Week 2 matchup: Skins

[Merlin]

Wanted to start up some discussion wrt the Skins game and what we can expect. Let's start with last year's team:

DEFENSE
vs Pass: 25th YPG (258.1), 9th sacks (38), 20th QB rating (91.1), 20th plays 20+ yards (53).
vs Run: 24th YPG (119.8), T-21st plays 20+ yards (12).
Scoring: 19th PPG (23.9).

OFFENSE
Passing: 2nd YPG (297.4), 4th sacks (23), 7th QBR (97.4), 2nd plays 20+ yards (70).
Rushing: 21st YPG (106), T-12th plays 20+ yards (10).
Scoring: 12th PPG (24.8).

STATS SUMMARY
Playoff passing-centric offense that was weak in rushing and it showed in their redzone performance, however they still put up solid playoff production at 24.8 PPG. Intermediate passing was very impressive.

Their primary issue was their bottom feeder defense that surrendered non-playoff-level points and was a pushover on the ground and in the air.

FREE AGENCY
I feel sorry for Gruden. Dude lost two 1k yard receivers right out the gate, speed threat in Jackson and major possession security blanket in Garcon. Meanwhile they brought in a high upside guy in WR Pryor, and some defensive pieces in LBs McGee and McClain, and S Swearinger.

I think their FA period was one of the worst in the league, but that will come down to how quickly Pryor shows and if he does as a passing game threat, along with Doctson who still looks wet behind the ears.

DRAFT
1: DT Allen (starter/no shoulder issues thus far/4 tackles, 3 solo with QB pressure in game 1)
2. OLB Anderson (edge/depth)
3. CB Moreau (depth/came in torn pec)
4. RB Perine (depth)
4. S Nicholson (depth)
5. TE Sprinkle (depth)
6. C Roullier (depth)
6. WR Davis (PS)
7. LB Clemons (depth)
7. CB Holsey (depth)

Allen is the big addition to a DL that will factor in on Sunday. Big volume draft after that with some guys that will help them, but not in game 2 of this season in LA.

STAFF CHANGES
Lost OC McVay, fired DC Joe Barry, DL coach Rob Akey, DB coach Perry Fewell.
Promoted OC Cavanaugh, DC Manusky, added QB coach O'Connell and DL coach Tomsula.

Cavanaugh had OC stints in Chicago & Baltimore, both with lower end results. Since he's under Gruden it looks like he's the gameplanner, so he should be ok in theory but I think you're talking massive dropoff from McVay to him.

Big pickup on defense was Tomsula, who while a fat dumb@$$ in his HC stint remains one of the better DL coaches in this league. He also has talent to work with there.

PRESEASON & GAME ONE
Skins slumped through preseason with all manner of problems on offense. Major inconsistencies week to week that sort of spilled over into their home loss to division rival Eagles. It looks right now like Gruden is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting on the offensive side of the ball but you still have an offense that hasn't fired on all cylinders yet so how long will it take him to get it online?

INTANGIBLES
Lots of them in this one. Barry's a close friend of Jay's, however getting fired makes it personal when you meet with another team. Rams will be fired up on defense and smelling blood when they watch that tape of the Skins offense.

Gruden lost a guy who made his job easy on offense and has to adjust. Gotta think he's irked and going to work overtime to gameplan the F out of this one and demonstrate it wasn't all McVay.

SUMMARY
Should probably do injuries but ran out of gas...

This game is in LA. Must-win game for Gruden really, since they're reeling from a divisional loss. Playing his former offensive lieutenant who has his entire team firing on all cylinders it seems. Skins have a better defense this year I think, however so do the Rams and facing the Rams defense is going to be a real tough matchup to "get right" in.

Rams offense meanwhile is not facing a dominant defense by any stretch. They look strong up front, so this matchup comes down to Fatsula taking advantage of an OL he knows well from his SF days. Still, this is a different Rams offense, and I don't think the Skins are all that up front just yet.

This one has win number two for our team written all over it.

 

[NERamsFan]

Agreed, I do think this game is very winnable. McVay is the X factor in this match-up. He knows Cousins and that offense first-hand and I would imagine he is going to be discussing strategy and tendencies with Wade.

Add to that the home field advantage along with our offensive momentum versus their poor D, and I think you have a recipe for a W!!

 

[TexasRam]

We could really use Donald for this game.

There is no reason we can't win this game. We need to chip Kerrigan on Havenstein's side so he doesn't have another 3 sack game vs us.

Our secondary will have a nice test before them compared to Indy. Pryor towers over Joyner, let's see if the little man is up for the challenge again.

 

[RamFan503]

I like and agree with most of this BUT....

Not sure how Tomslob knows our Oline. Different coaching and isn't Hav the only one playing the same position as the last time we played his whiners?

