Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
JoJo Natson said he was at home in Florida watching NFL games last weekend. Got the call from Rams special-teams coach John Fassel yesterday that he would be signed, then flew to L.A. last night. “I didn’t expect for the turnaround to be this quick, at all.”

==

Downtown Rams@DowntownRams
Random nugget: The #Rams started undefeated in 1999, 2000 and 2001 up until their 7th game. All 3 years they lost in the seventh game. Should this team start off like that, they would be playing the #49ers at the end of a 3-game road trip to break that mild curse in week 7.

#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.

—

Louis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
From ‘15-‘17, QB’s vs the blitz (passer rating) 1 T Brady 2 M Ryan 3 D Prescott 4 Alex Smith 5 J Goff 6 P Rivers 7 R Wilson 8 D Carr 9 K Cousins 10 D Brees.

==

Greg Beacham@gregbeacham
New Rams kick returner JoJo Natson says he’s 5-foot-7 and about 153 pounds: “It’s light, but you can’t hit what you can’t catch.”

==

Brent Lancaster@lannyosu
JoJo was a man who thought he was a loner
But now he’s just another Ram

==

I guess this is why I don't delete things. Here's exactly what former #LARams OC Matt LaFleur said about HC Sean McVay's memory back in August of 2017. pic.twitter.com/Jz9WWlU01z

— Myles Simmons (@MylesASimmons) September 13, 2018

Steve Mason@VeniceMase
Since the start of last year, #Rams QB @JaredGoff16 is 8-1 on the road with 20TD passes & only 2INT.

His touchdown-to-interception ratio on the road over the last 2 seasons is #1 in the NFL.

wv wrote:

I only saw the highlights. But its pretty clear this team will be better than the 97 Rams.

w
v

What??! 97 Rams had Warner, Faulk, Bruce, Holt, Pace, Timmerman…they were loaded.

You have zero sense of history.

…

Studs and duds from Rams’ Week 1 win: Cooks, newcomers shine

Cameron DaSilva

Studs and duds from Rams' Week 1 win: Cooks, newcomers shine

It took a complete team effort for the Los Angeles Rams to knock off the Oakland Raiders Monday night, both defensively and offensively. There were quite a few standout performances from the Rams, but there were also some disappointing ones, too.

Here are studs and duds from Monday’s 33-13 win over Oakland.

Studs

WR Brandin Cooks

Cooks didn’t have 150 yards and two scores, but he had a great first game with the Rams. In the first half alone, he drew two pass interference penalties for a total of 87 yards. That doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed by savvy fans and or the coaching staff.

In the end, he finished with five catches for 87 yards, the longest of which went for 30 yards. He showed a willingness to go over the middle with defenders lurking, while also displaying awareness along the sidelines. He’s exactly what the Rams were hoping he’d be.

Offensive line

The offensive line was near-perfect in this one. Jared Goff was only sacked once, but that was largely his fault after he stood in the pocket too long and wasn’t aware of Bruce Irvin looping around. Goff admitted after the game that the sack was on him, complimenting the entire offensive line for the job it did protecting him.

In the running game, Gurley had nice running lanes to burst through, rarely getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. The unit didn’t miss a beat with Austin Blythe filling in for Jamon Brown.

CBs Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib

There was a lot of hype surrounding the Rams’ secondary entering this season, and needless to say, it lived up to expectations. While it’s still very early, the early returns on Peters and Talib are excellent. We didn’t hear Talib’s name called much in this one, but that’s a good thing. He was great in coverage and didn’t let Jordy Nelson do much of anything, limiting him to just three catches for 23 yards.

Peters was even better, shutting down Amari Cooper. He held him to just one catch for 9 yards, intercepting Carr in the fourth quarter and returning it for a touchdown. If this is how the corners are going to play every week, expect teams to target their running backs and tight ends the way Oakland did.

OLB Samson Ebukam

Ebukam got off to a hot start, and although he cooled down in the second half, he made a handful of nice plays early on. In total, he had three tackles for loss – though one was a gift after Derek Carr fell down – which led all players in the game.

On that same drive, Ebukam stuffed Doug Martin on a swing pass in the Raiders’ own territory, a great stop in the open field. Later in the game, he snuck into the backfield to bring Marshawn Lynch down for a 5-yard loss.

