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znModeratorI can't believe I missed this when it happened.
When the Chargers signed Sebastian Joseph-Day to an $8M APY contract that they terminated via this tweet, it created a 5th round 2023 compensatory pick for their intrastadium rival in the Rams.
LAR drafted this guy with that pick: https://t.co/afhgzb3rP9 pic.twitter.com/NJBRVbM4Se
— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) December 24, 2023
znModeratorPuka Nacua shows why he’s in Offensive ROY conversation in prime time as Rams keep rolling
Jourdan Rodrigue
INGLEWOOD, Calif — There weren’t many people out there left for rookie receiver Puka Nacua to surprise, but he blew the doors off his prime-time moment anyway.
Nacua, who finished the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-22 win Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints with a career-high 164 receiving yards (180 total scrimmage yards), is now just 146 yards away from matching Bill Groman’s all-time rookie receiving record (1,473 yards). Nacua is squarely in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, or he should and likely will be because any pundit with a pulse was watching him jet-sweep around defensive linemen and shake off defensive backs and stretch for catches and block down on safeties in the run game all night.
“He’s outstanding,” coach Sean McVay said after the game. “I could not be more grateful for the contributions … you guys have seen it week in and week out. You talk about that (run/pass) balance, you can’t have that balance if you don’t have receivers who are willing to dig out support and do some of the things that he does. You see around the league, (Houston Texans quarterback C.J.) Stroud has had a great year, but this guy … he would get my vote. He’s really special.
“But the best part about him is, he doesn’t worry about those things. He worries about being a great teammate.”
That the 164 receiving yards and a touchdown — the latter of which was on the Rams’ game-opening fourth-and-goal from the 2 — is just a yard better than Nacua’s Week 4 game against the Colts, or just 10 yards better than his Week 7 game against the Steelers is a reminder that Nacua has been doing this all … dang … year … whether people were watching the games the entire time, or still cracking jokes about the general anonymity of the Rams’ 2023 roster.
The fact is, the Rams went from a team nobody knew to a team nobody wants to play.
Memorable moments for Nacua on Thursday night included a 17-yard catch on third-and-6 on the Rams’ 14-play, 95-yard opening drive. He added a 28-yard catch in the second quarter, 10 yards of which came after the catch, and a 41-yarder in the third. Nacua accounted for six of the Rams’ 10 most productive plays.
He is also growing in the little details each week. He went from the zone-beating first read of Matthew Stafford in an historically productive start to the season (filling in for longtime star Cooper Kupp) to a receiver who has moves — like, NFL moves such as long speed on vertical routes or the little shoulder shakes and ankle-breaking pivots that help shake and spin around defenders for more yards after the catch. A third-and-1 that gained 29 yards down the sideline, 19 of which were with the ball in Nacua’s hands, showed how far he has come in just a short time (and from an already impressive start).
The Rams have a 72 percent shot at the playoffs now, according to the New York Times tracker. Nacua is a huge reason for that, but not just because of his production. He also embodies an energy so many Rams players on this roster also carry, young or old. They are present. They are too focused on the work at hand — “work works,” McVay says, as I wrote earlier this year — to go anywhere but forward, because that is where their collective growth is carrying them. Some of them don’t know any better than to be wholly present. Some, like McVay and even Stafford, have re-discovered that as “grizzled” veterans.
“I’m taking (steps) right there with them,” Stafford said. “Every year is a building process. Sometimes you do it different than other years. This year is different than all the other years I’ve played. But it’s fun to go to work with these guys, (and) fun to watch everyone come together, pull for each other, work hard.”
There are still a few key matters to clean up, that have almost — almost, but not quite — done the Rams in over the last few weeks and even throughout the season.
Kicker Lucas Havrisik keeps missing field goals. Between Havrisik and other kickers the Rams have rolled without direction through their roster in 2023, they are leading the NFL in missed field goals and at the bottom in special teams DVOA. Thursday night, it was a missed 47-yard attempt that gave the Saints the ball at their 37-yard line. They scored their first touchdown of the day three plays later. Another special teams gaffe set up another all-too-easy score that made the game a little too close for comfort. With 4:40 left in the game and the Rams up 30-14, rookie punter Ethan Evans had his punt chipped and the Saints got the ball back at the Los Angeles 35-yard line. They scored a touchdown, and then converted a two-point try, just two plays later.
