Good luck running on these guys 😤@Andy_Benoit ranks the top nine on-ball run defenders in the NFL and @camjordan94 grabs the top spot 💪 pic.twitter.com/27FLPQjzsQ

— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) August 2, 2023

So Ram

8/1

QB take- I didn’t look at who was who.Matthew Stafford did not suit up.
I knew Bennett was 13. I know Rypien is like ??? Don’t know much about The Rams other QB.
Don’t know why I didn’t bother,but it is a new QB group.

—Stenson Bennett was outstanding.He took ownership of The Rams offense.
1. Seriously comfortable in the pocket.He keeps his eyes downfield,goes through his progression,& lives for another down,but keep’s pressure on the defense.
2.He brought back what a WINNER he is.That game against Ohio State was one of the most amazing games from a QB ever.He Carried Georgia on his back.
3.Don’t think there is much more,but he has a little Baker Mayfield in him.Meaning he can make all the throws.Wolford & Perkins couldn’t.
The other QB’s were ok ??(Run game).
—Matthew Stafford showed up basically after practice? Fans were going CRAZY!! The kids were going CRAZY.I don’t know if he was signing autographs?? There is a line & each day different groups come out to sign.

TE – have to bring up Tyler Higbee. Then his twin brother Brycen Hopkins.These guys are WEAPONS & nightmare matchups in The Red Zone.

The Rams finished off practice just dominating on OFFENSE!!
Hopkins & Higbee couldn’t be stopped & he’s Cooper Kupp always has to be brought up when talking unstoppable.

The first TD HOPKINS had Tomlinson was guarding him. I think he even hit him before the ball got there.NO ONE WAS going to STOP Hopkins. DUDE is DIALED IN IMPRESSIVE.I’m like JACKED UP!! Mcvay was as well.He came up to Hopkins & then Threw it right back to him for another TD!! PRACTICE ENDS!!

#83 is a big guy & looked good in warmup’s.He did a drill though with a Dummy & just ate it.He ran it over,but actually he probably went about it right & would have maybe drew a PI?
Niko K was interesting to watch.

The drills WR/TE Ben Sko on one side & then Kupp on the other side. Then Hopkins & Higbee.
I swear it was cool to see the similarities. PERFECT MENTORSHIP!!! Sko & Hopkins have really improved their game. It shows year (Sko )& 4 (Hopkins)

. BEN SKO- what a STUD!! I could have gotten band from here because I was so down on him.
I WAS WRONG!!! From first training camp to NOW Ben Sko just continues to WaoRak HARD & IMPROVE his GAME!! You can see that.

RB’s Cam Akers is finding holes inside.His hood vision & stays low.At the end of practice he ran for a 3 yard TD. His running ias consistent.He doesn’t do that run after the whistle thing.Didn’t see any really if those long plays from him either.
—I don’t know how else I can say it but POWER.The Rams whole concept is POWER & Protect.This Mike Lefluer has what he wants to do laid out.This OFFENSE is DESIGNED To RUN.
— Rivers is a nice young RB.There was a play he got to the 5 yards line. I’m Saying POWER &!that’s what he was.He had at least a CB & LB trying to STOP him & his feet didn’t STOP & carried them in the Endzone.This kid 30 is going to make the team.I LIKE ME SOME RONNIE RIVERS.In blocking drills he is SOLID!!
Tiyon Evans???? #27 ???
Zach Evans #21 is still raw,but the effort is there.He is such a straight up RB.I have to question if he makes the squad.Looks like a preseason RB,gets cut & on the practice squad.Wasn’t impressed.

—Kyren Williams is the real deal.He gets to the edge nice & hard to tackle.Never squares up.Runs at angles & has good vision. (Really like him as a PT guy as well ???)

