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Billy_TParticipantI’ve been kinda harsh on Stafford too, and maybe that’s not fair. I just don’t see the kind of accuracy, especially on deep passes, that I remember from his Detroit days. I’ve recently read he has back problems, and that makes me think that may be the reason for his underwhelming passing. Anyone who has back issues knows how painful it can be. It’s not something you can just tough it out. That’s always been the football mentality, but a bad back is a different animal. It can be bad enough to where you literally can’t move.
Ankle issues too. So much about passing is foot placement. So both of those together?
Anyway . . . there are other problems with the Rams, of course, and I think the lack of SJD is huge as well. I’ve always thought the Rams should have invested in a monster DT long ago, a Vita Vea type who can just play the unmovable object in the middle, thus freeing up Donald even more.
Hopefully, they figure all of this out, and make their “all in” strategy work. One thing seems certain to me, though: they have to change their offensive and defensive schemes. What they’re doing isn’t working. One possible curve ball? Play Perkins now and then. Shut gun set with the options of taking off or passing.
Billy_TParticipantHey, Oz,
Hope all is well.
Billy_TParticipantSome general general manager thoughts on teambuilding, postgame:
Obviously, there’s gonna be exceptions, and “hidden gems” out there late or after the draft, but for the most part, the best athletes/players go first. The guys who check all the boxes go early in the first. It’s beyond rare that teams will find trifecta players late: great athlete, great production, great motor. And you’re almost never gonna find players with all the marbles late: great athletes, production, motor, plus “intangibles” like leadership, etc. The longer the draft goes on, the fewer boxes each player can check, with rare exceptions.
So the more years that go by with the Rams out of contention for the best players, the thinner the roster becomes. Yes, they’ve done an amazing job with pickups here and there — like Woods, and strong late picks like SJD — but, the rest of the league gets a better shot at getting the better players, year after year. That gives them an obvious competitive advantage over the Rams.
The best way to overcome this disadvantage, paradoxically, is to win championships, cuz then free agents will want to play for the Rams. But the roster may be too thin for that now, after all of their recent injuries. Hope I’m wrong. Hope McVay and company shock the NFL and bring home all the bacon. Not trying to be coy about that, either.
Billy_TParticipantThat was emburrasin’.
An all-around butt-kicking. Though, IMO, it started with Stafford throwing picks, again. Of course, one was Higbee’s fault, but he threw a few other errant passes that could have been picked off.
After 10 games, I don’t like what I see from him. Not accurate enough. Takes too many chances. Doesn’t lead the receiver well, and wrong-shoulders them all too often. And it was a rookie mistake to cross the scrimmage line, fail to keep running, and then throw the ball. He’s supposed to have an amazing football IQ, but I haven’t seen it this season.
The Rams D really, really misses SJD in the middle. Shouldn’t have let Johnson walk, either. For this amateur GM, if it’s a choice between Floyd and Johnson, I re-sign Johnson.
Not a great game-plan by the Rams coaches, either. They didn’t put the players in position to win, abandoned the run too soon, etc. In short, they better have a major Come to Buddha awakening this week, or they may not make it to the playoffs.
Billy_TParticipantThanks, WV, for the rec and the info.
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Billy_T.
Billy_TParticipant<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>Excuse me. Freight rail is all privately owned. The government got out of it when they sold Conrail. Do you mean to tell us you’re going to give money to BNSF, Union Pacific, and Norfolk Southern to modernize their own tracks? https://t.co/WOmnDMU0nF
— Jack’sHouseOfPancakes (@RegimeChangeInc) November 7, 2021
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Good point. In a sane world, the US government would triage all government contracts this way:
First dibs for eco-friendly, non-profit WSDEs and Co-ops
Second, for small eco-friendly, non-profits of all stripes
Third, small eco-friendly for-profits.
fourth, large eco-friendly for-profits
Fifth, small non-profits of all stripes
Last, and least, to be avoided unless there is no other choice: Large for-profit entities of any kind.Subsidies should go solely to companies that benefit society and the planet. Never to companies that produce products and services that don’t. Let them tough it out on their own dime.
