Greg "He'll never catch that guy" Gaines Highlights.

[fearsomefour]

I prefer Gaines to SJD for what it's worth. Short and stocky but underrated athleticism and relentless on the field. Reminds me of Kyle Williams with the Bills.

I prefer Gaines NOW.....I didn't then....but, Gaines has turned into a complete DL. Gotta keep this guy.

 

[Faceplant]

I prefer Gaines to SJD for what it's worth. Short and stocky but underrated athleticism and relentless on the field. Reminds me of Kyle Williams with the Bills.

Now that is a great comparison. If big Geezee can get close to that level of production, then my goodness.

AD is a fan of GG. That is endorsement enough for me. Not sure why some seem to want to throw shade at him in here.

 

[raised_fisT]

Gaines was definitely one of my faves to watch last year. Such a pleasant surprise as others have stated. Made some really great plays for us. Dude is a hard worker and a gamer.

The caption/title in the video.... "The Cheetah" LMAO. I love it.

 

[Kupped]

Now that is a great comparison. If big Geezee can get close to that level of production, then my goodness.

AD is a fan of GG. That is endorsement enough for me. Not sure why some seem to want to throw shade at him in here.

I didn't know enough about Williams.. did a little quick reading.. sounds like a good comp!

I compared Gaines to Jurrell Casey coming out and still feel good about that one.

 

[badcop]

Um...
SJD was the starter.

Beat out Gaines 2 years straight.

Gaines looked better every minute to me. One is immovable, one got bulldozed. Interior D line is as much about disrupting the O line as it is making the tackle. If the hole your back is designated to run through isn't there it creates issues for the O. Gaines does this better by a wide margin. Chaos disrupts offenses. Having true pass rush ability and drawing very frequent double teams helps everyone else along the line make plays. I noticed quick pass O's doubling Gaines more than AD at times. Gaines is only getting better. Should be a fun season.

 

[majrleaged]

Gaines is a lot better than SJD. His name got called all the time. SJD not so much.

 

[Kupped]

Gaines looked better every minute to me. One is immovable, one got bulldozed. Interior D line is as much about disrupting the O line as it is making the tackle. If the hole your back is designated to run through isn't there it creates issues for the O. Gaines does this better by a wide margin. Chaos disrupts offenses. Having true pass rush ability and drawing very frequent double teams helps everyone else along the line make plays. I noticed quick pass O's doubling Gaines more than AD at times. Gaines is only getting better. Should be a fun season.

Couple of things... I love Greg Gaines, so don't think any of this is downplaying his contributions.

Sebastian Joseph Day is one of the best run defending defensive linemen in the NFL and was also on his way to a modest, but career high number in sacks last year before being injured. He was improving on that front.

SJD had three sacks in 7 games(340 snaps), Gaines had 4.5 in 17 (780 snaps).


View: https://twitter.com/dantalkssports/status/1503539697192165381?s=20&t=7Spj_humOAEztcJ7_J2Tcg


Gaines is *not* better by a "wide margin" and whether he's better overall is something people can easily debate.


And.. back to my response... The coaches did NOT pick Gaines over SJD. You can address that anytime.

 

[Rams43]

I’ll say this. Greg Gaines is one player that is very easy to root for. And this on a team loaded with elite and near-elite players.

I love this kid and on multiple levels.

 

[Kupped]

I’ll say this. Greg Gaines is one player that is very easy to root for. And this on a team loaded with elite and near-elite players.

I love this kid and on multiple levels.

Agreed... LA kid come home... love it.
His mic'd up stuff is friggen fantastic.

 

[1maGoh]

And.. back to my response... The coaches did NOT pick Gaines over SJD. You can address that anytime.

They also weren't playing Nick Scott. While we're at it, I think safety play overall got better when the guys they chose went down to injury.

 

[Kupped]

They also weren't playing Nick Scott. While we're at it, I think safety play overall got better when the guys they chose went down to injury.

So hard to quantify.
Nick Scott wasn't good in the regular season... but really, really played well in the postseason.
Jordan Fuller had a solid position and was primarily the deep safety, where Scott played most.
It's really hard to pinpoint how much playing with Weddle and playing deep positively impacted Scott.. but Fuller's been the more consistent, better player over the last two years. Are we suggesting Scott was always better than Fuller? Or is it possible that Scott kept growing as a defensive back and really hit his stride when the playoffs hit and he was lined up with Weddle? Because he clearly made his biggest plays as a Ram in the playoffs. It's not like he didn't have chances in the regular season... he had about 450 snaps.

