setting up the Iggles game (Sunday 1/19, 3 et 12 noon pt)

Ive seen some crazy pundits falling into the overvaluing-a-wildcard-win syndrome.

It was a great win over the vikes. Wonderful win.

Eagles are a different animal. It will get ugly.

There’s no scheming their way out of being bludgeoned by a superior OLine. By the start of the fourth quarter Saquon will be over 100 yards.

Rams get a TD in garbage time to make it look close:
Eagles 28
Rams 20.

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wv wrote:

Ive seen some crazy pundits falling into the overvaluing-a-wildcard-win syndrome.

It was a great win over the vikes. Wonderful win.

Eagles are a different animal. It will get ugly.

There’s no scheming their way out of being bludgeoned by a superior OLine. By the start of the fourth quarter Saquon will be over 100 yards.

Rams get a TD in garbage time to make it look close:
Eagles 28
Rams 20.

w
v

Yeah. This is the one matchup I hoped to avoid. If the Bucs had only done their job, the Rams would be on their way to Detroit, and I’d be much more eager for this weekend. As it is, the Rams just had to relocate their families in a few hours to another city, and then they threw every ounce of juice they had at Minnesota. That has to be exhausting mentally.

Now, on a short week, they got home at 3 am, and who knows where they’re even practicing right now, and they have to cross the country to play a frozen game with precipitation in front of the most hostile fans in the business, against a team that took them behind the woodshed just a few weeks ago and dropped a total ass-kicking on them. I always have hope because “any given Sunday” is a thing, but this is a major phuken challenge. If the Rams win, I think I’m going to get serious about placing Sean McVay’s bust next to just a handful of other ones on the top shelf of coaches historically. I mean it.

From The Athletic:

The “panel” of experts is made up of coaches and team executives.

No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7) at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET Sunday
Expert picks: Eagles 8, Rams 1

Sean McVay can seemingly do no wrong.

The Rams coach rested his stars in the season finale, dropping a spot in the standings but shellacking the Vikings regardless. McVay believed in his team more than he cared about the opponent, and that’s the mark of a dangerous group.

It didn’t sway the voters, though.

“I think it’s going to be a replay of the (Eagles’) regular-season win against the Rams where they struggle to stop the run,” an executive said. “It’s a huge offensive line, and (the Rams are) small inside.”

The Eagles rushed for 314 yards in their 37-20 road victory against the Rams in Week 12. It was the second-most rushing yards by any team in a game this season. Running back Saquon Barkley piled up 255 rushing yards, 47 receiving yards and two touchdowns in that outing.

It frequently comes down to turnovers with the Eagles, too. They had eight giveaways during their 2-2 start but have only turned it over seven times in their last 14 games (counting Sunday’s playoff win over the Packers), including three in a row without a giveaway.

“It will come down to the Eagles being able to run the ball,” a coach said. “If the Rams can stop the run, they have a legit shot to win the game.”

The thing is, the Eagles run it well against everyone. They tallied 186 rushing yards in a Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and 211 yards on the ground in their Week 16 loss to the Commanders. So they are beatable even when the ground game is humming.

For the Rams to overcome these hurdles, along with the outdoor weather elements in Philly, they’ll need quarterback Matthew Stafford to be at his best and their young defense to pick up where it left off after racking up nine sacks and two takeaways in a 27-9 drubbing of the Vikings.

The Rams defense is fast, relentless and fearless.

“It will be a good game,” another executive said. “Stafford gets the ball out so quickly that it will minimize Philly’s defensive line. Can the Rams slow down Barkley? Their defense is playing well, and it will be fun to watch.”

Another coach added, “I love Stafford as an equalizer. But if Eagles QB Jalen Hurts takes care of it, I think they’re too deep and talented.”

The Eagles have knocked off the Rams in back-to-back regular-season meetings. The Rams are 2-1 against the hosts in the playoffs, but they haven’t met on this stage in 23 years.

zn wrote:

I think it’s a case of “this is a great bunch, they just don’t match up well with the Eagles.”

I don’t know if anybody does, but yeah, the Rams are quick and light on DL, and the Eagles are quick and heavy. So that’s a mismatch.

I assume the Rams are gonna just go with 12 guys in the box to try to slow Barkley, and try to make Hurts beat them. The Rams’ only chance is to keep Philly in a low-scoring game, and hope for a couple of breaks to fall their way. Nothing about this game looks like it’s an advantage for the Rams. I mean, the Rams passing attack may be superior to the Eagles’ passing attack, but the weather will stifle that. This isn’t going to be pretty. This will be as ugly as the game against the 49ers, I expect.

The only hope lies in the fact that the Rams have been winning ugly games this year, and Whitworth says that the Eagles’ advantages over the Rams will also be limited by the conditions. I’m guessing most of us will live to see.

Interesting graphic in this vid. McVay has never allowed a RB to get 100 yards in 12 playoff games. That is the longest streak, ever, according to the vid.

wv wrote:

So, if the Rams were to be competitive, how would it happen? What would it look like?

I dunno, but they have managed to be competitive with that other team with a great Oline – the Lions. How do they do ‘that’ ? I have no idea.

Great challenge for McVay. As Cowherd noted, going across the country, into the cold, short week, against a beast of a team thats already lambasted the Rams.

Great challenge.

One of those games where you can live with a loss, if they are competitive, smart, tough.

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v

This is where I have oceans of ignorance. The Rams said they got rolled by Philly before because they didn’t maintain gap discipline. Was that just on the two long runs? Or several times? That’s fixable, and…apparently…has been fixed. That’s not to say there will never be another mistake, but they’ve addressed that, and nobody has scored much of anything on them since Buffalo lit them up.

So how much did the Eagles steamroll the Rams when the Rams DID maintain their gap discipline? Some, for sure. A lot? I dunno. What does that mismatch look like if the Rams do what they’re supposed to do on defense? How far does Barkley get on a slick field? How much has the Rams’ OL coalesced since then? How well will Higbee play? How much will the loss of this LB dude hurt the Eagles? Are the Eagles a little too cocky/complacent about the Rams because of the ease with which they whacked them earlier this year? Does AJ Brown getting only 3 targets for 1 catch for 10 yards have anything to do with his reading a book on the sidelines? Why does he have a book on the sideline in the first place? Are there still remnants of fractures underneath the surface from last year’s meltdown? Does McVay see something on film that he can exploit this time?

I don’t have a clue.

What I can say with reasonable confidence is that the Rams pretty much need to score early and get out on top, something they have been pretty terrible at this year, because I don’t see them coming from behind in this one.

wv wrote:

Did you know AJ Brown was reading a self-help book. ‘Inner Excellence’
Michael Irvin defended Brown, saying Brown had some issues and was actually working on himself trying to improve.

I saw that.

And I saw somebody else say that it may reveal Discontent about his “underuse.”

I don’t think it means anything. And I don’t think it means anything, even if it does mean something. If you know what I mean. Even if he’s disgruntled, the only thing that really matters is whether he catches the ball and runs with it. The more he does that, the worse it is.

Anyway. It feels like Friday to me today, but it’s not.

Jared Verse: “I hate Eagles fans”

wv wrote:

Jared Verse: “I hate Eagles fans”

Wow. Got me all fired up. I’m ready to put on a helmet and get in there.