Derion Kendrick

[Ellard80]

The problem with the coverage in that situation.

Either Fuller is out of position or the call to me is lacking in strategy.

Whatever the coverage - Kendrick being on an island with Mclaurin and pressed up on him - is absolutely made for disaster.

If DK has safety help and is pressed up on him I can live with that - but both times he was cooked there was no help in sight.

Mclaurin had to be salivating when he saw DK pressed up on him.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

The kid has skills...PERIOD!!! Let him grow up. He's physical and feisty...and he played very well lately.

Hopefully that incident also woke him up to how easy it is to be in the doghouse and lose your chosen profession.

He has skills to always make dumb ass mental mistakes every game. Making the same dumb mistakes isn't growing. He's a good depth piece but in no way should be a starter for us next year. We should look to upgrade there.

 

[RamWoodie]

He has skills to always make dumb ass mental mistakes every game. Making the same dumb mistakes isn't growing. He's a good depth piece but in no way should be a starter for us next year. We should look to upgrade there.

Wonder why no one says that when Kendricks has a quiet game? before last Sunday, he had gone 3 games playing pretty well, last Sunday happens and he's in a lot of folks doghouse. Mainly because of the pressure of this playoff push.

The Ravens game is a win if Fuller doesn't make critcial mistakes too...does he get a pass?

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Wonder why no one says that when Kendricks has a quiet game? before last Sunday, he had gone 3 games playing pretty well, last Sunday happens and he's in a lot of folks doghouse. Mainly because of the pressure of this playoff push.

The Ravens game is a win if Fuller doesn't make critcial mistakes too...does he get a pass?

I've been consistently saying that about Kendrick so throwing out a blanket statement means nothing to me. Save that for someone else. I was never a fan of him as a starter from day 1 and think he needs to be replaced as I think he's too slow as a CB. The last game was just one example of that. He consistently has made bone headed plays and it was shown by DantheMan that he's earned that by breaking the record for most pass interferences for our team since 2013. How does anyone defend that? I get he isn't being replaced this year as we don't have much depth or great talent in our secondary, but no way should he be back as a starter. I pray that whenever a QB throws his way, its a bad pass because I don't trust him at all. So hell no he doesn't get a pass for his whole body of work. He's simply not starter material if we had the cap to address that position.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

i have to go with the guys that make the decisions... not wannabe internet "head coaches" and "DC's"...

my boy's still starting... that means he brings more good to the table than bad... if not, mcvay would have jettisoned
his sorry ass (as a lot of you think) out of here long ago...

i'm sure as they watch all 22 (coaches film) they see the contributions he makes, andthe mistakes,and they weigh the good vs the bad...

when he messes up so bad, that it warrants benching...mcvay will absolutely do it...and im sure i will whole heartedly agree with that..

but until then why not root for the kid?

i thought it was pretty awsome that when he got absolutely smoked on the double move for the TD (i thought it was a TD), that the replay showed he had a gear i didn't know he had, and ran the receiver down at the one...

you get smoked, and you don't give up.... that's HEART... he could have easily given up on that play, and didn't... but zero credit from some...i guarantee you that mcvay gave him some credit...

and as jim youngblood put it in the vid... what was the safety doing moving coverage from DK's side to the other side?.. you don't suppose kendrick might of thought he had, or was supposed to have, help over the top?.. hmmm maybe..

he's winning at something, cuz he's still in there...

go derion kendrick..

go rams

slo

Ever heard of Bobby Evans? The coaching staff has for some reason started players that shouldn't be starters. Luckily for Kendrick, our secondary depth isn't great which is why he is a starter. He has no business being a starter next year, just depth.

 

[Kupped]

Ever heard of Bobby Evans? The coaching staff has for some reason started players that shouldn't be starters. Luckily for Kendrick, our secondary depth isn't great which is why he is a starter. He has no business being a starter next year, just depth.

I don't think that's a bad take at all.
I think at depth, he's actually still a value. He'll be in his third year, and have extensive experience.

