our reactions to the Lions game

Dan Campbell wasn’t kidding on his opening press conference when he stated that they would bust knee caps….

Rams gotta score TD’s in the red zone. A TD in those trips wins the game…

Stafford had a very very good game, but too bad he forgot where play clock was located in Detroit…. those were costly 3rd qtr timeouts

Going into the  game, I thought the Lions’ biggest weakness was Dan Campbell’s game management.  Today McVay blew it… even the last time out that he had left was used after the 2 min warning… choked.

on to 2024….

We played tough, but now it is time to concentrate on free agency and the draft.

I’m still pushing for us to sign, either AJ Espensa or Shaq Lawson. The Bills can’t sign both. Yes, they are Edge Rushers. Which one is available, 4 years $24 M, $18 M guaranteed, which means resigning certain guys, like Witherspoon probably can get a 1 year $2 M deal, Wentz 1 year $2 M deal.  Re-sign Demarcus Robinson for 2 years $5 M,

If we get that Edge Rusher, than we can draft a CB, and a Center

I want Hoect to be moved to DE

Bad officiating.

Bad tackling.

Bad red zone execution.

The Rams almost overcame all three to win a playoff game against a really good team in a hostile environment.

As it is, they came up a little short but what a season from a rebuilding team that’s WAY ahead of schedule.

Can’t wait for next season.

Now, somebody beat the 9ers. Preferably before the Super Bowl, but if not, definitely in the Super Bowl.

That’s all that matters now.

yeah it was a bad call. but i think there were blown calls both ways.

i think red zone inefficiency was the culprit. also the first half defense could not stop the lions. the only drive they stopped the lions offense was on a blown call by the refs.

kyren williams injury didn’t help either.

and puka. wow. only target he failed to catch was on a missed pi call which he almost certainly would have caught by the looks of it.

zn wrote:

Analysts I’ve seen have shown that he still runs routes like a rookie and can improve in that area.

this. i remember seeing a video of him and kupp. they were doing these footwork drills. the difference between the two was so drastic. if puka can improve this skill, i gotta think his route running will improve make him so much more effective. not just getting open but having more space after the catch when he gets the ball. also maybe make him more effective in the red zone where there’s more traffic.

and i agree too that his hands can improve. he seemed to have occasional concentration lapses. kupp had this problem his rookie year and was able to improve dramatically.

Tough to overcome all those no calls against Detroit. Listening to PFT Live right now and Chris Simms and Florio are spending a decent amount of time talking about the majority of calls going in favour of the Lions. Spent a lot of time on the how the ref didn’t call roughing the passer on the Lions when Stafford was hit by the entire defensive line.   For me it is cathartic to hear this.

Anyway, it was  good game. Morris does a great job making adjustments after halftime. We saw it last night, and we saw it all year. At the time I was disappointed that Kyren Williams wasn’t involved inside the ten on the Rams first drive that ended in a FG. In retrospect, the Lions were strong against the run all night so perhaps nothing would have happened there. Although, Williams has had great results in the screen game deep in the redzone.

Moving forward I am excited to see upgrades in the secondary. It would also be nice to see Hoecht and Jonah Williams replaced. Another threat at wide receiver might be needed if Kupp has some sort of long term injury. Fun season.

As Canadaram mentions, yeah. They need another wideout or two, and this looks like an exceptional draft along those lines. The Combine, interviews, Med evals, and Pro Days will shake up the order several more times before the draft hits, but a coupla tall, freakish wideouts are likely available for the Rams in the 3rd or 4th rounds: Jerry Rice’s son, Brenden Rice (USC), plus J.Michael Sturdivant (UCLA). Both guys are on Bruce Feldman’s Freak list. Sturdivant has a 23.2 GPS time, at nearly 6’4″.

Also: Not sure about this, but I think if Tampa wins, Baker Mayfield’s 6th round comp becomes a 5th rounder, and it may help Rams slotting in the draft, too. They might go from 22 to 19. Worse case is 20 now, if this site is correct:

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2024/1/14/24038547/rams-draft-order-2024-first-round

And, of Morris is hired as HC this go-round, the Rams get a 3rd round comp in the upcoming draft, and in 2025. That would essentially take the place of their lost 4th rounder, and fill in the large gap between their third and fifth round picks (84 to 153 and 154).

Not knocking the effort of anyone on the Rams D, but they just don’t have the requisite athleticism at a few spots. They need upgrades at both corners, and likely both safeties, too. Fuller and Johnson probably won’t be back, as the Rams have a tendency to move on from their safeties in a hurry.

Hoecht is a high effort guy, with crazy straight line speed for someone his size, but he doesn’t have the twitchy/bend/agility needed to cover in space. I think he’d do better gaining back some good weight and playing the D-line instead of edge.

They could use a hoss at DT, too. Draft someone in the 330 or bigger range. I’m also hoping Turner continues to develop. He played way above his 3rd round slot, but he can get better. Good place to start would be conditioning. He has a bit of a gut, and that’s basically just useless extra weight for smaller DTs. The belly doesn’t add speed to power for short, relatively light, quick D-linemen. Turner needs to move in with Donald this off-season, and try to keep up with his maniacal routines.

Already doing my mock sims, and taking advantage of the impossibly fantastic trade offers sent my way before each pick, so I’m usually drafting 14 to 20 guys for the Rams. I know I know. Never gonna happen in the real world. But it’s fun to dream:

https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/

canadaram wrote:

Another threat at wide receiver might be needed if Kupp has some sort of long term injury.

i think the bigger concern now is higbee. probably out until at least mid-season. they need another tight end. hopefully allen can step up. but they need someone else. hopkins. not sure if his contract is up.

zn wrote:

Yeah Hopkins is a UFA in 2024. But I doubt they pay him because the Rams have used Allen far more than Hopkins, which makes you wonder if they even want Hopkins. (Allen has 192 snaps to Hopkins 96. Heck Hunter Long saw 55 snaps and he was on IR for all but 4 games.)

yeah. doubt they bring back hopkins. i like what i’ve seen of allen but they can’t go into next season with just allen and long. maybe they draft one. or another trade.

Its hard not to be very-optimistic about next year.   I mean, they really dont need much more.  IF they hit on some draft picks, sign a couple solid vets, and stay healthy — they can have quite a year.

I dont remember another year quite like this one.  Maybe the 79 Super Bowl year is closest?   They were 9-7 i think.  We didnt expect an NFC title and a close game with the Steelers.

Sometimes a team’s losses say more than the wins.  Ya know.  The Baltimore loss and Detroit loss said so much about this team.  More than any of the wins, i would say.

They showed heart as well as talent.    Not a bad start to a third chapter for McVay.  The Goff years.  The Super Bowl run with Stafford.   Now, the…what?   We’ll see, i guess.

w

v

By far the best of wildcard round Puka Nacua setting single game receiving postseason rookie record was awesome. Watching Stafford take elbows to the head on the end of a 3 step run that started after the ball was thrown that shot knocked him down and the other asshole knees him in the head and rib stomps him for good measure the camera stops and the ref’s shoes are center frame, he saw every single bit of it and did nothing. Can’t wait till next year!

zn wrote:

They need various things on defense. On offense IMO above all they need a true 1B running back. The Rams were a different team in games where Wms either didn’t play or was held to under 100. Like–yesterday. It follows that if you have another RB who can get premium yards, your offense is better off all the way around.

I also think they need a capable back-up QB.  Odds of Stafford playing all 17 games are about nil.  Maybe that guy is Stetson, maybe not, but they need a better option that the likes of Rypien…