Well, that was a humbling experience...

[Rams43]

Especially that 1st half. Not gonna sugarcoat it.

Not saying that the sky is falling, mind you, just that I thought that the game was humbling.

I haven’t re-watched it yet, but here are a few general lowlights for an undefeated team that’s been #1 in everybody’s power rankings.

We looked outcoached.
The Packer dime was smothering our passing game.
Yet we couldn’t punish them with our vaunted running game ranked #1.
Where was the pass pro for this game from our #1 ranked OL?
Nary a Ram score in the 1st half from this high flying O? And then by a safety? Are you KIDDING me?

I mean, I didn’t recognize my team. It was as if I had stepped into the twilight zone.

The good news is that Wade made adjustments by mid 2nd quarter that put the brakes on the Rodgers train down to a reasonable number.

And McVay made his adjustments shortly thereafter.

Adjustments that good coaches with talented rosters can make. But make no mistake. Our coaches and team were blindsided early and often and this game had all the earmarks of a trap game and we barely managed to dodge a bullet.

More good news is that the Rams might benefit from this scary pre-Halloween wake up call. Better to see the new strategies employed and weaknesses exposed by the Packers than the surging Saints.

I sense that we’re not as good as we fans and a lot of pundits were thinking we were. We’re good, but maybe not THAT good, you know? The Saints will require our A game in all phases if we want to achieve HFA this season.

Like I said, it was humbling. But could be a blessing in disguise when we look back on this season.

 

[VeteranRamFan]

Very accurate assessment. Can't find fault with what you provided.

 

[Liberator]

Of course we looked out coached they were coming off a bye....

I also don't qualify it as a trap game. Packers should be a playoff team.

 

[NERamsFan]

One of my biggest concerns was primarily the lack of reaction to the systematic blitzes from their defense. I was yelling at my screen for screen plays, jet sweeps, etc to keep them off balanced; shoot, outside sweep runs like the one on the last play would’ve been very effective!!!

The other thing I was concerned with was Goff’s play. I understand he was under a lot of pressure and he did do a great job moving around to reposition his throws at times, but he was very erratic and inaccurate to some wide open guys.

With that said, we eventually adjusted and Goff stepped up. 8-0 feels real good!

 

[UKram]

We looked outcoached.but we won
The Packer dime was smothering our passing game.but we won
Yet we couldn’t punish them with our vaunted running game ranked #1.but we won
Where was the pass pro for this game from our #1 ranked OL? but we won
Nary a Ram score in the 1st half from this high flying O? And then by a safety? Are you KIDDING me? but we won

why do us as fans that have been throught the ringer the last decade or so suddenly assume we are going to blow out every team ..yes we are the best team in the NFL IMO ..but there are other goods teams out there that are pros too

yes we got punched in the mouth but we won !!!

we struggled with the blitz..id bet my last pound note Mcvay will have a plan in place if the saints try it next week

teams are going to to give us their best shots.. their A game... Mcvay said they showed some fronts they hadnt seen before.
Like TG3 said ..all that matters is the win and we have 8 of those bad boys

 

[yrba1]

The Packer dime was smothering our passing game.

Don't expect a repeat performance if the Saints or other teams try to play with that personnel

 

[UKram]

oh and another point ... its only humble if you arent humble in the first place and mcvay and co are pretty humble ...

 

[PhillyRam]

It was a trap from the stance that they were healthy, coming off a bye and it was a very important game for them when you look at their schedule and their current record. Was a huge game for them.

For the Rams, everyone is happy, they were 7-0 and just came off a 3 game road trip. So a let down was a distinct possibility especially with the Saints up next. So I am not too disappointed, good teams win games like this... Nowadays no team wins impressively each week. The league is set up that way, no one can be dominant all the time.

 

[BriansRams]

Yes, very humbling in a few ways.

1. We do not have any home field advantage, ever. That's a bigger problem than most people will admit.

2. Our pass defense (and run for that matter) just isn't above average at all. They really aren't. We say things like "Wade will figure it out" or "When it matters we stop them" but the fact is I'm worried about the playoffs and letting teams score 24+ points on us.

3. Gurley is insanely great. If there was just one little issue to have with him it's that when there's no big hole to run through, he seems to go down fast and easy. Other running backs I see move the pile a yard or two, or even shooting out of the other side of the line of scrimmage when there seemed to be no hole. I was startled by how a lot of times (if you go back and watch the game) he just disappeared at the line of scrimmage in a pack of 3 guys, and didn't gain 1 inch. But geez when Gurley gets to the second level he's not human. And his passing game is top notch. Feel bad even complaining about that one little aspect.

4. We need to blitz a little more. It makes a HUGE difference when we send 1 or 2 more. QB has no time at all.


In the end I'm not really complaining heavily. These 2018 Rams are a dream come true from a 40+ years Ram Fan. Loving this season! We just need to be sure we don't sputter out in any playoff game, or superbowl.

