This vid does Puka and Tutu too (too).

…

Not sure how I missed this earlier this week…

But Rams DT Jonah Williams is tied for fourth in the NFL among DTs through two weeks in Run-Stop win-rate. pic.twitter.com/kV7oLib4S1

— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) September 23, 2023

Sean McVay said from an RB rotation standpoint, will also see some of Ronnie Rivers. McVay also said they're still figuring out whether Royce Freeman or Zach Evans will be RB3 vs. Bengals

— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) September 23, 2023

They talk about Nacua for the first couple of minutes.

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Good explanation here from @BenjaminSolak on Puka Nacua's route-running and where he can improve.

To quote Ben: "When a guy has 25 catches over two games, and not that great at running routes yet…think about how many he's going to have when he's good at running routes." pic.twitter.com/OeCZzUccKu

— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) September 23, 2023

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News Analysis: Who failed, the Rams or Cam Akers? Someone definitely deserves blame

GARY KLEIN

https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2023-09-22/sean-mcvay-rams-cam-akers-trade-vikings

Since 2017, when the Rams made him the youngest coach in modern NFL history, Sean McVay has built a well-earned reputation for being a players’ coach.

For longtime McVay observers, his ability to connect and to manage nearly every personality ranked among his strong suits.

Did trading running back Cam Akers dent that reputation?

McVay was asked Thursday if he considered the Akers situation a failure on his part.

“I wouldn’t say that — I think that’s kind of an easy narrative,” McVay said. “What we’re interested in is making decisions that we like are in the best interest of the team. And there’s a lot of layers to it. But I am grateful for Cam, and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

McVay, as is his habit, has not publicly discussed the “layers” that ended the tenure of a player who seemingly was beloved by teammates.

But the NFL, of course, never stops. A player suffers an injury, another steps up. A team trades or releases a player, it plugs in another.

That is the case for the Rams, who traded Akers to the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday in a deal that also involved a swap of future draft picks.

Kyren Williams moves into the starting role for the Rams heading into a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. After the second-year pro scored three touchdowns in the first two games, there is much for fans to be excited about.

But when it comes to Rams running backs — or all but a few NFL running backs — projecting anything beyond the next week or two is foolish.

Lawrence McCutcheon and Eric Dickerson starred as workhorse backs for the Rams in the 1970s and 1980s. Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, the productive but underappreciated Steven Jackson and rookie Todd Gurley all starred for the Rams during their years in St. Louis.

As the game has shifted to pass-oriented offenses, however, running backs not named Christian McCaffrey or Derrick Henry have become expendable.

The Rams are no exception to that trend.

McVay’s arrival as coach completely energized an offense that relied on Gurley to open up a passing game that enabled quarterback Jared Goff and receivers Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Sammy Watkins to flourish.

The Rams signed Gurley to a huge extension before the 2018 season. Despite Gurley suffering a late-season injury that aggravated a previous knee issue, they advanced to Super Bowl LIII.

In March of 2020, with a guaranteed $10.5 million for Gurley coming due, the Rams unceremoniously cut him. A running back drafted by the Rams has not finished his rookie contract since.

Darrell Henderson, a third-round pick in 2019, suffered numerous injuries and was released last November.

Akers, a second-round pick in 2020, showed promise as a rookie. He rushed for a career-best 171 yards against the New England Patriots, rushed for 131 yards in an NFC wild-card playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks, and played so well in a divisional-round defeat to the Green Bay Packers that the Rams talked of making him a centerpiece of the offense.

But Akers suffered an Achilles injury on the eve of 2021 training camp. He made a remarkable comeback to play in the postseason, including the Rams’ victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

But the relationship between Akers and the staff and front office started to sour during last year’s training camp.

McVay had moved the much-respected Thomas Brown from running backs coach to tight ends to bolster the assistant’s resume in pursuit of an offensive coordinator job. McVay replaced him with Ra’Shaad Samples, a young coach with no NFL experience.

Early in the season, McVay called out Akers for a lack of intensity. He later exiled Akers for several games and the Rams unsuccessfully tried to trade him.

By December, Samples was encouraged to move on for an opportunity at Arizona State. Brown resumed coaching running backs and Akers finished the season by rushing for more than 100 yards in three straight games.

Last February, the Carolina Panthers hired Brown as offensive coordinator, and McVay hired Ron Gould as running backs coach.

During the offseason, Akers said he was fine with McVay and reiterated that if McVay put the ball in his hands, the running game would thrive.

Everything seemed fine until it apparently wasn’t.

In the season opener against Seattle, Akers got 22 carries but gained only 29 yards and scored a touchdown. Williams scored twice.

