This is so horrible how do you even put it in words.

One of the people interviewed said the shooting went on for about 10 minutes, can you imagine.......holy shit.

I saw a photo/map of the hotel and the area where the concert was and it was a clear line of sight for this psychopath with nowhere for people to hide.

58 dead and over 500 injured.

What a terrible, terrible tragedy.

It was a hell of a first quarter - and the Rams bandwagon is-a-growing. There is still plenty of room on board and we lifers should welcome new fans with open arms - encourage them to buy tickets and teach them when to be loud and when not to. But anyway - lets look ahead to Q2.

Vs Sea
@ Jax
vs Az
@ NYG

Not to start counting chickens or anything, but it seems like this Seahawks game should tell us who is who in the NFC West. Neither Arizona nor San Fran are complete patsies, but neither looks particularly primed to make a run either.

The Seahawks look flawed right now. Their offenive line has always been their weakness - a weakness they have been able to manage in years past with Wilson's elite scrambling ability. He needs to have a really long Sunday this weekend - and when we get mits on him, he needs to go down. It seems to me that we shouldn't need to bring 5 or 6 very often - we can pick our spots - a 4 man pass rush should be able to get it done. It appears we will see a combo attack of Eddie Lacy and JD McKissic unless Prosisse gets unexpectedly healthy or Rawls finds his way out of the doghouse. Contain RW, and you contain the Seachickens. On the other side of the ball, Seattle is especially thin at corner. I don't expect Sherman to follow Watkins around the field all night, but I do expect the Rams to pick on the other side of the field as much as possible. I think the Rams take this game and assert control over the NFC West.

Jacksonville is going to be a fun one to watch - their defense is real. Calais Campbell is playing lights out and they are getting great CB play. I think you expect this game to come down to seeling out against Fournette and making Bortles beat you. I would hang our defensive backs out to dry in this one and prepare for a ground war. If there is one game in this second quarter of the season that looks like the toughest matchup for the Rams, its this'n.

The Cardinals need to have their asses whooped - but its rarely easy with these guys. They have played like crap in the first quarter, yet they came out of it 2-2. This is the kind of game where you can't let them hang around - this one needs to get out of hand early. Carson needs to be prompted into retirement with our pass rush. Like Seattle, the O line is banged up badly - we should be able to get pressure on him with 4. Defensively, they still have some pretty good pieces - this is the kind of game we could mental mistake our way into losing.

At the Giants could be tougher than the records make it look. The Giants have LAC, Den, and Sea up next - lets hope they lose at least 2 of those anc come in demoralized. There is still talent on this team - especially on the defense. It would be nice if they were ready to mail the season in by week 9. Assuming both teams come to play - it will come down to taking advantage of their O Line issues and not letting Eli get the ball out. They haven't had a run game materialize yet this year, but they have weapons down field. Defensively, they present a real challenge for any team.

I can't see any of these 4 games that I would pick the Rams to lose at this point - but assuming they let one of these games slip through and go 3-1 through the second quarter - they are still in really good shape at 6-2 after the first half. It sure is fun to have a good team again.

I've lurked around here for a few years before joining, so I know there are quite a few of us who thought we should have drafted this cat, and we all were jumping for joy when we traded for him. We can all agree he is by far the most ahead to be our #1 receiver on potential alone. So my question is, why has it seemed to me he has been overlooked? There were a couple plays where I noticed he was wide open, but Goff never took the shot. He played amazing against the 9ners, but was never targeted when against a secondary of mostly back ups, yesterday. We gave up quite a bit to get him, considering Gaines is healthy and playing at top 10 cb caliber and we are thin at that position. Not trying to be negative, just wondering what y'alls thoughts are and what you have seen from your side.

I only caught a little bit of the game but it looked like Brown and Hav had a great day run blocking on that right side. I noticed late they pounded behind them. Gurley looked like he was getting tired but they kept driving it home. I think this game shows why Brown has kept that starting job. Anyone else notice a lot of success behind those two bruisers?

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/sean-mcvay-grand-slam-hire-los-angeles-rams-202641236.html
Frank Schwab,Shutdown Corner19 hours ago
Over the years, we could count on a few things in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers would make incredible plays (still going), the Cleveland Browns would be terrible (check), the New England Patriots would be dominant (well, about that … ) and the St. Louis or Los Angeles Rams would have an awful offense.

Don’t look now, but a coaching change has delivered the Rams one of the NFL’s best offenses. Seriously.

The Rams, who scored more than 40 points in each of their first two wins, put up only 35 against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. That was enough as the Rams went into Dallas and pulled off a very nice 35-30 upset. With that, the Rams improved to 3-1 and maintained first place in the NFC West.

Seriously.

The 2017 Rams, at least to this point, are the best example of how much coaching matters in the NFL since Andy Reid took over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013 and took a 2-14 team and made them an 11-5 playoff team. Everyone knew McVay, the youngest coach in modern NFL history, couldn’t be worse than Jeff Fisher. But nobody figured on him being this much of an upgrade.

Jared Goff looks like a franchise quarterback after a lost rookie season. That’s coaching. Goff had 255 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. Todd Gurley II, who had 215 total yards Sunday, has resurrected his career after an alarmingly bad sophomore season. Again, coaching. If you strip away the names and recent history and look just at what we’ve seen through four weeks, the Rams are the best team in the NFC West.

The Rams took a chance on McVay. He had respect for his football acumen as the offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins, but it was a little risky to hire a 31-year-old head coach. It looks like a genius move now. The Rams have a fantastic head coach, based on everything we’ve seen so far, and he’s only 31. He has plenty of time and energy to keep improving.

