Los Angeles Times - 26.08.2019

D8 MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

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NFL

Case Keenum, Colt Mc-
Coy and Dwayne Haskins
entered training camp in
consideration for the Wash-
ington Redskins’ starting
quarterback job.
Keenum won the job,
with coachJay Gruden say-
ing Sunday the veteran will
start Week 1 at Philadelphia.
It’s not that Keenum
dominated during his first
offseason, training camp
and preseason games with
Washington. With McCoy’s
lingering leg injury and
Haskins adjusting to the
NFL, Keenum’s experience
and availability won out.
“We’ll start with Case at
the opener and then Dwayne
will get himself ready to play
and we’ll go from there,”
Gruden said after the first
practice since Thursday’s
19-7 win at Atlanta.
Washington ended last
season with its top two
quarterbacks, Alex Smith
and McCoy, sidelined with
leg injuries. Before spending
the 15th overall selection in
April’s draft on Haskins, the
strong-armed passer from
Ohio State, the Redskins ac-
quired Keenum from Denver
in March in a low-risk trade
involving late-round picks.
Undrafted in 2012, the
same year Andrew Luck and
Robert Griffin IIIwent 1-2,
Keenum developed into a
starter for four teams over
his first seven seasons. The

journeyman shined during

Minnesota’s 2017 run to the

NFC championship game

and started all 16 games for

the Broncos last season.

“I’m excited. I really am,”

Keenum said.

There’s no timetable for

McCoy’s return. Smith, still

on crutches, is unlikely to

play this season.

Miller injury

An MRI confirmed that

Houston running back

Lamar Miller suffered a

torn anterior cruciate liga-

ment in his left knee, accord-

ing to reports. Miller, who

rushed for 973 yards last sea-

son, has the fifth-most yards

rushing in the NFL since

joining the Texans in 2016.

Etc.

Ben Roethlisberger

made his preseason debut

and capped his night with a

17-yard touchdown pass to

JuJu Smith-Schuster in

Pittsburgh’s 18-6 exhibition

win over Tennessee. ... Oak-

land placed running back

Doug Martinon injured re-

serve. ... New England re-

ceiver Josh Gordonwas re-

moved from the non-football

injury list and practiced in

full pads for the first time. ...

Miami released safety T.J.

McDonald, who started 14

games last season. ... At-

lanta added former Pro

Bowl selection Blair Walsh

to compete with Giorgio

Tavecchio for the kicking

job.

NOTES

Keenum named

Redskins’ starter

CASE KEENUMwon the job in the preseason, com-
pleting 16 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown.

Ron SchwaneAssociated Press

wire reports

Keep established start-
ers safely on the sideline.
That has been coach
Sean McVay’s preseason
philosophy since 2018, and it
worked well for a Rams team
that won a second consecu-
tive NFC West title and ad-
vanced to the Super Bowl
last season.
But in what is usually a
copycat league, McVay’s de-
cision to again hold out
quarterback Jared Goff and
most other starters and key
players from preseason
games has not been univer-
sally adopted by other NFL
coaches.
That’s fine with McVay.
To each his own.
“We feel confident and
comfortable with the ap-
proach we’re taking, and we
understand that it might
not be for everybody,” Mc-
Vay said Sunday during a
teleconference with report-
ers.
The pitfalls of playing a
starting quarterback during
preseason games could have
a direct — and possibly ben-
eficial — impact on the
Rams in their Sept. 8 season
opener at Carolina. Pan-
thers quarterback Cam
Newton suffered a foot in-
jury Thursday against the
New England Patriots. He
has not been ruled out for
the opener, but the injury il-
lustrates what McVay has
described as the “risk-re-
ward” when deciding
whether to play starters.
“You never want to see
your main guys that you’re

counting on get injured, es-

pecially in games where it’s

really just tuneups for the

regular season,” he said,

adding, “Anytime you see

great players like Cam or

anybody else get injured, you

always hate that. That’s al-

ways the most unfortunate

part of the game.

“Whether it’s our guys or

somebody else, you never

want to see that.”

Kyle Allen, rookie Will

Grier and Taylor Heinicke

are other Panthers quarter-

backs.

After the Rams conclude

the preseason Thursday at

the Houston Texans, McVay

and his staff will no doubt

game-plan for a Panthers

team that will feature New-

ton.

And barring a mishap

during practices, the Rams

will do so with a starting of-

fense and defense nearly de-

void of injuries.

Inside linebackerMicah

Kiser, a second-year pro,

was on track to start before

he suffered a pectoral injury

in the second preseason

game against the Dallas

Cowboys. He will be side-

lined indefinitely. Bryce

Hagerwill start at that spot.

Before the Rams’ 10-6

victory over the Denver

Broncos on Saturday night,

McVay had said that Kiser’s

situation would not affect

his approach to playing proj-

ected starters and key con-

tributors such as defensive

lineman Sebastian Joseph-

Day.

