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ZooeyModeratorI can’t help but think about all those redshirts swaggering into “Levi South” and gloating for the first 57 minutes of the game, only to have drive 6 hours back to SF stewing on that finish and the $500 they spent to attend the game. A couple more victories in LA for the Rams, and the 9er faithful will be more reluctant to make that trip.
I think most of those redshirts live in LA.
NFL Demographics Quarterly just published an article last year contending that almost none of the do. And, iirc, they said 6 hours was on the low side. Many of them drive 7+ hours.
ZooeyModeratorAlso, special shout out to Kamren Kinchens for knocking the snot out of Brandon Aiyuk on the last play of the game.
September 24, 2024 at 6:24 pm in reply to: vid: last 3 minutes of the 9ers game, the whole thing #152367ZooeyModeratorIt’s going to be a while before I become indifferent to this clip.
ZooeyModeratorYou listen to 9ers talk radio. What are they saying there?
They are calling it the worst regular season loss of the Shanahan era, but don’t actually seem all that shaken by it. They hate it, but still understand that it is early, and reinforcements are on the way (Greenlaw, Samuel, Kittle, McC).
They aren’t convinced Sorenson is getting the defense managed properly, and they blame Shanahan for throwing so much on the final drive inside of 2 minutes, and they think the DBs are a bit slow and thus vulnerable to the vertical, but they aren’t…like…overreacting to the loss, as much as they hate the Rams.
ZooeyModeratorThis is good. The first segment is on the game, but starting about 8:44, they return to the Rams/Stafford and a Bears preview that’s really worth listening to. Mark Sanchez is good, and I’m glad he has been calling the Rams games so far. He’s a good one.
ZooeyModeratorZooeyModeratorI approve.
That was one of those games that took several key plays to fall the Rams’ way in order to succeed, the failure of even one of those plays would have lost the game. A special shout-out to Aiyuk and (especially) Bell for dropping passes to ruin Jennings’ career day.
Way to go, Atwell. I thought Smith and Whittington might combine to force Atwell on to the unemployment line, but the Rams get blown out today if not for Atwell. Speaking of Smith, it has been a while since the Rams have been able to do that on a kick return. Without that return, the Rams would have needed to pick up about 70 yards in 40 seconds instead of 30. The Rams’ special teams also kept the Rams in the game with the fake punt. Those plays combined with Moody’s missed FG means that the 49ers are the team with a ST problem this year. Karty and Smith have elevated the Rams’ ST this year, and here’s to that trend continuing.
As big of a win as this was for the Rams, I think it’s a worse loss for SF. They have to be completely sick over this. They controlled the game most of the afternoon, and could have turned it into a rout. I can’t help but think about all those redshirts swaggering into “Levi South” and gloating for the first 57 minutes of the game, only to have drive 6 hours back to SF stewing on that finish and the $500 they spent to attend the game. A couple more victories in LA for the Rams, and the 9er faithful will be more reluctant to make that trip.
Anyway. Matthew Stafford.
I just had to say that.
ZooeyModeratorfwiw, the 9er faithful are far from confident.
That may have more to do with the lack of McCaffrey, Samuel, Mitchell, and Kittle than anything else.
ZooeyModeratorAbandon hope.
I see you have no faith in the JV team.
Well, I just think there is no coming back from this. Its too much. And i get that some of these guys will come back at different times, but the rhythm and timing aint gonna be there. And in the mean time Stafford is gonna get killed. And look at the final stretch. Even if some guys are coming back…. This is gonna be a last place team this year. It just is. Five wins, maybe? 49ers, Bears, Packers, bye, Raiders, Vikes, Seahawks, Dolphins, Pats, Eagles, Saints, Bills, 49ers, Jets, Cards, Seahawks. w v
Okay. I will bet you a tea bag that the Rams don’t end up in last place in the division.
Deal?
ZooeyModeratorThe hope, and it’s not far-fetched at all, is that they get the injured back and regroup at the bye. That’s what happened last year. In fact the timing of the bye is perfect this year. That could very well mean a wildcard, and once you have the wildcard you never know.
Therein lies all hope.
You just gotta wonder where they would be right now without the injuries and the suspension of Jackson.
ZooeyModeratorIn ARZ the Rams were on their 4th LOT.
A guy who was starting an NFL game for the 2nd time in his life.
ZooeyModeratorIf you had told me at the beginning of the season that the 9ers would play this game without Samuels and McCaffrey, I would have chalked it up as a W.
But Mason, the backup RB, has 247 yds rushing already, and is averaging about 5.0 per carry. There is a possibility that the 9ers just road-grade the Rams all day long.
The Rams’ offense is missing Avila, J. Jackson, and Noteboom on the OL. Higbee, Kupp, Nacua, and Allen are out. Even Karty is questionable.
