Preseason Week 2 Post Game/Observations

[pmil66]

Rams had the ball on O over 36 min. Converted 8 of 15 3rd downs. Looks like we have an offensive coaching staff for the first time in many years.

 

[BonifayRam]

Refs still suck and can still kiss my ass.

-Flagging Joyner for hitting "defenseless" receiver shoulder to shoulder.
-Not flagging defender for laying out an actual defenseless receiver(Cooper).
-Not flagging defender for leading with crown on helmet to helmet hit that knocked out Thomas(most bullcrap missed call I have seen in a while).

Sure appears that the refs were hyper sensitive to ensure the safety of our opponents. The refs put Extra effort in exercising going blind @ the right times when the Rams were on the offense & seeing something that was not there when the Rams were hitting. Yes this ref unit was just plain awful & full of .

I will always remember #60 pile on kill #53 LB'er Thompson lower leg non call!

 

[LACHAMP46]

Our real issue is Higbee blocking right now. He's bordering Klopenstein territory. I'd make him a pass catcher only.

Naw, I'd put him in the pits with the big boys....let him hit the sled, and do one-on-ones with out best....soon as Donald returns...I'm lining him up in front of Everett, Higbee, and Hemingway. Quinn too.

 

[jetplt67]

THIS ^ was insane! I was screaming at the TV, especially when the announcer called it a clean hit, even after the replay!!:seizure:

The hit on Thomas is not deemed intentional helmet to helmet because Thomas ducked into it. Clean hit

The personal foul by Joyner was also not a penalty. I believe Joyner was ejected for it, as I didn't see him again after that play. It was his second personal foul. (I ref HS ball and it is an automatic ejection for 2 personal fouls for us and I believe that is the same for NFL)

 

[MTRamsFan]

Wasn't able to watch last night (damn wedding,) so started watching this morning. After watching both teams first series here are my initial thoughts. We put together a really good drive and getting the touchdown was huge. That is so big in terms of the team's psyche. I thought the first defensive series was hampered by two key mistakes First was the kick out of bounds. Why the hell isn't GZ kicking the ball into the "black hole." Instead, it appears he tried to angle it, thus putting Oakland on the 40, so they got 15 yards right off the bat, by starting at their 40 rather than the 25. Second, Joyner gets a 15 yard penalty giving Oakland another free 15 yards. So, we gave them 30 yards because of mental mistakes. It's these type of mistakes that cost teams wins, and I don't expect these mistakes from our veterans. I know they're correctable, but at least make Oakland drive the length of the field. Also, the 2nd penalty on Joyner was BS, and IMO there was no targeting on the play. He made contact on his shoulder pads. More to come.

 

[Tron]

I will always remember #60 pile on kill #53 LB'er Thompson lower leg non call!

Forgot about that late dirty BS. That was such a bad crew.

 

[Legatron4]

And let's not forget the cheap shot on Carlos Thompson that wasn't called.

I'm surprised our team didn't respond accordingly. I would have drop kicked the dude on the next play.

 

[RamBall]

The hit on Thomas is not deemed intentional helmet to helmet because Thomas ducked into it. Clean hit

The personal foul by Joyner was also not a penalty. I believe Joyner was ejected for it, as I didn't see him again after that play. It was his second personal foul. (I ref HS ball and it is an automatic ejection for 2 personal fouls for us and I believe that is the same for NFL)

I think Joyner got his bell rung on that bullshit call. He looked a little woozie when he got up, probably smart to hold him out after that.

 

[fearsomefour]

The blocking was there tonight. I'm good with him holding the ball if we're giving him time. No reason to rush throws if the OL is doing its job.

Obviously, it could be a problem if the OL has issues in the future, but I expect Goff would adjust. He was moving nicely in the pocket too today. We also got away with at least a couple blatant holds.

Gotta love the holds that aren't holds.
Both Goff and Mannion are moving in the pocket better than last year.
Probably a mix of confidence in the line and growth in their part.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Went back and looked at O snaps again. It cannot be overstated how JV high school our offenses were last year. This is preseason where we're not showing teams anything but the route concepts, play-action, play-calling tempo and movement before the snap, were just so much more imaginative than last year where everyone ran a 6 yard curl.

PS. Lack of penalties, yes we had some and even a false start but nothing like we did before. I mean, what the hell was all the O penalites about during Fisher's time?

PPS. Oline seems to really know their assignments. Last year they seemed lost a lot of times in who they were blocking.

 

[majrleaged]

Just watched the 1st half. My thoughts.
1. Champ you almost got your wish. If Sammy makes that catch in the end zone Goff has over 200 yrds.
2. The first play of the game got blown up by Hav's man not Brown's. In fact Brown did pretty well. He pulled into the left side and was a big reason Gurley got our first 1st down. Also did well on Gurley's TD. The line was solid. Would like to see how they hold up against the blitz. That is what changed in the Saints game last year. Once they started blitzing we fell apart and every team we played after that did the same.
3. Over the last 5 years I have seen many teams with wide open receivers and always wondered why ours never ran wide open. Looks like that problem is solved.
4. I noticed our DBs played off the line this time as apposed to last week it seemed they were in the receivers face all game. Seemed to be more space for the Traiders receivers. Either way, Hill sucks.
5. We will always have bad calls, but now I think the team is more likely to over come them.
6. Overall I have a good felling about the team and we saw what we should see this time of year against a basic defense. Didn't see much blitzing or anything complicated, but this was a huge confidence builder for the team and for us fans. Seeing the growth and the change of culture. Can't wait till the next game.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Also, I'm curious what the issue was getting the play calls in this game and if they get that cleaned up. Is that on McVay or Goff??

