On normal sports articles and game reports. With so many sources now in LA, there’s always a lot of them, with diminishing returns…very few of them are that different from one another. So I am going to drift more toward posting links in these long reporter game report threads, along with some articles and tweets n stuff. I doubt anyone cares really but I just thought I would say something. Others who want to post stuff, you just do what you want to do, there’s no “policy” here.

Game Recap: Gurley Scores Three TDs, Defense Dominates in 34-0 Victory

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/game-recap-gurley-scores-three-tds-defense-dominates-in-34-0-victory

Using ball-control offense and a downright dominant defensive performance, the Rams defeated the Cardinals 34-0 on Sunday, moving to 2-0 for the first time since 2001.
Arizona managed only five total first downs, with just three coming against the first-team defense before Los Angeles began to play its reserves. The Cardinals finished with just 137 total yards, as the Rams recorded a shutout over their divisional foe for the second year in a row.

It was about as commanding a defensive performance as possible for the Rams, with head coach Sean McVay noting it was as good a performance as he’s been around.
“I can’t remember a time I’ve seen a defense play that complete from whistle to whistle,” he said. “From first quarter to the fourth quarter, they did an excellent job.”
That the Rams were able to do so on this day was significant, considering who they were missing. All-Pro returner Pharoh Cooper was placed on injured reserve earlier in this week with a significant ankle injury. And just before kickoff, the Rams learned they would also be without All-Pro kicker Greg Zuerlein, who had suffered a groin injury.
“That changed our approach right away,” McVay said. “That’s where you say, ‘OK, you’re going to be a little bit more inclined to go for it on some fourth-down situations.’ You guys saw a couple two-point conversions that we ended up having today. So, that definitely affected the decision making.”
L.A. would end up attempting three two-point conversions and hitting all three, with punter . The Rams also finished 1-of-3 on fourth down.
Continuing the special teams prowess, returner JoJo Natson — re-signed this week to replace the injured Pharoh Cooper — excelled by averaging 22.2 yards per punt return, consistently setting up the offense with favorable field position. Natson had a 60-yard return in the second quarter, which set up a L.A. touchdown.
“One of the things you can’t help but notice [is] the explosiveness,” McVay said of Natson. “He did a great job fielding it, but he’s fearless. You talk about the game being too big for guys — it was not too big for him today.”

With Arizona clearly keyed in to slowing down Gurley — who finished with 19 carries for 42 yards with three rushing touchdowns — quarterback Jared Goff answered the bell. The third-year quarterback finished 24-of-32 with 354 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception. And on this day, 159 of those yards came courtesy of wideout Brandin Cooks, who caught seven passes on nine targets.
“We’ve been connecting on a lot of the stuff during practice,” Goff said of Cooks. “Today, you kind of felt that rhythm start to happen. Some of those deep things, some of the other stuff across the field where he’s able to make those plays with his speed, and just how good with his hands — he did a great job today.”
“I’m extremely blessed, first of all, to play this game, have such an amazing team and teammates,” Cooks said. “There’s no doubt about it — I couldn’t do it without them.”

The two teams traded punts early on in the contest before Los Angeles took control with some strong passes and receptions from Goff to his wide receivers. The signal-caller connected with wideout Robert Woods for a 19-yard gain, then hit Cooks for consecutive gains of 20 and nine yards.
That’s when Gurley — who was held to six carries for -1 yards in the first quarter — broke loose, taking a handoff 11 yards to the right for a touchdown. With Zuerlein out, Gurley took another carry up the middle for a successful two-point conversion to give L.A. an 8-0 lead.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Natson started to make his mark with a 17-yard punt return to give the offense the ball at the L.A. 46. Los Angeles took advantage of the good field position, driving deep into Arizona territory. Though L.A. had 1st-and-goal from the 10, the home team couldn’t punch it in the box.
Instead, Hekker attempted his first career field goal from 20-yards out. With wide receiver Cooper Kupp holding Jake McQuaide’s snap, Hekker nailed the attempt to give the Rams an 11-0 lead.
Hekker’s last field goal in a game?
“That was in Bothell high school — 2007 sometime,” Hekker said postgame. “I felt comfortable. I was calm. I have a great group of guys around me. I know Jake’s going to put the snap on the money, Cooper’s going to put it down there, and it’s just up to me to just be an athlete and just kick it through.”
That he did.