“I’m always concerned with things that we can improve upon,” McVay said. “We got to look at it, we got to be honest with ourselves in terms of the totality of what occurred. There are so many moving parts on every single snap, and we’re interested in being solution-oriented. So, there’s going to be some things that we’ll look at (and) clean up.”
The defense had held New Orleans to 14 points until that late fourth-quarter drive, including two punts, three turnovers on downs and an interception in their nine drives not including kneeldowns. The touchdown also drew a rare (though still delicate) comment toward the officials from McVay, because Cobie Durant’s jersey and arm appeared to get pulled during the touchdown catch by A.T Perry. Regardless of any possible missed call, twice in five days (and a couple more times this season), the Rams have broken down in one phase or another in late moments. That won’t fly in the postseason. It certainly can’t fly wide left.
“We sure make it interesting, don’t we?” McVay said with a dry smile. “Defensively, we played really well. It was a big turnover by (safety) Jordan Fuller, and then we gave up some stuff at the end that we’ve got to clean up and there’s a lot of things that we can certainly improve on special teams.”
But Nacua — along with a cast that included Stafford and Kupp, who are always cool at the right moment, dependable gains in key situations from Kyren Williams, who crossed the 1,000 rushing yards mark Thursday with 104 yards on 22 carries and an 82-yard/one-touchdown effort from receiver Demarcus Robinson — took matters into his own hands to ice out the victory with the kind of decisiveness usually more present in players with much more experience.
Nacua fell on the Saints’ onside kick attempt after their two-point conversion — “in the moment, every alarm in my body and my brain is going off,” he said — and then carried a handoff around the left side and up the field for a conversion just on the front side of the two-minute warning, staying in-bounds so that New Orleans had nothing else to help it on the other side. They had no remaining timeouts, while the Rams had a fresh set of downs.
“Great catch on the onside kick, and physical run,” said Stafford, “which was awesome. … He stayed up, stayed in bounds. Did all the right stuff.”
Stafford said it so casually, as if that level of awareness and execution is simply just the expectation of Nacua at this point.
Nacua, the fifth-round rookie receiver who doesn’t play like a rookie.
Who this season has gotten shoutouts from LeBron James and whose No. 17 jersey was worn by new Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani as he sat in Stan Kroenke’s suite Thursday night.
Who somehow keeps growing, keeps getting better and keeps inching closer to an all-time rookie receiving record that doesn’t even cross his mind.
“Definitely not,” said Nacua, when asked whether he could have pictured now being in reach of that high mark when he started his rookie season. “I was thinking about how would I be able to block well enough to get on the field, and if I was going to be a special teams player and how I was going to be able to figure that out.”
That is “it,” whatever you want to call it. That thing that Nacua has, that the players on this roster have whether they are on offense or defense, whether they are 10-year veterans or started the year as wide-eyed rookies.
And imagine what “it” — what he, what they all — can become next.
znModeratorMost sacked QBs this season:
Sam Howell – 59
Bryce Young – 51
Zach Wilson – 46
Russell Wilson – 40
CJ Stroud – 35
Justin Fields – 35
Tommy DeVito – 35— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) December 24, 2023
znModeratorramsman34
The DeVito factor is real. 64.4% completion rate – 1032 yd – 8 td/3 int. Very mobile and willing to run. Take this team lightly and you will get embarrassed. They have Saquon. They have Darren Waller. They have talent.’
It’s in NY and it will be cold. Kicking the ball there will be a greater challenge than it already is in general.
Rams need to be locked in. Hopefully they get healthy and work on the deep ball coverage issues and STs issues between now and then. Even though they technically have from yesterday until Tuesday off. I am sure the coaches are still working on those issues, schematically and personnel wise. Man that’s a long time to wait for another Rams game.
znModeratorat first i was all for bringing back dotson. but i’m actually wondering now if they should just let him go. re-sign jackson for sure. witherspoon too. robinson and shelton – i guess it depends on what kind of contract they would command. but i’d want to see if i could snag a big time fa on defense rather than all on dotson, robinson, and shelton. maybe bring shelton and let dotson and robinson go. draft or sign an under the radar wr. draft or sign an under the radar olineman.
