Official Packers vs Rams thread

[Brian Demarest]

Do you guys even realize the Rams are 2-2 at the moment??? The way I see it is that this game isn't about home field advantage as the Rams aren't going to make the playoffs.

Yes, we do. The difference is that's exactly what we expected at the start of the season. It's not at all what we expect after the bye. This game I think what most of us expect is to play well, shock some GB fans, and have a shot. When we say the Rams may play GB again for HF advantage, we're not saying we are a lock to win this game or anything. We're saying the Rams after the bye, and perhaps even this game, are a completely different Rams than the ones that started the season.

Jenkins isn't elite. He's allowing a completion rate of 76.5% so far this season and the 249 receiving yards allowed are 10th most in the league.

He is elite. We play bend but don't break. He can shut down any receiver in the game and has. There will be no long ball against Jenkins Sunday unless he misses an assignment. That used to be an issue but it may be in the distant past. Stats out of context have no meaning.

When your scheme is to allow the short throws, you won't rank.

When your scheme is to allow the short plays, your defense won't rank.

It's true that all of you have mentioned and exaggerated about all the positive stuff there is to say about the Rams. I haven't seen anyone even slightly admit this team has some weaknesses as well.

I guess you have selective memory.

"Weaknesses:

The o line. They get better every week but it's a rebuild.

TE's. Cook could be a massive star, but he drops every damned must catch ball. Kendricks is good but has been dropping too. Harkey will mess up anyone in front of him but is a third TE, mostly used for blocking schemes, and rarely pass catching."

You get that this a highlight reel, take a look at the game film and you´ll quickly realize Austin isn´t a polished receiver. BTW Austin has 55 rushing attempts during his career with Cobb having 28, not that big of a difference.

Stats out of context again.

Cobb .05 per game. Not a part of the backfield.

Austin 1.7 per game career and 2.5 per game under our new OC.

Now that we have an OC focused on getting TA the ball, it's a different world for TA.

 

[Brian Demarest]

Here's the thing, if you're going to shut down Eddie Lacy you need to scheme to stop him. That means keeping your LBs near the LoS and your DEs tucked inside where they can't rush the passer as effectively. You do that and Aaron likely rips up your secondary.

I believe.

I don't think it's needed for us to point out who we're facing, I'm assuming we all know as a given.

The Rams will never stop Aaron from making the short passes. They won't even try.

What will decide this passing game against the Rams, IMHO, is what the Rams do to the receivers AFTER those passes. No interceptions doesn't mean no TOs. Short passes all day long doesn't mean points.

You will see a LOT of 5-8 yard passes followed by major collisions. Our McSafties will lay wood every chance they get and they will play the ball.

 

[Brian Demarest]

Garbage time. 2 of them came in the 4th after GB was up 38-14 and took their foot off the gas.

Ahhh, I see. Didn't know that.

Well, they sound pretty good then.

I don't have the eyeball version, just the stats. It's the same as the GB fans that are using just stats to lull themselves into a false sense of security.

 

[Brian Demarest]

Aaron Donald kind of reminds me of John Randle, dangerous inside pass rusher and a game wrecker if you let him. But if you can run at him a lot he won't look so good. TJ Lang is generally regarded as an above average guard in spite of nagging injuries, if healthy he's a pro bowler and right now he's healthy. If I'm Clements right now I'm thinking that TJ Lang and Corey Linsley are much better run blockers than Aaron Donald is as a run defender, I'm going to run right at Aaron Donald early and often. In fact I would be so confident in my matchups of Lang/Linsley on Donald and Sitton on Brockers that I would scheme around being able to send either Lang or Linsley straight into the second level on most run plays. I would count on the ability of my O-line to win their matchups mano a mano in the interior of the run game concern myself with beating the crap out of their LBs and safeties at the second level. I would force them to play their DEs on the hip pockets of their DTs and force them to bring a safety up in the box which they do willingly partly because their safeties suck in coverage. Then with their pass rush slowed and their weak secondary even more exposed I would look to attack downfield and put some explosive plays on the books.

Donald is now officially, statistically, better than J. J. Watts and the best DT in 8 seasons.

I would temper your expectations until we see what the best vs best will bring.

This may be the best player on player matchup for both teams, and perhaps the NFL, all season.