The last time the Rams finished in the top 20 in points or yards was 2006. That’s not a misprint. The Rams fielding a boring, uncreative, terrible offense has been an NFL tradition for almost a decade. McVay put an end to that in a hurry

Having given up 68 points in the previous 2 games and 24 points before the half at Dallas, the Ram's D held Dallas to 6 points after the half: has Wade's D finally Kicked in? We will see vs Seattle!

These are excerpts. To read the whole article click the link below.
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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/02/n...shaun-watson-patriots-defense-peter-king-mmqb

Rams Are Great, Patriots Are Not and More NFL Oddities ‘Nobody Saw Coming’ After Four Weeks
At the quarter mark of the season, the L.A. offense is humming, the New England defense is bleeding
By Peter King


MICHAEL AINSWORTH/AP

BALTIMORE — We’re almost 25 percent of the way through the 2017 season (28 of 32 teams have played four of their 16 games as of this morning), and this is what blows me away about the NFL through the first quarter:

• The Rams are the story of the year, with the coach of the first quarter in 31-year-old Sean McVay (nudging Andy Reid) bizarrely turning a moribund offense into the best in the NFL in the first month.

• If you had the Rams, Texans and Jags as three of the four highest-scoring offenses in the league after a quarter of the season, you’re officially very smart about football.

The 86th pick in the draft, Kareem Hunt, leads the NFL in rushing with 401 yards—and he’s the only back among the top 20 rushers to have played in just three games so far, not four.

• The Giants, one of the logical NFC Super Bowl picks in August, are 0-4. They’ve lost two straight games on walkoff field goals.

• Sunday: Buffalo (on the road) 23, Atlanta 17 … Rams (on the road) 35, Dallas 20 … Carolina (on the road) 33, New England 30. In the outlier game: Houston (at home) 57, Tennessee 14. Fifty-seven on a Dick LeBeau team, with a rookie quarterback doing the damage.

“Nobody saw a lot of these coming,” McVay said over the phone from Texas on Sunday afternoon. “But that’s the NFL every year, isn’t it?”

* * *

McVay is scary precocious. It showed in his post-game scrum with the team Sunday, after the Rams walked into Jerry World and beat the Cowboys 35-30. He sounded like a veteran head coach, not one who 11 years ago this week was walking across the Miami campus in Oxford, Ohio, scurrying to class as a senior.

“Love the way you guys continue to compete from first snap to last snap!” he barked, all eyes on him. “Great win! Three-and-one—we accomplished our goal of finishing the first quarter that way. Enjoy it! Love you guys. Love where we’re going.”

Then he handed out game balls to kicker Greg Zeurlein (seven of seven on field goal attempts) and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips (for beating the team he used to head-coach) … and told Phillips to break the team down, and then snuck out of the way so Phillips could be the center of attention for a few moments.

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Not only did it look like McVay had been there before at the ripe old age of 31, but he let Phillips have the moment. Smart move. McVay’s made a lot of those. Like running some involved pass plays for Jared Goff on first downs, when foes are gearing for the run and again-brilliant back Todd Gurley, and when Goff can take advantage of play-action to get some route combinations when he knows he’ll have someone open.

“What I like about the offense is I know I’ll always have a receiver open,” Goff told me in training camp. What’s also helped: picking up Sammy Watkins in trade, Robert Woods in free agency and Cooper Kupp in the draft. Along with speedy but heretofore underachieving Tavon Austin, that’s a very good top-four receiver group. McVay’s route combinations create the kind of traffic that ensures Goff will keep seeing open receivers.

“What I’ve appreciated about Jared,” McVay said Sunday, “is that no pressure gets to him. No moment’s felt too big for him, not even today on a stage like this, in this stadium against the Dallas Cowboys. He’s very even-keel.”

Add two veteran linemen—left tackle Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan—and Gurley’s impact (596 total yards, seven touchdowns), and you’ve got the kind of difference-making on the ground that the 2016 Rams just didn’t have. Gurley couldn’t breathe last season.

“This guy is a hell of a versatile back,” McVay said. “Maybe he’s not [Darren] Sproles as a receiver out of the backfield, but I think he’s excellent in the open field, which is one of the reasons you really want him to catch balls in space.”

Also: GM Les Snead was on a cold streak at the end of last season, when he barely survived the ax that got Jeff Fisher. But Whitworth was a superior signing. Sullivan and Woods have become major additions. Snead’s architecture and McVay’s could have the Rams in contention in December, and who’d have thought that would happen with a coach who gets carded in L.A.

Said McVay: “We’re growing. We’re going in the right direction.” To put it mildly.

* * *

Think of Houston’s long streak of quarterback futility through two weeks this season: 21 straight games of never scoring 30 points, despite spending $72 million on Brock Osweiler last year, despite trading two first-round picks to acquire Watson this year. But then Watson dueled Tom Brady and put up 33 points in a loss to the Patriots last week, and this week put up a franchise-record 57 in front of a disbelieving home crowd Sunday.

The disbelieving crowd included a disbelieving owner.

“We’ve never had this kind of offense before,” said Bob McNair, who founded the team in 2002. “What was the final—57 points? We’ve never scored 57 points before. That’s sounding more like a basketball game.”

The expectation about Watson was probably unfair to begin. When he was drafted, he was transitioning from a wide-open spread scheme at Clemson to a fairly conservative, balanced Bill O’Brien offensive scheme. It was expected that Watson might play at some point this year, but not the majority of the year as long as Tom Savage stayed healthy.

