The voice of the LA Rams previews their season, Saturday's preseason opener, Importance of offensive line continuity + more
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to a Sean O'Connell show from the Murdoch
Hunting Studio of ESPN seven hundred and ninety two one AFM.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
JN o'condall Show on ESPN seven hundred and ninety T
one FM.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Welcome to a Wednesday edition and welcome in j B.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Long, friend of the program, RAMS Insider, College Football Insider,
everything sort of insider, JB.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Welcome back. How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Yeah, that's a nice way of saying knows a little
bit about a lot and nothing about most everything could
to be with you. See happy football season?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, football season is upon us with the NFL preseason underway.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
And look when when you go to the JB.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Long Twitter account and you find the very top thing
is about Britain Covey. It's like, you know, how this
Utah market is going to be jumping on the RAMS
bandwagon with already the local connection with Puka and now
Britain Covey. It's a repost of an article about Britain
in the OC Register. But the more salient question, I
(01:10):
think for youth fans and for me is how's he
fitting in?
Speaker 4 (01:14):
That's your paper, right, THEOC paper? Yes, that one that's
a belief, But yeah, I was good to see that
in the Orange County Register. I believe, and I enjoyed
that story. And I feel like I've been reading about
Britain Covey for over a decade now I'm sure you
feel the same way. I know how great he was
as a prep player back in his day, and it
was fun to see the angle of him, you know,
(01:35):
kind of thinking of Puka as the younger brother, right,
the younger brother who would come in and raise his
parents' fridge and hang out with his older brothers. So
I think, you know, it was, you know, playing varsity
at the time while Puka was a younger player. And
now here they are in the same training camp roster,
obviously at different stages of their career and with different
(01:55):
levels of expectation and visibility. Puka is one of the
elite receivers in the National Football League. Now Covey is
fighting for a roster spot on the Rams initial fifty
three man. But I really enjoyed his time in Salt
Lake City at Utah. As you know, was a great
Pac twelve player, great kick return or great receiver, battle
(02:16):
through all sorts of health things along the way, and
so to see him now as a Super Bowl champion
and someone who's made it in the league is really enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
When you watch guys like Britain Covey and this is
the story over and over and over where guys, I mean,
he was an elite college player, and then you know,
it's hard to find footing in the NFL even if
you were an elite college player. Sometimes because of physical deficiencies,
you're not big enough, fast enough, strong enough. Sometimes the
(02:45):
game moves a little too fast forward. You can't mentally
process it. But how good are you at? You know,
when you go to a RAMS camp and you're starting
to watch these RAMS preseason games and you know, interviewing
the players and maybe talking to the coaches, knowing like
who's gonna stick and who's not? Like, how good are
you at recognizing the difference between a great college player
(03:07):
and a true NFL player.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
That's a fascinating question, And I think it kind of
depends on the year. The last couple of years, the
Rams have had all sorts of roster spots available. They
drafted twenty four players across their previous two classes, and
so there was ample opportunity throughout the offseason program and
during summer camp to see not only how they stacked
their depth chart, but who was capable of impacting winning
(03:31):
on offense and defense. This year, they drafted only six players,
which tied a franchise low because I don't think there's
many helmets available on game days. So they're looking for
different things this year. Right, They're looking for players who
can contribute as a core special teams player. They're looking
for someone who can challenge for the kick return role
like Kuby, who can also fill a wide receiver six role.
(03:54):
So I think that is more difficult to assess because
you might see them go through one on one or
you might see them in a red zone period and
maybe they impress, maybe they don't. But in terms of
what will actually dictate whether they're part of the initial
roster come September has nothing to do with that. It's
how are they as the personal protector for the punt team,
or how can they jam a gunner or how can
(04:16):
they go cover a kickoff?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (04:17):
All those things are probably going to determine the fate
of the players that we'll see starting this weekend at
Sofi Stadium. Those battling for the fifty to fifty first,
fifty second, fifty third spot on the team to begin.
And the good news is, as you know, practice squad
rosters have expanded, there's more mobility from the practice squad
to the game day roster. So even if you don't
(04:37):
make it through the first round of cuts or make
it through the waiver wide of the practice squad, there's
no doubt that players from that practice squad are going
to impact outcomes this fall. On Sunday?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
What inspired your offensive line continuity study?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Like that?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
You I love the tweet quick lettle study that no
one asks for on the McVeigh. Why did you decide
to dive into offensive line continuity and where you know
losing guys in that position group in particular has affected
the team's performance and ability to be a factor of
the postseason.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah, I think what inspired it was It was either
that or helping my kids with their summer school worksheets.
