- Joined
- Mar 28, 2016
- Messages
- 4,937
- Name
- Jake
Lets dive right into it,
Offense - Positives
Shelton and Anchrum - I think both have cemented themselves as the apparent backups to RT and C. Shelton has really stepped up his game and shown he at least can be depended on in a game or two if Allen goes down. Hopefully he continues to grow in the next preseason game to show he's ready to be called on if needed. Anchrum, a pleasant surprise at Tackle. While he's smaller he makes up for it with good footwork and getting into his frames quickly off the snap. While I don't think he'll ever be a starter, he's proven he can fill in if needed. I'm not sure if he or Evans the better RT since I haven't seen Evans play one snap @ RT this preseason. Kind of a head scratcher. With Anchrums frame you'd think he'd be a better Guard than Tackle. But what do I know...
Jones and Funk,
After carefully watching these two, it's become apparent to me that Jones has separated himself from Funk in both pass catching and running the ball. He looks smoother and can get outside when needed if the play breaks down inside. While I think Funk might have a higher ceiling than Jones at least for now it looks like Jones is more NFL ready. Not to mention Funk is an injury away from working at the local grocery store. For anyone that saw McVays comments after the game about how Funk has separated himself from Jones, Im not sure WTF he is talking about. But maybe he see's something I don't and I'll trust his eyes more than my own. With that being said I still think Funk by mid season will take over the No2 spot with Jones bringing up the 3rd option. And I still think we sign a cut FA or trade for a RB that has some NFL starting exp.
Hopkins,
He did show up yesterday and I have to give credit where credit is due. And maybe it's because he actually got on the field and stayed out there. He had a couple of nice grabs and one nice contested catch along the sidelines. If he can continue to show improvement every week then I eventually expect him to take over the No2 spot by week 3 or 4. In his second season he should be at least somewhat acclimated to what's to be expected of him. He still needs a lot of polishing but the only way he's going to get that now is by being thrown in the deep end and see if he sinks or swims.
Offense - wash
Perkins,
I really do love this kid, I think he's a playmaker but there are some limitations to his game and they might be the biggest reason that keeps him from ever developing into a NFL starting QB and that's Perkins arm talent. I love his touch on the ball, he seems to have pretty good accuracy and pocket awareness, however, it does not seem like he has the arm talent to put zip on the ball when needed. Too many passes fluttered and took too long to get to his receivers and that is a HUGE problem when going against starters. I know not every elite QB has elite arm talent but 99% of the top ten QB's at least have the arm strength to make all the throws, and I'm just not sure Perkins even has that capability. Watching some of his comeback throws and how badly he underthrew Tutu on that deep pass was a real indicator that he might not have what it takes to be an NFL QB in the long run. If we see him again this preseason I would like to see him put some mustard on the ball, to see if he can rope a ball 20 yards down the field and not float it to a receiver. Because NFL starting CB's and Safeties will feast on him once they figure out his timing.
Tutu,
I still need to see more of him. I'm not sure he cracks the starting line up this year. He might be more of an insurance policy if Jackson goes down but as of right now he looks raw. Which is completely understandable. I just hope he's not Tavon reincarnated.
Offense - The bad
Evans, Brewer, Meredith;
I pray to Jesus every night that none of these guys get called on this season and our starters have a long healthy season ahead of them. Lets start with Evans, is he playing hurt? Is he playing out or position? Why is he playing? Is McVay making a mistake by giving him so much playing time at Guard rather than Tackle? Last season when he filled in for Hav he wasn't bad at tackle by any means. He wasn't a world beater either but he did his job and kept his mistakes to a minimum. That was also when Hav was having a terrible season so any improvement went a long way. I Just don't think Evans is a Guard AT ALL, and im not sure why the Rams staff is pushing for him to be one. I'm terribly confused by it.
Brewer did so-so at Guard and it all went downhill once he moved to RT and it was not pretty. Keep him at Guard because he's awful at tackle. Meredith, I doubt he makes the team. If he does then we're thinner than I thought at Guard.
As a whole the Oline once again did very poorly. holding penalties, hands to the face and pre-snap penalties really shows our backup Olinemen are being outclassed and outplayed. I have to ask myself, is all this cross training worth it??? When I watch other teams backup Olines they don't look as bad as the Rams. Maybe I'm being overly critical because I'm a Rams fan but I try to look at it thru unbiased lenses and right now I'm just not seeing good backup depth at the Guard or RT spot. hopefully I'm wrong.
