GAME DAY 2023 Preseason Game 1 - Rams at Renters

[Ramrocket]

Ok my thoughts so far.

Positives
Nucua
Tomlinson
Jones (DB)
Bennett
Both Evans
Freeman

Need to see more to make a call
Avila
McClendon
Young
Tanner Brown

WTF? It’s going to be a long year
Bruss
The D line
Our lack of edge contain
Our run D

 

[Tumak61]

Bruss = cut.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Well if our young guys are supposed to play a big role this year, it sucks the Chargers' young guys look so much more RTG.

 

[Angry Ram]

FIRE THEM ALL.

 

[AvengerRam]

First preseason games:

2018: lost 28-0 to Saints
2021: lost 17-12 to Broncos

Just sayin’

 

[Riverumbbq]

Chargers beat Rams, 34-17: Instant analysis of preseason loss

The Rams were blown out by the Chargers in the preseason opener, giving them plenty of things to work on

www.yahoo.com

 

[André]

The majority of the guys out there today will have very few meaningful snaps this year. I'm not too worried about how today went overall, but it definitely shows that at the very least, our run protection depth is not good.

 

[dpjax]

Liked what I‘ve seen from Tomlinson, continues to get better from week to week to week!

Keir Thomas and VanValkenburg looked good…until they didn’t.

impressed with Zach Evans.

Like what I heard about Zach Thomas from Andrew Whitworth!

After a shakey start, liked what Bennett showed although he has a tendency to get flat footed and sometimes makes me nervous because he looks almost too lax at times. Showed much better than Rypien though.

Bruss Looked ok on runs, looked awful in pass pro.

McClendon was a pleasant surprise! Would like to see him get in earlier against stronger competition.

Bobby Brown, Ernest Brown, Kobe Turner not very stout against the run.

Puka continues to shine.

Lets see if the young players learn from this game and step up against the Raiders.

 

[Riverumbbq]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ev6YuWDtYE

 

[PhillyRam]

I can see a Melvin Ingram signing on the horizon or if there is any other vet edge outthere who is still looking for a job.

The D needs a vet edge to not only play key downs, but to also help the young'ins learn from him as well. Coaches can only do so much, having that vet voice in your ear helps a lot.

 

[Riverumbbq]

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jxkmQTh_Amc

 

[PhillyRam]

Call me oldschool but I do not like our kicker and punter having numbers in the 40's

Yeah, it's hinky

 

[PhillyRam]

Next game Bennett needs to play early, as that backup competition is over. Also I'd have Bruss play second half vs the shittier rushers or he's gonna get someone killed. He was giving up that edge so easy teams gonna be ready to take advantage. Other than that I think we had a nice night of work for the offense.

Defensively not much they can do. Our depth is not good. Feeling better about the secondary than I am the defensive front.

Yeah, the secondary and Jones at LB should be fine.

It's the pass rush, although can't forget that Donald will make life easier for the other linemen.

Gotta hope the light bulb comes on for Young. Hampton and Hardy just look too smallish to me. A cagey vet that size can get away with it and make some plays. Young guys like them, who have no clue, just get manhandled.

Thomas has a better shot of seeing time because he has some bend and size.

 

[Londoner]

McVay after that game be like…


View: https://youtu.be/idlrMt9qbaQ

 

[TexasRam]

Puka looks like a guy who's skillset is going to translate well at the NFL level. It's early but I can see him getting lots of looks as a blocker, used as a possession guy or used on sweeps and screens. Shows natural feel for the game with his body control, vision and burst, and his ability to shrug off traffic. Reminds me a little of Hines Ward or a Deebo lite in some ways. It's early we will see but he certainly looks comfortable out there. I can definitely see him working his way into the #2 WR spot at some point.

Tomlinson and RB Evans showed well in preseason game 1. That is real promising.

Bennett looked poised and smooth for his first action. Was throwing some dimes out there. Going to need to clean up the bonehead plays but I think He will do that in short order.

I didn't catch the early snaps so not sure what others saw with Avila?

We need to come up with solutions at edge, but that appears to be our only real glaring hole at this point. The secondary seems to have some potential with the vet signings and Tomlinson showing out.

Also, with Mcvays post game comments I think its all but clear that LT is locked up by Jackson and Noteboom is either going to be our RG or swing tackle. I'm hoping swing tackle. I need to go back and see how Anchrum showed out along with the other guards. Also, can Mcallister play guard? I wonder if he is looked at only as a center at this stage.

