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znModeratorIt’s an uphill climb for the other NFC West teams in Week 7
But the Rams easily have the weakest opponent across the NFL’s Week 7 slate.
Chiefs at 49ers
The 3-3 San Francisco 49ers will host the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. These teams have matched up with in two Super Bowls, though KC has emerged as the winner in both games. This year’s Chiefs team feels less dangerous, though they are well coached and play exemplary situational football. Brock Purdy might be trying to do too much on his own. He’s living on razor’s edge where some of his biggest plays recently could reasonably have gone the other way for the defense.
Chargers at Cardinals
Who exactly are the Los Angeles Chargers this season? Jim Harbaugh’s team started 2-0 and there were a lot of rosy feelings about this team around the NFL. But the Chargers then lost two straight before winning a 23-16 cupcake matchup against the Denver Broncos this past weekend. At 3-2, LA’s wins have come against the Raiders, Carolina Panthers, and Denver.
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Still, the Arizona Cardinals are equally as enigmatic. Kyler Murray and the offense looked unstoppable in Week 2 against the Rams. They also took down the 49ers in a close game. Arizona is missing talent across their roster and is probably a year away from seriously competing in the NFC West, but to their credit they do have quality players at key positions.</p>
A win over the Chargers on Monday night would move Arizona to 3-4 on the season and put them squarely back in the divisional race.Seahawks at Falcons
The Seattle Seahawks are the only NFC West team on the road this weekend, and they’ll face a 4-2 Atlanta Falcons team that seems to be rounding into form. Atlanta’s two losses came against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chiefs, though they placed Pittsburgh in the season opener and Kirk Cousins’ first game back from his Achilles injury.
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Seattle is another hot and cold team, and it’s difficult to make heads or tails of their resume so far this season. They have wins over the Broncos, Patriots, and Dolphins. The loss that sticks out is a nine-point game against the New York Giants, though the Seahawks also came up short against the Detroit Lions and 49ers.
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The arrow seems to be pointed up for the Falcons while the Seahawks take care of business in winnable games but struggle against quality opponents. Seattle is in danger of falling to 3-4 and ceding ground to San Francisco in the lead for the NFC West.</p>
znModeratorJAKE ELLENBOGEN@JKBOGENCooper Kupp’s career in the red zone: 90 receptions 134 targets 661 yards 37 touchdowns He’s been the top receiving threat in the red zone for the #Rams in every season he’s been in the league except for 2018 (ACL Tear) , 2022 (Missed half the season) … Yes, even last year.znModeratorThe Jets pick up the remaining $11.59M of Davante Adams' 2024 salary (12/18ths of $16.89M 2024 base salary & $330,000 of roster bonuses-$30,000 per game for 11 games) in the trade. Raiders will have $15.7M in 2025 dead money instead of a $44.1M 2025 salary cap number for him. https://t.co/QbAGSnPvL7
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) October 15, 2024
znModeratorBREAKING: #Browns trading WR Amari Cooper to #Bills, sources tell @NFLonFOX. pic.twitter.com/UAKGTJIriX
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 15, 2024
znModeratorfrom PFF Grades: Who have been Rams’ top performers so far? — https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/10/15/24270474/rams-pff-grades-jared-verse-jordan-whittington?utm_medium=social&utm_content=turfshowtimes&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow
Top five grades on offense
1 – Jordan Whittington, WR: 76.8
Whittington had only five targets through the first three games, but over the last two games he was thrown 18 passes—catching 13 for 151 yards. He has 18 receptions for 201 yards on the season and should have a larger role as the season progresses.2 – Alaric Jackson, LT: 75.2
After missing the first two games due to suspension, Jackson has been a stable presence on the offensive line. Perhaps a coincidence, the running game with Kyren Williams instantly got better upon Jackson’s return. He has a run blocking grade of 79.6 that is third behind only Puka Nacua and Joe Noteboom. In pass protection Jackson has surrendered only two pressures despite tough matchups versus the Bears, 49ers, and Packers.3 – Ronnie Rivers, RB: 74.6
Rivers has 51 yards on 10 carries, though Blake Corum seemed to seize the backup role to Williams in the latest game versus Green Bay. The rotation in the backfield is something to keep an eye on moving forward.4 – Hunter Long, TE: 72.0
LA’s backup tight end has been oft-maligned since the team acquired his as part of the trade that sent Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins, though he’s been a useful utility player when healthy. Long is fourth in run blocking grade. The Rams heavily deployed two-TE sets against the 49ers and Long had his best game of the season with a 85.2 run blocking mark.5 – Cooper Kupp, WR: 71.7
Despite playing in only two games, Kupp is fifth on the Rams in receiving yards with 147. He also has only one of two touchdowns caught by receivers with the other belonging to Demarcus Robinson. Tutu Atwell was sixth in offensive grading and leads LA with 281 yards on 17 catches.Kupp could return as soon as this weekend’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Something work keeping an eye on is his average depth of target of 7.2 yards. This is even shorter than his down season in 2022 at 7.5. His average target came at a depth at 8.8 yards during his triple crown season in 2021.
