Celebration Thread: Cardinals@Rams

[Prime Time]

View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1041518112951025665


View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1041503893195173893

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/16/nfl-rams-johnny-hekker-field-goal-cardinals/

 

[Ramlock]

They completely put all their eggs in stopping Gurley at the beginning of the game and it took a couple series before Goff made them pay.

9 man boxes. Lots of DB’s making tackles.

 

[RamsFanCK]

Not saying I agree but I could see Mahomme being the new darling QB.

10 TD's in 2 weeks....yeah, he's definitely gonna be the new darling. I'm slightly, kinda sorta, maybe impressed myself.

(*don't tell anyone)

 

[thirteen28]

Man I just freakin' love the makeup of this team. And I love when they beat a team like the Cardinals the way they should be beaten. Good teams keep losing teams losing.

 

[Karate61]

Lets be #1 at the end of the season. #1 now means nothing and puts a bigger target on our backs.

Bigger target? So What!

 

[BritishLARam]

Cooks looking amazing. Have to say I thought he would be great in McVay's offense but to see it is very gratifying.

 

[tempests]

I know this is the celebration thread but Gurley 2.8 YPC?

Flashbacks to 2016. I wonder if Arizona made an effort to stop the run.

Well Gurley got into the end zone five times. Three TDs and two 2 point conversions.
They game planned to stop him and the Rams carved them up through the air.

Wasn't 2016 at all.​

 

[Prime Time]

View: https://twitter.com/TheRamsWire/status/1041464690604470272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1041464690604470272&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheramswire.usatoday.com%2F2018%2F09%2F16%2Fnfl-los-angeles-rams-defense-stats-week-2%2F

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/16/nfl-los-angeles-rams-defense-stats-week-2/

So just how good has the Rams defense been this season? Well, let’s take a look at some of the numbers from the first two weeks.

• The Rams outscored their opponents 57-0 in the past six quarters, going back to halftime of the Week 1 game against the Raiders.
• The Cardinals didn’t cross midfield on Sunday until the second-to-last play of the game.
• They allowed only 137 total yards against the Cardinals (54 rushing, 83 passing), surrendering a passer rating of just 53.0 for Sam Bradford.
• Wide receivers have only caught 17 passes for 113 yards against the Rams this season, an average of just 6.7 yards per reception.
• The Rams have four interceptions and zero touchdown passes allowed so far.

Kevin Durant praises Aaron Donald, says he 'would join the Rams right now'

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/16/nfl-los-angeles-rams-kevin-durant-aaron-donald-warriors/

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/16/nfl-rams-cardinals-week-2-takeaways-lessons/

4 key takeaways from Rams' 34-point win over Cardinals
By: Andrew Ortenberg

1. The offensive line might be the league’s best

The Rams’ offensive line was simply dominant against a defensive front that has some talented players. The offensive line gave Goff all the time he needed to carve up the Cardinals’ defense for 354 yards and consistently created holes for Todd Gurley in the running game.

Aaron Kromer’s unit was particularly effective in short yardage situations. Seemingly every time they needed to pound the ball into the end zone or pick up a first down, a massive hole opened up for Gurley to breeze through. Four Rams made Pro Football Focus’ All-Week 1 team last week, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did so again in Week 2.

2. The Rams will likely need to sign a kicker
While there hasn’t been much of an update yet on Greg Zuerlein, it seems likely he’ll miss some time. As former NFL physician David Chao points out, groin injuries are usually multiple week injuries for kickers.


View: https://twitter.com/ProFootballDoc/status/1041447055468638208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1041447055468638208&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheramswire.usatoday.com%2F2018%2F09%2F16%2Fnfl-rams-cardinals-week-2-takeaways-lessons%2F

It’s another blow to the Rams’ special teams units after Pharoh Cooper was recently placed on injured reserve. JoJo Natson filled in admirably for Cooper, and hopefully the Rams will be able to find an equally great replacement for Zuerlein. It’s possible Sam Ficken, who was with the team last year and this offseason, gets a call.

3. The Rams were much better covering the middle of the field
The Rams got hit for some big plays from tight ends and running backs over the middle in last week’s win over the Raiders, but Wade Phillips’ defense made some great adjustments. The Cardinals tried to get tight end Ricky Seals-Jones going, but it never happened. The Rams also limited David Johnson to just one catch for 3 yards. Hopefully Mark Barron will return soon, but even if not, this group of Rams linebackers has shown it can play well.

4. The Rams need some tight end production
It didn’t matter in today’s blowout victory, but the Rams are going to need more production from their tight ends at some point. Today was the second straight game with virtually no involvement of the tight ends. It was something that was a point of emphasis all offseason, but neither Gerald Everett or Tyler Higbee have risen to the occasion yet.

It’s the one part of the offense that needs to be improved moving forward. Higbee and Everett simply can’t be combining for 20 yards every game if the offense wants to make another jump in 2018.

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...les-rams-cardinals-studs-duds-players-week-2/

Studs and duds from Rams' 34-0 win over Arizona
By: Cameron DaSilva

For the first time since 2001, the Los Angeles Rams are sitting at 2-0, grabbing two wins to kick off the 2018 season. They dominated both the Raiders and Cardinals by a total score of 67-13, proving to be just as good on the field as they look on paper.

There were a number of standout performances on the Rams’ side, as you’d expect from a 34-0 win. Here are our studs and duds, the latter of which were hard to uncover.

