Here’s the problem with our Rams

[RamnSD]

This doesn't make sense at all.

We are much better against the run this year.

2018 - 41 sacks and 94 QB Hits
2019 - 38 sacks and 72 QB Hits with 4 games to go.

2018 - 20th in PPG allowed, 19th in yards.
2019 - 13th in PPG allowed, 12th in yards.

2018 - Opponents held under 100 yards rushing 7 times, under 75 yards 5 times
2019 - Opponents held under 100 yards rushing 9 times, under 75 yards 5 times (4 games to go)

Suh is a lazy player. He doesn't give maximum effort in every game. He played well in the playoffs but wasn't particularly good during the regular season.

 

[Ram77]

So you're just okay with a kicker having the 17th best FG% in the NFL? When most of his misses are in the 40-49 range, which an NFL kicker should make most of the time?

He's one of the worst performers on the team this year and should be called out for it.

I dont mind calling him out but you seem to have done that numerous times on here. There are 52 other players on this team that havent played great this year either that have not been the focus of your criticism like Zuerlein has. I dont think Kicking in the NFL is easy. Hes one of the only kickers in the league that has not missed a PAT this year either. Theres other players and coaches on this team that deserve much more criticism

 

[coconut]

This doesn't make sense at all.

We are much better against the run this year.

2018 - 41 sacks and 94 QB Hits
2019 - 38 sacks and 72 QB Hits with 4 games to go.

2018 - 20th in PPG allowed, 19th in yards.
2019 - 13th in PPG allowed, 12th in yards.

2018 - Opponents held under 100 yards rushing 7 times, under 75 yards 5 times
2019 - Opponents held under 100 yards rushing 9 times, under 75 yards 5 times (4 games to go)

You're right. I guess I should have said when Suh decided to play with more intensity as he did in the playoffs.

 

[madrid311]

i think expectations were really high this year, I know they were for me, in his first year McVay took us to the playoffs and then the Superbowl the next. I know personally I had faith and expectations for even more improvement this year and a hunger to go right back to the big game. Maybe that was really naive but since McVay and the team raised the bar so much these past two years they raised expectations which is why this year feels so disappointing to some of us. But you're right, we still have a winning record right now and down years are bound to happen

When they couldn't finish last year and we know usually a team has a down year after a Superbowl showing ( except the Patriots) and the offensive line losing players, gurly issues and defense losing Suh it was painfully obvious that we might have a rough year this year. It has been, Let's see how we finish...

 

[RamWoodie]

When they couldn't finish last year and we know usually a team has a down year after a Superbowl showing ( except the Patriots) and the offensive line losing players, gurly issues and defense losing Suh it was painfully obvious that we might have a rough year this year. It has been, Let's see how we finish...

As has been pointed out...Suh really wasn't the Suh of younger years until the playoffs started. What's up with that? I'd rather have what the Rams have now at what that cost.

The Rams have a young coach in McVay...and this year, he's learning some things about preparing his team and adapting his offensive approach...it'll pay off in the long run.

 

[LesBaker]

Not so sure - Gurley is going to get a huge workload the remainder of the season.

McVay is pretty transparent, despite what he says. He was simply saving Gurley for the stretch run, no doubt in my mind. It was probably tough on Gurley's confidence.

I think he is going to obliterate the Hawks on Sunday.

If what you say is true and McVay saved Gurley for the stretch run then he is a complete idiot.

There are 16 games. Week 1 starts the stretch run in the NFL. This isn't the NBA or MLB where a two or three game losing streak can easily be overcome.

Nobody "saves" a player and Gurley is on a pitch count, so to speak,depending on his knee and how it's feeling. That can change from week to week and even quarter to quarter.

He's on pace for fewer carries than last year and last year he missed two games. If he missed 2 games this year he would be on pace for less than 200 carries.

It's pretty obvious to me he is not being saved, they are just using him when they can based on how he is doing. Let's hope he has some good Sundays coming up!

 

[Ewe83]

 

[Dieter the Brock]

It's not that complicated. The team is searching for a post-Gurley identity.

