Spotrac is estimating 4 years, $155 mil. and uses Justin Jefferson, Ceedee Lamb, and Ja'Marr Chase as comps.
The Defense
- Thread starter Ramfan72
- Start date
-
To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.
During the Carolina game, Shula's defensive philosophy was explained. With the bend but don't break theory, the justification is that the offense will eventually make a mistake, suffer a penalty or something, or the defense will make a play and the defense will have stopped the drive. In general I agree, except when we play the whiners because rat boy is perfectly happy to take 4-5-6-7 yards a play and go all the way down the field to score. Adjustments need to be made, IMO, when we play teams that are willing to take what you give them, or at least mix it up. IMO, this is why the Rams struggle with the whiners although I'm no defensive genius.
That doesn't surprise me. This year's OL is better opening holes in the run game than pass pro. Stafford gets a lot of heat on snaps where he has to hold the ball that extra bit longer, and when he gets heat this year he tends to miss high.
That's correct. They did a phenomenal job staying on schedule. I recall a graph showing their success rate on early downs was like 10% higher than the 2nd rated team.
The more worrying stat, from just watching the games, could be 3rd or 4th and short. Recently, at least, we haven’t had a go too play that works repeatedly like Stafford to Adams! Let’s hope they are bringing that back for a Super Bowl party
duanevalle22
Pro Bowler
Once Adams gets his game legs back I think we will see less 3rd down blunders. Hopefully that will be this weekend
duanevalle22
Pro Bowler
I'm sure it wasn't explained by Shula that he wants his defense on the field for 6 or more minutes in hopes a mistake is made by the other teams offense. Never heard of that philosophy in all my years of playing football. The quicker the other teams offense gets off the field, the more time your offense has the ball, especially back in Staffords hands.
At this point I feel it's somewhat of a victory our D hold offenses to field goals, but by the 4th quarter the D has noodle legs from being on the field for so long..... In a few games the D looked extremely gassed in the 4th quarter from elongated drives by the other teams offense.
I do think offensively we are bad on 3rd and 4th and short.. but we are bad on 3rd and long. Not because we can't convert.. but on about half of those we concede the down and punt by either throwing a screen or running a draw. I wish mcvay would trust Stafford more to go for it. When he was in Detroit he lived in 3rd and long.
duanevalle22
Pro Bowler
That is just McVays nature to just pull it in on 3rd and long, which is why I cringe when we get a holding call on 1st or 2nd down.... it's usually a drive killer.
Hopefully we can limit penalties on 1st downs.
I mean, well, they are the least penalized team in the league so not sure this is specifically a "Rams" issue
duanevalle22
Pro Bowler
True
But it seems when we do commit penalties, it happens at the most inopportune time.
Last edited:
Here's the rub. Nobody has to "explain" what the defense is trying to do. But it's been explained many times by analysts. So there's that. But it seems you have a habit of bringing up scenarios (D on the field for 6 minutes) that you have no evidence of and have provided no evidence that what you're claiming is fact. For instance, that post above sounds like a complaint because we've been losing the TOP battle recently, when in fact we haven't lost it in ANY of the last 6 games. Hell we held the ball for 40 minutes in the Seattle LOSS. How did that help us? We've averaged a tick under 34 minutes of possession the last 6 games, so what's the basis for that "complaint"? Just in case the math is difficult, that means our D has been on the field for 26 minutes a game. You "feel" like that's been a problem? FWIW, I don't expect a rebuttle with facts on this because simply put, there aren't any facts to support your argument.
EDIT: Note.....when fans say "mistake"......as in keep everything in front of you, don't let up any chunk plays and chances are better they will make a "mistake".......mistake doesn't mean "turnover", though that certainly happens. It means "mistake" as in turnover or dropped pass or incompletion or anything that will cause a punt or FG or a turnover on downs, instead of TD.
Last edited:
The Rams are ranked 10th in the NFL of time of possession at 30.29 minutes per game so I don't think your take is valid. Although some games may have played out differently... the Rams defense has been "effective" overall.
duanevalle22
Pro Bowler
I have been saying all season the defense is better than I thought it would ever be. I thought going into this season it would be a total disaster. We just have average to sub par DB's, but Shula does get the most out of them. Even Forbes will have a good game every now and again.
WTF does that have to do with your statement on time of possession, 6 minute drives and rubber legs????? You're replying to a reply and not saying a word about the subject of the reply. What's that called?
You talk shit about something, then when your called on it, you come back with, "oh but I'm a real fan. I thought the D wouldn't be as good as they are" or something that has nothing to do with your original complaint but stresses, "I'm a real fan". Hmmmm.
duanevalle22
Pro Bowler
Hopefully the Rams brass renegotiates to that tune before the 2026 season. I would hate to see Puka still playing on his rookie contract next season as he's one hell of a football player.
