joemad wrote:

The Rams have shown they can beat quality teams, but Stafford has not. Thus the reason for the article

The Steve Sax comparison made me laugh. There’s some truth there.

Goff was the same way, though. And let’s not forget that Goff’s multiple turnover games was exactly what McVay cracked on Goff for when he finally called him out publicly. In fact, Goff and Stafford seem quite a bit alike to me. Uncanny accuracy blended with WTF throws, and ghastly turnovers that come in bunches. Both cool, calm and resilient. I defended Goff as long as he was around, and I always said (as did many other posters, fwiw), that I was still bullish on Goff long term. The way I see it, though, the Rams are built to win right now, not 2 or 3 years from now. Right now. And McVay believed that Goff wasn’t ready to win right now, and I would say that – whatever else Goff did in his career, and you’re right about 2018 – Goff lost his confidence last year, and just couldn’t command the ship.

Now there is a school of thought that places the blame for that on McVay rather than Goff, and that point of view has some decent evidence to support it. McVay lost his patience and failed to nurture Goff’s growth, and worse than that, piled on Goff with criticism that instilled a fear in Goff. That may be. Whatever the case, Goff played all of 2020 tentatively, and by the end of the year, it either Goff or McVay had to go, and here we are.

To my eyes, Stafford and Goff are a lot alike, as I said. I think Stafford has a stronger arm (though Goff’s is strong enough), and Stafford plays more boldly, with greater confidence. I think we will see Goff in playoff games down the road, and I think the Lions would be making a mistake to get rid of him, but there are several teams hungry for a QB, and they may find a buyer. Denver might be a good spot for him.

As for whether Stafford can win in the playoffs, well, we’re going to find out in 3 weeks.

I do think that the fact that the Rams have had an outbreak, and are over it, is probably a good thing. They may still get some Covid cases later, but other teams haven’t been hit as hard as the Rams, and if that happens to a team during the playoffs, it could be a difference-maker.

Goff was good enough to get the Rams to a Super Bowl.

Stafford > Goff.

And I wish Stafford was more consistent. I can accept a QB who makes an occasional bad decision, like the 1st INT to Jefferson. It was a good throw, but a bad choice.

I don’t know what to do with the throws that miss the receiver by several yards. And like Goff, Stafford makes those WTF throws a couple times a game.

canadaram wrote:

I was watching a Vikings wrap-up show from a Minneapolis station last night. The two dudes on that show were both critical and grateful that McVay did not run the ball more often.

Michel carried it 27 times, and Funk and Henderson had a carry each. 29 carries is not ignoring the run game.

I will take the Win, and it puts the Rams in the driver’s seat for the division.

But this team has just been a bit rickety all season long, and today was more of the same. We are 15 games into the season, and the Rams have not put out a performance that makes one optimistic about surviving 3 straight playoff games. While the Rams had the upper hand most of the game, they did not put the Vikings away as early as they should have.

Offense: Gotta start with Stafford. That was a bad game from him, and while I expected there would be a learning curve throughout his first season with the Rams, I expected them to be errors of unfamiliarity, and that’s not what I’m seeing. He runs hot and cold like Goff did, and he makes bad throws. Bad Throws. Maybe he’s hurt, as wv the staffordsniffer likes to argue, but I’m inclined to think that’s just Stafford. I dunno. I’ve seen him play a total of 15 games in my life, so I’m no Stafford Expert, but from Game One, he has just made some bad, bad throws. Today he threw 3 INTs, and missed open receivers badly at least twice. That INT to Jefferson was a poor decision. He was double-covered, and well-covered, and that was not an open target. That was more wishful thinking than a read. I don’t blame QBs for tipped balls that go up in the air, so I let that one go, but the 3rd INT was also a terrible throw. And I don’t recall any of his passes that were brilliant like we have seen him throw in the past. Just not good from him.

What’s not to like about Sony Michel? He’s been everything I’ve hoped for in my most optimistic state when I read about the trade. I’m very glad the Rams have him. He never surrenders, he breaks tackles, he makes good reads of his blocks, he hits holes, he catches well, and he blocks. He reminds me a bit of CJ Anderson, the way he came in and filled in for Gurley. He’s better than Henderson, and even if Akers returns, I gotta think Michel is the guy.

