Five Takeways: Rams resume winning with complimentary football vs. Falcons

[CGI_Ram]

Five Takeways: Rams resume winning with complementary football vs. Falcons

Contributions from all three phases pivotal in victory over Atlanta.

www.therams.com

Five Takeways: Rams resume winning with complimentary football vs. Falcons

ATLANTA – Complimentary football was the name of the game for the Rams on Sunday, authoring a complete performance in a 37-10 win over the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A victory likely doesn't come without contributions made on offense, defense and special teams.

Here are five instant takeaways from the matchup:

1) PASS RUSH HELPED BY RAMSEY'S PRESENCE

LB Dante Fowler must've felt really good about reuniting with one of his favorite teammates from his NFL career. DT Aaron Donald is likely thankful for both.

With new CB Jalen Ramsey mixed into the secondary, the Rams defense set a new season-high with five sacks against the Falcons. It was a credit not only to Los Angeles' front seven, but the efforts of Ramsey as well as Troy Hill, Darious Williams and Nickell Robey-Coleman against one of the NFL's top passing offenses entering Week 7.

Ramsey's impact was felt right away – just ask Fowler, who notched his first three-sack game of his NFL career, and Donald, who notched his fourth sack of the season.

2) BONES DIPS INTO BAG OF TRICKS

Special teams coordinator John "Bones" Fassel is no stranger to trick plays, and the successful execution on one against the Falcons only added to that reputation.

Facing a 4th and 3 from the Atlanta 46, L.A. chose to go for it. Punter Johnny Hekker took the snap, but dropped back to pass instead of kicking the ball, making a 23-yard completion to safety Nick Scott. The Rams not only got the conversion, they got inside the Falcons 25 yard line and eventually added three points on a 25-yard field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein for a 13-3 lead with two minutes left.

More directly, Fassel's unit accounted for the final points of the game when CB Darious Williams recovered LB Troy Reeder's forced fumble on a punt return in the endzone.

Tally up the field goals, the touchdown and what the trick play led to, and special teams accounted for 16 of the Rams' 37 points Sunday afternoon.

3) OFFENSIVE LINE ADAPTS SEAMLESSLY AS EDWARDS EXCELS

On defense, Ramsey's involvement was going to be the major focus. On offense, it was rookie David Edwards making his first career start at left guard.

Edwards passed with flying colors.

The former Wisconsin standout, primarily a right tackle in college – and that was after converting over from tight end prior to the 2016 season – displayed poise, athleticism and plenty of signs that he's capable of holding down that starting job for the foreseeable future. He also seemed to have good chemistry with the rest of the starters.

It's remarkable, and a credit to Edwards' work ethic and development, when you consider he had never played the position until he got to Los Angeles and began learning it during OTAs.

4) TAKEWAYS FOR DAYS

Making Falcons QB Matt Ryan a spectactor was going to be a key to slowing down one of the NFL's most explosive passing offenses. It would either have to be done by controlling the lock with a steady rushing attack, or literally taking the ball away from Ryan or one of his offensive teammates.

The Rams defense and special teams rose to the challenge and achieved the latter.

With one interception and two fumble recoveries, L.A.'s defense matched it season high for takeaways with three, producing the same amount against the Panthers in the season-opener. Rams LB Cory Littleton's interception led to a touchdown scoring drive that began at the Falcons 16, while Donald recovering the fumble created by his own strip sack led to a 20-yard field goal by kicker Zuerlein that punctuated 30 consecutive points scored by L.A.'s offense. The second forced fumble came via special teams and was highlighted above.

All told, the Rams were able to produce 17 of their 37 points off of the three turnovers.

5) RAMS REWARDED FOR TRUSTING THE PROCESS

Goff's postgame comments about what this win means to Los Angeles were telling.

Despite beginning the week in uncharted territory due to the first-ever three-game losing streak of the Sean McVay era, the Rams didn't force any changes dramatic changes because of the skid, he explained. They simply just maintained their faith in each other and the coaching staff.

Their reward? Improving to 4-3 overall in the first of two games across a 10-day road trip and a confidence boost heading into next week's game against the Bengals in London.

 

[Mackeyser]

So, pattern guy here.

Why you should be excited about this:

1) Edwards changed the entire complexion of this game, maybe as much as Ramsey. The entire OL played better. I even caught a shot of Allen blocking two DL at the same time. Without the LG being a turnstile, Goff had time for those "McVay" routes that take time to develop...those 15-25 yard routes that this team seems to excel at. There are still scheme issues, but Edwards is only going to get better.

