Tag: rams pff

Chargers RB Larry Rountree III among top offensive rookies in preseason Week 1

The Chargers’ sixth-round pick provided a big surge in the running game.

The Chargers’ running game did not have any juice in the early going of the preseason opener against the Rams. That was until RB Larry Rountree III stepped on the field.

Rountree, the sixth-round pick, succeeded Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley and made the most of his playing time by rushing eight times for 63 yards, including a carry that went for 25 yards, which was the longest of the game for either team.

The former Missouri product displayed explosiveness, burst, smooth footwork and second-level vision.

Rountree’s performance was so impressive that he earned the second-highest grade by any offensive rookie in the first week of preseason play (87.7), which came behind Titans tight end Miller Forristall (91.1).

I expected that yards after contact would be coming — and they sure did,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said about Rountree. “It was kind of what I was hoping for and kind of what I expected. There were high expectations, so I was very pleased with what he did in the game.”

As it currently stands, Rountree is still competing for the third spot with Kelley. But if he continues to perform like how he did this past weekend, he could garner a decent amount of snaps, especially with Jackson drawing durability concerns again.

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in preseason victory over Rams

Find out who Pro Football Focus tabbed as their winners and losers from the Chargers’ preseason opener.

In the first preseason game, the Chargers came out victorious over the Rams last Saturday night, 13-6.

For the most part, the starters remained sidelined while the majority of the playing time went to those in the middle to the back end of the depth chart who are vouching for a role or a spot on the 53-man roster.

With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Saturday’s game, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

RB Larry Rountree — 87.7

WR Jason Moore — 83.8

RB Darius Bradwell — 83.5

WR Josh Palmer — 83.3

TE Hunter Kampmoyer — 81.7

Top 5 Defense

LB Cole Christensen — 91.4

LB Kyzir White — 91.0

CB Kemon Hall — 90.9

CB John Brannon — 88.0

DT Forrest Merrill — 84.0

Bottom 5 Offense

C Scott Quessenberry — 50.2

WR K.J. Hill — 49.0

G Brenden Jaimes — 47.8

TE Tre’ McKitty — 47.0

G Tyree St. Louis — 43.6

Bottom 5 Defense

EDGE Uchenna Nwosu — 46.9

DT Breiden Fehoko — 44.8

EDGE Jesse Lemonier — 42.0

DL Chris Okoye — 29.9

LB Damon Lloyd — 28.2

Notable PFF grades from Rams’ Week 17 win vs. Arizona

The Rams got an outstanding performance by the defense on Sunday, but the offense lagged behind.

The Los Angeles Rams closed out the regular season on a high note against the Arizona Cardinals, winning 18-7 at home to lock up a playoff berth. The offense still continues to struggle, failing to score a touchdown for the second straight week, but the defense turned in one of its best performances of the season.

That’s reflected in Pro Football Focus’ game grades from Week 17. The defense saw several players turn in great performances, with five earning grades above 80.0. On offense, there were a lot of unimpressive grades, with Johnny Mundt standing out thanks to a career-high 84.6 mark.

Here’s a look at some notable grades for the Rams from Week 17, led by Aaron Donald and his 93.2 grade.

There was a lot to like from the Rams’ victory, most notably John Wolford’s performance. Although his grade was only 70.8, he played better than expected and totaled nearly 300 yards in the game.

There were mistakes made by several young players, including Wolford, Cam Akers and Van Jefferson, but at least L.A. is heading into the postseason on a high note.

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PFF grades from Rams’ loss to Jets: D-line shines in Week 15

Aaron Donald led the defensive line, which played extremely well against the Jets in Week 15.

It’s hard to find any positives for the Los Angeles Rams following their 23-20 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. It didn’t end their playoff hopes or chances to win the NFC West, but it was a stunning setback that no one expected.

It was by far their worst performance of the season against a terrible team, but there were a few bright spots highlighted by Pro Football Focus. Not surprisingly, Aaron Donald was the best player for the Rams on Sunday afternoon, but he also got help from his fellow defensive linemen who stepped up to do what they could against the Jets offense.

Here are notable grades from PFF in Week 15, courtesy of the Rams’ own J.B. Long.

Sebastian Joseph-Day has quietly had a very good season for the Rams, though he doesn’t garner much attention playing alongside the likes of Donald, Leonard Floyd and Michael Brockers. But he had another grade above 80 on Sunday, as did A’Shawn Robinson in limited action.

Jordan Fuller continues to play at a high level, too, earning his best grade since returning from a neck/shoulder injury.

