Rams, 1st place in the NFC !!

[Mackeyser]

As a past mathematics student I cringe when I see reasoning like this. The transitive property of numbers (i.e., For real numbers A, B, and C; if A>B, and B>C, then A>C) does not apply to feature rich domains like competitive sports or other domains in real life in general. That is because there are simply too many factors (e.g., injuries, game planning, game plan execution, team conditioning, etc.) to account for for such a relatively simple rule. It works for numbers because numbers themselves are a relatively simple domain.

I loves me some math arguments.

My daughter is getting her degree in math and my favorite class, maybe ever, was Calc 3. Turns out for a crappy artist, I'm wicked good at graphing 3D functions by hand (which we had to learn to do at Lehigh).

I've forgotten most of it, but I can still hang when my daughter wants to talk with someone about her work.

 

[Mackeyser]

Man, they really did.
I was a little jealous of their LB play .

As much of a fan of Barron as I've been, there's no doubt how much better we'd have been with Vander Esch.

There's usually a stud ILB tackling machine ala Kuechly or Vander Esch late in the 1st as teams take advantage of core skill players at the top of the draft.

The good news is that by all accounts there are a number of solid QB prospects in this draft which means more talent drifts down.

 

[FarNorth]

The Rams got pressure on Brees. He was getting rid of the ball so quickly that it didn't matter. Having wide open receivers will do that. Talib will be key if the two teams meet again.

I also wonder if the Rams caught the Saints and Brees on a hot streak. Brees was playing great for several weeks. But he's an older QB. Maybe the long season is getting to him, or he is off of his streak now. He looked like a different QB in that game.


The playoff matchup will be the Saints revenge on Dallas and then the Rams revenge on the Saints.

Agree the long season is getting to the Saints.

It's almost impossible for an NFL team to be at a physical and emotional peak for every game over 16 weeks. It's also almost inevitable over the course of a season to catch another team when it is at its peak.

The Saints had their bye week in week 6. They had a modest five game stretch before the break, came back really hot. Now in game 7 after the the bye in a short week/Thursday road game the Saints hit the wall. They also ran into a Cowboys team which, after being on the ropes, is peaking and trying to make a playoff run. Also a team with good young defensive players. I predict it will be tougher sledding for the Saints going forward as the grind wears on them even more.

That's why McVay talks about consistency as the measure of greatness. And it's why the Rams have been so impressive this year. Going 10-1 with no break, winning tough games when the D wasn't at its best, shows great character and mental toughness. And we'll be better down the stretch

 

[HeiseNBerg]

 

[The Ramowl]

Hey remember when people started to say (a week ago) that defense was dead and that scoring 35 was the new norm ? Sure.

Let me say this, the Saints are a very good team, but hearing Cowherd say on tuesday that it was the Saints and then the other 9 teams far behind annoyed me. Also people reacted to the Rams at Saints game as if they turned off the tv at the half and didnt even read about the third quarter. Glad we are back on planet earth now. The Rams have their destiny in their hands for the 1st seed and when you look at stats, it is by a margin the best way to get to the superbowl, so lets go get it.

Also it's nice to see how good linebackers change a game. We need to fix that (and our tackling in general)

 

[kurtfaulk]

Hey remember when people started to say (a week ago) that defense was dead and that scoring 35 was the new norm ? Sure.

Let me say this, the Saints are a very good team, but hearing Cowherd say on tuesday that it was the Saints and then the other 9 teams far behind annoyed me. Also people reacted to the Rams at Saints game as if they turned off the tv at the half and didnt even read about the third quarter. Glad we are back on planet earth now. The Rams have their destiny in their hands for the 1st seed and when you look at stats, it is by a margin the best way to get to the superbowl, so lets go get it.

Also it's nice to see how good linebackers change a game. We need to fix that (and our tackling in general)

it's gonna be funny listening to the blowhard try to explain what happened in that game. and if he changes his rankings.

i always find rankings funny. this team is the best, um they just lost, this team is no longer the best. it's the same fricken team.

