Let's hear your concerns

[-X-]

Across 3 games, and not just after today.

In the grand scheme of things, where do you feel the most uncomfortable with this team?

O-line?
Jackson?
Receivers?
D-line?

Where do we need to shore things up, and what do you suggest?

Lots of tough defenses on the schedule...

 

[bluecoconuts]

Same thing as usual, offensive line and receivers. We need guys who can block (and stay healthy) and playmakers who can catch and run. Unfortunately half our o-line went down before we had a chance to blink. Getting an OT (I don't care if it's a RT or a LT and Saffold moves to RT, just someone) should be high on the priority list in the offseason regardless of what happens this year. I think that Saffold, Rok, Wells and Dahl are the right guys for the job, but we need a 5th. Unless Saffold, Wells, or Rok are unable to be healthy I'm fine with them.

We need receivers that aren't named Amendola that can be reliable to get open and catch. Jackson is injured, I'm not thinking he's lost a stepped and needs to be benched/traded whatever. It's obvious that Pead and Richardson are going to be our two main backs in the next few years (unless we get another guy after Jackson retires), but Jackson is still the best running back we have. Richardson (and Pead) are faster, but Jackson is more complete.

It's hard to grade the D-Line without Brockers, so I'm holding off. A great young playmaking OLB/S would be great. There's still room to build, this is the youngest team in the NFL so I don't expect perfect play right away. It's going to take another or even two more years to be a superbowl contender, but if we can draft as well as we did this last year, the Rams are in good shape. My list of things to focus on next year would be Offensive Line, WR (we just need a true #1 guy, unless Quick starts to pick things up and proves otherwise), OLB and S as priorities.

 

[-X-]

Obviously I'm still concerned about the O-line, but those concerns were always tied to depth. I think our starting offensive line could be a good one. Depth is of course a concern for every team, but the depth on this line is frightening.

Gibson and Amendola as the #1/#2 guys just wasn't going to cut it in previous years, and this year they're improved but it's still not the answer. I think the second half of the season is going to be where we make our strides. When guys like Pettis and Quick begin to come on and Steve Smith gets a feel for the offense. For the personnel we have right now, it's amazing that we're never 40 points behind by the half. I think that's a testament to coaching, and as they get more players coming back and coming on, things should look entirely different.

But man ... this O-line simply can't suffer anymore injuries. Let's stop the madness right about now.

 

[bluecoconuts]

Yep, depth is the biggest thing with the o-line. That and apparently someone is still stealing the milk from pregame meals. I think that today was just one of those shit games where not much could go right. The Bears defense is a good defense, and they deserve credit for shutting down the Rams offense, but we didn't do ourselves any favors either. Mental lapses is just a part of being a young team. They gotta learn how to win together honestly.

 

[Selassie I]

The receiving corp looks to be our achilles heal to me. Drops that changed the game. Very weak.

Not that the other units don't need improvement too,,, but I see improvement coming for the D-Line (when Brockers can play), O-Line (Saffold, Wells, and Rok should return), and SJ will get stronger as the year goes on.

But our WR corp doesn't give me much hope at the moment. Crossing fingers for Pettis and Quick I guess.

 

[Yamahopper]

The O-line when healthy is just mediocre. Banged up it's just bad. Can't fix everything in one year is understandable. But this off season resources have to be spent to improve it. Need ready to play guys. Taking late round guys and giving them a couple years to develop is fine, except Bradford will be retired by then. People say continuity is the key....That's fine, but these guys are losing the battle at the point of contact. That's a talent issue.

Just going to have to spend a 1st round pick on a dominate wide out. These bargain basement WR are fine as roster fillers. Quick's upside is as a #2, Givens as a slot.

If Pead and D Rich aren't the ans. as Jax's replacement then get one next draft. Got rest of the season to find out.

 

[Memento]

Safety and outside linebacker really concern me. Dunbar has not impressed me in any game he's been in, McIntosh is just about invisible, Haggan's been invisible on special teams, and Cole hasn't seen any time. Really, the only guy I trust at outside linebacker is Josh Hull, and while the guy is impressive on special teams, I wouldn't trust him in coverage more than Laurinaitis, and I certainly wouldn't send him in as a pass-rusher. Jarvis Jones (Georgia) or Manti Te'o (Notre Dame) would be a huge get for this team.