Ironically that identity is Gurley

 

[Merlin]

If what you say is true and McVay saved Gurley for the stretch run then he is a complete idiot.

Or he's just a young coach that got served some humble pie. This league tends to do that to every coach at some point. No coach possesses genius that allows them to overcome talent deficiencies or flawed rosters.

He has made some mistakes this season for sure but I don't think the touch count is one of them. It was clearly 15 btw, but he didn't anticipate the OL struggles not to mention our CBs falling off. I mean why would he? Dude is in his early 30s and everything he's done has turned to gold.

This year's Coach McVay is duking it out man and I personally love it. He's fought off the ropes with a restacked OL and secondary and still maintained a 7-5 record in the face of a vastly improved division. It's remarkable IMO.

Now let's go get into this playoff mix with a strong finish. And if not, well, restack and get this guy what he needs for next year and beyond.

 

[RamsInfiniti]

If what you say is true and McVay saved Gurley for the stretch run then he is a complete idiot.

There are 16 games. Week 1 starts the stretch run in the NFL. This isn't the NBA or MLB where a two or three game losing streak can easily be overcome.

Nobody "saves" a player and Gurley is on a pitch count, so to speak,depending on his knee and how it's feeling. That can change from week to week and even quarter to quarter.

He's on pace for fewer carries than last year and last year he missed two games. If he missed 2 games this year he would be on pace for less than 200 carries.

It's pretty obvious to me he is not being saved, they are just using him when they can based on how he is doing. Let's hope he has some good Sundays coming up!

I don't think he's a complete idiot. I don't think McVay feels that way even though he said it.

He made a mistake, young coaches do that. He'll learn and adapt.

Like Merlin said, the pitch count was about 15. If we were rolling and everything was going well, that would be a good amount of touches for him. 15 for Gurley, 15 for the other backs.

Fact is, we've struggled and McVay needed Gurley to get 30 touches a game. He reacted too late.

 

[gabriel18]

Tomorrow nights prime time game will give us a better feel on the problems . They aren't as bad as the Ravens game and not as good as the Cards game . Looking forward to watching it

 

[LesBaker]

I don't think he's a complete idiot. I don't think McVay feels that way even though he said it.

He made a mistake, young coaches do that. He'll learn and adapt.

Like Merlin said, the pitch count was about 15. If we were rolling and everything was going well, that would be a good amount of touches for him. 15 for Gurley, 15 for the other backs.

Fact is, we've struggled and McVay needed Gurley to get 30 touches a game. He reacted too late.

I disagree.

Gurley isn't the same player he was last year and the year before.

The touch limitation isn't McVay saving him for the stretch run. Only an idiot would do that because in a 16 game season giving up opportunities for wins is stupid. So if you have a player like last years and year before Gurley you don't take the ball away from him.

Gurley isn't the same player. Period.

Anyone thinking otherwise isn't watching very closely.

This has nothing to do with McVay suddenly figuring out that he needs to give the ball to Gurley. Although he does need to give the ball to RB's more often.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

In the full interview the exchange is more like

"Me not being an idiot" "No I don't really think I'm an idiot at least not all the time. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Reporter: "In that Steeler game. . . "

laughter*

Mcvay "Touce"

 

[Riverumbbq]

Rams are finally using Todd Gurley right and the whole offense is benefiting

Cameron DaSilva
4 hours ago

Sean McVay made headlines last week after he called himself an idiot for not using Todd Gurley more often when the Rams offense was struggling. He told reporters the increase in touches for Gurley was the result of him “not being an idiot.”
He later clarified that he doesn’t actually think he’s an idiot, and when Gurley was asked about the quote, the running back responded, “he said it, I didn’t.”

Fans and media members had been questioning Gurley’s usage for most of the season until McVay finally let him loose. Gurley has touched the ball at least 20 times in three of the last four games, which has unsurprisingly led to three wins in four weeks for the Rams.
The Rams offense has seemingly clicked in the last two games, scoring 62 points with 53 total first downs against the Cardinals and Seahawks – the team’s most since its Week 4 loss to the Buccaneers. It’s no coincidence that Gurley has carried the ball 42 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns in that span.

