20 Random Busting the Bucs Thoughts

[AvengerRam]

1. Great win! A joy to watch!

2. Matthew Stafford's MVP candidacy began in earnest today. He wasn't perfect, but he sure was great.

3. Cooper Kupp is having an All-Pro season.

4. Man... DJax is still ridiculously fast. Even more than his 75 yard TD, that was proven on his 42 yard catch and run. Speed kills!

5. You have to appreciate the OL. Kept Stafford clean for 3+ quarters before giving up a fairly meaningless sack, and doing just enough in the running game late to run down the clock.

6. DJax's TD really shows what we were missing last year, both in deep speed and an OL giving a QB time to let that type of play develop.

7. Aaron Donald doing a Aaron Donald things. Strip sack saves 3 points late in first half, sniffed out screen pass ends a drive. He's a beast.

8. Kenny Young, regarded as a bit of a throw-in when we traded Marcus Peters away, has become a very good player, and was the defensive MVP today (10 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss).

9. I think the biggest advantage the Rams had today was at the CB position. With the Bucs thin at the position and losing Jamel Dean during the game, the Rams strength at the position was evident.

10. Numbers can lie. The Rams gave up 446 yards today, but most of them were pretty insignificant.

11. Once again, the late running game was important. Last two drives, which produced an important FG and milked the clock: Sony Michel had 8 carries for 40 yards.

12. Who had Tom Brady as the Bucs' leading rusher today? (14 yards)

13. The Rams had only one penalty for four yards (holding penalty on special teams that preceded the first scoring drive, a 95 yard TD drive). The Bucs had 7 penalties for 41 yards. In the first three games, the Rams have a total of only 7 penalties. Gotta love our discipline thus far!

14. Sean McVay was truly fired up today, particularly at the end of the first half. Of course, if you had McVay's record when leading at the half (40-0 now), you'd be fired up too!

15. Tyler Higbee made some great contributions today. Had Stafford not been sacked late, he was open for a HUGE gain.

16. Not Rams related, but... that Justin Tucker FG. Oh my LORD!!!!! (Poor Goff).

17. I saw some red in the stands, but that seemed like a home field advantage to me!

18. Divisional play in the next two weeks will be big. A chance to slap down the upstart Cardinals and potentially bury the (now 1-2) Seahawks. Bring them on!

19. The Rams still have trailed for only 2:03 this season. That's good for my stress level!

20. Brady frustrated, Rams 3-0. What more can we ask for?

 

[Mister Sin]

We all know what we did today...but we need to stay focused. I seen a ton of missed tackles. Particularly from your defensive MVP of the day and Lewis. Saw some bad windows open in our secondary. Luckily, we have talent enough to outplay some mistakes.

It was certainly nice to watch Arians eat shit on the sidelines. Hate that fuckin guy.

Rapp is all hustle...its great on certain plays but kills us when he is in man.

Ramsey is still the fuckin man. I put him ahead of Donald as DPOY right now.

 

[AvengerRam]

We all know what we did today...but we need to stay focused. I seen a ton of missed tackles. Particularly from your defensive MVP of the day and Lewis. Saw some bad windows open in our secondary. Luckily, we have talent enough to outplay some mistakes.

It was certainly nice to watch Arians eat shit on the sidelines. Hate that fuckin guy.

Rapp is all hustle...its great on certain plays but kills us when he is in man.

Ramsey is still the fuckin man. I put him ahead of Donald as DPOY right now.

Well, that was the defending champs who came in averaging 39.5 ppg, so they were going to make some plays.

Definitely room for the defense to get even better, but I'm pretty happy with how they stepped up today.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

1. Great win! A joy to watch!

2. Matthew Stafford's MVP candidacy began in earnest today. He wasn't perfect, but he sure was great.

3. Cooper Kupp is having an All-Pro season.

4. Man... DJax is still ridiculously fast. Even more than his 75 yard TD, that was proven on his 42 yard catch and run. Speed kills!

5. You have to appreciate the OL. Kept Stafford clean for 3+ quarters before giving up a fairly meaningless sack, and doing just enough in the running game late to run down the clock.

