tweets & articles on the Oakland game … + Raiders fans post-game reactions

Three takeaways from the Rams’ win over the Raiders

Alexis Mansanarez

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/three-takeaways-from-the-rams-win-over-the-raiders/1dphomvm1yi1x1babsxulodbvo?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=

The slow start just gave Los Angeles time to fire up its weapons, finally unleashing Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp to help lead the Rams to a 33-13 win over the Raiders and silencing an electrifying crowd.

Questions surrounded the second game of Monday Night Football’s doubleheader, mostly regarding Jon Gruden letting Khalil Mack slip through his fingers, but for a defensive unit missing its most explosive player things weren’t all bad — that is until the Rams came out to do what they do best.

Beast Mode topples Aaron Donald and company

The first touchdown of the Gruden era came from Oakland native Marshawn Lynch, who went full Beast Mode with the help of his offensive line to help put the Raiders up.

HOW?!

BEASTMODE carries the WHOLE defense into the end zone! #LARvsOAK #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/KF12UVZ9jQ

— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2018

The Raiders eventually carried a 13-10 lead into halftime, continually breaking through the Los Angeles defense with passing routes to veteran tight end Jared Cook and Jalen Richard, mixing in Lynch on the ground.

While Lynch scored Oakland’s only touchdown of the first half, quarterback Derek Carr managed to keep the Raiders’ offense on the field for over 21 minutes, but it wouldn’t take long for the visitors to respond.

The Rams just needed a warmup
Los Angeles entered the game as the NFL’s reigning No. 1 offense but didn’t look like it in the opening half.

Praised as Super Bowl contenders, the Rams mustered up a four-play touchdown drive and a field goal to keep up with the Raiders but still seemed unable to piece together plays needed to have substantial drives down the field.

The break at halftime helped as they returned to outscore Oakland 10-0 in the third quarter. By the time Los Angeles entered the final quarter, they were up 20-13 and began to steadily wear out the defensive unit that is reeling from the loss of Mack.

Goff finished the game 18-of-33 for 233 yards and two touchdowns, with the bulk of his production coming late, like this late touchdown to put the Rams up for good.

Goff ➡️ Kupp…#LARAMS TOUCHDOWN! #LARvsOAK

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/xX2I6QfMwF

— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2018

The question mark surrounding the Jon Gruden era has shrunk

Before kickoff, arguably the biggest storyline was Gruden’s failure to keep Mack. It was talked about ad nauseam and questioned by nearly everyone, but when the Raiders took the field those questions quickly dissipated.

Under Gruden, who returned to the sidelines for the first time since 2008, the Raiders fared well against a high-scoring Los Angeles team. Both sides of the ball tested whether or not the team is buying into Gruden and well, there’s still a ways to go.

The hot start quickly burned out and Carr couldn’t keep the same energy against the Rams’ defense. The lack of discipline Carr showed in some of his throws, which resulted in three interceptions including a pick-six, also followed the team in other ways. The Raiders racked up 11 penalties for 146 yards — 10 of which came in the first half — something Gruden will surely have to clean up.

“In a lot of ways I’m proud of our football team and they way they competed,” Gruden said after the game. “It was a tale of two halves.”

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
On his first night with the green dot, LB Cory Littleton had 13 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup. S John Johnson had 9 tackles, an interception and two pass breakups. DL Michael Brockers had 5 tackles and a sack. CB Marcus Peters had a Pick 6 and a pass breakup.

The Rams might be 1-0, but Sean McVay still criticized himself in the postgame tonight, regarding some “situational playcalls. “I was definitely disappointed in myself in a lot of situations tonight.” @CVRamsClub @DowntownRams @usatodaynfl

Sean McVay lauded his defense’s second half performance tonight in Oakland: “It was a great job by our guys making some plays in the second half defensively… to get three turnovers I thought was the key to the game.”

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Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Todd Gurley looked every part of the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in a victory over the Raiders. Gurley had only five touches in the first half, but took shovel pass 19 yards for a touchdown – one of the newest wrinkles in coach Sean McVay’s offense. And in the second half, Gurley went to work in the running game to finish with 108 yards (85 in the second half) in 20 carries. And as Jared Goff continued to attempt deep passes, it’s easy to think the run game will open up for Gurley even more in the coming weeks.

