LA Rams spoil Raiders’ return to Coliseum with 19-15 win

Associated Press

http://www.espn.com/nfl/recap?gameId=401030987

LOS ANGELES — Sean McVay and Jon Gruden both knew they’ve got to coach against each other in a real game just 23 days after the Rams’ preseason visit from the Raiders.

So while the Raiders’ return to the Coliseum was a thrill for their faithful Southern California fan base, the Rams’ young coach and his veteran role model both made sure the action on the field was as meaningless as possible.

Rookie John Kelly rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown, and the Rams welcomed the Raiders back to LA with a 19-15 preseason victory over Oakland on Saturday.

Chris Warren rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders in their return to the venerable stadium that was their home for 13 seasons during their largely successful tenure in Los Angeles. Their passionate local following turned out in force, filling the 95-year-old arena with black jerseys and loud cheers.

“It was awesome being back here,” Gruden said. “If you understand the Raiders, they have had a history here, a championship history here. There are still a lot of fans that remember those teams, and rightfully so.”

But both teams rested nearly all of their presumptive starters and used no significant parts of their playbook, thanks in part to a weird NFL scheduling decision that forced these teams to play an exhibition three weeks before they meet in their Monday night regular-season opener in Oakland.

“I’ve never been in a preseason game like this,” Gruden said. “This is tough, in our first training camp as a football team, to have our second (preseason game) against a team we open up with.

“I don’t know in the history of the NFL if that’s ever happened. I’m not going to sit up here and cry about it, because it’s the same for them as it is us. But we didn’t want to play our starters, and we didn’t want them to hear our audibles and hand signals. I don’t think they wanted us to get a feel for them either, so it was a strange ballgame.”

Although both coaches revealed as little about their teams as possible, McVay still relished his first chance to face Gruden, who employed McVay as a 22-year-old assistant wide receivers coach on his final staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. McVay frequently cites Gruden and his brother, Jay, as major influences on his coaching style and mentality.

“Everybody knows what a huge amount of respect I have for Jon, and how great he’s been to me over the course of my coaching career,” McVay said. “(But) they were pretty regulated. Very similar in terms of the approach by both teams. Very vanilla.”

The Rams’ backups dominated the Raiders’ reserves in the first half, taking a 13-0 lead while holding Oakland to 58 yards and one first down. Oakland trailed 16-0 before mounting a rally, but the Raiders failed on their second 2-point conversion attempt of the day following Griff Whalen’s 10-yard TD catch with 9:52 to play.

“I was going to do everything humanly possible to avoid overtime today, yes,” Gruden said.

Sam Ficken then hit his second field goal for the Rams with 5:46 left.

“It’s definitely different, because it’s not their starters out there, and you want to save stuff for later,” said Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam, one of the few likely regular-season starters who played significant snaps. “You still want to do your best, though.”

The Raiders’ offense didn’t record its second first down of the day until late in the third quarter, but Warren capped the 75-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. The undrafted free-agent running back from Texas had 86 yards in his preseason debut against Detroit.

“It’s about showing I can play in the league and make the most of my opportunities,” Warren said. “I didn’t expect to play as much as I did. It was nice to get some good pops in. I was able to get some yards after contact.”

HOMECOMING GAME

Al Davis moved the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, and their home crowds at the Coliseum quickly developed a reputation for rowdiness and occasional violence. But the Raiders also won the hearts of a generation of Los Angeles football fans with their swagger and success, including a Super Bowl title in their second season in town.

The Rams spent the 1980s in Anaheim, further opening the way for the Raiders to become Generation X’s favorite team in LA.

Both franchises moved after the 1994 season, and the Rams returned home two years ago. The Raiders missed out on the chance to return to LA when the Chargers made their move last year, but the Raiders will be only about 260 miles from Los Angeles when they move to Las Vegas in 2020, making it even easier for LA’s silver-and-black fans to back their team.

RAIDERS WOES

Warren was the clearest standout on a discouraging day for Oakland’s offense. Gruden was blunt, calling it “flat-out embarrassing, honestly.”

E.J. Manuel went 10 for 16 for 89 yards and a touchdown, but also fumbled for the second straight week. The Raiders’ backup offensive line struggled to keep the Rams’ pressure off Manuel and Connor Cook, who went 6 for 12.

