Forum Replies Created

Viewing 30 posts - 121 through 150 (of 4,288 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • in reply to: Gaza #146328
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Aside from the obvious matters of death and destruction, which makes everything else secondary, I’m most frustrated with the following, in no particular order:

    1. The lop-sided, blindly loyal (MSM) coverage of these events
    2. The dangerous inability of all too many people to differentiate between wildly different things: Being “pro-Palestinian” versus “pro-Hamas; criticism of governments versus criticism of an entire people; criticisms of the far-right government of Israel versus any support whatsoever for Hamas, or terrorism in general; the conflation of Hamas with the Gazan people.
    3. Far too many want us to believe there is no history, no context, that everything apparently started on October 7th, 2023, and anyone (including students) who doesn’t blindly follow the PC view (support Israel unconditionally), is somehow evil and should be punished.
    4. The moronic idea that violent retaliation will put an end to violence. That killing stops killing. That war is the answer to everything. That US funding of that war is necessary, rather than advocating for peace, relentlessly, and tying all aid to serious, genuine, relentless efforts at peace.
    5. That so many people have lost the ability to walk in any one else’s moccasins.

    We’re all guilty of blindness now and then, of course. None of us is above that at all times. But one would hope that we’re also open to “I stand corrected” if the evidence warrants it. It seems that’s a lost part of the human experience for all too many these days.

    Lastly, I also find it absurd that after the hospital bombing report was contested, some ranted and raved that the supposed “lies spread on social media and by public figures” were unforgivable, and also should be punished. Common sense, logic, and physics all tell us the natural deduction in that case was to blame the far-right Israeli government, given its current bombing campaign. When one country drops more than 6000 on another, who else is the likely culprit? Drop that many bombs on a tiny strip of land, with roughly 2 million inhabitants, and the chances of blowing up hospitals is very, very high. It was the logical deduction to make.

    in reply to: Gaza #146270
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    A fraught subject, and incredibly sensitive for many. But certain aspects really shouldn’t be this difficult. Murder in response to murder is still murder. And the continuum in that part of the world is far too blurred at this point to demarcate who did what to whom first. Too many want to start the atrocity clock this month, though. As all of you guys know, it goes back to the early part of the 20th century, perhaps the late 19th, and as usual, the “Great Powers” tried to play god, carve up an entire region, and set all hell in motion.

    Recreating a “homeland” after roughly two thousand years was destined to cause endless strife, war, and misery. I understand the desire for a safe space, a true home, after all Jews have suffered through, but it never should have been on land that was already occupied. It became, on a much smaller scale, all too similar to our theft of Native American land, but without the aspect of a “return.”

    It’s also reminded me of our own obscene brutality in wars, like our fire-bombing of Dresden, Tokyo, and dropping the Atomic bombs. None of that was necessary, and it all targeted civilians, directly. There were no “accidental” killings in those cases, no “collateral damage.” Slaughtering civilians was the point. That’s beyond appalling, and it should never. happen. again.

    This article is well worth reading:

    You Can’t Selectively Pay Attention To Certain Atrocities And Ignore All The Others

    How is it possible to be outraged by Hamas killings of Israeli children, but ignore or rationalize the killing of Gazan children?

    Nathan J. Robinson

    https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/10/you-cant-selectively-pay-attention-to-certain-atrocities-and-ignore-all-the-others

     

    in reply to: Rams on the radar this year who weren’t before the season #146269
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Sorry about that, ZN.

    :>)

    I’m really happy about Young’s development, and I wish the Rams could clone him for the other side. That would likely solve a ton of issues on the D.

    Speaking of that, what are your thoughts on the defensive backs? I was worried going into the season, but it appears they’re playing pretty well, all things considered. Tied for the least number of touchdowns allowed (4), and apparently with bargain contracts all over the place.

    https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2023/10/17/23921193/rams-defense-raheem-morris-coaching-interviews

    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    I also want partial ownership of the team that drafts him. I suspect that our chances of realizing our dreams are approximately the same.

    Well, I want the entire economy to work that way. If memory serves, I may have some company here?

    No more bosses. Just co-owners. No more employer/employee dynamic. Everyone’s an employee of the abstract firm known as “humanity iz us,” and we share the fruits of our labor equally. Cooperatively. Democratically.

    Democratic egalitarianism and egalitarian democracy. We go from M-C-M and exchange-value, back to C-M-C and use-value.

