Good call. I wonder, though, how this team can fool anyone anymore.

zn wrote:

Dak wrote:

It’s a little early for Welker to make much of a difference, but I guess if he can give them just 2-3 first downs, that would be a wonderful accomplishment.

That’s the life of a Rams fan, right there.

It’s gone from “how many times will Bruce, Holt, and Faulk all get 100 yards receiving in the same game?”

to

“if we can get 2-3 first downs, that would be wonderful, and help seal the victory.”

.

LOL … and sigh.

zn wrote:

You know, all this stuff on Foles’s flaws was completely visible at the time of the trade. Here, we have whole long threads on it. Nothing he did Sunday…with a young and injured OL, including one replacement PFF ranked as the worst player at his position for the week (Donnal)…is or ought to be a surprise.

Even in Philly he was good for a complete meltdown game per year.

Meanwhile, he has virtues mixed in with that which people lose sight of in what is (IMO) post-loss lament mode. They beat Seattle without Gurley, came within a dropped Kendricks pass of nearly beating Pittsburgh.

I honestly have not heard a single complaint that wasn’t already there to contemplate, clear and open, before the season started. Heck for that matter, all the same things were visible in the Rams/Eagles game last year. So some of us saying he can be a good qb…with a clutch dimension added in…knew about those flaws before we said it. My repeat mantra was that he can be a good qb if he has both a solid OL and a running game.

And I still think that’s just going to be how it plays out.

Yes Bradford was the better qb, by a lot. And I was one of the ones saying that I thought Bradford had a chance to play after 2 knees and always argued against the “china doll” thing. (I also said I got the trade because that was a kind of risk they couldn’t afford.) But then notice that Bradford struggled up until the last game too. Why? Not because it was Bradford, any more than Foles’s 2 bad games (Vikes and GB) are just entirely Foles. The situation was part of it in both cases.

I’ll just say yes, you’re probably right about most of that, but I still expected a little better. I was hoping for average, and at times better than that based on his past performance.

I’m going to try not to lament the trade, but it’s hard not to. I see Bradford’s arm in Philly, and I see Foles’ arm here, and I think that this team finally got a lot right, but traded their strong-arm QB just as he got healthy. I understand, because of the past injuries, but again, the Rams had bad timing.

I was blaming the O-line for Foles’ failures, but no longer. He’s just having trouble with accuracy, and the O-line is doing better. At least he’s good for a couple of big passes a game. That’s better than this team could muster a few years ago when a short pass to Amendola was an accomplishment.

Two things.

Wow, he went for that? Agree with Zack, that’s awesome he’s that secure about himself.

The other thing is, wow, the Rams actually have someone who could star in a commercial.

How is that even there?

I couldn’t believe it when McCown slipped on it. Then, the next game, there was nothing done with it, and Bush gets hurt. We’re lucky it hasn’t been a Ram, but then again, maybe the Rams are more aware.

This game could have huge playoff implications. If the Rams lose, they’re 4-4 and the Vikes 6-2, and due to the head-to-head loss, the Rams would basically be 3 games behind in the wild card race — further behind than they would be in their own division. I put this game as every bit as important as the Seattle and Arizona games. It could be a pivotal game in the team’s season. Win, and take charge of your destiny. Lose, and, well, you stumble back down the cliff.

How have the Rams fared on the road this season? They’re 1-2, albeit one game at Lambeau and the one win against a really good Arizona team. To beat Arizona by 2, the Rams had a 3-0 advantage in turnovers. In the loss to Washington, they allowed a huge game from RB Matt Jones. If the Rams don’t have a turnover advantage, and they allow Peterson to run all over the field like Jones did, the Vikes are going to win this game unless something crazy happens.

My sense is this: The Rams have yet to play a clean game. Still, they jump offsides on defense from time to time. (Why? You’re playing so well, just don’t give the other team yards.) They drop balls too often on offense. They’re fumbling too often lately. If the Rams can come out and play with more discipline, they can win this game even with the crappy passing attack. I think Barron helps in the run game more than Ogletree would because Barron fills gaps much more effectively.

I guess I said all of that to reach this conclusion: Flip a coin. Could go either way. But, if it doesn’t go the Rams’ way, it shouldn’t be because they had a letdown. It’s a big game.

Gurley makes extra yards, almost always. There isn’t anything there for two quarters, and he hasn’t done much, seemingly. But, I like that he sees when there’s nothing there and goes forward to at least get something, even if it’s 1 or 2 yards.

Then, when he finally sees a hole, he just goes. No hesitation, one cut, and gone. Imagine this guy behind a good O-line. My word. He’d probably hit 6-7 big runs a game.

I like Tavon in the offense. He’s a great complimentary player who helps keep 8 out of the box. Imagine if there was another WR on the outside that teams had to actually worry about.

One thing on Tavon, though, he’s really bad on punt returns this year. He wants to get outside every time, and he’s costing the Rams yardage. If he would just get the punt and go forward, he’d be averaging another 5-10 yards a return.

If not for Gurley, I’d say the player of the game was Mark Barron. He’s got the same type of instincts as Gurley, just from the other direction. He diagnoses plays and hits the hole to make tackles. AND, he can cover gifted tight ends, which is something the Rams hadn’t had at LB in forever.

Every game will be a struggle as long as the Rams cannot sustain drives on a consistent basis. A game can turn on a mistake, as the fumble/face mask showed. If that play stands, this is a different ballgame. This D can win a game, but it still needs help.

I think the Vikings game will be close and could go either way. I’ll probably say that about almost every game moving forward.

I just moved a few months ago. The old neighborhood was pretty fun on Halloween. He had over neighbors for a firepit and some eats. Our kids went trick-or-treating with neighbor kids. We’d get a good 100 or so trick-or-treaters. The neighbors who came over would bring their treats, too. It got to be a lot of fun.

The new neighborhood is nice, but sucks for Halloween. We had maybe 10 groups of trick-or-treaters, and no community spirit. We’ll have to build up something here and invite several people for the burnpit next year.

That sideline report was cool.

If that’s all true, I think we’ve got the next great back on our hands. I sure hope he gets to play his career in St. Louis. Makes me want to go to the games in the proposed stadium.

The game reminded me a little of the Steelers’ game except the Browns don’t have an elite WR and the Rams didn’t have Gurley.

If not for a great defensive performance, the Rams lose. And, I put a lot of that on Cook, because he’s getting worse, not better. If he would just show up, this offense gets a whole lot better. Someone needs to show him Tavon Austin blocking downfield and compare it with his blocking. Just embarrassing. On that fumble, Cook forgot all fundamentals and just held the ball loosely away from his body. I think he’s just an airhead, and you can’t fix that, obviously.

I kept hearing that Jamon Brown is doing OK, but not from that grade above. Apparently, he sucks. If Saffold can’t come back, the Rams may have the worst set of guards in the NFL. There’s no way they can overcome that to be a consistent offense. The D will have to win games, and that’s not going to be sustainable, imo.

Yeah, this is going to get really scary, really soon. It’s been a concern for quite some time. They just can’t stop this fire.

Hayes

Barron for the knockout.

Well, it was really obvious that Wright intentionally swatted the ball out of bounds. I don’t know how the ref could think otherwise.