VENT Season Vent Thread

[Pedro Ram]

Gutted today. Ooof.

Every season is a chapter. You take the good with the rough endings. I’m just grateful for the Rams and all the experiences they’ve given us over the years.

That SoFi watch party was something else. It was open to everyone—people who wanted to be there could be there, no one priced out. One crowd, one vibe. It reminded me of a blend of the old Coliseum days with a Dodgers-level fan majority. It even felt like a World Cup match, but with one stadium, one team, pure energy. If you know, you know.

As for the season itself, our chess moves almost got us there. We’ve got most of the pieces—draft picks, cap flexibility, Stafford, Puka, etc. A few tweaks and we’re right back in the mix, better positioned to finish the job next year.

And honestly, so many fan bases have it way worse. I’ll take this over anything else.

 

[AZRams]

Nah. Don't buy that at all. That's a cop out for his poor scheme.

You scheme with what you have.

 

[AZRams]

Gamecock POS.....

Yeah, I'd love to tell him to shove that up his arse but they won...got nothing to say.

 

[Haden]

Now I know how all my uncles must have felt watching the 70s teams pull up short.

I was one of those. My dad took me to the Mud Bowl at the Coliseum when I was a kid. Disappointment year after year.

 

[dieterbrock]

True that happens all the time. But like I said above I had an issue with that sequence live.

Not me. I had visions of them scoring another TD and leading 20-10 at half.
They were cutting thru Seattle D like a hot knife thru butter at that point, and after Kyren opens up with 5 yards on 1st down? A field goal looked like the worst case scenario. Alas, 2 semi dropped passes and here we are

 

[OldSchool]

Not me. I had visions of them scoring another TD and leading 20-10 at half.
They were cutting thru Seattle D like a hot knife thru butter at that point, and after Kyren opens up with 5 yards on 1st down? A field goal looked like the worst case scenario. Alas, 2 semi dropped passes and here we are

They couldn't have scored if after a 5 yard run on 1st down they ran again on 2nd down? The drive before was a 12 play 87 yard drive that resulted in a TD. It was 9 runs 3 passes with the TD being a pass. Seems like we'd been running the ball well enough to keep doing so especially when we'd done it well in the 2nd quarter.

We'd scored 10 straight and had the momentum IMO giving them the ball back before half was a mistake. Eat clock while still trying to score especially still having a TO. That quick score late in the 2nd Q was as big for Seattle as the muffed punt. Just my 2 pesos (not even worth cents).

 

[dieterbrock]

They couldn't have scored if after a 5 yard run on 1st down they ran again on 2nd down? The drive before was a 12 play 87 yard drive that resulted in a TD. It was 9 runs 3 passes with the TD being a pass. Seems like we'd been running the ball well enough to keep doing so especially when we'd done it well in the 2nd quarter.

We'd scored 10 straight and had the momentum IMO giving them the ball back before half was a mistake. Eat clock while still trying to score especially still having a TO. That quick score late in the 2nd Q was as big for Seattle as the muffed punt. Just my 2 pesos (not even worth cents).

Run it on 2nd down with a minute left? Stafford to Puka on that 5 yard hitch has been a no brainer all year, just wasnt meant to be
Hated the outcome of that series but it is Monday morning QBing to 2nd guess that series IMO. Seattle was on the ropes and like all year, the Rams let em off the hook

 

[PARAM]

Heard an interesting discussion this afternoon.

A lot of Rams fans are blaming the defense.
"Our corners suck"
"Is Shula really any good?"

The reason the Rams lost that game was 1 thing. Special teams and that muffed punt. Nothing else. You want to complain the defense didn't stop Darnold and Seattle? They punted 5 times!!! You want to complain the defense didn't pressure Darnold? They had 3 sacks.

How about Seattle's defense? They couldn't stop the Rams!!! The Rams punted twice and turned it over on downs once.

What does Seattle's defense have to do with the Rams defense? They were supposedly the best defense in the NFL, as far as scoring goes. So does their defense suck because they couldn't stop the Rams? No.

We lost because we muffed a punt. We gave them 7 points. What else needs to be said? We have to straighten out special teams and like every year, add to the defense and offense. But special teams needs to be FIXED. In that discussion I watched, it was pointed out in the two losses to Seattle, both times it was special teams. And both times, the special teams issue turned the game around.

 

[Ram_Rally]

Heard an interesting discussion this afternoon.

A lot of Rams fans are blaming the defense.
"Our corners suck"
"Is Shula really any good?"

The reason the Rams lost that game was 1 thing. Special teams and that muffed punt. Nothing else. You want to complain the defense didn't stop Darnold and Seattle? They punted 5 times!!! You want to complain the defense didn't pressure Darnold? They had 3 sacks.

How about Seattle's defense? They couldn't stop the Rams!!! The Rams punted twice and turned it over on downs once.

What does Seattle's defense have to do with the Rams defense? They were supposedly the best defense in the NFL, as far as scoring goes. So does their defense suck because they couldn't stop the Rams? No.

