scrimmage thread … 8/29

Looks like some good protection for Goff here https://t.co/ouBJLcakQh pic.twitter.com/BHNOoOERZx

— 𝕋𝕠𝕞 – 𝕃𝔸 ℝ𝕒𝕞𝕤 (@TL_LARams) August 29, 2020

For those at home wondering how the Oculus lights up after a Rams touchdown. pic.twitter.com/ikySHhPDUH

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) August 29, 2020

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Rams are getting a good long look at Clay Johnston before next week’s cuts. He got some time on the field with the twos, but also is on during today’s “developmental” period.

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
I asked Rams DT Aaron Donald which players have stood out to him as far as making plays during the two scrimmages, and he said ILB Micah Kiser and RB Xavier Jones.

Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Travin Howard sat out today’s scrimmage with a knee injury. Sean McVay doesn’t know the severity, but this is not good for the Rams

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Aaron Donald wants fans: “We need fans in there just for the excitement and the fun of it. But ain’t nothing I can do about it. I think we can try to figure something out to get some type of fans in here. I feel like it’s a big stadium, spread people out. But, it ain’t my call.”

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Rams backup QB John Wolford has worked a lot with rookie receiver Van Jefferson during the onboarding process. What are his thoughts?

“He’s awesome.”

8 takeaways from Rams’ 2nd scrimmage at SoFi Stadium

Cameron DaSilva

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/lists/rams-sofi-stadium-scrimmage-takeaways-highlights/

The Los Angeles Rams held their second scrimmage of training camp at SoFi Stadium on Saturday afternoon, one week before final cuts and two weeks before the regular season begins. It featured fewer plays than the first scrimmage but was designed to be a competitive day, especially for the Rams’ younger players.

Reporters were in attendance for the game and shared some insight on Twitter during the scrimmage, including key plays and details from the depth chart.

Here are eight takeaways from reporters’ observations and Sean McVay’s comments afterwards.

Goff starts hot, throws two picks later

Jared Goff wasn’t as sharp as he would’ve liked in the first scrimmage, but he started the second scrimmage on fire. According to Eric Williams of SI, Goff completed 11 of his first 13 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. However, he only completed eight of his last 13 passes with one touchdown and two interceptions.

So in total, he was 19-for-26 for 183 yards, which is still a decent stat line.

Young starts in Howard’s place

Travin Howard missed the scrimmage with a knee injury, which he presumably suffered in the team’s last practice on Thursday. Sean McVay didn’t have much of an update, other than to say he’s being evaluated.

Kenny Young got the start next to Micah Kiser, so he’s the No. 3 linebacker on the depth chart. Clay Johnston and Troy Reeder were the second-team linebackers, indicating they’re behind Young in the pecking order.

Kicking battle remains close

It wasn’t a stellar day for any of the Rams’ three kickers. At one point in the scrimmage, they missed five straight field goal attempts combined from 48 yards until Austin MacGinnis made one.

The coaches tried to make things interesting by playing random sounds like Chewbacca’s yell and the Twilight Zone theme song while the kickers were kicking, attempting to simulate the distractions of a real game.

Lirim Hajrullahu came in as the most consistent kicker of the three, but Sam Sloman and MacGinnis seem to be in the hunt still.

One factor to consider with Saturday’s kicks is that Johnny Hekker, the usual holder, was not at the game as he was awaiting the birth of his child. And the backup holder, Cooper Kupp, was also limited – not by injury, McVay said – so the Rams were down to their third holder, John Wolford.

No clear RB1 yet

Malcolm Brown opened the scrimmage with the first-team offense, which seems notable. That could be how the Rams offense takes the field in the season opener, but there are still two more weeks to go before Sept. 13.

Cam Akers worked with the starters on the second drive and according to Kevin Modesti of the L.A. Daily News, Akers seemed to get the bulk of the carries.

The Rams are bringing him along quickly and giving him a lot of work in practice, and that figures to continue in the regular season with Akers getting a good chunk of the carries.