2) You FINALLY got to see Wade's defense. THIS is what we all wanted when he got here and THIS is what it can look like when it is properly stocked with personnel. And it's only going to get better as Matthews and Talib get back (I don't think JJ is coming back this season). Did you see how often he brought 5 defender, just like in Denver? Did you see those exotic blitzes? With Ramsey locking up Jones, we got to see what that extra half-second looks like. Also, Ramsey seemed to set the tone for the physicality of the DBs.

3) McVay is capable of not abandoning the run. Atlanta sold out to stop the run. Okay. We still ran the ball 36 times. And with Edwards stepping up, we had MUCH more success on play action AND we dealt with the A gap pressures MUCH better. McVay is NOT Martz... and that's comforting on many levels.

4) The Rams D is now SUPER STINGY. Against the #1 or #2 (I forget which) passing offense in the NFL, especially because Atlanta did it when behind which puts even more pressure on the offense, the Rams held Atlanta to 3 points when the starters were in. Moreover, they didn't "bend, don't break". They were as inflexible as I am after napping on our new couch (it's great to sit on, but too stiff to sleep on).

5) Gurley is fine. Much like with Goff, his issues relate more to the scheme taking his running style away and putting him into bad spots versus an inability to run. Also, we saw him in the pass game and he sure didn't look slow or upset to me. If anything, after that catch, he was fired up. Expect more of that going forward.

While could do a top 5 things to still be concerned about, I just don't feel like it. This trajectory is SO different than what we saw after the SF game that I'm gonna swim in this for a bit. Then we can get into the full on pros and cons for the Rams going forward.

 

[majrleaged]

So, pattern guy here.

Why you should be excited about this:

1) Edwards changed the entire complexion of this game, maybe as much as Ramsey. The entire OL played better. I even caught a shot of Allen blocking two DL at the same time. Without the LG being a turnstile, Goff had time for those "McVay" routes that take time to develop...those 15-25 yard routes that this team seems to excel at. There are still scheme issues, but Edwards is only going to get better.

2) You FINALLY got to see Wade's defense. THIS is what we all wanted when he got here and THIS is what it can look like when it is properly stocked with personnel. And it's only going to get better as Matthews and Talib get back (I don't think JJ is coming back this season). Did you see how often he brought 5 defender, just like in Denver? Did you see those exotic blitzes? With Ramsey locking up Jones, we got to see what that extra half-second looks like. Also, Ramsey seemed to set the tone for the physicality of the DBs.

3) McVay is capable of not abandoning the run. Atlanta sold out to stop the run. Okay. We still ran the ball 36 times. And with Edwards stepping up, we had MUCH more success on play action AND we dealt with the A gap pressures MUCH better. McVay is NOT Martz... and that's comforting on many levels.

4) The Rams D is now SUPER STINGY. Against the #1 or #2 (I forget which) passing offense in the NFL, especially because Atlanta did it when behind which puts even more pressure on the offense, the Rams held Atlanta to 3 points when the starters were in. Moreover, they didn't "bend, don't break". They were as inflexible as I am after napping on our new couch (it's great to sit on, but too stiff to sleep on).

5) Gurley is fine. Much like with Goff, his issues relate more to the scheme taking his running style away and putting him into bad spots versus an inability to run. Also, we saw him in the pass game and he sure didn't look slow or upset to me. If anything, after that catch, he was fired up. Expect more of that going forward.

While could do a top 5 things to still be concerned about, I just don't feel like it. This trajectory is SO different than what we saw after the SF game that I'm gonna swim in this for a bit. Then we can get into the full on pros and cons for the Rams going forward.

The Falcons have 5 sacks on the year. I hope the Oline is turning it around, but it wasn't that much of a test.

 

[Jacobarch]

I'm more impressed by the Defense than the offense. To do what they did to a top 5 offense is very impressive. While not perfect they did show a big improvement on the backend of the Defense.
What I'm more excited about is when JJIII and Talib come back. Talib lined up over the teams second best WR and Ramsey on the #1... That's going to be insane.
Hill also looked pretty damn good. While he allowed a couple of catches which was perfectly acceptable, he played tight and tackled really well. Something Peters constantly struggled with.

On offense I still saw some issues with the Oline when it came to the running game. I know Atlanta sold out putting 8 and often 9 in the box to stop us from running all over them. So that in itself is a little more comforting than what we've been seeing. I liked what i saw from Edwards, he needs a little more push but I think that will come in time as he matures as an adult.
Passing game looked crisp today as it should have against that god awful secondary.
Goff is still a little off on his deepball. He had two or three easy shots that could have either gone for TD's or long gains with Everette and Cooks. I think I'm being a little ticky tacky because honestly I want Goff to have a perfect passer rating every damn game haha. I know its unrealistic but i can't help myself.

