Tampa Bay was 7-5 last year with a 38-3 loss

[Ballhawk]

When your offense and "special" teams are giving up points and possessions, and your defense is playing soft, you have no reason to believe you are going to make the playoffs much less think Super bowl.

 

[thirteen28]

I think we undervalue the loss of Cam here. I don't think we have a serious run threat without him. You can say that we abandon the run too early but Hendo is just not that kind of threat. Then we lost our best down blocking TE. It's tough but hopefully we get it figured out. We need our run game.

Hendo is a good RB, even if he's not Cam (who himself is not Todd Gurley). Hendo is averaging 4.7 a pop this year, but has not gotten enough carries in the last two games by a long shot. And we have Michel too, who is more of a physical grinder and has been underused in his time here. And while I don't want to discount Mundt's loss, he only played on about 1/3 of the snaps anyway.

We don't need any excuses for abandoning the run and not striving for balance. Doing so is killing our offense, making it more predictable and contributing in a major way to several losses the past few years. After all, how many games have we lost when we didn't abandon the run and did have a balanced offense?

 

[Ellard80]

Hendo is a good RB, even if he's not Cam (who himself is not Todd Gurley). Hendo is averaging 4.7 a pop this year, but has not gotten enough carries in the last two games by a long shot. And we have Michel too, who is more of a physical grinder and has been underused in his time here. And while I don't want to discount Mundt's loss, he only played on about 1/3 of the snaps anyway.

We don't need any excuses for abandoning the run and not striving for balance. Doing so is killing our offense, making it more predictable and contributing in a major way to several losses the past few years. After all, how many games have we lost when we didn't abandon the run and did have a balanced offense?

I predict we will run the ball more in the coming weeks - however the other teams aren't dumb and they are going to think that as well.

 

[thirteen28]

I predict we will run the ball more in the coming weeks - however the other teams aren't dumb and they are going to think that as well.

Of course. But they still have to defend the pass. Last two weeks, neither TN nor SF had to even think about defending the run after the first quarter, if not before that.

 

[RamDino]

You can say that we abandon the run too early but Hendo is just not that kind of threat.

I agree with this... I like Henderson, but I do not believe he is a feature back and certainly not a threat, although he does get some yardage. I would like to see Sony Michel start games, and Hendo can be the 3rd-down or change-of-pace back. Michel just seems more natural and has more skills. He might not break away from defenses but he can be productive.

 

[Speeps]

Sure, it's possible. But until McVay commits to offensive balance, including running the ball, taking what the defense gives him, and mixing in some shorter passes with the deep shots, and in general, stops being so fucking predictable, our offensive problems will continue against better, more physical defenses.

Until Morris commits (or McVay MAKES him commit) to playing to his players strengths, stops the pathetic soft zone/off coverage shit, stops trying to put Rapp in coverage instead of the box, stops trying to get cute with Jalen Ramsey instead of just letting him take on (and out) the opponents best WR, and stops trying to turn us into some hybrid 4-3, our defense will continue to struggle against better offenses.

There is no question that the talent is there on this team. I'll put our talent up against any other team in the league. The question is whether or not the coaching is there to maximize the talent.

I stopped reading the thread after seeing this message. YES! Everything you said is how I feel.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

And Tampa was dominated both times by the Rams and their "finesse"

Maybe that style and our players just match up better with Tampa for whatever reason, but we always play them tough.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

I think we undervalue the loss of Cam here. I don't think we have a serious run threat without him. You can say that we abandon the run too early but Hendo is just not that kind of threat. Then we lost our best down blocking TE. It's tough but hopefully we get it figured out. We need our run game.

I wonder if McVay is just being cautious in running the wheels off of Hendo due to his injury history. If he is, even in the slightest, he needs to put it to bed. There's a reason we got Michel. We need to pound the rock a bit more. Doesn't matter if the run game isn't as big a threat without Cam. If a defense sees us go pass happy, we are just making it easier on them. They have to believe we will actually run the ball which leads to slight hesitation by opposing defenses and more open opportunities for the passing game as a whole.

 

[badnews]

This is what winner's do. I miss you Marshall...

The G O A T.

^ the Rams best offensive player EVER at any position.
Yeah I do mean better than ED too.

Fight me.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

The G O A T.

^ the Rams best offensive player EVER at any position.
Yeah I do mean better than ED too.

Fight me.

I won't, I agree. When you are part, no scratch that, the main cog on an historic offense with a nickname that will always be remembered, you sir are the shiznitz and the pimp daddy of that position lol

 

[badnews]

I won't, I agree. When you are part, no scratch that, the main cog on an historic offense with a nickname that will always be remembered, you sir are the shiznitz and the pimp daddy of that position lol

View: https://youtu.be/eadWjW5c0sA

 

[El Chapo Jr]

View: https://youtu.be/eadWjW5c0sA

One of the greatest players ever in college football too. Imagine if he never had his knee injury.

 

[Kupped]

The G O A T.

^ the Rams best offensive player EVER at any position.
Yeah I do mean better than ED too.

Fight me.

