zn wrote:

NFL Network will be showing Rams @ GB live on 8/31 at 7 pm et.

They moved it back to 8 PM et

And they might move it again.

Tavon Austin on Rams trading for Sammy Watkins: ‘I understand’

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/35056/tavon-austin-on-rams-trading-for-sammy-watkins-i-understand

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — When the Los Angeles Rams traded for Sammy Watkins, it meant a significantly reduced role for Tavon Austin, the fifth-year receiver who signed a four-year, $42 million contract less than a year earlier.

Austin saw it as “competition.”

“Brotherly competition,” Austin said Monday. “That’s how it is. And I haven’t been here. Since the new coaches got here, I’ve only had four days in this offense. So I understand. It definitely don’t mean that they don’t still have plans for me. That’s where I’m at with it right now. I’m going to take it day after day, and wherever I land [within the offense], I know myself. I know what I’m capable of, and I know the things I can do on the field will definitely help this team.”

Austin spent the spring recovering from wrist surgery and didn’t participate in the Rams’ offseason program. He was unrestricted by training camp, but then he injured his hamstring during the fourth practice and didn’t return to the field with his teammates until Monday, 13 days before the regular-season opener. Austin only went through individual drills, but Rams coach Sean McVay said he might have been able to participate in the full practice if the team wasn’t being so cautious.

McVay said Sunday that Austin has made “huge progress” in his return from a hamstring injury and that he expects him to be available — and a part of the offense — for the Sept. 10 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

How the Rams actually use Austin remains to be seen.

“I definitely don’t feel no type of way to nobody,” Austin said of the Watkins acquisition. “To be honest, I look at the good side. A couple years I’ve been here, we’ve only had two or three guys that they were looking at. Now, they have to defend the whole field. It’s a long season, it’s a tough game, and that’s how I look at it. If it’s my time in the beginning, it’s my time in the beginning. If it’s at the end, it’s at the end. I’m definitely being patient. I know what this sport brings. Next man up. And that’s how it go. But I definitely will not quit, ever. That’s what it is with me.”

The Rams went into the year hopeful that Austin could establish himself as a vertical threat along the outside, even though he is only 5-foot-8 and has never proven to be somebody who can consistently beat teams down the field. Watkins, acquired from the Bills in exchange for cornerback E.J. Gaines and a second-round pick, fills that void. The No. 2 receiver is Robert Woods, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract during free agency. And the slot receiver is Cooper Kupp, a third-round pick who immediately impressed the coaching staff.

Under Jeff Fisher, Austin returned punts and was used as something of a gadget receiver, catching a lot of passes behind the line of scrimmage and also running the ball out of the backfield. McVay may use Austin similarly, though now he would be fourth on the receiver depth chart. The Rams also have two very promising young players in Josh Reynolds, a vertical threat, and Pharoh Cooper, who profiles mainly out of the slot.

Austin called this “the best receiving group I’ve been around.”

“We have a lot of different combinations, a lot of different guys,” Watkins said. “We have big guys, small guys, speed, quick.”

Austin, drafted eighth overall four years ago, falls into that “quick” category. The 26-year-old gained a career-high 907 yards from scrimmage in 2015. But that number dipped to 668 yards last season, which actually represented his second-highest output in four years. Austin has also returned three punts for touchdowns, but there’s no certainty that he will continue to do that with this staff.

One potential role could be to catch passes out of the backfield. The Rams signed running back Lance Dunbar largely for that purpose, hoping he could play a role similar to the one Chris Thompson played for McVay’s Redskins last season. But Dunbar has been unable to practice because of a pre-existing knee injury. Austin has taken 89 snaps out of the backfield since his rookie year in 2013, second-most among wide receivers during that time.

“That’s where my love’s at,” Austin said. “That’s where I’ve been at my whole life. I haven’t been in the offense yet, so I don’t know what the plans are for me. Just gotta be ready. When the ball gets in my hands, do what I do.”

Tavon Austin returns to practice, in search of role within Rams offense

RICH HAMMOND

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/28/tavon-austin-returns-to-practice-in-search-of-role-within-rams-offense/

THOUSAND OAKS — The Rams just got Tavon Austin out of the shop. The question now is, will Austin continue to spin his wheels in the NFL, or can Sean McVay turn him into a high-performance vehicle?

