5 sleepless-night narratives emerging out of LA Rams' first preseason game

II: Rams punt coverage already surrendered a touchdown

For the Rams, the moment of truth had finally arrived. The LA Rams fans were about to witness the full Rams special teams roster. The Rams debuted the preseason with placekicker Tanner Brown, punter Ethan Evans, and return specialist Ronnie Rivers.

If you wanted to see exactly what all of the fuss over rookie punter Ethan Evans was about, you had your chance. In the first half, Evans delivered three punts for 148 yards, including one that downed inside the Chargers' 20-yard line, and one that was boomed for 61 yards. It was heartbreaking to witness Ethan Evans' 61-yard punt be converted into an 81-yard punt return touchdown.

But if you need to end this one on a positive note, Ethan Evans punted one 63 yards into the end zone as the second half started. And if you were not aware, Ethan Evans kicked off in this one too.

I: LA Rams penalties really hurt team

While the Rams' defense only surrendered 13 points in the first half, the team shot itself in the foot far too often. In fact, penalties seemed to hurt the Rams on both sides of the football. With 100 yards of offense in the first half, the Rams' penalties took away 58 yards of field position in that first half.

That's not exactly the way the Rams hoped Game 1 would turn out. But it shouldn't come as a complete surprise. With 10 minutes remaining in this game, the Rams were penalized nine times for 111 yards.

The Rams young team is a bit of a mixed bag. There were clearly some outstanding players. But keep in mind that the Rams rotated a lot of players into the game, so continuity in this game resembled the lack of continuity that plagued the entire Rams roster one year ago.

A fourth down and one yard to go resulted in a fase start by Rams wide receiver Tyler Johnson, pushing the Rams back. The subsequent field goal attempt was no good.

And in the fourth quarter, Timarcus Davis ran through a wide receiver on an overthrown pass, giving the Charges a new set of downs and a chance to score again.

8:48 minutes remaining Q4

Chargers 27
Rams 17

The LA Rams have some positive takeaways for this one, and clearly some things to work on. But, in theory, this was a learning experience, and as bad as it should get for the Rams team

The LA Rams are not a polished team just yet, and may need to put a couple of games in the rear view mirror. There are some promising developments in this game. Clearly the Rams punt coverage needs some work. The Rams run defense will need to stiffen up as well. But overall, the Rams did not fall apart. And it's clear that backup rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett has some fight in him, and he brings that out in the Rams offense as well.

Chin up Rams fans. Preseason games are just dress rehearsals.