 

[WestCoastRam]

Just watched the 1st half. My thoughts.
1. Champ you almost got your wish. If Sammy makes that catch in the end zone Goff has over 200 yrds.
2. The first play of the game got blown up by Hav's man not Brown's. In fact Brown did pretty well. He pulled into the left side and was a big reason Gurley got our first 1st down. Also did well on Gurley's TD. The line was solid. Would like to see how they hold up against the blitz. That is what changed in the Saints game last year. Once they started blitzing we fell apart and every team we played after that did the same.
3. Over the last 5 years I have seen many teams with wide open receivers and always wondered why ours never ran wide open. Looks like that problem is solved.
4. I noticed our DBs played off the line this time as apposed to last week it seemed they were in the receivers face all game. Seemed to be more space for the Traiders receivers. Either way, Hill sucks.
5. We will always have bad calls, but now I think the team is more likely to over come them.
6. Overall I have a good felling about the team and we saw what we should see this time of year against a basic defense. Didn't see much blitzing or anything complicated, but this was a huge confidence builder for the team and for us fans. Seeing the growth and the change of culture. Can't wait till the next game.

My guess is the CBs played off the line cause so many of them were injured this game and Wade didn't trust these guys as much to bump-and-run...

 

[WestCoastRam]

View: https://twitter.com/PFF_Steve/status/899115248300560384


I'm not sure what's more impressive here, Everett or Goff's subtle pocket movement...

 

[nighttrain]

both were very nice
train

 

[Loyal]

Went back and looked at O snaps again. It cannot be overstated how JV high school our offenses were last year. This is preseason where we're not showing teams anything but the route concepts, play-action, play-calling tempo and movement before the snap, were just so much more imaginative than last year where everyone ran a 6 yard curl.

PS. Lack of penalties, yes we had some and even a false start but nothing like we did before. I mean, what the hell was all the O penalites about during Fisher's time?

PPS. Oline seems to really know their assignments. Last year they seemed lost a lot of times in who they were blocking.

 

[WestCoastRam]

@LoyalRam, funny man but GR was a huge part of the problem but certainly not the only one doing it.

 

[Loyal]

@LoyalRam, funny man but GR was a huge part of the problem but certainly not the only one doing it.

Just like Whit is stabilizing the whole left side of the Oline, Robinson destabilized it....He was a good part of the reason for it...oh, and atrocious coaching.

 

[A55VA6]

I haven't re-watched the game yet but from what I remember, here are my few thoughts:

- Goff looked very comfortable, maybe the best I've ever seen him. Made good decisions and threw with accuracy.

- We actually learned from week 1's mistakes. No fumbles? That comes down to great coaching. Well done.

- Starting OL actually looked great in Pass Protection. Looked OK run blocking.

- Watkins was drawing some extra attention. That's going to be huge for our pass game.

- Kupp is just so smart. He understands everything and has good hands and ability after the catch. Kid is gonna be really special. Goff's security blanket.

- Nice to see Josh Reynolds get that TD over the top at the end of the game. That's exactly why he was drafted. Can't wait to see more from him.

- Pharoh Cooper and Gerald Everett once again showing good things.

- Troy Hill sucks. Dude can't cover, and he got his ankles broken by Crabtree. What the...

 

[LesBaker]

The offense looks like a completely different unit with McVay, the off-season additions, and Watkins.

Well it certainly looks REALLY different once the ball is snapped. There are players at all levels of the field and sideline to sideline. Not a lot of motion pre snap but I expect we will see more of that once the season starts. McVay is a creative play designer and while I don't expect this team to rival the GSOT it's fair to say that there is an element of Martz's philosophy in McVay.

The biggest thing I noticed was the 3rd down conversions by the O. No drive killing drops and no catching it 2 yards shy of a 1st.

Good observations RamBall.........there was no shooting themselves in the foot. It wasn't frustrating to watch them like it has been for so many years.

I have been watch Clips, Because I missed the 1st Half!

@DaveFan'51 this is my gift to you. A condensed version of the entire game. Enjoy! Looking forward to your opinions too!


View: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_0SmtX8MuQqMUhuaGkzeENOdG8/view

Goff did great, beyond what I expected, but he's holding the ball too long.

IMO that's by design. The plays are constructed to take a little more time because of how they are spreading out the defense so Goff has to wait the extra heartbeat or two.

Gabe Jackson is a lil punk. Saw on the drive that Crabtree scored on there were several plays he kept hitting guys especially Tree after the play was over.

Two different guys and one of them hit him TWICE. No flag though LOL.

In the 1st Q I saw several runs to the OUTSIDE and a pitch out to TG. My gameday chatroom brothers know that I scream for this every game. We would rarely see it,,, it was always a BS run up the middle that went NOwhere last season. Great job mixing it up on offense.

Wait until TAustin is back and defenses have to worry about the jet sweep or reverses. I think it was @Mojo Ram that did a breakdown of how those two were killing teams in the run game on some well designed plays.

McVay keeps a defense on it's heels doesn't he..........

I'm not sure what's more impressive here, Everett or Goff's subtle pocket movement...

Both were small things that made a big play happen.

Have you paid attention to Goff's footwork, it's very good now. They have obviously been working on that. He is moving better than last year and it's pretty clear McVay recognized it was an issue and they went and got on it big time.