    With one exception: I get to own the Rams all by meself, and I alone make all the decisions regarding the draft, free agency, scheme, coaches, beer brands, music, helmet logo, and the Michelin Star chefs who make our food at the stadium. We’ll win a ton of Super Bowls along the way, but I gotta be me. Is that too much to ask?

     

     

    in reply to: Race and Pro Football #146264
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    WV,

    Have you read Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson? I’m about a third of the way through, and it’s stunning, heart-breaking, at times jaw-dropping, in its historical look at the way caste structures form. She concentrates primarily on the US, Nazi Germany, and India, but not just those places. It’s a truly important book, and I wish it were required reading for our “leaders,” corporate America, police, and in our schools.

    https://www.isabelwilkerson.com/

     

    in reply to: Rams on the radar this year who weren’t before the season #146263
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Just tried to post  a response with a link. Looks like it got caught in the filter.

    Will try it without that link. Shortened a bit, for good measure:

    Good analysis, ZN. But for me, it’s not just Hoecht’s coverage issues. I haven’t watched as many games as you elitist Sunday Ticket guys, but when I have, he looks like he’s not able to set the edge so well. Not the best guy for sweeps or QB breaking out of the pocket. That’s where I think he has problems.

    Williams had similar crazy testing numbers, if memory serves.

    Here’s Hoecht’s:

    The six-foot-four, 295-pound defensive tackle ran a blazing 4.65 forty-yard dash on his first attempt and followed that up with a 4.68 on his second attempt. Those times are virtually unprecedented for a player of his size.

    The rest of Hoecht’s testing was strong as well with: a 7.05 three-cone; 4.21 shuttle; 33.5-inch vertical; nine-foot, two-inch broad jump; and 23 reps on the bench press.

    The native of Oakville, Ontario told me earlier this month that football is his passion.

    “Football is all-consuming and becomes one of those things that is burned into your DNA. It becomes who you are,” says Hoecht. “I’ve played football since third grade and in no world do I see myself really having the passion to go do something else.”

     

     

    in reply to: Rams on the radar this year who weren’t before the season #146253
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Williams and Hoecht were good UDFA signings. But they’re misusing Hoecht. He’s not an edge. He’s a tall, but undersized DT.

    Lacking strength/weight is correctable. Lacking bend and twitchy athleticism pretty much never is.

    in reply to: Rams CB Derion Kendrick arrested #146247
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Oh, and the part about the Old West is fascinating. How far away it actually was from the depictions in our movies. They actually had very strict “gun control,” and it apparently worked. The incidents of gun murders were extremely rare, even in the famous cities of yore, like Tombstone, etc.

    in reply to: Rams CB Derion Kendrick arrested #146246
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    One more reason for a national gun policy. No assault weapons of any kind, shape, form, semi, quasi, kinda, sorta, regardless of jargon or in-group terminology. Limit guns to six bullets, max. No external chambers allowed of any kind. Must need to be hand-loaded. No auto-load devices.

    No concealed carry. No open carry. No guns, period, without licenses, confirmed training, insurance, and smart tech. None. Nada.

    And all of that is fully Constitutional, given the wording of the Second Amendment, which refers solely to use within the context of militias — which no longer exist. The forgotten piece to all of that is the term “bear arms,” which refers solely to soldiers in a military situation or training. It did not refer to civilians, ever. Civilians don’t “bear arms,” unless they go to the beach and take off their shirt. Soldiers do.

    Paul Auster’s Bloodbath Nation breaks all of that down, plus a ton more, in a very short, powerful book.

    https://bookshop.org/p/books/bloodbath-nation-paul-auster/18539643?ean=9780802160775

     

     

    in reply to: our reactions to the ARZ game #146179
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    I only got to see the highlights, not the actual game. One thing I noticed, that I haven’t seen before with Williams: he looks very quick, if not actually fast. His 40 times were pretty awful for someone his size, but it seems clear he plays faster than he times. A lot faster. And, as mentioned before, he’s put on some seriously good weight since his rookie year.

    They’re gonna miss him next week. Apparently, Zack Evans is the next guy up, cuz Rivers is hurt, too?

    Hoping my pre-draft assessment holds: I saw him as a potential late round steal.

    Good comparisons via Michel and Emmitt Smith. Bringing in Brady, too. He may well have been the worst testing QB of his era, and teams must have thought of him as a poor athlete, cuz he lasted until the 6th round. But he built himself up, physically and mentally, and the rest is history.

    The rarest player is the guy who comes into the league as an athletic freak, but still works his heart out to get better, and better. As in, Aaron Donald.

