Week 4 - Rams vs Cardinals

[Flounch]

Well it's always weird to see some of you saying that the defense looks average after saying last week that defense looked great and all....

I always said since the offseason that this defense has a lot of average player and yesterday all the weakness were revealed. 

This defense can only play a good game when the Rams are leading in the scoreboard because opponent has to take more shot at passing game and we have a defense that is great to bend but not break. 

But once the Rams are trailing and we need the defense to step up and stop the offense, it's another story......they are not build to stop an offense. Last year against the Packers we couldn't stop them and we didn't improve players in offseason so i'm not surprised by this. Even after winning 3 games i said this defense doesn't look great...

In offense, Mcvay as always is giving up the run too quickly....when we are trailing it's happy pass all the way....

And Stafford is locking to much on Kupp and that's annoy me....yesterday he missed a lot of passe on Kupp but there was sometimes it seems that he force the pass to Kupp even when he wasn't in great situation. This is bothering me as hell. It seems like the old days when Stafford was locked for Megatron....

Woods is a great player and he's not selfish but if Stafford continue to only feed Kupp, i think it will start to piss him off. And throwing a TD to him at the end in garbage time is not what i call a good thing. 

I knew the game against the Cardinals would told the truth about this team. 

[LeotheLion]

36 minutes ago, MDY10 said:

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. 

I wouldn't think the season is over until Stafford is hurt or we are eliminated from the playoffs. I trust this team's ceiling. But a big part of winning in January is making it easy on yourself by taking care of the regular season.

[MDY10]

42 minutes ago, LeotheLion said:

I wouldn't think the season is over until Stafford is hurt or we are eliminated from the playoffs. I trust this team's ceiling. But a big part of winning in January is making it easy on yourself by taking care of the regular season.

Yup definitely. I’m obviously just worried about inconsistencies. We can’t afford to play like crap in an important game down the road. By the time the bye comes, we will know who this team is.

[stl4life07]

5 hours ago, LeotheLion said:

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.

There will be growing pains losing DC Staley, Hill, and JJIII. You have Young, Long, and Rapp playing 100% of the snaps when in previous years that wasnt the case. I trust that coaching and just more game experience will help. Its like when the Rams moved on to Allen at center. He struggled badly. Years later he looks great now. It just takes coaching and experience in games. I trust these guys will figure it out and its not like these guys have to be a 85 Bears or 00 Ravens. I said before the season started they just have to be top 10-12 with the potential of this offense to average 30ppg and the Rams will be fine. This is your classic overreaction Monday. 

I remember back in 2018 season when the Rams were at the bottom in stopping the run. They were getting gashed and the only times they werent was when they were blowing teams out and the team had to stop running. People on this forum overreacted all season long. I said to relax. They will get it together when it matters the most and thats the playoffs. They went into the playoffs and shutdown Zeke, Kamara, and the Pats running backs on the ground. So we have to see this season through and not push the panic button on the defense after four weeks. 

[stl4life07]

3 hours 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. 

Its not necessarily the Rams taking the Cards lightly but its hard to come off a big game against the Bucs where the Rams played pretty much perfect football to turn around and prepare for the Cards in a week and the Seahawks a few days after that. Thats one of the disadvantages of playing a TNF game. I remember in 2018 the Vikings were set to play the Rams on TNF. Before that game they faced the Bills at home. The Vikings got stomped by a still raw led Allen team. The game before the Bills game the Vikings played their big game rivals the Packers that ended in a tie. Then against the Rams the Vikings played them great. Cousins played great and it was a shoot out till the 4th quarter where the Rams defense made that one play and won them the game. So again if the Vikings played ARod and the Packers in Green Bay to a tie and played the Rams in LA great till the 4th quarter on TNF, why did they look flat and got blown out at home against the at the time lowly Bills? Not saying they looked past the Bills intentionally, BUT that game was sandwiched in between two of their toughest games of the season and one being on a short week having to travel. So it has nothing to do with leadership and focus. The Rams have that its just hard first off to win games in the NFL but to have to essentially prepare for three tough games in a 10 day span with two of them being two of the toughest games on the schedule is hard. 

