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Watched the game last night without the craziness of the pub and figured I'd throw out some thoughts, as there were some things I either hadn't noted or had misinterpreted in the first look:
1. Goff had a rough night. I think he was rusty, basically, but either way he missed on a lot of throws he usually makes in the first half. Several of them could have easily been picks. Mostly ball placement but also outright misses where he over or under threw his targets. In the second half he was improved, but honestly not by that much. He still had not only accuracy issues but his touch was off on some of the short passes to the backs as well. I attribute this to him not playing in preseason, fwiw, so not concerned or anything but just calling it what it was.
2. Defense & teams won the game. In that third quarter and into the fourth when the Rams asserted themselves the offense still didn't really "wake up." They made some plays that were crucial, and moved the chains, but honestly the defense and special teams picked the team up when it mattered. The last drive the offense put together was fantastic, but at that point the game was locked down and over with because of the defense and teams.
3. WRT the offense... First I think a lot of their potency or lack thereof was related to the passing game, the timing and the QB being a bit rusty and maybe jittery early on in that atmosphere. But I do think this season teams are going to do what the Falcons did in the playoffs and try to remove Gurley and make Jared beat them. In fact after the game Gruden mentioned they didn't get to Gurley enough. IMO this is going to continue, and the Rams need to be ready for it and to counter it.
4. The OL had a fine night throughout. From the first play to the last they were in charge. Run game holes were few and far between early on, but that can be typical and what mattered was a nice pocket for Jared pretty much all night. In fact that sack was him holding the ball too long, but these guys look really good and are a great indicator of what we have ahead this season by the offense.
5. Hekk... Just damn. He redefines what a punter can be to a team. The timing of two specific all-pro punts by that dude in the crucial period of the game there in the second half could not have been better. I was just sort of shakin my head and laughing last night watching him do his thing.
6. DL... Raiders did a really good job with holds and arm bars in minimizing their impact, but what matters is Carr was feeling them. AD was a little better this time around in game one than he was after last season's holdout. Suh was solid. But I think Brock had the best game of the three.
7. Edge LBs... We need better pressure off the edge. In the run game they were solid, and in space they showed range and tackled well, but the pressure side of things is probably going to require schematic boosts to get 'er done. I want to see more of Franklin. And Ebukam's range and closing speed in space are excellent.
8. ILBs... Littleton struggling vs Cook is not a surprise, as Cook is a bit of a freak, but I can understand why Wade wouldn't foresee Cook actually catching everything that went to him (even contested passes) and truckin dudes. And overall Littleton had a great game, with good drops and the INT as well as multiple key tackles where he showed range and closing speed.
Looking ahead to next week... I think the Cards are going to get a Rams team that knows their offense didn't hit on all cylinders, so I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.
1. Goff had a rough night. I think he was rusty, basically, but either way he missed on a lot of throws he usually makes in the first half. Several of them could have easily been picks. Mostly ball placement but also outright misses where he over or under threw his targets. In the second half he was improved, but honestly not by that much. He still had not only accuracy issues but his touch was off on some of the short passes to the backs as well. I attribute this to him not playing in preseason, fwiw, so not concerned or anything but just calling it what it was.
2. Defense & teams won the game. In that third quarter and into the fourth when the Rams asserted themselves the offense still didn't really "wake up." They made some plays that were crucial, and moved the chains, but honestly the defense and special teams picked the team up when it mattered. The last drive the offense put together was fantastic, but at that point the game was locked down and over with because of the defense and teams.
3. WRT the offense... First I think a lot of their potency or lack thereof was related to the passing game, the timing and the QB being a bit rusty and maybe jittery early on in that atmosphere. But I do think this season teams are going to do what the Falcons did in the playoffs and try to remove Gurley and make Jared beat them. In fact after the game Gruden mentioned they didn't get to Gurley enough. IMO this is going to continue, and the Rams need to be ready for it and to counter it.
4. The OL had a fine night throughout. From the first play to the last they were in charge. Run game holes were few and far between early on, but that can be typical and what mattered was a nice pocket for Jared pretty much all night. In fact that sack was him holding the ball too long, but these guys look really good and are a great indicator of what we have ahead this season by the offense.
5. Hekk... Just damn. He redefines what a punter can be to a team. The timing of two specific all-pro punts by that dude in the crucial period of the game there in the second half could not have been better. I was just sort of shakin my head and laughing last night watching him do his thing.
6. DL... Raiders did a really good job with holds and arm bars in minimizing their impact, but what matters is Carr was feeling them. AD was a little better this time around in game one than he was after last season's holdout. Suh was solid. But I think Brock had the best game of the three.
7. Edge LBs... We need better pressure off the edge. In the run game they were solid, and in space they showed range and tackled well, but the pressure side of things is probably going to require schematic boosts to get 'er done. I want to see more of Franklin. And Ebukam's range and closing speed in space are excellent.
8. ILBs... Littleton struggling vs Cook is not a surprise, as Cook is a bit of a freak, but I can understand why Wade wouldn't foresee Cook actually catching everything that went to him (even contested passes) and truckin dudes. And overall Littleton had a great game, with good drops and the INT as well as multiple key tackles where he showed range and closing speed.
Looking ahead to next week... I think the Cards are going to get a Rams team that knows their offense didn't hit on all cylinders, so I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.
