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NFC playoffs in Rams hands

At 6-2, the Rams appear to be one of the top teams in the NFL at this point. However, the schedule is much harder for the second half of the season.

The Rams have the NFC playoff picture within their control as they play every NFC division leader outside themselves before the regular season concludes. If the playoffs started today, the Eagles (8-1), the Saints (6-2), the Vikings (6-2), and the Seahawks (5-3) would all be post-season bound in the NFC. Coincidentally, the Titans (5-3) would also make it in the AFC as the 4th seed.

All these teams are slated to play the Rams in the coming weeks. This indicates that the Rams will not only be controlling their own destiny but the partial fate of 5 other contenders as well.

If the Rams make the playoffs this season, these are likely the same teams they will face so these games will be particularly telling. Can we keep it going?

New York Times: How the Rams Went From Laughingstock to Contenders

How the Rams Went From Laughingstock to Contenders


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Jared Goff during the Rams’ win over the Giants on Sunday. He has thrown 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions this year.CreditJulio Cortez/Associated Press

Every year, aspiring actors head to Hollywood in hopes of remaking themselves as movie stars.

The Los Angeles Rams are doing their own version of that transformation. In less than a year, they have gone from being a laughingstock to a playoff contender. In their return to Los Angeles last season, they were the lowest-scoring team in the N.F.L. Now they are the highest-scoring team, with a good shot at winning their division.

That turnaround was underscored on Sunday, when the Rams throttled the Giants, 51-17, in New Jersey. Through eight games the Rams are 6-2 and in first place in the N.F.C. West. It’s the Rams’ best start since 2001, when they went 14-2 and made it to the Super Bowl.

Before Sunday, the Rams trailed only the Houston Texans in scoring. But after dominating the Giants, the Rams are now scoring 32.9 points a game, while the Texans, who lost to the Indianapolis Colts in their first game without the injured quarterback Deshaun Watson, fell to 28.6 points a game.

“There were a lot of great individual efforts; the offensive line continues to protect well,” Coach Sean McVay said. “We’re eager to see if we can continue to play good football.”

At this time last year, the Rams were a modest 3-5 but lost all but one of their remaining seven games to finish 4-12. Naysayers began to ask whether the N.F.L. owners had made a mistake in letting the Rams leave St. Louis and return to Southern California, where they had played until 1994.

Although questions remain about how much fans in Los Angeles will embrace the Rams — they are ranked 27th in attendance this season — it’s clear the team has found a way to recreate itself on the field.

One of the keys was changing coaches. After firing Jeff Fisher, who came with the team from St. Louis, the Rams ripped up the playbook and hired McVay, who was then Washington’s offensive coordinator. At 31, he is the youngest head coach in N.F.L. history.

Another key has been quarterback Jared Goff. Last year, the Rams made a splash by trading six draft picks to acquire the first choice, which they used to select Goff. New to the league, he struggled and lost all seven games that he started.

In the off-season, the Rams added players to help Goff. They signed center John Sullivan and left tackle Andrew Whitworth to bolster the offensive line, and acquired receivers Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods. The Rams made the most of their limited draft picks by taking tight end Gerald Everett from South Alabama in the second round and wide receiver Cooper Kupp from Eastern Washington in the third round.

(On Sunday, Woods had two touchdown catches. For the season, Everett has eight receptions and one touchdown, while Kupp has 26 receptions and three scores.)

A stronger offensive line and extra receivers have helped Goff. He has been sacked 10 times this season; in seven games last season, he was sacked 26 times.

With more time to throw, Goff has more touchdown passes and fewer interceptions this season. He has thrown for 13 touchdowns (including four on Sunday) and four interceptions, compared with five scores and seven interceptions last season. His adjusted yards per attempt (which accounts for the impact of interceptions) rose to 7.7 from 4.3 last season.

Goff and the Rams have also benefited from Todd Gurley, a first-round pick in 2015 who has rebounded after a lackluster 2016. He has seven rushing touchdowns in eight starts after having six in 16 starts last season. He is averaging 4.3 yards a carry after averaging 3.2 (and the proverbial cloud of dust) in 2016. He has also caught three touchdown passes this season.

For all their success, the Rams have a lot of work to do secure a playoff spot. They face the Texans at home next week, and must face Philadelphia, New Orleans, Tennessee and Minnesota — all division leaders. They also must play their division rivals Seattle and Arizona on the road.

