Raiders at Rams Preseason Week 2

[Merlin]

Some general notes after rewatching the game and not including OL stuff which has its own thread:

1. Franklin needs to watch how he lines up on the neutral zone. He's offsides at times and somehow wasn't called.

2. Hager had a fine game. He looks like he's put on weight and it suits him. Nice quick diagnoses for the most part and wrapped dudes up.

3. TE depth is terrible. Hemingway is a great size/speed guy with zero ball skills in the passing game STILL and that ain't gonna change. Mundt seems dependable when he's open, which is if someone ignores him, but is a crappy blocker in space. They're JAGs. This team needs better depth options IMO.

4. Took a long look at some WRs... Thomas' routes are quite excellent for a young guy that low on the depth chart. It's his hands I don't trust. Hodge has natural ball focus/hands abilities but his routes are too sloppy. Cooper has lost his confidence in punt returns, that fair catch with nobody near him was unconscionable for someone of his experience level. This Natson kid might be just be good enough and in the right place at the right time to benefit too.

5. Christian has made this team IMO. He is playing fast and instinctively and fits what they're doing.

6. Kelly same. Dude is going to be on this roster.

 

[XXXIVwin]

Kelly could challenge for Brown’s spot. Don’t like how Brown has lost weight, he was more of a wrecking ball last year.

Hemingway looked disappointing. Hated the casual body language, didn’t look sharp or sudden in his movements or in his blocks, combined with the drops vs Ravens and per reports from camp.

JFM for real. Westbrook’s was beastly, best player on field at times. Hager solid. Hatfield looked solid as well.

GZ not back to 2017 accuracy quite yet—- one miss and one FG barely squeaked through. Kickoffs solid though. I have faith he’ll round back to form.

Noteboom a revelation, Allen showed promise, Demby not so much. Saw at least one whiff from Demby.

Jeez, watching Rams vanilla offense was weird... looked like a playbook from 1983.

Allen not gonna replace Mannion. Can Mannion be serviceable? He must look good in practice, because the 2 preseason game have been pretty ugly.

 

[TexasRam]

Really like what I have seen of Kelly so far.
Runs with a good purpose and can be patient when he needs to be. He is a keeper for sure I think.
Noteboom impressed again.
The Raiders didn't play starters today.
I'm two weeks I haven't seen a bad play by Noteboom. Today a rusher got a step on him and he was athletic enough to push him wide without holding.
Noteboom looks like a real player to me.

Noteboom has looked great in both games, but I did see him hook a guy on an outside speed rush and the ref didn't catch it. He will have to clean that up, along with finding the second level block in the run game a little better. But overall he shows huge promise as a LT immediately, and boy do we need that in case Whitworth goes down.

Next challenge for Noteboom is how he will fare vs the top sack masters in the league. This is where Whitworth shows his value as he can toe to toe with the great pass rushers and usually stone wall them.

 

[TexasRam]

Hager was a standout among non-starters. That’s not intended to be a knock. He was showing up pretty consistently. I’d be surprised if he’s a cut and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets significant play time this season.

That's the funny thing. I have always viewed Hager as a solid backup and low end starter. People love to hate on him for some reason. He's able to run with guys 20 yards down the field as demonstrated today and play sound run defense without getting washed out. Im not saying the dude is an all pro talent but he was always in my eyes a more solid interior LB then Ogletree and other backup options.

 

[ProGen]

Some general notes after rewatching the game and not including OL stuff which has its own thread:

1. Franklin needs to watch how he lines up on the neutral zone. He's offsides at times and somehow wasn't called.

2. Hager had a fine game. He looks like he's put on weight and it suits him. Nice quick diagnoses for the most part and wrapped dudes up.

3. TE depth is terrible. Hemingway is a great size/speed guy with zero ball skills in the passing game STILL and that ain't gonna change. Mundt seems dependable when he's open, which is if someone ignores him, but is a crappy blocker in space. They're JAGs. This team needs better depth options IMO.

4. Took a long look at some WRs... Thomas' routes are quite excellent for a young guy that low on the depth chart. It's his hands I don't trust. Hodge has natural ball focus/hands abilities but his routes are too sloppy. Cooper has lost his confidence in punt returns, that fair catch with nobody near him was unconscionable for someone of his experience level. This Natson kid might be just be good enough and in the right place at the right time to benefit too.

