Maher career long 63

[den-the-coach]

That Holding Call was WEAK !! Big Rob was just staying with the play.He’s just working threw the play imo.

I think the holding call was legit, plus right in front of the Ref too. Although the PI on Nacua should have been called too IMHO, but I knew unless the DB tore him down to the ground, it would not be called.

 

[So Ram]

A lot of what ifs. I thought they shoulda made up their mind to go for it on 4th down and take an easier shorter route for about 7-10 yards. Or a shorter field goal attempt. Asking our defense to get a stop was asking too much.

Mcvay was throwing (Stafford?) under the bus. He blames himself BigTime.He also said it was execution.

He said he trusted the defense,but yes of course now would have went for it? 4-13. That HOLD was BS!! He was jumping & pulling his hand out.
Hard call!! In the NBA it’s like a player locking there arm under yours. Stafford roled late.That play probably should’ve been a running play on 2nd down.The Rams needed to run clock anyway.Kyren Williams was banged up.Ronnie River though was playing well.

Mcvay (Rams) doesn’t do well in those short yard’s situations.I think Kyren is a great 3rd down & short RB though.Rivers is tougher than he gets credit for.
—There’s a what if though.4 plus minutes .

Sean Mcvay has to know this is The Last DRIVE! He (Rams) already lost that option once you take 2 TIMEOUTS.The 2 MINUTE WARNING doesn’t mean CRAP at that point.

Detroit had 3 Timeouts so they could control the clock with 45 seconds easily. We’ve all seen that. The GIANTS Game is an EXAMPLE ? Besides all those others in the past.
—Tom Brady last year.That was a big game at the time in 2022. Seems like forever ago,but in reality look at Cinncy game ?(Steelers).

As a Play Caller late in games IMO it was Sean Mcvay’s WORST SEASON Play calling !! The good thing is we know where this TEAM is & WILL get BETTER year in & year out.

This Draft will be interesting. Carson Wentz future as a Ram ?
Looking at The 2023 Draft Stenson Bennett got The most High 5’s !!

Watching JOHNSON at the 4th qrt of a Playoff Game & Beating the 9ers.

What if Hampton wasn’t (D—B) late on hitting GOFF !! Freaking What if THE REF calls The REAL ROUGJING of The QB ??? How many times in Stafford.The one where 2 players laid him flat & his EYES rolled back. Or the 1 where he had to get his hand (throwing) got taped & was bleeding ?

 

[AvengerRam]

Field position is meaningless at that point.

They don't need to score at that point just get a couple of first downs to run out the clock.

Same as if we punted.

I disagree. If we pinned them back at the 5 yard line, they might have been reluctant to let Goff throw the ball, giving us a better chance of getting a three and out by focusing on the run. Instead, they were set up at the 17, and were comfortable running their offense.

There's no clear "right answer" here. A FG is a great option... if it works. A punt could have been a great option... if we got a 3 and out. Going for it would have been a great option... if we picked up the first down.

Shame that a terrible non-call by the refs put us in that position.

 

[So Ram]

Field position is meaningless at that point.

They don't need to score at that point just get a couple of first downs to run out the clock.

Same as if we punted.

Yep - because it was only a 1 point game.

The thing is is how close does Maher have to be ? It’s the same from 40 as it is from 50 plus ?

This off season is only going to make The Tams better.

Playing at Tampa Bay & Mayfield would have been fun. Plus the FACT of how well The Rams will match up.

The 9ers have a Cake Walk if you ask me !

 

[RamWoodie]

It never should have come down to a 61 yard FG. The game was lost when they settled for FGs on 3 redzone possessions. McVay fell back into his pressing mode of playcalling.

This also shows McVay he needs a true pile moving RB for short yardage and inside the 10 yard redzone possessions. He should give Jonah Williams practice as a short yardage RB. Jonah Williams is 6'5" 300lbs and simply a beast. All he would need to do is fall foward and he's got 2 yards, He's got incredible power. Before his draft he thought about going in as a TE because he can handle the ball. Run Jonah twice and you will get 3 yds minimum.