You can say the Cards were in the same situation as the Rams before this game. They blew out the Titans in Tennessee and shutdown Henry. They were still on that high that they almost lost to the Vikings the next week.at home. They were fortunate the Vikings kicker missed. Then Week 3 they let the Jags hang around because Im sure the Cards had the Rams game circled and was looking ahead. Then they came out and it showed how badly the Cards wanted to beat the Rams. Do we think anything less of the Cards? Nope. It just happens in the NFL. I dont think nobody thinks anything less of the Rams unless you are just overreacting. If the Rams come out TNF and look like we know they are capable of looking and I expect them to do so then all will be back to being good. 

 

 

[LeotheLion]

44 minutes ago, stl4life07 said:

There will be growing pains losing DC Staley, Hill, and JJIII. You have Young, Long, and Rapp playing 100% of the snaps when in previous years that wasnt the case. I trust that coaching and just more game experience will help. Its like when the Rams moved on to Allen at center. He struggled badly. Years later he looks great now. It just takes coaching and experience in games. I trust these guys will figure it out and its not like these guys have to be a 85 Bears or 00 Ravens. I said before the season started they just have to be top 10-12 with the potential of this offense to average 30ppg and the Rams will be fine. This is your classic overreaction Monday. 

I remember back in 2018 season when the Rams were at the bottom in stopping the run. They were getting gashed and the only times they werent was when they were blowing teams out and the team had to stop running. People on this forum overreacted all season long. I said to relax. They will get it together when it matters the most and thats the playoffs. They went into the playoffs and shutdown Zeke, Kamara, and the Pats running backs on the ground. So we have to see this season through and not push the panic button on the defense after four weeks. 

But in 2018 the run defense didn't matter because the offense was always able to overcome it. I thought this year's offense was a similar level but clearly not. It could be an overreaction but the only times under McVay we've had a complete team meltdown like yesterday was in 2019. Every other loss at least there was a redeemable unit that played well. 

[stl4life07]

37 minutes ago, LeotheLion said:

But in 2018 the run defense didn't matter because the offense was always able to overcome it. I thought this year's offense was a similar level but clearly not. It could be an overreaction but the only times under McVay we've had a complete team meltdown like yesterday was in 2019. Every other loss at least there was a redeemable unit that played well. 

I think it’s a total overreaction. We see how great this offense can look like with Stafford and I think it’s not even scratch the surface. Again let’s not lose sight that it’s only 4 games into the season. Murray has had 2yrs and 4 games in Kingsbury system. Stafford is a vet but the system he is running now he even admitted was a lot to take in. He is still learning not just the system but learning the players as well. So far we know him a Kupp got a great connection but outside of that he doesn’t have that connection with Woods and DJax. I see things being good with Jefferson and Higbee. So we have to be patient on this offense to truly hit its stride bc when it does it has imo 40ppg potential bc we never had the amount of firepower on offense with a top 5 talent at the QB position. So I’m not overreacting to Week 4. The Rams will be fine. 

[LeotheLion]

1 hour ago, stl4life07 said:

I think it’s a total overreaction. We see how great this offense can look like with Stafford and I think it’s not even scratch the surface. Again let’s not lose sight that it’s only 4 games into the season. Murray has had 2yrs and 4 games in Kingsbury system. Stafford is a vet but the system he is running now he even admitted was a lot to take in. He is still learning not just the system but learning the players as well. So far we know him a Kupp got a great connection but outside of that he doesn’t have that connection with Woods and DJax. I see things being good with Jefferson and Higbee. So we have to be patient on this offense to truly hit its stride bc when it does it has imo 40ppg potential bc we never had the amount of firepower on offense with a top 5 talent at the QB position. So I’m not overreacting to Week 4. The Rams will be fine. 

The issue isn't the new offense. Stafford just missed throws. That's the concerning thing. And that tbh has been his entire career of not being the most consistent QB week to week. 

[stl4life07]

51 minutes ago, LeotheLion said:

The issue isn't the new offense. Stafford just missed throws. That's the concerning thing. And that tbh has been his entire career of not being the most consistent QB week to week. 