So I decided to duck into my office and study
some football. No, it's it's because I've been close enough
to it to know that that's what's determined wins and
losses in the eight seasons that we've had. Sean McVay
in Los Angeles, I think broader perspective, it is often
(05:34):
what correlates with winning across the National Football League, and
it's poignant right now for the Rams because as of
this moment, there would be starting left tackle Alert Jackson,
who they extended this offseason, had a recurrence of blood clots,
so he has not played yet at full speed this summer.
And then the other thing is they brought in a
center in Coleman Shelton, who was great with him for
(05:55):
a few years, went to Chicago and came back this year,
and they're really trusting his commune nication and his cohesiveness
to elevate their offensive line play. But that can only
be true if you get those guys' time on task,
and right now they've not had that luxury at least
at all five spots now This summer is as you know,
a lot about cross training who can play multiple positions,
(06:19):
who could be your backup center or interior or swing
tackle on game day. So there's still time to settle
into roles and I think the Rams will get there.
They're in a much better position in twenty twenty five
than they were twelve months ago, and hopefully that bodes
well the other reason I did it is because normally,
when things go wrong up front, you lose. And last
year the Rams won double digit games, won the division,
(06:42):
won a playoff game despite some injuries up front, and
I think that was a difference of real difference for
the Sean McVay Rams, JB.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Longer.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I guess here on the Sean O'Connell show, that offensive
line continuity going to be so massive for college football teams,
obviously for Utah especially.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Is there anyone in the NFL and.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
By extension of college football, has real depth on the
offensive line where it doesn't affect you when you lose someone.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
That's a great question. I would say largely no. I
think you see that in the NFL, mostly in the
veteran free agent market. Like if you lose a starting
caliber piece in season, there is no triple A right
for professional football, it's really difficult to find someone who
can replace that piece. And I also think that offensive
(07:34):
line play tends to be like a weakest link unit,
meaning you can only be as good as your weakest
member up front, that group of five, you know. I
think certainly it's easier in college because you can recruit
multiple waves of five star offensive linemen. But the other
thing that's a real limiting force, and you know this too,
is the amount of practice time that you have, the
(07:56):
amount of days that you do go full speed, that
you do have pads on, pass protection, run removal. It's
different when you're blocking a guy in shorts and a
jersey compared to when you're got helmets and pads on.
So I think offensive line play continues to be really
difficult to project from college to the pros. And then
there's just an utter lack of guys who are three
(08:16):
hundred pounds and can run four six forties and you know,
broad jump and do all the other things that are
required of stopping a premier position in the national football
to get any level of football, like an edge rusher,
a defensive end, any defensive lineman in general.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Well, one of the fun things I've seen in this
Rams offseason was Jared Verse working out with Aaron Donald.
When you talk about the premier position, a pass rusher
at you know air Donald is legendary, right and for
a young guy to go work out with him, and
he was somewhat facetious what he said I had to call.
I was telling Donald's wife to call the police. I
(08:53):
don't know if YOUT fans or if people here in
Salt Lake City have seen that little piece that they did,
but man, it's two things, right. It's Jared Versus showing
the human side and his sense of humor and all
that kind of stuff, and also from a football sense,
like a young guy who's very very promising, leaning on
(09:14):
one of the all time greats and saying, how can
I get better? Come work out with me and let
me show you what it really takes to be one
of the all time best. If you're a Rams fan,
you've got to love that.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I think that was all really well articulated by you, Shawn.
There's so much in that story one. We're just thankful
for the offseason storylines and content right, especially from players
of their stature. We love the fact that Aaron Donald
has stayed in the Greater Los Angeles area to raise
his family despite having really deep ties to Pittsburgh and
he always will. The fact that he opens his home.
(09:47):
They didn't meet at the gym, He opens his home
where he still works out like the maniac he's always
been to the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, something
that he did back in his first season as a Ram.
It all stitches the path and the present together in
a really nice way, especially because there is no replacing
Aaron Donald. Truthfully, Jared Verse and he don't even play
(10:08):
the same position that they do play on the same
side of the ball for the same team. Right. But
in the first year after Aaron Donald retired, and I
believe he's the greatest player in franchise history, the Rams
got better as a pass rush, which I always have
to stop and check to see if that was really true,
and it was, and let it kind of just saturate
(10:28):
because it's a real testament to what Verse and others did.
And so I think he deserves to have Rookie of
the Year despite only having four and a half sacks.
And I think his understanding that they're still so far
to go was all emblematic of that anecdote you just told.
