reactions to the Oakland game (ours, reporters)

Five Takeaways from the Rams’ first preseason game against the Raiders

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/five-takeaways-from-the-rams-first-preseason-game-against-the-raiders

OAKLAND — Opening the preseason on the road, the Rams fell to the Raiders 14-3 on Saturday evening. But with almost no starters even dressed for the game, the final score isn’t the most important thing. With that in mind, here are five instant takeaways from the exhibition matchup in Oakland.

1) TAKEAWAYS CREATED

The Rams always put an emphasis on creating defensive takeaways, and the club was able to do just that twice during the first half on Saturday evening.

First, cornerback Kevin Peterson picked off a pass from Raiders reserve signal-caller Mike Glennon early on in the second quarter. Peterson stepped in front of an intermediate pass over the middle to make the interception. The last time Peterson played in a regular-season game, he intercepted 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo twice. After tearing his ACL in last year’s preseason opener, Peterson appears to be picking up where he left off in 2017.

Safety Steven Parker also got involved in the pick party, intercepting a Glennon pass in the red zone to keep the Raiders off the board. Parker spent all of last season on the Rams’ practice squad after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma.

2) BORTLES’ DEBUT

Quarterback Blake Bortles looked fine in his first appearance as the Rams’ quarterback. Appearing in two series, Bortles completed three passes for 50 yards and each completion went to a wide receiver.

Wide receiver Mike Thomas caught the first for a 12-yard gain on 3rd-and-8. Then on Los Angeles’ next drive, Bortles completed a pair of passes to KhaDarel Hodge for 23 and 15 yards, respectively.

Brandon Allen came in to replace Bortles as the Rams’ signal-caller on the following drive and played throughout the rest of the game.

3) RAPP MAKES AN IMPACT

Rookie safety Taylor Rapp also made his Rams debut on Saturday, and was all over the field for the defense. The safety displayed one of his key characteristics in versatility, lining up all over in coordinator Wade Phillips’ defense. Rapp’s most notable play came late in the first quarter, when he batted down an intermediate pass to Raiders rookie wide receiver Hunter Renfrow in the middle of the field. With Rapp and safety Marqui Christian, the Rams appear to have solid depth and flexibility at the position.

4) CARRAWAY SACK

Outside linebacker Josh Carraway has flashed throughout training camp, and he put it together on the field by getting Los Angeles’ first sack of the preseason early on in the fourth quarter.

Carraway was close to getting Glennon on the ground earlier in the game, but got to Nathan Peterman on 3rd-and-5 at the Oakland 48 for a six-yard loss.

The OLB has bounced around a bit to start out his career. Carraway was a Titans seventh-round pick in 2017, and stuck with the club through their roster cuts at the start of the 2018 regular season. He then signed with Washington’s practice squad in late November before L.A. brought him on in early May for the offseason program.

Carraway has a significant hill to climb to make the Rams’ initial 53-man roster, but getting a sack in a preseason game can’t hurt.

5) TOO MANY PROCEDURAL PENALTIES

Over the last couple years under head coach Sean McVay, the Rams have been solid at avoiding pre-snap penalties. But Los Angeles was flagged for an illegal formation on the opening kickoff return, and in the second quarter L.A. got hit with a yellow hankie for an illegal formation on a kickoff.

In all, the Rams had four illegal formation penalties in the first half between offense and special teams.

Again, that’s uncharacteristic of the team as a whole under McVay, so it’s fair to expect that will change in the coming weeks — especially when the regular season starts in September. But for now, it’s likely something the Rams will work on.

game notes from preseason opener

Cameron DaSilva

Rams fall to Raiders 14-3: Instant analysis, game notes from preseason opener

Play of the game
Kevin Peterson’s interception in the second quarter was one of the better plays of the night. It was a poor throw and decision by Mike Glennon, but it was a great read by Peterson, who was sitting back in a deep zone.

He jumped the route and made Glennon pay with the interception.

