Beating the Rams

Harry

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Well when the season started I liked the Cards in this game. They still can win but it will take their best effort of this year.

The most notable thing about this year’s Rams is the change in Goff. I have never seen this much improvement in a QB in one year. It’s part maturity and part coaching. It’s clearly the result of a great deal of offseason work.

I watch his games this year and a few things are obvious. He’s not going to be easy to sack. It’s not that he’s elusive, it’s just he’s been told to get rid of the ball quickly. The key is he does it. On the vast majority of the plays count 3 and it’s gone, especially if he’s out of the pocket.

The Rams attack features numerous short passes and occasionally a 2 man game with Goff & an RB or TE.

The Cards need to stay home on defense, containing Gurley and the Austin sweeps the Rams want to run. Martin will have trouble containing the edge speed, but this should fit Reddick’s game. We’ll clearly see this week if the latter can control the run and the QB. He’ll have to make good decisions.

Despite being hard to sack, the Cards must attack and confuse Goff. The good news is the Cards are one of the few teams built to handle a Rams-type offense. It takes speed and flexibility. The Cards have plenty of both.

Goff is most dangerous when in the pocket. He has a decent arm but rarely tries to throw deep when on the run. He’s usually locked on one receiver running a set pattern. In the pocket he’s calmer and uses his progressions. He can throw deep with accuracy, especially when he can step forward into the pocket. On defense the Cards have to do a better job of collapsing the pocket. Peters did this well in a couple of games but didn't against Tampa. The Cards need to play whoever is getting that done. The must prevent Goff from running out of the middle of the pocket. He can be effective doing that.

The other critical concept is to confuse Goff. Other teams have tried and failed. The Cards must disguise their blitzes better than they did against Tampa. They need to keep moving players in and out of the line. They need to disguise the safety strategy as well, bring them up and drop them back pre-snap. At the last second bring one up. Speed and balance are essential. They need blitzes from corners, LBs and safeties. I want to see TM flying around the defensive set. Goff should never know before the snap where TM is going to be. Whenever possible they should run different blitzes from the same formation, otherwise every snap should show pre-snap movement. Hopefully they’ve been saving at least one formation the Rams haven’t seen.

Like is often the case the CBs will often be on an island. I’d be surprised if TM doesn’t get an interception by baiting Goff on one of those out patterns. Goff does telegraph those throws. The safeties have to come up faster to cover the zone seam. They must be careful of a stop & go pattern if the Cards are having trouble collapsing the pocket. They can’t cover Krupp with a LB. Teams have tried and gotten burnt.

Goff is already one of the most disciplined QBs in the league. The Cards have to hit him even if they can’t sack him. He has to wonder where the next hit is coming from. They have to speed up the game as much as they can. If they can’t keep Goff off balance he’s going to put up a bunch of points.

On offense the Cards just need to duplicate their last game. If they can do that; they can win. AP must have another big game so play action will work. The Rams’ secondary is weak. Palmer can beat them up if he gets a chance. The Rams will be trying to knock Palmer out of the game. The line has to hold!
 

az jam

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Good analysis, Harry. I also think that weather could be a factor, its going to be chilly and damp and maybe even rain as they expect a major storm on Saturday. That should favor the Cards who have been there all week, while the Rams were practicing in sunny Florida.
 
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Capital Card

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Rams are surprisingly bad against the run this year. 29th I believe. Perhaps they are having trouble trying to install a real D philosophy, rather than Greg Williams' "just injure as many people as you can" system.

I forsee a lot of AD early and often. I'm actually feeling good about this one, which kind of worries me.

Go Cards!!!
 

82CardsGrad

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Totally agree about the need to pressure and hit Goff. If we don't, this has the makings of a long day in London... I think Jones will get his pressures/hits, but he alone is not enough. Someone, somehow, some way is going to have to step up and give Jones a hand...
 

LoyalRam

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Rams are surprisingly bad against the run this year. 29th I believe. Perhaps they are having trouble trying to install a real D philosophy, rather than Greg Williams' "just injure as many people as you can" system.

I forsee a lot of AD early and often. I'm actually feeling good about this one, which kind of worries me.

Go Cards!!!
Not really. Wades 3-4 Defense has taken awhile for the talented players in the Rams D to trust in, which they seem to be doing now. The Rams gave up the big play to Fournette in like the 3rd-4th play of the game for a 75 yard TD. The Rams basically shut him down for the rest of the game. the Rams D had to overcome the impulse to be the hero in covering other assignments besides their prime assignment. They have been getting more disciplined now and have given up few yards, aside from a few splash plays the last three games. AP may get one of those, or he may not. We are about to find out. Palmer has gotten sacked like a rag doll by other teams, and I expect the same from the Rams defensive front....

btw...you guys should never have given up Calais Campbell, dude was a terror last week.
 

LoyalRam

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Well when the season started I liked the Cards in this game. They still can win but it will take their best effort of this year.