What happened was, over.the.cap was estimating the cap to be higher in 2024, and then they had to revise their estimation. 2024 will not take as huge a leap in terms of cap space as many were expecting.
But then as you point out, that just means the Rams have to make some solid choices–they can still add to this team.
Here’s what they were good at in 2023 and it’s not hard to assume they can keep being good at it.
- Draft picks. They have 11 in 2024. They could trade down and get a couple more. I wonder if they had a self-assessment on the personnel side of the office too, to go along with McVay’s self-assessment and changes. Avila is the best 2nd round pick in the entire McSnead era. If this is the case, then maybe we can heavily count on what a new 1st and 2nd rounder will bring. They’ve always been good at lower round drafting.
- “Ronin”. They absolutely hit on very good players other teams cut (Witherspoon, Robinson) or bargain-traded (Dotson). They can always churn up more surprises this way. Plus, this is a coaching/culture thing too. For example, it’s possible that Ryan Wendell is the best OL coach they’ve had in a long time, and they have had some good ones.
- High market free agency? They have some choices to make between keeping their own and adding someone new, but hopefully they re-assessed things after the disastroous signing of Alan Robinson in 2022 and they can make something work here.
- The 2023 draft and signings. Draft picks usually don’t do a lot as rookies. Many did in 2023, partly because they were just plain handed the opportunity, but then you have to wonder who hasn’t stepped up yet. Who else do they have? Bennett? Hampton? Tomlinson? Mathis? Johnson? For that matter– from 2022, Bruss? Durant? Someone who isn’t even on our radar yet?
- They’re more experienced. An extension of the last point. Think of the team before and then after the bye and how much progress they made. Well they can make even more before the 24 season. An example of this–no matter how good Nacua and Williams have been, both did have young player mistakes in 23. Remember Wms setting up an INT because he looked at the defense before looking the ball into his hands? 2 fumbles in one game? And Nacua has drops, blocking mistakes where he was out of position, and he’s actually not yet a consistently good route runner (believe it or not). So who else will refine their game some more during this off-season and coming summer? Jackson? Alvila? Allen? Zach Evans? Lake?
znModeratorznModeratorAmong the other traits we’ve been discussing w/ KW–it’s the jump cuts in the backfield too.
Anyway. Just thought I would put a bunch of Wms comments in one place:
I know everyone knows all this but I like finding the words for it. Namely: Williams’s superpower is in his play from handoff or pitch to hitting the LOS. Beyond the LOS he’s pretty strong for his size, has top contact balance, and is a fiercely determined straightline runner. He has those things but not the elusiveness, speed, size, or power. I mean he’s not just “a guy” in that respect but he does not have those things at the superpower level. His real magic is in those steps before he hits the LOS–vision, reads, instincts, anticipation, burst, smarts.
If you took away Steven Jackson’s body, with its size and strength and speed, you’d be left with his internal essence of determined will. In other words. Kyren Williams.
I’m just astonished at how he quick-slithers through traffic, and then bursts.
Williams and Nakua are, like, all-pros at this point. Seriously. Amazing.
In some ways Williams is the most interesting/fun RB to watch/analyze in a long time.
Im not sure i can remember a rb quite like him.
And my lord what a difference he makes. Combined with the new OLine and the new blocking scheme. I mean, some of these drives in the last few games have been glorious. The whipsawing. The physical nature of the running. The way the defenses are kept off balance.
And. Consistency, as IR says. A model self-maximizer, as BT says.
i would just add about kyren. first of all i agree. it’s the vision and instincts and burst and decisiveness that standout about williams. and i agree he doesn’t have elite size and speed and strength. it’s probably why he’ll never have any one play that just jumps out like todd gurley would regularly break out. but he’s just so unbelievably consistent. like a metronome. and it makes this offense run so much smoother. gurley didn’t have that level of instinct and vision.
