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Exclusive Window/Primetime games - what's the deal?

To be clear up front, this is wondering why we don't seem to play well in these games, where the world is watching. I enjoy seeing what neutral fans think of our team, its part of the deal for me. So even in games that we win but play poorly, it can be a little less exciting for me. These games seem to be coming more frequently and I am wondering why.


-Thursday night this year - dont need to rehash it

-SNF week one last year - L at Detroit

-MNF home for Miami last year - embarrassing loss

-SNF home for Philly last year - embarrassing loss

-TNF at SF last year - win, but zero TDs scored

-Saturday home for Arizona last year, win but scored 13 pts


The exceptions are most Thursday games where McVay has fared well, and then the playoff games last year - or specifically both Vikings games and the Eagles playoff game last year.

But that said, there are six games over the last two years here where even though two were wins, neutral fans trash our team. I am nervous - and hopefully reverse jinxing it - about Sunday morning. McVay has fared well in London, so here's hoping.

So all that said - why do we tend to shit the bed more often when the world is watching? The Dolphins game last year and the Niners game this year are probably the most egregious examples
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Kiper's First Big Board and Rankings


Quarterbacks​

1. Dante Moore, Oregon
2. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
3. Ty Simpson, Alabama
4. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
5. John Mateer, Oklahoma
6. Carson Beck, Miami (Fla.)
7. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
8. Sam Leavitt, Arizona State
9. Jayden Maiava, USC
10. Drew Allar, Penn State

Just missed: Josh Hoover, TCU; Taylen Green, Arkansas; Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

Wide receivers​

1. Makai Lemon, USC
2. Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
3. Carnell Tate, Ohio State
4. Zachariah Branch, Georgia
5. Ja'Kobi Lane, USC
6. Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee
7. Germie Bernard, Alabama
8. Chris Bell, Louisville
9. Nyck Harbor, South Carolina
10. Denzel Boston, Washington

Just missed: KC Concepcion, Texas A&M; Eric Singleton Jr., Auburn; Antonio Williams, Clemson

Interior offensive linemen​

1. Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State
2. Connor Lew, Auburn
3. Cayden Green, Missouri
4. Logan Jones, Iowa
5. Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon
6. Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M
7. Matt Gulbin, Michigan State
8. Jake Slaughter, Florida
9. Parker Brailsford, Alabama
10. Iapani Laloulu, Oregon

Offensive tackles​

1. Spencer Fano, Utah
2. Francis Mauigoa, Miami (Fla.)
3. Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
4. Caleb Lomu, Utah
5. Gennings Dunker, Iowa
6. Caleb Tiernan, Northwestern
7. Trevor Goosby, Texas
8. Isaiah World, Oregon
9. Brian Parker II, Duke
10. Carter Smith, Indiana

Cornerbacks​

1. Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
2. Avieon Terrell, Clemson
3. Mansoor Delane, LSU
4. Brandon Cisse, South Carolina
5. Colton Hood, Tennessee
6. D'Angelo Ponds, Indiana
7. Malik Muhammad, Texas
8. Chandler Rivers, Duke
9. A.J. Harris, Penn State
10. Chris Johnson, San Diego State

Just missed: Will Lee III, Texas A&M

Who is the A.L. MVP?

Lots of discussion on who it should be, Judge or Raleigh. Sure Raleigh had the most HRs ever for a switch hitter. Most HRs ever for a C. He had 7 more homers than Judge and 11 more rbi. Feats that should definitely be applauded. But let's take a deeper dive into the numbers.

He had a batting average 84 points lower.
He struck out 28 more times and walked 27 less times.
His batting average on balls in play was 128 pts lower than Judge.
His slug% was 99 pts lower and his OB% was 98 pts lower, so his OPS was almost 200 pts lower (198)

Who was more valuable to their team?

The Yankees lost Juan Soto in the off season and had the identical record they had in 2024.
The Mariners had to acquire Eugenio Suarez at the trade deadline to get them over the hump.
The Mariners were 5 games over .500, 4.5 GB in the division without Suarez and 13 games over .500, 3 games up with him.

Hey Raleigh had an awesome season and deserves all the accolades thrown his way. But he doesn't deserve the MVP over Judge.

