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znModeratorByron Young winning with an inside chop x 2, outside chop and with a ghost move as the looper on a twist = juice pic.twitter.com/D46uXtnF8e
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) October 16, 2023
znModeratorJ.B. Long@JB_Long
Notable PFF grades from @RamsNFL
W6 win over ARI, and there were an abundance of very good marks:Stafford 90.0
Young 87.3
Kupp 87.0
Dotson 86.1
Donald 85.2
Kyren 84.8
Havenstein 82.7
Jones 82.5
Durant 81.4
Fuller 80.0
Turner 77.6
Jonah 76.8
Hoecht 74.7znModeratorwell that blows.
Shelley has been playing well at CB, and Durant graded out well against Arz.
Their secondary depth is kind of unreal.
znModeratorBlaine Grisak@bgrisakTST
Rams OL PFF Grades in Week 6:Alaric Jackson: 51.8 RBLK | 75.8 PBLK
Steve Avila: 51.7 | 69.2
Coleman Shelton: 57.3 | 77.4
Kevin Dotson: 83.7 | 73.8
Rob Havenstein: 84.1 | 74.910 total pressures. Dotson was the 2nd-highest graded offensive lineman in the NFL for the week.
PFF LA Rams@PFF_Rams
Byron Young: 87.3 PFF grade vs the Cardinals ??1st among ALL rookies in Week 6
(minimum 25 snaps)
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Top five offensive grades:
1 – Matthew Stafford, QB: 90.0
Stafford earned an “elite” mark in this game and completed 15 of 24 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown. He had two other potential scores dropped by rookie WR Puka Nacua and TE Tyler Higbee.Overall, the veteran had four big-time throws against Arizona which was his second-highest output of the season. He led the NFL in such throws coming into this game and should hold onto his top spot. Stafford had no turnover-worthy plays and had a clean effort. His adjusted completion percentage of 84.2 was by far the highest he’s had this year.
2 – Cooper Kupp, WR: 87.0
Kupp caught 7 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown while accounting for nearly two-thirds of the team’s receiving production. It was a dominant effort for the star receiver and his chemistry with Stafford was on display in this one.3 – Kevin Dotson, RG: 86.1
Dotson has been a top guard in the NFL so far this season and currently ranks 12th of 83 players that have at least 83 snaps under their belt. The Rams acquired him just before the start of the season without giving up much in the way of draft capital. Joe Noteboom—who entered the season as the starting RG—should be fully healthy soon but LA should stay the course and keep Doston in the lineup.4 – Kyren Williams, RB: 84.8
Williams had 20 carries for 158 yards (7.9 average) and a touchdown. He was not as active in the passing game as we are used to seeing from him.Still, it was an impressive day for the second-year back and he ran as physically as we’ve ever seen from him—including an angry run at the goal line where he stiff armed a defender in the backfield and then ran through a pack of three Cardinals to break the plane.
5 – Rob Havenstein, RT: 82.7
The right side of the line fared well in run blocking. Havenstein has been very reliable for Los Angeles and usually only runs into trouble when facing the more elite pass rushers in the NFL. This was certainly one of his stronger performances.Other notes on offense:
Interestingly, it was a stark drop in the grading between the fifth-highest player and the next in Tutu Atwell (62.7). Coleman Shelton and the left side of the offensive line fared well in pass blocking grades—all were 69.2 or better—bet did not grade out well in run blocking despite Williams racking up 158 yards and averaging 7.9 yards per carry.
Top five defensive grades:
1 – Byron Young, OLB: 87.3
Young had five total pressures including a strip sack on Josh Dobbs. He was also active in the run game and recorded four stops.This was probably the most complete effort we’ve seen from the rookie. He’s flashed at times as a pass rusher, but he was consistently disruptive in this game.