You know, they used to say about Aaron Donald that
even after he got paid, even after he won Defensive
(10:49):
Player of the Year, he always worked as if he
was a college free agent and that he was on
a one year deal. And the more that Jared or
any of us, quite frankly, can maintain that growth mindset
the better his future will be.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
The nostalgic part, and nostalage is probably not even the
right word. But like the person in me who wants
to see more of Aaron Donald reads something or see
something like that and goes, well, if he's still working
out this hard, he's still willing to put that portion
of the job in.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
What why is he retired?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Get this guy back on the field if he's still
able to outpace, you know, one of the rising young
stars of the league in the weight room, A lot
of the veterans will tell you like, that's when they
know it's time to hang it up because they don't
want to put in all that work away from the facility.
They don't want to do the whole off season thing
that it requires to get ready for another season. Aaron
(11:45):
Donald seems like he's still doing that.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Is there?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I don't know, like a small glimmer even in the
RAMS organization that they could convince him to come back
out of retirement. He's still young enough and clearly he's
still the physical specimen that he always was.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Well, there's more of a glim this afternoon then there
was this time yesterday. And I'll tell you why it's
because some of your audiences. They have seen on social
media that while Micah Parsons is holding in in ox
Nart at Cowboys camp, the Rans are there for joint
practices yesterday and someone suggested that, you know, Micah would
look good in horns, and Aaron replied to a social
media post if he does that, I may have to
(12:20):
give them football shape again. So you know, I'm going
to try and reverse jinks this O see by saying
there's no chance that'll ever happen, because I would love
to see it. But I know how good Aaron's life
is right now, and I don't think that door is
open anymore, as evidenced by the fact that we're going
to have a babble day for Aaron at a game
at Sofi Stadium this season. But hey, just because you
(12:40):
have a bobblehead doesn't mean you can't keep going. Seoan
mcvay's got one, and he's only in year nine.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I think, and I'm projecting, but I think you're probably
like me where your affiliation and your association with the
old Pac twelve probably colors some of your perception of
guys trying to make rosters and fit in and see
what they can can be in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
And I know.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I'm reading some of the stuff coming out of RAMS
Camp that Nate Landman, the former Colorado linebacker who at
one point was like the only good defensive player on
the Colorado football team, is killing it. It is making
an impact in RAMS camp. And I don't know if
you're like me and you hold over some of your
fandom from covering a guy like that in the PAC twelve,
(13:25):
but kind of fun to see his name popping up
in the NFL context as an impact player potentially Totally.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
I'm the same way when I saw that signing, I thought, wait,
the Hammer. He's coming over from Atlanta. That's great, Like
I remember his days in Boulder, and you're right, he
was super impressive there. And it's a great example of
how thin the line is between being out of work
in professional football or wearing the green dot and starting
for a team with championship aspirations. I mean, you want
to talk about one team's trash as another team's treasure.
(13:56):
Atlanta is trying to improve defensively, I mean they're trying
to go for that sound, and they didn't have use
for someone who was basically signed for a veteran minimum deal.
The Rams are very much trying to get better at
off ball linebacker, and despite drafting someone into that position,
Landon walked right in and said, you know what, I'm
going to take over this comm system. I'm going to
run this defense. I'm going to note like the back
(14:17):
of my hand. I'm going to go jars and football
loose and win this job. And there's been no doubt
through training camp that he's going to be the starting
middle linebacker for this team.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Wow, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
We've seen that with guys that in one organization it's
just kind of mediocre or worse, and then they land
in the right spot and suddenly they are what we
thought they could be at the NFL level. Cool to
see that for a former Colorado Buffalo. You said green Dot,
and it sparked this thing in my head. We were
talking the other day after the Hall of Fame ceremonies
(14:51):
early this week about you know how there's the statistical
impact somebody has and that that's what puts you know,
that's what you put on the resume, the All Pro,
the Pro Bowls, that kind of stuff for why they
belong in the Hall of fame, and then there's the
other context of who they were on their team, what
they meant, you know, year over year to the NFL
(15:13):
and especially to their teams. How should we wait things
that are beyond statistical importance? But I was using, you know,
Eric Weddle as a jumping off point. He came out
of retirement to help those Rams win a Super Bowl
and went from being off the couch to having the
green dot for a very important run in the postseason.
(15:37):
And he's kind of a borderline NFL Hall of Fame guy,
Pro Football Hall of Fame guy from a statistical standpoint,
But any one of us who knows him is like, yeah,
but he was a captain on every team he was
a member of, and he was important in the NFL
for that reason as well. How much should we wait
things like that that go beyond just statistical production when
(15:57):
we're considering Hall of famers.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
When you're making the hair on the back of my
next stand up, thinking of Wettell coming in and tearing
his peck while winning a Super Bowl. It was one
of the greatest sports stories that I've ever been a
part of. And he was actually out at training camp
the other day and still looks at like he could
go out and do it right now if he needed to.
