Raiders Vs Rams Week 1
It took a complete team effort for the Los Angeles Rams to knock off the Oakland Raiders Monday night, both defensively and offensively. There were quite a few standout performances from the Rams, but there were also some disappointing ones, too.
Here are studs and duds from Monday’s 33-13 win over Oakland.
- Raiders GM hails Carr as one of NFL's best QBs. Derek Carr received a ringing endorsement on Wednesday from Raiders GM Mike Mayock, who called him 'one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.'
- Top Shots: Raiders vs. Take a look through the top images from the Raiders' game against the Rams in Week 1 at the Coliseum. 1 / 52 Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4.
Had 7 more pressures vs. Overall grades per PFF last three games: 90.7 (vs TEN), 90.1 (at CHI), 81.2 (vs. Gary was the highest graded defensive player vs the Rams.
WR Brandin Cooks
Cooks didn’t have 150 yards and two scores, but he had a great first game with the Rams. In the first half alone, he drew two pass interference penalties for a total of 87 yards. That doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed by savvy fans and or the coaching staff.
In the end, he finished with five catches for 87 yards, the longest of which went for 30 yards. He showed a willingness to go over the middle with defenders lurking, while also displaying awareness along the sidelines. He’s exactly what the Rams were hoping he’d be.
Offensive line
The offensive line was near-perfect in this one. Jared Goff was only sacked once, but that was largely his fault after he stood in the pocket too long and wasn’t aware of Bruce Irvin looping around. Goff admitted after the game that the sack was on him, complimenting the entire offensive line for the job it did protecting him.
In the running game, Gurley had nice running lanes to burst through, rarely getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. The unit didn’t miss a beat with Austin Blythe filling in for Jamon Brown.
CBs Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Rams’ secondary entering this season, and needless to say, it lived up to expectations. While it’s still very early, the early returns on Peters and Talib are excellent. We didn’t hear Talib’s name called much in this one, but that’s a good thing. He was great in coverage and didn’t let Jordy Nelson do much of anything, limiting him to just three catches for 23 yards.
Peters was even better, shutting down Amari Cooper. He held him to just one catch for 9 yards, intercepting Carr in the fourth quarter and returning it for a touchdown. If this is how the corners are going to play every week, expect teams to target their running backs and tight ends the way Oakland did.
OLB Samson Ebukam
Ebukam got off to a hot start, and although he cooled down in the second half, he made a handful of nice plays early on. In total, he had three tackles for loss – though one was a gift after Derek Carr fell down – which led all players in the game.
On that same drive, Ebukam stuffed Doug Martin on a swing pass in the Raiders’ own territory, a great stop in the open field. Later in the game, he snuck into the backfield to bring Marshawn Lynch down for a 5-yard loss.
RB Todd Gurley
It wouldn’t be a “studs” section if Gurley didn’t make an appearance. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year picked up where he left off last season, rushing for 108 yards on just 20 carries. His longest run of the game was 23 yards, while also adding three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown on a tap pass from Goff.
He showed the same explosiveness and burst he had last season despite not playing in the preseason, setting aside any concerns about rust or needing time to get up to speed. He’s once again going to be an MVP candidate.
Honorable mentions: LB Cory Littleton, DE Michael Brockers, WR Cooper Kupp
LA Rams (2017: 11-6 SU, 9-8 ATS) vs. Oakland Raiders (2017: 6-10 SU, 5-9-2 ATS)
Date/Time: Monday September 10, 10:20 PM EST
Where: Oakland Coliseum
TV: ESPN
By Keith Allen, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Rams -3 (-115) / Raiders +3 (-105) @ 5dimes
Over/Under Total: 49.5
The finale for the NFL’s week 1 action will take place at the Oakland Coliseum with the Raiders hosting the L.A. Rams. Jon Gruden takes over as Raiders coach after 10 years in the ESPN booth and will attempt to return the Raiders to their glory days as they prepare to move to Las Vegas. Oakland was expected to join the NFL elite last year after 12 wins in 2016. They stood at 6-6 before losing their last 4 games for their fifth losing season in the last 6 years.
Raiders Or Rams Defense Week 13
The Rams’ 2017 season was just the opposite. They won 11 games and finished first in the NFC West before falling to the Falcons (2018 season win total set at 9) in the wild card round of the playoffs. First year coach Sean McVay blended a group of talented skill players with Jared Goff and formed an offense that is the new prototype other teams are copying. The Rams have gone all in this year and have hopes to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.
Gruden inherits an offense that was 23rd in points scored and 13th in yards per play and has vowed to take the game back to 1998. The entire offense was ugly last year. QB Derek Carr regressed last year after a stellar 2016 but he battled injuries much of the year and his receivers struggled to catch the ball. Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant join Amari Cooper to catch Carr’s passes in 2018. Marshawn Lynch will return to lead the backfield after averaging 4.3 yards per carry for the Silver and Black. Gruden will look to work some magic with Carr and the offense and transport them into 2018 rather than back to 1998. Gruden’s offenses during his 7-year tenure in Tampa Bay were never in the top half of the league and now he has mediocre talent. They get a tough Ram defense to test them in the opener.
The offense better be good, because the defense will not be. Last year the Silver and Black defense was 20th in the league in points allowed but 26th in yards per play. More troubling was the pass defense only recorded 31 sacks despite having Khalil Mack on the roster and only intercepted opposing QBs 5 times on the season. Last year’s first round pick cornerback Gareon Conley played only 2 games due to injury so he is looking to contribute in ’18 but is already battling injury issues in training camp. It’s hard to see how this defense is going to slow down the Rams and to make matters worse Mack is holding out. As we enter August, Mack is not signed and the 2 sides are not close to inking a deal. Of course, at some point Mack will play, but it not be surprising to see this drag to the edge of the season and Mack sit out week 1.
McVay stepped in last year and the Rams went from dead last in offense in multiple categories in ’16 to leading the league in points scored in ’17. 2016 first overall pick Jared Goff rebounded from a dismal rookie season to throw for just under 4000 yards and 28 TDs last year. Todd Gurley contributed over 2000 scrimmage yards and was probably the most valuable non-quarterback player last year. McVay kept defenses off balance and continuously got the ball to his playmakers in space. Brandin Cooks was added to the receiving crew in the off-season and will give the Raiders one more Ram they probably will not be able to guard. Last year the Rams scored 46 in week 1 against a Colts bad defense and it is very likely they will start out hot again.
Raiders Vs Rams Week 10
Wade Phillips will again coach the Ram defense that has added Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. They join arguably the best defensive player in the league in Aaron Donald. Donald is also holding out and has watched multiple Rams get paid while he continues to wait. Donald was late to training camp last year and missed week 1 which is a real possibility again this year. The Rams defense was middle of the pack last year but struggled against the run which Suh should improve this year. The Rams defense will have some growing pains with the new faces but should be able to hold their own with this Raider offense.
I expect McVay to give Chucky a rude welcome to the 2018 NFL season and the Rams to cover the 3 point spread. Gruden’s Raiders are overmatched especially when the Rams have the ball. Goff will have all the time he needs to pick apart the Raiders D and Gurley should have a field day both on the ground and through the air. The Rams scored over 30 points in 9 games last year and had no hesitation to keep their foot on the gas when things were going well. The Rams were 3-1 ATS last year against the spread against AFC teams while Oakland was 1-2-1 ATS against the NFC. The Raiders offense will try to keep up but don’t have the weapons.
Play the Rams -3 at -115 at the Oakland Coliseum to close out week 1 in the NFL. I also lean to over the 49.5 total.