tweets & other bits … 11/9 & 11/10

RamsNewsNow@RamsNewsNow
Rams injury report: Cooks returns to practice, Matthews cleared for Sunday. The Rams are in pretty good shape entering Week 10 against the Steelers.

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from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2019/11/09/rams-steelers-week-10-preview-questions/

We talked to Steelers Wire editor Curt Popejoy to find out how Pittsburgh has played lately and what this game will look like without Conner in the mix.

The absence of James Conner is brutal. I’m honestly not sure how the Steelers will run the football. I have a hard time seeing the Steelers keeping up with the Rams offense. Handing the keys over to Mason Rudolph isn’t encouraging. Yes, Jaylen Samuels can play, but the Steelers won’t have enough offense to keep pace unless the defense generates some points. Rams 28, Steelers 17

Nick Wagoner@nwagoner
#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said TE George Kittle (knee, ankle) is DOUBTFUL for Monday night against #Seahawks.

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JB Long, from: https://www.therams.com/news/week-10-will-decide-if-rams-can-still-defend-the-division

Cash Me Outside

The Rams defense has been solid and has the potential to be elite with the addition of Ramsey and the return of Clay Matthews.

In fact, if you love outside linebackers, this is the game for you.

Not only have Matthews and Dante Fowler combined for 12.5 sacks, but Obo Okoronkwo came away from London with the first 1.5 sacks of his career. This week will be telling to see how they, along with Samson Ebukam, are deployed in Wade Phillips’ game plan.

On the Steelers side, T.J. Watt is the top-graded edge rusher in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. He and reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week Bud Dupree have combined for 13.5 sacks.

Three seasons with the @RamsNFL.
A decade with the @steelers.

The wheels on The Bus go round and round 🚌 @JeromeBettis36 #LARvsPIT: Sunday at 4:25pm ET on FOX pic.twitter.com/PYiPDVcQ2x

— NFL Throwback (@nflthrowback) November 8, 2019

SeattleRams@seattlerams_nfl
Realistically, the Rams probably need to finish 6-2 in order to make the playoffs, meaning the next two weeks could very well define the Rams season.

Gary Klein@LATimesklein
When I think of Rams-Steelers, can’t help thinking about their matchup in Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl. Three years later, my future brother in law and his friend – some kid named @latimesfarmer — sneaked into Super Bowl XVII at Rose Bowl and posed as concession workers.

J.B. Long@JB_Long
The NFC teams currently ahead of the #LARams are quarterbacked by Garoppolo, Brees, Rodgers, Prescott, Wilson, and Cousins.

Goff has to outduel them over the next 8 weeks, and that starts with protecting himself & the football.

ArrowheadAnalytics@ChiefsAnalytics
A machine learning model which takes into account all the positions of all 22 players on the field at the time of handoff is better at predicting how many yards an RB will gain on the play when we don’t know who the RB is than when we do.