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- Jun 20, 2014
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- 4,184
Clearly, any team with a QB like Stafford, an HC like McVay, with players like AD, Kupp, and Jones should NEVER be overlooked. And yet that is exactly what most pundits and many fans have been doing for 6 months.
Stafford is one crafty and deadly effective QB, in case anybody around the league still has any doubts. He’s seldom played better. Any team with such a QB and a HC like McVay is inherently dangerous. He’s at least top 10, and probably better, tbh.
I expected more from Akers but Kyren Williams certainly did not disappoint. Rams running game needs to improve and I think it will as it gels.
What can I say about this Rams OL? I was sure that it would be vastly improved but I assumed that it would require more time before it could dominate. Turns out that even I underestimated them.
I focused on Boom at RG on virtually every snap because I considered him the weakest link and was unconvinced that he was best possible RG. He had his struggles in the first half while missing a couple of second level blocks completely and several times being bent backwards by Seahawk pass rush. But he rapidly improved and I thought had a nice 2nd half. Jury still out for me but I can’t complain, either.
Avila seemed to have a nice game. I’m unaware of any glaring mistakes by him.
I now think that this OL is gonna enable our O to be all it can be, ultimately including a good running attack. This OL seems clearly more physical and today I’m an even bigger fan of coach Wendy. Brilliant hire.
It was great to see McVay utilizing his TE’s more, something we all had hoped for after that draft and camp reports. Jourdan certainly had plenty of hints for us.
About our WR room. It’s deep with high quality players, isn’t it? When Kupp finally gets back it’s gonna be a nightmare to defend. Been saying for a long time that our WR has been underrated.
It was wonderful to see Nacua and Atwell blossom right before our eyes when we needed them the very most. Nacua seems to be a fast learning player, huh? Reminds me a lot of the rookie Kupp in many ways. Could Rams have gotten that lucky? Hot Damn!
It is high time that Ernest Jones should be mentioned in conversations about studs such as the usual suspects. He’s earned it. Rams are gonna be just fine this year at ILB without Bobby Wagner, thank you.
Young and Turner had a few splash plays in their opening debut. Perhaps we’re better off there than I had feared? Wouldn’t surprise me though if Snead makes a move to bring in a tier 2 vet at either position now that 1st game is over and guaranteed salaries are no longer an issue with such signings. This could morph into a playoff worthy team if they keep improving and shoring up weak positions makes a ton of sense to me.
Hoecht is a try hard player and he will give you his best but he is too often a liability in contain and pass D. That position might not get fixed until next year, though. Sigh…
Rozeboom is a weak link. Can Hummel be that much worse?
I had had high hopes for our secondary and they did not disappoint. Especially considering it was opening day and with so many new faces that had not played together in the preseason? Wow! I’m still not sold on Kendrick although he recovered pretty nicely after that Metcalf TD embarrassment. I’m still of the opinion that Tomlinson has the higher ceiling and will become a starter at some point this season.
Maher looks like he will be an adequate PK this year
Ethan Evans has all the potential in the world but he’s still a work in progress. Once he fine tunes his hang time and directional skills he will be a big weapon for us. Frankly, I don’t think that the needed fine tuning will take all that long, either.
Coverage teams need to be improved asap. Biggest weakness on ST right now, don’t you think?
Okay, let’s talk about our coaches. We now see why McVay seemed relatively relaxed all last week, huh? He knew what he had under the hood and was feeling sorta confident, and with good reason.
I can’t say enough about the marvelous job that so many Ram assistants have done already.
LaFleur
Morris (yes, Morris). What a turnaround in aggressiveness after losing so many good players in the offseason.j
Caley
Coniglio
Gould
Coach Henny
Lake
Pleasant
Coach Wendy (one of my new personal favorites, btw)
Yarber
Oh hell, and every other unsung hero among our coaching staff. Quite a collection, don’t you think? And the results from going from ground zero to yesterday’s magnificent effort speaks for itself. I had already been high on these guys but yesterday sealed the deal for me. We are in good hands with these various coaches.
Know what’s exciting? This team is still taking those first baby steps at many positions. Imagine where they might be by mid season.