We Knew it All Along - Chiefs Getting Favorable Treatment

https://www.utep.edu/newsfeed/2025/...inancial-pressure-shapes-nfl-officiating.html

UTEP Study Reveals How Financial Pressure Shapes NFL Officiating​

Judges’ and referee calls favored Kansas City Chiefs from 2015-2023​

EL PASO, Texas (Oct. 8, 2025) – A new study from The University of Texas at El Paso has uncovered how financial incentives may subtly shape officiating decisions in one of America’s most iconic institutions: the National Football League. By analyzing more than 13,000 penalty calls from 2015 to 2023, researchers found that postseason officiating has disproportionately favored the Patrick Mahomes–era Kansas City Chiefs, coinciding with their rise as one of the NFL’s most marketable franchises.

A new study led by Spencer Barnes, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance in the UTEP Woody L. Hunt College of Business, has uncovered how financial incentives may subtly shape officiating decisions in one of America’s most iconic institutions: the National Football League. By analyzing more than 13,000 penalty calls from 2015 to 2023, researchers found that postseason officiating has disproportionately favored the Patrick Mahomes–era Kansas City Chiefs, coinciding with their rise as one of the NFL’s most marketable franchises.

A new study led by Spencer Barnes, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance in the UTEP Woody L. Hunt College of Business, has uncovered how financial incentives may subtly shape officiating decisions in one of America’s most iconic institutions: the National Football League. By analyzing more than 13,000 penalty calls from 2015 to 2023, researchers found that postseason officiating has disproportionately favored the Patrick Mahomes–era Kansas City Chiefs, coinciding with their rise as one of the NFL’s most marketable franchises.
Published in the journal Financial Review, the study provides one of the clearest empirical looks at how financial pressures can influence real-time rule enforcement, the UTEP research team said. Unlike traditional regulatory settings, NFL officiating — which is carried out by referees and judges — offers immediate and publicly visible decisions. This transparency offers a testbed for whether economic reliance on high-profile entities alters enforcement behavior — a phenomenon known as regulatory capture.

“Our findings suggest that when the league’s financial health is at stake, rule enforcement may subtly shift to protect market appeal,” said Spencer Barnes Ph.D., assistant professor of finance in UTEP’s Woody L. Hunt College of Business and the lead author of the study. “The fact that postseason penalties consistently favored one franchise, while similar dynasties showed no such pattern, points to the powerful role of financial incentives in shaping supposedly neutral decisions.”

The study shows that during the playoffs, which the research team identified as the NFL’s most commercially valuable period, penalties against opposing defenses of the Chiefs’ offense were significantly more likely to result in first downs, cover more yardage and fall into subjective categories such as roughing the passer or pass interference. Importantly, these effects were absent for the Tom Brady–era New England Patriots and other recent Super Bowl contenders, suggesting the phenomenon is unique to Kansas City’s emergence as a television ratings powerhouse.

This, Spencer explained, may be the result of financial pressures on the league stemming from the sharp decline in TV viewership and ratings during the politically charged 2015–2017 seasons, just before Patrick Mahomes became the Chiefs’ starting quarterback.

The implications extend beyond football, the research team says. The study draws parallels to financial markets, corporate governance and regulatory agencies, where dominant players may enjoy advantages not because of explicit corruption, but because institutions under pressure adapt to preserve stability and revenue.

“This research not only deepens our understanding of sports governance, but also illustrates a larger societal concern: when financial pressure weighs heavily, impartiality can erode,” said John Hadjimarcou, Ph.D., dean of UTEP’s Woody L. Hunt College of Business. “Spencer’s work demonstrates the power of academic inquiry to reveal hidden dynamics that affect fairness, competition and trust in institutions.”




