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A Rams Fan's Look at the 2011 Rams


ramsrams

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Hello to all. Some might remember that I've done a few of these write-ups many years ago. Missed the last two. Just one in my mind, cuz I did one two years ago and inadvertently deleted it prior to submission. My fault, had a flight early the next day and no time to rewrite. Last year, it was personal circumstances.

My thanks to the mods for helping me through some technical difficulties in accessing the forum. First class!

Enough of that. Let's talk football! I belong to what I consider the best Rams site, realramsfans.com. You can find me there under the same screen name. I come in peace, and am not a troll. The following is intended to be for informational use only.

My look at the 2011 Rams:

QB: A lot was asked of Sam Bradford last year, and for the most part, he delivered, earning ROY honours. He played in Pat Shurmur's WCO, and was mostly required to get the ball out quickly in three step drops. His play regressed towards the end of the year. Josh McDaniels was hired as the new OC/QB coach this year, necessitating a new offense. That's a lot to put on a young player, even one as talented as Bradford. The shortened off-season did the Rams no favors, and this season's results bear that out. While most of it is the lack of talent around him, Sam, for the first time, had the "deer in the headlights" look about him against the Ravens last week. He was getting pummelled, and didn't react well. The Skins have a pretty good pass rush, so that will be interesting to watch.

RB/FB: You guys already know about Steven Jackson. First carry of the year, takes it 47 yards to the house. Injures his quad on the play, and is just now trying to get healthy. I doubt he'll have an impact this week. I'd expect him back in two more weeks, but he's a tough guy. Ya never know. Cadillac Williams has been decent, save one big bone headed play on Monday Night. Still got a little wiggle, and can catch the ball out of the backfield. Jerious Norwood backs him up, but he's not nearly the back he was prior to getting injured with the Falcons. Lost his speed. At fullback, expect to see Brit Miller in for a very few plays, as the FB is not employed often. Miller's JAG.

OL: Talk about underperforming! These guys are all multi- millionares, and play like crap week after week! For an old time Rams fan like me, this is the most pathetic thing about the franchise right now. OL Coach Steve Loney is finally on the hot seat, and I'd be the first to say good riddance. Let's see, the Rams make Jason Brown the highest paid center in the league, and he mails it in after leaving the Ravens. The Rams give Jacob Bell $36 million to leave the Titans, and he was so bad he had to take a pay cut this year. Harvey Dahl was supposed to be the tough inside presense the Rams really lacked, but he's playing like a below average OG. On the outside, second over-all pick Justin Smith is officially a bust at RT. Just can't pass block, and has been benched part way through two out of the three games so far. Roger Saffold played extremely well for a rookie LT last year, but is finding it much more difficult when the Rams call five and seven step drops this year. Lick your chops when Adam Goldberg is called off the bench.

WR/TE: Not a lot of talent here. Danny Amendola was the best Rams WR, but he won't play. That's too bad, because he was Bradford's comfort blanket. Sims-Walker and Gibson are starters in name only. No speed, and can't separate. The most talented WR, by far, is Danario Alexander, he of the five knee surgeries. This kid has all the talent in the world, just can't practice enough to be a real part of the team, or a building block for the future. One of the only playmakers on this team, and that's sad. One of the curious draft picks, Salas or Pettis, will be active, but I don't expect anything from rookies. Speaking of rookies, at TE, Lance Kendricks looked all-pro in the preseason games, and has been a colossal bust when it counts. Bajema is JAG, and Mike Hoo(go ahead, you spell it!) can't stay out of the trairer's room.

DL: Some talent here. Chris Long is not explosive off the line, just, shall we say, persistent. Every OT in the league knows this. Old man James Hall is wearing down, and doesn't seem to be the 10.5 sack guy he was last year. He gets sucked inside a lot now, but I wonder if that's because he's trying to make up for the weak DT's. Fred Robbins, who was, in a word, spectacular, last year, seems to have lost it. The rest of the DT's are retreads or no names, and deservedly so. Keep an eye out for first round DE Robert Quinn. He's flashed a few times.