With the defense continuing to force the Cardinals into bad spots — they had just two first downs in the entire first half — Natson once again made his presence felt. The young returner, took a deep punt up the left sideline for a 60-yard return, setting Los Angeles up at the opponent’s 32-yard line with 4:18 left in the first half.
The Rams salted away the rest of that clock with an eight-play drive that finished with Gurley running it up the gut for a one-yard touchdown on 4th-and-goal. Gurley ran it in once more for a two-point conversion, putting the home team up 19-0 at halftime.
Los Angeles’ defense had surrendered just two first downs in the first half, and kept up the dominant performance by letting up just one in the third quarter. Through three periods, Arizona had only 91 total yards — allowing Los Angeles to largely control the game.
Goff opened the first possession of the second half with a 57-yard bomb to Cooks, putting the Rams all the way at the Cardinals’ 22. But on 3rd-and-9, Goff tried to make something happen after evading a sack in the backfield and rolling to his right. The quarterback was looking to get a pass in to Cooks, but cornerback Patrick Peterson did what he does best, and picked off the pass for Los Angeles’ first turnover of 2018.
The defense, however, didn’t let Arizona get anything meaningful going offensively and forced a punt.

On the ensuing drive, Gurley scored his third touchdown of the game, after another Natson punt return gave the offense favorable field position at its own 44. Goff started the possession with a pass over the middle to Cooks for 14 yards, then evaded the rush in the backfield to fire a strike to Woods down the left sideline. Gurley would punch it in on 3rd-and-1 from the Arizona two-yard line. Once again going for two, Goff connected with running back Malcolm Brown in the middle of the end zone to keep the club perfect on those attempts.
Up 27-0 and in command of the game, Los Angeles inserted second-team defenders at linebacker and in the secondary. Cornerback Sam Shields showed there would be no drop off, picking off Bradford on 2nd-and-8 to make his first pick since December of 2015.
L.A. capitalized on its extra opportunity, with Goff tossing a touchdown pass on the left side to tight end Tyler Higbee.
With the victory, the Rams have now shut out the Cardinals in the last two games where they’ve been considered the “home” team. Last year’s game was in London, but Los Angeles won that matchup 33-0 as well.
The Rams will be back in action at the Coliseum next week, taking on the 1-1 Los Angeles Chargers.

The Rams lost Greg Zuerlein, then kicked the Cardinals all over the field. Here's my game story: https://t.co/TvI3XtBmC8

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) September 17, 2018

NFL Throwback@nflthrowback
@PatrickMahomes5 is the first player in @NFL history to throw 10 touchdown passes in the first two games of the season. (Absurd but true: he’s on pace for 80 TDs this season…)

With 28 catches so far this year, @Saints WR Michael Thomas has the most receptions through the first 2 games of the season since at least 1950. He’s on pace for 224 catches this season…that’s 81 more than the current record (143 by the @Colts Marvin Harrison in 2002)

Seven Stats: Rams Rout Cardinals in Home Opener

Clarence Dennis

https://www.therams.com/news/seven-stats-rams-rout-cardinals-in-home-opener

The Los Angeles Rams returned to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, beating the Arizona Cardinals 34-0 in their first divisional matchup of the season.
The Rams powered past first-year head coach Steve Wilks and his Cardinals behind running back Todd Gurley’s pounding redzone runs and quarterback Jared Goff’s efficient distribution through the air to an array of open receivers.

Here are seven stats that stood out in Week 2 against the Cardinals:
1. DONALD TIES RAMS RECORD
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald entered Sunday’s game just two tackles for a loss away from holding the Rams all-time TFL record.
With his only TFL of the day, Donald matched former defensive end Chris Long’s total at 73.
Donald’s tackle came late in the first quarter on a loss-of-two run by Cardinals running back David Johnson.
Donald finished his day with four tackles.
2. JOJO NATSON
Earlier this week, the Rams added returner JoJo Natson to the roster in-place of the injured Pharoh Cooper. Natson, 5-foot-7 and 153 pounds, played well on special teams on Sunday, racking up 133 punt return yards in six fielded punts — good for a 22.2-yard average.
Natson’s longest return of the game came in the second quarter, when he broke through the Cardinals special teams unit for a 60-yard return down the left side of the field to the Cardinals 32-yard line. The long return primed quarterback Jared Goff’s offense with optimal field position for their second touchdown-scoring drive just before the halftime break.
Cooper injured his ankle in Week 1 against Oakland and is expected to miss at least eight weeks.