MANNION IMPROVES

Rams backup QB Sean Mannion rebounded from a rocky preseason debut last week in Baltimore, going 10 of 16 for 84 yards while completing passes to eight receivers. Third-stringer Brandon Allen wasn’t as sharp, going 6 for 11 and throwing a terrible interception in the fourth quarter to put Oakland in position for its second TD.

INJURIES

Raiders: K Eddie Pineiro didn’t play because of a groin injury. … CB Shareece Wright injured his hamstring during the game.

Rams: RB Justin Davis didn’t play because of a hamstring injury, preventing him from competing with Kelly and Malcolm Brown for the backup job.

UP NEXT

Raiders: Host the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 24.

Rams: Host the Houston Texans on Aug. 25.

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Free-agent visit news:

LB Junior Galette is visiting the LA Rams on Sunday, per source.

Also, former Rams and Broncos’ CB Kayvon Webster will start visiting teams next week including the Texans, Bills, Lions.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 18, 2018

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Galette makes so much sense for the Rams. They could use an edge rusher https://t.co/VlEJRym9JI

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) August 19, 2018

Downtown Rams@DowntownRams
Like seeing Sean McVay name KhaDarel Hodge and mention his camp consistency in his press conference. Doesn’t mean he’s going to make the team but this is someone to watch for sure. Everyone has been put on notice.

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Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
#Rams defensive line (and edge) pushing the #Raiders around and creating all sorts of issues for #Raiders – including a fumble by E.J. Manuel that sets the #Rams up at the #Raiders 25

#Rams Samson Ebukam with the strong push off the edge to push Manuel off his spot, then John Franklin-Meyers takes over from there for the sack. Young guns bringing the heat. Ebukam has been pushing off edge all afternoon

Hodge is a legit 6-2 and has flashed athletic ability throughout camp. Strong practice squad candidate

I give up. Nixon literally turned his head away from the contact to bring the shoulder. Yet still got the call

The #NFL really needs to think about an automatic replay on the lowering of the head rule. It’s ridiculopus asking referees to make that call in real time. Help them out. Help the game out

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Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
“I was going to do everything humanly possible to avoid overtime today.”
— Jon Gruden, hero

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Ryan Kartje@Ryan_Kartje
If you were hoping that Brandon Allen would push Sean Mannion for the No. 2 QB job today, well, sorry.

Jon Gruden has taken the “Don’t Give Anything Away In The Preseason” strategy to another level today.

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Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
John Kelly, a sixth-round pick from Tennessee, just did some work in the red zone – carrying the ball the last 5/6 plays, pushing through on 4 & 2 for a TD. (Ball security check, he fumbled and recovered after crossing goal line.)

Rams rookies Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen started on the offensive line today. Noteboom at LT, Allen at C.

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Wow, JB called it as Franklin-Myers is making things happen. https://t.co/3A5DWSKNnn

— Rams Nation (@RamsNationLAX) August 18, 2018

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Five Takeaways: Rams Capitalize on Turnovers in Preseason Win over Raiders

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/five-takeaways-rams-capitalize-on-turnovers-in-preseason-win-over-raiders

With strong defense, takeaways, and timely scores the Rams came away with a 19-15 victory over the Raiders on Saturday.
As always with preseason, the final score rarely tells the whole story. With that in mind, here are five instant takeaways from Los Angeles’ second preseason contest.

1) FIRST-HALF TAKEAWAYS LEAD TO POINTS
Linebacker Ramik Wilson put the Rams in scoring position with a defensive takeaway late in the first quarter.
On 2nd-and-10 from the Oakland 38, quarterback Connor Cook dropped the ball in the pocket while setting up to pass. The fumble went to the defense’s right, where Wilson was there to scoop up the loose ball on a dead sprint. He raced up the field 16 yards to put Los Angeles in strong scoring position at the Oakland 15.
Running back John Kelly continued his strong preseason on the ensuing offensive possession, using a pair of runs to put L.A. on the Oakland five-yard line. While it took all four downs, Kelly made it into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown. Kelly fumbled as he crossed the goal line, but recovered the loose ball to secure the score.

L.A. got another takeaway late in the first half when quarterback E.J. Manuel fumbled while trying to scramble out of the backfield. After the signal-caller inadvertently kicked the ball forward, linebacker Bryce Hager recovered the fumble and gave L.A. strong field position in Oakland territory. Kicker Greg Zuerlein connected on a 28-yard field goal to end the first half, giving L.A. a 13-0 lead.

