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RockRam
4) The Bucs really only have 2 Receivers that can hurt us: Gronk and Evans. Tighten down on these guys aggressively and let the chips fall where they may with the other ones. Tom Brady is happy to throw 5 -8 yard passes all the way up and down the field. He won't make mistakes so we can't go in with a "keep everything in front of you" philosophy. Otherwise they'll control the ball and score nearly every possession. Our D is playing well, and they play best when they are allowed to be aggressive as opposed to conservative or even "prevent". They are wired aggressive so use that.
THIS to me is the end all in regard to who wins the game. But what it really comes down to is sustaining drives, controlling TOP and scoring some points each time a team has the ball. I think this will be a game when taking your FG vs. turning the ball over on 4th down could be very important.
While the Bucs are certainly down several skill players, they have 3 legitimate TE's. One of which may be the best TE of all-time. I would not be surprised to see a lot of 12 personnel and maybe even some 3 TE sets out of the Bucs with them trying to run the ball with whatever healthy RB they have left and then some play-action quick passes from those sets and an occasional 20+ yard shot to a WR/TE. Bernard, if healthy, has made a long career as a pass catching RB and he torched the Rams pretty well in the first match-up.
So, I agree, the Rams will not be able to control the TOP if they cannot stop the run and take away the short/quick passing game. They will have to play tighter to the LOS at the snap even if it doesn't look that way pre-snap.
For the Rams offense... I would love to see them mix in some extra OL here and there to try to get a power running game going. I would NOT start off that way because if that strategy is not effective, it would give the Bucs a mental boost. But, even if not real effective, they need to keep running the ball to keep the Bucs honest and to be able to sell the PA pass.
The Bucs are not a good team to run screens against and the Rams don't execute screens very well either. I would throw all those plays away for tomorrow.
This is also a game, because the Bucs secondary is just not that good, where we may actually see more empty backfields for the Rams. I'm good with that provided they have a good mix of things and don't get 1 dimensional. But even in empty backfield sets, I think the Rams need to look for short/intermediate depth routes where Stafford can get rid of the ball quickly and just keep the chains moving. Sure, have 1 WR running a deep route on most of the empty backfield sets, but don't throw the ball deep unless it's there. Don't throw into double/triple coverage just to take a shot. And... Don't involve OBJ in the deep passing game because the chemistry and timing just isn't there for whatever reason.
Who is going to win? I dunno. But, I expect less than 50 total points scored and predict that whoever kicks the most successful FGs wins the game. I'm seeing a 27-20, 24-21 type of score. SURE HOPE THE RAMS PULL IT OUT.