Last Updated on October 08, 2025 at 12:00 AM | Originally published October 08, 2025

By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications

Rams PFF grades: Best and worst grades from Week 6 win over Ravens

Offense​


  • RT Warren McClendon Jr. - 75.9
  • RB Kyren Williams - 75.5
  • RG Kevin Dotson - 74.4
  • LT Alaric Jackson - 73.7
  • TE Tyler Higbee - 72.9
  • LG Steve Avila - 59.8
  • RB Blake Corum - 53.7
  • WR Xavier Smith - 52.9
  • TE Terrance Ferguson - 46.1
  • WR Jordan Whittington - 42.0

Pass protection grades (OL only)​

  • LG Steve Avila - 86.9
  • LT Alaric Jackson - 85.6
  • RT Warren McClendon Jr. - 60.2
  • RG Kevin Dotson - 55.9
  • C Coleman Shelton - 52.6

Run-blocking grades (OL only)​

  • RT Warren McClendon Jr. - 82.3
  • RG Kevin Dotson - 76.3
  • C Coleman Shelton - 70.8
  • LT Alaric Jackson - 63.9
  • LG Steve Avila - 50.5

Defense​


  • S Quentin Lake - 87.3
  • LB Shaun Dolac - 84.2
  • CB Darious Williams - 80.8
  • LB Nate Landman - 78.3
  • LB Josaiah Stewart - 77.6
  • LB Troy Reeder - 56.8
  • CB Cobie Durant - 50.4
  • S Kamren Kinchens - 50.2
  • DL Braden Fiske - 45.4
  • DL Ty Hamilton - 36.1

Pass-rush grades (front-seven only, min. 10 pass-rush snaps)​

  • DE Bryon Young - 80.5
  • DE Jared Verse - 74.3
  • DL Braden Fiske - 64.7
  • DL Poona Ford - 64.1
  • DL Kobie Turner - 57.3
  • DL Tyler Davis - 52.7

Coverage grades (min. 10 coverage snaps)​

  • S Quentin Lake - 85.2
  • CB Darious Williams - 81.1
  • CB Emmanuel Forbes - 76.1
  • LB Nate Landman - 68.2
  • LB Shaun Dolac - 68.0
  • S Kamren Curl - 65.4
  • S Jaylen McCollough - 64.7
  • S Kamren Kinchens - 57.9
  • CB Cobie Durant - 46.9
This is what I was able to confiscate from our friends on the net this week. Does it aligns with what you saw?

Nate Landman ~ Record Breaker -Appreciation

Apparently if you were watching the game you witnessed Nate Landman breaking a Rams record for most tackles in a single game with 17.

Not huge but still an accomplishment none the less. Good pickup for the Rams this year.

Congrats Land-Man



“Landman set the franchise record for the most tackles in a single game in franchise history (17),” the PR team posted. “Since 1994, only four other Rams have recorded 16 or more tackles in a single game: James Laurinaitis (2009 vs. Cardinals), Alec Ogletree (2015 vs. Commodes), Mark Barron (2015 vs. Browns), and Keith Lyle (1995 vs. Saints).”





Draft class grades so far

Figure we're a third of the way through the season.. thought it might be fun to just give some "at this point" grades for the draft class.

I think I give the overall class a C+ right now... if you factor in the trade and extra first rounder they got from next year.. it moves up to an A-.


-My grades are weighted to draft position. If you're in the first three rounds.. you need to be no on the roster and active just to get a C grade... making the roster as a 5-7 rounder is at least a C.

-Terrance Ferguson 2nd round.. Grade C.
He hasn't been able to get on the field too much, some of that likely because he fell behind in camp due to an injury. That being said.. some other rookie TEs are showing up... big time. He's getting more snaps every game he's active... so, I think much more is to come.

-Josiah Stewart 3rd round.. Grade B
Stewart hasn't put up big numbers or made any real splash plays yet.. but he is a solid, solid football player. He's been asked to do some interesting things and always seems to be in the right position. Love this kid.

-Jarquez Hunter 4th round... No Grade
Hasn't been made active and there hasn't been a big need... yet.

-Ty Hamilton 5th round... B
A fifth rounder making his way into the rotation for the Dline is a positive. He looks more and more like a real player and you can imagine him becoming an important player in the future. More size than the majority of Rams D linemen.

-Chris Paul Jr. 5th round... F
Couldn't make the roster. That's a fail.

-Konata Mumpfield 7th round... A
You make the team AND the active roster as a 7th rounder.. that's already a B grade. On top of that, made a nice play for a first down today. He looks the part of a #4 or 5 WR on a team.. for a 7th rounder.

Dolac is a B+ as a UDFA.