No one knows, even McVay, the Rams’ first-year coach who inherited Austin and his history of being a receiver full of potential, but one who has yet to reach it. McVay’s offense has drawn solid reviews for its innovation during the preseason, and adding Austin presents a challenge, but an intriguing one.

“He’s a special player,” McVay said after Monday’s practice at Cal Lutheran, “and we’ve got to find a way to get him touches and get him involved.”

McVay initially imagined Austin, a 5-foot-8 speedster, filling the outside, downfield-threat role DeSean Jackson played in Washington, where McVay worked as offensive coordinator. Then, Austin hurt his wrist a couple days into the Rams’ summer program and required surgery.

Austin returned for the start of training camp last month and, on the fourth day, hurt his hamstring. That sidelined him for almost four weeks and, in the interim, the Rams traded for receiver Sammy Watkins, a former 1,000-yard receiver who fit nicely into that role vacated by Austin.

Austin returned to some practice drills Monday, a man with an $11 million salary and no defined role.

“It’s competition,” Austin said. “That’s how it is. I haven’t been here since these coaches got here. I’ve only had four days in this offense, so I understand. It definitely doesn’t mean they don’t have plans for me.”

It stands to reason that McVay can figure out something to do with Austin, but what? Watkins is the clear deep threat, Robert Woods is a sure-handed, sideline-tiptoeing option and rookie Cooper Kupp has emerged as, based on preseason games, the favored option of quarterback Jared Goff.

Austin, preparing for his fifth NFL season, seemingly is on par with second-year receiver Pharoh Cooper, who has enjoyed a strong preseason, and eye-opening rookie Josh Reynolds.

Austin has been an enigma. He’s absurdly fast, with the ability to make opponents miss in the open field, but he has yet to top 509 yards or five touchdowns in a single season. Critics say his route-running isn’t sharp enough to be an every-down threat, and too often under former coach Jeff Fisher, Austin’s role devolved into that of a “gadget” player, who got the ball on reverses or sweeps or too-frequent screens.

McVay now must find a way to harness Austin’s speed without turning predictable. And Austin must show that he can thrive in a new offense and find a role alongside Watkins, Woods, Kupp and others.

Last August, the Rams signed Austin to a four-year, $42 million contract extension, a move that seems egregious now, particularly because Watkins is set to become an unrestricted free agent next March, and the Rams would like to re-sign him.

But what’s done is done, and the Rams aren’t going to cut Austin because the accompanying salary-cap hit would be $19 million. What if there’s another option?

The Rams signed running back Lance Dunbar in March as a speedy, shifty, third-down back who could run, catch passes and create mismatches. Because of lingering knee problems, Dunbar has yet to get on the practice field with the Rams, and right now there’s no indication it will ever happen.

Dunbar is listed at 5-8, 187 pounds, the same height, and 8 pounds more, than Austin.

That’s not to say the skill sets are identical, but Austin clearly can catch passes and, several times last season, the Rams lined him up in the backfield for traditional handoffs, and it looked pretty good.

McVay has been coy about how he might use Austin, and because practices now are closed to reporters, and because Austin won’t play in Thursday’s preseason finale against Green Bay, everyone will have to wait until the Sept. 10 season opener against Indianapolis to see the 2017 model of Austin.

Agamemnon wrote:

He believes that Donald will forgo some of the other stuff (unspecified) that he wants because he doesn’t have the leverage of having other teams bidding for him.

That’s probably things like the opt-out clause.

The 32 starting QBs for 2017 listed by age … By Thanksgiving, 15 of the 32 guys on this list will be 30 or older. pic.twitter.com/aKxUcwFaqJ

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 28, 2017

Agamemnon wrote:

Looks like the Rams vs GBay game will be live on the NFL Channel.

Yes.

NFL Network will be showing Rams @ GB live on 8/31 at 7 pm et.