 

[Brian Demarest]

I get you Ram fans are really excited, but wow....one half and he is going to be the best thing ever?

I don't think you will find that from any Rams' fan in this thread.

It's not the Rams' fans that keep repeating how great Gurley may be so, I'm starting to wonder, who is really thinking that he is already really good?

 

[Brian Demarest]

Our guests have been homeristic, I'll say this much though they're definitely a team on the rise. But they need some help in the secondary. Either they need another starter at CB and two new safeties or they need an Ed Reed Nick Collins type at the FS position to make up for their weaknesses. As a whole they remind me of the Lions teams of a couple years ago.

If you judge the Rams secondary by stats with no regard for scheme, that will be your impression all season, and we understand. We HATE that the Rams will play games lights out, exactly as they are told to, win big games doing it, and never rank.

The good news is that teams always underestimate us.

 

[Brian Demarest]

In the 1st half of both games, he has negative yards.. 7 attempts for 4 yards...Seems like last week maybe Fisher adjusted something in the 2nd half..But it was ONE HALF

I didnt watch the game but saw the long runs..Good speed, but that line blew up the holes for him..He had huge running lanes..But he had to use his speed to shoot threw them.

That was a half of football Rams fans didn't expect to see. He's 9 months off of an ACL, first start in the NFL, wearing a brace, behind an o-line hand picked for the running game but had made almost no progress in that area, against an undefeated division leader on the road.

If you think he was fast, wait until you see him after the brace is off. We are being told by Georgia fans who watched him there, he looked about 80% of what they're used to.

A lot of Rams' fans didn't even want him to start before the bye. These are not the defenses many wanted him to take his very first NFL snaps against, but so be it.

That line that made those huge holes is built specifically to do that. They are all huge road graders. If they keep it up, I'll be driving the Gurley hype train after the bye. Right now, Gurley and the o line are still a mystery to us, but in a good way. We have HOPE!

 

[ivo610]

Donald is now officially, statistically, better than J. J. Watts and the best DT in 8 seasons.

I would temper your expectations until we see what the best vs best will bring.

This may be the best player on player matchup for both teams, and perhaps the NFL, all season.

What stats are you using to say Donald is better than JJ?
Next youre going to tell me Foles is better than Rodgers

 

[Brian Demarest]

What stats are you using to say Donald is better than JJ?
Next youre going to tell me Foles is better than Rodgers

I try to never say things like one player is better than another because it's so subjective and situational. I'm saying STATISTICALLY, Aaron Donald, the 2014 DROY and pro bowler, is rated by PFF as the best defensive lineman in the NFL this season. Better than J. J. Watt. He is also rated the best DT in the NFL in the last 8 years.

This is in, by far, the hardest part of the Rams season. I expect after the bye, there is going to be a Rams pass rush explosion heard around the NFL.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page...donald-started-early-become-nfl-best-d-tackle

We don't need Foles to be better than Rodgers to win the NFCW and go to the playoffs, we need him to be better than Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis and Shaun Hill.

 

[Croak]

Ahhh, I see. Didn't know that.

Well, they sound pretty good then.

I don't have the eyeball version, just the stats. It's the same as the GB fans that are using just stats to lull themselves into a false sense of security.

Someone said something like; "Stats are used like a drunk uses a lampost; for support and not illumination." I know it is cliche but in football, in the end the only stat that matters is the one that lists W-L.

Your Rams are a fine team. I know you aren't saying that they are definitely going to win. What you are saying is that they have a good chance. I can't disagree with that.

I think it is also important to note that without Jordy the Packers are definitely not as adept at the real long ball that we saw last year in the chemistry between him and Aaron . What they have now though is very effective, because they don't just have Lacey, they have Starks. Both are quality running backs. Both capable of going inside or outside. Both capable of breaking off big runs. Combine those with Aaron Rodgers ability to make very quick reads and avoid hard rushes and that short game becomes bread and butter. I'm think it is going to be a real interesting chess match to see how this offense works around that front four of yours. I expect some surprises from this offense now that MM isn't making the play calls.

 

[Brian Demarest]

Someone said something like; "Stats are used like a drunk uses a lampost; for support and not illumination." I know it is cliche but in football, in the end the only stat that matters is the one that lists W-L.

Your Rams are a fine team. I know you aren't saying that they are definitely going to win. What you are saying is that they have a good chance. I can't disagree with that.