Noteboom was The Rams starting LT for the most part.
He was in & I told this guy they were in motion & watch Noteboom.He pulled from let to right & turned once he got to the edge & turned back to block & seal. BEAUTIFUL Play Call & Design.
Noteboom just DOMINATED Byron Young all day from what I saw.
Alaric Jackson would alternate with him & late in the practice screamed to put Noteboom in.First day in Pads,but he looks BETTER than ever !!!!
Anchrum was play RG & he fits as a guard.As much as I haven’t liked him he looks strong.It takes players from College to The NFL to get that body frame.
He is an example.Everyone on here last year liked him in the preseason.His injury sucked & A.Jackson played that RG position well in his absence.
— Shelton might have been with the first team ?
—Brian Allen looked sore afte the first drill snapping to the QB’s.
A. Jackson is BIG,he does well.LT is going to not be a concern IMO.
Steve Avila is just a pure Guard.He locks up well & holds that LG spot down well.He really helps The LT to relax.He can be trusted on stunts & supporting the inside pass rush

The Defense- I LOVED BOBBY BROWN.He made a Big Play & started pounding his chest.That got me Fired Up.Let him know my appreciation.

There is #50? Don’t know why he keeps standing out? Learning numbers isn’t easy. Ernest Jones didn’t standout to me,but wasn’t watching him much.
—Rozeboom looks like a core special teams player.That’s a way to make the roster.
-Hummel was alright.There are some big boys out there though.

Was on the sidelines & not watching ,but the Defense stop the offense a few times early in practice.I think the group in whole is solid.

Hoecht is basically taking over for Floyd at OLB LDE. Copland is on the inside as DE.

Elvis

just heard Snead on the radio, said the usual stuff but one thing he said was you could go your whole career as a GM and not find a Matthew Stafford or a Cooper Kupp or an Aaron Donald so he’s not ready to sell this team too short…

10 Observations from the Rams’ second open 2023 training camp practice: Run-game heavy day, and vet rest day for Stafford means more reps for Bennett and Rypien

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/10-observations-rams-first-2023-training-camp-practice-pads-stetson-bennett

IRVINE, Calif. – It was a run-heavy day for the Rams in Monday’s training camp practice, the first in pads for players. Additionally, quarterback Matthew Stafford had a scheduled rest day, which meant more reps for Stetson Bennett and Brett Rypien. Still, there were plenty of noteworthy plays throughout the practice.

Here are 10 things that stood out from the session:

1) Vet rest day for Stafford: Head coach Sean McVay said Monday was a scheduled rest day for Stafford, which in turn gave more opportunities for Bennett and Rypien to command the offense. McVay said this was also to align with the regular season cadence of Stafford throwing four times in seven days. Stafford was still as involved as he could be in that capacity, spending time coaching up the Rams’ young quarterbacks during individual drills.

2) Run-heavy emphasis: Monday’s practice — the first of this year’s training camp in pads — was a run game-heavy one by design, McVay said afterward.

3) Play of the day: Bennett connected with Kupp for a touchdown during redzone drills with the throw and catch both equally impressive.

4) Peanut Punch: Rookie defensive back Tyon Davis channeled his inner Charles Tillman, punching the ball loose from running back Zach Evans’ grasp. Outside linebacker Daniel Hardy scooped up the loose ball, sending the defensive sideline into a frenzy.

5) Turner turns it up: Rookie nose tackle Kobie Turner had a play where he pressured Bennett from the interior, flushed him out of the pocket and forced him to run out of bounds.

6) Witherspoon back: Ahkello Witherspoon was back at practice, wearing a cast on his left hand as McVay said would be the case after undergoing thumb surgery. Witherspoon had a nice pass breakup during practice, swatting down a Bennett pass intended for tight end Tyler Higbee.

7) Zach Evans as a receiver: The fumble shouldn’t overshadow that Evans had a nice moment in practice as well where he caught pass in the flat and showed speed and quickness getting past the linebacker as he ran up the sideline.

8) Hopkins goes high up: Tight end Brycen Hopkins made an impressive leaping grab over the middle on a pass from Rypien during team drills.

9) Robinson continues to shine: Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson made a tough touchdown catch in the corner of the endzone during 1-on-1s with rookie defensive back Cameron McCutcheon in coverage.

10) Welcome Royce: Newly-signed running back Royce Freeman participated in Monday’s practice.

from PFF,

The 50 best players in the NFL right now

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-pff50-ranking-50-best-players-2023

2. DI AARON DONALD, LOS ANGELES RAMS

Reports of Donald’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. For the first time in his NFL career, he dealt with a significant injury, limiting him to just 11 games. Despite that, he still finished 2022 with a 90.5 PFF grade and 40 total pressures. When you turn on the tape, you see him also the total focus of the opposing offense, dedicating an absurd amount of extra attention to him or simply trying to eliminate him as a factor with play calls of quick passing or moving pockets. Last year was maybe the worst season we have seen from Donald in the NFL, and it was still elite.