5. Christian has made this team IMO. He is playing fast and instinctively and fits what they're doing.

6. Kelly same. Dude is going to be on this roster.

Kelly could challenge for Brown’s spot. Don’t like how Brown has lost weight, he was more of a wrecking ball last year.

Hemingway looked disappointing. Hated the casual body language, didn’t look sharp or sudden in his movements or in his blocks, combined with the drops vs Ravens and per reports from camp.

JFM for real. Westbrook’s was beastly, best player on field at times. Hager solid. Hatfield looked solid as well.

GZ not back to 2017 accuracy quite yet—- one miss and one FG barely squeaked through. Kickoffs solid though. I have faith he’ll round back to form.

Noteboom a revelation, Allen showed promise, Demby not so much. Saw at least one whiff from Demby.

Jeez, watching Rams vanilla offense was weird... looked like a playbook from 1983.

Allen not gonna replace Mannion. Can Mannion be serviceable? He must look good in practice, because the 2 preseason game have been pretty ugly.

Appreciate the reviews gents! The Kelly hype is real. Glad to hear he is looking good out there.

As for our TE's....jeeeeeezzzuuusss. This position does my head in. When was the last time we had a good group of TE's? Such an important position in todays NFL and we have a bunch of below average players. McVay must be craving a good TE to open this offense up!

Also, nice to hear positives about JFM, Hager, Westbrooks and Noteboom.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Noteboom has looked great in both games, but I did see him hook a guy on an outside speed rush and the ref didn't catch it.

Maybe he was watching tape on how tackles stopped Robert Quinn and were never flagged so he followed suit.

.

 

[jrry32]

Noteboom has looked great in both games, but I did see him hook a guy on an outside speed rush and the ref didn't catch it. He will have to clean that up, along with finding the second level block in the run game a little better. But overall he shows huge promise as a LT immediately, and boy do we need that in case Whitworth goes down.

Next challenge for Noteboom is how he will fare vs the top sack masters in the league. This is where Whitworth shows his value as he can toe to toe with the great pass rushers and usually stone wall them.

The refs are basically treating that as legal now as long as you don't take them to the ground and stay on their hip.

 

[CGI_Ram]

https://www.therams.com/news/five-t...ze-on-turnovers-in-preseason-win-over-raiders

Five Takeaways: Rams Capitalize on Turnovers in Preseason Win over Raiders

With strong defense, takeaways, and timely scores the Rams came away with a 19-15 victory over the Raiders on Saturday.

As always with preseason, the final score rarely tells the whole story. With that in mind, here are five instant takeaways from Los Angeles’ second preseason contest.

1) FIRST-HALF TAKEAWAYS LEAD TO POINTS

Linebacker Ramik Wilson put the Rams in scoring position with a defensive takeaway late in the first quarter.

On 2nd-and-10 from the Oakland 38, quarterback Connor Cook dropped the ball in the pocket while setting up to pass. The fumble went to the defense’s right, where Wilson was there to scoop up the loose ball on a dead sprint. He raced up the field 16 yards to put Los Angeles in strong scoring position at the Oakland 15.

Running back John Kelly continued his strong preseason on the ensuing offensive possession, using a pair of runs to put L.A. on the Oakland five-yard line. While it took all four downs, Kelly made it into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown. Kelly fumbled as he crossed the goal line, but recovered the loose ball to secure the score.

L.A. got another takeaway late in the first half when quarterback E.J. Manuel fumbled while trying to scramble out of the backfield. After the signal-caller inadvertently kicked the ball forward, linebacker Bryce Hager recovered the fumble and gave L.A. strong field position in Oakland territory. Kicker Greg Zuerlein connected on a 28-yard field goal to end the first half, giving L.A. a 13-0 lead.

2) SUFFOCATING DEFENSE

The Rams defense had a strong first half in general, allowing just 58 total yards on 22 plays.

Between the takeaways, tackles for loss, and strong coverage in the secondary, Los Angeles allowed only one first down in the game’s first 30 minutes. The Raiders were also 0-for-6 in third-down efficiency.

Cook played the first quarter and completed just four of his seven passes for 15 yards. Manuel took over for the second quarter and completed five of his six passes for 43 yards.

Running back Chris Warren III took five carries for just 19 yards in the first half — and nine of those yards came on one play.

3) MANNION CONNECTS

After a disappointing outing against the Ravens last week, quarterback Sean Mannion fared much better against Oakland. Playing only the first half, the Oregon State product finished 10-of-16 passing for 84 yards.

