stl4life07 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Ive heard so much talk the past few weeks of people selling their Rams stock. Collin Cowherd said before the Rams played the Saints that he didnt think the Rams was the best team. Before the Rams lost to the Bears he called the Rams soft and also called them fools gold. Then of course when they went on to lose to the Bears and he predicted the Rams would crush the Eagles at home and we know the Eagles beat the Rams, he went on again to say how the Rams are fools gold and the real reason the Rams had a big offseason to basically sale the PSL for the new stadium. Now he kinda backed off a bit after the Rams beat the Cards in the fashion they did. He said he is going to give the Rams one more week. Its not just him, Stephen A. Smith says he gives the Rams no shot to go to New Orleans and win. I heard today on NFL Gameday Morning Weekend Reggie Bush and Michael Robinson say the team that should be the favorites besides the Saints are the Bears. Michael Robinson said its because of the struggles with Goff lately and he mention Gurley being hurt and not playing. Bush downplayed it saying having a rested Gurley will help in the playoffs. Even on Good Morning Football when they were picking what teams they like for a Superbowl run they picked the Saints, Bears, Cowboys, and Eagles. They didnt even want to swap and try to reach back into the bag to get the Rams. So I ask you, what is your confidence level of the Rams as they enter the playoffs? Mine on a scale of 1-10 is a 8. I would be higher if I knew the certainty of Gurley health and the Rams somehow had kept that 1 seed. I said before the season started the Rams offseason reminded me of what the Eagles did last season. Remember the Eagles for most of last season was everyone favorite to win the Superbowl. Wentz got hurt and everyone was selling their stock. Nobody believed in them because Foles was the QB and nobody thought he could get the job done. They became the underdogs. I think the Rams are in a similar situation. For most of the season they have been the favorites to win the Superbowl. Gurley gets banged up, Goff goes through a little slump and people arent believing in him anymore. Everyone is selling the Rams stock virtually making them the underdogs as they head into the playoffs. So I think the Rams can come into the playoffs like Philly and just win because not many people think they can go into New Orleans and win. Not many people think they can beat a Bears team that already beat them once. I want to know how many people think they can beat the Seahawks for a third straight time this season? Especially since both game was literally down to the last possession/play. Im very confident in the Rams because they will get the 2nd seed, even if Gurley isnt ready for the playoffs, Im confident in CJ Anderson who could be our Foles this season. No Wentz last season for the Eagles no problem. No Gurley for the Rams this season no problem. CJ Anderson is a Superbowl winning back for the Broncos when they relied on him on offense to help a less than effective Peyton Manning. And if Gurley is back and ready to roll now teams have to deal with Gurley and CJ Anderson which is going to scary. I do think the Rams can go into the Superdome and beat the Saints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrry32 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 I'll tell you after the 49ers game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl4life07 Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 17 hours ago, jrry32 said: I'll tell you after the 49ers game. What is your confidence level? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrry32 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 10 minutes ago, stl4life07 said: What is your confidence level? Good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtwizzy2k8 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 I'd say my confidence level is 8.5/10. I was never super concerned about our losses and Goff's rough stretch. We had a few lackluster games, it happens over the course of a 16-game season. To me that felt more like an aberrant bump in the road than something more indicative than the work we put in the rest of the season. The only 3 teams we lost to this year are all good NFC playoff teams and close games. I get more the sense that once the Rams locked up the division, players understandably got a little complacent and lost some interest while teams like the Bears and Eagles were coming in hard to make a statement and still lock up their spots in the playoffs. The Rams more or less came back to form in crushing the Cardinals and 49ers to close out the season. I think we are in good shape and will be feeling good coming out of the bye, rested up and ready to roll. Gurley will have had 3 weeks rest by that time, so I'm sure he will also be fresh and ready to rumble. I expect to see the Rams playing at or close to their best come playoff time. Beating the Saints would be tough, and honestly all of the NFC teams would be a challenge although I would consider the Rams favorites against everyone else (especially playing in LA). Overall we are Super Bowl contenders and definitely have what it takes to win it all. We aren't favorites but if Goff is on point and guys like Talib/Littleton/Donald/Suh step up to make plays on defense, we'll be alright. Anything short of making it to the NFC Championship would be a failure imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl4life07 Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 1 hour ago, dtwizzy2k8 said: I'd say my confidence level is 8.5/10. I was never super concerned about our losses and Goff's rough stretch. We had a few lackluster games, it happens over the course of a 16-game season. To me that felt more like an aberrant bump in the road than something more indicative than the work we put in the rest of the season. The only 3 teams we lost to this year are all good NFC playoff teams and close games. I get more the sense that once the Rams locked up the division, players understandably got a little complacent and lost some interest while teams like the Bears and Eagles were coming in hard to