Rams and Odell Beckham Jr. continue to ‘make progress’

After two consecutive losses, Rams coach Sean McVay spent the past week introspecting, then looking ahead.

McVay said Monday that he evaluated his team, got some rest, spent time with his fiancée and watched a full slate of NFL games.

At the same time, he began to focus on Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

“I don’t want overthinking about it to get in the way of overcoming some of the obstacles in front of us to playing better soccer,” McVay said during a video conference with reporters, adding: “The natural inclination it is fighting against the impulse to feel that you need to make general changes, when what we have to do is play better ”.

An embarrassing 31-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on November 15 left the Rams’ record at 7-3. But a victory over the Packers would keep them in contention for a favorable spot in the playoffs of the NFC.

The Packers are 8-3 after Sunday’s 34-31 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the current NFL MVP, leads a team trying to get to the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive season. Rodgers has passed for 21 touchdowns, with four interceptions.

The Packers also feature wide receiver Davante Adams and running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. Jones suffered a knee injury Nov. 14 against the Seattle Seahawks and did not play the Vikings. His status for Sunday’s game is yet to be determined.

“They have the players who really carry the torch at the key points,” McVay said, adding that given the Packers’ success in 2019 and 2020 under coach Matt LaFleur, “you can argue that they have been the standard in the NFC. ”.

The Rams will return to the place of last season’s loss in the Los Angeles division round on Sunday. playoffs against the Packers.

They will try to regain the form that helped them win four games in a row – albeit against weaker opponents – before losing to the Tennessee Titans and 49ers.

McVay said Leonard Floyd suffered a concussion against the 49ers, but was “asymptomatic” and expected to play the Packers. Cornerback Dont’e Deayon could return from a hamstring injury, McVay reported.

But for the second game in a row, most of the attention will be on McVay integrating wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on offense.

Beckham signed with the Rams as a free agent and then practiced only once before playing against the 49ers. He caught a short pass on the first play of the game.

Afterward, Beckham said the time afforded by the open date will allow him to “try to learn as much as possible” in the Rams’ offense.

“I have to go back to the lab, and get to work and review the playbook,” he said.

McVay said last week Beckham was “doing some behind-the-scenes stuff,” but cautioned that the full implementation of the three-time Pro Bowler on offense will remain “a work in progress,” this week and beyond.

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