Article on Rams Defense in the bowl game

[den-the-coach]

"Let it be so! Henceforth, anyone from ROD to watch the VIII battle again shall be banished outside the city gates, and suffer a cruel death!!"

 

[LesBaker]

I love this. Coach McVay is still early in his development as a Head Coach. Think about that one a moment.

No doubt he is mature and smart for his age, and we all hope that he has already processed the takeaway for this loss.

I hope he doesn't turn into a younger version of Martz. By the way that's my only fear with him. I think he has blinding upside and the Rams have a bright future if he does not go full Martz on us.

 

[Loyal]

No doubt he is mature and smart for his age, and we all hope that he has already processed the takeaway for this loss.

I hope he doesn't turn into a younger version of Martz. By the way that's my only fear with him. I think he has blinding upside and the Rams have a bright future if he does go full Martz on us.

I don't really fear that at all. Martz was always the smartest guy in the room in his mind. His offense was the best ever created and he didn't care what defenses planned for, until his QB's started dying...

McVay sits in defensive meetings, to learn. He is first to accept responsibility and rarely (if ever) throws anyone under the bus. He is truly humble, but has the heart of tiger. He also learns and improves and isn't stuck in his ways. He is the anti-Martz, to me.

 

[Tano]

Thenoffense lost the game and more specifically Goff. He played like a rookie. Late on throws, not seeing open receivers etc.
The game was there to win and the moment was too big for him. McVays "ah schucks, it my fault" attitude is nice enough in terms of protecting players. It's smart and keeps focus off players. But, Goff was not there.
The question I have is how will the offense react. Goff in particular. The OL has some shoes to fill with untested players.

I stated in another thread that Goff essentially let the Super Bowl overwhelm him.

There were quite a few times early in the game where he saw an open receiver down field that had beaten a defender by a couple steps and decided to play it safe and not throw it because if he threw it short, the pass would have been intercepted.

I think he was extremely conservative in this game and decided to play it safe. And as the game wore on, he just got worse and worse due to the close score. Wasn't until late in the third quarter where he decided to open it up a little. He had chances to get TDs on two separate drives when he finally opened it up a little.

 

[LesBaker]

I don't really fear that at all. Martz was always the smartest guy in the room in his mind. His offense was the best ever created and he didn't care what defenses planned for, until his QB's started dying...

I was at the Giants years back, 2002. Warner got hit so many times I was sure he wouldn't make it through the game. He got knocked down over and over. I think Martz called 4-5 wide sets at least 30 times. It seemed that way, and Warner on deep drops took a beating unlike I've seen any Rams QB take in one game. It was brutal and fans in the stands were noticing it like I was.

If you remember he broke a bone in his hand. Supposedly it happened in the game but there were also rumors that he broke it in the locker room after the game either slamming his hand on a table or punching a wall because he was furious at Martz's decision to call something like 50 or 55 pass plays and expose him to a beating in freezing cold Philly on a windy day. It seemed like he got hit or sacked on every single one of them too.

He is the anti-Martz, to me.

I hope so, and I'm 86.3% there with ya. My only concern is that we have seen some times go into passpasspass mode like Martz used to do. Not to the degree Martz used to, but a sniff of it and I'll admit I am still angry that Martz ran Warner through the meat grinder (as I used to call it) game after game after game.

I don't think McVay will turn out like that, and that slight concern, and it is slight, is my only worry with him. He's done it a few times and said he won't do it again but then has.

This season is a BIG one because it's the third year into this deal together with the same system and it's "typically" where the mental errors decrease and the missed opportunities at making plays decrease too. Most of the guys who made the step up to the elite category show it fully in their third year and to me this is his third year. IMO his rookie season was a throwaway.

 

[LesBaker]

I stated in another thread that Goff essentially let the Super Bowl overwhelm him.

Again though when the D knows what's coming it's difficult as fuck for a QB to get his job done. Or a RB or a WR. Anyone really.