November 15, 2021 at 10:10 am in reply to: Wonder where the Rams new signee is going to play? #133965Billy_TParticipantI was thinking the same thing, Zooey.
The numbers of the fallen seem unusually high for the Rams. I hope they’re at least reviewing all practice and training room procedures. At least. Diet, too.
This past weekend was huge for injuries league-wide, apparently, and this ties into my own hobby horse:
The NFL has too many games, and puts its players at too much risk. It will never happen, I know, but I wish they’d go back to 14 games, end the preseason, end Thursday games, and stick to Sunday and Monday only. IMO, that would radically improve the quality of the games, the season, and protect the health of the players a great deal more.
I honestly have no idea why the players agreed to 17 games — well, beyond the extra money, of course. But that was short-sighted. You don’t get that next big contract if you’ve been hurt too often, or badly enough. In the long run, playing more games will cost them money, and literally shorten their lives.
Billy_TParticipantI think he should. He’s bigger and faster than Tutu.
Speaking of his speed. Was reading on the intertubes that his 40 time at the Combine of 4.43 was screwed up. He says he ran a 4.31 and a bit higher, but still sub-4.4, for his second run. NFL network ran one of those simulcast simulations, and it does look like he was faster than the “official time,” cuz he reached the finish line before other players with lower 40s, “officially.”
In short, he’s likely in the Brandin Cooks range, but a bit taller, bigger, and with a better vert. He’s a better deep threat, actually.
Woods was one of my favorite Rams, and it’s a lousy deal for him. One of the best FA pickups evah. But the old cliche goes. Next man up, and the Rams are lucky it’s OBJ.
Billy_TParticipantDoes anyone else think the Rams seem to be getting hit inordinately by the injury bug these days? It’s been a wave, and a lot of them seem to be “non-contact.”
I hope coaches and staff are looking into practice methods, training room, etc. etc.
Seems like far more people being lost for the season than usual.
And, yeah, this makes the OBJ signing the stuff of genius. I also think the Rams should rethink the idea of four-wide sets now.
Stick with Kupp, OBJ, Jefferson, and perhaps two tight ends, if they go empty backfield. Or, go six o-line guys, one TE, etc. They can’t forget to protect Stafford. If he gets hurt, the Rams “all in” is for naught.
Billy_TParticipantI still hate the new helmets. They just can’t match up with the full horns. Hoping against hope the Rams finally go back to them, but they probably won’t.
Like the old Gabe, Deacon, and Merlin whites and blue stripes (1960s) the best. But the GSOT off-off colors looked pretty good too.
Billy_TParticipantI think this is a smart move by the Rams. Making it a one-year audition will help with morale among the receivers, especially Jefferson. They shouldn’t be concerned that OBJ will be usurping their roles, cuz this is basically a one and done deal. It’s a Super Bowl or bust thing, and he’s likely only here for half a year.
It’s also apparently not for much money, and the Rams should receive a comp pick if OBJ doesn’t re-sign with them next season. That’s huge, IMO.
Unless . . . unless there is some kind of rule that says mid-season deals don’t qualify.
I have no idea.
Opposing defenses are going to be in turmoil as to which guy to double. Should free up Cupp and Woods and Jefferson to be even more effective. The talking heads on NFL Today were saying OBJ may well be the third or fourth guy and get the third or fourth corner, etc. They loved the move in general, but they said the Rams must win this year. Must. Win. Now.
Billy_TParticipantGood point. In a sane world, the US government would triage all government contracts this way:
First dibs for eco-friendly, non-profit WSDEs and Co-ops
Second, for small eco-friendly, non-profits of all stripes
Third, small eco-friendly for-profits.
fourth, large eco-friendly for-profits
Fifth, small non-profits of all stripes
Last, and least, to be avoided unless there is no other choice: Large for-profit entities of any kind.Subsidies should go solely to companies that benefit society and the planet. Never to companies that produce products and services that don’t. Let them tough it out on their own dime.
