ELEPHANT in the room

[…..]

Great to be 7 games in and have a better than .500 record! Its been a long time coming for us Ram fans.

I'd like to give a shout out to the defense for maintaining such a high level of play through the losses of EJ Gaines, Alec Ogletree, and Chris Long.

But the ELEPHANT in the room is our 3rd down conversion rate. Against San Fran, No conversions through 3 quarters, Very concerned. 1 for 13 on the game! This is not a recent issue, this is a disturbing trend. More disturbing is that we recognize the failure and haven't improved.

In contrast, Arizona was 13 for 16 on their 3rd downs. That's a pretty lofty stat line for them and to expect that type of efficiency is unrealistic. However, we do need some improvement there or its going to be more frustrating for us as we move forward and expectations are created.

Execution has got to improve and I hope the week of practice this week brings us some type of relief.

 

[LACHAMP46]

against San Fran, No conversions through 3 quarters,

You are spot on DOG....We've done that 2 times already this season....and the only fix is execution....the first two downs must create easier 3rd down opportunities....But it rests with one man....Can he audible once to show ME he knows the damn playbook?

This isn't the only problem...but like most problems, just one facet....What's going on with execution in general? Who's on the field? Who is the "go to" player? I keep looking out there, and I see the WV connection...and I have to SMH...This isn't the Big fucking 12....

 

[JonRam99]

If execution is the issue, it's possible that our O still just needs time to grow into Cig's system & zone blocking. I know this is a lousy excuse, but how long did it take our talent-laden D to acclimate to William's system? half a season? we're now at that mark, & I believe we still have a ways to go in terms of basic WR talent--we desperately need BQ to round back into form--but I'm hoping we can get this figured out, & maybe add a decent route-running WR before the trade deadline.

 

[JonRam99]

p.s., anyone key in on Marquez? How'd he do on the field? break any ankles?

 

[ChrisW]

I'm hoping they figure it out, and there's hope this season. We saw some more of the no-huddle to get us moving. So, we have tangible evidence that they are making adjustments as opposed to when Schotty was here.

 

[Angry Ram]

This is not a recent issue, this is a disturbing trend. More disturbing is that we recognize the failure and haven't improved.

Exaggerate much?

They purposely didn't attempt any 3rd down pass in the 2nd half except for one (Tavon's TD). Instead they ran low % runs on 3rd and longs. Agree/disagree with that all you want, but that skews the perception. Furthermore they used backup Tre Mason on those runs.

I know this is a lousy excuse

It's not an "e word" at all. It's a perfectly valid reason and it's quite possible it may be the case. The plays are there however, they have not been executing. The drops are just killer. If they just make a couple of those, this thread and other offense critics wouldn't exist as much.

 

[…..]

Exaggerate much?

Exaggerate? Nope

Do you ignore the facts much?


I understand there are some fans that come up with a myriad of excuses to mitigate reality. How you choose to view it is your own business and I'm cool with that, but exaggerating O-for three quarters is kinda hard for me to do. Exaggerating the seasonal trend is also a bit of a stretch for me.

But hey, maybe you're right. The ran Tre Mason 6 straight times in the fourth, so all is well, Correct?

 

[Angry Ram]

Exaggerate? Nope

Do you ignore the facts much?


I understand there are some fans that come up with a myriad of excuses to mitigate reality. How you choose to view it is your own business and I'm cool with that, but exaggerating O-for three quarters is kinda hard for me to do. Exaggerating the seasonal trend is also a bit of a stretch for me.

But hey, maybe you're right. The ran Tre Mason 6 straight times in the fourth, so all is well, Correct?

See bold: Don't freaking put words in my mouth or accuse me of doing something I'm not.

Second, on that regard, I didn't say all is well. I simply don't think it's that big a deal as you make it out to be. Especially "disturbing." What Greg Hardy does on the sideline to a coach is disturbing. What we have is a football problem that's fixable.

 

[…..]

See bold: Don't freaking put words in my mouth or accuse me of doing something I'm not.

