Rams Rookie Terrance Ferguson Is An Underrated X-Factor | Film Review

Rams Rookie Terrance Ferguson Is An Underrated X-Factor | Film Review

All right, welcome back to another one of our film reviews. Today we are talking Los Angeles Rams rookie tight end Terrence Ferguson. Kind of an under the radar guy due to some injuries in training camp preseason time frame, but he’s becoming a key playmaker for this Rams offense. We’ll break down everything he’s doing so well and how the Rams are using him. As always, in the comment section below, give us any feedback you might have. If you’re a fan of these film reviews and want to help support us so we can do more of them, consider becoming a member of our channel. There’s a link in the description box below that will take you right there. But without further ado, let’s jump right into the film. All right, let’s open up with a fun play. And there’s Ferguson right there lined up in a standard tight end position. And it’s going to be a play fake to Kairen Williams going that direction. They’re going to bring 89 in motion pre- snap to kind of sell some of that. Then 89 is going to be a pass protector. And this is basically a one-man deep route. They you guys can see it right there. And the Rams see it too. There’s no one in the middle of the field. So what Ferguson’s basically going to run is a corner post. He’s going to threaten vertically, go to the corner, and then go to the post and he’s wide open for a big score. Stafford puts the football on the money. Exciting, fun play to get this film review going. Let’s check it out. There’s the motion. There’s a snap. Play action. Going deep. He’s got him. Wide open. Touchdown. Awesome. Again, this is why Ferguson is such a useful weapon because he can line up all over the field. He lines up at wide receiver. He lines up as the Hback. He lines up as tight end. He can go in motion. The Rams use him a million different ways. And when you have personnel packages where you have a guy that can line up as a receiver and then go inside as a tight end in this situation, the defense struggles, they get out of position, right? They make mistakes. They lose you. We talk about Shawn McVey doing very creative things with Puka Nakua, who’s obviously out with injury and Dvonte Adams and Cooper Cup in the past, of course, but I think Ferguson has that kind of ability to be just another piece for this Rams offense to use in creative ways. Again, this is a situation right here where he’s got the safety beat, one-on-one safety. A lot of times the way people look at this is they say, “Listen, tight end, interior blocking tight end, one-on-one with a safety. We think we like our matchup defensively, but Ferguson is an athletic tight end and they have him lined up in a power position. Even though they actually spend a lot of time at wide receiver, Jacksonville decides to go one-on-one with the safety. Ferguson makes him pay. Big play for the Rams. Nice touchdown. Nice play. The rookie Ferguson. All right, for the wide copy, get a really good look at it right here. Just threatens vertically up the field and he’s just gone. Great corner post, good route, good football. I mean, this is just this is good offense. They don’t expect a tight end, an inline blocking tight end right here to threaten 30, 40 yards downfield, right? Defenses aren’t built for that, especially power formation. You got three tight ends, all these offensive linemen, wide receiver, bunch, running back in the game, right? The Rams want to run the football. You don’t expect this to happen. Ferguson line about wide receiver large chunks of the game. He lined up at tight end and other chunks. Actually had a similar situation, which we’ll get to very shortly, where he actually was in this position and he was the pass blocker, right? But here we go. Threatening vertically in the passing game gets the safety off guard. Good route leads to a touchdown. Nice play for the rookie tight end. All right, this next play is a pass protection concept I was talking about. And there’s Ferguson right there on the left side of your screen lined up in a, you know, standard tight end Hback alignment right here. And what we’re going to get here from the Los Angeles Rams is a gap slide protection. So the right tackle is going to take the gap to his right. The right guard’s going to take the gap to his right. The center gap to his right. Left guard gap to his right. Left tackle gap to his right. Tight end Ferguson gap to his right. You can see the slide there across the board and the running backs coming across to pick up the endman on the line of scrimmage over here. That leaves Ferguson for all intents and purposes one-on-one potentially on this defensive end. Tough matchup for any tight end, let alone a rookie, but he gets it done and does a great job. We’re going to showcase how he does in this situation and then compare him to another tight end on the other side. Back-to-back plays here. Let’s check it out. There’s a snap. You can see the slide protection. It breaks down, however, and Stafford has to eat it for a sack. Now, you can see I think this is 77’s guy. He slides down inside and he doesn’t pick up 23. I think 77 was so concerned that Ferguson wouldn’t be able to get the job done that he hangs out too far to his left and lets 23 go free. It’s one of those things. It’s like Bill Bich always said, right? Do