Rams’ 2023 to be defined by protection of Matthew Stafford, with OL play and more

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/4731651/2023/07/31/rams-offensive-line-protecting-matthew-stafford/?source=emp_shared_article

IRVINE, Calif. — In 2022, Matthew Stafford was hit more times through nine active games than any other quarterback in the Sean McVay era.

Those 63 hits (29 of them sacks), and also the hits to the ground, sent Stafford to the concussion protocol twice and resulted in a bruised spinal cord that ended his season.

“We want to do everything in our power to make sure we’re protecting him,” said McVay, as the Rams reported to training camp last week. “We left him … whether it was play call, scheme, there (are) a lot of different reasons … We want to do a much better job of keeping him upright. There’s a lot of things that go hand in hand with that.”

Protecting Stafford isn’t just non-negotiable in 2023; it’s a make-or-break factor for a season that could either be better than most expect, or a total disaster. Behind the veteran are Brett Rypien and Stetson Bennett, who have rotated as second-string quarterbacks in the first week of camp. The Rams drafted Bennett in the spring to eventually take over the No. 2 role, but there is a long road ahead in his development. And after the Rams’ front office gutted their defense with eyes on the 2024 and 2025 seasons, if the offense can’t score, the season will get very ugly, very quickly.

It starts with the offensive line, of course. The Rams’ position group in 2022 had 71 “adjusted games lost” to injury according to Football Outsiders, the most since the statistic was developed in 2001 (the next closest were the 2020 Eagles, with 57.1 AGL). They started 12 different combinations in their first 13 games.

Re-working this group wasn’t just about getting healthy. McVay fired previous offensive line coach Kevin Carberry, and hired up-and-comer Ryan Wendell, a former longtime Patriots offensive lineman who was most recently the assistant position coach to Aaron Kromer in Buffalo.

Wendell presents as an imposing figure, with a wild mane of a beard/hair combination and the build you’d expect from a former player. But with his players, he is calm, technical and direct.

“Ryan Wendell is a great coach,” said third-year player Alaric Jackson. “He is a great teacher. He’s not like, a ‘rah-rah’ guy or a ‘scream at you’ guy. But he breaks things down for you to understand overall. He makes things really simple, so you really can’t mess it up. If you do, he gives you more tools to fix it. He’s amazing. … He’s very stern with you, (but) not like, aggressive. It’s more like, ‘Come on, I believe in you and I’m gonna push you a little bit, but I got your back as well.’ So it’s not like he’s trying to motherf— you or be too aggressive, but he just wants to teach you the right things.”

Added Wendell, “All I’m looking to try to do is to try to help these guys out. I let them know what I see, I try to give them clear, honest feedback as best I can.”

Wendell, his assistant position coaches Zak Kromer and Nick Jones, McVay and the Rams’ front office wanted to launch into spring OTAs and training camp with competition at nearly every position (right tackle, as eight-year veteran Rob Havenstein joked, may be locked in already).

“Everybody has a lot to work on,” Wendell said. “We don’t slow down. The young guys learn how fast it is, and they catch up. The old guys keep refining their technique.”

Between players getting healthy and additions via the NFL draft, the Rams have that. Rookie Steve Avila and third-year player Tremayne Anchrum, who fractured his fibula in 2022, have led the way at both guard spots in camp but will be pushed to hold those spots when pads finally go on this week. Coleman Shelton and Brian Allen, who both dealt with various injuries in 2022 that forced them to miss time, are competing for the starting center position.

Jackson and veteran lineman Joe Noteboom, who tore his Achilles in 2022, are competing at left tackle.

“It’s never my guaranteed spot,” said Noteboom, who, after surgery by Dr. Neal ElAttrache and rehab over the last year says he is feeling back to full health. “Competition, like Sean (McVay) said, it brings out the best in people. I was never thinking anything was mine, guaranteed. It can be a positive thing, I feel like.”

