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Five Takeaways: Running Backs Impress in Rams Preseason Opener vs. Ravens

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/five-takeaways-running-backs-impress-in-rams-preseason-opener-vs-ravens

BALTIMORE — The Rams began their preseason slate on the East Coast, falling to the Ravens, 33-7.
But being that it’s preseason, the final score far from tells the whole story. With that in mind, here are five takeaways from the first exhibition matchup of 2018.
1) RAMS REST THEIR STARTERS
As expected, head coach Sean McVay elected to rest nearly all of Los Angeles’ starters for the first preseason contest. McVay had previously said on Tuesday that much of the work the Rams were able to get against the Ravens during practice could serve as a kind of substitute for game action.
The only starters who played were right guard Jamon Brown — who will be suspended for the first two games of the season — and second-year outside linebacker Samson Ebukam.
“It just kind of felt good to have that live mindset because all this time we’ve just been laying off on the [quarterback],” Ebukam said at halftime. “This felt good just to turn loose one time. It’s just the first preseason game. It’s like oiling ourselves right now. We’re just getting loose, getting ready for the season.”
Ebukam recorded a tackle in his first game action of the preseason. But he also rushed the passer effectively, forcing Baltimore’s quarterbacks off of their spots in ways that led to sacks.
2) WESTBROOKS GETS SACKS
While defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks is not currently listed as a starter, he’s been taking first-team reps throughout training camp at three-technique given the absence of defensive lineman Aaron Donald. Westbrooks showed the work is paying off, recording two sacks in the first half.
Both sacks came in the second quarter and on third down, helping to end Baltimore possessions. On the first, Westbrooks got to quarterback Lamar Jackson and brought him down before outside linebacker Justin Lawler could come in and clean it up. Then Westbrooks brought down Jackson again on 3rd-and-5 from the Baltimore 25, this time with inside linebacker Bryce Hager there to help.
Westbrooks is heading into his fifth NFL season after first signing with the Rams as an undrafted free agent out of West Texas A&M.
3) OFFENSE SPUTTERS IN FIRST HALF
There’s no way around it: Los Angeles’ offense did not perform well in the first half.
The unit recorded only three first downs on 25 plays, picking up 45 total yards in the game’s first 30 minutes. The club ended the first half 1-of-7 in third-down efficiency.
Quarterback Sean Mannion started the contest and finished just 3-of-13 for 16 yards with an interception. He was also sacked twice, losing 13 yards on the plays.
Los Angeles’ offense was undoubtedly vanilla when it comes to scheme, and the unit was missing nearly all of its starters. And it is the first preseason game after all. But it was a disappointing night for the offense when it comes to overall performance.
4) DAVIS, KELLY PROVIDE SPARKS
There’s been some thought that running backs Justin Davis and John Kelly may be competing for a roster spot as the club’s third RB. If that is the case, Davis and Kelly likely made the decision tougher with their performances.
Davis ran well in the first half, taking seven carries for 41 yards. His longest run began a second-quarter drive and went 17 yards. The second-year running back has had a solid training camp so far.
Kelly entered the game in the second half and provided the offensive highlight of the game — taking a carry 40 yards down the field. The play began with Kelly running to his right, but he made a nice cut and ended up running diagonally toward the left sideline. Rookie wide receiver Steven Mitchell also had a nice block on the play.
The 2018 sixth-round pick out of Tennessee continued his strong play in the fourth quarter, taking a carry 14 yards with a solid cut to move Los Angeles deep into Baltimore territory for the first time all game.
Kelly finished the game with 13 carries for 77 yards, also making a pair of receptions for 14 yards.
5) NATSON RETURNS WELL
Wide receiver JoJo Natson had a lot of opportunities for returns and made the most of them — both on kicks and punts.
Natson returned seven kickoffs, averaging 23 yards on each with a long of 27 yards. And he returned four punts averaging 14.3 yards per return. His longest punt return went 29 yards up the right sideline to start a touchdown drive, with defensive lineman Brian Womac posting a solid block to spring Natson.
Additionally, Natson had a key third-down reception for nine yards on Los Angeles’ first scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

Lindsey Thiry
ESPN

Jared Goff and Todd Gurley wore sweats as they stood on the sideline Thursday night during the Rams’ 33-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Sean McVay elected to sit not only his top playmakers, but his entire starting lineup (With the exception of right guard Jamon Brown, outside linebacker Samson Ebukam and specialists) in the preseason opener. After two joint practices with the Ravens earlier in the week, McVay said he wanted to avoid the risk of potential injuries. But the backups struggled — especially on offense. Sean Mannion played the first half (3-for-13 for 16 yards, INT), and Brandon Allen (10-for-15 for 73 yards, TD) in the second. The biggest bright spot came from the running back position, where second-year pro Justin Davis and rookie John Kelly are competing for the No. 3 spot. Both looked sharp and Kelly broke for a 40-yard run late in the game. The defense appeared out of sync as it allowed 403 total yards.

