My view of the team so far

Two Sunday’s ago I had a stroke. I’m not dead (obviously), but lets just say I’ve had some free time. I’ll be fine. Prognosis is good. I’m doing my rehab. Yada yada…

Anyway, the downtime has given me a chance to watch, and rewatch, three of the Rams games. I’m embarrassed to say how many times…

I have a few observations I’d like to share. Plus I’m bored. And I kinda want to vent my strokey frustrations from being cooped up inside for so long. Please keep in mind these are merely my opinions on a few things. **They mean diddly squat**.

Let’s start with the QB the media loves to hate, Case Keenum. Case is not good. He just isn’t. But that’s comparing him to the sleek and shiny quarterbacks we see today. He misses a lot of easy throws, then he stands in the pocket, guns the ball downfield, and gets the crap knocked out of him. I don’t know what he is. He’s like a Safety from the 1960’s playing QB. He’s tough, smart, and the players on O seem to constantly support him between plays. He really is a leader on the field. I think his maturity is his strength. All I know for sure is that he can beat Seattle.

#73. Greg Robinson. I used his jersey number because I assume you’re all familiar with hearing it often during the game. I believe he is the 2nd most penalized lineman in the league right now. As he was last year as well. I know almost nothing about O-line play, but Robinson looks like a good pass and run blocker to me. Unfortunately, he has this weird knack for some really stupid penalties. I don’t know why, but they keep happening. One of these days, his 4th quarter knuckleheadedness is gonna lose a game.

Gurley. There’s nothing wrong with Gurley. When I go back and watch the coaches tape of the game (thanks Apple TV!) I get two views of every play. One from the side, and one from behind the offense. There is nowhere for Gurley to run. I’ve never coached, and I didn’t play football past junior high, so take everything I say with a barrel of salt. I don’t know. Maybe Barry Sanders could find a few more yards on those plays, but no one else would. Every defense so far has keyed on Gurley on first and second down. They are desperate to prevent Gurley from breaking a big run. Somehow the Rams need to change that.

Kendricks. He’s the toughest receiver on the team. Yeah, I know he’s a TE, but he catches balls in
traffic, gets hit a lot, and always seems to go forward to get a few more yards. Plus he wraps the ball up with both hands when he gets contact. He looks better than he ever has.

Britt. Well, he’s moving the chains. He’s still below average in my opinion, but he’s making catches in traffic, he’s taking the hits, and he’s only fumbled once. Britt wouldn’t be a starter on a LOT of teams in the NFL right now, but he’s gutsy and tough. He seems to be a leader on the team, too. He talks to a lot of the guys on the bench and between plays on the field. I think most of the players really like him and look up to him. That’s just the vibe I get from watching the inbetween stuff.

Austin. Bad hands. He drops too many easy ones in every game. It seems the play calls are designed to get him more opportunities than last year, which I love, but between Keenum’s misfires and Austin’s bad hands, the plays miss as often as they hit. They gotta correct that. Austin can move the chains if he gets some space. Gotta give him props for punt returns, though. He’s scary.

Quick. I’m not convinced. 2 good games after 4 years of almost nothing doesn’t impress me. If he does it for a whole season, then yeah, I’m in. He’s got speed, he’s got size, but he’s gotta make the catches and keep making plays.

Cunningham. He’s hurt right now, but where the hell has he been? If they work Gurley into the passing game more often then I can live without Benny, but this team can’t afford to lose any decent O player. Benny can move chains. We need him.

Harkey. Ummm… he blocks? I wasn’t sure he was still on the team, but yep, there he is.

Donald. Insane.

Quinn. Looks like the old Quinn to me. He gets held on almost every play. Usually an arm bar/jersey grab/collar grab/twisty thingy. Somehow he gets past all of that and still applies pressure. When you have time, take a couple of pass plays in a row and just watch Quinn. It’s amazing the number of gyrations he has to go through to get free of a blocker.

