Rams Fans United - Los Angeles Rams Fan Discussion Forum

Prior to Sean McVay turning the Rams fortunes around in 2017, we always knew if something bad could happen to prevent a win, it would happen. Last year the Rams went 11-5 and there was no way we thought anything bad would happen. Until Atlanta ended our season.

This year, the Rams are 13-3 and what sticks out the most is the losses to the Saints, Bears and Eagles. Our O line had bad games against the Bears and Eagles. Our defense was horrible against the Saints. So we're back to pre-2017 wondering what is going to happen to prevent a win.

Louis Riddick believes the Cowboys D can present a problem for the Rams.
Article

"The speed of the Dallas defense and the ferocity with which they play and the way they attack the line of scrimmage is something that you saw when the Eagles went out there to play the Rams. It had Jared Goff on his heels. It had that interior of that offensive line on it's heels. That front seven is very fast and they play suffocating man to man on the back end. They could stop Todd Gurley and if Dak, Amari and Zeke can play well, the Rams could be one and done".

Okay. And then there's this from that same article:

Dallas Cowboys
The myth: The Cowboys have a great defense.

Even after Saturday's 24-22 win over the Seahawks, I find it difficult to make a case that the Cowboys have one of the league's best defenses. The win over Seattle was driven by a brutally anachronistic game plan from a Seahawks team that seemed to talk itself into believing its own press clippings. Facing one of the league's best run defenses, the Seahawks ran the ball 24 times for 73 yards. Outside of one Rashaad Penny run, Seattle's 23 other carries went for just 45 yards and four first downs.

When the Seahawks chose to pass, though, Russell Wilson lit up the Dallas secondary. Wilson went 18-of-27 for 233 yards with a touchdown pass and a passer rating of 105.9, dropping dimes over Chidobe Awuzie to both Tyler Lockett and Doug Baldwin. Facing a Seahawks line that is still far better in run blocking than pass protection, the Cowboys sacked Wilson only once and knocked him down three times across 28 dropbacks. He finished a low-scoring wild-card weekend as the only quarterback with a passer rating above 90.

Wilson was able to create opportunities in the passing game by attacking the biggest weakness in Dallas' defense. Despite possessing a pair of rangy linebackers in Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch, the Cowboys struggle mightily against play-action. During the season, the Cowboys posted a passer rating of 112.6 against play-action passes, the sixth-worst rate in the league. In the wild-card game, with his running game doing absolutely nothing, Wilson went 9-of-10 on play-action for 109 yards and a passer rating of 117.1.

If there's an offense you wouldn't want to face when you struggle with play-action, it is the very opponent the Cowboys will go up against Saturday night. The Rams went with a play-fake on more than 35 percent of their dropbacks this season, the highest rate in football by a considerable margin. Sean McVay's team ranked sixth in yards per attempt (9.9) and seventh in passer rating (114.5) when it ran play-fakes, and while its numbers definitely declined after Cooper Kupp went out, even the post-Kupp Rams should give the Cowboys problems with play-action.

As much as the story has been that the Cowboys are surging, much of that improvement has come on offense. Dallas ranked sixth in scoring defense, but it was ninth in DVOA and 11th in weighted DVOA, which emphasizes performance toward the end of the season. The Cowboys allowed 35 points to a Giants team without Odell Beckham Jr. or anything to play for in Week 17. They recovered five of the six fumbles they forced on defense over the past month of the season. Defenses typically recover about 44 percent of fumbles.

The Cowboys certainly have a good defense. It's the best unit they've run out on that side of the ball since 2009, when DeMarcus Ware and Wade Phillips were in town. (The 2016 team had a great scoring average but didn't face many drives and subsequently didn't fare as well by advanced metrics.) The Cowboys faced a Seattle offense that was determined to win like it was 1978, which played into Dallas' strengths. This week, with a state-of-the-art offense looming, it might not be so lucky.

