McVay on absence of TuTu as of late

[OC--LeftCoast]

He'll be fine.

Fine, as in Tavon Austin fine?

 

[Dodgersrf]

What the heck is it, with our 2nd rnd picks?

Akers and Jefferson were nice picks in '20, but there have certainly been some head scratchers along the way from Snead.

 

[SWAdude]

I took "increased sense of urgency" meaning motivation issues.

If so that is a tough one to overcome. Hope not.

 

[Memphis Ram]

The last thing you want to hear about your top draft pick is that he lacks urgency.
Please tell me that this is not referring to work ethic.


View: https://twitter.com/JourdanRodrigue/status/1453463653554946049?s=20

It didn't sound nearly as bad when listening to his entire answer in the press conference.

 

[Riverumbbq]

He's responsible for that huge contract though so maybe more responsible for the player tbh.

I haven't been one to really attack Goff's contract extension because the Rams had recently come off a Super Bowl appearance, although the price tag can easily be seen as excessive, I'm not sure what other direction the Rams might have gone other than to at least let him play out his 5'th year, which might have appeared almost as reckless if he was later lost to free agency. The Rams only had 2'nd round draft picks in 2019 & 2020, so I doubt McSnead were all that keen on anyone from the draft exceeding Goff's potential. Of course, they might have offered Goff up as a post Super Bowl trade, ... but who does that ?

 

[blackbart]

Sounds like some of the team leaders need to take Atwell aside and show him the err of his ways.

If McVay has gone this far it sure as hell isn’t the first attempt at getting the rookie in line.

Saying he has good players in front of him, well yeah duh! So having a shitty attitude is more than a red flag to me, this should be his last chance to change otherwise cut bait he hasn’t showed anything worth fighting for.

 

[FrantikRam]

This won't go over considering how many didn't like the pick and enjoy being right.

But he's 21 years old. He can literally sit on the bench for his first two years, mature, not play in a single game, bulk up and then play when he's 23 - and still play in an NFL game younger than Eskridge - who is ironically injured right now and only played in one game.

The draft is for the future. This pick specifically was DEFINITELY for the future. With the amount of WRs in front of him, all of whom are starting caliber, it's basically the same as if we drafted a QB and then people complained that he wasn't playing.

McVay is almost certainly saying this to light a fire.

 

[AvengerRam]

Fine, as in Tavon Austin fine?

At least he was the 57th pick, not the 8th.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

The difference I see here is that McVay isn't responsible for the Goff draft pick. Atwell is 100% on McSnead, and McVay is starting to show some real irritation with players not giving it their all. Rams fans saw this TuTu pick as a head scratcher from the beginning, and not being able to contribute must have management quite frustrated. Still, TuTu has shown that he can catch the ball as his receptions to target percentage was quite high during the pre-season. Van Jefferson and D.Jax are preventing TuTu's being able to get on the field for offensive plays, but if McVay had high expectations of his having a huge special teams presence, then that is on McSnead. jmo.

He was chosen for his gift. If he's able to get open using his blazing speed then he'd get more snaps imo. The reality is that tiny guys lose the initial battle on their routes often, and struggle to get back on track and up to full speed. Teams played physical with Tavon and his speed was negated. Like many others I feel it was a wasted pick. I hope they don't make a similar mistake in the future. It reminds so much of the Truth Candidate selection by Martz.

 

[OldSchool]

Interesting how some will totally excuse a lack of motivation by player A but not player B. It's ok if a highly drafted rookie doesn't play but when a day 3 draft pick or UDFA starts or gets significant and important snaps that goes without comments. The fact that anybody blessed enough to be on an NFL roster has to be motivated to work at their craft is shocking.

 

[RamsFanCK]

Honestly, it was a throw away pick. What a waste

 

[Flatlyner]

Man Rondale Moore would looks amazing in horns right about now. He'd be our KR/PR immediately and could totally be used as a weapon out of backfield or passes. Instead we got Tutu.... Taking almost anyone that was drafted after him would have contributed more.

 

[Florida_Ram]

Tutu is not living up to his draft spot after 7 NFL games in 2021.

There is no sugar coating it. The Rams had their reasons for drafting him but he's been invisible for what ever the reasons are. .

After 7 games, Tutu has been merely a project player.

I don't know anywhere to spin this.

 

[MachS]

Interesting how some will totally excuse a lack of motivation by player A but not player B. It's ok if a highly drafted rookie doesn't play but when a day 3 draft pick or UDFA starts or gets significant and important snaps that goes without comments. The fact that anybody blessed enough to be on an NFL roster has to be motivated to work at their craft is shocking.

Yea exactly OS. This is where I'm at. If McVay would've said, "he just needs more time learning my system... or the NFL game asks him to do a lot more than he's used to".. something like that. Maybe that just says he's not physically ready or mentally ready to grasp everything at this level yet. But to say he needs more urgency...man that right there says a ton to me. That means McVay and Yarber aren't happy with his effort and progress learning. If someone is putting in 100% effort and doing all they can, do you say they need more urgency? Hoping for the best with Tutu but this quote does not seem too positive given the fact he has done nothing for this team so far through 7 weeks.

 

[Ram65]

I would like to hear the complete McVay comments. Hard to give a valid opinion without more information.

From what I saw in preseason he took some big hits and got right up. We didn't see much other than out routes. Even against CB ones and twos, he did ok. . DBs respected the speed. Needs to be crisper on routes. Showed some speed and quickness on punt returns. I can't remember but, he may have missed a chance to return on. He got out over his feet on a couple and tripped himself. That happens with limited experience. I'm not sure why he isn't still returning punts.

D Jackson isn't getting a lot of reps. So it has to be nearly impossible for TuTu to get reps. As many have concerns about his size I am starting to wonder about him being undersized too. It's still too early to make any determination on his future. Let's see what happens.

 

[Merlin]

McVay is the coachspeak master. Bad sign to hear him use that phrasing.

 

[Allen2McVay]

With Kupp, Woods, Jefferson and Jackson, did Atwell figure to play on offense in the absence of injuries?

The Rams wanted to add speed at WR; and DeSean Jackson does that. However, Jackson is not yet seeing many snaps as the 4th-WR / deep-threat-option. Furthermore, he will turn 35 before the end of the season and carries a $3.3M cap hit. That could very well translate to Jackson being a one-year-Ram. Finally, there's the durability issue ... Jackson played in a mere 8-out-of-32 games the past two seasons.

Put all that together, and one could argue that Atwell's rookie year was intended to be more of a red-shirt-season (unless Jackson was injured); and he is targeted to fill the speed / deep-threat-role in 2022.

To be clear. I hated the pick in April.
And, I watched today's press conference; and have concerns about McVay's 'urgency' comment.

 

[Allen2McVay]

I would like to hear the complete McVay comments. Hard to give a valid opinion without more information.

The press conference is on the Rams team site ... therams.com

It's only 13 minutes and the Atwell comments are at the very end.

 

[Vapor]

Just my opinion: last time he fielded a punt, he was hit and fumbled (ball went out of bounds). no proof this is why we are not seeing him on special teams. IMHO. I am hoping the reason he is not on the field, is because of better players ahead of him.

 

[Ram65]

Rams Video | Los Angeles Rams - therams.com

www.therams.com

Atwell comments at the end. Practicing hard is one comment. Doesn't sound all that bad to me.