Game Thread: Preseason Game 2 - Las Vegas Raiders @ Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium, Saturday 08/21/21, 7:00PM PDT

[ANGELAKERAMS]

he had a Td but #87 dropped it... hit him right in the chest... if he would have extended his hands then it could have been a good catch.

Harris did get the TD a couple plays later though.

Perkins overthrew Harris badly on the 2 pt try

 

[Retroram52]

I believe Kendall Blanton has finally taken a game-playing roster spot and Brycen Hopkins will most def be cut or traded or placed on the PS. Perkins needs some more work but he is def a talent that is a keeper. Both Jones are in. We lost Raymond Calais with an ankle injury that requires a surgery. Onward we go to the season.

 

[Retroram52]

Here are the scores for the top five and the bottom dwellers of O and D Rams players in the game against the Raiders. Colton Shelton is playing very well at Center and I hope McSnead understand that they have their new Center over Allen who should be cut. Shelton is quietly playing nearly lights-out as I saw no pressures, hurries, or sacks up the middle in both preseason games he played. Shelton played ALL of the snaps in both games. He reminds me of one John Sullivan!!

Rams PFF grades: Best and worst performers vs. Raiders

Chris Garrett and Jonah Williams were standouts on defense, while Bryce Perkins had the 4th-best grade on offense for the Rams.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Retroram52]

Alaric Jackson and J.J. Koski are playing good consistent football on the O side of things. J.R Reed, Christian Rosenboom, and Travin Howard are also in that boat. Good solid, consistent players are what you want.

 

[Rambunctious]

I hope I'm not speaking too soon but it looks like Morris has the defense playing pretty darn good. They looked pumped up on Saturday.

 

[Vitamike]

The Rams announcers (Siciliano & Talib) worked good together. Talib did well in his new role with the team. Funny how amidst virtually all of the Rams sideline interviews there was a big play on the field. like the one where OLB Rookie Chris Garrett gets the tip at the OL causing the INT, Garrett is a keeper and had a great game. I think there were 4 interviews in total with 3 big plays for the Rams, add the one Perk INT for the Raiders where even Talib enjoyed the Raiders INT.

Speaking of announcers, on Sunday I saw part of the rebroadcast game on the Raiders network. They too really liked Perkins, and were trying to think of who he reminded them of, and they came up with Donovan McNabb. I get that, and that is quite a compliment, however as a UCLA fan he absolutely reminded me of his brother Paul Perkins who was a College stud. They are identical in their elusiveness style if that makes sense. If you watched the game, you know what I mean.

Bryce needs to make touch passes from out of the pocket. He just looked totally out of rhythm on that missed 2pt conversion from the pocket, the Rams should think about moving him out of the pocket to make things more comfortable for him. On the deep throws, I thought it was just a timing thing between him and his receivers, no doubt he has the arm strength and can sling it down the field whenever he wants. Hoping he moves up to No 2 in the depth chart and learns a thing or 2 from Matt, but he too is definitely a keeper!

UDFA WR JJ Koski needs to find a place on ST to solidify a spot on the 53 man roster, because I really don't see him breaking in to the starting WR Corp, that would be quite an accomplishment! Koski has 4.5 speed so he could step into the PR/KR role. The D2 Star has great route tree skills, (Cooper Kupp anyone?) And he showed his speed and route skills picking up a 20 yard gain to move the Rams to the red zone.

2nd year RB Xavier Jones had a great game, and can do some damage as a receiver too, let's hope this guy continues to develop as we will miss Cam for sure! Jones was used as a returner but we haven't seen much from him in that spot so far.

Other players who stood out to me were UDFA Saftey Juju Hughs. He almost comes up with the early game INT. (He should have had it though, but nice break on the ball anyhow)

Both Evans and Anchrum were getting good push on run plays, even Brewer looked good on a few run plays & helped Funk to his biggest gain the year.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

Perkins won’t pass Wolford for #2.

he still needs more work that Wolford is more polished at.

for instance, he puts too much loft on most of his throws where the receiver has to wait on the ball and the pass either gets broke up or the defender is there to make the tackle.

there were several throws that would’ve been intercepted if the Raiders #1 defense was playing. Remember, he is playing against 2’s and 3’s, not #1 defenses as Wolford did last year.

 

[Retroram52]

I totally agree with your assessments Vita. I really think the Rams' coaching bunch should keep Koski and make him the new PR/KOR as the unofficial depth chart has those two positions occupied by Kupp and Calais respectively. Well we all know, as of the last game, Kupp is not doing the Punt Return thing and Calais is now on the IR as he went under the knife to repair a broken foot he sustained in the Raiders game. So I think the Rams could kill two birds with a really quick stone and put Koski in both positions plus an occasional appearance as a WR.

