Close up look at the Steelers game

[gabriel18]

I just watched my tape of the game and the Rams were so close to so many drive sustaining first downs . One yard here or there , or a route or two a yard or so deeper . 4th and 1 or 2 or 3 several times. So close , but close doesn't do it. One thing I did notice was a certain tight end and his lack of hustle . I don't want to get banned again for bashing players but he was hard to watch. Couldn't or wouldn't hold a block and dropped an easy pass and his false start on the goal line was pitiful .
I see what some guys on the board are talking about now. Just plain sad

 

[Ramhusker]

Let me help you. COOK!!!!!!

 

[gabriel18]

Let me help you. COOK!!!!!!

It was hard to watch him give little .to no effort the whole game.
He should be a matchup nightmare with any effort at all.

 

[Fatbot]

a route or two a yard or so deeper

I agree that throwing short of the sticks on 3rd down is frustrating (but then again I'm a long time west coast offense hating curmudgeon). I am kind of surprised hearing the frustration voiced here after Cignetti's west coast tendencies and hiring Jeff Garcia were fully contemplated and widely accepted in the offseason. So it shouldn't be surprising seeing lots of short completions on 3rd and long. Interesting note, the similar philosophy at KC is having almost the exact same results -- KC and the Rams rank #1 and #2 in YAC per reception, but are among the worst at 3rd down conversions so far. Obviously the small sample will regress to better results over the remainder of the season, but I wouldn't expect to see much change in the Rams approach.

 

[-X-]

I just watched my tape of the game and the Rams were so close to so many drive sustaining first downs . One yard here or there , or a route or two a yard or so deeper . 4th and 1 or 2 or 3 several times. So close , but close doesn't do it. One thing I did notice was a certain tight end and his lack of hustle . I don't want to get banned again for bashing players but he was hard to watch. Couldn't or wouldn't hold a block and dropped an easy pass and his false start on the goal line was pitiful .
I see what some guys on the board are talking about now. Just plain sad

So expand on that.
If you see what you perceive the problem to be, what's your solution?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

So expand on that.
If you see what you perceive the problem to be, what's your solution?

My solution is that Fisher and Snead need to take a class on how to evaluate offensive players in the receiving game.

 

[RamFan503]

I just watched my tape of the game and the Rams were so close to so many drive sustaining first downs . One yard here or there , or a route or two a yard or so deeper . 4th and 1 or 2 or 3 several times. So close , but close doesn't do it. One thing I did notice was a certain tight end and his lack of hustle . I don't want to get banned again for bashing players but he was hard to watch. Couldn't or wouldn't hold a block and dropped an easy pass and his false start on the goal line was pitiful .
I see what some guys on the board are talking about now. Just plain sad

It's not bashing if it is an observation. Calling him lazy or a lazy f___ might be over the line but saying he looked slow or wasn't running sharp routes is fine. And you would be far from the first to assert that Cook is not looking good on a great many plays.

I have to wonder if his ability to get open is worth it on a lot of plays. Harkey for example might not be that guy open 25 yards down field but he seems to be pretty effective in play action on his releases and he also is an excellent blocker. I would think if we want to go run heavy, he should be a bigger part of the picture. And who here would want to tackle that MoFo?

 

[gabriel18]

So expand on that.
If you see what you perceive the problem to be, what's your solution?

I would like to see the 3rd down plays run on 1st and 2nd downs and they have got to get TA involved a lot more . I know easier said than done but they need to figure it out ASAP. The Steeler game was one that got away

 

[-X-]

My solution is that Fisher and Snead need to take a class on how to evaluate offensive players in the receiving game.

Yeah.

Hey, guess what? The draft is mostly a crap-shoot based on the potential you think a player has in the system you're employing.

That aside, there are no "GM drafting and personnel moves 101 for introductory dumbasses" classes they could have taken.

 

[Ramhusker]

It's not bashing if it is an observation. Calling him lazy or a lazy f___ might be over the line but saying he looked slow or wasn't running sharp routes is fine. And you would be far from the first to assert that Cook is not looking good on a great many plays.

I have to wonder if his ability to get open is worth it on a lot of plays. Harkey for example might not be that guy open 25 yards down field but he seems to be pretty effective in play action on his releases and he also is an excellent blocker. I would think if we want to go run heavy, he should be a bigger part of the picture. And who here would want to tackle that MoFo?

But that's EXACTLY what bothers me about his play. Maybe it's just perception but he seems to be dogging it more often than not. Watching him makes you wish he had a shock collar on so you could give him a jolt from time to time. I can't help but think that stuff bleeds over to the rest of the team at times. And yeah, they are supposed to be professionals and one guy shouldn't affect them but it can. Of course, it pisses me off to see players jog down the first base line in baseball when they assume they are going to be out so there's that.

 

[Merlin]

As I mentioned in the other thread the re-watch demonstrated to me that there were several occasions of either the TE or a WR being wide the F open and Foles pulls a checkdown or goes to a more sure thing. When you mix those in with the drops it demonstrates to me that this offense is actually close to doing some good things, at least they were against the Steelers. It's not like guys were blanketed downfield or the Steelers were all over the Rams tendencies for down/distance.