We lost because we muffed a punt. We gave them 7 points. What else needs to be said? We have to straighten out special teams and like every year, add to the defense and offense. But special teams needs to be FIXED. In that discussion I watched, it was pointed out in the two losses to Seattle, both times it was special teams. And both times, the special teams issue turned the game around.

Well Seattle's defense held us to 1/8 on third down and our defense gave to third down on 7/13 attempt, including multiple third and long plays. So I still put it on the defense.

 

[Allen2McVay]

...

The reason the Rams lost that game was 1 thing. Special teams and that muffed punt. Nothing else.
...
We lost because we muffed a punt. We gave them 7 points.

I don't know PA ...

One Play? Really?!?

The Tariq Woolen un-sportsman-like Brain-Fart pretty much 'gave' the Rams 7 points.

The Rams were 1-for-8 on 3rd-down-conversions ... Seattle was 7-for-13.

The Rams' Defense gave-up a a six-play, 74-yard, TD-drive in 34 seconds before the half; and
they couldn't get off-the-field late in the 4th quarter to give Stafford one more chance; and
the Rams' Offense, with a 2nd-and-4 from the Seattle 6 could not gain a yard on three plays.

It was a tough, close and FUCKING BRUTAL LOSS ... but I don't put it on one play.

By-the-way, the Rams wins in Carolina and Chicago were every bit as tough and close games.

 

[Ramit]

I don't know PA ...

One Play? Really?!?

The Tariq Woolen un-sportsman-like Brain-Fart pretty much 'gave' the Rams 7 points.

The Rams were 1-for-8 on 3rd-down-conversions ... Seattle was 7-for-13.

The Rams' Defense gave-up a a six-play, 74-yard, TD-drive in 34 seconds before the half; and
they couldn't get off-the-field late in the 4th quarter to give Stafford one more chance; and
the Rams' Offense, with a 2nd-and-4 from the Seattle 6 could not gain a yard on three plays.

It was a tough, close and FUCKING BRUTAL LOSS ... but I don't put it on one play.

By-the-way, the Rams wins in Carolina and Chicago were every bit as tough and close games.

While I generally agree with everything you said, I will say that–when the muffed punt happened–I absolutely spoke up and told my family that that was the game. I was a momentum AND possession changer. Defense got off the field by forcing a punt when it was obvious that Seattle had next to no answers for our offense.

I would say that one play, way moreso than any other play–other than the 4th down in the redzone–affected the outcome of the game.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Why was he playing STs then?

Great question and dumb decision to not play him more. D Will got abused.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Was he even a runner by this stage? I thought he only controlled possession when he was in the air and didn't maintain possession when he hit the ground. I was screaming at Mcvay to throw the flag.

.

Why McVay would even trust the refs here is laughable. Those fucking shits missed so many calls but whatever, refs in general just suck.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

i'm still pissed about the face mask call that wasn't made.

That's the shit that bothers me. Missing absolute penalties that can't be refuted if called because they are just that obvious. Don't understand why in the world they can't have a ref from NY overrule that on replay without coaches challenging or bitching.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

But that logic doesn't work while the wound is so fresh.

"They were this close dammit and I (we) deserved it. Their decisions came back to bite us in the ass!!! They need to wake the fuck up and.....(whatever)"

They gave us a team that was entertaining as fuck!! That had us all believing we were gonna win the Super Bowl. Hell it was after our first loss ( a special teams brainfart) we all said, "yeah we just beat the badass defending SB champs in their house....if we block for a FG. We've got a really good team"!

I haven't enjoyed a Rams season this much except for 2021 or 1999. It was awesome. Right up until the end. So we didn't make the SB. Ain't like that hasn't happened before.

Our offense put up 1060 yards and 64 points the last two times we played the #1 defense in the league. Yeah we lost, but I'm still proud as hell to be a Ram fan. We'll win it again. Bank on it.

Fuckin sumabish.....why couldn't we just win? Things could be worse. Hope the Rams retool where they need to so we can be right back in it.

 

[Ramit]

They were gassed bro. Look at how lopsided TOP was. We put together two long drives that I can remember. How much are people going to expect? ST turned the ball over leading to losing the turnover battle. One cannot expect to win a playoff game while losing both the turnover and TOP battles.

What stands out here?
To me it looks like the D forced 5 punts of which the O was unable to FULLY capitalize on. Then we lost a fumble thanks to ST. That one fumble led to a TD on one of those punts and that was the game. The point differential never changed after that because the Offense failed to get points in the redzone late.

As great as the offense was, it was the offense and ST that led to this loss. Expecting to hold teams to 17ppg in the playoffs is unrealistic in the modern NFL.

Well Seattle's defense held us to 1/8 on third down and our defense gave to third down on 7/13 attempt, including multiple third and long plays. So I still put it on the defense.

