Page 4 November 2, 2017
Surprising Rams Catching NFL by Storm
team is finding ways to get the job done on
the road too. Four of the team’s five wins
entering the break have been away from the
Coliseum in Los Angeles (counting the game
in London), as a variety of players continue
to get the job done in the face of adversity.
“We’ve got a lot of good contributors who
understand their importance and their role,
and you just try to make a habit of pointing
them out” McVay explained. “That lets them
feel appreciated because it is recognized and
that credit is well deserved.”
It’s not just the Donalds, Goffs and the
Gurleys who are getting the job done, but
also the Matt Longacres (who leads the team
in sacks), Malcolm Browns (backup running
back) and Marqui Christians (special teams
ace) who are flying under the radar, giving
the Rams a fully balanced attack. That
fully balanced attack is precisely what Los
Angeles will need as it gets into the part of
the schedule that will see the team take on
many of the NFC’s elite line-ups. Through the
first half of the season, Los Angeles already
has more wins than it had all of last year.
While only time will tell if they can hold
onto the first place spot in their division, it
has become overwhelmingly clear that this
young Rams team is certainly headed in the
right direction. •
By Adam Serrao
Maybe it took a trip to London to finally
get the world to realize that the team is for
real. Maybe it’s just a new head coach and
an explosive offense led by second-year
quarterback Jared Goff that has the Los
Angeles Rams sitting tied for first place in
the NFC West standings. Either way you spin
it, the Rams have won four of their last five
games and are now 5-2 heading into Week
9 of the NFL season. After 10 long years of
a tumultuous, losing brand of football, who
would have thought that the Rams would
have had what it takes to be a competitive
team in the NFL in what is now just their
second season in Los Angeles?
The outlook for the Rams is currently as
sunny and bright as the typical seven-day
forecast in Los Angeles. The last time the
Rams finished the regular season with a
winning record was in 2003, when they
also won five of their first seven contests
of the year. New head coach Sean McVay
certainly hopes that this season ends in the
same successful way that the 2003 season
did, when the Rams took home the NFC
West title and lost in the divisional round
of the playoffs.
“He has a standard and it’s pretty high in
terms of precise football execution,” Rams
general manager Les Snead said of McVay,
who is currently the youngest head coach
in the NFL. “We needed a culture change,”
star defensive tackle Aaron Donald added.
“You just want to bust your butt for him.”
McVay’s youth and exuberance can certainly
be said to be one reason for Los Angeles’
stark turnaround from a 4-12 finish just one
season ago. Another reason can be what he
and the rest of the coaching staff has done
for an offense that is one of only two in the
league to score over 200 total points in the
season dating back to last week. Jared Goff,
the quarterback who looks like a new man
now that Jeff Fisher is gone, has the Rams
offense leading the league through their bye
week in scoring, averaging 30.3 points per
game. Goff’s nine touchdown passes to just
four interceptions gives the Rams a distinct
weekly advantage on the offensive side of the
ball that the team has not experienced since
the glory days in St. Louis when they were
nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Turf.”
Instead of Marshall Faulk, who occupied
the backfield in those days some 18 years
ago, now resides Todd Gurley. Gurley, like
the Rams as a whole, is also enjoying a
resurgent season in which he has averaged
4.3 yards per carry and gained 627 yards
on the ground. Gurley has also been getting
it done as a receiver, compiling a total of
293 yards and three touchdown catches thus
far, giving the team a potent, dual-threat
offensive weapon to line up behind Goff.
No team is complete without an elite
defense and although the Rams began the
year slowly on that side of the ball, new
defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has now
seemingly turned things around. While the
Rams may have given up a total of 96 points
in weeks two through four of the regular
season, they have only allowed a total of
33 points in the three games since then.
Currently L.A is allowing 19.7 points per
game, which ranks the team as the league’s
10th best scoring defense. Coming off of
a 33-0 shutout over the Arizona Cardinals
at Twickenham Stadium in London with
Donald now back from his holdout and
fully integrated into Phillips’ system, that
shutout may be a sign of things to come.
It also certainly bodes well for a Rams
team that is headed into a mixture of tough
matchups against the likes of the Houston
Texans, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia
Eagles and Seattle Seahawks, among others.
It may be an understatement to say
that the Rams are the biggest surprise of
the 2017 NFL season so far. What’s even
more surprising, though, is that the young
Finance
3 Steps to Help Freelancers and Gig Economy Workers Avoid a Tax Blunder
receipts are deductible.
When you’re freelancing, you’re your
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For example, gig economy workers who
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while also moonlighting as an Uber or Lyft
driver should track all income and expenses
separately. That means keeping accurate
records of any money paid directly by clients
and keeping track of income reported on
documents such as Forms 1099-MISC and
1099-K. These forms are issued when selfemployment
income exceeds $600 (1099-
MISC) and when a contractor is paid through
credit- and debit-card payment processors
(1099-K). Come tax time, fill out a Schedule
C for every company or client who has paid
you to report all of the income you earned.
The IRS requires independent contractors
to file and pay taxes on a quarterly basis,
even if you anticipate getting a refund at the
end of the tax year. Use a tax calculator to
help determine whether you should make
estimated tax payments. You can also use
Worksheet 2.1 in IRS Form 1040-ES,
Estimated Tax for Individuals, to figure
out whether you must pay estimated tax.
Whatever method you choose, make sure
you calculate adjusted gross income, taxable
income, taxes, deductions and credits.
As a rule of thumb, if you will owe at
least $1,000 in taxes, you should plan to
pay estimated taxes during the current tax
year. Jaeger added, “If you owe estimated
quarterly payments but don’t pay them in
full, you could face an underpayment penalty
by the IRS.” •
(BPT) - More and more people are earning
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or selling handmade jewelry on Etsy.
“While it’s easier now than ever to earn
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earned. And, they’re also subject to selfemployment
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If you’re one of the 55 million Americans
who chooses to freelance, it can be difficult
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how much tax you owe. In fact, a recent
survey conducted by the National Association
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income.”
Taxpayers who miscalculate taxes owed are
likely to get a form called a CP2000 from
the IRS. Whether you work full time and
earn a little extra cash from a side hustle
or you’re a full-time contractor, meticulous
record-keeping is a must. Once a quarter, as
you determine what you’ll owe for quarterly
tax payments, make note of which of those
“Love yourself. It is important to stay positive because beauty comes from the inside out.”
– jenn proske