Opinions on these Rams?? (1 Viewer)

[Domeination]

If our run D doesn't tighten up, it will be a long game. Getting Onyemata back definitely will help, but the whole D has to play better. Demario Davis needs to start tackling like an NFL LB. We are going to need a sharper defensive performance than we had against Houston to beat them in their house, and the offense has to get off to a fast start. Brees needs to be sharp from the opening drive. We can beat them, and I expect us to, but it's going to be a tough game. Geaux Saints! Who dat!!!

 

[Ramsfan128]

I wouldn't put too much stock into our game against the Panthers - no action in the preseason, the heat, 10am PT start - I assumed we would lose. Goff was terrible, but he was also bad against the Raiders last year in week 1 after not playing in the preseason. I'm also assuming the Saints defense will be better than what it was Monday night.

The lack of pressure is concerning - if we don't get after Brees, I'm not sure we'll stop the Saints.

Offensively, as someone pointed out above, Goff is night and day home versus away - and in his four games against the Saints, he's been pretty good in each one. Those two factors combined, I think he will be fine. I assume the Saints will try to focus on stopping the run and we will be pass heavy.

Right now I think the Rams have a big advantage offensively with the two WRs that Lattimore is not covering.

Saints have a big advantage offensively against our DL (which is weird, because Aaron Donald) and with Kamara - I'm happy that, win or lose, we don't play another McCaffrey or Kamara again this season. Those guys are nightmares.

 

[Consigliere]

Thanks for posting the Goff passing chart. Goff was 0-for-4 and an INT on passes for 15+ yards. Not very scary.

So everybody says Brees has no arm strength? Brees was 6-for-7 and a TD on passes more than 15 yards.

 

[BiloxiSaint1]

Goff was terrible, but he was also bad against the Raiders last year in week 1 after not playing in the preseason. I'm also assuming the Saints defense will be better than what it was Monday night.

Offensively, as someone pointed out above, Goff is night and day home versus away - and in his four games against the Saints, he's been pretty good in each one. Those two factors combined, I think he will be fine.

David Carr wrote a rather detailed evaluation of Goff recently. This is was Carr wrote:

Jared Goff came a long way in his first three NFL seasons, evolving from a struggling rookie in 2016 to an MVP candidate last year.

But the quarterback who helped guide the Los Angeles Rams to a 24-8 record over the past two regular seasons has been replaced by an imposter of late. Goff has struggled royally under pressure going back to last postseason (including Super Bowl LIII) and hasn't had nearly the success on intermediate or deep passes that we've become accustomed to seeing.

Over his last four starts, dating back to the 2018 NFC Divisional Round, Goff has a 29.8 passer rating when under pressure, completing just 33.3 percent of his passes for zero touchdowns and two picks, per Next Gen Stats. While not necessarily known for his production under duress, Goff's track record while playing for head coach Sean McVay the previous two seasons (12:6 TD-to-INT ratio, 42.4 completion percentage, 67.6 passer rating) clearly suggests the QB is currently in a funk.

One of the reasons that appears to be holding back the former No. 1 overall pick more recently is the team's reduced use of play action. Goff has performed far better under pressure when throwing out of play action over his last four games, but against the Panthers on Sunday, the Rams ran play action on just 26.8 percent of their dropbacks -- down about 18 percent from the two-year average in 2017 and '18, per Next Gen Stats. Calling more play action won't alleviate all of Goff's struggles under pressure, but the data and tape show he's more comfortable, composed and effective throwing out of action concepts during those situations than taking traditional three- and five-step drops.

His recent regression on intermediate and deep throws has been more head-scratching and concerning, as the Rams often relied on these chunk plays as a catalyst for their offense. Next Gen Stats reveal that in his two full seasons under McVay, Goff completed 50.9 percent of his passes of 10-plus air yards (ranks 10th among qualifying QBs during that span), for 4,249 yards (4th), 11.4 yards per attempt (T-5th) and a 97.4 passer rating (15th).

Where has that quarterback been? In his last four games (2018 playoffs and Week 1 of 2019), the Rams passer has mustered a disappointing 59.3 passer rating on those throws while managing just 8.7 yards per attempt and zero touchdowns against two picks, per NGS. In fact, Goff had the worst passer rating (18.8) of any quarterback in Week 1 on passes of 10-plus air yards, going 4 of 13 for 72 yards, including 0 for 4 on deep passes (20-plus air yards).

A lot of his miscues downfield are a direct result of poor mechanics. When taking a closer look at Sunday's performance, Goff's hips weren't open to the throw on a lot of his incompletions. His hips are naturally open to the right as a right-handed thrower, so he must be mechanically sound on throws to the left. On incompletions to the left -- there were several against Carolina -- Goff airmailed throws over open receivers because he didn't get his hips completely open to his target. When your hips are the issue, the throw feels good coming out of your hand and feels like it's right on the money -- until it's not.

Another area that gave Goff fits Sunday was the timing of his throws, most notably on his fourth-quarter interception. The fourth-year pro threw the ball after Robert Woods broke his route, so the ball was delivered behind the receiver, making it easier for Panthers cornerback James Bradberry to make a play. Goff must throw with more anticipation, and the way to do that is to make a conscious effort to do it in practice. Peyton Manning used to talk about how he'd push the anticipation on throws to uncomfortable levels during practice because then the ball wouldn't be late in games.

