Something seems to be getting missed

[payote75]

To me the more I think about it the more I think what happened is like all the pundits and some of us said all week you need to earn the right to rush the passer by stopping the run. I think Shanny pulled the rug out. We thought at 17-3 we had earned the right to attack and much like the first game the 2nd half mimicked it to a tee. We went back to that game plan defensively thinking we earned the right and Shanny didn't bite he stick to the plan and blew us out of the water. Then to further complicate the matter we give ourselves a lead with 90 seconds left and by then it was to late defense gassed pass run it didn't matter. ......that troll Shanny did two things which he is known for its wasn't anything new we or Morris miscalculated.

1. Shanny stuck to his game plan down 17-0 and 17-3

2. He looked and found a miss match and it wasn't Reeder where everyone though he would go. He went for the giant huge Jennings vs a mini DD and exposed it over and over. I don't think DD is horrible but that's not the match up for him it's physically possible. Rochelle had we had him would have got better against Jennings not that Rochelle is Dion Sanders bit physically that would have been better.

 

[So Ram]

I agree with this statement. Lb'ers not fill the gaps. SF OL shifts to the side of the run and keeps DL moving giving running backs a cut back lane and only arms to get through and with Lb'ers not filling the gaps they're getting 7-8 yards on FIRST DOWN. Can't win games giving up that many runs on first down. We've been saying for years we need run stuffing lb'ers and even drafting one a few years back (don't remember his name) but after couple years we cut him.

Agree & Raheem Morris will make the right changes. He puts players in position to succeed & when they don’t they try to figure it out.

Von Miller on one play would have done better staying at home & playing the passing lane. The Baltimore game I noticed something that made me think The Rams are lucky there isn’t another 40 seconds on the clock.

I was thinking on all those cut backs ,why a LBer is not filling those gaps? I kept thinking I wish Ernest Jones was healthy!!! I really like his football IQ & natural feel of the game. He needs to get stronger more than anything. RR31 next season is going to be excellent at CB.
I actually liked #33 Scott better against the run than #4 Fuller.Gaines & Scott both playing with broken hands.
A” Robinson is only going to get better & tough through the playoffs.
SJD69 is missed,but I sort of wished Big Bobby Brown would get a couple Reps on those for sure running plays.
He is going to be good. E. Brown as well next season.
I know it is what it is & like this Defense.They play hard,but I understand the doubts.This Niner O’ is really solid. T. Williams was out as well.

 

[Curt760]

All this defense wants to do is sack the QB and if they are going to just stand back and watch passes being completed in front and around them they might as well just blitz on every play.

I like the blitzing idea. Where the heck is Terrel Lewis? At 'bama his played all LB positions. Big body that can over power Olinemen. Is he hurt again?

 

[Curt760]

I see Fangio is available

 

[OntarioRam]

If OBJ does not steal (and drop) Stafford's pass that was intended for Cooper Kupp during the Rams' OT drive, that is a 1st down. Who knows how the game ends then. And I'm no Stafford apologist...

The jury is still out on Stafford. As of now, I don't think he was worth the price we paid, which was hefty. He is, however, definitely an upgrade at QB. And he brings a much higher ceiling / explosive element than Goff. To be fair, there are many unknowns at this point in time, which are necessary to pass final judgement on the trade, and which likely will not become known for quite some time. For example, can Stafford continue to play at this level until age 40+? On the one hand, he already has a decently long injury history. On the other hand, Brady is doing it now, and Rodgers seems on track. The upgrade to Stafford over Goff may not be massive. But even those that see it as only a modest improvement, such as myself, you have to admit, the QB position is so important that even a noticeable upgrade is well worth two low 1st roundes, if you are getting that QB upgrade for 5 to 8 years.

I sure hope Stafford's ankle is okay for the playoffs. He seemed very gimpy on it at first. Even on hand-offs, he was looking awkward and hampered. When the drive ended, however, he had the chance to get the ankle taped on the sidelines, and seemed much better and comfortable after that. Fingers crossed.

 

[Juice]

We finished the year with twelve wins, and are in the playoffs. I'm not going to let the loss to the 49ers sour the whole season. There was a lot of good in there. The regular season is over. It was a pretty good year for the Rams. Now it's just a one game season. Bring on the Cards.

