Got a few off-the-wall thoughts of my own after waiting 24 hours…

[Rams43]

Just a stream of consciousness thing…

What’s wrong with Akers?

WTH was Stafford thinking with several of those passes? It’s not as if he had to produce a come from behind miracle. Geez…

Shelton was a VERY pleasant surprise. Heck, he now looks like our best starting OC, doesn’t he? Rams are probably in no hurry to rush Allen back.

This is the 2nd time that Alaric Jackson has been pressed into emergency duty due to injury to a starter during a game and once again he impressed. I’ve considered him our swing OT but he played very well at RG. Dare I say it? Have Rams discovered 2 new starters for their OL THIS year? I’m serious.

Gotta give McVay credit for thinking outside the box with Skow. Might be onto something. Anything that helps Rams anemic running game is fine by me.

It will be nice to have a healthy Jefferson back, huh? Will expand the playbook for McVay/Stafford.

WTH is up with AD? Just not the same ‘want to’ this year.

Our pass rush is just not there this year, at least in the first 2 games. Frankly, it must improve if Rams hope to get back to SB. Not gonna sugarcoat it, what we’ve seen so far just ain’t good enough.

I continue to be puzzled by Ramsay’s up and down play this year. Health, scheme, or ego? Or all of the above?

Anybody else expected more from Wagner? He’s been ‘okay’, I guess, but I expected more of an impact from him. So far Jones seems to be outplaying him.

So there it is. AD, Ramsey, and Wagner have underwhelmed so far this season. Our vaunted future HOF players, dammit! Gulp…

I think Long’s days as starter may be numbered. I had thought Rochell would beat him out by mid season but this Durant kid seems to be taking the bull by the horns and is the better playmaker. What a find!

DeCamillis has his work cut out, huh? But I think he proved last year that he could fix all his units if given time and maybe a couple of personnel pieces.

Dixon is not to blame for that egregious missed block resulting in the blocked punt but I do think he needs to speed up his kick time. He seems almost lackadaisical, tbh.

I’m gonna lay off Morris for now other than to say his D is not ‘there’ yet, either. I had hoped that it would pick up where it left off last year but that has hardly been the case. Hopefully, he will get into the nuts and bolts of his D struggle areas soon. Results, baby!

 

[madrid311]

58 points against. 58! 41 points for.
Houston we have a problem. Not sure why Raheem got a game ball and why the defense was so happy at the end of the game. They should have not been so happy the way they played.

 

[fearsomefour]

Donald was not jumping out of his lane until later in the game.
Its impossible to judge a players desire or drive and I recommend against it.
I think the Rams made a conscious effort to control the Falcons run game....a big part of that was Donald NOT vacating is gap like he does so often.
It was Donald who got pressure right in the QBs chest that caused the ball to float on Ramseys INT.

Shelton is better suited at C than G I think and he played well.
I feel very badly for Anchrum, horrible luck.
Jackson played very well and certainly earned that starting spot next week.
Wagner has been very ehh so far.
Its a long season....will have to see how he does going forward.

 

[fearsomefour]

58 points against. 58! 41 points for.
Houston we have a problem. Not sure why Raheem got a game ball and why the defense was so happy at the end of the game. They should have not been so happy the way they played.

The D gave up 17 points vs. Atlanta.
The Rams should win every game they give up under 20 points.
The off coverage gets old but the run D was better overall and its a work in progress.

 

[Rams8821]

58 points against. 58! 41 points for.
Houston we have a problem. Not sure why Raheem got a game ball and why the defense was so happy at the end of the game. They should have not been so happy the way they played.

They won the game, this is the NFL, dont take winning for granted.

 

[Ram Ts]

Just a stream of consciousness thing…

What’s wrong with Akers?

WTH was Stafford thinking with several of those passes? It’s not as if he had to produce a come from behind miracle. Geez…

Shelton was a VERY pleasant surprise. Heck, he now looks like our best starting OC, doesn’t he? Rams are probably in no hurry to rush Allen back.

This is the 2nd time that Alaric Jackson has been pressed into emergency duty due to injury to a starter during a game and once again he impressed. I’ve considered him our swing OT but he played very well at RG. Dare I say it? Have Rams discovered 2 new starters for their OL THIS year? I’m serious.

Gotta give McVay credit for thinking outside the box with Skow. Might be onto something. Anything that helps Rams anemic running game is fine by me.

It will be nice to have a healthy Jefferson back, huh? Will expand the playbook for McVay/Stafford.

WTH is up with AD? Just not the same ‘want to’ this year.

Our pass rush is just not there this year, at least in the first 2 games. Frankly, it must improve if Rams hope to get back to SB. Not gonna sugarcoat it, what we’ve seen so far just ain’t good enough.

I continue to be puzzled by Ramsay’s up and down play this year. Health, scheme, or ego? Or all of the above?

