“The NFL is a copycat league.”Sorry Josh Reynolds Jersey , Bill Gates, but if there was a dollar given to each football fan every time a pundit used this phrase there would be a tight running for Richest Person in the World amongst millions of people.However, while the saying is a massive cliché, it can still carry a very valid argument and this Los Angeles Rams team is attempting to prove it right once again.During the offseason, the Rams invested heavily into the free agent market, bolstering their roster on both sides of the ball in key positions.After trading for Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, they continued to bolster the secondary by signing Sam Shields and Nickell Robey-Coleman to one and three-year deals, respectively. Then the franchise realized the best way to continue the success of their All-Pro running back and third-year quarterback would be to bring back the veteran signal caller on the offensive line, inking center John Sullivan to a two-year contract.“While we’re bulking up our line,” Rams brass must have thought to themselves, “we may as well do the same on the defensive side.”Cue March 26, when the Rams brought Ndamukong Suh in on a one-year, $14 million deal to take some relief off AP Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.Throw in some more extensions given to top-talent before even hitting the market– namely Todd Gurley’s four-year, $60 million; Donald’s six-year, $135 million; and recently traded for Brandin Cooks‘ five-year http://www.theramslockerroom.com/authentic-samson-ebukam-jersey , $81 million signings– and Los Angeles was ready to attack the season in pursuit of its second Super Bowl title, all through the unconventional wisdom that building a team through free agency actually works.“You have to root for the Rams if you’re a player,” Colin Cowherd said Wednesday on <em>The Herd</em>. “Teams will move off you. Be ready to move off them.”Cowherd stated the Philadelphia Eagles‘ success last season on the way to a Super Bowl LII title created a template for how to construct a team through free agency and the Rams followed it to a T.The Eagles found a steal in wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, dishing the former Pro Bowler a one-year, $9.5 million that ended up paying multitudes in dividends after Jeffery was a key target for Nick Foles on their way to lifting the Lombardi. Speaking of Foles, the Birds brought in the veteran on a two-year deal during the offseason to back up Carson Wentz. A Super Bowl MVP title later… yeah, seems like a good signing.While Cowherd argues the New England Patriots dominance since the turn of the century has been bad for players because of their success as a “system team” that uses depth and low-paid players to thrive, this new age of big-time signings succeeding is changing the economics of the game.“Philadelphia last year went big into free agency and beat the system,” Cowherd proclaimed. “If the Rams win, March and April free agency will be absolutely huge. You have to root for your own economics.”It wasn’t only in the offseason the Rams struck gold in free agency.Los Angeles heads into the NFC Championship against the New Orleans Saints riding the coattails of one of the most dominate rushing attacks in the game– consisting of a player that wasn’t even on the team in mid-December.C.J. Anderson, who was cut by two different teams this season alone, was signed on December 18 to fill in while Gurley rehabilitated a knee problem.In the three games he’s played in for the Rams, Anderson has rushed for 422 yards and four touchdowns on a staggering 6.39 yds/rush average. For reference, the NFL’s leader in yds/rush over the entire 2018 season was Green Bay Packers Aaron Jones, who averaged 5.5 yds. In 2017 Womens C.J. Anderson Jersey , when Todd Gurley finished second in MVP voting, he only averaged 4.68.Safe to say the third time is the charm for Anderson.So while Philadelphia may have provided the springboard for LA to follow as a “copycat,” this team is far from a roster that’s been constructed before.Jon Gruden conference call 9/5: Raiders’ coach weighs in on Rams, McVay, and the Khalil Mack trade Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden – Conference Call – September 5, 2018(On what he saw in Rams Head Coach Sean McVay when he first met him, what his first impressions where and what gave him the idea that McVay could be what he became)“I’ve known (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) since he was a kid, a little kid. Our families, the McVay and Gruden families go way back to 1970. If you know the McVay family they’re all the same. They’re all class, they’re all football people, they’re all hardworking. As good a brand of people as you’ll ever find. John McVay, who was the GM of the (San Francisco) 49ers, helped my dad at Dayton and with the 49ers and it was my time to help a McVay and I wanted to give Sean an opportunity to be a coach. Wouldn’t you know, two or three years later he’s at the top of the profession. It’s a real tribute to him.” (On if he could tell McVay was cut from a different cloth early on in his career and if he could tell that he was willing to do whatever it took to get to where he got)“Yeah, we had a lot of good young coaches. My brother (Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden) and (49ers Head Coach) Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay were all quality control coaches. You could see right away his ability to take something from the chalkboard Dominique Easley Jersey , from the meeting room, out on the grass and coach it. He earned the respect of players right away because they knew he could help him. He’s just enthusiastic, knowledgeable, hardworking and driven to be great. He’s a chip off the old block. He’s a chip off his grandfather that’s for sure.” (On what his first thought was when he saw the Raiders would be playing McVay and the Rams in Week 1)“I really didn’t think about Sean McVay that much. I