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Great thread on Zach Evans work in the preseason game last week. Click through for more content.

We as fans can change our opinions of players very quickly and for a variety of reasons. Often, it’s because the player has disappointed us in some way: on the field, off the field, too much ego, disloyalty or selfishness. When you put guys on a pedestal, they often fall.

So… are there players who never disappointed you?

Off the top of my head, a few jump to mind…

Jack Youngblood
Jackie Slater
Isaac Bruce
Torry Holt
Steven Jackson
Aaron Donald
Andrew Whitworth
Cooper Kupp
Matthew Stafford

Who makes your list?

No hate for Kurt.... or Kade warner - taking his shot!

Here's mine:

Tomlinson looks great out there, real comfortable. For a smaller guy he had a huge presence.

Ethan Evans will be a stud. Loved his ability to boom the long ones and also pin the short ones.

Puka NAcua does not look like a rookie. Liked how he was always next to Kupp on the sidelines.

Tyler Johnson making it really hard to cut him.

Anchrum played all through third quarter. To my mind, that means he is unlikely to be the starter.
I'd imagine Boom will start at RG.

Bruss, ouch. Glad he's found a better position but he still has a long way to go.

Byron Young didn't show me a lot. Glad he had that one pressure, but frankly he looked a bit lost out there.

Tanner Brown a bit scary out there. I'll try to give him one mulligan for the rookie yips. But the miss to the left was really bad. He recovered a bit, his second XP was dead center.

Z Evans looks buried on the depth chart for now. So does McCutcheon. Is Lance McCutcheoin the next Nelson Spruce? Fan favorite who doesn't get much playing time.

Keir Thomas looks like he deserves a spot for sure.

Hardy with some speed.

Did anyone notice Mathis or Hampton?

Bennett already looks better than Wolford and Perkins.

Overall, my two biggest standouts were Tomlinson and Ethan Evans.

A portion of the clip nay have been posted elsewhere, where Whitworth only talks about the Rams. I like Rich Eisen's easygoing style anyway, but Andrew is just stellar guest. I can listen to him talk about the NFL for as long as he is able to on a program. He is funny in a low-key, non-hot take sort of way. He even talks about (and gives Rich Eisen) a friendship bracelet he made at 2am with Ryan Fitzpatrick in the lobby of a hotel. Give it a watch!. Also, is Big Whit the best interview subject among current and former Rams? I would rank Jackie Slater right behind him....

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There are a whole lot of rumblings about if the Chargers don't go deep into the playoffs is Staley's job in jeopardy? If the Chargers fire him after this year do the Rams re-hire him?

IMO it should be an emphatic "Hell Yeah." McVay can kick Raheem upstairs to a "consulting" job for a year so he can see how a real defense is run.

This defense has top ten potential due to the talent they have on defense. If this defense can return to being a top 10 unit with the offense they have the Rams are a legit SB contender.

QB
Matt Stafford ———————Stetson Bennett———————Brett Rypien

I’m going with three QBs since the third one is an emergency QB won’t count against the 46 eligibles to play.

RB
Cam Akers ————————-Kyren Williams(KR) —————Royce Freeman/Zach Evans

TE
Tyler Higbee ———————-Bryson Hopkins ————.——Davis Allen/Hunter Long

WR
Cooper Kupp ——————-- Puka Nacua ———————- Xavier Smith(PR)
Van Jefferson ———————Demarcus Robinson
Tutu Atwell ————————Ben Skowronek

OL
Alaric Jackson ——————Joseph Noteboom
Steve Avila
Brian Miller ——————— Coleman Shelton
Tremane Anchrum ———-Warren McClendon
Rob Havenstein —————Logan Bruss

S
Jordan Fuller —————— Tre Tomlinson ————— Russ Yeast
John Johnson lll ————- Quentin Lake

CB
Cobie Durant ———————- Derion Kendrick -—————-Robert Rochelle
Ahkello Witherspoon - ——-Timarcus Davis

OLB
Michael Hoecht——————-Ochaun Mathis
Byron Young————————Nick Hampton

ILB
Ernest Jones———.————- Kelechi Anyalebechi
Jake Hummel

DL
Aaron Donald———————Maurice Copeland
Ernest Brown lV——————Bobby Brown lll
Kobie Turner————————Jonah Williams

P
Ethan Evans

K
Tanner Brown

LS
Alex Ward

I know you won’t agree with every choice I made, so please post what changes you’d make instead and why.