2) SUFFOCATING DEFENSE
The Rams defense had a strong first half in general, allowing just 58 total yards on 22 plays.
Between the takeaways, tackles for loss, and strong coverage in the secondary, Los Angeles allowed only one first down in the game’s first 30 minutes. The Raiders were also 0-for-6 in third-down efficiency.
Cook played the first quarter and completed just four of his seven passes for 15 yards. Manuel took over for the second quarter and completed five of his six passes for 43 yards.
Running back Chris Warren III took five carries for just 19 yards in the first half — and nine of those yards came on one play.

3) MANNION CONNECTS
After a disappointing outing against the Ravens last week, quarterback Sean Mannion fared much better against Oakland. Playing only the first half, the Oregon State product finished 10-of-16 passing for 84 yards.
One highlight of the half was his 47-yard bomb down the right sideline to wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge. The wideout made an outstanding grab, leaping up to secure the ball and bring it down over a defender.
The catch put L.A. in scoring position, and Zuerlein capitalized on the opportunity with a 42-yard field goal to give the home team a 10-0 advantage.

4) DEFENSIVE LINEMEN MAKING PLAYS
Rookie defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers made his preseason debut on Saturday and had a clear impact during the first half.
He first induced a hold to put Oakland in a 1st-and-20 down and distance. Then on the next play, the fourth-round pick got into Cook’s face to force a screen pass high and incomplete on the right side.
Late in the second quarter, Franklin-Myers started an Oakland drive by sacking Manuel for a seven-yard loss.
Fellow defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks also played well — particularly late in the first half. Just after Franklin-Myers’ sack, Westbrooks nearly had one of his own but Manuel was able to flip the ball to running back Jalen Richard for a short gain.
Manuel wasn’t so lucky on the next play, when Westbrooks came in and strip-sacked Manuel for the Rams’ second takeaway of the first half. Westbrooks now has 3.0 sacks in the preseason after recording a pair last week against Baltimore on quarterback Lamar Jackson.

5) ZUERLEIN, FICKEN SPLIT KICKING DUTIES
Zurelein has been solid in practice since returning from a season-ending back injury and connected on two of this three field-goal attempts during Saturday’s game. His first attempt was from 48-yards out and though it had the distance, the kick ended up wide right.
Subsequently, Zuerlein would hit a pair of field goals from 42-yards out midway through the second quarter, and then 28-yards out as time expired in the first half.
Reserve kicker Greg Ficken handled the kicking and punting duties in the second half. Ficken connected on a 35-yard field goal early in the second half. And he extended Los Angeles’ lead to 19-15 with a 32-yard kick midway through the final period.
Neither Zuerlein nor Ficken allowed much room for a return, always nailing the ball deep into the end zone to combine for five touchbacks.

WHAT. A. CATCH.

Mannion finds @KhaDarel_4 for the 47-yard completion. #OAKvsLA pic.twitter.com/ezuOsrznkg

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 18, 2018

Agamemnon wrote:

A whole bunch of draftees look good. Good for the Rams.

Yeah, bang…good draft.

ROUND PLAYER … BUZZ LEVEL (at this point)
3 Joseph Noteboom +1
4 Brian Allen + 1/2
4 John Franklin-Myers +1
5 Micah Kiser +1
5 Ogbonnia Okoronkwo ?
6 John Kelly +1
6 Jamil Demby + 1/2
6 Sebastian Joseph ?
6 Trevon Young ?
7 Travin Howard ?
7 Justin Lawler +1/4

….

from Rams Q&A w/ Vincent Bonsignore

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Can all these EGOS and combustible personalities on this potentially dominant D TRULY coexist, in your estimation? Or will this all end up closer to that Philadelphia Eagles “Dream Team” several seasons ago. Think they went like 8-8…

Vincent Bonsignore
I don’t sense any issues with egos. Defense already looks like a close-knit unit.
The defensive staff, led by Wade Phillips of course, is perfectly suited to deal with the various personalities.

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When the Rams go to a Nickel for Robey-Coleman, who comes out? ILB or OLB?

Vincent Bonsignore
They’ve been doing both in practice. Sometimes an ILB is taken out, sometimes an OLB. Lot’s of versatility in how Wade attacks offenses.

