yeah three td drives against the best defense in the nfl. or at least top 3. without gurley and mason. and that backfield could be or at least should be the defining piece of this offense.

impressive.

but what they need to address is taking care of the freaking ball!

reading about wichmann gives me some comfort should saffold go down.

the offense on the other hand. i fully expect it to take a long time before we see this offense in full stride. whether that full stride is effective or not remains to be seen.

i don’t know technical stuff, but i am even more excited than i was last year. maybe it’ll all end up being for nothing, but i haven’t been this excited in awhile.

second year under the same coordinator. that’s huge. that’s something they haven’t had under the fisher regime, and i’m hoping that is the difference. they’ve been inconsistent every year under fisher. but maybe this is the year it changes. guys are entering their prime years at the right time and at important positions. again. quinn and donald should be better than they were last year. ogletree. you read good things about him this year as opposed to last year when he showed up out of shape. and in the backfield, mcdonald to some played like the best safety in the league in the second half of the season if you believe those sabremetrics.

the one downside is losing gaines. i was really counting on him this year, but hopefully, joyner can emerge and offset at least some of that loss. long and laurinaitis are a year older. but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.

i’m hoping this is the year the defense finally steps up and becomes great.

my guess is it relates to the division they’re playing in as well as strength of schedule overall. in an easier division, their mean win should go up and their playoff chances as well.

playing against the number one team in seattle will do that.

atlanta for example has some pretty weak teams in their division thus increasing their chances of winning and making the playoffs.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by InvaderRam.

not sure i buy that a fix was in but i do believe the patriots cheated.

all along people said the destroying of the tapes was inconsequential. i don’t buy it. the nfl is hiding something. wouldn’t be the first time.

the guy barely got a hand on him. he might not have. he tries to push him but completely whiffs and falls on his tummy.

i will say this. we’d be looking at this team very differently had bradford stayed healthy the past two years. very differently.

and now they have foles who hopefully stays healthy and a running back as good as a steven jackson in his prime. if he stays healthy. the oline is a mess right now but it has seemed a mess for years.

i don’t know what that adds up to.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by InvaderRam.

you’re right. they do match up well. and that’s why with the other factors in play there’s a chance the rams catch them by surprise.

i hope. but that oline really worries me.

so guesses on the starting center?

i’m hoping it’s rhaney only because he’s the less known quantity. and in my screwed up logic, he represents more potential.

on the other hand, that’s not a lot of game experience with rhaney there. so probably barnes.

zn wrote:

InvaderRam wrote:

but this oline seems to be total shit…

I don’t agree. It’s not t.s. … IMO it’s raw and will have its moments. The upside promises a line that is not only solid, but 2 deep at back-up tackle, which is just plain rare.

.

well. a poor attempt at humor. i mean i obviously think it isn’t total shit as i do believe there’s a chance that it could come together mid-season. meaning i think there’s actual talent there.

wow. jones cut. i guess that can only mean that the olinemen who beat him out were that good.

or jones was just that bad.

i’m hoping for the former.

i agree with a lot of that. it might even take the first 8 games. i do think the defense still has a chance to show greatness, but this offense is going to be painful to watch for quite awhile.

i think the oline will eventually be fine. we’ll see flashes. but it’s really gonna struggle at the beginning. feel bad for tre but hopefully they start coming around in the second half. i think this puts a big dent in their chances of a winning record. i hope i’m wrong.