Pakua Nuka was the biggest surprise to me. He didn’t just have a big day; he showed me that he is a special player along the lines of Kupp. Excellent footwork, taking the right angles, good hands, elusiveness after the catch, and tough to bring down. Played with energy and enthusiasm. I don’t think that was a fluke. This guy is a real player, and another draft steal. He looked a little lost on blocking a couple of times, but it’s hard to tell in real time, and I’m not a tape guy. But he went a long way in easing my concerns about the WR position. I sure hope to see him paired with Kupp ASAP. That is a WR tandem I wanna watch.

Kendrick looked bad a couple of times, but I’m not ready to demote him. I dunno. I saw Jalen Ramsey get embarrassed more than a handful of times, and he’s one of the best. Those are grown-ass receivers out there that play in the big leagues. It’s gonna happen. So I dunno.

The OL did its job. It will certainly get run through a crucible next week, so there’s a big test coming up, but I don’t know how you could expect a better performance than zero sacks. OL continuity is obviously the key to keeping Stafford healthy, so yesterday was a good sign.

Atwell got open and made some plays. Nice to see. I don’t know what it means, though. He might end up being a Hakim type of guy. Not a steady, every down kind of player, but good for some explosive plays now and then, and that’s a guy worth having. Van Jefferson is still a big, solid guy, and I think that terrible drop yesterday is not characteristic of him, but he isn’t making a case for another contract with this team. Lots of football left, obviously.

The defense did some bending in the first half, but when you give up scores on the first four drives, and that totals 13 points, well…that damage didn’t sink the ship. The second half will stick in the craw of Seahawks fans for a long time. Seattle is just sick about that game, and that gets a 10/10 on the Hilarity Scale. They had high, high hopes going into this season only to have the Rams – the RAMS – come into Seattle and spill their guts out like a Pike Place fishmonger.

But Week One belonged to Paco Nunchucks.

zn wrote:

I suspect this year will be very up and down. Either way, on paper SF outmatches them. SF as we know has always had McVay’s number, so this is a much sterner test.

Yeah, I agree with all of that.

And if I had to bet, I would take the 49ers -7. As fun as yesterday was, I expect next week to be another in a long list of beatdowns at the hands of the 49ers.

There is always hope.

As you pointed out, the Seahawks lost both OTs, and that certainly helped the Rams. They also lost Lockett. The Rams D did play well in the 2nd half, though, and it wasn’t just a Seattle implosion. Still, I have to wonder what a fully healthy SF will do to them. My guess is that they won’t settle for as many FGs. SF has far more in the skill department. And their defense is perhaps the best in the league.

They keep demonstrating that they don’t even see us as human cuz WHAT??? How is this EVER okay?

pic.twitter.com/cDC2kahA1r

— 🟢dev DECKER ™️ ✊🏾 (@dev_decker) September 7, 2023

zn wrote:

He’s praising him for being a fast learner who came a long way in a short time.

My reaction reading that was not to see it as a criticism of Jackson, but as praise that didn’t mean much. Cuz I doubt starting football earlier would have made much difference. My experience with high school kids is that not a lot of “learning” goes on in their freshmen and sophomore years. I really don’t see a lot of light bulbs over their heads until their JR year anyway. I wouldn’t think the ground Jackson needed to make up would be very much.

From the “You Can’t Make This Shit Up” department:

Surreal scene as the police freeze and stare off into the distance as the star spangled banner plays while they wait for trash trucks to destroy the remaining property of poor people. pic.twitter.com/1xza3xbEft

— objkshn (@objkshn) August 31, 2023

Zooey I don’t know what I did here but apparently I meant to quote you and reply and instead edited your post. I forget what the original message you wrote was. I am now replacing whatever in the F it was I did with this message. Sorry about that, I am not usually this clumsy and ham handed.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by zn.

The #Rams are finalizing contract details with veteran kicker Brett Maher, source said.

That’s fine, but I think a lot of his jokes have been wide right since he left Comedy Central.

canadaram wrote:

Looking at the numbers at each position group and with the inevitable roster changes that will happen it might not be too difficult to predict who is going to be released sooner or later. Five safeties? Jason Taylor can’t be feeling too comfortable. One of the TE’s (last season they began the year with 2) offensive linemen (last year the initial roster had 8) could also be shuffled out in the near future. Lot of young fellas on this team. Here’s hoping that a few of them catch lightning in a bottle.

One of those TEs or OL could take a spot for himself as a kick returner.

53-Man Roster Takeaways: All 14 drafted rookies make squad
Aug 29, 2023 at 02:00 PM

J.B. Long

Looking back on the initial 53-man roster a year ago, it still feels so familiar.

21 of the offensive players were back from the Super Bowl team. 19 on defense had been with Los Angeles previously. Even two of the three specialists were returning Rams.

That meant that only 11 individuals were making the roster for the first time – and of that group, one was named Bobby Wagner; another Allen Robinson.

Only eight rookies had been layered in.

This year? All 14 drafted rookies made the initial cut.

None of this was unexpected. But to see it on paper, far from finalized, but official for the first time, is still staggering.

Let’s get into some observations, with the caveat that all NFL rosters are still moving targets.

QB Two

Despite a discouraging preseason finale in Denver, Stetson Bennett will go into his rookie season as Matthew Stafford’s backup, as of this writing.

Whether it’s Brett Rypien or an outside addition, expect the Rams to replenish their quarterback room with a practice squad signing on Wednesday. It feels like an urgent priority to keep developing Bennett in the context of Sean McVay’s game plans, allowing him to learn the Rams offense, as opposed to running the scout team this fall.

