articles & highlights & everything else re: Dallas game

Vincent Bonsignore‏ @DailyNewsVinny
Saw a lot of what Sean McVay is bringing to the #Rams schematically on that touchdown drive.

Joe Curley‏ @vcsjoecurley
McVay says Goff will probably play into second quarter next week in Oakland and maybe into the third quarter vs San Diego.

McVay declines to answer question about the OL before seeing the tape.

McVay adds that Havenstein “settling in” at tackle and Brown “will be our right guard unless something changes.” So that’s firmed up

Goff on his first experience with McVay as playcaller: “Just the way he verbalized things, gives us little tips, it’s so helpful.”

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The Rams sealed a 13-10 victory over the Cowboys with a turnover on downs. Some things that stood out: Sean Mannion was sharp in extended action, Cooper Kupp and Gerald Everett looked good, Matt Longacre was everywhere as an OLB, Pace Murphy struggled against backup DEs, and Justin Davis is a very nice runner (though he needs to hold onto the football). Rams had five fumbles officially and could’ve had two others. Jared Goff and Todd Gurley didn’t play much.

Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer: http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0688239386902404925-4

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Chase Reynolds @ChaseReynolds34
@RamsNFL also another quick reminder, I am also a free agent! Hold onto the ball!! Or I’ll have to come back and whoop some @$$

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Rich Hammond‏ @Rich_Hammond
Trumaine Johnson…guy is playing out his contract, but he’s the first guy off the sidelines to congratulate defensive teammates.

Justin Davis has fantastic cuts and open-field moves, but the fumbles are an issue. Same thing at USC.

Ryan Kartje‏ @Ryan_Kartje
I feel pretty safe in predicting that Cooper Kupp is going to catch a lot of footballs this season.

Kristen Lago‏ @kristennlago
What a play by cornerback Michael Jordan for the interception! #Rams take over with 1:10 left in the game

Lindsey Thiry‏ @LindseyThiry
The Rams just announced Sammy Watkins on the sideline and showed him on the big screen. Cheers all around.

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Yeah, Kupp's gon be aight pic.twitter.com/UH48o9KZ4U

— Brandon Bate (@NoPlanB_) August 13, 2017

5 Takeaways From the Rams’ Preseason-Opening Win

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-fivetakeaways/5-Takeaways-From-the-Rams-Preseason-Opening-Win/88f04e08-a5fc-452b-9918-c0fa0eb3572f

The Rams began their preseason with a win, defeating the Cowboys 13-10 at the Coliseum on Saturday night. But because it’s preseason, there’s plenty more involved than the final result. With that in mind, here are five takeaways from Los Angeles’ first exhibition matchup under head coach Sean McVay.


1) Capitalizing on the lucky bounces


The Rams started the game on offense and scored a touchdown within their first 10 plays — but it probably wasn’t the way they drew it up.


L.A. linebacker Josh Forrest recovered a muffed punt by Dallas wideout Lance Lenoir, giving the home team good field position at the visitors’ 33. Then a few plays later, wide receiver Robert Woods caught a slant in the red zone but fumbled the ball forward. Fortunately rookie wideout Cooper Kupp was there to recover the loose ball in the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Rams a 7-0 lead.


“I think we have to have a better start,” Woods said at halftime. “We put the ball on the ground one time, we had a tackle for loss in the run game. But it was our first drive, first jitters out there and we just have to get ready for next week.”


2) Goff has an efficient start


Second-year quarterback Jared Goff and the Rams’ first-team offense played only the opening possession. But in that time, Goff completed three of his four passes for 34 yards, including a 19-yard pass to Kupp.


On 2nd-and-9 from Dallas’ 32, Goff faked a handoff to running back Todd Gurley then rolled to his left. Kupp was wide open on the left side on an apparent crossing route, and No. 16 hit him for a 19-yard gain.


Left tackle Andrew Whitworth, making his first appearance for the Rams, said at halftime he felt Goff looked, “Calm and poised and [made] good decisions.


“We unfortunately gave him a negative run there, in that first set of three, and that kind of puts you behind the eight ball. But you know what, we get a ball — a turnover — and go out and capitalize on it. And those are huge in football games.”


3) Defense efficient, too


Los Angeles began the game by forcing three consecutive three-and-outs from Dallas’ offense. Dallas rested many of its offensive stars — including quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott, and wide receiver Dez Bryant — but the Rams’ starters still did their jobs, playing only six snaps for the first two possessions. Los Angeles’ second unit continued the trend by forcing a three-and-out on the third.


At halftime, outside linebacker Connor Barwin attributed much of the defense’s success to coordinator Wade Phillips’ system.


“I know from being with him in the past, if you’ve got 11 guys doing their job with good technique and good effort, you’re going to play well on defense,” Barwin said.


