LB Cory Littleton earns league-high grade from PFF in Wk 1

[Riverumbbq]

By: Cameron DaSilva | 23 hours ago


The Los Angeles Rams didn’t light up the scoreboard or put together the cleanest offensive performance against the Panthers, but they still escaped Charlotte with a 30-27 victory.
They outgained the Panthers 349 to 343 total yards and had 22 first downs – one more than Carolina – en route to the victory, as the Rams’ three takeaways proved to be pivotal.

Here are five interesting stats to know from the game, including a bit of history made by Cory Littleton.

Littleton makes history with huge game
Littleton was a big reason the Rams beat Carolina on Sunday thanks to his wildly productive day. He had 14 tackles, one interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, which is a stat line no other Rams defender has ever posted, according to Pro Football Reference.
Additionally, only one other player in NFL history has had at least 14 tackles, an interception and a fumble forced and recovered. That player is DeMeco Ryans, who did it in 2006 with the Texans.
Forced fumbles have only been a stat since 1993, but that doesn’t take away from the game Littleton had.

Malcolm Brown doubled his career TD total
Entering this game, Brown had one career rushing touchdown and one touchdown catch. On Sunday, he doubled that total with two touchdowns on the ground. It was his first multi-touchdown game in the NFL, bringing his career touchdown total to four (three rushing, one receiving).
He finished the day with 53 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Robert Woods set career-high for Week 1 receptions
Woods has become a star since coming to Hollywood, emerging as one of the more reliable receivers in the NFL. He was once again Mr. Consistent on Sunday, catching eight passes for 70 yards. His eight receptions are the most he’s ever had in Week 1.
Woods did drop a very catchable pass, so his numbers could’ve been even better. Jared Goff was also off-target throughout the game (Woods had 13 targets), but even still, Woods’ performance was solid.

Third straight year Rams had three takeaways in Week 1
With Sean McVay and Wade Phillips at the helm, the Rams defense has showed up in Week 1 each year. For the third straight season, the Rams forced three takeaways in the season opener.
They’re unsurprisingly 3-0 in those games, winning the turnover battle each time.
On Sunday, Littleton recovered a fumble (which he forced) and also picked off a pass. Samson Ebukam recovered another fumble on a backwards pass by Cam Newton, giving the Rams three total takeaways on the day.
Last season, they finished third in the NFL with 30 turnovers forced, so they picked up right where they left off.

Johnny Hekker’s bizarre day
It was an uncharacteristic day for Hekker. His first punt of the season went for a measly 7 yards despite the ball not being tipped. He was hurried on the kick as Brian Burns was bearing down on him, but the punt just went dead-left.
His next punt was a 68-yard boomer, which was among the longest in his career.
Later in the game, he had a punt blocked by the Panthers, which is just the third time he’s ever had one of his punts blocked.
Still, he left the game with an average of 46 yards per punt.

5 interesting stats from Rams' Week 1 win: Cory Littleton makes history

Cory Littleton is the first Rams player ever to put together a stat line like the one he had Sunday.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[Merlin]

Really proud of how far he's come. To go from a teams guy to an impact starter is rare. I know Wade has that history of giving those types opportunity, and has had some similar success stories, but Cory was on a different level in that game. Pretty amazing and looking forward to more.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Cory Littleton was PFF's highest-graded player in NFL in Week 1

By: Cameron DaSilva | 25 minutes ago


There may not have been a more valuable player to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday than linebacker Cory Littleton. He made two of the biggest plays in the game, playing a pivotal role in the Week 1 win.
He brought a halt to the Panthers’ opening drive when he punched the ball out of D.J. Moore’s hands and recovered the fumble after Carolina had gained momentum. Then in the fourth quarter, he picked off Cam Newton with 5:55 to play and the Rams up by 10 points.

It wasn’t a game-sealing interception, but it gave the Rams the ball back and prevented the Panthers from making it a one-possession game.
Not to mention, he also broke up another pass and is tied for the NFL lead with 14 total tackles after one game. He was recognized by Pro Football Focus for his historic performance, earning a spot on the Team of the Week.

His overall grade of 94.3 wasn’t just the best of any linebacker, it was the highest grade of anyone in the NFL in Week 1.