And this:

Los Angeles Rams
The myth: The Rams are automatic near the goal line.
If you had Todd Gurley on your fantasy team, congratulations. You probably did well for yourself, especially if you also grabbed C.J. Anderson for Weeks 16 and 17. Gurley was a touchdown machine, scoring at least once in 12 of his 14 games this season, with the 54-51 shootout against the Chiefs as a truly bizarre exception. Gurley and Alvin Kamara became the first players to produce three three-touchdown games in a season since DeAngelo Williams in 2008.

Gurley scored a league-high 11 touchdowns inside the 5-yard line, and when you have a back who seems automatic inside the 5, you're naturally going to assume that his team is one of the best red zone offenses in the league. Anderson even added two scores from inside the 5 during his two-game stint with the Rams, which is as many as Ezekiel Elliott had all season in 11 tries for the Cowboys.

For whatever reason, though, the Rams have not been a very good red zone offense this season. As dominant as Gurley was, they ranked 15th in points per red zone trip. To put that in context, the Falcons were 14th, and they just fired offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, in part because of frustration with their performance in the red zone. Last year, McVay's offense was 11th in the same category; good, but certainly not the sort of otherworldly performance you might expect from an offensive juggernaut like the Rams.

How do you sustain a great offense without great red zone work? You get inside the opposing 20 a lot. The Rams have taken 43.7 percent of their possessions to the red zone this season, the highest rate in the league. They were at 36.7 percent last season, which was second behind the Patriots. What they lack in efficiency, they make up in volume. Los Angeles this season scored the second-most points in the red zone behind the Chiefs, who racked up 408 points (assuming a single extra point for a touchdown). The Rams were at 397 points, the Saints were at 381, the Colts were a step behind at 347, and then no other team in the NFL topped 300 red zone points. This is a very limited group.

The Cowboys represent an interesting matchup. They were only 24th in the NFL in keeping opposing teams out of their red zone, but once inside, they held opponents to 4.6 points per red zone trip, which was a more impressive 13th. Can the Rams beat the surging Cowboys with field goals and big plays? Will Gurley be back to his old tricks? We won't know until we see the star back with the ball in his hands Saturday night.

But I say it's time to trust Sean McVay and the Rams again. Forget about the tough losses to the Saints, Bears and Eagles. Remember they've had 2 weeks to rest and get healthier and a week to prepare for the Cowboys. Remember this offense was virtually unstoppable for most of the season (even in losses to the Saints and Eagles with near comebacks). This defense while ugly at times seemed to make a big play at crucial times and we all know this is now crucial time territory. I had hoped they'd play the Cowboys and the Eagles at home and then board the plane for Atlanta. But I'd be just as happy if they beat the Cowboys and went to the Big Easy to shut up all those who say, "you just can't win in New Orleans".

Problem is people remember what they just saw. I.e Colts and Cowboys this weekend. There is a reason why those other teams had BYES. Watch what happens when the wildcard teams step up in class.

Cowboys do have a good defense. But we have a good offense. I think we score points on them. I just hope our defense comes to play.

PARAM wrote:Louis Riddick believes the Cowboys D can present a problem for the Rams.
Article

"The speed of the Dallas defense and the ferocity with which they play and the way they attack the line of scrimmage is something that you saw when the Eagles went out there to play the Rams. It had Jared Goff on his heels. It had that interior of that offensive line on it's heels. That front seven is very fast and they play suffocating man to man on the back end. They could stop Todd Gurley and if Dak, Amari and Zeke can play well, the Rams could be one and done".

The Eagles didn't really shut down the Rams' offense. The Rams had 407 yards in that game. The problem was that the Rams made way too many big mistakes (untimely sacks given up, fumbles, interception). Hopefully, with a bit of rest, the older OL will play better against the Cowboys, and the Rams will be a bit more patient in their offensive approach.

I think that if the game is clean (Rams are even or + in turnovers, sacks, penalties), the Rams win by a comfortable margin.