Sorry but it seems kind of odd that you would bring that up but not the fact that McVay has to know the Skins entire offense AND defense far more than fatsula knows our Oline.

 

[Merlin]

I like and agree with most of this BUT....

Not sure how Tomslob knows our Oline. Different coaching and isn't Hav the only one playing the same position as the last time we played his whiners?

Sorry but it seems kind of odd that you would bring that up but not the fact that McVay has to know the Skins entire offense AND defense far more than fatsula knows our Oline.

Fair points.

I figure he knows Saffold too, as well as some of the Rams' offensive skill position players, and has that basic intel one picks up in the SF gameplans with tells and tendencies. Really what the comment was about is that Fatsula is good at what he does and that Skins DL is really their best bet to beat us on Sunday.

Was trying to be somewhat impartial. Or maybe less homer-ish. Not sure which would be appropriate and I'm guessing a Skins fan would be angry reading that.

 

[OC_Ram]

It's gonna be a good test for this young Rams team. I can't wait!

Go Rams Go

 

[Riverumbbq]

You can bet that McVay wants Donald ready to get after Cousins in this game, ... I should also imagine we'll see a good deal of Carrier blocking in-line as an effort to help Hav out.
The team needs to get this one for our new coach. Hope plenty more fans turn up to raise the volume on Sunday, lets get that 12'th man engaged in a menacing & prolonged roar.



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiittA46RH4

 

[raised_fisT]

I'm just worried about giving up the big 'homerun' plays.
That is the type of shit that can really take the air out of a stadium and a team.
That bomb from Brisset to Moncrief in the Indy game should NOT have happened.
Regardless of the score, you don't want to give up plays like that.

Limit turnovers and penalties and play smart and aggressive and we should get the W. The 'skins looked shittyversus the Eagles on Sunday, I wasn't impressed at all.

 

[dolphinlover123]

They have good corners. Gonna be a challenge for Goff. Breeland and Norman.

 

[PressureD41]

If we can't get Gurley on track, then we will need to spread them out to get Krupp & our TEs in better miss matches. Do we go 4 WRS? Or does our TE's have better miss matches them our #3-4 WRs? Either way it could come down to this

 

[shaunpinney]

This week will be more of a challenge that the Colts without Luck and the Redskins will want to teach McVay a lesson also, they will be fired up for it.

The trick to beating them will be to shake up Cousins early, he wasn't that hot last week, but we know what he can do, hopefully his chemistry with Pryor isn't quite there yet.

I think we have plenty of passing targets to keep their DBs busy all day, which should free up some space for Gurley and Austin in the run game...

 

[Zodi]

I'm just worried about giving up the big 'homerun' plays.
That is the type of crap that can really take the air out of a stadium and a team.
That bomb from Brisset to Moncrief in the Indy game should NOT have happened. .

Pretty sure we had our third stringers in at that point. I think it was Christian that got beat deep.

 

[LumberTubs]

I think our DL (especially with AD back) will have a lot of success. The Eagles have a good D line too and got to Cousins for 4 sacks on Sunday. Hopefully the pressure our DL will create (coupled with a better secondary than the Eagles have) will cause more problems for Cousins than he had in week 1.

Its going to be a much closer game than the Colts who looked "first overall pick" bad but I trust this coaching staff to game plan effectively and hopefully Kromer will get the run blocking figured out a bit more this week.

Oh and fewer holding and false start penalties please.

 

[~lyser]

Much bigger challenge this week.

Kerrigan is a pain in the ass, and I don't trust Hav. Rams CANNOT afford to let this guy wreak havoc/cause turnovers.

Skins secondary is much better than the Colts.

Cousins, obviously better than whoever Indy propped up behind center.

Rams must limit penalties and turnovers. Whoever wins the turnover battle will win this game.

I have a feeling Wade's D will overwhelm Washington at times by creating turnovers and pressuring Cousins.

Goff needs to just manage the game and not make mistakes.

Hekker makes Washington earn everything, as usual.

Rams win a close one 23-17.

 

[Billy Baroo]

Wade definitely needs to game-plan around Brian Quick in this one.

 

[fearsomefour]

They have good corners. Gonna be a challenge for Goff. Breeland and Norman.

The team that runs the ball better is at a big advantage. That's a concern for the Rams obviously. The most obvious way to attack the Rams is to run right at their small MLBs. The Rams run game was just as enemic as last year.
On the good side the Rams scored 46 points week one....the Rams had scored 46 points going into week 4 last year. They scored as much in 4 quarters in McVays debut as they did in the first 12 quarters last year.
So, yeah, improvement.

 

[fearsomefour]

Wade definitely needs to game-plan around Brian Quick in this one.