“He’s got the GOAT blood,” — Aqib Talib on Wade Phillips and his halftime adjustments.

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Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
#Rams Aqib Talib said that first half was freestyle football because of the lack of intel. Said #Raiders were running stuff they hadn’t seen on film. Proud of the way they responded and regrouped

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RamsToday@RamsTodayIG
I loved how calm and composed Coach Sean McVay looked during the first half. Kept his cool and adjusted coming into the 2nd half to pull through for the win. #LARams

—

Jim Everett@Jim_Everett
I still can’t comprehend how such an outstanding player, @awhitworth77, got away from the @Bengals? He’s been so instrumental, on so many levels, to the @RamsNFL.

==

“We came in the locker room down 3, we found a way to put it together and be at our best when our best was required.”

Inside the #LARams locker room after the win! pic.twitter.com/4tg2N6U9I1

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 11, 2018

Seven Stats: Rams Defeat Raiders on Monday Night Football

Clarence Dennis

https://www.therams.com/news/seven-stats-rams-defeat-raiders-on-monday-night-football

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Raiders 33-13 on Monday night. L.A. started slow in primetime, allowing a Raiders touchdown on the home team’s opening drive, and managing little on offense for much of the first half. However, the Rams only trailed 13-10 at the break, thanks to an interception by safety John Johnson and plenty of Raiders penalties.
Head coach Sean McVay’s offense then came out of halftime having made some key adjustments, outscored the Raiders 10-0 in the third quarter, and never looked back.

Here are seven stats that stood out in the Rams’ opening game of the season:

1. GURLEY MOVES UP IN RUSHING RANKS
Running back Todd Gurley moved up in the Rams’ record book on his first carry of the game on Monday night.
Gurley took his first handoff of the season for two yards in the Rams’ opening three-and-out drive of the game, needing just one yard to take sole possession of eighth place in the Rams all-time rushing list. Gurley entered Monday night tied with former Ram Paul Younger.
Gurley finished his night with 108 yards rushing, 39 yards receiving, and one touchdown.

2. RAMS DEFENSE HAULS IN THREE PICKS
The Rams defense had three interceptions in the opening game of the season, disrupting any Raiders’ offensive momentum.
Safety John Johnson made the Low Angeles’ first interception of the season, picking off quarterback Derek Carr in the endzone in the second quarter. Johnson’s clutch pick was followed by a Cory Littleton interception in the third, and then by Marcus Peters’ 20th pick of his career — the evening’s nail in the coffin for the Raiders.
Peters’ interception capped Monday’s victory and caused an eruption of support from the Rams’ sideline. With two minutes remaining, Peters snuck behind Raiders tight end Jared Cook and picked off quarterback Derek Carr’s pass. The Oakland native ran 50 yards to the end zone with plenty of flair for his first interception and pick-six as a Ram. Peters now has 20 interceptions in 46 career games-played.
The Rams were one of five teams in 2017 that led the league in interceptions returned for touchdowns with three pick-sixes.

3. THIRD QUARTER SCORES
The Rams led the league in point differential in the third quarter (+78) in 2017, putting up 119 points and allowing only 41.
McVay’s offense continued its third quarter success on Monday, outscoring the Raiders 10-0 in the quarter. Quarterback Jared Goff connected with second-year receiver Cooper Kupp for the Rams’ second touchdown of the game on 1st-and-goal from the Oakland eight, to take a 20-13 lead as the quarter came to an end.
The Rams would build on the third quarter momentum, scoring another 13 points in the fourth.

4. ENTER: BRANDIN COOKS
Monday’s game marked the debut for a handful of Rams offseason additions. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks made some the most noise of the new faces who played against Oakland. Cooks led all Rams receivers with 87 yards on five catches.
Cooks also drew two substantial pass-interference calls in the game, collectively moving his offense 87 yards down the field. The second of the two penalties was translated into points, with a Greg Zuerlein field goal near the end of the second quarter.