As someone who has made a name for himself as a special teams ace early in his career, we’ve seen Littleton on the PFF Team of the Week before. This time he makes it for his work on defense, though, after a performance that saw him finish the game with four tackles resulting in a defensive stop, a pass breakup and an interception.

This is the sort of play Los Angeles needs from Littleton all season, especially with the lack of depth the team has at linebacker. He played every snap on Sunday and was the only inside linebacker to receive significant playing time, showing just how reliable he is in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Littleton won’t have 14 tackles and an interception every week, but he’ll be in the middle of the action more often than not. His range and speed make him a playmaker for Wade Phillips at inside linebacker.

Cory Littleton was PFF's highest-graded player in NFL in Week 1

Cory Littleton had a historically great performance against the Panthers in Week 1.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[BonifayRam]

Snead/ Demoff need to put awarding ILB Cory Littleton a new long term contract over other much bigger well known UFA Rams.........

OLB- Fowler
DE- Brockers
CB- Peters
CB- Talib
K- Zuerlein

 

[Ramhusker]

I was curious as to why Cory didn't earn the game ball? May say a lot about Gurley's confidence level in McVay's eyes?

 

[JonRam99]

I was curious as to why Cory didn't earn the game ball? May say a lot about Gurley's confidence level in McVay's eyes?

I said it in another post, but I don't think we realize how big of a monkey was riding Gurley's back - riding the whole team's back - because of TGKneegate. I think everyone on the team couldn't wait for him to crush all the doubters, which he knew he would, & silence all the background noise so guys like Cory can get the attention & accolades they deserve.
The DL seemed to be the sole focus of the Panther OL. Left lots of gaps for Cory to do his thing. I think Rivera assumed our ILBs would be the weak point & attack up the middle - to an extent he was right, as they gashed us pretty good, but Cory stemmed the tide & we were up 23-10 at one point in the 2nd half.
Anyone know any good ILB's lurking out there to pair up w/ Cory?

 

[RamsFanCK]

Hope that contract extension comes for Littelton, he’s becoming a playmaker in this D. Love it

 

[Merlin]

Anyone know any good ILB's lurking out there to pair up w/ Cory?

Yes: Dakota Allen. He would do just fine at Mike IMO. And would get better and better week to week. He is small but decisive and arrives with physicality.

 

[BonifayRam]

Hope that contract extension comes for Littleton, he’s becoming a play maker in this D. Love it

Cory is living a dream. Close to storybook stuff. CL was a discarded UDFA former DE & Sam LB'er in college. Snead brought him in early May 2016. Snead/Demoff signed a low budget 3 yr contract for a total $1.63 mil

CL won a reserve Weak Side OLB position in Gregg Williams 43 defense. But it was his Special Teams effort that landed him here. He started 1 gm & played in 16 gms his rookie season. CL in his 2nd season competed to be a backup inside linebacker against Josh Forrest & Bryce Hager. CL became the top ILB'er reserve & started 4 gms late in the season @ ILB'ber where he had 25 tacks in 4 gms.

Snead & Wade, after witnessing what CL accomplished starting in 2017 ...traded away its former first round star ILB'er Ogletree. In 2018 inserted CL into his position. A very brave move most thought. CL started in all 19 games & played 100% snaps on defense that any other Ram defender. In the Super Bowl, CL recorded 10 tackles, two passes defended, and an interception.

This 2019 off season Rams released starting ILB Mark Barron & then inserted CL into a new position after they tendered CL who was a RFA a over $3 mil. Contract for one season. So in CL's first four seasons in the NFL has played FOUR different defensive positions. Might be that CL is vastly underpaid. Now Snead needs to find a legit Wade style 34 D MLB'er to start with CL into the future. Last season CL played with a degraded ILB'er Mark Barron. This year one of the weakest defensive post is the MLB'er which is next to him again. Can CL be even better if he had a complete skilled working buddy in the middle?

2016- Reserve WSOLB in a 43 defense.
2017- Reserve ILB'er in a 34 Defense.
2018- Starter @ MLB'er post 34 Defense.
2019- Starter @ Weak Side ILB'er post in 34 Defense.

 

[jjab360]

Littleton will be considered one of the best ILBs in the NFL by the end of this year

 

[Karate61]

He's Biggleton!!!

