Kyren Williams’ Explosive Runs, Matchup vs. Buccaneers & Lessons On Offense | Between The Horns

Kyren Williams’ Explosive Runs, Matchup vs. Buccaneers & Lessons On Offense | Between The Horns

[Music] Welcome to Between the Horns presented by your Southern California Toyota dealers. Joining with some good friends now, we got JB Long in the house tomorrow. I’m Cameron Irwin as we get set for yet another matchup this week. It’s Sunday Night Football. You guys ready for some prime time? Oh my god. Yes. Yes. I cannot wait. This is going to be fun. It’s going to be loud again. Uh I like football at night. How about you? I like the lights. No, I get people are upset that last week’s game was not featured, right? Was not a prime time game. But I like the way the schedule has built because I think human nature is to exhale after taking out San Francisco and Santa Clara and then taking control of the division in first place against the Seattle Seahawks. But when you get prime time, you get Sunday Night Football, you get Baker and the Bucks, this is easy to rally for and try and extend this winning streak. You want to win and like you said, if you want to showcase yourself as the best at your position, Sunday Night Football, you could do a lot worse, right? It’s the way you want to go. Well, we were looking at this stretch on the Rams season thinking, man, this is going to be a gauntlet. And this is now the third game in a row where you’re going, this is a tough opponent. I know there they have back-to-back losses. However, they faced the Bills and it was a tough contest. Just until those last and final minutes did the Bills really uh create some separation. So, we’ll look ahead, of course, as we prepare for the Bucks. But let’s look back as the Rams are now sitting at 8-2 at top the NFC West. It’s five straight for LA over a big-time opponent uh in the division in Seattle. The only division right now with three teams with seven plus wins is the NFC West. We’re playing with some of the top teams uh in the league. My question to you though is what do you want to find out about this Rams team as we only have seven games remaining in the regular season? What right now? Uh who’s healthy? I guess that’s the first thing. uh which guys are going to be out there. I I think that that game it it it tested the metal of this football team and it showed that they will find ways to win and they’re not going to break. I mean, that is a great coaching job by all involved when you have a culture like that that no matter what style the game being played, you have a chance to come out on top and you can adjust on the fly. Seattle gave you everything they had. They really did. They hit you with haymaker after haymaker and you stood in there and you came out with a win. Uh it was tough. You defended two points, you had to make it happen. They missed a field goal, but to be in that game to you’ve seen it. We’ve been through so many games together. That was about as physical a game as we’ve ever seen. You know, that’s one that could have gone the other way based on two or three plays and you kept making them over and over and over again. So, this team has a a a deep just intestinal fortitude. Uh can I say that on TV? You just did. They do. I mean, they they will go down and dirty to get any win. that’s necessary. So, uh, to me, there’s nothing left to be learned on that front. It’s just who’s healthy from here on out. Look at the way they celebrated it when you watch that postgame celebration. What did it teach you? Oh, that look, I think that Shawn has given he’s given himself a break. It doesn’t matter how you win, just get the W. You know, that’s a different Shawn McVey than we’re used to. Yeah. Yeah. No, I’m with you. Um, what I need to know in these last couple of months, uh, what seed the Rams are going to be. And I I think we knew that after a month or two, this was a playoff roster. Uh now that we’ve seen them beat two division rivals, I think mathematically it’s safe to say this is going to be a playoff team. I think they’re going to find their way to at least two or three more wins and get in the field. Um but for all the wonderful things that the Rams have done in nine plus years of Shawn McVeyy’s leadership, the one thing they haven’t done is earn the number one overall seed, and that’s what they’re playing for right now. Now, there’s no way to number one seed if you don’t win the West. And so those goals go hand in hand and there’s still tons of work to be done in that regard. But what are these last what do you say seven games uh left to decide which roster and how healthy a roster can you get into January and then what’s your path to the ultimate goal? because I think that’s the right the Rams have earned and how do they handle success and manage success and continue to take on playoff caliber opponents when you look at this window of time and we’ll get to Carolina when when the time comes but Carolina could be a playoff team as well but San Francisco that’s like a wild card caliber win that’s a divisional round caliber win could very well be an NFC championship type of matchup so you continue to prove your worth against these teams I I think that only means good things and hopefully it’ll eventually translate into a week off come the playoffs. Well, you mentioned uh McVey postgame and I actually took some of the quotes because I thought he summarized that matchup and especially the defensive performance. He called it just resiliency from the defense and also said what a blessing for the offense to