Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff(On how long it seems since his first game as a rookie on Monday Night Football in 2016)“Yeah Youth Cooper Kupp Jersey , it does feel like a long time ago. I guess it was two years ago now. It feels like forever ago and it is kind of ironic. It’s another Bay Area, Monday night game, get to go home. But, we’re excited for the game. I’m excited for the game. We get to see all of my family up there, have a lot of family at the game and get to go play a good team with the (Oakland) Raiders.”(On if his family is excited that they get to be at the game this week)“Yeah, I’ll have a bunch of people there.”(On how many family members will be at the game)“How many I’m getting tickets for, I can tell you. How many people I actually know there, I don’t know. But how many I’m getting tickets for would probably be about 30 or 40.”(On how he feels that he has matured in the two years since his rookie season)“Yeah, a lot. Just like anyone changes over two years – you mature, you learn a lot. You learn a lot about yourself, a lot about the NFL and how to prepare, how to go about your daily business, how you get ready for a game. Ultimately, a lot of things have to do with how to win in this league and various different things, you know? There’s a million things and I’ve grown up a lot. That was two years ago. I was 21 then, I’m 23 now. Not too old now, but a little bit older than I was then.”(On how eager he is to get out there and show everyone this year’s offense)“Yeah, very excited. Very excited to get out there and finally get some competitive – truly competitive – action with our offense. It’ll be fun. We’re really excited. It’ll be under the lights – big time game, Monday night. Like I said, against a good team with the Raiders and it’ll be really cool. We’re excited to get out there as an offense and I mean, the defense only played a little bit too. I know they’re excited as well.”(On if he was nervous for last season’s opening game against the Indianapolis Colts)“Of course. Yeah, every game you have a little bit of anxiety and just butterflies. You want to get it out of the way. But, I think this year just being in the system another year, kind of understanding what our intent is on each play and what we’re trying to get done and what we’re trying to accomplish definitely eases that a little bit. You build a better idea of as far as – like I said – what you’re trying to do each play. I’ll have a little bit better feeling this year for sure.”(On if he’s mindful that teams have been studying him since last season)”Yeah, been mindful of it the entire offseason, I think. Just trying to clean up any bad habits I may have, any tips or tells that I may have from last year. You do a self-scout at the end of the year and kind of see what you want to work on. There’s various things that I think I’m trying to improve on. Ultimately, that’s not something you’re so focused on, but something you’re trying to fix – if there are any tips and tells, but ultimately, just trying to get yourself better each and every day and trying to, for myself, be the best leader and teammate I can be on this team.”(On going through Jon Gruden’s Quarterback Camp and what he remembers)”Yeah, it was great. Something that I grew up watching and getting a chance to go on that show was really cool for me and a cool experience and (Oakland Raiders Head Coach) Jon (Gruden) was great to me. Learned a lot from him – learned a little bit about protections and whatnot in the short time I spent with him and then just learned about his passion for the game and how much he cares and how cool it was that he did that every year and was really, I think truly, trying to help the young quarterbacks in the short time he had with them. I was fortunate enough to get to spend some of that time with him.”(On growing up in the Bay Area and what he remembers about the Oakland Raiders)”They weren’t very good when I was growing up. They’ve recently been successful, but when I was growing up, they went through some tough times. There was the time White Robert Woods Jersey , when I was young, when Jon was previously there with like (Former Raiders QB Rich) Gannon and (Former Raiders DB Charles) Woodson and those guys and going to the Super Bowl, I think. I guess he was coaching for the (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) ‘Bucs’ then, but then he just left. But yeah, that’s – from when I was really young, I remember some of that – but most of it wasn’t as successful as then, from my childhood.”(On DE Khalil Mack being traded and if he’s glad he won’t have to face him in Week 1)”I mean we’ll see him in whatever week we play the Bears, so. He’s a good player and right now we’re focused on the Raiders. It is definitely a big trade and something that you definitely see and can react to. He’s a great player and he’s not going to be on the team that we’re playing this week but they’ve got plenty of good players, a great defense and a great team that we’re preparing for. We’re not thinking too much about (Bears DE) Khalil (Mack) right now.”