But, yeah.. I don't think there's any reason not to try and upgrade from him.

 

[RamWoodie]

I've been consistently saying that about Kendrick so throwing out a blanket statement means nothing to me. Save that for someone else. I was never a fan of him as a starter from day 1 and think he needs to be replaced as I think he's too slow as a CB. The last game was just one example of that. He consistently has made bone headed plays and it was shown by DantheMan that he's earned that by breaking the record for most pass interferences for our team since 2013. How does anyone defend that? I get he isn't being replaced this year as we don't have much depth or great talent in our secondary, but no way should he be back as a starter. I pray that whenever a QB throws his way, its a bad pass because I don't trust him at all. So hell no he doesn't get a pass for his whole body of work. He's simply not starter material if we had the cap to address that position.

Well...its simply a difference in opinion. I see what you see, so there's nothing to save for anyone. I have my viewpoint and you have yours. I've seen Kendricks play well and I've seen him play poorly....however I see he's still out there starting because the coaches that see him everyday send him out there. Even so...when he was playing poorly they didn't start him.

The fact is he'll either get better, or he won't. I remember a guy that played for Dallas named Charlie Waters. Rams WR Harold Jackson burned badly in a game for 4 TDs...yet Waters would become a great safety. The book isn't written on Kendrick...so he plays on!

 

[Merlin]

I'd really like to enter the draft with corner already being addressed in FA. Problem is the guy I want (Jaylon Johnson) is probably going to be locked up. From there you have Sneed and Gilmore, and also some excellent slot types but no way I'd pay for a slot corner at market rate.

Edge is going to be a gold rush for the few good options, assuming they all hit the market which is iffy. LT is similar in that regard. And interior OL don't look too good now that the Dolphins center got hurt, he was my huckleberry prior.

So maybe what the Rams do is use FA for the offense and draft the bejeezus out of defense. What would that look like? Hmm let's see... Maybe:

FA Additions = OG Dotson, WR Evans
Draft Rounds 1-3 = ED Trice, CB Mitchell, S Hicks

The shitty thing here is we don't get the LT of the future. Any OT we take is a project but then had we taken one in round 2 or 3 that LT would be a project. So why not take one round 4 and keep Boom around another year to be a spot starter backing up both OT spots. And let Jackson "prove it" in his RFA year.

Also offensively this type approach solves the deep speed element outside the hash with Evans, whose game I have always loved. He's aging but the guy is an absolute stud and Stafford would kill safeties throwing to that dude on posts and nines and deep outs.

Edge feels pretty damn good with Trice coming in. Here's the thing for me with these edge types too... I like power. I like the ones who can put an OT on his heels time to time or just rip him inside or out. Trice isn't a freak twitch guy. But he's stout and crafty and powerful and can be moved around a bit too with those elements.

Corner starts falling off pretty quick in this draft, it feels like to me. I love Nubin (safety) but truth is the safeties look good longer to me. So in this approach we need a corner round two and Mitchell is a ballhawk type that I prefer. Hard to project what they are looking for, but I will say both Durant and Tomlinson have been guys with ball skills so hopefully that continues here.

Then Safety is really fun in round 3. I like the options. The Miami kid in particular I like because he's got some raw skills plus he's 6'5" but if we go safety round 3 it has to be someone who is instant impact and Hicks fits that bill.

Sorry for the mock feel here. Just felt like plugging some randos in to get a feel for where we'd be short. There's a good chance Evans hits the market and the Rams are a great fit even though they have money already tied up in Kupp. Dotson is risky because he put it all together in his contract season, which worries me, but I would really love to see this line start the season in form. And loading the defense with young studs in the first few rounds feels goddamn good to me.

 

[JimY53]

I remember a guy that played for Dallas named Charlie Waters. Rams WR Harold Jackson burned badly in a game for 4 TDs...yet Waters would become a great safety.

