I hate being a road team against what should be a decent team, that lost it's opener.
20 Random Game 1 Win Thoughts
- Thread starter AvengerRam
- Start date
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Yeah, I don't take week 1 wins or losses too seriously.
I love how we played this week, but it's the consistent application of excellence that will get us that Super Bowl win.
I have a feeling that Indy is gonna be tougher at home.
All the more reason for us to really try to jump on them early as well as getting our run game going.
I love how we played this week, but it's the consistent application of excellence that will get us that Super Bowl win.
I have a feeling that Indy is gonna be tougher at home.
All the more reason for us to really try to jump on them early as well as getting our run game going.
Run game
We need to stop the run better on D, and establish the run better on O
We need to stop the run better on D, and establish the run better on O
Enjoyed that and possibly the best part is it will have wiped the smiles of the rest of the division.
The run D wasn't very good, but with a new D coordinator, I'm not too concerned.
We are in one hell of a tough division though but bring it on!
The run D wasn't very good, but with a new D coordinator, I'm not too concerned.
We are in one hell of a tough division though but bring it on!
This. Indy will feel urgency not to fall to 0-2. They will come out firing.
Total domination. Seems like this team's ceiling is through the roof, and that this was just a warm-up. Loved the rotation between Van Jefferson and DJackson. Glad to see Hollins looked good opposite Floyd. I'd like to see our 3rd round rookie take over for Reeder at some point. Exicted to see Lewis on the field but he's got to close his holes faster. Mundt has to play more disciplined and is oping the door for the younger guys. Didin't see a drop off between D. Long and Rochell...
Did anyone hear any injury updates, specifically on D. Long???
Did anyone hear any injury updates, specifically on D. Long???
No turnovers, few penalties and pretty clean injury report. And no wasted timeouts or challenges.
Thought the same. Some blitzes and pressures he saw pre snap and after snap didn't phase him, and he delivered darts where they needed to be. An absolute breath of fresh air that he didn't get rattled.
#9. Yes, the defense did frustrate me. It sure looked like that was the game plan. But when they give up only 14 points its hard to complain about that. I'm assuming that game plan was for game 1 and we'll see a different game plan each game.
Classic Rams
Hall of Fame
Long was cramping up. It was a scare at first but he's fine. He was standing at the podium after the game too. See: youtube Rams press after game
That speaks to our stellar defensive backfield. There’s a lot of room for improvement from our ILBs and soft middle against RBs and TEs.
Kenny Young was all over the place last night, tied for 2nd in tackles, played a part in both turnovers. Seems to be The guy at ILB, don't think that he left the field. Some good reports about him in the offseason. Good to see it.
I saw Young manning the ILB position by himself so defensive scheme contributed to their run defense woes tremendously. But that should have helped against the dink and dunk passing which was also a killer.
ArkyRamsFan
Hall of Fame
Shovelpass,
Good post. That's what I saw last night. Kenny Young was making plays all over the field.
We may be seeing the emergence of a stellar ILB.
Hope he continues this upward trend.
~ArkyRamsFan~
BonifayRam
Legend
This must be a new Kenny Young playing ILB'er because what I saw last night I had never seen from him before. Young was dominant from start to finish.
Yes, the Bears ran all night on us but most of the time he was the only ILB'er on the field. Safety Taylor Rapp took MLB'er Reeder's spot & made very little impact on the field other than being late to the party most every time with his tackles if he did not whiff.
Young's reaction speed has greatly increased & play awareness is way up. Very impressed! Sad it has taken so long he is a UFA in 7 months. Looks like he found a defense that he can play well in.
ILB'er Kenny Young might want to consider resigning @ a moderate salary in order to start & remain involved with a winning team.....
OntarioRam
Hall of Fame
1. Stafford makes this offence a completely different animal in the passing game. I like(d) Goff. But Stafford is on another level. And just as importantly, he presence opens up the playbook for McVay.
2. Unfortunately, the running game appears to be lacking. So despite our much improved passing game, I am not convinced that the Rams' offence will be a dynamo against elite teams - and that is too bad, because I think it easily would have been with a healthy Cam Akers. Henderson is a solid 1A/1B back. But as a workhouse, he is not ideal. He is also injury prone. Once Michel gets accustomed to the offense, I am cautiously optimistic that he can bring back a lot of what Akers' absence steals. But Michel is not a complete replacement for Akers, which is discouraging, because with an elite running game, I think this offense is almost unstoppable and rivals the Kansas City Chiefs. I expect carries to be split even between Michel and Henderson by week 3 or 4. I suspect the front office does as well, given what the Rams paid to acquire Michel. We'll see...