I guess I'm saying I don't think they chose the wrong guys at safety either.

This year? I'm hoping that what we saw from Scott is who he is now and they can move Fuller into more of a SS role and Scott can play deep. Maybe having Wagner out there will have the same kind of positive impact on Scott.

What I don't know is if the coaches just trust Fuller more at the deep position than Scott.. or if they think Rapp is significantly better than Fuller close to the line.

 

[Merlin]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Tfq6dARGk&ab_channel=NatGeoWILD

 

[Malibu]

Gaines to me is another example of why most people totally underestimate the Rams. He is one of many unsung heroes that makes up the entire 53. We are great not just because we have AD, Stafford, Ramsey, and Kupp we have the likes of Floyd, Scott, AShawn, Jones, and so many more. These guy step up and make the entire team better.

This year barring injuries we will be even better than last year. We have very few new players and added two monsters in Wagner/Robinson and the rest have been here for an extended time and developed into a strong 53. Very few teams have what we have in terms of 2nd, 3rd year guys that are really blossoming.

 

[Kupped]

Gaines to me is another example of why most people totally underestimate the Rams. He is one of many unsung heroes that makes up the entire 53. We are great not just because we have AD, Stafford, Ramsey, and Kupp we have the likes of Floyd, Scott, AShawn, Jones, and so many more. These guy step up and make the entire team better.

This year barring injuries we will be even better than last year. We have very few new players and added two monsters in Wagner/Robinson and the rest have been here for an extended time and developed into a strong 53. Very few teams have what we have in terms of 2nd, 3rd year guys that are really blossoming.

Player development.

Every team talks about it, the Rams actually do it.

 

[1maGoh]

So hard to quantify.
Nick Scott wasn't good in the regular season... but really, really played well in the postseason.
Jordan Fuller had a solid position and was primarily the deep safety, where Scott played most.
It's really hard to pinpoint how much playing with Weddle and playing deep positively impacted Scott.. but Fuller's been the more consistent, better player over the last two years. Are we suggesting Scott was always better than Fuller? Or is it possible that Scott kept growing as a defensive back and really hit his stride when the playoffs hit and he was lined up with Weddle? Because he clearly made his biggest plays as a Ram in the playoffs. It's not like he didn't have chances in the regular season... he had about 450 snaps.

I guess I'm saying I don't think they chose the wrong guys at safety either.

This year? I'm hoping that what we saw from Scott is who he is now and they can move Fuller into more of a SS role and Scott can play deep. Maybe having Wagner out there will have the same kind of positive impact on Scott.

What I don't know is if the coaches just trust Fuller more at the deep position than Scott.. or if they think Rapp is significantly better than Fuller close to the line.

50k foot view I think I was just trying to say that their personnel decisions aren't infallible. I have my doubts that Rapp was a top 2 safety on this team at any point last season. Obviously not confirmed and I can't prove it, but it's how I feel.

I think the DB group relies on trust and communication as much as the O line. Passing people off, who the safety helps in different coverage, etc. Scott getting integrated to that was likely to take some time, so sure if they'd started him earlier over Rapp (and made whatever other scheme adjustments necessary) I think there's a good chance he would have delivered that quality of play earlier in the season.

Weddle does muddle the picture significantly. I'll give you that.

In the end I think it's weird that two backup players (Gaines and Scott) stepped in and played as good or better than the starters. Both did better in my opinion, but then again, what the hell do I know? I think sticking by the old "coach Rah is infallible" (obvious hyperbole is obvious and is clearly not intended as an actual view of your position, hopefully) line doesn't give credit to what these players did when we desperately needed them. I've consistently said I disagree with the "MAD plays" philosophy and that's primarily what's keeping Rapp on the field. I don't know about SJD but it might have been the same but to a lesser degree. I don't know.

 

[CoachAllred]

What happened to the guy that only posted that Gaines should get more playing time, when SJD was healthy. I figured we'd see more of him now that Gaines is starting.