Lance Zierlein said this about him:
"Sled-pusher as drive blocker, creating push with flat-back, rolled hips and churning legs."

C'mon Sean get creative!

This folks!!! The Rams have a great coach...no doubt about it...but the best thing he can do is to let his OC do the play calling...for his own good. If he lets La Fleur do the play calling he's better off.

Look at the 9er game. Did you notice the difference in the play calls? McVay has a "Martz Factor" in him when it comes to the pass game and he forgets the run game when it too, can be a great factor in the offense. McVay showed no faith in Willams in three red zone visits that resulted in field goals, when if he gets a TD on just one, THE RAMS WIN!!!

There were multiple ways to use him! Hand off, to the right behind Hav & Dotson, wide pitch to the wide side, playfake with a screen, etc. McVay did none of that with a stellar QB that can make any throw you can think of.

THAT IS THE MAIN REASON THE RAMS SEASON ENDED!!! McVay has to give up the play calling...we've seen him call this team out of wins a few times. I think he needs to give it up!!!

 

[So Ram]

I disagree. If we pinned them back at the 5 yard line, they might have been reluctant to let Goff throw the ball, giving us a better chance of getting a three and out by focusing on the run. Instead, they were set up at the 17, and were comfortable running their offense.

There's no clear "right answer" here. A FG is a great option... if it works. A punt could have been a great option... if we got a 3 and out. Going for it would have been a great option... if we picked up the first down.

Shame that a terrible non-call by the refs put us in that position.

You’re talking DAN CAMPBElL. He knows a FG wins it.

The thing is is you can’t trust Maher from less than 30 yards out.You have to get to the Red Zone. Those holding Calls are Killer.

We can go back & forth all day on could’ve should’ve.Either way Sean Mcvay (put himself) has a hard decision.You can win it loss both ways.

The 1 Timeout makes your case a little better? Detroit also knows the score. They still control the clock in the end as well with there 3 .

 

[Rams8821]

The 9ers have a Cake Walk if you ask me !

100% agree. We were the best chance to knock em out.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I think that after the refs blew the 3rd and long PI to Puka, the right call was to go on 4th. Maybe you get a makeup call.

Of course if we had a real kicker I’d absolutely choose to kick a long FG…but we didn’t so I’d go on 4th.

I didn’t hate the punt at the time because our D had awakened in the 2nd half, but the Lions had a ton of confidence I believe in getting a couple clutch first downs. I guess McVay felt differently.

 

[Ellard80]

I disagree. If we pinned them back at the 5 yard line, they might have been reluctant to let Goff throw the ball, giving us a better chance of getting a three and out by focusing on the run. Instead, they were set up at the 17, and were comfortable running their offense.

There's no clear "right answer" here. A FG is a great option... if it works. A punt could have been a great option... if we got a 3 and out. Going for it would have been a great option... if we picked up the first down.

Shame that a terrible non-call by the refs put us in that position. you said "If we miss the lions then get a short field to put the game away" which every time I've ever heard that phrasing is relating to them scoring points to end the game.

You said "We miss the field goal and we give them a short field to end the game," that line of reasoning typically indicates that now they are going to go score points with the short field to end the game.

That's what I was referring to about field position.

Now your point about the punt being problematic I can agree.

However, knowing Campbell I don't think it would have mattered much - he would have thrown it no matter what.

Yeah, there is no perfect answer for sure - I felt that punting was the worse decision of the three, me and the handful of Rams fans I was with all felt like that was ball game when the punt went off and sadly it ended up being the case. With only 1 timeout left it just felt like the chances were slim

 

[Ellard80]

I think that after the refs blew the 3rd and long PI to Puka, the right call was to go on 4th. Maybe you get a makeup call.

