NFL takes notice / Monday after

[CGI_Ram]

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/1...he-same-breath-sunday-and-its-not-crazy-talk/

The Rams and the Super Bowl were mentioned in the same breath Sunday, and it’s not crazy talk

By VINCENT BONSIGNORE

The Rams have been so bad for so long it’s understandable how the rest of the NFL might have raised a bit of a skeptical eye over the first eight games of the season.

That is, if anyone has even been paying attention to what’s been going on in Los Angeles in the first place.

The Rams winning six of their first eight games and Jared Goff emerging as a franchise-caliber quarterback and Sean McVay cooking up magical and innovative games plans to breathe a whole bunch of life into a long-morbid offense.

The skepticism was understandable, given the recent history.

But a mistake nonetheless.

So let’s just consider what unfolded on Sunday in their 33-7 victory over the Houston Texans a very necessary and very powerful heads up.

The Rams are officially a problem for the rest of the NFL.

And not just as a potential playoff contender or division champion problem, either.

The Rams are a bona fide Super Bowl contender.

They aren’t just walking the walk, either. They’re talking the talk.

“For sure,” declared All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald when asked if the Rams had it in them to make a run to the Super Bowl.

To understand why or how such a crazy proposition is even being contemplated nine games into the season, you simply had to witness the way the Rams flicked off a sluggish first half like so much lint on a sports jacket, only to come out roaring in the third quarter by dropping a 21-0 hammer on the Texans.

Good teams don’t do that.

At least not with the precision and savagery the Rams did while pummeling the poor Texans with a flurry of quick and decisive second-half punches.

Great teams do.

And the Rams are awakening as nothing less than one of the elite teams in the NFL.

They played their worst first offensive half of the season on Sunday. Partly due to the Texans defensive tenacity and approach, and partially due to uncharacteristic unforced errors.

They didn’t panic. They didn’t fret. They weren’t even particularly worried.

They simply gathered themselves at halftime and promised to calm down and eliminate the self-inflicted wounds.

“It wasn’t really adjustments,” said guard Jamon Brown. “It was more like, we just need to grab our poise. There were some mistakes we made early on, it kind of rattled us, but the coaches came in and got everyone together, told everyone to just stay poised and just do what we do.”

And then they proceeded to waylay the Texans.

“We’re a group that, when we face adversity, we don’t blink,” said center John Sullivan.

They just regroup, reset and come out slugging.

“It’s all confidence, momentum.” said Goff. “And we know at some point it’s going to pop. And in the second half, it did.”

It would be a thing of beauty if it weren’t so damned scary.

Goff had 104 yards passing in the first half with zero touchdowns. He finished with a career high 355 yards and three touchdowns, including a back-breaking 94-yard touchdown throw to Robert Woods that punished the Texans for continually stacking the line of scrimmage with defenders.

“When you commit as many guys as they did to the box it usually it ends up burning you,” Sullivan said. “And they got burned on the 94-yard touchdown to Robert.”

Woods’ long touchdown early in the third quarter did more than stake the Rams to a 16-7 lead and create a little breathing room. It literally uncaged the most powerful offense in the NFL on the Texans.

Coupled with a defense that’s given up just 24 points over the past three games – and just a lone first-half touchdown to the Texans – the Rams turned a close game into a laugher in a matter of minutes.

Where they had been sluggish and indecisive and out of rhythm over the first two quarters, all of a sudden it was back to being the powerful, explosive offensive that’s been running opponents off the field the last two months.

“The guys just stayed together and just kept competing and worried about the next snap because that’s the only thing we can control is what’s next,” McVay said.

On a day where nothing came easy over the first 30 minutes, only to walk off the field at the Coliseum with a blowout win is a startling reminder just how potent the Rams have become.

“To feel like we did offensively, not feeling like we played our best or to the level we know we can, yet to look up and see 33 points it definitely gives you a lot of confidence,” said Brown.

It’s one thing to even have the kind of hammer the Rams are wielding these days.

It’s another thing altogether to know how to use it.

The Rams are in select company in that regard.

“We’re playing with confidence right now, and that’s a good place to be,” Goff said.

There’s still a long way to go.

But the Rams are legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

 

[CGI_Ram]

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/13/bonsignore-rams-put-the-nfl-on-notice-with-one-play/

Bonsignore: Rams put the NFL on notice with one play

As if the Rams weren’t becoming a big enough problem for the NFL, over the past few weeks they’ve added an important and scary weapon.

The Rams, it seems, can score from anywhere on the field.

Last week it was Sammy Watkins and Jared Goff waylaying the Giants on a 67-yard touchdown pass, their first hook-up on a long ball after weeks of trying.

Later on, it was Robert Woods taking a screen pass on third and 33 to the house for a 52-yard touchdown.

All of which was merely a prelude to what happened Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Leading 9-7 early in the third quarter against a Houston defense that, frankly, was having its way against Goff and the Rams, and backed up at their own six-yard line, the assumption was the Rams would play it safe and try to buy themselves some breathing room with a few safe run plays.

“Obviously you’re always looking to score, but at the very least you want to get a couple of first times for your punt team and turn the field back over,” Rams center John Sullivan said.

