[/zn/]

losing brockers in the second half against the falcons certainly didn't help matters, but let's face it, the rams defense gave up just as many points in the first half, with brockers, as the second, without brockers. oh well.

The difference was the attack. ATL ran 13 times in the first half and 26 in the 2nd half. As a result the Rams only had 7 offensive plays in the 3rd quarter compared to the Falcons 25. In the 1st half the Falcons took advantage of 2 short fields to score, both coming off of Cooper's fumbles.

[Horny Mcbae]

brockers going down in that playoff game was indeed a major blow...

but alec ogletree was the reason we lost...

prolly a good reason why he is no longer with us...

go rams

slo

I've been re-watching some of our games from last season these past few weeks. Sorta delving deep into our defensive plays and schemes. Man Ogletree was LOST on some plays. Like he looked like he had no clue. Wow. I was shocked. For a second i thought he was concussed or something. He was THAT lost out there. Was kind of a bummer to see him go but man won't miss him on the field thats for sure.

[phoenixrising]

losing brockers in the second half against the falcons certainly didn't help matters, but let's face it, the rams defense gave up just as many points in the first half, with brockers, as the second, without brockers. oh well.

I think fumbling a couple kicks had something to do with that.

[aeneas1]

I think fumbling a couple kicks had something to do with that.

no doubt... in fact i guess the rams were lucky that brockers was healthy in the first half or the two short field challenges the rams defense faced could have ended in 14 points instead of 10, disaster averted!

seriously tho, of course those gaffs were killers, the thing is the rams were the 23rd ranked defense in first half offensive points allowed during the regular season and, unfortunately, were the 30th ranked defense against the run (rush yards allowed per carry), with a healthy brockers in the lineup, which didn't bode well when the falcons went up 16-10, then 19-10 in the third quarter and ran the ball down their throats.

frankly, i was very disappointed with wade's inaugural season, especially considering his history of immediate success converting 4/3 defenses to 3/4, it just didn't really happen for wade and the rams in 2017, but 2018 looks bright as hell!

[aeneas1]

I've been re-watching some of our games from last season these past few weeks. Sorta delving deep into our defensive plays and schemes. Man Ogletree was LOST on some plays. Like he looked like he had no clue. Wow. I was shocked. For a second i thought he was concussed or something. He was THAT lost out there. Was kind of a bummer to see him go but man won't miss him on the field thats for sure.

yep, and sadly, ogletree wasn't alone, it just wasn't a good year for rams linebackers... barwin was never really anything special to begin with, and he had a lousy 2017 season, despite playing in a 3/4 for most of his career, even under wade in houston, while quinn had arguably the worst season of his pro career, which could easily be blamed on the transition, but his play (and health) had been declining anyway... water under the bridge - wade's cubbyhole was stuffed with talent during the offseason, hopefully it will show in spades!

[/zn/]

Points allowed last year is a little misleading since the season splits in 2 when it comes to that.

Discounting the final SF game (played without the starters), that's 15 games to consider.

In the 1st 4 games, in spite of holding the Colts to 7 points, the Rams allowed 105 points for an average of 26.25 a game, which taken by itself would have ranked 31st in the league.

In the next 11 games, the Rams allowed 190 points for an average of 17.3 a game, which taken by itself would have ranked 2nd in the league.

What's the difference? Dallas is the 4th game. After Dallas there were these changes: Brockers moves to DE (actually he moved in the 2nd half of that game) and Johnson replaces Alexander at SS. I suppose it also didn't hurt that by game 5 Donald was fully up to steam after missing the whole summer.

31st to 2nd is a huge leap. But they did it. However, this change is hidden if you average in the SF game plus the first 4 games, before they changed up the defense a bit. Those 5 games are so bad that combined with the 11 consecutive better games, it changes the average points per game to 20.6 and the overall ranking to 12th. 12th is "okay" but it's not 2nd.

...

[Hacksaw]

I've regarded Brockers as the most underrated Ram for a while.

I agree and welcome to RFU AvengerRam.

[AvengerRam]

Thanks.

Nice digs. I may stick around for a while.

With respect to Brockers, its interesting to note that he is the only player who was part of the RGIII trade who is still a Ram or a Redskin.

[AvengerRam]

Btw, Avenger.

Thoughts on B? Or are you over that by now?

I don't know who "B" is. If you're not referring to Brockers, then this probably is not the right thread for this conversation. Feel free to PM me.