Rams post AZ game news and notes

[CGI_Ram]

Rookie safety Taylor Rapp gets first career interception

www.therams.com

Rookie safety Taylor Rapp gets first career interception

GLENDALE, Ariz. – The chances had been there both before and during Sunday's game against the Cardinals, but for reasons in and out of Rams rookie safety Taylor Rapp's control, that first career interception remained elusive.

Until early in the third quarter.

With a 31-yard pick six off Arizona QB Kyler Murray in Los Angeles' 34-7 road victory, Rapp was finally able to check off the career milestone.

"The first one, I was so mad at myself, and the game back in London (against the Bengals), too, I dropped another sure (interception), so I was super mad at myself," Rapp said. "I was thinking about that one all the way up until I got the one that actually counted, so I was happy I could get one under my belt."

Indeed, opportunity would knock three times for Rapp against the Cardinals before he got his first interception.

His earliest shot at it came with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. Murray dropped back to pass and looked over the middle, appearing to initially look for WR Christian Kirk. With Kirk covered by Rams CB Jalen Ramsey, Murray went for RB Kenyan Drake, who ran a wheel route out of the backfield. Rapp read Murray's eyes and jumped the pass but couldn't haul it in, settling for a pass breakup instead.

The Rams' secondary was quick to encourage him, as both Ramsey and CB Nickell Robey-Coleman patted him on the helmet after the play was over.

"We kept telling him it was going to come back to him," Ramsey said. "The first one slipped out of his hands – probably wasn’t expecting it."

Sure enough, the ball would find Rapp again – twice, in fact, in the same period.

Less than 90 seconds into the third quarter, Rapp seemed to find redemption for his missed opportunity. The Cardinals' field position was almost identical to that late second quarter drive, only this time Murray appeared to look down the middle the entire way. His pass deflected off WR Larry Fitzgerald's hands and into Rapp's, but the play was wiped out after Arizona successfully challenged for defensive pass interference against Robey-Coleman.

Nearly five minutes later, Rapp finally hit paydirt, getting in front of another Murray pass intended for Fitzgerald and taking it to the house.

"I was able to read his eyes, and able to capitalize on it," Rapp said.

"It was great for him to be able to make that play," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "I was trying to give him a game ball. He was probably doing an interview and was late to get into the locker room."

After safety John Johnson III landed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury in Week 6, Rapp moved into a starting role in Week 7. In the six games since, he's collected 42 of his 73 total tackles on the season, plus five of his seven pass breakups.

The one key stat missing through those first five starts, though, was the same one his teammates have been giving him a hard time about for the last several weeks due to the number of opportunities he had.

Rams QB Jared Goff said Rapp was due to make the play.

"His first one was a pick-six," Goff said. "Pretty good."

 

[CGI_Ram]

Woods reaches two career milestones, ties another against Cardinals

www.therams.com

Woods reaches two career milestones, ties another against Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. – How effective was Rams WR Robert Woods against the Cardinals?
He recorded not one, but two career milestones, while tying another in L.A.'s 34-7 win on Sunday, including: A new career high for receiving yards with 173, surpassing 400 career receptions and matching his career high in catches in a single game with 13.

"It feels good, just staying the course," Woods said. "You never know when it’s going to happen. It happened this week. It’s really just staying in it and being able to stay focused and when the ball comes, make a play."

Rams QB Jared Goff ensured Woods would get into a rhythm early on.

On the opening drive alone, Goff targeted Woods on five of his first seven pass attempts. Woods caught four of those targets for 46 yards, helping set up a 27-yard field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein for game's first points.

"Nothing different than I’ve seen from him in other games," said Goff, when asked what prompted him to look Woods' way as often as he did at the beginning of the contest. "I think he was just in the zone today, as was I with him. He was able to get himself open a lot and came into my vision a lot. It was great."

Woods has recorded at least five catches and at least 80 receiving yards in four out of Los Angeles' last five games. He had come close to breaking his previous career high in receiving yards once before this season, when he had 164 against the Buccaneers in Week 5. Coincidentally, that was also the game when he first set his new career high for receptions in a single game.

However, this performance perhaps had extra meaning after recently missing a game due to a family matter.

"He’s got a great ability to just be able to handle whatever it is, and he is extremely mentally tough," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "His teammates love him. He’s a special human being, and he made some special plays for us today."

One of those included a screen on 3rd and 9 from L.A.'s own 9-yard line. Woods caught the ball on the left side of the field, then reversed course and cut up the right side of the field for a 48-yard gain with Goff throwing a block along the way. That drive ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Goff to WR Cooper Kupp.

"I don’t know that I’ve seen a screen where you end up catching it, cut all the way across the green for (48) yards, and then you see your quarterback throwing lead block to really spring it down the right sideline," McVay said. "So a lot of good things for our team today."

Kupp said that scheme and playcalling certainly play a role in performances like this, but a lot of what happened on Sunday was just Woods being Woods.

"He lets the game come to him," Kupp said. "You can just see, he's so explosive, and he made some incredible plays today."

Woods said what paved the way for his individual success on Sunday was coming off the ball well and getting opportunities early on.

"There was a lot of grass to be able to run, I trusted my blockers and Jared (Goff) to put the ball in a catchable spot," Woods said. "I was able to do a lot with it today.”

 

[KJD_Ram]

I also like the fact that, as a group, they act like they've been there done that and will do it again....no need for the lame ass "photo shoots" or dance routines....good job guys...same with the D

 

[bluecoconuts]

"It was great for him to be able to make that play," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "I was trying to give him a game ball. He was probably doing an interview and was late to get into the locker room."

I think he was doing the jersey swap and a photo with a bunch of old UW players. In the post game speech with McVay you can hear a lot of players start to give Rapp a hard time when he finally comes in and someone yells "That's a fine!" and you can see the Cardinals jersey in his hand, so I think that's what it was about.

Pretty funny though, I really like the group of guys we have in the lockerroom.