But in the summer, during the time the Texans were off before training camp, O’Brien would throw Watson the occasional text with a quiz, to see how far along he was, and how much he’d studied in the spring and early summer. O’Brien marveled at never being able to stump Watson. Maybe we should have expected this. After all, there’s one quarterback in history who’s twice thrown for more than 400 yards against a Nick Saban-coached defense. Only one. Watson.

“He’s seeing a lot of different things—third-down blitzes for the first time, red-area things for the first time,” O’Brien said. “I think he’s made some really good decisions. That’s the kind of guy he is. He’s a very calm guy. He’s a very thoughtful guy.”

So far for Watson, he’s started against Cincinnati on a short-week Thursday (win), started against Tom Brady in a Foxboro duel (loss) and at home for the first time against rising Tennessee (43-point win). Next week: The last unbeaten team (at least until Monday night) in the NFL, Kansas City, is at Houston. Every week’s a test with Alabama-like pressure.

* * *

Kirk Cousins Doesn’t Feel the Pressure With Washington Set for Monday Night Test in K.C.


MARK TENALLY/AP

Watching Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins against Oakland last week was like watching a clinic of the position, and not just because he completed 25 of 30 passes for 365 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. What was notable was how fast Cousins worked, how fast he made his decisions, how fast he got the ball out—and how he had zero sacred cows.

In the first quarter, Cousins’ completions, in order, were thrown to tight end Vernon Davis, wideout Jamison Crowder, running back Chris Thompson, tight end Niles Paul, Crowder, wideout Ryan Grant and wideout Terrelle Pryor. Early in the second quarter, he added rookie running back Samaje Perrine.

Entering Monday night’s game against the unbeaten Chiefs, Cousins’ decision-making speed and his eye for every receiver on the field will be a challenge for a defense that likes to throw changeups as much as Andy Reid’s offense does. So we’ve got a great chess match on TV, 2-1 Redskins at the lone unbeaten team in the league, 3-0 Kansas City.

“Each week is its own entity,” Cousins said from Virginia the other day. “But we’ve definitely put some good performances together. Kansas City’s so good and so creative, and they’ve obviously got everything rolling now, and it’s Monday night, in a place that’s really hard for road teams to play.”

You’ve got to hand it to Cousins, who is playing his second straight year on the franchise tag because he hasn’t been able to work out a long-term deal with Washington. But to hear him talk about it, he’s pretty much okay with it.

“Look at it rationally,” he said, “and going year to year isn’t as risky as it might appear. Plus, if you’ve lived my life story, where nothing’s been guaranteed to me in college or the NFL, you might understand my approach a little bit better.

And I’ve always thought that if you sign a contract, and it’s announced at $100 million, that doesn’t put less pressure on you. It just puts more pressure, to live up to the money. So I just focus in on this year, and then we’ll see what happens next year.”

It’s easy to debate which approach is right. Some think Washington should have signed Cousins when it had the advantage and he didn’t have a long résumé—say, two years ago. But back then, team president Bruce Allen had no idea Cousins would consistently be a 4,000-yard-per-season passer. So if Allen paid him like a premier player and he fizzled, he’d be stuck with an Osweiler-like contract.

Cousins can compartmentalize the contract pretty well. He knows the $43.9 million he’ll have made by the end of this year in 2016 and 2017 alone sets up him and his family (he and wife Julie had their first child, Cooper, Friday night) for life, so he doesn’t fret about the money—just the job. He knows he’ll be in demand by Washington and a couple of other teams if he hits the open market next March. So what’s there’s to worry about?

Well, playing in Kansas City, for one. “I’ve never played there, and I’ve wanted to,” he said. “Kansas City’s got an iconic stadium. I’d like to play at all of them—but it’s hard, because they keep building new stadiums.”

* * *

Awards

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Cam Newton, quarterback, Carolina. He’ll look back at his career one day and think he had better games than this one. But what makes Carolina 33, New England 30 special for Newton is that it came against Tom Brady, and it came with him adjusting to a newness in the Panther offense, and it came with him still getting in peak game shape after off-season shoulder surgery. Newton completed 22 of 29 with three passing touchdowns and one rushing TD.

Deshaun Watson, quarterback, Houston. The kid is amazing. In camp the Texans knew he’d likely take the QB reins at some point this year, but his performance in the past two games—47 of 67, six touchdown passes, with the Texans producing 90 points—is stunning.

Le’Veon Bell, running back, Pittsburgh. “I did?” That’s what Bell said when I told him had 35 carries (for 144 yards) in a 2016 Bell-like performance as the Steelers handled the Ravens 26-9. He’s on pace for 348 carries this year, and if you want to hear if he thinks he can handle that, listen to “The MMQB Podcast With Peter King” this week. I recorded Bell in the Steelers locker room Sunday afternoon.

Andy Dalton, quarterback, Cincinnati. I thought he permanently had “embattled” as a mandatory adjective in front of his name, or maybe had his name changed legally to Embattled Andy Dalton. He did something about that Sunday in the Bengals’ 31-7 rout of the Browns, completing 17 of his first 18 passes, for three touchdowns and 215 yards. He finished with 286 yards and four touchdowns and, for now, calmed the Dump Dalton movement in Cincinnati.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Andre Hal, safety, Houston. Hal’s first interception of Marcus Mariota led to Houston taking a 7-0 lead early in the half, and his second short-circuited a Titans drive with Tennessee down 30-14 late in the second quarter. Hal has led an opportunistic Houston defense that’s made more plays in the back end than most people expected, and that keyed the shocking 57-14 demolition of the Titans in Houston on Sunday.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Stephen Hauschka, kicker, Buffalo. He’s tried seven field goals in the past two games—from 49, 55, 53, 27, 24, 56 and 55 yards—and made them all. The last three came in the upset of the Falcons on Sunday.