Second, on that regard, I didn't say all is well. I simply don't think it's that big a deal as you make it out to be. Especially "disturbing." What Greg Hardy does on the sideline to a coach is disturbing. What we have is a football problem that's fixable.

Well I sure hope it is fixable because if it isn't then we're certainly in trouble.

Here's what I think....Its a concern that we have the worst 3rd down conversion in the NFL, and no I'm not going to look it up, I'm just sure that is a true fact. I also think that it is disturbing that we know this, yet have not fixed it.

If you feel differently, I'm glad we disagree. The threads about rainbows and butterflies and action heroes are in another forum.

 

[fancents86]

Capitalizing on 3rd downs extends time of possession, which Fisher is huge on and is a huge factor in winning games. So I got to say it's not an exaggeration either.

 

[junkman]

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/third-down-conversion-pct

Dead last in 3rd down conversion pct. And there's no way to slice it where it looks good. Last 1? Last 3? Home? Away? Terrible each and every way. Epic levels of bad.

AND these last two games feel like games where our 3rd down pct should have been better. At home. Against less than stellar opponents. I mean, we won these games and won them by a nice margin, but we can't expect 71 yard runs from Gurley each week. We can't expect the refs to call face-masking on all the defensive touchdowns we allow.

PS - Elephant #2 is Zuerlein and missed FGs. Sure seems like something that has the potential to haunt us. (knock on wood)

 

[fancents86]

Greg the leg gets a lot of slack bc everyone talks about his ability to make long field goals, but his consistency is not there. I'd take consistency over range anyday.

 

[Ramhusker]

I have to admit I'm happy with ANY Rams win but this one left me worried about the future a bit because of the O's performance. Like already stated, we can't expect big plays from Gurley and/or Austin every game and sometime soon somebody is going to limit them. I'm sure this 3rd down stink pie is the result of a lot of things like Foles not there yet in this O scheme, the WRs and TEs dropping too many passes, the OL still maturing and learning to gel, just the lack of flow of the whole damn thing. But I'm going to be an optimist here and say we are turning the corner, things are going to improve, and we are going to dish out pop knots profusely about the Vikings' body parts this week and emerge out the other side of Minneapolis at 5-3!

 

[Rmfnlt]

Dead last in 3rd down conversion pct. And there's no way to slice it where it looks good. Last 1? Last 3? Home? Away? Terrible each and every way. Epic levels of bad.

AND these last two games feel like games where our 3rd down pct should have been better. At home. Against less than stellar opponents. I mean, we won these games and won them by a nice margin, but we can't expect 71 yard runs from Gurley each week. We can't expect the refs to call face-masking on all the defensive touchdowns we allow.

I can't see how a fan wouldn't be at least concerned over that.

Minnesota is a good defense... if we struggled against Cleveland and San Francisco, I wonder how we'll fare against a good defense.

Sunday will tell us a lot about this team's real potential.

 

[BuffaloRam]

I can't see how a fan wouldn't be at least concerned over that.

Minnesota is a good defense... if we struggled against Cleveland and San Francisco, I wonder how we'll fare against a good defense.

Sunday will tell us a lot about this team's real potential.

Dude, I am interested to see how the guys go this week - Minnesota is the first highly touted opponent since before the bye. Keep AD contained and have Bridgewater throw into coverage and we should prevail. The D is key to winning this matchup on the road.

 

[Angry Ram]

I can't see how a fan wouldn't be at least concerned over that.

Minnesota is a good defense... if we struggled against Cleveland and San Francisco, I wonder how we'll fare against a good defense.

Sunday will tell us a lot about this team's real potential.

I'm not because other aspects of our game are covering for it. Quite well actually. Yes, eventually (again, like next game) they'll will have to do their part and make those plays. I just don't think its "disturbing" or "alarming" or w/e hyperbole you wanna use. It's correctable.

 

[Mikey Ram]

I can't see how a fan wouldn't be at least concerned over that.

Minnesota is a good defense... if we struggled against Cleveland and San Francisco, I wonder how we'll fare against a good defense.

Sunday will tell us a lot about this team's real potential.

^ + a bunch