What we observed from Rams’ loss to Chargers

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/27/bonsignore-what-we-observed-from-rams-loss-to-chargers/

Preseason NFL football game can often be a tricky thing. There’s not real game planning going on. The starting lineup is a mishmash of first stringers and backups that soon gives way exclusively to second, third and fringe players. And sometimes, as was the case Saturday when the Rams hosted the Chargers at the Coliseum, there’s more defensive name value on the sideline than the actual field.

All of which conspires against trying to get a true handle on what to take seriously and what to discard as mostly meaningless from the Rams 21-19 loss to the Chargers.

But we’ll give it a try anyway.

THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RAMS OFFENSIVE LINE LOOKED SHAKY

Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein likely woke up Sunday morning breathing a sigh relief he won’t be seeing Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa anytime soon again. Havenstein has locked horns with the Chargers rising star during two days of joint practices and most of the first quarter Saturday at the Coliseum. Enough is enough, Havenstein must be thinking.

Look, you’re being foolish if you think even the best tackle in the league is going to cleanly handle a beast like Bosa play in and play out. As big, fast, strong and dynamic as Bosa is, it’s only a matter of time before he wins a battle or two.

So we won’t make too much of Bosa blowing around Havenstein on his way to plowing into Jared Goff to force the fumble Melvin Ingram eventually took 76 yards to the house for a touchdown.

Bosa is simply going to get his from time to time, and it probably didn’t help Goff held onto the ball a tick too long than he did a poor job sensing pressure that was coming from his front rather than back.

Nevertheless, the play shined a spotlight on an area the Rams can’t feel comfortable about right now. Between Havenstein and guard Jamon Brown, the right side of the Rams offensive line elicits anything but confidence. Too often the duo losses one-on-one battles at the point of attack, resulting in clogged running lanes or, in Saturday’s case, too much pass rush pressure on Goff.

Unfortunately with no readymade in-house candidates offering guaranteed improvements, at this point the Rams can only hope for the best.

JOSH REYNOLDS KEEPS FORCING HIMSELF ONTO RADAR

The Rams overhauled the wide receiver position from last year, adding veteran Robert Woods, drafting Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp and acquiring home run threat Sammy Watkins via a trade. Along with holdovers Tavon Austin and second-year receiver Pharoh Cooper, all of a sudden a mediocre group a year ago looks explosive, versatile and dependable.

But don’t sleep on rookie fourth-round pick Josh Reynolds nudging his way into a rotational role, as he continues to shine after returning from a leg issue midway through training camp.

Reynolds hauled in a touchdown catch for the second straight week, blowing past Chargers’ cornerback Randall Evans to corral a 38-yard scoring pass from Sean Mannion.

The 6-foot-3, 200 pounder provides a big, lanky target for quarterbacks but also has long arms and enough vertical leap to create an expansive catch radius. And as he showed by holding onto a catch in the middle of the field after absorbing a vicious hit from 6-foot-4 Chargers safety Dexter McCoil, he’s got toughness to him.

“It says a lot about Josh because I think there was a couple plays at the end of the first half that he’d like to have back,” Coach Sean McVay said. “But to Josh’s credit, he came back, he made a great catch on the crossing route off of the play action where the safety came downhill and he didn’t flinch, held on to the football and then he comes back and responds by finishing it off with a great route.”

At this point, it’s hard not to imagine McVay at least coming up with a specialized package designed to take advantage of Reynolds’ skill set.

And more and more, he’s settling in.

“Yeah, just being able to kind of play the game like I used to in college – just at a more, like higher tempo,” Reynolds said. “So, I’m much more comfortable out there.”

NOT A GOOD NIGHT FOR GOFF

As McVay pointed out after Saturday’s game, under normal regular-season game conditions, Goff would have had ample time to make up for the two mistakes he made to help spot the Chargers a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

But with McVay exercising prudence over pride, he wisely pulled Goff early in the second quarter so as not to put his starting quarterback in any more harm’s way in a meaningless preseason game.

That means the likely final image of Goff before the season opener Sept. 10 against the Indianapolis Colts is him coughing up a fumble that went 76 yards for a touchdown and badly overthrowing Sammy Watkins for an easy interception by Jason Verrett.

