Fische » The Los Angeles Rams insist there is no panic internally

THOUSAND OAKS http://www.bearsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-riley-ridley-jersey , Calif. (AP) — after losing consecutive games for the first time under coach Sean McVay.Convincing those outside the team that everything is fine is another matter.“My wife got vitamins out in the morning when we lose two games,” cornerback Aqib Talib said Wednesday. “You got to just get back to the basics and play football.”Quarterback Jared Goff, who has been receiving the most scrutiny for his performances in losses at Chicago and against Philadelphia, was emphasizing that message. Goff’s production has dropped off during the past three games, throwing one touchdown pass and six interceptions in that span after posting a 26-to-6 touchdown to interception ratio over the first 11 games of the season.Goff had another interception against the Eagles changed to a lost fumble by league statisticians, not that it offered any solace.“Doesn’t matter,” Goff said. “It was a turnover.”Cutting down on giveaways is the priority for the Rams (11-3) before facing Arizona on the road Sunday. Everything else brought up as the reason for the downturn in his productivity, from wide receiver Cooper Kupp’s season-ending knee injury to struggles in pass protection, does not matter nearly as much as playing turnover-free football, Goff said.“I think each game is independent of each other,” Goff said. “I don’t think there’s one singular thing. You look at the last game, just made a couple of dumb plays that hurt us and can’t do that.”Goff said there is an extra determination to avoid similar mistakes against the Cardinals (3-11), which McVay said reflects the team’s commitment to getting back on track over the final two weeks of the regular season. Though he always stresses process over outcome Jonah Williams Jersey , McVay admitted there is a different level of intensity this week because of the two losses.“I’d like to think that regardless of what the outcome is, it’s the same, but human nature doesn’t really allow that,” McVay said. “I know there’s an increased sense of urgency from us as coaches. I sense that from the players.”McVay said nothing changes in terms of the Rams’ preparations going into their final road game of the regular season, which includes the hand gestures and verbal cues the offense uses at the line of scrimmage to make adjustments, even after Arizona claimed wide receiver and return specialist Pharoh Cooper on Wednesday after the Rams placed him on waivers.Passing game coordinator Shane Waldron said there was no need to change signals despite the understanding Cooper would be giving his new team detailed information on audibles and other aspects of the offense.“I mean, there are some teams in the league where those signals or some of those things have been the same since 15 years moving forward,” Waldron said. “Some of those things, I think, are overvalued. You got to go out there and play football and execute at a high level. If you start worrying too much about hand signals or codewords you’re not allowing yourself to play fast, so we still feel we can operate as we have been operating.”As confident as Waldron is in the mechanics of operating the offense, McVay remains just as enthused about Goff, provided his quarterback uses the handful of plays that have hindered the Rams the past two weeks to improve.“Unfortunately Elgton Jenkins Jersey , in him, we keep talking about two plays, and that’s the nature of the quarterback position,” McVay said. “But I would say this, we’ll continue to learn from it.”Goff has no doubts he and the Rams offense will reap the benefits, no vitamins necessary.“Again, we’re talking about things going bad when two weeks ago it was a much different conversation,” Goff said. “We need to fix some things and get some things ironed out and we will. I expect to do that this week.”NOTES: RB Todd Gurley (knee) and Justin Davis (shoulder) did not participate in the team’s walkthrough Wednesday. McVay expects Gurley will be available to play Sunday. … McVay has not decided whether WR JoJo Natson or DB Blake Countess will return kicks in place of Cooper. ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons may be a step ahead of the New Orleans Saints in the search for balance on offense.That’s not enough to make Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel rest easy. The Saints have Drew Brees, and the veteran quarterback’s guile is enough to make any defensive coach lose sleep.Brees and the Saints (1-1) will try to establish more offensive balance when they visit the Falcons (1-2) on Sunday in an early test of NFC South rivals attempting to build off Week 2 wins.The Saints have relied heavily on the one-two punch of wide receiver Michael Thomas, whose 28 catches set an NFL record for the first two games of a season, and running back Alvin Kamara, who has 15 catches. New Orleans is last in the league with only 52.5 yards rushing per game.“That’s definitely something that we recognize and we always talk about balance,” Brees said Wednesday. “We want balance.”Coach Sean Payton said he saw signs of an improved running attack in the second half of last week’s 21-18 win over Cleveland .“Certainly Alvin and Mike are guys we want to get the ball to http://www.packerscheapshoponline.com/cheap-authentic-jace-sternberger-jersey , and yet we recognize the importance of having that balance,” Payton said.Brees, 39, has completed 81.3 percent of his passes (65 of 80) for 682 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.“He’s a maestro now,” said Manuel, who defended against Brees as a defensive back with six teams before coaching against the quarterback. “He was a magician before when he was dinking and dunking and hitting guys. Now he’s a maestro.”Matt Ryan and the Falcons found more balance in last week’s 31-24 win over Carolina . Despite playing without running back Devonta Freeman, who could also miss Sunday’s game with a sore right knee, the Falcons ran for 170 yards. Fill-in starter Tevin Coleman ran for 107 yards.Here are some things to know from the Saints-Falcons game:PASS PATTERN: Payton is confident Brees will spread the ball around more and said he wants to see third-round draft choice Tre’Quan Smith more involved. “We have to find ways to get him more touches,” Payton said. “He is handling our installation. He knows what we are doing game-plan wise and I think he is ready to prove that.”APOLOGY: Falcons safety Damontae Kazee apologized this week after his ejection for last week’s hit to the helmet of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Kazee was making only his second career start.“I’ve got to learn to try to keep my head up when I tackle,” Kazee said. “It’s a new rule now and I’ve got to adjust to that.”Kazee said he must learn “when to take my shot and when not to take my shot. He was sliding and I tried to lean over to the left and hit him with my facemask. I apologize for the hit.”RECEPTIONS FOR ALL: Ryan completed passes to eight receivers last week instead of relying heavily on Julio Jones. In one possession late in the first half, he completed six straight passes to five receivers, none to Jones. “I feel like as a quarterback you’re just trying to make the right decision, go to the right spot with the football and trust whoever is in that spot to make those plays Dexter Williams Jersey ,” Ryan said Wednesday. “That’s just how it shook out in that game.”NO RUNNING: The Saints’ running game ranked fifth during their run to the NFC South title last season. They rank 31st this year with only 2.9 yards per rush. The absence of Mark Ingram, who has served half of his four-game suspension for use of a banned substance, gets some of the blame.Payton has said there is no evidence of a “crisis.” New Orleans has played from behind for much of its first two games, causing Payton to call more passing plays. Payton said a couple Kamara runs during fourth-quarter scoring drives last week showed potential for success on the ground.INJURY WOES: The Falcons already have been hit hard by injuries , especially on defense where safety Keanu Neal and linebacker Deion Jones are on injured reserve. Coach Dan Quinn hopes Jones, who must miss at least eight games, can return this season. Defensive ends Takk McKinley and Derrick Shelby missed practice this week with groin injuries. Jones also missed time with a calf injury.Also, left guard Andy Levitre was placed on IR with a triceps injury. Wes Schweitzer, who filled in for Levitre last week, is expected to start.