WOW … (official Cards game after-thread)

i’ve thought fred taylor more than once.

in the long-term, one thing i’d like to see happen is gurley developing the cerebral part of his game. like how faulk knew what every other player’s responsiblity was on any given play. just to be totally aware of what’s going on during the game. that’d be something else.

and we have yet to see his full array of receiving skills which are supposed to be top notch.

No mention of Tavon, yet, in this thread. On that video that zn posted, they used him as a decoy, helping to avoid over-pursuit and help open that hole for Gurley. He also looked like he ran some really good routes in this game, and the handoffs to Tavon worked really well. He’s becoming the weapon they envisioned.

As for Gurley, loved what he did in the open field. I’m still waiting to see if he can make something from nothing like Tre Mason and Cunningham can do at times. I wonder about his footwork in small spaces. Would like to see that develop. But, he’s a load once he sees a hole.

Glad to be wrong about this game. The 3-0 turnover differential was really the difference. And, of course, the Rams have just been super defending the red zone. Turn it around, and they were really effective offensively in the red zone, thanks to Tavon. And, Foles made some really nice passes when he had to. I think I was most impressed with the TD pass to Bailey.

Boy, though, we’ll miss Ogletree. He’s been a beast out there.

Arizona punted on their first possession.

Havenstein made a couple plays yesterday that have sort gone unnoticed. He somehow recovered Gurley’s fumble. I am giving him credit for it. Who else recovered it? He also got between Gurley and Honey when Honey was obviously trying to bait him. That could have saved us a costly penalty. I think Havenstein might eventually emerge as the leader of the OL.

Agamemnon wrote:

<span class=”d4pbbc-font-color” style=”color: blue”>Havenstein made a couple plays yesterday that have sort gone unnoticed. He somehow recovered Gurley’s fumble. I am giving him credit for it. Who else recovered it? He also got between Gurley and Honey when Honey was obviously trying to bait him. That could have saved us a costly penalty. I think Havenstein might eventually emerge as the leader of the OL.</span>

nothing quite like the relationship a running back has with his oline. i liked that he stood up for gurley. that’s important.

here’s an excerpt on the oline from turf show times.

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/10/5/9453713/rams-vs-cardinals-notes-and-recap

… Jamon Brown is a legit steal and possible pro bowl player. Well the latter was not just pro bowl yesterday, but he was All-Pro. He flattened Calais Campbell four times. 4 times. 4 X’s. Cuatro times!!!! This is Calais Campbell, and he happens to be one of the best and biggest guys in the NFL. Jamon whooped him on numerous occasions. The best one left a gaping hole which sprung Gurley for 50 yards. Rob Havenstein on the other side was kicking ass and taking names while run blocking. He had a wash down block that ultimately took out three defenders. Rodger Saffold was consistently getting to the second level and eliminating any threats. Greg Robinson blew one assignment on a pass pro and had a false start, outside of that he was excellent in the run game and really solid in the pass. Tim Barnes was abused however. He had a few decent blocks but the Cardinals found a weakness and exploited it. A sack was his fault and five stuffed runs came from him.

I watched the game on Replay. I may have to watch it again,
cause I was being distracted by a large squirrel and a blue jay,
but what I did take away from the game was:

1 The Rams and Cards play Steeler-Raven level,
brutal, hard-hitting, old-school football.
Man, what a brutal game. I must say, I enjoy
hard-hitting football. I’m a cave-man, i guess.
It would not surprise me, if both teams are feeling a bit
‘beat-up’ going into their next game.
My favorite plays from the game were not the TD’s or Long runs,
but the Hits. TJ’s hits especially. Even Janoris was hitting
hard. (the JJ INT was awesome, of course — is that guy finally
playing up to his potential? He seems to be playing smarter so far)

2 All the usual Ram weaknesses were on display in that game. The defense got
gouged by the Run and the pass. The offense was abysmal for most of the game.
I was not impressed with a lot of what i saw in the first OR
second half. But the one thing that ‘was’ indeed new was — Gurley.
He may very well change the dynamic a bit. He may be
the difference between 7/8 wins or 9/10 wins. BUT, he’s gotta
hold on to the ball.

3 I was impressed with the way Foles avoided any game-killing
mistakes and he did make some killer throws. He is NOT
Kellen Clemens or Austin Davis. He’s no Carson Palmer, or Russel Wilson
but he’s not a second-stringer either.

4 I would say the key to the game was simply the Rams Defensive
speed and pressure. It seemed to throw the Cardinal offense off,
‘juusssssst’ enough for a few passes to be rushed and a few passes
to be dropped. I mean, the Cards were obviously game, and not intimidated,
but the Ram D rattled them just enough to cause a few mistakes, in the
cardinal machine. The best example was Palmers last pass — the WR was
open and it would have been an easy pass to complete, and the WR was
well within winning-Field-goal range — but Palmer was just a bit off.
That was the game.

5 I’d love to see this defense have Gaines and Ogletree. But I ‘think’
they can still be a top five D without them. I think.

6 Every-time a defender was around Tavon, the defender was taking aim
at the ball, trying to strip it. I was holding my breath watching
the slo-motion replays.

7 Normally, I’d say Aaron Rogers is just gonna torch the Rams,
but…there is the Gurley factor, now. Maybe, just, maybe
he can shorten the game…. I dunno.

w
v

i am now confident that the rams have a chance at green bay, but the offense has to build on the second half. they can’t stumble out of the gate like they did against arizona and rely on 3 turnovers to score points.

i saw on football outsiders that green bay ranks 31st against the rush compared to arizona which ranks 5th. and for what it’s worth seattle ranks 15th, pittsburgh 8th, and washington 7th. this will be by far the worst rushing defense they’ve faced so far. so it’s imperative that gurley and mason get fed the ball early and often with some tavon mixed in.

green bay is a very balanced offense as well. a lot like pittsburgh. the rams defensed them well, but now they’re on the road.

another big test.