5. ZUERLEIN’S STRANGE NIGHT
Zuerlein was money last season, hitting 95-percent of his field goal attempts, good on 38-of-40 tries.
The Rams special teams’ “old faithful” uncharacteristically missed his opening field goal of 2018, sending a 46-yard try wide-right in the second quarter. It is of note, though, that Zuerlein’s miss came from the Oakland A’s infield dirt.
Zuerlein then hit his next four attempts of the night — his longest from 55 yards.

6. SUH ECLIPSES CENTURY-MARK
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh started his 100th consecutive game on Monday night — the most among all active defensive linemen.
The veteran newcomer had a handful of tackles in his Los Angeles debut, finishing with four tackles and one quarterback hurry. Suh’s quarterback hurry came in the fourth quarter, on the same play that ended in Peters’ pick-six.

7. MONDAY NIGHT WIN
The Rams are in the win column on Monday Night Football for the first time since 2004. Entering tonight’s game, the Rams were just 2-9 playing on Monday Night Football since the 2004 season, when they beat both the Buccaneers and Eagles.
The Rams will play on Monday Night Football for a second time this season on November 19 in Mexico City against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ryan Gorcey@RyanGorcey
“We need a pass rush,” Jon Gruden says, without a hint of irony. #Raiders recap.

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Alden Gonzalez@Alden_Gonzalez
I know it seems like a lifetime ago, but I still can’t believe someone as good as Todd Gurley went an entire 2016 season without rushing for 100 yards.

Quite the homecoming for Marcus Peters. That has to feel good.

Are we sure this is the same Jared Cook who played for the Rams?

Ball security while going through progressions — one of few things Jared Goff didn’t do well last year. That was almost a huge turnover.

It’s going to be so much fun to see how Sean McVay adjusts to the league now being so much more familiar with him. That touchdown-scoring shovel pass to Todd Gurley on a fly sweep is the first of what will be a multitude of examples.

—

Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Aqib Talib on Wade Phillips: “He’s the GOAT. His daddy was the GOAT. He’s got GOAT blood.”

Greg Zuerlein good from second base….55 yards. That’s huge.

—

Ryan Kartje@Ryan_Kartje
With the linebacker situation, the Rams might need John Johnson to be a superhero this season. That said, I’m not so sure he won’t be.

Get used to it, Rams fans. 14 roughing the passer calls this week.

==

J.B. Long@JB_Long
The last time Gruden coached the #Raiders, Sean McVay was 15yo and Tom Brady had zero Super Bowl rings.

—

“I appreciate everything that this organization’s been doing for me since I’ve been here, man… It feels good to be a LA Ram.” – @marcuspeters pic.twitter.com/v9bNbyqfW6

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 11, 2018

Classic Rams

What Raiders fans are saying after the game

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Incoming 3-2-1

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It’s already started

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they been blatantly holding and no calls its freaking bullcrap

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Carr now being schooled by Goff.

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So painful…

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What a soft broken ass team.
We get rid of our dog in Mack and leave the team in these hands. Hopefully we hit on those first rounders cause we’re gonna need them.

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it embarrassing
I’ve waited a long time for this game and this is the performance I get

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Anyone else remember how excited we were after the first drive?

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This half
Is what I was afraid of. They’re manhandling us in each phase. If Goff was a little more accurate on some deep balls, we’d be down another 10 pts or so.

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Everyone acting like Mack would score us TDs when our offense can’t.
smh

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he did yesterday

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Cooper has same agent as Mack so he is gone after this season

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Good… bye bye bitch

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You a raider fan
Or a drunk school girl all I’ve seen you do is cry on here…. This is the top ranked team and we held with them this quarter is looking ugly but man did that first half look good if wwe don’t have so many penalties it’s completely different

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Too bad foosball is a game of 4 quarters.
The better team won.

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This is a bad team, Nation.
I hate to say it, but it is obvious. We lost the battle of the trenches on both sides. WRs can’t get open. We’re not running the ball well. We’re not stopping the run or getting pressure. We got abused on play-action on the regular. And Carr…he looks afraid, tentative. The first half was a mirage. In the second half, we saw what a good team does. Hopefully we can learn something from this game, but it will take this season and maybe longer to be playoff-caliber. Our rookies didn’t come through. Our CBs couldn’t cover long enough. Our OL couldn’t block well enough. And Carr, as much as I love the guy, is just not a top QB. He used to have a fearless attitude, but he’s turned into a guy who’s afraid to make a mistake. Cooper! He did nothing at all today. I’m just sad right now, Nation. To see Goff have all day to throw and complete passes at will was especially disheartening. I really believed in our rookies, but they’re just not good enough. Go Raiders.

