Tag: ernest jones

Rams injury report: Puka Nacua, Ernest Jones questionable but expected to play vs. Giants

The Rams are listing Puka Nacua (hip) and Ernest Jones (illness) as questionable for Sunday but they’re expected to play

The Los Angeles Rams had just two players listed on their injury report Wednesday and Thursday, but a handful of names were added on Friday. Sean McVay provided injury updates ahead of Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, saying that both Puka Nacua and Ernest Jones will be listed as questionable to play.

Nacua felt some tightness in his hip so the Rams are being smart with him by holding him out on Friday, and Jones felt under the weather so the team kept him at home. McVay expects both players to suit up on Sunday against the Giants, which is good news.

Additionally, Tre Tomlinson will be ruled out with his hamstring injury and Joe Noteboom will be questionable due to a lingering foot injury. Noteboom is limited again on Friday, a sign he’ll be able to play like he did last week.

Left tackle Alaric Jackson was added to the injury report with a thigh injury, which he presumably suffered in practice on Friday. McVay didn’t mention that injury before practice so that’s something to monitor. He’s questionable to play, which would be a big loss for the Rams.

Aaron Donald and Brian Allen were given their typical rest days to end the week, too.

For the Giants, their injury report at the start of the week was 13 players long, but there are only three guys with injury designations for Sunday. Tight end Lawrence Cager is doubtful, while cornerback Deonte Banks and Wan’Dale Robinson – two starters for New York – are questionable to play.

Matthew Stafford, 5 other Rams make PFF’s Team of the Week for Week 16

The Rams were well-represented on PFF’s Team of the Week following their dominant performance against the Saints

The Los Angeles Rams put together one of their best performances of the season last week against the New Orleans Saints, even though the final score may not look that way. In their 30-22 win, the Rams put up 458 yards of total offense and had 23 first downs with no turnovers and an average of 6.8 yards per play.

The defense featured some outstanding play from several guys, too, including Ernest Jones, Quentin Lake and Aaron Donald.

In total, six Rams players were represented on PFF’s Team of the Week for Week 16: three on offense and three on defense. Considering only 22 players were selected by PFF (excluding special teams), the Rams made up more than a quarter of the Team of the Week.

At quarterback, it was Matthew Stafford getting the nod thanks to his NFL-best 91.8 overall grade for Week 16. Puka Nacua, who was also named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week, was selected at wide receiver after catching nine passes for a career-high 164 yards. The third offensive player was right tackle Rob Havenstein, who only allowed one pressure.

Defensively, it was Donald, Jones and Lake earning PFF Team of the Week selections. Donald had four pressures, which was one fewer than Jones had in the win; Jones also added seven tackles. Lake only allowed 15 yards on seven targets in coverage, continuing his great second season in the NFL.

Up next for the Rams is a favorable matchup against the Giants this Sunday, so we could see another player or two from Los Angeles on PFF’s Week 17 Team of the Week.

See which 6 players got game balls from Sean McVay after Rams’ big win vs. Saints

Sean McVay was fired up after the Rams’ win over the Saints, handing out 6 game balls to his players – including Matthew Stafford

There wasn’t a lot to be excited about in the Rams’ locker room last winter. They lost nine of their last 11 games, finishing the year 5-12 in what was Sean McVay’s most challenging season yet.

The mood in the locker room is much different this time around. The Rams have won five of their last six games and are in position to make the playoffs – something very few people expected after the team’s offseason departures.

McVay was jacked up after the Rams’ 30-22 win over the Saints on Thursday night, as were his players. He sent his team home with a fiery speech, while also handing out six game balls to guys who had an impact on the game.

Matthew Stafford obviously got one, as did Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams. Demarcus Robinson earned a game ball for his first-half performance, and Ernest Jones and Jordan Fuller represented the defense with standout showings.

The best part of McVay’s speech was the team’s reaction when he told them they didn’t have to come back to the facility until Tuesday.

“One more (expletive) thing: I’ll see you Tuesday!” McVay exclaimed, eliciting a roar from the players.

Stafford broke down the locker room with an expletive-filled speech of his own, reminding everyone that the Rams need to be better about finishing games.

