Studs and duds from Rams’ loss to Raiders: Bryce Perkins and Chris Garrett shine

* https://theramswire.usatoday.com/lists/rams-raiders-best-worst-players-preseason/

The preseason is more about players developing and coaches learning about their team than it is about winning and losing. The Rams are certainly trying to look at it that way after losing their second straight preseason game, falling 17-16 to the Raiders on Saturday night.

There were a bunch of standout players for the Rams despite the loss, however. Bryce Perkins and Chris Garrett were two guys who really shined against the Raiders on each side of the ball, nearly helping lift the Rams to victory in dramatic fashion.

Here are our studs and duds from Saturday’s loss at SoFi Stadium.

Stud: Chris Garrett
Garrett was an absolute monster against the Raiders. On one second-quarter drive alone, he had a 6-yard tackle for a loss, a tipped pass at the line, split a sack with Jonah Williams and had a strip-sack on third down. He also hit the quarterback a couple of drives later, hurrying him into a bad throw. The Division II product had a huge game at the perfect time, catching the eye of the coaching staff as he battles for a roster spot.

Stud: Bryce Perkins
Perkins played the entire game at quarterback over Duck Hodges, and deservedly so. He helped carry the Rams offense, especially late in the game, making key plays with his legs down the stretch. He also showed off impressive accuracy and decision-making, going through his reads and allowing his receivers to make plays. His run on fourth down in the red zone with under two minutes to play was especially impressive, avoiding a sack and picking up the first. He then hit Jacob Harris for a touchdown with 14 seconds to play, but the two-point attempts failed.

Stud: J.R. Reed
Reed simply finds the football, especially in coverage. In the first half alone, he made one tackle, broke up a pass and picked off another. Reed is particularly good in man coverage when matched up on tight ends, forcing the quarterback to throw into tight windows.

His interception was the result of Garrett tipping the pass at the line, but he made a great play on his other pass breakup covering an out-breaking route by the tight end.

Stud: Tremayne Anchrum
It wasn’t a perfect night from the second-year player, but he looked good at right tackle before getting hurt in the third quarter. He was called for illegal use of hands and holding, but Anchrum held up well against the Raiders’ edge rushers. It’s unfortunate that he got hurt, since he was one of the Rams’ best offensive linemen in this game.

Stud: JuJu Hughes
Hughes looks so comfortable out there in the secondary. On the first drive, he broke on a pass to the outside, nearly intercepting it on third down after undercutting the receiver. He then made a nice tackle in the red zone on Derek Carrier after the tight end made a catch in the flat, tackling him for only a 2-yard gain.

Stud: Ernest Jones
Jones was all over the field in the first half, making five tackles relatively quickly to lead the team at halftime. He made a good tackle in the hole early on, then ranged toward the sideline on an outside run by the Raiders. Jones doesn’t look like the game is too fast for him as he transitions from college to the NFL, which is a great sign for the rookie.

Stud: Jake Funk
Funk was the Rams’ best running back tonight. He started the game and showed some great burst through the hole, playing with good decisiveness when reading his blockers. He had runs of 12 yards, 14 yards and 19 yards throughout the game, totaling 56 yards on the night. He was also rock solid in pass protection, at one point picking up a blitz to allow Perkins to take a deep shot to Tutu Atwell down the left side.

Stud: Matt Gay
For the first time since high school, Gay handled punting duties after the Rams placed both Johnny Hekker and Corey Bojorquez on the reserve/COVID-19 list before the game. He looked comfortable in the role, averaging 42 yards per punt. He also made a field goal, an extra point and booted all three of his kickoffs for touchbacks. In a difficult spot, Gay stepped up. He did have a field goal blocked, however.

Stud: J.J. Koski
Koski was Bryce Perkins’ Cooper Kupp in this game, consistently getting open on third down in the middle of the field. He caught eight passes for 61 yards, picking up multiple first downs despite never really breaking off a big play. It’s hard to say he’s going to make the team, but Koski is at least pushing to stick around on the practice squad.

Dud: Bobby Evans
Evans was called for holding on what would’ve been a third-down conversion early in the game, looked overmatched by the Raiders’ interior rushers and allowed a free runner in the third quarter after not blocking anyone on a key third-down play. It’s becoming clear that the reason the Rams inserted Brian Allen at center and moved Austin Corbett to guard is the play of Evans. He’s not ready to start yet, struggling against the Raiders’ backups.