Terrell Lewis just had a fumble/Sack for the Bears.

In the other game Jack Funk just had a couple of nice runs for The Colts.

I mean, sure, the competition at LOT, OC, and 3rd CB are pretty fierce, too. We may not know those winners until opening day.

But 3rd WR? Goodness.

Nacua
Atwell
Robinson

Coaches and beat writers have been raving about the camp of all 3 of these guys since the jump. I don’t envy Yarber, LaFleur, and McVay these decisions although it’s certainly 3 ‘champagne problems’.

Honestly, I foresee some sort of rotation for these guys once season starts. Maybe for a series at a time for each? Or maybe some 4 WR sets? (And I’m hoping for more 12 sets, dammit)

To their respective credit, these 3 guys are not making it easy on their coaches but Ram fans are loving it. I know I am.

Rams Worst Team in NFL Talent Wise\

What the hell?

QB should be 10 at minimum

RB should be higher

WR 25 - really? with Kupp

TE should be higher with Higbeast alone

Off Ball LB 32? - wtf with Jones? Come on

CB and Safety are not 32 and 29 respectively

The only one I agree with is Edge - they don't have any known talent at this time

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I remember watching an interview of Anchrum and being really impressed with him. Then I saw this video about his volunteer work with kids undergoing chemo treatment. Holy cow, what an amazing human being he is.

The vid starts a little slow, Anchrum doesn't show up until 5:45 into the video. If you watch the whole video, it's guaranteed you'll be a big fan of Tremayne Anchrum.

Looks like Jackson will be the LT which is fine. He's a bit more physical than Noteboom since Joe's injury. He's not the same. I think they will try to start him at RG to get used to playing on the right side and then start him at RT in 2024. That will give them time to see if McClendon can make the transition to RG in 2024.

I think center will come down to the wire. I think Allen will start but I'm not confident he can finish the season. If he goes out then I think Shelton takes over going forward with McAllister at backup.

OL 2023
LT Jackson
LG Avila
C Allen
RG Noteboom
RT Havenstein

Swings: OT/OG Thomas, OT/OG Bruss, C/OG McAllister, C/OG Shelton


OL 2024

LT Jackson
LG Avila
C Shelton or McAllister
RG McClendon
RT Noteboom

Swings: OT/OG Thomas, OT/OG Bruss, C/OG McAllister, C/OG Maginn

I have no problem with either OL configuration. In 2024 the OG could be the strength of the OL.

The run attack this year will be primarily to the left which is where they will be strongest this year. In 2024 if McClendon can play RG then the run attack should be very balanced either left, right or inside.

Good morning - sharing Jackie's chat with Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald @ Rams Camp

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Have a great day!

Mark

AD99 outside the top ten at number 11 and Kupp all the way down to 47 behind WAY too many including Cousins.

I keep seeing Odell’s quotes claiming that if he hadn’t been injured in the Super Bowl, then he would have had 200 yards receiving and been MVP in a dominant win over the Bengals.

1. The Bengals surely would have changed their coverages after the first quarter to put more pressure on Odell.

2. It’s all speculative BS

3. Does anyone on the planet, aside from Odell, believe that if Kupp had gone down with a knee injury in the first quarter, that Odell could have carried the team to victory as the only legitimate receiving threat?

4. He needs to just STFU and give Kupp the credit that he deserves.

Rant off:

Silly tweet has set off a handful of sore winners. Kind of amazes me...

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Since 2017 when Sean McVay took over, the Rams have been one of the most successful teams in the NFL.