Greg Zuerlein, kicker, Los Angeles Rams. He kicked seven field goals (from 49, 44, 44, 30, 28, 43 and 33 yards) and finished with 23 of the Rams’ 35 points in a dramatic win at Dallas. “Mr Automatic!” coach Sean McVay called him. In a big win, Zuerlein was the only player to get a game ball from McVay.

COACH OF THE WEEK

Dennis Allen, defensive coordinator, New Orleans. It’s been a tough slog for the Saints, one of the most generous defenses in the league in the past few years—and the major reason why the Saints have gone 7-9 three years in a row. But in London on Sunday, Allen’s group pitched a 20-0 shutout.

Only once all day did the Dolphins have a drive longer than 22 yards. On the day, the Saints had four sacks and two forced fumbles. With a bye and then three of four at home, and with the defense growing, there may be hope yet for this perennially 7-9 group.

* * *

STAT OF THE WEEK

New Orleans running back Adrian Peterson, healthy, is on pace for a 324-yard rushing season. He’s averaging 6.8 carries per game.

* * *

Things I Think I Think

1. I think these are my brief truths of Week 4:

a. Two games for Danny Trevathan is the least he should have gotten suspended for the ugly hit on Davante Adams. I don’t believe Trevathan was trying to hit him helmet-to-helmet. But in this case, it doesn’t matter. It happened.

b. And I like Trevathan—the way he plays, the man he is. Hits like that simply must get a major sanction, to ensure the players and the public know that helmet-to-helmet car crashes simply won’t be tolerated, no matter whether they’re intentional.

c. If Dalvin Cook has a torn ACL, as is suspected, the most electric rookie runner in the NFC will be lost till next season. With the quarterback injuries the Vikes have suffered, it’s hard to imagine them making a playoff run now.

d. Backup backs on bad teams are usually ignored. Bilal Powell should not be. Jets are lucky to have him.

e. Cam Heyward makes three or four impact plays every game. His best one Sunday was when he snuffed out a Baltimore drive in the second quarter with a brute-force-rush sack.

f. Bill Parcells Memorial Clock-Eating Scoring Drive of the Season: The Bills drove 82 yards in 19 plays, using 11 minutes 20 seconds of game clock, and kicked a field goal in Atlanta.

g. Great video by the NBC crew, showing Jimmy Graham flying to work in Seattle in his seaplane, landing on Lake Washington next to the Seahawks’ facility.

h. Great info nugget by Michele Tafoya just before halftime, talking about how in pre-game warmups Seattle kicker Blair Walsh was having trouble kicking into the end zone where Seattle was about to attempt a field goal on the last play of the half. Sure enough, Walsh pushed a 37-yarder wide right.

i. Not throwing a pity party for the Giants at 0-4, but losing two straight games on field goals on the last play of the game … kind of a brutal way to live.

j. I don’t know how many more big catches Larry Fitzgerald will make in his career. But he is still a huge threat, and even when the Niners knew Carson Palmer would look for him consistently as the final seconds ticked off the clock in overtime Sunday, he won another game with another big touchdown catch. What a special player.

2. I think I have this message for Jimmy and Dee Haslam, as they wake up from a restless night: First, you never make good decisions when you’re angry, or you’re tired. Second, you’re going to go backwards by firing anyone now, or after the season, barring some unforeseen development. Stay the course, stay off social media, and don’t listen to the radio.

3. I think the Raiders, a bit, were victims of their off-season excitement and early success. I still remember Jack Del Rio pumping the brakes with me at training camp on the Super Bowl express, pointing out the Chiefs had won 11 in a row in the division while the Raiders were 3-3 in AFC West games last year.

Now, the Chiefs are on a 12-game AFC West winning streak, and the Raiders are 3-4 in their last seven games in the division. Now that Derek Carr has a back issue, it’s a legit question whether Oakland will even make it to January, especially with rising teams like Buffalo coming out of nowhere. We’ll see.

4. I think Indy GM Chris Ballard made one heck of a trade for Jacoby Brissett (acquiring him a month ago for wideout Phillip Dorsett), and that’s even if Brissett settles into a backup role when Andrew Luck is healthy enough to play.

Brissett is self-assured, has a great arm and possesses the ability to throw into tight windows downfield—if his early play in Indy is true to him. Plus, as NBC cameras caught Sunday night, Brissett is never afraid to show his passion—a trait he might have picked up from Tom Brady—and light into teammates on the sidelines when necessary.

5. I think one of the benefits of actually going to games rather than sitting and monitoring them and then talking to players and coaches post-game is you get to see and hear the real stuff on site.

In the bowels of M&T Bank Stadium, with the Steelers coming off the field after dominating Baltimore, Mike Tomlin said loudly to the players within earshot: “Hey! We got a hot J-ville [Jacksonville] team coming to town next week! Whacked these guys [Baltimore] worse than we did. Let’s get ready to work!” Setting the stage already.

6. I think, not to make a big deal of it in a game in which the whole team stunk, but Joe Flacco looked awful Sunday. “I sucked,” he said. He knew. To have a passer rating of 65.0 is awful—and to have one 26.7 rating points lower than Blake Bortles this morning is even worse.