6. DJax's TD really shows what we were missing last year, both in deep speed OL giving a QB time to let that type of play develop.

7. Aaron Donald doing a Aaron Donald things. Strip sack saves 3 points late in first half, sniffed out screen pass ends a drive. He's a beast.

8. Kenny Young, regarded as a bit of a throw-in when we traded Marcus Peters away. He's become a very good player, and was the defensive MVP today (10 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss).

9. I think the biggest advantage the Rams had today was at the CB position. With the Bucs thin at the position and losing Jamel Dean during the game, the Rams strength at the position was evident.

10. Numbers can lie. The Rams gave up 446 yards today, but most of them were pretty insignificant.

11. Once again, the late running game was important. Last two drives, which produced an important FG and milked the clock: Sony Michel had 8 carries for 40 yards.

12. Who had Tom Brady as the Bucs' leading rusher today? (14 yards)

13. The Rams had only one penalty for four yards (holding penalty on special teams that preceded the first scoring drive, a 95 yard TD drive). The Bucs had 7 penalties for 41 yards. In the first three games, the Rams have a total of only 7 penalties. Gotta love our discipline thus far!

14. Sean McVay was truly fired up today, particularly at the end of the first half. Of course, if you had McVay's record when leading at the half (40-0 now), you'd be fired up too!

15. Tyler Higbee made some great contributions today. Had Stafford not been sacked late, he was open for a HUGE gain.

16. Not Rams related, but... that Justin Tucker FG. Oh my LORD!!!!! (Poor Goff).

17. I saw some red in the stands, but that seemed like a home field advantage to me!

18. Divisional play in the next two weeks will be big. A chance to slap down the upstart Cardinals and potentially bury the (now 1-2) Seahawks. Bring them on!

19. The Rams still have trailed for only 2:03 this season. That's good for my stress level!

20. Brady frustrated, Rams 3-0. What more can we ask for?

I am loving 19. Watching games is so much more relaxing.

21. Terrell Lewis bringing the Wood on Gronk. One of my favorite moments.

 

[Boston Ram]

Biggest takeaways for me is another solid game by our oline and our lack of penalties! So impressed that we have played a lot of clean football penalty wise!

 

[Angry Ram]

No turnovers!!! I think only 1 so far all year? Yeah nice feeling.

 

[Kupped]

Not picking a fight with anyone, but I'm seeing some comments on the D and I'm like... THAT WAS THE BUCS!

Their D was banged up, no their O.. at least not until the Rams started knocking the shit out of them.
When Kenny Young is making 3 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, in addition to a sack, I'm just going to live with a missed tackle or two. He made real plays today.. fast, aggressive plays.

The D was much better this week than last week, imo... when you factor in the quality of the opposition.

And the Rams interior DLine are absolute motherfuckers, pardon my French. They are TOUGH.

 

[HellRam]

Not picking a fight with anyone, but I'm seeing some comments on the D and I'm like... THAT WAS THE BUCS!

Their D was banged up, no their O.. at least not until the Rams started knocking the shit out of them.
When Kenny Young is making 3 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, in addition to a sack, I'm just going to live with a missed tackle or two. He made real plays today.. fast, aggressive plays.

The D was much better this week than last week, imo... when you factor in the quality of the opposition.

And the Rams interior DLine are absolute motherfuckers, pardon my French. They are TOUGH.

I'm with ya here! I think our defense has been mostly awesome this year! We lose our D cord and a few key starters and we still look like a top 5 unit? I'll take that!

 

[CGI_Ram]

DJax is still ridiculously fast.

THAT jumped out on TV. Dude still has it.

The Rams gave up 446 yards today, but most of them were pretty insignificant.

No kidding. Stats killer… but who would have guessed the game was mostly over early 4th QTR? Not me.

Who had Tom Brady as the Bucs' leading rusher today?

The run D was great.

another solid game by our oline and our lack of penalties!

That’s a trend!

 

[bomebadeeda]

Good stuff.

