our reactions to the Denver game

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  • December 25, 2022 at 1:29 pm #142252
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator

    Great win. Nice to see. It was a classic Walsh-style WCO with methodical drives and Mayfield has a very fast release. First game I’ve seen where the TEs had more catches than the WRs.

    December 25, 2022 at 7:38 pm #142262
    Avatar photocanadaram
    Participant

    Mayfield and Murchison finally paying dividends is a relief.

     

    December 25, 2022 at 7:43 pm #142264
    JackPMiller
    Participant

    I feel that it’s been awhile, since our Offense put over 50, in a game. If correct, I think the last game we scored over 50, was back 4 years ago.  Beating the Chiefs, 54-51. Then again, I’m old, and can’t remember things as I used to.

    December 25, 2022 at 8:23 pm #142268
    Hram
    Participant

    Wow

    Can we play Denver every week 🙂

    December 25, 2022 at 8:52 pm #142269
    Avatar photowv
    Participant

    Its an NFL win, so no complaints.   Everyone looked good.

    But….man, Denver looked like they never came out of the dressing room.  I’ve never seen such lame, listless tackling.

     

    w

    v

    December 25, 2022 at 11:22 pm #142281
    Avatar photojoemad
    Participant

    Denver’s defense is very good… but the Rams easily moved up and down the field on their asses…

    Denver’s offense stinks.

    Rams dominated today, that was great to see.

    I think the Rams will kick the Chargers back to San Diego next week

     

    December 26, 2022 at 9:32 am #142285
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Where was this team all year? Akers ran with confidence, serious drive, and force. He looked great. So did, shockingly, the O-line. They often opened huge holes for the backs, and protected Baker, who looked excellent too. Made me think the Rams need to re-sign him. But I’m guessing he will decline so he can start somewhere else. Baker as a backup, though, would be seriously good for the Rams in 2023. They haven’t had a top shelf backup since . . . Foles? At the very least, it would allow them to increase compensation via a trade during the 2023 season, which might help Baker too. He might find a better situation during the season, after team injuries, than he would this off-season.

    Regardless, it was a lot of fun to watch the Rams hitting on all cylinders. Offense, defense, special teams, generating turnovers, sacks, extra effort, etc. Players across the board were playing with passion and a ton of want-to. And I think they may have found a nice addition to the D-line rotation in Murchison. Seems to kinda fit the scouting report I read, which basically says he’s a limited athlete with a lot of play-hard in him. Guessing he’s a better athlete than initially credited, and has even more want-to than they thought. Short, squat, quick, and tough. Could really help give Donald a rest, and Donald could coach him up. He’ll be 26 next season, so he’s just coming into his prime.

    Anyway, part of me, going into that game, just wanted the Rams to tank so they could get better draft picks. But another part of me thought they needed to end on high notes to build for 2023, morale-wise, etc. This game was a boost in that direction, obviously. May end up being far more important than a shift in draft spots, give or take. It’s also possible . . . though perhaps remotely . . . that if the Rams play terrible football from here on out, they risk losing McVay and/or  Donald to retirement. This win may diminish that possibility.

     

    December 26, 2022 at 10:33 am #142286
    Avatar photocanadaram
    Participant

    I thought production of both Higbee and Hopkins was interesting. When was the last time the Rams have had two TE’s have such strong games ? Did this happen because of game planning, (i.e. something that the Rams recognized in Denver’s defense)? Is it a preference of Mayfield? Or is it simply because Kupp and Robinson are out? Anyway, I had high hopes for Hopkins after the Super Bowl, and in this mess of a year he just hasn’t had the opportunity to come through.

    December 26, 2022 at 11:43 am #142287
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator
    canadaram wrote:

    I thought production of both Higbee and Hopkins was interesting. When was the last time the Rams have had two TE’s have such strong games ? Did this happen because of game planning, (i.e. something that the Rams recognized in Denver’s defense)? Is it a preference of Mayfield? Or is it simply because Kupp and Robinson are out? Anyway, I had high hopes for Hopkins after the Super Bowl, and in this mess of a year he just hasn’t had the opportunity to come through.

