5 takeaways from Rams' joint practice with Chargers
Cameron DaSilva
August 5, 2024 7:43 am PT
The Los Angeles Rams kicked off “joint practice season” on Sunday with a session against the Los Angeles Chargers. The team was missing three starting offensive linemen, as well as Darious Williams in the secondary and two other starters left practice early, resulting in a lopsided day that favored the Chargers.
Sean McVay sees a ton of value in joint practices, though, and he was pleased with the work the Rams got in – even if it wasn’t as clean or efficient as he hoped. Here’s a recap of their joint practice with the Chargers.
1
Rams offense struggles badly
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
It was not a good day for the Rams offense. In total, they turned the ball over six times,
according to Chargers team reporter Eric Smith, five of which were by the first-team offense. Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions, two coming off passes that were deflected at the line, and Blake Corum also fumbled one time after a reception,
according to Rams reporter Stu Jackson.
Sean McVay said after practice that he has “way higher standards” for the Rams offense than what he saw on the field Sunday, which is indicative of how poorly the unit played against the Chargers.
2
Another injury added to the list
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The Rams’ list of injuries is rival the length of a CVS receipt. Alaric Jackson, Jonah Jackson and Rob Havenstein were already out for the starting offense Sunday, and during practice, Puka Nacua suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the day.
McVay didn’t know what happened, but Adam Schefter reported Monday that Nacua’s injury is “not serious” and he’s considered week-to-week.
3
Offensive line tested by Chargers’ defenders
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With three starting linemen missing, the Rams’ big men up front were tested by a very good Chargers front that features Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. Warren McClendon Jr. stepped in as the starting right tackle and though McVay didn’t exactly say he struggled, he wants to watch the tape to see how he performed.
The Chargers reportedly got to Stafford pretty frequently, which isn’t surprising considering the Rams were missing three starting linemen.
“I think they’re doing as well as they can,” McVay said of the offensive line. “There’s a lot of learning right now. I think anytime that you go against a front like this, it’s a great challenge. There’s no excuses. We might not have our guys throughout the course of the season. We were able to stay relatively healthy last year and then we saw what it looked like the year before. That’s not going to be an excuse for us. We have to do a good job as coaches. The players have to accelerate their learning curve. And then we have to be able to figure out what does that look like if we need to alter some of the things that maybe we anticipated being our identity. That’s part of my job as a coach and something that I’m excited about the challenge with our other coaches. I think there were some good things and then some things that we absolutely can improve upon.”
4
Robinson, Parkinson make one-handed grabs
Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Team reporter Stu Jackson highlighted two impressive catches made by the Rams during Sunday’s session: a one-handed grab by Demarcus Robinson and another hauled in by Parkinson.
They both occurred during team drills along the sidelines, so that should elicit some confidence from Stafford when targeting those two pass catchers.
While the offense had its challenges, there were still some good moments. Tight end Colby Parkinson and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson each made an impressive one-handed catch near the sideline during team drills.
5
New kickoff “feels weird”
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
For the first time this year, the Rams practiced the new kickoff setup against another team. It slightly resembles an offensive play and will undoubtedly lead to more kickoff returns, but McVay hasn’t fully grasped the new play yet.
“It just feels weird,” McVay said. “It doesn’t look like anything that has been anything I’ve been familiar with football. I know the intent is right. We’ll try to figure it out. I know everybody that’s been involved in that has their intentions in the right place but it’s a very foreign-looking play. However we feel about it, we have to be able to adjust and make sure that we adapt and it can be something that’s an advantage to us.”
View: https://x.com/chargers/status/1820180124102435059