The best at any position?
I won't fight, will just say there's an argument.
Kurt, for sure as well as Jackie Slater... and, of course, Dickerson.

 

[snackdaddy]

I'm not a fan of bringing up another teams similarities from a previous season. The Cardinals were 6-3 last season and didn't make the playoffs. I'm sure for every 7-5 team that made the playoffs there were some 7-5 teams that didn't.

We're 7-3 which is good. Should be a playoff team. But we were exposed the last two games. The defense can't handle a physical offense that can use the short middle of the field with a combination of runs and short passes. All the receiver has to do is make the catch. Two 5 yard passes are a first down. Or defense is devised to give them that. Which is why we cannot beat the 49ers. Their offense is devised to play that style.

If that final game decides a playoff spot for us, we should be very worried. I don't see us beating the 49ers unless our defense makes adjustments. The problem with that is, its our identity to play that style of defense. I don't know if they can make those adjustments.

 

[Merlin]

I'm not a fan of bringing up another teams similarities from a previous season. The Cardinals were 6-3 last season and didn't make the playoffs. I'm sure for every 7-5 team that made the playoffs there were some 7-5 teams that didn't.

We're 7-3 which is good. Should be a playoff team. But we were exposed the last two games. The defense can't handle a physical offense that can use the short middle of the field with a combination of runs and short passes. All the receiver has to do is make the catch. Two 5 yard passes are a first down. Or defense is devised to give them that. Which is why we cannot beat the 49ers. Their offense is devised to play that style.

If that final game decides a playoff spot for us, we should be very worried. I don't see us beating the 49ers unless our defense makes adjustments. The problem with that is, its our identity to play that style of defense. I don't know if they can make those adjustments.

Nice post. We're gonna see what these guys are made of. Hopefully they're pissed off enough to get back to work and get shit back on track. I don't think McVay can't see the physicality problem by the way. There's no way he can't see it. So maybe he gets it fixed.

I remember mid-2018 thinking we were a second tier team. And that team should have won that fucking Super Bowl. But that team received a shot in the arm with CJ running the ball. Say what you will about CJ but that dude could take a pounding and strike fear into defenses, nobody wanted him pinballing through their secondary. In fact I still feel like he should have factored in more in that game but whatever water under the bridge now.

Question is whether we have a CJ on this roster. Doesn't look like it but I still have some hope Michel can do that for us.

 

[sloramfan]

ok let's get a grip..

the rams were shit the last 2 weeks...

and with that said... can they come back after the bye...

i really don't know with the possibility of stafford possibly nursing a bad back...

morris and the D?... still up in the air for me, but i have reservations, but i'm not in the fire him now crowd.. it's just not that obvious to
me, although i think ramsey should take out the best WR.. period..

as far as TB taking a big loss last year, and how it is related to the rams... you're joking , right?...

this rams team needs to circle the wagons, realise thier pontential, and rise up, because nothing is free, especially in the NFL...

go rams

slo

 

[TexasRam]

Can we turn it around? Absolutely!

Will we? We will see.

Mcvay can make a few tweaks to turn it around:

1. Fix that God awful soft zone B.S.

2. Coach Stafford how to play verse good defenses. Ball security, ball security, ball security. Short passes and check downs early on. 3 seconds and ball is out. Play within the design of the play rather than trying to add lib early on.

3. Run the ball early on with Sony.

It’s really not hard and it can be fixed.

Mcvays offseason moves that we all complained about are biting him in the ass but we have the talent to ge in the tournament. Fix these things before then and we have an excellent chance to go deep.

 

[Rams77]

Im very pessimistic right now. Injuries piling on. No commitment to a running game. Shaky QB and Oline play. Inept defensive coordinator. Inept Special Teams return game. Undisciplined penalties. A tough closing stretch of games. I see us losing 4 to 5 more games (at AZ, at GB, at Bal, at Minn, Home vs SF in my opinion all will be losses). I think we pull out Seahawks and Jags barely. This team is trending down. Fast. 9-8 or 10-7. We might get lucky and sneak in as a 7th seed. I hope i'm wrong. You cant keep losing good coaching talent year after year and sustain chemistry and development especially with low round talent that comprises most of our depth when starters go down.

 

[FelixTheStone]

I definitely agree dude. It's possible. Right now they need to reevaluate what they're doing on all phases and go back to what was working before. We know they can do it and their win next week will say alot about this teams toughness.

 

[Faceplant]

It's not just the defensive scheme, although it sucks the life out of all Rams fans that watch it. The Rams are one of the worst tackling teams I have ever seen.... Like ever. How many times do we see opposing players simply bounce off Ram defenders and pick up YAC??

The Rams are 4-3 over their last 7 games. We lost one of the most important weapons in our offense last week and I do not see OBJ as a replacement, much less an upgrade there. I think this team will have to be incredibly lucky and/or play their hearts out to get to 10 wins this year.

This team would look a LOT different with Akers in the backfield. I think the Rams best shot at going deep in the playoffs is NEXT year, assuming Cam comes back. If not, we may be looking at the end if a very short, yet productive and fun Era.