Continuity paid off for the Los Angeles Rams' offense last season Dan Hampton Jersey , starting with the same offensive line combination that played together in all but one game.

It certainly did for running back Todd Gurley, who signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension in July after running for 1,305 yards and scoring 19 total touchdowns last season behind that familiar front five.

"Whoever said money don't make you happy lied," Gurley said with a smile Wednesday.

The Rams expect even greater stability on offense to translate into continued success in head coach Sean McVay's second season, a belief that has been reinforced during the start of training camp.

At this same stage last year, the Rams were working in new additions at left tackle, center and wide receiver while learning the basics of a new offense, and were still weeks away from trading for wide receiver Sammy Watkins. They return 10 of 11 starters for this year's workouts at UC Irvine, with new acquisition Brandin Cooks replacing Watkins as the big play threat in the passing game.

Quarterback Jared Goff said the familiarity is paying dividends, especially during the transition from teaching the offense in the first few days to refining each element of a system that produced an NFL-leading 29.9 points per game.

"We feel like we're in a good spot," Goff said. "Offensively, we've been starting to click. I think today was the first day you really felt that consistency starting to gel. We're not so much installing anymore, we're running the same plays over and over again and starting to get a good feel with it."

"It makes everyone so much more comfortable just to come out here and just play our game. You don't have to think about too much Thurman Thomas Jersey , and that's what it is all about," Gurley said.

For Goff, his increased comfort level entering his second season as the starter manifests in a better understanding of what opposing defenses are trying to do.

"It just continues to slow down," Goff said. "Your pre-snap process is a lot smoother, and you're more under control of everything and are seeing things better."

While Goff is playing faster, there has been no deceleration by Gurley after signing a contract featuring the most guaranteed money for a running back in NFL history. Goff and McVay both praised his relentlessness in practice, with a prime example coming when Gurley kept running towards the end zone as McVay was setting up the next play in the sequence.

"I got what I want, now let's keep going," Gurley said. "Nothing doesn't stop. The grind continues. It's going to be even harder now, obviously, to be able to do what I did last year, and teams are going to game plan for it. It's my job to go out there, put myself in a great position and try to work as hard as I can. As long as I do that, I feel comfortable with the players around me and the coaches around me to put me in a great position."

With so much familiarity returning http://www.indianapoliscoltsteamonline.com/erik-swoope-jersey , Gurley is ready to build on his best season to date. But he understands his individual production is the result of what the offense does together, declaring that every running back is the beneficiary of the blocking he gets before Gurley backtracked.

"Obviously, Barry Sanders is going to do what he do, but it doesn't matter what other running back you have back there. If you don't have all 11 doing one thing, then it's not going to work," he said.

NOTES: Outside linebacker Matt Longacre left practice early because of an undisclosed injury. . Kicker Greg Zuerlein made a 63-yard field goal during a simulated two-minute drill.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Dante Fowler considers the preseason finale at Tampa Bay a homecoming — and an audition.

Even though Fowler is an integral part of Jacksonville’s vaunted defense, he will be on the field Thursday night against the Buccaneers. The reason: Fowler is suspended for the regular-season opener at the New York Giants, so the fourth-year defensive end will get a little more work before leaving the team for a week.

Fowler welcomes the opportunity since he knows this is likely his final season in Jacksonville. He’s essentially starting his 2019 free agency pitch six months early.

“Honestly my goal this year is really just to show people that I’m a franchise player,” said Fowler, who grew up near Tampa in St. Petersburg. “I’m an elite player. I’m one of the top defensive ends, linebackers, whatever you want to call me, in this league.”

Fowler notched a career-high eight sacks last season http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/mitchell-trubisky-jersey , plus two more in the AFC championship game at New England. He averaged one sack for every 46.6 snaps played, better than Jaguars All-Pro defensive end Calais Campbell (55.2) and Pro Bowler Yannick Ngakoue (59.4).

But Fowler’s off-field issues combined with the franchise’s belief Ngakoue is a budding star have made the fourth-year player expendable, especially since he’s a backup in the final year of his rookie contract and sure to land a starting role elsewhere.

Just not yet.

The Jaguars want one more productive year from the third overall pick in the 2015 draft.

“It’s not like I have to get double-digit sacks,” Fowler said. “When you watch me on film, even though I might be coming off the bench, they’ll be like, ‘That guy, he has a future.’ That’s all I want to do. I want to go out there and put great tape out there, being fundamentally sound, playing fast and physical, getting to the quarterback, being stout in the run game.

“I don’t want to just be known as a pass-rusher. I want to be known as a guy that’s going to get sacks and get 6-10 tackles a game. That’s just the type of player I am. So, I just want people to know that I’m known as a complete player on the field and I’m a professional and I’m a guy that cleaned up his act and left that past in the past. I’m ready to move on from that.”

Fowler’s troubles have been well documented.

He was suspended for a week during training camp following an after-practice altercation with Ngakoue. He also was arrested twice in as many years, including in 2017 for hitting a 55-year-old man. Fowler eventually pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges. The case was closed in March Ray Nitschke Jersey , with Fowler sentenced to a year of probation and 75 hours of community service.

The NFL suspended him without pay for the opener, a one-game penalty that will cost him $214,000.

Fowler also was arrested in 2016, although those charges were eventually dropped.

Coach Doug Marrone said Fowler has been a model player since returning from the one-week suspension.

“I have had no issues with him,” Marrone said. “He has been doing a good job.”

Fowler insists he’s matured through it all, ready to focus on football and his future. He wants to be “a teddy bear off the field but a monster on the field.”

“Just want to show people that the past, them three years, my rookie year coming in and all that, that learning experience is, that chapter is over with and it’s just about being a professional, being a grown man and just being the player that I want to be,” he said. “How I want my legacy to be? That’s honestly what it is. That’s honestly what I want my goals to be this year.”

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