get a chance to learn from this one. So my question to you is what can they learn from this one from the offensive side of the ball? Uh, I I punch it in when you have a chance to. We talked about this earlier, JB. I mean, look, there’s going to be they get paid, too. We heard this before, and that defense from Seattle is as good as advertised. Uh, the one thing that you could circle and say, “Wow, this right here, you have a chance to ice the game with 223 to go and you have to give it back to them and have your defense go out and make a stop.” That’s awesome. I think that’s what he meant. Your offense has a chance to learn through this. You get the W. Your defense stood tall. Uh, I thought that was awesome. I think the job they’re doing on that side of the ball is exemplary. The secondary came up so big and I know we were knocking on Sam Darnold and you know everybody does and you should after a four- pick game, but give that secondary credit for being prepared, being ready, and being where they should be. There were some great plays. That first pick by Cam Kenchins, what a read. That is an allp pro read. You can go from one hash to the other and sneak up on a quarterback that’s staring down a receiver. Tremendous. And then you almost returned it to the end zone. Oh, that reminds me of one thing. If you are going to do like celebrations, do it on your sideline. Remember the big guys. You You caught it over there. Stay over there. Your family’s there. Why go to the other side and make them dudes have to run an extra hundred yards? He felt a little left behind there by extension. Just stay in the corner. What’s the big deal about that corner over there? But I mean, look, that secondary played so well. That defense is playing lights out like you said. Uh it was a tremendous back and forth game. So I I understood what he said. Thank goodness we got the win. Great job defense, but offense we have to be better. I think the Rams are going to have to beat the Seahawks twice more. Um and and hopefully the third of those games are going to be back at SoFi Stadium. But in terms of the rematch coming next month, I think of all the phases, the Rams offense has the most left on the play sheet in terms of I think both defensive coordinators put a great game plan together. I think those were the best defenses that both of these offenses have faced. Um, and you could sense just how much these rosters were built to beat each other uh from Seattle standpoint, especially defensively. Um, so there’s no shame in in scoring a small handful of touchdowns and getting four picks and getting out of there with a victory, holding serve at home. But when they go back to Seattle, I think Shawn McVey and and Mike Laflur, they have more left in their game plan that never saw the light of day because of the way that game was played, because of the short fields they were gifted by their defense, because of the long stretches of time where they didn’t even have the football. Whereas I think in terms of the game of poker, you know, Darnold and Kubiaak and the Seahawks put a lot more of what um they’re capable of and what they have to do to succeed out there on film and the Rams had good answers for it and there will be counter moves, don’t get me wrong. Like the game Thursday Night Football in December could look completely different. I expect it to look completely different than that one. But I think what we saw is that the Rams have more avenues to victory. they have more margin for error because of the way they’re playing thankfully now in all three phases. Um and there’s a reason why that they got the NFC special teams player of the week because the punt of the year oh my god um happened right in front of our very eyes. Uh it’s ugly. The punts, the end over end stuff I will never get used to, but man does it have bite when it hits, you know? I mean I I don’t know that many guys that can punt the football that way and and that are that strong that can do that. could not have walked that thing down there and said you start right there any better than he did. See they called it a holein one and I was like that sounds about right. That was heck of a shot. Once in a lifetime golf shot for sure. You know coming out of this one my initial thought was so much of the conversation was this is going to be a chess match between the Rams and Seattle. And picking up the win I was going I’m not even sure if this is even check against Seattle. I think it’s going to be check maybe the next time and maybe even checkmate when it really matters the most. It was a cage fight check. That’s what that was. Yeah. But but here here’s the thing too is Harry Potter style. Yeah. Right. You know, like I think the Rams have the best piece on the board and if there’s a big bold takeaway from that game, it’s that the Rams still have the best quarterback in the building and in the NFC. I know it wasn’t his most prolific game, but Matthew Stafford did enough of the right things to guide his team to victory. And look, I I had all the admiration and respect for Seattle going into that game. I think the offseason moves that they made were bold, were daring, were criticized, but they were right. They were right. The doubt that I have is, is Sam Darnold the quarterback who can get you to the ultimate prize, and that remains to be seen. He’s certainly capable of playing a better game than he did, but if you’re looking at the difference between these two teams running long-term, we know Matthew Stafford can get you all the way home. Can Sam Darnold it? If