your job. 77, do your job. Pick up 23. He’s too worried about his teammate and he ends up giving the sack in his own right. Ferguson, for his part, does his job. Picks up the defensive end, squares him up, locks him down. Hey, winning rep. Great football. How many times do we see tight ends on defensive line, defensive ends get absolutely massacred and get blown up and give up quarterback hits and sacks and things like that all the time, right? But not here with Ferguson stepping up, doing a really good job moving his feet, good punch. I think going forward 77 will trust his rookie tight end and he’ll do his job and the Rams will have a chance here for a big play. I’m really impressed with Ferguson stepping up right here as a pass blocker. All right, from the wide copy, you get a really good look at Ferguson right here. again picks it up, does a good job, good effort across the board, stays with the defensive end, and you can see the left tackle, he’s so worried. If I go all the way back to the beginning, he’s so worried about the outside rush, he lets the inside go through. Listen, man, you got to do your job cuz they have a chance here, right? They have a chance to maybe go deep. They certainly have a chance to force it something quick for an easy completion, but it completely blows up right here because 77 is too worried about the rookie tight end. I don’t think he’ll be worried going forward because Ferguson is more than up to the task. All right, this next play is what I’m talking about. Look at 84 again. Different tight end. Kind of similar situation. He’s going to be one-on-one on this defensive end. Watch what happens. Gets beat clean outside, quarterback hit. Right now, you can see if you have a lot of plays like this, why 77 is worried, right? He sees number 84 and other tight ends get beat clean and he sees Matthew Stafford getting absolutely hill just killed from the blind side. My goodness gracious. This is kind of a nasty hit right there. Oof. Too many of those won’t do you good. 84. Got to do a little bit better job here. But this is what normally happens with tight ends, right? Normally you get beat clean. Now 41’s a better rusher than obviously than who Ferguson was going up against. 41’s a good player, but still night and day here. This tight end gets beat clean. Ferguson won his rep. And this is the difference. This is why I think Ferguson’s going to be a key part of this Rams offense going forward. It’s because he can do it all. He can block. He can line up as a tight end, Hback, wide receiver, run blocker, can be a receiving threat. He’s a complete weapon for this Rams offense. All right, for the wide copy, you can see not Ferguson 84 right there gets beat clean. Pressure on Stafford can’t quite complete it. It’s one of those plays, right? It just happens. We see this all the time, right? Tight ends get beat and beat clean. It’s sort of normal. It’s why 77 on the previous play was so worried about it. Ferguson, though, he does his job. And I’m not saying Ferguson would have, you know, pancake number 41 there for Jacksonville. But I think he would have done better. And I think going forward the Rams are going to give him more opportunities. He’s going to be a key part, Ferguson is of this Rams offense. All right, how about a little running game? And there’s Ferguson right there lined up in an Hback tight end alignment. And it’s going to be a gap concept here for the Los Angeles Rams. We’re going to get a base block there. Double team right here working up to next level. Base block here. Double team right here working up to the next level. We’re going to get tight end working out and Ferguson working out this direction. We’re going to get receiver coming in motion. Pre- snap. He’s going to insert running back just downhill run just looking for a hole. Whatever he can, right? Simple concept. Everybody runs it. I want you guys to watch Ferguson right here. The way he plays, the tenacious nature of his blocking. He gets into this DB and drives him off the screen. It’s not real consequential in terms of the context of the play, but I just love his effort. Let’s check it out. There’s the snap. Running back cuts back. Really nice run going all the way across, bouncing outside. Good job by 23. But let’s go back all the way back here and look at Ferguson again. Hback works up to the DB. Gets on him right there. Okay, most most tight ends stop, right? You can see this tight end over here. He’s kind of stopping, right? You can see the tight end, other tight end over here, right? Bod’s up 41, right? He kind of stops there, right? They all kind of stop. Ferguson isn’t, right? Look at him get on this DB. And I know it’s a DB, but still. And he drives him off the page. That’s what I love to see, right? Get him off the screen. Get on people and move them. Ferguson plays tight end and he’s a receiving threat. That’s what he was coming out of college. It’s what the Rams expect him to be. I mean, we just saw him catch a 30-yard touchdown a second ago, right? But he wins with physical nature, right? His tenacity. He doesn’t mind blocking. He wants to block. He runs his feet. I love right there on strike. He keeps moving his feet. Again, compare him to these other tight ends, right? Getting to 47, not really moving your feet too good. That tight end right there, who is that? 87. Got to move your feet better. How about 84 all the way over here? Gets inside. I mean, he moves his feet a little bit, not too bad there, but it’s night and day compared to Ferguson, who works all the way up field to the second level, gets on 30, good spot right there, and then keeps driving his feet. Nice play from the rookie tight end. All right, from the wide copy, you can see Ferguson at the bottom of your screen. Get into 30 right there. drive them, stay on them, and run them off the screen. That’s awesome. Look at everybody else, right? Ferguson’s still blocking. 