The Los Angeles Rams practice odd plays that may never come up in real games, and it paid off in their latest win
- Running back Todd Gurley elected to give himself up rather than run for the end zone to help secure the Los Angeles Rams' win over the Green Bay Packers.
- It wasn't just a heads up play from Gurley himself, but an entire team effort that helped him make the right call.
- According to ProFootballTalk's Peter King, the Rams practice rare and unlikely scenarios as a regular part of their game plan, and in training camp, head coach Sean McVay had developed the "Rolex Play."
The Los Angeles Rams continued their undefeated start to the season on Sunday, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 29-27, in a thrilling game that proved to be the Rams' toughest test yet.
The Rams sealed the game in the final minute when running back Todd Gurley elected to give himself up rather than run for the end zone.
Gurley's decision to go down swung millions for bettors and fantasy football players, but it was undeniably the correct move - with the Packers out of timeouts, the Rams needed just one more snap to kneel the ball and finish the game.
Gurley was praised for making the correct play for his team - as an MVP candidate, it might be tough to turn down an easy score that seemed wide open for the taking, but by going to the ground inbounds, Gurley won the game.
As it turns out, it wasn't just a heads up play from Gurley himself, but an entire team effort that helped him make the right call.
According to ProFootballTalk's Peter King, the Rams practice specific scenarios as a regular part of their game plan, and in training camp, head coach Sean McVay had developed the "Rolex Play," to be used when time was more important than points.
The play came about as a part of the team's effort to ensure they always get the small stuff right. Per King:
"Each week, the special teams coach, John Fassel (the ultra-slim man's nickname is "Bones"), gathers plays from around the league-either good ideas on weird plays, or plays teams messed up by simply not using common sense. 'Bones has a meeting every week where we compile situations, try to educate ourselves as coaches and our players on, If this happens, how do we handle it? Rolex was one of those. In Rolex, if we got a first down there, that was one of those get-down-in-bounds situations. As long as we hang onto the ball, they can't score. But we score, then they get the ball back.'"
On Sunday, that exact scenario came up - had Gurley scored, the Packers could have gotten the ball back, and if the Rams missed their extra point attempt, would have had a chance to tie the game.
Time was more important than points, and for the Rams, that meant "Rolex." King continues:
"In the huddle, on third-and-10 with 65 seconds to play, multiple guys said one of three things: 'Rolex,' 'Get down,' and 'Don't score.' That, as guard Rodger Saffold told me, is a group of players who understand what's required there, all thinking in unison. Again: It's not stunningly smart. It's just sensible, and shows the how unified and well-drilled the team is."
There's a chance that Gurley would have known to go without the helpful reminder from his teammates, but the fact that the Rams never let that become a risk by having every player on the field locked into the situation is one of the things that sets them apart from the rest of the NFL right now.
Players make preventable, game-changing mistakes all the time. The Steelers gave away the ball to the Browns on a safety punt because they didn't know the rules, and just seconds earlier in the Rams-Packers game Ty Montgomery ran the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff, only to fumble away Aaron Rodgers' chance to drive the field, inadvertently setting up Gurley for his game-sealing play.
McVay's attention to detail has been well-documented - he seems to have near-perfect recall of every play he's ever called in his coaching career - but on Sunday it showed in an impressive way. The Rams had prepared for a scenario that they might have never come across all season, and because of that preparation, when the situation did arise, everyone was on the same page, ready to execute.
It's planning like that that gets a team off to an 8-0 start, and possibly, all the way to the Super Bowl.