Still, considering where they were last season, the Rams seem comfortable with their newfound fortune.

“We have to keep doing what we’re doing and not take our foot off the gas pedal,” Goff said after Sunday’s game.

[www.nytimes.com]

Holding calls in the NFL

Has anyone else noticed this.. especially in the last few years...

In many of the games I watch I see just ridiculous holding calls against teams. That is such a huge/drive killing penalty - it really needs to be clear cut to be called. I've noticed it in the NCAA also, but more glaringly in the NFL.

My favorite is where the defender falls to the ground and the Ol man topples over him... I've can think of 4-5 of those in the past couple weeks I've seen.

I also saw a block in the back called in the game after the runner had ran out of bounds and the defender spun around.

If I really wanted to look at the tap I'm guessing about 2/3 of the holding calls I see called are outright bad calls.

It destroys the flow of the game.

Bonsignore: Rams are making believers of us all

Bonsignore: Rams are making believers of us all

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Los Angeles Rams’ Sammy Watkins runs from New York Giants’ Landon Collins for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL game Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

By VINCENT BONSIGNORE | vbonsignore@scng.com | Daily News
PUBLISHED: November 5, 2017 at 6:30 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2017 at 7:29 pm

EAST RUTHERFORD N.J. – In an utterly ironic Rams season — the worst offensive team we’ve seen in years is now one of the best, a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season in 13 years now stands among the NFL’s elite, and the boring, mundane product they’ve typically produced is suddenly and undeniably must-see TV — it’s only appropriate the early knockout punch they delivered to the New York Giants on Sunday was dripping with irony.

It’s been that kind of season for the Rams.

And they are making believers of us all. Even if they sometimes can’t themselves.



Such was the case on Sunday when Jared Goff lofted a high, arching pass downfield toward Sammy Watkins, only to instinctively grimace believing he put too much air under it.

“Right away I thought that might be too much,” he’d say later.

Watkins, running as fast as he could while tracking the ball, had little faith he’d arrive in time to make the catch.

“I didn’t know I would get there,” he admitted.

And after months and months of practice trying to finally hook up on a long pass, wouldn’t you know it, the play and route and throw unfolding in front of 76,877 fans at wet, cold MetLife Stadium represented the first time the Goff and Watkins had actually worked on it together.

“That was the first time he’s ever ran that route,” Goff explained.

Yet, much like the magical Rams season playing out before our very eyes — the one turning a previously 90-pound weakling into the NFL’s version of the Hulk while going coast to coast to convert skeptics into believers, just as the ball majestically descended from the gray skies above Watkins stretched his arms out as far as he could.

And into his hands the football softly settled.

Watkins, still in full stride, burst past the remaining Giants defenders on his way to a 67-yard touchdown to put the Rams up by 17 points. They’d eventually pummel the Giants 51-17 for their third straight win.

“It felt great,” Watkins said of the long touchdown.

It wasn’t supposed to happen, yet it did.

The Rams aren’t supposed to be 6-2, yet they are.

They aren’t supposed to be in first place, yet that’s exactly where they sit.

It was expected to take Sean McVay years to breathe life into a Rams offense that barely averaged 14 points per game last year, if he did it at all.

Yet with the calendar flipping from October to November the Rams are averaging 32.9 points per game, easily the best in the NFL

What isn’t supposed to be actually is. Decisively so.

How’s that for irony.

And here’s the thing: Just as the ball fell from the sky organically and naturally into Watkins hands – as if it was meant to be – there is nothing about the Rams right now that seems distorted or fictitious or false.

It’s real. It feels right.

And as each week passes and another powerful statement gets delivered, the Rams record, their place in the NFL and the brightness of their future is becoming as believable as it is apparent.

Even if the most ardent of skeptics continues to worry about the other shoe falling.

As many did when the Rams first embarked on their month long odyssey away from Los Angeles after the gut-punch loss to the Seahawks in early October.

Here we go again, some thought.

They’ll wilt in the heat and humidity of Jacksonville, they warned. They’ll fall victim to the time difference and ordeal of traveling to London to play the Cardinals, some cautioned a week later.

The rust of the bye week, the cross-country travel to New Jersey and the trap being set by the lowly Giants will certainly get them, others worried this week.