That is the game that caused Landry move him to safety

 

[Kupped]

I'd really like to enter the draft with corner already being addressed in FA. Problem is the guy I want (Jaylon Johnson) is probably going to be locked up. From there you have Sneed and Gilmore, and also some excellent slot types but no way I'd pay for a slot corner at market rate.

Edge is going to be a gold rush for the few good options, assuming they all hit the market which is iffy. LT is similar in that regard. And interior OL don't look too good now that the Dolphins center got hurt, he was my huckleberry prior.

So maybe what the Rams do is use FA for the offense and draft the bejeezus out of defense. What would that look like? Hmm let's see... Maybe:

FA Additions = OG Dotson, WR Evans
Draft Rounds 1-3 = ED Trice, CB Mitchell, S Hicks

The shitty thing here is we don't get the LT of the future. Any OT we take is a project but then had we taken one in round 2 or 3 that LT would be a project. So why not take one round 4 and keep Boom around another year to be a spot starter backing up both OT spots. And let Jackson "prove it" in his RFA year.

Also offensively this type approach solves the deep speed element outside the hash with Evans, whose game I have always loved. He's aging but the guy is an absolute stud and Stafford would kill safeties throwing to that dude on posts and nines and deep outs.

Edge feels pretty damn good with Trice coming in. Here's the thing for me with these edge types too... I like power. I like the ones who can put an OT on his heels time to time or just rip him inside or out. Trice isn't a freak twitch guy. But he's stout and crafty and powerful and can be moved around a bit too with those elements.

Corner starts falling off pretty quick in this draft, it feels like to me. I love Nubin (safety) but truth is the safeties look good longer to me. So in this approach we need a corner round two and Mitchell is a ballhawk type that I prefer. Hard to project what they are looking for, but I will say both Durant and Tomlinson have been guys with ball skills so hopefully that continues here.

Then Safety is really fun in round 3. I like the options. The Miami kid in particular I like because he's got some raw skills plus he's 6'5" but if we go safety round 3 it has to be someone who is instant impact and Hicks fits that bill.

Sorry for the mock feel here. Just felt like plugging some randos in to get a feel for where we'd be short. There's a good chance Evans hits the market and the Rams are a great fit even though they have money already tied up in Kupp. Dotson is risky because he put it all together in his contract season, which worries me, but I would really love to see this line start the season in form. And loading the defense with young studs in the first few rounds feels goddamn good to me.

I go back and forth on the LT thing and it will probably take the rest of the season for me to decide if I'm really sold on Jackson. But, he's been really good the last few weeks. If he finishes strong.. keeping him and Boom isn't crazy at all.. though I'd like to play with Boom's contract in that scenario.
Cornerback is a huge issue.. I think they should try to re-sign Witherspoon for under $5 million.. or hit the market for other CBs in that range. Guys like Shaq Griffin and Isaiah Oliver.. you have to get a little lucky.. but I'm also drafting one high and one low... and hoping Tomlinson can play.
FA.. to me, it's all about Hunter at Edge. He's the key for me. Young has been good.. but he doesn't have much room to grow, imo. He's gonna be 26 next season.

Not gonna make this a long post... but I'm big on trading back a few times and getting as many picks in first 4 rounds as possible.. shit, maybe I should make that 5 with this year's success.

 

[Angry Ram]

i have to go with the guys that make the decisions... not wannabe internet "head coaches" and "DC's"...

my boy's still starting... that means he brings more good to the table than bad... if not, mcvay would have jettisoned
his sorry ass (as a lot of you think) out of here long ago...

i'm sure as they watch all 22 (coaches film) they see the contributions he makes, andthe mistakes,and they weigh the good vs the bad...

when he messes up so bad, that it warrants benching...mcvay will absolutely do it...and im sure i will whole heartedly agree with that..

but until then why not root for the kid?

i thought it was pretty awsome that when he got absolutely smoked on the double move for the TD (i thought it was a TD), that the replay showed he had a gear i didn't know he had, and ran the receiver down at the one...

you get smoked, and you don't give up.... that's HEART... he could have easily given up on that play, and didn't... but zero credit from some...i guarantee you that mcvay gave him some credit...

and as jim youngblood put it in the vid... what was the safety doing moving coverage from DK's side to the other side?.. you don't suppose kendrick might of thought he had, or was supposed to have, help over the top?.. hmmm maybe..

he's winning at something, cuz he's still in there...

go derion kendrick..

go rams

slo

This was the first game I remember that he got cooked by one the leagues best. Which was the point of this thread, considering he's been asked to cover some of the games best he hasn't been bad for a super late 6th round in his 2nd year, first full time starting.