4) Justin Davis breaks out


Rams undrafted free agent running back Justin Davis has done well in practice, but really displayed his running ability in the confines of the L.A. Coliseum on Saturday night. The USC product recorded nine carries for 70 yards during the contest, including a long of 32 yards in the third quarter.


5) Ball security an issue


The Rams fumbled five times in the first half, showing a few issues with ball security.


Aside from the Woods fumble that resulted in a touchdown, running back Malcom Brown fumbled once, Davis fumbled twice, and center Austin Blythe was credited for a fumble when he snapped a ball over quarterback Sean Mannion’s head.


There was another near fumble in the second half when tight end Temarrick Hemingway lost the handle on a third-down pass. Initially ruled a completion and fumble


Look for ball security to be a topic of conversation over the course of this week as the Rams prepare to face the Raiders in Oakland.

Goff’s night was brief, but he made good use of his time in Rams preseason opener

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/12/goffs-night-was-brief-but-he-made-good-use-of-his-time-in-rams-preseason-opener/

The work night was short, just eight plays total and all of one minute and 11 seconds of clock time.

But never let it be said Jared Goff doesn’t know how to put 71 seconds to near-perfect use. And in the process, maybe buy back a good chunk of the faith and confidence fans and pundits lost in him after watching his rookie season plunge down the drain faster than 45’s approval ratings.

New Rams receiver Sammy Watkins ‘can’t wait’ to get in new offense after trade
It was always irrational writing off Goff after last year, especially considering everything he had working against him. The most obvious being he was 21-year-old rookie quarterback making the transition to a level of football that takes perverse satisfaction in turning hot shot college prospects into road kill.
It would be just as foolish, of course, to start fitting Goff for a gold jacket after he completed 3 of 4 passes for 34 yards and one should-have-been touchdown pass in his short stint against the Dallas Cowboys Saturday at the Coliseum.

Quarterbacks aren’t broken in one forgettable seven-game rookie season nor are they made in a brief – albeit productive – preseason opener to start Year 2.

But let’s just say step one in the next phase of the development of Goff revealed compelling evidence he’s on the right track.

And that the poised, confident looking quarterback who showed levity in rolling to his left and connecting with rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp for 19 yards and stood tall in the pocket on a 5-yard dart to Robert Woods at the Cowboys goal line looked remarkably more confident and effective than at any point last season.

All of which was set up shortly after the Goff and the Rams opened the game with a three-and-out drive but were granted a reprieve when Cowboys return man Lance Lenoir fumbled Johnny Hekker’s punt to set the Rams up at the Cowboys 33-yard-line.

“We went out and scored on our first drive – well, one-in-a-half after the punt,” Goff said. “My job is to take us down the field and we did that today on our second drive.”

If you take anything from the exercise in folly that is the first game of the NFL preseason, when starters retreat to the bench before the first quarter ends and soon-to-be insurance agents mop up before closing time, at least take that.

One exhibition game in the books, new Rams coach Sean McVay might be onto something in how he’s rebooting Goff in the slick new schematic offense he brought with him from Washington D.C., and the rebuilt offensive line and the retooled receiving corps the Rams have surrounded Goff with.

“You take some good with it, you take some bad from it and just try to learn and get better. Especially preseason (game) number one,” Goff said. “I think there were a lot of good things we can take from it. And a lot to learn from.”

It’s back to the laboratory on Monday in Irvine, at which point new wide receiver Sammy Watkins will start getting downloaded into the equation .

A game against the Raiders awaits on Saturday in Oakland, with Goff expected to play much more than he did against the Cowboys.

The grind is real. The process and work on going.

But if we’re being fair, the Goff we’ve seen thus far in training camp and the one we saw Saturday at the Coliseum looks more like the guy the Rams hoped he’d be upon selecting him first overall in the 2016 draft than the one that got flung around football fields across the NFL while operating in an offense as bad as any in the league.

The only blemish on the night was a rushed throw to Woods on the game’s first snap, an error he was still talking about the sideline and after the game as one he wanted back.

“That’s where we’ve got to be patient and ready to sit on or back foot and let Robert Woods see that throw and get a completion play there,” McVay said.

Other than that, Goff looked like a quarterback moving in the right direction.

“I thought he did a nice job when you really look at the limited amount of snaps and plays he had,” McVay said.

Goff deserves his fair share of blame for last year, but it was small in comparison to the obstacles he was dealing with. Bad coaching, bad offensive line, no viable wide receiver threats.

The same can be said for what he did Saturday. He gets the credit he deserves, but he had help too. And that’s exactly what the Rams hoped would be the case upon hiring McVay to replace Jeff Fisher and adding All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth and Woods, a reliable wide receiver, in free agency then drafting Kupp, Gerald Everett and trading for Watkins.

After investing so much in the pursuit of Goff, the least they could do was supply him with the necessary instruction and tools to develop him.

That it arrived a year late is no longer an issue. The help he needs is here now, ready to be accessed and utilized.

