Ten Early thoughts Week 2 - Rams

BACH

Superbowl, Homeboy!
Joined
May 14, 2002
Posts
5,975
Reaction score
1,508
Location
Expat in Kuala Lumpur
Already reached nighttime here in KL. Daugther and wife is in bed, so had time to re-watch the game.

Positives

Huge let down in a tough game against the Bills last week and this was the response. The Rams were decimated by injuries on offense, so cannot give out a lot of praise to the D, because they are supposed to dominate against a team playing their 3rd string LT and missing a star WR. Bigger praise to the offense that put on a clinique against a solid and intact Rams Defense.

Huge game by Kyler. Stats speak for themselves. What I really enjoyed was the balance of his game. Good decisions, nice throws and just the amount of making something happen on his own. Not trying to go crazy. Applied the X-factor when needed, not overdoing it and putting himself at risk and then back to the game plan for the next play.

Welcome MHJ! Great game! We saw the impact of an elite WR to this team and more importantly. We saw what his role is in this run-heavy offense. The 2nd TD was a thing of beauty. 13 personal, fake to Connor left, fake pulls left, leaving 3 guys on McBride in coverage on the left. Kyle bootleg right with Higgins freezing up the defense, making MHJ slip behind coverage in a 1-1. Perfection! Petzing continued to show formations that left MHJ in single coverage and once the timing get better between MHJ and Kyler this could be deadly.

The interior OL is by far the best I have ever seen from this team. Another strong game by all three starters. Brown goes unnoticed - just does his job. Hernandez and Froholdt are monsters in space.

Shout out to PJJ and Garrett Williams really stepping up in the their 2nd year. PJJ had another great game and Williams played a great game. Both are cornerstones of this team for the future.

As I wrote, it's impossible to evaluate the D against this version of the Rams. I would like to call out the run-D. Strong performance against a version of the Rams O-line that are actually quite decent in run-blocking and with a really good duo at RB.

Another clean and disciplined by the team. Shouldn't be necessary to call it out, but after suffering from the Kliff years I think I'm suffering from PTS and want to call it out.

Negatives

The Pass-rush is not as good as we saw today and still the weak link on this team. McVay was playing his 3rd string LT and decided not to give him any help on several plays. That is not a realistic NFL game scenario and I would deduct one sack from each Gardeck and Collins as they wouldn't happen under normal circumstances. I like that Gardeck was moved into in natural role as a 3rd down player with only 10-15 snaps. He responded great to that, BUT it also meant playing non-caliber starters in a lot of base defense snaps.

Benson is dancing too much behind the line and not decisive in his running. Am I concerned? Not Yet, because he looks good in space (the one screen pass in particular). But he clearly needs to get his timing with the line right and again had one play where he didn't utilize his pulling G the right way.

The secondary has potential, but is not there yet. No blatant mistakes, thing just need to be a bit crisper in the underneath zone coverage. No reason to panic. We knew that the CBs have potential, but lack NFL experience. We saw a step up, but not there yet.

And two random thoughts.
Verse looks to be great!
I do not remember ever seeing a team as bad as the Panthers this season.
 
Last edited:

slanidrac16

ASFN Icon
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Posts
15,333
Reaction score
15,173
Location
Plainfield, Il.
Say what you want about the defense but our tackling was outstanding.

I think we threw one wr screen. How nice. Make no mistake, this team can run the ball. They’ve shown it now for about the last 10 games. That is going to force teams to move up in the box or die by a million paper cuts. And when they do, look out.
 

CardNots

ASFN Lifer
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Posts
4,586
Reaction score
4,663
Location
Jenks, Oklahoma
The interior OL is by far the best I have ever seen from this team. Another strong game by all three starters. Brown goes unnoticed - just does his job. Hernandez and Froholdt are monsters in space.
without a doubt
The Pass-rush is not as good as we saw today and still the weak link on this team.
or was it the fact last week we were dealing with Allen versus a less mobile QB in Stafford? I mention this as Allen is elite in his mobility.
 

oaken1

Stone Cold
Supporting Member
Banned from P+R
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Posts
17,699
Reaction score
15,176
Location
Modesto, California
Nah, you dont take sacks away from anybody. They competed against the guy across from them and won.