 

[oldnotdead]

Can't tell much from the game for some of the positions.

What was clear:

Tomlinson is as good as I thought he is. He can play inside and outside.

Bennett is QB2 and an upgrade. Probably plays the entire game next week. Then they can shut him down on the final game.

Puka probably won't play in preseason again. He's got nothing to prove.

McAllister is a keeper.

Jackson is LT and Noteboom RG this year.

Zach Thomas has made the transition to OG making him valuable as a swing for OT and OG.

Wendell's coaching impact is clear.

Freeman bumps Rivers off the team. Royce becomes #3 or #4 RB.

Ethan Evans is a stud and will be a Ram for a long time, maybe until he retires.

With McAllister looking good does it make Allen expendable and they go with Shelton, with McAllister as their swing and Maginn on the PS?

Less clear need to see more:

McClendon's feet are heavy but that would be less of an issue inside. I think he would struggle against starting edges.

Young is a work in progress and probably will move to the strongside.

Perimeter run defense sucked they need a WIL and SAM to lock it down.

Anchrum looks like he could be a numbers casualty.

Bruss was very inconsistent but it's only the first game he's played in a very long time.

The secondary looked better, i.e. more aggressive. (Thank you Aubrey) But hard to say how good they will be with all the backups and vanilla coverages.

Smith apparently is hoped to be the returner. I have no problem with it and expected it since the day he was signed. But he needs to clean things up.

Hope it gets better or it's a problem:

ST sucked. Let's see how coach Blackburn responds for the rest of preseason.

Tanner Brown gets a pass in game one.

Relying on your edge as the only perimeter run defender is a glaring problem is scheme design. No SAM or WIL? Mobile QBs will kill this scheme.

Bobby Brown can't play a 1T. They can't play a mixed 1 & 2 gap front with this personnel. They need to return to a one gap DL. Because they play a 1T NT both ILB are over the A gaps and the perimeters are wide open. This is a scheme design failure as much as players failing to set a hard edge. But expecting the edge to be the primary edge defender slows them down when trying to penetrate. It limits them and gives the advantage to the OL. I've been saying it for months and it was on full display. Read/React 2 gap doesn't work that has been proven for years and why the vast majority of defenses play a one gap DL. Oh yeah Raheem didn't want one of the best 1T NTs in the NFL and they let Gaines walk.

The Bottom Line:

The Rams have time to turn it around. It was clear that the problem isn't talent but a combination of experience, and scheme. Experience will resolve itself as the season plays out. Scheme fixes need to be done now so they can practice them. McAllister is a pure center and as he gains experience he makes Allen expendable because they also have Maginn who can play both OG and C. I think both Allen and Anchrum might not make the active roster. Both don't qualify for the PS.

 

[Merlin]

Gotta hope the light bulb comes on for Young. Hampton and Hardy just look too smallish to me. A cagey vet that size can get away with it and make some plays. Young guys like them, who have no clue, just get manhandled.

I think what I'd do is rotate all of them throughout the game and see who flashes. Whoever flashes gets more snaps.

Agree Jones should be able to make ILB solid at least. We're gonna get run on quite a bit this season but hopefully we can stay out of that bottom third.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

First preseason games:

2018: lost 28-0 to Saints
2021: lost 17-12 to Broncos

Just sayin’

Way different circumstances, not as many rookies. Just saying

 

[shovelpass]

Read/React 2 gap doesn't work that has been proven for years and why the vast majority of defenses play a one gap DL. Oh yeah Raheem didn't want one of the best 1T NTs in the NFL and they let Gaines walk.

Rams play gap and a half, and have done so since Staley took over. And seeing how a lot of teams are adopting that scheme, they're probably playing less 1 gap.

Also the team wanted to re-sign Gaines, according to Jourdan they offered him a contract. She said it a couple of times on her podcast, and also here

I also don't see how Anchrum can go from potential starter, to cut candidate in less than a week. Seems unbelievable.

 

[AvengerRam]

Way different circumstances, not as many rookies. Just saying

No direct correlation between preseason outcomes and regular season outcomes.

Just sayin’

As for the rookie point…wouldn’t that tend to mean that you should expect a slow start (hopefully followed by a relatively fast learning curve)? If a bunch of seasoned veterans was out there making mistakes, that would be a bigger concern, no?