Rams preseason notes: Risk vs. rust, Luis Perez watch
Cameron DaSilva
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Rest vs. rust
Sean McVay once again opted to rest Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and the rest of the Rams’ offensive starters, meaning they’ll head into Week 1 with no preseason snaps played together. This brings into question whether McVay is being too cautious with his star players or if it’s the right move, considering how frequently preseason injuries occur.
Ndamukong Suh and Lamarcus Joyner showed they’re ready for Week 1 in the Rams’ win over Houston, but even the starting defense was only given two series of work.
That being said, McVay was impressed with what he saw from the small sample size.
“I thought a lot of good energy. Want to be able to get these guys out here. Hear Cory (Littleton) make some of the calls, the communication that occurs on the back end. Obviously, Lamarcus’ interception was a big play for us – good positive. I thought they did a good job,” he said. “I thought the energy – I thought the way the guys came out ready to go was exactly what we had hoped for.”
As good as the defense was for that brief time, if Los Angeles comes out flat against Oakland in two weeks, this game and McVay’s decision will be brought into question.
Rookie watch
McVay has yet to give rookie Luis Perez a single rep in the preseason, which makes fans wonder whether the Rams are down on him or if they’re trying to hide his ability with the goal of sneaking him onto the practice squad.
It’s not out of the question to think that McVay is simply reluctant to show Perez off to the rest of the league for fear that someone will claim him off waivers once final cuts occur. If the Rams play him against the Saints this week and he throws for 250 yards and looks sharp, it’ll only entice other teams.
The Rams are unlikely to carry three quarterbacks and he certainly won’t be Goff’s backup, meaning his only chance of staying in L.A. is on the practice squad. They seem to know what they have in the rookie, they just won’t let everyone else in on the secret.
