Confused on Watkins

[Merlin]

I've lurked around here for a few years before joining, so I know there are quite a few of us who thought we should have drafted this cat, and we all were jumping for joy when we traded for him. We can all agree he is by far the most ahead to be our #1 receiver on potential alone. So my question is, why has it seemed to me he has been overlooked? There were a couple plays where I noticed he was wide open, but Goff never took the shot. He played amazing against the 9ners, but was never targeted when against a secondary of mostly back ups, yesterday. We gave up quite a bit to get him, considering Gaines is healthy and playing at top 10 cb caliber and we are thin at that position. Not trying to be negative, just wondering what y'alls thoughts are and what you have seen from your side.

Offensive football is about matchups and using scheme to get the ones you want. Adding Watkins was important because he automatically draws the top CB from an opposing defense, causing a trickle down effect that Tavon did NOT give them. Now you have guys like Woods and Kupp being legitimate matchup advantages vs the #2 and slot CBs.

Forcing the ball to Watkins and trying to scheme it to him is what Jeff Fisher would do. That is losing football. You set the reads for the QB, and if the defense goes out of its way to focus on Watkins you simply go to the next matchup, which NOW because of Watkins' presence will be a good one for us.

Look at the production McVay had with the Skins last year. Three guys all under 1k yards, along with a RB as an additional threat/matchup problem for LB/S. This is exactly what we are seeing now and it WORKS.

IF our offense was dependent on Watkins, all a defense has to do is take him away. Again, Jeff Fisher offense there man. And I am thankful we have McVay and have moved far beyond that BS.

 

[I like Rams]

Once this Rams clears the bye week I would expect some serious uptick in Sammy Watkins outstanding events with this team. I suspect that Sammy will finally be what most all thought he would be when he was drafted.

Good thinking. Watkins may not need to be utilized as much with who we have been facing, but he will def be a nice set of hands to be out there when we face harder opponents and need to force harder balls.

 

[BonifayRam]

Good thinking. Watkins may not need to be utilized as much with who we have been facing, but he will def be a nice set of hands to be out there when we face harder opponents and need to force harder balls.

No better time than this weekend's game with the Seahawks.

 

[Merlin]

Once this Rams clears the bye week I would expect some serious uptick in Sammy Watkins outstanding events with this team. I suspect that Sammy will finally be what most all thought he would be when he was drafted.

As this season unfolds I think all the wideouts will become more dangerous to include Watkins. Because Goff is improving at an enormously fast rate, faster than I expected and I am a damn kool-aid guzzling fan of his. As Jared gets better he will have that element where he puts up jump balls to Sammy judiciously in certain situations, but again you gotta be careful as a coaching staff on trying to push or teach that. Right now what Goff needs to hear is be smart with the football NOT force it, get through his reads quickly and if necessary throw it away.

Goff's best stat is the low INT rate. They have to keep that going now, especially with the offense carrying this team how it is. McVay preaches moving the chains by spreading the ball around and being unpredictable and maintaining run/pass balance. But yeah, at some point as he develops I do agree Sammy will be better maximized. You just can't really push that development.

 

[Merlin]

Oh and btw has anyone been watching Seattle's games? IMO if they leave Sherman on an island with Watkins that's a matchup that favors the Rams all day long.

Again, though, depends on whether Seattle is willing to leave him on an island or give him help. Seattle will mix it up of course, but I do think that Watkins will have a good game vs Sherman. He's better than him IMO.

 

[I like Rams]

Offensive football is about matchups and using scheme to get the ones you want. Adding Watkins was important because he automatically draws the top CB from an opposing defense, causing a trickle down effect that Tavon did NOT give them. Now you have guys like Woods and Kupp being legitimate matchup advantages vs the #2 and slot CBs.

Forcing the ball to Watkins and trying to scheme it to him is what Jeff Fisher would do. That is losing football. You set the reads for the QB, and if the defense goes out of its way to focus on Watkins you simply go to the next matchup, which NOW because of Watkins' presence will be a good one for us.

Look at the production McVay had with the Skins last year. Three guys all under 1k yards, along with a RB as an additional threat/matchup problem for LB/S. This is exactly what we are seeing now and it WORKS.

IF our offense was dependent on Watkins, all a defense has to do is take him away. Again, Jeff Fisher offense there man. And I am thankful we have McVay and have moved far beyond that BS.

Totally understand that, and I've specified that we should not force the ball to him. I'm not sure how McVay and company are coaching Goff, all im saying is Watkins is most certainly going to draw the most attention. But if I'm McVay and i have a scheme that intends to draw the db's to Watkins and leave another man open, but Watkins ends up breaking free and opening up the possibility to make a big play, you tell Goff to take that shot. Just bc he is a decoy in the scheme doesnt mean he has to stay one. There were a couple plays where he was open and Goff tried to force it to other receivers. The possibility of this just being a learning curve for Goff is also very much a possibility. But the fact that Watkins has the best tools IMO, he should never be overlooked.

