Are Sean McVay’s Rams, Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings | College News
Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell labored intently on the Rams employees for 2 seasons, molding an offensive scheme that helped the 2021 staff make a playoff run that it capped with a victory in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
Now McVay and O’Connell, the third-year coach of the Minnesota Vikings, will face one another within the postseason for the primary time when the Rams play host to an NFC wild-card sport on Monday night time at SoFi Stadium.
Does McVay see a lot of the Rams’ offense in O’Connell’s Vikings?
“What I see is he’s done an excellent job of morphing it to his players,” McVay stated during a video convention with reporters. “I think that sometimes can get a little bit overemphasized.
“There’s a foundational philosophy that I think people carry offensively, but he’s put his own spin on it. … There’s some similarities of things that we’ve done together and then there’s been some things that they’ve kind of added that fits their group.”
Later during the convention, McVay again tried to downplay the similarities and the McVay-O’Connell story line.
“There’s a familiarity with just kind of the rhythm and routines of how we all operate,” he stated, “but there’s an evolution and adaptations that occur season to season and week to week.
“It’s a fun narrative, but I think it gets a little overemphasized.”
The Rams are coming off a 30-25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, a sport through which McVay rested quarterback Matthew Stafford and different starters. The Rams completed 10-7, with an Oct. 24 victory over the Vikings at SoFi Stadium among the many key performances of their second-half turnaround.
The Vikings (14-3) ended the common season with a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions. The defeat dropped the Vikings from a potential No. 1 seed with a bye to the No. 5 seed and a matchup in opposition to the Rams.
The Vikings function quarterback Sam Darnold and receiver Justin Jefferson, each of whom made the Pro Bowl Games, receiver Jordan Addison, operating backs Aaron Jones and Cam Akers and tight finish T.J. Hockenson.
Rams coach Sean McVay, left, talks with offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell had been working aspect by aspect in 2021.
(Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
A protection coordinated by Brian Flores contains Pro Bowl linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Murphy, linebacker Blake Cashman and security Harrison Smith.
In Week 8, Stafford handed for 4 touchdowns in a 30-20 Thursday night time victory over the Vikings. The Rams had been 4 days faraway from defeating the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Vikings had been 4 days faraway from a 31-29 loss to the Lions, who’ve left opponents beat up all through the season.
Both groups can have a full week of preparation for a Monday night time matchup that has some longtime Rams followers agonizingly harking to the late Sixties and ‘70s, when the Vikings beat the Rams in the divisional round or NFC championship game four times before the Rams broke through in 1978.
After their loss to the Rams this season, the Vikings won nine games in a row, a streak that ended against the Lions on Sunday night at Ford Field in Detroit.
“Sometimes you get hit in the mouth a little bit and you’ve obtained to reply,” O’Connell instructed reporters afterward, “and I know we’ve built this thing in a way where we’re going to do that.”
O’Connell additionally referenced the Rams’ 2021 playoff run, which started after they misplaced to the San Francisco 49ers in time beyond regulation within the season finale.
“Was a part of a team in 2021 where we lost our last game and found a way to do what we needed to do to find a way to have a chance to play for a world championship,” he stated.
On Monday, on the Vikings coaching headquarters, O’Connell seemed forward.
“Part of the type of building and the type of world we’ve created here is, I think, we’re all looking inward,” he instructed Minnesota reporters, “and let’s try to pull some things out of it to apply for what’s going to be clearly another home-field advantage for the Rams, an atmosphere, the moment, and let’s just focus on doing our jobs.”
Sounded an terrible lot like McVay.
Etc.
Rams proper sort out Rob Havenstein, who was sidelined the final two video games as a result of of a shoulder harm, is anticipated to play in opposition to the Vikings, McVay stated. … The Rams’ 2025 opponents are set. The Rams will play home video games in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. They will play highway video games in opposition to the Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens.
Stay up to date with the newest information in faculty basketball! Our web site is your go-to source for cutting-edge faculty basketball information, sport highlights, participant stats, and insights into upcoming matchups. We present every day updates to make sure you have entry to the freshest info on staff rankings, sport outcomes, harm studies, and main bulletins.
Explore how these trends are shaping the long run of the game! Visit us commonly for essentially the most participating and informative faculty basketball content material by clicking right here. Our fastidiously curated articles will keep you knowledgeable on match brackets, convention championships, teaching adjustments, and historic moments on the court docket.