 

[thirteen28]

2. Matthew Stafford's MVP candidacy began in earnest today. He wasn't perfect, but he sure was great.

Other than a few yips at the start, he was damn close to perfect the rest of the way. I've went from distraught from the day we made the trade to fucking ecstatic. When you see performance like that, you can't help but be swayed. No offense to the last guy (who I still like, and no, I'm not going to debate it), but we clearly have a significant upgrade.

3. Cooper Kupp is having an All-Pro season.

Consider this - Kupp is but one of a *VERY* deep group of WRs ... and yet *he* is the one standing out right now despite the target rich environment that Stafford has nearly every snap. That's incredible. Kupp is playing the best football of his career right now, and he's played some damn good football before this year.

11. Once again, the late running game was important. Last two drives, which produced an important FG and milked the clock: Sony Michel had 8 carries for 40 yards.

Michel my bell needs to become the bell cow. Hendo is never going to be durable enough, Sony's pass protection is more than up to snuff, and he can grind out the tough yards.

17. I saw some red in the stands, but that seemed like a home field advantage to me!

I've been watching the Rams since the early 1970's, and never before have I seen this kind of home field advantage for them in LA. They have the best building in the league and now they have fans showing up for *them*. That momentum is only going to grow.

20. Brady frustrated, Rams 3-0. What more can we ask for?

4-0 after next week, for starters

 

[Oregonram]

1. Great win! A joy to watch!

2. Matthew Stafford's MVP candidacy began in earnest today. He wasn't perfect, but he sure was great.

3. Cooper Kupp is having an All-Pro season.

4. Man... DJax is still ridiculously fast. Even more than his 75 yard TD, that was proven on his 42 yard catch and run. Speed kills!

5. You have to appreciate the OL. Kept Stafford clean for 3+ quarters before giving up a fairly meaningless sack, and doing just enough in the running game late to run down the clock.

6. DJax's TD really shows what we were missing last year, both in deep speed and an OL giving a QB time to let that type of play develop.

7. Aaron Donald doing a Aaron Donald things. Strip sack saves 3 points late in first half, sniffed out screen pass ends a drive. He's a beast.

8. Kenny Young, regarded as a bit of a throw-in when we traded Marcus Peters away, has become a very good player, and was the defensive MVP today (10 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss).

9. I think the biggest advantage the Rams had today was at the CB position. With the Bucs thin at the position and losing Jamel Dean during the game, the Rams strength at the position was evident.

10. Numbers can lie. The Rams gave up 446 yards today, but most of them were pretty insignificant.

11. Once again, the late running game was important. Last two drives, which produced an important FG and milked the clock: Sony Michel had 8 carries for 40 yards.

12. Who had Tom Brady as the Bucs' leading rusher today? (14 yards)

13. The Rams had only one penalty for four yards (holding penalty on special teams that preceded the first scoring drive, a 95 yard TD drive). The Bucs had 7 penalties for 41 yards. In the first three games, the Rams have a total of only 7 penalties. Gotta love our discipline thus far!

14. Sean McVay was truly fired up today, particularly at the end of the first half. Of course, if you had McVay's record when leading at the half (40-0 now), you'd be fired up too!

15. Tyler Higbee made some great contributions today. Had Stafford not been sacked late, he was open for a HUGE gain.

16. Not Rams related, but... that Justin Tucker FG. Oh my LORD!!!!! (Poor Goff).

17. I saw some red in the stands, but that seemed like a home field advantage to me!

18. Divisional play in the next two weeks will be big. A chance to slap down the upstart Cardinals and potentially bury the (now 1-2) Seahawks. Bring them on!

19. The Rams still have trailed for only 2:03 this season. That's good for my stress level!

20. Brady frustrated, Rams 3-0. What more can we ask for?

There is another aspect to Stafford's game that helps the OL...he is seeing the blitz very quickly and has burned the defense's with his quick hits ...that makes running blitzes less desirable.

 

[Ramstien]

It's all good with the Hollins injury as the only bleep.

 

[TexasRam]

Great post - agree all around.

Was out for my daughters Bday so wasn't able to fully rewatch the game yet, but initial impressions are the same.