you’re the Seahawks, I think you have to know that your path to a championship is through Los Angeles. Could you fault them for preferring to go around? Yeah. Right. Without question. Because of the last three games that they played against Arnold. Without question. Uh the Rams now with their best start since 2018, which has now garnered some major attention. And it felt like only a few weeks ago Tom Brady didn’t even have the Rams in his top 10 in terms of power rankings. Now four Tom Brady, but now four of the six have the Rams up at the number one spot. I guess DeMarco, for you, how do you go about per se ignoring the noise versus actually letting that garner even more confidence? Um, I hate it from outside the building when you have to when people are saying this is the best team in football because it sets you up for failure because you got to go play Sunday night ball against Tampa. Who’s a good football team? So, you’re number one, you’re number one, you’re number one, you lose. Ah, you stink. You know what I mean? That’s how that goes. Um, but inside the building, I I don’t think it matters. Um, I think they’ve always felt they’re the best team in football. I think every team that wins a Super Bowl or at least in is in contention feels the same way. So, uh, the fact that people are patting you on the back, it’s always good. It’s always fun. It’s always good to be talked about in a positive way, but it’s just talk. It doesn’t matter. You have to show up on game day. So, I try to avoid that talk as much as possible on this side. Uh, I know it doesn’t filter into the locker room or into those meeting rooms here. Um, there’s a lot of things they can show you to where if we don’t do this, if we don’t have the punt that we just talked about, that could be a loss. So, there’s a lot of ways you could have lost that game as as as much as there were ways to win it. So, it’s nice to be talked about in a positive way, but it’s still just talk. I agree. I mean, you needed four takeaways to get to the finish line there. But I think larger picture, the Rams have played 10 games and they put a game plan and an effort and an execution out there that was worthy of winning all of them. Now they lost two of them for a variety of reasons. But if they can put seven more winning efforts together, this thing is going to end up where it’s supposed to end up. And whether that’s the one seed or not, whether that’s the NFC West champion or not, you get this team in the fight, we know they’re going to be a tough out. And you give me McVey and you give me Stafford and you give me Chris Schula in an elimination format. and no matter who the opponent is or where that game is played, I’m gonna feel good about it. Now, we’re getting to the point in the season where your competitive depth is being tested. And we find out today that um it’s not just Quinton Lake going on injured reserve, but it’s Tyler Higgby going on injured reserve. It’s Rob Havenstein going on injured reserve. So, you know, those corners of your roster that you’ve been bolstering behind the scenes and you’ve been developing um for weeks and for days at a time, it’s their time to shine. Yeah. Shout out to Warren McClendon who has turned the corner. Those reps early in the season when he got the start, that’s only going to help. So, and those tight ends. Um, you know, we haven’t talked enough about Kobe Parkinson and the job he’s done. That time where he squared his body and scored, that might have been the best play I’ve seen as a Ram besides the one where he caught it in the corner of the end zone when he leaned back. He’s as tall as a giraffe. But how you had the presence of mind to know in that situation with that safety coming, he’s coming low. let me catch, square the football, deal with that, get into the end zone. I thought that was huge. So against his former team, against his former team, he’s in revenge game without question. So I think you’re prepared to, I guess, be in next man up mode, even with Q Lake with as important as he is to the defense because you can call so much of the defense through him because he can do so much. I think you can manufacture that with different people. Uh this staff, this group, they’re all ready for it. Even they said it right after the game. It’s everybody here is ready for their ops. They’re ready for their opportunity. So, you’d rather have him in there, but I don’t think you miss a beat. I think you just have different people doing different jobs this week for that defense. Kobe Parkinson most improved Ram, you know. Look, I think so. Um, from the stuff that he’s doing and the hits that he’s taken, the collisions that he is willing to go into now, completely different guy from last year. So, I would say absolutely. I would say him or Emanuel Forbes. Yeah, probably the two that come to mind if he were here all Yes, absolutely. Um he is I think he’s reaching his potential. Forbes uh this is why he was drafted so high. The stuff that he can do is like wow. Um but Colobby Parkinson the way he’s accepted that role of what the tight ends are. We have got to be physical on the perimeter. This is why we’re calling this play. He’s not diving for the sideline. He’s running through contact. I think that is awesome. Big opportunity for McClendon. I mean I think he proved he is a starting tackle in this league and now he’s had a couple of weeks off to reset, right? probably to digest his own pros and cons to watch Rob go to work. Um, I’m excited for him to jump back in. I think this offense can actually continue