I gotta be honest, I'm a bit antsy

[Ellard80]

let me add this - the nfl is just so competitive now.

if we don't go far- I don't really think its because we are not good. When we went to the Super Bowl in 1999 we had a last place schedule which doenst exist anymore - and the nfc and our division was nowhere near as good as it is now. Not to mention the Titans were a solid team but nothing exceptional.

this year is just a different animal

 

[oldnotdead]

Hmmm, glass half empty? Not in my mind. I've been saying it since TC. The only team that can beat the Rams are themselves. If they play a clean game they can beat anyone.

Look at their losses. They came because of turnovers, bad penalties, and a DC who played too soft. When all of those are corrected they win, usually going away. This is a championship roster if it's played like one.

McVay has a real weakness in that he tends to go away from what's working. He gets too cute sometimes and outsmarts himself. He also struggles to make halftime adjustments. His adjustments are merely tweaks and trying to clean things up and sometimes it's not enough. It was clear Michel was the better RB so why was he continually taken off the field? Most of the time Henderson goes down at first contact. It's no coincidence this offense is better with Michel. Defenses have to respect Michel's power running. He's more than proven he can get chunk yardage.

Morris also tends to go away from what is working. Once they have a lead he backs off allowing the opposition to stay in the game. He did it again with Seattle and could have cost them the game. Why was the Ram's slowest LB Jones (4.78) in man coverage with Dee Jay Dallas (4.58)? Why wasn't Hollins or Floyd or even Reader, all of whom have the speed to run with Dallas in coverage? If you are going to play man coverage then have players capable of playing it on the field. Just because Jones can play in zone doesn't mean the rookie can play in man coverage when he's the slowest LB on the field. Morris kept rotating Ramsey off of Metcalf...why? Staley understood you play your strength against their strength. Morris is like McVay in that sense. He goes away from what is working.

If McVay and Morris clean up their act they have the players to dominate in games. McVay needs to take what is given and ride Michel as his bell-cow RB. Morris needs to play tight defense from beginning to game end. I say again if the Rams don't beat themselves they can beat anyone.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

IMO. Control Samuel, don’t lose the turnover battle and the Rams win.

They have a great TE to worry about too

 

[bomebadeeda]

Our defense is starting to gel. Are we a juggernaut....... no....or not yet. But slowly but surely we are turning into a team no one wants to play in the playoffs. But we need to take it one game at a time. There is no "dominate" team out there. Every team has blemishes. We gave Green Bay 7 points and 2 other fumbles deep into our territory. We lost by 8 points. I would think GB doesn't want any part of us. Or Dallas with the now suspect offensive line. Or Tampa whose had secondary problems all year. Nothing has been decided. But we have as good of a chance as anyone right now. So...... was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell No!
Go Rams!

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

let me add this - the nfl is just so competitive now.

if we don't go far- I don't really think its because we are not good. When we went to the Super Bowl in 1999 we had a last place schedule which doenst exist anymore - and the nfc and our division was nowhere near as good as it is now. Not to mention the Titans were a solid team but nothing exceptional.

this year is just a different animal

Circumstances can play a big part in winning it all. Just like last year when ADs ribs were hurt or in 2018 Kupp was injured

 

[tklongball]

3rd string RT, No Practice, Tons of players on COVID Reserve List. Lots of adversity, and still a win. I will take it. The older I get, the more I see that some people are generally optimistic, and some people are pessimistic by nature. Not saying one is right and the other is wrong, but one way sure leads to less stress.

 

[snackdaddy]

There are a lot of teams that have questions. Tampa is one of the favorites with Tom Brady. And they were shut out last game. Cardinals were the top team the first half of the season. Now they're wondering if they can hold on to the division.

GB is the team who is winning most weeks. But the playoffs are a different animal. Things change week to week. I know our team is good enough. Will they get it done in the playoffs? I hope so.

 

[tklongball]

Also, hopefully, last night was a glimpse of things to come in that Hendo seemed to have several really physical runs. Maybe Sony's physicality is rubbing off on him.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

I was reading all the comments in here about the playoffs before the Seattle game and who people wanted/thought we'd get.

And I was thinking, I just want to make the playoffs, we still have a bunch of teams who are capable of tripping us up., I daren't get involved in this

I thought last night was going to be the easiest game and we won by 10, but it's impossible to ignore we got two very favourable calls and it took some Stafford/Cupp genius to pull it out.

Since losing to Green Bay, the Jags were awful, the Cards were pretty bad and the Seahawks played ok, but it's not like they're a good team and Wilson just looked off.

I'm not a glass half-empty kinda guy, I just have this nagging feeling we're not as good as we need to be to make a real run.

Just think of me as your youngest kid who has to go to the dentist and has all the mental strength of a kitten who has been relentlessly beaten senseless by its owner using another kitten as the weapon, and that's me at the moment.

Think about happened during those the 3 game losing streak and look at how we are playing now.

Losing steak:
We lost Woods and D Jackson, and OBJ was new and didn't know the offense.
Couldn't run the ball or stop the run. We were considered soft.
Reeder was abused in the middle of the field.

Adjustments during the 3 game win streak:
Passing offense is back in sync. OBJ has found a role and Van Jefferson is gaining confidence.
We can RUN! Jumbo packages and the emergence of Sony Michel has made the offense the most balanced it has ever been.
Ernest Jones has secured the starting MLB position.
Morris has figured out the best DB package with Ramsey, Williams, and Deayon.
The front seven! Floyd and Miller are setting the edge and Gaines is cleaning up in the middle of the field.

We just beat the Hawks without practicing all week. We can win any match up right now.