“We’ve struggled so much in the past so it’s hard to go all in on us week to week,” veteran guard Rodger Saffold said. The skepticism is understandable as a result.

Albeit waning by the minute after they aced their month-long test with a cumulative score of 111-34 while dominating the Jaguars, Cardinals and Giants.

Three up, three down. And they barely broke a sweat in the process.

Goff threw for a career-high four touchdowns while completing 14 of 22 passes for 311 yards. His passer rating was 146.8, the ninth highest for a single game in franchise history.

Robert Woods scored his first two touchdowns of the season and caught four passes for 70 yards.

The offense scored on eight of their first nine possessions. They scored 40 points for the second time this season.

Keep in mind they didn’t score 40 points in a game in the past two seasons combined.

The defense forced three turnovers, leading to 17 points. Special teams blocked their second punt in three games.

On and on it goes. And the Rams keep getting better and better. Something special is going on here, folks.

As for that other shoe? It high-stepped it out of town.

Maybe it’s time we all recognized.

“The more we win these games the more people are going to believe this is a true and competitive football team that’s going to put us in position to be a top team in this league.” Saffold said.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve seen enough.

I’m all in.

Talk about irony.

[www.ocregister.com]

NFL Prime

Deion, Ladanian, and the host discussing the best teams in the NFC. Their top four that was bandied about, in no specific order were Dallas, Philly, Atlanta, and New Orleans.

WTF, Atlanta? Dallas?, but no mention of the Rams who put 51 on the Giants, and, if you don't count the backups against NY, have only allowed 10 points in the last two games? All while having the most miles logged in the league?

Should the Rams re-sign Watkins?

Forget about the win and playoffs for a moment. McVay is a beast and has turned this franchise around, we all know.

But man, when Watkins has the ball in his hands, he’s electric after the catch. That play against the 49ers where he caught the ball at around the 10 and stretched out over the goal line after getting mauled by 2 defenders is a perfect example of what I mean. I haven’t seen an effort like that in a long ass time. Not to mention he’s one of the best deep threats in the game. Watkins is such a talented player that I would love for the Rams to resign him.

He hasn’t gotten hurt so far besides 1 minor concussion on that play, and I think we all understand why he says he wants to be targeted more...because he has as much talent as anyone on the team, if not more. He isn’t a selfish piece of shit like Dez, he’s just expressing what most of us think.

And McVay’s system is working by spreading the ball out to everyone. That’s the way he runs things and I’m fine with it. But part of me says if we signed Watkins we would slowly become a bigger part of the offense and the Rams could potentially have the best WR group overall in the NFL.

And for the record, I think the Rams will be fine without resigning Watkins. I just think if Watkins and McVay talk things over about each individual player’s role, Watkins would add a ton to this offense if he and McVay see the same things.

  • Poll Poll
Zuerlein On Pace To Shatter Records (With Poll)

Will Greg Zuerlein Break The NFL Record For Scoring This Year?

  • Yes! He will excede the 186 pts established by LaDainian Tomlinson

    Votes: 26 27.7%
  • Yes, he will break the record of 164 for kickers, but not the overall record of 186.

    Votes: 53 56.4%
  • No. He will tail off, and end up around 150ish

    Votes: 6 6.4%
  • No. The Rams score only TDs and go for 2, from here forward.

    Votes: 9 9.6%

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I was going to post this on the other scoring thread, but decided Greg the Leg deserved his own post, because his scoring pace is even more impressive than that of the overall offense. Through half the season, Greg Zuerlein now has 99 points scored, with a perfect 27/27 PATs and 24/25 FGs in 8 games. He is on pace to score 198 points this year.

Just for some perspective, Jeff Wilkins holds the Rams record for points scored by a kicker, surprisingly from the 2003 season, with 163 points. The NFL record for kickers is only one point more, with Gary Anderson, from the incredible offense of the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, logging 164 points. The NFL record for overall scoring is 186 points, (31 TDs) by LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego in 2006. Zuerlein is actually on pace to break both Records.

Let me further extrapolate. At 12.4 pts per game, Zuerlein would have to drop off to 8pts per game the rest of the way out in order to NOT break the record for kickers, and drop off to under 11ppg. in order to not break the all-time record.