    IMO? They were basically down to one healthy experienced WR, Jefferson. They’ve lost Kupp, Roninson, Skowronek, and McCutcheon (although he’s a rookie). Their receivers now include Powell and Atwell, neither one of which are true receivers, and Trammel.

    Also notice Mayfield never went downfield. He has a great, quick release so basically they built a classic WCO methodical short passing game around him, which also helped the OL. Having 2 TEs during the game helped the run blocking too.

    I cannot remember a single game from the Rams long history where the TEs caught more than the WRs. It was also clear to me that Higbee and Hopkins knew how much of the game was being put on them, and knew that they had to step up. That was Higbee’s best game since I don’t know when.

    December 26, 2022 at 11:45 am #142288
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Canada,

    Good points. I thought much the same. Both tight ends looked really good, and they battled for extra yards as well — always a good sign.

    Watching on TV, I’m guessing we often can’t see how much of it is the lack of receivers getting open, doing what they need to do to get open, or other factors. Does this or that receiver look relatively bad because of their own failures, or is it just a lack of inclusion in the offense? Scheme, play-calling, QB-play, O-line, or the receivers themselves failing to get separation, etc. A mixture of all the above, and so on.

    Throw in, as you mentioned, players like Kupp who get most of the targets, and there’s just not enough footballs to go around.

    Going on the eyeball test alone, though, if Hopkins, for instance, can produce against a pretty good Denver D, it makes sense that he can do it in most cases. That tells me he’s been underutilized, and I’ve always thought Higbee was a solid TE.

    Next season, it might be a good idea to diversify the scheme, become more inclusive. I’d also like to see the Rams implement quick, short passes more often, if for no other reason than to protect Stafford. It may not be pretty, but you can dink and dunk your way down the field for seven. Other teams do. A score’s a score, etc.

    December 26, 2022 at 11:53 am #142289
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    ZN,

    Good points too. Though I thought McCutcheon played yesterday . . . ?

    What’s your take on the Rams at least trying to keep Mayfield? I know the odds are against it, both from a salary cap and personal goals POV. Mayfield is said to really want to start, and he knows that won’t be in LA, at least as long as Stafford is there. So he’s gonna want to go where he can start. But he looks really solid with this offense, even with it being decimated, and the Rams have invested too little in the backup spot. Wolford and Perkins do not look like starting-caliber QBs at this moment in time. They need someone as good as BMayfield . . .

     

     

    December 26, 2022 at 12:24 pm #142290
    Avatar photozn
    Moderator
    Billy_T wrote:

    ZN, Good points too. Though I thought McCutcheon played yesterday . . . ? What’s your take on the Rams at least trying to keep Mayfield? I know the odds are against it, both from a salary cap and personal goals POV. Mayfield is said to really want to start, and he knows that won’t be in LA, at least as long as Stafford is there. So he’s gonna want to go where he can start. But he looks really solid with this offense, even with it being decimated, and the Rams have invested too little in the backup spot. Wolford and Perkins do not look like starting-caliber QBs at this moment in time. They need someone as good as BMayfield . . .

    I could be wrong about McCutcheon.

    If they lost Mayfield they would get a high comp pick for him, and to me that makes more sense than overpaying to have 2 #1 qbs.

    Now if Stafford retires, then we have a different story. That could mean trouble in terms of dead money though.

    Or presumably, in theory anyway, they could jettison Stafford for Mayfield, but then that means paying dead guaranteed money for Stafford to not be on the roster while also giving Mayfield a starting qb’s contract–while he’s a FA, which means having to compete with other bidders for that contract.

     

    December 26, 2022 at 1:08 pm #142291
    Avatar photonittany ram
    Moderator

    The only bright spot for Russell Wilson is that he won’t have to face a Rams defense again for four years.   It’s not like he was having a banner year, but has any defense ever made a star QB look like a chump as routinely as the Rams defense has made Wilson look over the past 8 seasons?  Doesn’t matter who the coordinator is, what scheme they run, who the players are…

    I agree with wv.  The Broncos didn’t look like they wanted to be playing on Xmas- especially their defense which has been stout all season.  Could be they weren’t ready for the Rams’ heavy use of two tight ends and couldn’t adjust, but to me it looked like they weren’t giving their best effort either.

    Akers finally looked like the back they drafted him to be.

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