The rest of the D line. They’re all good. Sims, Hayes, Longacre, etc. They rotate in and out of the game, a lot, and seem to always apply pressure on every run and pass play. Every once in a while they blow by the runner and leave a hole big enough to float a raft through, but usually the D line gets the job done.

Barron. He’s everywhere. He seems to have a knack for being around the ball and whoever has it. He’s like a poor man’s Polamalu. He’s a ball hawk. A play sniffer. One of those guys that’s involved in everything. He stops a lot of big plays from happening.

Ogletree. A larger version of Barron. Same thing. Always in the middle of something. Both guys, Barron and Ogletree, are tackling machines. I’m pretty sure this defense doesn’t work without them. They play the run and the pass really well.

None of the other LBs stand out. Nothing special that I’ve seen yet.

Tru. Best corner on the team, by far. Seems to hate getting beaten. Even for a dinky slant or out route. I like that.

Gaines. He’s looking okay since coming back. A little slow to react, maybe? I don’t know. I know it helps having him back.

McDonald. Snot knocker. I miss Mcleod for that reason. But ol’ McDonald can hit with the best of’em. Great tackler from what I’ve seen.

Joyner. Probably the most fired up guy on the field. He is intense. He’s also really “handsy” with receivers. Constantly grabbing, holding, slapping. He gets called for it every now and then. But he can cover. His dedication to being good is not in doubt. This guy is giving 100% on every play.

Hill. Scares the crap out of me. He’s kinda like Davis. He seems to be ok, then suddenly he’s one step behind the action. I don’t know why, but I don’t like him. I don’t trust him yet, that’s why.

Davis. Worst defender in the secondary in my opinion. He tackles well, he plays hard, he seems to have a nose for the ball, but he’s always a step late. Just that one split-second behind everything that’s happening. I don’t like him. Now I know why he’s always a half-mile off the line of scrimmage. He truly is the last hope of stopping a big play from back there. To be fair, I did see him break up a pass in the redzone in the Cards game. He seems like the kind of guy that gives everything he’s got, then still gets beaten for a big play at a crucial moment. I know, he’s great on special teams. Sigh…

Alexander and Sensabaugh. I haven’t seen them do anything that stands out. To me, their placeholders.

Hekker. Excellent. I’m still waiting for a TD pass this year.

Zuerlien. Hasn’t missed yet. And I just cursed him. Prepare for a 35 yarder to be clanked off the upright against Buffalo.

Coaching. I love Williams’ D. But if my team played against it, I’d hate him. QBs really take a beating against us. Winston, Wilson, and Palmer looked like they’d gone 15 rounds by the 4th quarter. Palmer didn’t even finish. I actually felt a little bad for Wilson at the end of the game. He’s beaten up, and he’s been hit so often, but he just keeps giving it everything he’s got. I gotta admire him. QBs seem to struggle with the speed of the Rams rush. Well, except future Hall of Famer, Blain Gabbert. But nobody stops Gabbert. I mean, come on!?!?

This D forces turnovers. The constant heavy htting knocks balls loose, forces dropped passes, and punishes people for 3 hours. I’m not sure how long the Rams D can keep this pace, but it’s fun to watch. I wish they’d force more 3 and outs, though. The D has a habit of teams marching downfield, and then tightening up in Rams territory. So far, it’s working, but I don’t know how long that will continue. Kinda worries me.

The offense is bad. Been bad for years. They’re still at the bottom of the league in every meaningful offensive category. The one good thing I can say is they don’t turn the ball over a lot. And I probably just cursed them, too. Somehow, they have to establish a running game. For a whole lot of reasons…

Anyway, those are my observations. I’ve enjoyed having the free time to watch and rewatch all of the games. I have NOT watched the SF game. I should, but it’s too painful. I’m gonna call that game an anomaly, and move on. Plus I’m afraid I’ll have another stroke. My wife doesn’t want me yelling at the TV.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Winnbrad.