Now, if Goff isn't playing by the end of next year, then we have a problem given the price we paid for him. But right now? You're spot on.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
QuoteSSDRamOne day the NFLPA and the NCAA put restrictions on what a helmet "can do" upon impact... just as the PGA puts restrictions on what the golf ball can do. ... Only when a player knows he could seriously hurt himself if he tries for a helmet-to-helmet kill shot will this change. If he knew his headgear wouldn't survive the collision, he'd instantly learn the value of shoulder tby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
This is completely correct. The modern American football helmet turns the head into a weapon, encouraging the player to use it without restraint. My son played HS and college football, but also rugby, along with 6 months on an English rugby side. Following his career, I watched American HS and college football players adapt from the helmeted sport to one which requires the same sort of tackliby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Lots of views here. But, I think there's a broad consensus of what we see in our defense. People draw different conclusions. But I doubt anyone would challenge the following general assessments: 1. The DL is top level elite. 2. The LBs show flashes of big play ability but also of some flakiness and are thin. 3. The DBs seem to have weak links. Can I get an Amen? OK. IF # 2 and #3 are tby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I really thought this was a stupid article. As far as I can tell, the core comparison between the LA and PHI approaches to their rookies was ... That PHI called Wentz 3rd string early and Fisher hinted that he hoped Goff would start soon. So bleeding what? What difference do summer, coach-speak presser comments make? Who takes them seriously? Look. To me, comparisons like this are poiby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
The results have been very dodgy. Now, many will say, "But the offense stinks." True. But not enough to explain the problem. Think of all the games when the defense has been porous from the first drive. And the games when we had leads but the D collapsed. Now here's the thing about these season-wide stats. The standard deviation is enormously wide. We aren't a middle of the paby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I think Fisher has run a Defense that has woefully under performed its high talent level.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I think it's tricky to evaluate Fisher. I frequently shake my head at BOTH positive and negative views of Fisher because they don't match my perceptions. Now, let me just say with all due respect that the statute of limitations on the Blame the Predecessors excuse is LONG past. The cycle of team improvement and decline in the NFL is much faster than 4 bleeding years. Many a good coach has turnby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Quotejemach The only thing the Rams did in the offseason that seemed right was go after a franchise QB. Will he be one...we will see. But overall, they added little. BTW...Rams fans...you state the perfect case of how the Rsms improved...well...so have 31 other teams. Gurley is our only hope. Well, as I have said repeatedly, Goff is not necessarily a key for this year. Now, yby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
QuotedodgerramWhen I read your post I thought it was written last year around this time. :imsorry Exactly the same whistling in the dark and false promises as last year. And the year before. Go Rams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Um, I didn't make any promises. I offered observations of what I've seen so far and modest levels of hope. If you read these as promises, well, that's on yoby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Let's try to clarify. QuoteTonyHunter87The only way I will acknowledge improvement is seeing it on the field. See, that was actually my point in the follow up post. You have to see it on the field. What I was saying was that fans and pundits so often try to draw premature conclusions based on personnel additions or subtractions. And history tells us abundantly that this is folly. Playeby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
One of the themes in this thread is the idea that no new faces means no improvement. I think that's a false assumption. And here's another false assumption: Adding more, better talent guarantees improvement. Since they arrived, Fisher and Snead have been steadily improving our talent level. And each year--until this one--Ram fans have drawn the conclusion that adding players X, Y, andby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
We mortgaged a good chunk of our future on Goff. But then, that's the point: the FUTURE! The test of the Goff move is not now. It just isn't. You can't draft a demonstrably talent QB bred in a simplistic, non-NFL-style offense and expect him to change the 1st season. You can hope for it. But you can't count on it. And Fisher has not done so. He has been very consistent about being commiby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
QuoteTonyHunter87Case Keenum (a journeyman we've already cut) is our starting QB. ... We're returning the same starting offensive line and WR corps (save for a 2nd tier WR from the draft who's injured) from last year and Todd Gurley is STILL the team's only real source of offensive production. Hmmmmm. Looking primarily at the offense, I don't see it the way you do. Look. This isn't GSOT IIby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
They won't. They just ... won't.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Agreed. And all the more reason to be patient with Goff.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
And no, it's not Freudian parapraxis. I really like the guy!by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Your reminder is apt, and I'll just try here to make a point of distinction. No one knows how Goff will work out. No one. Not the boosters. Not the skeptics. So far, his performance has been mixed. He has shown flashes. He has shown that he is unready. Both sides have evidence to point to. However, there is one level of criticism that I think can decisively dismissed. The idea that a greby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
James, you raise good questions here. It is always hard to distinguish between the impact of the player and the context of the team and other players. Now, I would claim that my view discounts as little as possible. I try pretty hard to see the whole picture. Take the case of Britt. I feel that our combination of QBs, OL, and OCs has underutilized him. When I see him do things on the field,by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Quotewv ramMaybe he blossoms if the OLine solidifies and stays healthy, and the WR situation in general gets better. Seems to me, if i am on defense, Tavon is not someone i want to see, on a team with MORE weapons than just...Tavon and Gurley. w v So, are you arguing that if our offense gets better, then Tavon will look better? When you pay a guy a lot of money, isn't it supposed to beby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
That's why we need BOTH Lance and Higbee. You can have a route running TE who doesn't block well if you also have a tough blocking and versatile TE. We have that. It always amazes me how few people realize not only Lance's value, but what his role actually is. He is a superb bl;ocking TE who is also a pretty solid, middle-of-the-pack receiver. That is bloody rare.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Interesting. I'm not wholly sure I follow what you're saying about the gimmicks. I lay out my complaint about them responding to Suhweet. As for the meme that Tavon has been mis- or under-used, well, I don't buy it. I don't think he can do much more than what he has done. When I look at him try to run routes or get separation or pull away from guys, I do not see a guy likely to scareby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
QuoteSuh-weet!I assume you're talking about his runs (I don't see anything "gimmicky" about his punt returns or WR play)? Why are they "gimmick-based"? And, more to the point, what's the relevance of that? I have two guesses. One is that you don't like it stylistically. The other, more substantive concern might be that you don't think it's reliable. Maybe you can expby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
QuotedzramsIMO, it is incorrect to say that praising the rushing yards is an attempt to justify Austin as a WR when their original intent was that he would be a multi-purpose weapon, not just a WR. They talked about him as a RB starting the moment they picked him. OK. I'll grant that. I think that fits with my memories of the thing. Now, here's my question: taking a gadget guy for jet sweepsby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Hey, James, old friend. You know, I just do not get what people see in Tavon. I gather you don't agree that his production is mostly gimmick-based? Really? As for not missing him, I don't get that either. To date, I perceive him as having compensated on a small scale for our inability to establish a capable passing game in the conventional sense. Were we to have a solid passing gaby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I have criticized our receiving corps, and I still think it is a unit that lowers our ceiling. But, I don't think all is lost. Our TE set is very promising. Lance is what he's always been--a great blocker and pretty effective but not dominant receiver. Higbee has the tools to make a difference. Together, they make a really strong combination that could make the difference on some 3rd downsby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Nonsense. The test of a transcendent talent is not whether it blossoms in the first months. It's whether you see at least flashes and then whether they develop into transcendent performance. I am very happy to wait patiently until the game slows down for Goff. AND anyone who criticizes his performance so far without acknowledging the WRs who can't run routes, get open, or catch the damnby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com