GAME DAY Rams at Chiefs Pre-season Game 1

[fearsomefour]

The comps do mean something.. we’ll disagree there.

And.. is Hunter faster? Same 50. Connor’s scored better in explosive testing.. and, tape shows someone who is much better at changing direction and I have no idea if Hunter can catch the ball.

Same on wanting to see him on kick returns.

I thought Hunter ran a 4.38 40.
Comps mean something of course, but, its just another piece of puzzle.

 

[fearsomefour]

I'm not necessarily keeping Rivers as a lock in this RB room. Kyren and Corum are guaranteed. 2 spots left for Rivers, Hunter, Connors, Waters. If it ends up Connors and Waters, so be it.

I WANT Connors on this 53, no overthinking and fucking around. Don't want to see him snatched up by Seattle or San Francisco. Kid's a player......

Im basing Rivers being a lock on him not playing in pre season per McVays tradition.
But, who knows? Maybe Rivers will find himself taking snaps and being pushed.
It makes more sense to put Rivers on the PS as he is less likely to get snatched up. Connors is getting a lot of attention from press for his week one.

 

[InfiniteRam]

I could be wrong but agree that Hunter sticks over Connor. However, I don't think it's only because he was drafted.

It would be because they've seen more from him and trust him more. This may be an unpopular opinion, but we overrate the importance of preseason games. The coaches see every practice and that has more significance than preseason games.

Hunter doesn't seem to offer anything in line with what McVay wants from RB's. He wasn't able to get on the field last year, and showed me nothing in the first preseason game. He's a straight-line, one-cut runner - maybe McVay saw something in him that reminded him of Gurley in that regard. But he doesn't have it.

I saw one solid run where he took it up the middle full speed for a solid gain. Otherwise, looked tentative and stiff.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Has there ever been a rookie QB play that well in his first preseason game?

Did you not watch the Hall of Fame game last week?

Carson Beck looked awesome.

So did undrafted rookie Haynes King who drove the Panthers down the field and ran the touchdown in personally.

 

[Karate61]

Did you not watch the Hall of Fame game last week?

Carson Beck looked awesome.

So did undrafted rookie Haynes King who drove the Panthers down the field and ran the touchdown in personally.

Add Drew Allar to that list as well!

10 of 13 passes for 154 yards, two passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown with a 155.1 passer rating.

 

[Memphis Ram]

Most everyone noticed that Ronnie Rivers didn't play.

Anybody notice that CB Josh Wallace & OT AJ Acuri didn't play either?

 

[InfiniteRam]

Did you not watch the Hall of Fame game last week?

Carson Beck looked awesome.

So did undrafted rookie Haynes King who drove the Panthers down the field and ran the touchdown in personally.

I did. And these three things are not the same. You aren't paying attention to the details.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I did. And these three things are not the same. You aren't paying attention to the details.

Explain the details of the difference between Beck, King's and Simpson's performance.

 

[DzRams]

Hunter doesn't seem to offer anything in line with what McVay wants from RB's. He wasn't able to get on the field last year, and showed me nothing in the first preseason game. He's a straight-line, one-cut runner - maybe McVay saw something in him that reminded him of Gurley in that regard. But he doesn't have it.

I saw one solid run where he took it up the middle full speed for a solid gain. Otherwise, looked tentative and stiff.

I'm not saying you're wrong.

I tend to base my predictions less on what I see than the actions the Rams are taking. This is not about my preferences. In McVay's history, the roster is largely set by the time we get to preseason games. There have been shockingly few surprises over the years.

Players that sit are safe.
Players who start are right behind them, but are still fighting for their spot. And most of the time, players further down don't surpass.

I'm mostly just commenting on odds of what I think is going to happen.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I'm mostly just commenting on odds of what I think is going to happen.

A rather diagnostic thing is that people on this board do not like to measure their convictions with odds

math don't lie even when it's giving odds

 

[WestCoastRam]

If you say so. I'm just as impressed with his layering the ball over LBs on some throws as anything else. Also loved his footwork. He showed me quite a bit last night.

The throw over the LBs to Klare or Redmond early in the game was an NFL throw and something you want to see from your rookie given where he is in development and who he was playing against.

I say be impressed.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I tend to agree with @DzRams that Rivers is most likely safe (not playing as he is right now) and seems a core special teamer.

Hunter is gonna be interesting, high enough draft pick that there's a good chance he'll be poached by another team (many teams have their draft grades on him fresh in their heads) if he's cut to be stashed on PS. So the question really is can Connor ball out in PS and show value on ST. I think we're gonna need to see two more performances like this for it to really be a conversation.

Let's not forget, Hunter got a few 1st team reps in non-padded practices in TC.

But a cynic would say that that was just a ploy to motivate an underperforming talent at the position.

 

[InfiniteRam]

Explain the details of the difference between Beck, King's and Simpson's performance.