Joyner is a luxury in that, as a former CB, his coverage skills are excellent. So he does become a de facto slot CB at times.

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Vincent Bonsignore

I’m really impressed with Noteboom. I think he’s a future NFL starter.

RB is interesting. Obviously a lot of faith in Malcolm Brown but both Kelly and Davis offer the Rams interesting skill sets. Hard to imagine John not making the team. Question is, how many RB’s do you keep? I projected Kelly and Davis and Gurley

Mannion? Rams had a lot on their to-do list, so backup QB was further down the line. And money always comes into play. I don’t know the reasons for Mannion’s struggles. I’ve never been that bullish on his potential.

I expect Donald to be back by the end of the preseason. Whether it’s under a new deal….not sure yet. Obviously there is ground to be made up. They are talking, and both sides are motivated. That’s always a good sign

McVay did a good job adjusting during games and being self aware throughout the season. The level of self scouting/evaluating is high with him and I know he spent the offseason taking a deep dive into everything he did. Fair to say he’s cooking up ways to stay ahead of the pose.

Cooks’ deep understanding off the position and the offense allows the Rams to use him in almost unlimited ways. He’s lined up outside, in the slot. Run routes from the entire route tree. Taken the ball on handoffs, screens. So while there will be some similarities to Watkins usage, there will also be a lot of differences and variety

The Rams are setting themselves up for an extended run. Their core players are all 26 or under. Cap situation moving forward is healthy

TE? The injury to Everett certainly hasn’t helped. Higbee and Hemingway have not really stood out much. Hemingway has battled drops throughout camp and put one on the ground against the Ravens.

I think the strength of the Rams offense will be in the collective. Everyone will get their touches.

O-line depth will remain a question until youngsters show they can play. I’m concerned about back-up QB. I like Everett but need to see him healthy. When Donald gets back, d-line depth will be strong. DB depth is great. LB – both inside and outside, is uncertain beyond Barron. There’s potential, but it’s unproven. I think the Rams are potentially better situated at ILB in run support and playing behind a dominant d-line. I still need to see Ebukam and whoever lines up opposite him, though

Kiser is doing OK. He’s obviously making the transition to the NFL and that’s always a process. Don’t sleep on Tegray Scales, too. No new updates on Obo, but obviously that was a tough blow for him. He’s missing valuable time right now. Rams hope to get a look at him before end of preseason but a lot of if’s and hurdles to overcome before that

The starting unit {OL} is very good. I’m really impressed with Noteboom. Not sure why he lasted as long as he did in the draft. All the young kids – Allen and Demby, have shown promise

When Rams talk about future, Saffold is always a name that gets mentioned.

zn wrote:

From Top to Bottom, Rams Have Very Few Flaws

ROBERT KLEMKO

RamsFanSinceLA

Couple things. Decent article but the dude needs to get his facts straight.

Suh looks like his usual dominant self, which makes the prospect of Aaron Donald joining the show all the more enticing. Whether or not the Rams get a deal done for the franchise-tagged interior lineman is anyone’s guess, but once the two get on the field together, the Rams figure to be one of the few teams—if not the only team—in the NFL to get constant interior pressure without stunts or blitzes.

AD is NOT franchised tagged. One more:

STORYLINE TO WATCH: I’m excited to witness Goff’s third season, this time with the reliable deep threat of Brandin Cooks in the fold. Cooks slides into the No. 1 receiver spot in Los Angeles, so expect his impact to create better opportunities for short and intermediate threats like second-year tight end Tyler Higbee, and of course, Gurley, who caught a career high 64 passes last season.

C’mon man, Higbee is in his 3rd year.

Frank Schwab@YahooSchwab
Not sure why any focus is on whether Khalil Mack’s holdout is a “distraction.” I think the bigger issue might be that the best player on the Raiders roster isn’t playing right now, not some undefinable distraction. Maybe that’s just me.

This is a good one. Say what you will about VB, he did go to all public practices. This is like an official reporter version of a camp report.

8/16

VeteranRamFan

Kelly looks the part of a 3rd down/change of pace back. He caught some out of the backfield today. Davis pulled his hammy on Monday and was not on the field today. #25 Nick Hollie was getting reps with the ones. Expect to see both Kelly and Hollie on Saturday.

