On to Week 3

[12intheBox]

Lets be honest with ourselves - we got a little carried away coming out of week 1. We got a little big for our britches and we got smacked back to reality. We are a young team, we are relying on rookies to play major roles, we have a QB in his first year in our system, and while we are talented - we aren't so much more talented than other teams that we can just show up and walk out with a W.

So lets be glad that a marginal team put an embarrassing loss on us. Maybe its what these guys needed - a reminder of where this team came from and a poke in the side to never let us go back there again.

But while we clearly didn't have a short memory coming off of week 1's win, lets be sure to have one coming off of this festering turd of a game because the Steelers are coming.

The Steelers may be the best offense in the NFL right now. Antonio Brown is other worldly - teams know it is coming and he just keeps beating them. "No means No" Roethlisberger has great pocket awareness and physical strength to combat the pass rush. And if that wasn't enough, Bell - one of the best young backs in the game - is back.

So far, the Steelers O Line doesn't seem to miss Pouncey - and old draft favorite David DeCastro is playing like a first round pick out there. They have made DeAngelo Williams look like its 2008 with the holes they are creating. Still, its on the interior that the Rams have their best chance of putting the brakes on this offense. We need the Aaron Donald show.

On the other side of the ball - the Steelers D is beatable. Shazier is turning into the player that many of us thought he could be and Cam Heyward will need to be accounted for - but I think it will be easier to find space this week than it was in weeks 1 and 2.

The secret in this game is - don't get behind. If we let them jump out to a 10+ point lead and we are playing from behind all game - we are in trouble. For one, thats the opposite of our makeup - we were built to protect the lead, not to chase it. Secondly, we just can't keep up in a shootout with these guys.
We have to be ready to play at the start of the first quarter.

I know Gurley and Bell will be the storyline - and deservedly so - but its gut check time for this team.
We are either going to take that next step or we are going to be run overs yet again.

Challenges:

Jenoris Jenkins - Antonio Brown. You will have help - and if I had to guess, I would say the strategy is going to be to hit Brown early and often and make him as uncomfortable out there as we can. He is going to get the treatment that we tried to give OBJ last year - lets just hope it works out better for us this time.

Nick Foles - Keith Butler. You are the guy here, Nick. We need you to diagnose and put us in a position to succeed. They will be giving something up - they just aren't fast enough to cover the field - find the holes in the D and put us there.

Jeff Fisher - Mike Tomlin. You got outcoached by the Skins - and thats OK - we can't expect you to be ahead of the other team's staff every week. But don't get outcoached this week. Have them ready for Bell, Brown, and Ben. Make them beat us with Heyward-Bey or Marcus Wheaton.

Ogletree - Bell. Its going to take the whole team to swarm to this guy but I expect you to get there first, Tree. They should be concerned enough with the front 4 that you and JL should have space to work. Break down - we don't need to be able to hear the hit in the nosebleed section - we just need to be able to hear the whistle blow because you got him down.

One last note. I'm ready for Brian Quick to take over for Chris Givens. I know Givens is faster - but give me the better blocker, bigger target, more difficult matchup. I don't pretend to know what the heck is going on with this situation, but we waited a long time for the Brian Quick Show to get underway - and early last year, we were enjoying the heck out of it. Lets bring that back.

Rams 31 - Steelers 28

 

[Mojo Ram]

Good post.
I want to see Quick back in the lineup too. He's our best blocking WR and maybe our best receiver period. The run blocking up front has been piss-poor and Quick will destroy the edges with his physicality, and he can make tough catches over the middle. Makes sense all around.

There aren't too many head coaches i flat out dislike. Belichick, Arians and yes, Mike Tomlin.

Keeping it simple, the Rams need to do a better job at blocking. The OLine hasn't been good and unlike many, i don't think Gurley will solve that problem.

I agree that the mood all week facing Washington after the Seattle win was a little bit too relaxed. I said as much somewhere on Friday or Saturday.

And finally... @12intheBox did you lose a bet with that avi this week? Lol.

 

[12intheBox]

did you lose a bet with that avi this week? Lol.

Yep. But I'm coping with it.

