Scouting the Rams

TexasHillbilly said:

Your post seemed to be accusatory and siting plagiarism. That's how I "perceived" your post. Didn't your mother ever teach you that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?

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ejthedj said:

He had less tackles than LVE, same sacks as Jaylon, only four more tackles. They also faced many more plays so his tackle percentage is lower than both. Yes, more ints but have you seen the replays of most of those? They were gimmees, not some amazing play. These are NFL.com stats.

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jazzcat22 said:

Great write up. But to read it. It seems you are describing a 3-13 team, not a 13-3 team. As we know it is a 13-3 team.
Still a scary team.
I think too many fans are penciling in it as a win, and some are using ink.

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ejthedj said:

He had less tackles than LVE, same sacks as Jaylon, only four more tackles. They also faced many more plays so his tackle percentage is lower than both. Yes, more ints but have you seen the replays of most of those? They were gimmees, not some amazing play. These are NFL.com stats.

Like I said, he's probably good as a pass defender but he didn't flash in the games I watched. He is not very good as a run defender, though. He's below average.

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ejthedj said:

So, I watched a lot of Rams games last night (both Seattle, second Arizona, Detroit, Philly, Chicago, Green Bay, New Orleans). Here's what I think:

1) Their offense really goes as Gurley goes. He's their only special player. Cooks is good, so is Woods, so is their Oline, so is Goff, so is Reynolds. They have good players elsewhere but nobody that really scares you. If Gurley is limited, this is a huge plus for us.

2) As much as McVeigh gets credit for being a genius, by the end I thought his offense was very predictable. They run the same play action play over and over. Same jet sweep over and over (and they hand it on the sweep a lot). Same inside zone run. The whole thing is misdirection. Don't fall for the eye candy. Do not bite on play action cause this play action into a deep-in route is their best play.

3) The offense plays horizontal. Yes, they throw the ball down the field on play action, but even those plays are not outside the numbers. They always hit guys running horizontal to the line. Lots of square-ins, drags, and dig routes. In fact,Goff seems shaky on passes outside the numbers. He will throw a quick out, or a mid level out only on roll outs. But he rarely throws deep outside the numbers, and when he does, it's usually inaccurate. The middle of the field is absolutely key. It may be because their receivers are so small, they can't win outside. So play inside leverage like we usually do.

4) Goff is quite inaccurate when pressured. His mechanics get bad. Also, he will turn the ball over. Did in every game I watched, and most games had a couple more near-turnovers. Pressure him, or even just cover well on the play action, and he forces stuff, throws stuff up. I can see getting at least two turnovers off him in a high pressure game.

5) They do not like and are not very good at moving the ball in small chunks all the way down the field. Goff gets impatient. They expect junk plays, and that is behind why he ends up throwing picks it seems. Bend but don't break will break them.

6) Their D is pretty bad. Their linebackers are trash. Once you get past the Dline, the running game feasts. Zeke could really go off. Their secondary is also pretty bad. Safeties don't like to tackle. Their corners get toasted regularly. Peters is awful now. Must be the most overrated player in the league. in every game, he gets toasted and then throws up his hands in this whiny, loser sort of way. He tries to jump routes so any double move burns him. Like every time. In general, their body language and hustle on defense is poor. They don't run to the ball like we do. They don't seem like they believe in themselves. They certainly look like they play for a paycheck more than for the love. Their Defense is all about the Dline. It's the only good part. Block Donald, and you win this game. Maybe easily.

7) Seemed like their special teams allowed some long returns in about half those games.

All-in-all, I expected to come out of this impressed and scared of their offense. It's scary, but not better than New Orleans and very Gurley-dependent. If he is limited, I think we can hold them to 20. If not, we probably need to score 28 to 31 to win. They have been much worse the last 5-6 games, too, than they were earlier in the year. probably bc teams are figuring out the coach. like I said, I don't see genius -- I see a guy who has a few plays that work and goes to those same plays over and over.

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Silver N Blue said:

You’re clearly basing this off your opinion vs the actual stats. Across the board he had a better season when all categories are accounted for. I didn’t find a stat for “flash stats”...but then again you failed to account for the pick six to finish the season and the game. I rest my case the rams lb, this one particular is not garbage like you incorrectly stated.

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ejthedj said:

I watched the all-22 in the Eagles game and focused on him. And I was wrong. he's not below average against the run. he's terrible. he did not make one play in the running game, got consistently blocked five yards out of the play, and they got gashed by the 28th ranked run game. He's BAD against the run. Too small. Runs from contact. BAAAD. Worse than I was even giving him credit for. he's not even in the same league as our backers, as I said before.

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ejthedj said:

I watched the all-22 in the Eagles game and focused on him. And I was wrong. he's not below average against the run. he's terrible. he did not make one play in the running game, got consistently blocked five yards out of the play, and they got gashed by the 28th ranked run game. He's BAD against the run. Too small. Runs from contact. BAAAD. Worse than I was even giving him credit for. he's not even in the same league as our backers, as I said before.

