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December 2, 2017 at 12:30 pm in reply to: Senator Warren on the tax bill thread becomes, political cartoons thread #78223
znModerator
znModeratorThat socialist didn’t sound all that angry.
Not a socialist. A sparticist. There’s a difference. And she sounded like a typical spariticist to me. Not so much angry as dogmatically self-righteous (raised emphatic “j’accuse” tones) in the pissy way sparticists do that, while also in the way sparticists do things, getting most of the facts just completely wrong. It’s actually speech-making. They prepare these things and practice. Remember the poster 9erhater? They’re like that. In every group discussion where I’ve ever encountered them, going back decades.
znModeratorWhy is it a ‘crime’ to do what Flynn did?
w
vBecause of the law.
Which is why he initially lied about it.
Anyway, I thought we agreed so much and so often on the Russia thing that it was starting to look a little fishy. So I thought I would just spice things up with an occasional disagreement.
December 2, 2017 at 10:30 am in reply to: Senator Warren on the tax bill thread becomes, political cartoons thread #78215znModeratorDark Moment for America as Senate Passes Tax Bill in the Middle of the Night
51 Republicans ultimately voted for the 479-page bill that was being written – with hand-scrawled edits – on the fly Friday nightLong after midnight, following a chaotic scramble that saw tax legislation being re-written on the fly, with handwritten edits in the margins and full pages crossed out, Senate Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – a bill that would ultimately hike taxes on millions of middle-class Americans, swell the ranks of the uninsured by 13 million and explode deficits by $1.4 trillion in the first decade alone.
The winners in this bill are the Republican donor class: Corporations that would see their tax bills slashed by more than 40 percent – and get to bring home trillions in offshored profits at shamefully discounted tax rates as low as 7.5 percent; executives at companies with “pass through” earnings, who would get to deduct nearly a quarter of that income; heirs who would get richer from a doubling of the estate tax exemption, to $22 million for couples; and even private jet owners, who would get to deduct aircraft maintenance from their taxes.
With 51 Republican votes in favor of the tax bill, the final tally was close. Vice President Mike Pence wasn’t needed for final passage – though he did show up to break a tie vote for an amendment allowing tax deductible savings to be spent on private and religious K-12 schools.
The only GOP “no” vote on the bill was Tennessee’s retiring Bob Corker, who gets little credit for his resistance – days earlier, Corker had provided the pivotal committee vote allowing the bill to reach the floor. “I wanted to get to yes, Corker wrote in a statement. “But at the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation” that he expects to “deepen the debt burden on future generations.”
The vote followed a day of wheeling and dealing, set in motion after an estimate released by the Joint Committee on Taxation on Thursday gave lie to the GOP’s claim that the tax plan would pay for itself by boosting America’s GDP. Even JCT’s “dynamic” scoring of the bill, which attempts to account for economic activity spurred by tax cuts, found it would cost $1 trillion over ten years.
Republicans first focused on trying to appease the deficit hawk, Corker – and considered reducing the corporate tax cut or adding a “trigger” that would reverse cuts if deficits swelled. But those talks foundered, and McConnell instead decided to buy off holdouts.
The final Senate bill increases the proposed tax break for pass-through income earners – a sop to Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana. Susan Collins of Maine appeared to get the most for her vote. Collins made the bill marginally less awful by insisting on an amendment to allow Americans to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local property taxes. (That deduction had been fully eliminated in the first version of the bill.) And Lisa Murkowski of Alaska won a provision to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling – or, as Murkowski put it, to “responsible energy development.”
Consider too the case of Sen. John McCain, who had made an impassioned plea for bipartisanship and “regular order” before he cast a deciding vote against the GOP health care bill this summer. McCain curiously found he could stomach both fierce partisanship and legislative chaos for a bill that cuts taxes for corporations and the wealthiest. “After careful consideration,” he tweeted, “I have decided to support the Senate #TaxReform bill.” (In an epic subtweet, former McCain 2008 campaign strategist Steve Schmidt wrote, “Every Republican member who has spoken passionately about out-of-control spending or the importance of a return to the regular order who votes for this appalling tax bill was simply conning the American people.”)
In the mad dash to revise the bill, it turned into a Christmas tree full of gifts for special interests, according to Victor Fleischer, a respected tax professor at the University of San Diego. “Earmarks have mostly disappeared from Congressional spending bills,” Fleischer tweeted, “but they are out loud and proud in the tax bill.” One sweetheart deal appears to exempt a religious college in Michigan – supported by billionaire Education Secretary Betsy DeVos – from a new tax on college endowments.
The Senate bill was negotiated behind closed doors, with Democrats shut out entirely. “I saw that Corker’s a ‘no’ and Collins is a ‘yes’ – and I don’t know what they’re a ‘no’ or a ‘yes’ on,” Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy said on the Senate floor before the bill’s final draft emerged. After Oregon’s Ron Wyden expressed outrage that the bill couldn’t be read before the vote, Sen. Majority Leader McConnell insisted Wyden would have “plenty of time” to read – afterwards.
In a dark moment for American democracy, Republicans voted unanimously Friday night against postponing a final vote until Monday, which would have given senators and the public a chance to read and analyze the 479-page tax bill. What other special interest gifts are lurking in the fine print? Who benefits exactly? Who knows?!
The last best estimate we’re left with is the JCT scoring that shows that more than 80 percent of Americans wind up in 2027 with either a tax increase or a benefit of less than $100.
What happens now?
The House and the Senate have passed competing tax measures that are different in their details. The House bill, for example, fully eliminates the estate tax and punishes teachers and graduate students. (Read more about the winners and losers of the House bill here.) The Senate bill is the only version that eliminates the individual mandate in Obamacare, halting coverage for millions, and raising rates for those left in the system.
The bills may now head to a conference committee, where the two chambers could hammer out a synthesis bill. But given how unpopular the GOP tax plan is – as few as 1 in 4 Americans support it – a return trip to the closely divided Senate may prove problematic.
That means that the bill just passed under cover of night – the bill that nobody fully knows what’s in it – could end up being adopted, as is, by the House, and sent to president Trump to be signed into law.
“This is not over yet,” tweeted Senate Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon. “The House will still need to act on the Senate bill. It’s up to every American who believes in the ‘We the People’ vision of our democracy to stop this bill before it gets to the President’s desk.”
December 2, 2017 at 3:58 am in reply to: Surprisingly, PFF likes Aaron Donald for some reason #78208znModeratorCan Aaron Donald’s pressures make him NFL Defensive Player of the Year?