“We gotta finish these (expletive) games off better,” he said. “We know it. All three phases. We’re (expletive) playing too damn good to make it (expletive) close at the end. Let’s (expletive) put people the (expletive) away. People are fighting for their playoff lives. That’s us too. Let’s go (expletive) win this (expletive).”

The Rams get the Giants on the road next week, a very winnable game for them. After that, it could all come down to a rematch with the 49ers in Santa Clara.

Rams’ defense has been playing lights out since Week 10 bye

The Rams have held all three of their opponents since their bye week in Week 10 to 19 or fewer points.

Much was made about the inexperienced defense the Los Angeles Rams trotted out to begin the 2023 season. Following the departures of Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, and Bobby Wagner, the Rams elected to start plenty of first- and second-year players instead of replacing those players with veterans.

There have understandably been growing pains for a new-look defensive unit since the season opener versus the Seattle Seahawks. Raheem Morris and the rest of the coaching staff have had to adjust on the fly and make alterations to the starting unit, whether it be due to injuries or because of a player not performing up to the team’s standards.

Aside from Aaron Donald, Jordan Fuller, John Johnson III, and Akhello Witherspoon, the other seven starters on defense in Week 13 have played three or fewer seasons in the NFL. And after a few rough patches early in the season, the defense has begun to round into form since the Rams had their bye week in Week 10.

In their last three games against the Cleveland Browns, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Seattle Seahawks, the defense has held each of their opponents to 19 or fewer points. All three phases of the defense have done their part in evolving into a formidable group, with rookies Kobie Turner and Byron Young emerging as key contributors alongside Donald.

Ernest Jones has become a leader in the middle of the defense, and Ahkello Witherspoon has continued to be a solid signing for the Rams in the secondary. Quentin Lake has been dealing with an injury in recent weeks, but he was also becoming a marquee fixture in the secondary as he was playing the ‘star’ role in Morris’ defense.

When it comes to advanced numbers, the defense has allowed an EPA per play of -0.086 (10th-best in the NFL) since Week 11. The pass defense specifically has been dominant, permitting a dropback EPA per play of -0.132 in the last three weeks, which is the sixth-best mark in the league in that span.

The last time the Rams had a three-game stretch of allowing 19 or fewer points was from Week 5 through 7 during the 2021 season. Besides the young players who have performed well to help the defense drastically improve, credit deserves to go to Morris, Sean McVay, and the rest of the coaching staff for the job they’ve done with this current group.

Rams’ young defense shows out in 2nd half of win vs. Seahawks in Week 11

The Rams’ young defense was able to shut down the Seahawks offense in the 2nd half of Sunday’s win.

The Los Angeles Rams escaped with a 17-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11, and most of the attention should be on the defensive unit. After facing a 13-7 deficit at halftime on Sunday, the young defense of the Rams shut down the Seahawks offense in the second half.

According to rbsdm.com, the Rams had the third-best EPA per play (-0.426) and the best success rate (20.7%) among defenses in the second half of contests this week. In the first half versus the Seahawks, the Rams were dead last in EPA per play (0.282) among the teams who have played this week, and they had the 13th-best success rate (47.1%).

With another come-from-behind win over the Seahawks, the Rams have now outscored their divisional foes 33-3 in the second half of their two meetings this season. This is a credit to Raheem Morris for making the necessary adjustments at halftime and to the players for stepping up their play in the final two quarters.

The defense has been far from perfect this season, allowing 22 points per game (13th-most in the NFL) and recording only 21 sacks (tied for the eighth-fewest in the NFL). But it is a positive sign to see a young defense like the Rams show signs of being a cohesive unit at times.

Aside from Aaron Donald and Ernest Jones making plays, we saw some of the younger players on the Rams step up in the second half. Kobie Turner and Byron Young were generating pressure on Geno Smith and Drew Lock, Derion Kendrick had a game-changing interception after a rough first half, and Quentin Lake continued to excel as the slot cornerback.

If the Rams want to have any chance of sneaking into the playoffs, Sunday’s game against the Seahawks was a must-win. And for a Rams team that has Matthew Stafford starting at quarterback, it was the defense that did the heavy lifting to help secure a victory in Week 11.

