Week 4 - Rams vs Cardinals

[LeotheLion]

If the defense stays inconsistent, I'll join the frustration with the Atwell pick. Their are major weaknesses on defense that we could have tried to fix instead of taking a punt returner that runs horizontal only on punt returns.

[BStanRamFan]

Just now, LeotheLion said:

If the defense stays inconsistent, I'll join the frustration with the Atwell pick. Their are major weaknesses on defense that we could have tried to fix instead of taking a punt returner that runs horizontal only on punt returns.

I thought the Atwell pick was supposed to be a Center? Im not sure we had concerns going into the offseason on defense with our safety depth. Burgess being non-existent is a head scratcher and I think speaks more about what Morris what's to do vs Staley. 

[JonStark]

5 minutes ago, BStanRamFan said:

I thought the Atwell pick was supposed to be a Center? Im not sure we had concerns going into the offseason on defense with our safety depth. Burgess being non-existent is a head scratcher and I think speaks more about what Morris what's to do vs Staley. 

It should have been, although Allen has made a huge improvement.

Either way, it could have been center, LB, or CB. Anything would have been better at that spot in the draft over a punt returner, even if it was just assumed to be depth at the time. 

[LeotheLion]

9 minutes ago, BStanRamFan said:

I thought the Atwell pick was supposed to be a Center? Im not sure we had concerns going into the offseason on defense with our safety depth. Burgess being non-existent is a head scratcher and I think speaks more about what Morris what's to do vs Staley. 

I'm not saying safety necessarily. Though we did lose JJIII and replaced him with no one so it stands to reason that safeties should be worse. We could have gone EDGE, ILB, corner, whatever, just something that can play snaps. Atwell may be a good player but the pick just doesn't make sense for our limited window. I cannot see him getting on the field unless we have 2 WR injuries. 

[BStanRamFan]

4 minutes ago, LeotheLion said:

I'm not saying safety necessarily. Though we did lose JJIII and replaced him with no one so it stands to reason that safeties should be worse. We could have gone EDGE, ILB, corner, whatever, just something that can play snaps. Atwell may be a good player but the pick just doesn't make sense for our limited window. I cannot see him getting on the field unless we have 2 WR injuries. 

I don't like the pick either. I think it was a year ahead replacement for D-Jax and McVay 1. loves that position to stretch the field and now has a QB who can do it. 2. we draft a year ahead of need and D-Jax will be shown the door.

My issue with that approach is that we are in win-now mode and you can't use our best draft asset on a 3rd WR who won't show an impact until year 2. 

[stl4life07]

Correct me if I’m wrong but we had a chance to franchise tag JJIII. I understand why we didn’t bc the coaches believe in Fuller, Rapp, Burgess, and Scott. I’m not going to question them bc every year people say the Rams lose OL guys like Saffold and Blythe but replaced them with Allen and Edwards and the OL looks good eventually. Might take lumps early but look good eventually. So I believe the young safeties will get it together.

 

We have to remember that it’s a new DC with young guys playing more bigger roles this season. It’s game 4 so let’s see how things progress as the season rolls along. On offense we will be fine. Stafford is way ahead of schedule. Usually it takes till the 2nd year to figure things out in this type of system. Stafford is already looking great and the only reason he looked bad against the Cards was of him not the Cards defense. Stafford missed easy throws. The receivers dropped catchable balls. Stafford has to adjust to DJax speed. Don’t take 7 step drops and hitch on a deep ball to DJax. Get the ball out of your hands on a 5 step drop with no hitch bc the defense gives DJax a free release and he is going to get downfield quick. Once Stafford adjust to DJax speed we will see a lot of explosive plays and tds. It takes practice and reps but I think eventually the Rams will get there.

Positive is Henderson looks great. I said the Rams wouldn’t be derailed without Akers. I said Henderson is really good and has a chance to remind people of that. He ran and caught the ball well. Michel outside of that one big fumble he looks good too. McVay needs to run the ball more even though I know he loves Stafford and know he can pass any time and not just have to run. Better days are ahead for the Rams. I look forward to TNF at Seattle. Should be fun and I think the Rams will bounce back and play like we know they are capable of playing. 

