Rams vs. Raiders: Position battles to watch in preseason Week 1

[Riverumbbq]

By: Cameron DaSilva | 3 hours ago

The preseason for the Los Angeles Rams will be reserved for unproven players competing for starting jobs and roster spots. None of the biggest stars are expected to suit up for an exhibition game this summer, certainly not on Saturday against the Raiders.

There will still be key position battles to keep an eye on this weekend, however. The Rams are still unsettled at a couple different positions, the majority of which are on defense.

Here are four position battles to watch in the Rams’ preseason opener against Oakland.

Nose tackle
Sebastian Joseph-Day vs. Greg Gaines
Wade Phillips said Joseph-Day has seized the opportunity to replace Ndamukong Suh at nose tackle, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the Week 1 starter. Joseph-Day has had an excellent offseason, but that solid play will need to continue into the preseason. Gaines isn’t going to be the easiest competition to hold off and his first chance to shine will come on Saturday night.

This is arguably the most important and closely matched position battle to watch throughout the preseason for the Rams because the winner will have a big hand in improving the run defense.

Rams vs. Raiders: Position battles to watch in preseason Week 1

Inside linebacker
Micah Kiser vs. Bryce Hager

Kiser was penciled in as the starter as soon as Mark Barron was released, but Hager has apparently done enough this offseason to warrant consideration next to Cory Littleton. Kiser is a physical linebacker who’s not afraid to take on blocks and always seems to find the football as a tackler.

Hager isn’t small by any means and has good speed, but at the point of attack, Kiser has the edge. The second-year linebacker out of Virginia is still the likeliest pick to start, but Hager isn’t going to go quietly this preseason.

No. 3 safety
Taylor Rapp vs. Marqui Christian

It’s doubtful the Rams will cut Christian, but if Rapp really stands out in the preseason and emerges as the best backup safety, it could make Christian expendable. The Rams are going to run a lot of three-safety looks in 2019 so the third safety is going to have a significant role on defense.

Rapp and Christian have both been running with the second team and assuming both play on Saturday, they’ll likely start together against the Raiders. The better player this preseason will see a significant workload when the meaningful games begin, so this is a key battle to watch.

Jamil Demby vs. Jeremiah Kolone

It was believed that Bobby Evans and David Edwards would compete as backup guards – and they still may – but as of now, they’re at each tackle spot and Demby and Kolone are inside at guard. Demby can play every offensive line position, but he’s seen the most time at guard this offseason. Kolone is somewhat of a surprise as a second-team guard and for both players, a roster spot is on the line.

The Rams won’t keep both players and right now, Demby probably has the edge thanks to his versatility. Kolone needs a strong showing in the preseason if he wants to beat out Demby for one of the last spots on the roster.

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...osition-battles-to-watch-in-preseason-week-1/

 

[bubbaramfan]

These roster battles for roster spots are what makes pre-season games so fun for me. :boxing:

 

[Riverumbbq]

Los Angeles Rams versus Oakland Raiders: Players to look out for
The two young offensive lineman are sure to have much attention on Saturday night.

By Sosa Kremenjas@QBsMVP Aug 9, 2019, 12:37pm CDT

Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Los Angeles Rams kick off their preseason schedule on the road when they face the Oakland Raiders on Saturday night. Planning on resting majority of the starters and established veterans, there’ll be lots of young and unfamiliar faces battling for spots on the 53-man roster. Let’s have a look at some names to look out for:

QB Blake Bortles
Starting QB Jared Goff shouldn’t even be allowed on the field. Frankly, he should be tucked away safely in the locker room. His backup in Blake Bortles should get extended run though, even if he is a veteran with plenty of NFL starting experience. The Rams will need to rely on Bortles in case of an emergency this season, making it ideal to get him up to speed in the offense. Plus, wouldn’t it be fun to see if Head Coach Sean McVay can execute this reclamation project?