Its an adjustment Stafford has to make in regards to the speed of DJax. The reason why he is missing him is because Stafford is treating DJax as a normal fast guy. DJax is one of if not the fastest deep threats in the NFL. So when I see Stafford drop back 7 steps then hitch before he throws it deep to DJax and the ball is underthrown, its not bc Stafford doesnt have the arm strength. Its not bc he doesnt have the accuracy to throw it deep. Its bc he hasnt adjusted to DJax speed. It takes reps to get that done. I also want to see Stafford get on the same page with Woods. We saw Goff take time to get in sync with Woods. At first Goff was right away in sync with Kupp just like Stafford is. Eventually Goff got on the same page as Woods. I believe Stafford will get on the same page with Woods so he can start to go to him more and not lean heavily on Kupp. I get what you are saying about Stafford being inconsistent but that was in Detroit. We could say the same thing about Matt Ryan for his career but when he got Kyle Shanahan as his OC it was the best few years of his career. Even still it took Ryan a full year to get fully adjusted in Kyle's system and then that 2nd year Ryan won the MVP and took the Falcons to the Superbowl. So just be patient with Stafford in terms of he is still getting used to what McVay is running plus the players around him. This offense hasnt even scratched the surface yet. 

[NYRamsFan88]

I’m not too concerned yet…

The Cardinals caught the Rams at the right time. Not to sound too obnoxious, but it all came down to the Rams just being off on all three phases of the game ( only Ramsey and Hendo really impressed me ) and less about Arizona doing anything spectacular. 
 

*Jeff Fisher voice* We’ll fix it, on to Seattle 

[MDY10]

17 hours ago, LeotheLion said:

The issue isn't the new offense. Stafford just missed throws. That's the concerning thing. And that tbh has been his entire career of not being the most consistent QB week to week. 

I agree. It’s why I keep saying I’m worried if we’re going to still have the same inconsistency at QB that Goff had. Even if it’s less often. We could be on fire and then lose a playoff game simply because Stafford had another off day where he missed wide open guys. There’s too many excuses flying around. It has nothing to do with adjusting to Jackson’s speed. He missed Kupp ALL game long. Again, it’s one game but if it becomes a routine thing every 3-4 games then it’s over. 

[Flounch]

Missing Kupp is one thing but the big issue for me is to target Kupp on almost every throw. 

[stl4life07]

1 hour ago, MDY10 said:

I agree. It’s why I keep saying I’m worried if we’re going to still have the same inconsistency at QB that Goff had. Even if it’s less often. We could be on fire and then lose a playoff game simply because Stafford had another off day where he missed wide open guys. There’s too many excuses flying around. It has nothing to do with adjusting to Jackson’s speed. He missed Kupp ALL game long. Again, it’s one game but if it becomes a routine thing every 3-4 games then it’s over. 

My question is, how did Brady look the first half of the season last year with the Bucs? He wasn’t great especially against great defenses like the Saints, Rams, Bears, and the first half against the Chargers and Chiefs. They had their BYE late in the season and then played cupcake teams that’s when he and that offense got hot and started to roll. He looked like the QB they thought they were getting all the way till they won the SB. But before the BYE especially the first month or so of the season Brady looked like an upgraded version of Winston. That is to say he was throwing a lot of picks, didn’t remember what down it was on the potential game winning drive on a prime time game and against the Rams he had an illegal forward pass.

So again it’s four games, if it took Brady the GOAT time to adjust to a new offense and new players and new environment then Stafford isn’t going to be any different although Stafford looks light years better than Brady did through the first 4 games with his new team. I think it’s just overreaction from a loss which many fans always do.

[stl4life07]

6 minutes ago, Flounch said:

Missing Kupp is one thing but the big issue for me is to target Kupp on almost every throw. 

If Kupp is Stafford fav target I don’t mind. Brady targeted Godwin a ton when he first got to Tampa. He had that instant connection. He wasn’t on the same page with Evans right away even threw a bad interception Week 1 against the Saints throwing to him. Some say it was Brady fault others say it was Evans fault. Then when AB got there it’s AB that Brady targets a ton. AB and Gronk so far that AB looks for mainly this season. Every QB has that receiver they end up targeting 125-150 times in a season. Now I’d love for Woods to get targeted more and I think as the season goes along he will but I don’t mind that Kupp gets a ton of targets bc Stafford trust him more plus Kupp gets open and he just make plays. He isn’t a scrub and we are wondering why Stafford is targeting the third best receiver option on the team and not the best option. Again I have no issue with the amount of targets Kupp is getting. Teams aren’t stopping it. 

[LeotheLion]

19 minutes ago, Flounch said:

Missing Kupp is one thing but the big issue for me is to target Kupp on almost every throw. 

If Kupp is open, then it doesn't really matter. Stafford does a good enough job moving past reads that it doesn't kill the play if teams bracket Kupp and he is forced to go through his progressions.