make a statement and still lock up their spots in the playoffs. The Rams more or less came back to form in crushing the Cardinals and 49ers to close out the season. I think we are in good shape and will be feeling good coming out of the bye, rested up and ready to roll. Gurley will have had 3 weeks rest by that time, so I'm sure he will also be fresh and ready to rumble. I expect to see the Rams playing at or close to their best come playoff time. Beating the Saints would be tough, and honestly all of the NFC teams would be a challenge although I would consider the Rams favorites against everyone else (especially playing in LA). Overall we are Super Bowl contenders and definitely have what it takes to win it all. We aren't favorites but if Goff is on point and guys like Talib/Littleton/Donald/Suh step up to make plays on defense, we'll be alright. Anything short of making it to the NFC Championship would be a failure imo. I agree. I just had a conversation with my friend and said I expect to see the Rams and Saints in the NFCCG. I think the Rams can go into New Orleans and win. What McVay has shown over the past two weeks is the commitment to running the football. The Rams through the first 8 weeks or so we the top rushing team in the NFL. (5) times this season the Rams were held to less than 100yds rushing. (10) times the Rams rushed for at least 135yds in a game. When the Rams get at least 100yds rushing in a game they are (19-3) under McVay with the starters. In general (19-4) if you count Week 17 last season with the backups. I personally believe the Rams can run on anyone if McVay just stays committed like he has been the past two weeks. Now with Anderson on the team to add to Gurley, I expect the Rams go literally run through the playoffs. If they lose I hope its on the ground with Gurley and Anderson. That duo has a chance to do some great things in the playoffs if given the chance. Heck if Im the Rams I would seriously consider bringing back Anderson for next season and beyond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DistantRam Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 I’d be disappointed if we didn’t make the NFCCC- no matter who we face in the divisional round, we should be winning at home; if the Saints lose their divisional game and we host the NFC decider, we should win it Whether or not we can win in New Orleans (assuming they make it) is a different matter. Our defence has struggled in the second half of the season and I just can’t see us stopping Brees & Co in the dome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showtime Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 17 minutes ago, DistantRam said: I’d be disappointed if we didn’t make the NFCCC- no matter who we face in the divisional round, we should be winning at home; if the Saints lose their divisional game and we host the NFC decider, we should win it I agree. If the Rams lose at home to the Bears, Cowboys, Seahawks or Eagles then the season is a disappointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrry32 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 2 hours ago, showtime said: I agree. If the Rams lose at home to the Bears, Cowboys, Seahawks or Eagles then the season is a disappointment. We can't lose at home to the Eagles unless we make the NFCCG. And we both know that one of those four teams doesn't belong . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boboso20 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 To be honest I want no part of the Seahawks. Just for the fact that it’s really hard to beat a team 3 times in 1 season and they are always tough games. Besides the game in Seattle where we donkey punched them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVRamsFan Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Confidence is high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flounch Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Well like always i'm the only one who is pessimistic about our playoff run. The offense didn't look great since the BYE week and that's what worry me. My confidence level is low since the loss against the Eagles. Even with the win against the Cardinals or the NIners i can't say that the offense looked good. Yes we started to run a lot and it worked but the Cardinals and the Niners are very poor defense. And i can't see us running like this against team like the Eagles, Bears, Saints or the Cowboys. Those teams are top 7 run stopping defense. When we play against the Saints, Eagles or Bears, it's not like we didn't try to run. McVay called the run but it just didn't work. There was no room to run. Maybe McVay should have change the running play calling, more tossing outside or outside run and maybe he gave up too quickly the run, but that's what he do. i'm pretty sure if Mcvay start with the run and after a few stop and minimum gain on the ground, he will go havroc on the passing game and give up the run for the entire game. And that, we don't really want to see this scenario as Goff is playing poorly since the BYE. I don't know what happêned to him but he's missing his target, overthrown pass, he become impatient. And the most worrysome is when he played against pressure, he's like a turnover machine in the pocket. He can't sense when to move outside the pocket or to play it safe and take the sack instead of doing mistake and throws INT or fumble. Before the BYe week everything was fine as the Offense was playing great and it cover our poor defense. Now the offense looked average and the defense is still playing poorly. Please don't tell me the defense was great against against Mullens and a poor Rosen. We still can't stop the run and the passing defense is awful. Every week Wade is telling they are working on it but i can't see any improvement since the beginning of the season. If the pass rush is neutralized, our defense is a hole. It's sad, i enjoyed the season, we are still in the PO, i have to be happy about that but i can't be satisfy by our level of game lately. Everyone is eyeing the game against the Saints but i don't think we will even make the trip to NO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl4life07 Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 @Flounch I got to disagree with you. I understand your opinions and I respect it but you said the Rams tried to run on the Saints, Bears, and Eagles. That far from the truth. Against the Saints, Gurley had 13 rush attempts (average 5.2ypc, thats a great average but low amount of rush attempts) and Woods had 2 rush attempts. So in total the Rams had 15 rush attempts. Im not counting Goff 3 scrambles and Hekker scramble. Which btw Hekker scramble shouldve got the 1st down had the refs not misplaced the ball. Ill take it a step further, the Rams wouldve never had to rely on a 4th and 1 decision had Gurley not unfortunately left that drive due to stuff from the turf getting into his eyes. That was a lucky break for the Saints that entire drive from Gurley being forced off the field and the refs messing up the 4th and 1 call. Thats not my point. My point is the Rams ran 15 times against the Saints. Against the Bears, the Rams ran the ball 12 times. Gurley had 11 rush attempts and Davis had 1 rush attempt. Again Im not going to count Goff 1 scramble. Against the Eagles the Rams ran the ball 18 times. Gurley had 12 rush attempts but we all know he left the game because he was hurt. Kelly had 2 rush attempts, Davis had 1 rush attempt, and Woods had a rush attempt. Again Im not going to count Goff 1 scramble. My point is I dont know what you or anyone else call "TRYING TO RUN THE BALL", but I doubt the best back in the NFL rushing 13, 11, and 12 times respectfully as "TRYING TO RUN THE BALL". I doubt "TRYING TO RUN THE BALL" is rushing 15, 12, and 18 times. Thats just not enough to do anything against anyone. If the Rams were serious in wanting to establish the run, I consider at least 25 rush attempts. Give Gurley the ball on the ground at least 20 times and now we are talking about the Rams "TRYING TO RUN THE BALL". If they struggle to do so then we can talk about the Saints, Bears, and Eagles shutting the Rams run game down. You talk about the Cards having a poor defense, its the same team that held the Rams run defense is Week 2 to 90yds rushing. Brown was 12 for 46 and Gurley was 19 for 42. Now to me that is shutting the Rams running down. The Rams ran the ball 31 times (again not counting Goff 3 scrambles) and didnt break 100yds. So thats the one game I can actually say the Rams "TRIED TO RUN THE BALL" but was shut down. Every other game the Rams actually tried to run the ball they were successful. Again by trying I mean give your starting back at least 20 carries or as a team run at least 25 times. None of that 18 or less total rush attempts stuff that people point to and say the Rams tried. Thats not trying. With all that being said, something I heard that grabbed my attention. When the Rams played the Niners, I heard that was the first time since earlier in the season McVay went back to all those jet sweep handoffs to Woods, Cooks, Everett etc... I heard he went away with it because everyone was doing it but he wanted to go back to the basics and he sure did. Its effective. What you didnt mention is the addition of CJ Anderson. We didnt have a guy like that in those games against the Saints, Eagles, Bears. He is a tough guy to handle, even tougher than Gurley if you can believe it or not. Its an easier chance to get Gurley down on first contact than it is with Anderson. A 1yd gain turns into a 4yd gain due to him always falling forward. He has that playoff experience being a vital part of the reason the Broncos won the Superbowl in 2016. He also been to another Superbowl with the Broncos. His success is going to lead to McVay running the ball even more with him and Gurley. They both can catch the ball, even though Gurley is a better pass catcher than Anderson. Both guys are great in pass protection as well. So Im more than confident in the Rams being able to run on anyone if they commit to it. You dont be 3rd in the NFL running ball if you cant run on anyone when you want too. As I mentioned before, the times where the Rams fail to succeed in the run game is because they choose not to run the ball much. So again I respect your opinion and the Rams have to prove you wrong which is good because to quote AD, "Dont get too comfortable". The Rams arent comfortable, they know they still need to work hard and they have the next game to play which is the biggest game of the season for them. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Its going to be a fun and interesting postseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flounch Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 It's not the number of attempt to run the ball that matter, it's the gain on the ground at each attempt. If you call a run and each time you gain between 0 and 3 yards, it doesn't matter if you run 15 times or 30 times, the running is still not efficient. I would be mad if Mcvay wait until the 20 th rush of the game to say " Hey wait a minute, i called 20 rush, we only gained a few yards by attempt, it's time to give up the run" At this time the game is already over. Against the Saints Gurley had a few big runs but most of the run was inefficient. Plus the Saints outscored us in the 1st half so we have to turn to the passing game. But against the Bears or The Eagles we weren't outcored by them. Mcvay gave up the run because he saw we couldn't run against this defense. I don't think Cj Anderson would change something as the Oline was dominated by the defensive front 7 of the Saints, BEars and Eagles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riftty Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 I still believe Mcvay closed down the playbook against the bears and eagles in anticipation that they were potential playoff opponents. A Risky move but one that could pay off. We were in both those games and that was with a unhealthy Gurley. We were 11-1 going into the bears game, we had our division clinched and a 3 game lead for the second seed. With the cards and Niners as our last opponents of the season he took a Gamble and started running a vanilla offense. I have a strong feeling the divisional round will be a blowout in our favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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