thought that’s a hell of an opportunity for us to play a team everybody’s talking about. We’ll see exactly where we are in a great stage – Monday Night Football. I look forward to competing with everybody with the NFL, I’m sure he feels the same.” (On if he ever sees himself in McVay’s mannerisms)“Yeah, I do. I think he’s better than (comedian and impressionist) Frank Caliendo really.” (On what he thinks the similarities and differences between him and McVay are)“Well, I think the similarities are, number one, we have a healthy respect for the profession. We’ve been able to see this business at close range. Our fathers have been hired and fired and hired and fired again, and they’ve seen great success. We both have a healthy respect for the profession of coaching. It’s being mentally tough, it’s teaching, it’s continuing to work and try to find ways to help your team, it’s being a competitor. Going out there and competing for 60 minutes. Being a people person – you’re trying to hire great coaches, you’re trying to acquire and develop players. It’s a relentless yearly, daily grind. I think those are the similarities and that we’re both offensive guys http://www.theramslockerroom.com/authentic-ndamukong-suh-jersey , both call plays, both enjoy being around a quarterback. So, we could talk about the similarities probably endlessly. He’s just a lot younger and better looking.” (On if too much is made about how much the game or people have changed since he last coached in the NFL)“I don’t know what people make of it, really. All I do is I just come in here and work at it every day. It’s very similar to when I was here the last time. We have not had a lot of success. We’ve got to turn this team around. We’ve got to get this team built back to where we can compete for championships. It was that way in 1998 and it’s that way 20 years later. We’ve got to put this train back on the track and we’ve tried to assemble the right guys to get us started. We’ll see where we are on Monday night.” (On if QB Jared Goff is on track with where he expected to him to be when he hosted Goff on his Gruden’s QB Camp show)“I think he’s done great. One thing that always impressed me about (QB Jared) Goff was how tough he was. If you go back and watch him play as a true freshman at Cal, you would be surprised that he’s even still playing football. He got destroyed. He got beat up repeatedly. I don’t even know if they won a game. He helped bring that team to respectability and put them in a bowl game with great toughness. He has an incredible pocket presence. I mean this kid can stand in there and make great throws under serious pressure. I think he’s earned the respect of his teammates and they’ve surrounded him with quite a system of football and some really talented players.” (On how important it is to have great synergy between a head coach and quarterback)“Well, it’s got to be there between whoever is calling the plays and the quarterback. You see that with (Sean) McVay because he’s one of the coaches in the NFL that’s actually calling plays. You don’t see it because you don’t see the coordinator on all these other teams that’s got that synergy with the quarterback. I think that’s what’s unique about the Rams. It’s something that I think a lot of the great teams that I’ve been around have had. They’ve had the play-caller and the quarterback on the field working the situations, the adjustments together. Not two people are doing it much better than Sean McVay and (QB) Jared Goff.” (On how that relationship is developing between himself and Raiders QB Derek Carr)”Well, I think it’s going pretty good. I try not to over-coach him. He is a blast to be around. He is extremely talented. He’s a great worker. We’re trying to give him a system that he can sink his teeth into and take control of when the game starts. He’s got tremendous leadership and style. But, I think we’re making progress. I can’t speak for him, but I sure enjoy coming in here and working with him every day.” (On what he thinks the kind of impact it’ll have on QB Jared Goff going into the season with no preseason snaps)”Well, I hope it has a terrible impact on him, honestly (laughs). I hope it does not have a positive impact on him, kiddingly. I just think it’s uncommon. But, when you look at our quarterback, I think he only played 11 snaps in four games. Strange schedule – I mean the second preseason game the Rams and Raiders are playing and we play each other in the first game of the year. So John Franklin-Myers Jersey , you wouldn’t be smart to put your starters out there and show the other team your hand signals, let them feel your snap count and some of the subtleties that might help them in 10 days or two weeks. But, I can’t say that I remember watching a team in a first game where none of the players played and they really didn’t play many of their players on defense either. So, it’ll be interesting, for sure, what tricks they have up their sleeves and how ready everybody is because nobody in the NFL is really playing like they used to.” (On if he had to talk to his players to trust the process of the trade with DE Khalil Mack)”No, I had talked to our players. I did tell our players after we made the trade. My door is always open, if they want to come up and talk about why we did what we did. Everything we do here is for the betterment of the Oakland Raiders. Last time I was here, we traded (Former Raiders DT) Chester McGlockton, our best defensive lineman to the Kansas City Chiefs for crying out loud – people thought we were nuts. Then, the next year, I think we let go (Former Raiders QB) Jeff George who won an AFC passing title and we brought in (Former Raiders QB) Rich Gannon, a backup and people thought we were nuts. We did what we felt was in the best interest of the Raiders and putting this team back together and getting it ready for the future. No decisions are ever easy – that was a tough one. We didn’t want to lose him, but we had our reasons and here we are today.”