87’s not blocking. 89, not 84, excuse me. He’s not blocking. Offensive linemen aren’t blocking, right? They’ve already let their guy go. Ferguson driving him off the screen. And I know it’s a DB and I understand all of that, but his effort, his tenacity. He knows the play’s far away. It’s an inside run, right? But he’s still playing like it’s the fourth quarter, right, of the Super Bowl. One minute to go and his block is the key block. And I love that effort. I love that tenacity. This is a guy again, a receiving tight end option. That’s what he was drafted to be, not a blocker. I mean, no one would ever get him confused with Rob Gronkowski coming out of college. No one get would get him confused for Gronk now, right? In terms of size, strength, and physical blocking prowess, but he plays with effort. He plays with intensity, and I guarantee you this kind of thing gets the Rams coaching staff, Shawn McVey, all those guys excited. He can be a key part of this Rams offense going forward. All right, this is one of my favorite plays from Ferguson and he’s actually lined up as a wide receiver right now completely off the screen to the right and it’s going to be a quick throw by 20 or 22 23, excuse me, from Matthew Stafford into the flat. But I love the blocking Ferguson does downfield. I tell you what, his tenacity and his effort is 100% there. I love it. I’m a fan. Let’s check it out. There’s a snap. Here comes the blitz. Stafford throws it out to the flat. Look at Ferguson. Clean block. Put him on his face. I love it. Again, smart play. sizes up the defender, make sure he gets his head and hands in the right spot and puts him on the ground. Good, smart player right there. Good physical player. Wants to put people in the dirt, but he’s not an idiot, right? He’s not going to sit here and throw himself into the back of the legs or the the back in general of this defensive back and draw a 10-y penalty. That would be stupid. They’re about to convert a first down. This is fourth and short. Instead, he delivers the key block, legal block, getting his head and hands on the shoulder face right front breastplate right there of the defender. puts him on the ground, gets extra yards after the catch for number 23. Smart football player, physical football player, guys. It’s what it’s all about. I tell you what, I want a team full of Fergusons because we know he can be a big play receiving threat. We know he’s got a lot of skills that the Rams are going to utilize in terms of the passing attack going forward, but it’s his blocking. It’s his effort that really makes a difference. We’re in the modern age of football where 12 and 13 personnel, two and three tight end packages are the future and what teams are trying to use because guys that can be receivers and block are just unstoppable for defenses cuz right here, you know, if you’re the Giants Jaguars, you can cover Ferguson with the DB like we see here. But he’ll put you in the dirt and if you put a linebacker on him or a safety on him that’s expecting run like we saw in the first play, he’ll beat you for six. And that’s why Ferguson is such a weapon and will be critical for the Rams going forward. Nice play from the rookie. All right, from the wide copy, you can see Ferguson right there at the bottom of the screen. Gets into his route. 23 is open right there. He could have just wlly gagged and just kind of stopped and, you know, just half effort there. No one would be disappointed, but he makes a smart play. Full effort right there. Gets his head in hands, puts a defender in the dirt. Really good job. I love the effort. I love the mindset of wanting to bury people. Again, he was a receiving tight end coming out of college and he’s got the mindset of a right guard. I love to see it. Nice job by the rookie. All right. This next play is going to showcase something Ferguson I think needs to work on. And there he is right there on the right side of your screen lined up in kind of an Hback tight end position offset the left tackle for the Rams. And they’re going to run a chip protection help with Ferguson. Now chips are common place in the National Football League. The goal is to help out left tackles or right tackles, a left tackle in this case against a really good defensive end pass rusher. But chips only work if you got a tight end or back. Whoever’s doing the chipping actually does a good job with the chip. In fact, a lot of times chips can hurt. When you have a defensive end that is this athletic, this quick, you got to make sure you give him a good shock to the ribs, good elbow, shoulder pad, hands, whatever it is to slow all of his momentum. Right here, what Ferguson does, he actually kind of pushes him inside and accelerates him to the quarterback into resulting in a holding penalty against the Rams. I think this is something Ferguson really needs to improve