Williams is a keeper. Great vision and contact balance. Makes a ton of good decisions on the fly, and tacklers miss him going through the hole. Lacks home run speed, but the Rams don’t really need him to do that. That’s just a bonus when it’s there. But I do think he can continue to give the Rams a lot of chunk plays . . . six, eight, twelve yards and a cloud of dust. Gurley was a legit track guy, like Dickerson. They had it all. Like Sayers, Bo Jackson, Jim Brown, Sanders, Faulk, etc. Sometimes, though, the truly elite backs don’t always work on the little stuff, and backs with fewer athletic gifts, like Williams, do. Strikes me as “natural” that the naturally gifted rely more on those gifts, and the players without them, if they have serious want-to, compensate enough to almost make up for it.
Maurice Jones-Drew
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-rb-index-week-13-three-running-backs-who-can-save-their-teams-seasons?campaign=Twitter_atn
.
Kyren Williams
Los Angeles RamsThe Rams have re-designed their run game to rush more downhill, which fits what Kyren Williams did at Notre Dame. It’s no surprise the second-year back is finding success behind a much-improved offensive line. Williams, who has great vision, burst and contact balance, is continuing to get better as the season progresses. After missing four games with an ankle injury, Williams had his best performance Sunday with a career-high 204 scrimmage yards in the win. He was phenomenal, making big gains with his legs and as a pass-catcher on screen plays. This is what the Rams need from their RB1.
znModeratorBobby Brown III high energy cheering.
.
.@bobbyiii5 on the mic is truly the gift that keeps on giving! 😂💙 pic.twitter.com/ddlw0qcYXb
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 23, 2023
znModeratorHere they discuss the Rams at 2:28 in.
…
znModeratorKyren Williams’ best runs from 113-yard game
znModeratorVideo of released Israeli hostages saying Hamas protected them with their bodies when Israel shelled them. Strange, I thought they wanted to kill all Jews as self victimized Zionists claim.
Reminder Israel rescued ZERO Israeli hostages in 78 days but killed 25,000 Palestinians.
— 🫒Dismantle the whole thing 🍉 (@nada_chehade_) December 23, 2023
znModeratorfrom https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2023/12/23/24013335/rams-offensive-line-steve-avila-kevin-dotson
Back in June, Pro Football Focus ranked the Rams offensive line as the 28th best unit in the NFL. As recently as midseason rankings done in November, The 33rd Team’s Maxx Forde ranked them 30th.
Dalton Miller from Pro Football Network just ranked the Rams offensive line as the 11th best group in the NFL and PFF had them ranked 17th heading into Week 16.
DVOA has the Rams offensive line ranked sixth in the NFL in adjusted line yards. Adjusted line yards takes all running back carries and assigns responsibility to the offensive line.
znModeratorFree agency is not necessarily going to be the big gift many (including me) hoped for.
If they can unload Noteboom and Allen they can get up to 20 M more than the 40-something they will already have, but 60-something M isn’t going to be enough to land an impactful expensive FA plus sign all of the following Rams UFAs:
Witherspoon
Dotson
Robinson
SheltonPlus Jackson is an RFA
That list includes 3/5ths of their current OL.
The key will be the draft plus being smart again (as they were in 2023) about signing cuts, “ronin,” and bargain FAs. As for big signings–their own guys and/or a big market FA–they will have to be selective.
znModeratorBTW zn, I think that I take your game day work on this board for granted. I really like scrolling though everything you post here before and after games. It’s nice to have everything in one place. Thank you.
Ditto. zn makes this board what it is. Thanks.
Yes indeed, this is the place to be… thanks ZN
It’s an old habit from the Zine days–posting stuff, editing things. Glad you guys appreciate it. It’s a good community. I also enjoy our chat room. Watching a game while being in the chat room with old friends seems like 2 naturally linked activities.
znModeratorPARAM
Saints game
McVay called that great 95 yard TD drive to start the game. That was a huge statement right out of the gate. The Saints’ defense hadn’t allowed a TD their last 2 games.
znModeratorfrom Best 2023 NFL rookies: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39090951/10-best-2023-nfl-rookies-ranking-first-years-cj-stroud-jalen-carter
4. Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams
If the next two guys behind you in reception totals are Travis Kelce (80) and Davante Adams (76), you’re having a top-tier season. Nacua is on track to break the NFL’s single-season record for catches by a rookie (Jaylen Waddle with 104 in 2021).