The OL is impressive. With the injuries and Covid, they’ve had all the continuity of a game of 52-card pickup, and they have done a great job. They are giving Stafford time, and opening holes for Michel, and they did all that today against one of the better DLs in the business, all while playing musical chairs. I spent Boxing Day with my parents who live 100 miles away, so I have read no reports, or seen any commentary, but it appeared to me that Allen’s injury was not life-threatening, so when I think of Whitworth and Noteboom returning, and the quality play we’ve seen from the depth, I’m feeling as good about the OL as I am anybody else not named Donald, Ramsey, or Kupp.

As far as the receivers go, I’m not sure how Kupp manages to have good games even when he doesn’t have a particularly good game, but whatever. OBJ and Jefferson seem to be solid accessories to the Cooper Kupp Show, and it’s good to have Higbee back.

Defense: Hey, guess what? Aaron Donald wrecked the Vikings today, and the DL showed up again in spite of a rather modest sack total on the day. The defense is playing better, though I still hate Morris for calling so much zone when it seems clear to my amateur ass that the Rams are better playing man. But…whatever. It’s been working better as the season has ripened. The Vikings had two good drives all day, one of which ended in the only TD they really deserved, and the other in an INT due to a good breakup by Williams. While Cousins had a better game than Stafford, he couldn’t overcome the Rams’ secondary to convert 3rd downs, and apart from those 2 drives, the MN offense didn’t achieve anything.

I hated to see Jones leave on a cart. That’s not a good sign, and he has been doing his job out there. Reeder had himself quite a day, but the Rams don’t want Jones on the sideline.

ST: Welp, the Rams got more than 4 yards on a punt return this year, and Powell looks like he owns that role for the rest of the year. I thought that return was mostly a colossal failure of the Vikings coverage rather than a great run by Powell, but that was fun, and it balanced out the cheap ass TD the Vikes got after that deflected INT. Also, there seemed to be a Hekker siting today, and that Matt Gay guy they got from the Used Car lot last year seems to be running fine.

In the end, the Rams don’t have much time to seal the leaks, and there is really not a lot of reason to hope they will end the season hoisting the Lombardi, but they’ve at least got the ship headed the right direction after that brutal 3-game losing streak, and if they can put together convincing wins against Baltimore and San Francisco, I will let my hope soar right up to the sky. I still need to see them play well everywhere, instead of just in spots. Still…considering the brutal Covid stretch, a win in Seattle followed by a long trip to MN on Christmas with a super short work week, against a team good enough to cause every other team in the league problems, I’m going to sleep well tonight.

The cat knows.

ACAB.

Wait for it 🔊 pic.twitter.com/ywbjrFQXrh

— Fight the war on the poor (@VivetVeritate) December 24, 2021

zn wrote:

Not clear who to root for in that one.

I have no love for the Titans. Jeff Fisher is an a-hole.

But…the Titans are of no concern to us Rams fans. Their W-L record means nothing to us.

And am never able to root for the 49ers unless they are playing a team that is a direct threat to the Rams.

I can see, though, why you are unable to understand things from a Rams fan’s perspective.

Yay! NoCal gets the Rams straight up, two weeks in a row.

Interesting stuff from Cowherd and Schlereth. Cowherd is one of very few yappers I can listen to. So much sports talk is about ego and bluster. Anyway…

The comments about Seattle are interesting. I thought Metcalf was supposed to be a great WR, but Cowherd doesn’t think he runs routes. The Rams haven’t had any trouble from him, that’s for sure. Cowherd thinks it’s a drafting issue up there in Seattle, and also maybe the Wilson/Carroll marriage has gone stale. I wonder if it’s time to break that team up and start again. New coach or new QB. The idea of Wilson going to Denver is interesting. That would make the AFC West a helluva division.

It’s true what he said about AZ’s schedule. It’s got loseable games, though the Rams’ schedule does, too. As Nittany said, the Rams could go 0-3 or 3-0, but it’s set up for them to take the division if they win their games. I don’t think AZ is going to end up 13-4.

BREAKING: Fournette is out for the year. TB just took a hit.

wv wrote:

McVay had to have seen that, and figured out they need to pound Sony Michel

Yes, McVay’s comment about Michel’s role in the Pats’ 2018 SB run was one of the most interesting things I’ve heard him say.

Eternal Ramnation wrote:

Josh Reynolds really helped

Yep.