Dud: Raymond Calais
Calais didn’t get many opportunities to contribute in this one, especially considering he got hurt in the third quarter on a screen pass that was called back due to a penalty on Brycen Hopkins. Calais carried it three times for 5 yards and muffed a punt, which didn’t officially count because of a questionable penalty on the Raiders that didn’t hinder his ability to field the punt.

Dud: Donovan Olumba
Olumba is fighting for a roster spot but he didn’t help himself on Saturday night. He didn’t make any plays in coverage and was beat badly by Marcell Ateman for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, biting on a double move. His chances of making the team just went down because of his performance against the Raiders.

J.B. Long@JB_Long
Hope Bryce Perkins didn’t play himself out of Los Angeles (in a good way) over the past 8 days. That was a blast, and the 24yo showed a lot of moxie. Would love to see him stay in the organization.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Bryce Perkins will do whatever it takes, man. Gotta appreciate that from an undrafted free agent QB, who didn’t even get to run much of the scout team last year. Impressive game from him tonight – obviously some throws he will want back but some really promising stuff here.

…

Can the Rams really afford to cut Bryce Perkins after the potential he showed against the Raiders? https://t.co/3xVucY56cn

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) August 22, 2021

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by zn.

Sosa Kremenjas@QBsMVP
Xavier Jones looks a lot more comfortable and ready to contribute than Jake Funk. Funk got all the offseason hype it felt like, but Jones is the clear-cut RB2 IMO right now and it’s not close.

HoldenCantor@HoldenCantor
There’s no way the Rams can get away with putting Bryce Perkins on the PS. He needs to be QB3 on the active roster

HoldenCantor@HoldenCantor
There’s no way the Rams can get away with putting Bryce Perkins on the PS. He needs to be QB3 on the active roster

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
The thing personnel people kept saying about smaller-school product Chris Garrett when they drafted him in the seventh round was, “he just needs to get some time in against better players”. Has all the tools. That series was after 4 weeks against better players.

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Rams WR Tutu Atwell is getting checked on by the training staff, while RB Raymond Calais is helped off the field. Rams collecting injuries here in the second half. RT Tremayne Anchrum Jr. also left game because of an injury.

HoldenCantor@HoldenCantor
Oh man, looks serious for Calais. Prayers up Folded hands

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Matt Gay is down on the field lightly warming up a few punts, by the way. He last punted in a game in college, I believe. He also handles kickoffs and kicks. But the Rams need to still figure out who is going to hold for him on XPs and FGs, if those even happen tonight.

CANADIAN POLICE

***

LMU93

Rams tied for most projected picks in 2022 Draft

Tankathon is a good site for tracking draft capital and this year they have already woven in projected compensatory picks. Granted, 6 of the Rams 11 projected picks are in the final 52 selections of the Draft. But right now they are tied with the Lions, Jets and Chargers as having the most total picks in the 2022 Draft with 11.

http://www.tankathon.com/nfl

Ram_Ruler

11 personnel podcast on Brian Allen

I’m currently listening to the 11 personnel podcast and they’re talking about the abrupt switch at center. So far rodrigue has this to say:

Everybody in Rams can’t was absolutely confident that Corbett would be the starting center. Then Brian Allen came along and repped really well against Dallas, to the point that people on the field were talking about him as the best offensive lineman on the Rams roster as far as standing out in the joint practices.

Jourdan is currently commenting about how Bryan Allen looks fluid, nasty, and tenacious. She knows that he looks a lot stronger than he did a couple of years ago as well. I’ll keep updating as I continue.

Rich Hammond is adding that the Rams process was “really strange.” Noting that Corbett was undoubtedly the starter. Jourdan concurs. Rich asks if there’s a chance that Bobby Evans was so poor that this led to the Rams making the change. Roderick responds that there could have been a multitude of reasons mixing together, one of them being that Corbett at guard and Allen at center is just a better combo than Corbett at center and Evans at guard. But she notes that she doesn’t think Evans was doing bad

They say offensive lineman have a learning curve these days. We’ll see where Brian Allen is in year 4.

Derek Carr says Aaron Donald is “probably best three-technique to ever play this game.” https://t.co/QNvbkWuwXO

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) August 20, 2021

Remember the Trumper I went on a date with? You know, just to see. Well, she had been making fake vax cards for people. Mocking it, basically. And now her Mom and Sister are both stuck in a hospital in Nevada with COVID and pneumonia. No laughing matter. You reap what you sow.