7. I think Jimmy Graham’s just not the same player now that he was in New Orleans.

8. I think—no, I know—that, if I were Giants GM Jerry Reese, I would not offer the unrepentant Odell Beckham Jr., a long-term contract till I see whether he can keep his distracting emotions and behavior in check. If that means they risk losing him, so be it.

Beckham’s blasé and unapologetic reaction three days after he faux urinated on the field to celebratea touchdown in Philadelphia also tells me there’s no one in the organization who can talk sense into Beckham, which is also worrisome.

YO ROD!!!!!

Week 5 : The "Sack Wilson" Bowl! If your interested in joining our tailgate in Lot 5 shoot me a text with your headcount, drink order, and food suggestions. I'll bring all the food and whatever soda or beer you want (iced down). Just reimburse me at the game for your food and drinks. I will also supply bottled water. Any donations towards the Lot pass are greatly appreciated, the passes run around $150-200 a game, any lil bit helps. Please let me know counts and drink orders by Friday, I'll go shopping Saturday.

Greg
(714) 510-7693

Three & Out: Takeaways from Rams’ 35–30 Victory Over Cowboys

No more 7–9 bullsh** for these Rams—Sean McVay has turned Los Angeles into a good team that’s fun to watch.

Ben Baskin October 01, 2017

Three thoughts from the Rams’ 35–30 win against the Cowboys.

1. Don’t look now, but the Rams are good. Not just oh, it’s fun that the Rams aren’t terrible anymore good. More like, oh, the Rams might actually win the NFC West good. Just give Sean McVay the Coach of the Year award right now—he’s not only made the Rams (who, let’s remember, were an atrocious football team last year) good, but also incredibly fun to watch.

But, the team’s early success isn’t just McVay. Players win games in the NFL, so let’s give Jared Goff the credit he deserves. After the worst rookie season in NFL history, Goff is currently near the top of the leaderboard in every important statistical category for quarterbacks. Not only that, his game is aggressive and loose, and he’s playing with a lot of confidence. For a young QB coming off a disastrous year, that’s impressive. Sorry, Jeff Fisher: it may be a year too late, but there is no 7–9 bullsh** on this team anymore.

2. Todd Gurley is officially back. This has been clear since the beginning of the season, but four weeks in I feel confident declaring it now. Last year, I was a little worried that Gurley’s dominant rookie season was maybe a bit of a fluke. But now it’s clear that the Rams cannot be judged by any of their sins of 2016, when the offense wasn’t running any discernible system. This year Gurley is back to being an absolute force, and he’s one of the more enjoyable backs to watch run this decade. Even more importantly, though, for the Rams’ sake is that Gurley has become a veritable weapon in the passing game, which is a terror for opposing defenses to face. He already had seven touchdowns on the year, a Rams’ record, besting Marshall Faulk’s historic 2000 season. The NFL is more fun when Todd Gurley is good.

3. The Cowboys shouldn’t be panicking, but the team’s deficiencies from last season have lingered. In 2016, Dallas was second in the NFL in “big plays,” but this perceived strength was only because of their dominant rushing game. Their “big play” rank for passing (passes over 25 yards) was sixth worst in the NFL—and that seems to be the same this season.

Dak Prescott needs to do a better job of getting Dez Bryant involved in the offense on a consistent basis. He’s the most under-utilized star receiver in the league. In the first half, the offense looked great—the rushing game was strong, Ezekiel Elliott had two touchdowns (one in the air, one on the ground), Prescott was efficient and Dallas didn't punt once. But in the second, things stagnated; the team struggled when Prescott had to stretch it out and pass more. If the Cowboys want to win the NFC—and let’s be clear, the opportunity will be there—they’ll need to balance the offense.

[www.si.com]

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Rams take full advantage of Todd Gurley in impressive win over Dallas Cowboys

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) sprints to the end zone past Dallas Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown, right, for a touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

By RICH HAMMOND | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register

ARLINGTON, Texas — “Middle-school offense.” Todd Gurley didn’t mince words, and good for him.

A year ago, the Rams were lost. They ran the ball like a team clad in cement shoes. Touchdowns drives were as infrequent as traffic-free jaunts on the 405. Frustration mounted, and finally Gurley let loose after a game and opined that a group of teenagers could organize an offense equal to the Rams’ attack.

Turns out, the offense just needed Coach Sean McVay, who might pass for a high school senior if he shaved.

Gurley, sullen and criticized last year, now arguably is the NFL’s top all-purpose threat, and is the main reason why the Rams are the league’s surprise team. After a bumpy first half, the Rams responded with brilliance Sunday afternoon and rallied for a 35-30 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

“When you’re winning, I’m telling you, it makes everything so much better,” Gurley said with a big grin.

What a turnaround. Gurley led the Rams in rushing (121 yards on 23 carries) and receiving (94 yards and one touchdown on seven catches) Sunday and accounted for more than half of the Rams’ 412 yards. His turnaround is the main reason why the Rams have a 3-1 record and flying higher than anyone expected.

This isn’t perfection. The Rams looked dreadful on defense in the first half, when they allowed 24 points and 287 yards and trailed by 11 points. These lengthy lapses have been too frequent for the Rams this season, and success won’t be sustainable if they continue.

But not only did the Rams clean up things on defense in the second half, when they allowed six points and 153 yards, but the Rams also now have an offense potent enough to survive defensive hiccups. That’s why this year’s 3-1 record feels much different than last year, when the Rams finished 1-11.

