our reactions to the Giants game

wv wrote:

I gotta say, i did not think Davante still had that kind of game in him.

Surprising game to me. I thought the Giants would be much tougher. I thought their DLine would be a problem for the Rams Oline.

w
v

Me too.

And I don’t mean that in a sexual harassment kind of way.

I was expecting more Smash from the Giants, and I’m not sorry that they let me down on that point.

I actually think it’s surprising that the Rams did not hang up 42 on them, the way things were going.

Davante Adams made me happy. He did not look like a guy just barely hanging on at the end of his career. He Looked like a football player.

The Rams just looked like a team that showed up, did the football thing, and left.

Seeing AD out there just caused me to have multiples, though. I am so happy to see that dude out there.

I think the Giants were jet-lagged. What time did they get to LA ?

Also, I’m vexed that they didnt get Davante 6 more yards.

w
v

Every win without Myles Garrett counts double, you know. So the Rams are actually 2-1.

w
v

Tutu running that speed out to perfection. I’m not excited about the special teams though they look about the same, missed Fg trouble fielding kicks etc

A lot of what went on was a result of a backup qb and cb injuries.

But one thing that we can say for sure is the Rams Oline faced a solid Dline and they dominated. 7 yards per rush and very little pressure.

That is encouraging.

They now face the best sack-line from last year.

w
v

zn wrote:

It is true that the Giants were more banged up than the Rams. But of course the Rams were banged up too. On the Rams side, this led to the double specter of a top run game and a brilliant connection between Stafford and Adams, all against a very good defense.

There were times we can all remember where the Rams would lose games like this.

For me, in the midst of the weird combo of gaudy yet mistake prone offense, it was a pleasure to see players like Adams and McDuffie excel.

And in the middle of all this chaos league wide driven by compromised OL play, it was good to see the Rams OL just be solidly effective.

Some details.

* Kyren Wms said he worked on his speed in the offseason. To me, it showed. He didn’t suddenly become Tony Dorsett, but he had a bit more speed in his game.

* The Rams DL is so deep it’s almost unbelievable. And we didn’t even hear much from Fiske or Ford. I have this radical new deep revelation that leads to me to a profound new claim: namely, I think this unit is going to just get better and better. Really. I promise. It’s true. I swear.

* Some games, Lake just makes plays. When he does that he just seems to be tuned in to what the opposing offense is trying to do.

* Atwell, in his few plays, looked more confidently decisive than before. He’s still a role player, but it could grow into an important role.

* Ferguson took steps toward being the “TE in the 3rd WR” role that he is kind of destined for in McVay’s mind. I like the fact that both Stafford and McVay chewed him out for the dropped 3rd down pass, and that he responded to that in a constructive way.

* Protection is big for this offense. Higbee was more a 6th lineman than a true TE. I bet we see more of that this year.

* Everyone on defense plays crazier and more tuned in when Donald is active–that’s whether he is on the field or the sideline. Players used to say that with Steven Jackson on the team, you just played harder out of respect for him. I think it’s the same with Donald.

* Special teams has gone from being a game-killing, bottom of the league unit capable of causing multiple disasters, to being just somewhat below average/slash/mediocre. So…big improvement!

* On third and short, setting up a run look then rolling Stafford out to hit a TE who had lined up before the snap as a blocker? That play looks unstoppable. In the future, teams will defend that, but doing so will just subtract from the run defense. It’s a clever thing McVay does with that, since the play and then (eventually) just threatening to run that play will force defenders into contradictory no-win responses.

* To be honest? I knew Adams was good, we all did. But I had no idea how good. He truly ranks right up there with a very long list of great Rams WRs, including Ellard, Bruce, Holt, Kupp, OBJ, and Nacua. That’s just true of course but what I want to stress here is how much seeing him in that game just drove that point home. In one game, I went from “yeah he’s good glad we have him” to “wow.”

That’s a really good post, and I could expand on several of those points, but I’m triggered mostly by the last one on Adams. There were three plays that he made that weren’t just “good,” but which were funking great. One was the second? touchdown pass he caught? Both Stafford’s throw and his catch were just ridiculous. But he caught a few passes that no human being can catch during the game. This guy, Adams, is not just a random addition to a team. He is legend.

InvaderRam wrote:

they do need puka, but i thought adams was great.

one side benefit to having puka out. this might give ferguson a chance to grow into the offense a little bit. with some live reps against first team nfl defenses. in the long run, maybe this benefits the offense.

i hope.

Yeah, thats what i was thinking after the Ferguson TD. Good confidence-builder for him.

To me, the best omen about the Rams was the Oline. BigBlue’s Dline was intact. I expected a ton of pressure on Stafford — but he had all day. Plus they punched big holes for Blake and Kyren.
Much different than the Australia fiasco.

w
v