 

[CanadaRam]

And 2AM in Paris

 

[MachS]

This is what blows my mind about our defensive scheme. Your greatest strength is in the pass rush, but you play a soft zone. You’re essentially daring teams to throw quick, short passes to counter the pass rush but you leave all the space for those passes open. Our scheme is essentially eliminating our strength and playing into the offense’s counter to the pass rush. It makes absolutely no sense.

The exact reason why Morris will be gone after this year 100% . Its not just the horrible playcalling, but the actual scheme is a terrible fit for our personnel.

 

[jrry32]

Why? The more I think about it, the more I think it's true.

Had to throw into tight windows, was pressured on most of his drop backs.

Most NFL QBs would have struggled to complete passes in this game. The level of dominance their DL showed was similar to 2019 game in LA when we scored 7 offensive points and struggled to complete passes because their DL obliterated our OL on almost every play, just like yesterday.

Stafford's best games statistically against the Bears and Bucs when he had nothing but clean pockets and played awful secondaries? Nah. Yesterday was more impressive all around, even factoring in the two INTs.

The Cardinals game is probably the other one, but again, not under nearly as much pressure consistently as he was yesterday.

1. Leave the punting to the punter.
2. The TD to Kupp was absolutely stellar, as were a couple other throws on that drive. He was great in the first half too.
3. The OL did not play well. You're right. But that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. We gave up what we did for Stafford to overcome it. Yet, he was terrible in the second half, outside of the Kupp TD drive.
4. As unfair as it is, he had two opportunities to win the game for us after the defense blew it. I get that he delivered the go-ahead TD. We should have won on that. But we didn't. He cost us the first opportunity by taking a sack. And he ultimately ended the game by throwing a terrible INT.

Trying to turn this around into an "incredible game" and "his best game of the year" is some serious rationalizing. It was neither. If he had played like he did in the first half throughout, it would have been. But he was streaky. I get that the OL played a big role in that. But Stafford took at least two or three sacks that he arguably shouldn't have. And neither pick was justifiable.

 

[thirteen28]

The exact reason why Morris will be gone after this year 100% . Its not just the horrible playcalling, but the actual scheme is a terrible fit for our personnel.

God I hope you are right about this. But the fact that it has continued to be a problem throughout the season doesn't give me confidence that McVay will fire his friend, even though he should.

This D went from being outstanding, ranked #1, to be very average despite having two generational talents (3 if you count Miller, although he's not the same guy as in his prime and wasn't fully integrated for a while). If this team finishes in the top 5 with the personnel it has (not an unreasonable expectation), it probably finishes with 14 wins and a first round bye.

 

[Steve808]

God I hope you are right about this. But the fact that it has continued to be a problem throughout the season doesn't give me confidence that McVay will fire his friend, even though he should.

This D went from being outstanding, ranked #1, to be very average despite having two generational talents (3 if you count Miller, although he's not the same guy as in his prime and wasn't fully integrated for a while). If this team finishes in the top 5 with the personnel it has (not an unreasonable expectation), it probably finishes with 14 wins and a first round bye.

One thing that sucks is that Staley was good at making adjustments. We shut people down in the 2nd half of most games.

But I honestly believe that the Rams seriously need to play 4 D linemen against the whiners because they basically ran the ball down our throats in the 2nd half. It was killing me to see the RB get hit in the backfield but somehow wind up with a 7 yard gain. That happened 3-4 times in the 2nd half.

Then we got the lead with 90 seconds left and the defense couldn't keep them out of the end zone. That was a back breaking loss.
If it wasn't the whiners I think we just move onto next week but this loss was psychologically damaging in my opinion. I hope I am dead wrong about this.

 

[RamFanWA]

The pain from what was by and large a very good first half - to whatever that disaster in the 2nd half was - is still lingering. It is difficult to comprehend how far the pendulum swung in 30 minutes. The emotions are just gone for me, with this team right now.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if half the team missed the flight next week....

 

[rdlkgliders]

The Fuller loss was huge, the tangential effect of him leaving loomed large, We must address this quickly.
We need to be more like a boxer once we take one on the chin like the beginning of the 2nd half. Start jabbing (quick short stuff) throwing the haymaker leaves us exposed and we walk right into the trap.

 

[Classic Rams]

I was thinking same for a lot of things mentioned here.

Stafford TD to Kupp gets us to a come-from-behind 24-17 lead. Von sack on third and long. It was over. Only guys like Rodgers and Brady can pull something out in that situation. We were looking at the win right there. Son of Ratface punts (with his fucking backup P), and the Rams go conservative and can't move the damn ball.