We could very well have two new safeties at the end of this year. Dahl still can't cover, Mikell has lost two steps, and if Stewart struggles and/or isn't retained, we're going to have a major problem. Fortunately, it's a strong draft for both strong and free safeties, but at the moment, this is a real concern for me. We need to take a long look at Tony Jefferson (Oklahoma), Eric Reid (LSU), Robert Lester (Alabama), T.J. McDonald (USC), Kenny Vaccarro (Texas), even Baccari Rambo (Georgia, suspended four games for violating drug policy).

 

[Ram Quixote]

My concerns strictly lie with depth, and that's where injuries have placed us. While we're waiting for Wells and Saffold to heal, we're stuck with what we have at LT and LG. It would be nice to move our backup center to LG.

Our depth at DT will improve in a week or 2, but our run defense on the outside (and on screens) will depend on the OLBs.

I'm more concerned that our depth at WR isn't being used. Amendola should be out there the majority of the snaps, but IMO Gibson, Pettis and Smith are interchangeable. Givens needs more opportunities, too. Quick inactive at this time of the season doesn't bother me, however. I haven't really expected much from him in this offense, primarily because the receivers in Schotty's offense, outside of Amendola, Givens and Gibson are about short to intermediate routes. At least early while we're dealing with the short-handed OLine. I find it reassuring that we aren't relying on 2 rookie WRs to make plays.

Jackson and the RBs are not a concern. Except for Fisher's deference to Jackson in matters of his health. In past years, I'd much rather have Jackson play at less than 100%, but not this year.

 

[HitStick]

As much as it pains me to say it...and trust me it does.

Steven Jackson.

He just doesn't look the same. And that hop step isn't helping.

 

[libertadrocks]

As much as it pains me to say it...and trust me it does.

Steven Jackson.

He just doesn't look the same. And that hop step isn't helping.

I have to completely disagree with you on that one.

I think he looks like he has turned back the clock 5 years. He has shown more agility and is just as physical.

Today, he didnt look great. He looked like he didnt have any juice. No explosiveness. IMO he wasn't healthy. He said he was good to go, even declaring himself 100%, but he clear was not. A guy thats 100% doesnt need to wear a heating pad on his groin half way through the first half. He's a warrior tho. He wasnt about to let his team go to battle without him, especially with the W last week.

 

[HitStick]

As much as it pains me to say it...and trust me it does.

Steven Jackson.

He just doesn't look the same. And that hop step isn't helping.

I have to completely disagree with you on that one.

I think he looks like he has turned back the clock 5 years. He has shown more agility and is just as physical.

Today, he didnt look great. He looked like he didnt have any juice. No explosiveness. IMO he wasn't healthy. He said he was good to go, even declaring himself 100%, but he clear was not. A guy thats 100% doesnt need to wear a heating pad on his groin half way through the first half. He's a warrior tho. He wasnt about to let his team go to battle without him, especially with the W last week.

He was having a good game against the skins but I have seen corners taking him down. Sub brought him down with one arm on a Jersey pull. Hes not breaking arm tackles. I'm hoping he gets going. He does look quicker...but he is a power back.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

my concern is the lack of discipline. two personal fouls in the first half today really put the rams behind the 8ball. they got away with a couple last week too that would have been costly if they were called. play hard but play smart.

the drops also shit me no end, on both sides of the ball. that gibson drop made me ill. he's played well this year but you gotta catch those passes, it hit him between the numbers. it was always gonna be tough for the offense so drops like that really hurt. then the jenkins drop. heartbreaking.

all this stuff happened in the first half. the rams could have been in the lead going into the half and who knows what would have happened after that. you gotta take your chances and can't screw your chances getting off the field on 3rd down by giving away dopey personal foul penalties.

i hope fisher gets stuck into them this week.

.

 

[Thordaddy]

My concern with Jackson is injuries, his wheels won't stay healthy and he runs like he thinks they are. I'd love to see them use him as a FB with DR,run a belly play fake to him with a pitch to DR,it'd be lethal and freeze pursuit log enough to get DR one on one with a corner.

However who knows how good any of our backs could be if our line was good,just good .

My big problem yesterday wasn't that though, during the first half I was wondering why the Bears were passing when clearly we weren't stopping their runs, well we came out second half and stopped their runs and could no longer stop the pass.

