even as a Yankees fan I had much respect for Jerry as a broadcaster and as a person. Fought lung cancer 3 times...4th time was too much for him.

Several times in this broadcast, the announcers took the time to outright say that they expect both or coordinators to be solid HC candidates in the offseason.

Sorry, leave our guys alone.

Both Eric Bienemy and Byron Leftwich are EXCELLENT candidates and are way overdue for the opportunity.

I know the McVay coaching tree is small, but already one of the best ever at least in its early stages meaning that teams are gonna be looking at our guys extra closely, but damn...

In #50's first game (albeit against inferior opponent)
He lead the team in tackles with 9 (7 solo)
He had a 1/2 sack - 1 TFL - 1 pass defensed.
and an interception.

Many of us watched him in preseason and thought he should be able to break
the starting lineup early. It's a little later in the season, but he has made it.

I know he is going to make some mistakes along the way, but this kid is a high IQ
player who will learn quickly and to Quote a scouting report I read.
"All the kid does is make tackles"

IMHO He will grow into the most complete ILB the Rams have seen in a long while.

1. Well, that was easy.

2. Just as it was supposed to be.

3. Not too concerned about the fourth quarter "run" by the Texans, which was almost akin to a preseason game.

4. Still... not thrilled to see an onside kick succeed against us again.

5. Stafford with a 125+ passer rating. Yawn.

6. Cooper Kupp with 110+ receiving yards and another TD. Ho-hum.

7. Guess we're getting a bit spoiled by these guys.

8. I liked seeing Robert Woods back in the the running game. That's an aspect of the offense I'd like to see us utilize more.

9. Speaking of the running game, great job establishing the run early with Darrell Henderson. While I would have liked to have seen him get his 100 yards, I thought finishing with Sony Michel and Buddy Howell was the right call.

10. Great bomb to Van Jefferson, and a scare that made everyone think... should we find a way to keep DJax?

11. First 20 yard reception by a Rams rookie this year, and it wasn't by Tutu Atwell (who, hopefully, is okay). Isn't it Skowronek... don't you think. A little too Skowronek... yeah, I really do think.

12. Ernest Jones made the Rams look pretty smart today. In his first start: 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 0.5 sacks and an INT. Nice.

13. Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd back on pace for 10+ sacks this year.

14. Nobody will ever accuse Sean McVay of running up the score, it seems. Is that a good thing? Maybe 2 days before the trade deadline, its an important courtesy?

15. I mean... if the Texans want to give us Brandin Cooks for DJax... I'm okay with that!

16. With SJD out, I thought Greg Gaines and A'Shawn Robinson did a very good job (though the degree of difficulty was not all that high).

17. If you bet on the Rams and gave the points, were you nervous at the end?

18. 7-1. Let that sink in.

19. Oh, yeah... Tyler Higbee got the TE yardage record!

20. Now the fun begins. Trade deadline is Tuesday!

Yeah it's early but damn the torpedoes. We got some celebratin' to do...

When Mundt went down I figured we’d finally get to see Hopkins but I figured hey, let’s not jump to any conclusions when he wasn’t up, but now Blanton has apparently leapfrogged onto the 53 in front of Hopkins and don’t appear to be too many ways to spin it.

Game Day Thread

The GDT is a live thread tradition here at ROD.

While we all get fired up watching the game, please remember our core principles;we always show respect for our team and each other.

Despite the emotional highs and lows watching a game, we will moderate this thread with that in mind, however please refrain from name calling. This applies to players, the Rams organization, and others.

This is the core rule of the GDT. Moderators are tasked to issue thread bans, at a minimum, to maintain this standard.

This is our team. Win or lose. Good days and bad. We are here for FUN, not to be dragged down.

A more loosely moderated atmosphere can be found in the chat room.

Go Rams!

———

ROD Chat Room;

Game Day Room

Sunday Night Football: Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings​

If the 2021 NFL season ended today, before the teams meet on "Sunday Night Football," both the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings would make the playoffs. For the Cowboys, of course, that's not a surprise. Most are familiar with their return to prominence, a high-flying offense led by Dak Prescott's MVP-level play and a defense electrified by a Deion Sanders-wannabe, Trevon Diggs.

