Gay’s out of bounds kick off

I think it was deliberate and strategic. I was at the game (first time in Sofi and I’ll probably share my thoughts on the experience) and my wife and I were in the end zone.

So, I watched that kick off develop and it appeared from right off Gay’s foot that he was aiming for the west cone of the goal line.

Normally I’d have been pulling my hair out, but with all the discussion this board has had I thought this might be clever gamesmanship.

Why give Jacksonville 2 more minutes of clock to chew up by starting at the 25 as opposed to starting at the 40?

The one consistent quality this defense has shown is to tighten up with taughtness when teams get near the red zone.

It might have been all just a figment of my imagination, but I know for certain what a muffed kick looks like and that kick was true to its intent.


ALSO, since Stafford needs to warm up, it might not be bad to accept the ball at the opening coin toss. The Belichick strategy can be contrasted to the Walsh strategy. How many time as Rams fans have we been crestfallen when the 49ers won the toss and were guaranteed to be up 7-0 to start a game?

I think McVay’s strategy should be the same. He wins when he has a lead. Why not secure a lead in the first quarter?

The Belichick strategy is crafted for a defensively strong team with a dink and dunk offense. That’s not McVay’s team at all which is fine.

I totally get why Belichick does it. He can manipulate the first half—specifically the second quarter—and score right before half time and then score on the first drive of the second half. That’s great game strategy. Two possessions in a row. Only other closest phenomenon to that is scoring a safety. But it also makes up for his offensive philosophy which isn’t a fast scoring, high flying venture.

If I’m McVay, I’d receive the opening kick off, run the ball and throw some short play action passes to get Stafford in rhythm. This is what he did yesterday (although it resulted in a field goal).

But if you start out 7 to nothing, then your defense gets energy and maybe you get a three and out or even a turn over. McVay only needs to go in for another score on his second possession—whether it be a touchdown or field goal—and the opposing coach is throwing out his game plan. That’s not a lot of effort to wrest the reins of control of the game to your advantage. (Sun Tzu fans will appreciate a winning strategy that doesn’t take a mountain to move.)

This might not work on a team like the Cardinals who can match quick strike blow for quick strike blow.

But it will work on those other teams like the Titans who rely on ball control, sucking up the Time Of Possession when the Rams have barely any points on the board, and can dictate with their defense by putting McVay in a scrap the run game counter move.

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We Not Me