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The Los Angeles Rams bounced back in Week 2 of the preseason. After a disappointing blowout defeat at the hands of the Ravens, the Rams came to play in L.A. yesterday and took care of business against the Raiders. Here are five notes from yesterdays victory:
John Kelly Passes the Eye Test
Can you imagine how much we’d all be talking ourselves into John Kelly if we didn’t have Todd Gurley on the roster?
The sixth round pick followed up his stellar Week 1 performance with another impressive game in Week 2. Kelly ran 18 times for 56 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders. While the box score is impressive, he’s tehe kind of guy that looks even more impressive when you watch him run. He can avoid contact, hit holes, and just runs as smoothly as you can expect from a rookie running back. Kelly is a lock to make the roster and seems more and more likely to take over the backup running back role from Malcolm Brown.
Sean Mannion Improved, But Didn’t Show Enough
As someone who’s been down on Mannion for the past two years, even I’ll be the first to admit he looked a bit more sharp in yesterdays game. Mannion went 10 of 16 for 84 yards without a touchdown or interception against the Raiders. His top 10 moment came when he connected with KhaDarel Hodge on a beautiful 47 yard deep ball.
Still, Mannion hasn’t shown enough to make anyone confident that he can step in should something happen to Jared Goff. Take away the pass to Hodge and Mannion averaged 4 yards per completion on nine throws, a stat that brings me back to the Kellen Clemens/Brian Schottenheimer days. Brandon Allen showed even less than Mannion this week, and undrafted rookie Luis Perez hasn’t even gotten a shot to prove anything this preseason. For better or worse, it seems like the Rams are going to continue to roll out Mannion as the backup quarterback this season. It’s probably for the worse.
KhaDarel Hodge Continues to Impress
In addition to the aforementioned deep ball from Mannion, Hodge added a tip-toe grab near the sideline for a total of 57 yards receiving on Saturday. Hodge continued his impressive preseason after scoring his first touchdown last week.
The undrafted free agent from Prairie View A&M has come out of nowhere to make an impression this preseason. Hodge has to continue to shine to have a chance at making the roster at one of the Rams deepest positions. Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Josh Reynolds, and specialist Pharoh Cooper are all locks to make the roster. Mike Thomas has been the favorite to hold onto the sixth receiver spot, but Hodge has emerged as a dark-horse candidate to steal a roster spot from Thomas. There is a chance the Rams keep both Thomas and Hodge, but I wouldn’t count on it. Keep an eye on both guys as the preseason continues.
Joseph Noteboom Takes Snaps at Right Guard
Noteboom, the Rams top draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, took snaps at right guard and right tackle in addition to starting at left tackle.
This is notable because the Rams will be without starting right guard Jamon Brown for the first two games of the season. The Rams will need to fill Brown’s role, and Noteboom seems like the most promising candidate should prove capable of playing the guard spot. Expect Noteboom to be the primary backup on the offensive line for any of the tackle positions this season even if he does start the year at guard. If we finally see the Rams starters in Week 3, it would be nice to see Noteboom run at guard with the rest of them.
Don’t Expect Much from the Starters
Aaron Donald isn’t the only Ram we haven’t seen much of this preseason. The Rams have held out almost all of there starters during the first two weeks of the preseason, most notably absent was, well… literally everyone.
Considering the Rams and Raiders face-off in Week 1 of the regular season, it made sense that both teams held out the majority of their starters. But don’t expect to see a ton of the Rams starters for the rest of the preseason. I’d anticipate a series or two from the Rams starters against the Texans next week, but it’s hard to imagine McVay throwing his guys out there for an entire half. I’d be floored if we saw Todd Gurley for more than two possessions. If you’re waiting to see the full squad in L.A., you might just want to wait until September 10th.
Steve Rebeiro is a staff writer and podcast host for Rams Talk. He is an alumni of Marquette University. For more of his opinions, follow him on Twitter here.