The Rams do face tough defenses in Seattle, Minnesota, Philly and Houston down the stretch, but the Rams have built this offensive record in the front half of the season facing Seattle, Jacksonville and Washington, among others.

I believe Legatron will break the Rams record established by Wilkins, and the NFL record for kickers, but have a tough time beating LT's 186. What do you all think?

Rams open -11 against Texans

Wow ... that's nuts, with or without Watson.

But, think about it this way ...

We didn't run the ball well against the Giants.
We didn't place great run defense against the Giants.
We didn't rush the passer very well against the Giants.

And we still won 51-17.

This team is scary. Going to put another beating on the Texans next week, it's going to be ugly.

Here’s the biggest reason that Ram fans should be happy at the midpoint...

The Rams have strung together back to back complete games.

They simply humiliated the Cards and now the Giants in all 3 phases of the game.

When one can crush the opponent simultaneously with the O, the D, AND the ST units, well...

I’d say that it is impossible to overstate the importance of the above, frankly. I had thought that it would take at least another year for all the moving parts to gel in order for the Rams to get to this point.

That’s not only impressive, but it bodes VERY well for the second half of the season.

Gone are the days of fluke breaks, lucky bounces, trick plays, and ref calls that enabled the Rams to steal a victory here and there. Oh, no. Now they are executing in all phases as if they were a 5 year Dynasty, for cryin’ out loud!

Check out these numbers, if you have time. [www.nfl.com]

This team is legit. Not saying they’re gonna win their remaining games by blowouts, of course. But I am saying that they are gonna be extremely competitive and will seldom be outcoached.

These are Good Times to be a Ram fan. This season has already been a great ride, and I think it’s only gonna get better.

SNF: Raiders@Dolphins

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article182804766.html

The Dolphins are back on national television against the Raiders. Five things to watch
BY ARMANDO SALGUERO


1. Jay Cutler returns to the starting lineup for the Miami Dolphins Sunday night and that must mean his two cracked ribs are fully healed and he’s ready to go, right? No. It means Cutler, who wanted to return to the game in which he got hurt and wanted to play last week at Baltimore, is either very courageous or dumb.

Whichever it is, he’s not healed. Cutler, who says, he feels, “not great, not bad,” has been told by the doctors the risk of causing a greater injury if he takes another hit are not immense. But it would be very painful. He’s going to be managing pain all game long and that calls into question how well he’s going to play.

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CHARLES TRAINOR JR

2. The Dolphins running back rotation should be interesting. Coach Adam Gase evaded all attempts to say which player -- Damien Williams or Kenyan Drake -- will start against the Raiders now that Jay Ajayi has been traded. Here’s a secret: It does not matter. The starter is in the game for the first play. That’s all that means. It does not determine who the successor to Ajayi will be.

That will be determined during the game and going forward, depending on how Drake and Williams play. The hot back will get more carries. Eventually, if one separates from the other, that guy will be the bell cow running back — or as close to it as the Dolphins can get at this stage.

oak

Adrian Kraus AP

3. The Raiders can present the Dolphins cornerbacks with significant issues. Since youngsters Cordrea Tankersley and Xavien Howard became the team’s starting corner duo they have not faced a team with two quality receivers such as Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Both are big.

Both have been able to get deep this year, even though Cooper is faster and Crabtree is considered more a possession receiver. Crabtree has been the more dangerous receiver in the red zone. So how do the Dolphins address this when rolling coverages to one side of the field might not necessarily work?

4. This game will determine which of these two teams is, well, more disappointing. The Raiders are 3-5 and a loss might put knock them out of the playoff picture for a while. That’s a surprise because the team was supposed to be the class of the AFC West, according to some “experts” and, well, the Raiders themselves. The Raiders had a three-game losing skid this year.

They’ve lost four of the last five games. This from a team that was 12-4 last season. The Dolphins, meanwhile, are hoping to fix and offense that is dead last in the NFL in multiple categories, including the all important points. The team made the playoffs in 2016. It will be difficult to do so again without scoring enough points.

5. Hey, Sean Smith will be back in town. The Raiders will be without the services of three, count ‘em, three cornerbacks this game. Starter Dave Amerson is out. Backups Gareon Conley and Demetrius McCray are out. That will likely force Smith, a former Dolphins draft pick who left via free agency in 2013, to be available and possibly even play.

