The Rams will go as far as the OL will take them

[RamBall]

If the Rams OL can turn things around and open up the run game like we expected, that should help whoever is in at QB. Teams are gonna stack the box though, so it wont be easy, but the Rams are dead in the water without running the ball. Teams are gonna force the Rams to win on the arm of whoever is in, then tee off when the Rams have to pass.

It doesnt matter how good the D is, if the O cant sustain drives and give the D a breather they will wear down and gameover.

 

[Alan]

I'm pretty sure you've nailed it here Ball. Despite a few hiccups against the Vikes, it was obvious to me that our lack of offense was the main problem Let's hope we can get this fixed.

 

[RamBall]

If the OL plays up to the level we believe they are capable of, the QB wont have to carry the team. A strong run game and great D has been enough to win a SB without elite QB talent.

 

[Alan]

Exactly.

 

[DR RAM]

A good offensive line is always one of the main keys to victory. We can probably all agree that we have to play a lot better there than we did the first game.

 

[BatteringRambo]

Look at the Eagles O-line situation right now...

 

[Alan]

BatteringRambo playing coy:
Look at the Eagles O-line situation right now...

So don't keep it to yourself, what's going on with their O-line?

 

[ramsince62]

If the Rams OL can turn things around and open up the run game like we expected, that should help whoever is in at QB. Teams are gonna stack the box though, so it wont be easy, but the Rams are dead in the water without running the ball. Teams are gonna force the Rams to win on the arm of whoever is in, then tee off when the Rams have to pass.

It doesnt matter how good the D is, if the O cant sustain drives and give the D a breather they will wear down and gameover.

Does this all assume that Hill can stay on the field for the next 15 games?

 

[BatteringRambo]

Fill in RT Allen Barbe out for season (Lane Johnson on 4 game PED), and stellar left guard Mathis to IR/return.

If they can still run their lethal offense well then...we will see.

 

[Ballhawk]

The play of the Oline was the thing that I was the most disappointed with Sunday.

 

[Alan]

My biggest disappointment was with the play of the D-line. No sacks and 2 QB hits for the best D-line in the NFL? Their overall play wasn't bad but I had dreams of...

 

[jjab360]

My biggest disappointment was with the play of the D-line. No sacks and 2 QB hits for the best D-line in the NFL? Their overall play wasn't bad but I had dreams of...

Me too, Alan, but it's not like the Vikings gave us many chances. Their entire offensive gameplan was built around neutralizing our DL. Misdirection, screens, quick passes, extra blockers, play action, etc. Almost no chances for our DL to actually pin their ears back and let loose.

 

[rhinobean]

Me too, Alan, but it's not like the Vikings gave us many chances. Their entire offensive gameplan was built around neutralizing our DL. Misdirection, screens, quick passes, extra blockers, play action, etc. Almost no chances for our DL to actually pin their ears back and let loose.

This, plus the holding on Quinn not being called!

 

[Alan]

jjab360 trying to cheer me up with facts:
Me too, Alan, but it's not like the Vikings gave us many chances. Their entire offensive gameplan was built around neutralizing our DL. Misdirection, screens, quick passes, extra blockers, play action, etc. Almost no chances for our DL to actually pin their ears back and let loose.

Yeah, I got that jjab but teams do that against great D-lines all the time and they still mange to get more than their fair share of sacks, hurries and hits. The disappointment is still there even if there are mitigating factors. Who among us didn't expect our vaunted D-line, along with some of Williams exotic blitzes, to wreak havoc? I've been waiting for that to happen all summer long.

I guess I can wait another week. :barefoot: :coffee:

 

[mr.stlouis]

That could be said if Bradford was the QB. We have a lot more problems, I'm afraid.

 

[thirteen28]

Yeah, I got that jjab but teams do that against great D-lines all the time and they still mange to get more than their fair share of sacks, hurries and hits. The disappointment is still there even if there are mitigating factors. Who among us didn't expect our vaunted D-line, along with some of Williams exotic blitzes, to wreak havoc? I've been waiting for that to happen all summer long.

