Rams WR TuTu Atwell impresses in win against the 49ers
The Los Angeles Rams got a big win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday to improve to 1-2 on the season. With their backs against the wall, the Rams came from 10-points down to defeat their division rival. Los Angeles got big performances from TuTu Atwell and Matthew Stafford in the win while Sean McVay had one of the best coaching performances of his career. Here is this week’s stock up, stock down.
Stock Up: WR TuTu Atwell
There were a lot of questions about which Rams wide receiver would step up in the absence of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. That receiver was TuTu Atwell. Atwell led Rams wide receivers in receptions and yards with a 7.9 receiving EPA and 1.57 EPA per target. He was the most efficient and productive Rams wide receiver against the 49ers.
When it comes to Atwell, there is always going to be an element of hesitation. However, Atwell showed against one of the supposed better teams in the NFL that he can produce when made a featured piece in the offense.
Stock Down: The secondary
To say the least, Tre White hasn’t performed as expected. He is nowhere near the same player that he was prior to the injuries. Cobie Durant was the worst-graded cornerback in Week 3. While Durant is always near the ball, he lacks the length to make an impact. Kam Kinchens and Quentin Lake each got caught out of position on a few big plays.
The Rams made a lot of changes to the secondary this offseason. White was one of those changes. Experienced players were brought in to limit the explosive plays. The Rams defense may not be getting sacks, but they rank in the top-10 at number seven in pressure rate. The secondary simply needs to be better.
Stock Up: QB Matthew Stafford
It’s hard to say that Matthew Stafford’s stock went up. With that said, heading into the week there was speculation that the Rams may need to look to trade Stafford. The Rams quarterback heard what everybody had to say and put on a classic Matthew Stafford performance.
Sunday is a reason why the Rams won’t be trading Stafford. Without his top two receiving targets and his offensive line less than 100 percent, Stafford led a 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter. He remains the best quarterback in the NFC and that alone gives the Rams a chance to do special things.
Stock Down: Troy Reeder/Christian Rozeboom
At some point some changes need to be made at the linebacker position. Troy Reeder clearly is not the answer in the middle of the defense. If the Rams want to keep a player like Rozeboom in, they need to pair him with someone like Jake Hummel or Omar Speights. Reeder is a good presence to have in the locker room and is a good special teams player. However, he is not a starting caliber NFL linebacker.
It’s hard to see defensive coordinator Chris Shula make any changes prior to the bye week. If changes are made, they will likely happen after the bye in Week 6. Watching the Rams defense, it is very clear that they are missing a presence in the middle of the defense.
Stock Up: Sean McVay
Much like Stafford, it’s hard to say that McVay’s stock has gone up. With that said, his coaching performance on Sunday deserves to be recognized. The Rams came into Sunday having not run a single snap out of 12 personnel. Against the 49ers, the offense lived in that personnel grouping. Matthew Stafford threw out of play action on 32.1 percent of his dropbacks. That was the most for the Rams quarterback since Week 11 last season against the Seahawks when 39.4 percent of his dropbacks were play-action.
McVay got deep in his bag on Sunday when the Rams needed him the most. Los Angeles couldn’t afford to fall to 0-3 and McVay ensure that wouldn’t be the case. The Rams were never going to be able to run their actual offense while missing so many pieces. McVay switched things up and now they have something that they can build on moving forward.
