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 by /zn/
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   6758  
 Joined:  Jun 28 2015
United States of America   Maine
Hall of Fame

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/ra ... xhibition/

Coach Jon Gruden was dumbfounded in April when the NFL scheduled two games against the Los Angeles Rams, one a second exhibition and the other a season opener, 23 days apart. His response was to rest 21 key players, including 15 on offense, for a 19-15 preseason loss that featured a snoozefest start.


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https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... with-rams/


Jon Gruden sits 15 offensive starters because Raiders open with Rams

The Raiders returned to the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first time in 23 years, but if the Raiders fans who showed up en masse wanted to see their team’s stars, they were out of luck.

Oakland sat 15 offensive players, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. That included quarterback Derek Carr, running back Marshawn Lynch and receivers Jordy Nelson and Amari Cooper.

The matchup was one of two this weekend featuring teams that play again in the regular season. But the Seahawks and Chargers don’t play again until November 4. The Raiders and Rams meet again in three weeks in a season-opening Monday night game in Oakland.

Thus, Raiders coach Jon Gruden wasn’t about to show the Rams anything they could use in preparation for Week One.

“I’ve never been in a preseason game like this,” Gruden said, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. “This is tough, in our first training camp as a football team, to have our second [preseason game] against a team we open up with.

“I don’t know in the history of the NFL if that’s ever happened. I’m not going to sit up here and cry about it, because it’s the same for them as it is us. But we didn’t want to play our starters, and we didn’t want them to hear our audibles and hand signals. I don’t think they wanted us to get a feel for them either, so it was a strange ball game.”

 by PARAM
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   12184  
 Joined:  Jul 15 2015
Barbados   Just far enough North of Philadelphia
Hall of Fame

And McVay played it the same way.

 by /zn/
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   6758  
 Joined:  Jun 28 2015
United States of America   Maine
Hall of Fame

PARAM wrote:And McVay played it the same way.


Yep. With this difference. Gruden came out and flat said that's what he was doing. McVay was a little less direct about it. (This is not a complaint. ) We did get things like this, but then Gruden has 2-3 articles directly raising the issue:

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Sean McVay says there were some other factors, but the fact Rams open the season against the Raiders is a reason no starters played today.


Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Sean McVay sat most of his starters for a second consecutive preseason game Saturday against the Oakland Raiders in an effort to prevent injuries and withhold competitive information given the teams meet again in a season opener on Sept. 10.


I actually think McVay did what he did for the exact same reason as Gruden, it's just that Gruden was more blunt about discussing it as an issue.

...

 by /zn/
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   6758  
 Joined:  Jun 28 2015
United States of America   Maine
Hall of Fame

AltiTude Ram wrote:Last time I checked there were only 11 starters on offense.


Yeah the article could have put it better. But Gruden was obviously including the skill players you need to have a least a 2nd RB, a 2nd TE, and 2 more WRs to field 3 and 4 WR sets. Last year for example on offense, the Raiders played 4 WRs with 400 or more offensive snaps, 2 TEs with 300 or more offensive snaps, and 3 RBs with 200 or more offensive snaps. Lynch actually only took 45% of the snaps at RB.

 by Elvis
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   38376  
 Joined:  Mar 28 2015
United States of America   Los Angeles
Administrator

The Raiders played their starters in week 1 but the Rams didn't so there's more going on than just the fact they'll be playing each other.

I'd guess the Raiders will play their starters more week 3 than the Rams will too...

 by phoenixrising
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   816  
 Joined:  Aug 05 2016
United States of America   Arroyo Grande, CA
Veteran

Elvis wrote:The Raiders played their starters in week 1 but the Rams didn't so there's more going on than just the fact they'll be playing each other.

I'd guess the Raiders will play their starters more week 3 than the Rams will too...


Yeah, I'm not sure McVay would have played it any differently with a different opponent. At most, maybe one series.

 by /zn/
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   6758  
 Joined:  Jun 28 2015
United States of America   Maine
Hall of Fame

phoenixrising wrote:Yeah, I'm not sure McVay would have played it any differently with a different opponent. At most, maybe one series.


I am convinced he would have played it differently. The Rams played the starters for about a half I think in PS game 2 last year. The only thing that stands out different this year is the odd thing of playing the week 1 opponent in a PS game.

In terms of who did what in game 1, against Detroit the Raiders had the offensive starters (including the OL) in for about 2-6 snaps each. A series.

https://www.raiders.com/news/snap-count ... roit-lions

In contrast the Rams played several series of 1s against 1s in the scrimmages with the Ravens in the days before that game. We don't have snap counts on that but my bet is Goff and Gurley and Cooks etc. got more live work in those scrimmages than Carr and Lynch and Cooper did in the Raiders 1st pre-season game.

...

 by Elvis
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   38376  
 Joined:  Mar 28 2015
United States of America   Los Angeles
Administrator

No full contact, no tackling to the ground, no hitting the QB, this, apparently, is how McVay wants to prepare for the season...

 by PARAM
5 years 7 months ago
 Total posts:   12184  
 Joined:  Jul 15 2015
Barbados   Just far enough North of Philadelphia
Hall of Fame

/zn/ wrote:I am convinced he would have played it differently. The Rams played the starters for about a half I think in PS game 2 last year. The only thing that stands out different this year is the odd thing of playing the week 1 opponent in a PS game.




No. What else stands out as different is the fact last year he was installing a completely new offense. This year the skill players (with the exception of Cooks) and the O line are well versed in this offense. Same goes for the defense....Talib, while new to the Rams is not new to Phillips defensive scheme. It's possible they don't need the amount of work they needed last year. I'm not sure he would have played anything different if it weren't the Raiders they were facing Saturday.

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15 posts Mar 28 2024