Alden Gonzalez
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Aaron Donald started rattling off a list of sacks he failed to secure. There was that one against the Dallas Cowboys, another against the New York Giants, two that he remembered against the Seattle Seahawks, and countless others against the Minnesota Vikings and former teammate Case Keenum.
He still thinks about them.
“All the time,” Donald said. “All the time.”
The 2017 season is 12 weeks old, and Donald once again is making a compelling case to be considered the game’s best defensive player. But you wouldn’t know it by his sack total. The Los Angeles Rams’ fourth-year defensive tackle has six sacks, which is enough to lead his team but not enough to even rank within the NFL’s top 25.
It’s a modest total, but Donald’s impact is best measured by the number of times he pressures the opposing quarterback.
Donald already has generated 62 quarterback pressures, a statistic used by Pro Football Focus that combines sacks, hits and hurries. That’s seven more than the next interior lineman (the Cincinnati Bengals’ Geno Atkins) and four more than the next defensive player of any kind (the Los Angeles Chargers’ Joey Bosa). Donald leads by this measure even though he spent the entire summer holding out, didn’t play in Week 1, wasn’t himself in Week 2 — “I don’t even count that game,” Donald said — and plays a position that makes it excruciatingly difficult to manufacture pressure.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Rams edge rusher Matt Longacre said. “We’ve never seen anybody pressure the quarterback as much as he does.”
But will it lead to Donald being crowned the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year?
The odds appear to be against it.
The award, voted on by a 50-person panel and presented by The Associated Press, traditionally goes to players who are among the league’s leaders in traditional statistics such as interceptions, tackles and sacks. Even a transcendent player such as Donald — an interior lineman who will inherently have lower sack totals, regardless of ability and skill — can suffer because of it.
“I think it can happen, and I think our voters are savvy enough to realize how good a player Aaron Donald is,” said Barry Wilner, an AP football writer who has overseen the Defensive Player of the Year Award for two decades. “But we’re also in a very statistics-based world, where on defense, sacks and interceptions seem to be the calling card.”
Four defensive tackles have been named AP Defensive Player of the Year since the sack became an official stat in 1982, and all four of them — Warren Sapp, Dana Stubblefield, Cortez Kennedy and Keith Millard — did so after finishing within the top 10 in sacks. Wade Phillips was the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator when Hall of Famer Reggie White was named defensive player of the year after a 21-sack season in 1987, but Phillips helped move White from defensive tackle to defensive end.
“You’ve got a better chance outside,” Phillips said, “because you can’t get doubled as much.”
White was a good fit outside at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds. Donald, 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds, always will fit best on the interior, where Phillips admits it’s “awfully hard” to continually be among the league’s leaders in sacks.
But Donald, whose career high in sacks was 11 in 2015, doesn’t see it that way.
“You just have to work a little harder for it because there’s less space, a lot less room to work with,” the 26-year-old said. “I feel like I can get it.”
Donald brought up La’Roi Glover, who racked up 17 sacks as a defensive tackle in 2000. Sapp, Stubblefield, Kennedy and Millard found ways to ocassionally get it done, too. So did Hall of Famer John Randle, a man Donald studied intently when he reached the NFL.
“To be the best, you have to try to do what the best did and try to surpass those guys,” said Donald, who plays with the phrase “Hard Work Pays Off” written on the back of his cleats. “It’s work. But I’m in this business to work, not just to have my individual success, but to try to do my little part to help my team to try to have success, too, because it’s about winning.”
Donald was invited to the Pro Bowl after each of his first three seasons and was named first-team All-Pro after each of his past two. His 34 sacks since the start of 2014 leads defensive tackles and is tied for 10th among all positions. Pressure-wise, Donald is in the midst of his best season yet. He’s on pace to finish with 90, which would top his previous high of 82 from 2016, according to Pro Football Focus. Donald ranked third in pressures that season.
“I definitely want to get the sack,” Donald said. “But I learned in this league that quarterback pressures and quarterback hits are as big as a sack because you’re back there putting the pressure on them, not letting the quarterback get comfortable, and you’re affecting the game.”
Donald’s next opponent, Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, called him “the most dynamic inside player in the NFL,” and that is no stretch.
“He gets those outside guys a lot of sacks because if they stay outside, the quarterback is just getting flushed out to them,” Arians said. “He can wreck the game in a heartbeat.”
Phillips was asked which players have surprised him in his first season as Rams defensive coordinator and answered “Aaron Donald.”
“Because he’s better than everybody, and I didn’t know he was better than everybody,” Phillips said. “I thought he was good, but I didn’t know he was better than everybody.”
Those who watch Donald closely tend to have that takeaway, even if traditional numbers don’t illustrate it. Wilner likes to believe the voting panel considers all stats, traditional and contemporary, in addition to gauging with their eyes and inquiring from opposing players.
“But the voters have total freedom about how they want to choose the winners of these,” Wilner said, “and it often comes down to sacks and interceptions.”
Donald didn’t end his holdout — a holdout that still hasn’t yielded the lucrative contract he seeks — until the Saturday before the season opener. He didn’t play in that game and admitted he was rusty in the team’s second. Donald said he was “cleaner” in the third, “but I just wasn’t comfortable with my technique.”
Really, it wasn’t until Week 4 that Donald began to feel like himself again. But Pro Football Focus — an analytics-based site that had Donald graded as the second-best player after 2016 and ranked as the NFL’s best player heading into 2017 — still has him affecting the quarterback more often than anybody else.
Someday, even if not this season, it might land him the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award.
“You always want your hard work to pay off and be seen as something like that,” Donald said. “It’s definitely a goal of mine. I don’t keep thinking about it, but it’s definitely a goal.”
===
from: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/12/01/aaron-donald-is-just-as-dominant-as-ever-for-rams-defense/
Donald’s lack of flashy stats is the ultimate compliment. Offensive linemen double team him. Quarterbacks sprint away from him. Offensive coordinators scheme plays away from him. This could be, even though stats betray it, the most dominant of Donald’s four NFL seasons.
“He’s better than everybody,” Rams first-year defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said, “and I didn’t know he was better than everybody. I thought he was good, but I didn’t know he was better than everybody.”
Some of the stats are there. Donald, for instance, has forced three fumbles in 10 games this season. He forced a total of four in his first 48 NFL games. Unofficially, Donald leads the NFL in quarterback pressures, and analytics websites consistently rank him as the league’s top defensive lineman.