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jazzcat22 said:

Great write up. But to read it. It seems you are describing a 3-13 team, not a 13-3 team. As we know it is a 13-3 team.
Still a scary team.
I think too many fans are penciling in it as a win, and some are using ink.

Click to expand...

Silver N Blue said:

You’re clearly basing this off your opinion vs the actual stats. Across the board he had a better season when all categories are accounted for. I didn’t find a stat for “flash stats”...but then again you failed to account for the pick six to finish the season and the game. I rest my case the rams lb, this one particular is not garbage like you incorrectly stated.

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Creeper said:

Dallas has to make sure Donald plays on his side of the line of scrimmage. If he is in the backfield all night the Cowboys offense will struggle. I am concerned Su'a-Filo will struggle with Donald's quickness - if he plays.

I recall the last time the Cowboys played the Rams the game was close in the first half - until Sean Lee go hurt. After that, the Rams offense scored every time they got the ball and Gurley killed us. That was when Jaylon Smith was not fully recovered and he was inexperienced. Now, with LVE and Smith playing at such a high level, I expect them to make Gurley earn his yards.

Goff had a great game the last time they played but I agree they need to pressure him into mistakes and force him to make bad decisions. This is a game Dallas can win but its going to take their A game to do it on the road.

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KalEl said:

I agree with you 100%. If you compare him appropriately it needs to be versus Jaylon as both are ILB. Both he and Jaylon are a close comparison. However, I think Jaylon's rush and sideline to sideline coverage is a bit superior. But to be fair one has to consider that they play in different schemes. If you compare him to LVE it's not even close. LVE didn't even start every game Littleton did and LVE still out played him. If you watch all 3 on the ALL 22 you'll see that Jaylon and LVE are complete linebackers. Littleton was used as a rusher and pass defender primarily because he's a liability against the run. Furthermore, if he's such a good ILB why are they 28th against the run? With the front that LA rolls out LBs should have a field day. JMO

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ejthedj said:

So, I watched a lot of Rams games last night (both Seattle, second Arizona, Detroit, Philly, Chicago, Green Bay, New Orleans). Here's what I think:

1) Their offense really goes as Gurley goes. He's their only special player. Cooks is good, so is Woods, so is their Oline, so is Goff, so is Reynolds. They have good players elsewhere but nobody that really scares you. If Gurley is limited, this is a huge plus for us.

2) As much as McVeigh gets credit for being a genius, by the end I thought his offense was very predictable. They run the same play action play over and over. Same jet sweep over and over (and they hand it on the sweep a lot). Same inside zone run. The whole thing is misdirection. Don't fall for the eye candy. Do not bite on play action cause this play action into a deep-in route is their best play.

3) The offense plays horizontal. Yes, they throw the ball down the field on play action, but even those plays are not outside the numbers. They always hit guys running horizontal to the line. Lots of square-ins, drags, and dig routes. In fact,Goff seems shaky on passes outside the numbers. He will throw a quick out, or a mid level out only on roll outs. But he rarely throws deep outside the numbers, and when he does, it's usually inaccurate. The middle of the field is absolutely key. It may be because their receivers are so small, they can't win outside. So play inside leverage like we usually do.

4) Goff is quite inaccurate when pressured. His mechanics get bad. Also, he will turn the ball over. Did in every game I watched, and most games had a couple more near-turnovers. Pressure him, or even just cover well on the play action, and he forces stuff, throws stuff up. I can see getting at least two turnovers off him in a high pressure game.

5) They do not like and are not very good at moving the ball in small chunks all the way down the field. Goff gets impatient. They expect junk plays, and that is behind why he ends up throwing picks it seems. Bend but don't break will break them.

6) Their D is pretty bad. Their linebackers are trash. Once you get past the Dline, the running game feasts. Zeke could really go off. Their secondary is also pretty bad. Safeties don't like to tackle. Their corners get toasted regularly. Peters is awful now. Must be the most overrated player in the league. in every game, he gets toasted and then throws up his hands in this whiny, loser sort of way. He tries to jump routes so any double move burns him. Like every time. In general, their body language and hustle on defense is poor. They don't run to the ball like we do. They don't seem like they believe in themselves. They certainly look like they play for a paycheck more than for the love. Their Defense is all about the Dline. It's the only good part. Block Donald, and you win this game. Maybe easily.

7) Seemed like their special teams allowed some long returns in about half those games.

All-in-all, I expected to come out of this impressed and scared of their offense. It's scary, but not better than New Orleans and very Gurley-dependent. If he is limited, I think we can hold them to 20. If not, we probably need to score 28 to 31 to win. They have been much worse the last 5-6 games, too, than they were earlier in the year. probably bc teams are figuring out the coach. like I said, I don't see genius -- I see a guy who has a few plays that work and goes to those same plays over and over.

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texbumthelife said:

Two keys to beating the Rams:

1. Control the middle of the field at every level.
2. Limit Gurley.

Both of those are Cowboy strengths. Conversely, their strength on D is interior Dline and that's our weakness on offense.

It's gonna be a good game. Could come down to mistakes again.

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