I grew up in Chicago, and he was a rather large presence in the town. Butkus. Sayers. Ditka. Those were the guys I remember from the years when I was first paying real attention to the NFL. Those Bears kept looking for a QB, and, really, they still are. Meanwhile, the Rams had Gabriel, Olsen, the Deacon ... and the horns. Sorry, Bears. I fell in love with the Rams.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
"What, another Willie?" It was hyping a young Willie Horton. Sort of hesitantly daring to compare him with the Immortals. Baseball ain't what it was. But in the 1960s, it was something. What a tradition. And always a better sense of history than the NFL has had.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I read somewhere that players--AD?--were yelling "This is our city!" after the Whiner game. That's pretty powerful after all that manure about the Red Mob invading. Team making a statement in that game. Taking back its turf. 'Course, it isn't my city. But then it isn't AD's either. Except in football terms. Be a pretty good marketing line for branding the Rams for LA, eh? &by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
My 1st game at Comiskey Park. I was born in Swedetown on the South Side of Chicago. Grew up in a suburb. (White Flight, sadly.) Don't remember the '59 World Series. (Dodgers beat us.) But I am forever a Pale Hose fan. But the Cubs? Ugh. Don't get me started. I dunno, though. I never got hooked on the Bears. Maybe it was because they used to play in Wrigley Field. (Shudder)by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Interesting. But you know what? I won't ask. Hell, We'll know tomorrow night!by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I can't ask the sports gods for more. I have seen the White Sox and the Rams win rings. I know what that is like. 'Course, if the gods were offering more rings, I won't complain...by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
His blocking. Those great blocks in the running game against Bosa and others. I can see him teaming up with Whit and Hav to open up the edges for Cam and Sony. If we do that, I think we'll score 25+ points and dominate TOP. They won't have an answer for that.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I mean, what do I know? Not a damn thing. But I feel unusually confident. That's partly because I don't have any animus against the Bengals. It's not like the prospect of losing to the Evil Ones from up north on our own pitch. But my whole sense of things is that we are in a really good place. I think we have genuine advantages. And I think we are ready. The team, if you will, is ripeby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
They supposedly have a strong 3 and 4 man rush. Empty? If we do go empty, I would like to see us spread the formation. Get room for quick channels to throw into. 'Course, our tight bunches always scare me. But McVay seems to do well with them. What do I know?by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I think my biggest source of confidence is our blooded, VETERAN core of stars. These guys know what performance under pressure is. They've done it thousands of times. Aaron. Von. Jalen. Weddle. Matthew. Whit. Kupp. Beckham. Not just great talent. Great performers. Great competitors. We've seen it for 3 games. I think they can do it one more time.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
A lot. Trust. Confidence. Stillness. For a prepared and experienced pro, these are conditions for maximum performance. Of course, words are not necessarily reality. But I love our blooded vets. They know how to find performance in the eye of the hurricane. Stafford sure does. Now, I wonder about McVay. He clearly knows that he lacked all this the 1st. He needs to find this zone.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Matthew is not prone to making mistakes short or on long drives. He'll miss on deep balls, as you say, or when his radar is off. Which does happen. But I don't think that his inaccurate spells are defense-related. He just starts missing. That could happen, and it would be bad. But he always hangs in there. The odds are that he will be fairly sharp or better. And he is money in the 4th. Butby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
My points about him panicking were based on 5 year history. He does seem to be learning. A very good thing.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I agree. The system is built on the run. But McVay panics. But that's the thing. Unlike TB ans SF, CIN is vulnerable there. They are unlikely to be able to hold us to 1.5 ypc AND defend us vertically. They don't have SF's complete defense. Or at least that's the CW. I do think CIN will struggle to defend both deep and short. And I think Matthew will make them pay.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Our running game is a major advantage over CIN. But the media world forgets this. What they also forget is that McVay has always wanted to base his offense 1st on the run. He gets panicky at times and loses touch with it. But he always wants to run 1st. Will he run? Well, remember the DAL playoff win. Remember the AZ playoff win. He loves to throttle the game on the ground. And CIN appearsby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I am glad to see all the negativity in the media world. I don't think this team would be too vulnerable to overconfidence. But with all this Bengal love and Ram dismissal, you can just imagine how sharply honed the focus is in the locker room. By coventional standards, one would expect us to be favorites. And that has dangers. But a more complete team getting nationally dismissed? Thatby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
I think opening and closing specific threads would be good.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Between a sports league and gambling revenues. Smell is right.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
There's a big hoohah about thread controversies going on here. I have no opinion on it. But. I feel oppressed by enormous threads in which I have no interest. I want the option to collapse the thread. If one could shrink the thread to 1 line, I think the vast majority who are interested would be happily able to focus on what they care about. This is especially important with a long threaby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
McVay says Stafford has made him a better coach. I believe him. I really do.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
This is an issue. McVay has long had issues with nerves and over-thinking things. It has impaired his leadership and cost him games. He WAS young and glitchy in '19. I think he has grown a lot. He is not wholly out of the woods. But I think he does have some better judgement than he did. I think that, some red flags and odd play calls notwithstanding, he is steadier, more balanced in runninby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
The best asset for a safety is intelligent vision. Weddle has that in spades. He reads the offense so well. He's always in the right place. Most importantly, he teams up with the other DBs brilliantly. Remember that story about he and Ramsey nodding to each other? Ramsey knew Weddle has his back and so could play more aggressively underneath. Look. The man is old. He won't play the wholby RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Higbee + Blanton. Both can block and receive. Having 2 quality, twin-threat TEs is a real treasure!by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Allen used to hate rookies and always filled his Wash teams with vets. Now, we don't hate rookies. We develop them well. But we sure get the value of veterans. George Allen. Never played the game. 1st ST coach in league history--with the Rams whom he later coached. Interesting guy.by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
But they got a push at least. And that is a big victory!by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com
Getting tired of this every year. I really wanted to see Raheem get a 2nd year running this defense. I think he and the players came a long way adjusting to each other over the year. I think Year 2 could be step up to the top drawer. Don't know as much about the other guy. And the Vikings? Really? I have to live here, guys!by RFL - RamsFootballFans.com