2018 rams, featured, joe noteboom, john kelly, Joseph Noteboom, KhaDarel Hodge, Los Angeles Rams, Malcolm Brown, noteboom, preseason, rams, Sean Mannion
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The Los Angeles Rams bounced back in Week 2 of the preseason. After a disappointing blowout defeat at the hands of the Ravens, the Rams came to play in L.A. yesterday and took care of business against the Raiders. Here are five notes from yesterdays victory:
John Kelly Passes the Eye Test
Can you imagine how much we’d all be talking ourselves into John Kelly if we didn’t have Todd Gurley on the roster?
The sixth round pick followed up his stellar Week 1 performance with another impressive game in Week 2. Kelly ran 18 times for 56 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders. While the box score is impressive, he’s tehe kind of guy that looks even more impressive when you watch him run. He can avoid contact, hit holes, and just runs as smoothly as you can expect from a rookie running back. Kelly is a lock to make the roster and seems more and more likely to take over the backup running back role from Malcolm Brown.
Sean Mannion Improved, But Didn’t Show Enough
As someone who’s been down on Mannion for the past two years, even I’ll be the first to admit he looked a bit more sharp in yesterdays game. Mannion went 10 of 16 for 84 yards without a touchdown or interception against the Raiders. His top 10 moment came when he connected with KhaDarel Hodge on a beautiful 47 yard deep ball.
Still, Mannion hasn’t shown enough to make anyone confident that he can step in should something happen to Jared Goff. Take away the pass to Hodge and Mannion averaged 4 yards per completion on nine throws, a stat that brings me back to the Kellen Clemens/Brian Schottenheimer days. Brandon Allen showed even less than Mannion this week, and undrafted rookie Luis Perez hasn’t even gotten a shot to prove anything this preseason. For better or worse, it seems like the Rams are going to continue to roll out Mannion as the backup quarterback this season. It’s probably for the worse.
KhaDarel Hodge Continues to Impress
In addition to the aforementioned deep ball from Mannion, Hodge added a tip-toe grab near the sideline for a total of 57 yards receiving on Saturday. Hodge continued his impressive preseason after scoring his first touchdown last week.
The undrafted free agent from Prairie View A&M has come out of nowhere to make an impression this preseason. Hodge has to continue to shine to have a chance at making the roster at one of the Rams deepest positions. Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Josh Reynolds, and specialist Pharoh Cooper are all locks to make the roster. Mike Thomas has been the favorite to hold onto the sixth receiver spot, but Hodge has emerged as a dark-horse candidate to steal a roster spot from Thomas. There is a chance the Rams keep both Thomas and Hodge, but I wouldn’t count on it. Keep an eye on both guys as the preseason continues.
Joseph Noteboom Takes Snaps at Right Guard
Noteboom, the Rams top draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, took snaps at right guard and right tackle in addition to starting at left tackle.
This is notable because the Rams will be without starting right guard Jamon Brown for the first two games of the season. The Rams will need to fill Brown’s role, and Noteboom seems like the most promising candidate should prove capable of playing the guard spot. Expect Noteboom to be the primary backup on the offensive line for any of the tackle positions this season even if he does start the year at guard. If we finally see the Rams starters in Week 3, it would be nice to see Noteboom run at guard with the rest of them.
Don’t Expect Much from the Starters
Aaron Donald isn’t the only Ram we haven’t seen much of this preseason. The Rams have held out almost all of there starters during the first two weeks of the preseason, most notably absent was, well… literally everyone.
Considering the Rams and Raiders face-off in Week 1 of the regular season, it made sense that both teams held out the majority of their starters. But don’t expect to see a ton of the Rams starters for the rest of the preseason. I’d anticipate a series or two from the Rams starters against the Texans next week, but it’s hard to imagine McVay throwing his guys out there for an entire half. I’d be floored if we saw Todd Gurley for more than two possessions. If you’re waiting to see the full squad in L.A., you might just want to wait until September 10th.
Steve Rebeiro is a staff writer and podcast host for Rams Talk. He is an alumni of Marquette University. For more of his opinions, follow him on Twitter here.
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