A little "second guessing" for a Tuesday morning...

[JonRam99]

Just watched the condensed game on Reddit. SMH. so many missed opportunities!! the Rams were knocking on the door twice in the 4th quarter & couldn't get out of their own way. So many penalties. But I blame this a lot on Boger & crew, I honestly believe they were out to get the Rams. It's not hard to throw a flag for holding when you see a receiver downfield about to catch a pass.
I have a LOT of hope still about this team. Goff had lots of protection, shame he had to tuck it & run on the last FG drive, twice. That's where I think Reynolds can make a difference.
Quinn is just not living up to his contract atm, and I don't think he did last year either. He needs to get better, we can't have an ineffective OLB.
The run defense tightened up nicely in the 2nd half - I hope they focus on run D this Thurs, or the Farty Nanos will run all over us.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

As far as Watkins goes, just watching the game I think it's all about that Chemistry development with Goff.

There are multiple times that I have watched Kupp catch the ball at just the moment Watkins route is breaking. Goff just has to get that chemistry down to where he knows he can just put the ball where Sammy will be. (The Kupp slip, jump up, dive catch was one of these plays-Watkins route is developing right behind him)

There was another play earlier in the game. It's a third down and I want to say 5. Kupp runs a great route and Goff hits him on the money for a first down. The play begins with Sammy and Kupp stacked to the left. As you watch the play develop you see Sammy breaking wide open, but this is after Goff has already thrown the ball.

I just rewatched this particular play on coaches film. Right off of the line of scrimmage the Redskins throw a double look at Sammy. Kupp runs into a wide open space and gains 11 on a 3 and 1. Goff made the right read on this play and it was a positive play.

 

[Kentuckyrams]

After a few days, a few things:

This isn't a playoff team. Not yet. To expect that after last year might be a bit much.

A lot of this year is about Goff's development. He started with a lot against him: coming from an Air Raid system, playing in that excuse for an offense last year, poor o line play, etc. I think he looks better this year, although that last pass stunk. Curious to see if he bounces back Thursday. If he can improve to at least above average by years end that's major growth from a putrid rookie season.

Think McVay was smart to go for a veteran dc. Wonder though if a 4-3 coach would have been better. Focus on new offense and not two new systems? Not sure we have 3-4 personnel.

Still a lot of holes: ot, g, o line depth, ilb, olb/de, and cb. Tough decisions too on Tru, OA, and Donald. Some bad previous contracts (TA, Barron).

But offense has some nice pieces - could be really good. This team could be something in a year or two, if we address those needs above.

Hope too we can change the culture - hard to overcome years of suckiness. Team does seem different already - no way they make a game like that close last year.

 

[TexasRam]

The Good news - If you can stop the run you are going to win a lot of football games with a very improved offense.

The Bad news - If you can't stop the run you aren't going to win any games.

I'm not concerned about who gets the ball or how much we run. I take what the defense gives me every single snap of every game and try to win a football game. We not me.

 

[jap]

Watkins is 7 catches for 7 targets, reportedly. Ummmmm... Why not give such a WR a few more targets? I would imagine that more targets would make him even more energized and effective. Otherwise, why did we trade for him?

For Sammy to see the ball more, other guys have to step up and make plays. The opposing D has to have others to really worry about to reduce the coverage on Watkins. Getting the Express! going is always gonna help. As Todd regains trust in his OL, he will run with more confidence. If Robert Woods is not being covered as tightly, this will be a fine time to extend the rapport between him and Jared. I love using Gurley out of the backfield too. get other guys disrupting the defensive scheme, and Sammy will get easier opportunities.

Everett should be getting more snaps. Look at his numbers, for cryin' out loud! Such a player needs to be on the field. Don't care if it costs Higbee (or anyone else) snaps. This seems like a no brainer, y'all.

Let's make sure he is still in one piece. That was a hellacious hit he absorbed. I'm proud of the youngster!

Gurley is improving at his running game, thanks to his improving OL in no small part. So feed him more running plays. Helps with TOP no end. The TOP deficit vs Washington was not ALL on the D. O didn't exactly help the cause either. Maintain, or maybe even increase Gurley's role in the passing game. He's become a beast there.

We need to set a real tone with the Express!, and there isn't a much better test subject than the damn '9ers! They spanked us three times in a row!?! We need to let all our divisional rivals know we're taking charge of the NFC West!

And where was our vaunted pass rush last week? Cousins hardly ever seemed to be disrupted. No sacks, no ints, etc. THAT's gotta change.

The Mighty One and Aaron need to start a friendly race for the Horns' sack crown. All other Horns' defenders are welcome to participate. We need to average a little more than 4.5 sacks per week to shatter the NFL single season sack mark. That means we need to make up for missing sacks in Weeks I & II as well as collect the quota for this week too on Thursday night. Nothing like some meaningful inspiration to get this D motivated, no!?!