Stafford gives Rams a comeback TD to take the lead near the end. He can only be asked to do so much, especially when the OL was getting manhandled. He later launches an underthrow that gets picked. He takes some blame there, but it should've never gotten to that.

Son of Ratface outcoached McVay/Morris once again. That's pretty obvious.

Whiners were able to consistently rush just 4 and give the OL fits, so they could drop more into coverage. Then those occasional blitzes killed us.

On TLew, once Von got signed he dropped further down the depth chart. And FWIW, our favorite preseason rusher Garrett stays on the inactive list.

The timing of the loss somehow taints the division title. It almost becomes a consolation prize. It's weird but getting final favorable position on the last game sours with a loss, erupts into cheers and momentum with a win.

 

[fanotodd]

Here’s something “missed”:
3rd and 1 just before the half, up 17-0.

I get that the OL is getting blown up to the point you feel more confident throwing on 3rd and 1, but do you have to tell EVERYBODY? For crying out loud, an empty backfield says to the 9ers DL, “let’s meet at the QB”. By not even putting the idea of running the ball into their heads, that play became so much more easily defended.

Didn’t we have this same discussion years ago when the Rams had a chance to beat the seahawks on the last play using a similar approach—and failed?

Scoring any points (which meant shutting out the 9ers) would have changed the 2nd half strategy. Too many points to make up running every play and shortening the game.

 

[thirteen28]

Here’s something “missed”:
3rd and 1 just before the half, up 17-0.

I get that the OL is getting blown up to the point you feel more confident throwing on 3rd and 1, but do you have to tell EVERYBODY? For crying out loud, an empty backfield says to the 9ers DL, “let’s meet at the QB”. By not even putting the idea of running the ball into their heads, that play became so much more easily defended.

Didn’t we have this same discussion years ago when the Rams had a chance to beat the seahawks on the last play using a similar approach—and failed?

Scoring any points (which meant shutting out the 9ers) would have changed the 2nd half strategy. Too many points to make up running every play and shortening the game.

McVay is his own worst enemy.

 

[Classic Rams]

Here’s something “missed”:
3rd and 1 just before the half, up 17-0.

I get that the OL is getting blown up to the point you feel more confident throwing on 3rd and 1, but do you have to tell EVERYBODY? For crying out loud, an empty backfield says to the 9ers DL, “let’s meet at the QB”. By not even putting the idea of running the ball into their heads, that play became so much more easily defended.

Didn’t we have this same discussion years ago when the Rams had a chance to beat the seahawks on the last play using a similar approach—and failed?

Scoring any points (which meant shutting out the 9ers) would have changed the 2nd half strategy. Too many points to make up running every play and shortening the game.

Agree a lot of us don't get that empty backfield shit. When they telegraph that it's a pass there they think someone should get open. So in that formation no one gets open for short/med passes?? Whiners D plays like they know almost every play coming, and a lot of McVay's game is trickery... so....

 

[MachS]

doesn't give me confidence that McVay will fire his friend, even though he should

I'm doubling down on this because I saw McVay's face and body language on the sideline after that last drive. He was half in shock half furious. It sort of reminded me of his body language during the Miami game last year, and I think that was the game he lost all confidence in Goff.

Now throw in the fact that one of his captains and best players: Ramsey, called out Morris' scheme in his post game presser for playing too conservative and soft. This means to me that sentiment is shared amongst other defensive leaders in the locker room.

Yes McVay and Morris are longtime friends, so I think McVay will move him to an advisory role or assistant position. But I'd bet any amount of money Morris is not DC next year creating schemes and calling plays.

 

[Angry Ram]

I'd take it a step further.

Stafford played an incredible game when you consider that the OL was pushed back on every single play.

The TD pass to Higs, pass to Kupp, the flawlessly executed PA TD pass to Higbee.

The first INT was basically a punt so no harm done since it was 3rd and 17.

The long pass to Kupp when nobody blocked Armstrong on a 3rd and long on our last TD drive.

Escaped pressure multiple times and threw the ball into the ground, which is what we've been wanting him to start doing.

Honestly this may have been his best game of the year when you consider the circumstances. Our OL didn't get beaten that badly in any other game all year.

I'm sure he was still in some pain the OT too. MS was a stud and had another 4th qtr comeback under his belt. But nah. Hell he didn't even 4 mins in the OT possession.

Goddamn this game was a fucking dub in the bag.

 

[Classic Rams]

I see Fangio is available

And Flores. Would take either.