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First half mirage
Rams starters didn’t play at all in PS, so takes a while for them to get going together.

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Cherry on the top
Gilchrist just got Liu Kang’d

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Derek Carr is a Fraud
This guy bilked Mark Davis out of $125M and Khalil Mack. Sickening.

Plays like a frightened little boy. Pathetic 2nd half performance. Looks like the same guy from 2017.

And once again, Amari Cooper invisible.

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who do we point the finger at for the loss?

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Everyone?

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Gruden is not creative
He is a dinosaur

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Carr definitely busted out w 2nd half, missed td in first

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Shoulda paid Mack and traded Carr

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Carr is the biggest wuss Raiders have ever had. 125 mill for this fu#=/+ wuss and Mack don’t get a phone call….great move chucky

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our rookies were good in preseason, but when the lights come on they need work. No pass rush will haunt us all year I am assuming.

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IT WAS freaking PRESEASON, WHAT DON’T YOU SMART GUYS GET ABOUT THAT – IT WAS freaking PRESEASON!!!! LOL

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Gonna turn to a blowout

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Even if we had Mack, it would not make a difference. This team sucks right now.

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At least we didn’t give away our plays in preseason
They never would guessed the one yard passes were the secret plays

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This blog is funny
You’re losing to one of the best teams in the nfl and ready to jettison your QB for a couple bad plays.

Your team was in it through 3 quarters, more so than most thought they’d be.

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hey been this way since we lost Mack the sky is falling blah blah blah

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no issue losing to rams
issue with our franchise qb crapping himself in second half. And no pressure on qb, that is a huge issue

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Same old raiders

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we score a garbage TD here, and lose by six
Hiding a blowout inside of a six point loss.

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That end zone INT
Shattered gentle Derek’s confidence into a million freaking pieces.

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Some thoughts towards the end of the game
Carr absolutely sucked in the second half, he also really underthrew Cook in the first half (1st interception)
O-Line sucked in the first half but then calmed down and didn’t get as many holding calls; killed our momentum
DRC/Melvin really ruined our momentum early with those PI calls
No Pass rush
Cooper was invisible (is the problem cooper, carr, or the coaches?)
Reggie Nelson is slow and gave up a lot of plays, where was Karl Joseph???
Special teams SUCKED: Harris returning a punt instead of allowing a touchback, Harris allowing us to get pinned at the 6 yard line, Townsend punting was bad.

Jared Cook had a monster game, one of the only bright spots

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No pass rush
Our young line can not get off there blocks. Rams adjusted to Cook. We’ll have a long season.

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Did you really expect to beat a Super Bowl contender?

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cooper three targets, jesus thats our number one guy?

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cooper…. cooper?
name doesn’t ring a bell

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“Cooper is going to be the focal point of our offense”

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Cooper Kupp?

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Carr just terrible
Where’s the receiving core?

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Still no passes to WRs. Ridiculous. Richard. Cook. Richard.

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Separation
are the receivers not getting separation or is Carr just not looking downfield because he wants to get the ball out too fast.

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If we had Mack, Carr would not gave thrown that INT.

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because we’d be running the ball?
you’re starting to make sense

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Carr just threw a touchdown!
Wait, that was an interception for a touchdown. pffft

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What a joke

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Stay looking for a new qb gentlemen.
Carr will never win against good defenses.

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wow!

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freak Peters!!!!!!

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He owns our baby Jesus QB
That’s that Oakland in him tho

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Well, an interception is to be expected when you keep throwing to the same 2 dudes.

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Hahahaa
Yeah freak you david 150 million for this crap gtfo

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jeeezus, okay just put AJ in, onto next

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Peters again burns Carr.
pick6

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Jeff George 2.0

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Please don’t disrespect Jeff George like that…lol…

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Well
I thought this would be about 31-14, just not like this.

Even worse than imagined.

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Carr #4 jerseys
About to go the route of Moss #18s. Toss em on the mistake pile, what a joke

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David Carr 2.0 I am out!