The defense is missing Kendrick, D. Williams, Tomlinson, and Johnson from the secondary. And, of course, no AD or EJ.
This was a very promising season that is circling the drain in Week 3.
Not only are their prospects dim for this week, they could well hit the bye week at 1-4, or even 0-5.
ZooeyModeratorOn paper, it sure looked like a good OL.
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This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by
Zooey.
ZooeyModeratorOrlovsky, essentially sayin season is over.
And after the Rams beat the 49ers this week, he will be saying McVay and Snead are geniuses the way they keep finding great receivers where nobody else does.
So it goes.
ZooeyModeratorI was afraid of where this one was going from the very first panel, and…there it is.
ZooeyModeratorRams have injury crisis after being NFL’s healthiest team in 2023; how slew of ailments impacts Matt Stafford
Is a 36-year-old Stafford safe behind patchwork OL while throwing to less experienced receivers?By Garrett Podell
Crisis isn’t a word typically used when describing many situations in professional sports, but it’s fair when discussing the 0-2 Los Angeles Rams’ injury situation through two weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s longtime favorite target in Los Angeles, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, could miss “an extended period of time” after suffering a left ankle sprain in the team’s 41-10 loss against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, per ESPN. Kupp suffered an ankle sprain in Week 10 against the Cardinals in 2022 and needed season-ending surgery to fix the issue. Kupp is a candidate for injured reserve in 2024. as are guard Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and safety John Johnson III (shoulder), after Week 2.
“We’re kind of running out of those [injured reserve] spots and we’re only into Week 3 in terms of the return to play, but that is a possibility for all of those guys,” McVay said, via ESPN.
The trio of Kupp, Jackson and Johnson join a CVS receipt-long list of players on injured reserve, putting the prospects of the postseason in 2024 in early jeopardy.
Notable Rams on injured reserve
WR Cooper Kupp (ankle): possible IR candidate
WR Puka Nacua (knee): IR
TE Tyler Higbee (knee): PUP
OT Joe Noteboom (ankle): IR
OT KT Leveston (ankle): IR
OT Conor McDermott (undisclosed): IR
OG Steve Avila (knee): IR
OG Jonah Jackson (shoulder): possible IR candidate
DL Larrell Muchison (arm): IR
CB Darious Williams (hamstring): IR
CB Derion Kendrick (knee): IR
S John Johnson III (shoulder): possible IR candidate
McVay even noted how chaotic the offensive line’s lack of continuity in front of Stafford is just two games into the season.“The amount of moving parts that we’ve had offensive line-wise has been wild,” McVay said. “And that’s such an important spot to be able to get a rapport with the guy that you’re playing next to.”
It’s remarkable the Rams are at this point despite McVay putting almost ever starter on ice in the preseason outside of joint practices, but according to Yahoo Sports, this glut of injuries isn’t all that surprising given the team’s recent trends.
“One tangible reason to worry about Rams regression is their injury luck last season,” Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab wrote in July. “In 2022 they dealt with numerous injuries and finished second in adjusted games lost due to injury (a metric by Aaron Schatz of FTN Fantasy). The pendulum swung the other way and last season the Rams were the healthiest team in the NFL, finishing with the fewest adjusted games lost due to injury. It went from 146.6 AGL in 2022 to 26.4 last season, which is an incredible shift and shows how injury luck often has no rhyme or reason. The Rams’ good fortune last season included the fourth-fewest injuries on offense and the fewest on defense. Just like the Rams’ miserable 2022 injury luck, the great run from last season is unlikely to repeat. Though, as Schatz pointed out, the Rams were in the top 10 in fewest AGL for six seasons in a row before 2022, so perhaps they have a formula that works.”
What to do with Stafford?
It turns out Los Angeles’ injury formula was unable to prevent all these injuries, leaving their 36-year-old quarterback in danger. Stafford threw for 216 yards and lost a fumble after being sacked five times in the loss against the Cardinals, tied for the third-most in Week 2 entering “Monday Night Football.” Part of the reason he was sacked so many times is because his 3.25 seconds to throw ranked as the fifth-longest average time to throw in Week 2 as he was scanning the field, desperate to find targets who could get themselves open with both Kupp and Nacua on the shelf. Life could get even more uncomfortable for Stafford ahead of the Rams’ Week 6 bye with Los Angeles set to face Nick Bosa’s San Francisco 49ers, Montez Sweat’s Chicago Bears and Rashan Gary’s Green Bay Packers the next three weeks.While this may sound silly, it might be worth considering at some point during the year if all the aforementioned players’ stays on injured reserve last for weeks: should the Rams put Stafford in bubble wrap and wait to put him back on the field until his offensive line and/or receiving core is healthier? Stafford missed the second half of the 2022 season with a spinal cord contusion and concussion, which led to him having to clear up that he wasn’t retiring in the 2023 offseason.
Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald is retired, leaving the Rams defensive front seven extremely young with rookies Jared Verse (2024 first round pick) and Braden Fiske (2024 second round pick) along the defensive line next to second-year players in Kobie Turner and Byron Young. Two key corners in Darious Williams and Derion Kendrick are on injured reserve. Donald no longer being around to be Los Angeles’ magic eraser when it comes to potential defensive weaknesses is a massive deal.
In the time since the NFL postseason expanded to 14 teams in the 2020 season, two teams across the previous four seasons have started 0-2 and made the playoffs, the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 and the Houston Texans in 2023. Just five of those 32 finished their respective seasons with winning records. Los Angeles is up against in Week 3 against it since it is facing the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers with a depleted roster. No NFL team to begin a year 0-3 has gone on to win a Super Bowl.
Should the Rams start 0-3 with all these injuries piling up, it would make a little sense, even though it would be pretty extreme, to preserve Stafford until his offensive line’s and receiving room’s health improves. Losing a few games early could go a long way toward providing general manager Les Snead much better draft picks in 2025. Better picks could be used to inject more youth into a squad that is aging rapidly in some positions. Or, Los Angeles could trade away its picks in the name of veteran aide, a Snead special. The Rams currently own the 2025 draft rights to their own first, third, fourth and sixth-round draft choice while also possessing a sixth-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans via the Pittsburgh Steelers. {NB: This paragraph demonstrates that the article was written by a guy who doesn’t really follow the Rams}
McVay has long raved about his kinship with Stafford as a football mind, but his quarterback’s body may not be around for much longer if the Rams don’t take action quickly as their 2024 season continues to spiral out of control.
September 16, 2024 at 10:29 pm in reply to: Arizona game: tweets, highlights, plays, articles #152261ZooeyModeratorI saw a blurb that said 176 NFL teams have started 0-3. Only 6 of those 176 teams have made the playoffs. w v
I don’t know why you’re worried about that. The 49ers actually won their first game, so they will be 1-2, not 0-3 after next week.
ZooeyModeratorThis year like last year, it looks like they will struggle before the bye, but then get it together (preumably) after the bye. By then injuries will return, the OL ought to be intact, they will (presumably) be able to run the ball. On top of it, the Rams typically do some serious self-scouting and scheme adjusting and/or “fix things” like technique during the bye, which could help the defense.
I think a less mobile QB might have been in trouble yesterday. I’ll be interested to see the “pressures” from yesterday, and see how it compares to avg pressure across the league. If Murray had Stafford’s agility, that game would have been completely different, imo.
ZooeyModeratorI’m surprised that the Rams continued to play Stafford in the 4th.
Especially since he was clearly dinged up, and was getting hit a lot.
I don’t know that we can conclude anything. While I would not have expected this much of a lopsided outcome, it happens. We’ve seen OL Musical Chairs before. And Puka is out, and Kupp got dinged up.
Clearly, McClendon was not ready to play LOT. Limmer is a rookie. Promising, maybe, but.
And I’m not so sure we saw on defense. Even with Donald, Connor has been a nuisance to the Rams. To me the difference today was Murray. He played the way today that I always thought he was supposed to play, but never did. He just put it all together. The Rams put pressure on him again and again, and he just moved away, and kept his cool.
I still wanna see a slo-mo of Harrison’s first TD, though. I just don’t think so. Not that it mattered, but still.
ZooeyModerator
There are a number of weird pockets of Rams/AZ east of the Mississippi which I don’t understand. St. Louis isn’t among them. I would think JAX would be more interested in either TB or IND, and I would think Nashville and Minn would be more interested in the IND/GB game. I woulda thought CHA would be more interested in either TB or NO games. Baltimore, of course, would want the Rams game because they know the Rams are the team to beat in the Super Bowl.
ZN and Nittany are undoubtedly delighted by the game broadcast where they live.
ZooeyModeratorZooeyModeratorMcVay said the plan was to accelerate his {Avila’s} recovery.
WTH does that mean? Get him weight-lifting earlier than typical? Giving him colloidal silver and taping crystals to his knee?
ZooeyModeratorBased on those season records, it looks like the Rams are the better team.
ZooeyModeratorwhat do people think of jared verse? and fiske? and limmer? seems verse did particularly well no?
From an article on CBS about rookies.
ZooeyModeratorCan’t think of a current player I like less than Aaron Rogers, but I hope he goes off tonight.
Ditto
Rodgers can feel free to throw 4 INTs every game for the rest of the season.
ZooeyModeratorthe los angeles rams are down 4 starting offensive lineman and 1 reserve offensive lineman, puka nacua, and dee will, and still took the lions to OT in week 1. get healthy and this team is a problem.
This I believe.
ZooeyModeratorCan’t think of a current player I like less than Aaron Rogers, but I hope he goes off tonight.
Ditto
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