setting up the Raiders game, w/ PFF, & also what Raiders fans are saying

Injury Report 9/7: Barron Remains Out for Practice

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/injury-report-9-7-barron-remains-out-for-practice

Inside linebacker Mark Barron did not practice on Friday, and has now missed the first two days of the official practice week for the season-opening matchup with Oakland.
Head coach Sean McVay said Barron is currently day-to-day while dealing with an achilles issue. It’s similar to what Barron faced last year, where there are days he feels fine and then other days the achilles will flare up.

“I don’t know if you could say he’s really had a setback,” McVay said. “I think maybe just with some of the workouts and some of the things that he’s taken part in, just maybe not feeling as good as we’d like right now — really, most importantly, as good as Mark would like to feel. So we’re taking it a day at a time.”
Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said Friday he is concerned about Barron’s potential availability — though that’s with the caveat that Los Angeles won’t line up against Oakland until Monday night.
“He’s coming off two surgeries in the offseason,” Phillips said. “So, obviously, we’re concerned about him getting in.”
If Barron isn’t able to play, Phillips said he has confidence in inside linebacker Ramik Wilson to perform well in Barron’s stead. Wilson took all the training camp reps with the first-team defense, with Barron participating more in the morning walk-thrus down at UC Irvine.
“Ramik has played in the preseason — did some good things. And we needed to look at him because we hadn’t had him before,” Phillips said. “He’s a smart player. He’s started before in the league, and he’s played well when he’s been in there. And he knows what to do. He’s a real smart player, so I have confidence in him.”
“I’ve been playing behind Mark since OTAs,” Wilson said after Friday’s practice. “And I’ve been here a while — all camp, started every preseason game. So I know the system. I’m ready to go and just ready to play.”
Also on the injury report, running back Justin Davis (hamstring) was upgraded from a limited participant on Thursday to a full participant on Friday.

Here is the complete injury report from both teams:

LOS ANGELES RAMS

DID NOT PARTICIPATE
ILB Mark Barron (ankle)

FULL PARTICIPANT
RB Justin Davis (hamstring)

OAKLAND RAIDERS

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

B DeAndré Washington (knee)

LIMITED PARTICIPANT

RB Marshawn Lynch (groin)
G/T Kelechi Osemele (back)

FULL PARTICIPANT
CB Nick Nelson (hamstring)
LB Tahir Whitehead (ankle)

Zooey wrote:

That isn’t good about Barron. LB is not a position where the Rams want to see their bench players on the field a lot. That is a mediocre unit to begin with, and Barron is their best LB.

His replacement though is Ramik Wilson, who has been getting a lot of reps this summer and is getting good reports. He’s a vet and a smart guy.

I don’t see ILB as FOR SURE mediocre, it’s more like unknown I think (ie. with Barron out). Barron is a nice one to have on the field and is a known quantity. Though I really think Littleton has a lot of promise. He may be a find.

It’s the outside rush that is the concern I think.

…

Pick Six: Who steps up on the defensive line?

https://www.raiders.com/news/pick-six-who-steps-up-on-the-defensive-line

Kicking off the season Monday night under the lights – it doesn’t get much better than that.
Nine months after Jon Gruden was re-introduced as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, his team will finally play a meaningful game, and after wandering in the long football desert that is the offseason, the return of the regular season is cause for celebration.
Week 1 sets the tone, it always does, so let’s take a look at six things you need to be watching for Monday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

1. The environment
There’s nothing better than primetime, nothing.
The lights, the crowd, the energy – it’s hard to replicate that kind of thing anywhere else besides at a primetime football game.
Throw in Jon Gruden’s official return to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and Monday night is going to be a fun one, I promise you that.
It’s Week 1, so I’m sure both teams will be all fired up at kickoff; keep an eye out on which team can harness that energy and come out of the gates fast at the OACC.

2. Who controls the line of scrimmage?
The battle for the line of scrimmage is paramount for success each week, but with the Raiders trio of gladiators in the middle going against Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh, you’re going to want to keep an eye on the big fellas up front Monday night.
I’ve said time and time again – and I’ll say it once more – that the Raiders have the best interior offensive line the NFL, and they’ll certainly have a chance to prove it Monday night when they square up with Donald and Suh.
The big guys up front are so crucial to the Raiders offense as a whole – both on the ground and through the air – and I’m fired up to see how they handle this huge challenge to start off 2018.
Put your seat belt on Monday night, it’s going to be nasty down there in the trenches.

