I feel strangely calm

[FrantikRam]

There were always going to be growing pains with Stafford. He was arguably the best QB in the NFL two weeks ago and while I am very happy with him overall, he's not THAT good. Some regression was going to happen. Losing Woods also hampered the offense tonight I think.

We have to face the facts that this defense is only meant as a complement - a side dish - to our offense, because of Morris.

But we play at GB in two weeks, which decides our fate: win and we can. Be the number one seed. Lose and it's wildcard, for sure. And for the first time all year, few will expect us to win which will be nice.

And above all - I trust McVay and the talent we have. The offense will get back on track and we will be in the playoffs either way, and as Tampa showed last year, you can get beaten down multiple times in the regular season and still win it all.

Not sure what will happen in GB, but I'm strangely calm and trust McVay will turn this around.

 

[Rams77]

lol

 

[LouisvilleRam]

If we couldn't stop Mitchell and Samuel running straight up the gut we've got no prayer against AJ Dillion

 

[Steve808]

Tampa Bay was 7-5 last season then suddenly their got their act together and won the super bowl.

I'm hoping we can catch that lightning in a bottle.

The defense has to get nastier and dominate more.

 

[Marc Spector]

The only consolation prize of this loss is that McVay has to take all the heat. No blaming Goff.

 

[RamsSince1969]

Hey ROD friends and family. Look up the 2007 & 2011 New York Giants. You just have to gel at the right time and you can beat anyone.
Rams will be fine!

 

[TXRams86]

Tampa Bay was 7-5 last season then suddenly their got their act together and won the super bowl.

I'm hoping we can catch that lightning in a bottle.

The defense has to get nastier and dominate more.

You really can’t compare Tampa bay last year to us this year. They finished 6th in defense, had a running game to lean on and the GOAT at QB who I’m almost positive worked with his coach and OC to get the offense tweaked to his liking and success. We don’t have any of that right now. Arians is an arrogant prick and I despise the guy. But even he knew the importance of an OC and adjusting your game to the strengths of your QB and team game in and out. He also hired a proven DC to run his defense.

 

[LouisvilleRam]

Tampa Bay was 7-5 last season then suddenly their got their act together and won the super bowl.

I'm hoping we can catch that lightning in a bottle.

The defense has to get nastier and dominate more.

I know a different sport but same with the Atlanta Braves this year

 

[Mackeyser]

There were always going to be growing pains with Stafford. He was arguably the best QB in the NFL two weeks ago and while I am very happy with him overall, he's not THAT good. Some regression was going to happen. Losing Woods also hampered the offense tonight I think.

We have to face the facts that this defense is only meant as a complement - a side dish - to our offense, because of Morris.

But we play at GB in two weeks, which decides our fate: win and we can. Be the number one seed. Lose and it's wildcard, for sure. And for the first time all year, few will expect us to win which will be nice.

And above all - I trust McVay and the talent we have. The offense will get back on track and we will be in the playoffs either way, and as Tampa showed last year, you can get beaten down multiple times in the regular season and still win it all.

Not sure what will happen in GB, but I'm strangely calm and trust McVay will turn this around.

I really agree.

Two things:

1) Unless we beat AZ by 17 AND AZ loses another division game, there is no way for us to win the division. This game cemented us at the 5 seed unless we shit the bed the rest of the season. That's just the math of it. Our only glimmer of hope is if the Cards lose to the Seahawks and even better if the 9ers take out the Cards later in the year. Short of that, we're looking at the 5 seed.

2) Losing Woods after the gameplan was installed was way more devastating than we thought. Skow may kinda know the role, but early drops and missed blocks really hurt us early and McVay stopped calling Skow's number. If anything, we needed Skow to be as clutch as Woods and that's almost unfair to ask of a rookie. We have two weeks to figure out schematically how we attack because without Woods, this is really a different offense. I, for one, underestimated how much we'd be affected by Woods' absence. Well, I've been corrected. We missed him almost as much as we'd miss Stafford and maybe more than Kupp which is kinda crazy to think about. Life without Woods is gonna be tougher than our Super Bowl run without Kupp... Guys are gonna have to step up.