on. It’s hard. It’s not easy to do, but something he needs to get better at. Let’s check it out. All right, there’s a snap. Here comes the inside pressure. There’s the hold. The completion right there gets wiped out because of the penalty. All right, if we go back all the way back to the very beginning, you can see Ferguson right there. Opportunity to chimp help on the defensive end. They kind of just shoves him inside, right? Doesn’t give him a good strike. Doesn’t show slow down any momentum or anything, right? This is a situation right here where I’d rather you actually not chip him at all if you’re going to do this, right? Because this is a situation where it’s tough on your guard. It’s a stunt, right? They’re having defensive tackle go outside, number 41 going inside. So tough position right there for 73 anyway. But you kind of shoving him like this actually kind of accelerates his momentum. I think this holding penalty called against number 73 here for the Rams. I think as much as Ferguson as it is 73, right? That’s my honest opinion. As a chipper, you got to deliver a shock. You got to deliver a strike to the defensive end right there. Throw your helmet, your ribs, your elbow, whatever it is, your shoulder into his chest. Shock him. Make him lose all momentum. If you just pass him along like this, that’s not getting it done right. Need more from the tight end position when it comes to these chip blocks. Now, to be totally fair, a lot of tight ends, a lot of running backs, they really struggle with this and it’s not an easy thing to do. But definitely something to work on. And guess what? Some some of being a veteran once you get more experience is understanding sometimes a chip just ain’t going to work. Sometimes, listen, he just goes inside. Let him go, get out in your route, right? There’s only so much you can do right here. You just push him along. It actually hurts your team. I think Ferguson is a pretty good blocker and a willing blocker. I think he just needs to improve on this and I think he will going forward. I want to touch on something here that I think Ferguson can work on. It’s not necessarily something that he has done bad. He’s only had one opportunity so far and he’s done okay. We’re talking about the pass blocking game so far. One opportunity for Ferguson. Usually probably send him out on routes to catch the ball, but 72.7 pass blocking grade from him. I want to see him be able to be in those opportunities more. As a tight end, sometimes you’re going to have to hang back and be able to block for the passer. So, I’m just that’s something he could work on. See more opportunities in the pass blocking game and capitalize on the one good snap he had so far this season. All right, let’s end on a fun play from Ferguson. And there he is lined up as a wide receiver. Again, the Rams used him all over the place for this game. We’ve seen him as a tight end. We’ve seen him as an Hback. Now, we see him once again as a wide receiver. He’s going to get up and block this DB. That’s Jordan Lewis, a veteran DB, a really nice corner for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Played a long time with the Dallas Cowboys. And he manhandles him a little bit. Little feistiness, little tenacity. Love to see this from the rookie receiver, tight end, offensive playmaker. That’s what he is. Coging the machine. Let’s check it out. There’s a snap inside run zone concept. Nice little four-yard gain. Nothing special. Let’s look at Ferguson, though. Top of the screen right here. Work up to the corner. Get on him. Okay, that’s okay. All right, that’s fine. Still driving. Extra shove. Almost throw him to the turf. I love it. Little little right there at the end. Little face mask to face mask. Little taunting action. Little legal taunting, right? Obviously, taunting is not a penalty, but I love this. Right? Again, this is a receiving tight end. Supposedly, he’s a feisty dude. I love it. I love the mentality, right? We talk about the effort from Ferguson. We talk about how he likes to punish people, how he’s a good pass protector, how he’s a big playmaker, right? In terms of receiving the football down the field. He does it all. He can line up as a wide receiver and block in terms of the pass game and the run game. He can line up as a tight end and block, pass game, run bl run game. He can be a receiving threat from the wide receiver position or the tight end position. He is one of these ultimate playmakers that the Rams have been waiting for. I truly believe it. Now listen, he’s got a long way to go. There’s some things to clean up. The chip was a great example of it, but I think it’s all things that could be fixed. There’s nothing that’s sort of like a disaster area when it comes to this young rookie. I love his mentality though cuz tell you what, if you have the NFL mentality, that toughness, that physical attitude, that’s something that will translate to sustained success along with your skill set, along with intelligence. Ferguson. Toughness, skills, intelligence. Checks all three of those boxes. Bright future in this Rams offense.

The Los Angeles Rams have a superstar emerging in Terrance Ferguson. Ferguson has quickly become integrated into the LA Rams offense as a multifaceted playmaker. The Rams have to be really excited about the future with Terrance Ferguson.

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