What did you learn from week 9?

[shaunpinney]

Apologies for being late in on this one, but I've been busy at work & family things.

Well, it was bound to happen, we took an L, but what did you guys take from the game?

Here's what I learnt.

1. We got beaten by a damn good team. Brees, Thomas and Kamara were amazing.
2. Our O did not get flustered, I was expecting it to implode when the points were racking up against us.
3. Why does it take our D so long to get going? And why do we give up so many 3rd & longs?!? I have to be honest the D has not lived up to the hype of all the massive names we signed in the offseason.
4. I think Fowler is a great addition, definitely brought something extra o the edge, its a shame though that Brees truly is one of the best and we couldn't get to him.
5. Some of the play calling was a little strange, I do think that McVay was struggling against the Saints D to find a chink...
6. And finally: Rams fans are so predictable, we lose a close game and all of a sudden it's like "Fire Wade", "Sit Marcus Peters" etc etc - we're 8-1 guys!

What we need to see now is how we deal with that loss on the field this weekend, do the guys come back and win big or do they get taken down again? To me, the next 2 games will show us how far we'll be able to go post season.

 

[tempests]

-We don't have enough depth on the defensive side of the ball. That was a common critique by outsiders much of the offseason that I overlooked during a long winning streak, but it's become too glaring. Suh and Donald in particular are on the field almost every down and I'm concerned about how fresh they're going to be for a playoff run.
-Pass rush may be this team's biggest issue. PFF gives us credit for a lot of hurries, but Donald is the only player I see consistently pressuring the QB. He draws all those double teams and no one else can take advantage of their one on ones. It's frustrating.
-Brees may be a great QB, Saints may have a great offense, but they've had a lot of seasons like that under Payton. And we've played them before and sacked Brees 3, 4, 6 times in a game. If you want to get to a QB, you've got to bring pressure off the edge, and we haven't produced it. Lot of stock being placed in unproven guys like Fowler and Obo.
-Not sure what is up with Hekker, but he is punting the ball a full five yards shorter than he has In his last three Pro Bowl seasons.

-This team's saving grace is an explosive offense that can dig itself out of any hole. They have scored at least 29 points in all but one game this year and that has been, and will be enough to win most weeks. Should be enough to win in the playoffs too, but it rides on our defense and Talib having the transformative effect that many are expecting.

 

[SteveBrown]

6. And finally: Rams fans are so predictable, we lose a close game and all of a sudden it's like "Fire Wade", "Sit Marcus Peters" etc etc - we're 8-1 guys!
.

I siad all the negative before the game...lol. Haven't changed my mind because of it, but I will add that Wade doesn't really get the 'new schemes'. He is managing our talent pre-2015 style.....as are most D coordinators.

 

[Psycho_X]

3. Why does it take our D so long to get going?
4. I think Fowler is a great addition, definitely brought something extra o the edge, its a shame though that Brees truly is one of the best and we couldn't get to him.
5. Some of the play calling was a little strange, I do think that McVay was struggling against the Saints D to find a chink...

3. I don't know but they need to change it.
4. I saw enough from Fowler in this one game with 2 days of actual practice to make me very excited the rest of the season. Having him and Talib back is going to help a ton.
5. McVay's play calling the last two weeks has been driving me crazy. Which is stupid because we're still scoring out the wazoo. But I don't know why, just has seemed different than the first 7 games of the season. I think the loss of Kupp was part of it and maybe he's still not 100% so it still effected it against the Saints. The Saints focused 100% on stopping Gurley and so did the Packers. We can still over come that but would like to see McVay use more screens and bring back the jet sweep and a couple Gurley decoys to stretch the field. Idk, McVay's offense is averaging over 30 points a game so I'm nitpicking and shouldn't be lol.

 

[Liberator]

I have to be honest the D has not lived up to the hype of all the massive names we signed in the offseason.

Suh has done well. PFF has him as one of the top dlineman. Peters has been bad. Historically bad. That said, you don't just become this bad at 25 years old. He has to get it together but if history is any indicator, he will. Talib hasn't played much. Not sure I can judge the defense since it isn't a finished product atm.

 

[shaunpinney]

3. I don't know but they need to change it.
4. I saw enough from Fowler in this one game with 2 days of actual practice to make me very excited the rest of the season. Having him and Talib back is going to help a ton.
5. McVay's play calling the last two weeks has been driving me crazy. Which is stupid because we're still scoring out the wazoo. But I don't know why, just has seemed different than the first 7 games of the season. I think the loss of Kupp was part of it and maybe he's still not 100% so it still effected it against the Saints. The Saints focused 100% on stopping Gurley and so did the Packers. We can still over come that but would like to see McVay use more screens and bring back the jet sweep and a couple Gurley decoys to stretch the field. Idk, McVay's offense is averaging over 30 points a game so I'm nitpicking and shouldn't be lol.

I know what you mean - I know we’re scoring like crazy, but since that Seahawks game where Cooks and Kupp were injured it seems like his play calling has been more reserved, or is it just that D coaches have worked him out.

