Contenders or Pretenders?

[FrantikRam]

49 minutes ago, ClutchDJ said:

So say if the Rams beat the Bears & the Cards beat the Seahawks, what changes?

 

 

Funny how the NFC West goes though. McVay owns the Cards, Cards owns Shanny & Niners, & Shanny with Jimmy owns McVay.

 

Then there’s Seattle just giving & receiving licks from each.

 

Er not so much. McVay hasn't lost to Arizona and has blown them out five times - nobody else in the division has that kind of dominance over the past three seasons.

McVay owns Seattle when you look at the six games. He's lost two but in both cases Rams players had game winning plays literally in their hands and just didn't execute. He's also destroyed Seattle twice in there. He's outcoached Carroll in every game after the first.

We do struggle with SF but it's unlikely that they're a factor with the schedule they're about to embark upon and their injuries.

The Cardinals should beat Seattle Sunday night - they're playing against a horrible defense. They have gone to Seattle and won so it wouldn't preclude then from winning the division, but I still think it's a game they should win. If both teams win it wouldn't change my mind - I'm not going to take the Cardinals seriously until they're at least competitive in a game against the Rams. Even in week 17 last year with our ST coordinator running a fake punt without McVay knowing about it and gifting the Cards a TD we ended up having a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter.

[ClutchDJ]

1 hour ago, FrantikRam said:

 

Er not so much. McVay hasn't lost to Arizona and has blown them out five times - nobody else in the division has that kind of dominance over the past three seasons.

McVay owns Seattle when you look at the six games. He's lost two but in both cases Rams players had game winning plays literally in their hands and just didn't execute. He's also destroyed Seattle twice in there. He's outcoached Carroll in every game after the first.

We do struggle with SF but it's unlikely that they're a factor with the schedule they're about to embark upon and their injuries.

The Cardinals should beat Seattle Sunday night - they're playing against a horrible defense. They have gone to Seattle and won so it wouldn't preclude then from winning the division, but I still think it's a game they should win. If both teams win it wouldn't change my mind - I'm not going to take the Cardinals seriously until they're at least competitive in a game against the Rams. Even in week 17 last year with our ST coordinator running a fake punt without McVay knowing about it and gifting the Cards a TD we ended up having a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter.

I mean, I already agreed with the 1st statement. Yes, McVay has certainly owned Arizona.

 

Eh, I don’t know about McVay “owning” Seattle. 4-2 overall? Eh, but he does have the advantage there.

 

Even with the injuries & schedule coming up, they can still be a thorn to other rivals. Especially with Jimmy, who is wildly 4-0 vs LA.

 

Anyway, I don’t think either team has room to talk. Rams have lost against the only competent teams they played(one with a lot of injuries) & Cards have lost against a subpar & bad team in Carolina & Detroit.
 

Time will tell.

[Zalixar]

11 minutes ago, ClutchDJ said:

I mean, I already agreed with the 1st statement. Yes, McVay has certainly owned Arizona.

 

Eh, I don’t know about McVay “owning” Seattle. 4-2 overall? Eh, but he does have the advantage there.

 

Even with the injuries & schedule coming up, they can still be a thorn to other rivals. Especially with Jimmy, who is wildly 4-0 vs LA.

 

Anyway, I don’t think either team has room to talk. Rams have lost against the only competent teams they played(one with a lot of injuries) & Cards have lost against a subpar & bad team in Carolina & Detroit.
 

Time will tell.

I know people discredited the Cardinals vs Cowboys because of turnovers "cowboys caused", but we are also, at the same time vs the Lions, credited with playing badly with a 3 turnover day (2 deflected ints, lions didnt turn the ball over once) and lost because of a long field goal as time expired after a penalty on the last drive with a really good kicker.  It really shouldn't have been as close as it was.   So we get a soft win vs cowboys and a harsh loss vs the lions with the scripts mirrored and the short end of the stick both times.  Kind of silly.

If you knew Cards vs Panthers, they just have our numbers 90% of the time.  Just something about it, especially @ Carolina.  No real excuse, just always a tough play for us for some reason in general.