Yes he could have played better, but that was a HUGE thing to try to overcome. The first ten drives netted 1 FG and 9 punts. 5 of the 9 were 3 and outs. The other 3 were 5 play drives and a punt. The Patriots KNEW what was coming, pass or run. And even with that, and a very physical game the Rams had a chance to pull it off in the 4th quarter.

I'll take that guy as my QB on Sunday all the time.

 

[1maGoh]

I've posted this before, and I know others have mentioned it.

One of the Patriots players said that the coaching staff found a huge "tell" from McVay's formations from watching film. Depending on which TE was on the field dictated whether the play was almost certainly a run or pass. So the Patriots knew what was coming. That solid run D and smothering coverage was due to the Patriots being prepared for the type of play. That's a HUGE advantage. Imagine if the Rams had that edge in a game, any game.

We can blame Goff for having a bad day, but it's hard for a QB to have a good day when the defense knows what's coming and is being called by perhaps the greatest defensive mind ever.

@fearsomefour Goff was late and miss some guys but that happens every week to every QB. He didn't have a chance. He certainly didn't have a good post season, in fact pretty poor, but I can't blame him for the SB. I'm sure this is a post season he wants to forget.

But there were times where the look helped the Rams. “They had a big tell on two-back alignments,” Brockers says, explaining that if Develin aligned on the strong side, he would trap-block the nose tackle. If Develin aligned on the weak side, he would wind back across the formation as a lead-blocker.

A broader, more obvious tell came from who the Patriots had at running back. When Sony Michel was in, it was often with the fullback Develin, and the likelihood of a run was very high. So, the Rams played their stouter base 4-3 defense. But if Burkhead or especially James White was in, the Patriots were likely to throw. So here the Rams played nickel, even if one of those back was in with the smashmouthing Develin. “That wasn’t something we’d done much all year,” McVay says.

The Rams did have a big tell for the Patriots' game. I guess it worked out well because the Rams held them to just 13 points, which is impressive regardless of what their defense did. Goff isn't Tom Brady (yet) and their shithead OC (McDaniels, remembered after the fact) has been doing it for quite a while too.

 

[Ramlock]

Again though when the D knows what's coming it's difficult as freak for a QB to get his job done. Or a RB or a WR. Anyone really.

Yes he could have played better, but that was a HUGE thing to try to overcome. The first ten drives netted 1 FG and 9 punts. 5 of the 9 were 3 and outs. The other 3 were 5 play drives and a punt. The Patriots KNEW what was coming, pass or run. And even with that, and a very physical game the Rams had a chance to pull it off in the 4th quarter.

I'll take that guy as my QB on Sunday all the time.

I’m with you, Les...not playing the blame the QB game

 

[Ramlock]

Good article.
Thenoffense lost the game and more specifically Goff. He played like a rookie. Late on throws, not seeing open receivers etc.
The game was there to win and the moment was too big for him. McVays "ah schucks, it my fault" attitude is nice enough in terms of protecting players. It's smart and keeps focus off players. But, Goff was not there.
The question I have is how will the offense react. Goff in particular. The OL has some shoes to fill with untested players.
The performance of the D may not be repeatable week after week.
The D will certainly have to be better next year given the questions around the offense.
Teams not named New England just don't get chance after chance in the Super Bowl. The Rams had one and flat out blew it.
Blew it.
McVay and Goff and young and a lot can happen. Neither were ready for the big stage.
Hopefully they get chances to get back there.

Not blaming Goff for the Super Bowl

 

[FrantikRam]

Good article.
Thenoffense lost the game and more specifically Goff. He played like a rookie. Late on throws, not seeing open receivers etc.
The game was there to win and the moment was too big for him. McVays "ah schucks, it my fault" attitude is nice enough in terms of protecting players. It's smart and keeps focus off players. But, Goff was not there.
The question I have is how will the offense react. Goff in particular. The OL has some shoes to fill with untested players.
The performance of the D may not be repeatable week after week.
The D will certainly have to be better next year given the questions around the offense.
Teams not named New England just don't get chance after chance in the Super Bowl. The Rams had one and flat out blew it.
Blew it.
McVay and Goff and young and a lot can happen. Neither were ready for the big stage.
Hopefully they get chances to get back there.

