This is not MLB. Choices have to be made.

[WarnerToBruce]

Baseball is funny in that a major market team has a distinct advantage against many other teams due to their available revenue and the wonderous gift of being able to buy any athlete you need to field the best team possible.

That is not the NFL.

All teams in the NFL need to make choices on how to build their team and allocate their scarce resources to field the team best suited to achieve their blueprint.

Our Rams have made choices. They hoisted the Lombardi, so I'm pretty sure I'm feeling good about it. Unfortunately, it stings when the downside of their blueprint is exposed via injuries and underperformance of key, expensive assets.

We looked like crap last night but it's a long season and one of these outcomes I know to be true:

a) we get some guys back and make this a fight, or​

b) we take the hit of the bill coming due.​

Either way, I've decided to be even-keeled about it. Better for my blood pressure. Better for my enjoyment on Sundays. I lived through having the second worst record of the 90's, I can do this.

 

[Rams8821]

Baseball is funny in that a major market team has a distinct advantage against many other teams due to their available revenue and the wonderous gift of being able to buy any athlete you need to field the best team possible.

That is not the NFL.

All teams in the NFL need to make choices on how to build their team and allocate their scarce resources to field the team best suited to achieve their blueprint.

Our Rams have made choices. They hoisted the Lombardi, so I'm pretty sure I'm feeling good about it. Unfortunately, it stings when the downside of their blueprint is exposed via injuries and underperformance of key, expensive assets.

We looked like crap last night but it's a long season and one of these outcomes I know to be true:

a) we get some guys back and make this a fight, or​

b) we take the hit of the bill coming due.​

Either way, I've decided to be even-keeled about it. Better for my blood pressure. Better for my enjoyment on Sundays. I lived through having the second worst record of the 90's, I can do this.

How about 2004-2017???

 

[OntarioRam]

It's a long season. We are super banged up and will get players back. ARob was a big and expensive off-season acquisition. He might well prove to be monumental for us. Wagner is brand new to this defensive scheme and as much as he is learning his defence, Morris is likely figuring out how to best use him. The o-line has had zero opportunity to gel with all the injuries. The list goes on.

It is way too early to judge this Rams team. Let's see how they look in November, December. You're never going to go undefeated in this league. We're tied for 1st in our division. Things are not so bad. I'd rather struggle now and peak in week 14, 15, 16 than vice versa.

I still think that the Rams, at full strength, have a fighting chance to beat anyone in the weak NFC, and consequentially, have a decent chance of making it back to the Super Bowl. Once you are there, anything can happen, but the AFC definitely worries me. I suspect that we do not have the horses to repeat against that much improved conference.

 

[Flint]

It's a long season. We are super banged up and will get players back. ARob was a big and expensive off-season acquisition. He might well prove to be monumental for us. Wagner is brand new to this defensive scheme and as much as he is learning his defence, Morris is likely figuring out how to best use him. The o-line has had zero opportunity to gel with all the injuries. The list goes on.

It is way too early to judge this Rams team. Let's see how they look in November, December. You're never going to go undefeated in this league. We're tied for 1st in our division. Things are not so bad. I'd rather struggle now and peak in week 14, 15, 16 than vice versa.

I still think that the Rams, at full strength, have a fighting chance to beat anyone in the weak NFC, and consequentially, have a decent chance of making it back to the Super Bowl. Once you are there, anything can happen, but the AFC definitely worries me. I suspect that we do not have the horses to repeat against that much improved conference.

Very reasonable and rational opinions but I’ve heard a bunch of knee jerk proclamations as well, McVay’s gotten figured out, Rams blown out by 9ers.
It’s disappointing that guys like Evans and Kolone are having to actually play meaningful snaps and maybe even more disappointing that guys we were counting on like AR have been MIA.
I’ve heard Wagner’s name thrown around as a disappointment but they were trying manufacture pressure, unsuccessfully, quite a bit which took him out of the middle of the field.

 

[MrRiceGuyRJ]

Our Rams have made choices. They hoisted the Lombardi, so I'm pretty sure I'm feeling good about it. Unfortunately, it stings when the downside of their blueprint is exposed via injuries and underperformance of key, expensive assets.

They were talking about this on GMFB that the Rams are acting like they are content because of this. While our team was out celebrating and drinking 1942, other teams were working on getting better. Something that our team used to do. We have a lot of new adversities to overcome (i.e. starting a season with a loss, never started 2-2, plethora of early season injuries, etc). I believe McVay will find a way to turn things around, but I'm hoping we do it sooner than later and hopefully not too late.

 

[Merlin]

So many people writing the Rams off that it's actually entertaining right now. Was listening to KC radio while mowing and those guys were shitting all over this team and to the point where I almost stopped and called in. Almost.

But what makes the Rams approach work is McVay. McVay is the window.

These guys on the talk show see the Rams line looking like ass and don't realize that in all this BS we have found our RG. We get Edwards back. Shelton might be ok at Center and if so then all of a sudden our OL might start ascending given some goddamn snaps together. Nobody considers that the big boys need coordination and that it's half the battle how you handle stunts and protections and work as one unit. Rams OL always gets fucked over with no preseason. We know this, so it doesn't piss me off when we get into it with the OL but these media types straight get on my nerves. They don't know shit.