Winning seasons: 5 of 6 years
Playoffs: 4 of 6 years
Total wins (regular season and playoffs): 67 (3rd in NFL)
Playoff wins: 7 (2nd in NFL)

Apart from McVay, what is the common denominator during this period?

QB? No, the Rams have had two starters during this time.
RB? Certainly not.
WR? Kupp (when healthy) has been there throughout, but he's had many running mates.
OL? Whitworth and Havenstein were mainstays from 2017-2022, but is that really the core of the team?
Aaron Donald? Certainly a big part of it, but he can't do it alone (See 2014-2016).
Les Snead? Again, certainly a factor, but he wasn't able to build a winner with Jeff Fisher.

This makes me wonder... are we/others underestimating the McVay factor?

This year will be a good test. If McVay can take a small veteran core, mesh it with some young bucks, and come up with a winner, his legacy will be greatly enhanced.

I'm not betting against him.

I've been surrounded by those who flocked to see a movie that for whatever reason I had no desire to see.
The most popular series that I never watched, aside from clips, was The Matrix.
Another set of movies that I had no desire to see were all of the Star Wars series after the original three movies,

I liked the physical nature of old style special effects (think Aliens). I won't pay to watch CGI bullcrap, so that wipes out almost all Marvel movies.

List those movies that others loved, but you decided against...

Rams camp 8/8/23

made it out to camp today for the last practice in Irvine.

JJ running drills on sidelines during 11 on 11s wearing number 43

Higbee seemed limited today

My standouts - Witherspoon and Tomlinson on D. Kyren Williams and Puka on O.

McVay stopped practice a couple times to gather everyone at midfield to coach them up. Ran practice about 20 minutes past the scheduled stop time.

looked like Davis Allen in shorts and t shirt catching balls on the far field.


Here’s my voice notes for the day.



Ethan Evans booming 60 yarders also doing good job of putting the ball out of bounds inside the the 20. He kicked one on the point of the ball putting a nasty spin on it that Tutu had trouble fielding but he ended up holding on.



7 on 7 Witherspoon breaks up a short pass over the middle by Stafford



7 on 7 Stafford rolls out to his left with McVay rushing him Stafford trows 10 yard pass to Kyren Williams



Nice catch by Zach Evans down the left side line about 25-30 yards from Bennett



nice off schedule throw from Stafford rolling out left hitting Puka down the left side line for about 30-40 yards.



11 on 11 Stafford pitch out left to Williams defense stuffs the run.



Nice deep pass from Stafford to Van Jefferson for a touchdown



Pass by Stetson Bennett out to the right 15 yards down field should’ve been intercepted by Jason Taylor did break it up though.



both first string and second string defenses are playing the run really well.



Nice catch by Demarcus Robinson at the front of the end zone from Bennett about 25-30 yards down the middle



Starting O line LT Jackson LG Steve Avila C Colman Shelton LG Joe Noteboom RG Rob Havenstein Good to see he’s back out there after the neck strain



Second string online LT Zach Thomas LG McCallister C Brian Allen RG Ancherum RT Bruss.



Brett Rypien with a scramble up the middle for about 10 yards



Deep pass from Bennett for McCutchen but great coverage by Tomlinson, and Lecounte came over to take a swipe at the pass, ball falls incomplete.



Cam Akers continuing to bull through people not shying away from contact



Now Brian Allen’s running with the first string offense



Stafford on his second or third option throws over the middle to Tutu Atwell but it’s broken up by Witherspoon good coverage by secondary



Ethan Evans live punt kind of a line drive kick fielded by Austin Tremmell but coverage team was right there to meet him



Tutu blanketed by Cobie Durant with Jordan fuller right there as well on a mid range throw down the right side by Stafford, incomplete



Starting team is practicing two minute drill Stafford with a quick 10 yard out to the left side good diving catch by van Jefferson, run back to the huddle spike the ball



10 yard pass to puka Nacua over the middle of the field crossing right to left gets out of bounds



Stafford with a short pass out left that looked off target to Brycen Hopkins bounced off his hands as he had to reach back but seemed Stafford was telling him that he should have stopped when he turned instead of continuing to run