“When he gets involved, good things are happening for us,” McVay said plainly after Sunday’s win. “That means we’re probably running the football efficiently, as well, and that means we can kind of dictate some things on our own terms as opposed to feeling like you’re always kind of on defense mode if you’re in the second-and-longs and the third-down-and-longs and I thought it was another good week where we were going to be efficient on third downs. I think we were about 50 percent again tonight and I think that’s a big thing.”
It is a big thing. The Rams have only converted 38.2% of their third downs this season, which is in the middle of the pack across the league. That’s with them going 7-for-13 on Sunday and 8-for-15 last week in Arizona.

A big reason for their success on third is Gurley’s effectiveness running the ball. When he’s picking up 4-6 yards on first or second down, it allows the Rams to stay ahead of the sticks, which puts them in good situations.
Rather than facing third-and-8, they’re more frequently facing third-and-3 or 4. That helps Jared Goff immensely and makes play-action passes far more effective.
“It opens everything,” Goff said of what Gurley’s production does for the offense. “It starts with him and when he’s rolling and we’re rolling in the run-game, it opens up everything. We’re able to do what we want to do. Tonight was a perfect example of that.”
Just look at this play, which was Goff’s touchdown pass to Robert Woods. It’s a play-action fake to Gurley, which causes the cornerback (No. 26, Shaquill Griffin) to bite for a split-second and allows Woods to run open in the end zone.

It seems so obvious that Gurley would be a big part of the offense for the Rams. When they were struggling, it was a no-brainer to most people that he should be getting the ball more. Yet, the Rams stubbornly limited his workload and seemingly tried to keep him fresh for the playoffs – or at the very least a late-season run.
Hindsight is always 20-20 and there’s no guarantee the offense would’ve been noticeably better with Gurley getting the ball. But what’s obvious now is that the previous plan of Goff throwing it 40 times a game did not work.
With a more balanced attack, teams have to respect the Rams’ weapons and it’s opening things up for everyone else.

Rams are finally using Todd Gurley right and the whole offense is benefiting

Sean McVay is finally leaning on Todd Gurley.

theramswire.usatoday.com

 

[Apt43Rams]

I've always thought it was a mix of everything regarding Gurley's usage. I do believe that Gurley may not have been 100% and though they said there was no pitch count, they were conservative in their use of him. I also think McVay didn't pick some spots as well as he could have in using Gurley particularly some of those close losses. I think with McVay saying that he was an "idiot" is just him falling on the sword a bit - wants to protect Gurley's health as well as media scrutiny of his potential injury/wear-n-tear and take the heat.

Anyway - it's a good thing to see the balance in the office again. Seemed like Gurley was running angrier and more decisive than some previous weeks. Body language seemed a little off earlier in the year. I don't want to read too much into that, but it was definitely refreshing to see the his and the team's response the last two weeks.

 

[iamme33]

is it possible that the injury to allen and notebom is what started gurleys revival. before those injuries we would run on first down for little or no gain and kind of be put into a passing situation. after injuries run on first gets good yardage and opens playbook.

 

[Riverumbbq]

is it possible that the injury to allen and notebom is what started gurleys revival. before those injuries we would run on first down for little or no gain and kind of be put into a passing situation. after injuries run on first gets good yardage and opens playbook.

I don't thinks so, or how would you explain our first 3 games of the season which had Noteboom & Allen starting from the get-go, and we won all 3 of those games. The 4'th game we got blown out by Tampa Bay and Gurley only had 5 carries. After that he became kind of an afterthought until more recently. jmo.

 

[tklongball]

Rams are finally using Todd Gurley right and the whole offense is benefiting

Cameron DaSilva
4 hours ago

Sean McVay made headlines last week after he called himself an idiot for not using Todd Gurley more often when the Rams offense was struggling. He told reporters the increase in touches for Gurley was the result of him “not being an idiot.”
He later clarified that he doesn’t actually think he’s an idiot, and when Gurley was asked about the quote, the running back responded, “he said it, I didn’t.”