He has not played since getting burned by Mike Wallace on a 55-yard bomb the first play of the game in a 30-17 loss to the Ravens. But times are tough for the Raiders so maybe Smith gets another chance. At least the scenery will be familiar.

Goff is a legit star QB

Game 15 that he has played and look what he just did.

Yeah it's the Giants and they suck. But the Rams offense just fucking wiped the Giants out.

This is a burgeoning force.

Goff's foot work and his look around the field is great.

We have a bit to celebrate here as fans............this is real, it's not an illusion, it's not the result of playing bad teams every week.

This team is besting it's equals and crushing lesser teams. The only bad loss was a close game they almost won after turning it over 5 times.

The balance has shifted.........the three teams that spent on the OL and invested in the draft and went after a QB are on top of the NFC. And then there is MINN. And they are NOT to be taken lightly. They may be the end game in the playoffs.

Right now this is a 4 team equation in this confernce.

RON had a RECAP RANT after Giants v Rams

Here's the original "prediction, where Ron predicted a Rams loss to the gmen, and talked badly about our team...I enjoyed hammering him on YouTube. Now he has a response, which is hilarious.....Below are both if care to see them..
Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8LpVnrZSVw

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zIhQAm-31g

National Love Your Red Hair Day

https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/redhead-myths-national-love-your-red-hair-day

Debunking these redhead myths in honor of National Love Your Red Hair Day
Samantha Priestley

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Stephanie and Adrienne Vendetti, co-founders of “ How to be a Redhead” and authors of the “How to be a Redhead Beauty Book."
Image: How to be a Redhead/Facebook.

The five supernatural myths surrounding redheads
Most redheads will have to put up with teasing at some point in their lives. Some will suffer from bullying due to their beautiful blazing hair, but how about being persecuted because you’re thought to be a ‘supernatural being’?

The idea that redheads are vampires, have no soul, and practice witchcraft are only used as jokes today (thankfully), but once these things were believed to be true and treated very seriously.

Redhead myth #1: The Ancient Greeks were positive redheads became vampires when they died

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Pinterest


They burned their bodies to stop them from rising from the grave. We can only imagine the fear and hysteria surrounding redheads at the time. It couldn’t have been much fun to be ginger.. and Greek.

Redhead myth #2: Many European countries accused redheads of being witches

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Image: iStock

…and a red haired woman would be the first in the community to be suspected and tried for witchcraft. It’s hard to imagine what that must have been like. There’s not much we can do about our hair color, but redheads were marked women from birth.

Redhead myth #3: Many thought Judas was a redhead

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We Heart It

Interestingly, #1 and #2 are both tied to this idea. It might sound ludicrous now, but reports that the man who supposedly betrayed Jesus was a redhead was passed down through the years. Many people became suspicious of redheads.There’s even a story that Judas was the original vampire.

Redhead myth #4: Times have changed, but we are still teased due to being ‘vampire-like’

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Imgur

We’re no longer drowned as witches or burned, but a general suspicion of our pale skin and unusual hair remains. We are still teased and still joked about as being supernatural.. or able to curse and cast spells.

Redhead myth #5: Do we mind? No!

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Pinterest

I think, actually, most of us like it. Not to take away from the way our redhead ancestors certainly suffered, but history has proven how different we are. How unusual we are. How powerful we are!

The minority are always treated with suspicion. And in most places in the world, redheads are the minority. And, that’s why we were considered witches and vampires in the first place.

We’ve weathered centuries of accusations and injustices, and we’ve come out of it more confident, more self-assured, and more unstoppable!

Can We Start Talking Playoffs?

The season is half over and the Rams lead the NFC West with a 6-2 record. they lead the league in points scored. No signiifigant injuries. But the single biggest indication the Rams are for real and ready to make a playoff run is they are 5-0 on the road. You have to win on the road when you make the playoffs.

6 wins with 8 games to go. Next up Texans at home without Watkins. His replacement, Ted Savage went 19 of 44 and the Texans lost to Indy, a team the Rams handled easily. 49ers and Cardinals should be wins. That gives the Rams 9 and at least a wildcard.

Rams have let me down so many times its hard to be hopeful. But this team is playoff caliber. Playing good football in all three phases of the game.

Its time to start talking playoffs!!

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