Remember the Cards game last year?
He can make a big play here and there.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Never underestimate the danger of a wounded animal... Washington needs this game... badly.

Not at all sure how this one goes down, but it will tell me a lot about where this team is headed.

Looking forward to tuning in Sunday!! Haven't been able to say that for quite some time.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Wanted to start up some discussion wrt the Skins game and what we can expect. Let's start with last year's team:

DEFENSE
vs Pass: 25th YPG (258.1), 9th sacks (38), 20th QB rating (91.1), 20th plays 20+ yards (53).
vs Run: 24th YPG (119.8), T-21st plays 20+ yards (12).
Scoring: 19th PPG (23.9).

OFFENSE
Passing: 2nd YPG (297.4), 4th sacks (23), 7th QBR (97.4), 2nd plays 20+ yards (70).
Rushing: 21st YPG (106), T-12th plays 20+ yards (10).
Scoring: 12th PPG (24.8).

STATS SUMMARY
Playoff passing-centric offense that was weak in rushing and it showed in their redzone performance, however they still put up solid playoff production at 24.8 PPG. Intermediate passing was very impressive.

Their primary issue was their bottom feeder defense that surrendered non-playoff-level points and was a pushover on the ground and in the air.

FREE AGENCY
I feel sorry for Gruden. Dude lost two 1k yard receivers right out the gate, speed threat in Jackson and major possession security blanket in Garcon. Meanwhile they brought in a high upside guy in WR Pryor, and some defensive pieces in LBs McGee and McClain, and S Swearinger.

I think their FA period was one of the worst in the league, but that will come down to how quickly Pryor shows and if he does as a passing game threat, along with Doctson who still looks wet behind the ears.

DRAFT
1: DT Allen (starter/no shoulder issues thus far/4 tackles, 3 solo with QB pressure in game 1)
2. OLB Anderson (edge/depth)
3. CB Moreau (depth/came in torn pec)
4. RB Perine (depth)
4. S Nicholson (depth)
5. TE Sprinkle (depth)
6. C Roullier (depth)
6. WR Davis (PS)
7. LB Clemons (depth)
7. CB Holsey (depth)

Allen is the big addition to a DL that will factor in on Sunday. Big volume draft after that with some guys that will help them, but not in game 2 of this season in LA.

STAFF CHANGES
Lost OC McVay, fired DC Joe Barry, DL coach Rob Akey, DB coach Perry Fewell.
Promoted OC Cavanaugh, DC Manusky, added QB coach O'Connell and DL coach Tomsula.

Cavanaugh had OC stints in Chicago & Baltimore, both with lower end results. Since he's under Gruden it looks like he's the gameplanner, so he should be ok in theory but I think you're talking massive dropoff from McVay to him.

Big pickup on defense was Tomsula, who while a fat dumb@$$ in his HC stint remains one of the better DL coaches in this league. He also has talent to work with there.

PRESEASON & GAME ONE
Skins slumped through preseason with all manner of problems on offense. Major inconsistencies week to week that sort of spilled over into their home loss to division rival Eagles. It looks right now like Gruden is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting on the offensive side of the ball but you still have an offense that hasn't fired on all cylinders yet so how long will it take him to get it online?

INTANGIBLES
Lots of them in this one. Barry's a close friend of Jay's, however getting fired makes it personal when you meet with another team. Rams will be fired up on defense and smelling blood when they watch that tape of the Skins offense.

Gruden lost a guy who made his job easy on offense and has to adjust. Gotta think he's irked and going to work overtime to gameplan the F out of this one and demonstrate it wasn't all McVay.

SUMMARY
Should probably do injuries but ran out of gas...

This game is in LA. Must-win game for Gruden really, since they're reeling from a divisional loss. Playing his former offensive lieutenant who has his entire team firing on all cylinders it seems. Skins have a better defense this year I think, however so do the Rams and facing the Rams defense is going to be a real tough matchup to "get right" in.

Rams offense meanwhile is not facing a dominant defense by any stretch. They look strong up front, so this matchup comes down to Fatsula taking advantage of an OL he knows well from his SF days. Still, this is a different Rams offense, and I don't think the Skins are all that up front just yet.

This one has win number two for our team written all over it.

Really great report Merlin!! And I couldn't agree with your Bottom-Line more!!:yess:

 

[DaveFan'51]

You can bet that McVay wants Donald ready to get after Cousins in this game, ... I should also imagine we'll see a good deal of Carrier blocking in-line as an effort to help Hav out.
The team needs to get this one for our new coach. Hope plenty more fans turn up to raise the volume on Sunday, lets get that 12'th man engaged in a menacing & prolonged roar.



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiittA46RH4

THIS is too QUIET!! It has to be more Deafening!!!:mrburnsevil: