Now that a few are thinking of playoffs

[oldnotdead]

Buoyed by the fact the Rams are 3-3 and except for some egregious officiating calls their record could be much better it's still better than many on this board expected back in August. One thing I've always felt is that sometimes being a wildcard is better than being the division winner. That was proved in the 2021 season. Unless you are seeded 1 or 2 being the top wildcard is far better than being ranked 3 or 4.

The Rams play well away. The fact that SoFi is usually a home/away game in terms of fan noise, the benefit is that the Rams fare better as an away team than many other teams. So don't think that not being the division winner is not good, when in fact it may or may not be the case. IMO seeds 1, 2 and 5 are the best playoff slots to be in.

So looking at the number 5 spot it's clear the Rams need to beat the Seahawks, Cowboys, Packers, Saints and Commodes if nothing else than for seeding purposes. I'm not saying being the division winner is a bad thing, only being a wildcard is often underrated. The Rams are really fortunate to play all of the above potential rivals for playoff seeding considerations. Every one of those games is winnable.

This is why IMO the Ram's playoff run begins next Sunday. A whole lot of you probably thought that this prospect was out of reach this year. But look at the way this team is beginning to play. They simply need to put it all together and this is a good team and not the loser the media predicted. Both Purdy and Geno came back to reality on Sunday. I wish you could see how big my grin is right now.

 

[Tumak61]

The Legend of Brock Purdy. Almost did a spit take when the announcer spewed that out. Rams are looking good, but, pass rush remains an issue. Kupp and Nacua aren't quite jiving together yet, although maybe expectations were too high there. Offense very inconsistent so far. Defense plays well at times. 3-3 now. Need Stafford to play at a higher level consistently.

 

[OntarioRam]

The rough part of the Rams' schedule is over. I expect this team to be fighting for a playoff spot by year's end. We have a good roster, so I think we sneak in. It will be fun to watch down the stretch for sure to see how it plays out! Next year, the roster will move from "good" to "great", IMO, if we can have a strong draft yield again and weaponize our cap space with a good free agent signing or two. Kupp, Donald, and Stafford are showing absolutely no signs of slowing down which is huge. It keeps the window open.

Every single remaining game to me appears to have victory plausible. I don't expect the Rams to run the board, or even come close to it. But the point is, nobody remaining IMO has a roster so strong when stacked up against the Rams' that it is a "sure loss" (at this rate, by week 18, SF will be resting players). Before the season began, I thought SF, Philly, and Cincinnati were all in that group by week 4 alone. We did lose to all 3 in the end. But that is why you have to play the games - Cincy has been meh, and the Rams really should have beaten them when Burrow was still neutering their offence with his calf injury. Boy, would it be great to be 4-2 right now.

Injuries can of course throw a wrench into any team's plans.

Raheem Morris quietly having by far his best year in horns. Defence has been spectacular given the talent available.

 

[Psycho_X]

I knew Raheem Morris would do a fantastic job with this young defense.

 

[snackdaddy]

Yes, we can start thinking about playoffs. They look as good as any second tier NFC team. But we gotta expect some hiccups. Its a very young defense. Mistakes are gonna happen. Giving up final play first half touchdowns were a couple they already made. Who knows how those games woulda looked.

I see enough potential wins left on the schedule to easily make the playoffs. But its the NFL. It changes week to week. Any given Sunday and all that. Odds are there will be a winnable game or two we don't win. But in the same token, being the NFL, its possible there will be a game or two we win that we didn't expect to.

 

[ReekofRams]

PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS? ARE YOU ASKING ME ABOUT PLAYOFFS?

I’ll consider it when we we get some outside help for rushing the QB.

 

[Tano]

I thought we would be 2-4 after 6 games so I am only 1 game off and I also stated that our young players may start to play with more cohesiveness in the second half of the year. I am surprised that they are already showing cohesiveness in the secondary.

Put Hoecht in as a DL, replace Hoecht at OLB with a Mathis, Vanvalkenburg or Hampton rotation and replace Rozeboom with Lake or JJ3 and I think our defense will be really good.

 

[Memento]

I thought we would be 2-4 after 6 games so I am only 1 game off and I also stated that our young players may start to play with more cohesiveness in the second half of the year. I am surprised that they are already showing cohesiveness in the secondary.

Put Hoecht in as a DL, replace Hoecht at OLB with a Mathis, Vanvalkenburg or Hampton rotation and replace Rozeboom with Lake or JJ3 and I think our defense will be really good.

I'd actually like to see Hoecht dealt. I'm sorry, but if we can return a pick for him, that would be great, and you've already got a good rotation in Mathis/VanValkenburg/Kier Thomas. I'd like to see more of Desjuan Johnson on the D-line. I'd also like to see Hampton moved to inside linebacker. We know he can pressure, we know he has sideline-to-sideline speed. Put him somewhere where his size won't hamper him.

 

[Loyal]

I thought we would be 2-4 after 6 games so I am only 1 game off and I also stated that our young players may start to play with more cohesiveness in the second half of the year. I am surprised that they are already showing cohesiveness in the secondary.