to accelerate with him at right tackle if that’s you know what he looks like to me now. And it’s funny when you see these guys go from drafted rookie year, whatever to the next level. He looks like a starter now. He carries himself like a starter. Where he stands, how he goes about his business, uh, when there’s information being passed around the sideline, where he stands in relation to that, he is in tune. He’s seems like a starter. You know, the best thing for War McClendon is 70,000 plus Rams fans in attendance at Zofi Stadium this Sunday night. What could help him more than that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Playing a library on offense this Sunday night. Sh, let him operate. Yes, sir. But in terms of Quinton Lake, I mean, he’s the Jenga piece on defense, right? He’s the one that makes so much else possible. And I think the by committee approach makes sense. We saw a lot of Josh Wallace like 27 29 snaps, something like that. This is why um you get Roger McCreary and kind of a subtle pre-trade deadline deal for depth. Um Kobe Durant can play inside on probably some of the more known passing downs and distances, but who’s going to continue to match and fit the run um down in and down out the way that Quinton Lake does and run with tight ends up the seam the way that Quinton Lake does the the the way he play? You can’t equate it just with one guy, but you can do it by play calling. So, I think that’s the thing about this staff and this uh this secondary the way they play. Uh they can get people ready to play in a short amount of time. And there’s always ways to cover up for a guy you’re missing in Q Lake. You can become ultraaggressive, which is what Chris Schula wants to be anyway. So, if you don’t have the guys to cover, you can always send more bodies towards Baker Mayfield and get after him that way, which is what affected Sam Darnold the most anyway. Moving him around, making him feel unsafe. He threw it to you a few times. I was just about to say you transitioned right into Schula and that’s where I wanted to go next because some of the defensive adjustments that he made uh particularly even into the second half were really solid. You think about just Seattle, you know, based more on a volume run game. They’re looking to throw the ball deep over the head. But you look back at some of the explosives, they really only had about one and a half on the ground in terms of explosive plays about three in the air. What adjustments did you really see from Shoula? I’ll ask question. Uh, pass pass on the question or we’re not gonna mention his name on this show. You mean the one-handed grab? No. Okay. I guess defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. He doesn’t want to talk about him anymore. And I don’t blame him. I think the secret is out. Yeah, you can’t hide him in hide. A guy named Schula. You’re not going to keep him out of the interview room. I guess I think the secret is out. Um, he is doing a fantastic job. They are doing a fantastic job. Um, I thought Seattle’s game plan was very good. Uh, it took the Rams into the deep water and tried to wear them out. And, uh, I thought Jackson Smith and Jigba was as good or better than advertised. When they replay a one-handed catch in somebody else’s house, you know, that catch is is primo stuff. So, I thought the game plan, the adjustments, it may not have been schematic. It could have just been a little motivational and to keep guys together and in tune. I thought it was fantastic. You you you outlasted a team that was trying to knock you into the oblivion. But we kind of previewed it by saying whoever can live in and thrive in sub packages the longest in that game is probably going to win that game. And the Rams willingness and ability to play with extra safeties and defensive backs on the field and still not give up the explosives in the running game, be able to get the football back. I mean, that was that was the difference because Seattle, again, perfectly built to thwart where the Rams have gone offensively, which is why you see the Rams go, “Oh, okay. They got this 13 personnel covered. They’ve done their homework. Let’s go pivot and let’s go try and find a way to get enough points and enough first downs to win this thing.” Um, yeah, every time Walker touched the ball in the third and fourth quarter, I held my breath and they kept coming up with stop after stop. They He He had some runs, but they didn’t allow the big one. You know what though? I think Seahawks fans felt that way whenever Kairen Williams got a touch. Thank you, Lord. Yes, sir. Way to go, Kiran. I to me that was the best he’s played. When you talk about getting to the unblocked guy and dealing with him and not letting that stop your progress from going down the field and then having those defenders react to you. Yeah, that was the best he’s played in a in a long time in my opinion. He had two runs for over 30 yards. And actually, that’s the first time a running back has had two plus 30 plus or excuse me, two 30 plus yards in the same game in the McVey era. No. Oh, yeah. Even Gurley. Yeah, I know. It’s shocking. I know it’s shocking. Let me go back and and and look cuz that doesn’t seem right. It seemed like Gurley broke every other player. Is that just our memory? Uh, it might be. I’m just I’m happy to see Kairen where he is, not just in terms of explosions, but now cemented in the Rams career top 10 for rushing. for someone who grew up a Rams fan idolizing Stephen Jackson like that’s just cool and he’s still got thousands of