Watch how quickly and deliberate Simpson was with his actions versus the other two. Multiple instances of using his eyes to move defenders. Multiple high level NFL throws. His body control was too notch all night, never wavered. Looked like a QB that was truly in command. Beck played basic pitch and catch most of the night. The majority of his yards came on busted coverage on double moves. I didn't see anything in Beck or King that screamed, man, these guys could be special. I did see that in Ty and so did much of the media.

 

[InfiniteRam]

Add Drew Allar to that list as well!

10 of 13 passes for 154 yards, two passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown with a 155.1 passer rating.

Nothing Allar did in that game was impressive.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Watch how quickly and deliberate Simpson was with his actions versus the other two. Multiple instances of using his eyes to move defenders. Multiple high level NFL throws. His body control was too notch all night, never wavered. Looked like a QB that was truly in command. Beck played basic pitch and catch most of the night. The majority of his yards came on busted coverage on double moves. I didn't see anything in Beck or King that screamed, man, these guys could be special. I did see that in Ty and so did much of the media.

I would encourage those who have an interesting in Infinite's assessment of Beck in the first game to go watch his play. (I must have missed the busted coverages).

Now I don't think Beck will be superior to Simpson in the long run (nor even in their first starts) but there were many examples of his football operation being better within more complex play concepts than Simpsons. (And not just complex things: he was at least pushing the ball past the sticks on 3rd downs).

 

[jjab360]

Didn't watch King and haven't heard details from you on him yet.

But I would encourage those who have an interesting in Infinite's assessment of Beck in the first game to go watch his play. (I must have missed the busted coverages).

Now I don't think Beck will be superior to Simpson in the long run (nor even in their first starts) but there were many examples of his football operation being better within more complex play concepts than Simpsons. (And not just complex things: he was at least pushing the ball past the sticks on 3rd downs).

I thought Beck played well and better than expected.

Comparing their games, I think Simpson's footwork and pocket presence are superior at this point and he processes the field faster and took what the defense gave him. That being said, he didn't take any chances or make big time throws which is what we'll eventually need to see out of him.

Carson Beck took some chances driving the ball down the field with positive results and overall threw accurate passes on time to all levels of the field. And with that being said, he did mostly throw to his first read, threw a bit of an underthrown hospital ball he wasn't punished for, and wasn't always on the same page as his receivers. These are the areas where we'll see him struggle once he gets the nod as the starter, which is likely sooner than people think as I view Brissett as a backup caliber QB.

Anyway, I think Beck was good but I came away more impressed by Simpson who essentially played flawless football. He navigated the pocket well, went through his progressions, never put the ball in harm's way, and had only 1 pass out of 22 (not counting throwaways) that was off the mark which might have been a minor miscommunication. The only knock on his game was he was too conservative in spots where he'll need to take chances to move the sticks in games that actually matter.

 

[Merlin]

Nothing Allar did in that game was impressive.

He looked good. Looked like a full sized AFC North QB with starting potential down the road.

Of course things can change quickly. One game and a preseason game at that is a small sample size. Doesn't mean a whole lot by itself.

 

[WestCoastRam]

I thought Beck played well and better than expected.

Comparing their games, I think Simpson's footwork and pocket presence are superior at this point and he processes the field faster and took what the defense gave him. That being said, he didn't take any chances or make big time throws which is what we'll eventually need to see out of him.

Carson Beck took some chances driving the ball down the field with positive results and overall threw accurate passes on time to all levels of the field. And with that being said, he did mostly throw to his first read, threw a bit of an underthrown hospital ball he wasn't punished for, and wasn't always on the same page as his receivers. These are the areas where we'll see him struggle once he gets the nod as the starter, which is likely sooner than people think as I view Brissett as a backup caliber QB.

Anyway, I think Beck was good but I came away more impressed by Simpson who essentially played flawless football. He navigated the pocket well, went through his progressions, never put the ball in harm's way, and had only 1 pass out of 22 (not counting throwaways) that was off the mark which might have been a minor miscommunication. The only knock on his game was he was too conservative in spots where he'll need to take chances to move the sticks in games that actually matter.

It looked to me like Simpson was speeding through his reads but I'd rather have that right now than locking on to his 1st or 2nd.

 

[Memphis Ram]

I tend to agree with @DzRams that Rivers is most likely safe (not playing as he is right now) and seems a core special teamer.

Hunter is gonna be interesting, high enough draft pick that there's a good chance he'll be poached by another team (many teams have their draft grades on him fresh in their heads) if he's cut to be stashed on PS. So the question really is can Connor ball out in PS and show value on ST. I think we're gonna need to see two more performances like this for it to really be a conversation.

Let's not forget, Hunter got a few 1st team reps in non-padded practices in TC.

But a cynic would say that that was just a ploy to motivate an underperforming talent at the position.

Maybe.

In 2025 Ronnie Rivers got 2 carries in the first preseason game.
But I don't see any stats at all for the next two preseason games.

He didn't make the final cut and was added to the practice squad.

 

[Pupped]

As far as Rivers goes.. I just don't think there's anything for the Rams to learn by playing him.
I think that means he's safe.. UNLESS.. someone shows out big in preseason and practices.