Category: Latest Rams news

Sean McVay shares positive update on Rob Havenstein (knee)

Rob Havenstein could return this week against the Cardinals.

The Rams have played their last two games without right tackle Rob Havenstein after he suffered a knee injury in Week 10 against the Steelers. Rookie Bobby Evans has stepped in and done well, allowing zero sacks and very little pressure in his first two career starts.

Los Angeles could be getting Havenstein back against the Cardinals on Sunday as he continues to progress from his knee injury. Sean McVay shared a positive update on Havenstein Tuesday, but wouldn’t say for sure if he will return this week.

Making good progress with Rob Havenstein,” McVay said. “There’s a chance that he could be ready to go. We’ll have a little bit more of an update as the week progresses.”

Evans has done a good job at right tackle and has led some to believe maybe the Rams would stick with him even when Havenstein returns. That won’t be the case, though.

“If he’s ready to go, we’ll get him back in there,” McVay said of whether Havenstein would start.

The Rams gave Havenstein a four-year, $31.5 million contract in 2018, and he made them look smart for it last season. However, he’s struggled mightily this season, going from playing like one of the best right tackles in football to below-average.

Los Angeles needs him to play well the rest of this season and beyond after making him a top-paid tackle, which would also allow Evans to head back to the bench to develop further.

Gerald Everett day-to-day with knee injury suffered vs. Ravens

Sean McVay shared an update on Gerald Everett’s knee injury.

Rams tight end Gerald Everett only played 17 snaps on Monday night against the Ravens, his second-fewest of the season. It seemed like he simply wasn’t a big part of the game plan, but he actually suffered an injury in the first half.

While blocking Matt Judon on a sack of Jared Goff, Everett hyperextended his knee. It looked like a significant injury, but it’s not believed to be one that sidelines him for a while. Sean McVay shared an update on Everett during his press conference on Tuesday, calling him day-to-day.

“Seems like we came out of the game pretty clean,” McVay began. “There was a situation earlier on in the game where Gerald might’ve tweaked his knee a little bit. He’ll be day-to-day. It was when he was in a protection and kind of just buckled his knee.”

Everett was never ruled out or questionable to return, which was a good sign for the tight end’s health. However, Tyler Higbee dominated the playing time at tight end from there on, playing 70% of the snaps.

Everett will have one fewer day to recover this week with the Rams having played on Monday night, but hopefully he’ll be available against the Cardinals in Week 13.

Rams open as slight road favorites over Cardinals in Week 13

The Rams opened as 3.5-point favorites on the road against the Cardinals.

The Rams hope Week 13 brings a very different result than their 39-point loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. Unfortunately, they’ll have to face a quarterback with a similar skill set as Lamar Jackson, and instead of being at home, the Rams will be the road team.

Still, despite their embarrassing loss to the Ravens, Los Angeles opened as the favorite over the Cardinals in Week 13. According to BetMGM, the 6-5 Rams are favored by 3.5 points against Arizona, which sits at 3-7-1 through 11 games.

The over/under is 47.5 points, so the oddsmakers expect it to be a fairly high-scoring game. It’s the fifth-highest total of any game this week.

The Cardinals are 5-1-1 against the spread in their last seven games, so they’ve done a good job of keeping games close despite being underdogs in each game. The Rams, on the other hand, 3-3 ATS in their last six games.

The Cardinals have lost four games in a row, but they were close to beating the 49ers twice and lost to the Buccaneers by just three points. This team is much better than its 3-7-1 record, so the Rams should not take them lightly.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Jared Goff: ‘A million things’ must happen for Rams to fix offense

Jared Goff can’t pick one thing that the Rams must fix offensively.

Last season, the Rams averaged 33 points per game, which was good for second-best in the NFL. They only had one game in which they failed to score at least 23 points, rolling to a 13-3 record and eventual Super Bowl appearance.

In comparison, Los Angeles has scored just 35 total points in its last three games and now only average 22.6 points per game on the year – 14th in the NFL. The numbers don’t tell the whole story because the offense has been abysmal in recent weeks, and is one of the biggest reasons for Los Angeles’ unimpressive record.

