[AvengerRam]

Shula won the Blitz Chess Match yesterday.

Now, he has a new challenge... solving the first down problem against Eagles Offensive Coordinator, Kellen Moore.

In the last meeting, first down defense was a fiasco. The Eagles produced 241 yards on 29 first down plays. Even if you remove Saquon Barkley's 70 yard TD run (which, of course, skews the average), that's 28 first down plays for 171 yards, an average of 6.1 yards. That just won't do.

Looking deeper, it was the running game that was the key, as 164 of the Eagles first down yards came on the ground. Again, even leaving out the 70 yard run, the Eagles had 18 first down running plays for 94 yards (Barkley accounting for 79 yards on 14 first down carries), an average of 5.2 ypc.

By contrast, Jalen Hurts produced 77 yards (including a 12 yard PI penalty) on 10 first down passing plays. This included 4 incompletions, which created the majority of the Eagles 2nd and long scenarios.

So how does Shula prevent this from recurring?

Seems to me that the Rams MUST do everything they can to stop the run on first down. Even if it leads to a few chunk passing plays, the Rams MUST get the Eagles in 2nd and long and, in doing so, allow their pass rush to be a bigger factor.

Are the Rams built to do this? Hard to say. And, if Shula draws up the right defense to slow the run, will Moore mix in enough pass plays to make the Rams pay?

In a strange way, this could be a reason to hope for bad weather. If the conditions are poor for throwing the ball, perhaps the Rams can focus on the run more.

Set up the board... Chess Match 2 is less than a week away!

[ramsman34]

Do you know the types of runs they employed? The Rams have had issues with the power G game as well as the outside and even inside zone game. This is based on how damn good that Eagles OL is. They might have to play more single high/man concepts and take their lumps against the pass while, as you eluded, selling out to stop the run. And/or, this game could be on the offense just exploding on the Eagles D and out scoring them - another tall ask.

We do not match up well with this team in the trenches at all. But, the Rams seem to find a way more often than not.

Turnovers/points off will be MASSIVE in this game. As will STs.

[Elvis]

I'm also pretty interested in McVay's offense vs. a Fangio defense, this one coordinated by, Vic Fangio...

[actionjack]

Well I like Shula's chances this week, both he and our defense have gained valuable experience and....

Kellen Moore has 3 Interviews this week LMAO

Jags- Friday
Dallas and Saints - Saturday

That is a lot of prep time. Me likey

[AvengerRam]

I'm also pretty interested in McVay's offense vs. a Fangio defense, this one coordinated by, Vic Fangio...

McVay has a lot of tape to work with, showing both good and bad.

We started the game with drives of 53 (lost fumble in Red Zone) and 70 (TD) yards, then had 10 plays for -6 yards for the rest of the half.

In the second half, things picked again at first, with drives of 70 (TD) and 41 (Missed FG) yards while the game was still in reach, and a 68 (TD) yard drive in "garbage time."

So... very uneven performance by the offense, but a lot for McVay to learn from.

[FMulder]

We started the game with drives of 53 (lost fumble in Red Zone) and 70 (TD) yards, then had 10 plays for -6 yards for the rest of the half.

That fumble really set the tone. They were driving at will and sure felt like they might get an early TD. At least go up 3-0. Instead the fumble led to huge Philly chunk plays and before you knew it they were up and things kind of kept slipping away from there.

The D was horrible in all aspects of that game. For as much as Barkley got 10000000 yards that game, nobody had the WRs covered either.

I honestly don’t think if can get any worse than that but come Sunday night we’ll know the answer

[Dare]

The D looked bad because they played poorly. Not due to lack of talent, but lack of discipline, i.e. they weren't executing at a high level. Since then they have learned to trust their coaching and have been far more disciplined in how they play. They still have breakdowns but it has improved tremendously.

Shula has improved in his playcalling all season as well. The game where it all came together was last Monday night. As the players have improved so has Shula's playcalling because of how much better the player execution has become Chris can be more creative.

Much has been made of Darnold's holding the ball too long. Most of it is legitimate criticism. But IMO much of it was because he was confused at what he was seeing. IMO that reflects damn poor QB coaching. KOC's QB coaching did a poor job in preparing and developing Darnold. I think it's because the whole organization saw him as a one year rental, so they didn't make the effort to coach him up. I feel that Darnold's failure was a complete organizational failure.

When you look at Chris Shula's unit it is filled with young relatively inexperienced players. But we have seen steady improvement all year long. That is indicative of excellent coaching. Its why I hope he's around when McVay decides to walk away because he has the makings of an excellent HC.

The Eagles will be facing a very confident defensive unit under Shula. Shula can now call plays he couldn't call even just a few games previously. That video I posted where it broke down some of the defensive plays of the Rams vs Vikings revealed very good execution, able to disguise their play. Something they struggled to do early in the year.

Durant's INT was because he was playing confidently because he knew what was happening, which is evidence of good coaching prep. If I can see the difference over the past 5 games so can the Eagles and it has to be concerning. It means that Shula can play a much expanded defensive scheme and it will be properly executed.

The absolute last thing the Eagles want to do is pass. That is where Stafford and McVay come in. They must force the Eagles to pass more than they want by scoring early and often. They must once they have a lead shorten the game by literally running out the clock. Williams and the other RBs are going to be crucial to win this game. McVay and Snead built this OL to win just this type of game by controlling the clock. This is why as far back as 2022 I was telling people the Rams needed to run gap concept blocking between the tackles to move the chains and control the clock. We saw how good they can be with duo (an inside gap blocking concept). That is mano y mano type of OL play. Dotson and Avila are really good in that scheme. That is where the OL looks across at the DL and says we're coming SOB try and stop us. Dotson in particular loves that kind of play.

I get the feeling that even more than most games this game will be won or lost in the trenches on both sides for both teams. The Eagle OL is built to run the ball. But have been inconsistent in pass protection. It's why I think if the Rams can force Hurts to pass the Rams have the advantage.

[PARAM]

this game could be on the offense just exploding on the Eagles D and out scoring them - another tall ask.


Turnovers/points off will be MASSIVE in this game. As will STs.

Yeah, going into certain games, it's pretty clear you need a stellar offensive performance. IMO, this is one of them.

Play productive, efficient offense, get a turnover or two and hope the defense can hang in there.

I'm thrilled to death we are in the divisional round. Who had that on their bingo card during our bye week? Now let's see if they can come up with a winning effort and advance. Right now, it's house money IMO.

[actionjack]

Yeah, going into certain games, it's pretty clear you need a stellar offensive performance. IMO, this is one of them.

Play productive, efficient offense, get a turnover or two and hope the defense can hang in there.

I'm thrilled to death we are in the divisional round. Who had that on their bingo card during our bye week? Now let's see if they can come up with a winning effort and advance. Right now, it's house money IMO.

I think it will end being a low 20's scoring game, nothing crazy with sketchy weather. We do need to get a couple TO's to win (and not have any, looking at you Kyren). No jinx!