wv wrote:

 

Well…..I loved Brian Piccolo. And i wish you would love him too.

I love Piccolo too.

It was horrible watching him get gunned down in his car by a competing Mafia family…

wv wrote:

nittany ram wrote:

I think you have to ask yourself why would an offense be “out of sync” 10 games into the season?

Capitalism. Do i have to explain football to everyone on this board. w v

So you’re saying it would be best if all the passes going to Kupp be redistributed to other, less deserving receivers.

But, if all those receivers knew they were going to get passes anyway, what is their incentive to get open?

For chrissakes think before you type.

I think you have to ask yourself why would an offense be “out of sync” 10 games into the season?  Especially when the three guys who have the most experience in the offense (Stafford, Kupp, Higbee) are the ones who look “out of sync”. The guys with the least amount of experience Nacua, Freeman, Atwell, Williams (before going on IR anyway) aren’t “out if sync”.

I’m not saying I have the answer or that “out of sync” isn’t a real issue, but it doesn’t really tell us much.  It can simply be a wastebasket term where we toss problems that are hard to identify.

zn wrote:

I am getting the sneaky feeling that this year, they’re better with just Nacua and no Kupp. No idea why.

I have a hypothesis but not enough energy or the means to test it.

When Kupp is in the game he is the number 1 receiver and Stafford’s first read on most plays.  In years past that wasn’t a problem because he was usually open so the ball came out on time.

This season either due to age or injury, Kupp isn’t open as much. Stafford looks to him first but then has to go to his second or third read forcing him to hold the ball a little longer which disrupts the timing of the play.  Stafford can get through his progressions as quickly as anyone, but I think most successful pass plays happen when the first read is open. I would bet that having to find a second or third option reduces the success rate.

When Kupp is not playing, Puka Nacua becomes the primary target on the majority of plays, and he’s open more often than Kupp is.

It also seems to me that Kupp isn’t getting nearly as many targets as past seasons.  This would support this idea that he isn’t open as much.

Anyways, that’s my mostly uneducated guess about why Kupp has become a monkey wrench in the gears of the Rams offense.

It also means the Rams may have a tough decision to make re: Cooper Kupp this off-season.

Happy for the win, but the only things I keep replaying in my mind are Stafford missing a wide open Kupp for a TD on a free play and then overthrowing an uncovered Henderson on a wheel route that might have scored…and McVay going empty backfield and passing when they were trying to run clock.  That’s some Brandon Staley level “huh, wtf” shit right there.

Kendrick reminds me of Dexter McCleon in his ability to do something great and stupid all on the same play.

Genocidal pop culture is going viral in Israel🧵
This, singing along with IDF soldiers:

"We've turned you into Kebab
Hide animals!
We have bombs & explosives
Where is your great Muhammad?
He will not save you this time!” pic.twitter.com/vLwJfAC0pv

— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) November 14, 2023

Don’t know about his abilities as a QB but I loved his wedding.

The wheels have come off.  Starting to look like another lost season especially if Stafford misses multiple games.

On the bright side, the 49’ers have lost three straight.

That’s something anyway.

Thanks BT.

Can’t say my father is enjoying life at this point, because he isn’t, but he has about as good of a demeanor as one could possibly have given his situation.  My wife and I are sometimes amazed by it.  Tough generation.

My elderly father lives with us. He is nearly blind, deaf, and barely ambulatory.

He watches the news on his ipad because he can’t see the TV very well.  Unfortunately, given his hearing that means the ipad is usually at full volume so we are forced to listen to it too.  He mainly watches/listens to CNN, MSNBC, and  FOX.

Prior to my father moving in, I hadn’t listened to main stream news in years, but if anyone thinks there is an appreciable difference between what passes for left wing and right wing news in this country, they should listen to the reporting on what’s happening in Gaza.  It is so blatantly pro-Israeli that I defy anyone to close their eyes and listen to the broadcasts  and tell me which news outlet they’re listening to.

zn wrote:

wv wrote:

A game like that — 158 yards — makes one start thinking about running-style ‘comparisons’. I watched K. Williams and tried to think of who he reminded me of in ‘that’ game and i thought of…..Emmitt Smith ? w v

He actually reminds me a bit of of Sony Michel. A smaller but smart, tough back with decent vision who does not have extra speed or elusiveness but who maximizes basic RB skills. He has enough physical talent but uses his head and sheer will to get more out of what he has. Wms. is a one hit and go gap-blocking runner who does not have the power of a power back or the magic in traffic of an elusive back or the raw speed and acceleration of a speed back–on most teams with premier backs he would be the #2, but a valuable one. That’s not a put down. He may be basic physically–certainly talent enough to play in the NFL, just not exceptional–but he is gifted at maximizing and getting the most out of what he does have, including things like reading blocks. If you listen to him talk about games, he has the same kind of knowledge of the game for his position that Kupp does as a receiver. He sees lanes but can’t make people miss and can’t run over guys, but he knows how to take what is there and has the mindset of a true gamer who sees and does all the little things that add up to him being a great opportunist. In fact he sees his opportunities quickly, and has great anticipation based on what he sees, but he’s never going to be the kind of back who creates second and third opportunities after he seizes the first one. If Dickerson had Williams’ head and mindset he would have been unstoppable. I don’t mean he’s a JAG. More like (an unlikely analogy) a Brady at RB. Brady didn’t have the arm, toughness, size, or magic of the qbs you automatically see can be special, but he processed more quickly than anyone else, and just wanted it more than most. So Wms. has enough strength, enough toughness, enough burst, enough quickness, enough vision–but his gift is to maximize all that by just willing it and processing fast, plus being an instinctive student of the game. In his own, different way I compare him to his favorite NFL back of all time–Steven Jackson. He may not be Jackson physically but he has #39’s will and instincts and smarts.

I completely agree. He is not a physically gifted RB, but he has good vision and anticipation.  He’s also short and runs low which makes it harder for defenders to find him in traffic. That and his abilities as a pass blocker and receiver make him a great fit in McVay’s offense.

I also sort of see wv’s Emmitt Smith analogy too.

wv wrote:

Well, we have no idea if Kupp is gonna be Kupp. Or half-Kupp. w v

If it’s half Kupp then the question becomes is Kupp half empty or half full? Of course how you answer that says more about you than it does about Kupp. An pessimist would say Kupp is half empty and an optimist would say Kupp is half full.

As a realist I say 4 oz of Kupp is better than 8 oz of just about anyone else.

Really happy for Stafford.  He deserved to win the way he gutted it out in the second half.

Hard not to like this team.  Yeah, they’re gritty but there’s more to them than that. They’re also talented.  This is a good roster.  It’s young, but it’s good.

They have a nice receiving corp that could be great when Kupp gets back.  They’ve fixed their o-line.  They have a good young secondary that will only get better with experience.  Barring injury this is a 10 win team.

They will be going into the off-season with few if any major holes, no dead money, and a first round pick.

Right now they are a legitimate playoff contender.  Next year they could be scary good.

I see Puka is listed as questionable this week and played last week with sore ribs.

Gotta wonder if he can survive an entire season getting so many touches a game.

I think not.   Kupp coming back in a couple weeks is the best thing that could happen to him.