NFC Championship game: Keys to Rams victory

[FarNorth]

Another analysis I think is spot on....need toughness


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Xac6MCIwE

My thoughts:

Rams need to match Niners' toughness and physicality. It's a mentality. What you do if you're going to be Super Bowl champions.

Rams don't need to beat them up-- though that would work too-- just stand up to them. Especially with our oline and stopping the run. Then beat them with our skill players.

McVay needs to be patient and balanced on offense. Stafford needs to continue to play within himself. Move the chains first, pass off play action. No turnovers.

Morris needs to be aggressive in stopping the run and covering the Niners receivers in short space.

Rams' great pass rush with AD, Miller and Floyd needs to force three and outs and turnovers. Ramsay and DWill need to cover Samuels and Kittle.

Rams need their best players to play their best. The big time role players need to make their presence felt.

The Rams have great players and playmakers. Niners are tough but can't match AD, Miller, Ramsay, Stafford, Whit, Kupp, OBJ, Akers and company.

If all hands show up on deck the Rams win convincingly.

 

[OntarioRam]

In no particular order...

1. No turnovers.
2. The offensive line needs to hold up. It has been completely dominated by the 49ers d-line in recent outings. That can't happen.
3. We can't let SF run the football with complete ease. They will get their yards but not more 7 yards per carry BS.
4. Stafford needs to be sharp.

If we do that, I don't think it will be close. Rams by a country mile. Of course, it will be easier said than done. We might succeed in 1 to 3 of the above. I can't see us going 4/4. They have a good roster and an even better mindset and belief. I think it will be close.

 

[12intheBox]

We need to force them to put the game in Jimmys hands. Take away Deebo and Kittle. If Jimmy beats us throwing to Aiyuk and the rest of his 3rd, 4th, and 5th options, then so be it.

 

[Merlin]

SF's OL wins way too much up front vs our DL in the run game. As Warner said our guys need to win their matchups and disrupt that shit. One disruptive play is all it takes to set a run game approach way back on a given series.

I would like to see AD come out on some of those early downs when we know that run is coming. Stack the DL with SJD at 5T, Gaines at 1T, and Robinson at 3T. There is zero reason to wear AD down with that shit. Keep him fresh.

That is where this matchup is going IMO. Shanny has destroyed McVay with that run game and it has allowed him to play anyone at QB and beat our defense. So stop the fucking run. The future vs this SF offense is going to be stacking the DL with power options that can hold up to the pounding. Rams did try to upgrade to Robinson (from Brock) in order to get more of that power and it's paying off now with Robinson playing well. They drafted B Brown for this purpose. But if your front cannot stifle the run game then it's time to implement a fucking run stopping front to put those assclowns behind the chains.

 

[Merlin]

Offensively all I will say is if our OL holds up and give Stafford time the 9ers are gonna have a hard time stopping our offense because our passing game is really maturing before our eyes with him in the backfield. But chances are it will be a mixed bag of wins/losses up front, at best, because that front is so good. So call enough runs to let them fire off and keep SF honest. Convert the plays when the looks are there and you take your shots. And play field position.

Hopefully we'll see what we did early week 18 and the Rams offense padding a nice lead by pulling away gradually. But in the end it's gonna be about the team as a unit finding that killer fucking instinct with this 9er team and putting them down. If and when we get that good lead you keep doing the same fucking thing you were doing before. Don't change a fucking thing. Foot on throat.

 

[oldnotdead]

The 49ers blitz average is about 22% of offensive snaps. That isn't a lot but its enough to factor into how you play. The 49er philosophy is to play dominating defense to keep the score low. They are a top 10 defense in both run and pass. Control the TOP to control the flow of the game with their run attack.

The Rams showed they can score on the Niners. Morris lost that last game by going soft instead of keeping the pressure on. He must not do that again. IMO Morris is the wildcard on this team. He shows he can dominate with this personnel then he inexplicably backs off and allows the opposition to hang around.

To his credit, Morris has been much better during the playoffs. His defense was good enough to win in Tampa. It was the offense that was self-destructing. If Morris played his defense all season like he's playing them during the playoffs, the Rams could have contended for the #1 seed.