RB Todd Gurley

It wouldn’t be a “studs” section if Gurley didn’t make an appearance. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year picked up where he left off last season, rushing for 108 yards on just 20 carries. His longest run of the game was 23 yards, while also adding three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown on a tap pass from Goff.

He showed the same explosiveness and burst he had last season despite not playing in the preseason, setting aside any concerns about rust or needing time to get up to speed. He’s once again going to be an MVP candidate.

Honorable mentions: LB Cory Littleton, DE Michael Brockers, WR Cooper Kupp

Duds

S John Johnson

Johnson’s stat line looks good with nine tackles, an interception and a pass defensed, but it was hardly representative of his play. The second-year safety really struggled on Monday night, missing tackles, getting beat by Jared Cook repeatedly and looking shaky in coverage.

Johnson was the primary defender on Cook for most of the night, and while he didn’t surrender all nine catches for 180 yards by the tight end, he was on the wrong end of many of those plays. He redeemed himself a bit by picking off Carr in the end zone, but there was more bad than good in this one.

QB Jared Goff

Like Johnson, Goff’s stat line doesn’t look terrible: 18 of 33 for 233 yards and two touchdown passes with a rating of 97.2. Not bad, right? Well, that stat line could’ve been much better, and at the same time, much worse.

He overthrew Robert Woods on a couple of occasions, while also missing Kupp in the end zone on an inaccurate throw. The pass was nearly intercepted, but it could’ve easily been a touchdown.

Also in the red zone, Goff almost handed Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie after it was tipped in the air by the former Giants defensive back, falling harmlessly to the turf. His fumble was almost a disaster after he didn’t feel the pressure from Bruce Irvin, but Rob Havenstein bailed him out by falling on the ball.

Goff simply wasn’t very accurate on passes 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, missing open receivers several times.

CB Troy Hill

Hill was a non-factor on defense, but he had an impact on special teams. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind of impact. He was flagged twice on consecutive punts for holding the Raiders’ gunner, leading to 10-yard setbacks for the offense. Special teams penalties are never good and can really hurt a backup like Hill’s value.

Depth players

The Rams stuck to 11 personnel for just about the entire game, only putting Johnny Mundt and Gerald Everett on the field a couple of times. Josh Reynolds was spotted only once or twice, while Pharoh Cooper didn’t appear to get any chances at wide receiver. McVay leaned on his top playmakers, as indicated by the box score.

Tyler Higbee wasn’t targeted once, while only five players caught passes and carried the ball all night long.

alyoshamucci

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly …

I went to sleep after the pick 6 … live on the East Coast so I was satisfied with sleeping at that point.

Also, I’m bummed at the loss of Demby. I don’t know how that cut made sense after cutting Neary. I mean … it’s not the worst thing to happen, but it seems like there were 4 candidates that could have been cut and cleared waivers.

The Good (I don’t have a “great” for this one, because we came out flat)

1) Playcalling was really solid and inventive.

2) Wade’s half time adjustments may be the best I have ever seen.

3) Cooks can really fly. I’ve seen him on the Pats and the Saints, but he looks different at that speed in horns.

4) JJ3’s pick. It took him some time to figure out how to cover Cook, but he was ready on that play … my brother (Sun Tzu) called the play actually and we were really happy he came down with it rather than Jared. Game changing moment right there.

5) The Offensive line should be higher on this list … maybe even should have created a “great’ section just for them. Blythe may actually be better than Jamon Brown.

6) Gurley finishing runs like he didn’t sit out the preseason. I think siting Goff and the WRs was a mistake we paid for (for a half) … but Gurley was ready to go.

7) Their WRs had 4 catches for 30 yards? Talib and Peters seem to be good … we just can’t cover TEs.

8) Saw the Cooks vs. Sammy stat line post. That made me smile. Especially because I dropped Sammy in fantasy and kept Tyreek Hill. That’s not even counting the 87 yards in PI.

9) Donald maybe wasn’t at full ability, but he obviously stayed in shape.

10) Easley at OLB one play at DT the next. That’s just crazy.

The Bad

11) Pharoh out? Bummer.

12) Goff was inaccurate.

13) Dropped passes.

14) LB play was late most of the time.

15) Overall the D line didn’t wow me to the tune of 48 million a year over three players.

16) Do we have TEs on our team?

The Ugly

17) Cook going for 180 is really unacceptable.

18) Goff’s fumble. Cannot have that.

