So, what to think about our 2023 LA Rams?

[Rams43]

This is just a stream of consciousness post and in no particular order…

As many of us predicted, this young Rams team is scrappy and very competitive. And they should only get better and better as they gain valuable experience and gel together. They should be at least 3-1 right now and that’s with a lot of youngsters learning on the job.

IOW, this will be a fun, if unpredictable team to watch all year and one that could well sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard. Yeah, I said it.

Currently, Stafford’s health and ability to function at a high rate is compromised and I’m not sure that the rest of the team can take up the slack against the likes of the Eagles. Sorry.

Running back room seems to be coming along nicely, huh? Who needs Cam Akers? Or Taylor, for that matter?

Our best 5 on OL seems to be Jackson, Avila, Shelton, Dotson, and Hav. That unit can take this O far if it can stay healthy. And its depth behind those 5 looks very capable now, too.

I want to see more 12 sets and more targets for our TE room. McVay owes it to himself to get some snaps for Allen, dammit!

Our DL is exceeding my expectations already, although my expectations were admittedly not all that high. Kudos to coach Hendy.

Hoecht in coverage is painful to watch. It’s now our weakest link on D and every opponent is gonna attack Hoecht mercilessly.

I kinda like our CB room now, although I still think Morris should give some snaps to Tomlinson. One good thing is that Kendrick has dialed his penalty mistakes way back lately, so there is that.

Safety play has been pretty good but there has been talk that maybe Lake should be getting more snaps over Fuller. What do you think about that?

Maher introduced some unwanted drama into our kicking game. Evans is coming along but I would love to see more hang time. He’s certainly capable of it.

Great to see McVay ‘rediscovered’ his running game vs Colts. The running game is his friend. So is the TE room. Those 2 units really help the D to stay fresher.

What do Rams need to do to become a solid playoff contender? It’s a short list, imo.

1. Stay healthy

2. Bring in at least a journeyman Edge to replace Hoecht.

3. Focus on developing that TE corps into an efficient weapon, especially the rookie Allen.

Thoughts?

 

[OnceARam]

Hoecht in coverage is painful to watch.

Richardson had six seconds to throw the ball, because he was able to get out of the pocket. No OLB can cover for that long. So the issue is being able to apply pressure while maintaining containment. That's something the Superbowl team was able to do.

Personally, I think the bigger issue is Rozenbloom.

Morris should give some snaps to Tomlinson

No. The only thing TT has proved is that he can create fouls. He had two called penalties against the Colts, one of which negated a sack by AD, and the other negated a good punt return of 18 yards.

IMO, he shouldn't be allowed on the field until he pulls his head out of his ass.

maybe Lake should be getting more snaps over Fuller

Lake is getting snaps as the 3rd safety (on the field at the same time) and didn't look special. Fuller at least has experience.

The interesting question about Fuller is, were those two scoring plays (the last two plays the Colts had the ball) his fault??? We'll never know because we don't know what the calls were, but even if they weren't his fault he has to do a better job of communicating responsibility. Maybe JJ would be the better substitute, if he is better at communication?

 

[PARAM]

I must have missed many of those fans who predicted this team would be scrappy and competetive. I recall a lot of 1-5 or 0-6 predictions.

Our 5 best OL don't include Noteboom, who's played well at both RG and LT? Interesting.

 

[FrantikRam]

IMO the defense is more than carrying their weight right now. I know the Bengals are broken, but the Seahawks and Niners are HUMMING. The Colts have been formidable too, beating the Ravens and giving the Jaguars all they could handle on opening day, not to mention curb stomping the Texans which looks like a crazy impressive win right now.

They are 15th in points allowed per game, 9th in yards allowed per game, 2nd in 3rd down defense and have limited points off turnovers. They also made sure the offense had the ball in the 4th quarter of both games we lost down by one possession and didn't allow the Colts to get the game winning drive yesterday when I'm guessing we all thought that was inevitable.

The Eagles will be a Niners level challenge, so I don't necessarily expect them to keep all that up - for us to win that game, the offense is going to have to go crazy.

 

[snackdaddy]

I think this team is better than expected. Is it good enough to make the playoffs? I don't know. But they will make mistakes. Lose some games because of those mistakes. But they will win some because they have the talent to compete.

