hey sims got a sack

cooper but quick held

roll call!

who’s here

Gaines good PD

run for 5

3 n 5

TD

Zooey wrote:

a loss to the Panthers essentially cuts the chord completely.

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t an English teacher.

It’s a clever musical reference.

Though to be honest I am not entirely sure what it means.

Rams approach fork in the road on when Jared Goff should step in at quarterback

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/goff-734496-rams-keenum.html

On the final practice before the Rams broke for their bye week, rookie quarterback Jared Goff took the majority of snaps with the first-team offense.

Without the benefit of actual game action to assess Goff’s progress, his extended work against the Rams front-line defense last Wednesday opened a window into just how far he’s come since the end of training camp.

Coupled with the Rams’ plunge in the standings – should it continue against the Carolina Panthers – the progress Goff showed may have created a new timeline from which they finally decide to get him on the field.

What we have, essentially, is a franchise rapidly approaching a crossroads in which present and future objectives will meet.

And Case Keenum, the incumbent starter, appears more aware than ever of the looming fork in the road.

Keenum spoke recently about being the starter “this week” and how he’s taking things “a week at a time.”

It’s the first time all season Keenum has referred to his hold on the starting job in such tenuous terms. That it comes during a three-game losing streak – and immediately after he threw four interceptions in a frustrating loss to the New York Giants – is striking.

Almost as if instincts are telling him a fourth straight loss could be the catalyst for change.

Which means he might be facing a must-win situation when the Rams host the Panthers Sunday at the Coliseum.

Win, and keep the job. Lose, and give way to Goff.

It would be the right thing to do.

For the moment, the Rams remain on the fringe of the NFC West race. That’s more a product of what the rest of the division hasn’t done than what the Rams have, but as long as the division title is legitimately within reach, Keenum should stay the starter with Goff developing in the background.

That’s been the plan almost from the moment the Rams selected Goff, at which point they hoisted themselves onto two separate train tracks.

On one, they hoped to finally turn the corner from the 7-9 teams they’ve been under Jeff Fisher to a legitimate playoff contender. Keenum was the quarterback they counted on to navigate them across that route.

On the other, they’d quietly and prudently develop Goff, the undisputed future face of the franchise. As some close to Fisher explain it, he would follow a similar blueprint he used 21 years ago with Steve McNair as coach of the Houston Oilers.

McNair arrived in Houston a talented but raw prospect from tiny Alcorn State, then spent two years learning and developing behind the scenes. From that quiet place, an eventual Super Bowl quarterback emerged.

“He hasn’t wavered from his plan,” one source said. “He kept Steve McNair off the field and played Chris Chandler for a year and he liked the results.”

Ideally, the Rams hope the two train tracks run parallel to each other this year, but the three-game losing streak they’ve stumbled into has reduced their best regular-season start in years to an all-too-familiar 3-4 mark near the midpoint.

And it’s created the very intersection they hoped to avoid.

The justification for deliberately bringing along Goff in the classroom and on the practice field only holds up if the Rams remain in the playoff race.

As long as they are, Keenum deserves the chance to keep playing.

But they are barely hanging on at this point, and a loss to the Panthers essentially cuts the chord completely.

Keenum isn’t solely to blame, although his 10 interceptions through seven games is alarmingly high and the three pick-six touchdown interceptions he’s thrown have played big in two losses.

Still, he’s merely part of a larger Rams’ problem.

Of bigger concern is rolling with him out of foolish hope the playoffs are within reach, and in the process squandering the chance to develop Goff over the remaining eight games.

If the Rams lose Sunday to the Panthers, all remaining rational to stick with Keenum is lost.

Which brings us back to Goff, and his work with the first-team offense last week.

The progress was apparent in how decisive he looked, his command at the line of scrimmage and quickly the ball was coming out of his hand. On two occasions, he unleashed passes that drew oohs and ahhs from teammates watching on the sideline.

It was only practice, but for anyone who has watched Goff since OTAs the leap forward was obvious.