Then there’s the eye test. Donald missed all of training camp, and the first week of the season, because of a contract holdout, and took a while to play his way into game shape. Starting with the Oct. 15 game at Jacksonville, Donald has recorded five sacks and three forced fumbles in six games.
“It doesn’t take a coach to see that,” Phillips said. “If you just watch him during the game or watch a film of the game, the whole game you just watch him the whole game and you see how he dominates, even against two blockers. Those great players, they obviously are going to affect the game and he does that.”
Donald had a virtuoso performance last Sunday against New Orleans. He tied his season high with five tackles, sacked quarterback Drew Brees on the Saints’ third play and set the tone on a day when the Rams held the high-powered Saints offense to 20 points.
“Any time you go up against a quarterback like that, you want to get to him early,” Donald said. “I thought we did a good job. Multiple guys were flying around making plays. It was a big key for us to get some pressure on him, and that’s what we did.”
The challenge is different this week, with Sunday’s game at Arizona, because the Cardinals are on their third quarterback of the season, Blaine Gabbert. Donald sacked Carson Palmer when the teams first met in October in London, and Donald enters Sunday with 34 sacks in 58 career NFL games.
That’s a good ratio, particularly for a defensive tackle in a 3-4 system that also sees two linebackers near the line of the scrimmage. Donald certainly has the ability to burst through the line and make a sack, but more often, he’s providing pressure and tying up offensive linemen so the Rams can get outside pressure.
znModeratorWho has the edge?
RICH HAMMOND
link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/12/01/rams-vs-cardinals-who-has-the-edge-2/
RAMS OFFENSE vs. CARDINALS DEFENSE
Arizona’s loss to the Rams last month capped a brutal three-game stretch in which the Cardinals allowed a total of 100 points in three games. Since then, the Cardinals have allowed only 77 points in their last four games. Arizona has faced the fourth-most pass attempts in the NFL this season but has allowed a completion percentage of 60.4 percent, ninth-best in the league, and the Cardinals allow only 3.7 yards per rushing attempt. Arizona has been fairly stout on run defense in recent games, so it will be interesting to see if the Rams abandon the run too quickly if Todd Gurley can’t get going early, but Gurley ran for 106 yards on only 22 carries in the last meeting, and the Rams totaled 197 rushing yards.
EDGE: RAMSCARDINALS OFFENSE vs. RAMS DEFENSE
The Cardinals are on their third quarterback of the season, Blaine Gabbert, after injuries to Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton. Running back Adrian Peterson has been inconsistent but Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald remains timeless. Fitzgerald has 780 receiving yards this season but is looking for a bounce-back effort after he had only three catches for 12 yards last week against Jacksonville. The Rams’ defense would love to put forth a repeat of last week’s effort against New Orleans, when the Rams did an admirable job against the run and made life miserable for the Saints’ pass game. This will be a good test for rookie linebacker Samson Ebukam, who replaces injured Connor Barwin.
EDGE: RAMSSPECIAL TEAMS
Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 63-yard field goal attempt, into a slight wind and on a patchy Coliseum field, and team followers noted surprise. Isn’t Zuerlein supposed to make everything? Practically, and he’s been nearly automatic from inside 55 yards. This should be a Pro Bowl season for Zuerlein and for Pharoh Cooper, who continues to give the Rams good field position on kickoffs and punts, at least during those rare times when they’re not called for penalties (something that needs to be cleaned up). Cardinals kicker Phil Dawson made a 57-yard field goal as time expired last week to beat Jacksonville, and returner Kerwynn Williams is expected to play despite hurting his ribs last week.
EDGE: RAMSCOACHING
This will be another good test for the Rams’ Sean McVay, who so far has pushed all the correct emotional buttons. They’re coming off a big victory and now face a 4-5 team that they beat by 33 points a month ago. McVay will have to keep the Rams focused, and not allow them to look ahead to next week’s showdown against NFC juggernaut Philadelphia. It’s been a tough season for Arizona’s Bruce Arians, who lost running back David Johnson early in the season, then lost Palmer. The Cardinals, unless they run off some consecutive victories, will miss the playoffs for a third straight year.
EDGE: RAMSINTANGIBLES
The Cardinals seem to be feeling pretty good. Over the past month, they’ve defeated San Francisco and Jacksonville and hung tough against Seattle (although they did surprisingly collapse against Houston two weeks ago). The Cardinals have won three of their last four at home, and no doubt they will be motivated to put forth a better showing against the Rams than they did in London. That game was a disaster for the Cardinals, who looked jet-lagged and got throttled. This is one of those potential trap games for the Rams. They should win it, but the Cardinals won’t be an easy out like last time.
EDGE: RAMSMATCHUP TO WATCH
Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree vs. Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson: After he was shut down by the Rams in London, Peterson had an astounding game against the 49ers and rushed 37 times for 159 yards. In his next two games, though, Peterson totaled only 55 yards on 35 carries. He bounced back a bit last week against Jacksonville’s strong defense and gained 79 yards on 20 carries. Peterson, at this point in his career, isn’t the threat that New Orleans’ Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara provided last week, but the Rams’ tackling has been inconsistent at times, and they need Ogletree to make stout plays.PREDICTION: RAMS 28, CARDINALS 17
This is another “take care of business” game for the Rams, similar to those against the New York Giants and Houston Texans. It’s a game that, by all objective standards, the Rams should win, and probably easily, but that Houston game was a bit of a red flag, because of the way the Rams’ offense performed in the first half. Barring a turnover meltdown by the Rams, it’s difficult to see how the Cardinals will be able to keep pace, particularly since the Rams’ coaching staff has been so good with halftime adjustments. The Rams should take care of business and set up an epic game against Philadelphia next week.znModeratorBorrowed from off the net.
Big time games this week
Vikings @ Falcons
Panthers @ Saints
Eagles @ Seahawks
znModeratorI mean why wouldnt a Yeti have a giant dog and seven bears? Answer me that.
w
vVet bills.
December 1, 2017 at 3:09 pm in reply to: Surprisingly, PFF likes Aaron Donald for some reason #78194znModeratorWade Phillips was asked which player has surprised him the most this season. His answer: "Aaron Donald. Because he's better than everybody, and I didn't know he was better than everybody. I thought he was good, but I didn't know he was better than everybody."
