After being out-coached, out-played, and yes, out-classed 27-7 by arch rivals, the San Francisco 49ers in their opening game, it is obvious that the Los Angles Rams have many holes to fill before they can begin to fulfill the high expectations that were bestowed upon them.
TST pondered about three philosophiesthat could be holding the Rams back. A fourth needs to be added. The thinking that undrafted linebackers are sufficient in today’s NFL. L.A.’s second line of defense was not only poor in Thursday’s
loss, but has been a weak spot on a year-to-year basis.
With the Rams moving away from the 5-2-4 defense of the early Sean McVay years to primarily four-man fronts, line backers have to be able step into holes and stack/shed blockers or at least clog up running lanes. It is particularly so for the L.A. unit, since they are not gifted in pass coverage.
Names of players, their snap counts, and play percentage in bold.
While the Rams trio of Nate Landman (64, 98%), Omar Speights (30, 46%), and Shaun Dolac (19, 29%) combined for 15 tackles, by my unofficial count, only one play, maybe two depending on how you grade things, was made within three yards of the line of scrimmage. Their tackles were coming four yards or more past the line, they need make stops for loss or no-gain.
Defensive line
Rough outing for the group as a whole, no one really stood out as having a strong game. The 49ers had a good pass plan, short and quick release, often one read. There was some pass rush pressure, but Purdy seldom had pressure up the middle into his face. S.F. ran the ball successfully both inside and off tackle.
Kobie Turner (43, 66%)
Poona Ford (33, 51%)
Tyler Davis (32, 49%)
Braden Fiske (29, 45%)
Ty Hamilton (12, 18%)
Edge
How quiet was this unit? Aside from Myles Garrett, who was on the cusp of solid initial game, a total of seven tackles, five which were of the assist variety and none for loss, one QB hit, and zero sacks.
Byron Young (47, 72%)
Josaiah Stewart (28, 43%)
Myles Garrett (40, 62%)
Desjuan Johnson (15, 23%)
Safety
Quentin Lake (65, 100%)
Solid game for Lake, he’s at his best on underneath coverage where his smarts and experience can be put to use. Covering the slot doesn’t allow a lot of wriggle room, whoever lines up there is who you cover, but I’d rather see Lake tracking the bigger receivers and tight ends. Over the long haul, he is likely to struggle vs the smaller shifty/fast receivers.
Kamren Kinchens (52, 80%)
Appeared to me that two of the S.F. passing touchdowns came when he lost track of coverage. It’s simply inexcusable when the deep center fielder in Cover3 lets a receiver run right by him for a big play.
Jaylen McCollough ( 39, 60%)
Another workman-like effort from the ex-Tennessee Volunteer. He plays a smart, steady brand of football. Strong guy to use in rotations/packages. Got in a lot of special teams work, too.
Kamren Curl (30, 46%)
Curl was off to a good start, but injured an ankle and did not return.
Cornerback
Trent McDuffie (65, 100%)
Played about 25% of the time in man coverage and did very well. Liked the the way he stuck his nose in on run support as well as showing sticky coverage.
Jaylen Watson (65, 100%)
Drew Mike Evans and battled pretty well, albeit out-muscled on a pair of occasions. Still not a negative individual performance.
Josh Wallace ( 7, 11%)
Hardly noticed him in the game. What was more noticeable? Emmanuel Forbes did not get a sniff on defense.
Special teams
Returns and coverage. Does anything else need to be said?
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford (51, 84%)
Rough game for Stafford, he seemed out of sync and his throws were off from the beginning. He seemed hell bent on throwing to his primary target, covered or not. How bad was it? Seven points was the lowest Rams scoring output in 75 games with Staff at the wheel. Staff did face a high 44% (11 of 25) pressure rate, but a handful of those came from him holding the ball too long.
Stetson Bennett (10, 16%)
Bennet did not look bad in the first real action of his career, but the 49ers had throttled things down by the time he entered the game. It was however, nice to see a Rams QB flash some athleticism and make some plays with his legs.
