THOUSAND OAKS — They can laugh about it now, since they’re on the same side getting ready for a prime-time Rams-Chicago Bears game coming up on Monday.
It wasn’t as much fun in 2018 for Brandon Staley, then one of the Bears’ assistant coaches trying to figure out how to stop the Rams’ offense, and for Sean McVay, then as now the Rams coach and play-caller.
“It was stressful. It was a hard week of preparation,” Staley, who is in his first season as the Rams’ defensive coordinator, remembered Thursday.
“He basically ruined my night that night. That was not a good night for us,” McVay said.
The Bears won 15-6, holding the Rams to a pair of Greg Zuerlein field goals, limiting Todd Gurley to 28 yards rushing, hitting Jared Goff with three sacks and four interceptions, and using a six-man defensive front to throw off a 32-points-a-game offense.
The legend is that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his staff – including Staley, the outside linebackers coach – showed the rest of the league how to beat the Rams. The Rams recovered and went to the Super Bowl. There, the New England Patriots stopped them cold, 13-3.
“That was kind of our eye-opener that season,” Rams wide receiver Robert Woods said of the Bears game.
That game on a wintry Sunday night in Chicago is a key chapter in the McVay origin story, in which the hero suffers his first big setback against an equally ingenious gang of villains, and retreats to his lab in the wilds of Ventura County to try to cook up an answer.
It took part of the 2019 season to capitalize on it, but part of the answer turned out to be two-tight end formations that provided more blocking and created more short-pass targets for Goff.
Now, McVay and one of those villains have teamed up. Staley was hired last winter to replace Wade Phillips and run the Rams’ defense. He had coached outside linebackers in Denver last season after Fangio became the Broncos’ head coach.
McVay and Staley joke about the new hire being too “diplomatic” to quickly bring up the 2018 game when they met to talk about the Rams’ coordinator job after the 2019 season.
“He’s just got all his teach tapes and (video) cut-ups spliced with that game in there,” McVay said with a laugh Thursday. “So he brings it up in a subconscious way.”
Staley was asked if that’s true.
“Of course!” he said. “There were a lot of good plays that night for us.”
Staley is diplomatic in offering a take on the 2018 Rams-Bears story that flatters McVay.
“He’s really tough on himself about that night,” Staley said. “As you know, he takes full ownership for everything that happens, and that’s one of the strengths of him as a leader.
“I would say that he learned quite well from that night, and put his team in a position to be successful.”
Staley points out: That night was 29 degrees at kickoff, which helps the defense. The Rams nearly connected on big plays that could have changed the game. The Bears’ win was as much about their players’ performances as their coaches’ schemes.
The coordinator now is Chuck Pagano, but seven regulars from that 2018 defense are still with the Bears (5-1), who are giving up the fifth-fewest yards per play as they come to SoFi Stadium on Monday to face the Rams (4-2).
Chicago has an outside linebacker (Mack), inside linebacker (Roquan Smith) and defensive lineman (Akiem Hicks) in the league’s top 10 in tackles for loss, and cornerback Kyle Fuller has held opponents to the lowest completion percentage among defenders who have been targeted with 20 or more passes.
“I know it’ll be good to see a lot of those guys, the players that I was fortunate to coach, because the truth is they’re one of the biggest reasons why I’m in this role,” Staley said.
In his new role, Staley is preparing the Rams’ defense to play against the Bears’ offense and sharing his knowledge about the Bear’s defense with the Rams’ offense.
“We talked a lot about that (2018) game,” McVay said, “and a lot of the things that we’re doing are reflective of some of the things that they were doing then.”Said Staley: “I think that’s the great thing about working with him (McVay) is just that collaborative, that creative process. ‘Hey, how can we put our guys in the best positions to be successful?’ I think that ultimately that’s what brought us together.”
NOTES
Tight end Tyler Higbee (hand inflammation), running back Darrell Henderson (quad) and wide receiver Robert Woods (groin) didn’t practice Friday, but McVay said he expects them to be ready to face the Bears on Monday. … Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack missed practice Friday with back soreness, but Coach Matt Hagy didn’t think the All-Pro would miss Monday’s game. Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks skipped a second day with illness (not COVID-19-related). Hicks and Mack are both top-10 in sacks. … Thursday, Goff said the Rams’ first practice after their 24-16 loss to the 49ers felt “a little more urgent.” On Friday, defensive tackle Aaron Donald said he agreed that everybody seemed “locked in.” Said Donald: “Definitely, off of last week’s performance, nobody’s happy with that. This is a big bounce-back week for us.” … Linebacker Kenny Young on the Rams signing kicker Kai Forbath, a fellow UCLA alum: “It’s good to have another Bruin on the team, because I’m tired of hearing Joe B (inside linebackers coach Joe Barry) talk about the damn Trojans.”
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