Morris needs to just stay the course for two more games. Morris can continue with his 5 man front, but he needs to play Reeder and another LB like Hollins stacked behind the DL to play the run. Hollins has the size and speed to be a factor in stopping the run. Or he should play Hollins matched up with Kittle. Hollins is bigger and just as fast as Kittle. Put Ramsey on Deebo and Hollins on Kittle.

 

[oldnotdead]

Go back and look at SJD play vs the run. He's not very good. SJD still hasn't learned how to stack and shed so he struggles to shed blocks. Gaines and Robinson IMO will be key to plugging those inside gaps. IMO Robinson & Gaines inside, AD and Miller on the edges with Reeder, Floyd and Hollins stacked giving them speed and size behind the DL.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Passing is the way to go against the Niners but they need to have outlets for the Niners pass rush.

Yes.

 

[Ellard80]

Another analysis I think is spot on....need toughness


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Xac6MCIwE

yeah i dont really agree with Riddick

We need to tackle well and stop their run game for sure - but the 49ners would love it if we tried to play their game against them.

That's exactly what they want.

 

[96GS#007]

yeah i dont really agree with Riddick

We need to tackle well and stop their run game for sure - but the 49ners would love it if we tried to play their game against them.

That's exactly what they want.

I don't think it's about playing the 49ers game as much as don't let the 49ers bitch-slap them in the trenches. OL and DL get pushed around way too much and then on D, we can't seem to tackle worth a damn to add insult to injury.

Hopefully a good solid performance on both sides of the ball. I'm not expecting or asking for domination...I'd just like to see some anger and hard-nosed play.

 

[MachS]

View: https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1487485742238646272?s=20&t=eGQBeRaZY6IGibk4OHctFA

 

[OldSchool]

The key is McVay

He can't let up on offense bury these mothers
He can't let Morris get soft or complacent bury these mothers
Most of all he can't let the players do the same
He sets the tone
He sets the game plan
He drives the coaches and the players
It's on him it always is and always has been

 

[MachS]

The key is McVay

He can't let up on offense bury these mothers

This is key. Was listening to a segment yesterday on ESPN talking about McVay/Shanahan and this was brought up. I would've never guessed it, but according to ESPN's advanced statistics McVay ranked 29th in their 'aggressiveness quotient.' Not sure how they quantify that but thought it was interesting. I think last year and this year he's been much less aggressive for whatever reason. And it has cost us big time. I agree, keep the pedal to the medal tmrw and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[OldSchool]

This is key. Was listening to a segment yesterday on ESPN talking about McVay/Shanahan and this was brought up. I would've never guessed it, but according to ESPN's advanced statistics McVay ranked 29th in their 'aggressiveness quotient.' Not sure how they quantify that but thought it was interesting. I think last year and this year he's been much less aggressive for whatever reason. And it has cost us big time. I agree, keep the pedal to the medal tmrw and let the chips fall where they may.

And I took a lot of heat for suggesting McVay was as much to blame for the week 18 loss as Morris or anybody else. We've all seen it and we know when it's happening the only lack of aggressiveness I want to see tomorrow is a victory formation.

 

[MachS]

And I took a lot of heat for suggesting McVay was as much to blame for the week 18 loss as Morris or anybody else. We've all seen it and we know when it's happening the only lack of aggressiveness I want to see tomorrow is a victory formation.

Yea I hated that 3rd down run call late in the 4th when one 1st down wins the game. Hated it. But to McVays credit, we had a similar instance last game in the TB game. 3rd down when we needed to run clock, and one 1st down likely sealed the game. McVay called a pass. Stafford ended up checking it down, it was well covered by TB and we still punted, but at least it was the correct and aggressive call. We will need more of that tmrw.

 

[Merlin]

The key is McVay

He can't let up on offense bury these mothers
He can't let Morris get soft or complacent bury these mothers
Most of all he can't let the players do the same
He sets the tone
He sets the game plan
He drives the coaches and the players
It's on him it always is and always has been

Yeah and don't think he doesn't know it. Competitive as that dude is he must be seething inside.

 

[TexasRam]

I saw Jourdan Rodrique on NFL network today with Colleen Wolf and a few others.

She specifically mentioned how Mcvay admitted to his past failures of not being aggressive at the end of games.

That's what's so great about Mcvay. Always self diagnosing. Anyways, I am pretty sure he is prepared to go for the jugular at the end of the game if needed to seal it.