2 – Aaron Donald, DE: 85.2
Donald led the defense with seven total pressures, though his run grade (84.9) finished notably higher than his pass rushing mark (74.9). The star defensive end had three stops. Donald ranks fifth in the NFL in total pressures on the season and is behind only Maxx Crosby, Aidan Hutchinson, Bryce Huff, and Chase Young.3 – Ernest Jones, MLB: 82.5
The man in the middle of LA’s defense had an active day with 10 tackles and an impressive run defense grade of 90.7. Jones was targeted twice in coverage and allowed just one completion for nine yards (14 came after the catch point).4 – Cobie Durant, SCB: 81.4
Durant has struggled at times this season, but this was his strongest came yet in the 2023 campaign. He was targeted only twice in coverage and allowed a single reception for 17 yards with two pass breakups. The second-year corner has a slight frame and can sometimes have issues tackling, but he graded out well with a mark of 82.1.5 – Jordan Fuller, DB: 80.0
Fuller was targeted six times and allowed only two catches for 13 yards and a passer rating of 42.4. He also had five tackles and aligned in the box on 12 plays—so he was involved in the game as more than a deep coverage player.Other notes on defense:
Three other members of the defensive line also had a strong effort. Rookie DT Kobie Turner had an overall grade of 77.6 (sixth). DE Jonah Williams (76.8; seventh) had a key sack that took the Cardinals out of field goal position. Michael Hoecht (74.7; eighth) was tied with Young with five total pressures and hit the quarterback twice. He was targeted twice in coverage—which has been a complaint by fans—and allowed two receptions for 21 yards (20 after the catch).
znModeratorIunno what I like more — Steve Avila looking for work or how juiced he gets when he catches a body. https://t.co/tbCFBWgrrM
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) October 16, 2023
znModeratorA game like that — 158 yards — makes one start thinking about running-style ‘comparisons’. I watched K. Williams and tried to think of who he reminded me of in ‘that’ game and i thought of…..Emmitt Smith ? w v
He actually reminds me a bit of of Sony Michel. A smaller but smart, tough back with decent vision who does not have extra speed or elusiveness but who maximizes basic RB skills. He has enough physical talent but uses his head and sheer will to get more out of what he has. Wms. is a hit and go gap-blocking runner who does not have the power of a power back or the magic in traffic of an elusive back or the raw speed and acceleration of a speed back–on most teams with premier backs he would be the #2, but a valuable one. That’s not a put down. He may be basic physically–certainly talent enough to play in the NFL, just not exceptional–but he is gifted at maximizing and getting the most out of what he does have, including things like reading blocks. If you listen to him talk about games, he has the same kind of knowledge of the game for his position that Kupp does as a receiver.
He sees lanes but can’t make people miss and can’t run over guys, but he knows how to take what is there and has the mindset of a true gamer who sees and does all the little things that add up to him being a great opportunist. In fact he sees his opportunities quickly, and has great anticipation based on what he sees, but he’s never going to be the kind of back who creates second and third opportunities after he seizes the first one.
If Dickerson had Williams’ head and mindset he would have been unstoppable.
I don’t mean he’s a JAG. More like (an unlikely analogy) a Brady at RB. Brady didn’t have the arm, toughness, size, or magic of the qbs you automatically see can be special, but he processed more quickly than anyone else, and just wanted it more than most.
So Wms. has enough strength, enough toughness, enough burst, enough quickness, enough vision–but his gift is to maximize all that by just willing it and processing fast, plus being an instinctive student of the game.
Michel aside, in his own, different way I compare him to his favorite NFL back of all time–Steven Jackson. He may not be Jackson physically (though again he’s no mere JAG)…but he does have #39’s will and instincts and smarts.
znModeratorHoldenCantor@HoldenCantorWhen asked about the rushing yards, Rob Havenstein called Tyler Higbee the unspoken hero of this team, crediting him for his blocking ability.Blaine Grisak@bgrisakTST
Raheem Morris deserves so much credit for what he’s accomplishing with this group on defense for the Rams.Finished as the 3rd best defense in EPA and 4th in success rate yesterday. While they rank 22nd overall in EPA this season, they’re 11th in success rate.
Aaron Donald likely isn’t in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation right now. However, this season is arguably some of his best work in his Rams career.
Elevating the guys around him. Kobie Turner, Jonah Williams, Byron Young, etc. all finding success next to AD.
znModeratorQ: Witherspoon been a stud all season. What an underrated signing. Seemed like all 3 safety’s, Yeast and Lake in particular were excellent in firing downfield and squeezing some of those underneath passing windows. Those 2 seems to be getting better at playing that style.
Jourdan Rodrigue
I am really impressed with those three safeties, they can move them all over the field which is the point as they’re playing way more C3 disguises now, and using the dime and 2ILB “base” looks more as well.Fun backstory – McVay was so paranoid about showing anybody that crash motion (my phrase) with Higbee that he didn’t install it until Seattle week…when practices are totally closed to public and even media only sees individuals. It is a really creative concept – teams can’t tell pre-snap what type of run it will be because Higbee starts on the back side of the formation.