Any difference from last years camp? Maybe just a bit quicker tempo. Majority of the guys know what to expect and follow direction really well. The excitement of a new coach has worn off but the intensity he brings is still there, and boy does he bring it! An example is last Monday’s camp. It wasn’t mentioned but McVay was working strickly with the QB and WR. They would start at the 40 and run some passing routes then pull up stake and run down to the 10 and start over going the other direction. Then when that series was completed, run back to the 40 and go the other way again. Back and forth for about 15 minutes. He could of ran the same routes from anywhere on the field but chose to use field position as a teaching tool. That guy is like the Eveready Bunny. Keeps on going and going and going!

As far as players, better or noticeable. Cooks is the real deal, leaps and bounds ahead of Watkins. So glad we have him. Everyone looks a little better from last camp. No longer a new system to learn. Only the rookies have to rewire their brains. Having Talib and Peters in the backfield is going to be a fun thing to watch! The offense was my favorite group to watch on game day. Now it will be the defense. My God! Brokers, Donald and Suh!

This team is full of swagger and it’s a good swagger. Maybe we could call it confidence or familiarity, either way, it is a very good thing to have. You will see it come game day.

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
Just spoke/w #Raiders owner Mark Davis. Obviously looking forward to bringing Raiders back to Coliseum. Asked him how proud he is that #Raiders are only L.A. team to win Super Bowl: “Means a lot. But the #Rams are very a good team. I can see them making a run on our (SB) legacy”

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Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Last day of Rams training camp in Irvine. Some guys are trickling onto the field sans pads. Andrew Whitworth, not practicing today, has been doing sprints for 15 minutes and I’m exhausted just watching him.

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Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Rams 7v7 red zone: Jared Goff finds Tyler Higbee for back to back TDs. Higbee has had a solid camp. Could emerge as a nice target in red zone situations this season.

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The #Rams wrapped up camp Thursday in Irvine. Their month in Orange County was time well spent. Here are some observations on what did – and didn’t – get done https://t.co/0frPqXU0jM

— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) August 17, 2018

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Very good context for the #LARams RB extension. Among the points: "Gurley has never carried the ball 300 times in a season. Adrian Peterson … carried the ball over 300 times in four seasons.”https://t.co/Aq1hpq8N7t

— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) August 16, 2018

from PFF: Aaron Donald is the exception to the rule

2017

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-teaching-tape-aaron-donald-is-the-exception-to-the-rule

…

Since entering the NFL, Donald has not only held up versus double teams, he’s also been able to make plays despite them. As with anything in football there are multiple ways to get the same job done. A couple months back I wrote about how Damon Harrison dominated doubles by attacking the point man then throwing him to the side. Donald often takes a different approach. With his size/speed combination, he has three things he can use to his advantage: quickness, leverage and lack of a strike zone. This allows him to knife into the sweet spot of a double team and not let either linemen engage him cleanly. On the play below you can see how it’s done.

I was told Aaron Donald would not be able to hold up to double teams in the NFL pic.twitter.com/Ntke7pIeVI

— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) July 19, 2017

Donald gets skinny from the snap, making the right guard’s contact inconsequential. It also leaves the right tackle a tiny area to engage. Combine that with the speed that Donald comes off the ball, and the right tackle has little to no shot of actually getting Donald cleanly. Nearly the exact same thing happens again in the play below.

pic.twitter.com/v6GZ5AEgyC

— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) July 19, 2017

This isn’t simply a case of highlight reel scouting though, Donald took only nine downgrades against double teams in the run game all season long. That’s a tiny bit more than one every two games. Compare that with the fact that Donald made 30 total stops against the run and you have one of the most complete run defenders in the game.

When we talk about Aaron Donald though, much like in the pre-draft process, his ability in run defense should be an afterthought. The man gets to quarterbacks more often, and with more speed, than any other interior defender in the NFL. And it’s not even close.

The same traits that Donald uses to his advantage against double teams are also his calling card as a pass rusher. He’s always the low man and with his speed and small stature, offensive linemen struggle mightily to land a meaningful punch. Because of all that, no one in the league has more decisive pressures.

Aaron Donald plays football with the difficulty set to easy pic.twitter.com/OEGQ0qnnAC

— Gordon McGuinness (@PFF_Gordon) May 3, 2017