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We kept the wrong player

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If Carr isn’t the answer
Then keeping Mack wasn’t gonna help

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Dissapointing…
Enough said..

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Gruden’s post game presser should be enlightening

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Enlightening or entertaining?

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an we try to have a civil conversation tonight?

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And then reality set in.
Jon Gruden traded away the best hope we had at having a defense. He completely freaked this team up. Now we suck and we’re old on top of it. Face it boys, Jon Gruden has set his franchise back another decade

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OT
why do they keep showing Peters grab his junk?

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second half melt down, disapointing. Derek just does not move in the pocket, he has to sit in one spot and throw, this is not good

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man, what a crap pass
@MarcusPeters PICK-6! #LARams #LARvsOAK

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Just terrible
And the fans are booing already.

Yikes

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Wasn’t expecting to win, but didn’t wanna get embarrassed. So much for that.

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Should have traded for Bridgewater… ol well..
Raiders are who we thought they were. As fans it’s hard to accept that.

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That defense is awesome.
Rams SB champs easy if Gurley stays healthy.

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Feels like 2012 all over again

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After the Mack trade, the last thing we needed was a QB implosion.

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“that relationship’s going to continue to build” (Chucky & Happy Feet)
kill me now

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Typical Raiders…
…no adjustments for their adjustments. You have to know they’re going to find a way to cover Cook so you have to take advantage of what they do and find another way. But honestly, our WRs are terrible. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Coop and Nelson just couldn’t ever get open. I think it’s way past time to call Coop a bust, dating back to last year. The guy was supposed to be a “polished route-runner”, but he get dominated by any CB who has a recognizable name. And the OL is no longer great. They were badly beaten by the Rams DL tonight. The second half was just as thorough of an ass-kicking as you could take. We couldn’t run. We couldn’t pass. We couldn’t stop the run. We couldn’t stop the pass. I don’t think it’s a scheme issue, though. I think our players just aren’t that good. This goes back to personnel and Big Reg. I thought Hurst and Hall and Key would be monsters tonight, but they hardly made any noise at all. I know, it’s the Rams. They’re a great team. But isn’t our goal to be great? If so, we at least gotta make a game of it for the entire 60 minutes, not just the first half. We just got out asses kicked, Nation. It freaking totally sucks.

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Well, one way we can look at it is that the Rams were a top offense last season. I think 1st.

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Chiefs fan here
I miss Peters. [​IMG]
He just did you guys in again.

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not wise to be here saying that stuff. leave us be

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On Raiderdamus’s post I predicted 38-16 Rams
So yay I wasn’t too far off!

This team has a long way to go. Sheesh.

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A decent pass rush would’ve at least changed the script of the game
Not saying it would’ve changed the result to a win, but I don’t remember anyone touching Goff. We got sMACKed.

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This is an eval season for Gruden at key positions. I doubt Carr, Coop, and a whole bunch of these guys make it to Vegas.

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What we learned is
Mack is far better than Donald.

Compare their games. Mack = beast. Donald = average.

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But you hate Mack. You don’t get to pimp this. Lol.

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TRADE chucky
And and 2 first rd picks for Mack..

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Chi-town just let out a collective laugh.

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Hope yall boys have good fantasy teams

So you can really enjoy this season.

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browns:0-0-1 raiders: 0-1-0

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I would say a 7-9 season is doable

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soooo. i know its early but i love college football
ed oliver from houston and nick bosa are two guys you wanna look at this year

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The game may have passed Gruden by after all.

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I am about to relapse on crack

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Studs and duds from Rams’ Week 1 win: Cooks, newcomers shine

Cameron DaSilva

Studs and duds from Rams' Week 1 win: Cooks, newcomers shine

It took a complete team effort for the Los Angeles Rams to knock off the Oakland Raiders Monday night, both defensively and offensively. There were quite a few standout performances from the Rams, but there were also some disappointing ones, too.

Here are studs and duds from Monday’s 33-13 win over Oakland.

Studs

WR Brandin Cooks

Cooks didn’t have 150 yards and two scores, but he had a great first game with the Rams. In the first half alone, he drew two pass interference penalties for a total of 87 yards. That doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed by savvy fans and or the coaching staff.