Q: One question: I thought when McVay suggested they got talked out of some of their running plays, he was alluding to the Card defensive looks, which is what you wrote. But after giving it some thought, I was wondering if he might have been referring to coaches upstairs. Is there any chance he was talking about his staff?
Jourdan Rodrigue
I am almost certain he was referring to the looks – they were shifting their front a lot and not thinking they, or anyone other than what he and Stafford are seeing, is literally “talking” him out of anything. Could be wrong but almost positive was slang for the pre-snap looks and shifts they had not seen on tapeOctober 16, 2023 at 10:35 am in reply to: reporters, twitter etc. on ARZ game … + the big articles #146162znModeratorRodrigue: How the Rams’ reset attitude in Sunday’s game matters for the long haul
Jourdan Rodrigue
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Halftime.
Location: The Los Angeles Rams locker room at SoFi Stadium.
Dialogue among coaches, and between coaches and players — down three points, held to two field goals and 123 net yards with only 5 of those yards off three called runs: “What would you guess (the conversation was like)?” Sean McVay said, adding later that he was “aware” of how few runs he had called to that point.
As colorful as possible?
“It was that,” he said, grinning. It was something, for sure.
Right out of the locker room, McVay called eight consecutive runs for 60 net yards to open the third quarter. Quarterback Matthew Stafford added a ninth, a 2-yard scramble. The 10th play of the drive was a pass, a third-and-long touchdown to receiver Cooper Kupp and the Rams’ first trip to the end zone in five quarters.
“It wasn’t much of an adjustment,” veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein said of the halftime message that led to the third-quarter drive, “it was just more of a statement. ‘This is what we’re gonna do.’ And then we went out and executed.”
The Rams were down 9-6 at the half. Tight end Tyler Higbee said the Rams had actually entered Sunday’s game with the intent to run the ball but saw a few “funky” defensive looks from the Arizona Cardinals defense that had not previously been on film. McVay also said following the Rams’ 26-9 win that the offense had been “talked out of” some runs “they didn’t need to (be),” meaning the defense on a few occasions informed the pass.
In most games this season, the Rams (3-3) had given no indication that they would adjust to a higher run frequency, versus a higher passing frequency, if in a deficit. In fact, they ranked fourth-lowest in the NFL in run frequency when down three points, opting to run on just 23.6 percent of plays when down by three points, according to TruMedia, as they were at halftime Sunday.
But something changed after halftime this week. A little snarl, a little growling physicality got back into the game plan as the third quarter opened. As that drive continued, the offensive linemen hunkered down into their pads. They heard the run calls from Stafford in the huddle, one after another after another.
“I love it, I was so fired up stepping back in the huddle each time with a run play,” Stafford said. “Those guys were loving it, I was loving it. It was fun. Wasn’t anything too tricky, just kind of line up and go play ball.”
The linemen felt lead rusher Kyren Williams moving behind them and saw him fighting for extra yards in front of them. As he ripped out runs of 17, 14 and 10 yards on that drive, there was a palpable shift in the emotion of the offense overall. Everybody could feel it.
“It was so fun, I just remember everybody coming back to the huddle smiling like, ‘good stuff,’” said Williams, who said he knew he was “on” in the second run of the second half (a 6-yard gain) and hoped the calls kept coming. “It’s so fun. You make a good run, and you’re hyped up. But when you see the O-linemen come running at you smiling, hyped up, it makes it so much better. You know what them boys are doing up front for you. They’re getting off the ball.”
They went from rudderless and reeling, grasping at air space as they tried to sequence more than a couple of good first-half passing plays together at a time, to a group with a clear identity.
“Guys on the sideline, getting all pumped up and juiced up and ready to go, it just starts compounding, compounding, compounding,” Havenstein said.
The Rams’ defense, shaky on third-and-long plays in the first half especially when Arizona quarterback Josh Dobbs started to create out of structure, clamped down as well. Former undrafted free-agent linebacker Christian Rozeboom grabbed his first career interception off a read of a delayed “leak” concept that was thrown behind tight end Zach Ertz at the start of the fourth quarter. Rozeboom had matched the route and so was in position to grab the ball after it tipped off Ertz’s hands.
On the corresponding drive, Stafford and the Rams’ offense faced a second-and 17, then a third-and-9 after Stafford hit Kupp for 8 yards. The 21-yard conversion on third-and-long was vintage Kupp-and-Stafford, a space- and time-bending sideline catch to Stafford’s blind side that is pure timing between the two. Kupp, by the way, had 101 first-half yards off of three catches — the Rams had just 22 yards without his production — and finished the game with seven catches for 148 yards and the third-quarter touchdown.