 

[LeotheLion]

19 minutes ago, stl4life07 said:

Correct me if I’m wrong but we had a chance to franchise tag JJIII. I understand why we didn’t bc the coaches believe in Fuller, Rapp, Burgess, and Scott. I’m not going to question them bc every year people say the Rams lose OL guys like Saffold and Blythe but replaced them with Allen and Edwards and the OL looks good eventually. Might take lumps early but look good eventually. So I believe the young safeties will get it together.

Yes, we could have franchised JJIII. Probably gotten an extension with him too but would have been at the expense of Floyd. 

I think there just isn't enough talent on defense. When Donald isn't wrecking games, there is just Jalen and a bunch of average to below average players. 

[MDY10]

I still feel horrible about this loss. I wish I could just say it’s not concerning and onto the next but damn.. I can’t. I don’t get how people think the Cardinals defense played well lol They were gashed on the ground and gashed in the air when the ball was actually on target. Kupp should have easily had another 100+ 2 TD game yesterday. 

[LeotheLion]

3 minutes ago, MDY10 said:

I still feel horrible about this loss. I wish I could just say it’s not concerning and onto the next but damn.. I can’t. I don’t get how people think the Cardinals defense played well lol They were gashed on the ground and gashed in the air when the ball was actually on target. Kupp should have easily had another 100+ 2 TD game yesterday. 

It was concerning that there wasn't a 2nd half rally. Had we gotten to 1 score and lost due to early mistakes + Kyler playing great then that is one thing. But the team was bad for all 4 quarters. 

[stl4life07]

4 minutes ago, LeotheLion said:

Yes, we could have franchised JJIII. Probably gotten an extension with him too but would have been at the expense of Floyd. 

I think there just isn't enough talent on defense. When Donald isn't wrecking games, there is just Jalen and a bunch of average to below average players. 

I disagree. There is plenty of talent on defense. The problem is this is an offensive driven league. The rules are set up for the offense to succeed and teams are loading up on mobile QBs and tons of playmaking receivers with good to great offensive minds. The weakness of the Cards is the OL and in the past that was their undoing but they have gotten so much better on offense that it doesn’t matter as much. 
 

Back to the defense though, I’m still believing as long as we have Donald and Ramsey out there we have a great chance to be great. Yesterday though Murray was special and the Rams offense wasnt. That stressed the defense out a lot. If the Rams offense didn’t turn the ball over twice and had so many missed opportunities to get tds I think the Rams could’ve won despite Murray being special. Rams won games like this in 2017 and 2018 giving up tons of rushing yards and points but winning in a shootout bc the offense kept them in the game and the defense made that one play in the 4th to seal the game. So unless the offense plays like it did yesterday the rest of the season then I’m not concerned about the defense or the team in general. 

[stl4life07]

12 minutes ago, MDY10 said:

I still feel horrible about this loss. I wish I could just say it’s not concerning and onto the next but damn.. I can’t. I don’t get how people think the Cardinals defense played well lol They were gashed on the ground and gashed in the air when the ball was actually on target. Kupp should have easily had another 100+ 2 TD game yesterday. 

I don’t feel horrible about the loss. McVay is still (8-1) against the Cards. Big win for the Cards but it’s hard to prepare for two divisional opponents in four days and three games in 10 days all being huge games. The Rams will be ready for the Seahawks and I’m confident they will be ready for the Cards in Arizona. They were flat in this game. A lot of self-inflected mistakes that I believe won’t happen again next time. Cards still can’t stop the run as we saw Henderson doing damage. This game should’ve been both teams in the 30s in a close game that could’ve went either way if the Rams offense executed like we know they can and if the defense make a few 3rd and long stops. Instead the Rams barely scored 20 and got beat by 17pts.

[LeotheLion]

7 minutes ago, stl4life07 said:

I disagree. There is plenty of talent on defense. The problem is this is an offensive driven league. The rules are set up for the offense to succeed and teams are loading up on mobile QBs and tons of playmaking receivers with good to great offensive minds. The weakness of the Cards is the OL and in the past that was their undoing but they have gotten so much better on offense that it doesn’t matter as much. 
 