 

[bubbaramfan]

 

[yrba1]

Johnny Hekker’s bizarre day
It was an uncharacteristic day for Hekker. His first punt of the season went for a measly 7 yards despite the ball not being tipped. He was hurried on the kick as Brian Burns was bearing down on him, but the punt just went dead-left.
His next punt was a 68-yard boomer, which was among the longest in his career.
Later in the game, he had a punt blocked by the Panthers, which is just the third time he’s ever had one of his punts blocked.
Still, he left the game with an average of 46 yards per punt.

I remember Hekker having these issues in OSU and shank it once during his rookie year in 2012. Hopefully that doesn't happen again in a very long time, especially during the postseason.

 

[RamFan503]

Snead/Demoff signed a low budget 3 yr contract for a total $1,635 mil

Low budget? Holy shit!

 

[RamsFanCK]

Cory is living a dream. Close to storybook stuff. CL was a discarded UDFA former DE & Sam LB'er in college. Snead brought him in early May 2016. Snead/Demoff signed a low budget 3 yr contract for a total $1,635 mil

CL won a reserve Weak Side OLB position in Gregg Williams 43 defense. But it was his Special Teams effort that landed him here. He started 1 gm & played in 16 gms his rookie season. CL in his 2nd season competed to be a backup inside linebacker against Josh Forrest & Bryce Hager. CL became the top ILB'er reserve & started 4 gms late in the season @ ILB'ber where he had 25 tacks in 4 gms.

Snead & Wade, after witnessing what CL accomplished starting in 2017 ...traded away its former first round star ILB'er Ogletree. In 2018 inserted CL into his position. A very brave move most thought. CL started in all 19 games & played 100% snaps on defense that any other Ram defender. In the Super Bowl, CL recorded 10 tackles, two passes defended, and an interception.

This 2019 off season Rams released starting ILB Mark Barron & then inserted CL into a new position after they tendered CL who was a RFA a over $3 mil. Contract for one season. So in CL's first four seasons in the NFL has played FOUR different defensive positions. Might be that CL is vastly underpaid. Now Snead needs to find a legit Wade style 34 D MLB'er to start with CL into the future. Last season CL played with a degraded ILB'er Mark Barron. This year one of the weakest defensive post is the MLB'er which is next to him again. Can CL be even better if he had a complete skilled working buddy in the middle?

2016- Reserve WSOLB in a 43 defense.
2017- Reserve ILB'er in a 34 Defense.
2018- Starter @ MLB'er post 34 Defense.
2019- Starter @ Weak Side ILB'er post in 34 Defense.

Damn man, that is a heck of a story. Now I'm more than hoping. I’m praying to the football gods that extension comes soon

 

[BonifayRam]

Los Angeles Rams’ LB Cory Littleton earns league-high grade from PFF in Week 1

“He’s had one of the best games we’ve ever seen from a linebacker in the PFF era.”

Los Angeles Rams’ LB Cory Littleton earns league-high grade from PFF in Week 1

"He’s had one of the best games we’ve ever seen from a linebacker in the PFF era."

www.turfshowtimes.com

Littleton has proven to be a tremendous asset in pass coverage over the past two seasons, and if his league-high Week 1 grade wasn’t impressive enough, PFF’s Mike Renner noted that his coverage grade from Sunday was one of the highest they’ve seen in over a decade, stating “He’s had one of the best games we’ve ever seen from a linebacker in the PFF era.”

Read the entire long article click above

 

[bomebadeeda]

Yeah, but the NFL gave defensive player of the week to a Viking safety who had a couple picks and 5 tackles. Nice game but.......alm:. How about that for being ignored. Littleton is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

 

[BonifayRam]

The reason Los Angeles Rams ILB Cory Littleton balled out in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers? His shoes.


I got a fresh line-up. A fresh outfit. Bout to have the parking lot on smash.

The reason Los Angeles Rams ILB Cory Littleton balled out in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers? His shoes.

I got a fresh line-up. A fresh outfit. Bout to have the parking lot on smash.

www.turfshowtimes.com

 

[yrba1]

Snead/Demoff signed a low budget 3 yr contract for a total $1,635 mil

Not sure if that's $1.6 bil or using European format for numbering; they switch commas and dots the way we use them.

 

[BonifayRam]

Not sure if that's $1.6 bil or using European format for numbering; they switch commas and dots the way we use them.

Yeppers I fixed that up.......$1.63 million