Rams vs Saints - part II

[Boboso20]

22 minutes ago, SkippyX said:

I think it will be much lower scoring than the first matchup, maybe something like 27-24

The Saints are just not a dynamic offense anymore (compared to 6-8 weeks ago)

• They scored 30+ in 9 of their first 11 games and in just 1 of their last 6.
• Having Talib to cover Thomas sometimes instead of the biggest boom/bust corner in the NFL should be a better match up.

The Rams are not the same offense without Cupp as their 4th option.

• Their running game has been hot lately, so I expect both teams to have a few more ball control drives.

Kupp was the #1 option and IMO our best WR. He was money on 3rd down. Goff’s main squeeze and safety blanket. 

[Destructo Spin]

Saints never really had a "dynamic offense" this season though. Even in those games where they were scoring 48 and 51 points, they weren't blowing the top off of defenses, they were just going methodically down the field 8 to 10 yards at a time. They're patient as an offense and comfortable with spending 12-15 plays a drive because it chews up the clock, keeps the other offense off the field and keeps their own defense having fresh legs. I don't see them changing their approach and trying to sling it all over the yard. The Rams would be wise to do the same. People think this is going to be a track meet but I don't. I don't even think it'll get much into the 20s. 20-17, 17-14, something like that maybe. Should be a good game but I expect a lot of people who want to see a ton of points are going to get bored.

[SkippyX]

1 hour ago, Boboso20 said:

Kupp was the #1 option and IMO our best WR. He was money on 3rd down. Goff’s main squeeze and safety blanket. 

If you double his targets of 55 in 8 games you get 110.

I would agree with you that 130 Woods 117 Cooks and 110 Cupp looks a lot like 1A, 1B, and 1C with Gurley as workhorse / pass option.

Goff was pretty spoiled to have all those weapons and 3 out of 4 is still not too shabby after Cupp went down.

[stl4life07]

There is a misconception about the Rams without Kupp. Sure he is very important to the offense but losing him combined to Gurley getting worn down and the injury he was dealing with getting worst hurt the Rams. The second the Rams got Anderson who was healthy and fresh then got Gurley back healthier and fresh the Rams offense has scored at least 30pts each game.

The Rams offense is back on track because the running game is back on track. Kupp makes Goff elite but Goff is still really good with Woods, Cooks, and the running game producing at a high level because it helps the play action pass be very effective if not unstoppable. 

[Spartica4Real]

To give a serious prediction unlike all the reverse jinxing in the other thread, I'm 50/50 but I'd give it to us because of the fact that I am a Saints fan. Well, that and the Dome. 

If we start slow again I wouldn't be surprised if the Rams win by a couple of touchdowns though, I think if we let the Rams get off and running they won't look back, unlike the Eagles whose offense sputtered and was shut down by our defense. Definitely think it's lower scoring than last time though, I'd say a 31-27 type of game seems most likely. 

[JaguarCrazy2832]

I am very 50:50 on both of these games. I feel like we could talk ourselves in either team winning:

Drew Brees playing at home is always an uphill battle for the other team and the way Peters looked last week could be trouble when facing an elite WR in Michael Thomas

however

The Rams ran all over the Cowboys and with Sheldon Rankins now out, that could spell trouble for the Saints defense

[SBLIII]

Hard to bet against Brees in the dome but I think the Rams are the better team overall. 

[Boboso20]

6 hours ago, SkippyX said:

If you double his targets of 55 in 8 games you get 110.

I would agree with you that 130 Woods 117 Cooks and 110 Cupp looks a lot like 1A, 1B, and 1C with Gurley as workhorse / pass option.

Goff was pretty spoiled to have all those weapons and 3 out of 4 is still not too shabby after Cupp went down.

Kupp got hurt in 2 of those games and targets don’t mean much in our offense. Every week someone different went off between Kupp, Woods and Cooks. However there’s one constant and that’s Kupp getting the targets on 3rd down. 

[AK41]

9 hours ago, stl4life07 said:

I got the Rams winning 30-27.