Not sure. I was a huge SJD fan and was disappointed when he went down.
Gaines played his way right into my heart where SJD used to live. lol.
Chasing down Murray was hugely surprising and freakin awesome.

 

[CoachAllred]

Gaines was probably my most pleasant surprise last season. And it seems that AD really loves the guy.

The thing impresses me further is that, Gaines doesn't have the ideal arm length
to play NT. But yet and still and come hell or high water, the man gets the job done.

 

[RamDino]

Wade told him he was being drafted to replace Suh... and he did.

 

[Kupped]

50k foot view I think I was just trying to say that their personnel decisions aren't infallible. I have my doubts that Rapp was a top 2 safety on this team at any point last season. Obviously not confirmed and I can't prove it, but it's how I feel.

I think the DB group relies on trust and communication as much as the O line. Passing people off, who the safety helps in different coverage, etc. Scott getting integrated to that was likely to take some time, so sure if they'd started him earlier over Rapp (and made whatever other scheme adjustments necessary) I think there's a good chance he would have delivered that quality of play earlier in the season.

Weddle does muddle the picture significantly. I'll give you that.

In the end I think it's weird that two backup players (Gaines and Scott) stepped in and played as good or better than the starters. Both did better in my opinion, but then again, what the hell do I know? I think sticking by the old "coach Rah is infallible" (obvious hyperbole is obvious and is clearly not intended as an actual view of your position, hopefully) line doesn't give credit to what these players did when we desperately needed them. I've consistently said I disagree with the "MAD plays" philosophy and that's primarily what's keeping Rapp on the field. I don't know about SJD but it might have been the same but to a lesser degree. I don't know.

I think it shows the Rams know what they're doing in developing players.
Gaines is a year behind SJD... Scott is a late round pick who only played DB one season in college.

I look at it as the Rams have kept at it, coaching these guys, and when the opportunity came, they were ready to play. For me it's a lot less about whether they had the "right guy" starting than it is about whether they know what they're doing with the roster, overall. I don't think it's weird that they performed so well, I think it shows the Rams know what they're doing.

You also have to factor in that just because a player's position says "safety", it doesn't mean they're truly interchangeable. Fuller was the deep safety, for the most part, and App stayed closer to the line. Scott came in plenty during the season and, unless I'm forgetting something, primarily played deep. I guess my point with that is that it wasn't about Scott being better or worse than Rapp than it is about them playing different roles.

I'm at the point where it's not blind belief in the team, but I'm less likely to question them now than in the past. They know what they're doing.

I don't have any problem with the MAD stuff, or Rah. I've been one of the most consistently vocal supporters, even when shit didn't look good, because I felt like he was working with a severely limited secondary and he was also learning the defense and the personnel. I feel pretty good about how that played out.

Scott was a revelation in the playoffs... damn was it fun to watch him. But he also got fooled, big time, in the Super Bowl. I have absolutely zero idea if Fuller would've read the play or not and am not saying he would've. I'm more pointing out that Scott still has room to grow. I've loved Scott from the start.... he came into the league with one year of playing DB and was going to work his ass off to make an impact on special teams and keep learning to play DB. He has a joyous attitude that I find very, very easy to root for and I hope he keeps building off his post season.

With Gaines.. one thing that distorts some of his performance is the improbability of some of his plays. Those short legs going full Barney Rubble.. it's a crack up!! That's one of the reason we love it so much.. it feels unexpected.. he's a friggin hoot.. and very, very easy to root for as well. I love the guy. But SJD was the same kind of guy.. great attitude.. a 6th rounder who worked his ass off to get better.. very, very easy to root for and he was damn good. His plays just look different because he's 4 inches taller with longer arms.

 

[badcop]

Noted. Also watch some of the games especially the Super Bowl. Besides being tasked with gap and a half Gaines ran a number of stunts with A.D. and Miller both. These were called plays and Gaines was meant to help free up the other two and disrupt the O's blocking scheme. Another thing I noticed that A.D. ran up better stats next to Gaines especially in run defense. Effects can go both ways. I didn't look up the stats that's just my impression.

Williams is developing well along with Hoecht.

Ashawn played fantastic in the post season. I hope that sticks all year!

I think we'll be fine without Von Miller but he'll be missed. D line should do very well this year and with Wagner backing up this D line it should be one hell of a D.