Tag: rams preseason

PFF: Rams had worst offense, defense and special teams in NFL this preseason

According to PFF’s grades, no team had a worse offense, defense or special teams than the Rams this preseason

There was a lot of excitement about this preseason for the Los Angeles Rams, knowing how many rookies and young players would be trying to make a name for themselves. Fans were anxious to see players such as Steve Avila, Byron Young, Puka Nacua and Quentin Lake but the team as a whole fell way short of expectations.

The Rams went 0-3 and were blown out, 41-0, in the preseason finale, capping off a terrible preseason showing by this unproven roster. Fortunately, the preseason doesn’t usually indicate how good (or bad) a team will be; the Rams were 0-3 in the 2021 preseason and went on to win the Super Bowl that season.

Pro Football Focus’ grades were not kind to Los Angeles this summer, though. PFF gave the Rams a 53.5 offensive grade and a 50.5 defensive grade, which were both the worst in the NFL. Their passing grade of 34.0 was also the lowest in the entire league, as was their coverage grade of 49.7 on the defensive side of the ball.

It wasn’t just the offense and defense that were bad. The Rams’ 40.3 special teams grade was 5.9 points lower than any other team in football this preseason.

Sean McVay tried to remain upbeat and encouraged by the way some of his players performed in each preseason game, but there’s no chance he’s pleased with the showing Los Angeles had the last three Saturdays.

Granted, many of the guys who suited up this preseason won’t be key contributors during the regular season but some of them will be, and the Rams need more from them once the schedule flips to Week 1 this September.

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Rams PFF grades: Best and worst performers from 2023 preseason

See which Rams players graded out among the best this preseason, and who graded out among the worst

It’d be hard to find a team that struggled more than the Los Angeles Rams this preseason. They went 0-3 and were outscored 109-34, including a 41-0 shutout at the hands of the Denver Broncos in Saturday’s finale.

It wasn’t the way Sean McVay hoped his team would perform this preseason but with such a young roster, it’s hardly surprising that the Rams went 0-3 in their exhibition games.

There were some solid individual performances on each side of the ball but the bad far outweighed the good, especially in the final game against Denver.

Pro Football Focus has graded every Rams player who took a snap in the preseason this summer and we’ve broken them down by the top 10 and bottom 10 on offense and defense.

Rams blown out by Broncos, 41-0: Instant analysis of LA’s 3rd preseason loss

The Rams capped off the preseason with a dud, getting blown out by the Broncos by a score of 41-0

Well, the good news is these preseason games don’t count. The bad news is the Rams looked significantly overmatched in each of their three exhibition contests against the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos.

The Rams were embarrassed by Denver on Saturday night in the preseason finale, losing 41-0 on the road. Neither team played their starters, so this game isn’t an indication of how they will play this season, but it was still discouraging to see the Rams play so poorly in the final preseason game.

It was started by Stetson Bennett and finished by Dresser Winn, with Brett Rypien getting a handful of opportunities in the middle. But no matter who was leading the offense, the Rams struggled to move the ball.

Here’s a recap of Los Angeles’ disappointing finish to the preseason on Saturday.

8 biggest position battles to watch in Rams’ preseason game vs. Chargers

The Rams won’t play everyone in the preseason opener but there are still plenty of key position battles to watch against the Chargers

The preseason is going to carry more weight for the Los Angeles Rams this summer. They’re lacking the proven talent they’ve had in recent years, which means many of their young players will need to take the field in these exhibition games.

Not to mention, the Rams have a lot of position battles to sort out, both in the starting lineup and among backups. Here are eight of the biggest competitions to watch when the Rams take on the Chargers this Saturday night at SoFi Stadium.

Predicting who will rest and who will play for the Rams in the preseason

The Rams’ new approach to the preseason will feature several starters playing. Who will be on the field and who will stay on the sidelines?

The Los Angeles Rams are going to look very different in 2023, both in the regular season and in the preseason. With a roster that’s lacking star power, they aren’t going to take the preseason off the way they have in recent years.

Sean McVay said they’re going to take a new approach, similar to the way they handled things in 2017. Several starters will take the field in the preseason as they continue to prepare for Week 1. That group won’t include Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp or Aaron Donald, but expect to see more starters in the preseason than usual.

With the first game coming up on Saturday, we’re predicting which players will rest, which ones will play a little bit and who will play a bunch this preseason.

Rams will have to play starters in the preseason, especially on defense

Les Snead made it clear that the Rams’ approach to the preseason will have to be different this year

The Los Angeles Rams were one of the first teams to hold their starters out of action for the entire preseason, a strategy deployed by Sean McVay when he took over as head coach in 2017. They’ve been very cautious with their top players in meaningless exhibition games, choosing not to put them in harm’s way before the season begins.