 

[Dickersn29]

So lets be glad that a marginal team put an embarrassing loss on us. Maybe its what these guys needed - a reminder of where this team came from and a poke in the side to never let us go back there again.

Come on, arent you tired of making excuses for these guys?... how many times the past few years have this team beaten a good team only to lose the next week to a shitty one?..

This team is undisciplined and obviously unmotivated, Fisher has to go!.. im tired of hearing this team is young and growing pains blah blah blah... they are all Professional athletes that get paid alof of $$$ its either execute and perform or Lose! which this team does all to often.

Fisher has under performed as a Coach as far as im concerned, he fails to get this team ready and be consistent on a week to week basis which is why they finish 8-8 or worse! every year. We need a Coach who can not only motivate but kick some ass! when needed and this team needs alot of that.

A very disappointed LOSS! on top of too many very disappointing seasons.

 

[12intheBox]

Come on, arent you tired of making excuses for these guys?... how many times the past few years have this team beaten a good team only to lose the next week to a crappy one?..

This team is undisciplined and obviously unmotivated, Fisher has to go!.. im tired of hearing this team is young and growing pains blah blah blah... they are all Professional athletes that get paid alof of $$$ its either execute and perform or Lose! which this team does all to often.

Fisher has under performed as a Coach as far as im concerned, he fails to get this team ready and be consistent on a week to week basis which is why they finish 8-8 or worse! every year. We need a Coach who can not only motivate but kick some ass! when needed and this team needs alot of that.

A very disappointed LOSS! on top of too many very disappointing seasons.

Such as? Pretend you are Les Sneed - Stan comes to you and says Fisher is out and its up to you to hire me a new coach that get this team a title. You have 7 mill per year as your budget. Who would you bring in?

And yes, of course I'm tired of this - but I'm a Rams fan - and I'm not just a casual fan either - I give these guys at least 30% of my mind share - which considering I have a wife and kids and a business to run is a crapload of my time invested. I think about the Rams during the offseason, during the preseason, and of course - during the regular season. I watch high school and college ball always with an eye on how a guy would fit on the Rams. I don't want to throw around the word obsess - but it kind of fits.

Still, I come back. Every year I get my hopes up that this is THE year. Every week I get my hopes up that we can beat the guys we are playing. (Yes, "we" - I'm one of those fans) I'm as hurt when they chit the bed as anyone out there. But still I come back.

They are the Rams. And while that sounds like a punchline these days - this franchise has banners. I have been lucky enough to enjoy watching my team win a Super Bowl and dominate the league for a short stint. Not every fan base even has that much - some teams are still looking for their first taste. But its not all in the past - this team has talent - a lot of it. I think thats why the frustration boils so hot right now. The Skins had no business beating us and it is far from the first time we have beaten ourselves.

I want more out of Fisher myself - but I also don't have his replacement lined up either. I'd rather have Fisher and co than Spags or Linehan - which isn't saying much - but at least it could be worse.

We are Rams fans. We are resilient. We keep coming back. Thats one of the things that make us great.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I Think our, not so secret weapon, this week will be Chris Long!
The stats may not show it, but I have been watching carefully!
Week #1 He was Attacking all over the place on every play! which I think helped the Team get 6 Sacks!!
Week#2 he was doing the same thing and got part of Both the Teams Sacks!
I think he's on a mission this season, and he'll prove it soon!! Hopefully this week against the Steelers! JMHO

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Come on, arent you tired of making excuses for these guys?... how many times the past few years have this team beaten a good team only to lose the next week to a crappy one?..

This team is undisciplined and obviously unmotivated, Fisher has to go!.. im tired of hearing this team is young and growing pains blah blah blah... they are all Professional athletes that get paid alof of $$$ its either execute and perform or Lose! which this team does all to often.

Fisher has under performed as a Coach as far as im concerned, he fails to get this team ready and be consistent on a week to week basis which is why they finish 8-8 or worse! every year. We need a Coach who can not only motivate but kick some ass! when needed and this team needs alot of that.

A very disappointed LOSS! on top of too many very disappointing seasons.

