Welp, the Rams have their fair share of challenges as they face the Vikings...

[Rams43]

Minus both starting CB’s. (I’ll believe Peters starts only when I see it). This, alone, would fatally cripple most teams.

No GZ. And a very wobbly Ficken trying to fill in. Mercy.

No Pharoh Cooper and now no JoJo as returners. Yikes!

An apparent lack of even an average OLB opposite Ebu through 3 games.

AD and Suh have thus far fallen short of the high expectations. Hardly liabilities, to be sure, but hardly world class dominators, either.

And here come the ticked off and embarrassed Vikings on a short week. Gulp...

One good thing, though. There isn’t a damned thing wrong with the Ram O, is there? Lol.

 

[Malibu]

I get the obvious - injuries you listed, but I disagree with you regarding Suh and AD.

You understand we are 1sst in the NFL in points allowed at 12 ppg all the other major defense metrics we're in the top 5-10. That has to do in part the dlines dominance forcing the QB to get the ball out quicker and to shorter routes making it harder for them to score because they need to string together more first downs and in the AZ game AZ had one single time they crossed the 50.

Just because you don't see sacks they do not tell the entire story.

 

[Ramlock]

Minus both starting CB’s. (I’ll believe Peters starts only when I see it). This, alone, would fatally cripple most teams.

No GZ. And a very wobbly Ficken trying to fill in. Mercy.

No Pharoh Cooper and now no JoJo as returners. Yikes!

An apparent lack of even an average OLB opposite Ebu through 3 games.

AD and Suh have thus far fallen short of the high expectations. Hardly liabilities, to be sure, but hardly world class dominators, either.

And here come the ticked off and embarrassed Vikings on a short week. Gulp...

One good thing, though. There isn’t a damned thing wrong with the Ram O, is there? Lol.

Pull up your Big Girl panties and don't worry!

 

[Rams43]

I get the obvious - injuries you listed, but I disagree with you regarding Suh and AD.

You understand we are 1sst in the NFL in points allowed at 12 ppg all the other major defense metrics we're in the top 5-10. That has to do in part the dlines dominance forcing the QB to get the ball out quicker and to shorter routes making it harder for them to score because they need to string together more first downs and in the AZ game AZ had one single time they crossed the 50.

Just because you don't see sacks they do not tell the entire story.

Couple of things, Malibu.

First, the low scoring allowed occurred mostly while both starting CB’s were on the field.

Second, it’s not just about the lack of sacks by AD/Suh. I’m not seeing the blowup plays that were anticipated.

Thirdly, the main thrust of my post was that we are short handed while facing a highly motivated Viking team.

Btw, I neglected to mention that we will be without our “starting” MLB Barron for the 4th consecutive game.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Relax. The Vikings are not healthy either. They have serious problems on the Oline and Cousins isn’t very mobile. That will be huge for the Rams DLine.

Minnesota’s D has not been quite as impenetrable as they were last year. The Rams were tie to toe with them last year without Suh, Peters, and Talib. The Rams offense is even better than last year. So is the defense.

Plus I believe McVay is a better tactician than Zimmer.

I’m not worried.

 

[Zodi]

You dont need a defense if your offense controls the time of possession. I think that'll be the game plan Thursday. Grind down the clock, make the Vikings one dimensional.

 

[Jacobarch]

Jezz, what's with all the debbie downer talk? Even if we do lose it's very early in the season and it's not going to dictate how we finish. This is an early game and we are banged up but we have above average backups so I'm not that worried. This isn't the same Vikings team as last year either.
Chillllllllllllllllll brotha

 

[Jacobarch]

I get the obvious - injuries you listed, but I disagree with you regarding Suh and AD.

You understand we are 1sst in the NFL in points allowed at 12 ppg all the other major defense metrics we're in the top 5-10. That has to do in part the dlines dominance forcing the QB to get the ball out quicker and to shorter routes making it harder for them to score because they need to string together more first downs and in the AZ game AZ had one single time they crossed the 50.