But I like the point you make there that, especially
in a twenty two man chaos sport like football, it's
(16:23):
difficult to statistically quantify how good someone is at all
of those positions. Entities like next Gen stats in Pro
Football Focus, I think have advanced our ability to assess
those roles and responsibilities, but it's imperfect. It's super subjective.
And what I do like about the NFL the Pro
Football Hall of Fames process is it's an open discussion.
(16:47):
You need someone or multiple someones to advocate for you,
to explain why you're more than tackles and interceptions and
forced fumbles. And I think Weddell is certainly one of
those players. And I think he's also the type of
person for whom plenty of people will line up to
give testimonials that bolster his case.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
JB.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Long for another couple of minutes here on the Sean
O'Connell show, talking NFL football with the Rams in their preseason,
crossing it over bridging it over to the college football world.
I mean, look Utah in the Big Twelve, BYU in
the Big Twelve, the Big Twelve conference right now is
an absolute mess of projection and prognostication. Nobody knows if
(17:32):
four teams are going to be competing for the championship,
if it's going to be eight teams with a real case.
Where Utah fits into that is a mystery, I guess
for everyone. For someone who is you know, who's been
around the college football game and sees the changes that
have happened, whoever emerges from an ACC, whoever emerges from
(17:55):
a Big twelve, how important is it this year before
a college football play off format change comes that those
teams that are the non SEC and the non Big
Ten champs are actually compelling playoff competitors, are actually maybe
advancing past that first round and part of a national
(18:17):
championship conversation instead of just oh, well you made it
because there's automatic qualifiers.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
I mean, you and I could do a whole show
on this, and maybe we should someday. But I think
last year was a great starting point, right in terms
of having a playoff approve it on the field bracket
and seeing that it wasn't just the SEC that rose
to the top. Right I went to Notre Dame. You
can imagine what that was like to live through last
winter after basically forty years of understanding that the Funding
(18:45):
and Irish were not going to play in that space anymore, right,
that the game had passed them by. As for Utah, like,
it's impressive and hilarious and understandable to me that the
Big Twelve decided, why are we even doing the preseason
poll based on what happened last year?
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Right?
Speaker 4 (18:59):
I think that checks out. I think that makes a
ton of sense after what Kenny Dillingham and his Asu
Sun Devils were able to do. But because they were
able to do that, shouldn't that be a bullet point
on the Big Twelve resume moving forward? And shouldn't other
conferences benefit from that evidence, albeit in the small sample size.
And I'll just land on Utah here. And I'm not
(19:21):
fully versed in the twenty twenty five utes, though I
will be paying close attention this fall. But I did
see their new quarterback Damn Pier last year at New Mexico.
I did one of his games middle of the season
when he looked like the Mountain West offensive player of
the year. And I think his coaching staff knew even
back in October that he was playing himself into a
high major offer in the transfer portal, and I love
(19:44):
it for him and I love it for Kyle Winningham
that they found each other and the offensive coordinator who
made him so successful, and that they're bringing that to
Rice Ecles.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Who is the must watch player or players? Thank for
you in college football this year? I mean, the bandwidth
can only be spread so thin, and you can focus
sometimes on the NFL. You focus sometimes on one particular conference,
all these competitors that look like they're going to be
in the National Championship hunt. I thought we were spoiled
a little bit when we were in the Pac twelve
(20:18):
where there were some guys like a Christian McCaffrey. You
had to watch him. Travis Hunter last year for Colorado.
I had to watch that guy playing on both sides
of the ball. Is there anyone like that in college
football this year?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
For you?
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I like the Hoover kid at TCU, his story of
turning down Tennessee and opting to stay with Sunny Dyke.
I think he's got huge upside in that offense, in
that system. I'd say the same about Levitt at Arizona State.
I think those are two Heisman caliber quarterbacks in a
conference that you're going to see head this year. So
those are two of the names that jump immediately to mind.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
JAB.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
I could pick your brain all day, Unfortunately we have
a commercial clocks that we have to get in. So well,
thank you so much for joining us on the show today,
and every time you do, I look forward to our
next conversation.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Already, Lucky for me, you got to go because that's
all that my sign APPS has had left. So we
exhausted today's supply and looking forward to doing it again.