What you might not be familiar with is the Vikings' climb back to respectability after a hard-luck start. Their first two games were painful losses, a fumble in overtime coughed up to the Bengals followed by a missed field goal at the end of regulation against the Cardinals. They've lost their three games by a total of 11 points, all of them to teams currently in playoff position themselves.

Does that leave enough momentum for them to pounce against the Cowboys at home, especially with Prescott at less than 100 percent? Or is that giving too much credit to a Minnesota team whose three wins have come against teams with a combined record of 5-16?

The Cowboys hold a 17-15 all-time lead over the Vikings, with that narrow edge coming from Dallas' 3-1 record over the past 10 years. America's Team has even won two straight in Minnesota, including last year's 31-28 win in November.

Sunday Night Football: Dallas (5-1) at Minnesota (3-3)

Kickoff: Sunday, Oct. 31 at 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Spread: Vikings -3

Three Things to Watch

1. Will Dak Prescott play?

That's been the question surrounding the Cowboys for nearly two weeks since Prescott injured his calf on the final play of an overtime win against the Patriots. The quarterback emerged from the game in a walking boot, said it "came down funny" and has been the source of injury speculation ever since.

Even with the bye week, it's clear Prescott is not fully healed. Limited in practice all week, he's officially listed as questionable as both team and player believe the calf strain is connected to his devastating ankle injury last year.

Claiming he "pushed it" in practice, Prescott said if the decision was up to him, he'd play. But with a 3.5-game lead already in a depleted NFC East, there's a legitimate concern for the Cowboys that the risk outweighs the reward.

"It's not fully my decision because there is a bigger picture," he said to reporters this week. "It's more than just one game. … I don't know if it's just my decision."

Sound familiar? We were hearing these bites from Baker Mayfield before last Thursday night's game against the Denver Broncos. Mayfield, suffering from a torn labrum, wound up sitting out the game despite desperately wanting to play.

If Prescott can't go, the task falls to Cooper Rush, an undrafted fifth-year pro out of Central Michigan with three career NFL passes to his name. That changes the dynamic of the Cowboys' top-ranked offense and brings back past nightmares of life without Prescott: the team went 4-7 after he got hurt in 2020. Even with the weapons they have, from rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to emerging running back threat Tony Pollard, you can't run this well-oiled machine of an offense if an unproven quarterback can't keep pace.

For what it's worth, running back Ezekiel Elliott gave a public vote of confidence to his backup quarterback Thursday. But the offense without Prescott is a giant unknown, allowing the Vikings to focus heavily on shutting down Dallas' two-pronged rushing attack. Even with a 26th-ranked rushing defense, Prescott being questionable has the Vikings favored in a game in which they should be heavy underdogs.

2. Can the Vikings' offense keep clicking?

Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Adam Thielen, and running back Dalvin Cook all had season-best games against the Panthers in Week 6. Cousins threw for a season-high 373 yards with three touchdowns and didn't have an interception or take a sack. Thielen, who had a sluggish start this year, caught 11 balls for 126 yards and a touchdown despite being bothered with a foot injury.

But it's Cook who changes the dynamic of this offense. His 140 rushing yards on a whopping 29 carries gave the Vikings a season-high 37:38 time of possession in their 34-28 overtime in Carolina. After hobbling with a bad ankle early in the year, the Week 7 bye allowed Cook to heal up. He wasn't even on the injury report heading into this weekend's matchup. Backup Alexander Mattison also appears to be in better shape as well after dealing with a bum shoulder.

That's important because this Minnesota offense is dynamic when everyone's healthy. Quietly, the Vikings sit fifth in the league in total yards, top 10 in both rushing and passing offense while committing just five turnovers in six games. Cousins has kept this team on track early on, preventing panic after some early losses and this veteran squad is reaping the rewards. Diggs, battling an ankle injury, will be hard-pressed to add to his league-leading seven interceptions.

3. Who's shaky kicking problems are fixed?

Here's the biggest asterisk in a game that should be an offensive explosion. Kicker Greg Joseph, out of the league in 2020, has had a shaky return after winning the starting job with the Vikings. Besides the missed field goal at the end of the Cardinals game, he botched an extra point that could have sent it to overtime.

Against Detroit two weeks ago, Joseph needed redemption after missing a 49-yard field goal with 3:22 left in the game. In the past two weeks alone, he's had three misses and remains a wild card with limited experience.