Nacua is ranked ninth in the NFL in yards after the catch (437), too. If he keeps up his current volume, he could threaten the greatest statistical rookie seasons ever at the position.
znModeratorDecember 23, 2023 at 12:41 am in reply to: praise for Stafford after TNF (definitive article posted 1/9) #147854znModeratorMatthew Stafford’s last 5 games:
🐏 1,388 passing yards
🐏 14 passing touchdowns
🐏 1 interception
🐏 114.6 passer ratingThe @RamsNFL QB is balling. pic.twitter.com/Y8RdJG7CLg
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) December 22, 2023
znModerator"I think they're the most dangerous team in the league right now, next to the 49ers." 🔥@BaldyNFL on the surging Rams pic.twitter.com/LtLV4rCfc1
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) December 23, 2023
December 23, 2023 at 12:36 am in reply to: praise for Stafford after TNF (definitive article posted 1/9) #147852znModeratorMatthew Stafford has 4 games with a 90+ PFF grade this season.
Only Dak Prescott has more among QBs 👀 pic.twitter.com/lC59tZaGIl
— PFF (@PFF) December 22, 2023
December 23, 2023 at 12:35 am in reply to: comics, jokes, one-shot memes, funny tweets, etc. #147851znModeratorJoe Rogan is trending for this again basically 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/umHz3NhhuS
— Quadcarl (@quadcarl_carl) December 22, 2023
December 23, 2023 at 12:22 am in reply to: praise for Stafford after TNF (definitive article posted 1/9) #147848znModeratorMatthew Stafford’s thumbprints are all over Rams’ resurgence and win over Saints
Sam Farmer
Matthew Stafford wasn’t a quarterback on this play but a receiver.
He stood in the Rams locker room in the immediate aftermath of a 30-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints, and coach Sean McVay, hoarse and striding back and forth, tossed game balls to the most impactful players.
Finally, the coach held a ball high over his head and announced: “Wouldn’t want anyone else in the world leading us,” and flipped an underhand pass to Stafford as the team erupted.
With 14 touchdowns and one interception in the last five games, Stafford looks so relaxed and precise in finding his targets, he might as well have a dart in one hand and a pint in the other.
“Just the throws he makes, we’re just on the sideline like, ‘How did he do it?’ ” Rams safety John Johnson III said. “With a flick of the wrist, he makes it look effortless. You give him time back there, he’ll dot up any team in the league.”
The Saints came into the game with a good pass defense and more breakups than any team in the NFL. Of course, the best quarterbacks they had faced to this point were Trevor Lawrence and Jared Goff. Those guys are good, but Stafford is at a different level.
“People don’t understand how much he was pushing through with the thumb,” McVay said, referring to the injury on Stafford’s throwing hand that sidelined him for 1½ games. “But this guy is a stud. He elevates everybody, myself included. He’s playing outstanding.”
With two games remaining and the playoffs within reach, the Rams need sturdy performances from Stafford at the New York Giants and at San Francisco to tighten their grip on an NFC wild-card berth.
Amazing how far this team has come. It was only a few months ago that outsiders were speculating that, in this rebuilding year, the Rams should just tank the season so they could draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
Now, McVay has assembled a remarkable coaching season, and Stafford has forced his way into the most-valuable-player conversation, though quarterbacks Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson also have made compelling cases.
Remember the kerfuffle at the beginning of the season when people wondered if the 35-year-old Stafford might have problems relating to his younger teammates? His wife raised the topic on her podcast, and the quarterback laughed it off.
That certainly hasn’t been a problem. The Rams are among the youngest teams in the league, and two of their most impactful offensive contributors are rookie receiver Puka Nacua and second-year running back Kyren Williams. Stafford looks as if he’s been playing with them for years.
“He’s raising these youngsters up,” said Stafford’s former left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, who was at Thursday night’s game in his new role as an Amazon Prime color analyst.
“I actually sent him a text at about midseason. I was here for a game, and I knew a play didn’t go the way it was supposed to, and I saw him come on the sideline and saw how angry he was. Instead of lashing out, there was this moment where he sat down for a second and you could see his body language. He took a deep breath, set his helmet down and he walked over and put his arm around the kid and was gentle.