November 8, 2021 at 5:12 pm in reply to: Injuries: Jacob Harris done for the year. How is Stafford? Miller? #133795Billy_TParticipantMan, that’s a real shame. They need him now, too. And because he’s already 24, he doesn’t have as many years to develop as some. Tutu, for instance, is 22. Giving him a red shirt year won’t be as tough. Same with Akers.
But a second-year guy at 25 just has a shorter window, and this will hurt his gaining much needed weight.
That’s some tough luck.
Billy_TParticipantI actually don’t think the Rams got whupped, per se. I think Stafford beat the Rams with his ints. The whupping was enabled by those pics. Take them away, and the Rams could have stuck with the run, and play-action off the run, and may well have won the game. I don’t think they were even quite out of it — though damn close — until that horrendously stupid call on Donald for RTP. What a pathetic call, and I’d say that if it had been thrown against the Titans too. Obo’s call, OTOH, was legit, but it wouldn’t have happened without the first call, because the Rams would be on offense.
Stafford continues to be erratic. Elite on one play, a bad rook on the next. As mentioned before, much of that is understandable, given a brand new team, etc. etc. But he needs to step up and get steady. He has the skills, especially the arm talent, to put the bad rook stuff far behind him and just be elite. No QB can be perfect, of course, so I’m talking elite in relative terms. But he couldn’t be on a better team to get there.
In short, to me, this was a winnable game. Stafford wasn’t alone in screw-ups, of course. The inside of the O-line was especially lousy. But I put most of this on him. He’s gonna get better, which means the Rams will too.
Billy_TParticipantAg,
I don’t know the cap as well as you do, but it seems to me the Rams put themselves in another pickle. They’re almost at the point where they can’t even afford to sign First Rounders, which may be at least part of the reason why they’re so quick to dump them.
Am I off on that one?
If that’s the case, then some of their strategy is forced on them, which is never a good thing.
I do get the concept of “win now,” while they have the window. Donald is 30. Stafford is mid-30s. Floyd will be 30 next year, I think. They were smart to trade for Ramsey when he was 25 or so, which is pretty much ideal. So he has a bit longer at his peak. But time, overall, is running out. So I get that. Still, I think the Rams could have talked and chewed gum at the same time. They could have used that strategy here and there, retained more picks, kept refreshing the roster, etc. And then they have to hit it on Second Rounders, always.
Creed Humphreys sure looks like the better pick right now, for instance. He’s playing lights out as a rook. I’m happy that Allen seems to be playing good football, but if they had drafted Humphreys, they’d just have that much more flexibility along the line, and perhaps at least one more asset to trade for picks, etc.
Anyway, the Rams may well win the Super Bowl this year. I think they have a great shot. But I also want them to have a future beyond this season. It will take some serious magic to keep things going, given their cap and the dearth of early picks. But if any team can do it, the Rams can. They may well be the best in the league at finding hidden gems after the Draft, etc. etc.
Billy_TParticipantMore good points, especially when it comes to team chemistry. It may be just too big a risk to take, with the Rams so close. It would take a serious change of attitude in OBJ to make it work — which could happen — but the Rams would have no guarantees going in.
And, as you point out, to showcase OBJ might well demoralize other Rams. I’m thinking Woods and Jefferson, especially.
To make a long story short, I won’t plant my flag on this hill. But I do want the Rams to think outside the box and try to get back some picks. I don’t think their current strategy is sustainable. Too many good players are missed along the way, snatched up by their competitors. But I like it in general, if they tweak it. Trade for a few elite players, surround them with the solid, but stagger those trades enough so you can at least keep a Number One each century or so.
;>)
Hope all is well with you and yours.
Billy_TParticipantGood point, Zooey.
So the Rams wouldn’t be able to turn right around and trade him. They could, however, audition him this season and then make the trade next year. This could work, because . . .
His stock is low now. If it weren’t, the Browns wouldn’t have had any trouble finding a trade partner. And why did his stock drop? He was barely used. Which means the Rams could target him often, deep, especially, and they have the QB and coach to make him look a thousand times better.
Then make the trade. And that would also eliminate the issue of the “fib.” It would be basic NFL business at that point.
