Tag: Omar Speights

Eagles to host Commanders in NFC Championship game after 28-22 win over Rams

Eagles to host Commanders in NFC Championship game after 28-22 win over Rams in the NFC Divisional Round

The Eagles are headed to the NFC title game and host their division rival, the Washington Commanders. After holding on for a 28-22 win over the Rams in the NFC divisional round, the Eagles will play the Washington Commanders.

In what can only be described as a barn burner, Philadelphia looked like they put the game away after going up 28-15, but the Rams scored a late fourth-quarter touchdown to pull within seven. After the Eagles could not maximize their final offensive drive, the Rams had one final shot on a ten-play, 60-yard drive that fell short with an incomplete pass to Puka Nucau at the Philadelphia 22-yard line.

The No. 2 seed Eagles will host the No. 6 seed Washington Commanders (12-5), who defeated the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2) 45-31 at Ford Field on Saturday night.

Washington’s 45 points were the most in a playoff game in franchise history.

Detroit quarterback Jared Goff threw three interceptions and was uneven all night. He went 23-40 passing for 313 yards (7.8 avg), one touchdown, and a 59.7 quarterback rating. The Lions’ running game was dynamic but underused, as Jahmyr Gibbs had 14 carries for 105 yards (7.5 avg) and two rushing touchdowns.

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For Washington, Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite and Pro Bowler, Jayden Daniels was 22-31 passing for 299 yards (9.6 avg), two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 122.9 quarterback rating.

In an offensive shootout, the two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense and 57 first downs.

Philadelphia and Washington split the season series, with the Commanders pulling off a 36-33 home win in Week 16 after Jalen Hurts was ruled out with a concussion.

Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles holds a 13-10 lead over Rams in divisional round

Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles holds a 13-10 lead over Rams in divisional round

The weather came as expected, but there were plenty of big plays in the first half as the Eagles hold a 13-10 lead over the Rams at home in the divisional round game on Sunday. A Philadelphia win and Nick Sirianni would host the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game next week. The Eagles lost rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first half with a shoulder injury, and Isaiah Rodgers matched up with Rams wide receivers on the outside, which will be something to watch. With the second half quickly approaching, here sights and sounds from the first 30 minutes. ***

Eagles vs. Rams: Pregame sights and sounds from NFC Divisional Round game

We’re looking at pregame sights and sounds from the Philadelphia Eagles matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round

We’re now minutes away from the Eagles, and Rams kicking off their divisional-round matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia is look to reach 7-0 in the Divisional Round at home in their franchise history and advance to another NFC Championship Game. With kickoff moments away, here are the pregame sights and sounds from a gigantic matchup.

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Rams’ 2024 rookie class ranked as the best in the NFL

From Jared Verse to Omar Speights, no team had a better rookie class in 2024 than the Rams

For the second year in a row, Les Snead, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams came away with an incredibly productive rookie class. After leaving the 2023 draft with Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Puka Nacua and Steve Avila, the Rams may have done even better with the haul of rookies they landed not only in the draft, but also afterwards.

Pro Football Focus sure respects the Rams’ rookie class because the site ranked it as the best in the NFL for 2024. There shouldn’t be much debate about it, either. As good as Jayden Daniels has been, even the Commanders’ second-ranked rookie class can’t touch the impact Los Angeles’ first-year players have had.

Jared Verse was PFF’s highest-graded rookie defender in the NFL this season and is the favorite to win AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Braden Fiske was a huge contributor on the interior with 57 pressures and a team-high 8.5 sacks, picking up where he left off as Verse’s teammate at Florida State in 2023.

Those were the Rams’ top two picks, but what they did later on in the draft is what really makes this an excellent class. Beaux Limmer was a sixth-round pick and has maintained a starting job at center over $51 million free-agent signing Jonah Jackson. Kamren Kinchens, a third-round safety, tied with undrafted rookie safety Jaylen McCollough for the team lead with four interceptions each; no other player had more than one.

Undrafted linebacker Omar Speights replaced Troy Reeder after he got hurt and hasn’t let go of the starting job since. Blake Corum didn’t get many opportunities but he was a promising backup to Kyren Williams. Tyler Davis has played meaningful snaps as a sixth-round defensive tackle and Jordan Whittington has provided a spark on kick returns; he was also drafted in the sixth round.

This is all without even mentioning Joshua Karty, who has made 15 straight field goal attempts and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December/January.

Really, the only drafted rookies who haven’t contributed are Brennan Jackson and KT Leveston, who were both hurt at times this season.

This rookie class is what has made the Rams contenders in the NFC and combined with the 2023 draftees, it’s going to lay the foundation for the next 3-5 years in Los Angeles. The Rams went from being a start-studded veteran group to winning with rookies and second-year players, which should have every fan excited about the future.

Saquon Barkley runs the Rams out of SoFi Stadium, carrying the Eagles to their 7th straight win

A sea of Eagles fans took over SoFi Stadium, carrying Philadelphia to its 7th straight win on Sunday night as Saquon Barkley rushed for 255 yards on the night

The Eagles are 9-2 and have won seven straight games after Saquon Barkley exploded in the running game, and A.J. Brown was dominant in the passing game. Philadelphia put the league on notice with a 37-20 win at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

If not for a late Matthew Stafford touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp, Philadelphia would have exited Los Angeles with a 37-14 road win just seven days before a monster matchup with the Baltimore Ravens in Week 13.