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Seven Stats: Rams Fall to Ravens 33-7 in Preseason Week 1

Clarence Dennis

https://www.therams.com/news/seven-stats-rams-fall-to-ravens-33-7-in-preseason-week-1

The Los Angeles Rams started off the 2018 preseason with a loss to the Ravens in Baltimore. The Rams, who rested nearly all starters on Thursday night, struggled to get much going on offense against the Ravens defense.
1. PLAGUED BY PENALTIES
The Rams racked up penalties on Thursday night. In an especially rough first half, the Rams were flagged nine times for 72 yards. Safeties Marqui Christian and Blake Countess committed consecutive unnecessary roughness penalties by leading with the helmet, a newly imposed rule in 2018. The pair of flags equated to 30 yards for the Ravens on a drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal by kicker Justin Tucker.
2. RAMS TAKE AN “L”
The Rams entered Thursday’s contest in Baltimore 4-0 all-time against the Ravens in the preseason. The 33-7 loss eliminates the Rams’ perfect preseason record against the Ravens. All five meetings have come since 2008.
3. ROOKIE LEADS RUSHERS
On a night where Los Angeles couldn’t find its offensive rhythm, rookie running back John Kelly exploded late in the third quarter for what was arguably the offensive play of the night. Kelly picked up 40 yards on a pitch from quarterback Brandon Allen, good for the the longest run of the night for L.A. Kelly finished leading all rushers with 77 yards on 13 carries.

4. WESTBROOKS’ MULTI-SACK GAME
Defensive end Ethan Westbrooks sacked Ravens’ rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson twice on Thursday night. Westbrooks’ two sacks in tonight’s preseason game matched his season totals from both 2015 (2.0) and 2016 (2.0). Westbrooks has eight career regular-season sacks.
5. ALLEN OUTPLAYS MANNION
Third-year quarterback Brandon Allen took the reins on offense from starter Sean Mannion to start the third quarter. Mannion was 3-of-13 for just 16 yards passing with one interception. Allen, who did not see the field at all last season, finished 10-for-15, 73 yards passing, and the only touchdown of the night. Allen connected late with receiver KhaDarel Hodge on an eight-yard touchdown pass.

6. HEKKER KEPT BUSY
Punter Johnny Hekker joined the list of Rams who didn’t seem himself Thursday night. The Pro-Bowl punter uncharacteristically shanked his third punt of the night, sending the ball only eight yards up the sideline. Last season, Hekker averaged 47.9-yards per punt. Hekker punted it away seven times in the preseason opener, with the Rams unable to keep their defensive second and third units off of the field.
7. THIRD DOWN WOES
Finally, the Rams struggled heavily on third downs. The offense was 4-for-15 moving the chains on third down, a conversion rate of about 26 percent. Last season, the Rams’ high-scoring offense converted 88-of-214 third down trys, good for a conversion rate of about 41 percent. Fortunately for Rams fans, the higher conversion rate came with starters like quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley on the field.

TexasRam

i got around to watching the late NFL airing of the Rams Ravens game tonight.

i focused solely on Oline and honestly didn’t even watch the defense. Just rewound every play on offense until i could determine what each olineman was doing and how well he did it.

Here are my General Observations:

The Bad:

1 Brian Allen won’t make it at this level. disappointing to say it but he was getting manhandled more than a few times vs the pass and in the run game. I was
for the draft pick but when your getting manhandled vs second stringers it’s not a good sign.

2 Lucas – still can’t handle edge rushers. Too bad because he has some redeeming qualities.

The Good:

1 Jamil Demby – Best Olineman on film last night. Its only one preseason game vs backups but boy was he solid vs run and pass. his wide body work really does remind you of Saffold. He also plays some solid RT.

2 Jake EldrenKamp – Just like last preaseason, Jake was solid. Nothing dominant here, but he is consistent, scheme conscientious, quick on his feet and has solid hand usage. Great backup depth for sure at guard and center.

Rams vs. Ravens: Studs and duds from L.A.’s 26-point loss

Cameron DaSilva

Rams vs. Ravens: Studs and duds from L.A.'s 26-point loss

The Los Angeles Rams kicked off the 2018 preseason on Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens, but not with a bang. They were dominated by a score of 33-7, failing to get into the end zone until the fourth quarter.

As with every game, there were some players who stood out for all the right reasons, as well as those who struggled in the preseason opener. We categorize these as studs and duds.

