Editor’s Note: This is Tuesday in October. Issue 3 of the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.
Good morning.In yesterday’s newsletter, I said we found a lot about ram When they face the 49ers on Monday night. How’s the effect? Answers or more questions, below.
In other sports news:
- This Dodgers Lost a game, but Tony Gonzolin is back.
- lakers Head coach Darwin Ham has made the strongest statement of support for Russell Westbrook.
- Kawhi Leonard on the court scissors.
- new ranking UCLA It has to prove it belongs when it faces Utah.
- University of Southern California The death of football superstar Marvin Powell is being mourned.
- A disturbing investigation into harassment and sexual coercion in the NWSL.
- Columnist Mirjam Swanson had a rare observation after watching the Rams, chargerUniversity of Southern California, UCLA, stone.John Bosco and alma mater: This is a football town.
- In the fourth quarter of the Rams’ game against the 49ers, I thought it was the worst offense without his interception in the Matthew Stafford era. He then intercepted USC’s Talanoa Hufanga for a return touchdown in a 24-9 loss. It’s a complete mess now.
Beats writer Gilbert Manzano sums it up nicely in one sentence in his story about the game from Santa Clara: “Stafford and his depleted offensive line have been hit by more The hit, it’s starting to become the identity of the defending Super Bowl champs who have struggled to make an explosive game and failed to get free agent wide receiver Alan Robinson involved.”
Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times lets the Rams have it: “From Super Bowl champs to super average. Mediocre. And maybe tending to…super bad? That’s where the Rams find themselves…”
The Athletic’s Jordan Rodrigo has no doubts it’s about the offense: “There was a time when this defense allowed another team to score less than 20 points meant the Rams were almost certain to win. So far, Their offense – between injuries, stalling in the running game and lack of passing cohesion – lacked a sense of identity.”
ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop has a scoring stat: “(49ers’ Deebo) Samuel had two plays for 29 yards or more on Monday. The Rams have had that distance or more all season. .”
49ers beat San Jose Mercury News writer Cam Inman blames Rams for failure of ground game: “Rams are the Stafford-Koop show, so running The game was just a sideshow, and the 49ers were limited to 18 carries for 57 yards.”
In the four games since they won the Super Bowl, it’s too early to write off the Rams. They’re 2-2, but so are San Francisco and everyone else in the NFC West. Offensive lineman injuries were a big reason for Stafford’s dismissal seven times and constant pressure, and Van Jefferson’s injury may be one of the reasons for the lack of variety in passing; the wound should heal. Missed Odell Beckham and Robert Woods; Beckham might be back later this year, but Woods won’t. I wrote pre-season that fans should be prepared for setbacks on a tough schedule; these are setbacks, okay.
Rams head coach Sean McVeigh and his staff worked out well, as they did last season after Nov. 0-3.
But McVeigh and first-year offensive coordinator Liam Cohen have plenty of questions to answer.
Did protection, catcher or Stafford stop the success of the frontcourt pass?
Although they kept Koop open over and over again despite Koop attracting a lot of coverage, what could be done to get the ball to Robinson more?
After the wide receiver signs with the Rams, when will Robinson show the knack for the catch we hear a lot about? I remember two passes in the box last night and Robinson didn’t make it.
How do they improve in the red zone? The Rams excelled at that last season. This season, they’re one of eight teams that hit touchdowns less than half of their travel within the 20-yard line.
Is this the best we can expect from Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson, or is the running game a victim of offensive line injuries?
With no touchdowns, the Rams trailed in the fourth quarter but were still in the game because of the defense – break but not bend? – And Matt Guy’s dependable legs.
Then, Stafford’s fourth-quarter absence from the Magic showed that it was no longer January and February.
Instead, we have the image of two Rams having to separate on the sidelines.
Gilbert Manzano addressed some of these questions and concerns on the House of Horns video podcast after the game and his follow-up this morning.
But the most important answer has to come from McVeigh, whose staff and team leaders earned a Super Bowl ring just a week before Sunday’s home game against the Cowboys.
What we learned about the Rams last night was that there was a lot to figure out.
today
- Angel And the A’s in Oakland in their penultimate game of the season (6:40pm, BSW). Did you realize that the Angels have the seventh-best winning percentage (0.600) in baseball over the past 40 days?
- Dodgers Face the Rockies with Julio Urias (7:10pm, SNLA, FS1). Urias’ 2.12 ERA leads the National League, 0.16 ahead of Sandy Alcantara, and is second in MLB and 0.32 behind Justin Verlander.
- king access Duck Los Angeles’ preseason game at the Honda Center (7 p.m. BSSC) following Sunday’s 2-12 win over Anaheim at the Crypto.com Arena.
reader response
I asked readers to watch Monday night’s game and answer this question: Do the Rams look good enough to repeat as Super Bowl champs?
Twitter user @LACal44 replied: “They need to get fit. Too many injuries.”
@trinityjon said: “Need to change rusher, see OL’s health improve and add @obj (Odell Beckham Jr.).”
@TomBaranowski1 doesn’t think about injuries: “Needs a big improvement in OL, DB’S, better play. I know it’s too early, but so far I don’t even see them making the postseason race.”
next question
The Rams and Chargers are both 2-2. Which team do you want to be more of now? Email your answers to KModesti@scng.com.
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The Angels are now tied with the Tigers for the longest playoff drought in the majors. The last time both teams succeeded was in 2014. https://t.co/WzB5vXq8Rn
– Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) October 4, 2022
– Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher after Phillies make playoffs for first time since 2011
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talk to me
Thanks for reading the newsletter. Email suggestions, comments and questions to KModesti@scng.com and Twitter @KevinModesti.
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