Ball over the middle from Stafford tipped by Jordan Fuller intercepted by Quinten Lake and he falls to the ground to “end the game” and the two minute drill



Practicing field goals now with full team Tanner Brown hits what looks like about a 30 yard field goal then he hits from 35 then he hits from 40 hit’s again from 45 Missed Wide left from 50 then Makes it from 50. Kids got a pretty good leg it looked like he had room to spare from 50



Nice catch over the middle by puka Nacua being covered by Ernest Jones



Inside hand off cam acres try to bounce it outside but Defense strung him out nowhere to go



Stafford tried to stop throwing motion mid throw ball slipped out of his hand incomplete



Second string Ronnie rivers drops a short dump off from Brett Rypien looked like he was trying to run before he caught it



Nice wide screen type play on the right sideline to Royce Freeman looks like it would’ve worked pretty well



Brian Allen now running with second string again



Starting o line Aleric Jackson Steve Avila Coleman Shelton Tremayne Anchrum and Joe Noteboom at right tackle



another nice screenplay on the right sideline to Brycen Hopkins this time



Second string line Warren McClendon left tackle Zach Thomas left guard Brian Allen Center McCallister right guard Logan Bruss right tackle



Jonathan Taylor breaks up a 35 yard pass down the left side intended for Christian Sims from Stetson Bennett



Looks like it’s time for red zone drills full 11 on 11 Brian Allen’s back in the starting line with Joe Noteboom at right guard



First play, pass from Stafford to Van Jefferson over the middle hit him at the 10 probably wouldn’t of made it in the end zone



Next play handoff to cam Akers bounced out to the right side probably would’ve gained 3-5 yards



next play Williams up the middle for a couple, refused to go down



Next play another pass intended for Puka on the right side broken up by Witherspoon again



Next play pass to the right side broken up In end zone



Next play touchdown catch by Puka from about the 5 yard line to the middle right side of the end zone



Second string Rypien over throws Demarcus Robinson after a roll out to the left-hand side



Hand off up the middle to Royce Freeman looks like it would’ve gotten 5-6 yards



Rypien touchdown pass from the 13 yard line to Demarcus Robinson in the back of the Endzone



Swing pass to Royce Freeman on the right side not a bad play



Another touchdown from Rypien to Robinson in the front of the end zone on the left side



end of red zone.



Back to mid field



O Line Jackson Avila Shelton Noteboom Havenstein



Noteboom pulls to lead Cam through hole on the left-hand side



Stafford Semi rollout reset to the left throws back to right for Puka but he fell down would’ve been wide-open for big gain



Offsides Bobby Brown. D line Young B Brown E Brown and Hoecht



Kyren Williams getting skinny up the middle for about 7 yards gets a high five from McVay. Then McVay either chewing out or encouraging the defense after that run



Stafford short pass over the middle to Higbee broken up by Rozeboom



Higbee seems limited today that’s only the second snap I’ve seen him and he seems a little out of sorts



Bad snap by McCallister over Bennett’s head Daniel Hardy got up limping after play a little bit but he’s staying out there



Nice pass on the run by Bennett over the middle to Austin Trammell cutting across the field from left to right being covered by Cameron McCutcheon



Off schedule deep pass by Bennett down the middle of the field for Burmeister overthrew him Tyon Davis leaped up ball hit him in the chest and he dropped it



Stetson Bennett rolls out left no where to through would’ve been a sack by VanValkenberg. practice over



Stafford staying out running sprints on the sideline all by him self



Xavier Smith staying out catching passes from the jugs machine



Puka Nacua doing a Rams interview with Cameron and Stu


Demarcus Robinson out signing autographs Xavier Smith out signingh autographs Number 43 out signing autographs and some other defensive player

Why do I get the same feeling about Puka as I did with Cooper his rookie season?

I feel Puka Kupp this season. Just saying it now...

Looking for 1 more person to join @Karate61 and myself to help out with the weekly bets etc for the upcoming season


pm me if intererested