Remaining Schedule - Time to Go On a Run

[DaveFan'51]

After the bye, this is our schedule:
vs. Cleveland
vs. San Francisco
@ Minnesota
vs. Chicago
@ Baltimore
@ Cincinnati
vs. Arizona
vs. Detroit
vs. Tampa Bay
@ Seattle
@ San Francisco

The biggest thing is that we need to take care of business against the teams we should beat. We pretty much have to go 8-3 after the bye to get to the playoffs and that's attainable. Personally, I think we need to come out strong with a 5-0 run after the bye. Minnesota always gives us problems but we need to win that game. They'll likely be one of our biggest competitors for that playoff spot.

I think our two toughest games are Arizona at home and Seattle on the road. Cincy is a very tough team this year but I think that's a team we match-up to well. With Baltimore and Detroit playing poorly, our schedule after the bye is pretty favorable. Fisher just needs to have this team show consistency and beat the teams they should beat.

If we do that, we could very easily go 8-3 or 9-2. I can't stress it enough, though, we need to come out hot after that bye week. I think that 5-0 win streak is almost a must.

Foles and the OL need to regroup and get it together. Gurley can do some serious damage but we need a competent passing attack and a QB that can protect the ball. The defense is living up to their billing. It's time for the offense to pull their weight.

Do you guys think we can pull off 8 out of 11 after the bye or do you think we end up .500?(or worse)

My answer to your question, is "Hell yes!" we can go at least 8-3!!

 

[Zombie Slayer]

We have to see this team play with some sort of consistency before we can get too excited. This team seems to play down to their competition more times than not. Would anyone here be that surprised if they came out and laid an egg against the Browns? We would be pretty mad but I don't think many fans would be that shocked. I just can't get excited until this team can even get two games above .500. When was the last time they were at that? I can't remember.

 

[Stel]

I can drink the Kool Aid with the best of them. This team, especially if it can develop a modest passing game, can hang with everyone left on the schedule. 7-9 more wins is within our grasp as long as we play to our abilities. Only two of our remaining opponents have a winning record (and we beat one of those already!).


However, we need to focus on one game at a time. Can't win 10 games until you first win 3 games.

Next opponent: Cleveland.
Yards allowed per game - 30th (We are 13th)
Points allowed per game - 22nd (We are 16th)
Rushing yards allowed per game - 31st (We are 21st)
Rushing yards allowed per carry - 31st (We are 20th)
Passing yards allowed per game - 18th (We are 14th)

Let's get back to .500!

 

[Robocop]

lmao. I'd give my left kidney to go on a 5-0 run but it ain't gonna happen. packers just gave the rest of the league an easy blueprint to shutdown what little offense we have. put pressure on Foles and that line and he'll collapse under pressure. Gurley taking off that brace to finish those long runs is the only way to win against a good defense.

 

[Mackeyser]

vs. Cleveland W We explode out of the Bye and Gurley is fresh against a weak run D. his 150 yards in the second half of the game puts it way out of reach.

vs. San Francisco W This game is the D planting Kaep and getting after that O while doing to them what they did to us for years.

@ Minnesota W PAYBACK. Washington paid us back and you can bet our guys haven't forgotten that shellacking they took opening day last year.
Delivering payback in their house will be all the sweeter.

vs. Chicago W Their D is in trouble and their O is Forte. At home, this is our game to own.

@ Baltimore W This game looked like a tough one, but Baltimore is in freefall and we're coming together.

@ Cincinnati L Second road game in a row is historically difficult to win and Cincy is one of the few teams that executes in all phases. We'll make this a tough game, but I expect them to win at home.

vs. Arizona W We will fight like hell to sweep BA and the redbirds. This may be the nastiest game of the year.

vs. Detroit W Like Baltimore, this team's only luck seems to be bad luck this season.

vs. Tampa Bay W They are playing better, but they are not playoff caliber. In St. Louis, this is a solid win.

@ Seattle W This is the hardest game to pick because if Seattle's finally turned things around, this will be a real bare knuckle fight and the 2nd toughest game of the season after our game against AZ at home. Only reason I think we win is our OL will finally be gelling and we will know how to work with what Gurley delivers.

@ San Francisco W NO way Fisher helps them put out the dumpster fire in SF unless we've secured a playoff berth.

Based on game by game analysis, we CAN go 10-1 or we can do a lot less.

If our O gets its crap together and we string that first four victories together, then we'll be at 6-3 and we'll have the kind of roll and confidence that we really need. We saw what a little confidence meant to our OL in the 2nd half of the AZ game. If this team get that confidence, then HECK YEAH, we sure as heck can go on a tear and avalanche the rest of our schedule...

And, honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if we ran our schedule. We're good enough to beat anybody, even in their house. Our O just has to remember they wear Horns and we're golden!!!

 

[Psycho_X]

A playoff team, a good team would go on a tear with the schedule we have after the bye. No reason we can't make the playoffs with our schedule and the talent we have. If we don't, the coaches did a bad job imo.

 

[Username]

The prospect of going 8-3 is not as easy as it seems. There are upsets every Sunday, especially on the road, and the Rams are the definition of inconsistency. No such thing as an easy schedule.