Noteboom signed a three-year, $40 million contract extension in 2022. This spring, the Rams restructured his deal to free up about $9 million in space. The question looms: Will the Rams start the player they paid, or will Jackson show enough through the rest of training camp to force the coaching staff’s hand? The odd man out would fill a “swing tackle” depth role … not usually an assignment for a well-compensated player, but if Jackson does earn the job the front office would have to swallow a little pride.

Jackson hurt his knee in early November while playing left tackle in replacement of Noteboom, after initially playing left guard in replacement of David Edwards (concussion). But then, Jackson was also diagnosed with blood clots and shut down for the year.

Now, Jackson says he’s only working at his dominant position, tackle, that he’s “healthy as hell” (his words) and has cut his weight down to 330 pounds. The Rams are rotating Jackson and Noteboom pretty evenly in practices so far, but the intensity will increase when the pads go on this week and that could determine future rep allocation.

The coaching staff is also implementing more “game-like” situational work into practices to get linemen on both sides of the ball up to speed.

Future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald was mildly irritated to discover that, unlike past years of training camp, the offensive line is sliding its protections to double- and triple-team him in 11-on-11s as opponents would in games. This serves a dual purpose: A very inexperienced defensive line understands how to play together when more attention is on Donald, and the offensive line gets more realistic reps countering an elite and versatile interior defender.

“I was kind of mad because you want to be able to work different things,” said Donald, drily. “But it’s realistic so I appreciate (them) doing that for me, allowing me to make my job hard at practice and making me study a little longer at night.”

As McVay and others noted, protecting Stafford must go beyond just pass protection from the linemen specifically.

The Rams have to get back to running the ball efficiently and consistently, for example, after finishing the 2022 season ranked No. 19 in rushing DVOA.

“The better you can run the ball, the better you can screen, the better you can do quick game, the better you can play action, the better things can open down the field, the less likely they are to (pass) rush. It all plays into it,” receiver Cooper Kupp said.

The running backs’ abilities in pass protection are an added emphasis for a team with a quarterback who isn’t considered to be mobile, just like it is the responsibility of the receivers to get off the line and create space quickly, to avoid Stafford having to hold the ball longer.

“Our passing game, nothing matters if we can’t protect Matthew,” Wendell said. “It’s our job to keep him upright. But, (we understand) that the protection unit is the entire unit. It’s not just the offensive line. We protect Matthew by workin’ hard on first and second downs so that we can play ahead of the sticks, so that we don’t have long yards so he’s got to hold the ball for a long time. Our receivers protect Matthew by getting open fast and catching the ball, and getting those extra yards. Everybody is a part of that protection unit. Our running backs have been all over it.

“So, when you talk about ‘protecting Matthew,’ you can’t just single out one part of football. We run the ball well, that helps us protect Matthew. All of that stuff goes into it … that’s the big picture. And at the end of it, it’s single guys winning their one-on-one battles. That’s what these guys have to do every day.”

An old “McVay offense” staple — play-action passing — may serve a role in protecting Stafford, too. In McVay’s world, an average to above-average run game is needed to properly deploy play action (truly selling “the threat of the run”).

Still, it’s a concept he intentionally moved away from in 2021 after trading for Stafford.

From 2017 to 2020, the Rams ranked among the top teams in the NFL in play-action usage. But as McVay, Stafford and then-offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell rebuilt the offense in 2021, they preferred more of a pure dropback passing game and to spread the field out wide using empty sets.

In 2022, of Stafford’s 337 total dropbacks in nine games, just 73 pass attempts were out of play-action concepts from either under center or out of shotgun, according to TruMedia. Stafford completed 49 of those (67 percent) for 684 yards and 9.05 yards per attempt, significantly higher than his 6.9 yards per pass attempt average on all pass plays. Stafford had an overall EPA/pass attempt of 0.10, but with play action, he had between a 0.32-0.35 EPA/pass attempt depending on whether it was from under center or out of shotgun.

Some quarterbacks prefer empty sets because it forces a defense to “declare” earlier, or show its intended coverage instead of rotating after the snap, because it is immediately accounting for more known eligible receivers. Rotating coverages are especially insidious for a quarterback who uses a lot of play action under center, meaning his back flips for a brief moment to the defense as its coverage shifts.

