20 Random, Perspective, and Move On Thoughts

[AvengerRam]

1. I #%$&% hate the 49ers.

2. Before I get into Rams criticism, I will say two things about the hated San Francisco franchise. First, they just seem to match up well against us (much like we match up well against Seattle) and, second, they played a good game.

3. Now, let's get with the venting. Goff is first on the list. He has to play better. He can play better. His mistakes are not acceptable. Indeed, as we saw yesterday, they are the difference between winning and losing.

4. McVay also gets a lot of venom today. His play calling (after a great performance at Tampa) was terrible. He's seen the 49ers' defense too many times now to be incapable of coming up with solutions, particularly in key moments when we only need 5-6 yards to keep a key drive going.

5. Its sad, and a bit surprising, that when the Rams were trying to force overtime, I didn't feel confident that we could win in the extra period. Tie...? Sure. The defense played well for much of the game. But the offense... they looked bad all day.

6. While the defense can't be blamed, I (as many have noted) don't get why Jalen Ramsey was not assigned the task of shutting down Debo Samuels. He was, quite frankly, the 49ers only threat, and Ramsey's coverage AND TACKLING ability could have prevented some key plays.

7. Aaron Donald was a beast. He basically willed the Rams back into the game.

8. Cam Akers continues to show flashes and will likely become more and more of a factor down the stretch.

9. Losses by Arizona and Tampa really tempered the impact of yesterday's debacle. If the Eagles could manage to beat the Seahawks tonight, we keep the NFC West lead.

10. That said... the #5 seed will get the NFC West "Champion" in the the first round of the playoffs. Tempting.

11. Back to McVay... if coaching consists of (1) designing a system, (2) finding and developing personnel, (3) creating a unity and a culture, (4) game planning, and (5) game day coaching, I'd say McVay gets an "A" in categories 1-3, a "B" in category 5, and a "C" in category 5. If he can improve in 4 and 5, then he'll be a "great head coach."

12. Back to Goff... while I don't think he's peaked at 26, I think everyone needs to just accept what he is... a good QB. Not a great QB, and certainly not a terrible QB. What is fair to ask, in my opinion, is whether Goff has the drive and self-critical analytical skills to become a great QB. Time will tell.

13. For those in the "Goff sucks" camp... I'm not going to devote time to trying to convince you otherwise. Instead, I'd simply ask... what's your Plan B?

14. Looking ahead to the next week, I think we'll match up well with the Cardinals, who are allowing 123.4 yards/game and a 4.5 ypc on the ground. If the Rams can run the ball, they'll have success offensively. On defense, as long as they don't let Murray hurt them with his legs too much, and Ramsey makes Deandre Hopkins work for his targets, we should be able to contain them.

15. A win next week really puts the Rams in a great position as far as making the playoffs goes. They'd be (depending on what Seattle does) either the NFC West leader or the top WC team (#5 seed) with a one game lead over Tampa (plus the tiebreaker), and at least a 2 game lead over everyone else in the NFC. With 4 games remaining, that would put the Rams in the driver's seat to return to the postseason.

16. When I (against my better judgment) dream of off season acquisitions, I do think about obtaining a WR (even one who only plays in limited situations) with elite size and speed to scare opposing defenses.

17. I wouldn't mind having a PR who can do the same to opposing special teams.

18. Matt Gay is good enough, at least for this year.

19. WEAR YOUR MASKS!!!

20. Onward!

 

[bomebadeeda]

Thank you. While I passionately hate the Whiners,. they were built to oppose us. While we were built to beat the Squawks. Goff did not play well yesterday. The 3 and 5 on the last drive said it all. We complete that, we have a very good chance to get the win. But Goff's pass to Woods was uncatchable. There was 2 and a half minutes left at that point. The Whiners have good Linebackers which usually give our offense problems. I was surprised how well we played at Tampa as theirs is pretty good. But we handled them. Goff will play better going forward but SF seems to have his number. We won't see them again as they don't match up well w/ AZ (running QBs hurt the Whiners....). Our defense gives us an edge going forward but I will say the prospect of Green Bay, deep into January isn't a nice thought. While I am not as ordered as you. Those are my thoughts on yours.
Have a good one.

 

[Flatlyner]

My take away from yesterday, Rams Offensively concerned, was that the Whiners didn't respect our deep ball what so ever. The box was stacked nearly every play and they were simply playing the quick out routes. I guess they watched the TB game, because we threw quick all game. This game appeared to have the same plan, and the whiners were simply ready for it, and we could not adjust. As you saw in the game, the few times we did go deep, Jared was just off, or the WR didn't give it their all. We need to develop a semi threatening deep game or we will see this the remainder of the year. Oh, and Goff frustrates me to no end..... I don't have a solution so I'll leave it at that.

