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- May 9, 2018
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1. There are a lot of negatives to unpack after tonight's debacle, but let's be perfectly clear: it ALL starts with the offensive line.
2. After losing Coleman Shelton in the first half, the Rams' interior OL consisted of three guys who ranged from back-ups to a practice squad call-up. They did their best, but let's be perfectly honest here... they had no chance of holding off the 49ers front seven.
3. From there, its a chain reaction. The running game is a non-factor, so that puts it all on the passing game...
4. In the passing game, pressure is coming with no more than 5, and as little as 4 pass rushers...
5. Stafford does what you expect - force feeds Cooper Kupp (and to a lesser extent, Tyler Higbee)...
6. Opposing defense is able to key on Kupp, and even he can't beat a top defense all by himself...
7. The Rams defense eventually makes some mistakes, allowing big plays...
8. Stafford finally makes a big mistake, and that's all she wrote.
9. Understand, that while the OL situation is the ROOT CAUSE, that does not absolve players who did not deliver.
10. Stafford HAS to hit a wide-open Higbee for what would have been a potentially game-changing TD, and he CAN'T throw that pick 6.
11. Cam Akers has to do more. Unless... maybe he can't. There's clearly a difference between getting back on the field after a torn Achilles, and getting all the way back to pre-injury form. Right now, my eyes are seeing a lot more explosion from Darrell Henderson.
12. Way too early prediction: the Rams will draft a RB with their first selection in next year's draft (again).
13. The defense CAN'T allow big plays like it did. The first TD was a gaffe. Allowing Deebo's long TD run was shameful. Letting a blown assignment turn a swing pass to Juszczyk turn into a 35 yard play was humiliating. I agree with those condemning the pass rush (not AD's fault - he pushed the pocket despite double and triple teams). While JimmyG does use the quick pass to avoid the rush, he had too many clean pockets when he had to scan the field. Where has Leonard Floyd gone?
14. While history will remember this as a runaway loss, its amazing how this is a game of inches. Deebo's TD could have been a pick 6 if the pass was a tad lower. The Rams miss out on a momentum changer when a fumbled kickoff return bounces right to a 49er. Of course, the 49ers dropped 2 or 3 interceptions and missed out on a TD by a toe, so....
15. One guy I'm not prepared to condemn is Allen Robinson. Granted, I do sense some budding disgruntlement from him, but he's coming by it honestly. The patterns he was brought here to run just don't work well (or, at least, don't present a better option than just feeding Kupp) when there's little to no time to throw.
16. OBJ is so much more versatile than Robinson. If we're going to make another run this year, we'll need him back.
17. So how do the Rams fix the OL on the fly? Well... hopefully we'll get Brian Allen and David Edwards back in the next two weeks, and... fingers crossed... Shelton's injury is a short-term deal.
18. Beyond that, its a tough situation. Quality OL are not often traded in the middle of a season. We're just going to have to find 5 starters who can stay on the field long enough to gel as a unit. It will need to be fairly quick... the Cowboys have the ability to add to Stafford's disturbing sack total (14 sacks in the two losses alone) next Sunday.
19. There's still a long season ahead of us. At the near-one quarter mark, the NFC West is deadlocked at 2-2. We'll get another shot at the hated 49ers in a few weeks. Still a lot of football to be played.
20. Oh... and I'd still definitely trade one NFCG win for 7 regular season losses.
2. After losing Coleman Shelton in the first half, the Rams' interior OL consisted of three guys who ranged from back-ups to a practice squad call-up. They did their best, but let's be perfectly honest here... they had no chance of holding off the 49ers front seven.
3. From there, its a chain reaction. The running game is a non-factor, so that puts it all on the passing game...
4. In the passing game, pressure is coming with no more than 5, and as little as 4 pass rushers...
5. Stafford does what you expect - force feeds Cooper Kupp (and to a lesser extent, Tyler Higbee)...
6. Opposing defense is able to key on Kupp, and even he can't beat a top defense all by himself...
7. The Rams defense eventually makes some mistakes, allowing big plays...
8. Stafford finally makes a big mistake, and that's all she wrote.
9. Understand, that while the OL situation is the ROOT CAUSE, that does not absolve players who did not deliver.
10. Stafford HAS to hit a wide-open Higbee for what would have been a potentially game-changing TD, and he CAN'T throw that pick 6.
11. Cam Akers has to do more. Unless... maybe he can't. There's clearly a difference between getting back on the field after a torn Achilles, and getting all the way back to pre-injury form. Right now, my eyes are seeing a lot more explosion from Darrell Henderson.
12. Way too early prediction: the Rams will draft a RB with their first selection in next year's draft (again).
13. The defense CAN'T allow big plays like it did. The first TD was a gaffe. Allowing Deebo's long TD run was shameful. Letting a blown assignment turn a swing pass to Juszczyk turn into a 35 yard play was humiliating. I agree with those condemning the pass rush (not AD's fault - he pushed the pocket despite double and triple teams). While JimmyG does use the quick pass to avoid the rush, he had too many clean pockets when he had to scan the field. Where has Leonard Floyd gone?
14. While history will remember this as a runaway loss, its amazing how this is a game of inches. Deebo's TD could have been a pick 6 if the pass was a tad lower. The Rams miss out on a momentum changer when a fumbled kickoff return bounces right to a 49er. Of course, the 49ers dropped 2 or 3 interceptions and missed out on a TD by a toe, so....
15. One guy I'm not prepared to condemn is Allen Robinson. Granted, I do sense some budding disgruntlement from him, but he's coming by it honestly. The patterns he was brought here to run just don't work well (or, at least, don't present a better option than just feeding Kupp) when there's little to no time to throw.
16. OBJ is so much more versatile than Robinson. If we're going to make another run this year, we'll need him back.
17. So how do the Rams fix the OL on the fly? Well... hopefully we'll get Brian Allen and David Edwards back in the next two weeks, and... fingers crossed... Shelton's injury is a short-term deal.
18. Beyond that, its a tough situation. Quality OL are not often traded in the middle of a season. We're just going to have to find 5 starters who can stay on the field long enough to gel as a unit. It will need to be fairly quick... the Cowboys have the ability to add to Stafford's disturbing sack total (14 sacks in the two losses alone) next Sunday.
19. There's still a long season ahead of us. At the near-one quarter mark, the NFC West is deadlocked at 2-2. We'll get another shot at the hated 49ers in a few weeks. Still a lot of football to be played.
20. Oh... and I'd still definitely trade one NFCG win for 7 regular season losses.
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