And Joseph-Day said in

the days leading up to the

game that, “I need all the

reps I can get.”

But Joseph-Day experi-

enced hamstring tightness,

and he was held out against

the Broncos as a precaution-

ary measure, McVay said af-

ter the game.

Joseph-Day and players

such as safeties Taylor

Rapp and Marqui Christian

are not expected to play

against the Texans.

“With those guys that you

know are going to be here in

some form or fashion, that

potentially have carved out a

role for themselves, situa-

tionally or in certain pack-

ages, I would think that we’ll

probably hold them out,”

McVay said.

Ceding control

McVay has allowed pass-

game coordinator Shane

Waldron to call plays during

preseason games, and that

will continue against the

Texans.

“I’m looking forward to

getting back to it in Car-

olina,” McVay said, “and

hopefully I’m not rusty.”

Could that really be a

problem?

McVay said practice

situations, including joint

practices with the Chargers

and Oakland Raiders, have

prepared him for the season.

“There will be no excuses

coming from me if I’m not

ready to go,” he said.

Etc.

Linebacker Josh Car-

raway suffered a torn Ach-

illes and offensive lineman

Aaron Neary had an ankle

fracture against the Bron-

cos, McVay said. ... Offensive

lineman Bobby Evanssuf-

fered a bone bruise. ... The

Rams will practice Monday

and Tuesday and then have

a walk-through Wednesday

before departing for Hous-

ton. The Rams left nearly all

established starters at home

for their second preseason

game against the Cowboys

in Hawaii, but that will not

be the case when the team

travels to Houston, McVay

said. ... Rams wide receiver

Jalen Greenecaught a short

touchdown pass from

quarterback John Wolford

against the Broncos. “I love

John,” Greene said. “I love

him even more now that he

threw me a touchdown.”

RAMS REPORT

McVay sticks with his preseason approach

By Gary Klein

JARED GOFFleads the Rams’ quarterbacks onto the field before a 10-6 victory over the Broncos on Saturday

night. Coach Sean McVay has held out Goff and most other starters and key players from preseason games.

Luis SincoLos Angeles Times

They are missing Melvin

Gordon, their Pro Bowl cen-

ter hasn’t played at all, and

neither has their veteran

starting left tackle.

Still, the Chargers’ inabil-

ity to convert on fourth and

short in the preseason

serves as a fitting snapshot

of the concerns over their of-

fensive line.

“I wasn’t excited [the]

first three quarters,” coach

Anthony Lynnsaid after a

23-15 loss to Seattle on Sat-

urday night. “Especially the

fourth and ones.”

Twice in the first half the

Chargers failed to execute in

that situation. Backup

quarterback Tyrod Taylor

fumbled the snap to spoil the

first chance and Troymaine

Popelost two yards behind a

collapsing line on the sec-

ond.

In their previous pre-

season game, the Chargers’

opening possession against

New Orleans ended when

Justin Jackson lost two

yards on fourth and one as

the line was shoved back-

ward.

“It’s the third time that

I’ve put us in that situation,”

Lynn said Saturday. “I ex-

pect us to get the job done,

and we did not get that

done.”

Gordon remains a hold-

out in a contract dispute

that could extend into the

season. Two weeks before

the opener against India-

napolis, there has been little

movement in negotiations.

Mike Pouncey, the cen-

ter coming off his fourth Pro

Bowl selection, will not play

in the preseason as the

Chargers have been reluc-

tant to expose their veterans

to the possibility of injury.

Left tackle Russell

Okung missed all of training

camp because he is on blood

thinners after suffering a

pulmonary embolism in

June. The Chargers should

know more about his avail-

ability after he is re-evaluat-

ed this week.

If Okung is deemed unfit

to return anytime soon, he

likely would start the season

on the non-football injury

list. In that case, he would

have to miss at least the first

six weeks.

Last season, no team in

the NFL went for it on fourth

down fewer times than the

Chargers did. But when they

tried, they were successful.

They converted seven of

eight fourth-down attempts,

their 87.5% rate tops in the

NFL.

The Chargers also were

sixth best in picking up first

downs in short-yardage

situations.

Without Okung, second-

year tackle Trent Scott has

taken over on the left side.

He has one career NFL start.

The right tackle is Sam Tevi,

who is entering his second

year as a starter.

At left guard, the Char-

gers have Dan Feeney, who

has started 25 games over

the last two seasons and

started at center in

Pouncey’s absence.

Forrest Lamp, a second-

round pick in 2017, also has

been working at guard with

the starters. Against the

Seahawks, Scott, Feeney

and Lamp each played 44

snaps, the most of all Char-

gers on offense.