Studs

LB Micah Kiser

Kiser didn’t have his name called by many media members prior to Thursday night, but he was all over the field against the Ravens. He made a game-high six tackles, got in the quarterback’s throwing lanes and filled holes on defense. That’s something the Rams’ linebackers struggled to do last season with Alec Ogletree in the middle of the defense.

Kiser has an uphill battle to earn playing time with Mark Barron and Cory Littleton being the projected starters, but if he continues to play the way he did on Thursday, coaches will take notice.

DL Ethan Westbrooks

Westbrooks put on a show in the first half, recording two tackles, both of which were sacks. Each of them came on third down, forcing the Ravens to either punt or kick a field goal, which Justin Tucker missed from 60 yards out. Those were the two best plays the Rams defense made in the first half, keeping points off the board.

Additionally, he pressured Lamar Jackson on his touchdown run, nearly getting to him for a loss. This was a great performance by him as he’s essentially a lock to make the roster with his versatility at defensive end and tackle.

RB Justin Davis

Davis is a preseason stud. After showing out last year, he continued his strong exhibition play against the Ravens on Thursday night. He carried it seven times for 41 yards, excluding a would-be 10-yard gain if not for offsetting penalties. Most importantly, he held onto the football after struggling with fumbles last preseason.

He could push Malcolm Brown for a roster spot, especially with John Kelly likely to make the roster as a rookie. He provides a spark similarly to the way that Tavon Austin did at running back.

Honorable mentions: John Kelly, JoJo Natson

Duds

QB Sean Mannion

Where to begin. His check downs were behind receivers, he hardly took chances downfield, and when he did, his passes were either incomplete or picked off. He finished the game 3-for-13 with just 16 yards and an interception, posting an abysmal 7.5 passer rating.

This was a game in which he needed to play well in order to hold off Brandon Allen and Luis Perez, both of whom are cheaper and offer greater upside. Nothing about his performance against the Ravens was impressive, showing very little awareness and accuracy on his dropbacks.

CB Troy Hill

This certainly wasn’t Hill’s best performance. After playing extremely well against the Falcons in the postseason, Hill struggled in this one. He was beaten by Michael Crabtree for a 30-yard gain after Joe Flacco escaped the pocket, was called for illegal hands to the face on a crucial third-down red zone play and gave up another long pass to Chris Moore down the middle. Coverage was decent, but he didn’t get turned around quick enough.

OTs Cornelius Lucas/Darrell Williams

Neither of the Rams’ backup tackles helped themselves in this one, each allowing a sack on Mannion. Williams was beaten by Terrell Suggs as he got to Mannion to force the fumble, which luckily went out of bounds. In the running game, the line performed well, but that was when Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen came into the game.

69RamFan

I really been keying on the O-linemen….

Williams will get cut…. I just don’t see him making the team…
last year we just didnt have any body to replace Williams or Lucas…

Lucas,,, when I saw him in camp,,, I thought he was holding up his own,,,
I said I would wait until pre-season to go up against speed rushers…
Well that answer has been said,,, He is not cutting it either….

I’ve stated that both Noteboom and Demby need to hit the weight room to build up their upper body….

To be honest,,, from what I’ve been watching on tape and in camp, I feel Demby is a little stronger at this moment in the upper body than Noteboom…

They both have their technique down,,, but Demby seems to be more of a mauler once he gets a hold of his opponent… I can see him coming in at the beginning as a swing tackle before Noteboom… IMO

But after watching last nite pre-season game… I see no reason for Lucas or Williams to be kept,,, both Noteboom or Demby could do as much as they did… So I say cut those vet OT… and go with the younger guys..

Lindsey Thiry, ESPN
http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41027160-4

Rams backup quarterback Sean Mannion, who is in the final season of his contract, struggled last night against the Ravens, completing 3-of-13 passes for 16 yards, with an interception, in the first half. He also was sacked twice. Sean McVay said Friday that a “Combination of a lot of tough things” contributed to Mannion’s performance. “Certainly Sean missed some throws and some things that are uncharacteristic of him, but the protection – there was a couple of times he didn’t really have a chance to let things develop,” McVay said. “He had a couple of drops, so I think it was kind of a perfect storm of really a lot of things didn’t work out in his favor.” McVay has not revealed if starters will play on Saturday against the Raiders. Regardless, it’s likely Mannion will once again play a significant amount.

Cameron DaSilva

from: https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/08/12/nfl-rams-training-camp-notes-preview-recap-mannion-kiser/

Micah Kiser is a guy hasn’t made much of an impression in training camp, but he was all over the field against the Ravens. He made a game-high six tackles and filled running lanes the way Alec Ogletree failed to last season. He’ll look to keep up his strong play heading into the next preseason game and eventually Week 1.