 

[Ramer]

Could the lackness of performance from last game at USC stadium be a trojan in disguise?
Do you think the coaches decided to approach this game at bear minimum in hopes to not give too much away for the Aints?... not saying looking past Packers and AR...only a rookie coach would plan that.. .but come one.. i can count the numbers of jet sweeps and counter blitz plays in 1 hand. I know personnel was an issue but you still need to wonder if coach McV took this one on the chin to give payton a POP on his kisser in route to 9-0.. I sure hope so... go Rams

 

[FrantikRam]

With the offense:

GB showed the NFL world the formula for our offense: stack the line and hold our WRs. But really, this is a formula that will stop every offense. McVay has probably sent 10 plays after every game to the NFL to review the officiating. They let the Rams get away with stuff too, but those holds really allowed GB to play the run and shut us down for nearly the entire half.

With the defense...was I disappointed? Yes. But with the benefit of hindsight, it was pretty amazing that despite our offense doing nothing for the first 26 minutes or so, that the Packers only scored 10 points. On top of that, the defense got us on the board and swung the momentum.

Having said all that..

McCarthy and Rodgers have a great track record coming off a bye - and this was at best a neutral field. After being down 10-0, we went on a 23-3 scoring run.

I like to look at how things actually shake out because certain things are correctable or with a bit of luck could have swung the other way. Example: We were up 23-13, Packers are facing 3rd and 9 - JFM gets a hand on Rodgers but the OL pushes him past as Rodgers steps up - he hits Adams deep and GB goes onto score.

If JFM holds or just bothers Rodgers a bit more, that pass is incomplete.

After GB scored we went down and got a FG - but if we were up 23-13 and got the ball back, I think there's a great chance that we punch it in instead of settling for a FG - at that point it's 30-13.

That's not what happened, so why does it matter? For the same reason that people *think* we only beat Minnesota by 7 or Denver by 3 - the reality is, in both games we were up double digits and particularly in the Minny game, if we have our kicker, we win by double digits.

I'm sure Packers fans are telling themselves this morning or this week that they outplayed the Rams - I see it as the opposite. Not only that, but they had two weeks to prepare - while we were coming home after playing three straight road games, and then dealt with possibly more opposing fans for their first home game in a month. All while GB held our WRs which disrupted the passing game and it went uncalled.

And we STILL won this game? Wow.

 

[thirteen28]

I think we came out lackluster and possibly a little worn down yesterday. Furthermore, McVay was very much off on his playcalling in the first half, as others have mentioned by the lack of screens and jet sweeps to deal with their blitz. Very slow to adjust when it was clear what they were doing.

Also, this was a game where we really, really missed Cooper Kupp. I have little doubt the O would have found its mojo earlier had Kupp been on the field. He's by far the most valuable slot WR in the game right now, and it's not even close.

 

[Jacobarch]

As McVay said in his presser the Packers did some things that they haven't seen before. Given they had a bye week to prep for the Rams they were able to make adjustments tailored to give our offense problems. It took a good quarter and a half to make our adjustments on both Offense and Defense. But it still gave us issues at the end of the day. I really hope our coaching staff and players find it humbling that we almost lost that game due to us being a little unprepared and a little flat coming out of the hole. I know the coaching staff is one of the best in the league so they wont be caught with their pants down again but it was a real eye opener.

I think teams will try to emulate what the pack did, Jam our WR's at the line and load up the box in the A-gap and give plenty of different looks. I think McVay has a little bit of a problem getting away from the run at times. It's not like it wasn't working against their Defense when we did run. It was just inconsistent at best and obvious when we were running. Again, hats off to the Packers coaching staff for bringing their A game. It's something we're going to have to get used to. Everyones gunning to bring down the best team in the league.

Cheers.

 

[LesBaker]

The Saints will require our A game in all phases if we want to achieve HFA this season.

Like I said, it was humbling. But could be a blessing in disguise when we look back on this season.

As usual @Rams43 good job with the postgame opinion.

The Saints will for sure require error free football. Brees is dangerous and has weapons that Rodgers sort of doesn't.

Packers should be a playoff team.

Not this year, they have a bad defense and haven't beaten anyone really.

And this was the best game they played to date........maybe they are turning it around but I'm not so sure.

One of my biggest concerns was primarily the lack of reaction to the systematic blitzes from their defense. I was yelling at my screen for screen plays, jet sweeps, etc to keep them off balance

Yeah I was thinking "how 'bout a draw or two to Gurley out of the shotgun to settle those guys down". But it didn't happen.

Furthermore, McVay was very much off on his playcalling in the first half

It seemed to me that he used a lot less motion than he normally does and that helped the defense out.