“When I see Matthew right now, I think he’s having the most fun being the big brother. He’s kind of the steady guy that they can all lean on for a million different reasons. And in the games, he gets to watch their energy and passion, and he gets to feed off of that.”
A video went viral last week of Stafford and his wife, Kelly, posing for a photo with their four young daughters, and the quarterback answered a question about that after Thursday’s game.
The youngest of the girls advised the quarterback: “Daddy, have a good game. Don’t get tackled.”
“It’s a special time in my life,” he said. “To be able to do what I get to do still, play at a high level and have them understand what’s going on and to watch and cheer. Obviously, my youngest is pretty dialed in, telling me not to get hit — she’s a smart girl.
“I love getting to see them before games down on the sideline and then wave to them after we play. It’s a whole lot of fun.”
It’s clear that Stafford is enjoying himself, with a chance to extend the type of season few people envisioned. Sure, he’s in the back half of his career, but his play lately has been ageless.
znModeratorRams’ 2023 Rookie Class Keeps Rolling in One-Sided Win Over Saints
Los Angeles was prepared for a “retooling” year, but already finds itself well ahead of schedule because of an immediately impactful group first-year players.
GILBERTO MANZANOhttps://www.si.com/nfl/2023/12/22/rams-rookie-class-keeps-rolling-thursday-night-football-win-saints
Cooper Kupp had a rough opening half vs. the New Orleans Saints, with a few drops in the end zone and miscommunication with Matthew Stafford. But the Los Angeles Rams still went into the locker room up double digits Thursday night.
Last season, the Rams probably would have been down by 10 points, searching for their first touchdown and in need of healthy offensive linemen.
But these Rams are different from the 5–12 team from last season. They’re also drastically different from the 3–6 squad earlier this year. The Rams (8–7) are rolling behind a red-hot offense and an underrated defense, as they defeated the Saints, 30–22, to get one step closer to returning to the postseason.
Sean McVay’s 2023 team is winning and scoring often for a multitude of reasons, including a revamped offensive line that has remained mostly healthy this season. (They had 12 different offensive line combinations in the first 13 games last season.)
But Stafford is playing like an MVP candidate—and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris will gain head-coaching attention in the offseason—primarily because of a sensational 2023 draft class that’s led by wide receiver Puka Nacua, Stafford’s new No. 1 target. L.A.’s offense took off after McVay made Nacua and second-year running back Kyren Williams the focal points of the offense, a unit that has scored 27 points or more in five consecutive games.
With Drew Brees sitting in a suite with Saints owner Gayle Benson at SoFi Stadium, I remembered how vital the 2017 New Orleans draft class was during the final years of Brees’s career. Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Marcus Williams, Trey Hendrickson and Alex Anzalone (Yeah, that draft class was loaded) helped Brees and then-coach Sean Payton gain a few more cracks at winning a second Super Bowl in New Orleans. They came up short, but they made the playoffs in 2017 after a three-year drought, and advanced to the postseason for four consecutive seasons before Brees retired after the ’20 campaign.
The Rams’ 2023 draft class could have that type of impact to possibly give Stafford, Kupp, McVay and Aaron Donald more opportunities to win a second Super Bowl in Los Angeles.
Along with Nacua, offensive guard Steve Avila, edge rusher Byron Young, defensive tackle Kobie Turner, and punter Ethan Evans have contributed as rookie starters this season. Even Davis Allen, a fifth-round pick, filled in admirably for Tyler Higbee when the veteran tight end missed the shootout against the Ravens two weeks ago.
The Rams’ opening drive Thursday was a perfect example of the immediate impact the rookies have provided in this second act for Stafford and McVay. Avila, the 2023 second-round pick, created running lanes for Williams, while Nacua, a ’23 fifth-round pick, quickly got open for Stafford. Nacua ended the night with nine catches for 164 yards and a touchdown and would probably be the front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year if it weren’t for Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.
With a balanced attack, McVay had the luxury of calling a variety of plays—14 to be exact on the opening touchdown drive that started on the Rams 5-yard line and ate nearly eight minutes off the clock. Four different pass-catchers caught at least one pass that went for 10 yards or more on the drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown reception to Nacua on fourth-and-goal.