Jared Goff is obviously at the forefront of it all, being the leader of the offense. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown since Halloween and has five interceptions and four fumbles in his last three games.

After Monday’s demoralizing 45-6 loss to the Ravens, Goff was asked what needs to happen for the Rams to fix their offense.

“A million things. I think there’s no one thing. It’s just be better consistently. I know that’s easy to say, but it’s the truth. We need to be better down-in and down-out and not kill ourselves with little mistakes, penalties. I can distribute the ball better, we can do different things in the run game. There’s a million things. There’s not one thing and I think you just have to focus every single day on getting better, trusting the people around you and just do your best.”

A million is a slight exaggeration by the fourth-year quarterback, but he’s not wrong about the number of issues plaguing the Rams. They’re committing bad penalties at inopportune times, even taking a touchdown off the board against the Bears last week.

The ground game has gotten nothing going as Los Angeles ranks 24th in rushing and 26th in yards per carry.

Goff isn’t one to point fingers and he’s not doing that here, but at the same time he probably realizes he’s not the only player to blame for the Rams’ struggles. When asked about the offense as a whole and whether the Rams are far off from being an elite team, he had this to say.

“I don’t know. It’s so hit or miss every week. You want to stay consistent, but I think this game just got away from us. That’s the best way to describe it. Got away from us and I think everyone on offense, defense, special teams would look at themselves and say, ‘We can be better.’ I’ve said this before, it starts with me. I can be better and I think like I mentioned, we let the game get away from us.”

The Rams are running out of time to get the ship righted, having just five weeks left in the season. With their playoff hopes all but evaporated, this team might have to start looking forward to 2020 instead of the postseason.

Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt among 2020 Hall of Fame semifinalists

Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce are Hall of Fame semifinalists for the 6th time.

Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt are once again among the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame unveiled its list of the 25 modern-era semifinalists on Tuesday, and Bruce and Holt were the only former Rams representatives to make the cut. This is the sixth time they’ve been named semifinalists.

Holt played 10 years with the Rams, catching 869 passes for 12,660 yards and 74 touchdowns. He also played one season with the Jaguars to close out his career, catching 51 passes for 722 yards in 2009.

Bruce has been a Hall of Fame finalist three times, and he’ll try to make it four next year. He played 14 seasons with the Rams, hauling in 942 passes for 14,109 yards and 84 touchdowns. All-time, he ranks 13th in career receptions, fifth in yards and 12th in touchdown catches.

The selection committee will narrow the list down to 15 finalists in January before eventually selecting five modern-era players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

NFL Week 13 power rankings: Rams only drop 1 spot after ugly loss

The Rams are still in the top 20 of Doug Farrar’s power rankings, but just barely.

The Rams haven’t technically been eliminated from playoff contention just yet, but Monday night’s 45-6 loss to the Ravens all but killed any hope they had of making the postseason. Los Angeles is now two games behind the Vikings for the final wild-card spot, and three back of the Seahawks for the No. 5 seed.

They have no chance of catching the 49ers in the NFC West and will essentially need to win out in order to have a chance at a wild-card berth. In other words, their season is over.

Their playoff odds took a big hit, but they didn’t drop very far in Doug Farrar’s power rankings for Touchdown Wire. The Rams dropped from No. 18 to 19 after their loss to the Ravens, one spot behind the Steelers and two back of the Browns.

The Rams have been teetering on the edge of irrelevance all season, as the reigning NFC champs have struggled to get and keep things together on either side of the ball, especially on offense. But this was unlike anything the franchise could be prepared for. Los Angeles’ 45-6 loss to the Ravens on Monday Night Football was the worst loss for the Rams by point differential in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum era, which goes back to 1946. Wade Phillips had absolutely no answer for what Lamar Jackson brought as a runner or as a passer, and Sean McVay had to be looking on with deep envy at an opposing quarterback who can tilt the field whenever he wants. Jared Goff, the guy McVay’s going to be tied to for a very long time, was his usual unimpressive self, completing 26 of 37 passes for 212 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. If the Rams needed a reality check to shake them out of any thoughts of postseason potential, this should do it.