3. I am not concerned about the defence. I expect it to easily be a top 10 unit. Very possibly top 5. There is so much variation from year to year with defensive rankings that expecting anything more probably isn't realistic. Recall: the defnece also started slowly last year under Staley. A new defensive coordinator always takes time to adjust to. Every DC brings his own elements and tweaks. Ramsey playing the star position is a brilliant idea that I think will pay dividends. Long and Rochell both looked capable for their respective positions on the depth chart, which is encouraging. I feared that Hill's departure was going to potentially leave the Rams with only two NFL level CBs. Say what you want about Hill, he was a capable #3.
4. My criticism of Sean McVay's play calling on this forum is well documented. One of my biggest fears is that, with a QB he loves again, McVay will revert to his true colors and natural instincts of becoming way too pass happy. Fingers crossed that McVay does not ruin this deadly Rams passing attack by relying on it almost exclusively, and making the offense one dimensional. You need a run game to win in the playoffs. It's early. Who knows what things will look like once Sony Michel gets worked into the offence. And some nights are just going to a pass-heavy outings. it happens. Take what the defence gives you, if something is working make the opposition prove they can stop it, etc. It's too early to press the panic button. But there is worry in the back of my mind on this point...
5. Sticking to my McVay realism, I said all along last season that, despite not having any elite deep threat WRs on the roster, the Rams had plenty of WRs that were still capable of playing the role if the o-line could hold up, the QB could hit them, and the coaching staff could scheme it up. And I was hardly the only poster to have such views. Last night appeared to prove the aforementioned thesis as factual, rendering Tutu Atwell was a wasted pick. Woods and Jefferson are certainly fast enough. As strictly a deep ball specialist, D. Jackson is still a threat. Kupp's TD was more of a coverage bust.... but he isn't slow in his own right, and his routes are so precise that he can get open deep that way from time to time. I have nothing against Atwell as a player or person. He seems like a great kid and definitely has some valuable skill sets. I am sure he will contribute some nights. But how much better would this roster look if our 2nd round pick was invested somewhere other than WR (which is far and away our deepest position)? And if our WR groups lacks anything, its a big body. Atwell's peewee sized body does nothing to address that. The Rams have had little draft picks recently, and that trend is poised to continue. You can't be wasting 2nd rounders.
6. The Bears have a solid defensive front with Khalil Mack, Hicks, and company. The o-line held up well. But like the Rams' defence, I want to see more from this group before making any judgement calls.
7. Gay looked reliable after a shaky pre-season. That is huge.
8. Kupp was out there to field at least 1 punt. He did call for a fair catch, to my pleasure. If that is all Kupp will ever do back there, I am more comfortable with his punt presence, but surely we can find someone else with sure hands to place back there?
9. We seemed to escape any injuries. Fingers crossed that continues. The Rams are more top heavy than most rosters. Injuries to key players would hurt us more than many others.
10. The NFC West looks absolutley stacked.
GO RAMS!!!
2. Unfortunately, the running game appears to be lacking. So despite our much improved passing game, I am not convinced that the Rams' offence will be a dynamo against elite teams - and that is too bad, because I think it easily would have been with a healthy Cam Akers. Henderson is a solid 1A/1B back. But as a workhouse, he is not ideal. He is also injury prone. Once Michel gets accustomed to the offense, I am cautiously optimistic that he can bring back a lot of what Akers' absence steals. But Michel is not a complete replacement for Akers, which is discouraging, because with an elite running game, I think this offense is almost unstoppable and rivals the Kansas City Chiefs. I expect carries to be split even between Michel and Henderson by week 3 or 4. I suspect the front office does as well, given what the Rams paid to acquire Michel. We'll see...
3. I am not concerned about the defence. I expect it to easily be a top 10 unit. Very possibly top 5. There is so much variation from year to year with defensive rankings that expecting anything more probably isn't realistic. Recall: the defnece also started slowly last year under Staley. A new defensive coordinator always takes time to adjust to. Every DC brings his own elements and tweaks. Ramsey playing the star position is a brilliant idea that I think will pay dividends. Long and Rochell both looked capable for their respective positions on the depth chart, which is encouraging. I feared that Hill's departure was going to potentially leave the Rams with only two NFL level CBs. Say what you want about Hill, he was a capable #3.