Well, that strategy will have to change this year. The Rams don’t have the luxury of resting their starters this preseason because there simply aren’t as many clear-cut starters on the roster as there have been in years past. That’s the result of having such a young roster that’s lacking star players such as Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd and Allen Robinson – all of whom were in L.A. last season.

This season, the Rams will have to lean heavily on younger players, specifically those in their first and second NFL seasons. And because of their lack of experience, McVay will be forced to put them on the field in the preseason so they can gain some comfort before the real games begin.

Les Snead said on the Doug Gottlieb Show this week that the plan is for the Rams to play many of their starters, with the exception of obvious players such as Tyler Higbee, Rob Havenstein, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald and Matthew Stafford.

“It will not be like years past but it will be like years past,” he said. “And I know he (McVay) had some names, you know, because we do have players like Rob Havenstein, Tyler Higbee – some players that have been here since our first Super Bowl into the second Super Bowl. So the team does have some core veterans that will get the, let’s call it, ‘non-preseason-play treatment.’ But there is an element of trying to engineer as competent a collective as possible and because we mentioned we’re gonna – let’s talk the defensive side of the ball. There’s a lot of players on their rookie contracts on that side of the ball, other than Aaron Donald, and so we’re gonna need those guys to gel during the preseason.”

Donald, Ernest Jones and Jordan Fuller are really the only players on defense who have started for at least a full season in the NFL. The rest of the group is lacking NFL experience, including projected starters such as Cobie Durant, Michael Hoecht and Derion Kendrick.

On offense, the Rams can safely hold out Van Jefferson, Brian Allen, Joe Noteboom, Coleman Shelton, Ben Skowronek and Tutu Atwell. Skowronek has played enough snaps in the NFL that he doesn’t need preseason reps, while Atwell got last preseason off because he was projected to have a significant role.

Other than that, we should expect to see a lot of different players suiting up this summer before the season begins – particularly those who are competing for starting jobs and the final roster spots.

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Chargers vs. Rams preseason Week 1: How to watch, listen and stream online

Find out how to tune in to watch the Chargers take on the Rams in the preseason opener.

The Chargers are set to begin their three-game preseason slate.

Today, they kick it off in a bout against the Rams at SoFi Stadium, both teams’ home.

Here is everything you need to know so you can tune in:

Game Information

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams

Saturday, Aug. 13 — 7:00 p.m. PT

SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, CA

Television

The game will be televised on NFL Network and on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and Orange County. Noah Eagle, Dan Fouts, LaDainian Tomlinson will have the call.

Radio

ALT FM-98.7 (English broadcast)

FM 105.5/94.3 (Spanish broadcast)

Streaming

FuboTV (try it for free).

5 defensive players to watch in the Chargers preseason opener vs. Rams

Spotlighting five defensive players to keep an eye on for the Chargers when they take on the Rams.

The Chargers roster will begin to take shape this Saturday when preseason play kicks off against the Rams.

Here are five players on the defensive side of the ball to keep an eye on.

David Long Jr. among 6 Rams DBs who won’t play in preseason

Sean McVay named six Rams DBs who won’t play in the preseason, indicating they will be starters and key contributors this year

Since Sean McVay took over as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, he’s started a trend of not playing his key starters in the preseason. Very simply, he doesn’t see the risk of injury being worth the minimal reward of giving experienced players snaps in meaningless exhibition games.

That will continue this offseason, beginning on Saturday when the Rams face the Chargers. McVay told reporters on Wednesday that six defensive backs won’t play at all in the preseason: Jalen Ramsey, Troy Hill, Jordan Fuller, Taylor Rapp, Nick Scott and David Long Jr.

None of those names are particularly surprising, but it is an indication that all six will either be starters or key contributors in the secondary – including Long. He seems to have a leg up on Decobie Durant, Derion Kendrick and Robert Rochell for the No. 3 cornerback spot.

This could also be a matter of Long simply having enough experience to warrant sitting out the preseason. Durant and Kendrick are rookies, and Rochell missed about half of his rookie year due to injury. So Long is the most experienced of the four.

Scott and Rapp are likely to keep battling for the starting safety spot alongside Fuller, but regardless of who wins that title, they both should get plenty of opportunities in nickel and dime sets this season.

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Studs, duds from Chargers’ preseason victory over Rams

Highlighting the Chargers players who helped and hurt their stocks in the preseason opener.

The Chargers kicked off their 2021 preseason slate with a 13-6 victory over the Rams on Saturday night.

In games like this, the scoreboard is irrelevant and it’s the individual performances that matter the most.

Here are the best and worst outings that I saw: