Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › our reactions to the Seattle game
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nittany ram.
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November 18, 2023 at 11:08 pm #146834
znModeratorA kind of replay of the first Seattle game, where the Rams came through in the 2nd half.
I am getting the sneaky feeling that this year, they’re better with just Nacua and no Kupp. No idea why.
November 19, 2023 at 8:06 pm #146855
JackPMillerParticipantNovember 19, 2023 at 8:20 pm #146856
ZooeyModeratorYeah. It’s inexplicable.
The Rams are better without Kupp.
That sentence makes no sense.
November 19, 2023 at 8:23 pm #146857ZooeyModeratorThat was not a good game. The Rams won, but I still think the Rams are less impressive now than they were before Kupp returned. It’s weirdish – I know not.
All I know is that we won’t see Nittany here this week. Probably stung him quite a lot.
November 19, 2023 at 8:47 pm #146859
canadaramParticipant“Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down.” – Charlie Brown
November 19, 2023 at 8:51 pm #146860
joemadParticipantI don’t know how the Rams won that game
Glad that kicker for Seattle missed.
on to Arizona
4-6
November 20, 2023 at 12:13 am #146866JackPMillerParticipantI just realized, if we beat Arizona next week, we would be 4-1 in the division. That means we have a winning record in the West. It is something to get excited for.
November 20, 2023 at 12:53 am #146870
Eternal RamnationParticipantIt looked like a race to the bottom from the 2 worst teams in football. Can’t believe they had two weeks and came up with that shit.
November 20, 2023 at 7:11 am #146874
nittany ramModeratorHappy for the win, but the only things I keep replaying in my mind are Stafford missing a wide open Kupp for a TD on a free play and then overthrowing an uncovered Henderson on a wheel route that might have scored…and McVay going empty backfield and passing when they were trying to run clock. That’s some Brandon Staley level “huh, wtf” shit right there.
Kendrick reminds me of Dexter McCleon in his ability to do something great and stupid all on the same play.
November 20, 2023 at 9:31 am #146875
HramParticipantWhat joemad said.
November 20, 2023 at 1:04 pm #146884
wvParticipantI just think Stafford is a QB playing with a hurt thumb. We’ve seen Kurt try to play with one. It aint always pretty. Ah well. A broken Stafford is still a gritty, wily, brainy QB.
I’m more impressed with this win, than some of uze, apparently. Tough, ugly win against a good team. I like Freeman, the RB.
Looking forward to watching Mr Goff, on genocide-day.
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November 20, 2023 at 4:16 pm #146901nittany ramModeratorI just think Stafford is a QB playing with a hurt thumb. We’ve seen Kurt try to play with one. It aint always pretty. Ah well. A broken Stafford is still a gritty, wily, brainy QB. I’m more impressed with this win, than some of uze, apparently. Tough, ugly win against a good team. I like Freeman, the RB. Looking forward to watching Mr Goff, on genocide-day. w v
I appreciate the grittiness shown by this team in fighting back to get the win. That’s been the one constant throughout this season of good, not so good, and spit-takingly awful football. A lot of teams, some with better records than the Rams, would have lost to the Seahawks, so I’m not poo-pooing the victory. I’m just a little disappointed by some of things I saw.
Good point about Stafford’s thumb, though.
November 20, 2023 at 5:07 pm #146902znModeratorI’m just a little disappointed by some of things I saw.
That’s there. It’s obvious. But then at the same time Kupp is not himself for whatever reason to the point where they’re better when he’s out of the game, Stafford is still not himself entirely, and Higbee is not himself either–he was missing wham blocks in the Green Bay game too. Those things make a difference on a young team.
But 4th quarter resilience is a good thing, especially for a young team–it’s good for a young team to learn the hard way that you can come back from your own mistakes and miscues and win when it counts.
Smith going out helped. Endless Seattle penalties helped. A missed FG with nothing on the clock helped. But…we’ve seen them still lose games like that in the genuinely bad years. IMO it means something that a young team in a re-set year experiences winning a tough game ugly.
On a personal note, I realized near the end of the game how wrong I was about something for most of the game. At first the run game wasn’t getting much done and I kept asking in the chat room, what is Freeman doing getting all the carries, where’s Henderson. But Freeman ended up with a productive game, including the final scoring drive where they took the lead (he had 25 yards on 5 carries in that drive). He was a strong factor in coming back and winning.
November 20, 2023 at 6:13 pm #146903nittany ramModeratorI am getting the sneaky feeling that this year, they’re better with just Nacua and no Kupp. No idea why.
I have a hypothesis but not enough energy or the means to test it.
When Kupp is in the game he is the number 1 receiver and Stafford’s first read on most plays. In years past that wasn’t a problem because he was usually open so the ball came out on time.
This season either due to age or injury, Kupp isn’t open as much. Stafford looks to him first but then has to go to his second or third read forcing him to hold the ball a little longer which disrupts the timing of the play. Stafford can get through his progressions as quickly as anyone, but I think most successful pass plays happen when the first read is open. I would bet that having to find a second or third option reduces the success rate.
When Kupp is not playing, Puka Nacua becomes the primary target on the majority of plays, and he’s open more often than Kupp is.
It also seems to me that Kupp isn’t getting nearly as many targets as past seasons. This would support this idea that he isn’t open as much.
Anyways, that’s my mostly uneducated guess about why Kupp has become a monkey wrench in the gears of the Rams offense.
It also means the Rams may have a tough decision to make re: Cooper Kupp this off-season.
November 20, 2023 at 6:25 pm #146904znModeratorThis season either due to age or injury, Kupp isn’t open as much.
I don’t think it’s that, meaning I don’t think it’s age or injury. I have firm absolute evidence of that which I’ve already sent you, I promise it’s in the mail. 😎 Anyway I think it’s more about timing and chemistry due to not practicing/playing as much. Game speed. That kind of thing. They are not in sync. It does look like Nacua is the better first read at this point and that Kupp isn’t getting it done in that role. This is bothersome the same way Higbee is–Higbee isn’t himself either but McV insists on starting him in spite of depth at TE. When Stafford, Kupp, and Higbee are all off at the same time it’s a mess.
November 20, 2023 at 7:00 pm #146905nittany ramModeratorThis season either due to age or injury, Kupp isn’t open as much.
Anyway I think it’s more about timing and chemistry due to not practicing/playing as much. Game speed. That kind of thing. They are not in sync.
Well, I hope that’s all it is but I have my doubts. It’s not like that was Kupp’s first game back. Yesterday’s game was his 6th. Plus Nine and Dime are best friends. They know each other about as well as a QB and WR can.
I would argue that Stafford was in sync with Kupp in his first two games coming off of IR. He had 8 catches for 118 yds and 7 catches for 148 yds respectively. The train didn’t go off the rails until his third game. Something changed then.
November 20, 2023 at 7:28 pm #146906znModeratorI would argue that Stafford was in sync with Kupp in his first two games coming off of IR
Well you could be right. I dunno. He went from 21 targets and 15 receptions in his first 2 games back down to 9 catches on 25 targets in his last 4. He was never this bad before.
He’s been “off” this year though, that’s for sure, even if it’s just 4 games that’s doing it. This season he is down to a 52.2% catch rate, the lowest of his career (the previous low was 66% and every other season he’s in the 70s). And a 43.5% success rate, also the lowest of his career (PFR says success rate means “a play that gains at least 40% of yards required on 1st down, 60% of yards required on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd or 4th down”). This year he’s averaging 4 catches a game when previously that was more like 6-7.
And it’s Higbee too.
November 20, 2023 at 8:40 pm #146907ZooeyModeratorMy son told me that Kupp had two drops all of last season. He had two in the GB game (I think it was GB), and we’ve seen him make that catch that would’ve been a TD yesterday. That was not an easy catch, but I’ve been trained to expect Kupp to make that every time.
He’s off. Higbee is off. And Stafford is off.
I know why, but I’m not telling you guys. Not for free anyway. Hit the Subscribe button, and I’ll reveal the answer.
November 20, 2023 at 9:28 pm #146909
InvaderRamModeratoryeah. the whole offense is out of sync. health, lack of time together. all those things. stafford was out of whack until that last quarter. even then i thought the offense got bailed out with some timely penalties. it’s not just kupp although he’s definitely part of it. so a banged up and out of sync qb and a banged up and out of sync wr. combined with an up and down running game and oline troubles.
November 20, 2023 at 10:26 pm #146910nittany ramModeratorI think you have to ask yourself why would an offense be “out of sync” 10 games into the season? Especially when the three guys who have the most experience in the offense (Stafford, Kupp, Higbee) are the ones who look “out of sync”. The guys with the least amount of experience Nacua, Freeman, Atwell, Williams (before going on IR anyway) aren’t “out if sync”.
I’m not saying I have the answer or that “out of sync” isn’t a real issue, but it doesn’t really tell us much. It can simply be a wastebasket term where we toss problems that are hard to identify.
November 21, 2023 at 10:00 am #146918InvaderRamModeratorI’m not saying I have the answer or that “out of sync” isn’t a real issue, but it doesn’t really tell us much. It can simply be a wastebasket term where we toss problems that are hard to identify.
well i would guess injuries would be the main culprit for being out of sync. but yeah i’m really only guessing.
November 21, 2023 at 10:23 am #146919znModeratorI’m not saying I have the answer or that “out of sync” isn’t a real issue, but it doesn’t really tell us much. It can simply be a wastebasket term where we toss problems that are hard to identify.
well i would guess injuries would be the main culprit for being out of sync. but yeah i’m really only guessing.
Injuries explain Higbee.
And quite possibly Stafford.
And maybe Kupp.
It’s just that the young team of 2023 doesn’t have a lot of room for errors or for waning production from the stars.
Being “out of sync” is not a cause, of course, it’s a symptom. When we say an offense looks out of sync, we mean that it lacks the cohesion and timing needed to be effective. One example is Higbee missing wham blocks. Another is Stafford missing wide open throws. Another is Kupp dropping passes he usually doesn’t drop. Saying they are out of sync is not diagnosing a cause, it’s describing obvious flaws in their play and production.
November 21, 2023 at 11:19 am #146921wvParticipantI think you have to ask yourself why would an offense be “out of sync” 10 games into the season?
Capitalism.
Do i have to explain football to everyone on this board.
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November 21, 2023 at 1:03 pm #146926nittany ramModeratorI think you have to ask yourself why would an offense be “out of sync” 10 games into the season?
Capitalism. Do i have to explain football to everyone on this board. w v
So you’re saying it would be best if all the passes going to Kupp be redistributed to other, less deserving receivers.
But, if all those receivers knew they were going to get passes anyway, what is their incentive to get open?
For chrissakes think before you type.
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