Now we're onto an england game. sigggggggggggh. I fucking hate games across the "pond" it's something that F's up your entire gameplan, time change, travel time, etc etc. Good thing is we have the bye after. So if we can convincingly beat Cincy and come out injury free we'll have a good gauge of where' we're at coming into the bye. We'll be 5-3 assuming we win next week and heating up at the right time of year. Not to mention getting back some guys on Defense that should help us out even more.
I also wouldn't be surprised if we saw some Austin Corbett in the upcoming weeks. If he proves to be better at playing a zone scheme and outshines Blythe I would plug him in there and let Blythe play backup C/G which would be a huge huge win for the Rams. We'll see tho.

 

[Mackeyser]

The Falcons have 5 sacks on the year. I hope the Oline is turning it around, but it wasn't that much of a test.

If you actually watch each play, you'll see that it's truly a game of inches. On many plays, Goff was able to slide to extend a play or make a throw that if he had even .1 seconds less, that play doesn't happen.

I wasn't expecting Edwards to be Adam Timmerman, but he did give Goff the time he needed.

If Demby was back there, the story would be how that former Super Bowl DL got back on track...

it was a big enough test in that only the 72 Dolphins and the 2008 Patriots have gone undefeated in the regular season. Every team loses games, hence that "Any Given Sunday" reality.

Sometimes a difference maker is someone who's good enough when the other guy wasn't rather than someone who's dominant play in and play out like AD.

Edwards was a difference maker in that respect and he should only get better this season as it goes on...

 

[tomas]

Edwards was a difference maker in that respect and he should only get better this season as it goes on...

I think Edwards is a possible future All-Pro- massive-strong man with quick feet -Huge upgrade over Noteboom and Demby. And I've been hearing good reports on an improving Bobby Evans - In Kromer we trust.

 

[yrba1]

Love what I'm hearing of David Edwards so far. Another opportunity to gel with a weak team facing the Bengals on Sunday, hope he continues to shine. Real test will be against the Steelers front seven following the bye week, then the Bears from there.

 

[max]

According to Vinny, the Rams were high on Blythe coming into this season. I don’t understand that. He must be a great practice player.

He stinks on game day. I don’t buy the ankle injury turns a good Guard into the worst one in the league.

 

[hotanez]

I think Edwards is a possible future All-Pro- massive-strong man with quick feet -Huge upgrade over Noteboom and Demby. And I've been hearing good reports on an improving Bobby Evans - In Kromer we trust.

What reports on B Evans did you see? Are they practice reports? I'm interested in reading them.

 

[tomas]

What reports on B Evans did you see? Are they practice reports? I'm interested in reading them.

From a friend of a friend - Rams Insider- Training Facilities

 

[Mackeyser]

According to Vinny, the Rams were high on Blythe coming into this season. I don’t understand that. He must be a great practice player.

He stinks on game day. I don’t buy the ankle injury turns a good Guard into the worst one in the league.

Depends on the ankle injury. For a big guy, ANYTHING that makes it harder to quickly anchor or shift weight is gonna be magnified.

 

[hotanez]

From a friend of a friend - Rams Insider- Training Facilities

Thanks, very good to hear that he's doing well. We need all the help we can get.

 

[max]

I think Edwards is a possible future All-Pro- massive-strong man with quick feet -Huge upgrade over Noteboom and Demby. And I've been hearing good reports on an improving Bobby Evans - In Kromer we trust.

I hope Evans is being groomed to play RG. He doesn’t look like an OT to me.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think Edwards is a possible future All-Pro- massive-strong man with quick feet -Huge upgrade over Noteboom and Demby. And I've been hearing good reports on an improving Bobby Evans - In Kromer we trust.

I hope your friends info is correct, but I've learned that seeing is believing and not to put too much stock into the espousing of coaches. Exhibit A - Allen, exhibit -B Noteboom.

 

[Zodi]

3) McVay is capable of not abandoning the run. Atlanta sold out to stop the run. Okay. We still ran the ball 36 times. And with Edwards stepping up, we had MUCH more success on play action AND we dealt with the A gap pressures MUCH better. McVay is NOT Martz... and that's comforting on many levels.

Easier to do with a lead, just saying. And it was one game against one of the absolute worst defenses in the league.

 

[Mackeyser]

Easier to do with a lead, just saying. And it was one game against one of the absolute worst defenses in the league.

Mike Martz: Hold my beer. That guy could abandon the run faster than a Cleveland abandons Head Coaches...

Plenty of teams when ahead and the run isn't really working (<3 ypc) will abandon it for "safe" passing plays.

In the absolute, McVay didn't abandon it and that's a really good sign... as was his continuing to go to Everett.