The Combo of Mcvays excellent play calls, Healthy and improved Oline and Staffords ability to hit the deep balls and protect the ball have us humming right now and its so fun to watch.

We need to count are blessings as well because all three secondaries we have played have had their starting CB's out and even 2nd stringers injured. The good news is our NFC west opponents have each lost key secondary players as well - Arizona Peterson, Seattle - Griffin and Niner - Sherman and now Verrett. Not to mention games coming up vs Lions Jags and a host of other horrible defenses.

The offense is back to its 31 ppg clip that it had under Mcvay in previous years and now has a healthy Kupp, Oline and D. Jackson who looks incredible.

Our contenders will be Green Bay and Tampa this year and I don't see either as being as well balanced as us. If Tampa gets Sherman and their secondary starters back healthy, along with JPP and Brown then we will have a battle on our hands.

Going to come down to injuries and who is playing the best ball heading into them postseason!

 

[Mackeyser]

I really hope Sherman goes to Carolina, instead.

Apparently, they've also reached out and I'm certain Carolina has more money available than the Bucs do.

 

[oldnotdead]

8. Kenny Young, regarded as a bit of a throw-in when we traded Marcus Peters away, has become a very good player, and was the defensive MVP today (10 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss).

Actually the Rams insisted upon his inclusion in the trade or they wouldn't do it. Kenny is a player they scouted heavily but didn't get the chance to take him in that draft. Young is the defensive version of Corbett who also was heavily scouted not as a center so much but as a OG. Young is that tweener type of player that is built like an ILB but has the speed of a SS. He was originally envisioned as a slightly slower version of Bobby Wagner. They expected to use him that way and now in this defense they are.

11. Once again, the late running game was important. Last two drives, which produced an important FG and milked the clock: Sony Michel had 8 carries for 40 yards.

Michel showed exactly why I've been high on his acquisition. His blitz pickups were outstanding. Also, he had 67 yards on 20 carries against one of the premier run defenses in the NFL. The Rams ran for a total of 76 yards in the game against that defense. People disparage the OL run play but 76 yards against this defensive front is a pretty good production. Enough to force the Bucs to honor the run possibility. Sony proved he's earned the 3rd down RB even after Akers returns. He also has earned the short-yardage RB as well. He doesn't have breakaway speed but he certainly isn't slow. As long as Sony is healthy the Rams will have a run game.

10. Numbers can lie. The Rams gave up 446 yards today, but most of them were pretty insignificant.

Brady was 41 of 55 for 432 yds with 1 TD. Yards per pass was 7.1.
Stafford was 27 of 38 for 343 yds with 4 TDs. Yards per completion 8.5 yds.

The Rams followed the exact same game plan to beat Brady. Take away his run support and force him to beat them while under pressure. Brady is an elite talent, but without that support around him, he's a vulnerable as any other QB. I had no doubt that the Rams would beat the Bucs if they simply played a clean game. Just like last year the Rams took away his run support and kept him under pressure. The Ram offense with Goff and Malcolm Brown still beat Brady. In other words, a complete team on both sides of the ball can beat a Brady team following the Ram's blueprint.

But most teams simply aren't built like the Rams. Stafford is playing behind a very good OL. Defenses can't match up with the depth of the Ram's passing game. Woods, Kupp, D. Jax, Jefferson, and Higbee make them 5 deep without counting Henderson, Funk and Michel. Someone is going to be open as long as the OL holds up and it's been holding up just fine.

This was not only a statement win but a huge warning to the rest of the NFL that the Rams can beat anyone. They can over-match any defense and match up to any offense. Yeah, they lost Hollins but they have Lewis, J. Williams, and Garrett and they can game-by-game activate Lawler if they feel the need. But with Garrett coming back and Jonah Williams behind Lewis, they will simply IR Hollins and bring him back when he's ready to play again.

Next Sunday the Rams can snuff out the remaining contender for the division crown. This year's Rams are built to sweep the division and I fully expect them to do just that. Seattle's defense is a mess. The Niners Jimmy G is good but hardly elite. Their rookie will be dead meat against this team. If the Rams sweep AZ again this year, it will be bye bye to Kliff and that entire FO in my opinion.