Of course if we had a real kicker I’d absolutely choose to kick a long FG…but we didn’t so I’d go on 4th.

I didn’t hate the punt at the time because our D had awakened in the 2nd half, but the Lions had a ton of confidence I believe in getting a couple clutch first downs. I guess McVay felt differently.

Yeah, I would rather have the ball in Stafford's hands or going for the FG then putting the match up of our defense against their offense.

There offense is their strength and their o-line is dominant - with only 1 timeout just felt like the wrong move.

IF we go for it or miss the FG - the defense still have the opportunity to stop them.

 

[So Ram]

I think the holding call was legit, plus right in front of the Ref too. Although the PI on Nacua should have been called too IMHO, but I knew unless the DB tore him down to the ground, it would not be called.

Not going to make excuses.Puka is taking it The Best !! It only is going to make the engine run that much harder in the offseason for this young group of Ram Players. Fire in the belly & they got a taste of making the playoffs.
Fair enough though.This wasn’t suppose to be The Rams year.

 

[So Ram]

I think that after the refs blew the 3rd and long PI to Puka, the right call was to go on 4th. Maybe you get a makeup call.

Of course if we had a real kicker I’d absolutely choose to kick a long FG…but we didn’t so I’d go on 4th.

I didn’t hate the punt at the time because our D had awakened in the 2nd half, but the Lions had a ton of confidence I believe in getting a couple clutch first downs. I guess McVay felt differently.

The 1 timeout was why you’d go for it. If The rams had all 3 (even 2) then it’s a lot easier choice to punt it.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Evans doesn't have a lot of touch or finesse on his punts yet so maybe that should have been at least partially considered, Not to knock Ethan as I am a big fan but to make an analogous point if we have Hekker there we likely pin them back and then as mentioned above the Lions become very conservative.

 

[Ellard80]

Evans doesn't have a lot of touch or finesse on his punts yet so maybe that should have been at least partially considered, Not to knock Ethan as I am a big fan but to make an analogous point if we have Hekker there we likely pin them back and then as mentioned above the Lions become very conservative.

Yeah Evans has power but not much accuracy or touch or hangtime - he is pretty average.

 

[So Ram]

This. Give a kick a chance… it was the best % option.

After our kicking adventures this season; It would have been crazy if Maher drilled it.

Well then you give Detroit the ball back with 4 minutes & 4 timeouts only down 2 points.

The 3rd down & 3 play call was what hurt. You’re basically in 4th down territory of the game.3 yards on 2 downs. Run some clock & control the game.

-That is just how I was looking at it.The Rams only had 1 timeout.

I think the holding call was legit, plus right in front of the Ref too. Although the PI on Nacua should have been called too IMHO, but I knew unless the DB tore him down to the ground, it would not be called.

Yeah - Big Rob owns it & knows he can’t do that. Still hurts though.

Rob Havenstein talks final thoughts on Rams' 2023 season, message to young roster entering 2024 offseason

Rams OL Rob Havenstein discusses his takeaways from the team's 2023 season and his message to a young team as it goes into the 2024 offseason.

www.therams.com

 

[gabriel18]

No way I’m sending Maher out there for a 61 yard field goal. Better chance of getting a 4th and 14 , than him making it.

 

[OntarioRam]

No way I’m sending Maher out there for a 61 yard field goal. Better chance of getting a 4th and 14 , than him making it.

I agree. Maher is mentally broken now. Zero way I send him out there in that pressure filled situation, in that crazy loud stadium, to kick from that distance. If it was 40 yards out or even 50 yards out that is a completely different scenario.

I'd much rather have went for it on 4th down than punt. But I am not so sure kicking the FG over punting would have been wise. Not with the way our defence was playing in that 2nd half. A quick 3 and out, statistically, I think had more chances of success than Maher hitting the FG. I'd have been okay kicking. But I do think punting was likely safer.

Going for it on 4th down would have been the best option of the 3. Even if we don't convert, maybe it draws a penalty.