Are the Rams Contenders Again?

[oldnotdead]

People keep harping about their record last year. They forget that Zuerlein missed two makable FGs. Those kicks cost two games. If those two kicks are made they are 11-5 and all the doubters are happy then. This team is now better on both sides of the ball. They are playing a softer schedule this year. A team that should have been at the very least 10-6 is now going to regress playing a softer schedule?

Look at the schedule. Not just who they are playing but where. The only cold weather game is probably going to be in Seattle in December. Teams in areas that would be snowing late in the year are being played early or in LA. That is a huge advantage for the Rams that proved in Chicago they struggle in frigid weather. So a team with a messed up o-line that should have gone 11-5 except for 2 missed FGs can't go 13-3 against a softer schedule with a better team on both sides of the ball? Like I said this team is good enough to go undefeated in the regular season. IMO the offense will be good, but the defense could be something special. I'd rather have Floyd and Lewis than Fowler and Brockers. With the addition of Robinson in the middle next to AD that middle is no longer soft. With Ramsey, Long, Johnson, Rapp and Burgess that is a very formidable secondary, far better than what they had in 2018.

I do not understand the pessimism.

 

[oldnotdead]

Watch Littleton in man coverage. He's too slow and he got smoked every time. He's strictly a zone coverage LB and so the QB already knows what the LBs will be playing. The 3-4 hybrid is a scheme to maximize the defense to disguise their play. If you know LBs will be in zone you can scheme for it and call plays accordingly. If you don't know if the LBs will be in zone or man it makes the QB hesitate that extra second to read what the defense is doing. That plays to the pass rush.

Littleton is a 2 down LB and Kiser has the skill set where he can be a 3 down player. It's why Snead traded for Young. He's got coverage skills and the speed of a safety. It's clear from all that Snead and McVay have said they want versatile players who can play in more than one position. Look at Burgess, who can play every position in the secondary. I think we are going to see things like LBs in tight coverage handing off to safeties before rotating into a zone. That kind of thing confuses a QB and leads to sacks and INTs. John Pagano used that similar kind of thing in SD when he was their DC.

Another thing is Snead has made a point of making speed a factor in building both the offense and defense. The NFL is getting faster at all positions.

 

[SuperMan28]

There's an extra Playoff spot. Gonna be a battle.

 

[Mackeyser]

I am hoping for at minimum 1-2 because then their schedule gets easy for the next 3 games and they can be 4-2 after that. They will be on their way to a 10-6 season.

Dallas is tough. Buffalo's defense is tough but their offense is Meh - I watched a few of their games last year since my wife is a fan of them. Could be a tough hard fought 13-10 win. If we had Zuerlein still I would be more confident. I could see them kicking a 50 yard field goal at the end of the game to win. Goff is fairly decent in the last few minutes of the game.

However, I definitely think they can beat the Eagles. They just don't look that impressive to me.

But...Dallas has a new offense with Mike McCarthy. NO WAY that O is sharp. As well, McCarthy is gonna have to have real games to find his groove with his offense. NO way in game 1 against our D does he come out swinging...on the road...with the shortened off-season.

I think we go 2-1, but only because the Buffalo game is the 2nd in a row on the road and that D is legit. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if we went 7-1 in our first 8 games with the only loss being @ 9ers.

That said, I think we are capable of winning every game. There is now no team that structurally has a significant advantage over us. The way we addressed our run D makes me feel very confident going into every game.

 

[Mackeyser]

People keep harping about their record last year. They forget that Zuerlein missed two makable FGs. Those kicks cost two games. If those two kicks are made they are 11-5 and all the doubters are happy then. This team is now better on both sides of the ball. They are playing a softer schedule this year. A team that should have been at the very least 10-6 is now going to regress playing a softer schedule?