The most notable thing about this year’s Rams is the change in Goff. I have never seen this much improvement in a QB in one year. It’s part maturity and part coaching. It’s clearly the result of a great deal of offseason work.

I watch his games this year and a few things are obvious. He’s not going to be easy to sack. It’s not that he’s elusive, it’s just he’s been told to get rid of the ball quickly. The key is he does it. On the vast majority of the plays count 3 and it’s gone, especially if he’s out of the pocket.

The Rams attack features numerous short passes and occasionally a 2 man game with Goff & an RB or TE.

The Cards need to stay home on defense, containing Gurley and the Austin sweeps the Rams want to run. Martin will have trouble containing the edge speed, but this should fit Reddick’s game. We’ll clearly see this week if the latter can control the run and the QB. He’ll have to make good decisions.

Despite being hard to sack, the Cards must attack and confuse Goff. The good news is the Cards are one of the few teams built to handle a Rams-type offense. It takes speed and flexibility. The Cards have plenty of both.

Goff is most dangerous when in the pocket. He has a decent arm but rarely tries to throw deep when on the run. He’s usually locked on one receiver running a set pattern. In the pocket he’s calmer and uses his progressions. He can throw deep with accuracy, especially when he can step forward into the pocket. On defense the Cards have to do a better job of collapsing the pocket. Peters did this well in a couple of games but didn't against Tampa. The Cards need to play whoever is getting that done. The must prevent Goff from running out of the middle of the pocket. He can be effective doing that.

The other critical concept is to confuse Goff. Other teams have tried and failed. The Cards must disguise their blitzes better than they did against Tampa. They need to keep moving players in and out of the line. They need to disguise the safety strategy as well, bring them up and drop them back pre-snap. At the last second bring one up. Speed and balance are essential. They need blitzes from corners, LBs and safeties. I want to see TM flying around the defensive set. Goff should never know before the snap where TM is going to be. Whenever possible they should run different blitzes from the same formation, otherwise every snap should show pre-snap movement. Hopefully they’ve been saving at least one formation the Rams haven’t seen.

Like is often the case the CBs will often be on an island. I’d be surprised if TM doesn’t get an interception by baiting Goff on one of those out patterns. Goff does telegraph those throws. The safeties have to come up faster to cover the zone seam. They must be careful of a stop & go pattern if the Cards are having trouble collapsing the pocket. They can’t cover Krupp with a LB. Teams have tried and gotten burnt.

Goff is already one of the most disciplined QBs in the league. The Cards have to hit him even if they can’t sack him. He has to wonder where the next hit is coming from. They have to speed up the game as much as they can. If they can’t keep Goff off balance he’s going to put up a bunch of points.

On offense the Cards just need to duplicate their last game. If they can do that; they can win. AP must have another big game so play action will work. The Rams’ secondary is weak. Palmer can beat them up if he gets a chance. The Rams will be trying to knock Palmer out of the game. The line has to hold!
This was a fairly good analysis Harry from an opposing team's fan. One thing you neglected to mention, unlike in years past, we have the highest rated Oline in the NFC, AND you no longer have Calais Campbell...Goff has been rarely sacked because of the Oline AND quick passes. Goff has thrown long passes to Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods for completions and TD's. Goff missed Sammy Watkins a couple times last game because they are still getting in sync and Watkins is still getting used to the offense (missed Camp and Preseason while with the Bills). This may be the game that Goff-Watkins connection is unleashed....

We will see.

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Cheesebeef

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There's no doubt in my mind that we will have to play our best game of the year to win Sunday.

People want to write the Rams off because of the past... but they actually have a coaching staff now and the first sign of a solid team is their ability to win on the road and the Rams are 3-0 there going into Dallas which was a solid W and handled a feisty Jax squad with somewhat ease.
 

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There's no doubt in my mind that we will have to play our best game of the year to win Sunday.

People want to write the Rams off because of the past... but they actually have a coaching staff now and the first sign of a solid team is their ability to win on the road and the Rams are 3-0 there going into Dallas which was a solid W and handled a feisty Jax squad with somewhat ease.

truth.
 

ajcardfan

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The last time we played the Rams our defense beat the hell out of Goff.

Don't be surprised with the amount of pressure you will see from the Cards on Sunday.
 

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The last time we played the Rams our defense beat the hell out of Goff.

Don't be surprised with the amount of pressure you will see from the Cards on Sunday.

Different Oline...We had the worst starting LT in football last year in Greg Robinson (traded to the Lions and has already lost the starters job there) and was replaced by the best FA in the market this year in LT Andrew Whitworth. We also added Center Sullivan that replaced Barnes, another huge upgrade. These two additions have solidified the line, and have provided leadership/veteran teaching to the other young guys (Brown and Havenstein).