Barkley rushed for 255 yards on the night and had 302 total yards of offense in a game that saw A.J. Brown log 109 yards receiving and a touchdown on seven targets.

Rams Week 10 snap counts: LA makes changes at TE, LB and safety

The Rams made changes at tight end, linebacker and safety, turning two three young starters against the Dolphins

The changes just keep coming for the Los Angeles Rams. In addition to having three new starters along the offensive line on Monday night against the Miami Dolphins, they had three new starters elsewhere, too.

The snap counts show that Davis Allen is the new starting tight end over Colby Parkinson, Omar Speights leapfrogged Christian Rozeboom as the primary inside linebacker and Kamren Kinchens played more than veteran Kam Curl at safety.

These may not be permanent changes, and it’s possible that Curl is simply still nursing a knee injury that’s limited him in the last two weeks, but the switch from Parkinson to Allen seems like something that’s going to stick for a while.

Below are the full snap counts on offense and defense, with breakdowns of each position group.

Offense

Starting with the offensive line, Steve Avila, Jonah Jackson and Joe Noteboom all played every snap in their returns from injured reserve. Alaric Jackson and Kevin Dotson played every snap, too.

At tight end is where the most notable change occurred. Allen played 56 of a possible 70 snaps, leading the position group by a wide margin. Parkinson was second with 11 snaps played, barely more than the nine that Hunter Long got. Parkinson’s role has been decreasing for weeks and it seems he’s now officially a backup.

Kyren Williams continues to dominate the snap share at running back, playing 65 of the 70 snaps. Blake Corum came in for five snaps on one drive, touching the ball three times for a total of 15 yards.

At wide receiver, Cooper Kupp played all but seven snaps. Demarcus Robinson actually played more than Puka Nacua barely out-snapping him 58 to 55. That’s not anything to be concerned about with Nacua, though. Tutu Atwell was the No. 4 receiver with a 19% snap share, followed by Tyler Johnson (14%) and Jordan Whittington (7%). This was Whittington’s first game since Week 7.

Defense

Both Speights and Rozeboom played significant snaps, but for the first time all year, Speights led the linebacker group in playing time. He was on the field for 74% of the snaps compared to 62% for Rozeboom, and it was Speights announced as a starter, not Rozeboom.

At safety, Kinchens and Curl were both technically starters alongside Quentin Lake, but Kinchens played six more snaps than Curl. It’s unclear if that’s because of Curl’s lingering knee injury but it is something to monitor moving forward. Jaylen McCollough played 13 snaps as the fourth safety.

Cobie Durant and Darious Williams are the clear-cut top cornerbacks for the Rams, playing every snap in the loss. Ahkello Witherspoon’s role remains limited as the third cornerback, as the Rams prefer to deploy their safeties in nickel and dime packages instead of an extra corner.

Jared Verse and Byron Young remained the top edge rushers for the Rams with 45 and 43 snaps, respectively. Michael Hoecht’s role isn’t going anywhere, as he played 66% of the snaps, and Brennan Jackson rotated in for three plays.

Along the defensive line, Kobie Turner once again led in snaps played with a 79% share. Surprisingly, Bobby Brown III played more snaps (33) than Braden Fiske (28) did in the loss. Tyler Davis played 17 snaps and Jonah Williams played eight snaps of his own.

Sean McVay: Omar Speights is ‘mature beyond his years’

Sean McVay paid compliments to undrafted rookie Omar Speights after the linebacker’s critical tackle helped seal the Rams’ win over Seattle.

According to Sean McVay, Omar Speights’ maturity level is way beyond his years. The 23-year-old undrafted rookie linebacker has slowly begun to incorporate himself into the Rams’ defensive rotation beyond already being a contributor on special teams.

McVay was asked about Speights on Monday and shared some positive remarks about the rookie defender.

“I’ve seen a guy that’s consistently put in the work,” he said. “You can see he’s got a routine and a rhythm that he has established where he’s doing extra work, taking care of his body, he’s got film, very conscientious. This guy was a pro. I use the word a lot as it relates to this rookie class, especially the guys on defense. They’re grown men and they’re mature beyond their years. I think that’s been reflected in Omar Speights and that’s why you’re not surprised that when he does get an opportunity to be able to step up and play more snaps, he makes his impact felt. He certainly did that yesterday and I’ve been really happy for him. [ILBs coach] Greg Williams does a great job leading that group. We’ve had a lot of different guys playing at that spot. Yesterday, Omar made some big plays and I thought [Christian] Rozeboom had a really good game. I thought he was productive. I thought he made a lot of different plays and was able to influence and affect the game in a positive way, but Omar’s a stud. Mature beyond his years for a rookie.”

Since Troy Reeder’s injury, Speights has stepped up in his absence, doing exactly what he did in college and that’s making the routine plays look routine.