Draft and development but apparently Derion isn't getting a chance to do the latter.

 

[Merlin]

I go back and forth on the LT thing and it will probably take the rest of the season for me to decide if I'm really sold on Jackson. But, he's been really good the last few weeks. If he finishes strong.. keeping him and Boom isn't crazy at all.. though I'd like to play with Boom's contract in that scenario.
Cornerback is a huge issue.. I think they should try to re-sign Witherspoon for under $5 million.. or hit the market for other CBs in that range. Guys like Shaq Griffin and Isaiah Oliver.. you have to get a little lucky.. but I'm also drafting one high and one low... and hoping Tomlinson can play.
FA.. to me, it's all about Hunter at Edge. He's the key for me. Young has been good.. but he doesn't have much room to grow, imo. He's gonna be 26 next season.

The beauty of having Jackson in place is that nobody looks at our roster during the draft and says "we gotta be ahead of them for this LT." Rams are going to be unpredictable in that way. If a LT they love falls to them then take him no matter what the plan was prior. If not proceed with the plan.

But they will have a plan even if it's got a couple forks here and there depending on what team franchises or signs what FA. And no matter what they do something will fall by the wayside.

Chances are QB doesn't get done outside of maybe a QB2 type mid to late. And if they are willing to forego LT, or forced to by the way the board falls, there are advantages in that too. Things sort of align in packages in that way, where you can say ok if we end up with these FAs then here's our rough plan for the draft based on positional strength per round/group.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Nonsense.

Staley's coverages didn't disappear and now reappear with Pleasant. And the use of Lake is to match personnel, not scheme.
I am sorry but this explanation is worse than your understanding of the 2-gap 0-tech.

Morris didn't change the scheme after Staley left and using Lake has nothing to do with some change in coverages.

And as an aside---this deification of Staley and Pleasant and the demagoguing of Morris is very odd. Staley proved that he's no god, the tarnish of off. Pleasant got canned last year and the Lions got better in coverage -- defensive passer rating fell from 109 to 84 after he left.

That isn't to say they don't know their stuff or are bad coaches, but blindly trying to overrate them to dump on someone you don't like does not make any sense.

It is your right to not engage on the scheme, you can ignore me, but the things you've posted here and other posts on coverage are just not true and that can be shown with photo and video evidence.

examples:
1. Rams do not 2-gap their 0-tech.
2. Morris didn't change the coverage scheme away from the Fangio scheme. (100% the same? No. Vastly different? No. )

It would be a lot simpler to just say you think the Rams defense is less successful in 2021-23 than it was in 2020 (true) and you blame Morris. Any fan can say that and it's just an opinion. Another fan can feel different.

But when you dig into scheme and present things that are errant and use that errant information to blame Morris you open yourself up to being challenged.

That is only fair, wouldn't you say?

Look, Morris bought a new house. It's not the kinda house you buy when you play match-zone.

 

[WestCoastRam]

OK, since you are still fairly new to the forum, you are probably unaware of Forum Rule #7.

Rule #7
The use of two words, in the same sentence, that would require most Forum posters to reach for the dictionary is Strictly Forbidden. Most of our posters are not that bright, and we prefer Not to remind them of this fact.

It's the alliteration that offends me

 

[Allen2McVay]

It's the alliteration that offends me

OK ... you're good.

Although I needed to look-up "alliteration", I knew all the other words in the sentence. NO Rule 7 violation.