Top five grades on defense
1 – John Johnson, DB: 90.7
We were seeing a resurgent performance from Johnson before he injured his shoulder in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. The safety posted an impressive 90.2 coverage grade during the opener in Detroit and recorded an interception of QB Jared Goff. Johnson could return as early as the Week 8 Thursday Night Football game and provide a much-needed veteran presence against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.2 – Jared Verse, OLB: 79.1
Verse is breaking through the “good for a rookie” chatter and is on the verge of earning status amongst the NFL’s top EDGE rushers. He’s posted an impressive 26.9% win rate and already recorded 20 through five games. Also encouraging is Verse’s 74.2 run defense grade that is tops for LA. We could talk about his tackling issues that date back to college, but I’ll instead choose to celebrate his early efforts.3 – Jaylen McCollough, DB: 77.8
The rookie UDFA has one of the defense’s top individual plays so far on the season with his pick-six of Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love. This play was, of course, started by pressure from Byron Young, but McCollough deserves credit for the heady play and ability to convert on a mistake by the offense.The rookie safety played 15 snaps in the most recent game against Green Bay and could have a larger role in store after the bye week. He’s someone to keep an eye on.
4 – Desjuan Johnson, DI: 74.2
Johnson has only made appearances against the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, though he’s seemed to make the most of his limited opportunities. The second-year lineman has played 27 snaps, though it’s noteworthy 23 of those have come against the run versus only four passing plays.5 – Kobie Turner, DI: 73.3
Turner hasn’t been as effective as he was as a rookie, though he just had his two best games of the season against the Chicago Bears and Packers where he posted defensive grades of 89.4 and 90.2. His run defense is trending upward after a shaky start to the year.znModeratorPretty even matchup: Rams and Raiders 25th both averaging 18 offensive points per game. Raiders 27th giving up 25.5, Rams 29th giving up 26.6…
— Rams Fans United (@RamsFansUnited) October 15, 2024
znModeratorShort sound-bite version
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znModeratorRams Bros.@RamsBrothersThe #Rams are 5.5pt favorites at home this weekend over the Raiders. Absolute must-win game, fully expecting the Rams to handle business coming out of the bye.znModeratorWyatt Miller@wymill07Jordan Whittington has been one the best separators in the NFL when facing man coverage (via @FantasyPtsData). It will be interesting to see how the Rams utilize that skill set with Cooper Kupp potentially back in the fold soon.znModeratori keep saying this, but i hope they find a way to keep stafford.
I don’t know, as I see it Stafford’s probably a Ram as long as he wants to be. Maybe another 2-3 years?
znModeratorState of the Rams coming off the bye, with comments on first birthdays, the playoff picture, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, pass protection and yes… Omar Speights. https://t.co/699Hkj9jAz
— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) October 15, 2024
znModeratorfiled under no effin' way… pic.twitter.com/8zjFGrJlDv
— roberto clemente (@rclemente2121) October 15, 2024
znModeratorJourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigueAsked Sean McVay today about changes Rams have already made in their secondary + whether other positions will see personnel changes coming out of the bye this week …long way of getting to “yes” in light of gamesmanship but that’s a yesznModeratorSarah Barshop@sarahbarshopSean McVay said he doesn’t expect to see WR Puka Nacua (PCL sprain) or OL Steve Avila (MCL sprain) practice this week. McVay said T Joe Noteboom (ankle) also has a big workout scheduled today and if that goes well, the Rams could think about starting his 21-day practice window..McVay said WR Cooper Kupp is “making good progress” and will have a big workout today that will help determine whether he can practice this week and ultimately whether he can play on Sunday against the Raiders.….McVay said Kupp’s workout Monday will determine what his availability looks like the remainder of the week and whether he’ll return this week from his ankle injury. Kupp will not practice Monday.
“He’s making good progress,” McVay said prior to Monday’s practice. “I’ll have an injury update in regards to how today goes for him. What does that affect? There is a possibility he could be ready this week. There’s also a possibility that he might not be ready. So today is a big day for him.”