One highlight of the half was his 47-yard bomb down the right sideline to wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge. The wideout made an outstanding grab, leaping up to secure the ball and bring it down over a defender.

The catch put L.A. in scoring position, and Zuerlein capitalized on the opportunity with a 42-yard field goal to give the home team a 10-0 advantage.

4) DEFENSIVE LINEMEN MAKING PLAYS

Rookie defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers made his preseason debut on Saturday and had a clear impact during the first half.

He first induced a hold to put Oakland in a 1st-and-20 down and distance. Then on the next play, the fourth-round pick got into Cook’s face to force a screen pass high and incomplete on the right side.

Late in the second quarter, Franklin-Myers started an Oakland drive by sacking Manuel for a seven-yard loss.

Fellow defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks also played well — particularly late in the first half. Just after Franklin-Myers’ sack, Westbrooks nearly had one of his own but Manuel was able to flip the ball to running back Jalen Richard for a short gain.

Manuel wasn’t so lucky on the next play, when Westbrooks came in and strip-sacked Manuel for the Rams’ second takeaway of the first half. Westbrooks now has 3.0 sacks in the preseason after recording a pair last week against Baltimore on quarterback Lamar Jackson.

5) ZUERLEIN, FICKEN SPLIT KICKING DUTIES

Zurelein has been solid in practice since returning from a season-ending back injury and connected on two of this three field-goal attempts during Saturday’s game. His first attempt was from 48-yards out and though it had the distance, the kick ended up wide right.

Subsequently, Zuerlein would hit a pair of field goals from 42-yards out midway through the second quarter, and then 28-yards out as time expired in the first half.

Reserve kicker Greg Ficken handled the kicking and punting duties in the second half. Ficken connected on a 35-yard field goal early in the second half. And he extended Los Angeles’ lead to 19-15 with a 32-yard kick midway through the final period.

Neither Zuerlein nor Ficken allowed much room for a return, always nailing the ball deep into the end zone to combine for five touchbacks.

 

[jrry32]

I think Ethan Westbrooks is going to have a nice year as our top DL off the bench. He won't be forced to always play NT, which doesn't suit his game well.

 

[dieterbrock]

Mannion had only 84 yards passing on 16 attempts. Without the 47 yarder, 37 yards on 15.
Playing against these soft 2nd-3rd strong defense should be child’s play for a veteran. And here he is still looking like a confused rookie.
Went thru all his game logs and only twice has he had over 10 yards per completion. It’s so frustrating that the one tool he has that is plus rating is arm strength yet he rarely utilizes it.
The seam pass to Mundt yesterday was a beauty but more often than not he checks down. Year after year

 

[Prime Time]

View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1030956271569002496


View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1031021866775793664


View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1030999809933565955

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Yeah I had written Hager off, but right now I'm glad we have him. He's kind of what I hoped to see from Kiser at this point.

 

[Prime Time]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-refocused-2018-rams-19-raiders-15

ReFocused, NFL Preseason Week 2: Los Angeles Rams 19, Oakland Raiders 15
BY PFF ANALYSIS TEAM

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Oakland Raiders on Saturday afternoon, 19-15 continuing the second full week of preseason action in the NFL.

Running back John Kelly was praised for his performance in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week, but this game wasn’t quite as impressive. Averaging just 3.1 yards per carry, and two yards per reception, there was a lot of dancing around and not really getting anywhere for the former Tennessee running back. At times, he would have been better just taking what was available to him as opposed to looking for more. Disaster almost struck for him as he fumbled going into the end zone, but he was able to recover it to preserve the touchdown.

Two plays really changed the perspective for how this performance from quarterback Brandon Allen is viewed. The first was the fourth-quarter interception where he completely missed linebacker James Cowser in coverage, throwing the ball straight to him and setting the Raiders up just outside the redzone. The second was a missed opportunity on the Rams second-to-last drive, where he overthrew Steven Mitchell after he had gotten wide open in the end zone, forcing them to settle for a field goal.

Nate Holley was a ballhawk in this one, jumping routes and defending a few passes. The Rams coverage unit as a whole was quite solid throughout the game. Of course, things are always easier with a consistent pass-rush, but several members of the defense made some nifty plays on the ball.

The Rams pass-rush was dominant throughout the majority of the game, with Samson Ebukam putting on quite the display against the Raiders offensive line. He got home on multiple occasions using both power and finesse moves. He was not the sole contributor though, as the entire Rams’ front took turns making life very difficult for Raiders quarterbacks.

