(by Ross Jacobs)
Finally, an entertaining game and one with some fantasy relevant notes.
This was a back-and-forth affair. The Rams played no starters like always, but the Chargers had their top guys out there for one series. Despite the talent difference, the Rams went right down the field behind Stetson Bennett for a quick lead. The Chargers would grind their way back into the game with a few field goals. Then the Rams got one of their own. A Chargers punt return TD gave them the lead again, and after a few failed drives, Bennett took the Rams down the field on the final drive with just 1:30 left in the game and scored the winning TD with seconds remaining after a miracle catch got them in position.
Overall, both of these teams played with energy, competitiveness, and aggression. Despite playing with their 2nd/3rd stringers against some of the Chargers’ higher-ups for large chunks of the game, I thought the Rams really fought well and actually deserved to win this game. Very impressive on both sides.
Player Notes…
-- Starting with the biggest attention grabber from this game, Stetson Bennett has really turned into a pretty solid player. He’s making mostly good decisions, playing with rhythm and timing, throwing accurately with enough arm. He looks almost like a mini Sam Darnold out there. Good for him. I don’t think he’s quite ready to start and I think it’s still too early to say he’s definitely the future starter after Stafford is done, but he’s progressing nicely and has given himself a chance. Between Garoppolo and Bennett, the Rams have arguably the best backup QB situation in the league, which is good news since we still have no clarity on Stafford’s availability.
-- Contrast the Rams backup with the Chargers, and it’s not pretty. Both Taylor Heinicke and Trey Lance were not reading the field well and kept spraying the occasional ball. Lance at least looks good when he can get one of those no-read deep passes and just drop it in a bucket. He hit a couple really nice balls by allowing his young receivers to run under it. But overall, there’s been no real development here. He’s playing a little more calmly than before but has all the other flaws he’s always had.
-- Quentin Johnston took a big shot and left the game with a concussion, and in his place was Keandre Lambert-Smith. KLS played another great game showing off speed, route running, and nice hands. He stayed in the game awhile along with fellow rookie Tre Harris who also played a great game. Those two are going to become starters next year, and the Chargers are going to have the best 1-2-3 WR corps in the league.
-- Oronde Gadsden was quiet. He only got one target, and the ball was jarred loose by a big hit. He didn’t look particularly fast or explosive from what I saw, but it’s just one game.
-- The Chargers RB room is weird.
Omarion Hampton is obviously the starter, and he looked quite good here. They were running him north and south and he was plowing over defenders and almost couldn’t be tackled.
After that Kimani Vidal was the first to come in the game, looking slow and ineffective as usual, but he rotated out a bit with Raheim Sanders, who was faster and more explosive, and both of them played until very, very late in the game. Hassan Haskins did not play, and did not have an injury designation. That would seem to imply he was safe, but all the starters played a series, so I don’t know why a backup RB would have been held out. The coaches are clearly trying to figure out what to do behind Hampton. I’ll bet they sign or trade for a veteran soon.
-- Two young Rams receivers that the coaches have raved about played well here, Xavier Smith and Konata Mumpfield. They both look solid. Jordan Whittington did not play here, so he’s definitely got a leg up on the other young receivers even if he’s not one of the three primary starters.
Drake Stoops won’t make the team, but he flashed a couple times and looks a lot like Detroit’s Tom Kennedy, a perpetually underrated player.
-- Blake Corum started and was out relatively quickly. He looks indistinguishable from Kyren Williams and is a must-draft if you have Kyren.
Jarquez Hunter I’m not impressed with so far. He runs hard and has quick feet on short jump cuts, but when he has to redirect going east/west he looks much slower. Not sure he’s a great fit with all the wide zone they are trying to run. He might be best getting north and south instead.
-- Defensive Player Notes…
The only two defenders that I really noticed were Rams defensive lineman Desjuan Johnson who was causing some disruption up front and safety Tanner Ingle, a little guy that was lighting up anything that came near him.