Defense - Positives
JR Reed,
This kid is a gamer. I keep on hearing his 40 time is what's going to keep him out of the NFL... Give me a break, some of the best players to ever play the game have slower 40 times than some of their counterparts. It's complete ESPN, PFF, NFLnetwork bullshit. He's a ballhawk and a game changer. If the Rams don't figure out a way to keep him on the roster he will get picked up by another team and be an eventual starter. I'm not saying he's Justin Simmons or JJIII but he passes all the eye test so far and I think he'll end up being an eventual all pro. Watching his film you'll see he's always around the ball even when he's on another assignment. He's got great instincts and isn't afraid to make the hard tackle. Hopefully the rams stash him away on ST this year, and maybe just maybe he'll break the starting lineup this year. Lookout for this kid.
Chris Garrett,
ok ok, before I go all in on him I still would like to see him get more playing time. I can see he's still very raw as a pass rusher but he might just be a keeper. He flat out pancaked a LT yesterday on a bulrush like it was nothing. He also flew by an LT off the edge and made him look like he was standing still. While I'll hold my judgement on him because he's so raw, he definitely has some talent and it's in an area where the Rams have struggled over the last 3 to 4 seasons in finding "that guy" who can rush the passer opposite Floyd and Donald. I'll wait and hone in on him against Denver and see how he does. TBD
Hughes and Harris,
Both DB's flashed at times, I liked their man to man coverage skills and they seemed to cover the field pretty well. Not sure if there's room for them on the roster at this point but they could be a good option on ST and possibly back up David Long if he struggles.
Defense - wash
Howard and Kiser,
The Rams will only keep one and it will probably be Howard from the looks of it. He just looks more comfortable out there and more stout. I think Kiser will end up being the odd man out. Which is weird because last year he was slotted to be the starter over Reeder and company.
Defense - The bad
I don't have too much on this atm. If anyone wants to fill in this segment please feel free to do so. I didn't have time to take any negative notes on defense because i was only really looking for standouts.
Overall,
I'm pretty happy with most positions on our team right now as far as depth is concerned. We still have some holes on offense and defense that have yet to either have a clear cut winner come out at TC and preseason. Like RB and Nickle corner but in the NFL you can't have everything so we'll have to see how the final 53 shakes out.
cheers!
Offense - Positives
Shelton and Anchrum - I think both have cemented themselves as the apparent backups to RT and C. Shelton has really stepped up his game and shown he at least can be depended on in a game or two if Allen goes down. Hopefully he continues to grow in the next preseason game to show he's ready to be called on if needed. Anchrum, a pleasant surprise at Tackle. While he's smaller he makes up for it with good footwork and getting into his frames quickly off the snap. While I don't think he'll ever be a starter, he's proven he can fill in if needed. I'm not sure if he or Evans the better RT since I haven't seen Evans play one snap @ RT this preseason. Kind of a head scratcher. With Anchrums frame you'd think he'd be a better Guard than Tackle. But what do I know...
Jones and Funk,
After carefully watching these two, it's become apparent to me that Jones has separated himself from Funk in both pass catching and running the ball. He looks smoother and can get outside when needed if the play breaks down inside. While I think Funk might have a higher ceiling than Jones at least for now it looks like Jones is more NFL ready. Not to mention Funk is an injury away from working at the local grocery store. For anyone that saw McVays comments after the game about how Funk has separated himself from Jones, Im not sure WTF he is talking about. But maybe he see's something I don't and I'll trust his eyes more than my own. With that being said I still think Funk by mid season will take over the No2 spot with Jones bringing up the 3rd option. And I still think we sign a cut FA or trade for a RB that has some NFL starting exp.
Hopkins,
He did show up yesterday and I have to give credit where credit is due. And maybe it's because he actually got on the field and stayed out there. He had a couple of nice grabs and one nice contested catch along the sidelines. If he can continue to show improvement every week then I eventually expect him to take over the No2 spot by week 3 or 4. In his second season he should be at least somewhat acclimated to what's to be expected of him. He still needs a lot of polishing but the only way he's going to get that now is by being thrown in the deep end and see if he sinks or swims.