If the Rams can run the ball effectively, they’ll see less players who can muddy up coverage looks in the defensive backfield and in turn, Stafford will have more space to manipulate downfield whether he flips his back or not. Play-action concepts, built off a consistent run game, can help Stafford move his pocket in a variety of ways, keep defenders hesitating between pass rushing and run defending just a little longer, and naturally keep a running back in the vicinity to pick up pressure. The Rams aren’t likely to move totally away from empty sets, especially with Stafford at quarterback and because of the mathematical advantages it provides in the pass game, but perhaps in 2023 their play-action frequency will increase for the sake of adding other ways to protect him.

However the Rams do it — between scheme, play calls and the responsibility of every position group on offense — whether they can keep Stafford off his back will define their 2023 season.

“We all know this, it’s no rocket science here. If we give Matthew an extra tick back there, he’s one of the best in the world to do it,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “So the whole focus is just keeping him upright, and if that means putting a few extra guys in protection, or whatever we have to do, we’re going to do it.”

This DIME by Stetson Bennett 😳

Sean McVay (Rams HC) said that yesterday seemed like Bennett’s “sharpest” day yet at camp.

McVay also said that Bennett has had a really “steady” camp and has made his “athletic ability” obvious.

Bennett has reported turned “many” heads every… pic.twitter.com/FWiqJ7c8Vx

— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) July 30, 2023

10 Observations from Rams’ first acclimation practice of 2023 training camp: Cooper Kupp in action, youthful energy on display, plus competition at left tackle and center

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/10-observations-from-rams-first-acclimation-practice-of-2023-training-camp

1) Competition at left tackle and center: The Rams consistently rotated Joe Noteboom and Alaric Jackson at left tackle, and Coleman Shelton and Brian Allen at center throughout Wednesday’s practice. “Whether or not those guys are always at those spots, that’s to be determined, but I do think that they’ll positively push each other and and get the most out of each other,” head coach Sean McVay said.

2) Cooooop: Wide receiver Cooper Kupp was on the field for the first acclimation practice. “It’s great having him out there,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.

3) Going deep: Rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett showed his ability to make off-schedule plays when he scrambled right, directed wide receiver Demarcus Robinson to go deep, then hit Robinson for a long completion. It was likewise a nice grab by Robinson, who leaped and fully-extended his arms to make the catch over the defensive back in coverage.

4) Touchdown Tyler: Stafford connected with Tyler Higbee in the corner of the endzone for a touchdown on a perfectly-placed pass.

5) Youthful energy most noticeable on defense: There are lots of young playmakers in the Rams’ secondary, with Derion Kendrick andCobie Durant both shining and drawing praise from McVay for their performances on Wednesday. A pass breakup by rookie safety Tanner Ingle on a Stafford pass intended for Kupp during team drills drew especially boisterous reactions from Ingle’s defensive teammates.

6) Nacua picks up where he left off: Nacua stayed consistent with the way he performed in the spring, garnering praise from McVay for playing with aggressive hands, showing how he understood the nuances of the way they want their receivers to work the edges and separate, and showing where he fits in the concepts of the offense.

7) First look at Sony Michel in second stint with Rams: Signed after the Rams concluded their offseason program, Michel – wearing No. 24 – was on the field Wednesday.

8) Two feet down: Robinson also had an impressive toe-tap catch near the sideline on a pass from quarterback Brett Rypien.

9) Sideline swat: Besides Ingle’s pass breakup, another play that fired up the Rams secondary was cornerback Robert Rochell’s pass breakup on a Stafford pass intended for Kupp during team drills.

10) Closing time: Rookie safety Rashad Torrence had a perfectly-timed interception to end practice, jumping in front of Rypien’s pass over the middle during redzone work. Torrence was then followed by his defensive teammates celebrating the play as he ran down the sideline after making the play.

Cooper Kupp’s footwork pic.twitter.com/6QqWiZ7097

— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) July 29, 2023

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Stetson Bennett just rolled out to his right, and, off schedule, launched a deep ball Demarcus Robinson caught — using full extension of his arms — over the DB. Bennett had improvised and gestured to Robinson to go downfield.