2017-2018 Season - Second Quarter

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12intheBox

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It was a hell of a first quarter - and the Rams bandwagon is-a-growing. There is still plenty of room on board and we lifers should welcome new fans with open arms - encourage them to buy tickets and teach them when to be loud and when not to. But anyway - lets look ahead to Q2.

Vs Sea
@ Jax
vs Az
@ NYG

Not to start counting chickens or anything, but it seems like this Seahawks game should tell us who is who in the NFC West. Neither Arizona nor San Fran are complete patsies, but neither looks particularly primed to make a run either.

The Seahawks look flawed right now. Their offenive line has always been their weakness - a weakness they have been able to manage in years past with Wilson's elite scrambling ability. He needs to have a really long Sunday this weekend - and when we get mits on him, he needs to go down. It seems to me that we shouldn't need to bring 5 or 6 very often - we can pick our spots - a 4 man pass rush should be able to get it done. It appears we will see a combo attack of Eddie Lacy and JD McKissic unless Prosisse gets unexpectedly healthy or Rawls finds his way out of the doghouse. Contain RW, and you contain the Seachickens. On the other side of the ball, Seattle is especially thin at corner. I don't expect Sherman to follow Watkins around the field all night, but I do expect the Rams to pick on the other side of the field as much as possible. I think the Rams take this game and assert control over the NFC West.

Jacksonville is going to be a fun one to watch - their defense is real. Calais Campbell is playing lights out and they are getting great CB play. I think you expect this game to come down to seeling out against Fournette and making Bortles beat you. I would hang our defensive backs out to dry in this one and prepare for a ground war. If there is one game in this second quarter of the season that looks like the toughest matchup for the Rams, its this'n.

The Cardinals need to have their asses whooped - but its rarely easy with these guys. They have played like crap in the first quarter, yet they came out of it 2-2. This is the kind of game where you can't let them hang around - this one needs to get out of hand early. Carson needs to be prompted into retirement with our pass rush. Like Seattle, the O line is banged up badly - we should be able to get pressure on him with 4. Defensively, they still have some pretty good pieces - this is the kind of game we could mental mistake our way into losing.

At the Giants could be tougher than the records make it look. The Giants have LAC, Den, and Sea up next - lets hope they lose at least 2 of those anc come in demoralized. There is still talent on this team - especially on the defense. It would be nice if they were ready to mail the season in by week 9. Assuming both teams come to play - it will come down to taking advantage of their O Line issues and not letting Eli get the ball out. They haven't had a run game materialize yet this year, but they have weapons down field. Defensively, they present a real challenge for any team.

I can't see any of these 4 games that I would pick the Rams to lose at this point - but assuming they let one of these games slip through and go 3-1 through the second quarter - they are still in really good shape at 6-2 after the first half. It sure is fun to have a good team again.
 

Mojo Ram

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I had us needing to go 3-1 in the first quarter and 2-2 in this second quarter.
 

I like Rams

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Jax is by far our biggest game in this stretch. Followed by the Giants. I dont believe the Ginas are as terrible as their record indicates and should not be slept on. If there's a team that can get their S together quickly, theyve proven that time and time again.
 

12intheBox

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I had us needing to go 3-1 in the first quarter and 2-2 in this second quarter.

Looking ahead - Q3 looks tougher than I thought it might have been (Texans, Vikings, Saints, Cardinals) and Q4 (Eagles, Sea, Titans, 9ers) aint going to be a cakewalk either. We need to handle bidness this quarter.
 

Mojo Ram

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Looking ahead - Q3 looks tougher than I thought it might have been (Texans, Vikings, Saints, Cardinals) and Q4 (Eagles, Sea, Titans, 9ers) aint going to be a cakewalk either. We need to handle bidness this quarter.
Agreed. Not sure where i posted it this year. I usually do that quarter by quarter prediction every year. I think i had us going
3-1
2-2
2-2
2-2
9-7
 

12intheBox

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Agreed. Not sure where i posted it this year. I usually do that quarter by quarter prediction every year. I think i had us going
3-1
2-2
2-2
2-2
9-7

While you are off to a strong start, lets hope your predictions are off the rest of the way.
 

bomebadeeda

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All I know about is Seattle......they're next!
 

DaveFan'51

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The Cardinals need to have their asses whooped - but its rarely easy with these guys. They have played like crap in the first quarter, yet they came out of it 2-2. This is the kind of game where you can't let them hang around - this one needs to get out of hand early. Carson needs to be prompted into retirement with our pass rush. Like Seattle, the O line is banged up badly - we should be able to get pressure on him with 4. Defensively, they still have some pretty good pieces - this is the kind of game we could mental mistake our way into losing.
Don't forget, this is a "London Game" and the Cards don't travel well!!(y);) I agree with you, The Jags could be a real fist fight, But Bortles can't carry this team alone, so we have to make him panic!;):D
 

12intheBox

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Don't forget, this is a "London Game" and the Cards don't travel well!!(y);) I agree with you, The Jags could be a real fist fight, But Bortles can't carry this team alone, so we have to make him panic!;):D

Ugh. London game. Hope McV has the boys ready to go.
 

TexasRam

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Seattle is a whole different animal.
They always start slow. Then that defense comes together.

If you don't gameplan Wilson correctly
He will beat you. I hope Wade doesn't play it straight up.

This is one game Fisher knew how to win.
 

AllGasNoBrakes

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As mentioned, let's not count our chickens before they hatch. We've been blessed with minimal injuries through the first quarter, let's see if that holds through the next.

One injury to a pivotal player and it changes everything (looking at you Whitworth).

Love what you said regarding welcoming new fans aboard, though! Plenty of room, let's go RAMS! :grouphug:
 

Riverumbbq

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After Seattle, our next 3 games are on the road, including the Cards game in London, so it won't be easy.

During the pre-season I had us going 6 - 1 into the BYE week, and 10 - 6 overall. We should be 4 - 0 right now as everything that could go wrong did so in the Skins game, and as angry as I was following that fiasco, I can see the Rams finishing the first half at 7 - 1. http://www.ramsondemand.com/threads/record-prediction-thread.50825/#post-937144

Nothing about any of our next 4 opponents makes them unbeatable, even if they are mostly road games, ... in fact i'm now guessing our Rams finish at 11 - 5 so long as we avoid the injury curse. Our offense is playing smart and based on the second half of the Dallas game, i'd say our defense is definitely coming around. We are still a very young team building chemistry on both sides of the ball, now it's time to prove our team confidence is worthy of a proper play-off run. jmo.