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) December 1, 2017
znModeratorHe has been a bit inconsistent (which is fine with me, I assumed early on he would be and I am confident he’ll even out after more experience).
znModeratorSpartacists have ruined more group discussions I have been in than any other type.
znModeratorDecember 1, 2017 at 9:59 am in reply to: Breer: McV’s Rise w/ Rams Offers NFL Coaching Search Lessons…& more on McV #78184znModeratorznModerator“…Ebukam, a team captain at small-school power Eastern Washington, received a fifth-round draft grade from NFL.com and was valued for his speed but criticized for a lack of refinement…”
What does ‘that’ mean? He lacked ‘refinement’ in college?
w
vI think it’s about the fact that he went to a small school so needs a lot of work on technique and recognition. A lot of small schools lack for example a full complement of dedicated position coaches. With the level of opposition in college he could get by with sheer athleticism.
It also means that he needs to develop a more sophisticated wine tasting palette, and work on his french a bit, so the accent’s more natural (for small talk, comme vous le savez). Plus he needs to spend more time at art exhibits to elevate his sense of nuance.
December 1, 2017 at 1:19 am in reply to: Breer: McV’s Rise w/ Rams Offers NFL Coaching Search Lessons…& more on McV #78173znModeratorIt was a good search and a good process.
But another thing comes out of reading that. Given how much Snead was part of that process, there is no way he was ever in trouble with this regime. You don’t make a guy like that central to a head coach search process in that way if you have doubts about him.
znModeratorRams quarterback Jared Goff has gotten the message on how to attack defenses
Gary Klein
http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-goff-mcvay-20171129-story.html
The progression was picture-perfect, and it resulted in a touchdown.
On a second-and-goal play against the New Orleans Saints, Rams quarterback Jared Goff caught the snap in the shotgun formation, dropped back and quickly surveyed the coverage.
He looked to his far right and saw that receiver Cooper Kupp was covered. He turned his head slightly and pump-faked to tight end Gerald Everett.
And then — in a move that belied a seasoned-veteran — he pointed at receiver Josh Reynolds in the middle of the end zone and directed him to keep moving left.
Goff fired a pass and the diving Reynolds caught it for his first touchdown.
The play — in a victory that improved the Rams’ record to 8-3 — showed Goff’s development.
“That’s a great representation of a mature quarterback,” McVay said Wednesday.
Goff had help.
The Rams had lined up quickly. Just as Goff appeared ready to begin a snap count, he paused, looked to the sideline and then called an audible. It came from McVay and was delivered through the earpiece in Goff’s helmet.
NFL rules allow coaches to talk to one offensive player and one defensive player between plays until 15 seconds remain on the play clock.
And McVay, the Rams’ play-caller, has maximized that time with Goff, especially when the Rams line up quickly to afford McVay extra time to evaluate the defense.
“He’s great on the headset,” Goff said.
Sometimes, Goff said, McVay utilizes all of the allotted time. Others he uses only five or 10 seconds.
McVay said he communicates with Goff the same way he did with quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy with the Washington Redskins, and that various tempos of the offense dictate how much time he spends communicating with Goff.
He dismissed reports that intimated he was solely responsible for Goff’s success at the line of scrimmage.
“To say that I’m in his ear the whole time, that wouldn’t be the case,” McVay said.
Said Goff: “There’s plenty of times where it gets below 15 and we have to ad-lib a little bit.”
Whatever the case, it’s working.
After struggling in seven starts last season under former coach Jeff Fisher and offensive coordinator Rob Boras, Goff is flourishing.
He has passed for 2,964 yards and 18 touchdowns, with five interceptions. He is completing 62% of his passes going into Sunday’s road game against the Arizona Cardinals.
“We talk about it all the time,” McVay said, “the quarterbacks being an extension of the coaching staff.
“And that’s certainly what Jared has become.”
McVay’s scheme and play-calling have fast-tracked Goff’s development.
Goff also has benefited from improved offensive line play, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said.
“Last year he hardly had a chance to stand in there and throw it,” Arians said during a teleconference. “But, the running game and then his pocket presence — he knows exactly where he’s going with the football, and he’s got that great arm and if you let him sit still in that pocket he’s going to kill you.”
McVay’s communication with Goff at the line of scrimmage was not unusual, Arians said.
“It’s not the first time it’s been done, that’s for sure,” he said. “When you have a young quarterback in a new system it helps tremendously.
“You wish you could talk to him all the way to five seconds.”
The last time Goff faced the Cardinals he completed 22 of 37 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, in a 33-0 rout at London.
He has remained efficient, passing for more than 300 yards three times in the last four games.
Goff’s touchdown pass last week to Reynolds, McVay said, was an example of Goff turning a poor play call by the coach into a success.
“That was all him,” McVay said, adding, “That’s good players making a bad play call look very good right there.”
znModeratorCardinals vs. Rams prediction, scouting report: Can the Cardinals pull off the upset?
Kent Somers, azcentral sports
Cardinals insider Kent Somers previews Sunday’s Cardinals-Rams game and breaks down who has the edge. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:25 p.m. at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Cardinals on offense
To have a chance, the Cardinals must avoid negative plays on first and second downs. Failures on those downs were a big reason the Cardinals lost to the Rams, 33-0, in London in late October. The Cardinals converted just 3 of 12 third-down opportunities in that game. (The Rams were 13 of 19). On nine of those 12 opportunities, the Cardinals needed nine yards or more for a first down. That’s a recipe for disaster against any defense, but especially one as good as the Rams’. A poor run game was only one problem that day. Adrian Peterson rushed 11 times for 21 yards. Three times the Cardinals offense was penalized on first down, leading to impossible situations. Toss in two interceptions and it’s little wonder the Cardinals lost by 33 points. The Cardinals have lost two offensive starters since that game, quarterback Carson Palmer and left tackle D.J. Humphries – and a backup, quarterback Drew Stanton. Blaine Gabbert is now starting at quarterback, and he played well last week against the Jaguars. Gabbert ran for two first downs on a key touchdown drive last week. Rams tackle Aaron Donald might be the best defensive player in the NFL and had two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits in the first game against the Cardinals.
Edge: Rams
Cardinals on defense
The big story with the Rams this week was the revelation that coach Sean McVay communicates with quarterback Jared Goff via radio right up he’s cut off at the 15-second mark of the play clock. That has given Goff the ability to use a lot of check-with-me calls at the line of scrimmage. It can complicate things for a defense because it has to determine if it can disguise its intent long enough to fool the Rams. The Rams often snap the ball quickly, which doesn’t give a defense time to adjustment. The Cardinals did a good job limiting the Jaguars’ run game last week, but the Rams are far more diverse offensively. Running back Todd Gurley rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown in London and is also a receiving threat. The Cardinals sacked Goff only once on 38 pass plays in the first meeting. The Rams likely will be without Robert Woods, their leader in receptions and receiving yardage. They have plenty of other firepower. They are second in the NFL in scoring. According to profootballreference.com, the Rams have scored on 48.4 percent of their possessions, second only to New England. Last year, the Rams were the worst in the NFL in that category, scoring on 28.1 percent of their possessions.