On offense, the grades are about what you’d expect. Robert Woods played well and nearly had a 100-yard game with one touchdown, while Tyler Higbee also scored and made four grabs for 67 yards.

If the Rams are going to make a playoff run in January, they’ll need much better play from Jared Goff and the offense because there’s only so much the defense can do.

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Aaron Donald at his worst is still better than every NFL defender at their best

Aaron Donald is on pace for his lowest-graded season in 4 years, but he’s still No. 1 among all defenders.

Even when Aaron Donald has a down year, he’s better than every other defender in the NFL.

At least, that’s the sentiment provided by Pro Football Focus this year. According to PFF, Donald is on pace to have his lowest-graded season in four years. Yet, he’s still the highest-graded defender in the NFL this season with a grade of 93.0.

It’s a perfect example of Donald still being the best when he’s at his worst (in the last four years). The fact that he’s on pace to have a lower grade than usual is a different discussion, considering he has 11 sacks in 12 games and leads the NFL with 71 pressures, but he remains the best defensive player in football.

Donald is constantly being double- and triple-teamed by opposing offensive linemen, with teams doing everything they can to slow down the two-time Defensive Player of the Year. It’s a logical plan, too.

He has the ability to completely wreck an offensive game plan with his quick penetration and relentless motor. Even when he’s not getting to the quarterback or slipping into the backfield, he’s creating opportunities for his teammates along the defensive front.

Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley shed some light on Donald’s impact this week, putting into perspective how much he affects what L.A. does on that side of the ball.

Aaron is at the center of everything. He is truly in the middle of the defense and I think that that’s where he’s unique,” he said. “He can impact the game on every snap. It’s the one position on the field that you can’t avoid. So, him being in the middle of things gives us an advantage. Then his versatility gives us an advantage because he can move around within the formation in our defensive front, whether that’s in our run front or in our pass-rush front. I think that flexibility allows, not only for us to create more opportunities for him, but also create more opportunities for others and how that really helps us play complementary ball, like we want to be playing.”

Donald is among the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year for a third time this season, though he’s not thinking about that. He’s focused on winning games and a Super Bowl rather than individual accolades.

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PFF gives Jalen Ramsey bafflingly low grade vs. Seahawks

Darious Williams graded out well, but PFF gave Ramsey a stunningly low mark despite shutting down DK Metcalf.

DK Metcalf came into Week 10 as one of the most consistent and dominant receivers in the NFL, recording at least five catches for 92 yards in seven of eight games. Jalen Ramsey brought an end to the second-year receiver’s hot streak, though, lining up across from him for most of Sunday’s game and completely shutting him down.

Metcalf was held to just two catches for 28 yards on four targets, with neither of those receptions coming while Ramsey was in coverage. It was as good a job as anyone has done against an opposing No. 1 receiver this year, but Pro Football Focus didn’t see it that way.

Shockingly, PFF gave Ramsey an overall grade of just 55.2 for his performance against the Seahawks. It’s almost laughable how low that grade is for Ramsey, given the way he eliminated Metcalf from Seattle’s offensive attack. But it’s worth noting that PFF’s coverage grade is only based on plays where the defender is targeted, so it doesn’t account for a corner shutting down a receiver like Ramsey did.

At least PFF got Darious Williams’ grade right, giving him a 91.7 – the best of his career. He deserved a ton of recognition, picking off two passes, breaking up three of Russell Wilson’s throws and allowing a passer rating of 0.0 in coverage.

Jared Goff also received a strong grade of 82.0, while David Edwards, Rob Havenstein and Andrew Whitworth all performed well, too. Josh Reynolds’ grade of 75.7 was his highest of the season.

It’s hard to ignore Ramsey’s 55.2, though. PFF is a great tool to gauge how a player is playing, but with grades like this, it raises red flags about its accuracy – especially considering Metcalf’s grade of 56.9 was a season-low.

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Jared Goff quickly ascending in PFF’s QB rankings but still outside top 10

Jared Goff has gotten off to a great start this year and PFF is taking notice.

Jared Goff came into the 2020 season with a huge number of doubters ready to pounce on any continued struggles he might show. After a shaky 2019 campaign, there were endless questions about whether he’s a legitimate franchise quarterback or simply the product of Sean McVay’s system.

We’re only six weeks into the regular season but Goff has once again silenced his critics, just as he did in 2017 after a disastrous rookie year. He has the Rams sitting at 4-2 after completing 67.4% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions through six games.