Defense is the same. Our rush is not going to get better. But we have some very nice pieces and will be getting Hill back at some point. Ramsey, Hill, and those two rooks have the makings of a good unit. Yeah it needs someone to step up at safety too, but the point is this team has some options and a top head coach who knows how to make adjustments.

Hopefully they do something with RB. But if they don't it is still possible Akers gets going. God knows this OL hasn't made it easy for him to find his game. And I talk a lot of shit about these guys but again it just really pisses me off to see the disrespect in the media. Maybe that is contrary in nature but that's being a fan I guess. Either way I'm not throwing in the towel yet, but then again I've always been a special kind of stupid in the face of poor odds. Statistically we aren't gonna win it all again most likely. But I don't think this team is going to lie down. I think we have fighters on this roster.

 

[SoCalRam78]

If this year is a dud (and it may be that way), I can't be too upset because they went all in last year and got a bowl. But it's always worth it. You want the second and third round picks or Von Miller last year in the playoffs? What would have been bad was making the moves and it not paying off.

Rams are being exposed a bit here. Rams do have injuries but they did spend on Wagner and Robinson this past spring. They did draft TuTu in 2021 in round 2. Not all their moves have hit.

 

[dang]

I like to divide the season in quarters. Quarter 1 we are still trying to figure out who we have snd it ain’t pretty but some depth players are getting valuable play time (e.g. Durant, Kendrick, AJax, Skow). If the Rams get Sllen, Shelton, Jefferson and OBJ back within the month we may be in for a good run. But again right now it ain’t pretty.

 

[RamDino]

Hopefully they do something with RB. But if they don't it is still possible Akers gets going. God knows this OL hasn't made it easy for him to find his game.

I believe Akers is still shaking off some rust, in addition to being in the doghouse for a bit. But not even Todd Gurley or Steven Jackson could not run behind a poor O-line. We need to get some guys back and get some continuity on the O-line. They need to open up some holes for these guys instead of letting them get hit in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage.

 

[GroundPounder]

We're all talking and thinking that these injuries are happening in a vacuum. Even though the starters will come back the injuries will not just suddenly stop. We just finished week 4 and have 13 regular season games left. There will be more and damn, imagine if it's Donald, Kupp, or Stafford!!!! Or maybe we shouldn't!!!

 

[RamsSince1969]

Opening an old wound, but, the Rams Rich Brooks gave up on freaking Jerome Bettis due to a bad O-line. Just for fun, Rich Brooks NFL record was 13-19. His college record 130-156-4. McVay is light years ahead of most coaches in terms of success and is not going to tolerate another crap game with a bad O-line. He will get this fixed with urgency, even with the pieces currently available. Only 4 games played and we are tied for first! I'll take it!

 

[RamFanWA]

Opening an old wound, but, the Rams Rich Brooks gave up on freaking Jerome Bettis due to a bad O-line. Just for fun, Rich Brooks NFL record was 13-19. His college record 130-156-4. McVay is light years ahead of most coaches in terms of success and is not going to tolerate another crap game with a bad O-line. He will get this fixed with urgency, even with the pieces currently available. Only 4 games played and we are tied for first! I'll take it!

Good perspective, I guess.
I mean through 4 games, how would McVay know how bad the O-line is - not having any preseason games to assess against... Being a team sport, I am not sure holdng out all starters all preseason is a great idea... Even a drive or two, per game for the starters, should tell you something about preparedness and cohesiveness...

 

[Kupped]

Good perspective, I guess.
I mean through 4 games, how would McVay know how bad the O-line is - not having any preseason games to assess against... Being a team sport, I am not sure holdng out all starters all preseason is a great idea... Even a drive or two, per game for the starters, should tell you something about preparedness and cohesiveness...

I think.. with just a little luck on the health front, they'll be okay.

But there are other problems.

Last year, when things went sideways for the offense.. McVay went to the power run game to keep it simple for a while and grind things out.. it worked. But this roster doesn't have a Sony Michel on it.. Brown has a little power, but he's just not on the same tier as Michel.

The RBs are very, very, very pedestrian.. especially when it comes to power.

 

[Psycho_X]

At least we didn't cut or trade Havenstein. The only stable spot on the oline.

 

[WarnerToBruce]

At least we didn't cut or trade Havenstein. The only stable spot on the oline.

If you just jinxed him, I'm hunting you down

 

[dieterbrock]

Yawn....
When the vent thread gets locked, we get this kind of stuff.
Rams lost to a team that:
-Invested a ton of draft picks for a QB who may never start for them again
-Rolled out an o-line which has a former 4th and a former 5th rounder to go along with their UDFA C
-Are on their 3rd RB after the 1st and 2nd string guys got hurt, and played an UDFA who was also coming off injury
-Missing 3 DB's who are either out or on IR/PUP
Etc. Etc.
Rams arent the only team with injury issues, and arent devoid of 1st round talent.