Edge: Rams
Special teams
Rams punter Johnny Hekker is the best in the NFL, and kicker Greg Zuerlein has missed just two field goals in 34 attempts. Cardinals opponents have yet to miss a field goal this season. The Cardinals punt team has improved dramatically in the past month, but the kickoff coverage needs improvement. The Rams’ Pharoh Cooper leads the NFL in kickoff return average (29.7) and returned one 103 yards for a touchdown against Jacksonville.
Bottom line
The Rams have their health and an 8-3 record. The Cardinals have six starters on injured reserve and are 5-6. They have yet to win consecutive games this season and will try Sunday for the sixth time this season. The Rams, however, are better in every area.
znModeratorWhat They’re Saying: The Arizona Cardinals
Kristen Lago
Each week TheRams.com will be taking a look at what Los Angeles’ opponents have to say about facing the Rams. Heading into Week 13 of the regular season, check out what the Arizona Cardinals’ coaches and players had to say about their upcoming matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona:
On what kind of impact he thinks DT Aaron Donald has on the game:
“I think he’s the most dynamic inside player in the NFL – he and (Seahawks DE) Michael Bennett. Michael is playing a lot more outside this year, but I think (Donald) has been the most destructive inside guy for a couple years now. He gets those outside guys a lot of sacks because if they stay outside, the quarterback is just getting flushed out to them it goes over there and yeah, he can wreck the game in a heartbeat.”
– Cardinals’ HC Bruce Arians
On the challenges that the Rams defense presents:
“They have a great defense. You know everybody is talented in the NFL, it’s a week to week thing. Everybody has great players. They have a great front seven, their secondary is playing hard, they are forcing turnovers, they’re playing fast. We’re going to have our hands full, but at the end of the day we’re going to focus on what we can control — going out there and executing each and every play, not getting ahead of ourselves and just playing good football.”
– Cardinals’ QB Blaine Gabbert
On what has looked different about the Rams this season:
“They were a really, really good defense before Wade Phillips came in last year. What he’s been able to do, and these guys obviously they are elite pass rushers, they’re able to do some things in the back end to confuse the quarterback from time to time. But they are still the same physically imposing, aggressive, get after you defense that we’ve always faced. The only difference now is on the offensive side, they are putting up a lot of points. There’s just no room for error at all.”
– Cardinals’ WR Larry Fitzgerald
On what he has seen as the biggest improvement with QB Jared Goff this season:
“The protection has helped him so much. Last year he hardly had a chance to stand in there and throw it. But, the running game and then his pocket presence – he knows exactly where he’s going with the football and he’s got that great arm and if you let him sit still in that pocket he’s going to kill you. I’ve seen him being able to sit still in the pocket and being more comfortable than he has been.”
– Cardinals’ HC Bruce Arians
On the difference of RB Todd Gurley II from last year to this year:
“They’re blocking a whole lot better for him. He’s one of the three or four premier guys in this league and when you give him space, he’s going to hurt you. I really like what (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay) is doing with him in the passing game now because he did remind me a lot of (Cardinals RB) David Johnson coming out. Both those guys had really good hands.”
– Cardinals’ HC Bruce Arians
On how big of a game this is for the Cardinals in facing the Rams for the second time:
“Big home game for us, we have the Rams coming to town. Obviously, the last time we played them it wasn’t a very good outing for us on our long road trip to London. It’s a big week for these guys, because it’s a hell of an opponent. We have to rise to the occasion.”
– Cardinals’ OC Harold Goodwin
“The London game, it wasn’t pretty. I mean the trip was great, everything was fantastic except for the game. We have to actually show up and play football on Sunday if we want to compete against a really, really good football team. They have to be a top five scoring team offensively, a top five defense and an unbelievable job on special teams. All around they’re a dominant football team. But we’re playing at home, we’re playing better than we were at that time. It’s going to be a 60 minute altercation.”
– Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald
November 30, 2017 at 11:14 pm in reply to: McVay, Phillips … 11/30 … vids & transcripts, + Gurley transcript #78167znModeratorHead Coach Sean McVay – November 30, 2017
(Opening Remarks)
“From an injury standpoint, (LB) Mark Barron did not participate, (C) John Sullivan was limited, (T) Andrew Whitworth did not participate, (OLB) Connor Barwin did not participate with his forearm. (TE Tyler) Higbee did not participate with an Illness. (WR) Josh Reynolds was back full, (CB) Kayvon Webster was limited with his ankle, (WR) Robert Woods did not participate with his shoulder, (RB) Malcolm Brown was limited with his knee and then (RB) Lance Dunbar and (CB) Nickell Robey-Coleman were both full today.”(On if LB Mark Barron will be active this week)
“This has kind of been typical for him the last couple weeks, so he’ll do some stuff tomorrow and then he’ll be good to go for the game. He’s had just some nicks and bruises and we just want to be smart with Mark, just kind of getting him through the week and managing him. He’s felt good – that’s been the best plan where he’s taken a lot of above the neck reps with some of the walk-thru’s and things like that. But just with the physical reps, we’ve kind of been smart managing him, but he’ll be good to go.”(On if he thinks WR Robert Woods will start practicing next week)
“I think that would be a good situation. I think more than likely it might be another couple after that. You’d say you’re shooting for the Philly, but I think a more realistic target would be the Seattle game. So a couple weeks from now is probably what’s the most realistic approach. But you never know with Robert.”(On what’s different about this Arizona Cardinals team since he last faced them in London)
“Well, I think you still see a lot of great players. And I think when you look at that game, I don’t think the score – I’ve said it before, that was not indicative of, really, the way the game played out. I think we got fortunate where our defense got a couple turnovers towards the end of the second quarter, but it was 6-0 with like nine minutes left in the second quarter and there were a lot of things that went back and forth. You look at – they missed a field goal on their first drive where they were moving the ball well. So, great competitive football team. I think you’ve seen (Cardinals QB Blaine) Gabbert do a nice job the last couple games, providing a spark for their offense. You look at (Cardinals RB) Adrian Peterson and (Cardinals WR) Larry Fitzgerald – could go on and on about those guys. The tight end (Cardinals TE Rickey) Seals (Jones) has made a lot of plays for those guys the last couple weeks. And then defensively, they’re getting some of their younger players going. You look at (Cardinals S) Budda Baker, you can continue to see (LB) Hassan Reddick improve and they’ve got two All Pro players with (Cardinals OLB) Chandler Jones at 12 sacks leading the league. He’s really made an impact on that Jacksonville game. Then (Cardinals CB) Patrick Peterson is still one of the best corners in this league. You certainly feel (Cardinals CB) Tramon Williams with the experience he’s had. (Cardinals S Tyrann Mathieu) ‘Honey Badger’ has made a handful of plays and then they’ve got the backers that are doing a real nice job. (Cardinals LB Karlos) Dansby’s played a lot of football – does a great job kind of managing things inside. So, there’s a lot of things that this team does that present problems and we know how well they’ve played at home over the last couple of years. (Cardinals Head) Coach (Bruce) Arians will have those guys ready to go and it’s going to be a great challenge for our team.”(On the workload for RB Todd Gurley II in the coming weeks with the playoffs in sight)