If memory serves, Antonio Brown went from persona non grata to a real asset for Tampa Bay.
That’s basically the recipe.
Billy_TParticipantI’d honestly rather have Kupp, Woods, and Jefferson than OBJ. However, if the Rams could sign him and then trade him for picks, I’d be ecstatic.
It’s actually good chess to pick up a player with trade value, even though he may not be “needed” in any particular position room. The downside, of course, is that in order to sign players, it’s generally necessary to assure them they’ll play, and that they’re definitely a big part of the team’s plans. At least that’s my guess.
So, how to do something like that without being cruel and rotten?
Anyway, the Rams have raided the future of draft picks to such an extent, I’d give my blessing to such a “fib” in this case. It’s not as if Beckham wouldn’t land on his feet somewhere else, make millions, etc. etc. It’s not like shipping him out of the galaxy to mine dilithium.
If he goes unclaimed, sign him, and trade him. If not this year, then next.
Billy_TParticipantZooey,
I like the handle. No need to apologize, and I hope you know I’m just kidding with ya about the pronunciation stuff.
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Back to your original comments regarding actual, practical things the Dems could do to basically own the electorate. I agree with all that stuff. Always thought that if the Dems had passed M4A back in 2009, instead of the ACA, they would have controlled DC for a generation at least. No Tea Party rise, and no Trump.
Have had this argument repeatedly with diehard Dems — at least in the past:
If the Dems had chosen the path of FDR 2.0 at least, after the 1960s and onward, say, instead of Republican Lite, they could have all but stopped the rise of the right in its tracks. As in, no Reagan, Bush, Gingrich, Dubya, McConnell, or Trump in the picture. If they had gone with M4A, tuition-free public education from cradle to grave, a serious Green revolution, and a living wage, the GOP wouldn’t stand a chance. Throw in End the wars, decriminalize all non-violent, victimless crimes, empty the jails of anyone who falls under that rubric, etc. etc. . . . and they’d send the GOP into permanent exile, democratically.
They coulda ruled the roost, basically, if they had done the moral, ethical, logical thing.
That’s beyond frustrating.
Billy_TParticipantLooks like ZN managed to resurrect my lost post from yesterday. No chance for me to edit it, or I’d reduce the smiley face. Sorry, folks.
. . . .
Billy_TParticipant(continued . . .)
Throw in mass media, owned by plutocrats and oligarchs, and they desperately want the duopoly too, so they’re never going to really tell the truth about how horrible the GOP is relative to the horrible Dems..==
One of the things i think about, is this: If a critical-mass of people somehow,
by magic, ‘woke up’ and developed a higher-political-consciousness, or
‘class consciousness’ or whatever you wanna call it — and there was a real
possibility of the nation tipping toward actual-socialism — What do you think the Democrats would Do? Or, lets say the Dems had a choice between Socialism or Fascism — which way do you think they’d top?I know what ‘i’ think
w
vI think the Dem power structure definitely hates socialism — even the idea of it, and that pisses me off to no end. They couldn’t be more wrong about all of it. Not sure, though, if they’d want fascism instead, if there were only two choices. But they’d definitely rather have Republicans in power than leftists, even if those leftists caucus with the Dems. I just don’t know if they’d pick fascism over leftist control. You might be right — I’m guessing you think they would. But I just don’t know about that.
Again, I think there’s a difference between Dem leadership, Dem politicians in the rank and file, non-politician Dems . . . and the folks pulling the strings above all of that. Each group has its own agenda, and within those groups, still more differences, blah blah blah. I’m not saying anything you guys don’t already know.
I just can’t get over where we are in 2021. All the shit we’re dealing with, deadly climate change, massive inequality, incipient fascism, a literal coup happened and is ongoing, endless lies and liars, the pandemic, etc. etc. It’s. Just. Too. Much.
For thousands of years, philosophers, poets, artists, musicians . . . . have been asking How to Live? After thousands of years, one would think we’d know. One would think we would have had that mass consciousness raising already and we’d be dealing with other things by now.