I mean, unless you want to give them an extra sack when they compete against a pro bowl LT?
 

JosiahLee

Hall of Famer
Joined
Sep 20, 2018
Posts
2,060
Reaction score
3,705
Location
Gilbert
Already reached nighttime here in KL. Daugther and wife is in bed, so had time to re-watch the game.

Positives

Huge let down in a tough game against the Bills last week and this was the response. The Rams were decimated by injuries on offense, so cannot give out a lot of praise to the D, because they are supposed to dominate against a team playing their 3rd string LT and missing a star WR. Bigger praise to the offense that put on a clinique against a solid and intact Rams Defense.

Huge game by Kyler. Stats speak for themselves. What I really enjoyed was the balance of his game. Good decisions, nice throws and just the amount of making something happen on his own. Not trying to go crazy. Applied the X-factor when needed, not overdoing it and putting himself at risk and then back to the game plan for the next play.

Welcome MHJ! Great game! We saw the impact of an elite WR to this team and more importantly. We saw what his role is in this run-heavy offense. The 2nd TD was a thing of beauty. 13 personal, fake to Connor left, fake pulls left, leaving 3 guys on McBride in coverage on the left. Kyle bootleg right with Higgins freezing up the defense, making MHJ slip behind coverage in a 1-1. Perfection! Petzing continued to show formations that left MHJ in single coverage and once the timing get better between MHJ and Kyler this could be deadly.

The interior OL is by far the best I have ever seen from this team. Another strong game by all three starters. Brown goes unnoticed - just does his job. Hernandez and Froholdt are monsters in space.

Shout out to PJJ and Garrett Williams really stepping up in the their 2nd year. PJJ had another great game and Williams played a great game. Both are cornerstones of this team for the future.

As I wrote, it's impossible to evaluate the D against this version of the Rams. I would like to call out the run-D. Strong performance against a version of the Rams O-line that are actually quite decent in run-blocking and with a really good duo at RB.

Another clean and disciplined by the team. Shouldn't be necessary to call it out, but after suffering from the Kliff years I think I'm suffering from PTS and want to call it out.

Negatives

The Pass-rush is not as good as we saw today and still the weak link on this team. McVay was playing his 3rd string LT and decided not to give him any help on several plays. That is not a realistic NFL game scenario and I would deduct one sack from each Gardeck and Collins as they wouldn't happen under normal circumstances. I like that Gardeck was moved into in natural role as a 3rd down player with only 10-15 snaps. He responded great to that, BUT it also meant playing non-caliber starters in a lot of base defense snaps.

Benson is dancing too much behind the line and not decisive in his running. Am I concerned? Not Yet, because he looks good in space (the one screen pass in particular). But he clearly needs to get his timing with the line right and again had one play where he didn't utilize his pulling G the right way.

The secondary has potential, but is not there yet. No blatant mistakes, thing just need to be a bit crisper in the underneath zone coverage. No reason to panic. We knew that the CBs have potential, but lack NFL experience. We saw a step up, but not there yet.

And two random thoughts.
Verse looks to be great!
I do not remember ever seeing a team as bad as the Panthers this season.
Awesome insights.
 

seacow

Newbie
Joined
Aug 23, 2021
Posts
35
Reaction score
141
Location
UK
Great thoughts and lots that I agree with!

Will add my two pence to the conversation:
-Murray and MHJ’s connection was obviously worked on and it paid off. He looked a little jittery last week, no such issues this week. Work still needs to be done though and I loved MHJs comments after the game - ultimate pro who I believe will make the adjustments.

-Defence did well this game. Yes, clearly the opposition was weakened but this was a derby and often teams play up in these games. But we didn’t allow that. Budda Baker was the heart and soul. He zoomed round like a honing missile.