 

[BonifayRam]

As this season unfolds I think all the wideouts will become more dangerous to include Watkins. Because Goff is improving at an enormously fast rate, faster than I expected and I am a damn kool-aid guzzling fan of his. As Jared gets better he will have that element where he puts up jump balls to Sammy judiciously in certain situations, but again you gotta be careful as a coaching staff on trying to push or teach that. Right now what Goff needs to hear is be smart with the football NOT force it, get through his reads quickly and if necessary throw it away.

Goff's best stat is the low INT rate. They have to keep that going now, especially with the offense carrying this team how it is. McVay preaches moving the chains by spreading the ball around and being unpredictable and maintaining run/pass balance. But yeah, at some point as he develops I do agree Sammy will be better maximized. You just can't really push that development.

Like when he threw that ball to Higbee on the deep right side .....right in between 3 DB's

 

[Merlin]

Like when he threw that ball to Higbee on the deep right side .....right in between 3 DB's

Exactly man. That was a terrible damn decision, Jared dodged a bullet there.

Watkins is going to have his games where things favor him. Dallas was determined to remove him, and got burned by Gurley and Kupp. Scheming vs the Rams offense is literally pick your poison right now and I don't understand this continued "OMG we have to get the ball to Watkins more' stuff. We're leading the league in scoring.

 

[Big Game]

This is an equal opportunity offense. Meaning each week we game plan to attack the other teams weaknesses. So last week we saw Watkins go off but this week was the Todd Gurley show and then we mixed in guys like Higbee Woods and Tavon.

So now teams defenses can't really just game plan for taking one or two guys away we can beat you with multiple guys. Love this approach on offense

But please realize Watkins being on the field allows this to work

 

[I like Rams]

Exactly man. That was a terrible damn decision, Jared dodged a bullet there.

Watkins is going to have his games where things favor him. Dallas was determined to remove him, and got burned by Gurley and Kupp. Scheming vs the Rams offense is literally pick your poison right now and I don't understand this continued "OMG we have to get the ball to Watkins more' stuff. We're leading the league in scoring.

But Watkins was open, on that very play. I saw two other plays before that where he was open as well for more yardage, one was in the end zone. You shouldnt target Watkins bc he is the biggest name, but you shouldn't read past him bc he is either.

 

[FrantikRam]

In each of the last three games, all of which were close, Sammy made a play in each game that nobody on our roster the past 7 years could have made. And we quite literally have the best offense in the NFL right now. So nobody should be complaining about lack of targets for Watkins.

For Sammy it's another story...obviously giving up a 2nd round pick, we should prioritize re-signing him. But if he doesn't want to re-sign due to lack of targets, that's out of our control - and between Reynolds, Kupp, Woods, Everett and Gurley we would be okay IMO.

The issue is that 2nd round pick - we need to upgrade Barron at MLB, CB and OLB - as well as the future center and left tackle.

Losing that 2nd round pick hurts for that.

I think we need to draft nothing but defense and hope that our OL holds up another year.

 

[Merlin]

But Watkins was open, on that very play. I saw two other plays before that where he was open as well for more yardage, one was in the end zone. You shouldnt target Watkins bc he is the biggest name, but you shouldn't read past him bc he is either.

Do you know the read order on that play? Was Watkins first read? Already said it was a bad decision by Goff to make the throw. He's learning.

What is your option to move forward here? To browbeat the kid and change an offense that spreads the ball around and is unpredictable to have Watkins as first read on every play?

I'll take the way this offense is playing now, and let the kid continue to learn and improve. Let's agree to disagree.

 

[bomebadeeda]

Play designs sometimes make guys appear more open than they really are. But I have seen sometimes Sammy appears to be the "more open" (combo route where Goff goes to the crosser underneath and the player "running" w/ Sammy instantly peels back into a double team ....... obviously plays tendencies......). But there can also be defensive tendencies, that McVay and Goff want to avoid and take what the defense gives. I think Goff will get better as he goes through all of the options. Right now, he just takes McVay's keys and goes from there. Once he is completely comfortable....(and it might not come this season) then he'll see the options based on coverages or individual defensive schemes.

 

[I like Rams]

Do you know the read order on that play? Was Watkins first read? Already said it was a bad decision by Goff to make the throw. He's learning.

What is your option to move forward here? To browbeat the kid and change an offense that spreads the ball around and is unpredictable to have Watkins as first read on every play?

I'll take the way this offense is playing now, and let the kid continue to learn and improve. Let's agree to disagree.