Things to watch for are these:

1) Talib v Thomas - Talib is better equip to defend Thomas because he is vet, used to covering the opposing teams best player like he did Gronk in 2016 when the Broncos beat the Pats in the AFCCG. Talib is a better tackler so Thomas wont rack up all those yac yards. Talib is a better man-to-man guy where as Peters is a much better zone cover guy that free lances. Also Talib is big a physical. We saw last season Johnson defend Thomas and held him to 5 catches for 53yds and no tds. Talib is a better player than Johnson. So I think Talib can neutralize Thomas.

2) Rams rushing offense v Saints rushing defense - The Rams are the 3rd best rushing offense in the NFL. Since Anderson was signed, the Rams are running the ball nearly 44 times per game. The Saints just lost Rankins which is their best run defender. I want to know how the Saints do against a great run offense when their best run defender is not there. Last season people made a big deal about Lattimore and Crawley not playing and how it would effect them trying to cover Watkins and Kupp. It was a difference as Kupp had a big day, Watkins made some plays, even Reynolds had a td. This game its the Saints not having a big impact player when they have to face a fresh, health, and strength of the Rams which are Gurley and Anderson. We could see similar results as last season except it wont be through the air but on the ground. 

3) Ndamukong Suh - There is a theory going out that Suh didnt play his best all season long because he knew the Rams would make the playoffs so he was saving his body and best efforts for the playoffs when it matters the most. I dont fully buy it but I can see why people have that theory. He turned it up so much against the Cowboys that if he plays like that and you get Donald playing at a high level, nobody is going to run the ball on the Rams. The Saints are going to have to double Donald. If Suh plays like a mad man he is going to chew up any single block he gets. Ingram and Kamara is going to be hit in the backfield as soon as they touch the ball. That will then force the Saints to throw alot. I cant tell you specifically each of the past Rams wins over the Saints what their passing/rushing attempts were. All I know is when the Rams have beaten the Saints in the Payton/Brees era, the Saints have thrown the ball way too many times and didnt attack the Rams on the ground enough. If thats the case again this time, the results will be again the Rams coming away with a win. The Saints have to be at least balanced but if Suh shows up like he did against Dallas or at least play like we know he is capable of playing, its going to be hard for the Saints to stick with running the ball and that could hurt the Saints not being balanced because the Rams want to rush the passer period. Not to mention the Rams are 1st in the NFL in pressuring the QB which has led to them being 3rd in the NFL in interceptions, tied for 4th in the NFL in fumbles, and 3rd overall in the NFL in takeaways. So if the Saints have to throw alot and not have that balance its going to benefit the Rams to have their chances to force a few mistakes even against the great Drew Brees. 

Dude Rankins isn’t even a top three run stuffer on our D line. He’s pivotal to the rush up the middle , 8 sacks.

 

 

DT is one of our strongest groups next to LB.. Onyemata can fill in well enough no excuses..

 

Defense has allowed 14.5 ppg, since that first game they’ll be prepared.. Eagles got 99 yards and 0 points after the first quarter. We looked bad beating them but how did LA look losing to them?

 

 

 

They're not running the ball against us, McVay isn’t gonna get to speak in Goffs ear.. out of all players and coaches to challenge these guys are challenging the fans?  Good luck with that

 

Saints 30

Rams 23

[NVRamsFan]

All year long we've been told how the Saints are so much better than we are so don't expect that to change at all. Key will be the game plan that McVay comes up with for our offense. I know Saints fans say Rankins was their worst run defender, yet the stat I saw said they gave up more YPC with him not on the field so that could be a huge loss. We need to limit those mistakes that turned week 9 from a 14-14 game to a 35-14 deficit. Yes we ended up tying the game up but you can't put yourself in a hole like that in this big of a game. 

[stl4life07]

18 minutes ago, AK41 said:

Dude Rankins isn’t even a top three run stuffer on our D line. He’s pivotal to the rush up the middle , 8 sacks.

 

 

DT is one of our strongest groups next to LB.. Onyemata can fill in well enough no excuses..

 

Defense has allowed 14.5 ppg, since that first game they’ll be prepared.. Eagles got 99 yards and 0 points after the first quarter. We looked bad beating them but how did LA look losing to them?