 

[dang]

There has to be a pattern that McVay can figure as to why Goff looks very good at times and very bad at other times. If something is working stay with it (like putting Goff in motion and moving Goff out of the pocket) If it ain’t working try something else (like if I see another middle screen turn into an interception I’m out for the year). If he just played average to good we would have had another 2-3 wins but may have lost to TB. Something has to settle or we are in for a bumpy ride for the rest of the season. And better fix it for next year with the $$$ being paid.

 

[Mackeyser]

I would love to interview McVay for like 1 hour.

Ask football questions...specific football questions...like put together film and everything and just ask things like "why?"

Not antagonistically, but to find out where his head is at.

I think we'll be fine, but this is 2020 and I'm so used to disappointment due to this year that honestly, I keep expecting the absolute worst.

 

[BonifayRam]

It's not really hard for a DC to get a win against the Rams when you figure out that your defense has no need to protect against an accurate long ball from Goff. Sorry guys & gals Goff has zero to bring in the long ball game. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Just utilize your two deep safeties up close to fill those short/middle zones that the Rams receivers all run through & pressure Goff with your DB's ......Results as a DC is it's a great day for your defense & the Rams go away with a loss. Rams will be lucky to fall into a wild card spot.

 

[Jacobarch]

It's not really hard for a DC to get a win against the Rams when you figure out that your defense has no need to protect against an accurate long ball from Goff. Sorry guys & gals Goff has zero to bring in the long ball game.

Just utilize your two deep safeties up close to fill those short/middle zones that the Rams receivers all run through & pressure Goff with your DB's ......Results as a DC is it's a great day for your defense & the Rams go away with a loss.

I think you've seen the Absence of a deep speed guy (Cooks) have a bigger impact than previously thought. I actually think Goff has an OK long ball. He's exhibited that in his first couple of years under McVay. Difference is now, we had Watkins and then cooks at those points in time. Now we have ... no one. While I don't think it's our biggest issue it does in fact effect our game planning and I'm sure D coords are starting to catch up to that, as we've seen.

I honestly think McVay and the Rams Coaching staff have to take a long hard look at Goff this off season. Maybe he isn't our QB. I know that's gonna ruffle some feathers but at times he looks absolutely lost out there, and at this point of his career and his salary that's unacceptable.
And McVay, he obviously needs to adjust his game planning. McVay has the kind of system where if you don't get 3+ yards on First down you're almost automatically gonna go 3 and out. Why? Because he becomes very predictable. He needs to change things up whether it's different route trees, formations, or just straight up play-calling. Just my $.02

 

[thirteen28]

It's not really hard for a DC to get a win against the Rams when you figure out that your defense has no need to protect against an accurate long ball from Goff. Sorry guys & gals Goff has zero to bring in the long ball game. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.

He's had it in the past.

Off the top of my head, I can think of two plays against the Viking in 2018, one to Kupp and one to Cooks that were long ball TD's that hit right on the money, just perfect throws. I remember his 94 yarder to Woods in 2017 against the Texans, another long ball that could have hit a gnat between his wings without touching either one of them. And there was another that year to Sammy Watkins against the Giants, maybe overthrown by an inch or two but Watkins hauled it in for six.

He hasn't shown a good long ball lately, I agree, but he's had it before. He just needs to get it back. Maybe they aren't practicing it enough, particularly without a deep burner on the roster, and a long ball is something you probably have to work at quite a bit to maintain your accuracy. Just a guess.

Either way, the coaches need to figure out how to put that back into Jared's game, because it's been there before. We've seen it.

 

[BonifayRam]

I think you've seen the Absence of a deep speed guy (Cooks) have a bigger impact than previously thought. I actually think Goff has an OK long ball. He's exhibited that in his first couple of years under McVay. Difference is now, we had Watkins and then cooks at those points in time. Now we have ... no one. While I don't think it's our biggest issue it does in fact effect our game planning and I'm sure D coords are starting to catch up to that, as we've seen.

I honestly think McVay and the Rams Coaching staff have to take a long hard look at Goff this off season. Maybe he isn't our QB. I know that's gonna ruffle some feathers but at times he looks absolutely lost out there, and at this point of his career and his salary that's unacceptable.
And McVay, he obviously needs to adjust his game planning. McVay has the kind of system where if you don't get 3+ yards on First down you're almost automatically gonna go 3 and out. Why? Because he becomes very predictable. He needs to change things up whether it's different route trees, formations, or just straight up play-calling. Just my $.02

Are we supposed to accept the assumption that Woods & Kupp lack the speed or the talent to be prosperous if they were utilized as long ball pass-catchers?.....that Cooks & Watkins were just better?

 

[BonifayRam]

He's had it in the past.