3. NO ZUERLEIN
Kicker Greg Zuerlein unexpectedly missed Sunday’s game to a groin issue. No Zuerlein proved no problem for the Rams, who successfully converted three-of-three attempted two-point conversions in place of Zuerlein extra points.
Running back Todd Gurley put four points on the board, re-entering the end zone following his first two touchdowns of the game by successfully converting both attempts on runs up the middle.
Goff also connected with backup running back Malcolm Brown in the end zone for a successful two-point attempt.
Punter Johnny Hekker assumed kicking duties in Zuerlein’s absence. Hekker nailed his first ever career field goal — the Rams’ only field goal of the day — halfway through the second quarter, from 20 yards. Hekker then tacked on a successful extra point in the fourth quarter.
4. COOKS LEADS RECEIVERS
Wide receiver Brandin Cooks once again led Rams receivers in Week 2. Cooks was also Goff’s preferred target, connecting on seven-of-nine targets.
Cooks’ longest reception of the day came on a 57-yard shot from Goff, advancing the Rams to the Cardinals 22. The ball has a just a hair underthrown — forcing Cooks to backpeddle, and watch the ball into his pads while tumbling to the ground.
Cooks averaged 22.7 yards per reception on Sunday, with four catches of 20 yards or more. He entered Week 2 fifth-best in the league for receptions of 25 yards or more since 2014.
5. GOFF’S BIG DAY
The Rams offense played a more complete game in Week 2, following Monday Night Football’s tail of two halves in Oakland.
Goff moved the ball effectively down the field — setting up red zone opportunities for Gurley.
Goff completed 24-of-32 passing attempts for 354 yards. He finished the game with one touchdown and one interception. Goff connected on 75-percent of his passes, targeting both Cooks and receiver Robert Woods nine times, and receiver Cooper Kupp six times.
Goff connected with tight end Tyler Higbee with just over three minutes remaining in the game for the Rams’ only passing touchdown of the game. Higbee’s three-yard reception was his first catch of the season and only his second target.

6. LACK OF SACKS
In a dominant victory across all three phases of the game, the Rams defense did struggle to bring down Cardinals quarterback Sam Bradford.
In 2017, the Rams defense totaled 10 sacks in their two meetings with the Cardinals. Donald and defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks accounted for 6.0 of those sacks.
Bradford was sacked just once on Sunday, brought down by linebacker Samson Ebukam for a loss of seven in the second quarter.
While the defense shined on Sunday, allowing just three Cardinals first downs through three quarters — Rams fans are still awaiting an Ndamukong Suh or Donald sack in 2018.
7. A RAMS WIN
Sunday’s win marks the first time the Rams have started a season 2-0 since 2001. It’s also the team’s first win at home in the L.A. Coliseum in 2018.
Sunday’s win may be especially sweet in L.A., as the Rams had a tough time on their home turf a year ago, finishing 3-5 in the Coliseum, including playoffs.
The Rams have now shut out the Cardinals in two of their last three meetings and extended their win streak to three games.

Scott Hanson@ScottHanson
Derek Carr is 22 of 23 passing.
95.7% completion percentage.

That would be the single game record for any QB since 1950

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
Game balls for JoJo Natson, Johnny Hekker and Wade Phillips today

—

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Aqib Talib, on the Rams’ new look defense and how it’s come together after a 34-0 shutout of the Cardinals: “It’s a great time, it’s a great time… You put a bunch of alpha dogs on one defense and it’s either going to be good or it’s going to be terrible and this one turned out good.

while Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh aren’t filling up the stat sheet, their presence has certainly been felt by opposing quarterbacks who are in a hurry to get the ball off. The challenge next week against the Chargers and Phillip Rivers will be to force turnovers, which they were unable to do Sunday.

—

Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Jared Goff on the Rams’ defense: “I think it gives everyone, the whole team, confidence. The whole stadium. When they go three and out like that so often, we sit down and kind of look at the last drive and and it’s, ‘Oh, we’re back up.’”

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Hey THIS is what we like to see up close @TG3II!👊💪 LA was krazzzy as ever 🤣😜& had fun seeing many fans and @RamsNFL greats today at #Ramshouse 😎😎 pic.twitter.com/1PvwcB5yQ5

— Jack Youngblood (@theblood85) September 17, 2018

==

Find someone who looks at you the way Brandin Cooks looks at a football pic.twitter.com/ugpxR0yj05

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) September 17, 2018

TSRF wrote:

What is up with The Leg??

Groin

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
They will wear the whites at home (because of the heat) tomorrow and next week. Beginning on the Thursday game against the Vikings they’ll wear their throwbacks at home the rest of the season

Part of me understands, but I still think, on some level way back in the minds of some people, they still doubt #Rams QB Jared Goff is a legit big-time #NFL QB. I think when it’s all said and done he convinces all of them he’s the real deal.

Even Sean McVay will tell you he’s not some magician. You’re either working with a legit #NFL quarterback or your not. Prying the most out of that pre-existing skill set will be a combination of McVay and Goff. But when it gets right down to it, mostly Goff.

JackPMiller wrote:

The real question is if Agamemnon is fired up all the time? Ram fans need to know.

I think there’s no doubt.

Downtown Rams@DowntownRams
#Rams have a chance to go 2-0 this week with a home opener win over rival Arizona. It’s a big deal. It would be the first time since the 2001 season the Rams have started 2-0.

That’s true but here’s something they’ve already done: the last time the Rams won 2 opening games in a row was 2000/2001.

They’ve already done that in 2017/2018.