Put Hoecht in as a DL, replace Hoecht at OLB with a Mathis, Vanvalkenburg or Hampton rotation and replace Rozeboom with Lake or JJ3 and I think our defense will be really good.

Homer Simpson!

 

[Loyal]

Welp, since my preseason prediction was for the Rams to finish at 9-8, I guess the OP wasn't talking about me....Just @Merlin

EDIT: to 9-8. reflecting a 17 game schedule.

 

[Oregonram]

The Legend of Brock Purdy. Almost did a spit take when the announcer spewed that out. Rams are looking good, but, pass rush remains an issue. Kupp and Nacua aren't quite jiving together yet, although maybe expectations were too high there. Offense very inconsistent so far. Defense plays well at times. 3-3 now. Need Stafford to play at a higher level consistently.

I think the Kupp/Nacua thing is more of a Stafford Issue as in who he is looking for. Any slight hesitation on his part has the ball coming out a nano second late. Time is the only answer here..they need to both be in the game together for Staff to start picking his spots between the 2 of them. Tutu is different in that he is the outside speed guy, so he gets exclusive looks.

 

[Merlin]

Welp, since my preseason prediction was for the Rams to finish at 9-7, I guess the OP wasn't talking about me....Just @Merlin

I think I was 7 wins with a +/- of 3. Can't recall but I became more unsure of things due to OL worries as the season got close. Either way though I had no real idea other than I didn't think ruling them out of the playoffs was smart due to McVay, who always gets the most from a roster.

Defense is better than I expected, though I did expect the secondary to be a strength for us in spite of Ramsey being booted. But I didn't expect 3-3 over the first six games. Latter half of the sched gets easier so this is a serious darkhorse team right now.

If things continue this direction, i.e. if health favors us, Morris is gonna be a strong HC candidate and Pleasant might get looks too. Truth is nowadays defense is all about the secondary. Stopping the pass is premium, as that reduces points against most effectively. We have a fantastic DL coach, probably the best in the league, but I wouldn't be too comfortable with him as DC because I'd wonder about his grasp of the back end. He'd need to retain a guy like Pleasant.

 

[Merlin]

Also and btw things could still turn very sour for us with only a couple key injuries. So I think victory laps are premature.

 

[Loyal]

I think I was 7 wins with a +/- of 3. Can't recall but I became more unsure of things due to OL worries as the season got close. Either way though I had no real idea other than I didn't think ruling them out of the playoffs was smart due to McVay, who always gets the most from a roster.

Defense is better than I expected, though I did expect the secondary to be a strength for us in spite of Ramsey being booted. But I didn't expect 3-3 over the first six games. Latter half of the sched gets easier so this is a serious darkhorse team right now.

If things continue this direction, i.e. if health favors us, Morris is gonna be a strong HC candidate and Pleasant might get looks too. Truth is nowadays defense is all about the secondary. Stopping the pass is premium, as that reduces points against most effectively. We have a fantastic DL coach, probably the best in the league, but I wouldn't be too comfortable with him as DC because I'd wonder about his grasp of the back end. He'd need to retain a guy like Pleasant.

Kendrick got arrested early this morning. SONOFA, no shyte.

 

[Merlin]

Kendrick got arrested early this morning. SONOFA, no shyte.

Tomlinson will probably step in and kill it in his place if necessary. But if anything else happens from there we fucked.

 

[leoram]

Steve Smith didn't see Puka in the Bobby Trees role, but Kupp confirmed it in an interview. When Sean's primary intent of a play targets a specific player, you can usually count on it going that way. This is why Puka had so many targets, because he could be trusted to run his route tree. With Kupp back, the choice routes re enter the offense. This, their third year together developing the rules of the choice routes, is a special time between Matthew and Cooper. Puka won't see as many targets, but there will be games where he has a role similar to what OBJ filled in his time here. If I were to guess, I'd say Puka should have more yards than Cooper 2 or three times this year.

I'm okay with Atwell getting two or three splash opportunities a game as long as we start increasing passes for the backs and TE's. Along with an effective running game, I want defenses to respect every facet because this squad is capable of it when the OLine is effective. That last line, frankly, is more important than the rest of this post.

 

[Loyal]

Tomlinson will probably step in and kill it in his place if necessary. But if anything else happens from there we fucked.

We are always OK with a 1st rounder to use....

 

[Merlin]

We are always OK with a 1st rounder to use....

I'm fine with a higher pick if that's how things go, for the record. Still don't think this team is a real threat to challenge the top contenders in the playoffs, though I'd love to be wrong.

 

[oldnotdead]

We already have a starting CB sitting on the PS. Check out Ojemudia's pro football reference stats. Why was Kendrick starting and Michael on the PS? He's 6'1" runs a 4.45 in the 40.

 

[Flint]

I knew Raheem Morris would do a fantastic job with this young defense.

There was so much bitching about Raheem and his scheme last year, they’ve proven to be a feisty group that’s getting better. Glad to see he’s getting a little credit.