Have a good rest of your show in your day,
and can't wait for the RAMS to be coming your
way this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
That's JB. Long.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
You can hear him on RAMS broadcasts, you can hear
him around the college football world, and every once in
a while you can hear him right here on the
Sean O'Connell Show. Big thanks to JB for stopping Buy
all right, plenty left to get to. We'll dive one
more time into our poll, into the text line updates,
(21:44):
and we'll put some context on another offensive number that
Utah is hoping to hit.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
This year's Sean O'Connell's Show.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
ESPN seven ninety two NFM, proud part of Utah's ESPN
radio network,
You're listening to a Sean O'Connell show from the Murdoch
Hunting Studio of ESPN seven hundred and ninety two one AFM.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
JN o'condall Show on ESPN seven hundred and ninety T
one FM.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Welcome to a Wednesday edition and welcome in j B.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Long, friend of the program, RAMS Insider, College Football Insider,
everything sort of insider, JB.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Welcome back. How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Yeah, that's a nice way of saying knows a little
bit about a lot and nothing about most everything could
to be with you. See happy football season?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, football season is upon us with the NFL preseason underway.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
And look when when you go to the JB.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Long Twitter account and you find the very top thing
is about Britain Covey. It's like, you know, how this
Utah market is going to be jumping on the RAMS
bandwagon with already the local connection with Puka and now
Britain Covey. It's a repost of an article about Britain
in the OC Register. But the more salient question, I
(01:10):
think for youth fans and for me is how's he
fitting in?
Speaker 4 (01:14):
That's your paper, right, THEOC paper? Yes, that one that's
a belief, But yeah, I was good to see that
in the Orange County Register. I believe, and I enjoyed
that story. And I feel like I've been reading about
Britain Covey for over a decade now I'm sure you
feel the same way. I know how great he was
as a prep player back in his day, and it
was fun to see the angle of him, you know,
(01:35):
kind of thinking of Puka as the younger brother, right,
the younger brother who would come in and raise his
parents' fridge and hang out with his older brothers. So
I think, you know, it was, you know, playing varsity
at the time while Puka was a younger player. And
now here they are in the same training camp roster,
obviously at different stages of their career and with different
(01:55):
levels of expectation and visibility. Puka is one of the
elite receivers in the National Football League. Now Covey is
fighting for a roster spot on the Rams initial fifty
three man. But I really enjoyed his time in Salt
Lake City at Utah. As you know, was a great
Pac twelve player, great kick return or great receiver, battle
(02:16):
through all sorts of health things along the way, and
so to see him now as a Super Bowl champion
and someone who's made it in the league is really enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
When you watch guys like Britain Covey and this is
the story over and over and over where guys, I mean,
he was an elite college player, and then you know,
it's hard to find footing in the NFL even if
you were an elite college player. Sometimes because of physical deficiencies,
you're not big enough, fast enough, strong enough. Sometimes the
(02:45):
game moves a little too fast forward. You can't mentally
process it. But how good are you at? You know,
when you go to a RAMS camp and you're starting
to watch these RAMS preseason games and you know, interviewing
the players and maybe talking to the coaches, knowing like
who's gonna stick and who's not? Like, how good are
you at recognizing the difference between a great college player
(03:07):
and a true NFL player.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
That's a fascinating question, And I think it kind of
depends on the year. The last couple of years, the
Rams have had all sorts of roster spots available. They
drafted twenty four players across their previous two classes, and
so there was ample opportunity throughout the offseason program and
during summer camp to see not only how they stacked
their depth chart, but who was capable of impacting winning
(03:31):
on offense and defense. This year, they drafted only six players,
which tied a franchise low because I don't think there's
many helmets available on game days. So they're looking for
different things this year. Right, They're looking for players who
can contribute as a core special teams player. They're looking
for someone who can challenge for the kick return role
like Kuby, who can also fill a wide receiver six role.
(03:54):
So I think that is more difficult to assess because
you might see them go through one on one or
you might see them in a red zone period and
maybe they impress, maybe they don't. But in terms of
what will actually dictate whether they're part of the initial
roster come September has nothing to do with that. It's
how are they as the personal protector for the punt team,
or how can they jam a gunner or how can
(04:16):
they go cover a kickoff?
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (04:17):
All those things are probably going to determine the fate
of the players that we'll see starting this weekend at
Sofi Stadium. Those battling for the fifty to fifty first,
fifty second, fifty third spot on the team to begin.
And the good news is, as you know, practice squad
rosters have expanded, there's more mobility from the practice squad
to the game day roster. So even if you don't
(04:37):
make it through the first round of cuts or make
it through the waiver wide of the practice squad, there's
no doubt that players from that practice squad are going
to impact outcomes this fall. On Sunday?
Speaker 2 (04:50):
What inspired your offensive line continuity study?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Like that?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
You I love the tweet quick lettle study that no
one asks for on the McVeigh. Why did you decide
to dive into offensive line continuity and where you know
losing guys in that position group in particular has affected
the team's performance and ability to be a factor of
the postseason.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah, I think what inspired it was It was either
that or helping my kids with their summer school worksheets.