    IMO, Dickerson was gifted beyond measure, but didn’t like working out, at least not for most of his career. He was 6’3″, 225, coming into the league, and explosively, unnaturally fast, but he likely could have added 10 to 20 more pounds without losing any of that speed. That would have put him into the Jim Brown category, or better. He’s still my favorite Rams’ back, evah. Hated it when they traded him.

     

    in reply to: Nacua #146109
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Pretty much the entire league missed on Nacua. I couldn’t find anyone or any draft service, pre-draft, who had him rated as worthy of an early pick. All kinds of receivers were slotted ahead of him. Boiled down, he was thought to be too slow and too banged up.

    But the Rams apparently dug a bit deeper on this one and utilized Next Gen stats, saw that his GPS speed crushed his 40 time, and took a risk that he’d get healthy.

    He’s got Rookie of the Year written all over him, and if he stays healthy, he’s a likely pro-bowler, season after season. He basically has it all: size, good speed (20.7 mps at the Senior Bowl; 21.05 as a Ram), great attitude, heart, good hands, etc. From the outside looking in, he’s a coach’s dream.

    Kupp is 30 now. The Rams need to find another guy to pair with Puka for the long haul. But in the near-term, Kupp and Nacua make for a seriously dynamic duo.

     

     

    in reply to: Jefferson traded #146090
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    On Goff. I agree it was a bad marriage, and I am not the least bit surprised to see him faring well in Detroit. I still think it was the right move because the Rams were ready to win immediately, and Stafford was ready to win immediately, and Goff wasn’t.

    I’m not so sure Goff wasn’t ready. He helped take the Rams to a Super Bowl just two years before that trade, right? What happened to him in the meantime?

    Of course, that’s likely what you and ZN mean by “bad marriage.” Takes two to tango, etc. But I lean toward most of the blame going to McVay on that one, but am still glad he’s the Rams’ coach. Both/and.

    Stubbornly, I think Goff was fixable, and thought so at the time of the trade. His success in Detroit just confirms that for me.

    Oh, well. C’est la vie!

    in reply to: Jefferson traded #146089
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Good post, ZN.

     

     

    in reply to: Jefferson traded #146085
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Well the Rams would be better if they hit on all their 2s and 3s in 2019 and 2020 and had at least 2 or 3 of those 8 who were still with the team. 2019 2 Taylor Rapp 61 2019 3 Darrell Henderson 70 2019 3 David Long 79 2019 3 Bobby Evans 97 2020 2 Cam Akers 52 2020 2 Van Jefferson 57 2020 3 Terrell Lewis 84 2020 3 Terrell Burgess 104 Yet in their defense, if you look at those draft years, they were not great ones in those rounds.

     

    Agreed. Too many misses in both those draft classes. I didn’t like the Rapp pick when it happened. Thought he lacked athleticism. I did see him as a try-hard player with heart, and he played that way for the Rams. I also think the Rams chose the wrong guy, Akers over Henderson. From my (limited) vantage point, always thought Henderson was the better back, but he did have injury issues. Long was a disappointment. Solid athleticism, but just didn’t seem to fit. Evans was a reach. Lewis was a gamble, but had elite size and athleticism, with major injury history. He’s another player I think the Rams cut long before his time, and they didn’t have to cut him. His cap hit was low, still on a rookie contract, etc. Almost the same with Burgess, but with less athleticism. Didn’t understand that cut, either.

    Good point about relative options across the board.

    In general, though, I think teams need to hit on at least the first three rounds. If a team isn’t in the top tier, those first three rounds should yield starters — as rookies or soon thereafter. If they’re middle to bad teams, the first four rounds. Even the best tier teams should be able to find depth upgrades or key specialists.

    The Rams have played well enough this season to confuse the heck out of me. I really don’t know where to place them. I don’t see them as top tier, or the next up, but they’ve played much better than I had anticipated going into the year. If this continues, I think they’re in the middle. A good draft would then mean hitting on the first four.**

    **Caveat being later round hits can compensate for early misses, but not entirely. In my view, the best teams do both now and then, and they usually hit on early picks. Of course, no team ever consistently does that. I haven’t done the legwork, but I’d guess it’s never happened in the NFL, year over year, for any team. So, basically, I’m talking aspirationally, etc.

    in reply to: Jefferson traded #146074
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    . Two Seconds and two Thirds. Gone. It’s really difficult to team-build when that keeps happening.

    Interestingly, the only player still on the Eagles roster from their 2020 draft is Hurts.

