The Rams took the field for their first practice of Week 9 on Wednesday and they did so without a couple of starters – including Cooper Kupp. Kupp was held out of practice due to his ankle injury, which Sean McVay called “tissue swelling” earlier this week. McVay already said he expects Kupp to play against the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Brian Allen also has swelling in his knee so the Rams are being cautious, also listing him as a non-participant Wednesday. Van Jefferson, who returned from injury to make his season debut on Sunday, was limited to start the week.


Terrell Lewis also got a rest day, which is normal as the Rams continue to manage his workload.




I’m drawing attention to the recurring knee issues for Allen. I think at this point I hate not picking Humphrey more than not picking Bobby Wagner.

The emotion he shows about his grandfather here is something to witness.

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Rams roster and coaches have been exposed this season…​

First, let me stipulate that the OL injuries are the root of at least 90% of Rams woes on O. I seriously doubt that ANY other team could have survived them any better. Just catastrophic.

I will further stipulate that Morris has managed his own player injuries rather well. I hate watching his soft zone D but it was both pretty darned effective and appropriate while dealing with so many inexperienced rookies he was forced to start. I do have issues with his scheming vs the 49ers, though. But that’s for a different thread.

Here’s why I said Rams roster and coaches have been exposed.

These are things that have been creeping up and yet have been ignored while I hadn’t noticed. I was too busy enjoying that SB winning season. But our opponents have noticed them and are attacking our weaknesses relentlessly.

Rams OL, even when healthy, hasn’t been good at run blocking. This is not just a ‘22 problem. It’s been going on for years. Is McVay’s preferred zone blocking types still the best way to go? I haven’t seen a strong consistent run game since Gurley’s heyday. That’s way back in mid-2018. I think McVay might want to reconsider his OL draft profile strategy because recent results have sucked. They simply ain’t working, Sean. To the point that you now lack confidence in our running game and it shows in your play calling. Opponents have noticed, btw. And scheme accordingly to the point that they practically ignore our run threat. It’s a vicious circle.

Perhaps Rams OL is suffering from being on the back burner too much while McVay focuses too much on skill positions? Recent examples include the Atwell pick over Humphrey, declarations about bringing back OBJ, apparent interest in trading for Cooks. It smacks of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while Rams are struggling on OL and RB. OL should be officially Job One, Sean.

Which brings me to our pathetic RB situation. When was the last time you felt confident that Rams could run for a 1st on 3rd and short? Michel last year, maybe? Not to mention that our top 3 RB’s are notoriously unable to stay healthy. One RB, maybe. But all 3? There’s something else going on. McVay needs to self scout to determine whether he’s even seeking optimum effective RB’s with his current draft profiles. Rams have been hampered too long by too many RB’s to call themselves unlucky there. There’s something else going on that’s hurting our RB situation. Rams should leave no stone unturned in their RB examination.

Let’s talk TE. We currently have an inconsistent Higbee and a couple of nobodies. Is it coaching or is it drafting? Or both? I vote for both. And the maddening thing is that TE has been an orphan for years, too. SOMEONE should have noticed these trends at OL, RB, and TE and gotten into the ears of both Snead and McVay.

Now let’s talk Edge. It’s been a weakness opposite Floyd for years. Von Miller fixed that nicely last year but at a very high price for 6 months of work. Point being Rams have been deficient at edge for years. This is another core position and yet weakness there has been tolerated for far too long. Are Snead and his scouts incapable of finding just one quality Edge player? Or is the problem coaching? Including scheming those edge players. Maybe all 3 are at fault simultaneously?

Now I have a couple of coaching questions. Why is Evans starting on this crippled OL? Hell, why is he even on the roster? Insert either Skura or Brewer and bench Evans until Shelton returns. To do otherwise seems incompetent. Gawd!