McVay made Akers inactive last Sunday before a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Three days later he was no longer a Ram.

“It’s a crazy business, we understand that,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said Thursday. “Hope the best for Cam. Obviously, had some great times with him, some great memories with him as well, but excited for Kyren.”

McVay said the trade was “not a personal indictment” of Akers.

“Sometimes you have to be able to make tough decisions,” McVay said.

So now the Rams will rely on Williams, Ronnie Rivers, Royce Freeman and rookie Zach Evans.

Akers is reunited with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, the Rams’ former offensive coordinator. Akers joins a winless team in desperate need of rushing production heading into Sunday’s game against the winless Chargers.

Time will tell if the Rams made the right decision.

Joe Burrow's calf is having a significant effect on his game. He's just 3-for-18 outside numbers beyond 10 yards this season.

Rams have to take away the underneath throws over the middle. pic.twitter.com/HuHVgTZgs2

— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) September 22, 2023

That's Rookie of the Week Puka Nacua, to you! 😏@AsapPuka | @pepsi pic.twitter.com/DOUdp6JH1i

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 21, 2023

LB Ernest Jones is tied for fourth in the NFL in tackles for loss (3), tied for tenth in tackles causing unsuccessful plays for the offense (8), and tied for 18th in tackles (19). According to @PFF he has a run grade of 75.5. @ernestjones53 pic.twitter.com/jgwYcfXRpk

— Los Angeles Rams PR (@TheLARamsPR) September 21, 2023

Puka Nacua and Bobby Trees comparisons… Check out their pre draft measurements. #ramshouse pic.twitter.com/YlaWJXMyTZ

— RAMZILLA (@elitster) May 8, 2023

How Rams WR Puka Nacua is growing with ‘Coach Kupp,’ a breakfast club and tough hits

By Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/4879483/2023/09/21/puka-nacua-rams-receiver-rookie-cooper-kupp/?source=emp_shared_article

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — In 2021, it was playfully nicknamed “the breakfast club,” a daily film appointment between Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp that took place in the earliest hours of the morning.

These days, a third player sits in with the two veterans: rookie receiver Puka Nacua.

“Those two — as much as they’re in the moment for the reps that we’re taking, they’re thinking light-years ahead. ‘Hey, we’ve played this team before, on this look we have run this before, we’ve got a different look so when you run this, expect this because we’ve seen that before,’” said Nacua, waving his hands to demonstrate how rapid-fire the information comes toward him from Stafford and Kupp. “It’s been sweet, it’s been a blessing. Every morning. … They’re next level. I guess that’s a part of being a professional. They are the best of the best. I’m trying to build some of those things into my routine.”

Nacua burst into the NFL’s view in historic fashion. In just two games — minus Kupp, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring issue — Nacua has 25 catches for 266 yards and the Rams’ pass game has a 15.9 EPA whenever he is targeted, according to TruMedia. This ranks No. 4 among NFL receivers. His 15 catches for 147 yards (on 20 targets) Sunday marked the most catches made in a single game by a rookie receiver in NFL history, and he is also the first in NFL history to have 10-plus catches and at least 100 yards receiving in each of his first two career games.

Getting to this point has been a group effort, Nacua said, and it started in spring OTAs — just a few weeks after the Rams drafted him out of BYU in the fifth round.

If “the breakfast club” is a graduate-level study program, Nacua had to begin with some “gen eds.” During OTAs, he started showing up in the mornings to passing game specialist Jake Peetz’s office — Kupp and Stafford in a room somewhere down the hall — to get a base layer of information about the Rams’ passing concepts, from alignment details to formations and how the team layers and times routes.

“Every morning (of OTAs) I was coming in, after practice coming in to see him,” Nacua said. “It slowly started branching out from there. (Peetz) got me some reps with the ones, and I was able to work with Stafford and with Coop. (Then, Stafford) is giving me coaching points because we got live reps together. … Everybody (started) chiming in.”

On the field, Nacua worked closely with receivers coach Eric Yarber especially on what his responsibilities would be away from the ball. Catching passes well doesn’t guarantee playing time for Rams receivers, who are fully involved in blocking concepts along with the tight ends and offensive linemen. If Nacua could grasp the requirements there, he could get on the field earlier.

“It really did start in the run game,” Nacua said. “If we have a closer split, if I’m all the way out wide, how does that change our run rules? … That was, I guess (a way) to build into our offense. It starts in our play-action, stuff like that. The ground level really was all the run game stuff, and I love that. I found a new way to look at the defense.”

By Week 2 against San Francisco, Nacua was executing some of the run-blocking assignments the Rams used to give former veteran receiver Robert Woods.