That being said, I think all 4 NFCWest teams are contenders on legitimate potential (without reaching far).  But I think the Cards will have difficulty proving themselves.  But we have been out of rhythm ALL season (mostly on offense, most of the time except vs Jets I guess and some big plays vs Cowboys).  Imagine...if we were in rhythm.  I hope.

Edited October 23, 2020 by Zalixar

[JAF-N72EX]

Trying to separate contenders from pretenders after only 6 weeks is far too soon to predict. There is still 10 weeks left of football and we've seen the unexpected happen too many times.

Some teams look legit but are not, other teams don't look legit but are, and others teams who unexpectedly go on a late streak.  This is especially true for this year given the abnormal offseason. 

 

[BayRaider]

21 minutes ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Trying to separate contenders from pretenders after only 6 weeks is far too soon to predict. There is still 10 weeks left of football and we've seen the unexpected happen too many times.

Some teams look legit but are not, other teams don't look legit but are, and others teams who unexpectedly go on a late streak.  This is especially true for this year given the abnormal offseason. 

 

True in a sense. Especially in the AFCE. For all we know the Pats and even the Dolphins are more contenders than the Bills. Bills were suppose to be contenders because of defense, yet the defense hasn’t shown up this year, and Allen was balling out of control to compensate. Needless to say, he’s no longer balling out of control, to put it mildly...

As for Pats, lotttt better than their 2-3 record indicates. 
 

Dolphins are 3-3 with 3 dominant wins and 3 close losses, and just inserted a very talented QB. Could work out super well for them or super bad. But Miami really being slept on. There’s always one team that comes out of no where mid season every single year, could be the Dolphins. 

[RandyMossIsBoss]

Call me crazy, I know they’re 1st in division, but I do think eagles are pretenders at this point. 

[SkippyX]

8 minutes ago, RandyMossIsBoss said:

Call me crazy, I know they’re 1st in division, but I do think eagles are pretenders at this point. 

Do you mean they can't win the NFC East or do you mean they have no shot in a home playoff game against Chicago/Green Bay/New Orleans?

 

[Hunter2_1]

6 hours ago, ClutchDJ said:

So say if the Rams beat the Bears & the Cards beat the Seahawks, what changes?

 

 

Funny how the NFC West goes though. McVay owns the Cards, Cards owns Shanny & Niners, & Shanny with Jimmy owns McVay.

 

Then there’s Seattle just giving & receiving licks from each.

I think McVay owns Carroll? Or so I've heard on here...

 

edit: I see you've addressed that. I agree, if he wins both this season then I'll say he owns SEA. If he wins 1, it would be 5-3....not pwnage. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Hunter2_1

[BayRaider]

10 minutes ago, Hunter2_1 said:

I think McVay owns Carroll? Or so I've heard on here...

 

edit: I see you've addressed that. I agree, if he wins both this season then I'll say he owns SEA. If he wins 1, it would be 5-3....not pwnage. 

Not to mention almost all good teams split with each other lol. I can already see all the Rams fans coming out after they beat Seattle in the first game (which is in Los Angeles) "See we told you were a Super Bowl Contender and the best team in teh divisionz!!!".

Win the division or make the NFC Championship as a wildcard, then we can talk if you're a Super Bowl Contender.

[43M]

3 hours ago, SkippyX said:

Do you mean they can't win the NFC East or do you mean they have no shot in a home playoff game against Chicago/Green Bay/New Orleans?

 

Considering they could likely win that division with 6 wins,  its safe to say he means the latter. 

[Uncle Buck]

I'm surprised (although I shouldn't be, it's nothing new) that so many people are sleeping on the Bears.  I know their QB situation leaves a lot to be desired, but that defense is nothing to take lightly.  They beat the Bucaneers, and the Bucs destroyed the Packer team that everyone is so high on.  People need to take a look at the first four opponents in their schedule.  Weak.  I've been saying all offseason that the Bears would win the division, and I still think so.  They probably don't have the offense to win the Super Bowl, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them win at least a game in the playoffs with that defense.

