Los Angeles Rams watching Alabama football video – AL.com

The Los Angeles Rams have been preparing for their Sunday game against the Miami Dolphins by watching video of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Specifically, they’re watching former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who will make his first NFL start on Sunday for the Dolphins.

“We broke some stuff down just to see some certain things and certain ways that they used him there,” said Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. “(The Dolphins) had a bye week, so I’m pretty sure they have some different things in there that people didn’t see this year in the NFL, so just preparing for that, trying to study him as much as you can from what he did in college. …

“He definitely did some real good things in college, so I expect for him to be able to translate that to the National Football League, but hopefully not this week.”

After backing up Ryan Fitzpatrick for six games, Tagovailoa has only five snaps of NFL experience, and because the coronavirus pandemic caused the league to cancel its preseason schedule, the Rams have go back to the quarterback’s Alabama work to scout him, Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said.

“I think you usually at least have a little preseason tape to go off of if it was a normal season,” McVay said. “I would imagine they would have gotten him some of that work even if they knew they wanted to have Fitzpatrick start the season. But this year’s definitely been different, but it’s kind of similar in some instances to where … a couple of weeks ago you’re looking at Kyle Allen from Carolina when (Washington) decided to start him, so it’s similar, but you’re watching Alabama film and now you’re saying, OK, these are the things this guy has as a skill set for and what are the things that coach (Chan) Gailey might activate within the framework of their system offensively with the Dolphins from what he might have done at Alabama under coach (Steve) Sarkisian.”

Among the strategies that Rams defensive coaches have their eyes on are RPOs – run-pass option plays.

“It’s something that you definitely have to be prepared for,” McVay said on Wednesday. “It is something that these guys do. They were even doing it with Fitzpatrick. It’s something that’s a real strength of Tua’s. It’s something that we’ll practice, we’ll prepare for and hope to defend it to the best of our ability, and that will be a focal point for the week.”

While speaking with reporters this week, Gailey, the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator, acknowledged there could be an RPO component to Tagovailoa’s starting debut.

“He did a decent amount of that in college,” Gailey said. “There’s different types of RPOs. There’s pre-snap RPOs, there’s post-snap RPOs, and we do some of both. But mostly pre-snap RPOs is what we have done. What I remember him doing in college, he was good at reading and seeing that. As time goes on, we can adjust, and maybe use a few more of those to fit into what he has done in the past.”

CHAN GAILEY EXPECTING TUA TAGOVAILOA TO ‘PLAY GREAT’ IN HIS FIRST NFL START

Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who was a graduate assistant at Alabama rival Tennessee in 2012, said Tagovailoa has the “right stuff” to be an NFL quarterback.

“I’m very familiar with some of the coaches (at Alabama) and have good relationships with them, and I know the type of respect that he earned at a place like that,” Staley said. “It’s difficult to become a leader at a place like that full of future NFL players, and certainly with coach (Nick) Saban there. I just know he’s had as much of an impact on that place as anybody probably has since coach Saban has taken that job. I know what a good player this guy is. I know the type of impact he had offensively at that place where they really became an offensive team when he was there. His ability to distribute the ball and really be the point guard of that offense — I know this guy was as good as it gets at the college level.

“You got to take into consideration, too, how he won the job over one of the most decorated players in college history in the last 10 to 15 years in Jalen Hurts, who’s an outstanding player. For him to ascend to that position, this guy’s made up of a lot of the right stuff, and certainly stylistically he fits what Chan and that (Dolphins) offensive staff are trying to accomplish, and a lot will be made of his first opportunity. But they wouldn’t be putting him out there if they didn’t feel that he was ready.”

At Alabama, Tagovailoa came off the bench as a freshman to lead the Crimson Tide from a 13-0 halftime deficit to a 26-23 overtime victory against Georgia in the CFP national championship game.

After replacing Hurts as the starter for his sophomore season, Tagovailoa led Alabama back to the national title game, where the Tide fell to Clemson. Tagovailoa was the consensus All-American QB, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2018.

A dislocated hip and posterior wall fracture sustained in the 10th game of the 2019 season ended Tagovailoa’s Alabama career. He joined the Dolphins as the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft as Alabama’s all-time leader in touchdown passes and the holder of the NCAA FBS record for career passing-efficiency rating at 199.4. Tagovailoa completed 474-of-684 passes for 7,442 yards with 87 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and ran for 340 yards and nine touchdowns on 107 carries at Alabama.

NFL WEEK 8: SCHEDULE, TV, ODDS

Although Miami had an open date in Week 7, Staley said he wasn’t anticipating the Dolphins doing more than tweaking their scheme for the quarterback change in Week 8.

“They wouldn’t be putting Tua out there if they didn’t think he really fit how they’re playing now,” Staley said. “It’s not like they’re just going to create a new offense in a week for him. He fits the style of play that they want. We certainly have an inventory over this first stretch of the season, and then you kind of go back on what you know about him in college, then put your plans together.”

Tagovailoa gets his first start after the two other quarterbacks drafted among the first six picks on April 23 have been playing for weeks.

No. 1 pick Joe Burrow from LSU has started every game for the Cincinnati Bengals and thrown for 2,023 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. No. 6 pick Justin Herbert from Oregon has started the past five games for the Los Angeles Chargers and thrown for 1,542 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Still, Tagovailoa’s first start in the eighth game of the season is a big enough deal that reporters even were asking the Rams offensive coordinator about the rookie QB this week.

“Always thought he’s been as pure of a passer of the ball coming out,” Kevin O’Connell said. “You can tell there’s a lot of torque to his motion, a lot of power behind that kind of compact motion that he has. He’s really fundamentally sound. Always felt from early on, even in his college days that he could make some plays off-schedule and he was a threat when he got out on the perimeter against the defense to really extend the play and give his receivers chances to work for him, so, obviously, that’s going to be something he’ll probably continue to do now that he’s getting a chance to play full-time. But, yeah, I’ve always been impressed with not only the player but the person, and his teammates really seem to respond to him.”

The Rams and Dolphins kick off at noon CST Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Alabama’s FOX affiliates are scheduled to televise the game.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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