     

    ZN, I responded to this earlier, but it was lost in the filter. Probably due to a link.

    Will see if this gets through without it.

    I don’t follow the Iggles, but when I checked, it looked like three players from the 2020 draft are on the active roster, and one is on injured reserve. So four made it through, total.

    To me, though, the point is that the Rams, at least recently, seem to give up on their draft picks early on, even before their first contract expires. And, typically, they either cut them outright or get very little in trade.

    In short, I think they need to do a bit better on team-building, drafting, maximizing trade value, etc. I like their coaching, and think it’s an area of strength overall. But I also think McVay can get impatient, and make impetuous decisions about this or that player. Jourdan has mentioned that they reflect at times on this and admit some errors . . . which is a good sign.

    Hoping for the best, as always.

    in reply to: Jefferson traded #146069
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    IMO: 1. Poor return for a 2nd round pick, but trading him made sense. 2. Dealing him tells us the (2020) pick itself was botched. 3. The Rams have had too many of those in recent years. 4. Doing this too often catches up with teams. 5. Oh, and get off my lawn! ;>)

    Disagree in one way. Rams rock with lower picks. Their hit rate after round 2 is stellar in comparison to league averages with lower picks. Yet, oddly, they tend not to do as well with 2nd rounders. Well until 2023.

    True, they usually do well on the late picks, and on UDFAs. But their early choices haven’t been so hot.

    Of course, “fault” is always tricky in these situations, as everyone here knows. Players, coaches, staff, scheme, injuries, timing, even just flat out luck, etc. How much of this is about choosing the “wrong” guys, or just failing to develop them, and so on?

    Regardless, a look at recent draft classes isn’t encouraging:

    https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/draft.htm

    For instance, 2020: The first four picks are already gone. Two Seconds and two Thirds. Gone. It’s really difficult to team-build when that keeps happening.

    in reply to: Jefferson traded #146066
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    IMO:

    1. Poor return for a 2nd round pick, but trading him made sense.
    2. Dealing him tells us the (2020) pick itself was botched.
    3. The Rams have had too many of those in recent years.
    4. Doing this too often catches up with teams.
    5. Oh, and get off my lawn!

     

    ;>)

    in reply to: around the league (starts 10/9) #146022
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    I dunno. Didnt look to me like the Carolina defenders were ‘caught off guard’. They look like they see exactly who has the ball – Lions just blocked the hell out of it. w v

     

    Yeah

    I dunno. Didnt look to me like the Carolina defenders were ‘caught off guard’. They look like they see exactly who has the ball – Lions just blocked the hell out of it. w v

    Agreed, WV. Looks like 95 saw who had the ball almost instantly, as did the rest of the Panther D. It was the blocking, and the pretty good cuts by the running back, not the trick play.

    I’m happy for Goff, doing well with the Lions. I think the Rams bailed on him too soon.

    in reply to: our reactions to the Eagles game #146021
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    ZN,

    Good point about ends or edges not generally lighting it up with sacks as rookies.

    I haven’t looked at other players, but had to check on Deacon. In just 14 games, 6 starts, he had 9.5 his first year (or more). They weren’t doing “official” tallies at the time, so they may have missed some.

    https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JoneDe00.htm

    in reply to: our reactions to the Eagles game #146020
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Am I the only one who thought the PI call against Kendrick in the EZ at the end of the first half was bogus? I haven’t rewatched it. I only saw what was shown during the original broadcast, but it looked like to me the the receiver initiated the contact and then fell down.

     

    I agree. Thought so at the time. It looked more like offensive pass interference, or a no-call.

    As in, I thought it was bogus too.

    in reply to: our reactions to the Eagles game #146002
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    2nd half swoon 4 games in a row simplest explanation is conditioning

     

    Possible, but a huge part of it was time of possession. They were gassed yesterday in large part because they couldn’t stop long drives. The D was on the field way too much.

    Of course, it may be a chicken and egg thingy, cuz that might have been because of lack of conditioning.

    I haven’t checked time of possession for the other games. Was that a common denominator?

    in reply to: our reactions to the Eagles game #145992
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Positives: It was great to see Kupp come back, and once he’s truly healthy, the Rams will have a crazy good wideout room. They don’t even need Jefferson any longer to manage that, and I hope they can trade him.

    Witherspoon is a keeper.

    I also think Turner will be good, but he needs a hogmolly nose tackle to help him out — as does Donald.

