A few thoughts on Panther game…

[Rams43]

Rams ran one O in first half, different O in the 2nd.

In the first half I noticed lots of Panther 8-9 man boxes. Like they were daring Rams to run. And yet McVay kept calling runs up the middle behind a crippled OL anyway. I was screaming at my TV.

Second half, though, McVay adjusted beautifully calling play after play to defeat such D sets. Sweeps, screens, etc. Then everybody on O was getting into the act catching passes all over the field. Reminded me of 2021 late in season.

That Stafford pick 6 was a tipped pass, wasn’t it? PFF thought so and didn’t ding Stafford for it.

Great to see AR doing well in this O. He was face masked and mugged on the lone pass that he DIDN’T catch. How that was missed is beyond me. Seems like Rams get more than their fair share of non-calls this year.

Don’t look now but Rams exceeded 100 yards rushing. Yeah, it was the Panthers and there were a lot of sweeps but Rams OL was held together with duct tape and baling wire. Sooooo…

Jackson at LOT might be a blessing in disguise. Meaning that he may be better (and healthier) there than Boom. Problem is that Rams have no other depth at LOT anymore. Snead’s gotta fix that. Gulp…

For the life of me I can’t explain starting Kolone and Evans over Skura and Aboushi, respectively. Kolone got an 18 from PFF on pass blocking? C’mon… Boom’s injury necessitated insertion of Aboushi when Jackson got moved, but still…

Morris’ D is frustrating to watch, but it’s getting very good results. That’s the name of the game, scoring D.

No blocked punts this week!

Powell is a pleasant surprise as a weapon.

Another Atwell sighting! I’d still rather have Humphrey. This is gonna hurt for another 10 years, man. Sigh…

Is it possible that Ernest Jones is already Rams best LB? What a pick by Snead.

Anybody satisfied with Rams edge pressure? Me neither. Hope this is the area Snead is working the phones on right now.

Allen and Jefferson will be most welcome returns for this O. Hopefully, Kyren Williams can follow shortly. All 3 should provide huge boosts.

Durant and Hill will give Morris some welcome options, as well. Options are always a good thing.

I suspect that there will be at least a couple of new faces added to this Ram roster before the 49er game.

There is light at the end of this tunnel, y’all.

 

[Kupped]

They need 2 edges, imo..
I’d offer a 6th for Obo.. zero adjustment.

Quinn is struggling… wonder what it would take to get him,

 

[Steve808]

I like that McVay had good adjustments and we took control of the game. That won't work against the whiners if don't play 4 quarters. For some reason, we have to play flawless to beat those whiny f*cks.

No offense but I don't see not having a blocked punt as a positive thing. It should be expected.,

 

[VegasRam]

In the first half I noticed lots of Panther 8-9 man boxes. Like they were daring Rams to run.

Wouldn't that be daring them to pass, or is my football knowledge as bad as I know it is?

 

[Rams43]

I like that McVay had good adjustments and we took control of the game. That won't work against the whiners if don't play 4 quarters. For some reason, we have to play flawless to beat those whiny f*cks.

No offense but I don't see not having a blocked punt as a positive thing. It should be expected.,

My sarcasm about no blocked punts was too subtle for you? Lol.

 

[BonifayRam]

I think I saw our future 6-4 310lbs RB on a kickoff wearing #97. Fastest runner I have seen in a while wearing a Ram uni.

 

[Jacobarch]

I think I saw our future 6-4 310lbs RB on a kickoff wearing #97. Fastest runner I have seen in a while wearing a Ram uni.

Yeah no joke. Dudes literally bounced off him. Wonder if mcVay takes a look??

The poor man's fridge lol

 

[Steve808]

I really hope our OL gets fixed because our defense is playing well enough for the Rams to contend for SB 57 if the offense can score. (And not give our opponents points on turnovers and blocked kicks.)

Any 1970's Ram's fans must recall how we blew multiple playoff games to inferior Vikings teams because of blocked punts and FGs.

 

[fanotodd]

The only real negative I saw was the slow start, including another pick 6. We just don’t have many lousy teams on the schedule to allow us half of the game to figure it out.

So if the Rams can start the games with a either a better game plan or a quicker adjustment (like after a couple of fruitless drives), they will be in these games coming up.

1)The running game looked better as the game went on and the OL is getting a couple reinforcements back, right? Again, Henderson thinks he’s the Minnie Me version of SJ39 and shows it when he’s near the goal line. Like the fresh legs of the new guy, whatever his name is lol.

2) I’ve been saying the Rams were misusing Robinson. Finally, fades/lobs to the corner of the end zone and go routes down the field. His size and ability to get after jump balls are his strength, not precision route running. I know a face mask wasn’t called, but that’s at least the second time the Rams have failed to connect on that route. Conversely, 2 lobs over the shoulder for TDs. Hmm.

3) If your QB is gonna be running for his life, might as well get him a head start. McVay starting rolling the pocket more. It worked for Goff and it worked for Stafford. If your QB breaks containment, sometimes something big opens up downfield. The Rams need more chunk plays.

4) ultimately, this is looking like a season of attrition, more than usual—all across the league. If the Rams can just scratch out a couple conference wins coming out of the bye, reinforcements are coming. Our roster is gonna look a lot better over the next few weeks than it has for the last few. It would be nice to still be in it.

5) Finally, I have not seen any evidence that players are quitting on McVay (Akers issues notwithstanding). THEY still think they’re in it.

