Rams in need of extra effort
With a “Monday Night Football” game against the Chicago Bears coming next week, the Rams get an extra day of preparation — and perhaps ref lection — before they play again.
Coach Sean McVay and his players are determined to put Sunday night’s 24- 16 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers behind them. The Rams dropped to 4- 2 and 0- 1 in the NFC West after their worst performance of the season.
“I don’t believe that last night is ref lective of the caliber that we can play at,” McVay said Monday during a videoconference.
The Rams will need to be better against a Bears team that improved to 5- 1 with a victory Sunday over the Carolina Panthers.
“We got punched in the mouth this past week, and we’re just ready to get that taste out of our mouth and get back to work,” Rams linebacker Micah Kiser told reporters. “That’s all you can really do.”
Quarterback Jared Goff and receiver Cooper Kupp must reestablish their connection. The defensive front needs to rediscover its formula for pressuring quarterbacks. And the Rams must make sure the pre- snap penalties that plagued them were an aberration.
Those are obvious areas of concern that will be addressed this week. McVay won’t be able to f ix others until the Rams are on the field at SoFi Stadium.
Rookies Cam Akers and Van Jefferson, for example, played key roles in the f irst f ive games. Akers started two games, then returned from injury and broke off a 46- yard run against Washington. Jefferson rotated in and made several important third- down catches.
But Akers played only one snap against the 49ers. Jefferson played three on offense.
The Rams went into the game with Akers and fellow running backs Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown all physically sound for the first time. Henderson played 32 snaps, Brown 27.
McVay said a dearth of snaps in the f irst half, and the inability of the offense to get into a rhythm, prevented Akers from getting more opportunities. “It was nothing that Cam didn’t do,” McVay said.
The f low of the game will dictate how many snaps Akers and Jefferson receive, McVay said.
“Those are things that we’ve got to continue to f igure out and work through,” he said, “because they shouldn’t have to be punished for that.”
Rookie kicker Samuel Sloman is getting numerous opportunities — and appears to be testing McVay’s patience.
Sloman has made seven of nine f ield- goal attempts, including a high of 42 yards against the 49ers. But another extra- point kick was blocked. Sloman has made 15 of 18 attempts.
“We’ve said week in and week out — obviously we want to not have to continue to talk about the missed extra points,” McVay said, noting that Sloman responded by kicking the field goal.
Sloman also did not properly execute a kickoff after the Rams scored a touchdown with less than four minutes left.
With the 49ers lined up for a possible onside kick, Sloman was supposed to kick the ball short of the end zone “to pin them deep,” McVay said. Instead, Sloman’s kick went into the end zone for a touchback.
The 49ers got the ball at the 25- yard line and ran out the clock.
“That was not what we wanted,” McVay said. “He’s got to improve and that’s where we’re at.”
Etc.
The Rams emerged from the loss to the 49ers with no significant injuries, McVay said. ... The Rams are off Tuesday.