.

 

[LesBaker]

Rams, 1st place in the NFC !!

Actually now first place in the NFL.

That's right.

 

[JYB]

It will be a different game when/if these two teams play again, but all we have to go on is that one game that the Saints won.

And if it's in LA, it will be a VERY different game for the Aints, who are a very different team away from home, and a very, VERY different team outside of the the cozy confines of the weather-controlled dome. For all of Brees's greatness, his popgun arm limits him outside. That's why last night's loss was so devastating for the Aints.

 

[El caliente]

And if it's in LA, it will be a VERY different game for the Aints, who are a very different team away from home, and a very, VERY different team outside of the the cozy confines of the weather-controlled dome. For all of Brees's greatness, his popgun arm limits him outside. That's why last night's loss was so devastating for the Aints.

Bruh, last night was our first road loss of the season. We have played Minny, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincy, and NY on the road this year and are 5-1. SoCal isn’t Minny in December, so pump the breaks on there being some big shock to playing outdoors in LA in January.

It will certainly be a different game (Talib, Davenport, and Ginn will be playing), and it will be in January (if we are both lucky).

 

[Karate61]

Bruh, last night was our first road loss of the season. We have played Minny, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincy, and NY on the road this year and are 5-1. SoCal isn’t Minny in December, so pump the breaks on there being some big shock to playing outdoors in LA in January.

It will certainly be a different game (Talib, Davenport, and Ginn will be playing), and it will be in January (if we are both lucky).

Where would you prefer the next Rams game, in LA or in NO?

 

[RhodyRams]

Bruh, last night was our first road loss of the season. We have played Minny, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincy, and NY on the road this year and are 5-1. SoCal isn’t Minny in December, so pump the breaks on there being some big shock to playing outdoors in LA in January.

It will certainly be a different game (Talib, Davenport, and Ginn will be playing), and it will be in January (if we are both lucky).

and 3/5 of those teams are sub .500 teams

and also a 3/5 of those team are sub. 500 AT HOME

 

[OC_Ram]

Who Dat ?

 

[OC_Ram]

Who Dat ?

 

[JYB]

Bruh, last night was our first road loss of the season. We have played Minny, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincy, and NY on the road this year and are 5-1. SoCal isn’t Minny in December, so pump the breaks on there being some big shock to playing outdoors in LA in January.

It will certainly be a different game (Talib, Davenport, and Ginn will be playing), and it will be in January (if we are both lucky).

It's simply a fact that the Aints are a very different team at home than they are on the road (I doubt the Cowboys win that game in New Orleans). And that Brees is less effective outdoors. That has been the case for years.

Minny in December is still in a dome. The game in LA will be more similar to the game from last season than the one in the Superdome this year.

 

[dang]

If last night was any indication of how good he is - Vander Esch is not only a rookie sensation at ILB - he is one of the best in the NFL!! As a Rams fan I am so damn jealous as I think a stout defense depends on a shutdown corner (against WR#1) and a shutdown ILB (against the run).

 

[BonifayRam]

Rams have NFC West title, home-field advantage in playoffs within their grasp
https://www.pe.com/2018/11/30/rams-...eld-advantage-in-playoffs-within-their-grasp/

THOUSAND OAKS – The first stop is Detroit, and that’s where the Rams say their eyes will remain until Sunday’s game ends, but a glance down the road reveals nothing but wide-open pavement.

The Rams will clinch the NFC West if they beat the Lions Sunday. A 5-0 finish would guarantee them not only a first-round playoff bye but also the ability to host a division-round game and the NFC championship game. That’s a worthy goal, and the Rams seem to recognize the moment.

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“You’ve got to crank it up a notch,” cornerback Aqib Talib said. “You need a little extra. The season really starts right now. If you’re planning on doing something, you should have about eight games left. Those last eight games, you’ve got to be working harder than your first 11 games.”

