Is the pressure getting to McVay and the Rams?

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BonifayRam

Legend
Joined
Jan 14, 2013
Messages
13,435
Name
Vernon
I can almost hear the hoots, shouting, and hollering from the film room.

McVay has some decisions to make concerning much needed defensive coaching and player changes this offseason.
Todd Bowles is about to be fired by the Jets he runs a 34 D & killed the Rams for several seasons as the DC for the Cards.
 

Kentuckyrams

Hall of Fame
Joined
Apr 22, 2016
Messages
2,038
There's a lot to be concerned about, but there are a few that really stand out to me:

1. Offensive line has regressed as year has went along, and everything starts up front. If the line can't open holes, no running game. No running game, no play-action, which was our strength earlier in the year. Age, maybe?

2. Goff is off. Partly the O-line, partly trying to do too much. Hopefully not signs of happy feet or early onset Bulgeritis. He's made some crap reads, stared down receivers, and sailed a lot of passes, three straight weeks. Too early to tell if he's the next Brady or the next Andy Dalton.

3. Defense in general. Lots of big names but no cohesion, no consistent stretches of great play. Has any "dream team" of free agents ever really turned into a dominant unit? We lose gaps and edge consistently against the run, and our secondary has at least 2-3 blown coverages a game. Linebackers can't cover the tight end, and we lack a shutdown corner. All we needed was for the defense to be above average to good, but they've been mediocre to poor, which was a big disappointment. Offense covered them for the first half of the season, but definitely exposed of late.

4.Some worrisome decisions in coaching on both sides of the ball. Too much reliance on 11 personnel, abandoning the running game, continuing to try to throw deep when protection isn't there on O. On D, trying to make Peters an on the ball cb, unwillingness to blitz more, staying with Barron and other lbs when it's clear it's not working. Maybe the bench isn't any better, but when what you have isn't working...

Right now we look like the early 80s Chargers: tons of passing yards and points during the regular season, but turnovers and bad D caught up to them in the playoffs. In 1980, they were 4th in offense, 18th in D. We're 2nd and 20th. Unless we get things on track in two short weeks, I think it's one and done again, with some serious questions about D, including scheme, and O line and whether other teams have figured out our O.
 

Prime Time

PT
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Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
20,922
Name
Peter
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/12/17/18144418/game-changing-plays-week-15-jared-goff-khalil-mack

Jared Goff Throws It Away on Third Down
By Danny Kelly

Should we start worrying about the Rams offense?

For the second straight week, Goff struggled to deal with pressure, again derailing what had been a seemingly unstoppable passing game for most of the year. The Eagles took a page out of the Bears’ playbook, sending rushers from all angles to force Goff into off-target throws and discombobulate the Rams’ typically disciplined pass-protection unit.

This third-down throwaway early in the third quarter wasn’t necessarily the pivotal play of the game, but it was representative of the team’s overall inability to adjust to what defenses have thrown at them the past two weeks. The Eagles sent six on a blitz and linebacker Nigel Bradham came through virtually untouched.

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That play looked like a missed blitz pickup by running back John Kelly, but it wasn’t an isolated incident. The offensive line’s inability to protect Goff over the past month is turning into a big problem. Coming into Sunday’s game, the Rams were already trending in the wrong direction:


View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Zoltan/status/1072216507822821376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1072216507822821376&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theringer.com%2Fnfl%2F2018%2F12%2F17%2F18144418%2Fgame-changing-plays-week-15-jared-goff-khalil-mack

In the three-game stretch from weeks 11 to 14, Goff’s passer rating under pressure was a dismal 14.3, per Pro Football Focus—27th out of 27 qualifying passers—with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. His 25.0 percent accuracy rate also ranked dead last.

That’s rookie-year-level Goff … or worse. And Sunday night’s performance didn’t alleviate any of those concerns: Under siege for much of the game, Goff threw another two picks to push his two-game line to zero touchdowns and six interceptions.

Look, it’s easy to say that the “blueprint” for stopping the Rams is to pressure the hell out of Goff; that’s probably the blueprint for beating everyone. And not every team is blessed with the depth and talent that the Eagles and Bears have up front. Still, there’s cause for concern for Goff’s far-below average performance under pressure.

The NFC playoff field is stacked with quality pass-rushing teams: The Saints boast the league’s hottest pass-rushing defensive line right now, while the Vikings (should they hold on to the sixth seed) have an incredible array of talent up front.

In any case, the Rams have two games left to right the ship, and it starts with figuring out how to give Goff cleaner pockets and more time to throw. If they can’t, it’s not going to matter what they did early in the season.
 

janthony6

UDFA
Joined
Oct 8, 2018
Messages
83
The blueprint is play a quarters defense that forces Goff to throw into tighter windows and be more accurate.

Teams that do this with a good pass rush give themselves a good chance to stop us.

McVay has done a very poor job of adjusting the game plan to include audibles to shorter quick hitting throws. We typically have Gurley or someone else in the flat but we need Loren plays that force the defense to come out of that look.

Instead Goff is taking hits early, getting his timing disrupted, and then becoming even more errant on throws later as he anticipates the pressure and hits.