My biggest concern though is fans , Fisher and CO are clearly turning a corner with these guys, but impatience could hurt the attendance at games,if we beat AZ or Seattle we can do something about that I see Seattle as the more do-able of those options,then again, the Pittsburgh defense AZ runs could be so familiar to our coaches we may be able to scheme a win.

I said this yesterday several times , win or lose ,it's possible to watch these guys and Cortland Finnegan is rapidly becoming my favorite player .

 

[Faceplant]

My concern is that our offense, in general....is putrid. One decent quarter in detroit and an ok game last week against an inexplicably soft zone defense has not made me forget that this team struggled to score TWELVE POINTS PER GAME last year. O line is an obvious concern, but WR and QB play remains sub par. Not sure it is going to get much better with this group. Defense has to be annoyed with the O after this last clunker.

 

[brokeu91]

my concerns rest almost solely on the O line. Bradford had no time to throw the ball at all, and there were no running lanes. It's not entirely the teams fault that we have such a make shift line, but it really needs to be upgraded. The Bears D was able to put a lot in the box because there wasn't enough time for Bradford to wait for a deep route to get open. In addition, when Bradford had more than 2 secs to throw the ball no one got open. Once Danny A gets double teamed, no other receiver steps up.

 

[wolfman84]

Man, I hate the taste of a reality check, but that's what I was forced to chew on yesterday. Being the youngest team in the league probably means we can expect more of these up and down performances going forward. The Bear's defense played an outstanding game. That said, our offensive line played poorly, receivers failed to get open and had drops, Sam had a bad day and the D couldn't get off the field. I have no concerns with our running backs as they had absolutely nowhere to run.
So my concerns begin with the offensive line. Even with Saffold and Wells back our offense is forced to be based on quick throws. If Richardson, Hunter, or Ojinnaka are on the roster next year, I'll be disappointed. I still believe Sam will be an elite quarterback. I don't believe we know what we have at WR yet. Way too early to make a judgement on Quick and Givens. Outside linebacker and Safety will have to be addressed.
All that said I'm very optimistic about our future. We have some great pieces in place, a bevy of draft pics, and are in good shape financially. Fisher and his coaching staff have these guys competing and that's been a refreshing change but road wins will hard to come by this year. Home wins within our division will be the measuring stick for me as far as the progress of this team.

 

[Stranger]

Man, I hate the taste of a reality check, but that's what I was forced to chew on yesterday. Being the youngest team in the league probably means we can expect more of these up and down performances going forward.

I agree, hence, I'm not really concerned. I just see this as part of our natural progression to greatness.

Enjoy the ride!

 

[Username]

My concerns are that I have no idea what team that was yesterday. It certainly wasn't the one we saw in the first two weeks. I just hope the coaches and players learn from it.

Yes, btw I know. The Bears defense is good.

 

[DR RAM]

I t seems that most of us agree. OL, OLB, S, WR, and TE are all concerns. I think we need more depth at DE also, but I will give props to Hays for playing a hell of a game.

Hell, Harvey Dahl gave up the first sack. Our tackles and guards are getting rocked at point of contact, and rocked so violently that they can't recover. Sam needs a big target to throw the ball to, someone he trusts to make the play even if he is covered. He doesn't have that guy. Could it be Quick or Pettis, yes it could be, but Quick is going to have to improve enough to even see the active roster and Pettis just got back from suspension. Smith has been a disappointment, and was one of my keys to the Rams having a successful season. I didn't expect a lot from the rookies.

 

[Username]

I t seems that most of us agree. OL, OLB, S, WR, and TE are all concerns. I think we need more depth at DE also, but I will give props to Hays for playing a hell of a game.

Hell, Harvey Dahl gave up the first sack. Our tackles and guards are getting rocked at point of contact, and rocked so violently that they can't recover. Sam needs a big target to throw the ball to, someone he trusts to make the play even if he is covered. He doesn't have that guy. Could it be Quick or Pettis, yes it could be, but Quick is going to have to improve enough to even see the active roster and Pettis just got back from suspension. Smith has been a disappointment, and was one of my keys to the Rams having a successful season. I didn't expect a lot from the rookies.

Have you had a chance to re-watch the game yet Doc? What was your thoughts on Stewart when he was in there? My initial impressions we that he played a good game.