(On if there’s anything different fans will see from him this year compared to last year)”I don’t know. Hopefully more under control, more completions, more touchdowns. I just want to continue to play well and get the ball to playmakers. Just don’t do too much, don’t try to over complicate things and continue to distribute the ball and take care of it.”(On if there’s a couple of plays that Head Coach Sean McVay has installed that he’s particularly excited about going into the game and showing what the team has been working on) ”Yeah, there’s a bunch. There’s a bunch of stuff we’ve been working on this offseason that we’re ready to display on Monday night. A lot of the stuff is from last season as well that we’re going to continue to do and then there’s a lot of new stuff we’re doing. What we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it, I don’t know. But there’s a lot of stuff that we’re excited to put on the field finally that we’ve been working on for so long this offseason. A lot of that is carry over, a lot of it is not.”(On if the practice schedule being altered due to the Monday night game helps them get prepared for the late starting game)”Yeah, I think it’s really smart. I was happy we did that. Just having a late start especially in your first game when we haven’t played in a real game in so long, and playing a night game, can kind of feel weird at first. We’re trying to do our best to simulate that late start throughout the week. I think it’s really smart by our guys and our strength staff and training staff.”Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals report card: Defense shines in 34-0 rout QuarterbacksOverall, Rams QB Jared Goff had a very solid game. It’s easy to nitpick — yes, his deep ball completion to Cooks was underthrown, he missed a wide open (like, fart in an elevator wide open) Robert Woods for an easy TD, and could have put a bit more touch on another easy 6 to Cooks at the goal line. I won’t ding him too hard for his INT — he did well to avoid a sack on the play, but given that the Rams were likely in 4-down territory due to Greg Zuerlein’s injury, he forced one down the sideline when the game was all but decided. He did make some great throws on the day, and was able to complete a few under duress early in the game. He’s still a young QB, and continues to show development. System QB/$100M man or whatever you want to call him, Goff’s running point for a team that has scored 67 points in 2 games and his early-season synch with Cooks is a thing of beauty. 24/32/354 is nothing to sneeze at.Running BacksClearly, Arizona came into the contest hoping to stuff RB Todd Gurley, and for the most part, they did: except when it counted. Gurley registered 3 TDs on the day, and also converted on 3 2-point conversions, for an outrageous 24 point afternoon. While he was solid in pass protection, as usual, his 2.2 yards per carry and 73 yards from scrimmage won’t get his position group into the A category. Backup RB Malcolm Brown looked great sullying his lunchbox in garbage time, amassing 46 yards on just 12 totes.Photo by John McCoy/Getty ImagesTight EndsActual targets to actual TEs! After a week one performance which saw Rams TEs Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett receive zero targets, both got into the act late in the contest on Sunday. True, the mark of a good TE isn’t purely receiving — and the Rams second consecutive strong offensive outing is in part a testament to the blocking and/or decoy abilities of the unit. Still Youth Rob Havenstein Jersey , we want to see them get involved to keep defenses honest. A play after lazily giving up in pass pro and allowing Goff to get flattened, Everett made a nice grab and flashed his 2nd round talent with some nice YAC. Later in the drive, Goff rubber stamped the win with a nice 3-yard TD toss to Higbee. It wasn’t a big day, but it was progress.Wide ReceiversIncredible day for Rams WRs today. Brandin Cooks had 159 yards on 7 catches (against 9 targets). He hauled in everything that came his way, and could have easily dropped a 2-hundo burger on the Cards if Goff leads him on the deep ball. Think about this: Cooks is pacing 1968 receiving yards through 2 games. Tack on the penalties he drew against Oakland and... Sammy Watkins he ain’t. There’s a reason we gave up a #1 and paid him before his first snap. As we say around here: HE GUD. In the “no slouch” department, take a look at Robert Woods with 6/81 (9 targets) and Cooper Kupp with 6/63 (6 targets) and you’ve got a (unofficial) zero drop, 303 yard afternoon from this stellar unit. Really? You want Josh Gordon? Offensive LineThis unit gets an A- for pass blocking, and a C+ for run-blocking, netting them a solid B. O-Line play requires a little more study — some of it’s going to be scheme versus defense, down and distance, etc., but for the most part the unit kept Goff clean. The only two sacks were avoidable, one was on Goff for inexplicably not throwing it away and the other, as previously mentioned, on Everett. In the run game, Gurley didn’t see much daylight en route to his 2.2 yard average. The broadcast booth did take a moment to give RG Austin Blythe some props, as he demolished a DT on Gurley’s final TD — once again giving rise to the “who will start at RG week 3?” debate. Despite some early pressure, Goff had plenty of time to throw. Malcolm Brown’s late, game-sealing runs were a testament to the OL’s overall strong play, as they continued to put hats on the fatigued Arizona D from whistle to whistle.Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesDefensive LineTwo games in, and it’s clear that this DL is impacting games in ways that traditional DLs do not. It’s sort of a silent rage / quiet domination type of scenario (insert Sosa joke here). Through two games the Rams have registered just two sacks — and just one from the all-world DL of Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh, and Michael Brockers. That said, they’ve tallied about 6 holding calls, countless pressures, and have rendered the secondary’s job that much easier with disruptive plays into the teeth of opposing OLs. It’s not as sexy as some had imagined (yet), but it sure is effective. Arizona registered just 3.6 yards per carry today, and Captain Checkdown Sam Bradford had a paltry 3.3 yards per attempt. Clearly, the front of the house is tipping out the back of the house, because this Rams defense is synched up early on. I’d expect the sacks and the forced fumbles to come — with a tough schedule coming up, we’ll need them — but for now, this unit is positively humming.LinebackersQuiet day for this group — but in this case, that’s a good thing. Outside of OLB Samson Ebukam’s sack and 2 official QB hits, no single player particularly flashed on this day — in part due to the outstanding play of the DL and the secondary. That’s kind of how this defense is supposed to work, right? While the debate about Cory Littleton’s week one performance is yesterday’s news, I think we’d all prefer a quiet 3-tackle performance to a hotly contested 13-tackle mixed bag. Simply put, this unit just had to flow to the ball today and make plays, and for the most part Youth Austin Blythe Jersey , they did. As Arizona was just 3-12 on 3rd down, the Ram’s leading tackler (SS John Johnson III with 7) didn’t even come from this group. It’s kind of nice to not have that 68 yard TD run in the first quarter of every game isn’t it?Defensive BacksArizona QB Sam Bradford didn’t have much time to throw, and when he did, no one was open. This secondary was simply ridiculous today, holding the Cardinals to 90 yards passing, with just 28 of those to HOF WR Larry Fitzgerald (on 5 targets). CB Aqib Talib was particularly feisty on the afternoon with 2 passes defended, and blanketing anyone Bradford appeared to target. Much of the credit, too, can fall to Nickell Robey-Coleman who drew the Fitzgerald assignment for much of the game. The Slot God didn’t do anything flashy, but neither did anyone in red, yanno? Did CB Marcus Peters even get his jersey dirty? SS John Johnson III sure did, with a few plays to shut down early drives along with 7 stops. Also of note: FS Marqui Christian continues to chip in in obvious passing situations and along with 5 tackles, he laid some serious lumber. CB Sam Shields registered his first INT since 2015, which was reminiscent of the one he secured in the preseason — jumped the route and provided a nice return to boot. Scary to think what this secondary will do when a QB actually has time to throw at them — we’ll see if LAC QB Philip Rivers can get one beyond 8 yards downfield next week.Special TeamsWith K Greg Zuerlein shelved before kickoff, the Rams ST unit was in a bit of a pickle. Of course, we can’t forget that P Johnny “Swiss Army” Hekker is on the roster. The ginger-haired All-Pro from Oregon State stepped in admirably today on kickoffs, a FG, and a PAT, and oh BTW averaged 51 yards on 2 punts. Newly signed return man WR JoJo Natson (who needs a nickname, btw... up here in the NW we eat Chicken and JoJos) looked borderline spectacular on the day, averaging 22.2 yards on 6 punt returns, including a 60-yard dash. Sadly, he only had one kick return for 22 yards, but you can blame the Cardinals’ iron-deficient offense for that. Bones’ unit had one flag on the day, but made the most out of a challenging situation and may have found a new star in the mighty-mite Natson. Bravo!CoachingHard to find anything wrong with a completely dominant 34-0 ass-shackling of a division opponent. That’s two years in a row we’ve shut these guys out — new coach, new QB, same result. Despite limited success in the run game (which was probably surprising given Washington’s success the week prior), Rams HC Sean McVay resisted his inner Mike Martz and stayed with Gurley until the play action game was established. He continued to mix pass and run effectively, and continued to develop the Goff to Cooks connection. DC Wade Phillips also had a gameplan — and it involved completely stymying the Arizona Cardinals at every turn. We block, we tackle, we punt pass and catch, we wrap up, we cover, and we roll deep. We Ram it. This team is for real, and today’s workmanlike approach resulted in an early season triumph before some of the starred attractions on our schedule.
