For those "worried" or "concerned" about the 1s' performance

[Angry Ram]

I got 1 word for ya....stop.

Just. Stop.

I re-watched all 3 Dallas TDs. Here's my non-coaching perspective.

On the opening kickoff:
It was excellent blocking on Dallas' part. I didn't really see missed tackles or anything like that.

Why I'm not worried: The Rams under this coaching staff have always fielded one of the better ST units. This isn't the norm for them, and I highly doubt this is gonna be the same ST unit come September.

On Dez Bryant's TD:
That was no where close to the starting defense. With the obvious starters out, plus a very basic scheme, I'm not surprised he got the score.

Why I'm not worried: Does anyone actually think Coty Sensabaugh is gonna cover the opponents' top WR, let alone one of Dez Bryant's caliber for a whole game? Isn't that Trumaine Johnson's job, possibly EJ Gaines? And let's be real, Coty didn't get burned or anything. He had good coverage, but Dez is one of the best WRs in the game. Coupled with more even more starters out and no pressure (maybe intentionally), of course it was gonna happen.

On Terrance Williams' TD:
If there were any starting players on defense, I didn't notice them. They dropped EVERYONE except the backup DL into coverage. Lamarcus Joyner got schooled, and that's pretty much it.

Why I'm not worried:
If this were the real games, the #2 corner would be on Terrance Williams, and I'm assuming it's gonna be EJ Gaines. And the more I look at it, I'm glad Lamarcus didn't get completely burned like Janoris sometimes did. He recovered nicely, and still had decent coverage. Just a good throw.

So in summary: not the real STs and defense, no real scheme, they went through the motions. And under Jeff Fisher on week 1s, when has this team NOT been ready to play week 1? Once, during the whole Shaun Hill/Austin Davis debacle.

 

[Legatron4]

The game reminded me of when we clobbered the Ravens a few years ago. We threw everything but the kitchen sink at them on defense and were much more advanced on offense. I think Bradford threw 3 touchdowns in one quarter.

Guess what? Baltimore went on to win the Super Bowl that year.

 

[RAMbling818]

To be fair, you should also take into account how many Dallas first string players were on the field. Prescott played well, but he's no Romo.

I got 1 word for ya....stop.

Just. Stop.

I re-watched all 3 Dallas TDs. Here's my non-coaching perspective.

On the opening kickoff:
It was excellent blocking on Dallas' part. I didn't really see missed tackles or anything like that.

Why I'm not worried: The Rams under this coaching staff have always fielded one of the better ST units. This isn't the norm for them, and I highly doubt this is gonna be the same ST unit come September.

On Dez Bryant's TD:
That was no where close to the starting defense. With the obvious starters out, plus a very basic scheme, I'm not surprised he got the score.

Why I'm not worried: Does anyone actually think Coty Sensabaugh is gonna cover the opponents' top WR, let alone one of Dez Bryant's caliber for a whole game? Isn't that Trumaine Johnson's job, possibly EJ Gaines? And let's be real, Coty didn't get burned or anything. He had good coverage, but Dez is one of the best WRs in the game. Coupled with more even more starters out and no pressure (maybe intentionally), of course it was gonna happen.

On Terrance Williams' TD:
If there were any starting players on defense, I didn't notice them. They dropped EVERYONE except the backup DL into coverage. Lamarcus Joyner got schooled, and that's pretty much it.

Why I'm not worried:
If this were the real games, the #2 corner would be on Terrance Williams, and I'm assuming it's gonna be EJ Gaines. And the more I look at it, I'm glad Lamarcus didn't get completely burned like Janoris sometimes did. He recovered nicely, and still had decent coverage. Just a good throw.

So in summary: not the real STs and defense, no real scheme, they went through the motions. And under Jeff Fisher on week 1s, when has this team NOT been ready to play week 1? Once, during the whole Shaun Hill/Austin Davis debacle.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I got 1 word for ya....stop.

Just. Stop.

I re-watched all 3 Dallas TDs. Here's my non-coaching perspective.

On the opening kickoff:
It was excellent blocking on Dallas' part. I didn't really see missed tackles or anything like that.

Why I'm not worried: The Rams under this coaching staff have always fielded one of the better ST units. This isn't the norm for them, and I highly doubt this is gonna be the same ST unit come September.

On Dez Bryant's TD:
That was no where close to the starting defense. With the obvious starters out, plus a very basic scheme, I'm not surprised he got the score.

Why I'm not worried: Does anyone actually think Coty Sensabaugh is gonna cover the opponents' top WR, let alone one of Dez Bryant's caliber for a whole game? Isn't that Trumaine Johnson's job, possibly EJ Gaines? And let's be real, Coty didn't get burned or anything. He had good coverage, but Dez is one of the best WRs in the game. Coupled with more even more starters out and no pressure (maybe intentionally), of course it was gonna happen.

On Terrance Williams' TD:
If there were any starting players on defense, I didn't notice them. They dropped EVERYONE except the backup DL into coverage. Lamarcus Joyner got schooled, and that's pretty much it.