At least the Rams are good this year, and my Giants won 107 games and took the division!
Billy_TParticipantSorry for the mistaken post.
Not sure why you asked this to be moved. Mistaken posts are welcome in the Rams football forum too.
It was late. I was having trouble with me words. Probably should have used “misplaced.” Should have been in the politics forum, etc. etc.
Basically, it was a post about if anyone thought the Dems could sink the GOP, for good, if they really wanted to, given all the shhite the GOP has done in recent years. Seems to me that even a halfway competent political party could have done so, after Trump, an actual coup attempt (which is ongoing), plus all the lies, the criminal, deadly negligence regarding Covid, the endless attacks on minorities and women, the horrendous record on the environment, etc. etc.
The GOP hasn’t really suffered politically from any of it. It’s as if it’s just a natural, normal thing to attempt a coup every now and then, and tell people to drink bleach to cure a pandemic.
The Dems seem to want them to stay alive. They don’t seem to get that if the shoe were on the other foot, the GOP wouldn’t hesitate to end the Dems as a viable political party.
I’m guessing folks here agree with me that the donor class wants a two-party system intact. They don’t want just the Dems in charge, and the Dems listen to the donor class, as does the GOP. But it seems the latter has more leeway to go off the deep end, and still keep its donors in line. That kinda puzzles me.
Anyway . . . thoughts on if the Dems could destroy the GOP, if they wanted to, given Trump and the GOP’s support for autocracy/fascism, et al.
Billy_TParticipantI wish my Dad were still alive. He taught English for thirty years and was a real old-school stickler/perfectionist. I’m fairly good on the subject meself, but not in his class. So I will defer to your professional expertise of many a year.
You’ve done the legwork, obviously, and I haven’t. But, as I mentioned, it just sounds better to go with zo ee. I’ll plant my flag on the sound issue as a poet.
Will you at least admit to the superior sound?
;>)
Regardless of the spelling, would you rather be called to dinner from afar as zoo ee!! or zo ee!?
Billy_TParticipantWV,
I’m guessing you believe the Dems would choose fascism. Who knows? But one would think they’d pull their collective heads out of their azz and pick the best possible system, socialism, instead, if they had just those two choices. It’s an easy call. The easiest possible call.
Plus, if they recognized the shift in societal consciousness, as you describe it, I’m thinking they’d still want to win elections, they’d still want to compete against actual socialist parties, so they’d (perhaps cynically?) go along.
Their donors would want them to fight it all, of course. Basically, “That’s what we’re paying you for!!” And the media would try their best to continue their lies about socialism, until they just couldn’t budge the electorate any longer and they, too, gave in.
(Of course, in an actual socialist society, the media would no longer be owned by billionaires and private corporations would no longer exist, etc. So if we could just make the change, we could sustain it, IMO.)
But, as we’ve talked about before, that awakening is unlikely because the deck is so stacked against it upfront. Media, education systems, the endless barrage of corporate, pro-capitalist and anti-socialist messaging, etc. etc. Breaking free from all of that on a mass scale . . . It’s my dream, but it’s tragically unlikely in my lifetime . . . . though surveys do say that Gen Z leans leftist.
Billy_TParticipantIt’s possible that Zooey Deschanel’s parents weren’t experts in phonology.
And “Jaxon’s” and “Kaytlinn’s” parents were not experts in spelling.
Well, as we learned in the wonderful “Almost Famous,” Zooey Deshanel’s mother is Francis McDormand, and she’s never wrong.
I don’t know Jaxon and Kaytlinn from Adam or Aoife. But I’m guessing they’re just trying to be quirky.
Billy_TParticipantWV,
I just finished responding to your questions (from 10:36pm) with the most profound answer in the history of the Internet. Posted it. And it’s lost, for some reason.
You guys are so lucky!!
:>)
I’ll try again tomorrow.
Billy_TParticipantIt might be one of those US versus UK things, but I’m not sure. For instance, I think they pronounce “Zoology” like zoo ah lo gee. But we pronounce it like zo ah lo gee.
I think . . . .