 

[Ram_Rally]

They were gassed bro. Look at how lopsided TOP was. We put together two long drives that I can remember. How much are people going to expect? ST turned the ball over leading to losing the turnover battle. One cannot expect to win a playoff game while losing both the turnover and TOP battles.
View attachment 74407
What stands out here?
To me it looks like the D forced 5 punts of which the O was unable to FULLY capitalize on. Then we lost a fumble thanks to ST. That one fumble led to a TD on one of those punts and that was the game. The point differential never changed after that because the Offense failed to get points in the redzone late.

As great as the offense was, it was the offense and ST that led to this loss. Expecting to hold teams to 17ppg in the playoffs is unrealistic in the modern NFL.

Based on the picture you posted, the time of possession isn't lopsided at all. It's only 3 minutes of difference.

The biggest things that stand out to me are:
1. We were atrocious on third down (offense and defense).
2. The Seahawks had FIVE red zone trips. And they scored touchdowns on FOUR of them. That's just not acceptable. The Rams offense was hammering the Seahawks defense, but the Seahawks did manage to force 2 field goals and make a stand in the red zone. The Seahawks got to our red zone five times (one off a muffed punt) and our defense gave up 7 on FOUR of those? That's just bad defense there.

 

[Allen2McVay]

While I generally agree with everything you said, I will say that–when the muffed punt happened–I absolutely spoke up and told my family that that was the game. I was a momentum AND possession changer. Defense got off the field by forcing a punt when it was obvious that Seattle had next to no answers for our offense.

I would say that one play, way more so than any other play–other than the 4th down in the redzone–affected the outcome of the game.

I thought exactly the same thing ... especially after Seattle scored on the next play; and, I may have said it to my family except they know better than to be anywhere near me when I am watching a big Rams' game.

The Rams responded with a four-play, 75-yard TD-drive that looked too easy; and I had real hope again.

Then the Rams' disappointing Defense gave-up a nine-play, 65-yard TD-drive to regain an 11-point-lead; and, once again, I thought ... That's the game

Then the Rams quickly (3 plays) moved to the Seattle 42; and I'm thinking ... "these resilient mother-fuckers can still win it" but then, just three plays later, following an incompletion, it looked like the Rams would need to punt ... AND ... Well, I was down again.

That only lasted a few seconds because Derion Kendrick had apparently made an impact on Tariq Woolen during his short time in Seattle because the idiot Seahawks' CB was flagged for taunting, giving the Rams another chance.

My hope quickly turned to Ecstasy on a brilliant Stafford-to-Nacua TD but that feeling was then paused for a few minutes by a booth review. Once the TD was confirmed, I was ... once again ... very hopeful.

That hope grew greater and greater during a fourteen-play, 84-yard drive inside the Seahawks' ten before three straight plays netted zero yards and a turnover-on-downs.

Finally, there were a couple high hopes followed by misery as Seattle (barely) converted several 1st downs to secure the win.

If you read through this ... God bless you ... but it just reflects the many Highs and Lows I experienced in the second-half alone. By-the-way, it was EXACTLY THE SAME for me the prior two weeks against Carolina and Chicago ... but, of course, those were Glorious Victories.

There is no sport like the NFL ... Great Wins and Soul-crushing Defeats.

 

[HitStick]

All seasons that don't end in a championship are a failure. This was a huge failure.

We had a hole the size of Sagittarius A* on this team, the secondary, and nothing was done to address it. It's not even like it was a secret, everyone knew BEFORE the season started our secondary was a joke. The Colts were able to get Sauce Gardner while the Rams office mostly sat on its hands at the deadline. Ridiculous.

That's enough of Shula. You aren't your grandfather. Not even close. And you never will be. That guy needs his ass canned ASAP.

Then the special teams turned out to be absolute dogshit and far too little, too late, was done to address that. I vehemently dislike Tutu Atwell and fully believe he doesn't belong on an NFL roster, but you can't tell me he couldn't be at least more useful than the kick returners we did use most of the season.

As for McVay, he's entering Harbaugh/Tomlin territory in my book and he seriously needs to consider giving up play calling.

Lastly, Super Bowl 60 can fuck right off. I'd rather go get some carbolic acid from the lab at work tomorrow and pour it in my eyes than watch two of my three most hated teams play for a championship.

Just stop. Rams just had the number one scoring offense in the NFL. This is not some middle of the pack offense because of his play calling

 

[Ramit]

Based on the picture you posted, the time of possession isn't lopsided at all. It's only 3 minutes of difference.

The biggest things that stand out to me are:
1. We were atrocious on third down (offense and defense).
2. The Seahawks had FIVE red zone trips. And they scored touchdowns on FOUR of them. That's just not acceptable. The Rams offense was hammering the Seahawks defense, but the Seahawks did manage to force 2 field goals and make a stand in the red zone. The Seahawks got to our red zone five times (one off a muffed punt) and our defense gave up 7 on FOUR of those? That's just bad defense there.

I understand your point, I just don't fully agree and thats okay! I think the D did enough to win if we had played mistake free football...as evidenced by the fact that one big mistake changed the entire game.

That being said, this is about the championship game in a vacuum. The cheap defense did enough but absolutely was not a difference maker. We could use that in at least 2 position groups on D. Game most likely would've been much different!