5 Thoughts Post New England (from an ex-baller)

[Rhami]

1. Not sure why our offense starts off so slow every single game...I believe we've been down to begin every game this year. McVay needs to change up that script at the beginning of games or the O needs to play harder.

2. OLine Thoughts: I'm excited to see this OLine combo with Big Rob back at RT. Hopefully he'll be ready to go for the Eagles game this week. McClendon played admirably, I didn't notice him at all this game which probably means he did well. Hats off to the coaching staff for benching J.Jackson even though he's making a ton of money.

3. Our lack of speed on O is evident. Kupp's 69yd TD was awesome but we don't have any starting skill players that can break one. For next year, I'd love to add a big WR with speed or a speedy complement RB (like Justice Hill). I love Kyren Williams but he doesn't have the speed to break away and change a game.

4. My wishlist for our draft next year: a true CB1 and some speed on offense.

5. Interesting to see the playing time on defense. Looks like DWill is now CB1 and Speights getting more time too.

 

[Kupped]

I was just thinking about the speed thing and actually had a different take.
When all the guys are healthy and the line is playing well... the offense is fine. Puka was breaking tackles yesterday.. obviously feeling better.. Kupp had the long play.
I'm not against adding speed next season on O.. but I don't think it's the end of the world if they don't.

On the other hand.. a CB1 is a GLARING need.

 

[Flatlyner]

Well, technically we have speed in the form of Tutu, but we very rarely use him and almost never try to take the top off with him. Unsure what the reasoning is behind it. Yes, he's not the biggest guy and can't block like the other WR's, but, drawing the attention of a single high safety should work in your favor when he is in.

 

[Rhami]

I was just thinking about the speed thing and actually had a different take.
When all the guys are healthy and the line is playing well... the offense is fine. Puka was breaking tackles yesterday.. obviously feeling better.. Kupp had the long play.
I'm not against adding speed next season on O.. but I don't think it's the end of the world if they don't.

On the other hand.. a CB1 is a GLARING need.

I know what you mean. I think the problem is that NONE of the skill positions have a gamebreaker with speed (RB, WR and TE).

I look at Detroit and they have Gibbs + Williams who can change a game with one play. We don't have that (I'm not counting Tutu because he barely plays).

 

[Kupped]

I know what you mean. I think the problem is that NONE of the skill positions have a gamebreaker with speed (RB, WR and TE).

I look at Detroit and they have Gibbs + Williams who can change a game with one play. We don't have that (I'm not counting Tutu because he barely plays).

I hear you.
I'd disagree, slightly.
I think Puka has the ability to change a game both with his speed and tackle-breaking ability.
And.. with the Oline starting to gel and be healthy.. we're seeing Williams start to gash teams again. He's not going to flip the field with one run, for the most part.. but gashing teams for 10+ regularly is a nice thing to have.

It'd be nice to have speed like those two.. and I could see them spending a first on a WR with some truly explosive ability this year.
RB? I think we're set for the next couple of seasons.

 

[Steve808]

1. Not sure why our offense starts off so slow every single game...I believe we've been down to begin every game this year. McVay needs to change up that script at the beginning of games or the O needs to play harder.

While it'd encouraging that our young defense is improving and making plays, it seems like we're also down 7-0 after the opponent's first drive in a bunch of games that I can recall.

 

[WestCoastRam]

1. Not sure why our offense starts off so slow every single game...I believe we've been down to begin every game this year. McVay needs to change up that script at the beginning of games or the O needs to play harder.

2. OLine Thoughts: I'm excited to see this OLine combo with Big Rob back at RT. Hopefully he'll be ready to go for the Eagles game this week. McClendon played admirably, I didn't notice him at all this game which probably means he did well. Hats off to the coaching staff for benching J.Jackson even though he's making a ton of money.

3. Our lack of speed on O is evident. Kupp's 69yd TD was awesome but we don't have any starting skill players that can break one. For next year, I'd love to add a big WR with speed or a speedy complement RB (like Justice Hill). I love Kyren Williams but he doesn't have the speed to break away and change a game.