LB: MLB James Laurinaitus is solid. He calls the defense, and is a gamer. He gets lost in underneath coverage from time to time. Brady Poppinga and Ben Leber were brought in on one year deals to strengthen what was a historical weakness. History 1- New OLB's 0. Guess we'll keep trying! No depth to speak of, though Chris Chamberlain is a great special teams player.

DB: The Rms are without their best CB, Ron Bartell, for the season. Guy can play, even if he doesn't get the picks. The other starting CB, Bradley Fletcher, can hang with most good quality WR's. Old man Al Harris might have been the best CB the Rams had last week. I refuse to talk about Justin King. For some reason, Coach Spags went in to the season with only four CB's. Paying for it now. At safety, Mikell was a nice pick up, and has made some plays. Darian Stewart got his first start last week, and was burned a number of times. Not a burner, but showed some strength in the preseason. Look to pick on Craig Dahl, as well.

Should be fun! Always love Rams-Skins. Seems like we play each other every year, just like a divisional game. I'll be watching Fletch, O.J., and gulp Carriker and Haslett. (never liked the last two!)

May the best team win!

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Thanks for that Ramsrams, always nice to get a home team perspective.

I do like the match up we have with both scheme and personel, but so much of football is in the mind and attitude and how we react coming off a tough loss and how much the Rams what to scrap to avoid 0-4 will be huge.

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Welcome back, amigo. I like the time you take to put a post together. Well done. The simple view on this game for me reflects the reality of being a Redskins fan...I worry about losing one we should win, and that's with no disrespect to your team.

I do feel bad for Bradford as I think he's the real thing and hope he doesn't get too abused in his early years.

Some trivia--you guys played your first pre-season game as the L.A. Rams against the...Washington Redskins! :cool:

I'm old enough to remember watching your team when the Fearsome Foursome were wreaking havoc and our own George Allen was your skipper. My sister who is ten years older than me was in love with Roman Gabriel for years. :)

I really enjoyed the Greatest Show on Turf just as a football guy. Here's to a good game with no injuries and a bright future for your guys as long as it's never at our expense. :pfft:

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Many thanks for the informative post, RR.

That shortened preseason combined with a new offensive scheme hurts your chances in the division this season. But, in the long run, Bradford is an ideal fit for the McDaniels scheme which I think is potentially more efficient in today's NFL than the WCO you were running.

Here's to an injury-free game!

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Take solace in the fact that your schedule is so brutal you could start 0-7, HOWEVER, you do get the home game vs the Skins which can always act as a sort of a pain reliever for your woes. If Steven Jackson is close to full strength & get carries he WILL burn the Skins run D which has been worn down & abused in the 2nd half the last two weeks. The Rams have to protect Bradford because the Skins can bring relatively good pressure with Kerrigan/Orakpo & Haslett is aggressive & will show a lot of 8 man fronts/blitz packages. This one could be close because Bradford is a very good young QB & the Skins D has a propensity to give up the big play. Absolutely cannot expect the same from Grossman in the passing game. Maybe the Skins can find a running game this week. I see Helu getting at least 15 carries this Sunday so you'll see more of a RB duo...

Game will be close. On the road that usually doesn't bode well for Skins.

A calculated formula of years ending in 1 & Skins following a MNF loss to Dallas leads me to predict final score Skins 26 Rams 23

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Thanks for the info RR. I enjoyed your take on things.

As a long time "Skins fan, my concern in this next game is our maddening ability to play to the level of our opponent even when we're clearly better. Case in point was our recent loss to the Cowboys. We clearly were the better team but the Cowboys hung around and made the big play when needed. Again, we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

It's never easy but Hail to our beloved Redskins!

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I always like when you come here. You're a respected opponent. Good write up. One thing that has bothered me about you guys is, I know you needed a franchise QB, and you've been drafting linemen to help out. But I've always thought you needed a stud WR and your FO has pretty much ignored that in the draft. I've always felt you guys should have taken on of the WRs in the 1st round the last few years (not the year you drafted Bradford).

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I always like when you come here. You're a respected opponent. Good write up. One thing that has bothered me about you guys is, I know you needed a franchise QB, and you've been drafting linemen to help out. But I've always thought you needed a stud WR and your FO has pretty much ignored that in the draft. I've always felt you guys should have taken on of the WRs in the 1st round the last few years (not the year you drafted Bradford).