— Wagnum Opus (@Wags_Official) August 19, 2021

Anti-vaccine lawmakers are calling for Maine Gov. Janet Mills execution, claiming shes a Nazi doctor who violated the Nuremberg Code when she implemented a Covid vaccine mandate for healthcare workers https://t.co/aWsZS6LFph

— Nathan Bernard (@nathanTbernard) August 19, 2021

🚨 Dime Alert 🚨

Stafford ➡️ @CooperKupp pic.twitter.com/zUz9vEEXxF

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 18, 2021

BREAKING: Biden announces a series of executive actions against Republican governors who are blocking mask mandates. "We’re not going to sit by as governors try to intimidate educators protecting our children."

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 18, 2021

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Sean McVay says “Leonard Floyd is gonna be OK” and they were just just being extra cautious by holding him out today.

Sean McVay seemed frustrated with the “sloppy” feel of practice due to the starts and stops in action based on after-whistle extracurriculars. He and Gruden and some other coaches spoke about it for awhile after practice because both teams want to get some quality work in.

McVay was speaking about both teams initiating some of these things, FWIW

Couple reminders based on questions in mentions: No tackling to the ground. May as well not be a pass rush because no contact on QBs. Hard to eval run game or the end moments of some coverage concepts on both sides because of that. Fields split so we all are doing our best.

Stafford said they installed some new things today and dictated some new looks, and he wanted to try the throw out with them and is glad he made the mistakes in practice; however he added that the picks were on him and he needs to correct those things moving forward.

Saw three interceptions of Stafford by Raiders first-team defense when they got to full-field work, including one from former Ram Littleton, following successful red period. Wonder how McVay will feel about the workday from both offense and defense. He’ll speak shortly.

Long conversation post practice between McVay, Gruden and a couple other coaches around midfield.

Stafford attempted a deep shot to Desean Jackson, who was matched up with Johnathan Abram. Abram got his head turned around late and was able to force the incompletion even though Jackson had a step on him. There was some contact, but there was no flag thrown.

At least 2 air explosives against the Rams secondary today; this latest was Ruggs for a TD…Think Burgess one of the DBs and could not see the other from my place on the far field.

Things tense on this side as Woods takes a tough hit over the top and ball falls incomplete.

Woods is fine; appeared from my distance to be frustrated w the nature of the hit angle which is why things were tense

Looked like Travin Howard nearly came away with it

Mariota with another INT dropped

Another scrum. Incognito in the middle of this one as both sidelines run on field.

Stafford and Rams ones had a nice RZ 7on7 period (pretty sideline ball to Jefferson; TDs to Kupp and Higbee). Struggled in full field 11on11 and had a tipped ball meant for Woods picked.

Rochell dove to pick Mariota, and Carr hit Remfrow on a slick out and up explosive.

Fight No.2, Raiders offense Rams defense getting chippy out here.

Latter play was Ramsey’s side but I think someone was supposed to bump over up top. I was watching from opposite field and there is no replay so not totally certain – but Ramsey is playing close to LOS today so imagine that may be the case.

We have a scuffle during special teams phase. Started with a couple guys near Raiders sideline on punt coverage play, then sidelines partially cleared. Joe DeCamillis dove into it.

We had a bit of a CA-version downpour a few minutes ago so sorry for the lack of updates – one thing to keep an eye on is Anchrum walking off the field w team doctor.

Leonard Floyd is not dressed out today, but is able to be on the field w teammates and has no visible brace or tape on that ankle. Also is an Asic’s running shoes guy, a comfort level I respect.

CB Darious Williams is practicing. Red non-contact jersey and club for CB Robert Rochell. Nick Scott, Trishton Jackson, Terrell Lewis working out on the bikes this morning. I don’t see Leonard Floyd (ankle) yet this morning, so that situation merits followup. Lawler likely sub.

BTHRams@BTH_Rams
I do think it would be very easy to make the case that if the Rams don’t make the NFC Championship at least once in the next two years that Les Snead and Tony Pastoors should be fired.

The more I’ve thought about this, the more it kind of has to do with Aaron Donald’s career arc.

How many NFC Championship games should a GM be able to get his team to if they have Aaron Donald on their team for his entire career?

Hard to think the answer should be 1