LA Rams: Whitworth admits avoiding McVay for days before games

The LA Rams are emerging from a less-than-storybook-finish to the chapter between head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Jared Goff, and until now, the debate over what happened has been a topic of lively debate in NFL talk shows, articles, and even in discussion forums about the LA Rams.  While some equate it to just basic curiosity, there is a matter of team dynamics that are serious stuff.

Everyone knows that a team’s basic foundation relies upon open communication that is honest and two-way.  It’s the ‘open door policy’ in real-life, the application of ‘I’m listening’, the lifeblood that is so vital to a successful organization. No matter how meticulous or detailed an NFL game plan may become, there is always a need to tweak it.

Examine the performance of the LA Rams league-leading defense. The first half was good, but the Rams defense was confused at times. But when the same defense emerged from the locker room in the second half, it was a different mindset. The defense was smothering, relentless, almost to the point of appearing a bit pissed off.  Coverage adjustments were made, the defensive line of scrimmage was reformulated. It was quite clear that the defense dialogued throughout halftime, and each player gave his version of what he saw, and the necessary adjustments that needed to be made.

That was not the case on the offense. While the defense showed renewed resolve, the Rams offense seemed to sport the same strategy that was the plan entering the game. The Rams neither moved out of a futile passing attack to breathe new life into the offense by suddenly committing to running the ball. Nor did the Rams abandon a rushing attack that faced tough resistance at the line of scrimmage, and tried to soften up the defense with success in the passing game. While that may or may not have been the result of head coach Sean McVay’s self-confidence, Jay Glazer’s interview with Andrew Whitworth’s did eventually point to the LA Rams head coach Sean McVay at the 12:50 mark. Check it out:

Whitworth shares that the Rams head coach is not somebody you want to ask questions of before a game.  In a normal Sunday to Sunday game schedule, Whitworth admits that from Tuesday until Friday at 4 o’clock or so, he refuses to speak to him, because of the mood that he is in at that point? Whitworth knows better.

He knows that the wrong question will make McVay explode. He knew that if he asked the wrong question at the wrong moment that he was likely to get embarrassed or your head chewed off. So he recognized that window for Sean McVay when it was not in his best interest to let him be until he returns to the point where he is nice once more. Well, that’s certainly interesting.

This is one of the best video interviews of Andrew Whitworth out there, and the love of these two friends is apparent. Jay Glazer, before he was a television personality as an NFL Insider, was one of the premier NFL training gurus. His training methods involve mixed martial arts, the same discipline introduced by LA Rams Director of Strength and Conditioning, Justin Lovett.

So what did happen between HC Sean McVay and QB Jared Goff? We will likely never know the real answer. But let’s not kid ourselves. If the guy who is taking the field to run the offense cannot ask questions of the guy who runs the offense, makes the playbook, and calls the plays for that offense between Tuesday through Friday before each game? That’s not the fault of the quarterback. Not by a longshot.