yards left in him which is great. Do you think the share changes at all just considering the performance he put on the table? surprised among our listeners, our fan base, like how much of a a buzzworthy topic that was. Um, because I think Kairen has benefited from not just the competitive push of Blake Cororum, but the reduced snap count. And I think a lot of our audience that’s been begging for more Cororum because he too has been explosive um is now being counterbalanced by saying, “Wait a second, you had a hot hand. Uh why take opportunities away from from Williams?” These sound like champagne problems, right? They do. If you’ve got a ball secure, explosive Kairen Williams, who you want to give more handoffs and more snaps to, that’s a much better place to be than where we were a month, six weeks ago. When we when the Saints were here, one of my old coaches, defensive coordinator, was on that staff and he told me something I’d never even thought of. All the guys that backed me up became starters. All the guys that backed you up in the league became starters. You must have been good. That’s But that was the push. That was the competition. These guys are good behind me. I’m not giving up that job. We talked about this competition will bring the best out of you. I think you just saw that with Kiran. He’s proving that. I think Blake Corm was making a real challenge for that job and you had to step it up to keep him off your neck. Either way, it’s good for us and good for the offense. The ball’s moving down the field, but I think it brought the best out of Kairen. And I’m with you. I think there’s more there. That was an epic humble brag by you. That was for someone who’s never touted his own playing career. That was nailed. I never even thought he said it. Yeah, I no idea. Yeah, one of them’s on that coaching staff. That’s what he That’s why he brought it up. Yeah. Well, guys, we do need to address uh just Stafford’s performance in this one. Obviously, picking up the win and getting the touchdowns when we needed them. However, it was interesting. I looked at some of the just total time to throw. And it was the second fastest Stafford has had all season long only to Houston. It was 2.46. And we’ve talked about the Seattle front, but how different of a matchup could this have been for Stafford? Was it on him or was it more so on the Seattle front? I’m going to give the front credit. Uh I thought the edges were good. I thought that we were talking about Byron Murphy. Yeah, he’s going to be a problem for a while. He’s not going away. Um they got some pressure on Stafford. He had to get rid of it. And the secondary, I thought they had a great game plan. I thought they game planned some stuff and took away some quick reads. And I thought if Matthew Stafford was a lesser quarterback, you could have rushed it. You could have gave up sacks. You could have threw the ball to them just like Sam Darnold. So some days it’s going to be tough sledding and you have to, you know, find a way to make chicken soup out of you know what. And I think that’s exactly what he did. So the numbers don’t bear it out, but I I thought he played a a tough football game against a very tough defense that was bringing it on him. I mean, he’s been on the ultimate heater, right? So there was going to be some regression somewhere along the line here. I’m glad that regression looks like it looks and a win against maybe the best defense in the league right now. Um, with no turnovers, he’ll tell you he should have made that first throw, I think, in to Higgby in the red zone. And look, if I still don’t know why that challenge was not successful, but if they give Kairen that first down, if Matthew hits Higgby, you know, we could be looking at an entirely different game script. Yeah. And a much different box score for Matthew Stafford. But what I love about, again, to go back to the postgame celebration, is Devonte is cussing and venting cuz he got what, seven or eight targets and only one catch and it was a touchdown and it was a big one. But like he’s less than 100%. You didn’t feel him as much as you have been lately. Um, Matthew Stafford was sped up like the the clock uh that you just gave evidence to, but he’s at a different point. Shawn McVeyy’s at a different point in their career arc where you can win through that imperfection because you’re a more complete team now. You’re a more patient team. You’re a more patient staff and offense. And I think that bodess really well. You’re not going to be able to put up five touchdowns per game every time out in this league. It’s too good. Especially against a team like that. But that’s not going to hinder his MVP case at all. If you get the right if you get the right first down call. I’m just saying. No, that’s it, too. Missed it by a yard. That hurts. And not just that first down call. Yeah, it is. But then on first and 10 or first and goal. Yeah. Right. So what you’re saying is true, but I also the other thing I meant to say is look at the Rams lack of success on first down. Yeah. The secret sauce offensively this year has been being on or ahead of schedule almost exclusively. like they’ve had so few negative down in distances and then you run into this wall that is this Seattle defense and all of a sudden you’re living in second and 10 or third and behind the chains and guess what against any defense but especially that defense your numbers are going to plummet if you’re in those sorts of circumstances. So yeah and it was interesting too looking at just the third down struggling on