So I decided to duck into my office and study
some football. No, it's it's because I've been close enough
to it to know that that's what's determined wins and
losses in the eight seasons that we've had. Sean McVay
in Los Angeles, I think broader perspective, it is often
(05:34):
what correlates with winning across the National Football League, and
it's poignant right now for the Rams because as of
this moment, there would be starting left tackle Alert Jackson,
who they extended this offseason, had a recurrence of blood clots,
so he has not played yet at full speed this summer.
And then the other thing is they brought in a
center in Coleman Shelton, who was great with him for
(05:55):
a few years, went to Chicago and came back this year,
and they're really trusting his commune nication and his cohesiveness
to elevate their offensive line play. But that can only
be true if you get those guys' time on task,
and right now they've not had that luxury at least
at all five spots now This summer is as you know,
a lot about cross training who can play multiple positions,
(06:19):
who could be your backup center or interior or swing
tackle on game day. So there's still time to settle
into roles and I think the Rams will get there.
They're in a much better position in twenty twenty five
than they were twelve months ago, and hopefully that bodes
well the other reason I did it is because normally,
when things go wrong up front, you lose. And last
year the Rams won double digit games, won the division,
(06:42):
won a playoff game despite some injuries up front, and
I think that was a difference of real difference for
the Sean McVay Rams, JB.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Longer.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I guess here on the Sean O'Connell show, that offensive
line continuity going to be so massive for college football teams,
obviously for Utah especially.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Is there anyone in the NFL and.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
By extension of college football, has real depth on the
offensive line where it doesn't affect you when you lose someone.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
That's a great question. I would say largely no. I
think you see that in the NFL, mostly in the
veteran free agent market. Like if you lose a starting
caliber piece in season, there is no triple A right
for professional football, it's really difficult to find someone who
can replace that piece. And I also think that offensive
(07:34):
line play tends to be like a weakest link unit,
meaning you can only be as good as your weakest
member up front, that group of five, you know. I
think certainly it's easier in college because you can recruit
multiple waves of five star offensive linemen. But the other
thing that's a real limiting force, and you know this too,
is the amount of practice time that you have, the
(07:56):
amount of days that you do go full speed, that
you do have pads on, pass protection, run removal. It's
different when you're blocking a guy in shorts and a
jersey compared to when you're got helmets and pads on.
So I think offensive line play continues to be really
difficult to project from college to the pros. And then
there's just an utter lack of guys who are three
(08:16):
hundred pounds and can run four six forties and you know,
broad jump and do all the other things that are
required of stopping a premier position in the national football
to get any level of football, like an edge rusher,
a defensive end, any defensive lineman in general.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Well, one of the fun things I've seen in this
Rams offseason was Jared Verse working out with Aaron Donald.
When you talk about the premier position, a pass rusher
at you know air Donald is legendary, right and for
a young guy to go work out with him, and
he was somewhat facetious what he said I had to call.
I was telling Donald's wife to call the police. I
(08:53):
don't know if YOUT fans or if people here in
Salt Lake City have seen that little piece that they did,
but man, it's two things, right. It's Jared Versus showing
the human side and his sense of humor and all
that kind of stuff, and also from a football sense,
like a young guy who's very very promising, leaning on
(09:14):
one of the all time greats and saying, how can
I get better? Come work out with me and let
me show you what it really takes to be one
of the all time best. If you're a Rams fan,
you've got to love that.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I think that was all really well articulated by you, Shawn.
There's so much in that story one. We're just thankful
for the offseason storylines and content right, especially from players
of their stature. We love the fact that Aaron Donald
has stayed in the Greater Los Angeles area to raise
his family despite having really deep ties to Pittsburgh and
he always will. The fact that he opens his home.
(09:47):
They didn't meet at the gym, He opens his home
where he still works out like the maniac he's always
been to the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, something
that he did back in his first season as a Ram.
It all stitches the path and the present together in
a really nice way, especially because there is no replacing
Aaron Donald. Truthfully, Jared Verse and he don't even play
(10:08):
the same position that they do play on the same
side of the ball for the same team. Right. But
in the first year after Aaron Donald retired, and I
believe he's the greatest player in franchise history, the Rams
got better as a pass rush, which I always have
to stop and check to see if that was really true,
and it was, and let it kind of just saturate
(10:28):
because it's a real testament to what Verse and others did.
And so I think he deserves to have Rookie of
the Year despite only having four and a half sacks.
And I think his understanding that they're still so far
to go was all emblematic of that anecdote you just told.