I expected more from Fisher. His offense gets a pass due to Oline youth but the defense should be consistently good by now. I usually don't bang on the coaches too much but in this case, Fisher is a vet and he has the defense that he wanted from the start........Now is the time to prove that he can coach them to play like a top defense week in and week out. Getting embarrassed by the Skins is shameful.

 

[lockdnram21]

The line has to play much better.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Lets be honest with ourselves - we got a little carried away coming out of week 1. We got a little big for our britches and we got smacked back to reality. We are a young team, we are relying on rookies to play major roles, we have a QB in his first year in our system, and while we are talented - we aren't so much more talented than other teams that we can just show up and walk out with a W.

So lets be glad that a marginal team put an embarrassing loss on us. Maybe its what these guys needed - a reminder of where this team came from and a poke in the side to never let us go back there again.

But while we clearly didn't have a short memory coming off of week 1's win, lets be sure to have one coming off of this festering turd of a game because the Steelers are coming.

The Steelers may be the best offense in the NFL right now. Antonio Brown is other worldly - teams know it is coming and he just keeps beating them. "No means No" Roethlisberger has great pocket awareness and physical strength to combat the pass rush. And if that wasn't enough, Bell - one of the best young backs in the game - is back.

So far, the Steelers O Line doesn't seem to miss Pouncey - and old draft favorite David DeCastro is playing like a first round pick out there. They have made DeAngelo Williams look like its 2008 with the holes they are creating. Still, its on the interior that the Rams have their best chance of putting the brakes on this offense. We need the Aaron Donald show.

On the other side of the ball - the Steelers D is beatable. Shazier is turning into the player that many of us thought he could be and Cam Heyward will need to be accounted for - but I think it will be easier to find space this week than it was in weeks 1 and 2.

The secret in this game is - don't get behind. If we let them jump out to a 10+ point lead and we are playing from behind all game - we are in trouble. For one, thats the opposite of our makeup - we were built to protect the lead, not to chase it. Secondly, we just can't keep up in a shootout with these guys.
We have to be ready to play at the start of the first quarter.

I know Gurley and Bell will be the storyline - and deservedly so - but its gut check time for this team.
We are either going to take that next step or we are going to be run overs yet again.

Challenges:

Jenoris Jenkins - Antonio Brown. You will have help - and if I had to guess, I would say the strategy is going to be to hit Brown early and often and make him as uncomfortable out there as we can. He is going to get the treatment that we tried to give OBJ last year - lets just hope it works out better for us this time.

Nick Foles - Keith Butler. You are the guy here, Nick. We need you to diagnose and put us in a position to succeed. They will be giving something up - they just aren't fast enough to cover the field - find the holes in the D and put us there.

Jeff Fisher - Mike Tomlin. You got outcoached by the Skins - and thats OK - we can't expect you to be ahead of the other team's staff every week. But don't get outcoached this week. Have them ready for Bell, Brown, and Ben. Make them beat us with Heyward-Bey or Marcus Wheaton.

Ogletree - Bell. Its going to take the whole team to swarm to this guy but I expect you to get there first, Tree. They should be concerned enough with the front 4 that you and JL should have space to work. Break down - we don't need to be able to hear the hit in the nosebleed section - we just need to be able to hear the whistle blow because you got him down.

One last note. I'm ready for Brian Quick to take over for Chris Givens. I know Givens is faster - but give me the better blocker, bigger target, more difficult matchup. I don't pretend to know what the heck is going on with this situation, but we waited a long time for the Brian Quick Show to get underway - and early last year, we were enjoying the heck out of it. Lets bring that back.

Rams 31 - Steelers 28

I don't think we got carried away at all. Fisher and Snead have been building this defense ever since they have arrived and now all of the pieces are in place and they have had the same coach for the second offseason now. EXPECTING them to play with consistency and be consistently good is not getting carried away. It is called taking the next step and I fully expect that they do that this season. Offensively? Well that's going to take a while with the new Oline and the lack of a top talent at WR like A. Brown

BTW Jenkins cannot cover Brown. Jenkins is one of the most overrated corners in the league IMO. He gives up big plays, back breaking plays every game. Shutdown corners don't do that.