Back to the defense though, I’m still believing as long as we have Donald and Ramsey out there we have a great chance to be great. Yesterday though Murray was special and the Rams offense wasnt. That stressed the defense out a lot. If the Rams offense didn’t turn the ball over twice and had so many missed opportunities to get tds I think the Rams could’ve won despite Murray being special. Rams won games like this in 2017 and 2018 giving up tons of rushing yards and points but winning in a shootout bc the offense kept them in the game and the defense made that one play in the 4th to seal the game. So unless the offense plays like it did yesterday the rest of the season then I’m not concerned about the defense or the team in general. 

We are basically playing Kenny Young, David Long, and Taylor Rapp 100% of the snaps. That's a problem. Whenever Reeder plays on early downs that isn't ideal. That's the entire middle of the 2nd and 3rd level being areas defenses can exploit and those guys look slow out there.

It hasn't been lost on me that even with Staley, our season ended last year because the defense couldn't make a stop. At some point, a lack of talent cannot be schemed for. I like the DL. But the secondary isn't looking great this year without Hill, JJIII, and Darious Williams looking average. Like I said, if Donald can wreck the games then the defense goes to another level. But without that advantage, and Kyler's speed neutralized Donald, the defense will in my opinion continue to look like this.

[MDY10]

1 hour ago, stl4life07 said:

I don’t feel horrible about the loss. McVay is still (8-1) against the Cards. Big win for the Cards but it’s hard to prepare for two divisional opponents in four days and three games in 10 days all being huge games. The Rams will be ready for the Seahawks and I’m confident they will be ready for the Cards in Arizona. They were flat in this game. A lot of self-inflected mistakes that I believe won’t happen again next time. Cards still can’t stop the run as we saw Henderson doing damage. This game should’ve been both teams in the 30s in a close game that could’ve went either way if the Rams offense executed like we know they can and if the defense make a few 3rd and long stops. Instead the Rams barely scored 20 and got beat by 17pts.

If this team is still looking ahead to Seattle or any big game then it’s still the same Rams. There’s no excuse. With Stafford, we should have the leadership to focus on one game. The “if” Game is not one I’m going to play. You either execute.. or you don’t.

Stafford missed wide open throws all day. And not really under that much pressure. They were throws he could absolutely make. I get that bad games happen.. but I LITERALLY said I was worried about the team not showing up. We’ve seen this movie before. Get off to a Great start, and then drop a weird game because they didn’t show up. I know they’ll get back on track.. but not showing up again at any point in the season will be concerning. Lose a game.. but it better at least be a game. getting blown out at home vs a division rival is not what good teams do. 

[LeotheLion]

31 minutes ago, MDY10 said:

If this team is still looking ahead to Seattle or any big game then it’s still the same Rams. There’s no excuse. With Stafford, we should have the leadership to focus on one game. The “if” Game is not one I’m going to play. You either execute.. or you don’t.

Stafford missed wide open throws all day. And not really under that much pressure. They were throws he could absolutely make. I get that bad games happen.. but I LITERALLY said I was worried about the team not showing up. We’ve seen this movie before. Get off to a Great start, and then drop a weird game because they didn’t show up. I know they’ll get back on track.. but not showing up again at any point in the season will be concerning. Lose a game.. but it better at least be a game. getting blown out at home vs a division rival is not what good teams do. 

And I'd also say, to me the bye is crucial this year. And at the very least the division. Still in a good spot with another game against Arizona but if we lose the division you are looking at all road playoff games. That's a bad spot to be in. Looking ahead and taking early losses says a lot about the team. Though, I don't think they looked ahead. I think they just played bad. There was a good start and then things spiraled.

[MDY10]

29 minutes ago, LeotheLion said:

And I'd also say, to me the bye is crucial this year. And at the very least the division. Still in a good spot with another game against Arizona but if we lose the division you are looking at all road playoff games. That's a bad spot to be in. Looking ahead and taking early losses says a lot about the team. Though, I don't think they looked ahead. I think they just played bad. There was a good start and then things spiraled.

Agreed. I don’t think the season is over by any means, especially looking at the next 6 games. There’s 2 division games and 4 very winnable games. I’ll really start to worry if there’s one or two more garbage games like yesterday because it shows the same old inconsistencies. However I’m staying positive and hoping it’s a Packers week 1 outlier or the Bucs last year vs the Saints.