Yet the spike in adrenaline from the two-catch sequence that kept that fourth-quarter drive intact didn’t sway the play calling to lean too much on the pass, and this is important: Williams ran the ball on five of the next six plays, including a gritty 4-yard stretch for a touchdown (a review of the play, which was initially called a fumble, clearly showed Williams stretching the ball across the goal line).
“I knew the whole time it was a touchdown,” Williams said, smiling. The rest of the team was so convinced of the score that they sent the field goal unit out while the booth was still reviewing the play.
The Rams added another three points later in the fourth quarter after a fumble recovery by second-year safety Quentin Lake (rookie outside linebacker Byron Young, who had a sack and two quarterback hits, forced the fumble).
Throughout the second half, Williams ran mad, like his cleats had talked some smack to him as he was lacing them up before the game, like he was making up for the absent first-half call sheet.
“He was awesome,” McVay said, “I’m really proud of Kyren. … He was running like an absolute man on a mission today.”
Williams finished the game with 158 yards on 20 carries (18 of them in the second half) and a touchdown. He ran through people — noting with some delight that he debuted “the stiff-arm” — but he also excelled in finding workable space around the edges, and behind receiver Tutu Atwell in the Rams’ jogging-start motion, which Williams did twice Sunday. At one point, he fought through contact so hard that his helmet popped halfway off his head.
“Kyren is an energetic runner,” Havenstein said. “He’s fast, he’s quick, he sees the field well, but he can lower his shoulder … and cap off these runs. (If) he gets stood up at 3 (yards), he’s gonna fall forward maybe 4 or 5. That’s the difference between second-and-7 and second-and-5. The playbook opens up, and you can do it again. It doesn’t pigeonhole you because he’s falling forward.”
Let’s be clear: Anybody in that locker room would agree that running isn’t always the most efficient play, especially with a quarterback who can make any throw. It’s also not just about deciding to run the ball, it’s also about executing with precision in blocks, with tenacity and strain, with pure meanness and ill intent toward the guys on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Often, yes, it’s more productive to pass. But sometimes, it’s about forcing the issue at that line of scrimmage — asserting an identity even if the defense is daring you otherwise.
“All the credit to Sean, just coming out there and trusting us, and trusting our backs — because our backs were making the right cuts and getting after it,” Havenstein said. “A chance to get out there and set your pads, truly, and not really let what they were doing affect what we wanted to do. I think that was illustrated in that first drive.”
Deciding to do it is the first step. Going all in on it, to the pace of nine consecutive runs called on that first drive in the third quarter, down by three points and against their previous tendencies — that’s a dang air-yards-exorcism that injected this offense with some identity when they most needed it.
“We make it more interesting than sometimes it needs to be,” McVay said dryly.
Sunday, that was the drive that changed the course of the game for the Rams. It can be a longer-term lesson than that.
“That’s the team we want to be,” Higbee said. “We showed that we can do it. Now, we’ve just got to be more consistent about doing it all the time, more frequently.”
znModeratorJared Goff over his last 17 games, the equivalent of a full NFL regular season:
391-of-578 (67.6%)
4,473 passing yards
29 passing TD
4 interceptionsThe Lions are 13-4 in those games. pic.twitter.com/oc37QGvMgI
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 16, 2023
znModeratorThe Rams committed to running the ball in the 2nd half of Sundays win and it led the team to victory!
The Rams offensive line and 2nd year RB @Kyrenwilliams23 put on an amazing display with 158 rushing yards and a fighting effort TD that looked like his favorite runner @sj39 pic.twitter.com/fMf9xRCYAz
— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) October 16, 2023
October 16, 2023 at 1:56 am in reply to: reporters, twitter etc. on ARZ game … + the big articles #146157znModeratorRamblin’ Fan@RamblinFan
Duke Shelley is an under-the-radar LA Rams DB who always seems to be making great plays
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Gary Klein@LATimesklein
This could be part of the Rams new strategy: Start slow in first half and score in the second?
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Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
10 points off two Rams defensive takeaways today (Rozeboom, Young/Lake).
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J.B. Long@JB_Long
The Rams defense did not allow a touchdown to what was a top-10 Cardinals offense coming into today. They also pitched their third shutout in a half this season (2H @ SEA, 1H @ IND, 2H today vs ARI).
