After a rough start, the Rams pretty much cruise to victory. My blood pressure was through the roof with all the missed passes and drops and missed tackles and soft coverage. But, at the end of the day, the Rams won in relatively comfortable fashion. Which, I think, goes to show just how high expectations are for this team. And how good the Rams might be.
Obviously, they didn't play perfectly but even with all of the miscues and mental errors, they essentially won this game while letting off the throttle for much of the 4th quarter. Which leads me to the first thing that stood out to me. McVay taking the FG late in the game. Instead of forcing a 4th down attempt, he wisely(begrudgingly?) took the FG and kept the lead 2+ scores. I believe this was right after Kupp failed to get the first down when he could have. Should have immediately turned upfield, Kupp. Anyway, really mature and smart decision by McVay to take the points even though the impulse had to be to go for it.
Sony Michel. Not a spectacular game but he did provide a slight threat of a run. For his first start, it was acceptable in terms of rushing the ball. But he showed me that he has really good hands. I didn't realize that he could catch the ball that well. That will pay dividends moving forward. However, the highlight of his day was his blocking. Blew up an inside blitzer on one play and showed that he knows his pass pro and is good at it. All in all, was very pleased with his overall game.
Glad to see Higbee getting involved. I think it illustrates that Stafford is still learning his personnel. Jackson was open all day. No excuses for the misses but connecting on the one will loosen up the back end of defenses moving forward. It might be me projecting but I felt like Jefferson, even though he didn't do a lot, seemed like he felt comfortable out there.
Gay continues to be a great addition to the team. It's just so nice having a reliable kicker. I don't need to be dazzled by 70 yard attempts that would have gone in if they weren't wide right. I'm perfectly happy with a guy who just makes the makeable ones.
Raheem Morris. I just don't know what to think. I almost can't stand to watch the defense the way they are approaching things but some how, some way, it's been effective. I guess I'll just go along with it until it starts actually costing them games. The soft coverage and lack of a pass rush much of the time is aggravating but they seem to outlast the opposition, so....
Of course there's Stafford. It was very frustrating to see him not ready to go but once he settled down, the offense was really clicking. Could have easily had 2 more TD's on top of the great day he did have. Considering how jacked up McVay was on the sideline, in retrospect, it seems clear the whole team was just playing tight because of how big of a game it was for them. Hopefully this success will improve their confidence and that won't happen in future games. But, as many talked about, QB play effects so many other things that don't show up in obvious ways. In this case, I'm thinking of the OL. Stafford is rarely getting sacked and that isn't because the OL took a quantum leap in individual ability.
Lots of stuff to like in today's game.