I think it is also important to note that without Jordy the Packers are definitely not as adept at the real long ball that we saw last year in the chemistry between him and Aaron . What they have now though is very effective, because they don't just have Lacey, they have Starks. Both are quality running backs. Both capable of going inside or outside. Both capable of breaking off big runs. Combine those with Aaron Rodgers ability to make very quick reads and avoid hard rushes and that short game becomes bread and butter. I'm think it is going to be a real interesting chess match to see how this offense works around that front four of yours. I expect some surprises from this offense now that MM isn't making the play calls.

You have no idea how pleased I am we got rid of Schotty (that's my official face every time I say Schotty now) and promoted Ciggi. The play design and play calling are at a new level. TA is finally being used.

Jordy is a star. I can definitely say I'm glad we won't be playing him, but for the wrong reasons. Although, I would have liked to see him and Jenkins battle it out.

"What you are saying is that they have a good chance." Well, not exactly, what I'm saying is they have a chance. I wouldn't say good chance because I have no more idea how this Rams team will shape up when they are finally all on the field than anyone.

If we play well and lose, I'm not at all going to be down on the team. The fact that we have any hope at all, at this point in their season, is huge from my perspective. To be honest, I doubt a bad loss would mean much to me. It's asking a LOT for the team at this point in the season to go to GB and compete at a high level. We could though, we could.

 

[PFanCan]

"What you are saying is that they have a good chance." Well, not exactly, what I'm saying is they have a chance. I wouldn't say good chance ...

Every team has a chance in every game. You came here to tell us that?

Come on, let's have a recap of your comments thus far regarding the Rams:

DEFENSE

They are badass with a capital BADASS.

The Rams do indeed sport the best D line in the NFL...

...the secondary have pretty solid skills with Jenkins being amazing and the McSafties willing to lay out anyone that comes near them.

J Jenkins is among the NFL elite... He WILL shut down any receiver...

We all know Donald is Donald, and he's just not stoppable

Rams create TOs, they don't wait for them. They put their helmets on balls. They pull the balls out. They knock a guy senseless so he coughs it up. We aren't counting on Rodgers, we're counting on the Rams defense.

Just a note on your quote above: The Rams have 6 takeaways thus far this season, ranking 13th just ahead of GB with 5. NYJ leads the league with 13. But, back to your boasting:


SPECIAL TEAMS

The Rams boast an outstanding ST.

No ST this season hasn't looked bad against the Rams.

Our Field Goal kicker will kick from the 70 if needed to win

Our Punter, if not the best in the NFL...na...he is.

...Zuerlein ...he's the best long ball kicker you may ever see. ... I have no doubt he will break the longest FG record in his career.

Hekker, all things considered, is the most valuable punter in the NFL...

OFFENSE

Austin is just amazing. His title is WR, but forget that. If he gets the ball, he will eel his way to a big gain every time.

Britt can be lights out.

Quick may be making his first start since his major injury and he can also lights out.

Foles is probably going to have his best season ever

Cook could be a massive star...

All that, and you still just think that your team only has a "chance", but not a "good chance"?

Do you think that GB is better than all that above? I can tell you now that we don't have the best D line in the league, we don't have any elite cornerbacks, our backfield rarely lay the wood, our best lineman is not better than Watt, our quarterback is not necessarily going to have his best season this year, our RBs are not the best in the league, our multi-faceted slot receiver is not unstoppable, our best RB is not better than all the other RBs in the league, our punter is not the best in the league and our kicker is not the best at anything (FG or long distance) in the league.

But, according to you, your team has all those things? And you don't think you have a good chance of winning?

Must be the home field advantage then, I guess.

I hope you GB fans don't think I'm being over confident.

No. Never even crossed my mind.

 

[PFanCan]

If you think he was fast, wait until you see him after the brace is off. We are being told by Georgia fans who watched him there, he looked about 80% of what they're used to.

I believe those Georgia fans are referring to his speed prior to blowing his ACL. It is possible that the 80% is his new 100%.

 

[PFanCan]

One more reply. Couldn't resist:

... There will be no long ball against Jenkins Sunday unless he misses an assignment.

