Los Angeles Rams: Season opener was a forgettable one
The Los Angeles Rams season opener was one to forget. The team ended up leaving Carolina with a win, but it was a very ugly, and a very close win at that.
The season opener for the Los Angeles Rams was a forgettable one. After an unsuccessful Super Bowl run last year, the Rams are looking to get back there and prove that they were there for a reason.
To open the 2019-2020 season the Rams, however, looked rusty. Jared Goff, who was one of the top quarterbacks last season, threw for only 186 yards on 39 attempts with only 23 completions. Now that is probably due to the running game almost being obsolete in this opening game.
Yes, Malcolm Brown ran for two touchdowns, but he only ran the ball 11 times for 53 yards. Not too great. But, greatness isn’t expected from Malcolm, it’s expected from Todd Gurley, who had just 14 attempts on the day with a decent 97 yards to show for it. Albeit he didn’t contribute a touchdown and seemed out of the passing game with one reception for four yards.
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The running situation right now just looks to be a little odd. We all know Gurley’s knee could cause a problem, which would explain the limited run he got in this first game. But, the team shouldn’t rely on a backup like Malcolm to stay as consistent as he was in the opener.
Receivers on the Rams definitely seemed to be rusty for the opener. Robert Woods had only 70 yards on eight receptions, not great numbers from the “number one” receiver on the team. The same went for Cooper Kupp today, getting targeted 10 times and catching seven of those for only 46 yards on the day.
Brandin Cooks seemed to be the most inconsistent in the season opener, being targeted eight times and only catching two of the balls thrown his way for 39 yards.
None the big three core of receivers caught a touchdown either. Yet, Tyler Higbee, who seems to be the next head added to the hydra of pass-catchers, caught a touchdown pass. He was also targeted five times and caught the ball four times for 20 yards. Not too bad for being the fourth on the receiving depth chart.
The defense was also inconsistent. There were bright spots and bad ones too. The brightest of spots belonged to the linebackers in the season opener, with Clay Matthews getting a sack along with Dante Fowler Jr. accounting for two.
Corey Littleton also snagged an interception for the Rams, not to mention he also forced a fumble along with Samson Ebukam. Besides the turnovers the defense forced, they also managed to let Cam Newton and the Panthers offense get 27 points.
Not an acceptable game from the defensive POV, excluding the linebackers. The offense, although managing to get 30 points, needs to be a little more in sync and together.
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But a win is a win. The Los Angeles Rams have some work to do to piece it all together to be the top-tier team they were last year, and it all starts with improvement. This is a long season, so they still have time to improve more and more.