The Rams had great balance on offense against the Cowboys, as quarterback Jared Goff had a steady day (21 of 36, 255 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions) and they ran for 168 yards.

The Rams nursed a small lead for most of the fourth quarter and held the ball for more than 10 minutes. The Cowboys regained momentum in the middle of the quarter, when they pulled within 32-30 but failed to convert on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt.

In need of first downs, with 7:08 left, the Rams turned to Gurley. He carried the ball seven times and caught one pass as the Rams bled more than five minutes off the clock and took a 35-30 lead on kicker Greg Zuerlein’s seventh field goal of the game.

The defense made one final stop to secure the victory and the Rams jumped around on the sideline like, well, a bunch of excited middle-schoolers.

“The biggest thing for us,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said, “is whenever we’ve seen some adversity, we’ve been able to stay calm, stay focused and continue to play our game.”

It’s amazing how a successful running game can calm nerves. A year ago, the Rams seemed to have no idea what to do with Gurley. They ran him up the middle, into a wall of defenders, and when that didn’t work, they just tried it again and again. Gurley averaged 3.2 yards per rushing attempt.

McVay, also the Rams’ play-caller, has made things look different. He sends receivers in motion to pull attention from Gurley, and McVay had the wild idea of actually throwing the ball to Gurley.

The Rams’ run blocking has improved, and Gurley looks more motivated, perhaps in part because he has coaches who are putting him in positions to succeed. With 362 rushing yards and 234 receiving yards through four games, he’s almost halfway his 2016 all-purpose total of 1,212.

Gurley also has become only the third running back in NFL history to total at least 575 yards from scrimmage and at least seven touchdowns in his team’s first four games. The others? Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith.

A year ago, Gurley looked broken. McVay’s offense, and some offensive upgrades, provided the fix.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily if you can ‘fix’ him,” McVay said. “I mean, this guy is a great player. … Just because last year, from a numbers standpoint, maybe it wasn’t what we would have liked, that doesn’t take away from some of the things he did on tape, when you really study it. These are things that we expect from Todd, and I know he expects of himself.”

[www.ocregister.com]

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/12938153

Enjoy.

Have you guys seen any RB who hurdles defenders like Gurley? I mean he consistently does it and he gets up there!

16 Pages of

LOL

https://cowboyszone.com/threads/cowboys-vs-rams-post-game-thread.386691/

Please keep it within the guidelines. Please.

Rams beat us with our own game plan. Lol.

Hate to blame officials, but it would've been nice to see what happened if they didn't call that crap on Martin.

This defense isn’t taking this team anywhere but 8-8. It’s way worse than last year and it’s putting Dak in positions he rarely has had to be in. I’m mailing it in and hoping we spend some money on defense in the off-season

We're in for a long year.
Focus on the draft.

The 49ers scored more points vs this team than we did
Embarassing

Same s*** every year.
Trash defense.

At this point I don’t even know what we can do next year to make the defense better. Loss for words

It's one game. ONE game. The division is still wide open people, rela

its been 4 games actually and maybe 3 quarters of good offense and 2-6 quarters of good defense (depending on how you rate the Giants dumpster fire)

I want coaching changes, a real #1 receiver and talent on defense. Switzer can kick rocks.

Both the offense and defense need to be modernized.

We're in for a long year.
Focus on the draft.

I only watched a portion of the game, but I'm sure that it was another poorly prepared team, and our red head genius was out coached by a 31 year old rookie head coach.

I think it is safe to say the biggest difference from last year is the play of the OL .. so far it is regressing and not an elite OL

30 points should be enough to win in the NFL.

Jason Garrett got out coached in the second half.
Need better DTs and LBs.

This defense isn’t taking this team anywhere but 8-8. It’s way worse than last year and it’s putting Dak in positions he rarely has had to be in. I’m mailing it in and hoping we spend some money on defense in the off-season

I have never understood or believed in QBR, but was absolutely shocked to see that Goff had almost half the total of Dak (41.8 vs. 78.2) in the game yesterday.
In addition to the stats below, Dak ran 3 times for 25 yards while Jared took a knee once for -1 yard rushing. Jared had a fumble.


It makes absolutely no sense!!!

There are several things about this team that ROD members have proclaimed yet the media recognize at a snail’s pace. For this reason, I’d like to continue this tradition by pointing out things this season the lazy media will pretend later they knew all along.

The Rams have the only effective offensive line in the NFC West. Veldheer made Lawrence look like a HOF candidate while Hav and Brown silenced him completely. The Hawks and Cards have two of the WORST OLines in the NFL.

While we were all fawning over Gerald Everett, McVay was regularly giving Tyler Higbee nearly twice as many reps. Lance Kendricks was deemed expendable and McVay has trusted Higbee even when he struggled. Carrier has been responsible for several key blocks this year. The development of our TE position is unsung SO FAR.

McVay holds his cards well in terms of player usage. Different players get featured in different ways each week. Screen pass to Brown? Higbee deep? Kupp vertical down the sideline? Gurley on a seam post? Tavon off tackle? Carrier as a first read for Goff? Good luck future DC’s figuring out what’s coming next. Sean’s got something coming for your @sses.

Guys like Longacre, Fox, Smart, Walker, and Thomas are getting coached up and becoming more integral to the success of the defense while Brockers and Donald snatch the headlines.

Mark Barron has overtaken Ogletree as the leader of this LB corps.

The Rams have the NFL’s best ST units. The blocking scheme on Cooper’s KO return was masterful (I admit wanting him to just down every KO in the end zone but Bones isn’t the timid sort). I won’t mention our kickers because, well...I promised not to be obvious.

