6 Rams to watch in Week 5 vs. Eagles

Here are 6 players from the Rams to watch in their Week 5 matchup against the Eagles.

The Los Angeles Rams are set to host the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5 at SoFi Stadium. The Rams are coming off a 29-23 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 after jumping out to a 23-0 lead in the contest.

Following the win against the Colts, the Rams improved to 2-2 on the season, with three of their first four games taking place on the road. As for the Eagles, they are among the two unbeaten teams remaining in the NFL (the other team is the San Francisco 49ers) after edging out the Washington Commanders 34-31 in overtime in Week 4.

Ahead of what could be described as another litmus test for the Rams, here are six players to watch in Sunday’s showdown versus the Eagles.

6 Rams to watch in Week 4 vs. Colts

Here are our six Rams players to watch in Sunday’s showdown with the Colts.

The Los Angeles Rams will be on the road for the second straight week, with a showdown against the Indianapolis Colts on tap in Week 4. Sean McVay’s squad is looking to bounce back following a 19-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, which gives them a 1-2 record entering Sunday’s contest.

The Colts pulled off an upset over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 despite rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson being sidelined. Even with tempered expectations this season, Indianapolis boasts an impressive 2-1 record through the first three weeks.

With the Rams desperately needing to get back on track, here are six players to watch in Week 4 versus the Colts.

Byron Young records four tackles at Cincinnati

Former Vol Byron Young records four tackles at Cincinnati.

Cincinnati (1-2) defeated the Rams (1-2), 19-16, Monday at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Former Vol and rookie defensive end Byron Young started for the Rams. He recorded four tackles, one assist and 0.5 sacks against the Bengals.

Young played at Tennessee from 2021-22 under head coach Josh Heupel after transferring from Georgia Military College.

The former Vol was an All-SEC standout in 2022.

Young was selected by the Rams in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft (No. 77 overall).

Los Angeles will next play Sunday against Indianapolis. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. EDT at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

PHOTOS: Byron Young through the years

Rams’ rookie class is off to strong start in 2023, led by 4 standouts

The Rams asked a lot of their rookies this year, and they’ve gotten some great play out of 4 players, in particular

After a great start to the year in Week 1, the Los Angeles Rams have stumbled in their last two games. They couldn’t take down the powerhouse 49ers in Week 2 and on Monday night, the Bengals snuck out a 19-16 win over the Rams – a game Los Angeles had several chances to win.

As frustrating as their 1-2 start has been, there are bright spots on both sides of the ball on this young roster. The Rams’ rookie class, which was a near-record 14 players deep, has stepped up and contributed in a meaningful way.

On offense, Puka Nacua and Steve Avila have looked like future Pro Bowlers for Los Angeles. Nacua has 30 catches in his first three games, ranking second in the NFL behind only Keenan Allen. His 338 yards are the fourth-most and his 42 targets lead all players this season.

Avila had a little bit of a rough outing against the Bengals on Monday night, but he has a 56.2 grade this season and despite allowing nine total pressures, he’s been a positive addition to the offensive line thus far. It doesn’t help that both Alaric Jackson and Zach Thomas struggled badly next to him on Monday night, making his job even tougher on the interior.

He’s made a handful of blocks that no guard for the Rams would’ve made last year, including one against the Bengals on a screen to Kyren Williams where he ran about 15 yards to take a defender out of the play.

This two-level block by Avila on Williams’ touchdown last week was particularly good, too.

Defensively, the Rams have to be thrilled with their top two picks on that side of the ball: Byron Young and Kobie Turner. According to Pro Football Focus, Turner’s defensive grade of 76.9 ranks eighth among all rookies in the NFL this season, and Young ranks 10th with a grade of 74.7.

Young’s 13 total pressures through three games are the second-most of any rookie, ahead of No. 3 overall pick Will Anderson Jr., who has 11 pressures for the Texans. Young’s three sacks (based on PFF’s numbers) are the second-most among rookies, too, while Turner is tied for third in that category.

