some boneheaded errors. missed tackles.

i give them these 2 games because the main guys sat out all preseason. but preseason is officially over. tampa bay is next. so they gotta clean that stuff up.

kupp. could this be his breakout season? plays like a 10 year veteran. keep forgetting he’s only played 4 seasons. and one of them he missed half the season. it’s time he get some recognition.

ramsey and donald. donald and ramsey. this is a special moment in time for rams fans. players like these two don’t come around very often. we get the pleasure of seeing them both on the team we root for.

stafford looked good. still need a bigger sample size, but he looked good.

wondering right now if higbee can have the breakout season i thought he’d have last season.

tackling was bad. but it’s the first game of the season, and the starters never saw the preseason.

really glad to see rochell get reps. good to see williams and hoecht get reps too. want to see brown get some reps now.

i won’t be on the gameday chat tonight. but i will be watching the game. i’m not nervous like i used to get. but excited about this season for sure.

Agamemnon wrote:

The 1999 Rams might have been better, but these guys in 2021 look really good.

the 99 offense was more explosive, but i really like the defensive personnel on this 21 team.

can’t wait to watch them this season. just oozing potential at all three levels.

i wonder who starts at defensive end while robinson is out. could it be hoecht???

looks like a strong roster.

glad to see hoecht and williams make the roster. i have high hopes for them.

zn wrote:

No Michel is not as talented as Akers

and i’m not saying he is. i really don’t have an opinion one way or the other. but i do think he’s one of the more talented rbs to come to the rams in the past 3 years. definitely top 2 since gurley left.

i don’t know if this was posted already.

Sony Michel facts

1) The Rams ran outsize zone or man on 69% of their run plays last year; highest rate in the NFL.

2) Michel averaged 4.2 yards after contact per attempt on those runs in 2020, leading the league (min. 20 attempts)

3) Michel averaged 3.0 on all other runs

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) August 25, 2021

Why the Rams could have a perfect fit in running back Sony Michel

Why the Rams could have a perfect fit in running back Sony Michel

Doug Farrar
August 25, 2021 10:17 am ET
The Rams were headed into the 2021 NFL season with an unclear picture at running back. Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles tendon in July that ended his season before it began. This foiled Sean McVay’s plan for using Akers as his “Mr. Everything” at the position. 2020 backup Darrell Henderson, more of a satellite back, has been dealing with a sprained thumb, though it’s estimated that he’ll be ready for the regular-season opener against the Bears. Jake Funk and Xavier Jones were among the team’s primary backs in their Week 2 preseason game against the Raiders last Saturday, and the Rams ran for 129 yards on 27 carries in that game, but McVay was looking for more to reinforce a depleted group.

On Wednesday, the Rams made a deal with the Patriots for the services of running back Sony Michel, the 2018 first-round pick who gained just 449 rushing yards and scored one rushing touchdown on 79 carries in 2020. Michel’s numbers had dropped precipitously in 2020 in part due to a quadriceps injury, and it was a fall from grace after a rookie season in which he scored six rushing touchdowns in the postseason, and helped New England beat McVay’s Rams in Super Bowl LIII. The Rams gave up a fifth-round and sixth-round pick in 2022, which turns into a fourth-round pick if the Rams get a fourth-round compensatory pick. So, a fourth-round pick for the former first-round pick.

Michel had lost the starting job to Damien Harris last season, and with the sascent of fourth-round rookie Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots were flush with running backs, and Michel had fallen out of favor. That doesn’t mean that the Rams made a mistake here — they just have to know how Michel is best utilized.

Interestingly enough, though Michel ran behind more gap and pull schemes in 2020, he was more effective when running zone. That fits in with at least the 2020 version of the Rams, who, per Sports Info Solutions, had the second-most zone rushing attempts in the NFL last season with 336 for 1.425 yards, 620 yards after contact, and 16 touchdowns. Only the Titans had more zone running attempts with 384 for 1,840 yards, 1,157 yards after contact, and 16 touchdowns, and they had Derrick Henry as opposed to Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson, and Malcolm Brown. In zone and split zone last season, Michel had 45 carries for 263 yards, 161 yards after contact, and his only rushing touchdown — in Week 1 against the Dolphins.

Michel’s best 2020 run came on this 38-yard scamper against the Raiders in Week 3, where he showed excellent ability to move to open space, second-level agility, and third-level ball security. If Michel can pull off a handful of these runs in 2021, McVay will be perfectly happy with the draft capital given up (not that the Rams give a single expletive about draft capital anyway).

McVay likes to use his backs in the passing game, and though Michel caught just 26 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown during his three seasons with the Patriots, he is capable of more. In his finale with the Patriots, against the Jets in Week 17 last season, he picked up three catches for 60 yards. Michel can handle wheel routes and screens and little leaks all day.

Since the Patriots declined Michel’s fifth-year option, he’s on the books for the Rams in 2021 with a cap charge of $3,063,039. This makes Michel the cap-heaviest back on a Rams roster that wants to define the position inexpensively. Not that Michel will be able to regain the glory of his rookie season right off the bat, but he does add much-needed every-down attributes if he’s healthy and near 100%. If not… well, it’s a lowball trade for a guy who won’t be on the books next season. Schematically, it seems like a good enough fit to give Sony Michel another chance at the brass ring.

i still like funk a lot. but this trade was necessary. none of the running backs are gonna last a full 17 games.

don’t know if the running game will be dominant. but it should be solid. i feel a lot better than i did 24 hours ago.

well.

no surprise cuts there i don’t think.

zn wrote:

Zooey wrote:

And… bear in mind… only about 10% of his TD passes will come on 50+ yard plays, so we’re looking at 350 – 500 TD passes this year. Of course, the Rams will also score some TDs on the ground, and I expect the defense will have a big year, too.

All-in-all, it’s a spectacle.

I like Stafford, which I’ve said many times. But, as I also said, for many years I used to do the numbers on long passing plays. That’s passes that are long in the air, not including RAC yards.

And. No one has ever done 10%. That’s actually an unthinkable number. I’ve never seen anything even close to it.

As a rule, the numbers go up if you look at passes of 20 yards or more in the air. At 30 yards or more the numbers go way down.

… so you’re saying more like 150-200 tds for the season?

why are you so down on the rams?

well. shit.

apparently he injured his surgically repaired thumb today on a helmet.

supposed to not be too bad. but it makes me nervous.

zn wrote:

Terrell Burgess having a great day today.

if i remember correctly he was starting to come on right before his injury.

zn wrote:

Eric Banks and Michael Hoecht are the first two DL out to do extra work pre-practice with assistant DL coach Marcus Dixon and DL coach Eric Henderson. Will be keeping an eye on those two through next couple weeks.

High praise from A’Shawn Robinson for second-year former UDFAs Eric Banks and Michael Hoecht, by the way – says he really has seen them grow and put the work in.

i like both guys but especially hoecht. they have some serious athletes on the dline.

i’m so… annoyed.

mostly i feel really bad for akers. i think he had a chance for a really huge season this year.