3 LA Rams Hard Knocks takeaways “Lets stay with 12 personnel”

“Let’s stick with 12 personnel”1 and 2 other LA Rams Hard Knocks takeaways

As the LA Rams debuted on HBO Hard Knocks: LA, there were a lot of hopes of seeing the ins-and-outs of the Rams at training camp.  What are the Rams up against? What big drama is playing out this year?

First and foremost, the Rams defensive back Dante Deayon was hilarious. He was the main featured player, simply because he knows how to turn it on in front of the camera.  He showed up when the Rams were working out, as he walked up to Aaron Donald’s workout routine and hinted at a “pose off” by calling out that he is doing a full-body workout as well. In another segment of the first episode, Deayon had a mini-protest by pointing out that he was in a “makeshift” section of the locker room.  He referred to his locker area as the “project” and hopeful that he would be promoted to the suburbs section of the locker room.

Terrell Lewis there and back again

The majority of the HBO Hard Knocks: LA episode 1 focused on pandemic protocols, COVID-19 testing, and the like.  If you haven’t followed along, the debut did confirm that Rams rookie OLB Terrell Lewis did test positive for COVID-19, and was assigned to the COVID-19/reserve list. Even while his status was broadcast on HBO Hard Knocks: LA, Lewis tweeted an update:

Look for the Rams to reactivate him tomorrow. The team has already cleared roster space by waving DB Levonta Taylor earlier today. That takes us to the final summary of episode one – three takeaways.

Takeaway III – The first-team offensive line appears to be Andrew Whitworth, Austin Corbett, Austin Blythe, David Edwards, and Rob Havenstein.  The Rams’ offensive line was on the field when the Rams were running their starters.  These five starters on the offensive line were confirmed later in the evening on the Rams Hard Knocks: The After Show online streaming broadcast.

Takeaway II – The LA Rams defense flirting with DB Jalen Ramsey all over the secondary. While difficult to make out without more reference points, he appeared to be defending the outside receiver, a slot receiver, and in deep zone coverage.  So far, the defense is not sharing a single thing about the coverage scheme. This will be fun to watch in the opener.

Takeaway I – “Let’s stay with 12 personnel” was heard during the offensive walkthroughs. If there was any thought that the Rams would abandon the two tight-end formations in 2020, that seems to be temporarily nixed.  In fact, I expect that with four solid tight ends, the Rams will likely stay with the heavier blocking formations until the defenses adjust to bigger linebacker heavy schemes.  Then, the Rams can go three wideouts and burn defenses via the passing game.

The first episode was a mixed bag. I get it that televised broadcasts like this are designed for a national audience and that the unique design of this year’s programming was already intended to split between the Chargers and the Rams.  If you were looking to satisfy your football fix, this program may actually have made it worse.  It gave a taste of football, but not much more.

Give me more!  I suppose that was the idea, right? I’m hooked now and am eager to view next week’s episode.