BALL 👏 HAWK 👏@Pistol_Peterson | #LAvsOAK pic.twitter.com/QMC3Jkq1uo

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 11, 2019

Number to know: 12
The Rams committed far too many penalties on Saturday, getting flagged 12 times. There were five others that the Raiders declined, too. Some were minor infractions like illegal formation, but others were more concerning – penalties such as an invalid fair catch, holding, fair catch interference.

Game notes
Blake Bortles didn’t look much better than he did last season. His throwing motion is still unorthodox and long, while his footwork still needs improvement. He made a few nice throws, two of which went to KhaDarel Hodge, but he also overthrew receivers and missed easy targets badly.

Bobby Evans and David Edwards had some bright spots, as well as a few lowlights. Edwards was called for false starts twice and one holding penalty, while Evans was beat badly by Arden Key for a sack. Jamil Demby was also called for holding twice, though they were both declined.

The run defense was shaky early on. Oakland made its first touchdown look easy, washing down the defensive front and opening up a big cutback lane for the running back. Micah Kiser and Sebastian Joseph-Day have to be better in spots like that during the regular season.

Travin Howard, not Bryce Hager, got the start at inside linebacker with Kiser. Howard is listed second on the depth chart, so perhaps the coaching staff is higher on him than some realize. He made four tackles on the night.

Taylor Rapp had a really nice showing in his first NFL action. He made two tackles and broke up a pass, retreating from a linebacker position down the seam to cause the incompletion. He lined up in a variety of different spots throughout the game.

We see ya, @trapp07! 👏 pic.twitter.com/5wySBqyJSN

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 11, 2019

The Rams had two interceptions, one by Peterson (see above) and the other by Steven Parker (see below). They were poor throws by Glennon, but also good reads by the defensive backs. David Long Jr. allowed a long completion when he didn’t get his head around to the ball, with the same going for Dont’e Deayon in coverage.

Now it's a pick party!@Lil_Stevie21 | #LAvsOAK pic.twitter.com/VoDG3ypgKL

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 11, 2019

The ground game could get nothing going against the Raiders. The Rams finished with 57 yards rushing on 22 carries, which is not a good average, of course. Darrell Henderson had a nice 7-yard carry, and John Kelly broke free for 9 yards on one attempt, but those were really the only bright spots.

I like to feature repeat camp reporters in “game summaries” for obvious reasons, so here’s one:

==

oldnotdead

1. In Demby’s defense, he was playing everywhere so there is no way he can get in sync. He played both OG’s, center, and LT. He’s going to make the team simply because of that. He was fine at OG. Also, he’s never played center in his life until this year. He’s an OG who can be an emergency center if needed.
2. Rapp is the real deal. Just sit him the rest of preseason, he’s already in reg season form.
3. Edwards displayed how raw he is, with poor footwork.
4. Long made a rookie mistake but his play improved as the game went on.
5. Brandon Allen sucks, enough said.
6. John Wolford will be the #3 QB probably on the PS in Sept.
7. SJD still can’t get penetration or get off a block. Gaines outplayed him but he’s a work in progress.
8. JFM looked regressed. He should have played better.
9. Evans is an OG at this level and it shows. I think he will be fine inside. But at this point, Demby is ahead of him at OG.
10. Webster and Bachman are clearly better WR’s than Jojo. Webster can return punts as well. Webster should make the team with Bachman on the PS.
11. Carraway played fast and well. Hager outplayed Kiser IMO. Both Kiser and Hager will make the team and will be interchangeable for the most part. Howard outplayed Young but both are bubble guys, with Carraway flashing at OLB.
12. I knew the depth at CB was a problem and it showed big time. Deayon and Hatfield are scrubs, with Peterson on the bubble. Kevin played ok in 2017 before his injury, so I’m going to give him a pass on this game. Troy Hill didn’t play but he’s a marginal player.
13. Natrez Patrick earned himself more reps. He’s strictly an early down ILB type with poor speed, but good size and length for the position. If he can show more in the run stuffing dept he can make this team.
14. Kolone is earning himself a PS spot. He’s not a standout but he’s not bad either, capable of playing OG and center.
15. The Ram booth announcers were totally annoying. They kept showing how little they knew the team. Most people posting on this board know more about the Rams. My father was right. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, keep your mouth shut or you just look stupid.