BONUS: I'm also calming down remarkably quickly for me as well. The last two games don't define this team and with all the roster changes, even for superstars, they're upsetting to the plan. So you couple a team that owns us with physical play and us losing Woods and having TWO major pieces to install all while SF is getting healthy at home... yeah, we shoulda been underdogs and should continue to be until we beat them. 5 in a row isn't a fluke. But I still have faith in this team. They can prove me right or wrong, but this is 2021... how many "good" teams have gotten WAXED this season? I swear the minute the announcers started talking about the "haves and have nots" in the NFL, we saw two weeks of insanity to tighten things up. So I'm calm that we'll gather and show out in GB.

In a few days, I may even be excited to see the GB game...

 

[Mackeyser]

The only consolation prize of this loss is that McVay has to take all the heat. No blaming Goff.

Why are we still talking about Goff?

Fuck it... I blame this loss on Dieter Brock (not the poster)... I mean QBs from the past are fair game, right?

And NO ONE has ever said McVay is blameless in this, so bringing up Goff after a shit game is only gonna have posters going after one another and give the Mods a massive headache.

So maybe... I dunno... don't start that shit after a bad night? Maybe?

 

[Picked4td]

personally im calm because this game was really nothing new sadly. If you were asked how do you beat the rams any year under Mcvay, its get out to an early lead and run the ball. Those have always been his two biggest issues and it happened yet again. So from that point of view, im not too bothered about the loss cause i dont think it really told us anything about this team we didnt already know. If theres anything to be upset about its that its year 5 under mcvay and he is still abandoning the run way way too early, yet his passing game relies on PA and in turn an established running game

 

[Merlin]

None of this has anything to do with Goff. Goff was not good enough. Question now is whether we can win it all with Stafford at QB and only time will tell.

This team overall though just doesn't have the horses. They're gonna need a very strong FA offseason and then year two guys coming in and filling holes in order to pull it off next season. QB isn't really even the question, the Rams are all in with Stafford and he's a good signal caller but he's not gonna win it all for you with his arm.

And btw no QB ever really wins it all with his arm. You gotta have the full team. We don't have that this year but we're gonna win a lot of games and let Matt dip his toes into the water this year in the playoffs and prep for what will hopefully be a Super Bowl run in 2022 IMO.

 

[Marc Spector]

Why are we still talking about Goff?

Fuck it... I blame this loss on Dieter Brock (not the poster)... I mean QBs from the past are fair game, right?

And NO ONE has ever said McVay is blameless in this, so bringing up Goff after a shit game is only gonna have posters going after one another and give the Mods a massive headache.

So maybe... I dunno... don't start that shit after a bad night? Maybe?

Youre misreading my post.

My point was that McVay cannot run from this loss. He handpicked Stafford and Morris. He calls the plays. The blame sits squarely on his shoulders and no QB controversy or Todd Gurley is Hurt or Wade Phillips is old, can be his scapegoat or smokesceen this year. Shit to be honest, the overall blame has never sit so squarely on his shoulders. IMO how he responds will be a defining moment in his career.

 

[Steve808]

Youre misreading my post.

My point was that McVay cannot run from this loss. He handpicked Stafford and Morris. He calls the plays. The blame sits squarely on his shoulders and no QB controversy or Todd Gurley is Hurt or Wade Phillips is old, can be his scapegoat or smokesceen this year. Shit to be honest, the overall blame has never sit so squarely on his shoulders. IMO how he responds will be a defining moment in his career.

McVay might not be perfect but at least I still get excited about the games. I started to lose interest under Fisher because the results were always predictable. McVay is a young coach and I trust that he will right the ship. BTW for with it's worth, NFL teams have scavenged assistant coaches more from McVay than any other head coach. If Staley were still here, I think our defense would be #1 again.

 

[Marc Spector]

McVay might not be perfect but at least I still get excited about the games. I started to lose interest under Fisher because the results were always predictable. McVay is a young coach and I trust that he will right the ship. BTW for with it's worth, NFL teams have scavenged assistant coaches more from McVay than any other head coach. If Staley were still here, I think our defense would be #1 again.

I love McVay and I think he's a generational talent.

But given his age, i think he very much is still figuring out the coaching game. I think what separates him from the likes of Belichick, Tomlin, Reid and Arians is all of those men are really good at being critical of their teams capabilities and delegation (well Andy has gotten *BETTER* at it at least). I thik McVay has been long overdue in having that level of self awareness. Hopefullly tonight, it finally manifests.

 

[Steve808]

I love McVay and I think he's a generational talent.

