As the Los Angeles Rams enter Week 2 of the NFL preseason, there are still roster questions to be answered.On offense, QB#2, RB#3, WR#5&6, and T#3 appear to be open to interpretation. Defensively, the picture is somewhat clearer. The battles don’t seem positional, so much, but rather those final 3-4 overall spots. Although special teams could make the difference, it may boil down to who the Rams want to protect from final cut waiver claims, stashing them on the roster and using them as a weekly inactive.
It’s hard to get a grip on what to expect from New Orleans, they use preseason games similarly to the Rams, sitting their major contributors. In a 20-24 Week 1 loss to the Jacksonville Jags, they sat 37 players. They also participated in two controlled scrimmages this week. Considering this, Rams fans should hope the L.A. braintrust doesn’t go down the buddy/buddy path and take their foot off the gas. Fans deserve more and the bottom half of the L.A. roster deserves the chance to work out depth.
Here’s what I’ll be watching for in Week 2 of the preseason.
Quarterback
No matter who you want to see at QB#2, it’s the same thing for both Stetson Bennett and Ty Simpson. Just keep stacking solid work. That may sound overly simplistic, but show control and command of the offense. That’s the job as a backup, manage the game in the starter’s stead. That said, most fans want the passing offense stretched out to see who can put the ball into tight windows and create downfield plays..
Running back
Do we have a real, live roster battle for RB#3 and possibly #4? Or is it one of those preseason mirages? I didn’t think Jarquez Hunter played bad enough to lose any ground. He ran hard between the tackles and showed off his burst/speed, breaking a stuffed inside run out around the corner. Dean Conners was able to show off all facets of his game and is on the rise. Be nice to see him on kickoff returns. Jordan Waters played hard, but lost ground.
Wide receiver
Watching for a spirited four-man battle concerning the two likely remaining roster jobs in this year’s receiver room. Xavier Smith made a fair case for one slot last week and has the power of incumbency. Would the Rams consider rostering two “small” receivers? At the very least, Brennan Presley continues to showhe can perform against preseason competition. His burst really stands out, as does his versatility. CJ Daniels and Tyler Scott close out the realistic competition, both need to show separation and run after catch skills to catch an eye.
Too bad for Mario Williams, released with an injury settlement. Reports were that he had a strong camp and a couple of kickoff return touches against the Chiefs. Tru Edwards has to make something happen in limited opportunities. Alex Bachman is the camp body in for Williams.
Tight end
In today’s NFL, receiving tight ends get the most run. Sean McVay has consistently acquired theses types, preferring to coach up their blocking skills over time. Max Klare is the latest. Mark Redman showed very well in his action, but is clearly going back to the practice squad barring injuries. Investment in the growth of Klare and Redman is obviously at the expense of Dan Villari and Rohan Jones. The Rams ran so many three receiver sets in Week 1, there wasn’t much spare work. Would like to see them both get more action.
Offensive line
With Keagan Trost’s injury, a new set of questions need to be answered. For fans, it’s difficult to really put a finger on how long he will be out. “Weeks” is a fairly ambiguous term and with the opener a little over three weeks away, is it even possible to realistically expect Trost to be of service in Week 1?
Time to put a spotlight on the Week 2 tackle play. Austin Blaske acquitted himself quite wellvs, the Chiefs. By stacking another solid day’s work, in theory, he could work himself into position for a roster spot. I don’t think anyone would have predicted that when he was signed as a UDFA. An interior addition at that. To my eye, Blake Hance had rough outing last week. He’s been around quite awhile, eight teams in eight seasons. Just doesn’t inspire confidence. Bryce Henderson played the last two drives, both ending in scores, and deserves more this week. Where was AJ Arcuri?
The interior seemed pretty solid against K.C., but there are lingering questions here as well. How soon will Justin Dedich return to action? Although Beaux Limmer should be locked in, it will be interesting to see if he gets some/any work at center. If not, Dylan McMahon could have a path as C#2. For the remaining linemen, barring any more injuries, the cupboard is pretty full and battling for a practice squad berth is their future.