Riddick was all over the air waves saying the Bears are winning the SB.

And we should listen to him?

Every time I looked up Saturday night another Seahawks receiver was running wide open down the field. Cowboys sold out to stop Carson and gave up big plays down the field. (Cooks-Woods):)

max wrote:Riddick was all over the air waves saying the Bears are winning the SB.

And we should listen to him?

No. That was one of my points.

Im not worried at all about this game.

I actually like that the Rams aren’t getting the “s'postta win” treatment.

The Rams have not played their best after the bye. They hit a lull after hitting that high against KC. A few things happened. The team relaxed after 11 intense games, Gurley was nursing a sore knee, Goff was off, and under appreciated was McVay got sick.

Yeah, most people forget that McVay was under the weather for the Lions game, he was probably hit hard by the flu. It threw him off coming off the bye. I bet that had something to do with the offense getting thrown off their game too.

We haven’t seen Gurley do much since before the KC game. So people have forgotten him a bit. Out of sight out of mind.

This week I expect him to practice with the team and be close to 100% for the game. I also expect to see McVay use Gurley and Anderson in 2 back sets. We’re gonna run the ball a lot. We are the fresher team, Dallas is a bit beat up, just look at their injury list. You pound the ball against them. Let our OL get aggressive and run right at them. The OL is well rested. So let those 5 guys who have been together all year do what they love to do, especially guys like Saffold, Havenstein and Whit.

Dallas Cowboys
The myth: The Cowboys have a great defense.

Even after Saturday's 24-22 win over the Seahawks, I find it difficult to make a case that the Cowboys have one of the league's best defenses. The win over Seattle was driven by a brutally anachronistic game plan from a Seahawks team that seemed to talk itself into believing its own press clippings. Facing one of the league's best run defenses, the Seahawks ran the ball 24 times for 73 yards. Outside of one Rashaad Penny run, Seattle's 23 other carries went for just 45 yards and four first downs.

ha ha, questions the quality of the cowboys defense then blames the seahawks for running the ball, which got them to the postseason, against "one of the league's best run defenses", you can't make this stuff up.

are the cowboys the '85 bears? of course not... but they finished the year ranked 8th best in offensive points allowed and held the league's top scoring offense, belonging to the saints, to 10 offensive points and brees to 127 passing yards and a 71.6 qb rating... moreover their defense finished the year ranked 8th in yards per play allowed, 12th in pass yards per attempt allowed, and 5th in rush yards per attempt allowed (wouldn't it be nice if we could say the same about the rams defense?).

but the cowboys featured a strong defense last year too, arguably better than their 2018 defense, and the rams went into their house and lit them up to the tune of 400+ yards and 35 offensive points.

anyway, like last year, i think the rams are beatable, which describes every postseason team imo, but i also think the rams have just as good of a chance at reaching the super bowl as the rest of the teams in the hunt, better even.

that said, if the rams come up short this weekend, or the following weekend, no one in my house will be kicked, nor will i call for the head of anyone who works for the rams (well maybe phillips'), because these guys have put together a fun-ass team, that wins a lot more than it loses, it's been a great two years, and they look primed to be one of the league's top teams for years to come.

The memory of the Falcons running the ball down our Defense's throats (and keeping the ball from Goff) throughout the Second Half of last year's Playoff debacle still haunts me....and I'm sure many others in Ramsnation.

Wade TheOldMan&TheD Phillips needs to conjure up a STOP ZEKE PLAN and make it so Dallas needs to put the ball in Dak Shaky&Unsteady Prescott's hands to beat us.

The old adage of "Defense Wins Championships" ain't dead yet sportsfans!

IF Phillips can make it so Dak needs to be Aaron Smooth&Smart Rodgers on Saturday, THEN I really like our chances.

Saturday is a big test for our aged DC.....ie. does Wade still have it, or not??!! He failed us last January. Let's hope Phillips and his assistants put together something special this time around!!!