[ramsman34]

It doesn't sound like the talking heads are giving much credit to Gurley or Goff.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/wh ... eles:index

gfoster: Let’s stay in the NFC and talk about the Rams. Are we feeling better about them? They survived another tough road contest at home this weekend.

neil: I loved how they completely ran over the Cowboys D.

joshua.hermsmeyer: The fact that there isn’t a top 10 defense left in the playoffs confirms all my priors and warms my cockles.

neil: Who knew CJ Anderson would be such an effective featured back? Or, like, their featured back at ALL?

Salfino: The Rams had 51.3 percent play success, which is oddly exactly what the Patriots registered. CJ Anderson was hilarious in killing all the Gurley DFS guys but actually quite effective. A generational talent, some may say.

gfoster: Gurley got his points, though.

neil: (Kinda speaks to your story earlier this season, Josh, about Gurley being kind of a product of McVay and that offensive scheme.)

joshua.hermsmeyer: That (incredibly large) hole Gurley ran through for his long TD was so much not Gurley it was amazing.

Salfino: Is Gurley like Marshall Faulk with the St. Louis Rams, “the queen on the chessboard,” or is he replaceable? I would have thought the former, for sure.

neil: One thing on the Rams is that Goff didn’t necessarily play all that well. Again.

gfoster: Imagine what Zeke would do in that Rams offense. Because he seems to have to work for every yard, regardless of how much praise the Dallas O-line used to get or maybe still gets.

Salfino: Yeah, I have a hard time envisioning Goff beating Brees in New Orleans. Huge home-road splits for Goff, too. Does Jason Garrett get that extension still?

joshua.hermsmeyer: I saw a report that Garrett will get extended. Does anyone think he deserves it?

Salfino: The Cowboys offense is good if it’s working but if it’s not working, Garrett never seems to be able to figure something out on the fly. Garrett is weird in that he’s a CEO coach, but is so closely tied to the offense, which he doesn’t really run.

So what is Garrett’s value, really? Managing the staff? Managing the game? I think when you are a CEO coach you have to have a really strong personality like a Bill Parcells, be that “leader of men.” This is not Garrett, IMO. He just seems easily replaceable.

joshua.hermsmeyer: He is elite at clapping.

Salfino: Lombardi ended his clapping, which is sad.

neil: Yeah, I don’t understand Jerry Jones’s fascination with Garrett. It’s like they were looking for ANY excuse whatsoever to extend him.

gfoster: I just don’t think it’s a desirable job to coach with Jerry breathing down your neck.

Salfino: Remember, Jones doesn’t want a strong personality that will basically kick him out of the locker room and tell him to stay in his owner’s lane.

neil: He’s going to end up being one of the longest tenured coaches ever, and his record will pale in comparison with the others in the conversation. (Except maybe Marvin Lewis.)

joshua.hermsmeyer: For all the grief Jones gets, he does seem incredibly loyal, and that is a terrific boss to have in a league like the NFL that moves on from most coaches far too quickly. Stability does have value.

Salfino: He is basically Marvin Lewis, who also was a CEO coach without a really strong personality/culture. Tell that to Jimmy Johnson:

gfoster: Going back to Rams-Saints: The Saints lost their starting DT, Sheldon Rankins, to a possible torn Achilles. That’s a big loss, especially to be down a big interior lineman against the Rams.

joshua.hermsmeyer: Mike, good point about Jimmy Johnson.

neil: The way the Rams were clearing space against Dallas was unreal. According to ESPN Stats & Info Group, the Rams rushed 33 times for 195 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per carry before first contact between the tackles.

Salfino: Maybe that will trick the Rams into running even more, especially on first down, right Josh?

joshua.hermsmeyer: You never want to lose a starter, but if I had to pick a position to lose, give me DT.

gfoster: That’s fair.

Salfino: Exactly right. If it’s a pass rusher DT, OK, that’s worrisome. But there are only like one of those and he’s on the other team. Where are the big plays in the Rams passing game? They’re going to need some, I’m certain, to win.

neil: True, their longest reception vs. Dallas was a 21-yarder to Brandin Cooks.

Salfino: 186 passing yards on 28 attempts is not the Rams offense from October, for sure.

joshua.hermsmeyer: With the loss of Rankins and their success with play-action, I would think the shot plays would come there. The linebackers may try to make up for Rankins’s loss by cheating a bit more than usual.

Salfino: Are they still successful at play-action, Josh? I think that’s debatable.

joshua.hermsmeyer: They did OK with it against Dallas I think.

neil: Yes, Goff was 6-of-11 for 108 yards off play-action vs the Cowboys. That’s not as amazing as their early-season standards. But it’s still much better than when he passed without play-action.

another set of fucking shit media, empty bobbleheads. What a joke.