[Hunter2_1]

8 hours ago, stl4life07 said:

Interesting take that you say if the Rams beat the Bears you think they can win the West but if they lose you think they will be pretenders. If the Rams lose yes it would hurt but not to the point where I say pretenders still. Then again its how they lose? Again people are getting too wrapped up in who the Rams played and not seeing how the Rams are playing. People knew the Rams were going to play the NFC East before the season started yet plenty of people had the Rams going (7-9) or worse and missing the playoffs so that shouldnt be a sticking point. What does the eye test say? The OL is playing well, the Rams have a top 10 rushing offense which is key to the Rams offensive success. The Rams are starting fast by scoring tds on the opening possession 4 out of their 6 games. Heck even in the loss to Buffalo the Rams never punted. The Rams are the best defensive team in the 2nd half and in general they are a great 2nd half team. Defense statistically is 4th overall and have the 2nd best pass defense. They are 5th in points allowed. In a key stat which is point differential the Rams are 8th in that category. Another key stat is 3rd down conversion the Rams are 9th in the NFL. The Rams are also 6th in the NFL in 3rd down conversion defense. So those are major stats and I dont care what teams you play when you are that good to great in those categories you are for real. And I havent mentioned how great Goff has been statistically in the 1st and 4th Q to open the games and to close out games. So yeah anyone says the Rams are pretenders arent watching the games they are just looking at who the Rams have played. 

The Rams The Rams The Rams The Rams...

I think the Rams are contenders because I expect they'll get to the playoffs and win a game. I also think once they start playing the Seattles and Bucs and possibly an ARZ fixture, the record will come down slightly, but still playoff bound. 

What you said here though;

"The flaw the Rams had in those two losses against non-NFCE games was they didnt run the ball early, fell behind and when they decided to run it was too late"

I think is wrong. In the BUF game, it is when the Rams starting running effectively that you went on that 29 unanswered run. Presumably this opened up the pass, but that period where LA were knocking off 10 yard runs at a time, THAT'S when you begun to devastate them

I agree though, he needs to find a way of being balanced throughout

[Nabbs4u]

1 hour ago, 43M said:

4 hours ago, SkippyX said:

Do you mean they can't win the NFC East or do you mean they have no shot in a home playoff game against Chicago/Green Bay/New Orleans?

 

Considering they could likely win that division with 6 wins,  its safe to say he means the latter. 

As mentioned below, a lot can change in the next 10 weeks. Saying what will or wont occur in 2 1/2 months is premature. The Eagles "as a team" in week 18, might look drastically different from what's being thrown out there this past month.

Now I'm not remotely suggesting some kind of miracle type run (to be clear) but acting as though a playoff win is absolutely impossible is absurd. 

 

5 hours ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Trying to separate contenders from pretenders after only 6 weeks is far too soon to predict. There is still 10 weeks left of football and we've seen the unexpected happen too many times.

Some teams look legit but are not, other teams don't look legit but are, and others teams who unexpectedly go on a late streak.  This is especially true for this year given the abnormal offseason. 

 

[43M]

1 minute ago, Nabbs4u said:

As mentioned below, a lot can change in the next 10 weeks. Saying what will or wont occur in 2 1/2 months is premature. The Eagles "as a team" in week 18, might look drastically different from what's being thrown out there this past month.

Now I'm not remotely suggesting some kind of miracle type run (to be clear) but acting as though a playoff win is absolutely impossible is absurd. 

 

 

I dont disagree.....just noting that it isnt going to take much to win that division.    The Eagles IMO are the only viable option now with Dak going down.   The other 3 may finish with top 10 picks.   

[Nabbs4u]

10 minutes ago, 43M said:

I dont disagree.....just noting that it isnt going to take much to win that division.    The Eagles IMO are the only viable option now with Dak going down.   The other 3 may finish with top 10 picks.   

To be fair so can the Eagles still if they keep swapping out Players like a Vegas call girl does Tricks. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Nabbs4u