Just because you don't see sacks they do not tell the entire story.

This^^

You can't sack the QB when they're constantly doing 3 step drops. The Chargers mixed in a couple of 5 and 7 steps but it wasn't their gameplan. I believe one of the first catches of the game was a 3 step drop from Rivers to Allen on a drag route. I think some of guessed that would be their gameplan prior to game-time. The Vikings will have the same gameplan as the Redskins last year. Pound the ball with Cook, and PA pass over the middle. Supplement the screen pass to slow down the guys in the middle. They will also attack our LBers. Hopefully Barron is ready to go. We need him

 

[FrantikRam]

Relax. The Vikings are not healthy either. They have serious problems on the Oline and Cousins isn’t very mobile. That will be huge for the Rams DLine.

Minnesota’s D has not been quite as impenetrable as they were last year. The Rams were tie to toe with them last year without Suh, Peters, and Talib. The Rams offense is even better than last year. So is the defense.

Plus I believe McVay is a better tactician than Zimmer.

I’m not worried.

I was stressing about this game when Talib and Peters went down. But Shields/Hill/NRC is better than what we threw out there last year at them. Both Webster and NRC went down in a week where Hill didn't play - that was 3 CBs down where our 5th CB was not good.

This year it's 2 CBs down and our 5th is Hill - who is a solid player. Shields is too, and NRC can probably cover outside in our base D.


Plus, I can't imagine that Griffin will play for them with what we've been hearing. And on top of all that, Cousins is nowhere near Rivers as a QB.

 

[MachS]

I get the obvious - injuries you listed, but I disagree with you regarding Suh and AD.

You understand we are 1sst in the NFL in points allowed at 12 ppg all the other major defense metrics we're in the top 5-10. That has to do in part the dlines dominance forcing the QB to get the ball out quicker and to shorter routes making it harder for them to score because they need to string together more first downs and in the AZ game AZ had one single time they crossed the 50.

Just because you don't see sacks they do not tell the entire story.

This is interesting because we're giving up 5.0 yards per carry ranked 27th in the league. When you make general statements like this it can be misleading. While I don't think its time to panic about our D line, I personally would say I haven't seem AD or Suh "flash" as much as I thought I would. Take that however you like, and obviously our defense overall has been productive, but we still don't have a dominant run D. Our LBs have a lot to do with that as well.

My concern comes from the obvious lack of an edge pass rush. I'm wondering how many times Quinn coming wide on a speed rush pushed the QB up towards AD so he could finish the play. Doesn't seem like that's happening this year. Does more of the 12 ppg credit belong to our D line or secondary? After Talib and MP went down, didn't it seem like we had hardly no pressure on Rivers? That would make me believe our coverage is having a decent influence on allowing time for QB pressures this year.

AD will be doubled on every snap, so we need to find a way to get home. Ebukam will be an average player in the league, he doesn't consistently win his 1 on 1s enough. He isn't polished enough with his pass moves or hands. We need Obo to get healthy quickly.

 

[Ram65]

Minus both starting CB’s. (I’ll believe Peters starts only when I see it). This, alone, would fatally cripple most teams.

No GZ. And a very wobbly Ficken trying to fill in. Mercy.

No Pharoh Cooper and now no JoJo as returners. Yikes!

An apparent lack of even an average OLB opposite Ebu through 3 games.

AD and Suh have thus far fallen short of the high expectations. Hardly liabilities, to be sure, but hardly world class dominators, either.

And here come the ticked off and embarrassed Vikings on a short week. Gulp...

One good thing, though. There isn’t a damned thing wrong with the Ram O, is there? Lol.

Good or shall I say bad points this week against the Rams.

What about the Vikings injuries and Griffen's mental health problem keeping him out of action. Vikings got their starting center back. At least it's a home game.

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2018/...nitial-injury-report-aqib-talib-marcus-peters

 

[Adi]

Sucks not having Talib and pett
ers they have been tremendous so far this season.