Whitworth, working to protect Goff’s back side, helped give him the necessary time to throw and Kupp ran a polished crossing pattern to get open. Woods did his thing too, although he dropped a catchable ball in the opening drive and then fumbled a touchdown away fighting to cross the coal line after a Goff delivered a short pass to him.,

Kupp, in particular, looks like a future Goff go-to target after catching two balls for 35 yards in his NFL preseason debut. He isn’t a speedster, but he gets open, hangs onto the ball, and is a better athlete than some suspect as he proved in sidestepping a would-be Cowboys tackler to pick up and extra 5 yards on one completion.

And that’s not even getting into Watkins, the deep-threat difference maker the Rams have sought for years and the kind of weapon a young quarterback like Goff can learn to like in a hurry.

Goff found out about the Watkins trade Friday morning immediately after wrapping up a team meeting. One look at his phone after turning it on and he knew something was up.

“I had 50 text messages and every single one was Sammy Watkins. Sammy Watkins,” Goff said. “I was like, ‘what happened?”

The Rams finally landed the difference-making playmaker they’ve been lacking for years, that what. And now he’ll join an intriguing group of fellow playmakers like Woods, Kupp, Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett and Todd Gurley.

“You start stacking guys like that and you start building a pretty good roster on the perimeter,” Goff said.”I’m excited to see what he can do and all the other guys

“He’s obviously a weapon. His track record speaks for itself in what he can do. He’s a guy that can stretch the field, obviously right away.”

The positive news from Friday carried over into a solid evening of work on Saturday.

It was only one night, of course. And a brief one as far as Goff is concerned.

But 71 seconds never looked so good.

Here's the full offensive, defensive and ST-only snap count participation numbers for the Rams from the 13-10 preseason win over Dallas. pic.twitter.com/2U3kAgrZ4z

— Joe Curley (@vcsjoecurley) August 13, 2017

What we learned from the Rams’ 13-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys

By Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-cowboys-what-we-learned-20170813-story.html

What we learned from the Rams’ 13-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys

What we learned in the Rams’ 13-10 preseason victory over the Dallas Cowboys:

Jared Goff can bounce back quickly

The Rams went three and out on their first series, and you could sense the Coliseum crowd’s “Oh no, not this again” dread.

But the Cowboys muffed a punt, giving Rams quarterback Jared Goff another opportunity.

He responded with a couple of nice plays.

The most impressive was a play-action fake to his right, a roll to his left and then a pass to rookie receiver Cooper Kupp for a big gain.

The play set up a pass to receiver Robert Woods on slant route toward the end zone. Goff completed the pass, Woods fumbled and Kupp recovered for the Rams’ lone touchdown.

The right side of the offensive line remains an issue

Rob Havenstein, a two-year starter at right tackle, spent the entire offseason working at guard.

Sammy Watkins shocked by trade to Rams, but happy to be in L.A.
Jamon Brown, who played guard the last two seasons, spent the offseason working at tackle.

Less than a week before Saturday’s game, coaches switched them again.

So it’s probably no wonder they looked out of sync against the Cowboys.

Coach Sean McVay said after that game that Havenstein would remain at tackle… for now.

Todd Gurley will get more work this preseason

The third-year running back already equaled his entire 2016 preseason workload, carrying the ball four times.

He also caught a 10-yard pass from Goff.

Gurley, coming off a disappointing season, did not come close to breaking off a long run. But as he has done throughout training camp, including during practices with the Chargers, he showed a willingness to change direction.

It looks like McVay will provide Gurley plenty of opportunities to find his rhythm before the Sept. 10 opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Rams fumble too much

It’s only one game and it was the first time players were subjected to live tackling.

But the Rams fumbled five times.

Running back Justin Davis fumbled twice in the same series, losing one. The miscues put a damper on an otherwise productive night for the former USC running back, who rushed for a game-best 70 yards in nine carries, including a 32-yard run.

Lamarcus Joyner looks comfortable at safety

The Rams defense is difficult to evaluate because so many starters did not play.

Lineman Aaron Donald is still a holdout, and linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerback Kayvon Webster were held out for precautionary reasons.

But Joyner appears to revel in his new role at free safety after playing as a slot cornerback in his first three NFL seasons.

Joyner made several plays against the Cowboys.

Mike Jordan likes the new celebration rules

Second-year cornerback Mike Jordan appeared to intercept a pass in the waning minutes to clinch the victory.

Jordan got up from the turf, ran the width of the field to a section of seats in front of the Coliseum tunnel and celebrated with teammates.

A few moments later, officials overturned the interception, ruling that the ball had hit the ground.

But it was a heck of a dry run.

REWIND: Rams vs. Cowboys

Check out a video recap of the action from the Rams’ preseason-opening win against the Cowboys.

http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/REWIND-Rams-vs-Cowboys/156387d5-31d1-4a50-9ea2-794edf9c9fa3