BTW, Perkins reminds me a little of Donovan McNabb, James Harris, and Lamar Jackson. I think this kid will be ready for bigtime stuff in about a year or two and I agree with you that he should be the Number 2 QB. He is better than Wolford except for things you mentioned.

Those on the O-line playing really well: Colton Shelton at Center, Alaric Jackson at Tackle, and Anchrum at Guard.

JuJu Hughes is another find that should stick but we shall see.

I think McSnead have covered their losses to FA and trades with new, younger studs. I don't see much of a decrement in play in those areas those players that left held down.

 

[Retroram52]

Looks like Atwell is making his case for the pick position he was drafted at and redeeming the validity of it to all of us. We shall see how he does against teams' Number one D's.

Tutu Atwell leads all NFL players in this stat through 2 weeks of the preseason

Tutu Atwell has the most targets without a dropped pass this preseason, leading all players through two games.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

Looks like Atwell is making his case for the pick position he was drafted at and redeeming the validity of it to all of us. We shall see how he does against teams' Number one D's.

Tutu Atwell leads all NFL players in this stat through 2 weeks of the preseason

Tutu Atwell has the most targets without a dropped pass this preseason, leading all players through two games.

theramswire.usatoday.com

You know what stands out about those stats, Retro?

8 for 46

This is not what they need him to do. He is supposed to be the deep threat with Jackson, yet they have him running crossing routes and outs. That is what they have Woods and Kupp for.

why are they not trying to stretch the field with him and Harris with their speed? Are they just hiding their playbook, or is this something else?

guess we will know come September, but so far, I hate how they are using him.

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

The other thing those routes do is allow Atwell to get hit- a lot.

that seems risky for a small guy playing in meaningless preseason games.

he had to leave the game twice due to injury. He came back, but still seems unnecessary.

have him running fly and go routes and see what he can do. Leave the other stuff to Woods, Kupp and Jefferson.

 

[Retroram52]

Well we have seen this say-one-thing-do-another from McVay before during his tenure because he believes his way is ALWAYS the RIGHT one and he is very protective of not revealing what he really is going to do. And if McVay continues to do this crap with Atwell, he is going to get him killed because Atwell's body is awfully frail for the NFL game and he will be on IR alot.

But once again, McSnead appear to be offering-up explanations to all interested in any given matter that don't match-up with eventual reality. That is commonly known as a liar or at best (for protective reasons already mentioned) a HC/GM that bullshits everyone to death and then does what he/they want.

 

[Retroram52]

None of these are a surprise except for maybe Ford. If Ford clears waivers and no team picks him up, he can come back on the PS but I thought all of the reports I read had this guy being a defensive steal and he was playing like a boss.

Rams waive 3 players, including QB Devlin Hodges

The Rams waived Raymond Calais (injured), Paris Ford and Devlin Hodges on Monday, one day before the 80-man roster deadline.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[Retroram52]

The other thing those routes do is allow Atwell to get hit- a lot.

that seems risky for a small guy playing in meaningless preseason games.

he had to leave the game twice due to injury. He came back, but still seems unnecessary.

have him running fly and go routes and see what he can do. Leave the other stuff to Woods, Kupp and Jefferson.

And was not one of the reasons they got rid of Guff was because he couldn't or wouldn't throw the long ball and actually connect on it? I think one of the reasons that Guff didn't throw the long ball was because it was not planned into the game plan nor was it called during game situations either. I think McVay is doing his bullshit routine again and eventually that routine is going to get his ass handed to him.

 

[Vitamike]

Perkins won’t pass Wolford for #2.

he still needs more work that Wolford is more polished at.

for instance, he puts too much loft on most of his throws where the receiver has to wait on the ball and the pass either gets broke up or the defender is there to make the tackle.

there were several throws that would’ve been intercepted if the Raiders #1 defense was playing. Remember, he is playing against 2’s and 3’s, not #1 defenses as Wolford did last year.

The Ram's may only carry 2 QB's on the 53 man roster, in that case I would have to agree with you. however if they do carry 3 QB's it will tell us the Ram's think Perkins will pass Wolford at some point because they understand Perk will not pass through waivers before they can stash him on the Practice Squad.

With that in mind, I think Perkins has more long term upside than Wolford, and I don't think the two are necessarily that far apart now except for the experience thing. Good thing for John that this team is anticipating a deep playoff potential run year, because if it wasn't I think Wolford is shown the door by years end.

 

[Retroram52]

Yep, Vita, Me too!!

 

[Jermaine133]

And was not one of the reasons they got rid of Guff was because he couldn't or wouldn't throw the long ball and actually connect on it? I think one of the reasons that Guff didn't throw the long ball was because it was not planned into the game plan nor was it called during game situations either. I think McVay is doing his bullshit routine again and eventually that routine is going to get his ass handed to him.

ass handed to him while being shown the door.