4. My criticism of Sean McVay's play calling on this forum is well documented. One of my biggest fears is that, with a QB he loves again, McVay will revert to his true colors and natural instincts of becoming way too pass happy. Fingers crossed that McVay does not ruin this deadly Rams passing attack by relying on it almost exclusively, and making the offense one dimensional. You need a run game to win in the playoffs. It's early. Who knows what things will look like once Sony Michel gets worked into the offence. And some nights are just going to a pass-heavy outings. it happens. Take what the defence gives you, if something is working make the opposition prove they can stop it, etc. It's too early to press the panic button. But there is worry in the back of my mind on this point...
5. Sticking to my McVay realism, I said all along last season that, despite not having any elite deep threat WRs on the roster, the Rams had plenty of WRs that were still capable of playing the role if the o-line could hold up, the QB could hit them, and the coaching staff could scheme it up. And I was hardly the only poster to have such views. Last night appeared to prove the aforementioned thesis as factual, rendering Tutu Atwell was a wasted pick. Woods and Jefferson are certainly fast enough. As strictly a deep ball specialist, D. Jackson is still a threat. Kupp's TD was more of a coverage bust.... but he isn't slow in his own right, and his routes are so precise that he can get open deep that way from time to time. I have nothing against Atwell as a player or person. He seems like a great kid and definitely has some valuable skill sets. I am sure he will contribute some nights. But how much better would this roster look if our 2nd round pick was invested somewhere other than WR (which is far and away our deepest position)? And if our WR groups lacks anything, its a big body. Atwell's peewee sized body does nothing to address that. The Rams have had little draft picks recently, and that trend is poised to continue. You can't be wasting 2nd rounders.
6. The Bears have a solid defensive front with Khalil Mack, Hicks, and company. The o-line held up well. But like the Rams' defence, I want to see more from this group before making any judgement calls.
7. Gay looked reliable after a shaky pre-season. That is huge.
8. Kupp was out there to field at least 1 punt. He did call for a fair catch, to my pleasure. If that is all Kupp will ever do back there, I am more comfortable with his punt presence, but surely we can find someone else with sure hands to place back there?
9. We seemed to escape any injuries. Fingers crossed that continues. The Rams are more top heavy than most rosters. Injuries to key players would hurt us more than many others.
10. The NFC West looks absolutley stacked.
GO RAMS!!!
22. Keeping with the Robert Woods theme, he made a critical 3rd down catch that went practically unnoticed. The offense needed to convert a 3rd down to keep the D off the field for a rest. Stafford hit Woods over the middle on a crossing route— on a less than stellar pass. The throw was clearly behind Woods, who reached back and made a clutch grab. The next pay was the bomb to Kupp, breaking the game open.
The TD catch by Woods was also a thing of beauty. On a team loaded with receivers, he’s beyond solid.
Ontario Ram:
Great post. You make a lotta great points/observations.
Watching the first half, I too was concerned about all of the passing; so I get what your saying about balance vs being pass happy.
But I think you nailed it when you mentioned Michel not quite being up to speed yet. Going into this game with really only one back, I don’t think the Rams wanted to risk Henderson running into that bears front 7 10-15 times in the first half. Should an oft nicked up back get hurt, we’d be looking at a “Funked” up situation.
Michel has to be up to speed by next week and splitting carries so that the Rams can introduce a more significant run plan.
...and yes, it was disappointing NOT to see Atwell returning punts. How else is he gonna get on the field?
Great post. You make a lotta great points/observations.
Watching the first half, I too was concerned about all of the passing; so I get what your saying about balance vs being pass happy.
But I think you nailed it when you mentioned Michel not quite being up to speed yet. Going into this game with really only one back, I don’t think the Rams wanted to risk Henderson running into that bears front 7 10-15 times in the first half. Should an oft nicked up back get hurt, we’d be looking at a “Funked” up situation.
Michel has to be up to speed by next week and splitting carries so that the Rams can introduce a more significant run plan.
...and yes, it was disappointing NOT to see Atwell returning punts. How else is he gonna get on the field?
And no delay of game or timeouts to avoid them!