McVay said Kupp “knows what it looks like to have his body in alignment with return to performance, not just return to play, and so we do want to be smart with that. McVay also noted the short turnaround with next week’s Thursday Night Football home game against the Vikings being a factor they weigh in that decision as well.
znModeratorBefore their bye, Rams QB Matthew Stafford was asked if it came at a good time for 1-4 team. “I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see.”https://t.co/dtImYCik2C
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) October 14, 2024
znModeratorSam Farmer@LATimesfarmer
Disturbing situation here in Denver, with Jim Harbaugh leaving for the locker room after stopping in the blue medical tent before kickoff, and John Harbaugh cutting short his postgame news conference in Baltimore to check on his brother.znModeratorAn ugly injury for Aidan Hutchinson. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/J25cNqgdPd
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 13, 2024
znModeratorFrank Schwab@YahooSchwabHard to believe, but in NFL history, it has never happened that QBs go 1-2 in the draft and both become stars. Well, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels sure look like they’re changing that history.znModeratorPenn State just threw a Double Pass to the Center pic.twitter.com/EvcNXu35II
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) October 12, 2024
znModerator3rd & 1, Packers expecting a run. Looks like the Rams are running Duo Insert (with Whittington motioning in as the insert man).
At the snap it all looks like Duo & the Packers look to fill the gaps, but Whittington releases into a wide open space.
Beautiful design. pic.twitter.com/QOelLvWOch— Dusty (@DustyEvely) October 12, 2024
znModeratorroberto clemente@rclemente2121
stafford
pass tds through first 5 games of the season:13 2011
12 2021*
10 2016, 2018
9 2017, 2019, 2020
8 2013
6 2014, 2015
5 2022*, 2023*
4 2012
3 2009, 2024** rams
znModeratorPFF LA Rams@PFF_RamsKobie Turner among IDL the past two weeks:91.1 PFF grade (2nd)
91.0 run defense grade (2nd)
7 stops (T-2nd)
2.0 sacks (T-4th)znModeratorJim Youngblood 53@53_jim70721Jones was not in future plans. Something did put Jones in doghouse. Snead did intimate Speights was in the plan. We don’t know when or if he will be ready. When Speights is ready he will play. Maybe bye week was plan all along..But in mean time the run defense is worst in NFL and worst in Rams history..As I said, Jones trade seemed like something other than a football move..I can see people saying Ernest Jones was someone to not keep long-term. But this nonsense about him being trash or washed or that he’s mid. Or that Rams D would still stink with him in LA. Get real.znModeratorWhen can Rams expect injured players to return after bye week?
While the Week 6 bye week for the Los Angeles Rams could have been seen as coming too early before the season, it likely came at the perfect time. For a team that has dealt with a lot of injuries, they will be looking to get healthier out of the bye week. NFL teams can designate up to eight players to return. The Rams used one on Darious Williams and another on Larrell Murchison, meaning that they have six left. With players like Puka Nacua, Steve Avila, and Jonah Jackson all on injured reserve, those will likely go very quickly. Let’s take a look at the Rams injured players and when they can be expected back.
WR Cooper Kupp
The Rams played in smart with Cooper Kupp when it comes to not putting him on injured reserve. Had the Rams placed Kupp on injured reserve after Week 2, he would have had to miss four games, not four weeks. That would have put the wide receiver out until Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings.It’s possible that Kupp is still out against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7, but now he’ll at least be able to in the case that he is ready. Said McVay last Monday before the bye week,
“Here’s what I would say, that is something that in an ideal world, yeah, he’s ready to go. He had some specific work that he was doing with over the last couple days and we were planning on visiting with him but the Raiders was always an optimistic target date based on a few weeks back that we had set, but by no means is that guaranteed.”
It’s possible that McVay has some gamesmanship with Kupp’s status next week to keep his status up in the air. However, according to Adam Schefter’s report, the Rams were planning to have Kupp back for the Raiders game.
Target Return: Week 7 vs. Raiders
WR Puka Nacua
After Kupp is where things get a lot dicier for the Rams injuries. That’s the case when it comes to Nacua as there isn’t a firm date on when he’ll be back. When Nacua re-injured his PCL, there was a 5-7 week timetable given. However, McVay said last week,“Just really what specifically in his knee was aggravated and the typical timeline that is usually accompanied with that. Based on his feedback and his rehab, there was always kind of a target date that they had tentatively set on when he could get back and we’ll see if we’re exactly on that. It was really the nature of the injury and the significance of that sprain to the particular ligament that we’re talking about.”
Based off of that, it doesn’t seem like Nacua will be back for the Raiders game which would be the five week mark. The Rams would like to remain optimistic for Nacua’s return against the Vikings the next week. We’re probably looking at the Vikings or Seahawks game here for Nacua’s return at the earliest. The Seahawks game in Week 9 would put him around the seven week mark for recovery.
Target Return: Week 8 vs. Vikings OR Week 9 @ Seahawks
iOL Steve Avila
The estimated timeline for a MCL injury is six weeks, but the Rams may play it safe with Avila given how important he is to their success moving forward. Before leaving for the bye week, McVay said that Avila was making good progress but wasn’t sure about the timeline for his return. The Rams head coach also noted that it would be a couple more weeks.Ideally, Avila is also back for the Week 8 matchup against the Vikings. That would put him at around the 6.5 week mark. However, the Rams could also keep him out an extra week to make sure he is good to go for the rest of the season.