Why I'm not worried:
If this were the real games, the #2 corner would be on Terrance Williams, and I'm assuming it's gonna be EJ Gaines. And the more I look at it, I'm glad Lamarcus didn't get completely burned like Janoris sometimes did. He recovered nicely, and still had decent coverage. Just a good throw.

So in summary: not the real STs and defense, no real scheme, they went through the motions. And under Jeff Fisher on week 1s, when has this team NOT been ready to play week 1? Once, during the whole Shaun Hill/Austin Davis debacle.

Excellent post!

 

[Mojo Ram]

I'm not concerned Angry Ram, but i do believe that our ST Ace Chase Reynolds whiffed badly on that opening kickoff.

 

[fearsomefour]

I agree.
#2 Center looked good. Got push in the run game.
Brown was his usual flailing self in the ru game....he needs to improve before the start of the season or we need a new starting G.
Easley uses his hands well to get off his blocker.

 

[…..]

On Terrance Williams' TD:
If there were any starting players on defense, I didn't notice them. They dropped EVERYONE except the backup DL into coverage. Lamarcus Joyner got schooled, and that's pretty much it.

yup....Joyner bit pretty hard on that inside move. It was really a good route that Williams ran and there was no over the top help on that side.

 

[nantucket9]

The Ram first team defense was horrible last night, against the run and pass. Does this mean anything with respect to what we'll see this season? Hard to say. To some extent the defense is a one trick pony. When that pass rush is effective (and it often is), the defense is good to great. When not, it's average to bad. Only time will tell.

By the way, I thought Goff looked fine albeit limited reps. Tavon's pitiful drop was all on him. Cooper's drop was a good defensive play. On both, Goff was on the money. Hopefully he will play three quarters or so this week. He needs reps.

 

[den-the-coach]

I got 1 word for ya....stop.


On the opening kickoff:
It was excellent blocking on Dallas' part. I didn't really see missed tackles or anything like that.

.

Come on @Angry Ram Chase Reynolds whiffed on a little move from Whitehead right from the start of the return.

If E.J. Gaines is not healthy, Coty Sensabaugh is the next CB off the bench. Now I hope not because I like Roberson better, but IMO, Williams likes Sensabaugh and although I trust Gregg Williams, I don't trust Sensabaugh. Absolutely no pressure on Prescott is a concern, but I like you will not panic, but I do miss Janoris Jenkins already.

 

[Billy Baroo]

The Ram first team defense was horrible last night, against the run and pass. Does this mean anything with respect to what we'll see this season? Hard to say. To some extent the defense is a one trick pony. When that pass rush is effective (and it often is), the defense is good to great. When not, it's average to bad. Only time will tell.

By the way, I thought Goff looked fine albeit limited reps. Tavon's pitiful drop was all on him. Cooper's drop was a good defensive play. On both, Goff was on the money. Hopefully he will play three quarters or so this week. He needs reps.

Wasn't Tavon's drop from Case? Terrible drop.

 

[den-the-coach]

Wasn't Tavon's drop from Case? Terrible drop.

Yes it was the only incomplete pass thrown by Keenum and would have been a first down.

 

[yrba1]

Didn't really scheme at all, which is smart on Fisher's part. I laughed when Marinelli dialed the A-Gap blitz against Goff leading to that INT; that's basically a fresh script for teams to look out for when playing against the Cowboys come Sept. Our D-line was running a basic scheme and not even 100%; the secondary is dependent on how well the D-line plays and once Williams runs more scripts up his sleeve, they're going to play better than the showing yesterday.

 

[Faceplant]

I watched again and Donald and a lot of the others on D were just going through the motions out there. I guess it is worth it just to get some game reps against an opponent, but the D did NOT look like they were going full speed at all to me.

As far as panicking, I agree it is not time for that. However, every year we have these threads and almost every year we see the team carry the bad habits and play into the regular season....time for that shit to stop.

 

[Merlin]

Come on @Angry Ram Chase Reynolds whiffed on a little move from Whitehead right from the start of the return.

If E.J. Gaines is not healthy, Coty Sensabaugh is the next CB off the bench. Now I hope not because I like Roberson better, but IMO, Williams likes Sensabaugh and although I trust Gregg Williams, I don't trust Sensabaugh. Absolutely no pressure on Prescott is a concern, but I like you will not panic, but I do miss Janoris Jenkins already.

Beat me to it. Not just the whiff by Chase too but a couple lane integrity issues most notably with LB Lynch. With the teams I very much agree @Angry Ram, that they will be fixed come September. No real concerns for myself there.

The defense is a whole other scenario. As you pointed out IF Gaines doesn't make strides what we saw is what we get. But the rush also is a concern, and the trend we saw last year continued into the season with poor rush pressures and sacks before they started to turn it around. Fish mentioned the porous rush defense "isn't us" but in a lot of games last year it WAS them. There is every reason to expect a little more from this defense and that's even considering that Dallas has probably one of the best OLs in the league, because if our vaunted line is going to live up to their own hype they need to be able to beat the best. What difference would Quinn have made? We don't know, even though I presume he would have helped.