In fairness to Goff, it was like Bradberry knew Woods was running a dig route. There's more than enough film on McVay at this point that he has to keep advancing his route concepts so they don't become stale. If defenders have an idea of what the Rams will run -- despite the smoke and mirrors -- McVay's unit won't produce numbers even close to last year's. The coach has the talent to innovate and push the envelope -- he just needs to continue to do what got him the job in the first place.

I'm confident that if McVay can continue to be the creative offensive mind that he is and Goff can work through his mechanical issues, the quarterback can get back to the level we saw during the 2018 regular season. Sunday's rematch of last year's wildly competitive (and controversial) NFC title game with the Saints should be quite telling about the direction Goff's season could go.

Offensive player rankings, Week 2: Patrick Mahomes' hot start

In his last four games, Jared Goff has struggled throwing under pressure and on downfield passes. David Carr examines what's behind his struggles. Plus, he reveals his top 15 offensive players heading into Week 2.

www.nfl.com

 

[BroKV]

 

[BiloxiSaint1]

Thanks for posting the Goff passing chart. Goff was 0-for-4 and an INT on passes for 15+ yards. Not very scary.

So everybody says Brees has no arm strength? Brees was 6-for-7 and a TD on passes more than 15 yard

Here is what McCaffrey did against the Rams D - he totally abused them up the middle:

 

[los226]

Goff and the offense are much better at home. Their strength at the WR position is a bad matchup for our weakness at DB. It’s going to be a close game and we have to hope our offense makes a few big plays.

 

[FGE413]

My biggest what if from THAT GAME aside from THAT NO-CALL is Justin Hardee having a chance to tackle the Rams guy a yard short of the 1st down marker on the fake punt and whiffing. He makes that tackle and we have the ball already in field goal range up 13-0 instead of letting the Rams drive for a field goal.

Excuse me, I'm going to go slam my head against a wall.

I'm annoyingly waiting for Rams to catch us sleeping on the punt unit... Again.

 

[BiloxiSaint1]

Goff and the offense are much better at home. Their strength at the WR position is a bad matchup for our weakness at corner. It’s going to be a close game and we have to hope our offense makes a few big plays.

I'm really more concerned about stopping the run. If we give up passes, I think we can still win. If we can't stop the run, I don't think we can win.

 

[rob22278]

Kupp will be open from the slot all day against PJ. The pass rush needs to get home early and often to rattle Goff.

 

[FGE413]

Yeah, I mean, y'all didn't look great vs. the Panthers but I can't say we looked great vs. the Texans, either. It's near impossible to accurately judge a team after week 1 especially in an era where the starting offenses get almost no playing time in the preseason and thus need a little time to get their rhythm back (note: I'd rather them be a little rusty out the gate than risk a season-ending injury to Brees/Kamara/Thomas in the preseason - I imagine Rams fans feel the same way with Gurley and Kupp's injury histories).

I wouldn't put too much stock into our game against the Panthers - no action in the preseason, the heat, 10am PT start - I assumed we would lose. Goff was terrible, but he was also bad against the Raiders last year in week 1 after not playing in the preseason. I'm also assuming the Saints defense will be better than what it was Monday night.

The lack of pressure is concerning - if we don't get after Brees, I'm not sure we'll stop the Saints.

Offensively, as someone pointed out above, Goff is night and day home versus away - and in his four games against the Saints, he's been pretty good in each one. Those two factors combined, I think he will be fine. I assume the Saints will try to focus on stopping the run and we will be pass heavy.

Right now I think the Rams have a big advantage offensively with the two WRs that Lattimore is not covering.

Saints have a big advantage offensively against our DL (which is weird, because Aaron Donald) and with Kamara - I'm happy that, win or lose, we don't play another McCaffrey or Kamara again this season. Those guys are nightmares.

 

[Doublemove]

My opinion of the Rams is I have no opinion really. They should be a good team but you can't set sail today on yesterday's wind comes to mind. We will see come Sunday.

 

[Ramsfan128]

Yeah, I mean, y'all didn't look great vs. the Panthers but I can't say we looked great vs. the Texans, either. It's near impossible to accurately judge a team after week 1 especially in an era where the starting offenses get almost no playing time in the preseason and thus need a little time to get their rhythm back (note: I'd rather them be a little rusty out the gate than risk a season-ending injury to Brees/Kamara/Thomas in the preseason - I imagine Rams fans feel the same way with Gurley and Kupp's injury histories).

Definitely.

Although with the Panthers being a decent team, I really thought we would be taking an L by resting in preseason. Turns out Newton wasn't sharp either though.

 

[Domeination]

I'm really more concerned about stopping the run. If we give up passes, I think we can still win. If we can't stop the run, I don't think we can win.

This. The Lambs' offense revolves around Gurley. If we have the kind of porous run D we had against Houston, it will be a long day.

 

[Trey W.]

It looks like they made a lot of short passes against the Panthers too this past week:

So we just need to protect from the line of scrimmage to the 15 yard mark! Looks like anything over 15 yards didn’t matter. Let’s hope that holds up this game. Press the receivers at the line and get pressure on Goff!