Rams Fans United - Los Angeles Rams Fan Discussion Forum

I feel as though some fans see the Rams current troubles and think that we're somehow unique. We're not.

Think we're the only team to pay a young QB a lot of money and then see a downturn in performance? We're not. Carson Wentz's passer rating is down 13.6 points from last year (and its dropping in recent weeks), his team is 5-6, and he's injured again.

Think we're the only team to pay a RB top $ and not see the payoff? We're not. Ezekiel Elliott, who just signed a huge deal, has dropped from 101.2 yards per game/4.7 yards per carry, to 83.5 yards per game/4.1 yards per carry (and the Cowboys are not exactly lighting it up this year).

Think we're the only team to get close in 2018, only to step back in 2019? Clearly, we're not. The Chargers (4-7), Eagles (5-6) and Bears (5-6) have all tumbled.

The point is... its hard to sustain success in the NFL. Building a contender, then keeping it together in the face of salary cap restrictions, injuries and age is (the Patriots notwithstanding) exceeding difficult.

The Rams have taken a step back. I believe, however, that we have enough talent to regroup and contend again next year. Who knows... maybe the Eagles, Bears, Chargers and Cowboys will too.

Nobody said RAMS problem is unique (at least I don't) and we should not have to 'think again'. People could suggest RAMS have kind of 'unique' problem/ bad situation or better 'severe', because the RAMS have ALL the issues that you mentioned here unlike other teams. Other teams may have one or two issues, but not ALL as the RAMS do. Example: Do Cowboy have overpaid qb? I don't see teams that mortgage their futures so much (I emphasize so much) to "win now" like RAMS (and I understand why they do it. That is a gamble, you roll the dice). RAMS is like a car with so many issues. They can be fixed, just tough. Start with let coach Phillips go and I believe they will.

OCRams1 wrote:Nobody said RAMS problem is unique (at least I don't) and we should not have to 'think again'. People could suggest RAMS have kind of 'unique' problem/ bad situation or better 'severe', because the RAMS have ALL the issues that you mentioned here unlike other teams. Other teams may have one or two issues, but not ALL as the RAMS do. Example: Do Cowboy have overpaid qb? I don't see teams that mortgage their futures so much (I emphasize so much) to "win now" like RAMS (and I understand why they do it. That is a gamble, you roll the dice). RAMS is like a car with so many issues. They can be fixed, just tough. Start with let coach Phillips go and I believe they will.

And yet, the Rams have the same record as the Cowboys, and a better record than the Eagles, Bears and Chargers.

I think the biggest problem facing this team is McVay’s inability to adjust to what defenses are doing to stop the Rams.

Watching the debacle the other night two things struck me:

1). There was a play early in the game in which the replay had an end zone view of a play in which Goff had to throw an incompletion due to pressure with all three Rams receivers running patterns 10-15 yards downfield and their backs turned to Goff when he was forced to throw. Why is it that all teams we play against seem to have that 5-yard crossing pattern dump off available when the Rams pressure the QB but we don’t?

2). The announcers (and bad as they were) did make a great point about Harbaugh, Roman, and the offense in that they designed their offense to maximize Jackson’s talents (and hide his weaknesses) completely revamping it from last year when the offense was designed for Flacco at the beginning of last year. They even went so far as to find a backup in RGIII who is similar to Jackson’s skill set. Why can’t McVay design an offense or structure his play calling based on the talent they have? If you have an OL that cant pass protect and don’t have a QB like Wilson or Jackson that can scramble, why are you calling plays that require good protection?

The Patriots don’t invest a ton of money or draft capital on its OL and Brady isn’t the most mobile guy the last few years, yet they have an effective short passing game offense. The 49ers this season have seen their OL decimated by injury and with an inferior QB in Garrapolo, they have a short passing game that is more effective than McVay’s production this year.

I look at it as teams figure us out after sometime. Yes, it took two years. But we McVay needs to start adjusting, along with working with the flaws in Goff's game as well. That's what great Head Coach's do. Maybe, McVay will figure it out. I believe he will.

Agreed, McV need to expand his playbook to include many more quick release plays.
Might help in the Red Zone as well.

"
And yet, the Rams have the same record as the Cowboys, and a better record than the Eagles, Bears and Chargers.
":
1. It is wasting of time to argue which team is better when their records are in about ball parks. The better way to find out which team is better is to let them play against the other.
2. Expectation and drop off: I have higher expectation for the RAMS this year than all the teams you mentioned. I understood people's emotion and they are "arm up in the air", because RAMS drop off so much compared to last year and compared to the expectation of this year.
2. You miss the point about the money issue which many here pointed out: It could hit RAMS hard in the incoming future. Money is one of the sources for solution, so lack of money work oppositely.
3. I want to say Gurley deserve his contract, because I believe the guy has special talents (making plays by himself), was multi threats (could catch, could run, could block). I do not blame Snead to give him the extension he deserved, it's not Snead's fault Gurley's production went down. His production has drop off at the late part of last year to now and still sort of an unknown to me: He hurt? Or something he said last year, irked the coach? Or the coach decided to show his passing callings? Or the owner want to showcase Goff/wide receivers so less touches for Gurley? Or combination of those? I can't tell and it won't help when coaches do not tell neither.

majik wrote:I think the biggest problem facing this team is McVay’s inability to adjust to what defenses are doing to stop the Rams.

I think there's an important distinction between a failure to do something, and an inability to do it.

Right now, its entirely fair to say that McVay has failed to adjust. Time will tell if he is able to do so.

OCRams1 wrote:1. It is wasting of time to argue which team is better when their records are in about ball parks. The better way to find out which team is better is to let them play against the other.

I wasn't trying to argue which team is better.

2. Expectation and drop off: I have higher expectation for the RAMS this year than all the teams you mentioned. I understood people's emotion and they are "arm up in the air", because RAMS drop off so much compared to last year and compared to the expectation of this year.

That's fine, but I'm guessing Charger, Cowboy, Eagle and Bear fans felt differently.

2. You miss the point about the money issue which many here pointed out: It could hit RAMS hard in the incoming future. Money is one of the sources for solution, so lack of money work oppositely.

No doubt that the Rams will have a tough task to use their limited resources effectively.

3. I want to say Gurley deserve his contract, because I believe the guy has special talents (making plays by himself), was multi threats (could catch, could run, could block). I do not blame Snead to give him the extension he deserved, it's not Snead's fault Gurley's production went down. His production has drop off at the late part of last year to now and still sort of an unknown to me: He hurt? Or something he said last year, irked the coach? Or the coach decided to show his passing callings? Or the owner want to showcase Goff/wide receivers so less touches for Gurley? Or combination of those? I can't tell and it won't help when coaches do not tell neither.

Again, time will tell. Gurley has had a down year before followed by a big year. Hopefully, history will repeat itself.