I've already answered that i dont know the play calls anymore than anyone else here. Noone does. Doesn't mean I can't voice my opinion and get others feedback. I've already said I liked the community style offense, we dont have to agree to disagree about anything bc we pretty much agree on everything. I know this bc I've read all your responses, if you have read all mine you'd know we are in the same boat. I just pointed out a scenario that many remember happening to try and prove where I was coming from.

My point was to have an honest discussion if watkins may in fact been worth the trade in the long run when we all know that this is not a #1 receiver style offense and EJ is a top 10 corner right now. I agree Watkins is a great distraction, but is that what he wants in the long run? Is that worth the money or trade? Its just a discussion and a few people like Bonify and 12 have given me a different outlook on the matter which have made me change my opinion. My opinion was short sided and wasnt thinking about the harder games where Watkins can be utilized more.

 

[RhodyRams]

I don't know how open Watkins was on that pass. I saw Goff scrambling and throw up a rainbow, plenty of time for whoever was covering SW to move to the ball

 

[rams56]

I think that if Goff missed him that will show and be addressed in film study by the coaches and Goff himself.... no worries. ....Sammie will get his......Goff is still growing. ..albeit by leaps and bounds.....maybe that's what they mean when they say there is still so much room for improvement. .... I think our future is bright. ....

Go Rams.......

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

Keep in mind he may not have been a big part of the game plan due to uncertainty of him playing. McVay doesn't seem to get too far away from the game plan unless the game dictates he do so. Watkins on the field is alone enough to help this offense.

This is what I was thinking during the game. I'll admit to getting some what frustrated that Mr. Watkins was all but invisible for most of the game. Then it occurred to me that he may have not practiced much last week due the concussion protocols and what not so mebbe he wasn't featured in the game plan as much as he would have normally been.

Kinda hoping that's the case because I want him utilized and featured often so he will remain motivated to resign with the Rams in the off season. As most of us know #1 franchise type wide outs want to be busy and active on game day and not relegated to a decoy or something like that.
Play the man, throw it to the man, sign the man!
That is all.......

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[Boston Ram]

Watkins is still 2nd in catches (most for WRs) and has been with the team the least amount time. It probably more to do with Goff not seeing or forcing balls to him yet and them still getting on the same page. With all this being said, again he is 2nd in catches. Watch Watkins after the bye week. I think if this team stays on course and continues to progress, Watkins will have a monster 2nd half of the season.

 

[Ram65]

I've lurked around here for a few years before joining, so I know there are quite a few of us who thought we should have drafted this cat, and we all were jumping for joy when we traded for him. We can all agree he is by far the most ahead to be our #1 receiver on potential alone. So my question is, why has it seemed to me he has been overlooked? There were a couple plays where I noticed he was wide open, but Goff never took the shot. He played amazing against the 9ners, but was never targeted when against a secondary of mostly back ups, yesterday. We gave up quite a bit to get him, considering Gaines is healthy and playing at top 10 cb caliber and we are thin at that position. Not trying to be negative, just wondering what y'alls thoughts are and what you have seen from your side.

We should have these type of Watkins thread every week. Two weeks ago the same general question about getting Sammy the ball. The result was his first 100 game as a Ram. Look for a 100 against the Hags.

I would like to see the all 22 video to see what Goff might have missed. I didn't really look to see who was open on Goff passes. It's possible Sammy was open and Goff missed him or he wasn't open when Goff viewed him in his progressions.The Cowpies took the bootleg away from Goff with pressure from the DE. I don't think Goff as sharp asn he had been and Dallas could have been confusing him with coverage. I would like to see Sammy get more touches. He eats yards after the catch and makes the hard ones look easy.

 

[Merlin]

My point was to have an honest discussion if watkins may in fact been worth the trade in the long run when we all know that this is not a #1 receiver style offense and EJ is a top 10 corner right now.

The answer is yes. And I explained why.

Pre-Watkins the number one CB removes Woods or Kupp. Look what is left. Now Woods and Kupp both are favorable matchups, and Watkins can also beat a top CB if he doesn't have help. Matchups are favorable 3 deep.

If we see the Cowboys in the playoffs, McVay will use the tendencies where Watkins was open vs a certain look/situation that they didn't take advantage of, and will have Goff ready with adjusted read priorities. But again as to the times you saw Watkins open, as I said Goff is learning and we don't know the play design.

As Goff improves those busted coverages where Watkins does his thing will be recognized more and more. My deal is let's not act like "OMG McVay needs to get the ball to Watkins." That way lies offensive dependency on one player and failure in the playoffs. Talk to some Cowboy fans about getting the ball to Dez, forcing it, etc. Look up the stats on win/loss when a team tries to focus just the top target. That is losing offensive football approach IMO.

McVay gets it. Thank God.