Look at the schedule. Not just who they are playing but where. The only cold weather game is probably going to be in Seattle in December. Teams in areas that would be snowing late in the year are being played early or in LA. That is a huge advantage for the Rams that proved in Chicago they struggle in frigid weather. So a team with a messed up o-line that should have gone 11-5 except for 2 missed FGs can't go 13-3 against a softer schedule with a better team on both sides of the ball? Like I said this team is good enough to go undefeated in the regular season. IMO the offense will be good, but the defense could be something special. I'd rather have Floyd and Lewis than Fowler and Brockers. With the addition of Robinson in the middle next to AD that middle is no longer soft. With Ramsey, Long, Johnson, Rapp and Burgess that is a very formidable secondary, far better than what they had in 2018.

I do not understand the pessimism.

I think you mean Floyd and Lewis than Fowler and Matthews. We still have Brockers.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

But...Dallas has a new offense with Mike McCarthy. NO WAY that O is sharp. As well, McCarthy is gonna have to have real games to find his groove with his offense. NO way in game 1 against our D does he come out swinging...on the road...with the shortened off-season.

I still can't believe we laid that egg in Dallas last year. I wonder if Bones' intel will be of any value to them game 1. Did any info ever come out about why he left? I don't remember seeing anything.

 

[oldnotdead]

Mathews replaced Ebukam at SAM not Fowler. Mathews was a fraud who got stats manufactured by AD and Fowler. Floyd is replacing Fowler not Mathews. In their base it was Fowler and Brockers outside last year. At some point it's going to be Floyd and Lewis on the edges and that will give them power inside with AD & Robinson and speed outside with Floyd and Lewis.

The idiot media types talking about Ebukam replacing Fowler show their ignorance of where Samson actually plays and the D scheme in general. If they are so ignorant as to exactly where guys are playing how can they talk like experts about anything. It's been clear since Floyd was signed he is Fowler's replacement. It's clear from the release of Mathews that Ebukam clearly outplayed him even with limited snaps last year. Mathews was a Wade signing last year and a complete waste of money. I said it before the season began last year that why sign an old over the hill guy to play in front of the Rams rising star? Things like that are what got Wade fired. Sean gave him too much leash and he choked himself on it.

Ebukam has played SAM LB since being drafted. Fowler played Jack (or WIL in Wade's terminology). They are completely different positions with completely different roles. Ebukam is a parttime blitzer, provides contain of the QB on scrambles or perimeter runs by the RB, and defends passes in the flats. On perimeter runs the SAM must set a hard edge and with runs to the opposite perimeter he must have the speed to run the play down from the backside. Ebukam has become one of the best SAM LBs in the NFL as evidenced by his impact plays. Fowler was the JACK (i.e. the hybrid OLB/DE in the 3-4 hybrid scheme) His primary role was to provide the edge rush on passes and to be stout at the POA on runs to his side. They tried to drop him on multiple occasions on switch ups with Ebukam but Fowler lacked the skill set of Ebukam to play the position. Which like Littleton's lack of versatility meant both were allowed to walk.

Floyd and Lewis can both play JACK/DE/SAM/OLB giving Staley the ability to disguise who is coming on passing downs and who is dropping into coverage between those two and Ebukam. This is one of the subtle changes we are probably going to see in Staley's scheme. The Rams now have 3 guys with similar skill sets who are threats no matter how they are used. Now add that same dynamic to the secondary with the Rams safeties and CBs and this defense will be very tough for a QB. The handoffs in the secondary will allow them not to lose track of QBs who run like Wilson and Murray and insures coverage isn't dropped when a QB begins to move.

When this defense hits it's stride, with the amount of talent they now have they are going to be really tough. They will be a very tough matchup for all offenses. Because of that talent and the lack of a "book" on Staley's scheme it's going to be difficult this year for offenses to prepare for the Ram's D. That is one of the reasons I've been saying this team can go undefeated in the regular season.

 

[Tano]

It's just that those first 3 games are the toughest non-conference games on our schedule and rarely has a team that has started 0-3 made the playoffs. I can't remember if it has been done.