Young’s six pressures are the sixth-most overall among rookies and third for all rookie defensive tackles, behind only Jalen Carter and Bryan Bresee, two first-round picks.

On the Rams, only Aaron Donald has a higher overall grade on defense than Turner and Young. They’ve both had a significant impact defensively in their first three games and the most encouraging part? They seem to be getting better by the week. Young had five pressures against the Bengals and a career-best 85.8 grade, while Turner had three total pressures (career-high) and split a sack with Donald.

The Rams have a lot to clean up in the coming weeks, but they’ve got four rookies they can build around moving forward, and that has to excite both Sean McVay and Les Snead.

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It’s time for the Rams to end the Michael Hoecht experiment at OLB

Michael Hoecht has struggled to begin the season and the Rams should consider starting someone else at OLB moving forward.

Out of pure desperation, the Los Angeles Rams had Michael Hoecht make the transition from interior defender to edge rusher during the 2022 season. Hoecht would make six starts last season, tallying 4.5 sacks (the most by an edge rusher on the Rams not named Leonard Floyd) and four tackles for loss.

After finishing last season as the starter opposite Floyd — and with Floyd departing in free agency — Hoecht has gotten the nod to start again at outside linebacker this season. Through the first three weeks, the experiment of deploying Hoecht as a starting edge rusher appears to be headed toward disaster.

In Monday night’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Hoecht was a liability against the run and as a pass rusher against a hobbled Joe Burrow. It was just more of the same of what we’ve seen from Hoecht in the first two games for the Rams.

Following the Week 3 loss to the Bengals, Hoecht has just seven total pressures on the season, according to PFF. For comparison, Aaron Donald and rookie Byron Young lead the Rams in pressures with 14 and 13, respectively. Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals finished with 10 total pressures just in Monday night’s matchup.

Missed tackles have also been a major concern for Hoecht, who has only two fewer missed tackles (5) than pressures (7) through Week 3. If Hoecht isn’t going to generate consistent pressure and he’s a liability in the run game, why should he continue to start?

At this point, Hoecht remaining a starter could be telling of the lack of trust the Rams have in their other edge rushers. Aside from Young and Hoecht, Zach VanValkenburg and Nick Hampton have seen minimal playing time.

Also, rookie Ochaun Mathis was placed on injured reserve before the season began because of a knee injury he’s been dealing with since training camp. And even after a strong showing in the preseason, the Rams haven’t shown any intentions of promoting Keir Thomas from the practice squad.

The Rams had just one edge rusher they could lean on in 2022 and it feels like that is transpiring again with Young carrying the load as a rookie. While the options in free agency and on the trade market are limited, the Rams would be wise to consider all of their options instead of continuing to start Hoecht moving forward.

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6 Rams to watch in Week 3 vs. Bengals

Here are our six players to watch from the Rams in Monday’s matchup in Week 3 vs. the Bengals.

The Los Angeles Rams will hit the road to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 3. This will be the first time the Rams and Bengals will face each other since Los Angeles defeated Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI to conclude the 2021 campaign.

The Rams will enter Monday’s matchup with a 1-1, splitting divisional matchups with the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers to begin the season. Meanwhile, the Bengals are 0-2 as Joe Burrow is dealing with a calf injury that could sideline him for Monday’s showdown.

With the Rams looking to improve to 2-1 through the first three weeks, here are six players to watch in Monday night’s Super Bowl rematch against the Bengals.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 2 loss to Bills

Raiders Week 2 Ballers & Busters

Safe to say this is one the Raiders would like to put behind them. But hopefully not before they try and learn from it. If there is anything to learn other than that they just can’t hang with a team like the Bills.

Things looked promising on the opening drive for the Raiders, just as they did in the opener in Denver. But it didn’t last long. A 7-0 lead in the first three minutes was a 21-10 deficit at the half and ended with a 38-10 demolition.

It’s hard to pinpoint much of anything that was actually working for the Raiders. Which should be pretty clear in this weeks Busters. But before we get to those details, let’s get the few Ballers out of the way.