Unless the Vikings and Seahawks completely fall apart in the next five weeks, the Rams are going to be on the outside looking in – and with a lot of questions to answer in the offseason. Jared Goff hasn’t lived up to his contract, nor has Todd Gurley. And will they sign Jalen Ramsey to an extension?

The Rams are entering a difficult time, and Monday’s 39-point loss was a small sample of their issues right now.

Rams snap counts: Woods’ playing time limited, Everett barely played

The Rams switched things up on both sides of the ball Monday night.

Monday night’s game against the Ravens was one the Rams would prefer to move on from quickly. The 39-point loss was the franchise’s worst ever at home, getting absolutely blown out by Baltimore, 45-6.

The Rams had no answer for Lamar Jackson and were inept offensively, mustering only 221 total yards in the game. It was the second time in three weeks that the Rams failed to score an offensive touchdown, finishing the month of November in embarrassing fashion.

With Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks back in the fold, and the offensive line playing better lately, there’s no excuse for the Rams scoring just six points against Baltimore. And the Rams’ defense was healthy, all things considered, so there’s no one to blame but themselves for allowing 45 points.

Looking at the snap counts, the Rams got back to their old ways on offense, leaning on 11 personnel for most of the game. Defensively, there weren’t many instances with three cornerbacks on the field, which suggests the Rams tried to load up the front and stop the run. Spoiler: It didn’t work.

Here’s how the playing time broke down on each side of the ball.

Offense

Robert Woods returned from his personal leave but his snaps were limited. He was only on the field for 67% of the plays, by far his lowest total of the season. It’s unclear why he didn’t play as much as usual because Sean McVay said last week that there were no concerns about Woods physically.

Josh Reynolds was used frequently in this one, subbing in for Brandin Cooks and Woods throughout the night. He only caught two passes for 8 yards, though. Cooper Kupp played every snap but one.

Gerald Everett barely played (31%), and it wasn’t because the Rams swapped him out for Johnny Mundt like last week. He simply wasn’t a big part of the game plan, with McVay opting for Tyler Higbee on 70% of the snaps.

Todd Gurley only came off the field for two snaps, which went to Malcolm Brown. Though he only had six carries, his large share of playing time was likely due to him being the best pass blocker on the Rams, and Jared Goff was airing it out all night.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

November was a month to forget for Jared Goff, Rams offense

Jared Goff and the Rams offense did nothing well in November.

Todd Gurley said after the Rams’ 45-6 loss to the Ravens, “Thank God it’s Thanksgiving, so hopefully we forget about this loss by Thursday.” He and the Rams would probably like to forget more than just this loss, though – specifically the entire month of November.

Los Angeles’ offense has been anemic the last three weeks, putting together the worst stretch of three games since Jeff Fisher was head coach. This month, the Rams scored two offensive touchdowns, 35 total points (seven of which came on defense) and only had more than 300 yards of total offense once – and just barely (306 vs. Pittsburgh).

They went 1-2 in November, effectively ending any hopes of making the playoffs. It was a collective team effort, or lack thereof, but Jared Goff is the quarterback, so a lot of the blame falls on him.

His performance this month was particularly bad. Here are his numbers from the last three games, going all of November without a single touchdown.

  • 59-for-96 (61.4%), 628 yards, 0 TDs, 5 INTs, 58.9 passer rating, 4 fumbles

His zero touchdowns are alarming, considering he’s never gone three straight games without a touchdown pass in his career. Granted, he should’ve had two touchdowns against the Bears – Cooper Kupp fumbled at the 1-yard line and Josh Reynolds had a TD called back due to a pre-snap penalty – but those two touchdowns wouldn’t have excused his poor play.

To put his last three games into perspective, it’s the first time since Nick Foles in 2015 that a Rams quarterback went this long without a touchdown pass while having at least 18 attempts in each game. It’s just the 12th time in franchise history that a player has gone that long without a touchdown pass, too.