4. My wishlist for our draft next year: a true CB1 and some speed on offense.

5. Interesting to see the playing time on defense. Looks like DWill is now CB1 and Speights getting more time too.

Back when LaFleur was our OC (granted we had different talent) but our beginning script was a thing of beauty and we almost always came away with points on opening drives

Best OC we had with O'Connell coming in second

 

[DzRams]

I was just thinking about the speed thing and actually had a different take.
When all the guys are healthy and the line is playing well... the offense is fine. Puka was breaking tackles yesterday.. obviously feeling better.. Kupp had the long play.
I'm not against adding speed next season on O.. but I don't think it's the end of the world if they don't.

On the other hand.. a CB1 is a GLARING need.

How are we defining "fine"? Also, is "fine" good enough considering that they they are most expensive offense in the league?

My expectation after upgrading the OL in free agency was that they would be a top 5 scoring offense. And consistently good. They need to be a top 5 offense to be a strong contender to win the SB.

We don't have enough data this year to know if they will consistently be a top scoring offense now that they're healthy, but the long stretches of things being off like in the first half of the Pats game doesn't inspire confidence that they will be a consistent, top 5 offense. Even last year when healthy they were inconsistent.

Without more dynamic playmakers and speed on the offensive side of the ball, I see them continuing to be an inconsistent and maybe top 10ish offense.

 

[WestCoastRam]

4. My wishlist for our draft next year: a true CB1 and some speed on offense.

This is the time of year that teams really see what their deficiencies are. Top CB and pass catcher really big needs (I could argue that speed would be great in this pass catcher but a large target or a great TE would still be very good). Also, gotta keep feeding the oline with talent.

 

[snackdaddy]

Sometimes I let my pessimism get the better of me. I thought "Why didn't we blow out a lesser team? We let them get back in it and we had to hold on for a win".

But you know what? There are no gimmes in the NFL. You gotta take the win any way you can get it. Remember last year's 7-1 finish? Two games were won by double digits. The rest were one score. Three of them by one point.

Wins are hard to come by. How they play one week doesn't always indicate how they play the next week. We were stagnant against the Raiders. Turnovers are the reason we won. Our offense was good against Minnesota. Then failed to score a touchdown against Miami. Then after a slow start yesterday the next 5 possessions were TD, TD, missed chip shot field goal. TD, TD.

Injuries got us off to a tough start. We're still trying to find our footing on both sides. But the improvement is there over the first 5 games. We have some tough ones coming up. But after the Buffalo game can we say any of our opponents are better? I don't think so. So it is doable.

An uphill climb for sure, but as they start figuring out the best 5 linemen on offense, I can see them becoming more efficient. Its possible barring injuries what we saw yesterday is our line the rest of the year.

 

[Memento]

I was just thinking about the speed thing and actually had a different take.
When all the guys are healthy and the line is playing well... the offense is fine. Puka was breaking tackles yesterday.. obviously feeling better.. Kupp had the long play.
I'm not against adding speed next season on O.. but I don't think it's the end of the world if they don't.

On the other hand.. a CB1 is a GLARING need.

CB1 and CB2 are glaring needs; D-Will will be thirty-two next year. I would not hesitate to double-dip early on, if there's two very good corners after a trade down.

 

[Kupped]

How are we defining "fine"? Also, is "fine" good enough considering that they they are most expensive offense in the league?

My expectation after upgrading the OL in free agency was that they would be a top 5 scoring offense. And consistently good. They need to be a top 5 offense to be a strong contender to win the SB.

We don't have enough data this year to know if they will consistently be a top scoring offense now that they're healthy, but the long stretches of things being off like in the first half of the Pats game doesn't inspire confidence that they will be a consistent, top 5 offense. Even last year when healthy they were inconsistent.

Without more dynamic playmakers and speed on the offensive side of the ball, I see them continuing to be an inconsistent and maybe top 10ish offense.

It’s about the Oline.

 

[DzRams]

It’s about the Oline.

The OL wasn't bad last year but the offense wasn't consistent.

 

[Memento]

CB1 and CB2 are glaring needs; D-Will will be thirty-two next year. I would not hesitate to double-dip early on, if there's two very good corners after a trade down.

Not to mention that Durant and Kendrick are UFAs after 2025. I'd be stunned if we didn't double-dip at corner early, and given THT's struggles, and the unproven nature of the three rookies, I'd probably even triple-dip: two early, one as a late-round project.

