Here is a handkerchief, Bernie.

You might want to wipe your chin. You’ve got a little venom dripping off it.

It’s not real noticeable, or anything, but….

zn wrote:

Also against Chicago, they did not adjust to how defenses are playing them now. Defenses are subtracting the intermediate “chunk” passes they thrived on earlier, and then also both (1) attacking the OL and (2) gameplanning Donald out of the picture which means fewer dramatic defensive plays limiting the score.

One answer to the defensive strategy of taking away the 11-25 yard chunk plays is to develop a patient short passing game. They WERE doing that against the Eagles but then getting behind meant they had to junk that approach.

And when they junked the short passing game in desperation late in the game, they nearly came back.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 9 months ago by Zooey.

BTW…I didn’t see it…I read it in the play-by-play…did the Rams really go for it on 4th down from their own 30?

I did not see all of it, but what I saw was discouraging.

The Rams started off the season with some dominating performances. When they played a tough team in the Chargers, they came through. Since the game where Talib and Peters got hurt, though, this team has been in decline.

The offense still rolled, and McVay made great halftime adjustments right up through the KC game while the defense struggled. Well…now the offense is struggling, too. I will admit that the defense has improved since Talib returned in terms of points allowed…but they still can’t stop the run. I am pretty damn tired of seeing 7 and 8 yard runs against this defense again and again. And when the Rams can’t get to the QB…they lose.

I didn’t see the D step up and make plays tonight. Sacks, stuffs, TOs, busted plays…you just don’t see the Rams’ defense assert itself and take control. Like…ever. Talib’s interception tonight saved the Rams from being blown out, but you never get the sense the Rams defense is the master of the game. And this is a defense of all-stars. On paper, it looked absolutely fabulous except for the LBs.

Now I don’t know if it is personnel, or scheme, but it looks like scheme to me. The players they have on D have proven themselves to be red and blue chip players with the exception of Ebukam.

And now the offense can’t get going. Losing Kupp matters, but his loss alone does not account for the sudden mediocrity of the offense. Since the KC game, this team has gone from moving the ball at will to struggling to put together a drive. And the big strikes are a thing of the past. Goff’s accuracy is off, the receivers seem to be covered, the OL can’t keep the pressure off, and Gurley gets nailed for losses and short gains frequently.

This looks like a team on the decline at the time of year everyone needs to get hot. They look just so-so. They have lost to the Bears, the Saints, and now the Eagles while barely surviving the Chargers, Packers, and Chiefs.

This does not look like a team of destiny. At all.

In spite of the rickety show we saw in Chicago last week, my confidence in the Rams beating the Bears pretty easily in Los Angeles remains pretty high. I don’t have any Xs and Os to back that up, and can’t really say where that belief comes from. But the Bears don’t scare me. Now, I hope the Rams get the winner of the Saints/Bears game in the championship because…that would be easier, but I think the Rams have to get the #1 seed for that to happen.

I think the Rams are going to win out. The Eagles have, like, more than a dozen guys on IR. They are done. They may give the Rams some trouble, but they aren’t going to win. And if they do, it is officially panic time in Los Angeles. But I don’t see it. I’m expecting a double digit victory.

This week would be a good time for the Panthers to put together their best game of the season.

Yeah, I thought of you, too.

And that is a sick thing to do.

nittany ram wrote:

Chiefs, Chargers…<Yawn>

The Rams beat both of those teams.

So Saints vs the Bears is what you want to see?

Me, too.

Yeah, that 4th and 7 pass was stunning. I was thinking, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you making that dumbass throw?” Then it was…”Oh.”

But I’ve seen the replay several times, and I still can’t believe he caught that. He was wearing that defender like a cape, and then just a tiny step outside, then in, and Bam! The ball was right there. That play was ridiculous.

That wasn’t good, and that’s not what you want to see, especially when gearing up for the playoffs. I was not able to give my complete attention to the game, but I saw enough to see what is obvious from the score anyway…the Rams could not get anything going on offense.

Goff was terrible. Receivers dropped balls. Gurley ran nowhere. I saw a couple penalties on Whitworth. The OL couldn’t keep Goff clean when the Bears rushed 3 guys.

I don’t know.

I thought the Rams needed to win 2 of 3 against the Chiefs, Saints, and Bears, and they escaped with just one. That’s a concern. Not a hope-killer, but a concern that the Rams aren’t quite “there.” On the other side, no other team has looked inevitable, though the Saints are still showing stronger than the Rams overall.

If the Rams struggle with Philadelphia, the confidence level will take another dip.

Anyway. Bash on, regardless.

The Bucs beat the Saints in NO the first week of the season.

Up 14-3 at the half.

Well, FFS, don’t anybody give Colin Kaepernick a call. Not when you can get T.J. Yates.

Those are alarming stories. I am sorry to hear that these things happened.

I don’t have any advice, either, but I would make a comment…those guys didn’t beat up your brother-in-law because they are Hispanic.

They beat him up because they are assholes.

The two things are not connected.

I don’t care if the Chiefs saw the Instant Replay or not.

In their own statement, they said that the NFL investigated it. I do not believe that the Chiefs had nothing to go on but what Hunt told them personally. There is no way there were not lengthy conversations between the Chiefs and the NFL office, and between the NFL office and the prosecutor’s office (why no charges when the woman said she wanted to press charges?), and I don’t think there is anything in that video that changed the Chiefs understanding so dramatically that suddenly they have discovered there was Unnecessary Roughness.

They knew. And they took their chances that it wouldn’t go public, and were already prepared with their response in the eventuality that it got out.