Arizona on thursday. Thoughts?

Vegas has the Rams as 3 to 3.5 point favorites as of this writing. When was the last time they were favored over a winning team?

I think the Cards are in for a world of hurt.

Maddy wrote:

My thoughts are all very positive. I can’t wait to see them play these days.

Same here.

Can’t remember the last time I felt this way.

I think the AZ game comes down to 1 question:

Do we make numbers of ridiculous, game-losing mistakes?

Yesterday (just watched the rewind) we made enough mistakes to lose a game by 20 points. Penalties–BAD penalties. Missed kicks. (Zeurlein, you idiot!) Missed TD passes. Red Zone meltdowns. Really poor pass blocking. Lots and lots of errors.

We got away with it because A) the D is playing really well, B) the Offense was productive, C) the STs (other than Zeurlein) were superb and, most importantly, D) WASH sux.

AZ will not allow us to make that level of blunder. They won’t let us get away with just a few errors.

Now, please understand. I am not sayin we have to play our A game. I figure that our B game might be good enough …

IF we play disciplined, efficient football. I think that, given AZ’s injury status, we are the better team. We can beat them, I believe, in a tough, close game.

But ONLY if we don’t give away like 17 points on dumb-ass blunders. We cannot afford that against AZ.

And by the way, you guys know my mantra. Under Jeff Fisher, we have not yet won anything like a “big game.”

This is the biggest game we’ve had in many years. It would get us to .500 and a good chance to avoid a losing year or even win 9. And it’s against a really good, albeit beat up team.

Are we ready for that? I have no bleeding idea. We have not been the last 3 years. At some point, however, a building team needs to learn to step up and get it done. Will it happen Thursday?

If it doesn’t, we won’t have another chance until next year. We’ll be at 8 losses with only an outside chance at .500. And the last 2 games will officially become dead rubbers.

We’ll see, won’t we?

And Greg Williams still blitzes too much and plays too damn much soft coverage.

Dak wrote:

I look at the rest of the season this way: The Rams have to keep winning so they can go into Seattle and play in Week 16 for what will be their Super Bowl. I want that to be a game that matters, and if the Rams are 8-7, playing for a winning record will matter a lot, even if there are no playoff hopes. And, it will matter to the Seahawks, I’m sure, because every win means a better chance of playing at home in the playoffs.

Exactly. Going 9-7 would matter, as the 10 wins mattered last year for AZ.

However, Fisher will have a real challenge keeping the team focused enough to run the table. With the playoffs OFF the table, it’ll be hard to keep the momentum going game after game. Suppose we beat AZ on Thurs. night … but are officially eliminated from the playoffs? Can we really keep it going for another TWO games? AZ was playing their last game for the division last year, if I recall.

Realistically, I see us going 8-8, losing to either AZ or SEA. That would be a bit of an improvement, but pretty disappointing.

This team is so frustrating. It really, honestly should be in the Super Bowl conversation.

OL and QB for next year!

rfl wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dak wrote:</div>
I look at the rest of the season this way: The Rams have to keep winning so they can go into Seattle and play in Week 16 for what will be their Super Bowl. I want that to be a game that matters, and if the Rams are 8-7, playing for a winning record will matter a lot, even if there are no playoff hopes. And, it will matter to the Seahawks, I’m sure, because every win means a better chance of playing at home in the playoffs.

Exactly. Going 9-7 would matter, as the 10 wins mattered last year for AZ.

However, Fisher will have a real challenge keeping the team focused enough to run the table. With the playoffs OFF the table, it’ll be hard to keep the momentum going game after game. Suppose we beat AZ on Thurs. night … but are officially eliminated from the playoffs? Can we really keep it going for another TWO games? AZ was playing their last game for the division last year, if I recall.

Realistically, I see us going 8-8, losing to either AZ or SEA. That would be a bit of an improvement, but pretty disappointing.

This team is so frustrating. It really, honestly should be in the Super Bowl conversation.

OL and QB for next year!