-Love watching the IOL bulldoze players. Need to continue this smash mouth, grind you down attack.

-I have no concerns for Benson, despite a less than impressive stat sheet. I think he was nervous and still getting used to the Oline unit. Hey, he’s a rookie and we have the luxury of bleeding him whilst battering the opposition. He will learn and get better. (We said the same last week with MHJ…)

-Love Gardeck’s sack dance routine. Even the adjusted one in tribute of Golden.

-The lack of penalties we’re being called for is stark in contrast with the Kliff era. Clear that the team is mentally better prepared under this coaching team. They play hard and smart.

-Just like last week I think it’s important not to overreact. Don’t get too low after a loss and don’t get too high after a win. I’m sure this is the mentality that JG will have and will be keeping the team focused on the Lions. There’s no resting on your laurels which I respect. Feels like we have a proper coach in place.

-I nearly forgot to mention - one of the most important aspects of the game: we picked up zero injuries! Happy days.
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
90,592
Reaction score
66,377
Outside of Kyler looking like 7-0 2021 Kyler, my biggest takeaway… the fast start wasn’t just a fast start and fade like Game 1 and a lot of last year. They kept the pedal to the metal and controlled the entire game.

That’s a big sign of progress for me.
 

GatorAZ

feed hopkins
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Posts
25,137
Reaction score
17,813
Location
The Giant Toaster
Outside of Kyler looking like 7-0 2021 Kyler, my biggest takeaway… the fast start wasn’t just a fast start and fade like Game 1 and a lot of last year. They kept the pedal to the metal and controlled the entire game.

That’s a big sign of progress for me.

After the Rams game in 2021 the Cards were 4-0 and Kyler had 12 total TD’s. We were all saying Kyler and Kliff finally figured it out. Just need some more evidence but it’s to see him bounce back from the 4th qtr last week.
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
90,592
Reaction score
66,377
After the Rams game in 2021 the Cards were 4-0 and Kyler had 12 total TD’s. We were all saying Kyler and Kliff finally figured it out. Just need some more evidence but it’s to see him bounce back from the 4th qtr last week.
Yup.
 

oaken1

Stone Cold
Supporting Member
Banned from P+R
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Posts
17,699
Reaction score
15,176
Location
Modesto, California
Outside of Kyler looking like 7-0 2021 Kyler, my biggest takeaway… the fast start wasn’t just a fast start and fade like Game 1 and a lot of last year. They kept the pedal to the metal and controlled the entire game.

That’s a big sign of progress for me.
I was thinking the same thing in game...don't let up, don't let up..

They let up but not until midway through the fourth
 

football karma

Michael snuggles the cap space
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Posts
15,069
Reaction score
13,752
Outside of Kyler looking like 7-0 2021 Kyler, my biggest takeaway… the fast start wasn’t just a fast start and fade like Game 1 and a lot of last year. They kept the pedal to the metal and controlled the entire game.

That’s a big sign of progress for me.
taking the 2nd half kickoff and then methodically going down the field and scoring a TD kinda told the Rams that there will be no comeback.

imagine that the Rams scored a TD at the end of H1 and then the Cards go 3 and out with the 2nd half kickoff

its 24-10 at that point and the Rams have the ball with a chance to make it a one score game with 20+ minutes of game time left.
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
90,592
Reaction score
66,377
taking the 2nd half kickoff and then methodically going down the field and scoring a TD kinda told the Rams that there will be no comeback.

imagine that the Rams scored a TD at the end of H1 and then the Cards go 3 and out with the 2nd half kickoff

its 24-10 at that point and the Rams have the ball with a chance to make it a one score game with 20+ minutes of game time left.
Yup. This was the rarest of rare birds… a Cardinals game that I called over in the 3rd quarter, with no fear of them blowing the game whatsoever.

That pretty much NEVER happens.
 

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
549,077
Posts
5,365,640
Members
6,306
Latest member
SportsBetJake
Top