Michael Schofield re-

mains at right guard. He has

50 NFL starts and is enter-

ing his sixth season.

Measuring Stick

The Chargers finally con-

verted a fourth down Sat-

urday, in the fourth quarter,

when rookie quarterback

Easton Stick connected

with Jordan Smallwood for

12 yards on fourth and eight.

The play came on one of

the two touchdown drives

Stick produced as the Char-

gers salvaged a bit of what

was not a great night on of-

fense.

“It was good to see Stick

go in a game and move the

ball down the field,” Lynn

said. “He had the same op-

portunity last week, threw

an interception, game over.

This week ... he took it down

the field and scored.”

Stick guided the Char-

gers to scoring drives of 75

and 45 yards. He hit Andre

Patton for an eight-yard

touchdown and then scored

himself on a four-yard run.

“He made some nice

throws throughout,” Lynn

said. “I like the way he stayed

in the pocket and the pres-

sure came at him and he de-

livered the mail down the

field.”

Stick is battling Cardale

Jones for the No. 3 job. Both

have had starring moments

during the preseason.

Stick finished 12 for 16 for

82 yards against the Sea-

hawks.

His performance was

such that Lynn twice called

time out on defense in order

to take one more shot.

“I did not want to use

those timeouts at the end,

but I wanted to see this

young man get the ball

back,” Lynn said. “I have a

lot of confidence that he can

move the ball down the field

like he did.”

Said Stick: “It was fun go-

ing in there and getting in

the huddle. The guys did a

really good job of helping me

out. Fed off the crowd’s ener-

gy, and we were able to make

a push there at the end.”

Etc.

Linebacker Jatavis

Brown on his first action

since suffering an ankle in-

jury in last year’s regular-

season finale: “It always feels

good to be back out there

playing what I love to play

and to be out there with my

teammates, my brothers.”

He finished with seven total

tackles. ... Lynn specifically

cited the play of Pope and

mentioned the consistency

he has shown the last two

weeks. Pope finished with 27

yards in five carries. ... De-

fensive tackle Corey Liuget

signed with Oakland. He

spent the first eight years of

his career with the Chargers

but appeared in only six

games last year because of

suspension and injury.

CHARGERS REPORT

Scrambling to fill holes on O-line

By Jeff Miller

TYROD TAYLORis chased by Seahawks linebacker

Mychal Kendricks during Saturday’s exhibition loss.

Alex GallardoAssociated Press

Seattle......................0 16 7 0 — 23

CHARGERS ................3 0 0 12 — 15

First Quarter

CHARGERS— FG Badgley 40, 2:59.

Second Quarter

Sea— Penny 3 run (Myers kick), 11:35.

Sea— Prosise 1 run (kick failed), 4:16.

Sea— FG Myers 58, :02.

Third Quarter

Sea— Smith 8 run (Myers kick), :16.

Fourth Quarter

CHARGERS— Patton 8 pass from Stick (kick failed),

9:26.

CHARGERS— Stick 4 run (kick blocked), 3:22.

TEAM STATISTICS SEA LAC

First downs............................24 17

Total Net Yards .....................367 280

Rushes-yards ..................42-185 23-99

Passing...............................182 181

Punt Returns ........................1-0 0-0

Kickoff Returns....................3-31 1-12

Interceptions Ret...................0-0 0-0

Comp-Att-Int ..................17-27-0 22-30-0

Sacked-Yards Lost .................1-8 1-12

Punts..............................3-41.3 2-54.5

Fumbles-Lost........................1-0 1-0

Penalties-Yards....................7-55 5-39

Time of Possession ............33:30 26:30

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: SEATTLE, Prosise 5-32, R.Wilson 3-31,

Homer 9-27, Smith 6-24, Carson 3-23, Penny 8-22,

McKissic 6-20, Lockett 1-6, X.Turner 1-0. CHARGERS,

T.Taylor 6-34, Pope 5-27, Stick 3-14, J.Jackson 5-13,

Ekeler 4-11.

PASSING: SEATTLE, R.Wilson 6-9-0-73, Smith 11-

18-0-117. CHARGERS, T.Taylor 6-9-0-61, C.Jones 4-5-0-

50, Stick 12-16-0-82.

RECEIVING: SEATTLE, Hollister 3-17, Penny 3-15,

McKissic 3-11, Ursua 2-52, Lockett 2-50, Jar.Brown 1-

18, Prosise 1-15, Jennings 1-12, Saxton 1-0. CHARGERS,

A.Scott 4-66, Pope 3-8, Ekeler 2-22, Culkin 2-13, Henry

2-13, D.Newsome 2-0, J.Moore 1-15, V.Green 1-13,

Smallwood 1-12, M.Williams 1-11, Patton 1-8, Gore 1-8,

J.Jackson 1-4.

FIELD GOALS MISSED:None.