\n “(Having a lot of tight ends is) a good problem to have, right? We have four tight ends that have proven they belong in this league and play at a high level in both phases. So, again, good problem, we’ll work through (the rotation) all the way until Sunday and a lot of time that rotation just naturally happens throughout the game.” – LaFleur<\/p>\n
The Rams are expecting the long-awaited return of veteran tight end Tyler Higbee on Sunday, but they aren’t just going to throw him back into the deep end. This would be Higbee’s first time back on the field since tearing his ACL and MCL in last season’s Wild Card game against the Lions. LaFleur said his presence is always welcome on the field because he “has a zest for life” and “a big reason why you love coaching” is getting to coach players like Higbee who have infectious personalities.<\/p>\n
On the other side, the Rams’ pass catchers will have to deal with All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. LaFleur said “he’s got that Detroit toughness to him,” being from Michigan, and he enjoyed him as a human being during his time coaching for the Jets.<\/p>\n
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is “playing at a really high clip,” LaFleur said, and he’s heard Rodgers is feeling a lot healthier: “Like our guy (Stafford), they’re just two guys that you just never take for granted watching them on Sundays.”<\/p>\n
\n “Oh man, (Rodgers is) obviously one the best that’s ever played. Obviously, the accuracy and the rapport that he has with Davante Adams and now they got Garrett Wilson going, so it’s just a really tough offense to prepare for… You’re not really going to be able to trick him. He’s kind of seen everything… They might be covered, but really, they’re never covered.” – Shula<\/p>\n
Shula said Rodgers has looked like “his old self” over the past three weeks since the Jets’ bye week. During that span, Rodgers has averaged 254 passing yards and New York has averaged 26 points per game. Shula added that hasn’t had to do with a shift in offensive philosophy as much as an uptick in execution from that unit.<\/p>\n
The Rams’ young front will have a tough task getting after the still-mobile, 41-year-old quarterback, but they have shown their strength as a unit this season, as L.A. ranks fifth in the NFL in pressure rate, per Next Gen Stats. Shula said “the number one thing is affecting the passer in this league, and having a front that can do that is huge.”<\/p>\n
With the front made up almost entirely of first and second-year players, Shula gave credit to the position coaches for helping them work together to rush the quarterback as the season’s progressed. They each have unique personalities, but they love playing for each other on the game days. Going against a Jets offense that allows the lowest pressure rate in football (25%), according to Next Gen Stats, that group’s success will be vital for Los Angeles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“(Having a lot of tight ends is) a good problem to have, right? We have four tight ends…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[38654,1081,7,29288,43356,226,43357,26287,1917,255,2321,2097,6,1088],"class_list":{"0":"post-206008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-chris-shula","9":"tag-cooper-kupp","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-from-the-podium","12":"tag-gameday-sponsorship-uber-eats","13":"tag-jets","14":"tag-los-angeles-rams-at-new-york-jets-2024-reg-16","15":"tag-mike-lafleur","16":"tag-new-york","17":"tag-new-york-jets","18":"tag-newyork","19":"tag-newyorkjets","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-puka-nacua"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114850765619287895","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}