Looking at the two losses there were things that coulda changed the whole complexion of the game. Against SF we were driving for a go ahead score in the second half. Kyren lets a perfect pass bounce of his hands for a crucial INT that changed the momentum. Who knows what coulda happened if he catches it and makes a first down in the redzone?

Jackson goes down in the Cincy game and it turned the game around with the mistake of keeping Thomas in at left tackle. I get that they didn't want to disrupt two positions, but they shoulda moved Noteboom over there. That was a winnable until that happened. Learning lesson for the coaches.

Overall, my opinion has changed. I didn't expect better than 1-4 after five games. I thought there was a chance we'd be 0-5. Here we are at 2-2. Tough one coming up. Don't know if we can win. But some winnable games are gonna be on the schedule. We are good enough to win a number of them.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

This is just a stream of consciousness post and in no particular order…

As many of us predicted, this young Rams team is scrappy and very competitive. And they should only get better and better as they gain valuable experience and gel together. They should be at least 3-1 right now and that’s with a lot of youngsters learning on the job.

IOW, this will be a fun, if unpredictable team to watch all year and one that could well sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard. Yeah, I said it.

Currently, Stafford’s health and ability to function at a high rate is compromised and I’m not sure that the rest of the team can take up the slack against the likes of the Eagles. Sorry.

Running back room seems to be coming along nicely, huh? Who needs Cam Akers? Or Taylor, for that matter?

Our best 5 on OL seems to be Jackson, Avila, Shelton, Dotson, and Hav. That unit can take this O far if it can stay healthy. And its depth behind those 5 looks very capable now, too.

I want to see more 12 sets and more targets for our TE room. McVay owes it to himself to get some snaps for Allen, dammit!

Our DL is exceeding my expectations already, although my expectations were admittedly not all that high. Kudos to coach Hendy.

Hoecht in coverage is painful to watch. It’s now our weakest link on D and every opponent is gonna attack Hoecht mercilessly.

I kinda like our CB room now, although I still think Morris should give some snaps to Tomlinson. One good thing is that Kendrick has dialed his penalty mistakes way back lately, so there is that.

Safety play has been pretty good but there has been talk that maybe Lake should be getting more snaps over Fuller. What do you think about that?

Maher introduced some unwanted drama into our kicking game. Evans is coming along but I would love to see more hang time. He’s certainly capable of it.

Great to see McVay ‘rediscovered’ his running game vs Colts. The running game is his friend. So is the TE room. Those 2 units really help the D to stay fresher.

What do Rams need to do to become a solid playoff contender? It’s a short list, imo.

1. Stay healthy

2. Bring in at least a journeyman Edge to replace Hoecht.

3. Focus on developing that TE corps into an efficient weapon, especially the rookie Allen.

Thoughts?

I’d like to see more Lake and less Fuller. Fuller has never impressed me on the field, the way he’s impressed the coaches with his brains.

Allen and Tomlinson are raw rookies. Tomlinson has had some moments where his temper gets the best of him already. He needs to mature. Fisher would have loved him.

I saw Allen in on a snap or two. I wonder if he’s still learning the offense or how to be a better blocker. Puka has McVay’s trust so there has to be a reason why Allen doesn’t yet. He’d be a great red zone weapon.

 

[Kupped]

0-4 was a very real possibility at this point in the season, imo.. so the team is exceeding some expectations.

The better news is that there seems to be real upside for this team, especially on offense. The Oline, especially the interior, is good. The inside running game should start to really thrive soon, especially with Dotson, imo.. and that's just going to make the passing game that much better. I still want to add a bigger, more powerful and faster RB.

On D.. sometimes I don't know how they're getting it done. But they're getting it done.
Young players will keep growing, I think, and the unit should get better. I'm hoping we see Mathis very, very soon.. like this week. Because the edge is still a real problem and they're not generating enough pressure. That has to change for them to improve. It just hast to.

Overall, it's a fun team to root for.. I hope McVay has gotten his brain farts for the season out of the way and that he can deliver solid play calling the rest of the way.

 

[Merlin]

This season is an unexpected adventure, like winning a cruise but you're not sure what the quality will be. Might be great, might be budget, but either way the discovery itself will be fun.

I am enjoying the hell out of this.

 

[RamDino]

This season has been wildly inconsistent. I guess that is expected from such a young group. Hoping for more consistency going forward but not gonna worry about it. Just trying to enjoy watching without having a heart attack. All I ask is that they beat the niners next time.