I see no reason, barring catastrophic injuries, that this team can’t finish with at least a 9 win season. There. I said it.
Thoughts?
Stafford is one crafty and deadly effective QB, in case anybody around the league still has any doubts. He’s seldom played better. Any team with such a QB and a HC like McVay is inherently dangerous. He’s at least top 10, and probably better, tbh.
I expected more from Akers but Kyren Williams certainly did not disappoint. Rams running game needs to improve and I think it will as it gels.
What can I say about this Rams OL? I was sure that it would be vastly improved but I assumed that it would require more time before it could dominate. Turns out that even I underestimated them.
I focused on Boom at RG on virtually every snap because I considered him the weakest link and was unconvinced that he was best possible RG. He had his struggles in the first half while missing a couple of second level blocks completely and several times being bent backwards by Seahawk pass rush. But he rapidly improved and I thought had a nice 2nd half. Jury still out for me but I can’t complain, either.
Avila seemed to have a nice game. I’m unaware of any glaring mistakes by him.
I now think that this OL is gonna enable our O to be all it can be, ultimately including a good running attack. This OL seems clearly more physical and today I’m an even bigger fan of coach Wendy. Brilliant hire.
It was great to see McVay utilizing his TE’s more, something we all had hoped for after that draft and camp reports. Jourdan certainly had plenty of hints for us.
About our WR room. It’s deep with high quality players, isn’t it? When Kupp finally gets back it’s gonna be a nightmare to defend. Been saying for a long time that our WR has been underrated.
It was wonderful to see Nacua and Atwell blossom right before our eyes when we needed them the very most. Nacua seems to be a fast learning player, huh? Reminds me a lot of the rookie Kupp in many ways. Could Rams have gotten that lucky? Hot Damn!
It is high time that Ernest Jones should be mentioned in conversations about studs such as the usual suspects. He’s earned it. Rams are gonna be just fine this year at ILB without Bobby Wagner, thank you.
Young and Turner had a few splash plays in their opening debut. Perhaps we’re better off there than I had feared? Wouldn’t surprise me though if Snead makes a move to bring in a tier 2 vet at either position now that 1st game is over and guaranteed salaries are no longer an issue with such signings. This could morph into a playoff worthy team if they keep improving and shoring up weak positions makes a ton of sense to me.
Hoecht is a try hard player and he will give you his best but he is too often a liability in contain and pass D. That position might not get fixed until next year, though. Sigh…
Rozeboom is a weak link. Can Hummel be that much worse?
I had had high hopes for our secondary and they did not disappoint. Especially considering it was opening day and with so many new faces that had not played together in the preseason? Wow! I’m still not sold on Kendrick although he recovered pretty nicely after that Metcalf TD embarrassment. I’m still of the opinion that Tomlinson has the higher ceiling and will become a starter at some point this season.
Maher looks like he will be an adequate PK this year
Ethan Evans has all the potential in the world but he’s still a work in progress. Once he fine tunes his hang time and directional skills he will be a big weapon for us. Frankly, I don’t think that the needed fine tuning will take all that long, either.
Coverage teams need to be improved asap. Biggest weakness on ST right now, don’t you think?
Okay, let’s talk about our coaches. We now see why McVay seemed relatively relaxed all last week, huh? He knew what he had under the hood and was feeling sorta confident, and with good reason.
I can’t say enough about the marvelous job that so many Ram assistants have done already.
LaFleur
Morris (yes, Morris). What a turnaround in aggressiveness after losing so many good players in the offseason.j
Caley
Coniglio
Gould
Coach Henny
Lake
Pleasant
Coach Wendy (one of my new personal favorites, btw)
Yarber
Oh hell, and every other unsung hero among our coaching staff. Quite a collection, don’t you think? And the results from going from ground zero to yesterday’s magnificent effort speaks for itself. I had already been high on these guys but yesterday sealed the deal for me. We are in good hands with these various coaches.
Know what’s exciting? This team is still taking those first baby steps at many positions. Imagine where they might be by mid season.
I see no reason, barring catastrophic injuries, that this team can’t finish with at least a 9 win season. There. I said it.
Thoughts?