that and uh finding some fourth down opportunities. The Rams actually converted on two of three. I’m curious though from a mindset. Is it more an approach, an aggressive mindset by the Rams or is it more a function of how the NFL is now being played as they’ve gone for it more on fourth down? I think 18 total times this season. It’s the fact that they haven’t made a field goal since Baltimore. Yeah, I think primarily I was going to say we haven’t even kicked a field goal in the last two games. There might be some a little more aggression. I don’t know what the I think we’re more with the numbers now. The analytics say go for it more and teams kind of lean on that that field goals aren’t worth it. But I Yeah, I but I think with this football team and the kicking game the way it was, you’re still in a touchy feely mode that if you have a chance, would you rather go with a risky prospect of kicking it or go with putting the ball in nine’s hands? I would rather go that way with Matthew St. I think it’s an all of the above type of thing what you just said. Plus, you’ve got a championship caliber defense who can cover up any failures on fourth downs. So, um, I love the fact that not only has Shawn McVey come to see the light in terms of the analytic argument, but that even when it falls short, and I mean you fail on your first fourth down, and then you get in a goal line situation, you get stuffed, that you’re willing to go for it again on fourth down and spread them out and shotgun handoff. You talk about a tendency break there. What are you supposed to do defensively now, Demarco, if you got Devonte Adams who can hit the fade, who can hit the slant, you got Puka unlocking the red zone, you’ve thrown touchdowns to your tight ends the last few weeks, and now that you can just swing the sledgehammer of Kairen Williams again. You know, this is funny. This is great. This is how you know when a DC is on his heels. If I had that situation with that on tape, now that they can run it or throw it out to Devonte, I’m just going to have to pressure you and hope I get there. Make Make him throw it faster than he wants. Maybe I’ll get a tip ball or something. Well, that’s where a lot of these blitz stats that you’ve seen percolating. Like Stafford’s been eviscerating the blitz. And it’s true. A lot of that is is like short field red zone where the defensive coordinator is like, “We’ve only got this much real estate to cover. Anyone who’s not occupying a receiver, go get him.” Yeah. But he’s got the answers to the test. Yeah. I mean, I thought that was huge. It was a big call. I think you even asked like, “What would you call here?” I said, “They stuffed you twice. Go ahead and throw it.” And I’m glad Seattle was thinking like me because once they spread out that middle open wide it just opened wide open and there goes uh Kairen for the touchdown parting of the Red Sea. Yes. All right guys, you ready to look a little bit more ahead towards the Bucks? Yeah. All right. Top of NFC NFC South facing off now against the top of the NFC West. However, it feels like these two teams if you look at their records or even recent history, you might be thinking they would be trending in opposite directions. However, the Bucks have more one-sore games than it feels like the rest of the league, winning four of six one-score games throughout their time. They started off five and one. Rams on a five-game win streak. So, when you look at this one on the uh defensive side of the ball, what needs to be accomplished defensively? Look, I I have all the respect in the world for Baker Mayfield and what he can do. Um he is the second coming of Fran Tarkington type guys. The play’s never dead. You know what I mean? Even if you defense it perfectly and you run the route for the receivers, you still have to keep him coralled, which is easier said than done, and they do a great job of keeping you off balance with the running game. Now, it hasn’t been explosive, but it’s something you have to respect. It really does test you. So, uh, Baker’s tough. Um, I think the thing about this defense is you have to recover quickly from that sort of game. It was physical. It was brutal. And then you have to get it going again and and dial that up to get after Baker Mayfield because if you don’t get pressure on him, he can stand back there and sling it and wing it with the best. So you’re going to have to bring the same effort you brought on Sam Darnold to Baker Mayfield. But that’s just half of it. He is a better quarterback on the move than Sam Darnold. So this will be another stiff test for the defense. First of all, how cool is it that Baker’s coming back to SoFi under the lights of prime time, right? Like he shouldn’t even be allowed to prepare for this game until Friday at the earliest. like let’s see if he can do it on two sleeps again. Man, that was a special chapter in Rams history. I’m so glad for his couple of months here in Los Angeles. Not as glad as he is because it’s earned him another job, tens of millions of dollars, but also a newfound love for the game of football, too, which he’s mentioned this week, which I thought was pretty special, his time here with LA. He was being bounced around for a while. And in this room, who doesn’t root for Baker Mayfield? Everybody roots for Everybody roots for him. We all love Baker for what he did here. So, but I won’t be rooting for him on Sunday. But the only way you you you you show him the proper respect is to get after him just like you did Cooper Cup this weekend. But I think you preface