Rams head coach Sean McVay had other ideas. The Texans were sticking with the same first-half plan of loading the line of scrimmage with defenders, and it offered McVay the chance to cash in on the big payday he anticipated after some coy first-half play-calling.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend to understand what plays Sean was setting up in the first half for the second,” Sullivan said with a sly smile. “But I know based on how they were playing, they were running linebackers through and changing their techniques at the snap. They wouldn’t play us straight up and in that way they were doing a good job of shutting down the run. But when you commit as many guys as they did to the box, eventually it burns you.”

That became clear when, on second and eight, Jared Goff went to hand off to Todd Gurley to the left, the same side of the line of scrimmage the Rams had run Gurley a handful of occasions in the first half. As suspected, the Texans defense flowed in that direction.

Only for Goff pull the ball back and drop back to pass.

Woods, lined up to the far right, ran a post pattern and from the right slot Cooper Kupp ran alongside him. As Woods and Kupp sprinted downfield, three Houston defenders converged on them in coverage.

Kupp eventually broke to the right after 15 yards, dragging his defender with him and forcing the safety to commit to him as well.

That left Woods, who continued running up field, in one-on-one coverage. It was a mismatch of epic proportions, and as Woods turned on the burners he easily eluded his defender. Goff, operating from a safe pocket after the play-action pass, double-cocked and heaved the ball 55 yards in the air to a wide-open Woods. The former USC star easily gathered it in and sprinted untouched to the end zone for a back-breaking 94-yard touchdown.

Just like that, the Rams led 16-7 on their way to a 33-7 blowout.

“It was crazy. Like I said, it was – they sent the ‘WILL’ (weak inside linebacker), they sent the corner and we picked it up, let (QB Jared) Goff get some space, do what he do and Rob do what he do,” Gurley said. “Ran right past the guy and go 94 yards. It doesn’t get much better than that for you to start right there inside (your end zone) and be able to go and execute.”

And in the process, they put something else out there on film.

Not only to plant a seed for future opponents, but also to add to their already growing self-confidence.

It’s the ability to deliver knockout punches from anywhere on the field.

And the peace of mind that when rhythm is hard to come by or running lanes aren’t easily available, they can strike quickly and powerfully with the big play.

The Rams have been successful mounting long scoring drives this year. It sure makes things easier when they can do it in one play sometimes.

“Anytime that you’re able to create some of the explosives that we did, I think it’s very, very helpful,” McVay said. “It’s too hard in this league to go 12 and 15 plays all the time against some of these defenses. So, to be able to get some of those chunk plays that alleviate the stress on having to just kind of having to go four and five (yards) all the way down the field was critical, and when you’ve got explosive playmakers like we do, it was big.”

The Rams came into Sunday with 40 plays of 20 yards or more – second in the NFL to the New Orleans Saints.

In addition to Woods’ 94-yard score, Gurley had a 34-yard run and a 43-yard pass reception and Watkins had a 24-yard catch-and-run.

More importantly, the Goff-to-Woods hook-up took a bite out of the Texans’ fight while igniting the Rams.

They went on to score 21 points in the third quarter to bust open a close game.

“It was fun. It was a lot of fun,” Goff said. “When it starts rolling like that, we start getting turnovers. Crowd gets into it, we start hitting big plays. We start hitting big plays, we score on the play after the turnover, that’s when you really starting getting the momentum you want. And I thought Sean (McVay) did a great job handling that with the play calls and just giving us stuff to succeed in the second half, especially just putting us in good spots.

“In his own way, his own self-evaluation, he’s done a great job of that all year just continuing to put us in great spots and I thought he did that all day.”

As if the Rams weren’t scary enough.

 

[Dxmissile]

This team is dangerous

 

[Dodgersrf]

Good teams don’t do that.

At least not with the precision and savagery the Rams did while pummeling the poor Texans with a flurry of quick and decisive second-half punches.

Great teams do.

It's nice to hear people talk about our Rams winning games, as opposed to our opponent losing.
Being called a great team? After all the losing seasons we've experienced, it feels a bit surreal.

“Obviously you’re always looking to score, but at the very least you want to get a couple of first times for your punt team and turn the field back over,” Rams center John Sullivan said.

Rams head coach Sean McVay had other ideas. The Texans were sticking with the same first-half plan of loading the line of scrimmage with defenders, and it offered McVay the chance to cash in on the big payday he anticipated after some coy first-half play-calling.

“Look, I’m not going to pretend to understand what plays Sean was setting up in the first half for the second,” Sullivan said with a sly smile. “But I know based on how they were playing, they were running linebackers through and changing their techniques at the snap. They wouldn’t play us straight up and in that way they were doing a good job of shutting down the run. But when you commit as many guys as they did to the box, eventually it burns you.”

This sounds like an Ali boxing match, not an NFL game. To bait an opponent for 2 quarters, only to come out swinging after they have shown their hand.
This coaching staff is absolutely amazing, from top to bottom.

 

[UKram]

We also have the biggest point differential in the entire league .. by about 30 point from the 2nd team (the eagles I believe )