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PFF@PFF
Cooper Kupp in his first 2 games of the season:
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21 targets
1 receptions
266 yards
1 TD
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Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Great line from @Geraldini93 on NFL Network tonight, on Kyren Williams’ touchdown run: “He stiff-armed one person to get to three people, then he ran them over too.”
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Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Cards tried the tush push on third down and came up short. Ernest Jones went flying over the top to make the stop.znModeratorHighlights: Kyren Williams’ best plays from 158-yard game vs. Arizona Cardinals in Week 6
znModeratorHighlights: Every Cooper Kupp Catch From 148-Yard Game vs. Cardinals In Week 6
znModeratorArizona Cardinals vs Los Angeles Rams | 2023 Game Highlights
znModeratorHighlights: Ram Top Plays vs. Cardinals | Cooper Kupp’s 1st TD of 2023, Aaron Donald’s Sack & More
znModeratorKyren Williams BULLIES his way into the end zone 😤pic.twitter.com/HQQSXXinak
— LA Rams Nation (@RamsNationCP) October 15, 2023
znModeratorRoquan Smith is processing the game at a different level than 99% of people that play the sport.
Killed the 2-min warning himself by letting the runner get up. Preventer offense from getting set and e getting an extra play off pic.twitter.com/JISFmOvQLR
— Spencer Schultz (@ravens4dummies) October 15, 2023
znModeratorWhere would we be without this man #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/tylp2jBSzD
— Cam✨SBLVI CHAMPIONS (@RamsWRLD_) October 15, 2023
October 15, 2023 at 10:26 pm in reply to: reporters, twitter etc. on ARZ game … + the big articles #146146znModeratorJourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigueJust asked Rob Havenstein about the conversation about adjustments at halftime to set the tone on the ground in second half. “Wasn’t so much about ‘adjustments’ as it was about making a statement,” said Havenstein, emphatically..Great attitude from Quentin Lake when walking up to him in locker room postgame, asked to talk through his play. Grins, and goes – “which one?”October 15, 2023 at 8:19 pm in reply to: reporters, twitter etc. on ARZ game … + the big articles #146145znModeratora drive made up of ALL RUNS 😭
pic.twitter.com/VOdHQTN6jp— brittany (@brittany_bets) October 15, 2023
znModeratorJets beat the Eagles after being down 14-3 in the 2nd quarter.
znModeratorMohamad SafamhdksafaAn intern whispered the word “terrorist” to me as we entered the gate today, and he also got to find out that I’m his boss during an interview. It was really fun!znModeratorHoward Balzer@HBalzer721Cardinals face a Rams pass offense today that has 20 plays of 20+ yards and Puka Nacua has 10. Cardinals have allowed 13 with 11 in the second half.znModeratordobbs will be the 7th cardinals qb to start a game against the rams in the mcvay era – the rams have started 3 different qbs against the cardinals in that time
cards
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dobbs
mccoy
murray
rosen
bradford
gabbert
palmerrams
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stafford
wolford
goff— roberto clemente (@rclemente2121) October 15, 2023
znModeratorOchaun Mathis played just 10 snaps in his debut. However, he made an impact with two pressures and looked deserving of more playing time.https://t.co/7s1CKx1tHf
— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) October 15, 2023
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Ochaun Mathis play #4 pic.twitter.com/CsD9gOZJfG
— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) October 15, 2023
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Ochaun Mathis play #9 pic.twitter.com/9yL4avaUSv
— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) October 15, 2023
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Ochaun Mathis play #10 pic.twitter.com/efYBJjHKpH
— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) October 15, 2023
znModerator
znModeratorI’ve been to a few Rams/Cardinals games but the 2018 home opener was nothing short of a statement! Putting the league on notice of the offensive fire power. With a healthy & prime Woods, Cooks, Kupp, and Gurley, Goff was on fire and no one in the league could compete with us pic.twitter.com/PaSdpr4RHF
— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) September 23, 2022
znModeratorIt’s hard to gauge Mathis’ game in 10 snaps, but with two pressures in 10 snaps, his 14.3 percent pressure percentage ranked ninth in the NFL in Week 5. Obviously, it’s a small sample, but Mathis 14.3 win percentage also leads the Rams edge rushers.
znModeratorUnless someone can post a link to a site, that I can watch the game, the only option I have, is to watch on NFL.com with the squiggly lines.
ER is the guy who knows that stuff. Ask him in the chat tomorrow.
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