Why is Rapp starting? Give Yeast a shot for crying out loud. Burgess. Or somebody off the street, dammit! Does Rapp have incriminating pictures of Morris? I’m only half joking. Starting Rapp is a self inflicted wound.

These are shortcomings of our current Rams that have been glaringly exposed already this season.

Yeah, I’m angry, frustrated, and upset. All the above are creeping problems that were never identified and addressed for several years. And now, even though we are defending SB champions, these things are killing us.

I’m sure I missed a few, but these are the ones off the top of my head this morning.

Thoughts?

MOD EDIT - THREAD TITLE CHANGE. These are Super Bowl winning coaches.

This guy has needed to go for a very long time. Should be a good move for the NFL, we never know who ends up as the next owner.

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It’s time to push back the trade deadline, again​

Ten years ago, the NFL moved the trade deadline from the Tuesday after Week Six to the Tuesday after Week Eight. Last year, the NFL expanded the season from 17 weeks to 18. Thus, it’s time to move the trade deadline again.

At a minimum, it should move to Week Nine. At most, it should go even deeper into the regular season.

Why prevent teams from doing arm’s-length transactions with an arbitrary deadline that comes before some potential sellers are ready to admit they need to sell? As more game are played and more teams lose, they possibly would be more willing to fold the tents and do a deal.

Why shouldn’t they be allowed to do it? What’s wrong with free enterprise? What’s the harm in allowing trades to happen deep into the regular season?

If a contender wants to sacrifice future assets in an eff-them-picks all-in play to capture a Super Bowl, so be it. If a bad team hopes to dangle a great player or two in exchange for draft selections that will help the bad team get better, why not let them? In a league premised on parity, nothing smoothes out competitive disparities more than letting the haves give up too much to get players they want from the have-nots.

Really, there’s no compelling argument against allowing trades to happen well after Week Eight other than “it’s always been this way.” It doesn’t have to be this way. There could be a better way, with more drama and intrigue flowing from a deadline that arrives when the line between contender and pretender is far brighter.

So move it back, NFL. Or give us a better reason than “it was like that when I got here.”

Personally, I think it is the OL. Just can’t believe Stafford and the RB’s are that bad this season! Love Snead but I do think he (They) passed on too many quality OL in recent drafts.

Not Complaining (They WON the Super Bowl last season!!!)! Just giving a very UNPROFESSIONAL Opinion!

So I took my daughter trick or treating and I took a pic before. Look at the dogs in the back WTF lol.

I know we are more than 1 trade away I hear all of you say that and to a degree I agree, but I saw several Rams players being interviewed in the locker room after the SF and it felt like a morgue. Everyone was super down. They needed a pick me up and a couple trades would give them hope.

To me making a trade or two shows the team we are not done via Les/McVay - it becomes psychological. Clearly I am not suggesting making a trade to appease the egos of the players I am sure there is a bunch of options that could have made sense. Tunsil/RB combo. Wynn/RB combo and a bunch of other draft options.

Last season vs this season:

Honestly we are only Whit and a huge rash of injuries away from the same team last year. Trading out Wagner for Von, trading Hill for DWill, trading Robinson for OBJ or Woods all are laterally moves. We have the same RBs as last year with more recouperating time for Akers so technically he should be stronger. Overall this team is essentially the same unfortunately Robinson is not killing it, there is no Whit replacement and Von gone is really highlighting a hole but remember last year we had a lot more sacks at this point including a better record by a mile.

The only NON replacement was Whit he wasn't replaced adequately even though Noteboom was supposed to be that guy. To early to tell on Jackson.

The injuries in the secondary and OL have been really troublesome, but we are almost back to full strength minus Fuller. We will hopefully get both Edwards/Shelton back by AZ (2 weeks from now) and we should be very healthy.

There is hope - the rest of the schedule outside of KC seems winnable. Time for the team to show us what they are made of.

Okay, I'll admit it... I wanted the Rams to make a trade.

I'm a sports fan. I like shiny new toys and the hope that they bring. I also like instant gratification, which a trade for an established player can provide.

