Rams turn attention to the West, face improved Cardinals

3 years ago 308

In the past month, the Rams person filled SoFi Stadium with fans for the archetypal time, jumped retired to a 3-0 commencement to the season, won with flash and grit down Matthew Stafford, beaten the Super Bowl champions and go trendy picks to triumph the title themselves.

Not a atrocious warmup for what volition hap successful the adjacent 5 days, an aggravated agelong that mightiness acceptable the crippled for the Rams’ rubric quest.

The Rams big the Arizona Cardinals connected Sunday afternoon, trying not to deliberation yet astir having to crook astir and question to look the Seattle Seahawks connected Thursday night.

After this rapid-fire commencement to the NFC West schedule, the Rams could beryllium successful power of the division. Or they could find themselves successful a four-way conflict successful what shapes up arsenic the NFL’s deepest division. The quality matters, since winning the part is the archetypal measurement toward riding their large caller home-field vantage done the playoffs and the Super Bowl astatine SoFi Stadium.

“We volition interest astir our adjacent crippled aft we play this one,” Rams manager Sean McVay said. “This (Arizona) is simply a large team. We’ve got our hands full. We’ve got to beryllium acceptable to go. It’s going to beryllium a large ambiance and situation (with) 2 3-0 teams going astatine it.”

Cardinals games person been casual to look past lately, the Rams having won 8 meetings successful a enactment by an mean of 20 points, including 4 successful a enactment since it became a coaching matchup of McVay and his aged person Kliff Kingsbury. But it’s antithetic now.

The Cardinals are disconnected to their champion commencement since their NFC title crippled tally successful 2015, scoring a league-best 34 points a game.

The past 2 years, the Rams contained Arizona backmost Kyler Murray’s moving and forced him to pass. But that, too, mightiness crook retired antithetic now.

Murray completed much than 80% of his passes successful wins implicit the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars, and his 9.9 yards per walk effort fertile down lone the Rams’ Matthew Stafford (10.0) and the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson (10.4).

“His quality to widen plays (by scrambling) has ever been well-documented,” McVay said of Murray, “but to beryllium capable to beryllium decisive, recognize wherever those issues are coming from, and past being capable to marque plays successful the bushed and timing (is what a squad is) looking for.”

Murray has distributed 10 oregon much completions to six receivers, and wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, free-agent summation A.J. Green and rookie Rondale Moore person combined for 7 touchdown receptions.

The quality is Murray’s increasing bid of the offense, Kingsbury said.

“I deliberation twelvemonth 3 successful the system, it’s the progression you’d anticipation for,” Kingsbury told Rams bushed writers. “He truly has a bully knowing of our discourtesy now, wherever his checkdowns are, wherever his outlets are, however to get retired of trouble. I deliberation that’s wherefore you’ve seen his completion percent emergence similar it has frankincense far.”

This is simply a occupation for the Rams’ secondary, and peculiarly cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who looks guardant to twice-a-year matchups with Hopkins that spell backmost to their days with teams successful the AFC South.

Kingsbury heaped praise connected the Rams’ defence nether first-year coordinator Raheem Morris, and rapidly focused connected Ramsey.

“I deliberation Raheem’s done a tremendous occupation of conscionable evolving what was started past twelvemonth schematically, and doing immoderate of his ain stuff,” Kingsbury said. “Ramsey’s astir apt been the antiaircraft MVP (of the league) frankincense acold this twelvemonth erstwhile you look astatine the interaction he’s had connected games, however ascendant he’s been connected the perimeter, playing the rover (role), and past astatine country erstwhile helium tin fastener anybody down antheral to man.

“He’s arsenic versatile a subordinate arsenic determination is, and it’s been truly awesome to ticker the physicality he’s playing with this season.”

That was truthful overmuch praise that adjacent the ultra-competitive Ramsey had to play humble.

“Aaron Donald is my teammate, (and) he’s the MVP of the full world,” Ramsey said of the antiaircraft tackle who has won 3 NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.

If facing the Cardinals is simply a situation this year, it’s besides due to the fact that a blitzing defense, improved with the summation of antiaircraft extremity J.J. Watt, mightiness beryllium capable to enactment much unit connected Stafford than the Rams backmost faced successful the wins implicit the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Outside linebacker Chandler Jones had 5 sacks of Ryan Tannehill successful a season-opening triumph implicit the Tennessee Titans.

“You look astatine Chandler Jones, what helium did successful Week 1 is arsenic bully arsenic immoderate show that you’ll spot ever, successful the past of this league,” McVay said. “It is the substance of being capable to deed location with a four-man rush, sending five, being capable to nonstop much than that. The assortment of antithetic things that they support you benignant of connected your heels is what’s specified a problem.”

It’s capable to support McVay, Stafford and the remainder of the Rams from reasoning astir the Seahawks crippled until astir a infinitesimal aft Sunday’s crippled is over.

NOTES

The Rams activated extracurricular linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo from injured reserve. His instrumentality from a shoulder-neck wounded is well-timed, since Justin Hollins (pectoral tear) went connected IR this week. …

Running backmost Buddy Howell and extracurricular linebacker Justin Lawler were elevated from the signifier squad for the Cardinals game. Howell adds depth, though the Rams expect Darrell Henderson to play aft missing the Bucs crippled with a rib injury. It’s Lawler’s 3rd call-up, truthful helium indispensable beryllium placed connected the 53-man progressive roster. …

To marque country connected the roster, the Rams waived antiaircraft backmost J.R. Reed, who didn’t play a antiaircraft drawback successful parts of 2 seasons.