Target Return: Week 8 vs. Vikings OR Week 9 @ Seahawks
iOL Jonah Jackson
Jackson fractured his scapula following the loss the Detroit Lions. This was the same injury that he suffered in training camp. Nothing was said about Jackson before the bye, meaning he could still be a few weeks away at minimum. The Rams offensive lineman will be eligible to return for the Raiders game, but will likely miss more time.
A fractured scapula can take 6-12 weeks to heal. Week 8 against the Vikings would meet the six week mark. Something more realistic would be the Seahawks game or later. Jackson bruised his ccapula in early August and missed the entire preseason. Given the history of the injury, the Rams could play it safe.
Target Return: Week 8 vs. Vikings BUT probably a week or two later
Tyler Higbee
Not much has been said about when or if Tyler Higbee will return this season. Depending on the recovery process, the timeline is typically around 8-12 months. It’s worth noting that Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams tore his ACL at Alabama prior to his rookie season in early January. The Lions kept Williams out until December.We are currently at about the nine month mark on Higbee’s injury. If the Rams tight end was only a few weeks away from returning, it’s likely something would have been said at this point. Higbee may not get back on the field until December and if he waits that long, coming back following the mini-bye after the 49ers game on December 12 could make sense. That would make his first game back against the New York Jets on December 22 and back for the final three games. This is still very TBD, but the guess here is that Higbee doesn’t return until December.
Target Return: TBD but potentially December
Others
John Johnson III
Much like Jackson, Johnson is also out 4-6 weeks with a fractured scapula. Johnson was put on IR after Week 2 and will be eligible to come off after the Raiders game. That would be five weeks since his injury.Target Return: Week 8 vs. Vikings
Larrell Murchison
The Rams took Murchison off of injured reserve before the bye week, but he immediately broke his foot. Murchison could return for the Miami Dolphins, but could miss more time if the Rams opt to designate him to come back.Target Return: TBD
Joe Noteboom
Last and certainly not least is Joe Noteboom. Noteboom would be eligible to return for the Raiders game coming out of the bye. The Rams offensive lineman suffered a high ankle injury in Week 1. The Rams could designate Noteboom to return next week, but it will all depend on where he’s at in his recovery.
Target Return: Week 7 vs. Raiders OR laterznModeratorPeople forget, or took for granted how Ernest Jones could find the ball
sure, DL does good job on gap-1/2, but Jones still has to the G-T QB power — good job all around pic.twitter.com/eatgKxG3UN
— Jim Youngblood 53 (@53_jim70721) October 12, 2024
znModeratorRams Bros.@RamsBrothers
Rams are #1 overall in Rushing Success Rate (per @NFLPlus), in front of Kansas City and Baltimore.znModeratorStafford9@LAR9MS
The Matthew Stafford slander is funny to me.
No starting WR1
No starting WR2
No starting TE1
No starting Center
No starting LG
Defense that’s allowing 25-30 a game.The Rams games are going to change after the bye. We’re going to have one hell of an offense when they return.
@speed_kills@speedk1lls
I love Stafford but he’s had a chance to win 3 of those 4 losses that young defense has gotten him the ball to close or try and win the game in each. He pulled it off against the Niners but the red zone failures cost them in the others. It’s like he’s back in Detroit againStafford has a lot of stats but he needs to win more to be considered one of the greats. I mean Manning, Brady, yes even Rodgers.
znModerator"He does not play like a rookie. The moment isn't too big for him."@shannonsharpe says Jayden Daniels is having a better rookie season than C.J. Stroud 😤 pic.twitter.com/kG1w4UcJNT
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 11, 2024
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Tony Holzman-Escareno@FrontOfficeNFLJayden Daniels is the first player in @nfl history with 1,000+ pass yards and 250+ rush yards in his first 5 career games..Highest percentage of drives ending in points through the first 5 games of a season in the last 3 decades…2000 Rams – 63.6 (Kurt Warner)
2024 Commanders – 63.0 (Jayden Daniels)
2007 Colts – 58.0 (Peyton Manning)
2013 Broncos – 57.4 (Peyton Manning)
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Dante Koplowitz-Fleming@DanteKopFlemThe Commanders are the first team since the 1970 merger to score 150+ points in their first five games of the season while starting a rookie QB Jayden Daniels is leading Washington to 30+ points per game so far this seasonznModerator.@byron_97 has been playing MEAN. 😤
📺 More highlights on https://t.co/m9oFPQ096a pic.twitter.com/8nIghqbPTw
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 11, 2024
znModeratorPFF LA Rams@PFF_Rams
Ranking every defensive line in the NFL ahead of Week 6:
8. Los Angeles Rams -
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