But, in the end, you have to be smart about these things. I'm sure that, as much as the Rams tried, they didn't find a deal that made sense to them. Could they have offered more to get CMC or Brian Burns? I suppose. But there has to be a limit to what you spend - particularly in a season like this one, in which injuries have all but removed hopes of a championship run.

So, here's the bright side... draftniks still have second and third round picks to scout for! We can dream about OL, EDGE rushers and RBs on rookie contracts, making their mark in 2023.

I didn't really want a trade anyway. Really. I didn't. Trades suck.

(Anyone buying this?)

I have to believe that Bucs fans really hate us.

Look at the history.

All time, the Rams are 19-9 against the Bucs.
Since 2012, the Rams are 8-1 against the Bucs.
And, of course, the Rams are 3-0 against the Bucs in the playoffs, including two NFCCGs.

I have to admit... I kind of like the idea that they hate us and groan when they see us on the schedule.

Let's keep that domination going this Sunday!

Snead has been a hot interview over the years with his "F them Picks" strategy, but one thing he is quick to point out is that it is not done in a vacuum. He does not trade for talent with draft picks because it makes him feel good. It's a special sauce of FA pickups, trades with draft and player assets with compensation formula implications, etc.

One of the key things he's mentioned is that the draft positions were overvalued in his opinion. He has clearly taken advantage of that. But now that other teams are doing the exact same thing in this copycat league, my take is Snead will go the other way.

I don't expect any major moves for prime picks, but we'll see. But regardless, I actually would be happy to payroll Snead's entry into this poker tournament, because I think he's the shark at the table and will adjust depending on other GM's tells.

It’s probably not a coincidence that Greg Gaines had his best game of the season in Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers. After a terrific 2021 season in which he emerged as a key starter up front, posting just one game with a PFF grade above 64 and recording only four total pressures.

But against the 49ers, he recorded his first sack and QB hit of the season. Gaines revealed on Monday that his shoulder had been injured for the first six weeks of the season but he’s feeling good now after the Week 7 bye.



The Rams need Gaines to be the stout run defender and consistent pass rusher that he was last year, using his power to bull rush centers and guards into the laps of quarterbacks. Aaron Donald has done a nice job on the interior, of course, but the Rams need another source of pressure, and until Sunday, they hadn’t gotten that from anyone.

Hopefully Gaines can build on that performance and get back to the way he was playing last season.

Thursday, November 3, 2022

TNF
Philadelphia at Houston, 8:15 p.m.

Sunday, November 6, 2022

THE EARLY GAMES
Los Angeles Chargers at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Miami at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Green Bay at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Las Vegas at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at New England, 1 p.m.
Buffalo at New York Jets, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington, 1 p.m.

THE LATE GAMES
Seattle at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay, 4:25 p.m.

SNF
Tennessee at Kansas City, 8:20 p.m.

Monday, November 7, 2022

MNF
Baltimore at New Orleans, 8:15 p.m.

Byes: Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, New York Giants, Pittsburgh, San Francisco

Mainstay on the D-Line during my LA Rams formative years. Sad News.

Former Rams first round pick Mike Fanning passes away at 69​

Kenneth Arthur - 55m ago
ReactComments


Mike Fanning, the ninth overall pick of the 1975 NFL Draft, passed away on Sunday at age 69, according to his family. Fanning was a defensive tackle picked by the Los Angeles Rams with the ninth overall selection in 1975 out of Notre Dame, and he was credited with 35.5 sacks over eight seasons with the team, according to Pro-Football-Reference.

Former Rams first round pick Mike Fanning passes away at 69© Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
During Fanning’s eight years with the Rams, the franchise went to four NFC Championships and one Super Bowl, ranking top-five in defense every year from 1975 to 1978.