RB Darrell Henderson
Hendo is someone I’ll be very focused on. He’ll likely receive a lot of playing time as starting running back Todd Gurley won’t see the field, and veteran Malcolm Brown should play at most a series (if at all). That leaves the trio of John Kelly, Hendo, and Justin Davis vying for snaps - with Hendo falling somewhere in between the other two. It could start off slow as the backup offensive line and Hendo likely don’t have much chemistry, though we’ve seen both Kelly and Davisimpress in past preseasons and that should have all Rams fans excited to see the speedy and explosive #27 in action for the first time.

Offensive Line
There’s plenty of guys to focus on when talking about the OL, but none will be keyed in on more than starting LG Joe Noteboom and C Brian Allen. Majority of the starters wont play, but these two should get at least a quarter of play, simply because of their inexperience. Both had moments of impressive play in the 2018 preseason. Watching what kind of progress they’ve made after spending an offseason on the starting offensive line unit will be incredibly interesting. Backup offensive lineman Jamil Demby (swing tackle) and rookies Bobby Evans and David Edwardsare vital to the depth of the offensive line, making them a trio worth focusing on.

WR JoJo Natson
The diminutive jitterbug has strung together some impressive practices — particularly against the Los Angeles Chargers — at receiver, while also holding down the starting returner spots. Natson is a fun watch simply because of his speed and open-field explosiveness. Dare I say, Tavon Austin has returned?

Nose tackle battle
The nose tackle battle will revolve around second-year player Sebastian Joseph-Day (who has the first crack at a starting spot) and rookie fifth-round pick Greg Gaines. SJD received pretty much no playing time during 2018, making him an intriguing — and totally unknown — option as it pertains to this season. Gaines is a darling among fans, though he’ll need to earn a starting spot in the preseason. The positive for big Greg Gaines? Well, guys who excel as run stoppers generally don’t have a chance to impress in practice, so it’s his time to shine.

Inside linebacker battle
The inside linebacker spot is the last position that’s truly up in the air in terms of a starting spot being available. It’s believed that highly-regarded Micah Kiser will have the first chance to secure a starting spot, though the Rams have rotated Kiser and Bryce Hager in with the first-team defense, proving that they’re open to a true competition. It’d be great to see Kiser grab the spot by the horns (no pun intended), simply because of his ability to provide what the Rams needed in 2018: a physical run-stopping presence in the middle of the defense.

Rookie defensive backs
The starting five defensive backs are firmly entrenched, which is why rookies S Taylor Rapp and CB David Long should get more than enough playing time in their first NFL game. Rapp should have a solid role this season as a money backer, a position that came into existence only in the new era of the “passing league”. The performance of Long is also important because both starting cornerbacks in Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib were hurt in 2018, giving backups Sam Shieldsand Troy Hill plenty of playing time. Some added depth at cornerback would be a huge relief for the Rams’ secondary.

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2019/...raiders-preseason-joseph-noteboom-brian-allen

 

[Merlin]

WR JoJo Natson
The diminutive jitterbug has strung together some impressive practices — particularly against the Los Angeles Chargers — at receiver, while also holding down the starting returner spots. Natson is a fun watch simply because of his speed and open-field explosiveness. Dare I say, Tavon Austin has returned?

If by Tavon they mean the first moment someone touches him he falls down? Then yes.

 

[Merlin]

Bortles only getting about 2 series meh. Not a lot of time for Thomas and Hodge to flash while the big arm is in there. Hopefully Wolford plays well so we can get a good look at some of these other guys.

Gonna focus on the lines (to include edge types) tomorrow for the most part though. Also interested in focusing in on Long a bit at CB, really hope he plays well.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Backup C still up for grabs. Aaron Neary has been taking snaps with the 2nd OL and he is suspended for the first 4 games, so who comes in at C if Allen goes down? Slide Blythe over and Demby or Kolone at RG? Demby has gotten snaps in TC at C. Will he get snaps at C vs the Raiders?

Will be interesting to see how Kromer figures out his back up OL. All of them will get snaps, who will stand out?