You know, they used to say about Aaron Donald that
even after he got paid, even after he won Defensive
(10:49):
Player of the Year, he always worked as if he
was a college free agent and that he was on
a one year deal. And the more that Jared or
any of us, quite frankly, can maintain that growth mindset
the better his future will be.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
The nostalgic part, and nostalage is probably not even the
right word. But like the person in me who wants
to see more of Aaron Donald reads something or see
something like that and goes, well, if he's still working
out this hard, he's still willing to put that portion
of the job in.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
What why is he retired?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Get this guy back on the field if he's still
able to outpace, you know, one of the rising young
stars of the league in the weight room, A lot
of the veterans will tell you like, that's when they
know it's time to hang it up because they don't
want to put in all that work away from the facility.
They don't want to do the whole off season thing
that it requires to get ready for another season. Aaron
(11:45):
Donald seems like he's still doing that.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Is there?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I don't know, like a small glimmer even in the
RAMS organization that they could convince him to come back
out of retirement. He's still young enough and clearly he's
still the physical specimen that he always was.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
Well, there's more of a glim this afternoon then there
was this time yesterday. And I'll tell you why it's
because some of your audiences. They have seen on social
media that while Micah Parsons is holding in in ox
Nart at Cowboys camp, the Rans are there for joint
practices yesterday and someone suggested that, you know, Micah would
look good in horns, and Aaron replied to a social
media post if he does that, I may have to
(12:20):
give them football shape again. So you know, I'm going
to try and reverse jinks this O see by saying
there's no chance that'll ever happen, because I would love
to see it. But I know how good Aaron's life
is right now, and I don't think that door is
open anymore, as evidenced by the fact that we're going
to have a babble day for Aaron at a game
at Sofi Stadium this season. But hey, just because you
(12:40):
have a bobblehead doesn't mean you can't keep going. Seoan
mcvay's got one, and he's only in year nine.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I think, and I'm projecting, but I think you're probably
like me where your affiliation and your association with the
old Pac twelve probably colors some of your perception of
guys trying to make rosters and fit in and see
what they can can be in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
And I know.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
I'm reading some of the stuff coming out of RAMS
Camp that Nate Landman, the former Colorado linebacker who at
one point was like the only good defensive player on
the Colorado football team, is killing it. It is making
an impact in RAMS camp. And I don't know if
you're like me and you hold over some of your
fandom from covering a guy like that in the PAC twelve,
(13:25):
but kind of fun to see his name popping up
in the NFL context as an impact player potentially Totally.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
I'm the same way when I saw that signing, I thought, wait,
the Hammer. He's coming over from Atlanta. That's great, Like
I remember his days in Boulder, and you're right, he
was super impressive there. And it's a great example of
how thin the line is between being out of work
in professional football or wearing the green dot and starting
for a team with championship aspirations. I mean, you want
to talk about one team's trash as another team's treasure.
(13:56):
Atlanta is trying to improve defensively, I mean they're trying
to go for that sound, and they didn't have use
for someone who was basically signed for a veteran minimum deal.
The Rams are very much trying to get better at
off ball linebacker, and despite drafting someone into that position,
Landon walked right in and said, you know what, I'm
going to take over this comm system. I'm going to
run this defense. I'm going to note like the back
(14:17):
of my hand. I'm going to go jars and football
loose and win this job. And there's been no doubt
through training camp that he's going to be the starting
middle linebacker for this team.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
Wow, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
We've seen that with guys that in one organization it's
just kind of mediocre or worse, and then they land
in the right spot and suddenly they are what we
thought they could be at the NFL level. Cool to
see that for a former Colorado Buffalo. You said green Dot,
and it sparked this thing in my head. We were
talking the other day after the Hall of Fame ceremonies
(14:51):
early this week about you know how there's the statistical
impact somebody has and that that's what puts you know,
that's what you put on the resume, the All Pro,
the Pro Bowls, that kind of stuff for why they
belong in the Hall of fame, and then there's the
other context of who they were on their team, what
they meant, you know, year over year to the NFL
(15:13):
and especially to their teams. How should we wait things
that are beyond statistical importance? But I was using, you know,
Eric Weddle as a jumping off point. He came out
of retirement to help those Rams win a Super Bowl
and went from being off the couch to having the
green dot for a very important run in the postseason.
(15:37):
And he's kind of a borderline NFL Hall of Fame guy,
Pro Football Hall of Fame guy from a statistical standpoint,
But any one of us who knows him is like, yeah,
but he was a captain on every team he was
a member of, and he was important in the NFL
for that reason as well. How much should we wait
things like that that go beyond just statistical production when
(15:57):
we're considering Hall of famers.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
When you're making the hair on the back of my
next stand up, thinking of Wettell coming in and tearing
his peck while winning a Super Bowl. It was one
of the greatest sports stories that I've ever been a
part of. And he was actually out at training camp
the other day and still looks at like he could
go out and do it right now if he needed to.