Off the top of my head, I can think of two plays against the Viking in 2018, one to Kupp and one to Cooks that were long ball TD's that hit right on the money, just perfect throws. I remember his 94 yarder to Woods in 2017 against the Texans, another long ball that could have hit a gnat between his wings without touching either one of them. And there was another that year to Sammy Watkins against the Giants, maybe overthrown by an inch or two but Watkins hauled it in for six.

He hasn't shown a good long ball lately, I agree, but he's had it before. He just needs to get it back. Maybe they aren't practicing it enough, particularly without a deep burner on the roster, and a long ball is something you probably have to work at quite a bit to maintain your accuracy. Just a guess.

Either way, the coaches need to figure out how to put that back into Jared's game, because it's been there before. We've seen it.

Don't disagree that we saw a few good long ball completions mostly in 2017 & a trending downward 2018.........but NOT in as of late.

Maybe the Rams 2019 & 2020 OL should be weighed into this conversation here.....along with the known fact that Goff gets so discomposed & turnovers then come rapidly when he's under pressure & those long downfield throws do take a bit longer to set up.

Rams are working with a younger NFL OL now with Havenstein being our most seasoned OL'er.

 

[OntarioRam]

It's not really hard for a DC to get a win against the Rams when you figure out that your defense has no need to protect against an accurate long ball from Goff. Sorry guys & gals Goff has zero to bring in the long ball game. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Just utilize your two deep safeties up close to fill those short/middle zones that the Rams receivers all run through & pressure Goff with your DB's ......Results as a DC is it's a great day for your defense & the Rams go away with a loss. Rams will be lucky to fall into a wild card spot.

I disagree. Goff actually throws a good long ball with good touch. I am not sure why the Rams have gotten away from that. Perhaps because they no longer have a burner, and for whatever reason, don't trust Woods or Kupp in that role (why, I do not know....). Or maybe they no longer trust their o-line to hold up in pass protection. But for whatever reason, we have not been stretching the field for the last 2 years or so, and I am not sure why that is, because no QB connects on 100% of his deep thoughts, and when he has protection, Goff's long ball is about as good as anyone else's, for my money. To Cooks in particular he dropped the ball right in the bucket a number of times.

 

[thirteen28]

Don't disagree that we saw a few good long ball completions mostly in 2017 & a trending downward 2018.........but NOT in as of late.

Maybe the Rams 2019 & 2020 OL should be weighed into this conversation here.....along with the known fact that Goff gets so discomposed & turnovers then come rapidly when he's under pressure & those long downfield throws do take a bit longer to set up.

Rams are working with a younger NFL OL now with Havenstein being our most seasoned OL'er.

I'm sure the OL factors into it as well.

Getting the long ball back and getting more explosion capability in our offense has to be an offseason priority.

 

[dieterbrock]

Well, I also look at the worst games the Rams played this season:
The 1st half of the Bills game- team had traveled west to East for the Eagles game, then back to LA, then back to Buffalo in about 10 days. They looked out of sorts in the first half and finally got it together in the 2nd half
San Fran Disaster 1- After Buffalo, they flew back West (Played good enough to win against the Giants) then flew back East for Washington, then back West for San Fran. 6 trips from coast to coast in first 5 weeks. Both the O and the D were a step slow in 1st half, before putting it together in 2nd half. Offense finally came alive too late
Miami Shit show- After 2 weeks out West, Rams have to fly back east and play on a short week against the Dolphins who were coming off a bye week. Rams offense looked like shit, Defense played great as did Miami's who were a step ahead of a sluggish Rams team that despite it all, still made a game of it in the end.
San Fran Disaster 2- After licking their wounds on the bye, the Rams face division show down against Seattle and win a tight one, then travel East (AGAIN) to play Tampa. Another tight one, huge win and are rewarded with another cross country trip, on a short week to play a division rival who were also coming off a by week. 2nd time in 5 weeks playing a team coming off the bye while playing a Monday nighter? Something doesnt seem right about that.

So while some will chalk it off as an excuse, I challenge that it is quite a coincidence then right? I get it that all teams are challenged with the Covid changes, but I'd love to see a team challenged with travel like that. San Fran didnt have the same issues, Seattle didnt either. 9 coast to coast trips in 12 weeks. Who else had to deal with THAT?
Makes sense to me an offense that relies on precision would be off

 

[Neil039]

Few other posters have hit on the fact the team lacks a true burner on the outside to stretch the field. Watkins was a very nice option, then Cooks was traded for and he was even better. Then injuries and other salary cap needs made Cooks expendable (mostly injuries).

I thought for sure the Rams would have made a trade before the deadline to get a guy who could stretch the field. Not the case and here they sit with an incredibly nice WR Corp who bunches up from 5-20 yards off the line of scrimmage. This has also impacted Tyler Higbee's productivity IMO.

This definitely needs to be addressed in the off season. Along with more photos of JG's GF.

 

[Tano]

Along with more photos of JG's GF.

This