Special teams
The good: Obviously the three L.A. specialists are of high caliber. I thought the double-teaming of opposing gunners was successful and welcome news for whoever returns punts. Although Xavier Smith has good long speed, he is not a twitchy runner, his return strength is vision and ability to make cuts at speed. He can make the first guy miss but needs a bit of space/runway to get into high gear.
The bad: Kick coverage was still cringe-worthy. A fair number of “starting” special teamer’s aren’t out there for preseason, but after last year’s performance, it’s hard not have rattled nerves. As an aside, I would have liked to have seen the Rams send out Meevis to try a 60-yard field goal at the end of last week’s first half. Ty Simpson did well to get the team into that position and those kinds of conversions set up emotional carryover to the second half.
Defensive interior
Searching for consistency. DL#5 and #6 are not a major roles, maybe 10 snaps per game and mostly insurance against major injury. Still, it would nice to see one of the candidates step up and stake a claim, not be the best of the rest. No real movement from Week 1, Ty Hamilton still maintains at the top of the heap. He goes from powerfully controlling the line on one play to being pushed aside on others. Tim Keenan has the typical rookie ups and downs, having trouble holding his ground. You could argue that Bill Norton had the best Week 1, he doesn’t really offer the versatility to line up other than the nose, but is tough to move off his spot in the middle. Larrell Murchison fades back after a lackluster game. Payton Zdroik and Jaxson Moi are seeing plenty of reps, looking for incremental improvement.
Edge
There’s a need to see Desjuan Johnson and Keir Thomas to show more dominance against lesser competition. While Johnson is a likely lock at E#4, Thomas is standing on shaky ground. Although he may not be pressed by the lower rungs of the edge room, he’s in a battle with a half-dozen others for those last few roster spots. Tomon Fox missed last week’s game due to “family problems”, so fans will get to see what he has. Undrafted Darryl Peterson and Wesley Bailey got their feet wet with plenty of reps and both could find a place on the practice squad.
Off-ball linebacker
Hard to make a case for an LB#5 making the opening roster. I’m still rooting for Nikhai Hill-Green, he played every snap last week and called the defense on the field. He didn’t play bad, but he’s really going to have to show out on both defense and special teams. To a lesser extent, Daniel Rickert and Monty Rice are in the same boat. All three are prohibitive long shots to slip in at the very end of the roster.
Safety
There’s still a possible roster spot for S#5 to watch for. That battle appears to have boiled down to undrafteds, Nick Anderson and Nate Valcarcel. Although both are green, they are good tacklers and diligent pursuers. Nice traits for special teams work. Good play on defense certainly counts, but this battle might very well be won by special teams work. Tanner Ingle and Alex Cook simply don’t strike me as viable opening 53 candidates.
Cornerback
Is it possible L.A. decides that four corners is enough and throws open the door for another safety? If there is a CB#5, Cam Lampkin is the odds-on favorite, we’ll see if he plays a lot of slot again or gets more outside work. it’s on Al’Zillion Hamilton take another step forward. He was cleared to play just 10 days before the Chiefs tilt and while he missed a couple of tackles, he showed showed a peek at his ball-hawking traits. The others, Nyzier Fourqurean, Alex Johnson, and Zech McPhearson are clearly behind the rest.
When the Saints come marching in
On both sides of the ball, the Rams need to show a little more polish on assignments.
Offensively, improve on third downs to extend drives. I think fans would like to see the passing game extend vertically, spotlighting the quarterback’s arms and route running by the receivers. With the simplistic attack, improvement in blocking technique in the run game matters. With Keagan Trust’s woes, these next two weeks are really important for the backup tackles. Lots of eyes on this area.
Defensively, the interior needs to consistently control the line of scrimmage, a couple of these guys are in line for rotational work and should be dominant against the preseason level of competition. Ditto for Johnson and Thomas on the edge. It may be a battle between the entire secondary for one roster spot. The Saints threw the ball 42 times in Week 1, so it’s likely they’ll get plenty of work.
I get that the Rams coaches don’t want to show much, but they could be a bit more aggressive with play calling on both sides of the ball. Candidates show that they can follow assignments, that’s great, but also give us a look at who’s capable of making plays. We’re inching closer to regular season play, give us fans a jump start on getting fired up.