 

[Mackeyser]

Yeah, I dunno of another season with this many OL injuries for example.

this entire season has been weirder than watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show on acid…

 

[BonifayRam]

Yeah, I dunno of another season with this many OL injuries for example.

this entire season has been weirder than watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show on acid…

Truly Abby Someone Abby Normal.......


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7L3PcrhnEg

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

Truly Abby Someone Abby Normal.......


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7L3PcrhnEg

Uhh.... wasn't this scene from Young Frankenstein?

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[BonifayRam]

Uhh.... wasn't this scene from Young Frankenstein?

~ArkyRamsFan~

Yep.... both Young Frankenstein & Rocky Horror Picture Show were the two films running in theaters back in the early 70's @ midnight.

 

[Kupped]

Yeah no joke. Dudes literally bounced off him. Wonder if mcVay takes a look??

The poor man's fridge lol

I suggested last week that they use him as a blocking TE.. even in the backfield.
I've seen that he's a real athlete... just not a refined pass rusher. I believe that would work even more, now.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I'm finding it more & more difficult every week to understand why we aren't making use of our blocking FB/TE Roger Carter. This thrown together RB group could certainly benefit from him, and he's shown to have excellent hands as a receiver. Discounting all this, he's a special teams demon when even that unit is struggling. Get this guy active on game days and throw another wrench into the oppositions game plans. jmo.

 

[Kupped]

I'm finding it more & more difficult every week to understand why we aren't making use of our blocking FB/TE Roger Carter. This thrown together RB group could certainly benefit from him, and he's shown to have excellent hands as a receiver. Discounting all this, he's a special teams demon when even that unit is struggling. Get this guy active on game days and throw another wrench into the oppositions game plans. jmo.

Hopkins threw a key block on Henderson's big run..
And.. isn't Benny Slow doing that? While making defenses stay in lighter personnel groups?
I don't see working in a rookie UDFA just for the heck of it.

 

[Merlin]

I really hope our OL gets fixed because our defense is playing well enough for the Rams to contend for SB 57 if the offense can score. (And not give our opponents points on turnovers and blocked kicks.)

Any 1970's Ram's fans must recall how we blew multiple playoff games to inferior Vikings teams because of blocked punts and FGs.

For myself the jury is still out with both units, offense and defense, in terms of whether they'll be good enough.

Offense it's largely about the OL. But it's also about the QB and weapons being on the same page and the Rams have been trying out different weapons in combinations so it's been chaotic in terms of the unit's production on top of the OL issues. Stafford the past couple games seems to have his timing down though, which means we might see them battle through these tough games on the horizon if they can get that line playing well enough.

Defense it's about the secondary. That last game they were better than they were in any game last season. Part of that was the opponent but what we have right now is a solid run front (ranked 10th in ypc) that I think will get better as the season goes on. But the problem is the pressures, where the Rams are damn near last in the league (ranked 31st). Pressure rate of 12.9% means good QBs will inevitably dismantle your secondary no matter how good your coverage is. So Morris is going to need to build on some of these blitzes he has already started to call, and this defense over the remaining games is going to mutate into whatever it will be, good or bad. IMO we may have the quality back there this year to allow for some exotic blitzes becoming a standard for us, as that requires players who are dependable and smart and on top of their shit in execution. Last season's secondary would never have been able to support that approach but this group might be.

I expect the Rams will bring in an edge. We knew that was likely from as far back as camp, as it was unlikely we were sitting on diamonds in our depth chart. That reality is coming clear now I think. So we'll see what happens there. Or maybe they get their rookie edge back and he's a revelation, that's another long shot but it's possible. But what they do and how they handle the pressure rate that is way too low is going to be a major factor in the defensive build where the goal is to get that unit playing great for the playoffs.

We are a long way off on both units IMO. Which doesn't bother me all that much given the Lombardi, but of course I would like to at least see them defend their title in the playoffs and maybe send a shitty team or two home crying.

 

[Kupped]

Every season is different..
I have no idea how good this team *could* be.
Could an edge rusher and healthy secondary be enough? Will having Wagner there help create more "and long" situations allowing the defense just a nanosecond more to get to the passer or create pressure? And give the secondary that much less time to cover? The margins on these things can make massive differences.
And on offense..
Well.. what if they get an RB who really clicks. The Rams had no run game last year and at least part of that was the RBs themselves.
If someone comes in and delivers.. who knows? Especially if Robinson keeps up what happened this weekend and Skow keeps growing.

The NFL can be weird.

That being said.. Buffalo is a fucking beast.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Hopkins threw a key block on Henderson's big run..
And.. isn't Benny Slow doing that? While making defenses stay in lighter personnel groups?
I don't see working in a rookie UDFA just for the heck of it.

Hopkins is barely being used in this offense, 9 offensive snaps total against Carolina, I'm starting to look at him as trade bait.
Skowronek doesn't seem to play special teams much, zero snaps this last game.
Roger Carter has 25lbs. on Skow, he's a beast, I'd prefer to see Skow more as a receiver, although with Van Jeff returning, opportunities for Carter to move up are likely reduced. jmo.

 

[Kupped]

Hopkins is barely being used in this offense, 9 offensive snaps total against Carolina, I'm starting to look at him as trade bait.
Skowronek doesn't seem to play special teams much, zero snaps this last game.
Roger Carter has 25lbs. on Skow, he's a beast, I'd prefer to see Skow more as a receiver, although with Van Jeff returning, opportunities for Carter to move up are likely reduced. jmo.

It was Hopkins first game back and he’s clearly the #2.
I understand the love for a utility guy.. but I’m not seeing them go out of their way to incorporate him.