“I don’t necessarily know if it’s like that. We know that we’re guaranteed those 16 games, but you do want to be smart with Todd. Last week was an especially specific approach just based on his availability wanting him there on the third down and kind of some of those get back-on-track situations. Just with the depth that we had with both (RB) Malcolm (Brown) and (RB) Lance (Dunbar) being down. That approach will be affected and altered based on if those guys are available this week. But Todd’s a player that – as long as he’s kind of got a feel for where he’s at. He does a great job communicating with (Director of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and his staff and then myself to kind of know, how does his body feel week in and week out? Because you look at the pounding that these running backs take, not to mention that he’s involved in protection. He’s getting a lot of touches in the pass game where he’s able to create and he’s a physical player. So, you always want to be smart, especially with a player that’s as important as he is and kind of a focal point of our offense. So to answer your question, yes. And that’s really a week-by-week, game-by-game approach. But you also what to make sure that you’re getting him involved and getting him his touches because of what he does for our offense.”(On Gurley’s 15-yard run in the third quarter following a holding penalty)
“I think when a guy’s got a hot hand and you can kind of just feel it, that’s something that you kind of want to be in tune with as a play caller. And that was a situation where he had popped a ling run before we got the holding call and then we came back to the same exact concept and you could see he kind of created a lot of that on his own. So, you certainly want to be mindful of – if you’ve got a guy that’s feeling it, to keep him in that rhythm and keep the ball in his hands. That’s definitely something you want to be in tune with. And when you’ve got a player like that, you want to try to keep the ball in his hands in those situations. Especially, when he’s able to do what he did on that specific run.”(On the amount of self-scouting he feels like he has to do going against a team for the second time in a season)
“We try to do a lot of that on our own, regardless of whether you’ve played an opponent already or not. But, you definitely take a lot of time studying some of the things from that game and then looking at just based on whether it be personnel or what they’ve done to adjust since the time that we’ve played. There’s been a handful of games, but I think you look at specifically from a defensive approach, (Cardinals Defensive Coordinator) Coach (James) Bettcher has done a great job being able to adjust, throwing some different wrinkles in some things in his pressure packages, some of the things that he’s doing on the early downs. Then (Cardinals Head) Coach (Bruce) Arians is obviously one of the brightest minds in this league and he’s produced at such a high level. Anytime you go against a quality coaching staff when they’ve got good players, they’re going to be in tune with some of the things that you’ve already put on tape. So it is extra important to make sure that you’re aware from a self-scout standpoint, but that is something that we just try to be mindful of, even when you’re going against non-divisional opponents.”***
Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips – November 30, 2017
(Opening remarks)
“This week, we played this group before but they still have one of the greatest running backs of all time. The top receiver, I think he’s leading the league, and one of the greatest receivers of all time. The quarterback’s come in and given them some juice I think. (QB Blaine) Gabbert’s played well for them – kind of opened their offense back up again, gives you some problems. Then the coach, (Cardinals Head Coach) Bruce Arians is one of the great offensive quarterback coaches. He’s done great things with quarterbacks and I think you can see it with his quarterback playing now. So, I think they’ve come back to their offense. They still got a runner, receiver, and a quarterback and a coach that knows how to move the football, so it’ll be a challenge for us. Anytime you get beat like that, that we beat them last time, we expect any team’s best, but we’re going to get their best.”(On how he evaluated the way the defense played against the Saints)
“26-20 – kind of my evaluation of that ball game. 8-3. I thought we played well against (QB Drew) Brees. Obviously, we had one big run play that hurt us. I thought we played well against Brees and you can’t take the one run away, but we played really well against their running game – which they couldn’t control the ball with the running game. So, that’s what they had been doing and they couldn’t control the ball with the passing game. We had played good on third downs. I think they were on like two or three out of 13 and third-down in which they were one of the top, top third-down teams and we knew that was the big down for them to be able to stop them. I thought we played well. Anytime you play well enough to win that’s important.”(On what OLB Samson Ebukam brings to the defense and describe how the rookie class is doing overall)
“Samson has been playing some. It’s not like he hadn’t played. I think he has two sacks already, maybe two and a half, caused a fumble in a game. He’s played well, rookie wise, for the time he’s been in there and I think he’ll come in and do a good job for us. He’s worked hard at it. He’s a smart kid, and he’s got a world of talent. That play against the Texans, you could see his acceleration and making the hit on the quarterback and causing the fumble. So, he’s got some talent. I think he’s ready to go. He told me he’s nervous. I said, ‘Are you nervous?’ Then said, ‘Heck yeah.’ I said, ‘Well, you better be.’ He’s got a lot of energy and I like that about him.”(On the rookie draft class contributing on the defensive side)
“The draft here, I couldn’t be more pleased with them. We got some guys that are contributing, not only contributing, but starting. And (S John) Johnson’s (III) played well too now. Not just for a rookie, I think he’s played really well. We’re certainly pleased with the guys we have.”(On what other players have surprised him with the way they’ve been playing and how)
“(DT) Aaron Donald, because he’s better than everybody and I didn’t know he was better than everybody. I thought he was good, but I didn’t know he was better than everybody. But, he is. I’m being a little bit sarcastic, but he’s such a tremendous player. You can’t overlook how he plays. But the rest of the group overall, we’re getting where we want. They’re working hard at it. We’re trying to get better all the time. We’re not giving up a lot of points which points, is first and then turnovers, so we’re up there in those categories, so I feel like we’re progressing well. We just want to keep going this way as a team. I think (Head Coach) Sean’s (McVay) mentioned that, and that’s what we believe in. We’ve got to keep trying to get better though.”(On some plays in the last couple of games where guys got their hands on the ball, but couldn’t convert them into takeaways)
“Yeah, we dropped some interceptions the last game, several.”(On if there is anything that he can point to being the reason why they couldn’t convert those takeaways)
“No. Both wins, so I think we’re playing good. Those things will come. We’re very aggressive on defense – we’ve gotten our hands on it, we just didn’t grab it, but it will come. We didn’t play a whole lot of plays last game either, the second half. We don’t want more opportunities though, we want less opportunities. The less plays they play the better it is.”(On what he saw from Ebukam early on in camp)
“Well, he missed the OTAs (Organized Team Activities), so when he came into camp, he worked real hard. We noticed that real quick. He had a good work ethic, so that helped him fit in real well. Once you see a guy that is as talented as he is, you try to work with him as much as you can and let him get as much experience as they can. Then when they get the opportunity they’ve got to take advantage of it, which now is the time for him.”(On how much Donald impacts the game despite his sack total)