Good post about Goff. Hard for me to put the game on McVay with the amount of open WRs and missed or late throws.

Something else I was thinking too about the NFCCG - last pass before the tying FG in regulation - Goff just throws the ball away, and on the play Woods ran the same route he had the play before and was wide open (and he jumped up and down in frustration). As Goff walks to the sideline McVay has an incredulous look on his face and Goff motions that he couldn't hear - that wouldn't surprise anyone with how loud it was.

But....how did Woods know what to run? To the point that when Goff threw the ball away he was jumping up and down because he was so open? Makes me think there could have been a signal or something from the sideline that Goff missed.

 

[fearsomefour]

Not blaming Goff for the Super Bowl

Ok.
That's fine too.
Different people can watch the same thing and come with different observations. What's painfully obvious to one is not to the other and vice versa.
It's not an attack on Goff either way.
A person can be critical (with the understanding we are operating with only pieces of information) without it being an attack.
It is what it is.
Moving forward to next either way.

 

[fearsomefour]

Good post about Goff. Hard for me to put the game on McVay with the amount of open WRs and missed or late throws.

Something else I was thinking too about the NFCCG - last pass before the tying FG in regulation - Goff just throws the ball away, and on the play Woods ran the same route he had the play before and was wide open (and he jumped up and down in frustration). As Goff walks to the sideline McVay has an incredulous look on his face and Goff motions that he couldn't hear - that wouldn't surprise anyone with how loud it was.

But....how did Woods know what to run? To the point that when Goff threw the ball away he was jumping up and down because he was so open? Makes me think there could have been a signal or something from the sideline that Goff missed.

Really hard to judge.
Probably just a sight adjustment.
Hard to know what Woods was frustrated with too. Could have been himself....didn't feel he got a clean break etc. who knows?
I thought Goff was great in the NFC title game.
He had about as bad a start as one could.
Hostile road game and he dealt with it and got better as the game went out. Made a couple of great key plays late.
The future is very exciting with Goff given his age. Going through this last year is invaluable in terms of experience.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I’m with you, Les...not playing the blame the QB game

Yep, the SB loss definitely wasn’t on Goff. There was a lot of dysfunction around him as well.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Reddit?? I'd rather watch the game again.

Love the Rams’ sub tho.

 

[LesBaker]

The Rams did have a big tell for the Patriots' game. I guess it worked out well because the Rams held them to just 13 points, which is impressive regardless of what their defense did. Goff isn't Tom Brady (yet) and their shithead OC (McDaniels, remembered after the fact) has been doing it for quite a while too.

Not sure what choo talkin bout Willis.

I was talking about how the Pats D had the read on the Rams O.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I don't really fear that at all. Martz was always the smartest guy in the room in his mind. His offense was the best ever created and he didn't care what defenses planned for, until his QB's started dying...

McVay sits in defensive meetings, to learn. He is first to accept responsibility and rarely (if ever) throws anyone under the bus. He is truly humble, but has the heart of tiger. He also learns and improves and isn't stuck in his ways. He is the anti-Martz, to me.

I'd like him to get tutored in the ways of Marts, just to add another dimension to his offense. The GSOT was Damn good. There has to be something McVay can take from it.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

The loss was on Sully, Blythe and Kromer....Imo

 

[Akrasian]

I'd like him to get tutored in the ways of Marts, just to add another dimension to his offense. The GSOT was Damn good. There has to be something McVay can take from it.

Yes. McVay needs to learn how to hang his future hall of fame QB out to dry in front of defensive ends, so years of his career are wasted. Certainly one of the main lessons to be learned from Martz.

 

[PressureD41]

Add Gaines, Rapp, Weddle, Long full season of Fowler Jr, and the front 7 developing. Me likeie a lot

 

[PressureD41]

I simply love how our coaching staff has painted a perfect picture of what they want at every position to Snead and the scouting staff. Then we see how Snead & Co. work the draft to get those players the last 2 years. Really enjoying how there building our team. You truly get a feeling of something amazing and long lasting we got going on here.
Hell ya!!!