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I rewatched the condensed version of the Divisional playoff game in Philadelphia a couple of days ago. Today, I wanted to watch the actual version. I wanted to remember details of the game that I thought was well played, for the most part by the Rams. Full disclosure. I turned the sound off, except for the final drive, because I didn't want to listen to Collinsworth. I was correct. It was a well played game. There were mistakes like Kyren's fumble, Stafford's fumble (which doesn't seem to draw the same ire from Rams fans as Kyren's....understandably), Limmer's mistakes, bad drops by DRob, Higbee and Puka, missed blocks by Dotson, bad angles by Curl and Kinchens on TD runs by Barkley and Hurts, Gallimore not wrapping up Barkley when he had both arms on him. But any game is going to have mistakes. What I came away with from this rewatch is despite the weather being bad, despite the mistakes I mentioned, despite being down by 7 and then 13 in the 4th quarter, those boys fought back. Again and again.
The game was 16-15 going into the 3rd quarter, then 19-15 early in the 4th. We then went down 7 with 6 minutes left in the game and gave up another TD to go down 13. But these guys didn't throw in the towel. The Eagles, Siriani and their fans knew it. It was like a prize fighter hitting an opponent with everything he has and wondering, why isn't he going down? And our defense was YOUNG. After Kyren's fumble, the D stiffened and held them to 3. After Stafford's fumble they stiffened again and held them to 3. Sure they gave up 2 long Barkley runs and the first TD, a long run by Hurts but those 2 stops kept the game in reach. And lo and behold, Stafford performed some of his magic to get within 6 and then get within 15 yards of winning it with a masterful drive at the end. The false start by Dotson killed the momentum but there were enough mistakes to go around the entire squad. My point is despite all that, we were in position to win at the end. Some might say, that's the reasoning of a loser but I don't believe that. This team is battle tested and they're still young and talented. I will be extremely disappointed if they don't play in the Superbowl next February.
Some points I want to make, not to start any debates, just express an opinion. Speights played really well. I think we will be better at that position this year. Our cornerbacks played extremely well in that game. Which explains why management didn't go out and grab a couple of CBs. Kyren fumbled again but he did some really good things in that game. He was strong in pass pro. Very strong. He had runs of 30 and 20 yards. He had 2 runs of 20 yards or more all season and managed 2 in that game. He also had a 26 yard run vs Minnesota that was called back by a Whittington holding penalty. Despite fans desire for more speed at the RB position, KW has burst and can deliver long runs. He's not going to break off any 80 yard runs but they don't happen all that often league wide anyway. I think the RB room is fine and might be really good if Hunter can earn snaps. Whittington had a crucial catch in the 4th as did Tutu. And let me add one other thing. We have found our PK. But the thing I forgot completely about until I rewatched the game. Would the result have been the same if Fiske didn't go out after 3 snaps? We'll never know.
I can't blame that game on any one bad play which is usually the case. There was enough blame to go around but there was also plenty of resolve on both sides of the ball. We expect that from an offense led by Stafford but that defense was young and showed a lot of fight. Kudos to Shula and his boys. I think that sets us up to enter this season confident (as fans) to expect improvement on a squad that is already pretty damn good. Man, I can't wait for the games to start!!!
The game was 16-15 going into the 3rd quarter, then 19-15 early in the 4th. We then went down 7 with 6 minutes left in the game and gave up another TD to go down 13. But these guys didn't throw in the towel. The Eagles, Siriani and their fans knew it. It was like a prize fighter hitting an opponent with everything he has and wondering, why isn't he going down? And our defense was YOUNG. After Kyren's fumble, the D stiffened and held them to 3. After Stafford's fumble they stiffened again and held them to 3. Sure they gave up 2 long Barkley runs and the first TD, a long run by Hurts but those 2 stops kept the game in reach. And lo and behold, Stafford performed some of his magic to get within 6 and then get within 15 yards of winning it with a masterful drive at the end. The false start by Dotson killed the momentum but there were enough mistakes to go around the entire squad. My point is despite all that, we were in position to win at the end. Some might say, that's the reasoning of a loser but I don't believe that. This team is battle tested and they're still young and talented. I will be extremely disappointed if they don't play in the Superbowl next February.
Some points I want to make, not to start any debates, just express an opinion. Speights played really well. I think we will be better at that position this year. Our cornerbacks played extremely well in that game. Which explains why management didn't go out and grab a couple of CBs. Kyren fumbled again but he did some really good things in that game. He was strong in pass pro. Very strong. He had runs of 30 and 20 yards. He had 2 runs of 20 yards or more all season and managed 2 in that game. He also had a 26 yard run vs Minnesota that was called back by a Whittington holding penalty. Despite fans desire for more speed at the RB position, KW has burst and can deliver long runs. He's not going to break off any 80 yard runs but they don't happen all that often league wide anyway. I think the RB room is fine and might be really good if Hunter can earn snaps. Whittington had a crucial catch in the 4th as did Tutu. And let me add one other thing. We have found our PK. But the thing I forgot completely about until I rewatched the game. Would the result have been the same if Fiske didn't go out after 3 snaps? We'll never know.
I can't blame that game on any one bad play which is usually the case. There was enough blame to go around but there was also plenty of resolve on both sides of the ball. We expect that from an offense led by Stafford but that defense was young and showed a lot of fight. Kudos to Shula and his boys. I think that sets us up to enter this season confident (as fans) to expect improvement on a squad that is already pretty damn good. Man, I can't wait for the games to start!!!
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