Veteran Greg Zuerlein should be running circles around Joseph, but he, too, has had his share of troubles in a tough year for kickers. His two missed field goals were the difference in the season opener against the Buccaneers; he missed a third against the Patriots that would have given the Cowboys a fourth-quarter lead.

It's a weak point for two teams that shine on offense. Joseph, especially, can't be trusted yet with the game on the line.

Final Analysis

It's a hard game to handicap with so much riding on whether Prescott plays and, if so, how effective he'll be under center. The recipe is there for a Minnesota upset that puts the Vikings back on the map in the NFC, eking ahead of other teams vying for that final wild-card slot.

But the Cowboys have a different feel around them this year. Even if Rush fills in at QB, there are enough offensive pieces here for them to outslug their hosts on Sunday night.

Prediction: Cowboys 31, Vikings 28

Sunday, Oct. 31

LATE GAMES
New England Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 pm (CBS)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 pm (CBS)
Washington Football Team at Denver Broncos, 4:25 pm (FOX)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints, 4:25 pm (FOX)

EARLY GAMES
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons, 1 pm (FOX)
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, 1 pm (CBS)
San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears, 1 pm (FOX)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, 1 pm (CBS)
Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions, 1 pm (FOX)
Los Angeles Rams at Houston Texans, 1 pm (FOX)
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, 1 pm (CBS)
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets, 1 pm (CBS)

SNF
Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings, 8:20 pm(NBC)

Monday, Nov. 1
New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 pm (ESPN)

---

Thursday, Oct. 28

ALREADY PLAYED
Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals, 8:20 pm (FOX, NFL Network, Amazon)

Sunday, Oct. 31

EARLY GAMES
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons, 1 pm (FOX)
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, 1 pm (CBS)
San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears, 1 pm (FOX)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns, 1 pm (CBS)
Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions, 1 pm (FOX)
Los Angeles Rams at Houston Texans, 1 pm (FOX)
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts, 1 pm (CBS)
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets, 1 pm (CBS)

LATE GAMES
New England Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 pm (CBS)
Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 pm (CBS)
Washington Football Team at Denver Broncos, 4:25 pm (FOX)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints, 4:25 pm (FOX)

SNF
Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings, 8:20 pm(NBC)

Monday, Nov. 1
New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 pm (ESPN)

---

Thursday, Oct. 28

ALREADY PLAYED
Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals, 8:20 pm (FOX, NFL Network, Amazon)

1) Dominant Wins: Right now, there is an unwritten rule that teams should not run up the score on opponents. It’s seen as unprofessional and also against the professional coaches code… My proposal would be that if a team goes up by 50 points, the game ends with a Dominant Win. Why? Well, far too often, as we’ve seen this year, teams will sit their star players if they go up big because HCs don’t want to violate these unwritten rules of coach conduct. However, Dominant Wins (and losses) would mean something for tie breaking purposes. As well, due to less playing time, teams could earn rest that would benefit their season.

a) Dominant wins (and losses) would rank ahead of Strength of Victory with respect to tiebreakers, thus creating a structural impetus to score more points.

Ex: Say the Rams have 2 Dominant Wins and the Packers have 1. All other things being equal, the Rams would win the tiebreaker on the basis of Dominant Wins.

b) Dominant wins (and losses) would work in reverse for draft rankings.

Ex: Say the Rams have 2 Dominant Wins and the Bucs have 3 Dominant Wins and 1Dominant Loss. They would be tied based on the Dominant Wins metric and draft status would be determined by subsequent tiebreakers.

Why? Well, it stops games from becoming that “waiting game” where the dominant team just runs and plays D and the game just grinds to a halt. They switch away from those game to “competitive games”, so why not just give each team a reason to be competitive. As of right now, there’s no benefit for scoring more. This creates more reason to continue playing one’s best with one’s best players. Or… a HC could choose to grind it out for the reps of depth players. But that’s a choice, just like going for 1 or 2 after a TD, whether to kick it deep or onsides or squib kick it on a kick off or going for it on 4th down versus punting the ball away.


Also, both Vegas and Fantasy players would love it because star players would keep racking up stats and there’d be another thing to bet on (will the Rams get a Dominant Win at Houston? Knowing McVay, I wonder what the odds would be. Either way, it’s another thing to bet on.)