But given his age, i think he very much is still figuring out the coaching game. I think what separates him from the likes of Belichick, Tomlin, Reid and Arians is all of those men are really good at being critical of their teams capabilities and delegation (well Andy has gotten *BETTER* at it at least). I thik McVay has been long overdue in having that level of self awareness. Hopefullly tonight, it finally manifests.

Agreed but all of those coaches are beneficiaries of HOF or future HOF quarterbacks. I'm not sure McVay has had that luxury yet.

 

[Deac]

Punch us in the mouth, push us off our routes, make us play from behind, cause once we are, we are absolutely one dimensional. Hell, we become one dimensional in play calling unless we are up 2 scores.
McVay chooses to believe we are better,but...that's exactly how we play right now. He's finding out the hard way, better players do not cover up flaws in scheme and decision making. Right now we need him to overcome his own weaknesses just as much as the team does. That same blueprint has been working on us since the 2018 Bears and its still working like a dream.

 

[ProGen]

I feel calm too....because I don't have to worry about the stress of watching this team in any big playoff games

 

[Mackeyser]

Youre misreading my post.

My point was that McVay cannot run from this loss. He handpicked Stafford and Morris. He calls the plays. The blame sits squarely on his shoulders and no QB controversy or Todd Gurley is Hurt or Wade Phillips is old, can be his scapegoat or smokesceen this year. Shit to be honest, the overall blame has never sit so squarely on his shoulders. IMO how he responds will be a defining moment in his career.

Well, that's only partly true.

1) McVay didn't run from this loss. I dunno if I've ever seen him look this determined and angry with himself. That super short post game presser where he seemingly took no questions was eye-opening. And we know from the past 4.5 years that when that happens, he gets right. That's a good sign

2) This loss is maybe the most scheme loss ever under McVay. The offense kinda has an out because losing Woods after the install on Wednesday had to be a killer. I'll keep repeating that... we lost Woods AFTER the game plan install. Skow as a rookie having to fill Woods' shoes was almost impossible and his early drops and missed blocks shows him to be a rookie. He's a promising rookie, but he's not capable of filling Woods' shoes just yet. And no team survives the drops. I think each drop was either a 3rd down drop or a TD drop. Basically it was like rolling a Natural 1 for the receivers.

The defense, however, has ZERO excuses. Morris needs to be fired... TODAY! I'd rather go with Chris Shula or anyone else on the staff. It is criminal football malpractice to run a 2-3-1-5 against 22 personnel with 2 TEs, a RB and FB. That's only two players to account for FOUR gaps and all of our guys are 1 gap guys except for maybe A'Shawn and Gaines. Morris is misusing our guys, employing schemes that in many instances simply cannot win and he's relying on superstar players making exceptional plays instead of simply having his unit execute well and letting the superstars be extra excellent. For whatever issues I have with Rapp and Reeder, I'm not sure they could be put in worse positions to succeed... especially Rapp. Good God it was so bad.

How he responds will matter, but unless we have a third game like this in GB, I don't expect this to be career defining, but only the future can tell us that.

 

[Mackeyser]

I love McVay and I think he's a generational talent.

But given his age, i think he very much is still figuring out the coaching game. I think what separates him from the likes of Belichick, Tomlin, Reid and Arians is all of those men are really good at being critical of their teams capabilities and delegation (well Andy has gotten *BETTER* at it at least). I thik McVay has been long overdue in having that level of self awareness. Hopefullly tonight, it finally manifests.

The same Reid who let Mahomes run amok and had them lose 4 games so far? And it wasn't until Andy reeled him in and had him focus on the scheme and game plan that they beat the Raiders.

Tomlin has had some years that were super Unspectacular and his in game adjustments have been head scratching on more than a few occasions.

Arians only got to the Super Bowl in TB when he stopped asking Brady to play like a more consistent Jameis Winston and allowed him to progress close to far as opposed to far to close. And that took him 10 games to figure out along with the addition of AB and a return of a healthy Gronk. Now, they still had a healthy Mike Evans and Chris Godwin as well as a decent TE, so Brady had weapons, but there was a scheme mismatch with the QB and it took time to work out.

I think this next two weeks will be really productive on the offense not only of figuring out how we succeed without Woods in the lineup, but also how best to use OBJ and how best to have Stafford being his best version...and hopefully a bit healthier.