“I’m sure he has more pressures than anybody in the league. He’s by far – like I said, he’s better than everybody and you can see it in the game. It doesn’t take a coach to see that. If you just watch him during the game or watch a film of the game, the whole game you just watch him the whole game and you see how he dominates, even against two blockers. Those great players, they obviously are going to affect the game and he does that. He had two games in a row where he knocked the ball out on the first pass of that game – that’s setting the tone pretty good. One game we played, they tried to run the ball the second half and there was a three-yard loss on the first play and after that they said, ‘Well, we can’t run the ball.’ So, those kind of things he affects.”(On if Donald could ever be one of the 15-20 sacks per year type of player)
“It’s awfully hard inside. We had (Hall of Fame DE) Reggie White and when I first had him we had him inside and it was hard for him and then we moved him outside. But, he was 6’5 and 305 (pounds), so he did well outside. It would be harder for (Donald) to play outside, I think. We did the same thing with (Texans DE) J.J. Watt, too – we moved him outside. You’ve got a better chance outside because you can’t get doubled as much. What we’re trying to do is, obviously, get him one-on-one as much as we can inside and then when he beats them quick he’s there quicker than the outside guy. So, that’s our challenge and them trying to do the opposite, trying to get more people on him.”(On the Saints’ last touchdown drive)
“Yeah, I know, everybody says prevent defense and all of that stuff and don’t go into prevent. We didn’t want to give up a big play for a touchdown where they had the ball, where they could get the ball again before two minutes. Two scores ahead, if they score – we’d like to have slowed them down and we didn’t. But a two score game, they’ve got to get an onside kick and score again to win. It’s almost impossible for them to do that if you get it under two minutes. That was our goal, to get them under two minutes and slow them down. We didn’t do that very well. It comes from, part of it is you need to learn when you’re ahead how to play and we learned some things from that. So if it happened again, I think we’ll do better. We’ve done better in the other games, but we weren’t that far ahead.”RB Todd Gurley II –November 30, 2017
(On how he would describe this year’s offense after making reference to last year’s offense being a middle school offense)
“It’s good. I didn’t make reference, I said we’re playing like one.”(On what it means when Head Coach Sean McVay says, ‘Give me a woo.’)
“You’ve never seen Ric Flair? Ric Flair, the legend.”(On if he’s ever seen Ric Flair)
“Not lately. But I talked to him at the Dallas game. That was probably the last time I heard from him.”(On why the Rams haven’t had many choreographed celebrations)
“Bad chemistry on the celebrating, but it’s whatever. We get in there so much we don’t have to do it every time, so it’s cool.”(On if he wants to see the team do a choreographed celebration going forward)
“It would be cool, but I don’t have all day to be trying to do a whole cha cha slide and the electric slide rehearsal and then you plan one thing and then you get in the game and it doesn’t go well. But, we’ll have to work on that sooner or later.”(On if he gave any thought to it personally when the league allowed celebrations)
“I’m too big to be dancing. That’s not my game. I’ll leave that to (Giants WR) Odell (Beckham Jr.), (Vikings WR) Stefon Diggs and the boys – they do a pretty good job of that.”(On if he feels any better or worse physically than he did at this point in the season last year)
“I don’t know. That’s pretty hard. Yeah, I think I felt like this year I’ve been fresher, been able to recover well. Thank God I’ve been able to be healthy and be able to survive a whole 11, 12 games so far. It’s definitely not easy being able to play in this league week-in and week-out.”(On how much communication he has with the coaches, Director of Sports Medicine/Performance Reggie Scott and Head of Strength and Conditioning Ted Rath about how he is feeling physically)
“They come to talk to me a lot, but I tell them I’m fine. We all do a pretty good job of communicating and making sure that I’m feeling better, but I just feel like I need those reps because if I don’t get those reps, I go in there and have a bad game and like they say, ‘You play how you practice.’ So, you definitely have to go out there and make sure you get the right reps and some good reps.”(On if he likes going no huddle and if they are doing it more than he expected)
“Yeah, most definitely a lot more than expected. I feel like I’m back at Georgia right now, it feels like college ball, but it’s cool. Being at Georgia and being able to do signals and no huddle kind of helped me out and that’s just how the game is these days. It’s definitely tiresome sometimes, especially those first couple drives, but after that it’s pretty good.”(On if doing no huddle at the beginning of the game helps him score touchdowns)
“Yeah, I think so. It’s been working so far. We’ve been pretty good on the first couple drives of the game. It kind of wears teams down and they know what to expect – they’ve seen it on tape week after week and I feel like we’ve just been doing a great job of just going in there and executing and being able to run our plays.”(On if he feels like his workload has decreased and if he wants a bigger workload)
“I’m a running back, I’m always going to want more, but coach knows what he’s doing. He’s doing the best for the team. Obviously, last week I understood. They had two of their starting corners down so why not take advantage with (WR) Sammy (Watkins) on those backup corners. Like I said, we’re winning. As long as we’re winning, I’m cool. Everybody’s roles are going to have to decrease. I can’t get the ball every time. Someone’s always going to have to be that guy to step up and that’s the thing about this team. It’s not all, ‘If Todd doesn’t get the ball 20 times, we’re going to lose’, that’s a good thing. Even from teams seeing that, ‘Oh, they didn’t use Todd, but they’re still having a great game.’ So, for us just to have players on the team that can step up like that and play their role is amazing.”(On if he feels like he will be fresher towards the end of the season because of that)
“I wouldn’t say all that. Football, all it takes is one hit for you to be messed up. I don’t know. Like I said, I just try to prepare every week. Get my mind right, get my body right and make sure I’m just ready to go on Sunday.”(On if there is any fear that the team could overlook Arizona because the Eagles game is looming)
“Yeah. It’s just like any team. You go on the street and beat somebody up pretty bad, you go fight them again, you probably thing you’re going to win. We just know being in the league, how the league works. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the Chargers, the Browns, San Francisco, Arizona, Seattle, any team can beat anybody – whether it’s the best team or the worst team in the league. So, you have to come and bring it each weekend. The biggest thing is turnovers, you can’t control those things sometimes, sometimes you can you just have to make sure to take care of the ball. If we take of the ball the rest will take care of itself.”(On what he thinks about WR Cooper Kupp’s arm strength)
“He threw a pretty good pass in practice last week. He thinks he can throw the ball, but I think I should be back there throwing it. But, whatever. He can throw. He’s going to make great decisions with the ball if anything. Unlike me, I’d be trying to do all types of crazy stuff and make a play and look like (Chiefs TE) Travis Kelce and throw a pick.”(On if he’s made his pitch to Head Coach Sean McVay about throwing the ball)
“Nah. I’m just going to take off and run with it anyway so I’m good.”znModeratorJust to add to the confusion.