That is my only worry , Minnesota has good recievers and I wonder who's lining up outside

Does NRC stay inside?

Good thing Vikings o line has sucked, our guys should be on top of cousins within a few seconds, should help out the secondary

 

[Jacobarch]

Sucks not having Talib and pett
ers they have been tremendous so far this season.

That is my only worry , Minnesota has good recievers and I wonder who's lining up outside

Does NRC stay inside?

Good thing Vikings o line has sucked, our guys should be on top of cousins within a few seconds, should help out the secondary

I think NRC will line up against Diggs and Shields against Thielen. Hill will probably come in as our Nickle. I don't think the Staff fully trust Hill on the outside yet. We'll see tho.

 

[Ants]

Honestly, I'm not concerned much.
I don't think we've seen the best of what the Rams can (and will) offer.
And I also think that the Vikes are probably worse off health-wise than we are...not to mention they have to travel west during a short week.

 

[LesBaker]

a very wobbly Ficken

My ficken stand straight up and doesn't wobble at all..........

Wait..........nevermind.

And here come the ticked off and embarrassed Vikings on a short week. Gulp...

But they are traveling and are alos banged up.

Even if we do lose it's very early in the season

It can have an effect on home field.

This is a BIG game.

I'm wondering how many times Quinn coming wide on a speed rush pushed the QB up towards AD so he could finish the play. Doesn't seem like that's happening this year.

Well not enough that the guys who know all about that decided to part ways.

He hasn't been himself for a long time, and carried a BIG contract.

 

[FrantikRam]

This is interesting because we're giving up 5.0 yards per carry ranked 27th in the league. When you make general statements like this it can be misleading. While I don't think its time to panic about our D line, I personally would say I haven't seem AD or Suh "flash" as much as I thought I would. Take that however you like, and obviously our defense overall has been productive, but we still don't have a dominant run D. Our LBs have a lot to do with that as well.

My concern comes from the obvious lack of an edge pass rush. I'm wondering how many times Quinn coming wide on a speed rush pushed the QB up towards AD so he could finish the play. Doesn't seem like that's happening this year. Does more of the 12 ppg credit belong to our D line or secondary? After Talib and MP went down, didn't it seem like we had hardly no pressure on Rivers? That would make me believe our coverage is having a decent influence on allowing time for QB pressures this year.

AD will be doubled on every snap, so we need to find a way to get home. Ebukam will be an average player in the league, he doesn't consistently win his 1 on 1s enough. He isn't polished enough with his pass moves or hands. We need Obo to get healthy quickly.

I think the other aspect to this is who we've played.

We played two bad offenses/teams to start the season, and the first good offense we played we got worked over. Defense only allowed 350 yards and 23 points, but the offense kept the ball for quite a bit of the game. I'm too lazy to look but I'm sure if you analyzed all our stats for the Chargers game, the defense would not look good.

 

[ljramsfan]

I dont know about anyone else. I think Peters plays tomorrow night

 

[The Ramowl]

Ok, I might regret saying that in a few hours, but I am starting to wonder if this Vikings team is really as good as we thought they would be before the season.
When you look at their first three games it's actually pretty unconvincing. They had trouble beating a not so great 49ers team, then tied against Green Bay who also showed flaws and then completely crumbled against Buffalo

And I see people saying "Buffalo was an accident, it happens", but I disagree, this doesn't happen. You don't accidentally get your ass handed to you at home by a team who looked completetly lost so far, has a completely raw rookie QB, lost their two first games by a combined 55 points. I mean they had a player retire at half time, that's how bad the Bills were, and everyone had them at #32. That same team put the Vikings to shame, they didn't beat them by 3 points like the Browns could have beaten the Steelers, no, the game was over at half time. I honestly don't remember the last time I saw an upset like that in the NFL in a non divisional game.

So I am not craping my pants for the game tonight, I think the Vikings have way more reasons to be scared than we do.