Anybody else expected more from Wagner? He’s been ‘okay’, I guess, but I expected more of an impact from him. So far Jones seems to be outplaying him.

So there it is. AD, Ramsey, and Wagner have underwhelmed so far this season. Our vaunted future HOF players, dammit! Gulp…

I think Long’s days as starter may be numbered. I had thought Rochell would beat him out by mid season but this Durant kid seems to be taking the bull by the horns and is the better playmaker. What a find!

DeCamillis has his work cut out, huh? But I think he proved last year that he could fix all his units if given time and maybe a couple of personnel pieces.

Dixon is not to blame for that egregious missed block resulting in the blocked punt but I do think he needs to speed up his kick time. He seems almost lackadaisical, tbh.

I’m gonna lay off Morris for now other than to say his D is not ‘there’ yet, either. I had hoped that it would pick up where it left off last year but that has hardly been the case. Hopefully, he will get into the nuts and bolts of his D struggle areas soon. Results, baby!

Great post - I agree 100% with everything

 

[sjm1582002]

I'd be sending five (3 dl's or a 2 dl's with a mlb blitzing) and 2 er's on most obvious passing down.

Atlanta's QB is below average but yet nearly pulled off a miracle comeback.

Superior QB's are going to eat our lunch only rushing 4, especially with a quality pass blocking ol in front of them.

Glad to finally see the I formation once in a while but how about Mr Carter from the PS as fullback? He will handle any opposing lb's very roughly.

 

[Merlin]

The D gave up 17 points vs. Atlanta.
The Rams should win every game they give up under 20 points.
The off coverage gets old but the run D was better overall and its a work in progress.

Yeah I hate the prevent shit, like most fans. I don't know anyone who enjoys watching their defense give up the underneath it is very irritating.

But before they called off the dogs the defense was in control and it was great to see that. We obviously need to get to the point where the defense is better for the full 60 but they also need to learn how to control a game by surrendering small chunks and tackling well, it's a philosophy that requires practice and these guys don't get preseason to work on that.

So two games in being 1-1 given the teams we have played... I am fine with that. Sort of figured we might lose vs Buffalo just didn't expect an ass beating. But putting Atlanta down was nicely done and a nice building block for the team.

They're gonna have to be sharp in the next two games. Both those teams think they're going to beat us, no doubt about that in my mind. They both know the Rams take a while to hit their full stride and are seeing us early. So the Rams are in for a couple early season divisional dog fights with those games.

 

[OntarioRam]

People should not sleep on that Falcons offense. They can put up points.

 

[André]

The D gave up 17 points vs. Atlanta.
The Rams should win every game they give up under 20 points.
The off coverage gets old but the run D was better overall and its a work in progress.

And seven of those points came on a short field after a Stafford interception.

 

[Laxbird]

I'd be sending five (3 dl's or a 2 dl's with a mlb blitzing) and 2 er's on most obvious passing down.

Atlanta's QB is below average but yet nearly pulled off a miracle comeback.

Superior QB's are going to eat our lunch only rushing 4, especially with a quality pass blocking ol in front of them.

Glad to finally see the I formation once in a while but how about Mr Carter from the PS as fullback? He will handle any opposing lb's very roughly.

Raheem has never been a big blitzer preferring to keep everything in front and limit to field goals. Remember he was very slow out the gate last year and everyone was calling for his head before he turned it around and the defense learnt the system and responded. We have a new MLB and he's relaying the plays so give this defense a couple more weeks.

Atlanta's QB didn't perform a comeback. They blocked a punt deep in Rams territory and then also recovered a mid-field Kupp fumble.

Our run stop is already leaps and bounds better than last year. Atlanta had 6 guys blocking a lot of the time so DL wasn't penetrating.

 

[Kupped]

Raheem has never been a big blitzer preferring to keep everything in front and limit to field goals. Remember he was very slow out the gate last year and everyone was calling for his head before he turned it around and the defense learnt the system and responded. We have a new MLB and he's relaying the plays so give this defense a couple more weeks.

Atlanta's QB didn't perform a comeback. They blocked a punt deep in Rams territory and then also recovered a mid-field Kupp fumble.

Our run stop is already leaps and bounds better than last year. Atlanta had 6 guys blocking a lot of the time so DL wasn't penetrating.

Rams blitzed a ton last year.. but married that with soft coverage in the first half of the season.

 

[Steve808]

I was streaming the game and it was in the second half, maybe the start of the 4th quarter when the announcer said the Rams have finally forced a punt for the first time in the season. Our defense looks like it's got some issues this season in addition to the turnovers we're seeing.

I trust McVay to fix the issues. But let's be honest, the Rams look a bit shaky right now and our next two opponents are the Cardinals and whiners. The fix needs to come soon.

 

[MachS]

Yeah I hate the prevent shit, like most fans. I don't know anyone who enjoys watching their defense give up the underneath it is very irritating

The irony is Morris is the only coach I've seen call prevent zones while trailing in a game. Good QBs eat up our 10+ yard soft cushion looks. It's literally a free 5-7 yards at least.

 

[bomebadeeda]

Good analysis 43. The Akers thing is his mind set. He thinks he has the speed to get outside. He doesn't. He needed to hit a lane that opened inside. Might not got his much but it wouldn't be a play for a big loss. Henderson has better speed but doesn't try to out run to the outside. He's always looking to hit a lane. Akers thinks he's quicker..... he's not.

Stafford should not thrown into coverage on his interceptions. There were better options to throw to. The Higbey decision was well covered and the one in the middle to Kupp should of been a dump to the swing man in the flat. Stafford has always taken risks. And they were bad ones this week.

 

[VARAM]

Folks, this is just the starters second pre-season game. After next week I'll start judging. Go RAMS

 

[JYB]

Donald was not jumping out of his lane until later in the game.
Its impossible to judge a players desire or drive and I recommend against it.
I think the Rams made a conscious effort to control the Falcons run game....a big part of that was Donald NOT vacating is gap like he does so often.
It was Donald who got pressure right in the QBs chest that caused the ball to float on Ramseys INT.

Shelton is better suited at C than G I think and he played well.
I feel very badly for Anchrum, horrible luck.
Jackson played very well and certainly earned that starting spot next week.
Wagner has been very ehh so far.
Its a long season....will have to see how he does going forward.

Probably also because of the RPO and Mariota's running ability. Wanted to keep him in the pocket.

 

[dieterbrock]

Atlanta's QB is below average but yet nearly pulled off a miracle comeback.

He hardly did the damage. Got them to 31-17 down, but he did jack shit after that other than watch them get ridiculously lucky

 

[Zodi]

Remember he was very slow out the gate last year and everyone was calling for his head before he turned it around and the defense learnt the system and responded

The defensive improvement was a product of having Miller, Donald and Floyd on the same line and not Morris' scheme, imo.

I dont watch every game in the NFL but I don't see any other team playing their corners 10 yards off on every play. This shit is so infuriating.

 

[Jacobarch]

What’s wrong with Akers? From week 1 to 2 there was a pretty bid difference in play. He looked much better. His vision needs work, he still hits the wrong holes at times and he there are times when he needs to stay behind the line and let things open up. That will come with time. We have to remember he was out for a long period of time and is still a very young player.

WTH is up with AD? Just not the same ‘want to’ this year. No offense here, but have you actually watched ALL22 film breakdowns? AD is literally getting pressure on almost every play. At times it works against him but that's always been the rub with AD. Live and die by the sword. It's hard to get to the ball when teams are gameplanning around AD and his abilities. If you haven't watched the all 22 I would suggest you do so. Or go watch one of Jake Ellenbogen vids where he breaks it down.

Our pass rush is just not there this year, at least in the first 2 games. Frankly, it must improve if Rams hope to get back to SB. Not gonna sugarcoat it, what we’ve seen so far just ain’t good enough. see above

I continue to be puzzled by Ramsay’s up and down play this year. Health, scheme, or ego? Or all of the above? I thinnnnk it's scheme. While he should have had two INT's last game and one for a pick 6, he easily could have had some plays he would want back if Mariota had the time to get the ball down the field.

Anybody else expected more from Wagner? He’s been ‘okay’, I guess, but I expected more of an impact from him. So far Jones seems to be outplaying him. Give him until week 5 or 6. He's learning a new system and meshing with his teammates is going to take time. He's flashed several times in the last two weeks so I think that's a good sign.

So there it is. AD, Ramsey, and Wagner have underwhelmed so far this season. Our vaunted future HOF players, dammit! Gulp…

I think Long’s days as starter may be numbered. I had thought Rochell would beat him out by mid season but this Durant kid seems to be taking the bull by the horns and is the better playmaker. What a find! I agree 100%. Long is a liability. He looked decent during the playoffs last year but it looks like he's back to his old ways. Falling, whiffing on tackles, taking terrible angles and straight up looking lost at times. He's just a missed pick. He should be no more than a backup or playing ST's

I’m gonna lay off Morris for now other than to say his D is not ‘there’ yet, either. I had hoped that it would pick up where it left off last year but that has hardly been the case. Hopefully, he will get into the nuts and bolts of his D struggle areas soon. Results, baby! You're far too nice. That soft coverage crap is going to work against lower competition but we all saw what happens when we play powerhouse offenses. I can't stand his umbrella defense that gives 10 to 12 yards of cushion almost every play. Not to mention the prevent D that they played throughout the 4th quarter. As the great John Madden used to say, the only thing prevent defense does is preventing you from winning the game.