Jefferson opens with 2nd team, makes play of the day with 1st team

Van Jefferson has been the star of camp, but he didn’t open the scrimmage with the starters. Instead, he was running with the second-team offense, with Josh Reynolds working alongside Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods on the first-team. However, Jefferson once again got chances with the first-team and he made the most of them.

He made a spectacular catch with David Long Jr. draped over him in coverage, going for a 30-yard gain. It was the play of the day on a pass from Goff.

Rapp sits but expected back Monday

Taylor Rapp was still sidelined with a knee injury on Saturday, continuing his two-week absence from practice. However, Sean McVay shared some good news after the scrimmage. He said Rapp is expected back on the field Monday when the Rams practice, which is a positive development for the young safety.

Jordan Fuller got the start in his place and has earned those reps with a strong training camp, but Rapp is a standout player for L.A.

Kiser stands out

Micah Kiser appears to have locked up a starting job at linebacker and cemented that spot on Saturday. In what the Rams called the “Mamba Tourney” in honor of the late Kobe Bryant – a competitive period between the two sides – Kiser blitzed up the midle, tipped Goff’s pass and picked it off for a turnover.

Kiser is known for being a good run defender, but he’s had a strong camp and received positive reviews in coverage, too.

Floyd wreaks havoc

At one point in the scrimmage, Floyd dominated the right side of the Rams’ offensive line – including the tight ends. He had two would-be sacks against the first-team offensive line, presumably with Rob Havenstein blocking from the right tackle position.

That’s a great sign for the Rams, who need all the help they can get at outside linebacker.

Notable moments and analysis from the final scrimmage of the Rams’ ‘preseason’

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/2031013/2020/08/29/notable-moments-and-analysis-from-the-final-scrimmage-of-the-rams-preseason/?source=emp_shared_article

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — If the Rams were searching for ways to increase the pressure on their three kickers ahead of the Sept. 5 roster cuts, they nailed it in their final scrimmage of training camp, both intentionally and accidentally.

Longtime punter — and kick holder — Johnny Hekker was absent from Saturday’s scrimmage as his wife gave birth to their second child. So emergency holder, and starting wide receiver, Cooper Kupp held kicks for Lirim Hajrullahu, Austin MacGinnis and Sam Sloman.

But then Kupp left the scrimmage after the second drive — head coach Sean McVay said he was being cautious with Kupp’s repetitions and that there’s no injury — which sent backup quarterback John Wolford in as the new holder.

And the last time Wolford held a kick was in a college practice — never, he said after the scrimmage, in a live game.

“It was fine. They were like, ‘You’re about to hold,’” Wolford said with a laugh before contorting his face into a faux grimace. “I was like, ‘Aaaaah … I don’t know.’ … But I got out there and I got a few with (long snapper Jake McQuaide), and it was pretty easy. I felt comfortable.”

McVay said Wolford did well holding for the three kickers.

“You take for granted the importance of the operation,” McVay said. “It’s not just the kicker. It’s not just the snapper. It’s the holder and it’s the kick. … (Wolford) did a nice job operating as a quarterback, and then I said, ‘I bet you didn’t think you’d be holding all day either.’ He did a nice job.”

But if we assume all that to be true, and things went well both with holds and snaps, it’s bad news for the kickers.

MacGinnis finished as the most accurate of the day, making six of eight attempts, but he missed one of two of each of his longer attempts, from 48 and 53 yards, respectively. Hajrullahu, who appeared to hold the lead in the competition entering the scrimmage, missed both of his 48-yard attempts and was short on one of his 53-yard attempts, finishing the day 5-for-8. And draft pick Sam Sloman, who struggled in the first scrimmage, did so again on Saturday. He also finished 5-for-8, missing both of his 48-yard attempts, but he was the only kicker to make both 53-yard tries.

The Rams also loaded up the pre-kick pressure on the kickers by featuring their stats on the massive video board and mixing up the sound effects during each kick, which included the theme music from “The Twilight Zone” and the Chewbacca wookie call.

