Rams 3 biggest causes of concern vs Oakland on Monday Night...

Rams' 3 biggest causes for concern vs. Oakland on Monday night

Cameron DaSilva

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

The Los Angeles Rams finally get their 2018 season started on Monday night when they travel to Oakland to take on Jon Gruden’s Raiders squad. It’s the last game of Week 1, and although the Rams look like the far better team heading into this one, there are some questions for them to answer.

Here are their three biggest causes for concern against Oakland this week.



Knocking off the rust

The Rams rested their offensive starters all preseason, only giving suspended guard Jamon Brown any work in the meaningless games. The starting defense only played seven snaps in the third game against the Texans, but that was barely two series of action. After seeing the Falcons and Eagles come out flat on Thursday night, will the Rams have the same issues?

Jared Goff and Todd Gurley haven’t been fully tackled since January, so how will they respond when getting hit for the first time? That’s a minor concern, but the biggest question is whether the offense will take a little while to get into a rhythm on Monday night. Fortunately, the Raiders don’t have a stout defense, but there could be an element of rust early in the game.

Mystery of Jon Gruden

Gruden didn’t show anything when the Rams faced the Raiders in the preseason, nor did he reveal much in Oakland’s other three preseason games. He hasn’t coached a game since 2008, and while he certainly had his tendencies a decade ago, it’s unclear how he’ll handle things this week.

Will he trot out a run-heavy offense with Marshawn Lynch, Doug Martin and Jalen Richard? Which running back will even see the bulk of the carries? Those are the unknowns that the Rams are going to be dealing with in Week 1, considering how little film there is on a Gruden-coached team.

Sean McVay even admitted it’s difficult to prepare for the Raiders because of the lack of information he has on Gruden. That could be a factor on Monday night.

Linebacker questions

With Mark Barron doubtful, Matt Longacre coming off a biceps injury and no stud pass rusher, the Rams have a lot of questions to answer at linebacker. There’s no position on the roster with more uncertainty than linebacker for the Rams, which could be a problem.

The Raiders have the offensive line and power running back in Lynch to simply pound the ball 30 times against the Rams, and with holes at both inside and outside linebacker, that could be the approach Gruden takes. We watched Los Angeles get gashed on the ground repeatedly last season, and although Ndamukong Suh’s presence will help, the Raiders’ offensive line is a powerful unit.

Keeping the ball on the ground and attacking Los Angeles’ linebackers might be the Raiders’ best approach and the Rams’ biggest weakness.