Xenophobe trips people up, too. Should be zen o fobe. Not zine o fobe.
The thing that tips it over for me to zoh ee is because it sounds better.
:>) !!
That and Zooey Deschanel pronounces her own name zoh ee.
So, there!!
I just wish Salinger had weighed in, in public, before he went full on hermit. Others might now care, but that would be the last word for me.
Billy_TParticipant(continued . . .)
Throw in mass media, owned by plutocrats and oligarchs, and they desperately want the duopoly too, so they’re never going to really tell the truth about how horrible the GOP is relative to the horrible Dems. They’re going to try to create relative “balance.” One would have thought, prior to Trump, and prior to the coup attempt, especially, no politician or political party would recover from the last five or six years, and the media would make certain they didn’t.
The media, however, have mostly normalized Trump and the coup, with some pushback here and there. But I never would have guessed it possible, prior to 2015, say.
Pre-2015, one sure-fire way to end a career, and destroy a political party? A fascist coup attempt, or continue it. But it seems far too many Americans are “ho hum” about it all, at this point. Trump made them go numb, perhaps.
Billy_TParticipantThanks for the responses.
I agree with both of youze, mostly. Except, if memory serves, Zooey still doesn’t know how to pronounce his own name.
Didn’t we have a (mock) battle about that one years and years ago?
;>)
To add some entirely unnecessary and unwanted nuance:
Personally, I think there’s a huge difference between the parties. Not in the sense that one is good and the other bad. But in the sense that there are important distinctions regarding the depths of rottenness, cruelty, neglect, etc.
And, I’d say that the Dems in 2021, with a few exceptions, aren’t that different from moderate Republicans — but there aren’t any left in 2021. So, in a sense, the Dems today are just like moderate Republicans — from the 1990s and before that. Cuz, well, each time the Dems move further to the right, the Republicans have to double down and move twice as fast even further to the right. So they really aren’t “the same.”
And . . . given the ultra-competitive nature of capitalism, wanting to crush your rivals is a natural part of all that. Isn’t it actually unnatural that the Dems don’t seem to want to do that, especially when the other part does? That’s what really confuses me at times.
So . . . there must be a difference between Dem party goals and the Dem party donor class goals. The latter, I would think, loves the relative stability of the duopoly, while the two wings of the money party probably want each other gone. A conflict of sorts, with the donor class usually calling the shots, one way or another.
Billy_TParticipantYeah, I like Perkins waaay more. Wish they had played him, and pulled Stafford earlier than they did.
It’s already been said how slowly they started, and how worried we fans were in the first quarter. I agree with all of that. To me, one of the keys is Stafford starts slowly, in-game, and per season. It’s understandable, in part, given a brand new team, etc. etc. . . . But I think if Stafford picks it up, the Rams will follow.
Or? We may just have to get used to an erratic QB, and an erratic team. That’s kinda what I’m seeing so far anyway. Stafford can look like an elite QB on one play, and a backup on another. Obviously, he’s mostly the former, not the latter. But it may well be the thing keeping him from universally being considered a Top Five guy. He lacks . . . consistency.
Henderson has stepped up. Always liked his game, and I actually wondered why they drafted Akers. Now, of course, I’m glad they did. But I thought Henderson would have been fine as lead back. Like what Michel has done so far. Good pickup.
I’m still gobsmacked about the Tutu Atwell pick. Noting against him. He’s a tough, try-hard, special athlete. But it’s just a dumb pick at that point in the draft, and the more games the Rams play, the worse it seems.
On defense. Very happy with overall play, and it seems like they’ve picked up the pace markedly too. Donald is on fire, etc. If healthy, Terrell Lewis is a game-changer, and may make it possible for them to trade Floyd for picks in the offseason, if the Rams could find some takers. Hollins and Lewis on the outside is a strong combo. Obo seems to be finally coming on too.
Obviously a great game by Rapp. With his average speed, if he can stay in the box, and more athletic DBs can cover deep, he’s good. But I still think they miss Johnson. Much better athlete, etc.
Most of the game was a joy to watch.
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