 

[shaunpinney]

-We don't have enough depth on the defensive side of the ball. That was a common critique by outsiders much of the offseason that I overlooked during a long winning streak, but it's become too glaring. Suh and Donald in particular are on the field almost every down and I'm concerned about how fresh they're going to be for a playoff run.
-Pass rush may be this team's biggest issue. PFF gives us credit for a lot of hurries, but Donald is the only player I see consistently pressuring the QB. He draws all those double teams and no one else can take advantage of their one on ones. It's frustrating.
-Brees may be a great QB, Saints may have a great offense, but they've had a lot of seasons like that under Payton. And we've played them before and sacked Brees 3, 4, 6 times in a game. If you want to get to a QB, you've got to bring pressure off the edge, and we haven't produced it. Lot of stock being placed in unproven guys like Fowler and Obo.
-Not sure what is up with Hekker, but he is punting the ball a full five yards shorter than he has In his last three Pro Bowl seasons.

-This team's saving grace is an explosive offense that can dig itself out of any hole. They have scored at least 29 points in all but one game this year and that has been, and will be enough to win most weeks. Should be enough to win in the playoffs too, but it rides on our defense and Talib having the transformative effect that many are expecting.

Depth on the D is seriously lacking, we’ve seen different players plug and play on the O all season. Our secondary especially has been less than stellar.

With regards to Hekker, he’s been working on his running and throwing ;-)

 

[shaunpinney]

I siad all the negative before the game...lol. Haven't changed my mind because of it, but I will add that Wade doesn't really get the 'new schemes'. He is managing our talent pre-2015 style.....as are most D coordinators.

Do you think the tackling deficiencies are down to Wade, or is the players?

 

[shaunpinney]

Suh has done well. PFF has him as one of the top dlineman. Peters has been bad. Historically bad. That said, you don't just become this bad at 25 years old. He has to get it together but if history is any indicator, he will. Talib hasn't played much. Not sure I can judge the defense since it isn't a finished product atm.

I really like our Dline, it’s beyond that things start falling apart :-/

 

[Ramstien]

NFL officials suck but that not anything new and this replay review is a joke because they are trying not to alienate the officials.

 

[Rmfnlt]

I learned that, if the Rams play a good team, with an elite QB and good Oline, they will struggle.

They either have to gamble with blitzes, which will kill them because their coverage is lacking.

I also learned that the Rams LB corps is just "OK".

Need to figure something out... Talib might help... Fowler might help... I guess we'll see.

Wilson will provide another challenge this week...

 

[Loyal]

I've learned that we are relying on an injured, 32 yr old free agent to fix our defensive backfield. I sure hope he can do it.

I also learned that our team has courage. They could have given up in that game and I think most teams would have...We still lost one way or the other, but the memory of coming back from a 21 point deficit to tie a great team in the 4th quarter, will help the Rams in dark periods to come...

 

[Steve808]

I know what you mean - I know we’re scoring like crazy, but since that Seahawks game where Cooks and Kupp were injured it seems like his play calling has been more reserved, or is it just that D coaches have worked him out.

Just my observation but it seems like the play calling has been a little more conservative lately, which may seem odd, because we are still piling up points and yardage.

But for example, we call a pass play on 1st down and it's incomplete. 2nd down we run it up the middle for no gain or a short gain. Now on third down we're in a tough spot. Somehow we need to start using Gurley more in the passing game. It seems like that really wrecks opposing defenses because they can't match up with Gurley as an additional receiver.

I'mo not in anyway criticizing McVay, but just my two cents opinion.

 

[Adi]

Losing sucks

 

[shaunpinney]

I learned that, if the Rams play a good team, with an elite QB and good Oline, they will struggle.

They either have to gamble with blitzes, which will kill them because their coverage is lacking.

I also learned that the Rams LB corps is just "OK".

Need to figure something out... Talib might help... Fowler might help... I guess we'll see.

Wilson will provide another challenge this week...

We definitely need to get to the QB somehow

 

[shaunpinney]

Just my observation but it seems like the play calling has been a little more conservative lately, which may seem odd, because we are still piling up points and yardage.

But for example, we call a pass play on 1st down and it's incomplete. 2nd down we run it up the middle for no gain or a short gain. Now on third down we're in a tough spot. Somehow we need to start using Gurley more in the passing game. It seems like that really wrecks opposing defenses because they can't match up with Gurley as an additional receiver.

I'mo not in anyway criticizing McVay, but just my two cents opinion.

There is definitely more 3rd downs recently and I for one don't like it...

 

[shaunpinney]

I've learned that we are relying on an injured, 32 yr old free agent to fix our defensive backfield. I sure hope he can do it.

I also learned that our team has courage. They could have given up in that game and I think most teams would have...We still lost one way or the other, but the memory of coming back from a 21 point deficit to tie a great team in the 4th quarter, will help the Rams in dark periods to come...

The fight back was amazing - even after watching it for the second time I was on the edge of my seat thinking "we might just do this!"

 

[Ram65]

1. Rams can't keep expecting the offense to bail out the defense.
2. Fowler can help. Talib will help soon. Maybe Obo will help. Rams defense needs all the help it can get.
3. Rams need to improve the pass rush and tackle better.
4. Rams offense is very good even when defenses take Gurley away.
5. Rams offense needs to get better late in games.

 

[thirteen28]

Since that was week 8, I've learned that I need a new flux capacitor for my DeLorean so I can go learn lessons from week 9.

 

[Jacobarch]

I don't get you guys saying D coords have figured out our offense? We're still scoring 30+ points a game. I just don't see that. We scored 14 in the first half and should have scored 17 if Greg doesn't miss a FG. It's not our offenses fault that we let the saints put up 35 on us in two quarters.