the the backdrop and the motivation appropriately in terms of the Rams are in a how do we handle success mode and the Buccaneers have lost to I mean two AFC contenders in consecutive weeks, right? So, they’re in a little bit of back against the wall. like the presumed favorite in that division and still the favorite I would argue is suddenly feeling a little bit of pressure, a little bit of pursuit from the Carolina Panthers and I think their leads down to a half a game. So they come here, it reminds me a little bit of like the Miami Dolphins uh and the prime time matchup from last year, a different stakes, but like Miami was at that point in the season where it’s now or never. Like if if we’re going to make a run at this thing, we got to flip the switch and Tampa Bay’s got more margin for error built in. But I I think you should expect a desperate game plan and and uh group a bunch of buccaneers. Absolutely. I when you said Carolina in the mix, that’s Wow. Unreal. What a difference a year makes. Yeah. I mean, get ready for that challenge, too, by the way, post Thanksgiving. There are some question marks uh in terms of the Bucks offense because they’ve been dealing with numerous injuries, but Irving currently on the practice field this week. How could that maybe shift the game plan against this offense? Uh he’s another guy like McAffrey that could, you know, eat you up both ways. Uh he can run the football. He’s he’s not the biggest dude in the world, but he’s not afraid to run inside and he’s a guy like we were talking about with McAffrey, sometimes he’s the primary and he’ll kill you that way. Even if he’s the dump off, the secondary option for Baker Mayfield, when he catches it, you got problems again. So, uh it’s just another one of those issues, uh problems that comes out of the backfield and he could take it and be immediate with it. So, he’s a guy you just can’t get away from. Smith and Jigba is a guy you can kind of get away from by putting pressure on the quarterback. Once Irving gets it, he’s got it. Now, you got to go deal with him. So, that’s how dangerous he can be. But, I I think this defense has been up to the challenge no matter who’s carrying the rock this year. I mean, the thing that I appreciate about Tampa Bay, and this goes back to last season when they were, you know, playing me and DeMarco at tight end basically, is they’ve been able to put up points and manufacture offense no matter their circumstances. They’ve been banged up at the skill position players. They’ve been banged up up front and getting healthier at certain spots amplifies the challenge for the Rams this week, but this is a group that’s shown that they can get to 30 no matter what 11 they’re putting out there. So, yeah, it was interesting because Sean Tucker actually had a career day. Three touchdowns, two on the ground, one through the air. Uh, and he could be a force to be reckoned with. And again, Chris Godwin also somewhat questionable. He might be out there, may not. So, why don’t you wait? We’ll see. I was going to say I was saying the same thing. Uh guys, we have a really fun celebration taking place on Sunday night. Of course, it’s prime time, but it’s also the Aaron Donald celebration game. So, I’m telling you, Rams fans, the first 60,000 fans into Sofi, you are picking up an 80 bobblehead and the goat bobblehead. That’s awesome. You know you want one of those. I love Of course I do. You know what I would do? I if when he comes out for that, I just would just put a set of pads off to the side. Helmet and shoulder pads. Just have them ready just in case. Just in case. Just in case. You never know. I know you like the life size Aaron Donald or I guess 75% 59,999 get a bobblehead, but I’m getting mine first. Absolutely. Uh yeah, I I like that this is somehow tied into Baker’s visit to SoFi cuz that 22 season was such a grind and it hurt so badly. Um but I’m just like I said, I was thankful for Baker’s time and the way he helped flip the emotional energy of that season. You know, by that point in the year, Aaron was done for 22. But the fact that he didn’t ride off to the into the sunset from the parade stage in in 21 will always mean so much to me. One, cuz I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. And I know many of us still are not ready to say goodbye. But there had to be times that fall in 22 where he was like, “What was I thinking? How did they convince me?” I know they convinced him with a paycheck, but how did they convince me to come back and keep doing this? Right. Yeah. And not only did he endure that season, but he came back again in 23. And there’s no way in my estimation that the Rams accomplish anything in 23. Certainly are not where they were in 24 and again here in 25 if Aaron didn’t tack on those last two seasons. So yes, he’s going to be forever remembered for what he did against San Francisco in that NFC Championship game, what he did against the Bengals in the Super Bowl, the three defensive player of the year honors that he won. But in my everlasting memory, 22 and 23 and then being able to willing to walk away when you had the team back on the UPS slope. Yeah. Like that to me is you still feel his legacy around here. You still feel his standard in that room on this defense in this facility, which might have been true if he walked away after the confetti fell, but I think is all the more rich and enjoyable because of those two additional seasons we got out of him. You want me to believe I’m talking to Aaron. You want me to believe that you’re retired? Stop