Lining Up

The addition of Kevin Dotson from the Pittsburg Steelers complicated an already crowded picture on the Rams offensive line.

Ultimately, they chose to move forward with Zach Thomas and Warren McClendon Jr. as their final reserves, releasing 2022 third-round selection Logan Bruss, who was robbed of his rookie season by injury and had yet to find a home as a backup, sliding from guard to tackle this summer.

The offensive line transition can be perplexing from the outside, but I continue to believe there are really good forces at play here that will result in improved outcomes: a new position coach in Ryan Wendell; potential scheme tweaks in combination with new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur; rethinking how to keep a buffeted Matthew Stafford upright in 2023; a ruthless recommitment to competition across the line (as evidenced by the release of Bruss); and the goal of being bigger and more violent up front, articulated nicely by Tremayne Anchrum Jr. on this week’s Rams Revealed.

Eligibility

Let’s look at the skill group in totality, as the eligible targets are inextricably linked.

Four tight ends is a big number, especially for an offense predicated on 11-personnel. Last year, Tyler Higbee was the only Ram at this position to log more than 17 percent of offensive snaps!

Perhaps that will change in 2023, because Brycen Hopkins had his best summer yet, L.A. acquired Hunter Long from Miami for a reason, and drafted rookie Davis Allen’s performance against the Raiders (and in practice settings) made him too intriguing to release.

At running back, the Rams also keep four with Cam Akers and Kyren Williams thriving atop the depth chart, and Ronnie Rivers refusing to take no for an answer this summer. As their fourth, drafted rookie Zach Evans gets the nod over veteran Royce Freeman, who as a vested veteran gets to choose his next destination, perhaps on the practice squad in Thousand Oaks?

At receiver, it appears to have come down to Demarcus Robinson, who shined in training camp, and Tyler Johnson, who thrived under the preseason lights. Robinson wins out as for now, which is consistent with his NFL track record, leaving the Rams with six in what I believe is a very underrated receiving corps.

Finding a New Edge

Interesting and unsurprising to see the Rams go a different direction at outside linebacker. It was a position group that underachieved last season, was attacked in the draft, and is now under the leadership of a new position coach.

Michael Hoecht is the only returning player at the position to make this first Rams roster (Zach VanValkenburg was on the practice squad in 2022), and even he wasn’t in the edge rusher framework until late last season.

Byron Young earned a starting role early in the preseason, and Nick Hampton makes it as a drafted rookie, as well.

Meantime, Ochaun Mathis is straight out of central casting on the edge at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, listings reminiscent of Leonard Floyd or Terrell Lewis from recent Rams rosters. Let’s hope it’s only a matter of time until we see him in action. Depending on his injury recovery timeline, he could be someone who is moved to injured reserve after making the initial cut.

Copeland Cut

We had a feeling it wasn’t a good sign when Marquise Copeland was playing deep into Saturday’s contest in Denver, despite being listed as a depth chart starter and being the free agent the Rams opted to retain this offseason. I’m curious to hear the context on that decision, given the defense’s struggles up front in August.

Cornering the Market

As with Copeland, Robert Rochell’s playing time against the Broncos didn’t bode well for this week, and he was among the final cuts on Tuesday afternoon. It’s an unfortunate ending (at least temporarily) for a prospect who once held such promise within the organization.

That leaves a starting trio of Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick, and Ahkello Witherspoon, plus an ascendant Tre Tomlinson, and Shaun Jolly as a fifth corner. The Rams also keep five safeties.

Kicking It Down the Road

For the moment, the Rams are without a placekicker after waiving Tanner Brown. The carousel is spinning rapidly league-wide, and only 32 of the best on the planet will have roster spots by the end of the week.

Thus, the Rams can and should take their time exploring what option makes the most sense for the opener at Seattle, even if staging further competition is required. Hopefully Brown or another candidate can remain in waiting on the practice squad, to be elevated on game day or in case of emergency.

What about college free agents?

Whereas the entire drafted class of 2023 makes it through to the initial roster, conversely, only long snapper Alex Ward survives from the pool of undrafted Rams rookies. Several others figure to stay with the organization on the practice squad, however. And again, this is all subject to change in the next 24 hours (and beyond) as waiver claims are reconciled. Today’s news is only a starting line.

zn wrote:

@speed_kills@speedk1lls why in the world Sean McVay would be setting Bennett up to be Staffords backup? The Rams need a quality veteran backup. It would seem to me McVay would have his choice of the best. Honestly his choices of backup QBs has always been questionable. Bennet is not ready to play that role.

Because Bennett isn’t going to be expected to save the season if Stafford misses time. There’s not going to be a “season” to save. The Rams have made it crystal clear that they are aiming for 2024, not 2023. This entire season is “preseason.” And Bennett is getting prepared for that role by assuming that role. They are getting him ready, not relegating him to Inactives every week like he’s a bottle of wine.

If he doesn’t work out, well, then the Rams know one of the holes they have to fill before 2024.

They’re not going to learn that if they demote him.

This country is a disaster right now.

That was nice.

Man. Cam Akers tried very hard to derail the Rams’ Super Bowl.

Doug Flutie was 5’10” and weighed 180.

He played 12 seasons in the NFL, 8 in the CFL, and 1 in the USFL.

Ryan Leaf was 6’5″ and weighed 245.

Bennett led Georgia to consecutive national championships, and was MVP of both games.

I don’t know anything, but when I look at that, I think that the people barfing on the Rams for taking Bennett with a 4th round pick are out of their minds.