In the end, he finished with five catches for 87 yards, the longest of which went for 30 yards. He showed a willingness to go over the middle with defenders lurking, while also displaying awareness along the sidelines. He’s exactly what the Rams were hoping he’d be.

Offensive line

The offensive line was near-perfect in this one. Jared Goff was only sacked once, but that was largely his fault after he stood in the pocket too long and wasn’t aware of Bruce Irvin looping around. Goff admitted after the game that the sack was on him, complimenting the entire offensive line for the job it did protecting him.

In the running game, Gurley had nice running lanes to burst through, rarely getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. The unit didn’t miss a beat with Austin Blythe filling in for Jamon Brown.

CBs Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib

There was a lot of hype surrounding the Rams’ secondary entering this season, and needless to say, it lived up to expectations. While it’s still very early, the early returns on Peters and Talib are excellent. We didn’t hear Talib’s name called much in this one, but that’s a good thing. He was great in coverage and didn’t let Jordy Nelson do much of anything, limiting him to just three catches for 23 yards.

Peters was even better, shutting down Amari Cooper. He held him to just one catch for 9 yards, intercepting Carr in the fourth quarter and returning it for a touchdown. If this is how the corners are going to play every week, expect teams to target their running backs and tight ends the way Oakland did.

OLB Samson Ebukam

Ebukam got off to a hot start, and although he cooled down in the second half, he made a handful of nice plays early on. In total, he had three tackles for loss – though one was a gift after Derek Carr fell down – which led all players in the game.

On that same drive, Ebukam stuffed Doug Martin on a swing pass in the Raiders’ own territory, a great stop in the open field. Later in the game, he snuck into the backfield to bring Marshawn Lynch down for a 5-yard loss.

RB Todd Gurley

It wouldn’t be a “studs” section if Gurley didn’t make an appearance. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year picked up where he left off last season, rushing for 108 yards on just 20 carries. His longest run of the game was 23 yards, while also adding three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown on a tap pass from Goff.

He showed the same explosiveness and burst he had last season despite not playing in the preseason, setting aside any concerns about rust or needing time to get up to speed. He’s once again going to be an MVP candidate.

Honorable mentions: LB Cory Littleton, DE Michael Brockers, WR Cooper Kupp

Duds

S John Johnson

Johnson’s stat line looks good with nine tackles, an interception and a pass defensed, but it was hardly representative of his play. The second-year safety really struggled on Monday night, missing tackles, getting beat by Jared Cook repeatedly and looking shaky in coverage.

Johnson was the primary defender on Cook for most of the night, and while he didn’t surrender all nine catches for 180 yards by the tight end, he was on the wrong end of many of those plays. He redeemed himself a bit by picking off Carr in the end zone, but there was more bad than good in this one.

QB Jared Goff

Like Johnson, Goff’s stat line doesn’t look terrible: 18 of 33 for 233 yards and two touchdown passes with a rating of 97.2. Not bad, right? Well, that stat line could’ve been much better, and at the same time, much worse.

He overthrew Robert Woods on a couple of occasions, while also missing Kupp in the end zone on an inaccurate throw. The pass was nearly intercepted, but it could’ve easily been a touchdown.

Also in the red zone, Goff almost handed Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie after it was tipped in the air by the former Giants defensive back, falling harmlessly to the turf. His fumble was almost a disaster after he didn’t feel the pressure from Bruce Irvin, but Rob Havenstein bailed him out by falling on the ball.

Goff simply wasn’t very accurate on passes 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, missing open receivers several times.

CB Troy Hill

Hill was a non-factor on defense, but he had an impact on special teams. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind of impact. He was flagged twice on consecutive punts for holding the Raiders’ gunner, leading to 10-yard setbacks for the offense. Special teams penalties are never good and can really hurt a backup like Hill’s value.

Depth players

The Rams stuck to 11 personnel for just about the entire game, only putting Johnny Mundt and Gerald Everett on the field a couple of times. Josh Reynolds was spotted only once or twice, while Pharoh Cooper didn’t appear to get any chances at wide receiver. McVay leaned on his top playmakers, as indicated by the box score.

Tyler Higbee wasn’t targeted once, while only five players caught passes and carried the ball all night long.