I have a few predictions, too:

1. Lacy will have a huge game, unless he misses the hole and gets tackled.
2. Rodgers will have no INTs, unless he misses his targets.
3. Crosby will hit an 80 yard FG, unless he misses the space between the uprights.
4. There will be no long gains by Gurley, unless the Packer D miss their assignments.

I could go on. But, I am sure you get the point by now.

 

[longtimefan]

Rams D 27th in the league in yards given up to RB?

Packers D 2nd best in yards given up to RB

Did the Ram fans know this?

 

[GhostofCurly]

2.5 seconds. To avoid the Rams, you have 2.5 seconds. We timed it one game.

"Donald plays a position that is often overlooked on a play-to-play basis, but new forms of analysis help. Pro Football Focus, for instance, a site that grades NFL players on every play, sees a superstar. According to its analysis, Donald isn't just the highest-graded defensive lineman in the league for the first four weeks of the season, outperforming Watt. He's grading higher than any defensive tackle in the past eight years."

PFF also said that Josh Sitton is the best pass blocking guard in the NFL. See I can do that too.

 

[GhostofCurly]

What stats are you using to say Donald is better than JJ?
Next youre going to tell me Foles is better than Rodgers

He isn't?

 

[Mondio]

I haven't see fluffing this hard since John Bobbitt tried breaking into the business

 

[longtimefan]

Packers Def is holding opposing q.b to a 75 rating--5th best in the league.. Rams 17th with 93

17 sacks--tied for 2ns with the Rams

4 passing tds giving up Tied for 3rd---Rams with 3 tied for 2nd

8th in yards given up 788 yards, Rams 15th with 941

Packers rush Def 22nd with 460 yards given up 4.8 per carry..Rams 26th with 481, 4.3 per carry.

That is very skewed as the Packers gave up 189 yards to the Bears 1st game..Seattle had 119 yards rushing but Wilson had 78 of that..Lynch only 41..They held KC and Frisco to under 80 yards each.

So its safe to say Foles wont get to many rushing yards...So trend is we can hold Gurley to under 100

 

[Poppa San]

... I'm saying STATISTICALLY, Aaron Donald, the 2014 DROY and pro bowler, is rated by PFF as the best defensive lineman in the NFL this season. Better than J. J. Watt. He is also rated the best DT in the NFL in the last 8 years.....

Is this the same PFF that gave Rodgers a negative rating for the game in which he had 5 TD passes?

 

[ivo610]

I try to never say things like one player is better than another because it's so subjective and situational. I'm saying STATISTICALLY, Aaron Donald, the 2014 DROY and pro bowler, is rated by PFF as the best defensive lineman in the NFL this season. Better than J. J. Watt. He is also rated the best DT in the NFL in the last 8 years.

This is in, by far, the hardest part of the Rams season. I expect after the bye, there is going to be a Rams pass rush explosion heard around the NFL.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page...donald-started-early-become-nfl-best-d-tackle

We don't need Foles to be better than Rodgers to win the NFCW and go to the playoffs, we need him to be better than Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis and Shaun Hill.

PFF also said Rodgers sucked the other night and changed their grade 3 times on him. But it's nice to know they have Donald ahead of JJ through 4 games

 

[PFanCan]

i just visited the forum RAMSONDEMAND.COM. Scrolled through their thread entitled , "What Packer fans are saying".

First off, I did not see a single Packer fan post there. I might have missed them as I scrolled quickly though the pages, but it was mostly the same types of posts we see here by Rams fans talking about the Rams. A couple posts asking for Packer fans to speak up.

But, one strange thing is that one of their posters (actually the mod) cuts entire threads from this forum and pastes it as a single entry on that forum. So, there is this long dialog between Packer fans and Ram fans (which actually occurred here on this forum), but the names are not present, so one has to determine which fan is writing what from the context.

In fact, a large part of this thread is included. IDK, I found it weird.

 

[El Guapo]

I've never had an inkling to go to another fan site. I can't handle all of the chest beating from two teams' fans

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I don't know, after reading some biased Ram Fans hype, I am just glad that we are playing them before their bye week and before all their players actually play up to their best game (half) potential. Same thing I hear all the time from my Lion fan friends, "Do you know the potential this team has (insert....when every player has his best statistical game)?

 

[Brian Demarest]

Well @PFanCan , you've convinced me, if you take my comments out of context and edit them, we do have a good chance. Thanks!

I feel better about our chances now!