Ol’ reliable Kupp could have closed the sensational opening drive, but dropped a pass in the end zone. He had a second drop in the end zone that led to the Rams taking a 10–0 advantage after a 20-yard field goal from Lucas Havrisik—another rookie, who went undrafted out of Arizona.
In Kupp’s defense, the two drops weren’t easy catches to make, especially the first one, with an awkward angle. But that’s what makes these new-look Rams dangerous offensively. The 2021 Offensive Player of the Year doesn’t need to do the heavy lifting, which was the case last season before Kupp had a season-ending ankle injury.
The 2022 Rams were boring and predictable as a one-man show with Kupp. The ’23 Rams are far from boring, with the trio of Kupp, Nacua and Williams, and many other options for Stafford, who has played as well as any other quarterback in the league the past month. Demarcus Robinson, the former Chiefs and Ravens wide receiver, has stepped up as a reliable third option for Stafford. Robinson feasted Thursday night, with Nacua and Kupp getting the bulk of the attention.
These Rams might be a top-five offense in the NFL, a development that transpired after the 3–6 start. But let’s not overlook the work Morris has done with an inexperienced defense that was labeled as “Aaron Donald and a bunch of nobodies.”
Turner, a third-round pick, had a critical sack on fourth down during the first half against the Saints. Young, also a third-round selection, has provided consistent pressure, along with Michael Hoecht, a 2020 undrafted free agent that moved from defensive tackle to edge rusher last season. There’s also linebacker Ernest Jones and safety Jordan Fuller—two defenders who made notable plays Thursday night. And add cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to the list of quality, bargain free-agent finds for GM Les Snead, who should be in the mix for Executive of the Year. Offensive guard Kevin Dotson is another impactful newcomer—the veteran was acquired in a trade with the Steelers.
Snead kept calling this a retooling year, not a rebuild year after the Rams parted with Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd and many other notable veterans in the offseason. The Rams paid the tab on the salary-cap debt they accumulated to win the 2021 Super Bowl. Now they’re armed with $43 million in cap space next year, according to Overthecap.com.
These Rams are a year ahead of schedule thanks to an impactful 2023 draft class, and appear capable of making noise in the NFC postseason as a wild-card team. Once the postseason arrives, not many teams will want to face a team that has Super Bowl experience with a new crop of stars.
znModeratorznModeratorznModeratordo i think they will? i have a hard time imagining it. but this fo is known for doing some unconventional things.
Yeah it’s not an unreasonable argument by any means. And you guys (you and BT) make a valid case.
It’s just that fwiw, I’m just a bit more on the other side of the line on this one.
znModeratorAll the respect in the world to @Bigaj77. Remembering last year when he was vocal about offensive line changes and was confident in himself to be able to consistently man the LT position and protect Stafford’s blindside. Always been an underdog and grew into a true asset 💪 pic.twitter.com/3lEohivEOq
— Rams Brothers (@RamsBrothers) December 22, 2023
znModeratorKyren Williams…is averaging the third-most scrimmage yards in the league this season with 114.5, behind only Christian McCaffrey and Tyreek Hill, both of whom are in the MVP conversation.znModeratorBlaine Grisak @bgrisakTSTFor a second consecutive week, Ernest Jones was the Rams’ highest graded defender via PFF. He’s the best blitzing LB in the NFL. Led the Rams with 5 pressures. Also had a PBU. Big players show up in big time games. EJ showed up.znModeratorBlaine Grisak@bgrisakTST
Puka Nacua with a career-high 92.5 PFF grade. Also had a 92.1 run-blocking grade.Had 4.69 yards per route ran. Led the Rams with a 14.5 average depth of target. Somehow, he just keeps getting better.
J.B. Long@JB_Long
Notable PFF grades from @RamsNFL TNF win:Puka 92.5^
Jones 92.3*
Stafford 91.8*
Donald 90.6+
Hoecht 90.3^
Lake 89.2^
Dotson 89.1
Havenstein 87.1*
Robinson 82.1*
Turner 81.4^
Jackson 75.8
Shelton 75.7*Season-high
^Career-high
+Just another day at the office -
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