 

 

 

They're not running the ball against us, McVay isn’t gonna get to speak in Goffs ear.. out of all players and coaches to challenge these guys are challenging the fans?  Good luck with that

 

Saints 30

Rams 23

We shall see. Im glad you are confident as you should be. I heard this morning that in 2016 when Rankins was hurt, the Saints was allowing 4.9ypc on the ground. In 2017 and 2018 when Rankins was healthy the Saints are allowing 3.1ypc. Even when they take Rankins off the field this year they are allowing 3.9ypc. He is vital. You cant double everyone. You can help on Jordan thus Rankins is left one on one. Why do you think Suh was able to dominate the Cowboys last week?  They doubled Donald and Suh was matched one on one and dominated. He wasnt like that consistently all of the season but in the playoffs we got what we wanted from Suh and that was a force in the run game. The Saints have one less force in the run game for the Rams to worry about. No matter how you slice it that nots good. Onyemata is going to need to be great against the Rams. I dont care how loud the stadium will be its not going to effect the running game. The Rams went to Seattle and Denver and ran the ball extremely well. You dont think those stadiums are loud? Plus those stadiums add an element the Saints stadium dont. That element is called rain and snow. So the Rams had to battle the loud now, plus rain and snow in Seattle and Denver and still ran extremely well. If the Saints cant stop the run it dont matter the crowd noise. 

[SmittyBacall]

What are the odds Marcus Peters picks up a personal foul for taunting/roughing after the play?

I can see him getting in Payton’s face after one pass breakup.

[I <3 Faulk]

1 minute ago, SmittyBacall said:

What are the odds Marcus Peters picks up a personal foul for taunting/roughing after the play?

I can see him getting in Payton’s face after one pass breakup.

If he's gonna get one I hope he makes it epic. Goes to the Saints logo after a pick 6 and starts doing the worm or something 

[AK41]

18 minutes ago, stl4life07 said:

We shall see. Im glad you are confident as you should be. I heard this morning that in 2016 when Rankins was hurt, the Saints was allowing 4.9ypc on the ground. In 2017 and 2018 when Rankins was healthy the Saints are allowing 3.1ypc. Even when they take Rankins off the field this year they are allowing 3.9ypc. He is vital. You cant double everyone. You can help on Jordan thus Rankins is left one on one. Why do you think Suh was able to dominate the Cowboys last week?  They doubled Donald and Suh was matched one on one and dominated. He wasnt like that consistently all of the season but in the playoffs we got what we wanted from Suh and that was a force in the run game. The Saints have one less force in the run game for the Rams to worry about. No matter how you slice it that nots good. Onyemata is going to need to be great against the Rams. I dont care how loud the stadium will be its not going to effect the running game. The Rams went to Seattle and Denver and ran the ball extremely well. You dont think those stadiums are loud? Plus those stadiums add an element the Saints stadium dont. That element is called rain and snow. So the Rams had to battle the loud now, plus rain and snow in Seattle and Denver and still ran extremely well. If the Saints cant stop the run it dont matter the crowd noise. 

 

2016? No 100 yard rusher in the last 25 games that’s great scheme not a player.. on top of this Marcus Davenport was out last game

 

Saints doubled Donald and let Suh go 1 on 1 al game last time... 0 sack 

 

Saints OL

Terron Armstead 2018 All pro

Max unger 2018 pro bowl 

Ryan Ramchek 2018 All pro

Larry Warford 2017 pro bowl

 

Were about 5 hours away I won’t go back and forward with you we’ll see..

[stl4life07]

8 minutes ago, AK41 said:

 

2016? No 100 yard rusher in the last 25 games that’s great scheme not a player.. on top of this Marcus Davenport was out last game

 

Saints doubled Donald and let Suh go 1 on 1 al game last time... 0 sack 

 

Saints OL

Terron Armstead 2018 All pro

Max unger 2018 pro bowl 

Ryan Ramchek 2018 All pro

Larry Warford 2017 pro bowl

 

Were about 5 hours away I won’t go back and forward with you we’ll see..

Again we shall see. This is playoff time. What happened in the regular season is non-existent. The Rams are a totally different team than what the Saints saw back in Week 9. So hold onto that Suh doing nothing against the Saints. He stepped up big the last game against the Cowboys. Talib is back for this game. The Rams rushing attack is stronger because yall cant just say take away Gurley and thats it. Now you got to take away Gurley and Anderson. Yall got to do that without Rankins too. So good luck today.