Fans and media members had been questioning Gurley’s usage for most of the season until McVay finally let him loose. Gurley has touched the ball at least 20 times in three of the last four games, which has unsurprisingly led to three wins in four weeks for the Rams.
The Rams offense has seemingly clicked in the last two games, scoring 62 points with 53 total first downs against the Cardinals and Seahawks – the team’s most since its Week 4 loss to the Buccaneers. It’s no coincidence that Gurley has carried the ball 42 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns in that span.

“When he gets involved, good things are happening for us,” McVay said plainly after Sunday’s win. “That means we’re probably running the football efficiently, as well, and that means we can kind of dictate some things on our own terms as opposed to feeling like you’re always kind of on defense mode if you’re in the second-and-longs and the third-down-and-longs and I thought it was another good week where we were going to be efficient on third downs. I think we were about 50 percent again tonight and I think that’s a big thing.”
It is a big thing. The Rams have only converted 38.2% of their third downs this season, which is in the middle of the pack across the league. That’s with them going 7-for-13 on Sunday and 8-for-15 last week in Arizona.

A big reason for their success on third is Gurley’s effectiveness running the ball. When he’s picking up 4-6 yards on first or second down, it allows the Rams to stay ahead of the sticks, which puts them in good situations.
Rather than facing third-and-8, they’re more frequently facing third-and-3 or 4. That helps Jared Goff immensely and makes play-action passes far more effective.
“It opens everything,” Goff said of what Gurley’s production does for the offense. “It starts with him and when he’s rolling and we’re rolling in the run-game, it opens up everything. We’re able to do what we want to do. Tonight was a perfect example of that.”
Just look at this play, which was Goff’s touchdown pass to Robert Woods. It’s a play-action fake to Gurley, which causes the cornerback (No. 26, Shaquill Griffin) to bite for a split-second and allows Woods to run open in the end zone.

It seems so obvious that Gurley would be a big part of the offense for the Rams. When they were struggling, it was a no-brainer to most people that he should be getting the ball more. Yet, the Rams stubbornly limited his workload and seemingly tried to keep him fresh for the playoffs – or at the very least a late-season run.
Hindsight is always 20-20 and there’s no guarantee the offense would’ve been noticeably better with Gurley getting the ball. But what’s obvious now is that the previous plan of Goff throwing it 40 times a game did not work.
With a more balanced attack, teams have to respect the Rams’ weapons and it’s opening things up for everyone else.

Rams are finally using Todd Gurley right and the whole offense is benefiting

Sean McVay is finally leaning on Todd Gurley.

theramswire.usatoday.com

I may be out of line here, but that article is shit. It is a short sighted, article that appears to be written by someone with only a very basic knowledge of football. Not a single mention of the offensive line in the entire article? Come on. DaSilva should be better than that, he has been a football writer for several years.

Honestly, if anybody watching these last couple of games doesn't see a difference in the OL in both Run blocking and Pass Pro, then they aren't watching very closely. And if they don't understand how important that is to an offense, then they just don't know football, and probably shouldn't be writing about it for a living.

 

[iamme33]

I don't thinks so, or how would you explain our first 3 games of the season which had Noteboom & Allen starting from the get-go, and we won all 3 of those games. The 4'th game we got blown out by Tampa Bay and Gurley only had 5 carries. After that he became kind of an afterthought until more recently. jmo.
[/QUOTE
you maybe right does seem funny that we would start so well and then lose it but there is another thing about the injuries to those two that is when we started using 12 personal way more. might be some of both

 

[Riverumbbq]

There's no question that Noteboom & Allen were clearly overmatched throughout their brief stint, but that's still no reason to sideline your best RB. While McVay should have pulled the plug on both Noteboom at LG and Allen at Center prior to their injuries, at least it gave him the excuse for altering course once they went down. jmo.