3. Donald Penn working at right tackle
Speaking of that Raiders offensive line, Donald Penn is poised to make his first career start at right tackle Monday night against the Rams.
Monday will be Penn’s 171st career start, but all of the previous 170 came on the left side.
The veteran tackle’s move right has been one of the more discussed storylines of the offseason, and we’ll finally get to see what he looks like in his new spot against the Rams.
The Raiders allowed just 24 sacks last year – good for the third fewest in the NFL, and the play of big No. 72 was a big reason why.
Let’s see how he fares on this new adventure.

4. Who steps up on the defensive line?
Well, we’re going to get our first look at a Raiders defensive line without Khalil Mack for the first time since 2013.
The Silver and Black sent the All-Pro defensive end to the Chicago Bears last week in exchange for two first-round picks, and while the trade admittedly sent shockwaves through the league and the locker room, at the end of the day, Khalil Mack isn’t showing up again at 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway.
That said, Mack’s departure creates a ton of opportunities for other guys on the defensive line, and I’m excited to see which ones step up and make the most of their chances.
When you’re talking about guys who will be looked at to step up in 2018, Bruce Irvin is the first guy that comes to mind, and while there will indeed be more asked of No. 51, don’t sleep on the rookies along the interior of the defensive line either.
Oh, and we haven’t even talked about Arden Key, Tank Carradine, or Fadol Brown either.
The Raiders have the players to get after the quarterback, let’s see how they impact what Jared Goff wants to do Monday night.

5. Will Marshawn and friends get rolling?
Look, I know it’s a brand new season, and that it’s not entirely fair to categorize a team by what they did – or didn’t do – a year before, but if you look at the 2017 iteration of the Rams, as good as they were, they did struggle to stop the run.
Now, will that issue rear its head again in 2018? That’s to be determined, but with Marshawn Lynch, Doug Martin, and the rest of the Raiders running backs gassed up and ready to roll, I’ll be keeping a keen eye on how they establish an identity on the ground against the Rams.
Head Coach Jon Gruden has made no bones about it, he wants to pound the rock, and control the line of scrimmage, and I have a feeling if the Raiders can do just that Monday night, they’ll drive back home with a “W.”

6. Teacher vs. Student
It’s a tale as old as time that we’ve seen play out in movies, book, television shows – everything – and we’ll see the battle between teacher and student manifest itself once again Friday night at the OACC.
Not only did Jon Gruden give Sean McVay his start in the NFL, but the two families – the Grudens and McVays – go way back too.
“Two families that are extremely close,” McVay explained. “The common things are that they love their family and they love football. That’s been something that’s really kept us close over the years and what the Gruden family has done for me specifically, Jon and Jay, I can’t really can’t say enough about how fortunate and blessed I feel that I have gotten the chance to work with Jon, but then also have the relationship that we do where he kind of puts his arm around you, really teaches you what you know about the game from a foundational standpoint. Certainly wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today or even have had the opportunity that I’ve been so lucky to have if it wasn’t for what Jon and Jay Gruden have done for me, specifically in coaching.”
Who comes out on top Monday night, Gruden or McVay? It’s going to be the Raiders vs. the Rams at the OACC, but make no mistake about it, all eyes will be on the team’s respective head coaches.

Rams finally get Donald, Suh together on tantalizing defense

GREG BEACHAM

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Rams-finally-get-Donald-Suh-together-on-13214002.php

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Donald makes a joke during a break in practice, and Ndamukong Suh chuckles. Pretty soon, the entire Los Angeles Rams’ defensive line is cracking up.

This new defense is no laughing matter, though. Six months after the Rams assembled a remarkable collection of veteran talent, it’s finally all out on the practice field together.

Michael Brockers, the other defensive lineman in the Rams’ fearsome threesome up front, thinks the rest of the NFL should be wary.

“Just backing out of the huddle and looking at all the talent we have is kind of surreal,” Brockers said. “I look back and I’m like, ‘Bro, we can be so crazy on this field.’ But it’s on paper first, so we have to go out there and prove why we’re so talented, why we’re so great.”

Donald, Suh and Brockers have been together in practice for the first time over the past week while the Rams prepare for their opener in Oakland on Monday night. Cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib are eager to get on the field after barely playing in the preseason to see if this defense can live up to its enormous potential.

The bulk of the defensive starters only got seven snaps together in the preseason. That’s still more than the offense, which didn’t play at all, and defensive coordinator Phillips doesn’t sound overly concerned.

“I think they’re going to be really good,” Phillips said. “But it’s (about) meshing together and playing the right way. I have a lot of confidence in them. … We have a group that really likes football. Some teams or players I’ve been with, they played because they were good at it or whatever. But this group, they like football. They like playing football, and some of them even like practicing, which is a little different.”