But I like the point you make there that, especially
in a twenty two man chaos sport like football, it's
(16:23):
difficult to statistically quantify how good someone is at all
of those positions. Entities like next Gen stats in Pro
Football Focus, I think have advanced our ability to assess
those roles and responsibilities, but it's imperfect. It's super subjective.
And what I do like about the NFL the Pro
Football Hall of Fames process is it's an open discussion.
(16:47):
You need someone or multiple someones to advocate for you,
to explain why you're more than tackles and interceptions and
forced fumbles. And I think Weddell is certainly one of
those players. And I think he's also the type of
person for whom plenty of people will line up to
give testimonials that bolster his case.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
JB.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Long for another couple of minutes here on the Sean
O'Connell show, talking NFL football with the Rams in their preseason,
crossing it over bridging it over to the college football world.
I mean, look Utah in the Big Twelve, BYU in
the Big Twelve, the Big Twelve conference right now is
an absolute mess of projection and prognostication. Nobody knows if
(17:32):
four teams are going to be competing for the championship,
if it's going to be eight teams with a real case.
Where Utah fits into that is a mystery, I guess
for everyone. For someone who is you know, who's been
around the college football game and sees the changes that
have happened, whoever emerges from an ACC, whoever emerges from
(17:55):
a Big twelve, how important is it this year before
a college football play off format change comes that those
teams that are the non SEC and the non Big
Ten champs are actually compelling playoff competitors, are actually maybe
advancing past that first round and part of a national
(18:17):
championship conversation instead of just oh, well you made it
because there's automatic qualifiers.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
I mean, you and I could do a whole show
on this, and maybe we should someday. But I think
last year was a great starting point, right in terms
of having a playoff approve it on the field bracket
and seeing that it wasn't just the SEC that rose
to the top. Right I went to Notre Dame. You
can imagine what that was like to live through last
winter after basically forty years of understanding that the Funding
(18:45):
and Irish were not going to play in that space anymore, right,
that the game had passed them by. As for Utah, like,
it's impressive and hilarious and understandable to me that the
Big Twelve decided, why are we even doing the preseason
poll based on what happened last year?
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Right?
Speaker 4 (18:59):
I think that checks out. I think that makes a
ton of sense after what Kenny Dillingham and his Asu
Sun Devils were able to do. But because they were
able to do that, shouldn't that be a bullet point
on the Big Twelve resume moving forward? And shouldn't other
conferences benefit from that evidence, albeit in the small sample size.
And I'll just land on Utah here. And I'm not
(19:21):
fully versed in the twenty twenty five utes, though I
will be paying close attention this fall. But I did
see their new quarterback Damn Pier last year at New Mexico.
I did one of his games middle of the season
when he looked like the Mountain West offensive player of
the year. And I think his coaching staff knew even
back in October that he was playing himself into a
high major offer in the transfer portal, and I love
(19:44):
it for him and I love it for Kyle Winningham
that they found each other and the offensive coordinator who
made him so successful, and that they're bringing that to
Rice Ecles.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Who is the must watch player or players? Thank for
you in college football this year? I mean, the bandwidth
can only be spread so thin, and you can focus
sometimes on the NFL. You focus sometimes on one particular conference,
all these competitors that look like they're going to be
in the National Championship hunt. I thought we were spoiled
a little bit when we were in the Pac twelve
(20:18):
where there were some guys like a Christian McCaffrey. You
had to watch him. Travis Hunter last year for Colorado.
I had to watch that guy playing on both sides
of the ball. Is there anyone like that in college
football this year?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
For you?
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I like the Hoover kid at TCU, his story of
turning down Tennessee and opting to stay with Sunny Dyke.
I think he's got huge upside in that offense, in
that system. I'd say the same about Levitt at Arizona State.
I think those are two Heisman caliber quarterbacks in a
conference that you're going to see head this year. So
those are two of the names that jump immediately to mind.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
JAB.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
I could pick your brain all day, Unfortunately we have
a commercial clocks that we have to get in. So well,
thank you so much for joining us on the show today,
and every time you do, I look forward to our
next conversation.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Already, Lucky for me, you got to go because that's
all that my sign APPS has had left. So we
exhausted today's supply and looking forward to doing it again.
Have a good rest of your show in your day,
and can't wait for the RAMS to be coming your
way this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
That's JB. Long.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
You can hear him on RAMS broadcasts, you can hear
him around the college football world, and every once in
a while you can hear him right here on the
Sean O'Connell Show. Big thanks to JB for stopping Buy
all right, plenty left to get to. We'll dive one
more time into our poll, into the text line updates,
(21:44):
and we'll put some context on another offensive number that
Utah is hoping to hit.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
This year's Sean O'Connell's Show.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
ESPN seven ninety two NFM, proud part of Utah's ESPN
radio network,
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