The Priceless

19) Gruden’s look of disgust on the sidelines.

Keeping it short this week … don’t have as much free time now.

The Rams enter Week 2 as the best team in the NFL pic.twitter.com/VI6BIqiCos

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 12, 2018

aeneas1

road teams this week, highest point differential – rams 2nd.
road defenses this week, fewest offensive points allowed – rams 3rd.
road offenses this week, most offensive points scored – rams 5th.

not too shabby for week 1, just think how well they would have done had the starters played during the preseason, ha ha….

nfc west qb ratings, week 1:

goff – 97.2
wilson – 92.7
bradford – 57.6
garoppolo – 45.1

Myles Simmons‏@MylesASimmons
Practice squad transaction: #LARams have dropped OL Jeremiah Kolone and added OL Aaron Neary to the practice squad. Neary was with LA during the offseason and training camp.

Mike Cahill@PFF_Cahill
#LARams’ offensive line was only dinged with two QB pressures on 36 dropbacks in Monday’s season opener. None by the interior

==

Peter Schrager@PSchrags
Re-watched Rams-Raiders. Gruden scripted out the first 15 plays and they were incredible. First 15 plays were ten years in the making.

From that point on, it was all Rams.

==

Louis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
Carr is fine. Amari is fine. Jon knows how to coach offense at a very high level. After what this offense looked like a year ago schematically, there will be growing pains. They are going from kindergarten to grad school schematically. They had NO chance a year ago. #Raiders

==

Week one ✅ pic.twitter.com/3Xa88s8GwR

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 11, 2018

MARSHAWN LYNCH LOOKED LIKE A PREPPY NERD IN HIGH SCHOOL pic.twitter.com/vlWdl1HVAe

— joon (@joonlee) September 11, 2018

from Rams at Raiders Postgame Notes (9-10-18)

Goff continues to protect the ball on the road, starting off the season without an interception. In 2017, Goff was one of only two quarterbacks to start at least seven road games and have only two interceptions during the regular season.

RB Todd Gurley rushed 20 times for 108 yards, including a long rush of 23 yards. Marked Gurley’s 12th career game with at least 100 rushing yards.

Gurley also caught three passes for 39 yards and one touchdown for a total of 23 touches for 147 yards.

Gurley recorded the Rams first touchdown of the season on a 19-yard pass from Goff. Gurley now has 36 career touchdowns (seven receiving, 29 rushing).

Gurley took sole possession of the eighth-most rushing yards on the Rams’ All-Time Rushing Yards list. Previously, he shared the eighth spot with Tank Younger (3,296) in 100 games. Gurley trails Les Joseph with 3,407 in 129 games for the seventh-most yards. Gurley has 3,404 yards in 45 games.

WR Cooper Kupp hauled in his first touchdown of the season on an 8-yard pass from Goff.

WR Brandin Cooks made his Rams debut and led the team in receiving yards with 87 yards in five receptions.

CB Marcus Peters made his Rams debut and tallied a pick-6 off the Raiders. Peters nabbed an interception off QB Derek Carr and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. Peters’ play is the longest interception return by a Ram in Week 1. The second longest was former LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar who returned an interception 42 yards against the Detroit Lions (9/9/12). The play is the third-longest interception return by a Ram on Monday Night Football.

Peters now has 20 career interceptions and three interceptions returned for touchdowns in his career. Peters has collected more interceptions (20) than anyone else since he entered the league in 2015.

OLB Samson Ebukam registered the first sack for the Rams defense for the 2018 season. Ebukam sacked Raiders QB Derek Carr for a loss of five yards. Marked his third career sack.

S John Johnson snagged an interception off Carr in the endzone. Marked Johnson’s second career interception.

DT Michael Brockers sacked Carr for a loss of three yards. Brockers now has 19 career sacks.
Littleton’s second career interception.

DT Ndamukong Suh made his Rams debut and started his 100th consecutive game, the most among all active defensive linemen.

LB Cory Littleon tallied an interception off Carr. Marked his second-career interception.
According to press box statistics, Littleon led the team in tackles with 13 (11 solo).

K Greg Zuerlein converted field goals of 20, 28, 55 and 20 yards. Zuerlein is 154-of-186 for his career. Zuerlein has 25 field goals in the 50-plus yard range in his career.In total, Zuerlein posted 15 points in his first game of the season (four field goals and three PATs).