Donald is the biggest key to the Rams’ aspirations, and the NFL’s defensive player of the year is going full-speed in practice after being away from the team for several months in a contract holdout. He won’t have any limit on his snaps in Oakland, coach Sean McVay confirmed Friday.

“We’ve been missing that little puzzle piece, the final piece, so it’s been awesome,” Brockers said. “He’s been making some great jokes, and we’re just happy to have him back. … A.D. is a pro. He’s been studying the playbook. He’s been watching film. Literally, we plugged him in, and he knew everything he’s supposed to do. We haven’t had to slow down at all. We honestly picked up the tempo.”

Donald missed the Rams’ 2017 season opener after ending his holdout one day earlier. This year, he signed his new contract last Friday and reported to the Rams in time to get ample work before the games begin.

“You kind of know what to expect,” Donald said of his second straight late arrival. “But you’ve got the opportunity to come back and basically get six practices under my belt before the first game, so I think that’s going to be a big help for me, as far as getting adjusted out there.”

Donald’s partnership with Suh has been hotly anticipated ever since the Rams outmaneuvered several suitors last March to sign Suh to a one-year deal.

“He makes my job easier, you know?” Donald said. “When you’ve got guys out there like him and Brock next to you, you know the other guy is going to make plays, just like you make plays. You’re just a little bit more comfortable.”

Any talk about the potential success of this defense comes with a giant caveat in the middle.

While the defensive line and secondary are jam-packed with proven NFL talent, the Rams’ linebackers are mostly unproven at an elite level. What’s more, veteran inside linebacker Mark Barron seems increasingly unlikely to begin the season healthy after missing the first two days of practice this week with a flare-up of an Achilles tendon injury that has dogged him for months.

Untested Cory Littleton is taking over for traded middle linebacker Alec Ogletree, the Rams’ leading tackler in four of the past five seasons. Samson Ebukam and Matt Longacre also are penciled into starting spots, and even defensive lineman Dominique Easley has taken practice reps as a pass-rushing outside linebacker.

If Barron can’t play against the Raiders, Los Angeles is likely to put Ramik Wilson into the starting lineup for his Rams debut after three seasons in Kansas City.

“He’s a smart player,” said Phillips, who played Wilson more extensively in the preseason than other probable regular-season contributors. “He’s started before in the league, and he’s played well when he’s been in there. He knows what to do.”

What to watch for against the Raiders? Start with the Rams’ ‘crazy’ defense

Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/513215/2018/09/09/what-to-watch-for-against-the-raiders-start-with-the-rams-crazy-defense/

Reality​ hit Michael Brockers​ almost immediately this​ week.
What​ had been​ talked​ about in​ theory​ had​ finally​ come to fruition​ when the​​ Rams and Aaron Donald came to terms on a record-breaking contract extension. And in doing so, the Rams completed a defensive makeover in which they added dominant defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and press corners Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib to an already-sturdy foundation.
“The last piece of the puzzle,” said Brockers of the addition of Donald after his lengthy training camp holdout.
But it really wasn’t until the Rams went through an 11-on-11 drill during practice that the devastating possibilities of this revamped defense truly dawned on Brockers. While Suh, Donald and Brockers create havoc up front, Peters and Talib will do their thing on the perimeter.
“Just backing out of the huddle and looking at all the talent we have is kind of surreal,” Brockers said. “I look back and I’m like, ‘Bro, we can be so crazy on this field.’ ”
“Everything where we were at, it just picked up a lot more,” Peters said. “We know we have an extra dog here. He’s the defensive MVP of the league, so who ain’t going to be excited to have him back.”
The Rams can finally put all of their defensive stars on display on Monday night when they open the 2018 regular season against the Raiders in Oakland.
The Rams’ potentially dominant defense goes hand-in-hand with an offense that returns 10 of 11 starters from a 2017 club that led the NFL in scoring and is operating in Year 2 under head coach Sean McVay. The only new starter is wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who has produced more than 1,000 yards receiving over the last three seasons and was a coveted target of McVay and the Rams for more than a year.
Through the offseason and training camp, Cooks and Rams third-year quarterback Jared Goff developed an obvious chemistry that — should it carry over to the regular season — would add another explosive dimension to an already lethal attack led by reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley and dependable receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods.
The Rams are not a perfect team. But on paper, it’s hard to find a more complete group on offense, defense and coaching sideline. By every measure, this is a squad that deserves to be discussed as a Super Bowl contender.
“It’s on paper first,” warned Brockers, applying the brakes to any hype train that already puts the Rams in Atlanta for Super Bowl LIII. “So we have to go out there and prove why we are so talented, why we are so great.”
The Rams can start to make their case Monday night in Oakland.