That is a good thing to me. It means when they watched the film the team sees all those yards they left on the field (running game too but the biggest potential gainers were in the pass game IMO) and squandered opportunity. It also means that Cigs might actually get these guys going, since he seems to know wtf he's doing.

I know, it's sad to have to look at a game that way, but it is what it is. Foles really needs to raise the bar this Sunday. It wasn't just Cook and Kendricks who had poor games, it's on the QB too and I'm not just talkin about the INT.

 

[Hey Man]

The problem that I have with Cook and his performance is how much he is getting paid for it. I can't do that were I work and get paid two to 3 times more than the same guys in my position and still have my job. There are so many young players on this team making league minimum putting forth more effort in one half of a football game than he does in a whole game. like one of the earlier posters said the coach's will see on game tape.

 

[gabriel18]

The false start on the goal line was really a back breaker and he didn't have any part in the play

 

[Force16X]

Yeah.

Hey, guess what? The draft is mostly a crap-shoot based on the potential you think a player has in the system you're employing.

That aside, there are no "GM drafting and personnel moves 101 for introductory dumbasses" classes they could have taken.

that being said, they seem to be able to hit on defensive draft picks. just like Martz was clueless about defense, it would seem fair to say that Fisher is the same way about offense.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Sidebar:
I have seen two blatantly obvious false starts NOT called against us so far this season.
The RT late in the game vs Seattle and the LT vs Pittsburgh.
I'm talking when the lineman takes two steps back before the ball is snapped. It's oblivious as to how these didn't draw a flag.

On topic: I've defended Cook but i'm done doing that. Tough day for our TE's all around, I would be curious to see how Cook would respond to having his snap count reduced by half. I wouldn't bench him for a full game because that would be overkill, but have him sit and watch more often from the sideline. Give Harkey the extra PT.
How would he respond? Whine and cry? Smile and joke around with Hekker and drink Gatorade? Step up his game?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Yeah.

Hey, guess what? The draft is mostly a crap-shoot based on the potential you think a player has in the system you're employing.

That aside, there are no "GM drafting and personnel moves 101 for introductory dumbasses" classes they could have taken.

Haha I know. But can you ever recall Fisher having a knockout Wide receiver or Tight end? He had some good ones but not Julio Jones good.

 

[-X-]

Haha I know. But can you ever recall Fisher having a knockout Wide receiver or Tight end? He had some good ones but not Julio Jones good.

Not really, no. He is what he is, and I think we all knew what we were getting into once it was announced he was hired. My hope was that Les Snead would have been the ying to his yang. Snead was a HUGE fan of Julio Jones, so I figured he would have been just as eager to get someone of that caliber for the Rams.

Is what it is. They're trying to be the smartest guys in the room by taking "under the radar" guys, but it's just not working out apparently. Maybe if they had a top 5 QB, some of these things would have worked in their favor. But again, it is what it is.

 

[Ramhusker]

Not really, no. He is what he is, and I think we all knew what we were getting into once it was announced he was hired. My hope was that Les Snead would have been the ying to his yang. Snead was a HUGE fan of Julio Jones, so I figured he would have been just as eager to get someone of that caliber for the Rams.

Is what it is. They're trying to be the smartest guys in the room by taking "under the radar" guys, but it's just not working out apparently. Maybe if they had a top 5 QB, some of these things would have worked in their favor. But again, it is what it is.

I think you nailed it on the head. If we would of had a Drew Brees in the pocket, guys like Quick, Bailey, Austin, Britt, and Givens would be well known in the league by now. And that's not a cut on Bradford or Foles because they are NFL QBs, just not "elite" ones.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think you nailed it on the head. If we would of had a Drew Brees in the pocket, guys like Quick, Bailey, Austin, Britt, and Givens would be well known in the league by now. And that's not a cut on Bradford or Foles because they are NFL QBs, just not "elite" ones.

I doubt it. Non of thes guys have Marques Colston/Jimmy Graham type talent. None are anywhere near a Torry Holt or Ike. The Rams need at least one guy like that that can get open even if doubled. It would open up the rest of the field for others and make defenses guess who to roll extra coverages toward. If Cook was what Cook is supposed to be then the problem would not be so dire. He would help open things up but he runs so hot and cold. He needs to be a pro. A guy that can always be counted on in every game.

 

[kurtfaulk]

As I mentioned in the other thread the re-watch demonstrated to me that there were several occasions of either the TE or a WR being wide the F open and Foles pulls a checkdown or goes to a more sure thing. When you mix those in with the drops it demonstrates to me that this offense is actually close to doing some good things, at least they were against the Steelers. It's not like guys were blanketed downfield or the Steelers were all over the Rams tendencies for down/distance.

That is a good thing to me. It means when they watched the film the team sees all those yards they left on the field (running game too but the biggest potential gainers were in the pass game IMO) and squandered opportunity. It also means that Cigs might actually get these guys going, since he seems to know wtf he's doing.

I know, it's sad to have to look at a game that way, but it is what it is. Foles really needs to raise the bar this Sunday. It wasn't just Cook and Kendricks who had poor games, it's on the QB too and I'm not just talkin about the INT.

Oh the irony.

While i agree with the sentiment i find it quite humorous how you give foles a pass but go for the kill at a certain other qb who is also in a new system and their offense has had a huge change in personnel this season. Even more so than the Rams.

.