And no I am not glad that the Rams were beat by a marginal team like Washington. Now if they were beat by New England or Green Bay.......okay then but average teams shouldn't be able to score so easily on this defense.

 

[12intheBox]

Jenkins has had a pretty good first 2 weeks if you ask me. I'm not sure there is a corner who can shit down Brown by himself - but he is our best shot at slowing him down.

We have talked about the big plays before - but I haven't seen them this year - and I hope not to. I really do think there is a gross underestimation of how difficult an NFL cornerbacks job is - there is a reason that the elite ones make huge money and teams don't hesitate to spend high draft picks on them.

Obviously, we are all entitled to our opinions though.

 

[Mojo Ram]

The line has to play much better.

The OLine. Agree.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I'm not sure there is a corner who can crap down Brown by himself

 

[PFaulk]

No one can really cover Antonio Brown. Let's give up that pipe dream right now. They're going to get him involved.

The key is going to be keeping him relatively contained and out of the end zone.

Bell may still be knocking a little bit of rust off. They can run very effectively as we saw yesterday - the Rams are going to have to do a better job on first and second down making them work a little harder on third down.

 

[LetsGoRams]

Yep. But I'm coping with it.

I'm fine with you leaving it up permanently!

 

[GabesHorn]

Does anyone here in their heart of hearts think we can cover the steelers wr's ? Then match them score for score? Even if Gurley is 100% with our young OL they have a tough LB crew that is young and fast. Not to mention Leveon Bell makes the unknown kid we got ran over by yesterday in DC look like JV team. Bell is the leagues BEST RB and better than Lynch , Lacy , And HE'S FRESH! I posted the night before skins game it would be a war that most did'nt see coming. I'm all RAMS 100% of the time and I'm not gonna ever change after 50 years of the HORNS. I think Fisher needs a whole offseason to come up with a gameplan to win this one at home. I'll be happy if we can keep it close for a moral victory. So glad not on pimetime. Our OL needs a full year PERIOD!!! Thats Healthy.

 

[RamFan503]

Good write up @12intheBox Thanks for posting it and I for one appreciate the work and thought going into it.

 

[RamFan503]

Does anyone here in their heart of hearts think we can cover the steelers wr's ?

Yes.

 

[12intheBox]

The one thing that gives me hope in terms of covering the Steelers WRs is that their pass plays are often pretty far downfield. This isn't a quick hitter offense - they take a few seconds to let their routes develop and generally, Ben gives them the time they need by moving around a bit.

We just need to collapse the pocket a little earlier than they are used to.

 

[Warner4Prez]

Maybe we need to cut the Washington football club a little freaking credit, eh? Donald was consistently in the backfield, but beyond that, Cousins was pretty comfortable.

Both of their lines were physical and didn't take shit from the Rams. There are some pretty solid players on either side of the ball there. No joke, with what we've seen, they will win the NFC East.

I wanted the Rams to show me more, no doubt, but it seems we're selling the Skins ridiculously short to push the 'Fisher didn't coach this team' narrative. And trust me, I was saying the same thing yesterday. However, on further examination, maybe they're just a pretty good team.

 

[GabesHorn]

The one thing that gives me hope in terms of covering the Steelers WRs is that their pass plays are often pretty far downfield. This isn't a quick hitter offense - they take a few seconds to let their routes develop and generally, Ben gives them the time they need by moving around a bit.

We just need to collapse the pocket a little earlier than they are used to.

You don't think they will adjust to the way we play defense like the skins did and shorten or just change a few routes as Brown can elevate and jump out of the stadium ? Mix than in with Bell rushing as our defense is easy to read and BR can just change the play at the line from run to pass or vice versa ?

Our LB's are the worst part of this "D" weve built and PFF shows their pass defense #'s. Don't believe me. Tight Ends are another weakness we have in coverage. I'm all RAM and I just need to see it ONCE to Believe this season. My almost 50.00 Mob Squad shirt is suppose to still be on its way. Hope they don't change the shirt I ordered and send me a shirt they redesigned. I want to believe! Will that spanking motivate us?