    Young, I hope, gains some good weight too. He’s among the fastest linebacker/edges in football, and appears to be a very good pick for the Rams. But, again, as others mentioned already, he needs to wrap up on tackles. In the NFL, just “hitting” the ball carrier often won’t cut it.

    Fun to watch my team again, not just the highlights.

     

    in reply to: our reactions to the Eagles game #145991
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    It was good to see the entire game, “live.”

    As others have mentioned, the Rams hung in there early, but just couldn’t maintain. In my view, it really boils down to a lack of size/strength along the D-line to stop the run, and athleticism/skill at edge and defensive back to stop the pass. Hoecht, for instance, is playing out of position, and just lacks the bend, agility, and twitch to cover anyone. But he also lacks the strength to be stout along the D-line. In my view, the Rams need to push him to beef up with good weight and move back to DT. As long as their scheme calls for edges to also cover, they need quick twitch athletes out there who can. They desperately need to keep their draft picks and load up on blue-chippers on D, and the O-line, especially.

    IMO, rhey’ve had far too many years without top picks, and the late pick/UDFA route has just left them without the overall athleticism/skill sets needed to compete.

    I agree with this take from Turf Show Times:

    https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2023/10/8/23908958/rams-eagles-roster-defense-offense-sean-mcvay

    in reply to: reactions to the Rams @Bengals game #145686
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Other thoughts:

    The announcers kept saying they needed to help Thomas out at LT, and that never seemed to happen. I’ve been calling for the Rams to use extra linemen for years . . . at least an extra TE. They needed to do that and run the ball more . . . but, given what we’ve learned about Williams’ excess snaps, they really need to mix in other backs.

    Disappointed that Zack Evans hasn’t even suited up. Thought he might potentially surprise this season, in a positive way.

    Also wish the Rams could find a battering Ram runner. Just get bigger, more physical, create mismatches all over the place. Can’t help but see the current team as a bit too light, and not powerful enough. Want them to dominate, across the board. Not finesse it. Avila is a nice step in that direction. But they need to make that happen all over the place.

    I don’t think the Rams have ever surpassed the dominance on the O-line and front seven from the late ’60s thru the early ’80s. On D, especially before the Deacon left, etc . . . but they were really tough all through the ’70s.

    Back then, they were usually one play-maker short of winning it all, or a QB. But in this century, it’s usually been the trenches where they fell/fall short.

    Hope I live long enough to see a return to ’60s, ’70s, and early ’80s physicality.

    in reply to: reactions to the Rams @Bengals game #145683
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    I kinda figured you knew all about the whats and wherefores.

    How is the technical quality? And did you get the Ticket back in the DirecTV days? Contrasts, comparisons, etc.?

     

    in reply to: reactions to the Rams @Bengals game #145681
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    I’m fine with what i saw from the Rams. That game could have gone either way, and thats about as good as I could have hoped given the talent/youth situation. I think Cincy is a very talented team, despite their record, and they wanted it bad. This team does not look like a bad team, or a poorly coached team, or a non-motivated team. Looks scrappy, tough, and a bit outmanned, is all. Record wont be that great, but what i hope for is improvement, no injury to Stafford, or Donald, and each week brings us closer to more cap room, and more talent next year. w v

    I agree with pretty much all of that. Well-coached overall, motivated, try-hard guys, with heart. But I think some sports pundits have overdone the Rams’ youth thingy. They’re actually not the youngest team. That’s the Packers — unless things changed after August 30th. Cincinnati, ironically, is right behind the Rams (25.3 to 25.4).

    The Rams tend to draft older rooks than most teams, so even though they likely have the most first year guys in the league, they’re not the youngest team. Close, etc. But not quite.

    https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/packers-are-young-really-young-after-roster-c

    Btw, in the other thread, I noticed you have Roman Gabriel’s Player of the Year book. So do I. I think it was the first sports book I ever bought on my own. He’s still my favorite Rams QB. Should have won an Oscar for his role in The Undefeated, too. At least that’s what I thought at the time.

    ;>)

    in reply to: reactions to the Rams @Bengals game #145680
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    I am under the impression that YouTube IS Sunday Ticket now. I don’t know what Gamepass is. I don’t know what anything is. I’ve always watched over local broadcasts, or streamed it from Moldovia, or something. I hate this. When I was a kid, I used to pull in 3 different stations that would broadcast games, and they had local control, meaning that different stations in the same network did not necessarily show the same game. It was up to the local station. So I saw the Rams every week. And there were still plenty of commercials, and I believe everyone involved still got fed. But now, you know, you’ve got Kirk Freaking Cousins pulling in $40 million/year, so that money has to come from somewhere. All of which you know. Everybody knows. And I hate it. I wish games were pay-per-view, I guess. And that’s not a sentence I ever would have said at any time in the past 40 years, but this sucks.