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Fanning was traded to the Lions in 1983.
Taken in the same draft class as Hall of Famers Randy White, Walter Payton, and Robert Brazile, Fanning held his own as anything but a bust, even if he didn’t reach the same status as those other players. At Notre Dame, he was teammates with the immortal Daniel Ruettiger, aka Rudy.
Fanning was most recently working in the University of Tulsa’s athletic department. In 2018, Fanning recalled his time on the Rams and friendship with teammate Fred Dryer and the changing attitude of team dynamics.

“He was such a great character,” Fanning says of Dryer. “We had a lot of characters on the team. Back then, you had guys stay together on the same team for eight or nine years. Now, everybody is leaving all the time through free agency.”

Click to expand...

A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Fanning was also a first team All-American and a leader on a national championship defense in 1973.

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I keep seeing posts stating he's hit the wall and he does look slow to me. What you guys think?

Sweet. Let's go Battlehawks!

Maybe you've seen this, but I watched this for the first time today and it sheds some light on the working relationship/dynamics of McVay and Shanahan based on those early years with the Redskins. It's like issues you've had with your brother/sister still surfacing decades later.

I no longer wonder why McVay soils his pants when they play each other. I hope he gets over it soon because I really don't want to count on our "We'll get them in playoffs" plan.

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Let's see here...

Brown was moved to TEs.
Robinson took over pass game coordinator duties.
Sample was hired for RBs.
Shula was moved to DBs and took over defensive pass game coordinator duties.
Beake was hired for ILBs.
Bogardus was moved to OLBs.

Not certain who is the Rams run game coordinator. I presume it is Brown but cannot recall if McVay has discussed this with the media and it is not listed on the Rams coaching page.

So starting with Brown the return has not been good. McVay has acted like he's sitting on a fucking diamond with Brown from day one. But is he. I am not so sure about that. Brown has been with us since 2020 and as RB coach he did not impress me. First off he allowed the team to continue on with the same shit in the backfield and if he was as good as everyone says why wouldn't there have been a goddamn addition who was worth a shit via the draft. You can find RBs all over in the draft. Then they move him to TE this year and we get into the season with the worst fucking TE group in recent memory which is really saying something, given the problems we've had at that position historically.

Also and btw it seems to me that at least with Wes Phillips as TE coach our guys were well prepared. Even the depth types called upon during the playoff run delivered. But now they unilaterally look like dog shit. Even Higs, who historically has hovered somewhere between solid and good, has looked like garbage.

Question I have is whether Brown is the Rams run game coordinator. And if he is maybe that's part of the problem. The dude seems to be in over his head, in terms of looking at the product he's fielding, and this is not a new thing.

Neither Robinson nor Sample seem to be particularly good at what they do either. Robinson in yesterday's game had a good plan put together but the moment SF started dialing up extra rushers the Rams offense was clueless. There were zero hot adjustments, Stafford just got sacked. Sample has overseen a RB group that looks like shit on the field and who reportedly had an explosion by Akers in a team meeting, which seems unlike the guy I thought he was. If we were talking about these guys as players they'd be looking positively JAG-like. I mean for all the shit I just gave Brown he at least never had a RB freak out over playing time, he managed that shit.

We are now the proud owners of the 23rd ranked defense in passer rating allowed. So not impressed by Shula so far in his new responsibilities. Somehow fielding two SS types at safety makes sense to him, and even worse is that Rapp is one of them and he's a guy who we've bitched about forever here. Scott pissed me off yesterday but I get giving him a shot, but we're a contender not a fucking development team so we need production.

Beake appears to be doing his job but the Rams are 13th in average yards per rush which seems on the low end given some of the pieces he has to work with. They have done well with missed tackle rate, though when they play the 9ers that seems to go out the window.

Bogardus hasn't done shit with the OLBs. Our crappy rotational types played better under Henderson last year. Floyd has not looked particularly good for some time so don't want to blame Thad with that but overall I am not happy with his unit even considering the quality problem at the top of the roster.