zn wrote:

Looking at the playoffs the Rams do have some guys who can give us better play than we’ve seen. In other words we can gain explosiveness with better backfield play (both Akers and Hendy) and at WR3 (Jefferson). And our OL has actually been solid so it’s not out of the realm of reason to think that our two young RBs who have good explosiveness can boost this offense IF we get more consistency out of them

There is a drop-off at RB from a healthy Gurley. There just is. Gurley would have been a HOFer if he had knees. I think they can get good production, and good ENOUGH production from Akers/Henderson, but there is a drop-off. Don’t know if it’s from 3 to 17, but there is a drop-off.

At WR, I think they miss Cooks’ ability to go deep, but again…not a steep drop-off there. It’s not like the Rams receivers are slow. They could do it once in a while.

I cannot name one player on NE apart from Cam Newton.

Patriots 13 Rams 3.

zn wrote:

sosa K@QBsMVP
Random: Troy Reeder played a very solid game. He’s completely closed the gap between himself and Micah Kiser, and I think there’s a discussion to be had that he might be better than Kiser.

That comment caught me by surprise.

(Thanks for compiling these tweets, zn. I always appreciate it)

InvaderRam wrote:

i’ll continue to maintain that he’s a 10-15 qb. that’s still very hard to replace. my inclination would be to keep him. you can win a superbowl with him.

get rid of him. and you get the rams from 2007-2015.

I agree with that, and I agree they miss Cooks’ deep threat.

Kurt Warner agrees with me. Surprised he hasn’t retweeted me yet.

American taxpayers spend $107,575,000,000 more on police than public housing.

Pass it on.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) December 2, 2020

wv wrote:

Kurt Warner was on NFL Network today and was asked about Goff and his struggles…..he said Goff is a very solid starter in the NFL who has already proven he can be very good, but people got to stop trying to compare him to other QB’s who could carry a team to a Super Bowl….he said there is only a handful of them that could do that throughout the history of the NFL

=====

I think thats about right.

But I also think he’s been making too many bonehead plays lately.

w
v

Funny the way a Ring changes everyone’s perception, though. If Goff wins a Super Bowl, everything will change in the way people talk about him.

For that reason, I vote Goff gets a ring this year.

joemad wrote:

you didn’t see that vs KC, or in NO or with a 6-3 record vs Russel Wilson? Time consuming drives to seal games are also important in games where he hasn’t been in position to come-from-behind…. Goff is a decent closer.

Grit, = getting back up when you’re knocked down to your knees….

Goff has gotten back up every time. I mean I’m not sure many QBs would have a 43-29 WL record after getting his ass pounded with an 0-7 start under a Fisher regime, including getting a violent concussion from Richard Sherman in Goff’s first start in Seattle as a rookie.

I’ve never seen Goff quit.

Sure, it’s been frustrating to see the RAMS lose to SF, 4 straight, but those 4 losses should not be pinned on Goff.

Quick note on Everett, and I liked him alot… but there’s a reason why that NFC Championship game in 89 was played in SF… he didn’t have the grit to win in the entire month of November, behind the best offense line that the Rams ever had….

I would never call Goff a quitter.

Absolutely not.

You know, when my first impression of Goff is that he is a lot like his idol, Joe Montana. He doesn’t get High; he doesn’t get Low. Even keel, all the time. Something almost…vacant…about his personality.

Montana had the luxury of playing with Blue Chip players on offense all around, a Blue Chip defense, and coaches who went to the HOF on the first available date. Montana was lucky, seems to me. I mean…he was Good. But Montana is not the reason for those dynasties. IMO. This is actually interesting, now that we arrived at this spot. Because I will bet that Montana and Goff have a similar YPA.

++++ Okay…I just looked it up.

Career YPA Montana (tied for 30th all time) 7.5/yds.
Career YPA Goff (tied for 24th all time) 7.6/yds.

Here’s some perspective on that:

As for Everett, seems to me…as best as I can recall… that the Rams’ defense in those years was smoke and mirrors. They had, like, 1 or 2 blue chip players, 3 red chips, and a bunch of whatever. As I recall, they won with schemes. Like the famous playoff game against Philly. Everett played with Greg Bell, and Gaston Green, and Cleveland Gary. He and Dickerson overlapped about 7 or 8 games. Without Everett…with ANY of the Rams QBs from James Harris on…I don’t think the Rams make that playoff game against the 49ers in the first place. But those teams were Jim Everett, Henry Ellard, a stout OL, Kevin Greene, and nobody. Leroy Irvin, maybe. I might be forgetting a player or two.