While some of the blame for the fumble goes to Havenstein for getting eaten up by Bosa, Goff shares some responsibility for holding onto the ball. As far as the interception, at initial glance there was some question whether Goff made a bad throw or Watkins ran a bad route, but Goff squashed any confusion by owning the interception as all his fault.

“I can’t do that. I can’t make that throw,” Goff said. “Just a bad throw.”

On a short night, it was glaring. But balanced against what’s mostly been a positive training camp and preseason, McVay isn’t reading too much into it.

“My take is, is I think he’s done a lot of good things,” McVay said. “I think he’s improved a lot. I think the sample size is the thing that I’ll continue to go back with. He got a chance to play 35 snaps against Oakland where you can really get into a real rhythm. Even after the turnover with the interception, we ran the football a lot on that drive, had a couple throws. But I think when you get a chance to kind of really fight your way back from some adversity that you’ve faced throughout the course of a game, those are where you get the best indicators of how a guy responds.

“I thought his demeanor, the way that he handled it was good and we’re going to continue to grow every single day. Just like I was saying, it’s going to be very important for us to maximize practice if that’s the direction where we go where he doesn’t play against Green Bay next week.”

wv wrote:

I cant wait. In fact I think I’ll start my review a day ahead of time…..The producers screwed up by making fewer episodes; there wasnt enough character development in this last episode. It was all action. Though the final scene with the Pterodactyl and the time machine was interesting.

w
v

Dragons are cool.

.

alyoshamucci wrote:

I’m pretty glad I waited until the next day to write this one up … as a “glass half full” guy I sometimes need 24 hours of perspective.

This was a weird PS game. My expectations were thrown multiple times, and so few starters played, that I had to really work around what I saw and have some faith in the coaching staff.

The Good

1) Malcolm Brown and Justin Davis top this list. If Gurley has issues or gets injured, I’m thinking we’re in capable hands.

2) Josh Reynolds … I am giving him a mulligan on the ball coming out of the sun. Until they play in the coliseum more they’re not going to know where it’s going to be. Holding onto that hit from McCoil (Who I loved coming out of Tulsa) and then a few plays later beating someone deep … that’s what I know from Texas A and M from him.

3) Eldrenkamp. I know it’s weird to put him here, but I keyed on him this game and was really happy with his play. He seemed to move with ease and have light feet, but then arrive with a solid foundation.

4) Casey Sayles. I was watching Omarius Bryant, and so of course Sayles had multiple stuffs during that time frame. I don’t know if he makes the roster, but I hope he sticks on the PS.

5) Very few penalties. I remember the years with Fisher in the PS … flag festivals.

6) The Playcalling the first drive …

7) Goff’s pass to Brown under pressure.

8) Jordan … I don’t know how Webster starts over him with so few preseason reps. He engages with strength with those long arms and arrives angry … I’m a fan.

9) Josh Forrest has played well enough to start above Littleton IMO. I’d have him as the primary backup ILB.

10) Isaiah johnson has had a good PS … he’s not spectacular, but solid. I haven’t keyed on his STeams so if anyone has info there I’d love to hear it. Because we have 2 cover safeties we can and will likely keep 5 I’d think.

11) Another solid outing from McRoberts.

12) Best showing for Woods so far.

13) Hatfield’s aggro INT. I’ll remember his name now.

The Bad

14) Jamon Brown heads this list … I can’t believe Wichmann hasn’t beaten him out.

15) Countess … all game got beat.

16) Cooper’s gator arms when Jatavis Brown was about to light him up.

17) Joyner … did he not know he was guarding a speedster?

18) The ball Jared threw. I don’t know if it came out of his hand wrong, or if someone wasn’t in the right spot. Or both.

19) The Ball security when you have Bosa bearing down on you. You have to know one of the best in the biz is coming at you … at least enough to protect the possession in scoring range. I’m not going to dismiss the good things he did because he had a rough game or get all negative … as I’ve been watching him since he was a freshman at Cal.

20) Mannion staring down receivers. He’s a backup. He’s not a bad backup … but if he stares down receivers in the regular season should something happen to Goff it’s going to be pick 6 city.