 

[Kupped]

The OL wasn't bad last year but the offense wasn't consistent.

The offense was consistent once the line & Kyren were healthy.

 

[JonRam99]

Nice observations, thank you! agreed on all points, but...
6. What a sick D we're starting to build, with a legit Fearsome Foursome 2.0 on the front line. Our ILB's are starting to gel too, who'd a thunk it... that goal line stop by Rosebooom was excellent. Add in some CB's in draft / FA next year, and we'll have a pretty sick D.
6.A. Kinchens coming along nicely -- remember folks, he's a rook.
4. speed... Tutu with a nice catch yesterday. But I'm thinking we could *maybe* wait until rd3 or 4 to get that speedy WR. Only if Kupp retires to we go rd1 / 2 for a WR, and that's only if a blue-chip CB isn't available in rd1. That should be our *first* pick. And remember... Puka has tall gears, he can out-run anyone with a head of steam.

 

[DzRams]

The offense was consistent once the line & Kyren were healthy.

They were pretty consistent in the second half of the season. Not so much in the first half of the season. And last year the OL didn't have injury issues.

They averaged nearly 30 points/game from weeks 12-18. Hopefully, they can return to that.

 

[Jacobarch]

The OL wasn't bad last year but the offense wasn't consistent.

It was consistent the last 8 games of the year.

 

[Jacobarch]

1. Not sure why our offense starts off so slow every single game...I believe we've been down to begin every game this year. McVay needs to change up that script at the beginning of games or the O needs to play harder.

2. OLine Thoughts: I'm excited to see this OLine combo with Big Rob back at RT. Hopefully he'll be ready to go for the Eagles game this week. McClendon played admirably, I didn't notice him at all this game which probably means he did well. Hats off to the coaching staff for benching J.Jackson even though he's making a ton of money.

3. Our lack of speed on O is evident. Kupp's 69yd TD was awesome but we don't have any starting skill players that can break one. For next year, I'd love to add a big WR with speed or a speedy complement RB (like Justice Hill). I love Kyren Williams but he doesn't have the speed to break away and change a game.

4. My wishlist for our draft next year: a true CB1 and some speed on offense.

5. Interesting to see the playing time on defense. Looks like DWill is now CB1 and Speights getting more time too.

I agree and disagree on certain aspects of this...

Totally agree on the slow starts, Mcvay needs to either have his scouting dept do a better job on tendencies or he needs to flip his own script and get his team off to faster starts. Not everything needs to be a TD but we need to start putting up points in the first quarters so our team isn't put in a hole from the beginning.

Our Oline looked a hell of a lot better against the Pats, they aren't world beaters but theyre a good defense, and I was legitimately worried coming into this game and we'd see something similar to what we saw vs. the Dolphins.

Lack of speed I think is a bit of a reach. There are plenty of examples of guys taking the top off the defense. Going back to last year Puka, Kupp, and Tutu all had multiple games where they took in long plays. Stafford had the 4th most big time throws last year. This year obvious Oline issues will put a damper on that, and with yesterdays game showing improvement on the Oline holding up in pass pro there was clear evidence that should get better as the year goes on.

4. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams​

0.871 EPA, 54.5% Positive EPA Rate

Since coming to Los Angeles in 2021, Stafford ranks second in EPA (0.745) and positive EPA rate (48.8%) on deep passes, throwing for 19 touchdowns and 69 big-time throws (fourth most).

In 2023, Stafford ranked in the top five in positive EPA rate and deep passer rating (122.0). He posted a 40.7% big-time throw rate (second) and threw for a combined 37 touchdowns and first downs while committing only three turnover-worthy plays on deep shots.

Agree with everything else you said... Nice write up.

 

[Snaz]

Well, technically we have speed in the form of Tutu, but we very rarely use him and almost never try to take the top off with him. Unsure what the reasoning is behind it. Yes, he's not the biggest guy and can't block like the other WR's, but, drawing the attention of a single high safety should work in your favor when he is in.

He was used a lot to open the underneath in the Game against NE.
MS underthrows to him or they use other receivers on deep balls and he overthrows them.