A few concerns after LA Rams drop first preseason game

Do I have to say it? The LA Rams offensive line should have a solution in place for A-gap blitzes, but it seems to have missed practicing against that strategy. In fact, after the LA Rams had some strong offensive plays strung together with a 13-yard completion to tight end Jacob Harris and a 19-yard completion to wide receiver Tutu Atwell, the Rams offense seemed to regress into a bad rushing play, a bad passing play, and then another bad passing play. But pressure seemed to bother Devlin Hodges in this one. More on that later.

I don’t know what has happened to all of the positive speculations about tight end Brycen Hopkins, but he didn’t really show up with anything positive to say about him in this one. Hey, this is the guy who the Rams drafted in 2020 to take over at the tight end spot, and I don’t see him as making this one past the August 17 cuts. Well, I do actually because he was a draft pick so he will likely be cut on August 31.  I had hoped that he might make this a difficult decision. He isn’t making much of a case to keep him around. He was targeted twice for one reception and three receiving yards.

The LA Rams short-yardage run defense needs some fine-tuning.  After the LA Rams forced a fourth-and-one onto the Chargers, they allowed Larry Rountree ran off the right tackle for a huge 25 yard running play to set up a first-and-ten at the Rams 36 yards line. Two plays later, Darious Bradwell ran around the right end for another 12 yards to set up the Chargers at the one-yard line.
Short yardage defense? That could be a problem, folks. It was later in this game when the Rams surrendered another huge rush up the middle. I should warn you now, big runs up the middle are a pet peeve.

Los Angeles Rams

It’s just one game folks. I get that. This is just one data point, and one data point says nothing about a trend. But to track a trend, you have to record the first data point.

Now, about Devlin Hodges. He is a veteran quarterback, but seemed to be a bit shaken if and when the Chargers got pressure on him, he seemed to unravel a bit. While he didn’t take a sake, he made a couple of bad decisions when a defender got too close. An interception late in the game seemed when going for it at fourth and five was a backbreaker.

Now, one more area of concern. I’m not sure who I can or should toe-tag with this one, but the run blocking was … ugly. If not for the scrambling of the very mobile and exciting quarterback Bryce Perkins, the LA Rams running game would have ended the night at 20 rushes for 50 yards. That’s a rushing average of just 2.5 yards-per-carry. Ugh.  This wasn’t about bad running backs. Holes never opened, running lanes never developed. The offensive line, backups though they were, struggled to cohesively get enough push all along the line of scrimmage. In run blocking, one poorly made attempt can thwart the entire play. There were some poorly made attempts.

Running offense? Concerning. Running defense? Concerning. Quarterback Devlin Hodges with pressure on him? Concerning. Hey, there is plenty to be excited about. But as we talked about at length in the pregame primer, the LA Chargers wanted this win to help build positive momentum. Winning this one was not a primary concern for the LA Rams.

If you followed along with these eight keys that we had identified before the game, this one resulted in some mixed results. But don’t end this one feeling disappointed in the team. These players were fighting for a roster spot and playing time in the 2021 NFL season. The Rams held out the starters completely. The Rams lost this one by seven points.

Somehow, I believe that Matthew Stafford and the starting offense, plus Aaron Donald with Jalen Ramsey and the starting defense, can make up that difference.