Each weekday, theRams.com will be taking a look around the internet for the top Rams headlines of the day. Here's a look at what's out there for Friday, January 4th about your Los Angeles Rams.
DONALD UNANIMOUS ALL-PRO
The 2018 AP All-Pro teams were announced on Friday morning and defensive tackle Aaron Donald is the only unanimous first-team selection by the nationwide panel of 50 media members who cover the NFL.
Running back Todd Gurley joins Donald as the only two Rams selected as first-team All-Pros in 2018. Both Donald and Gurley were selected as All-Pros last season by the panel. Donald is now a four-time All-Pro, it is Gurley's second time receiving the honor.
NFL Network's James Palmer shared the list of first-team All-Pros on Friday on Twitter.
Additionally, linebacker Cory Littleton and punter Johnny Hekker were both named as second-team All-Pros on special teams.
GOFF RANKED
ESPN.com's Seth Walder and Hank Gargiulo ranked all 12 playoff quarterbacks, listing their strengths, weaknesses, and Next Gen Stat to know entering the postseason. Rams quarterback Jared Goff is ranked No. 8 on the list. Walder an Gargiulo give Goff props on his deep ball, but say the former Cal Bear could be better against pressure.
Here's what the pair has to say about the third-year quarterback:
2018 Total QBR: 65.4 (10th in NFL) Career playoff QBR: 36.9
Biggest strength: The deep ball. He doesn't go long as frequently as, say, Mahomes, but Goff is the third-most efficient quarterback on passes over 20 yards. He's also relatively aggressive, ranking fifth in air yards to the sticks (+0.1) among all QBs.
Biggest weakness: Handling pressure. Goff drops all the way to 26th in QBR on plays when he is pressured and has a particularly wide disparity between plays when he isn't under duress as compared with those when he is. Lucky for him, he has the best pass-blocking line in football in front of him.
NFL Next Gen Stat to know: A whopping 74.9 percent of Goff's passes are thrown more than 2.5 seconds after the snap. That's the highest rate in the league by far and well above the league average of 55 percent.
To view all playoff quarterbacks ranked, click here ($).
PUTTING ON PRESSURE
Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith wrote about the Rams' ability to get to the quarterback on Thursday. Smith says L.A.'s impressive pressure on QBs might be opening up the run for opposing offenses.
"According to Chris Trapasso of the Buffalo News, using data compiled by Pro Football Focus, the Rams got pressure on**40.1 percent of the dropbacks**they faced, the best of any defense in the NFL in the 2018 season.
As is often the case, however, when a team succeeds at rushing the passer, it can struggle to stop the run. Draw plays often work well against a team that's focused on getting to the quarterback, and in the case of the Rams they allowed opposing runners to gain an average of 5.1 yards per carry. That's dead last in the NFL."
To view the entire article, click here.