ALLITERATION:
The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels, if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device.

Rams on Demand ...
Where forum members can discuss Rams' football, and ... YES ... also learn a little.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Well...its simply a difference in opinion. I see what you see, so there's nothing to save for anyone. I have my viewpoint and you have yours. I've seen Kendricks play well and I've seen him play poorly....however I see he's still out there starting because the coaches that see him everyday send him out there. Even so...when he was playing poorly they didn't start him.

The fact is he'll either get better, or he won't. I remember a guy that played for Dallas named Charlie Waters. Rams WR Harold Jackson burned badly in a game for 4 TDs...yet Waters would become a great safety. The book isn't written on Kendrick...so he plays on!

When I said save the generalities for someone else, I meant the part about him playing well and then people jumping on him after his last meltdown. I'm basically saying I always saw this guy as backup material from day one. I've constantly stated he's too damn slow and its shown up all season long. I'm simply asking you to not make it seem like I'm picking and choosing when to say he's not starter material. Can he get better, of course, but he's too slow to ever be a good starting DB since that makes him have to be damg near perfect in everything else to make up for it. The Rams would be wise to upgrade the CB position. Kendrick isn't the only one that needs to be improved upon. Our secondary depth isn't great and Morris is doing a good job of scheming this defense to hide their deficiencies.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

I don't think that's a bad take at all.
I think at depth, he's actually still a value. He'll be in his third year, and have extensive experience.

But, yeah.. I don't think there's any reason not to try and upgrade from him.

Totally agree there. I'd feel much better with him as a depth piece as opposed to starter. Right now if anyone in our secondary gets nicked up, it can get real ugly real fast. Just crossing my fingers that we stay healthy there. I'd be ok with the Kendrick proving me wrong but I truly believe he won't based on what I've seen. Just my opinion of course

 

[Allen2McVay]

I remember a guy that played for Dallas named Charlie Waters. Rams WR Harold Jackson burned badly in a game for 4 TDs ...

All four touchdown receptions were in the first half.

That 1973 game was similar (for me) to the 1999 GSOT Rams' game against the Niners, where Isaac Bruce had three first quarter touchdown receptions.

The Rams were not well-regarded entering either season but got-off to great starts (4-0 in 1973; and 3-0 in 1999) but it wasn't until early home games against two hated rivals (the Cowboys in '73 and the 49ers in '99) that I came to believe the Rams were really good.

Those two victories and the huge performances from two great Rams' wide receivers are terrific memories.

 

[JimY53]

All four touchdown receptions were in the first half.

That 1973 game

And to be fair to Charlie Waters, he didn't give up all 4 TDs.

One was against Mel Renfro - the quick slant to the peristyle side of the Coliseum ... but Renfro got one back on a pick-6 ... had target Jackson and Renfro got him

Two of the ones on Waters - Jackson split a double-team by Waters and Harris ... so Waters involved in 3, only one, really was it 1 on 1... the other two? His deep help was not much help. Jackson whipped, harris, too.

 

[Allen2McVay]

And to be fair to Charlie Waters, he didn't give up all 4 TDs.

One was against Mel Renfro - the quick slant to the peristyle side of the Coliseum ... but Renfro got one back on a pick-6 ... had target Jackson and Renfro got him

Two of the ones on Waters - Jackson split a double-team by Waters and Harris ... so Waters involved in 3, only one, really was it 1 on 1... the other two? His deep help was not much help. Jackson whipped, harris, too.

Absolutely.

That's why I did not mention Waters, who was a long-time excellent player.

My point was how fast the four touchdowns came. I believe the 4th was in the middle of the 2nd quarter; and that's also why I mentioned Bruce's three 1st quarter touchdown catches in 1999.

I did not remember the specifics of the Renfro pick-6, so I just viewed the highlights of that Game. It was the 1973 Week 5 Game of the Week; and a ton of fun to re-live.

Jackson was not the intended target on the Renfro pick-6. Looked like it might have been Larry Smith.