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.