“I did not pick the music,” McVay said with a laugh. “I just said, ‘We’ll crank up the noise.’”

Other notes from the scrimmage …

• Before the scrimmage, the massive video board at SoFi Stadium included a tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman, who died from colon cancer on Friday at age 43. The Rams also held a moment of silence before the scrimmage for Boseman, who had iconic roles in “42 “(as Jackie Robinson) and “Black Panther.”

• The Rams also retracted some of the roof panels at SoFi Stadium, possibly after notes about a little bit of humidity on the field during the Chargers’ afternoon appearance on Thursday. Visuals were extremely clear for the Rams, however, and a light breeze went throughout the stadium.

• Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. and the city-council members were present for the scrimmage.

• Running back Malcom Brown started the day on the Rams’ scripted first drive, but rookie Cam Akers ran with the first team by the second drive and had a touchdown in red-zone work. With Darrell Henderson recovering from a hamstring injury, Xavier Jones and John Kelly got plenty of work with the second team and developmental squad, and both ran hard. Star defensive tackle Aaron Donald even shouted out Jones after the scrimmage as someone who has stood out to him in live play.

• The catch of the day belonged to rookie receiver Van Jefferson on a 30-yard throw from quarterback Jared Goff. Jefferson was streaking down the left sideline on a “go” route, with cornerback David Long Jr. in coverage. Just before the catch point, Jefferson created space against Long and leapt to firmly secure the ball, coming down in bounds. After the scrimmage, Wolford said of Jefferson: “He’s awesome.”

• The first-team offense scored against the first-team defense on back-to-back drives to open the scrimmage, with touchdown catches by receiver Robert Woods and tight end Tyler Higbee. McVay said that the offense was “a sharp operation,” a major pivot after the headset chaos of the prior week’s scrimmage. However, the Rams’ offensive line had some trouble with outside linebacker Leonard Floyd on both scoring drives, and it’s fair to wonder how the drives would have changed if Floyd had been allowed to sack Goff.

• The offense did stall for the first time when working in the red zone on the third drive, failing to convert during the situational against the first-team defense. Akers was able to punch in a score during the second situational, and a Goff keeper helped set up another touchdown throw to Higbee.

• Projected starting inside linebacker Travin Howard was absent from the scrimmage with a knee injury, so the first-team starters were Micah Kiser and and Kenny Young, with Troy Reeder and rookie Clay Johnston getting some time on the second team. Johnston also worked in the developmental period in the second half, which indicates that the Rams are taking a long look at him before next week’s cuts. Also featured during the development period: fourth-round tight end Brycen Hopkins.

• We got to see the famed “Mamba tournament” period at the end of the first half, named by the Rams in honor of Kobe Bryant. The first-team offense and defense are given a specific high-pressure situation and awarded points for either conversions or stops. The defense won this period handily on Saturday, with plays highlighted by Kiser and safety John Johnson. Kiser blitzed up the middle and batted down a Goff ball on third-and-5, then came down with his own tipped pass. Johnson intercepted Goff at the goal line with a little coverage assist by Troy Hill.

• Notably during warmups, Hajrullahu worked with the special-teams unit on a few pooch punts, which can be effective in closer yardage to limit a team’s return. The more you can do …

• It was as “realistic” of a dress rehearsal as possible for the Rams, and that includes McVay, who threw two challenge flags in order to work through the entire process in the new stadium.

• Earnest Edwards, Nsimba Webster and Trishton Jackson worked at punt and kick return, as well as at receiver on the second team. The Rams may choose to keep only five receivers — a decision likely dictated by whether they keep four tight ends instead of three — but if they do keep a sixth receiver, it would appear that Edwards and Jackson are competing for the spot, with Webster fixed at WR5.

• Safety Taylor Rapp has missed all of the pads work in camp so far while rehabbing a knee injury, but McVay confirmed that Rapp is expected get back to practice, with increasing reps as time passes, starting Monday.