Studs

WR Brandin Cooks

Cooks was an absolute star on Sunday against the Cardinals, catching seven passes for 159 yards. He still hasn’t scored a touchdown yet with the Rams, but with 246 yards in two games, he’s already among the league leaders in receiving. He did it all against Arizona, too. He caught a deep 57-yard pass from Goff, he skied over the middle for a difficult grab in traffic and took a screen pass for a big gain. The difference between him and Sammy Watkins in L.A. is already apparent.

OLB Samson Ebukam

Ebukam showed up once again on Sunday, recording his first official sack of the 2018 season. It went for a 7-yard loss, but that was hardly his only impact play. He hit the quarterback twice, including a beautiful inside-out move on the left tackle. His speed and athleticism are apparent so frequently throughout games, which is a big boost for the defense.

S John Johnson

Johnson struggled in Week 1 against Jared Cook, but he was substantially better against Arizona. Ricky Seals-Jones was a popular target for Sam Bradford, but as much as he tried to get the tight end going, Johnson wouldn’t let it happen. He led the Rams with seven tackles, including one for a loss. He also had a pass breakup, stripping the receiver on a would-be first down.

Offensive line

Offensive lines never get the credit they deserve, but the Rams’ unit is gaining some recognition. For the second straight week, the group was simply dominant. Jared Goff barely had a finger laid on him and was only sacked twice. Austin Blythe has been outstanding in Jamon Brown’s place, helping Todd Gurley score on a short touchdown run. Andrew Whitworth made a great block on Cooks’ screen pass and was solid all game long.

Special teams

The Rams were without their top return man and kicker on Sunday with Pharoh Cooper and Greg Zuerlein injured, but that didn’t stop them from owning that phase of the game. Johnny Hekker made a 20-yard field goal and a 33-yard extra point, doing it all from punts to kickoffs.

On returns, JoJo Natson had six punt returns for 133 yards, including a spectacular 60-yarder. His lone kick return went for 22 yards, but he showed great speed and field vision throughout the game.

QB Jared Goff

Outside of one mistake, Goff was nearly perfect against Arizona. He completed 24 of 32 passes for 354 yards, one touchdown and an interception – an ill-advised throw in the red zone. He was much more accurate on deep passes, put passes in spots where only his receivers could make plays and had better awareness in the pocket. There was one instance where he was nearly stripped from behind, but he got it out quick enough to avoid disaster.

Duds

Tight ends

The tight ends had two more catches and 20 more yards than they did a week ago, but those were the totals from this week: two catches, 20 yards. Tyler Higbee had a 3-yard touchdown reception and Gerald Everett caught a 17-yarder over the middle, but other than that, you’d never know the Rams utilized their tight ends.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that a tight end was even targeted for the first time this season, which shows how small of a role they play on offense. Everett had a poor pass block rep that nearly resulted in a negative play, allowing Goff to get hit.

 

[thirteen28]

Cooks looking amazing. Have to say I thought he would be great in McVay's offense but to see it is very gratifying.

He really does, and if Goff puts a little more air under that long one and hits Cooks in stride, that's six right there. I expect we'll see them perfect that connection by year's end.

 

[Prime Time]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/09/16/w...-zane-gonzalez-browns-kicker-ryan-fitzpatrick

THINGS THAT MADE ME GIDDY

That Rams Defense Might be Terrifying: Let’s not get carried away; the linebackers are still a concern and the edge rushers are kinda meh. But my goodness do they cover—the corners and the safeties—and then there’s Suh and Donald.

Johnny Hekker Can Place-Kick Too: With Greg Zuerlein out with a groin injury, Hekker came on and hit a 20-yard field goal and a PAT, four key points as they just held off the Cardinals.

 

[RamsFlash80]

:grouphug:

 

[fearsomefour]

10 TD's in 2 weeks....yeah, he's definitely gonna be the new darling. I'm slightly, kinda sorta, maybe impressed myself.

(*don't tell anyone)

Favre like arm.
Teams haven't started to figure their O out yet.

 

[fearsomefour]

Whitworth just stone walled one of the better rushers in the league.
Blythe should be starting next week even if Brown is good to go.
Cooks was fantastic on Sunday.

 

[jrry32]

I know this is the celebration thread but Gurley 2.8 YPC?

Flashbacks to 2016. I wonder if Arizona made an effort to stop the run.

They were stacking the box and bringing a lot of run blitzes. It's part of why it was so easy to pass on them.

 

[“Turbo set!”]

They were stacking the box and bringing a lot of run blitzes. It's part of why it was so easy to pass on them.

I am guessing they won't do that in the rematch.

 

[Flint]

He really does, and if Goff puts a little more air under that long one and hits Cooks in stride, that's six right there. I expect we'll see them perfect that connection by year's end.

I don’t know how much farther he can throw it.

 

[James Otto]

I can't help but wonder if Cooper would lose his job to Natson, if he can keep returning punts like that. Natson could do exactly what Austin did in the offense.

 

[RamsFanCK]

Favre like arm.
Teams haven't started to figure their O out yet.

Yeah, I think the Kid might be the real deal. I'm all ready hyped for Monday night against KC. That could be one of the best games of the season even if you aren't a Rams or Chefs fan.

 

[jrry32]

I am guessing they won't do that in the rematch.

Well, they may want to worry about how to get to mid field before they start trying to figure out our offense.

 

[jrry32]

Yeah, I think the Kid might be the real deal. I'm all ready hyped for Monday night against KC. That could be one of the best games of the season even if you aren't a Rams or Chefs fan.

You know Marcus Peters will be amped up.