Dallas did the Rams a huge favor Thursday night, when the Cowboys upset New Orleans, 13-10. That gave the Rams (11-1) an edge over the Saints (11-2) for the top spot in the NFC. The Rams must remain a full game ahead, because the Saints beat the Rams in their game on Nov. 4.

The Rams – like every other team – probably would prefer to avoid a playoff trip to the raucous Superdome, where the Saints clearly appear to be a different team. The Rams, with closing games against Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Arizona and San Francisco, would appear to have an easier stretch remaining than the Saints, who must play Carolina twice, plus Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh.

The Rams can’t do anything this weekend other than clinch the division and a playoff spot. The Rams also can clinch if Seattle loses to San Francisco, or if the Rams and Seahawks both tie their games.

“It’s definitely been on the top of our to-do list,” cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman said. “This is one of the goals we’ve been trying to accomplish this whole season. The fact that it came at week 13 is a good thing. We control our destiny. Coming out here and beating the teams we’re supposed to beat, that’s vital.”

With a victory, the Rams would be the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season, and they’d also win back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 1973-79 teams won seven consecutive NFC West titles.

Even in the “Greatest Show on Turf” era in St. Louis, the Rams won the division only three times, in 1999, 2001 and 2003. They finished second in 2000 and 2002. Last season, the Rams clinched the division in the penultimate week with a road victory over Tennessee, then lost their regular-season finale to finish 11-5.

“Sean (McVay) talks about it with us. We’ve given ourselves this opportunity,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “We’ve earned this opportunity, we’ve worked for it, we’ve won the games to put ourselves in this opportunity, so go take advantage of it and go have fun and go seize the moment. These are the games that truly can make things happen and we know that.”

The Rams’ toughest opponent this week might be complacency. The Lions (4-7) have lost four of their last five games, and while they’ve had a couple impressive victories this season – New England and Green Bay – they’ve scored a total of only 81 points in their last five games.

The Chicago Bears would appear to be the Rams’ biggest obstacle to the top spot in the NFC – with a road, night game with temperatures likely to be in the 20s – and the Rams also would get significant breathing room if the Saints lost again. That becomes null and void if the Rams take care of their own games.

“We’re thinking about Detroit right now,” defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “It’s not crank it up for anything except this game, in my opinion. We’ll talk about all those other things later. The playoffs is really different than the regular season, in my opinion.”

 

[LesBaker]

For all of Brees's greatness, his popgun arm limits him outside.

IMO Brees has a good arm, he makes plenty of passes upfield.

Look what he did to the Rams defense. Those were not all dump offs. He cut up the secondary. You don't have a game like that dumping the ball off.

The whole idea that he is a check down QB now is bullshit. He can fucking throw the ball all over.

 

[Karate61]

That gave the Rams (11-1) an edge over the Saints (11-2) for the top spot in the NFC.

Hmmm. I feel like I'm having a Back to the Future moment.

 

[JYB]

IMO Brees has a good arm, he makes plenty of passes upfield.

Look what he did to the Rams defense. Those were not all dump offs. He cut up the secondary. You don't have a game like that dumping the ball off.

The whole idea that he is a check down QB now is bullcrap. He can freaking throw the ball all over.

First, I acknowledged that he's a great QB (duh -- you don't have the success he's had without being great). Secondly, I never called him a "check down" QB, though most of his passes are in the intermediate to short range. My primary point is that he has a weak arm -- and he does -- which makes him less effective outdoors, where wind will make a big difference in his long ball.

Brees could never make the TD pass to Everett in the Chiefs game that Goff threw. Particularly outdoors in less than ideal conditions. That's just not part of his game. Brees is simply a much better QB indoors -- the record is clear on that.

 

[Ramstien]

Like I always say it all comes down to the amount of pressure you put on any QB and that includes Goff. If you give any of these NFL QBs time they will find somebody open and beat you. A lot of these check downs are because he does not have time to look for anyone down field.