10 Observations - Bills @ Rams

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Great to see JB and co. hammer the pro-Bills officiating on BTH this week.Needs to be said.

 

[fanotodd]

The rest of the league has yet to stop it. So there's that

And most of THOSE teams are not that good. At least they aren’t as good as we expected the Rams to be.

Sometimes the chemistry on the field isn’t all that’s not clicking. The staff has not had this team properly prepared, IMO, to win these games. Too many missed assignments in all 3 phases.

 

[FrantikRam]

Many bad things to pick out. This one is the biggest mystery to me. Letting Allen run at will was devastating. I called for an even pass rush up the field, yet the pass rushers kept bunching together. I wanted some timely blitzing and didn't see much of that. Why not spy Allen? The run defense was horrible, but that's another observation.

So, the DL lost contain a decent number of times. And then we DID spy him, multiple times, Landman just isn't capable of that.

We could have (and maybe should have) spied him with Lake or Curl - more athletic while still being good tacklers - that would put Landman back in coverage, but I think that is the one critique to the gameplan here.

Other than that - we just didn't execute. The Bills called plays down the stretch where their receivers ran routes to both sides of the field, giving Allen the opportunity to be one on one with the spy or zone defender, which ended up mostly being linebackers.

The biggest thing though, the DL can not.....can NOT.....lose contain. It was mainly Stewart, trying to loop inside to beat the tackle and leaving Allen free to just run that way.

 

[FrantikRam]

With Lake, it looks to me like he's playing more man coverage than he ever has. Its not great when he gets matched up against a WR, but maybe it'll just take time for him to figure it out. At least McDuffie and Watson are thriving

 

[0311rams]

This was

Many bad things to pick out. This one is the biggest mystery to me. Letting Allen run at will was devastating. I called for an even pass rush up the field, yet the pass rushers kept bunching together. I wanted some timely blitzing and didn't see much of that. Why not spy Allen? The run defense was horrible, but that's another observation.

This was why we got Ford, they knew it needed fixing, the run defense, bottling up running qbs, and yet her we are, still. Obviously it wasn't fixed. Superbowl talk was the death knell for this team. 7-3 at the break? Anyone really feel like this team has wins in a row in it? I'd be happy with a playoff opportunity at this point.

 

[Ellard80]

The rest of the league has yet to stop it. So there's that

Against the patriots he had 5 carries for 4 yards.

Stopping it everytime.. sure tall task but allowing his 2nd highest rushing total of all time...not acceptable.

The tush push aspect...yeah that part i can live with not stopping.

 

[DzRams]

This was

This was why we got Ford, they knew it needed fixing, the run defense, bottling up running qbs, and yet her we are, still. Obviously it wasn't fixed. Superbowl talk was the death knell for this team. 7-3 at the break? Anyone really feel like this team has wins in a row in it? I'd be happy with a playoff opportunity at this point.

We haven't been getting much from Ford this year. Surprisingly, the interior DL hasn't been a strength this season.

 

[TheTackle]

We haven't been getting much from Ford this year. Surprisingly, the interior DL hasn't been a strength this season.

Personally, I think we need to trade someone for two special team aces including a returner

I am not sure that would be Ford but more likely a WR. Even so, if it was Ford, Keenan III is currently on the Raiders practice squad. Perhaps we might bring him back, as a low cost first down run stiffer, as he offers a lot in terms of freeing up others even if his ceiling is no where near Ford level

He did cost us some draft capital even if we should have looked harder at returners!

 

[RamWoodie]

Stafford had a good game against the Bills...but he needs to not just be looking for Puka. There were at least 4 times he went to Puka when there were clearly other guys wide open!!! I KNOW Higbeast was open twice and Tutu twice.

Furthermore, don't get Puka all beat up (like happened to Kupp), and then let him go because he's slowing down. Think about a players longevity in these things. Teams are targeting Puka for "big legal hits" to get him on the sidelines.

It's like lettng a boxer take so many head blows in his career he ends up "punch drunk" for life!!!

 

[Rmfnlt]

Stafford had a good game against the Bills...but he needs to not just be looking for Puka. There were at least 4 times he went to Puka when there were clearly other guys wide open!!! I KNOW Higbeast was open twice and Tutu twice.

Furthermore, don't get Puka all beat up (like happened to Kupp), and then let him go because he's slowing down. Think about a players longevity in these things. Teams are targeting Puka for "big legal hits" to get him on the sidelines.

It's like lettng a boxer take so many head blows in his career he ends up "punch drunk" for life!!!

 

[RamWoodie]

Exactly!!!

 

[RamWoodie]

4. Tackling — what a fucking mess
The missed tackles and failed sack opportunities against Buffalo were infuriating.
I counted at least four instances where a Rams defensive tackle or linebacker got hands on Josh Allen but couldn't finish the play. Allen is one of the most difficult quarterbacks in football to bring down, so I'm not pretending this is an easy assignment. But there's a difference between being beaten by an elite athlete and repeatedly failing to finish a play when you have him wrapped up.
Allen finished with 121 rushing yards on 10 carries and a rushing touchdown. James Cook added another 111 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. That's 232 rushing yards between two players.
You can't expect to win many games when a quarterback and running back combine for that kind of production.
And this isn't just about Allen. We've seen other quarterbacks like Winston, Bo Nix and Brock Purdy escape pressure and extend plays against this defense, too. The issue has been recurring: get close to the quarterback, lose the angle, fail to finish, and watch a manageable down turn into a first down or missed sack opportunity.
There were a few bright spots. Nate Landman forced Cook's fumble in overtime, Aaron Donald recovered it, and the Rams had opportunities to make game-changing plays. Trent McDuffie, Omar Speights and Jaylen Watson also had moments worth recognizing.
But the open-field angles are still a concern. Landman, Lake, Curl and others have had plays where they appear to approach the ball carrier at the wrong angle or fail to close space properly.
I woke up my one-year-old son yelling at the TV last night. My wife wasn't thrilled, and honestly, I can't blame her. Watching Lake get caught flat-footed on an open-field tackle was enough to make me question whether anyone was teaching basic tackling technique.
This is football 101. Break down, keep leverage, take the proper angle, wrap up and finish the play.
The Rams have the athletic talent. The fundamentals have to improve.

To me....THIS LOOMS LARGEST!!! Something I always say about the Rams defense:

IF THEY CAN TACKLE WELL...

Because they don't