P Johnny Hekker punted two times for 117 yards, including two punts placed inside the 20-yard line and a long of 62 yards.

Seven Stats: Rams Defeat Raiders on Monday Night Football

Clarence Dennis

https://www.therams.com/news/seven-stats-rams-defeat-raiders-on-monday-night-football

The Los Angeles Rams beat the Raiders 33-13 on Monday night. L.A. started slow in primetime, allowing a Raiders touchdown on the home team’s opening drive, and managing little on offense for much of the first half. However, the Rams only trailed 13-10 at the break, thanks to an interception by safety John Johnson and plenty of Raiders penalties.
Head coach Sean McVay’s offense then came out of halftime having made some key adjustments, outscored the Raiders 10-0 in the third quarter, and never looked back.

Here are seven stats that stood out in the Rams’ opening game of the season:

1. GURLEY MOVES UP IN RUSHING RANKS
Running back Todd Gurley moved up in the Rams’ record book on his first carry of the game on Monday night.
Gurley took his first handoff of the season for two yards in the Rams’ opening three-and-out drive of the game, needing just one yard to take sole possession of eighth place in the Rams all-time rushing list. Gurley entered Monday night tied with former Ram Paul Younger.
Gurley finished his night with 108 yards rushing, 39 yards receiving, and one touchdown.

2. RAMS DEFENSE HAULS IN THREE PICKS
The Rams defense had three interceptions in the opening game of the season, disrupting any Raiders’ offensive momentum.
Safety John Johnson made the Low Angeles’ first interception of the season, picking off quarterback Derek Carr in the endzone in the second quarter. Johnson’s clutch pick was followed by a Cory Littleton interception in the third, and then by Marcus Peters’ 20th pick of his career — the evening’s nail in the coffin for the Raiders.
Peters’ interception capped Monday’s victory and caused an eruption of support from the Rams’ sideline. With two minutes remaining, Peters snuck behind Raiders tight end Jared Cook and picked off quarterback Derek Carr’s pass. The Oakland native ran 50 yards to the end zone with plenty of flair for his first interception and pick-six as a Ram. Peters now has 20 interceptions in 46 career games-played.
The Rams were one of five teams in 2017 that led the league in interceptions returned for touchdowns with three pick-sixes.

3. THIRD QUARTER SCORES
The Rams led the league in point differential in the third quarter (+78) in 2017, putting up 119 points and allowing only 41.
McVay’s offense continued its third quarter success on Monday, outscoring the Raiders 10-0 in the quarter. Quarterback Jared Goff connected with second-year receiver Cooper Kupp for the Rams’ second touchdown of the game on 1st-and-goal from the Oakland eight, to take a 20-13 lead as the quarter came to an end.
The Rams would build on the third quarter momentum, scoring another 13 points in the fourth.

4. ENTER: BRANDIN COOKS
Monday’s game marked the debut for a handful of Rams offseason additions. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks made some the most noise of the new faces who played against Oakland. Cooks led all Rams receivers with 87 yards on five catches.
Cooks also drew two substantial pass-interference calls in the game, collectively moving his offense 87 yards down the field. The second of the two penalties was translated into points, with a Greg Zuerlein field goal near the end of the second quarter.

5. ZUERLEIN’S STRANGE NIGHT
Zuerlein was money last season, hitting 95-percent of his field goal attempts, good on 38-of-40 tries.
The Rams special teams’ “old faithful” uncharacteristically missed his opening field goal of 2018, sending a 46-yard try wide-right in the second quarter. It is of note, though, that Zuerlein’s miss came from the Oakland A’s infield dirt.
Zuerlein then hit his next four attempts of the night — his longest from 55 yards.

6. SUH ECLIPSES CENTURY-MARK
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh started his 100th consecutive game on Monday night — the most among all active defensive linemen.
The veteran newcomer had a handful of tackles in his Los Angeles debut, finishing with four tackles and one quarterback hurry. Suh’s quarterback hurry came in the fourth quarter, on the same play that ended in Peters’ pick-six.

7. MONDAY NIGHT WIN
The Rams are in the win column on Monday Night Football for the first time since 2004. Entering tonight’s game, the Rams were just 2-9 playing on Monday Night Football since the 2004 season, when they beat both the Buccaneers and Eagles.
The Rams will play on Monday Night Football for a second time this season on November 19 in Mexico City against the Kansas City Chiefs.