lifting 160 lb dumbbells. Okay, try that. I knew you were going to bring it up. Stop burying like young people like Verse in the weight room. Then I’ll I’ll believe you’re done. Okay, but bring the pads out just in case. When he’s in the building though, Demarco, that makes an impression on Rams who are dressed. Yes. When he’s there, I mean, I can’t tell you this is just me seeing my idols walk by. And when they’re in the building, you want to show your best game for them. And I don’t care who you are. From Warren Sap to John Randall, everybody, the guys that I thought were the great, he’s the best I’ve ever seen at that spot. If you have a doubt, I don’t want to hear it. Um, I’ve never seen a guy that good, that dominant, and that inspiring. So, when he’s in the building, if you’re playing that position, you might want to, you know, pump your game up just a little bit. Yeah, there’s a reason there’s a goat alongside Aaron Donald on the bobblehead. And yes, the the goat’s head does move as well. Does it? I think at least the one here in in our studios. It does. It does. That’s cool. It does. Um guys, just final thoughts and keys to victory. What do you want to start with, Demarco? Well, uh well, I think you have to find a way to approximate and equate if you can. Um replace Quinton Lake. And you can’t do that just one for one and not miss a beat on defense. Uh the communication’s been great. The connection between front linebacker and secondary. Oh, Nate Lenman again. Great football. Everything else knocking the ball out. And happy birthday. Happy birthday, Dan Punford. And Punford, happy birthday. Did he actually say something? You had him when Ran’s revealed. That was fun, right? Yeah, that was great. I don’t mind. He talks with his pads. Uh but defensively, just stay on the same page. It’s next man up. It’s the same thing you’ve done week in and week out. And offensively, you know, find a way if you have to uh you have to close the game out. Uh you have to be professional on that side of the game, on that side of the ball. If it comes down to that situation, if you have a chance to win the game on offense, you must do it there. Don’t rely on the defense. Yeah, I’m going to go back to early down efficiency. The Rams getting back to what they’ve done so well to put themselves in favorable situations to throw the football. I’m not saying they can’t throw it on first down. I’m just saying they have to be efficient in that dimension to stay on track to sustain some drives. Also want to shout out Steve Avula, who I think since he’s been getting back to health has been kicking doors down in a very meaningful way. Um I I think with uh you know a replacement right tackle now getting this offensive line to con continue to be um ferocious and effective and disciplined run pass screen. I think as long as you do that you’re going to be able to score with Tampa Bay and then hopefully you know Shoula dials up. Sorry I said his name. Shoot. Hopefully I think they know hopefully Kuna Ford and the Rams defense puts together another great game plan. Um because obviously you can’t bank on four takeaways per game, but the the Rams are generating situations even without sacks where they’re putting their back end in position to go hunt footballs. Whether that’s Lambman getting another punch out, which he did. They didn’t recover it, but he got another one. It’s week after week. Um you get this offense an extra possession or two per week and and you got a real look at the one seed. Well, I’m gonna go special teams. I don’t want to see the field goal attempt, but I also want to see the field goal attempt. So, hey, if we can just get into the end zone five times, I’m good with that. Let’s just keep kicking the extra points. However, I would love to see MAS uh get his first attempt just, you know, clear it out there. Get it done. Get it over with. It’s coming. Yeah. All right. Well, guys, this has been a pleasure. You ready for Sunday Night Football and SoFi? Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. They know who Sheila is, by the way. I I don’t think it matters if we don’t. They do. Hey, keep rocking the Rams house, man. And it just kudos to everyone who came out through the rain and and lifted the Rams to victory against the Seahawks. You know, put Baker and the Bucks in those same circumstances. Make them feel it. Let’s sell those standing room only seats one more time, why don’t we? Uh we can’t wait to see you Sunday in Sofi Stadium for another prime time matchup, the second of the season. This has been Between the Horns, presented by our Southern California Toyota dealers, JB Long, Demarco Far, Cameron Irwin. We’ll see you Sunday night. [Music]

Camryn Irwin sits down with the Between the Horns crew to discuss running back Kyren Williams’ standout runs against the Seattle Seahawks, quarterback Baker Mayfield’s return to SoFi Stadium on Sunday, and what the Los Angeles Rams must do on offense to continue their winning streak.

0:00 Intro
0:18 Previewing Sunday Night Football vs. Bucs
1:20 Looking back at Rams’ 5 straight wins
4:35 Rams offense learning opportunities
8:24 Rams vs. Seattle chess match
9:52 Rams’ best season start
11:53 Competitive depth
14:53 Quentin Lake’s injury
16:00 Chris Shula’s defensive adjustments
18:13 Kyren Williams’ explosive runs
20:50 Matthew Stafford’s performance
26:20 Looking ahead vs. Bucs
27:49 Baker Mayfield returning to SoFi Stadium
29:29 Rams defense vs. Bucs offense
31:03 Aaron Donald Celebration game

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