I guess I can wait another week. :barefoot: :coffee:

Not every team is going to have a threat like AP in the backfield AND a Swiss army knife like Patterson ... most don't (not to mention one of the best OC's in Turner). If you take away Patterson's big run (which occurred late when they were tiring and after Chris Long went out) they were under 300 total yards. In the passing game, they netted 160 yards with 6.4 yards/attempt. The fact that they had to go to such a short game to try to neutralize the DL means the DL was effective in dictating their offensive strategy, not vice versa. It's not as spectacular as a bushel of sacks, but it's not meaningless either, not by a long shot.

Not to mention, the low passing yardage number does say some good things about our secondary. Last year, especially early on, teams did plenty of dink and dunk short, quick passes against us but still put up big yards with YAC. Not Sunday.

I won't say our D couldn't have played better, but they weren't bad either, and certainly were better than the O. If the O puts up a good game, our D did enough to win.

 

[Alan]

thirteen28 missing my point:
Not every team is going to have a threat like AP in the backfield AND a Swiss army knife like Patterson ... most don't (not to mention one of the best OC's in Turner). If you take away Patterson's big run (which occurred late when they were tiring and after Chris Long went out) they were under 300 total yards. In the passing game, they netted 160 yards with 6.4 yards/attempt. The fact that they had to go to such a short game to try to neutralize the DL means the DL was effective in dictating their offensive strategy, not vice versa. It's not as spectacular as a bushel of sacks, but it's not meaningless either, not by a long shot.

Not to mention, the low passing yardage number does say some good things about our secondary. Last year, especially early on, teams did plenty of dink and dunk short, quick passes against us but still put up big yards with YAC. Not Sunday.

I won't say our D couldn't have played better, but they weren't bad either, and certainly were better than the O. If the O puts up a good game, our D did enough to win.

I agree with all that. You could have said the exact same thing about last years defense (D-line). Our D-line was supposed to be extra special this year with the addition of Carrington, Donald and Westbrooks. That's why I said it was my greatest disappointment.

I wasn't nearly as disappointed about the O-line even though they didn't play well at all. Everyone of them. I wasn't disappointed because I really didn't have high expectations because I never saw them play together in the preseason. I said a while ago that I didn't like Josephs play and when I heard he was going to start I didn't look for good things there. I didn't look for bad things there either, I just didn't have high expectations.

 

[thirteen28]

I agree with all that. You could have said the exact same thing about last years defense (D-line). Our D-line was supposed to be extra special this year with the addition of Carrington, Donald and Westbrooks. That's why I said it was my greatest disappointment.

I wasn't nearly as disappointed about the O-line even though they didn't play well at all. Everyone of them. I wasn't disappointed because I really didn't have high expectations because I never saw them play together in the preseason. I said a while ago that I didn't like Josephs play and when I heard he was going to start I didn't look for good things there. I didn't look for bad things there either, I just didn't have high expectations.

We'll just have to agree to disagree and look at it from our own perspectives. I like the fact that the very threat of our DL limited what they could do in the passing game. If we stop the three runs by Patterson their offensive strategy is a dead end ... because of our DL. There will be some long afternoons for opposing offenses if the very threat of our DL causes them to not attack the whole field, instead just focusing on the short stuff.

I AM disappointed with the OL, because these guys are veterans that played terrible and basically lost us the game.

 

[209RamsFan]

If the Rams OL can turn things around and open up the run game like we expected, that should help whoever is in at QB. Teams are gonna stack the box though, so it wont be easy, but the Rams are dead in the water without running the ball. Teams are gonna force the Rams to win on the arm of whoever is in, then tee off when the Rams have to pass.

It doesnt matter how good the D is, if the O cant sustain drives and give the D a breather they will wear down and gameover.

Yup....our O line getting owned will make it damn near impossible to Win.