The longest such streak in Rams history is four games, which was done by Foles and Norm Van Brocklin.

Goff has had a rough 2019 season, and the offensive line is partly to blame, but at some point, he has to overcome the subpar blocking up front. They’re not the only reason he’s thrown zero touchdown passes and five interceptions, also fumbling it four times in his last three games.

The season isn’t completely lost just yet, but with the way Goff and the offense are playing right now, there’s almost no hope for Los Angeles to do anything down the stretch.

Eric Weddle ‘never thought in a million years’ Rams would get destroyed

Eric Weddle was at a loss for words after the Ravens blew out the Rams.

One of the biggest storylines leading up to Monday night’s Rams-Ravens matchup was Eric Weddle’s reluctance to share intel on Baltimore with his current team. He did it out of respect for his former teammates and coaches, which angered many Rams fans.

After seeing how dominant the Ravens looked against the Rams at the Coliseum, Weddle could’ve told his teammates every play that was coming before the snap and it wouldn’t have mattered. Baltimore still would’ve won this game – easily.

After the 45-6 loss, Weddle struggled to find the words to explain what had just happened to his team.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Weddle said, via the Los Angeles Times. “I never thought in a million years we’d get completely destroyed. It’s tough to put into words. Defense played awful. Couldn’t get off the field. Couldn’t help our offense.”

The Rams did almost nothing well against Baltimore. The offense finished with 221 yards but 114 of them came in the fourth quarter during garbage time. The defense allowed the Ravens to rush for 285 yards, which is more than the team allowed in its last four games combined.

Wade Phillips had no answer for anyone on Baltimore’s offense, and the combination of that and poor discipline by the defense created a lopsided score. Weddle credited the Ravens for how well they played, explaining the difficulty of defending them.

“What they’re doing on offense, a lot of times I wouldn’t know for a few seconds after they snapped it, if he handed it or he still had it,” Weddle said. “Imagine the whole defense. You’re trying to play your rules and play the guy, and these guys are just coming downhill and doubling and getting extra gaps, and you’re trying to figure out what’s going on.”

The Rams will need to regroup after their worst home loss in franchise history, traveling to Arizona for a matchup with Kyler Murray and the Cardinals on Sunday. Murray isn’t the consistent runner that Jackson is, but his quickness and speed are impossible to ignore.

Studs and duds from Rams’ 39-point loss to Ravens

Samson Ebukam had a nice performance, but he was one of the few players who actually played well.

The Rams were blown out in every phase of the game Monday night, losing 45-6 to the Baltimore Ravens. It was their worst loss in franchise history, and the most uninspiring performance under Sean McVay.

Nothing went right for them on either side of the ball, dropping their fifth game of the season with yet another touchdown-less 60 minutes of football. As hard as it is to believe, there were a few decent performances from a group of players, but there were far more who really struggled.

Here are our studs and duds from Week 12.

Studs

OLB Samson Ebukam

Ebukam was one of the few bright spots for the Rams, actually getting the start over Dante Fowler Jr. despite playing fewer snaps than him in the game. He had 1.5 sacks, three QB hits and one tackle for loss, doing a good job of keeping Lamar Jackson in the pocket by setting the edge. His speed was evident, too, showing excellent burst and explosion when chasing down Jackson.

DE Michael Brockers

Brockers continues to have a great season for the Rams. although it’s hard to call any defensive lineman a “stud” when the opponent rushes for 285 yards, but the majority of the Ravens’ biggest runs went away from Brockers. He made eight tackles, had one sack and a tackle for a loss, getting good penetration against the right side of the Ravens’ offensive line.

Offensive line

Surprisingly, the offensive line was a positive against Baltimore. The Ravens blitz more than any team in the NFL and the Rams’ offensive line did a good job against it. The two sacks Jared Goff took were on a corner blitz and a play where Gerald Everett was blocking Matt Judon. Outside of those two plays, Goff was only hit four times on 37 pass attempts. There wasn’t a whole lot of running room, but the Rams also only ran the ball seven times with running backs.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2