The tackle Smith they took with the second over all pick the year before they took the Sooner is a prime example.

If he's a top two talent, Stephon Heyer still has a shot to be great in this game.

Hail.

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great write up ramsrams.

BTW, why did the Rams release Donnie Avery? I know he was injured last year but I thought he was a big prospect for you all?

There's some speculation that Avery asked for his release, but that hasn't been confirmed anywhere.

I had high hopes for the guy. Remember his big catch against you guys his rookie year?

On top of the serious knee injury last year, Avery was always dinged up. Just wasn't a guy you could plan around. Great straight line speed, but struggled to get separation, and had questionable hands.

The "draft guys" on our forum were all over Devaney for selecting Avery over Desean Jackson. Whatever you may think of Jakson, turns out they were right.

---------- Post added September-30th-2011 at 01:42 AM ----------

Sadly rr, unlike previous encounters, I'm not at liberty to jaw with ya' as I'ma STILLl pissed at you guys taking our QB.:mad: .

As a founding member of the BoB ( http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?313701-Backers-of-Bradford. ); day's like this coming Sunday are REAL hard to take. :(

Hail.

I feel your pain!:)

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Classy opposing fan; i like these kinds of posts. And I agree with Jumbo - these kind of games (teams we "should" beat) are the ones that scare the daylights outta me.

If you guys want Carriker and Haslett back, just ask when they get to town. We won't be missing much.

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Thanks for sharing rr.

You guys do need to draft a stud WR next year or else it's a waste on Bradford. Your weakest link is WR. As for Jackson, I had him on my Fantasy and his production has declined the past few years(due to injuries). You will need to draft a RB next year also. Your team has so many holes. Unreal. Did a lot of draft picks bust?

Good Luck with the season.

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Why do so many fans of other teams have an interest with this board? ramsrams, you seem all right, so don't think I'm singling you out; it's just that your thread made it impossible for me not to disclose this observation.

Well, I've told this one before, but since you asked...

Two reasons for me. One, I loved the Bang cartoons back in the day, and figured it would be nice to give a little back. Secondly, the founder of this forum (a good Canadian, if I understand correctly) helped the founder of realramsfans when he was setting up that site. Again, just kind of one good turn deserves another.

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Hello to all. Some might remember that I've done a few of these write-ups many years ago. Missed the last two. Just one in my mind, cuz I did one two years ago and inadvertently deleted it prior to submission. My fault, had a flight early the next day and no time to rewrite. Last year, it was personal circumstances.

My thanks to the mods for helping me through some technical difficulties in accessing the forum. First class!

Enough of that. Let's talk football! I belong to what I consider the best Rams site, realramsfans.com. You can find me there under the same screen name. I come in peace, and am not a troll. The following is intended to be for informational use only.

My look at the 2011 Rams:

(snip a great breakdown. it's nice to know who's who on our opponent's team. thank you ramsrams!)

May the best team win!

May the best team win. Nice to see a representative from a classy fanbase. :cheers:
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QB: A lot was asked of Sam Bradford last year, and for the most part, he delivered, earning ROY honours. He played in Pat Shurmur's WCO, and was mostly required to get the ball out quickly in three step drops. His play regressed towards the end of the year. Josh McDaniels was hired as the new OC/QB coach this year, necessitating a new offense. That's a lot to put on a young player, even one as talented as Bradford. The shortened off-season did the Rams no favors, and this season's results bear that out. While most of it is the lack of talent around him, Sam, for the first time, had the "deer in the headlights" look about him against the Ravens last week. He was getting pummelled, and didn't react well. The Skins have a pretty good pass rush, so that will be interesting to watch.

Ramsrams:

I'm curious about your opinion of Bradford....hopefully you can be objective about him.

Even though he was the ROY last year, (his stats were below average compared to the rest of the starting QBs), he was mostly dinking and dunking (439 out of 590 were thrown less than 10 yards).

When he threw more than 10 yards (only 25% of the time) , his completion percentage was only 41.9%. Really pathetic.

Now that McDaniels has him throwing slightly more intermediate passes, his production has dropped even further (although the loss of Jackson might account for some of the drop).

Do you think he's just having trouble adjusting to the NFL or is his forte limited to the dink/dunk passing game?

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