LOS ANGELES — First, Eric Yarber begins to bounce. He hops from one foot then the other, his arms start swinging as he picks up speed and gathers his Los Angeles Rams receivers around him. His wide grin is punctuated by a toothpick. He radiates joy and enthusiasm, and his players can’t help but bounce with him as he calls out:
“Yarbinators, MOUNT UP!”
Yarber, 60, has coached the Rams’ receivers since 2017 after two decades in both collegiate and professional ranks. His method of getting his guys into the right mental space before games is a beloved tradition.
“It is joy, it’s to get them hyped, and to let them know, ‘you guys aren’t just a part of this, I’m a part of this too. We’re all together’” he said, beaming.
“His quick little way of hyping us up,” said veteran player Tyler Johnson, “running out there on the field, out of the tunnel before we’re doing our little receiver drills, and just seeing Yarbs — (he’s) calling us by our nicknames, getting ready to roll.”
Yarber does give receivers nicknames — another tradition — but only when they earn it. Johnson is “Playmaker.” Veteran Demarcus Robinson is “Martian.” Star Cooper Kupp is, of course, “Super Cooper”; speedy Tutu Atwell is “turbo Tutu.”
Yarbs’ reputation among coaches around the league as a “secret weapon” for the Rams goes way beyond nicknames and pregame rituals. His teaching progression and his attention to the details that are crucial for receivers to perfect within Sean McVay’s meticulous passing offense are among the reasons why the Rams seem to churn out a bright new talent at the position every year.
“He was the guy who came and put me through a workout when I was going through the draft process as well,” said Kupp, a 2017 third-round pick who won the NFL’s Triple Crown in 2021. “As early as it could possibly be, I’ve known Yarbs and his energy. It’s cool seeing that he hasn’t lost any of it at all. He’s still the same guy he was eight years ago, and those guys are getting the same vigor, the same intensity that I was getting (back) in my rookie year.”
Whether veteran or rookie, Yarber approaches each receiver the same way as a new season begins. In their very first meeting, he tells them to worry about nothing but what they can control, “their effort and their attitude.” He begins their mental upload of the playbook with formations first, and then plays. McVay’s offense features clusters and sequences of different plays, run out of pre-snap formations that often disguise what the offense will do. For receivers who will either dig into the run blocking surface or run a variety of different routes — which unfold in complementary layers upfield — specifically understanding the types of formations and the spacing in their splits and bunches pre-snap matter down to the literal inch.
“It’s all in the details. Being at the right split. … All of that makes a big difference in the execution of the play. If you’re in the details, most of the time the play will be successful.”
Johnson said Yarber’s knowledge in this category is endless. “All of the guys respect him. All of the guys know everything he says is real. I’m sure I’m not the only one thankful to have him as a coach just because of how he brings the best out of each one of us. The love he has for us, the way he gets us prepped … is special.”
Finally, Yarber reminds his players: “To make the ‘makeable’ play. You don’t have to be superhuman.
“It’s going to take a lot of studying. We’re going to get you up to speed. A lot of this stuff is going to be new to you, but don’t panic. … I’m not going to put you in a position to fail; I’m going to make sure you succeed.”
The Rams’ receiving corps is under more scrutiny than usual this week after second-year star Puka Nacua (“Powerful Puka,” to Yarbs), who set new rookie records in yards and receptions in 2023, went on injured reserve with a sprained PCL. Nacua could miss more than the minimum four games, McVay said Wednesday.
Nacua’s absence can’t simply mean it’s time for “hero-ball” between quarterback Matthew Stafford and his No. 1 receiver Kupp, who was targeted on 21 of Stafford’s 49 pass attempts in Sunday night’s loss to Detroit. The Rams are actually 1-6 when Kupp is targeted 15 or more times in a game, ESPN Stats & Info found.
“We want to be able to have all five (eligible receivers) get involved,” McVay said. “We want to be able to do what we think is best to be able to move the football and score points.”
That could mean more looks for Robinson and Johnson. Robinson plays in a true “X” role for the Rams, though in this system the “X” does not mean “No. 1 receiver.” Robinson’s range and particularly his knack for helping a quarterback working out of structure or freelancing on a pass play has made him a friendly and trusted target for Stafford especially when the veteran quarterback is escaping pressure.
“I think that comes with practice, knowing who will be there when you need (it),” Robinson said. “It comes with the repetition of going through that stuff in training camp and believing in one another, seeing one another do this throughout the week and seeing who will be there (if) that time comes. ‘If I do gotta scramble, I know who I can look for.’”
Johnson is Nacua’s backup, although three years his senior. The Rams put Johnson in the role in training camp because of his run-after-the-catch and run blocking abilities, plus his general steadiness.
He is, of course, not Nacua. But Sunday night, Johnson’s ability in combination with Yarber’s reminders (“worry about nothing but attitude and effort” and “make the makeable play”) came to life. No Rams receiver panicked — least of all Johnson — when Nacua was carted to the locker room just before halftime, misery etched across his face. On second-and-12 late in the third quarter, Johnson read his defender’s body angle on a short catch perfectly, spinning away and keeping his eyes on upfield spacing and blockers for a 63-yard gain.
GO AHEAD @T_muhneyy10!
📺: @SNFonNBC | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/BkVLwnjIwz
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 9, 2024
“That’s what our job is to do,” said Johnson. “Once we go in the game, the expectation level does not drop from whoever goes in the game, whoever comes out. It’s all the same. We’re all required to do the same thing: Go out there, block, catch the ball, do whatever it is that we need to do.”
Atwell has had a difficult time staying on the field in a full-time role despite his field-flipping speed, and in part it is because he is Robinson’s backup (and the more veteran receiver has length and a massive catch radius despite being a touch slower than Atwell). Against Detroit, McVay deployed Atwell with success as a decoy, to force the Lions defense to shift its coverage to account for him in the deeper portion of the field, and leaving Kupp open on the opposite side of the field.
Jordan Whittington, the rookie sixth-round pick, had a touchdown nullified by backup tackle AJ Arcuri’s holding penalty early in the fourth quarter. With Nacua out most of training camp, Whittington also got snaps in rotation with Johnson in the first-team offense, especially on run and yards-after-catch plays. Whittington’s emergence in the preseason — he had 11 catches for 126 yards in two games, before McVay sat him in the third game as a signal he had made the team — had studio analysts and social media buzzing. The Rams found another one!
A key figure in building that reputation is Yarber, and has been for years.
“You’ve always, (even) from afar respected this group, No. 1 because they play hard and No. 2 because in my opinion it’s the most detailed receiver group in the league,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “It starts with him. It starts with the standard he has. Guys buy into that. He’s a good coach, but he’s a better human, he’s a better person, and players are going to respect that if they know that he cares about (them). … I know I love Yarbs, and I know the guys do too.”
(Top photo of Eric Yarber and Cooper Kupp: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)