    Apologies if you actually do know all of this:

    Sunday Ticket is an add-on. Google purchased it from the NFL for a coupla billion, if memory serves. So they actually increased the price tag (for customers) over what it was when DirecTV had it, which was how I accessed it in the past. Google, via Youtube, is charging something like $300 for the service, on top of what you’re paying for the regular streaming TV, which, I think, is $70?

    Before AT&T bought DirecTV, I could count on getting the Sunday Ticket for “free” every year. I’d just call into Retention and say I was cancelling the regular TV service, and we’d haggle a bit, and then they’d give it to me for free. Again. It wasn’t a bluff, so I thought that was fair. I was perfectly willing to follow through and cancel, fer real, etc. AT&T did that for a coupla years, too, but then stopped allowing it, so I dropped the service altogether.

    So, basically, you can have Youtube streaming TV and not get the Sunday Ticket. If you have the Ticket, your bill is gonna be $300 higher, give or take.

     

     

    in reply to: reactions to the Rams @Bengals game #145673
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    Zooey,

    I agree about all those streaming services. Far too many. Twas, basically, a bait and switch for consumers.

    Since you went with Youtube, did you also go for the Sunday Ticket?

    As an East Coaster, without the Ticket, I’m back to the bad old days of seeing the Rams, perhaps, four games a year. When they’re a contender, it’s more, of course.

    NFL Gamepass seems to have raised their prices. Hoping they discount soon for a partial season. Despite the likelihood of a tough year, I’d like to see the Rams more than a few more times in 2023 . . .

     

    in reply to: reactions to the Rams @Bengals game #145672
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    It was good to see a full game for the first time this year. But it was also a very frustrating watch. Started out with a lot of hope, then fell apart.

    I don’t think Stafford looked sharp, though much of that was due to lack of protection. The Rams don’t have the depth at O-line to handle injuries — an indictment, in my view, of poor team-building over the last few years. No 1st rounders since 1865 means almost no shot at lock-down LTs, and definitely hurts them regarding the cap (5-year contracts, etc.) . . . I think it’s hurt the team all over the place, of course, including the D. In my view, the Rams, especially on D, look like a team with a lot of late-rounders and UDFAs, coached up well, by quality staff . . . but just not enough team-athleticism to really harass game-changers on offense.

    I had hoped Hoecht, for instance, would be able to make the switch to edge, but it looks like he just lacks the requisite athleticism, bend, agility, etc. to play there. They need to move him back to the D-line rotation, and play Hampton instead. Scour practice squads, waiver wires for diamonds in the rough, and use early picks next draft on that position. Young has the desired traits on the other side, but I noticed he seems kinda hesitant. Not sure if he’s just doing what he’s told, or if that’s his game. But he seemed a step slow on his get-off, despite his 4.4 speed.

    I’m feeling much better about Atwell as receiver. He seems to be able to handle contact, fight for the ball, and win, and there was no one on the Bengals who could run with him, except their rookie DB, Turner (4.26). He brings excitement to the Rams O . . . Will be interesting to see what they can do with Atwell, Nacua and Kupp. Jefferson seems like a shadow of his former self. My guess is the Rams try to trade him a la Akers before the season is over.

    Liking Kobie as well. He’s relatively small, like Donald, but he’s smart and has heart. I think they might have someone there.

    Overall, as others have noted, not a good gameplan on offense, and Morris doesn’t have a lot to work with on D, except players who really want to play. That’s a good foundation, but it’s not enough in the NFL. You need heart and athleticism. The Rams have the former, not enough of the latter.

    in reply to: Rams tweets … 9/21 – 9/23 #145627
    Avatar photoBilly_T
    Participant

    I hated that uniform change when it came out. I still prefer the blue and whites, but I would take that 50-year old uniform over anything they’ve worn in the past 20 years.

    I prefer the blue and whites as well. But where the Rams really screwed up was with the helmet change. The horns were truncated beyond redemption. Should have led to a revolution a la 1848/1871/1968. Should just be flat out against the law, along with shaky cams and TV shows that preach bootstrapping mythologies. And shrinking “half gallon” ice cream containers, etc.

Viewing 30 posts - 121 through 150 (of 4,288 total)