Jon Feliciano didn’t bring his A-game to this one, as he struggled to establish himself in the pass game and failed to create much of a push in the run game as well. Much of the Raiders offensive line gave up quick pressures during the game, making it tough for both Connor Cook and E.J. Manuel to get into any sort of rhythm.

While he did lose a fumble, Manuel played decent considering the amount of time he had in the pocket. His best throw may have been a would-be connection on a pretty ‘go’ route with Marcus Baugh, but unfortuntely the former Ohio State Buckeye couldn’t reel it in.

Fifth-round draft pick Maurice Hurst was easy to notice in this game, and his speed on the defensive interior is already causing problems for offensive lineman. He finished the game having made an impact against the run and adding a sack as a pass-rusher, but did get caught upfield on two occasions as well.

Edge defender Shilique Calhoun had an eventful game, both good and bad. On one hand, he was a force against the run and the pass, generating pressure and blowing up runs in the backfield. On the other, he was charged with two big penalties. One of those could have gone either way, but his facemask penalty late in the fourth quarter allowed the Rams to kneel out the clock. It might only be preseason, but that’s still a game-ending poor decision.

KEY TO THE GAME

Oakland: The Rams pass rush was dangerous and consistent, taking advantage of some weak depth along the Raiders’ offensive line. Ultimately, that’s where the biggest difference in this one was.

Los Angeles: The Rams didn’t get punished for their early mistakes, with Kelly recovering his own fumble in the end zone and a potential Mannion interception being caught out of bounds. Had those two plays gone differently, the end result might have been flipped.

 

[Ramlock]

Let's forget Austin Davis.

 

[fearsomefour]

Noteboom has looked great in both games, but I did see him hook a guy on an outside speed rush and the ref didn't catch it. He will have to clean that up, along with finding the second level block in the run game a little better. But overall he shows huge promise as a LT immediately, and boy do we need that in case Whitworth goes down.

Next challenge for Noteboom is how he will fare vs the top sack masters in the league. This is where Whitworth shows his value as he can toe to toe with the great pass rushers and usually stone wall them.

100%.
I'm saying he doesn't have room to improve.
But, it's clear he can play.
He moved and is smooth and very importantly plays with balance....which was the undoing of Grob and others....he can pass block.
The depth he provided at LT is instantly much, much improved.
Noteboom, Allen and Blythe appear to give
the Rams improved game day depth (assuming they dress 8 OL).

 

[Ram_Rally]

DeMarcus Ware, Aldon Smith, Elvis Dumervil, and Terrell Suggs did pretty well as tweeners. Someone like Michael Sam and a host of others didn't. When you have a system and the brains and experience like Wade Phillips has, the chances are good he can get the most out of him.

Thanks for the info. I'm really hoping he turns into a great foundational piece

 

[1maGoh]

1. Franklin needs to watch how he lines up on the neutral zone. He's offsides at times and somehow wasn't called.

Noteboom has looked great in both games, but I did see him hook a guy on an outside speed rush and the ref didn't catch it.

What? You two think you can call a game better than the professional referees?

Oh wait. Pretty much anyone could call games better than the professional referees.

 

[RamWoodie]

I think Ethan Westbrooks is going to have a nice year as our top DL off the bench. He won't be forced to always play NT, which doesn't suit his game well.

He's may be the guy to start if the Donald deal doesn't get done.

OTOH...I'm still not sold on the LBs except for Hager right now. Seems they need more work to really win me over.

 

[Merlin]

Yeah I had written Hager off, but right now I'm glad we have him. He's kind of what I hoped to see from Kiser at this point.

Kiser looks his best when he's playing downhill near the LOS. Which is what his college film showed so it's no surprise. What is interesting with him is what he'll be if they get him to be more consistent in his drops. I don't think he'll ever be a plus guy in coverage but he definitely has a future as a 2 down run thumper for when you play the more physical run teams, and if he improves in coverage could be a starter maybe down the road.

But yeah I am with you on Hager. He's nothing special but he really has improved and is a solid depth guy right now.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

I just rewatched about 2 and a half quarters of the game.

I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with some depth at some positions. (LB, Secondary)

I mentioned a few names yesterday but I believe I forgot to mention Laguda.

That guy made some excellent plays. There were 3 plays in a row that were all Laguda.

He looks like a guy that'll make this roster.