2 from the wiki:
1.
Alabama is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states.
2.
The Alabama or Alibamu (Albaamaha in the Alabama language) are a Southeastern culture people of Native Americans, originally from Alabama. They were members of the Muscogee Creek Confederacy, a loose trade and military organization of autonomous towns; their home lands were on the upper Alabama River. The Alabama and closely allied Coushatta people migrated from Alabama and Mississippi to the area of Texas in the late 18th century and early 19th century, under pressure from European-American settlers to the east.
znModerator“It’s about us! What we do, how we ball, it’s going to determine how we win this game today.”@NFLFilms #SoundFX with @MROGLETREE52 pic.twitter.com/7retuwUbDJ
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 30, 2017
November 30, 2017 at 7:45 pm in reply to: Waldman, Benoit, Baldinger … on Rams, Goff, the Saints game #78160znModerator.@rams @JaredGoff16 directs rookie @J_Rey_11 to an open "patch of grass" for his 1st NFL TD #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/oi5r3sRpUB
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 27, 2017
November 30, 2017 at 7:45 pm in reply to: Waldman, Benoit, Baldinger … on Rams, Goff, the Saints game #78159znModerator.@RamsNFL combo of @JaredGoff16 2 @CooperKupp are going to set records in LA over the next decade #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/4KQxkwv41g
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 27, 2017
November 30, 2017 at 7:44 pm in reply to: Waldman, Benoit, Baldinger … on Rams, Goff, the Saints game #78158znModerator.@RamsNFL @AaronDonald97 is a 1 on 1 unblockable force in the NFL; and @sonofbum knows how to set him free #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/lsQxGrv6En
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 27, 2017
November 30, 2017 at 7:43 pm in reply to: Waldman, Benoit, Baldinger … on Rams, Goff, the Saints game #78157znModerator🤢 RT @BaldyNFL: .@RamsNFL @JaredGoff16 to @CooperKupp for 53; the ole' stutter and go got #KennyVaccaro #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/HrMyA1vi5o
— b.wes ⚜️ (@_SaluteMeBitch) November 27, 2017
November 30, 2017 at 7:43 pm in reply to: Waldman, Benoit, Baldinger … on Rams, Goff, the Saints game #78156znModeratormercy. RT @BaldyNFL: .@RamsNFL Sean McVay will wear a matchup out once he knows he can win it . @CooperKupp v Vaccaro was a matchup he went back to when he needed to move the chains #BaldyBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/d16Z3NLAb3
— b.wes ⚜️ (@_SaluteMeBitch) November 27, 2017
November 30, 2017 at 6:01 pm in reply to: Waldman, Benoit, Baldinger … on Rams, Goff, the Saints game #78152znModeratorWentz … a more talented thrower, too.
================
Mmmm…i dunno. Its complicated. Wentz is a more ‘powerful’ thrower for sure.
But there may very well be ‘plays’ that Goff can make that Wentz cant. I’m thinking of Goff’s footwork and release.w
vI see it your way.
Wentz isn’t that accurate in certain ranges too.
…
November 30, 2017 at 4:49 pm in reply to: Breer: McV’s Rise w/ Rams Offers NFL Coaching Search Lessons…& more on McV #78148znModeratorthe Rams got him with Goff in a similar setting, and Goff told Demoff and Snead afterwards: “I hope we’re hiring that guy, because after spending two hours with him, I don’t want to play for anyone else.”
Lordy.
That’s a pretty strong statement…….
znModeratorWhen’s the last time the Rams beat a division team twice in one year?
2015. Seattle.
2012. Arizona. Plus they went 1-0-1 against SF.November 30, 2017 at 3:48 pm in reply to: Waldman, Benoit, Baldinger … on Rams, Goff, the Saints game #78144znModeratorAndy Benoit@Andy_Benoit
#Saints Film: #Rams first drive was textbook in foundational deceptive tactics (run and pass), ended with Watkins 5-yd TD plus-split X-iso quick slant vs. LCB Harris.#Rams Film: Goff not sharp first three series. Some misreads and was off-target on two important throws: Kupp on a dig, Watkins on a 3rd-8 out-route.
#Rams #Saints Film: Reynolds 7-yd TD was late-in-down crosser vs. eight-man Quarters, concept left him matched on LB Klein. Goff from perfect pocket made a nice stick throw.
Goff, for most part, is willing to work through his progressions from the pocket. He’s going to develop into a very fine QB because he has this foundation to build on. An intriguing work in progress right now.
#Rams #Saints Film: absence of CBs Lattimore and Crawley was the difference. Saints a different defense without them (especially Lattimore).
#Saints #Rams Film: Vaccaro a unique player but not a pure enough cover guy to handle a slot weapon like Kupp.
Film: this was a bit of a “learning experience” game for Goff, some physical and mental glitches to correct. And yet #Rams still won against an 8-3 #Saints team. Great commentary on the coaching staff and where this team is overall.
Wentz a much more advanced QB at this point, a more talented thrower, too. Both have a chance to have great careers.
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