“Those receivers, they got to put their face in there and when they do, it sets a tone for everyone else on offense,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “It’s good that he’s embraced that. I think that’s the culture he walked into and like I said, giving Yarbs (Yarber) a lot of credit for getting that done.”

As OTAs and training camp continued, Nacua took coaching wherever he could get it. In June, McVay spent time in practices working with Nacua on his release off the line of scrimmage. In July, between OTAs and training camp, Stafford organized throwing sessions with Nacua, Kupp and other young receivers. In training camp and into the preseason while he dealt with a hamstring strain, Kupp spent most practices on the sideline with the receivers and got in Nacua and others’ ears after each play. But the other receivers — Tutu Atwell, Van Jefferson and Ben Skowronek — also got in Nacua’s ear.

“The other guys have been right there along the way, helping me as much as they can,” he said. “As much as I feel like I’m learning things, and picking things up, there’s the little nuances (they know), they’ve just been in the offense for a while. They’re always willing to help me.”

By the time the season began, Nacua had “graduated” from his morning sessions with Peetz and started sitting in with Stafford and Kupp.

“I’m kind of following Coop, like, ‘Hey, when do you guys come in? Hey, Coop, can I watch with you guys?’” Nacua said laughing. “The first couple of meetings, I’m like a fly on the wall. Nothing is really being said to me, they’re just like, watching the tape (and) talking to each other. Then they’re like, ‘Oh, Puka, you’re in on this rep? This is what we want you to do.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re talking to me?’ I’m so focused the whole time! My ears perk up and I’m like, ‘He’s talking to me now.’”

As the season approached, coaches started to see the young receiver “get it.” LaFleur noticed that when Stafford broke the huddle, and Nacua went to his spot, he did so without confusion or indecision.

“There’s a lot of things that are said in that huddle for a rookie receiver that they’ve never experienced in their life,” LaFleur said. “Every guy is going to be a little bit different on how they approach it … I won’t even mention names, but some (rookies), when the first parts of the play call are coming in, they’re pointing to what direction they have to break (out) of the huddle. You can almost kind of see them playing the play out with their hand and stuff like that. For Puka, he just breaks it with confidence — and then he goes.”

When the Rams traveled to Seattle in Week 1, the younger receivers asked McVay if Kupp could travel with the team so he could be on the sideline with them.

“What was the most powerful thing is that those guys asked,” McVay said. “Usually guys that are on IR don’t make the trips to these away games, things like that. Those guys specifically asked because they wanted his feedback, his ability to lead and the information that he’s able to give them that can be digestible and applicable. …

“There’s such a credibility that comes. It’s one thing when we’re saying it, it’s another thing when Cooper is explaining it. To be able to articulate it through (the) lens, ‘I’ve been in these exact situations, I know exactly what we’re looking for.’ He was right there on the sidelines. He’s ‘Coach Kupp’ right now.”

Against Seattle, Nacua was targeted 15 times by Stafford, and caught 10 passes for 119 yards. He also lined up all across the line of scrimmage and became one of the early reads in Stafford’s progression against zone coverage, a sign that the coaching staff and quarterback trusted him to account for many of the concepts called for Kupp when he’s healthy.

In that game, Nacua bruised his ribs on a tough catch across the middle of the field — “welcome to the NFL,” he said — but was all smiles, shoots and goshes postgame and said he couldn’t wait to call his mom.

“It was a cool moment for it to be going as well as it was,” he said, “but also, you realize this is a grown man’s game. Everybody out here is ready. If your head is not on a swivel and your feet aren’t locked into the ground, they will put you on your butt. They won’t be lying you down to put you to bed, they’re trying to put you to sleep in a completely different way.”

In Week 2, Nacua was targeted 20 times by Stafford. He caught 15 passes for 147 yards.

Coaches and teammates who have been around Nacua since his humble draft selection in April are not shocked by any of it. Nacua is still growing, and asking questions, and seeking out more coaching.

“He’s been making plays since OTAs,” LaFleur said after Week 1, “(but) Puka has not ‘arrived’ by any means. He had a great game (in Seattle) and no one was surprised by it.

“Cool thing about Puka is he’s going continue to build off that and continue to work the right way. He’s not satisfied with any of that. I don’t know what his individual goals are. I don’t think he even cares. I think he’s just doing whatever he can to help the team, whether it’s in the run game, pass game, whatever he has to do. I know Puka’s got the right mindset to get that done.”

Next up in the flashback through my 8 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, is a special one: 2006, the greatest year of my career.

After two years of buildup, the @RamsNFL entrusted the backfield to me fully in 2006 and I rewarded it with a career-high in rushing yards and a… pic.twitter.com/v9EybhXu5r

— Steven Jackson (@sj39) September 21, 2023