Hey Dr. re: exposing our D

[Stranger]

I recall in the Patriots post-game thread you were talking about a number of way that Belicheat had exposed our D, and that we'd have to address it or continue to get exposed. Sorry that I don't recall the football specifics of that conversation, and I'm hoping that you'll recall the details. But I'm curous to hear input on what we did against the 49ers, and how much of that was to correct previous weaknesses. I realize JJ wasn't in there today, but what else did you see, and did those changes result in significant improvement?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DR RAM]

I recall in the Patriots post-game thread you were talking about a number of way that Belicheat had exposed our D, and that we'd have to address it or continue to get exposed. Sorry that I don't recall the football specifics of that conversation, and I'm hoping that you'll recall the details. But I'm curous to hear input on what we did against the 49ers, and how much of that was to correct previous weaknesses. I realize JJ wasn't in there today, but what else did you see, and did those changes result in significant improvement?

Thanks in advance.

Well, we still played Dahl, and he still missed more plays than I can count on one hand, maybe more, but I'm trying to ignore him now. I'm going for apathy and not hate.

Jenkins was a big part of the problem, but he took himself out of this game. The effect was still good, I think Tru played better than JJ has been playing.

Our interior line got a little more push, which was desperately needed. Langford in particular stepped it up in that area.

The defense in whole played with more passion/attitude, which had been missing.

I don't know if the play calling changed, but it seemed to be a different defense out there, most of the game, although I still saw a few very questionable calls down the stretch. Two were contain issues, and one was putting Dahl on Crabtree.

The main part of me saying we were exposed was our safety play, and Jenkins and Dahl whenever they were on the same side. But I mentioned all the other things above. They played better.

 

[Stranger]

I recall in the Patriots post-game thread you were talking about a number of way that Belicheat had exposed our D, and that we'd have to address it or continue to get exposed. Sorry that I don't recall the football specifics of that conversation, and I'm hoping that you'll recall the details. But I'm curous to hear input on what we did against the 49ers, and how much of that was to correct previous weaknesses. I realize JJ wasn't in there today, but what else did you see, and did those changes result in significant improvement?

Thanks in advance.

Well, we still played Dahl, and he still missed more plays than I can count on one hand, maybe more, but I'm trying to ignore him now. I'm going for apathy and not hate.

Jenkins was a big part of the problem, but he took himself out of this game. The effect was still good, I think Tru played better than JJ has been playing.

Our interior line got a little more push, which was desperately needed. Langford in particular stepped it up in that area.

The defense in whole played with more passion/attitude, which had been missing.

I don't know if the play calling changed, but it seemed to be a different defense out there, most of the game, although I still saw a few very questionable calls down the stretch. Two were contain issues, and one was putting Dahl on Crabtree.

The main part of me saying we were exposed was our safety play, and Jenkins and Dahl whenever they were on the same side. But I mentioned all the other things above. They played better.

Thanks for your input and clarification, I really appreciate the insights.

It will be interesting to see who starts at corner when JJ returns from "suspension".

Also, as I mentioned in the gameday thread, I went to the Rams hotel on Sunday morning and watched all the players board their buses to the stadium. Everyone looked either extremely intense or very relaxed, but everyone certainly appeared focused, especially Fisher, who was emitting serious vibes. That is everyone except Dahl, who I kid you not, looked like a deer in headlights and wasn't sure what bus to get on. I almost said something to him, as he was right next to me, but I held my tongue.

 

[DR RAM]

I recall in the Patriots post-game thread you were talking about a number of way that Belicheat had exposed our D, and that we'd have to address it or continue to get exposed. Sorry that I don't recall the football specifics of that conversation, and I'm hoping that you'll recall the details. But I'm curous to hear input on what we did against the 49ers, and how much of that was to correct previous weaknesses. I realize JJ wasn't in there today, but what else did you see, and did those changes result in significant improvement?

Thanks in advance.

Well, we still played Dahl, and he still missed more plays than I can count on one hand, maybe more, but I'm trying to ignore him now. I'm going for apathy and not hate.

Jenkins was a big part of the problem, but he took himself out of this game. The effect was still good, I think Tru played better than JJ has been playing.

Our interior line got a little more push, which was desperately needed. Langford in particular stepped it up in that area.

The defense in whole played with more passion/attitude, which had been missing.

I don't know if the play calling changed, but it seemed to be a different defense out there, most of the game, although I still saw a few very questionable calls down the stretch. Two were contain issues, and one was putting Dahl on Crabtree.

The main part of me saying we were exposed was our safety play, and Jenkins and Dahl whenever they were on the same side. But I mentioned all the other things above. They played better.

Thanks for your input and clarification, I really appreciate the insights.

It will be interesting to see who starts at corner when JJ returns from "suspension".

Also, as I mentioned in the gameday thread, I went to the Rams hotel on Sunday morning and watched all the players board their buses to the stadium. Everyone looked either extremely intense or very relaxed, but everyone certainly appeared focused, especially Fisher, who was emitting serious vibes. That is everyone except Dahl, who I kid you not, looked like a deer in headlights and wasn't sure what bus to get on. I almost said something to him, as he was right next to me, but I held my tongue.

I'd venture to guess that he rarely knows what bus to get on... That's crazy though.

Our reporters don't have the balls to ask about him.

Haven't done a re-watch yet. Might be a couple of days. I forgot to mention Dunbar continually getting lost in coverage previously, but I didn't notice any big gaffes from him, or if SF tried to expose him in this game. If they did, he must have played more disciplined. I'll look for it in the re-watch. I'll also look to see if our DE/DT ran any stunts or twists, or at least mixed up their moves a little. It seemed as though Quinn tried to bull rush a few times.

Here's everything I said previously:
http://www.ramsondemand.com/blog/defensive-problems-potential-fixes/