Took the words out of my mouth. I've definitely taken the role of Mr. Pessimist lately, but to be blunt I have no idea of who this team is either. We could lose a lot more of these games than anyone would think.

The offensive line is beyond worrisome to me. A lot more so than probably anyone on this forum. The Saffold injury, depending on how serious I think might have the potential to derail the team considering how bad we are up front to begin with. It should be noted that GB has a very good defense this year, but both Foles and Gurley seriously cannot take that punishment for 11 more games. I mention Gurley, because it was obvious we were leaning on him to carry the team after we learned that we weren't capable of letting Foles take a 3 step drop w/o getting murdered. Giving him 30 carries a game without any threat of a passing is not a good strategy if you want to keep this kid healthy. Not after missing all training camp, and half of last season. I understand that Fisher probably left him in because he has the bye to recover (and Todd probably didn't want to come out), but this was not the best strategy imo. We need to build him up to where he's at that point instead of just risking it because our offense is the worst in the league. We have guys to spell him. Use them if need be.

 

[LACHAMP46]

You know the saying @jrry32
one game at a time....If Foles becomes solid, we could win all 11....But one at a time....Cleveland's up next.

 

[jrry32]

lmao. I'd give my left kidney to go on a 5-0 run but it ain't gonna happen. packers just gave the rest of the league an easy blueprint to shutdown what little offense we have. put pressure on Foles and that line and he'll collapse under pressure. Gurley taking off that brace to finish those long runs is the only way to win against a good defense.

That easy blueprint isn't so easy to execute. The Packers are tied for the NFL lead in sacks. They have a pass rush that very few teams (i.e. us, Denver, Buffalo) can match.

And even with that awesome pass rush, we were in position to score 22-30 points against Green Bay.(didn't count GZ's 63 yard miss) GB is currently #3 in Points Per Game Allowed.

So they're one of the best pass rushes and overall defenses in the NFL. And our own mistakes kept us from putting up 20-30 points on them despite our OL and QB playing terrible football. I think that should speak volumes.

 

[FRO]

We have to go on a run. What was our longest winning streak in the last 10 years? We also have to prove we can play at a consistently high level. We are fine against divisional foes, but look uninterested in weaker teams. We need to play every game with top level intensity. Also the offense is going to have to play better for us to go on a run. Things need to get fixed.

 

[jrry32]

We're off to a good start. We need to pull off a win against Minnesota in Minnesota. Will be tough but we owe them a beat down (if you're wondering why, see Week 1 of last year).

Gotta keep it up. If we can pull off that 5 game win streak coming out of the bye, we put ourselves in a good spot to make the playoffs. Just gotta keep winning.

 

[ChrisW]

We're off to a good start. We need to pull off a win against Minnesota in Minnesota. Will be tough but we owe them a beat down (if you're wondering why, see Week 1 of last year).

Gotta keep it up. If we can pull off that 5 game win streak coming out of the bye, we put ourselves in a good spot to make the playoffs. Just gotta keep winning.

Their wins have been similiar to ours. They aren't world beaters, but find a way to walk out with the W. Our D will shut them down. We gotta score points, though.

 

[IowaRam]

Was just looking at our weather forecast for next Sunday , low 50's and sunny

perfect

 

[jrry32]

Their wins have been similiar to ours. They aren't world beaters, but find a way to walk out with the W. Our D will shut them down. We gotta score points, though.

That's true but they scare me because I think Bridgewater is capable of so much more than where he's at right now, Diggs is emerging for them, and they still have Peterson. I think their passing attack has more potential than ours right now.

Then again, I'd take our defense over theirs and Gurley has been outplaying Peterson.

Just gotta hope that Foles shows up. And that Tavon keeps doing what he's doing. He's made amazing strides as a WR.

 

[Loyal]

Our D shut down Big ben and the steelers (mostly), the Packers (turnovers did us in), the Browns, and the Niners....Teddy Bridgewater is no Big Ben or Rodgers...We need to stuff AP, and create a lot of 3 and outs, and let Gurley get his first 200 yard game in Adrians House!:rockon:

 

[Rabid Ram]

.

I wanna see them win at least 2 in a row before i start thinking that far ahead.

.

Tome to put on that thinking cap

 

[kurtfaulk]

Tome to put on that thinking cap

Man, with that d, Gurley and tavon I'll be thinking hard about it.

.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Most everything is coming around...

The Oline seems to be improving

Gurley is progressing faster than what a lot of fans (myself included) expected

The defense has been dominating and consistent

But, they've got to become a more dangerous passing team, IMO.

Minnesota is a pretty good football team. Mike Zimmer is a defensive-oriented HC.

In Minn, this will be the real test of the Rams.

Frankly, Cleveland and San Francisco are terrible teams. I am glad, however, that we beat those terrible teams. THAT is progress.

Now, we have to be more productive in the passing game against a good team.

* The defense will show up, that seems evident.
* The running game will show up, that seems evident.

But... will the passing game show up?

May be the difference between a "W" and a "L".

 

[Stel]

Keep this in mind.

Our 4-3 record was built against teams with a combined record of 27-27

Minnesota's 5-2 record was built against teams with a combined record of 18-36

We are probably the second best team they will have played this season (after Denver). They are probably the fifth best we will have played (after Seattle, Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Green Bay).