Offense - wash
Perkins,
I really do love this kid, I think he's a playmaker but there are some limitations to his game and they might be the biggest reason that keeps him from ever developing into a NFL starting QB and that's Perkins arm talent. I love his touch on the ball, he seems to have pretty good accuracy and pocket awareness, however, it does not seem like he has the arm talent to put zip on the ball when needed. Too many passes fluttered and took too long to get to his receivers and that is a HUGE problem when going against starters. I know not every elite QB has elite arm talent but 99% of the top ten QB's at least have the arm strength to make all the throws, and I'm just not sure Perkins even has that capability. Watching some of his comeback throws and how badly he underthrew Tutu on that deep pass was a real indicator that he might not have what it takes to be an NFL QB in the long run. If we see him again this preseason I would like to see him put some mustard on the ball, to see if he can rope a ball 20 yards down the field and not float it to a receiver. Because NFL starting CB's and Safeties will feast on him once they figure out his timing.
Tutu,
I still need to see more of him. I'm not sure he cracks the starting line up this year. He might be more of an insurance policy if Jackson goes down but as of right now he looks raw. Which is completely understandable. I just hope he's not Tavon reincarnated.
Offense - The bad
Evans, Brewer, Meredith;
I pray to Jesus every night that none of these guys get called on this season and our starters have a long healthy season ahead of them. Lets start with Evans, is he playing hurt? Is he playing out or position? Why is he playing? Is McVay making a mistake by giving him so much playing time at Guard rather than Tackle? Last season when he filled in for Hav he wasn't bad at tackle by any means. He wasn't a world beater either but he did his job and kept his mistakes to a minimum. That was also when Hav was having a terrible season so any improvement went a long way. I Just don't think Evans is a Guard AT ALL, and im not sure why the Rams staff is pushing for him to be one. I'm terribly confused by it.
Brewer did so-so at Guard and it all went downhill once he moved to RT and it was not pretty. Keep him at Guard because he's awful at tackle. Meredith, I doubt he makes the team. If he does then we're thinner than I thought at Guard.
As a whole the Oline once again did very poorly. holding penalties, hands to the face and pre-snap penalties really shows our backup Olinemen are being outclassed and outplayed. I have to ask myself, is all this cross training worth it??? When I watch other teams backup Olines they don't look as bad as the Rams. Maybe I'm being overly critical because I'm a Rams fan but I try to look at it thru unbiased lenses and right now I'm just not seeing good backup depth at the Guard or RT spot. hopefully I'm wrong.
Defense - Positives
JR Reed,
This kid is a gamer. I keep on hearing his 40 time is what's going to keep him out of the NFL... Give me a break, some of the best players to ever play the game have slower 40 times than some of their counterparts. It's complete ESPN, PFF, NFLnetwork bullshit. He's a ballhawk and a game changer. If the Rams don't figure out a way to keep him on the roster he will get picked up by another team and be an eventual starter. I'm not saying he's Justin Simmons or JJIII but he passes all the eye test so far and I think he'll end up being an eventual all pro. Watching his film you'll see he's always around the ball even when he's on another assignment. He's got great instincts and isn't afraid to make the hard tackle. Hopefully the rams stash him away on ST this year, and maybe just maybe he'll break the starting lineup this year. Lookout for this kid.
Chris Garrett,
ok ok, before I go all in on him I still would like to see him get more playing time. I can see he's still very raw as a pass rusher but he might just be a keeper. He flat out pancaked a LT yesterday on a bulrush like it was nothing. He also flew by an LT off the edge and made him look like he was standing still. While I'll hold my judgement on him because he's so raw, he definitely has some talent and it's in an area where the Rams have struggled over the last 3 to 4 seasons in finding "that guy" who can rush the passer opposite Floyd and Donald. I'll wait and hone in on him against Denver and see how he does. TBD
Hughes and Harris,
Both DB's flashed at times, I liked their man to man coverage skills and they seemed to cover the field pretty well. Not sure if there's room for them on the roster at this point but they could be a good option on ST and possibly back up David Long if he struggles.
Defense - wash
Howard and Kiser,
The Rams will only keep one and it will probably be Howard from the looks of it. He just looks more comfortable out there and more stout. I think Kiser will end up being the odd man out. Which is weird because last year he was slotted to be the starter over Reeder and company.
Defense - The bad
I don't have too much on this atm. If anyone wants to fill in this segment please feel free to do so. I didn't have time to take any negative notes on defense because i was only really looking for standouts.
Overall,
I'm pretty happy with most positions on our team right now as far as depth is concerned. We still have some holes on offense and defense that have yet to either have a clear cut winner come out at TC and preseason. Like RB and Nickle corner but in the NFL you can't have everything so we'll have to see how the final 53 shakes out.
cheers!
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