And for Rams coaches, it was a turning point. Goff has impressed them with his progress in the classroom the last few weeks by asking more advanced questions and delving beyond just the initial layer of play concepts and defensive looks to more nuanced details.

Now they were seeing it in real time.

“I thought it came to fruition on the practice field,” offensive coordinator Rob Boras said. “That practice Wednesday, I thought it was great. To me, and you guys that are watching practice, how fast he’s getting in and out of the huddle. You could just see the confidence with what was going on. The wheels weren’t turning when he got up to the line of scrimmage, and he was real accurate, and decisive with what he was doing.

“I’ve kept talking about how well he’s been doing in the classroom; it was time to see it out here with all those reps that he got. I think we were all really pleased to see what was able to do in those couple of practices.”

Point being, Goff is closing in on being ready to take the field.

As long as the Rams remain in legitimate playoff contention, there is justification to keep Goff on the sideline and let him develop in the background.

But the intersection between what they’d prefer to do and what they should is looming close and closer.

And you get the sense that everyone from the coaching staff to Keenum can see it up ahead.

nittany ram wrote:

PA Ram wrote:

I didn’t have it on my list but I may check it out. I really don’t know anything about the character. I never read the comic. I was turned off a bit by the city turning upside down. I thought it felt like an “Inception” rip-off.

But I do like Cumberbatch. I may check it out.

I saw “Inferno” last week. Better than the reviews but all Dan Brown novels are pretty much the same. But I enjoy the little historical notes and locations.

Visually Dr Strange is better than Inception. The visuals are much more complex. But it’s not overdone. It’s just cool to watch.

I saw Inferno and liked it as well. I like the ‘historical puzzle’ aspect of it.

Also saw The Accountant recently and enjoyed it. The premise was interesting for an action film – Much better than Jack Reacher. But the best film I’ve seen recently is Girl on a Train. Very dark and suspenseful with a twist.

Yeah PA I agree with Nittany. it’s not an Inception rip-off. It’s more like filmed live-action Escher.

Definitely check out Dr. Strange. You don’t need to know the character from the comics. It’s very stand-alone. Many reviewers rank it among the best Marvel movies.

BTW there’s both a mid-credits scene and an end-credits scene.

…

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Rams’ top pass rusher only has 3 sacks, but pressure he produces impresses Panthers

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article112580183.html#storylink=cpy

According to Pro Football Focus, Donald leads the NFL in quarterback pressures with 38 and averages 5.4 per game – though he didn’t have a sack until October and still has only three.

Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is well-aware of Donald’s skill.

“He plays with great leverage. I know he’s not 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, but he knows where his strengths are and he plays to them,” said Rivera before the team departed for Los Angeles on Friday. “He’s very powerful, has a great first step in getting into the crease. There’s one thing he does, and it’s that he gets vertical.”

Like Pro Football Focus, Rivera cited Donald’s skill with his hands against offensive linemen.

“A lot of guys spend a lot of time dancing at the line of scrimmage, getting their hands up, people being slowed down. He goes,” he said. “That’s one of the really neat things about him. And he’s a smart football player. He understands the game.”

Carolina gave up just one sack and four tackles-for-loss to Arizona last week, but is still without starting left tackle Michael Oher as he continues through the concussion protocol.

Fisher, Wms, Gurley … 11/4 … transcripts

(On CB Trumaine Johnson’s status)

“Trumaine was limited today in practice, and he’s listed as questionable, as is (DE) William (Hayes) and (DT Michael Brockers) ‘Brock’ and (RG) Jamon (Brown). I think the only we’ve listed as out is (WR) Nelson (Spruce). Everybody else is limited and questionable.”

JackPMiller wrote:

His play if correct could move our company pick to a 3rd round pick. Part of it, means getting into the Pro Bowl.

I don’t think that’s based on how he plays though…it’s based on the contract. As it stands the Rams already estimate a 4th round pick.

They could get a 6th for Farley, too.

.