Goff’s light will shine so brightly that the QB’s in the east will swear the sun is rising from LA. By year’s end, he will be starting on winning fantasy football teams.

Until the Cowboys get Sean Lee back, the Dallas D will continue to get shredded, not only by us.

Joyner was the only significant Ram that didn’t play this game. The Rams may have the healthiest team in the league. (Fingers crossed)

Finally, this team isn’t beating itself often with boneheaded mistakes, turnovers, and late hits. This is becoming a smart team all the way down to a lack of stupid, me first celebrations.

I invite my brothers to add to this thread those things we see but haven’t yet garnered media attention.

Getting harder to find these

Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein, ‘Mr. Automatic,’ enjoys a record-setting game
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/10/0...in-mr-automatic-enjoys-a-record-setting-game/

Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker (6) holds as quarterback Dak Prescott (4) kicks a field goal in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

By RICH HAMMOND | rhammond@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: October 1, 2017 at 5:11 pm | UPDATED: October 1, 2017 at 6:44 pm

ARLINGTON, Texas — Greg Zuerlein seemed done after 2015, when the kicker once dubbed “Legatron” missed 10 of 30 field-goal attempts and coaches openly said he would have to compete for his job.

The machine is humming again. Zuerlein made all seven of his field-goal attempts Sunday against Dallas, including four from beyond 40 yards, and provided the difference in the Rams’ five-point victory.

“Automatic,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said of Zuerlein. “He’s absolutely nails. For the most part, you get inside the 30(-yard line) and the first thing you think about is, ‘I’ve got points. Don’t be careless with it, because I’ve got points.’ Greg is nails. How many did he have today?”

Seven, the most ever by a Rams kicker in a single game. Jeff Wilkins kicked six field goals in 2006, but in a huge road victory, in front of more than 90,000 screaming fans, Zuerlein accounted for 23 of the Rams’ 35 points. Never, in team history, has a Rams player scored more than 24 points in a game.

“That’s the way the game went,” Zuerlein said. “Fortunately, we made them all. I think we helped the team win. It’s not about who is scoring points. It’s about winning at the end of the day.”

Zuerlein has made all 14 of his field-goal attempts this season, plus all 14 extra-point attempts.

Coach Sean McVay wasn’t with the Rams in 2015 when Zuerlein struggled. Then-coach Jeff Fisher said Zuerlein would be challenged in 2016, but the threat of that must have been enough, because the Rams never signed another kicker and Zuerlein made 19 of 22 field-goal attempts.

Zuerlein, who also didn’t miss a kick in preseason, has been perfect since McVay’s arrival.

“He won the game today,” McVay said. “He’s Mr. Automatic. … I can’t say enough about that unit. Jake McQuaide does an excellent job with the snaps and Johnny (Hekker) with the holds and then Greg has been outstanding. He can’t play any better than what he’s doing right now.”

TIGHTEN UP

The Rams improved on defense in the second half, and mostly when it came to defending first downs.

In the first and second quarters, the Cowboys gained 147 of their 287 yards on first-down plays. In the third quarter, Dallas gained just 4 yards on five first-down plays.

The Rams also tightened their run defense, and allowed just 56 yards on the ground in the second half (on 10 carries). Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott finished with 85 yards on 21 carries.

“We just had little corrections to face here and there,” lineman Aaron Donald said. “Once we did that, we were solid. We kept giving the ball back to the offense and they kept doing what they were doing.”

HAPPY HOMECOMING

McVay gave honorary game balls to Zuerlein and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who was the Cowboys’ head coach from 2007 until the middle of the 2010 season. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who fired Phillips, had high praise for Phillips when asked about his team’s second-half struggles on offense.

“I want to give Wade Phillips his due,” Jones said. “They came in and made adjustments. They’ve drafted high and well. Against a lesser crew, we could have come back and shut the door. This is a big win for the Los Angeles Rams. This is a hurtful loss for us.”

ON THE MOVE

The Rams found a way to get receiver Tavon Austin going: as a running back. Austin, a negligible part of the offense in the first three games, caught only one pass (for a loss of 2 yards) but ran the ball six times for 48 yards. Austin was a running back in high school.

“I feel like we are on the same page right now,” Austin said. “Coach had a good plan for us. He worked us to death in practice. He works us until we get it. If anyone knows Coach Sean, he demands perfection. That’s what I like about him.”

ALL NORMAL

As McVay expected, the Rams did not participate in any type of protest during or before the national anthem. As usual, defensive lineman Robert Quinn stood with his fist in the air, and punter Johnny Hekker had his arm around Quinn. All other players and staff members stood.

INJURY REPORT

As expected, starting safety Lamarcus Joyner missed the game with a hamstring injury, but center John Sullivan, who had been limited during the week because of a hamstring injury, started, as did safety Cody Davis, who started in Joyner’s place even though he suffered a quadriceps injury during the week. McVay said the Rams didn’t suffer any new injuries during the game.

Watching Elliot today was pissing me off. His antics after practically every run play was over the top.

And then, what was with his stupid hot potato end zone celebration? I thought NFL doesn't allow multiple players to do that stuff. Can We bring back the Bob and Weave now???

So glad Elliot was the one who came up short on 4th down to seal their loss. His potato definitely got baked on that last play!

...Let's see how it made you feel...

