Rams HC McVay sees improvement from team

(News4usonline) – Sometimes change is good. The Los Angeles Rams are venturing into the area of the unknown this season. With 36 rookies on the roster before cuts are made, the Rams and head coach Sean McVay will field a totally revamped squad when the team takes the field against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 of the regular season.

Two seasons removed, the team that beat the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI is no longer in existence. Sure, there are some vital components like Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Jordan Fuller, and Matthew Stafford that remain, but outside of those recognizable names, the Rams have a much different look this season.

With 14 draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Rams got rid of the old and welcomed the new. The new is young players competing and fighting for roster spots and bringing another vibe of energy to the team. The evaluation grade so far is that the Rams are engaged in a youth movement with all the rookies and draft picks at their disposal.

Thus far in the preseason that has not resulted in a win for the team. Never mind that the Rams dropped a 34-17 preseason game to the Las Vegas Raiders and have to hit the road to play the Denver Broncos in their final exhibition contest. With inevitable cuts looming, McVay is faced with the task of making some tough decisions on what players to keep on the team’s 53-man roster.

There are certain areas of the team where those decisions will be more difficult than others, he admitted.

“I think you’re looking at a lot of competition still upfront with our offensive line, at that receiver position,” McVay said. “You’re seeing some really good stuff going on on our defensive front, across the interior and exterior parts of that line. We’ve got some depth at safety where guys are trying to figure that out. We’ve got corners that… we’re getting one of our guys that we project as a big time factor for us coming back. So there’s not anything that I can say is kind of set in stone.” 

Who serves as Stafford’s backup going into the season is not locked in yet, but rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett is trying his best to be that guy. Bennett played well into the third quarter in the second preseason game for the Rams against the Raiders, a team they had been engaged with twice in joint practices leading up to the Aug. 19 game that was played at SoFi Stadium.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) goes back to pass against the Las Vegas Raiders during an NFL preseason game played at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 19, 2023. Photo by Mark Hammond/News4usonline

In his second NFL game, Bennett impressed with a short touchdown run. He also endured some bumps along the way like serving up a 50-yard pick-six interception for a touchdown.

“Yeah, I mean, that was completely my fault,” Bennett said. “I thought that he was going to run a different route than he did and anticipated it and he ran the one that was called and I threw the one that wasn’t and I paid for it.”

Despite the interception hiccup, McVay liked what he saw from Bennett in the first half. Bennett finished his game stint by completing 15 of 24 passes for 142 yards and the one pick.

“Yeah, I thought he did a good job,” McVay said of Bennett. “I thought it was good to be able to end with the touchdown drive. I thought he saw the field well. There was a miscommunication on the one interception that he threw. Obviously, he thought that was going to be a different route and so those are things that happened, and these are great opportunities for us to be able to learn. I thought he made a couple unbelievable throws.” 

When it comes to improvement, the Rams’ young defensive unit is still a work in progress. Against the Los Angeles Chargers in their first preseason game, the Rams’ defense gave up 214 yards rushing. The unit solved that issue against the Raiders, holding Las Vegas to 98 yards on the ground.

The flip side of that coin is that the Raiders gained 342 yards passing against the Rams in preseason game No. 2. Despite those glaring numbers, McVay sees improvement from the defensive unit. That improvement can’t be measured from preseason games, he said.

Los Angeles Rams running back Royce Freeman (24) runs over a Las Vegas Raiders defender during an NFL preseason game between the two teams on Aug. 19, 2023, at SoFi Stadium. Photo by Mark Hammond/News4usonline

“Well, a lot of the stuff that I think has been improved are things that you guys don’t necessarily see in those preseason games,” said McVay. “I thought the overall sense of urgency, sense of ownership and understanding, consistent execution of the techniques and fundamentals on all three levels of the defense, thought that was on display at a pretty high level of the first practice and it was pretty damn good the second practice too, for the most part.

He added, “There’s always plays here and there and it’s not like you’re keeping score on those practice settings, but you do have an idea of, alright, what would be projected on in some of these red area situations, in some of the move the ball settings, a two-minute, is this conducive for success or not? But when you’re not tackling, there is an element of, okay, you can’t account for everything, but I would say that was what I saw.”


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