Running back
Kyren Williams (39, 64%)
On a day when the Rams needed an offensive lift, the snap share clearly shows that the offensive braintrust regards Williams and his serviceable duty as RB#1.
Blake Corum (14, 23%)
Hmm. Corum gets in for 14 plays and carries the ball on on 10 of them, no telegraphing going on there. Still, he showed good vision and feel for holes, while having enough burst to make good gains.
Ronnie Rivers (8, 13%)
Don’t want to cry over spilt milk, but wasn’t a mop up situation like this tailor-made for a fast back with natural running skills and power, but little pro experience? A guy like Jarquez Hunter. You can’t argue that it’s about special teams, because Rivers didn’t take a snap in those areas.
Wide receiver
Puka Nacua (43, 70%)
Would the Rams have had any passing offense without him? He made stellar grabs on two downfield passes, the Rams other completions were of the checkdowns and underneath variety.
Davante Adams (33, 54%)
He was open on occasions, but Stafford wasn’t close to hitting him.
Jordan Whittington (25, 41%)
Saw some good blocks out of Whit, but not really a an active part of the passing game. Did connect with Bennett later in the game for a catch over the middle. Didn’t add much in the kickoff return game. There wasn’t much Rams blocking, but he’s just not fast enough to work laterally.
Konata Mumpfield (16, 26%)
Quiet game for Mump, got his bell rung in the second half, but was able to return. I don’t see practice sessions, but it’s hard make a case for why Mumpfield is active over Atwell and/or Daniels. You could throw Brennan Presley in the that mix, too.
Tight end
Colby Parkinson (47, 77%)
My biggest complaint about Parkinson is his lack of physicality. He seldom, if ever, lowers the boom on smaller tacklers and drives them. Not a great blocker either. When the offense stalls, like Thursday, these things tend to stand out.
Terrance Ferguson (31, 51%)
Just one target where he was covered and badly overthrown. Although most fans want to see him as a weapon, it’s good to see him working as a blocker as well.
Davis Allen (21, 34%)
Had one reception on a check down and turned it upfield for a nice gain. Suffered a possible concussion on the hit and left the game.
Tyler Higbee (12, 20%)
Played mostly after Allen was hurt. Caught a couple of short passes, but lost a fumble on a peanut punch.
Offensive line
A hit-and-miss performance. Their run blocking was quite good and the pass blocking was just okay. Some of the pass blocking woes were scheme-related, too many long-developing routes. Stafford held onto the ball way too long on few as well. McClendon had some struggles with Bosa but got after it in the run game.
Alaric Jackson (61, 100%)
Steve Avila (61, 100%)
Coleman Shelton (61, 100%)
Warren McClendon (61, 100%)
Kevin Dotson (59, 97%)
Beaux Limmer (2, 3%)
The good news
As painful as it is to lose to the San Francisco 49ers, it is only one game and as pitiful as the pass game was, punching in that second half touchdown might have made a difference. No excuses though, the Rams came out flat and never got out of the funk. Who knows if the problem was the traveling protocols, a poor game plan, or just a pretty good ‘Niner team.
The key now is to work on weak areas. The Rams look to have the basis of a good run game and need to use play action off of it. The ‘Niners were very disciplined with their two-deep coverages and you can bet other teams are taking note. Sean McVay will need help make some room with play action and Stafford needs to be patient and willing to take the check downs and/or short stuff underneath.
On defense, the edges have to dictate the terms of the opponents offense. Was there a single pressure by the Rams edge unit not named Myles Garrett? At the same time, if the edges are going to be routinely double-teamed, the interior will have to take advantage of the 1on1’s. Maybe the Rams will have to consider more man coverage, that’s what suits Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson’s past work and the deep safeties have to keep the action in front of them.
L.A. has 11 days to clean things up. As ugly as it was, all the problems are fixable.