Ballers

WR Davante Adams

As if often the case, Adams is a rare bright light in the darkness. He made a 16-yard back shoulder grab to convert the first third down of the game and then ended the opening drive by taking a screen pass 17 yards to the house.

The other scoring drive for the Raiders, Adams caught a 19-yard pass on third and 11 and later in the drive put the team in scoring range by breaking off his route and getting behind the DB to make a 21-yard catch.

He finished with six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

T Kolton Miller

He kept Garoppolo’s blind side protected all day and on the Adams touchdown screen, he got out wide to make the block.

S Marcus Epps

Epps did his best to stop to the Bills from scoring in the first quarter. He broke on a pass in the flat to stop it for a loss and two plays later made the stop on third down to bring up fourth and one. But as happened most of the day, the Bills converted it and went on to score anyway.

The one time in the game the Raiders were actually able to stop the Bills  on fourth and short, Epps set it up by making the stop on a Josh Allen scramble at the goal line.

Rams’ Puka Nacua, Byron Young listed among top 10 rookie debuts in NFL this season

Puka Nacua and Byron Young were both listed among the top 10 rookie debuts in the NFL this season.

The Los Angeles Rams are leaning on a handful of first-year players on both sides of the ball and those players showed up to begin the season. After taking down the Seattle Seahawks in the season opener, Puka Nacua and Byron Young were listed among the top 10 rookie debuts in Week 1 by the Next Gen Stats Analytics Team.

With Cooper Kupp sidelined for the Rams in Week 1, Nacua led the team in targets (15) and receptions (10), while tying Tutu Atwell for the team lead with 119 receiving yards. The rookie fifth-round pick had 45 yards after the catch and led all rookie receivers with +7.9 EPA (expected points added) when he was targeted, earning him the highest overall score by Next Gen Stats among rookies in Week 1.

Nacua proved that he could be a fantastic contributor in the passing game even when Kupp returns to the offense. That being said, Nacua is dealing with an oblique injury and is questionable to play on Sunday versus the San Francisco 49ers.

In the third round of this year’s draft, the Rams added Young in hopes he could provide a spark to the pass-rushing unit. The Tennessee product would register five total pressures, four combined tackles, and half a sack against the Seahawks in Week 1.

Young would be on the field for 38 defensive snaps and his five pressures were second to only Will Anderson Jr. among rookie edge rushers in Week 1. As a result of his stellar debut, Young came in at No. 9 with an overall score of 71 by Next Gen Stats.

The Rams are buying into a youth movement this season, and it was a positive sign to see Nacua and Young make key contributions already.

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6 Rams to watch in Week 2 vs. 49ers

Here are six players from the Rams to watch in the team’s Week 2 showdown with the 49ers.

The Los Angeles Rams shocked many people by defeating the Seattle Seahawks 30-13 on the road in Week 1. After beating one divisional opponent, the Rams will now host the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium in Week 2.

Matthew Stafford and the offense were firing on all cylinders in the season opener despite All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp being sidelined. Meanwhile, the 49ers cruised to a 30-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 to prove they are still a top-tier team in the NFC.

With the Rams being near touchdown underdogs entering Week 2, here are six players to watch in the impending matchup with the 49ers.

Byron Young makes NFL debut with Rams

Former Vol Byron Young makes NFL debut with Rams.

The Rams defeated Seattle, 30-13, Sunday at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Rookie and former Vol Byron Young started at linebacker for Los Angeles in his NFL debut.

He recorded three tackles, one assist and 0.5 sacks against the Seahawks.

Young played for Tennessee from 2021-22 under head coach Josh Heupel after transferring from Georgia Military College.

The Former Vol, who hails from from Georgetown, South Carolina, was an All-SEC standout in 2022.

Young was selected by the Rams in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft (No. 77 overall).

Los Angeles will next play Sunday at San Francisco.

Kickoff is slated for 4:15 p.m. EDT at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.