He’s been a solid tackler, racking up six total tackles in the past two games, including a shared tackle with Bobby Brown to stop Kenneth Walker on fourth down in OT.

For the Rams to put Speights on the field in that situation – a situation that determined the game – is only further testament that the team loves what it’s been seeing from him.

One of the key members of Chris Shula’s turnaround, Speights continues to shine as the Rams’ UDFA class keeps standing out.

Omar Speights impressed Sean McVay in his defensive debut vs. Vikings

Rams rookie Omar Speights played his first defensive snaps last week and Sean McVay came away pleased with how he performed

Rams linebacker Omar Speights was a fan favorite during the preseason, making a name for himself as an undrafted rookie with standout performances against the Cowboys and Chargers. He played so well in those two games that the Rams held him out of the third preseason matchup because he had already locked up a roster spot.

In the first six games of the regular season, Speights only played special teams. Fans were calling for him to get opportunities at linebacker, but it wasn’t until Troy Reeder got hurt that he earned a chance to play defense.

In his debut against the Vikings last Thursday, Speights made four tackles in only 22 snaps played on defense, getting the start next to Christian Rozeboom. He was the Rams’ fourth-highest graded player on defense, per PFF, earning a mark of 67.7 in Los Angeles’ win.

Sean McVay came away impressed with Speights’ performance, complimenting the rookie on Monday.

“I thought he did a nice job,” McVay said. “He played in our base package, and you could see he was in the right spots. He had a couple of those plays where he is arriving violently at the point of attack. Good recognition of some of the concepts that they were doing, whether that be run or play action. I was pleased with Omar.”

Speights may not have made highlight-reel plays, but he also didn’t allow any catches in coverage (he wasn’t targeted) and he also didn’t miss any tackles. Against a talented team like the Vikings, that’s a good sign.

He’ll likely be asked to keep playing meaningful snaps for at least the next three weeks while Troy Reeder is on injured reserve and if he performs well enough, he may never give up his starting job.

It doesn’t sound like the Rams plan to make a change at LB anytime soon

Omar Speights and Jacob Hummel shined in the preseason but it doesn’t sound like the Rams are looking to make a change at LB right now

There was a lot of excitement about undrafted rookie linebacker Omar Speights in the preseason after he shined in the first two exhibition games for the Los Angeles Rams. Even before the third preseason game, Speights had earned a spot on the 53-man roster, with Les Snead calling him someone who would be active on game days.

Snead was accurate in saying that because Speights has been up all four weeks, but he hasn’t played a single defensive snap yet. The same goes for Jacob Hummel, who also stood out in a positive way during the preseason.

Meanwhile, Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom, have struggled badly in the middle of the Rams’ defense. Of the 55 linebackers in the NFL who have played at least 159 snaps this season, Reeder ranks 38th and Rozeboom is 47th in total defensive grade, per Pro Football Focus.

They’ve taken poor angles to ball carriers, have a hard time getting off blocks and Rozeboom has allowed 17 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown on only 18 targets. It doesn’t sound like the Rams are planning to make a change at linebacker anytime soon, though.

Sean McVay was asked Wednesday how the team develops young players like them and what it’ll take for them to get an opportunity on game days, responding by saying they do get reps in practice but it hasn’t gotten to the point where they’ve earned snaps on Sundays.

“Those guys do get reps in these settings,” he said. “The preseason is somewhat similar, but very different than the regular season in terms of the things that we’re asking, the types of schemes that are being seen by the opposing offenses. You continue to give those guys opportunities throughout the course of these practices. If it got to a point where we felt like that was the best option for us, then those guys would be out there.”

The Rams have one more game before their Week 6 bye, a matchup with the Packers this Sunday. Green Bay ranks second in the NFL in rushing, so this will be yet another test for the Rams’ linebackers.

Perhaps if Reeder and Rozeboom struggle again, McVay and Chris Shula might consider making a change during the bye. But based on the coach’s comments, it doesn’t sound like that’s in the cards right now.

Five undrafted rookies made Rams’ 53-man roster, all on defense

The Rams kept five undrafted rookies on their 53-man roster, all of them on defense

With how many late-round picks and undrafted rookies have made the Los Angeles Rams’ roster over the last seven years, it’s clear that Sean McVay and Les Snead aren’t afraid to bet on lesser-known players. That’s the case again this year.

As the Rams were going through final roster cuts before Tuesday’s deadline, they decided to keep five undrafted rookies. That’s a high number for any team, particularly one with as much talent as the Rams.

The five undrafted rookies who made the 53-man roster are all on defense, too.

  • LB Omar Speights
  • LB Elias Neal
  • CB Josh Wallace
  • CB Charles Woods
  • CB Jaylen McCollough

Speights, Wallace, Woods and McCollough all seemed likely to make the team after they were held out of the third preseason game, but Neal’s inclusion comes as a big surprise. Perhaps he made the team after the Rams decided to trade Ernest Jones to the Titans, which opened up a roster spot. Regardless, he earned a spot on the roster with a strong preseason.

In addition to the five undrafted rookies, the Rams kept nine of their 10 drafted rookies on the 53-man roster. The only exception is seventh-rounder KT Leveston, who was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return.