Ernest Jones expected to see increased workload in Week 8 vs. Cowboys

Ernest Jones has been limited by a knee injury the last two weeks but he should have a bigger workload on Sunday in Dallas

Ernest Jones has been hindered by a knee injury in recent weeks, which caused him to play limited snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7. Ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, Raheem Morris exclaimed that Jones should see an increased workload this week.

“Last week he was a little limited on what he can do, some of the packages he was out on, but Ernest is back up working at whatever) Reggie (Scott) says so I don’t get in trouble,” Morris said. “But he’s getting a better workload than he got last week.”

Jones began to experience some swelling in his knee leading up to the Week 6 game versus the Arizona Cardinals. The defensive signal-caller for the Rams would play on only 78 percent of the snaps against the Cardinals despite playing every defensive snap from Weeks 1 through 5.

In last week’s loss to the Steelers, Jones was on the field for 81 percent of the defensive snaps for the Rams. The Rams are taking a cautious approach with Jones, so they didn’t want to give him a full workload just yet.

Jones has been limited in practice this week, but Morris believes the third-year linebacker has made enough progress in his recovery to receive more snaps. Even if he still doesn’t play a hundred percent of the defensive snaps like usual, the Rams will certainly need Jones to help slow down Tony Pollard on Sunday.

Rams inactives: OL Joe Noteboom out, LB Ernest Jones to play

The Rams were down one starting offensive lineman in their Week 6 game against the Cardinals.

The Los Angeles Rams entered Week 6 with three players listed on the final injury report as questionable to play against the Arizona Cardinals. Two of those three players will be out.

The Rams released their inactive list for Week 6 and linebacker Ernest Jones, who was dealing with a knee injury, will dress and is expected to start.

Guard Joe Noteboom, who has a groin injury, will not play. Neither will defensive lineman Larrell Murchison, who has a knee injury.

Los Angeles Rams Week 6 inactives

  • OLB Nick Hampton
  • DL Larrell Murchison
  • OL Zach Thomas
  • OL Joe Noteboom
  • DL Desjuan Johnson

With Noteboom out, Kevin Dotson will likely get the start at right guard.

Thomas, the brother of Cardinals linebacker Cameron Thomas, will not dress to face his brother.

The Cardinals and Rams kick off in Week 6 at 1:25 p.m. Arizona time from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1862]

Watch: Mic’d-up Ernest Jones perfectly predicted Rams’ two TDs vs. Eagles

A mic’d-up Ernest Jones got out his crystal ball and perfectly predicted the Rams’ two touchdowns against the Eagles on Sunday

Ernest Jones is an unquestioned leader on defense for the Rams, earning captaincy honors this year for the first time in his career. He’s also apparently a clairvoyant – at least based on the latest video shared by the Rams from Sunday’s game against the Eagles.

Jones was mic’d up in Week 5 and the Rams caught him predicting not one touchdown, but two of them. The first was a 3-yard pass to Tutu Atwell, which Jones said “touchdown right here, they just don’t have enough people over there.”

The second was a 22-yard dime from Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua down the right sideline, which Jones also called.

“Puka Doncic over the top right now,” Jones said. “What I said, bro! Puka Doncic over the top!”

Jones obviously knows ball.

You can check out the full mic’d-up video below, which was shared on the Rams’ YouTube page.

Studs and duds from Rams’ 29-23 overtime win over Colts

Here are our studs and duds from the Rams’ 29-23 overtime victory over the Colts.

The Los Angeles Rams blew a 23-0 lead against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, allowing them to come all the way back and tie it in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the offense came through in overtime and scored a game-winning touchdown. After allowing the Colts to come from behind to force overtime, the Rams drove down the field to win 29-23 to improve to 2-2 on the season.

For the first half of the game, the Rams were rolling on both sides of the ball, and the game seemed like it was already over. But in the final two quarters, the Rams were unable to move the ball and rookie Anthony Richardson led the Colts on multiple scoring drives.

Following a thrilling win in overtime, here are our studs and duds from the Rams in their Week 4 matchup against the Colts.

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.