If they lose again, I just hope it isn’t until Seattle. I think that’s definitely possible. And, no, I think this team will remain focused. There are some vets who have been waiting to play for a winner, and they’re going to want this very badly.

It would be a big let down to lose to Arizona.

I want to see really good football played by this team, which I know we are capable.

Although we did shutout washington we had a slew of penalties that killed drives and momentum. I don’t want to see that thursday.

I am not worried about the defense, but I want the offense to be efficient and effective. Hill was sacked 4 times yesterday, and at times he looked a little jumpy to me. I also want to see better play calling in the redzone.

I am very happy and stoked about this team and thursday couldn’t come any sooner.

But if we beat the cards, and giants. Mark my words, the last game vs seattle is going to be a huge game and a preview of whats to come in 2015.

i really like the way the offense is playing right now. nice mix of plays.

love the way the defense is playing. this is the dominant defense i was expecting to see.

but i agree with rfl. lots of mistakes yesterday that washington failed to capitalize on. years ago that would have been a loss but the rams won because they are that good. and washington is that bad. that’s good. but this team should expect more.

so what kind of team do we see on thursday? a team that truly is trying to find consistency and achieve excellence or a team that continues to fail to learn from their mistakes? i’ve seen enough to realize that this team is capable of having a winning record. no more moral victories. no more lessons to be learned for next season. i want to see a team that has put it all together. i want the rest of the league to take notice. so fisher put out the six picks for the coin toss yesterday? fine but i want that trade to REALLY mean something. i want this team to take that next step toward achieving greatness. i want that trade to be talked about for the next 50 years. and i think it could start with a win on thursday and the rams on their way to finishing with a WINNING record and a serious eye toward super bowl contention NEXT year.

ya know? so far that trade is only significant to two teams. the rams. and washington. that’s it. that’s not enough for me. i want this trade to matter to the whole league. and i want the league to feel it for years to come. dare i say i want this trade to be a part of nfl lore. the type of story fans hear about about but never witnessed personally. i’m excited.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by InvaderRam.

The Rams “D” descends upon Drew Stanton like the Harpies treated King Phineus.

And Gagatron, the spectre in Mr. Frankes nightmares, redeems himself with a 65 yard game winner.

I’m boldly predictin the Rams win 29 – 3.

I watched the Cards after the Rams this past Sunday. The Cards receivers are great, Stanton is decent, and they play to win the game – secondary is agressive – lots of takeaways. We’ll see.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by sdram.

I dunno whats gonna happen, but this
is a game a ‘good team’ should win.
A home game against a team with a back-up QB.

The Cards aint the Raiders or Washington,
thats for sure. They can street-fight
with the best of em.

I’m excited.

Tavon and Cook and Hill,
need to hold onto the ball.
I dont think the Cards can win
without turnovers.

w
v

Biggest concern about tonight’s game?

How well can the Rams o-line hold up against a really good front seven? They’ll have to play much better than they did in Washington last week where they gave up 4 sacks and didn’t open up a lot of holes for the running game.

I don’t think some of the gimmicky plays that the Rams use like that jet sweep they run with Tavon will work against a disciplined defense like the Cardinals. To create running lanes they’ll have to do it the old fashioned way. Put a hat on a hat and move them out of the hole in coachspeak.

On the other hand I don’t think the Cards (or anybody except maybe the Seahawks) can afford to stack the LOS against the Rams anymore. With the emergence of Brit and Bailey the passing game is something defenses have to contend with.

The Rams o-line is the only worry I have right now. There’s really no other weaknesses on this team. Perhaps there are some areas that could be improved but I wouldn’t consider any of those areas a weakness….ummm except maybe place kicking. The jury’s out on that.

Turnovers.

As for the O-line, Barksdale will certainly need to be sharper than last week, but the backs could stand to do a better job of picking up blitzes, or when an O-lineman whiffs.

Hopefully, if there are breakdowns in pass blocking, Hill with throw it away, or just take the sack. Sometimes a punt is a good play, especially for this team. The defense is playing well, our coverage units are good, and our punter is excellent.

If the play ain’t there, just eat it, and punt.

No turnovers.