I guess I just see Everett and Goff as a tossup at this point.

I will say this:

Goff is pretty accurate – with occasional WTF throws (1-2 per game).

Goff is steady. He is not impervious to pressure – it affects him – but he does not fold under it, either.

Goff is resilient.

He rolls out well, and throws well doing so, but is not a scrambler.

He is mobile (not a statue), but he won’t punish a team for leaving a lane open.

His deep ball is okay, but not a threat. He does not have a cannon for an arm.

His pocket awareness is so-so. He does not get happy feet, or take phantom sacks, but he does not have a 6th sense, either, and will get strip sacked more than one would want.

His clock awareness is ordinary.

His improv skills are unremarkable.

Don’t know about his audible skills, or even if that is a thing in the current offense.

I mean…that’s how I see Goff right now.

You rate him higher. Why?

Our buddy Mackeyser tweeted back at Deebo that the Rams would be sure to send him a postcard from the playoffs.

Can’t find the tweet, though. Finding stuff on Tweeter is hard to do.

Neera Tanden not only incited serious threats to many on the left w/a megaphone but she straight up pitched false hit/smear pieces on them, got them published & then had her organized Reddit/twittee/MSNBC army amplify to attempt to cancel those voices. History won’t reflect well

— Nomiki Konst (@NomikiKonst) November 30, 2020

zn wrote:

McVay is a great coach but when someone has his number, he’s not good at having an effective countermove.

This hit me when the Bears shut the Rams down the same way the Patriots did in the Super Bowl. I couldn’t believe McVay hadn’t found an answer to that. And Miami did something similar this season, didn’t they?

I don’t really blame QBs for strip sack fumbles. You have to expose the ball in order to throw it, and if your arm gets hit when you are cocking to throw, that’s just a good play by the defense. I do blame Goff for the fumble when running, though. If he’s going to tuck and run, he’s got to secure the ball.

I completely forgot about Bradford. I liked Bradford, but it’s really hard to rank him since he played on some of the worst teams I’ve ever rooted for, and suffered some injuries. I’d like to see what Bradford could have done on this team. I’d guess he would be better than Goff, but who knows?

I will grant that Everett’s phantom sack is the most ignominious moment in Rams’ history, but he could make every throw.

We have different ideas of “will to victory.”

I see that as an incidence in which the team is not performing well, and the QB makes plays he shouldn’t make, beyond the range of expectation. Yes, Goff has led drives that set up wins, but he did so with mostly clean pockets and mostly open receivers. Goff’s not BAD. I’m not advocating turning the page at QB like Herzog is. I think he IS good enough to win a Super Bowl. I don’t think he’s going to ever win an MVP, let alone get inducted into the HOF. Or start a Pro Bowl. Or end a season in the top 3 QBs.

In my life:

1. Warner
2. Bulger
3. Everett
4. Goff

I dunno. Chris Miller was good, but played on bad teams, and had his best years elsewhere. I leave Gabriel out because I was a kid and it was the first football I watched, and so I can’t say, really. He was a god to me, but I can’t evaluate anything. So… I give Goff 4th place. He might pass Everett in my estimation, but that’s where I rank him now. He’s good enough. I just think it’s pretty obvious at this point that he’s also capable of screwing a game up, too. He might have screwed up today’s game. He sure didn’t do enough to win it.

49ers may have Sherman back as well. Not telling what he has at this point, but he would be an addition to an already good secondary. The 9ers are among the best against both the rush and the pass, so they can frustrate the Rams (as they have done in the past). This game is no gimme, though it’s hard to imagine the 9ers putting up much offense against the Rams, either.

They had an extra week to prepare and recover, and their backs are against the wall. They have 6 losses right now, and can still tell themselves they have something to play for. A loss to the Rams basically finishes them, as it means their only path to the playoffs comes through other teams collapsing.

This is a talented team with a very good head coach.

I think a win here by the Rams will be underappreciated by the national media, and a loss overblown. The Rams should win this game, but – (I’m not a betting guy and don’t follow the spreads and such) – if I had to put money on this game, I would hate to give up seven points in order to bet on the Rams. I think the final score will be closer than that.