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/01/cowboys-rams-game-score-nfl-week-4

Takeaways from Rams’ 35–30 Victory Over Cowboys
No more 7–9 bullsh** for these Rams—Sean McVay has turned Los Angeles into a good team that’s fun to watch.
BEN BASKIN

Three thoughts from the Rams’ 35–30 win against the Cowboys.

1. Don’t look now, but the Rams are good. Not just oh, it’s fun that the Rams aren’t terrible anymore good. More like, oh, the Rams might actually win the NFC West good. Just give Sean McVay the Coach of the Year award right now—he’s not only made the Rams (who, let’s remember, were an atrocious football team last year) good, but also incredibly fun to watch.

But, the team’s early success isn’t just McVay. Players win games in the NFL, so let’s give Jared Goff the credit he deserves. After the worst rookie season in NFL history, Goff is currently near the top of the leaderboard in every important statistical category for quarterbacks.

Not only that, his game is aggressive and loose, and he’s playing with a lot of confidence. For a young QB coming off a disastrous year, that’s impressive. Sorry, Jeff Fisher: it may be a year too late, but there is no 7–9 bullsh** on this team anymore.

2. Todd Gurley is officially back. This has been clear since the beginning of the season, but four weeks in I feel confident declaring it now. Last year, I was a little worried that Gurley’s dominant rookie season was maybe a bit of a fluke. But now it’s clear that the Rams cannot be judged by any of their sins of 2016, when the offense wasn’t running any discernible system.

This year Gurley is back to being an absolute force, and he’s one of the more enjoyable backs to watch run this decade. Even more importantly, though, for the Rams’ sake is that Gurley has become a veritable weapon in the passing game, which is a terror for opposing defenses to face. He already had seven touchdowns on the year, a Rams’ record, besting Marshall Faulk’s historic 2000 season. The NFL is more fun when Todd Gurley is good.

3. The Cowboys shouldn’t be panicking, but the team’s deficiencies from last season have lingered. In 2016, Dallas was second in the NFL in “big plays,” but this perceived strength was only because of their dominant rushing game. Their “big play” rank for passing (passes over 25 yards) was sixth worst in the NFL—and that seems to be the same this season.

Dak Prescott needs to do a better job of getting Dez Bryant involved in the offense on a consistent basis. He’s the most under-utilized star receiver in the league. In the first half, the offense looked great—the rushing game was strong, Ezekiel Elliott had two touchdowns (one in the air, one on the ground), Prescott was efficient and Dallas didn't punt once.

But in the second, things stagnated; the team struggled when Prescott had to stretch it out and pass more. If the Cowboys want to win the NFC—and let’s be clear, the opportunity will be there—they’ll need to balance the offense.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/01/week-4-reactions-analysis-breakdown-saints-dolphins-london

THINGS THAT MADE ME GIDDY

The Stage Is Not Too Big for the Rams: I suppose it’s time to accept that they’re for real. Sean McVay is making it work, and Jared Goff is going to be just fine, if not very good. Get on the bandwagon now.

Wade Phillips’ Revenge: I guess not really revenge; he seems to be fine with how it went down in Dallas. Still, it’s always nice to see a Son of Bum defense get it done, this time the Rams holding on in Dallas.

REGRETS

Dak Prescott Taking Some Hits: He’s making a lot of plays too, but Cowboys fans have to hold their collective breath every time he lowers his shoulder and takes a shot to the head, or takes an awkward low hit while throwing on the run. I don’t know if it would be Cooper Rush or Kellen Moore up next, but I know it wouldn’t be good.

Bogus Holding Call on Travis Frederick: On the two-point conversion that would have tied it in Dallas midway through the fourth quarter. I’m not sure how to describe it other than “block that was not a hold.” Cowboys fans, you have permission to feel aggrieved.

Dan Bailey Trying to Tackle Pharoh Cooper: Kickers, they’re just like us!

NFL should avoid matching teams that played on Thursday and Monday

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ing-teams-that-played-on-thursday-and-monday/

Last week, the Rams and 49ers played on Thursday, and the Cowboys and Cardinals played on Monday. Today, each of the teams that had 10 days between games played one of the teams that had only six.

The Rams, who had extra rest, beat the short-week Cowboys in Dallas. The 49ers, who had extra week, pushed the short-week Cardinals to the limit in overtime.

It’s an odd quirk in the schedule that played out earlier this year, when the Patriots opened the season on a Thursday, the Saints played on Monday night, and the two teams got together on Sunday.

Yes, there are plenty of actual and perceived inequities in the scheduling process. Sure, it’s difficult if not impossible to account for all of the various permutations when picking the proper spots for 256 regular-season games. But this seems like a factor that could be, or at least should be, avoided.

There will always be teams who played on a Sunday facing a team who played on a Thursday; the Cowboys do it again next week, with the Packers on extra rest. And there will always be teams who face a team coming off a bye. But a Sunday game between Thursday-Monday teams seems like something that should be preventable.

Jared Goff is ranked top 5 in passing yards, 2nd in the league to Tom Brady in passer rating. 1st in the league at y/pa. What does he have to do to win the MVP? Does he have to go 13-3?

I know we got screwed on this play. But how many out there was overjoyed as this kind of play always happens to us.......not for us.....and now we have a guy that can make that happen....... I'm ecstatic and pissed the ref took that away. Yes, the next play made it moot.....but that is the kind of outstanding we've been missing for sometime.......

Kudos my man! Kudos!

Anybody else watching this game? Seeing as we play the Shitgulls next it is interesting watching the Colts take it to them! lol I hope they fall apart and we can add to our division lead next week. Colts leading at half!