 

[Tano]

Our defense is starting to gel. Are we a juggernaut....... no....or not yet. But slowly but surely we are turning into a team no one wants to play in the playoffs. But we need to take it one game at a time. There is no "dominate" team out there. Every team has blemishes. We gave Green Bay 7 points and 2 other fumbles deep into our territory. We lost by 8 points. I would think GB doesn't want any part of us. Or Dallas with the now suspect offensive line. Or Tampa whose had secondary problems all year. Nothing has been decided. But we have as good of a chance as anyone right now. So...... was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell No!
Go Rams!

 

[Ballhawk]

This game scared me due to the circumstances going into it but the Rams prevailed. We beat the Cards on the road and without Ramsey!
Going into the playoffs the only team that concerns me is Green Bay and they just won a game they probably should have lost.
The Rams are capable of beating anyone anywhere anytime!

 

[MachS]

The biggest test will be week 17

Dont sleep on this week vs MIN. Vikings are sneaky good and lost 3 games this year in overtime or to a play to end the game. They could very easily be 10-4 as well.

I agree SF will be extremely tough to win, but this MIN game will be twice as hard as beating SEA.

 

[Angry Ram]

I was reading all the comments in here about the playoffs before the Seattle game and who people wanted/thought we'd get.

And I was thinking, I just want to make the playoffs, we still have a bunch of teams who are capable of tripping us up., I daren't get involved in this

I thought last night was going to be the easiest game and we won by 10, but it's impossible to ignore we got two very favourable calls and it took some Stafford/Cupp genius to pull it out.

Since losing to Green Bay, the Jags were awful, the Cards were pretty bad and the Seahawks played ok, but it's not like they're a good team and Wilson just looked off.

I'm not a glass half-empty kinda guy, I just have this nagging feeling we're not as good as we need to be to make a real run.

Just think of me as your youngest kid who has to go to the dentist and has all the mental strength of a kitten who has been relentlessly beaten senseless by its owner using another kitten as the weapon, and that's me at the moment.

Teams win all the time by the skin of their teeth. Just how the NFL operates.

 

[Merlin]

Toughen up buttercup. If you cannot enjoy this then what is the point of following a team?

Embrace the unknown and enjoy watching it unfold.

 

[Curt760]

I love how this season is going actually. Beside GB and TB every team showed that they can be beat on any given Sunday. Then watching TB lose to Saints makes me even happier. No more boring seasons when the usual teams are way out ahead of everybody. With new QB and losing good players and coaches, the Rams are doing great.

 

[RamsSince1969]

Our defense is starting to gel. Are we a juggernaut....... no....or not yet. But slowly but surely we are turning into a team no one wants to play in the playoffs. But we need to take it one game at a time. There is no "dominate" team out there. Every team has blemishes. We gave Green Bay 7 points and 2 other fumbles deep into our territory. We lost by 8 points. I would think GB doesn't want any part of us. Or Dallas with the now suspect offensive line. Or Tampa whose had secondary problems all year. Nothing has been decided. But we have as good of a chance as anyone right now. So...... was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell No!
Go Rams!

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Dont sleep on this week vs MIN. Vikings are sneaky good and lost 3 games this year in overtime or to a play to end the game. They could very easily be 10-4 as well.

I agree SF will be extremely tough to win, but this MIN game will be twice as hard as beating SEA.

I’m not looking past any games. But remember the Rams had no practice for a week. Some of the game plan was decided the day of the game once they knew who they had available. I think Seattle normally would have been a lesser contest.

The Vikings are good, but there losses, except for one game against Green Bay were to the only good teams they played, plus Detroit. Most of their schedule was weak. But ‘on any given Sunday’ right?

 

[MachS]

I’m not looking past any games. But remember the Rams had no practice for a week. Some of the game plan was decided the day of the game once they knew who they had available. I think Seattle normally would have been a lesser contest.

The Vikings are good, but there losses, except for one game against Green Bay were to the only good teams they played, plus Detroit. Most of their schedule was weak. But ‘on any given Sunday’ right?

Ive watched a lot of their games because I have both Jefferson and Cousins in fantasy. Their offense can be pretty unstoppable at times with Jefferson, Thelin, and Cook. Cousins is the most underrated QB in the NFL I think. He's been balling out this year. But their defense has impressed me most. Zimmer is one of the best defensive minds in football. Harrison Smith is arguably the best safety in football. They play a ton of double A gap pressure, show 6 at the line and blitz or drop from that look. But when they blitz it's normally from the double A gap look and not an overload type look from the nickel. The like to pressure over the center from the interior and we have issues with the interior OL so it's concerning to me. We are the better team and should win but this game will be our toughest in months IMO.

They lost to the Bengals in OT. Lost to Baltimore in OT. Lost to AZ because their kicker missed a 30yard game winner as time expired. And they just lost to Detroit when Goff threw the TD to win the game as time expired. They could literally be 11-3 very easily. They're fucking good man.

 

[payote75]

To me I get nervous too but that win I don't think you can put a price on it. With everything we faced all the adversity no practice half the O-line missing. You actually seriously cannot put a price on a win like that it brings the team closer together unifies them and it does more for the team than if they had won 45-3.

Can't go into the playoffs thinking talent alone gets you to win and the Rams more than anyone are succeptible to that because of their roster. Best to have a gut check slug fest heading into the next tough games keep you on your toes than to coast. I too want blowouts and pretty wins and as I said was nervous yesterday but they overcame a lot and all you can ask for is a shot in the playoffs and we most certainly have that.

 

[RamUK]

Toughen up buttercup. If you cannot enjoy this then what is the point of following a team?

Embrace the unknown and enjoy watching it unfold.

Anxiety is excitement without the oxygen. Who said I wasn't enjoying it?