 

[Adi]

They punched us in the mouth to start the game , brought blitzes Goff was not ready for and stacked the box against Todd.

But great coaches make adjustments and that's what Mcvay did . He turned up the play action game and started using Gurley in the passing game . None of their LBs could gaurd Gurley and Sean exposed that .

 

[Mackeyser]

Especially that 1st half. Not gonna sugarcoat it.

Not saying that the sky is falling, mind you, just that I thought that the game was humbling.

I haven’t re-watched it yet, but here are a few general lowlights for an undefeated team that’s been #1 in everybody’s power rankings.

We looked outcoached.
The Packer dime was smothering our passing game.
Yet we couldn’t punish them with our vaunted running game ranked #1.
Where was the pass pro for this game from our #1 ranked OL?
Nary a Ram score in the 1st half from this high flying O? And then by a safety? Are you KIDDING me?

I mean, I didn’t recognize my team. It was as if I had stepped into the twilight zone.

The good news is that Wade made adjustments by mid 2nd quarter that put the brakes on the Rodgers train down to a reasonable number.

And McVay made his adjustments shortly thereafter.

Adjustments that good coaches with talented rosters can make. But make no mistake. Our coaches and team were blindsided early and often and this game had all the earmarks of a trap game and we barely managed to dodge a bullet.

More good news is that the Rams might benefit from this scary pre-Halloween wake up call. Better to see the new strategies employed and weaknesses exposed by the Packers than the surging Saints.

I sense that we’re not as good as we fans and a lot of pundits were thinking we were. We’re good, but maybe not THAT good, you know? The Saints will require our A game in all phases if we want to achieve HFA this season.

Like I said, it was humbling. But could be a blessing in disguise when we look back on this season.

They had 2 weeks to game plan. That's massive. I think teams coming off the bye have a 60% winning percentage or something like that. The extra week in the ultra competitive NFL is massive.

We didn't have Kupp who is our #1 option to defeat the blitz. This allowed them to go dime and disguise blitzes. That game is entirely different with Kupp and that cannot be understated.

I totally recognized this Rams team. They are a team that didn't panic. They KNEW the Packers were going to try and jump on them early and all they had to do was weather the storm and go out and execute. They did.

Also, the Rams couldn't have planned for how much they allowed Jaire Alexander to hold. It was literally so obnoxious that the broadcast team not only talked about it, but SHOWED the blatant no calls. Trust me when I say that the NFL really hates it when the slightest misstep is pointed out, let alone a bevy of blatant no calls and missed calls. The trip of Goff was embarrassing. I'd be embarrassed if I were a ref calling that game.

The only good ref that game was the lady linesman. Her ball spots were fantastic and she corrected bad spots by other officials a number of times. Best spot officiating I've seen in a long time, at least when it comes to ball placement and that counts for both teams.

Also, if you look at the two undefeated regular seasons, BOTH teams had some crazy luck getting there, be it the other team crapping the bed at the worst possible moment of just incredible luck.

I differ with others in that the only "lucky" part of the end of the game was Ty Montgomery taking the ball out. Ramik Wilson is a HARD hitter and our special teams is the best in the league, so it's not lucky that the Rams got the ball.

Also, this is the NFL and as Buffalo showed this season in Minny, even bad teams can jump up and bite a good team. Luck favors the prepared and NO ONE is as prepared as the Rams this season.

For a team that had nearly every ball bounce the wrong way for over a decade, I celebrate when we are able to win when things are less than optimal.

Who woulda thought we'd be 8-0? Other than Dave who I think this season was meant for!

We're a GREAT team and that includes if we lose a home game at one of the other top teams in the league.

Which I don't see us doing.

 

[Mackeyser]

They punched us in the mouth to start the game , brought blitzes Goff was not ready for and stacked the box against Todd.

But great coaches make adjustments and that's what Mcvay did . He turned up the play action game and started using Gurley in the passing game . None of their LBs could gaurd Gurley and Sean exposed that .

Yeah, it's funny... they stacked the box, but played dime. Was a pretty decent plan, especially without Kupp.

 

[Zodi]

The good news is that Wade made adjustments by mid 2nd quarter that put the brakes on the Rodgers train down to a reasonable number.

How so? Two of the Packer's biggest plays happened in the second half. Defense gave up 10 points in the first half and 17 in the second.

 

[Merlin]

I suspect the Packers' staff found some tells in the Rams' offense for down and distance. And again I think McVay is going to figure it out and he'll need to.

Their LBs were all over certain tendencies in the run game. Like flying at the snap IMO vice just reacting. Not every play of course, but more than seemed appropriate.

 

[jrry32]

The Packers DL won the battle in the trenches too often in that game. It's why they could defend us in nickel and dime. The right side of our OL got no push, and Kenny Clark took it to Sully all game long.