Guess I'm saying if you expect last years results, you are fooling yourself.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Not really. Wades 3-4 Defense has taken awhile for the talented players in the Rams D to trust in, which they seem to be doing now. The Rams gave up the big play to Fournette in like the 3rd-4th play of the game for a 75 yard TD. The Rams basically shut him down for the rest of the game. the Rams D had to overcome the impulse to be the hero in covering other assignments besides their prime assignment. They have been getting more disciplined now and have given up few yards, aside from a few splash plays the last three games. AP may get one of those, or he may not. We are about to find out. Palmer has gotten sacked like a rag doll by other teams, and I expect the same from the Rams defensive front....

btw...you guys should never have given up Calais Campbell, dude was a terror last week.
Oh lord, you’re one of those that “doesn’t count” the big play. Yeesh. Those plays count. And in fact have a larger impact on the game than five 5-yard runs.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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The last time we played the Rams our defense beat the hell out of Goff.

Don't be surprised with the amount of pressure you will see from the Cards on Sunday.
That pressure has to get home to be effective. Bettcher hasn’t shown the ability to scheme a rusher come free like Bowles did.
 

LoyalRam

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Dont forget: winning more than four games has been considered a successful year for the Rams for a long time.
No lie...lol...BUT, I think you will feel differently about them after this game (win or lose) if you are honest. I think the Rams get about 11 games this year
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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No lie...lol...BUT, I think you will feel differently about them after this game (win or lose) if you are honest. I think the Rams get about 11 games this year
Don’t get me wrong, I think the Rams are legit. Not 11 wins legit. But 9 maybe 10 legit. They still have a second year QB who will likely hit some bumps as more tape in the seasons offense is available and examine by d coordinators.
 

BigRedRage

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Well when the season started I liked the Cards in this game. They still can win but it will take their best effort of this year.

The most notable thing about this year’s Rams is the change in Goff. I have never seen this much improvement in a QB in one year. It’s part maturity and part coaching. It’s clearly the result of a great deal of offseason work.

I watch his games this year and a few things are obvious. He’s not going to be easy to sack. It’s not that he’s elusive, it’s just he’s been told to get rid of the ball quickly. The key is he does it. On the vast majority of the plays count 3 and it’s gone, especially if he’s out of the pocket.

The Rams attack features numerous short passes and occasionally a 2 man game with Goff & an RB or TE.

The Cards need to stay home on defense, containing Gurley and the Austin sweeps the Rams want to run. Martin will have trouble containing the edge speed, but this should fit Reddick’s game. We’ll clearly see this week if the latter can control the run and the QB. He’ll have to make good decisions.

Despite being hard to sack, the Cards must attack and confuse Goff. The good news is the Cards are one of the few teams built to handle a Rams-type offense. It takes speed and flexibility. The Cards have plenty of both.

Goff is most dangerous when in the pocket. He has a decent arm but rarely tries to throw deep when on the run. He’s usually locked on one receiver running a set pattern. In the pocket he’s calmer and uses his progressions. He can throw deep with accuracy, especially when he can step forward into the pocket. On defense the Cards have to do a better job of collapsing the pocket. Peters did this well in a couple of games but didn't against Tampa. The Cards need to play whoever is getting that done. The must prevent Goff from running out of the middle of the pocket. He can be effective doing that.

The other critical concept is to confuse Goff. Other teams have tried and failed. The Cards must disguise their blitzes better than they did against Tampa. They need to keep moving players in and out of the line. They need to disguise the safety strategy as well, bring them up and drop them back pre-snap. At the last second bring one up. Speed and balance are essential. They need blitzes from corners, LBs and safeties. I want to see TM flying around the defensive set. Goff should never know before the snap where TM is going to be. Whenever possible they should run different blitzes from the same formation, otherwise every snap should show pre-snap movement. Hopefully they’ve been saving at least one formation the Rams haven’t seen.

Like is often the case the CBs will often be on an island. I’d be surprised if TM doesn’t get an interception by baiting Goff on one of those out patterns. Goff does telegraph those throws. The safeties have to come up faster to cover the zone seam. They must be careful of a stop & go pattern if the Cards are having trouble collapsing the pocket. They can’t cover Krupp with a LB. Teams have tried and gotten burnt.

Goff is already one of the most disciplined QBs in the league. The Cards have to hit him even if they can’t sack him. He has to wonder where the next hit is coming from. They have to speed up the game as much as they can. If they can’t keep Goff off balance he’s going to put up a bunch of points.

On offense the Cards just need to duplicate their last game. If they can do that; they can win. AP must have another big game so play action will work. The Rams’ secondary is weak. Palmer can beat them up if he gets a chance. The Rams will be trying to knock Palmer out of the game. The line has to hold!
Great post Harry. This stuff is golden. More informative than any of our local rags takes on the game

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 

pmacLean

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That pressure has to get home to be effective. Bettcher hasn’t shown the ability to scheme a rusher come free like Bowles did.

(I for one am astounded that you could mention Bettcher and Bolwles in the same sentence that is not describing how much more pathetic Bettcher is. Stunned I tell you.)

Oops, I completely misread your statement and heartily agree with it (your statement that is). .
 

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