Lastly, though, @Angry Ram it's cool that you are so confident that Fish and company will get 'er done this season. But it also should not be a big deal that there are some concerned with different aspects of the team. This roster has a history of four years of underachieving seemingly every game they SHOULD win under this regime. I hate to admit it, but those types of concerns are real even for those of us who drink the kool aid.

 

[Rynie]

Don't beat yourselves up guys. You played against the 2016 Super Bowl champions.

 

[Fatbot]

Didn't really scheme at all, which is smart on Fisher's part. I laughed when Marinelli dialed the A-Gap blitz against Goff leading to that INT; that's basically a fresh script for teams to look out for when playing against the Cowboys come Sept. Our D-line was running a basic scheme and not even 100%; the secondary is dependent on how well the D-line plays and once Williams runs more scripts up his sleeve, they're going to play better than the showing yesterday.

Obviously it wasn't a real GW scheme, but the Rams did blitz, too. For example, Joyner came untouched on a delayed blitz. Dak hit the hot receiver for a first down as TJ was slow to move into position.

 

[Merlin]

Don't beat yourselves up guys. You played against the 2016 Super Bowl champions.

In all honesty the Cowboys are a tough matchup for the Rams because of their OL. Most teams don't have a line that can handle Donald and company up front, and while they didn't have Quinn it was pretty one sided when it mattered with enough time for Dak to make an effin ham sandwich in the offensive backfield.

But it's cool man. Hats off to the Boys, and hope we see you guys again in the playoffs, if we can get there.

 

[Angry Ram]

Come on @Angry Ram Chase Reynolds whiffed on a little move from Whitehead right from the start of the return.

If E.J. Gaines is not healthy, Coty Sensabaugh is the next CB off the bench. Now I hope not because I like Roberson better, but IMO, Williams likes Sensabaugh and although I trust Gregg Williams, I don't trust Sensabaugh. Absolutely no pressure on Prescott is a concern, but I like you will not panic, but I do miss Janoris Jenkins already.

OK, I'll admit I missed (pun intended) that, but I counter with this...is that the norm for him? I don't think so.

Coty didnt get beat. He got out muscled by Dez Bryant, one of the best WRs in the entire league. I'm not disagreeing with you in that he (Coty) is going to be a good CB. I'm just saying, chances are he won't be the guy covering SF's #1 (whoever that is) Monday night. I don't think even EJ would be covering him. And it all adds up. Put in the starting DL, and if they go all out, the coverage will get better.

To be fair, you should also take into account how many Dallas first string players were on the field. Prescott played well, but he's no Romo.

Agreed, and I'm betting a lot of them were out as well. So in the end, it is a wash.

Lastly, though, @Angry Ram it's cool that you are so confident that Fish and company will get 'er done this season. But it also should not be a big deal that there are some concerned with different aspects of the team. This roster has a history of four years of underachieving seemingly every game they SHOULD win under this regime. I hate to admit it, but those types of concerns are real even for those of us who drink the kool aid.

It's not about drinking kool-aid or being all in for the coaching staff. I'm taking the negatives that happened yesterday and comparing it to the norm. And yesterday's performance on STs and defense was not the norm. That isn't going to be our STs. That isn't the isn't the complete starting defense.

I'm not concerned about it.

 

[Merlin]

It's not about drinking kool-aid or being all in for the coaching staff. I'm taking the negatives that happened yesterday and comparing it to the norm. And yesterday's performance on STs and defense was not the norm. That isn't going to be our STs. That isn't the isn't the complete starting defense.

Remove teams from the conversation, because obviously that is one unit that has performed well every year for this regime. We definitely agree there.

But our defense is not elite statistically and has not been elite: last year they started slow with sacks and pressures, to the point where ten other teams finished above them in sacks overall (they were 11th at 41 sacks). That slow start was a problem and it was a trend that could be seen through the "meaningless" preseason games.

Their QB rating against was a pedestrian 90.4, placing them 16th overall in the league, plus they lost Jenks in FA. Seeing their FA addition Sensabaugh play like a backup-level CB with the tell tale inability to look for the ball in the air brings home the importance of Gaines getting back. Their depth at CB is three tops, and in that depth Joyner has to be in the slot to avoid the bigger WR matchups whenever possible.

Not having Quinn yesterday sucked. But on the roster there is nobody who will be able to supplant his production, and that is assuming he is capable of having a bounceback season. I did not, for example, witness him dominating in practice, because they're being so careful with him, thus he is an unknown for us.

My point in all this brother is that you cannot discount everything about preseason. There are always trends that follow into the season. In '99 the difference in the passing game was profound and persisted right on into the regular season even with that unknown QB taking the helm.

And it's not all negative, either. While the D struggled (and I expect them to get a lot of heat from the coaches in this week's Hard Knocks episode) the offense did some good things and showed more life than I'm used to seeing. These types of discussions have some value and are worth our time IMO.

 

[Akrasian]

Don't beat yourselves up guys. You played against the 2016 Super Bowl champions.
View attachment 15547

I thought it was a preseason game, not just another Ram scrimmage.