Pro Football Focus has been complimentary of Goff, giving him the fifth-best grade of any quarterback in the NFL. In the site’s quarterback rankings, which aren’t solely based on overall grade, Goff is quickly ascending.

He has yet to crack the top 10, though, checking in at No. 11 in this week’s update – up six spots from the start of the season.

Goff is a very environment-dependent quarterback, but we shouldn’t dismiss how well he does play when the environmental conditions allow him to. Through six weeks, he has the No. 6 PFF passing grade (84.3) and No. 5 overall mark (85.3) and has just three turnover-worthy plays, the same number as Aaron Rodgers had in only one game against Tampa Bay. Goff’s offensive line has improved, so he is better able to deliver the ball to Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, and while he hasn’t been as aggressive as in the past, he has been impressively efficient, with the Rams ranking sixth in the league in EPA per play on offense.

Josh Allen and Ryan Tannehill are among the biggest risers in PFF’s rankings, jumping 19 and 16 spots, respectively, into the top 10. Russell Wilson has unseated Patrick Mahomes at No. 1, while Kyler Murray has risen five spots to No. 14. Jimmy Garoppolo is the only NFC West quarterback to fall, dropping four spots to No. 19.

Goff has established himself as an above-average quarterback again this season, but he’ll need to maintain this level of play for the remainder of the year if he wants to stay in the top 15 and climb into the top 10. Just ahead of him are Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan, so Goff has two veterans to leapfrog in order to be considered one of the 10 best in PFF’s eyes.

PFF grades: Darrell Henderson is top RB in NFL, Jared Goff is No. 3 QB

The Rams have a top-10 player at each position on offense, according to Pro Football Focus.

It’s no secret that Jared Goff and Darrell Henderson have been two bright spots for the Rams through three weeks. They’re both playing at a very high level, with Goff bouncing back from a difficult 2019 season and Henderson emerging as the Rams’ top option at running back.

Based on Pro Football Focus’ grades, they’re each among the best players at their respective positions, which is part of the reason L.A.’s offense has been so effective in the first three weeks of the season.

According to PFF, Goff is the third-highest graded quarterback in the league, behind only Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. In fact, he’s the fourth-highest graded player in the NFL on offense, with Mo Alie-Cox between him and the other two quarterbacks.

As for Henderson, he’s the NFL’s top-graded running back through three weeks, according to Pro Football Focus. That puts his performance thus far into perspective, showing just how effective he’s been not only as a runner, but also as a receiver.

They’re not the only Rams players who rank in the top 10 of their respective positions. Cooper Kupp is the third-best receiver, according to PFF’s grades, while Tyler Higbee is the No. 10 tight end.

On the offensive line, Andrew Whitworth is the second-best tackle in the league, David Edwards (in limited action) has the ninth-best grade of any guard, and Austin Blythe’s shift to center has gone well, earning the eighth-best grade among all NFL centers.

Even in a game where the Rams scored just three points in the first half, the offense performed well. Goff went over 300 yards passing, Henderson had 114 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Kupp caught nine passes for 107 yards and a score.

It’ll be hard for the Rams’ top offensive players to keep up this pace, but if they do, L.A. will be in great shape as the season rolls on.

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Todd Gurley, Taylor Rapp among highest-graded Rams by PFF in Week 13

Check out the five highest-graded Rams from Week 13.

The Rams finally put it all together on Sunday against the Cardinals, blowing out their division rivals 34-7 at State Farm Stadium. It was a much-needed bounce back after getting crushed by the Ravens at home, keeping their playoff chances alive in the NFC.

The Rams were great on both offense and defense, which isn’t something that can be said about many of their performances this season. Todd Gurley had a productive day with 95 yards rushing, Jared Goff put up 424 yards in about three quarters of action and Robert Woods racked up 172 yards receiving on 13 catches.

Defensively, Aaron Donald was once again a menace, while Taylor Rapp broke out with a pick-six and another pass defensed. The rookie safety earned some high praise from Pro Football Focus, which gave him an 86.4 overall grade – second-best on the Rams defense this week.

Gurley had the highest offensive grade (90.6), followed by Tyler Higbee (85.8) and Woods (85.2).

The Rams can’t expect to win by 27 every week, but they are certainly capable of putting together performances like this one more regularly than they have. The offense had very little trouble moving the ball against Arizona’s underwhelming secondary, but the defense completely shut down Kyler Murray and a unit that was gaining momentum.

It’s good to see Goff and the offense back on track after an ugly November.

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