Here are the things to watch against the Raiders (7:20 p.m. PT on ESPN).

How quickly can the Rams offense shake off the rust?

The Rams did not intend to sit their first-team offense during the preseason. But the schedule maker dealt them a curveball with the opener being against the Raiders, who the Rams saw in Week 2 of the preseason. And then an injury to right tackle Rob Havenstein a few days before their Week 3 dress rehearsal in New Orleans convinced McVay to put Goff and his fellow starters in bubble wrap until the opener.
The situation was not ideal, but certainly understandable.
“In an ideal world, you would like to be able to have him get that experience and things like that,” McVay said of Goff. “But, at the risk for what we thought could potentially occur, that was a decision that we made and I totally respect and understand that people might disagree with that. It wasn’t just my decision — we make decisions as an organization, in terms of what we feel like is best with all things considered.
“We stand behind our decision. I stand behind that decision because everything that we try to do — and what I’ll always try to do — is make decisions that are for the best interest of our football team.”

The question now is whether the inactivity will have any effect on how Goff and the Rams offense performs.
As much as McVay structured practice to replicate game-like situations, the intensity and nuance against an actual opponent under real game conditions — such as pass rushers taking down the quarterback and wide receivers absorbing full-body hits on catches over the middle of the field — can’t be fully duplicated on a practice field in Thousand Oaks.
Or, as Suh put it while talking in general terms about practice compared to games: “It’s one thing that I disagree with any coach that says, ‘Practice like you play’ because it’s always an uptick especially when you go into a big game like Monday night.”
Getting adjusted to those game elements have to happen in real time. The Rams offense was not afforded any transition period.
“No matter how long a team has been together, you always feel there’s going to be some nuances,” wide receiver Brandin Cooks said. “So we’re practicing, doing what we do, and when we get to the game, we’ll see what happens.”
“Obviously, that first game, it’s going to be the first game for a lot of people,” Gurley said, “so hopefully we can just go out there and play each snap hard and just keep working.”
You get the feeling too much is being made of this, especially after Philadelphia and Atlanta struggled to move the ball in their season opener last Thursday despite starters getting playing time in the preseason. The Rams have too much talent and experience for it to have more than a minimal effect.
But we’ll see.

How much of a factor will Aaron Donald missing training camp be?

The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year missed all of training camp in a contract dispute. When he takes the field on Monday, he will have practiced just six times.
In spite of the limited preparation, Donald is under no snap restrictions against the Raiders. And he doesn’t seem the least bit concerned he is pushing too far too soon. When game time arrives, he’ll be in “go” mode.
“I feel good. In shape,” he said. “The rust is getting knocked off just right. I feel good.”
It also helps that Donald went through a similar experience last year, when he sat out all of training camp to secure a new contract only to come back in time for the second regular-season game and produce the best all-around defensive season in the league. He’ll draw on what happened in 2017.
“You kind of know what to expect,” Donald said, “but coming back and getting six practices under my belt before the first game, I think that’s going to be a big help to me as far as getting adjusted out there playing football again.”

Can Ramik Wilson step up if Mark Barron can’t play?

Barron, the Rams’ lone returning linebacker starter, was a non-participant in on-field workouts through most of training camp and practiced only once while working his way back from two offseason injuries. The expectation was he would play in the opener, but that plan hit a major bump this week when Barron showed up on the Rams’ injury report as “doubtful” for Monday night and never got on the field to practice.
McVay said Barron was dealing with an Achilles issue — the same problem that cost him a game last year against the Titans — and indicated the Rams would take it all the way to Monday night before making a final determination on whether Barron will play. If he can’t, Ramik Wilson will replace him in the starting lineup — much as he’s done throughout camp and preseason — alongside Cory Littleton.

Ideally, the Rams want Barron out there. He’s a valuable, sideline-to-sideline defender who has improved in run support while providing excellent pass coverage.
Wilson started 17 games over three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (playing in 29 overall) and accumulated 88 career tackles. The Rams signed him last offseason for linebacker depth, but it looks like they’ll have to lean on him a bit more than expected to start the season if Barron is ruled out.
“He’s a smart player,” Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said of Wilson. “He’s started before in the league and he’s played well when he’s been in there. And he knows what to do. He’s a real smart player, so I have confidence in him.”
For all the Rams’ experience and firepower defensively, the linebacker unit will remain a question mark until proven otherwise. The Rams were counting on Barron being a steadying influence around new starters Littleton, Samson Ebukam and Matt Longacre. But that is starting to look doubtful for the opener.