is that I feel that he's conservative by nature and has used analytics to increase aggression.

 

[AZRams]

View: https://x.com/fitzandwhit/status/2110759171545338019?s=20

 

[AZRams]

On Grupe...If Rolf Benirschke can do it, why not Grupe?

Rolf has half a foot on him but if you recall, he played at an insanely low weight at one point due to illness and still performed well.

 

[jacktheripper85]

Everyone wants to blame the special teams coaching, and while some of that criticism is justified, at some point the players need to be held accountable. Special teams is about aggression, toughness, and a willingness to hit and tackle. You either have that mentality or you don’t.


Look at McCullough on the opening kickoff against Buffalo. He had a clear shot at the returner, but instead of stepping up and delivering a hit, he veered left and made some half-assed attempt at an arm tackle. That’s not coaching. That’s a player unwilling to make contact.


You can change special teams coaches all you want, but if you don’t have players willing to hit, tackle, and play with some physicality, the results aren’t going to change.

 

[Karate61]

Everyone wants to blame the special teams coaching, and while some of that criticism is justified, at some point the players need to be held accountable.

You can change special teams coaches all you want, but if you don’t have players willing to hit, tackle, and play with some physicality, the results aren’t going to change.

You'd think the special teams coaches would hold the players accountable to be willing to hit, tackle, and play with some physicality. Like, let that weak ass player know, if it keeps up, they'll be off the team!

 

[Stl2La]

View: https://x.com/fitzandwhit/status/2110759171545338019/video/1?s=46


Fk Mevis if his ass was laughing and joking after the game like nothing happened

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Isn’t that the exact same thing Philly did at end of the game last year to block Karty’s game winning attempt? Loaded up to the right side.

Looked like the same play.

 

[jacktheripper85]

You'd think the special teams coaches would hold the players accountable to be willing to hit, tackle, and play with some physicality. Like, let that weak ass player know, if it keeps up, they'll be off the team!

I’ve always felt McVay puts a tremendous emphasis on intelligent, high-character players, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But this is still football, and sometimes, particularly on defense and special teams, you need a few badasses out there.


I’m not talking about bringing in guys with character issues. I’m talking about tough, physical, aggressive players who love contact, set the tone, and refuse to be pushed around. Guys who bring an edge and an attitude that rubs off on everyone around them.


You can have all the smart, disciplined players you want, but sometimes you need a few guys who bring some nastiness to the field. I think that’s an element this Rams team is missing, especially on special teams.

 

[thirteen28]

Everyone wants to blame the special teams coaching, and while some of that criticism is justified, at some point the players need to be held accountable. Special teams is about aggression, toughness, and a willingness to hit and tackle. You either have that mentality or you don’t.

You're point is taken, and I think there is room for improvement in this area (quite a bit, actually). But on the other hand, Mevis and Xavier have both been held accountable in the last few weeks.

I wish we had someone like Benny Skow still around. He didn't offer a ton as a WR, but damn he was nasty AF on special teams.

 

[thirteen28]

How can a HC be a symptom? The ST unit reflects his and Snead's investment. Of the five metrics to measure ST investment, we ranked 31 out of 32.

The HC is the source. Ground Zero.

This doesn't mean I think he should be fired. It just means that until he gets serious about the problem, not much will change. All of the other problems, including the ST coach, are symptoms.

My hope that the blinking red light has gone off is that his language about the problem is changing, he started making changes this offseason, and he didn't opt Monday for the easy scapegoat by canning the ST coordinator (not that I mind he be fired). This tells me that he understands that he's the problem. It starts and ends with him.

But there's only so much he can change mid-season with subpar personnel and not much practice time devoted to ST in training camp. The issue is bigger than specialist/coaching. It's players and lack of execution.

I think McVay has a tendency to think he can skimp in some areas or just do window dressing while hoping it doesn't affect his larger priorities. In the two seasons following the 2018 Super Bowl run, he skimped on OL and that helped accelerate Goff's decline here. After having to go get a new QB (and another following season where OL and their grandmother was decimated by injuries), he finally got the message that OL is really, really, really important.

He tried the same thing this offseason regarding special teams. No effort to get another returner or at least bring in competition for that role. No effort to bring in another kicker for competition for Mevis. A very questionable hire for special teams coach after firing last year's coach.

Just like he did with OL before, he's half-assing his approach to special teams, and it's biting him and the whole team in the ass.