2) Simplify the Practice Squad rules to allow greater fluidity between the PS and the Active Roster.

Why? This meta game only complicates the job for HCs and doesn’t help the product on the field, but it can and has hurt the product. Just simplify the rules so that teams can focus more on the play on the field and less about the PS.

3) Remove the QB from the Cap with negotiated adjustments to the overall cap. Create a tiered pay system for QBs. 4 Tiers should be enough… 1) Franchise QB, 2) Game manager QB, 3) Journeyman/backup QB, 4) Rookie QB. This way, there is more focus on team stability and building versus FA movement for no reason beyond QB salaries being a huge impediment to that stability and building.

These are just a few thoughts. I purposefully avoided any changes to referees b/c my bp is kinda high rn and I’m not trying to get myself all riled up.

Hope this sparks some fun conversation. Enjoy.

Rams vs the Giants, Lions & Texans: No clarity

For myself, I can't get a pulse on the Rams vs these 3 teams.

They smoked the hapless Giants. Big deal

They had their issues vs the Lions. But they pulled out the win as expected

If they win by a blow out or a close game against the Texans Sunday, it won't reveal anything to me about how good they are.

I need to see how they perform vs the Titans, at the 49ers and at the Packers the next 3 games before I can get real pulse about our Rams.

Expecting a double digit win Sunday but not holding my breath after the drama week they've had since the victory over the Lions.

The Rams must be very impressed with Ernest Jones to trade Kenny Young! I am very excited about seeing him play this Sunday (Could be a Real Spark for the Rams Defense!)!

Assuming one trade is in the works before November 2nd deadline.

St. Louis is going to win this case. Its just a matter of how much money it is going to cost the Kroenke and the league. It would be hilarious if it was enough for St. Louis to build a new stadium.

The NFL could throw in an expansion team. But I'm guessing there would be a few existing teams willing to move into a shiny new building.

During the last 3 plays of the game, on that tackle from behind, Murray got hurt right? Looked like either a Toe, Ankle or Knee.
I feel like some news will come out that he has a little something going on.
Although he IS the kind of person to limp around and fake like he's hurt just for attention and for people to say "man he's a warrior playing hurt and all."

Do you all realize we are one Murray injury away from easily winning our division!!!! ????? (wink wink)

This is from the Monday Night Football Hawks/Saints game

NFL seeing an almost unprecedented number of blowouts​

A nearly unprecedented number of NFL games this season have not even been competitive.

The 2021 season has already had 21 games decided by 21 or more points. According to the Associated Press, that’s the second-most through seven weeks since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

This past Sunday was particularly ugly: Six games were decided by 22 points or more. It was only the third time in the last 100 years that the NFL saw six blowouts of 22 points or more in one day.

The NFL has been promoting the large number of overtime games and fourth-quarter comebacks, and there have been a lot of those exciting endings. But there have also been a lot of games that made fans turn off the game early.

A handful of dominant teams are winning a lot of blowouts: The Cardinals, Buccaneers and Bills have each won three games by 21 points or more, while the Bengals have won two.

Meanwhile, a few very bad teams are losing more than their share of blowouts: The Texans have already suffered three 21-point blowout losses while the Falcons, Dolphins, Giants and Jets have had two each.

One piece of good news for the NFL is that all 21 of the 21-point blowouts has been a Sunday afternoon game, meaning the networks can switch some markets to a closer game, and fans with Sunday Ticket or Red Zone can change the channel and see more competitive football. No prime time Sunday night, Monday night or Thursday night game has been decided by 21 points or more.

But the high rate of blowouts is not a good thing for the league. Competitive games are a better product, and the NFL has had plenty of games that are getting out of hand.

Credit

Shopping lists need to be made! What are your FOOD plans this week?

I am looking for ideas!

Sorry this picture is too funny by itself to not have some captions lol.,

NFL.com has an article about the NFL's top 10 QB-WR combos, and Stafford is 2 of the top 10. Gotta love it.


https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-s-top-...-in-2021-joe-burrow-and-ja-marr-chase-fueling

It's going to be halloween soon. I always hated halloween parties, especially if you have to dress up. I am an adult. However, the wife and I like to watch scary movies up until and during halloween night.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Am7i7uM9r0


The above movie, Mama, is a must see if you like a good scary movie with a decent plot. Anybody else have a favorite scary movie?