Game Thread: Week 14, New England Patriots @ Los Angeles Rams, Thursday, 12/10/20, 5:20 PM PST

[SJ76]

Sure, when they run the ball like that.

BB was set on stopping Goff tonight, and McVay made him pay for it...

Hell, Akers looked like a young TGIII tonight!

Amazing what happens when have TEs and have Everett line up at FB at times too huh

 

[redseat]

except they did see it.. Either Buck or Aikman I believe mentioned it

 

[Rambunctious]

This was a near perfect game for the Rams. And all wrapped up in a bow for Belecheat.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Congrats. I knew the Rams were going to win but thought the Pats would cover the spread because they were playing better as of late......

 

[Jermaine133]

Amazing what happens when have TEs and have Everett line up at FB at times too huh

I think McVay saw after the 1st int that needed to take the ball out of Goffs hand and just trust what was working. Hell that may even be the best course of action going forward.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Are you guys confident in Goff?

 

[Vitamike]

Yeah, the same team that blew out Chargers 45-0, beat the Dolphins, Cards and Rsvens. The Patriots are still a well coached team.

Your team just dominated both sides of the ball in 2 straight games in 5 day span and you think you didn't anything special, what? Rams are a contender, which I've been saying all year. And they are going out there and provng it, by playing well on both sides of the ball. It took awhile because of the schedule, when you basically have to fly out to east coast in this pandemic every other week. Five east coast trips in the first 10 games is going to impact teams.

We will wait for to hop onboard, I've been on the hype train all season, unfortunately most of the season by myself.

Not by yourself, I've been there every step of the way.

But consider this year's Pats team is fair, and it's not to disparage, but come on Battleon, we were at home where we've only lost one game all time at SoFi. Sure this Pats team has some decent wins, but it's in spite of their overall performance and then they kill a poorly coached LA Chargers team. Just look at those stats and tell me they should have won 47-0...

Then the schedule gives them 2 road games at the same stadium in those 5 days while our Rams had to travel to a Division opponent in those same 5 days...

Yes we were under the 8 ball, but we should have beat this Pats team like we did, with everything considering and nothing else excuses a loss...

Here in LA a lot of talk this week has been how this is a payback week for Mc Vay and more about a loss than a win in terms of how far our HC has come. IMO, Mc Vay was in a can't win situation, he either wins in any scenario and it's well he should win at home against a team that he should beat, or it's WOW he lost again to a team at home that he should beat.

A no win situation, to some fair, but to me the narrative sucks, because around here that narrative is Mc Vay was schooled in the Superbowl... That to me is a false narrative, because was not the score 3-3 going into the 4th quarter? That's not getting schooled IMO....

Our losses this year are troubling, and you can't deny it. We actually could have won those close games, and the games we were favored, but it doesn't work like that...

My post was about feeling good at where we are at. but cautious at where we are going, give me 3 more wins where we are favored each week, and I'll be excited going into the post season....

 

[SJ76]

Are you guys confident in Goff?

Lol. No

 

[Vitamike]

Are you guys confident in Goff?

LOL Yes!

 

[DJ Fieri]

LOL Yes!

 

[Vitamike]

@DJ

Goff doesn't need to be a Rodgers, Wilson or Brees. He can be a Brady with this team and win a lot in this league and maybe enough SB's to make even @Retroram52 happy...

Actually has been reminding me a lot of the GOAT... He needs to be a lot more careful with the ball however, or he will never get there unless he does..

 

[Rambunctious]

Congrats. I knew the Rams were going to win but thought the Pats would cover the spread because they were playing better as of late......

Nice win for the Raiders too

 

[Rambunctious]

@DJ

Goff doesn't need to be a Rodgers, Wilson or Brees. He can be a Brady with this team and win a lot in this league and maybe enough SB's to make even @Retroram52 happy...

Actually has been reminding me a lot of the GOAT... He needs to be a lot more careful with the ball however, or he will never get there unless he does..

That TD pass to Kupp in the end zone was a perfect pass. Only a pro bowl quality QB could make that throw. But just like Brady as a pocket passer he needs good protection. And a productive running game. I sure am happy the Rams went with Goff over Wentz. A lot of Rams fans wanted Wentz. The Rams chose right. Should they have given him the big bucks? I don't know but I bet some team would have.
Next week the Jets. Keep up the intensity Rams!

 

[Retroram52]

I think that year in the draft, I was clamoring for an OT or Center, basically an O-lineman. I thought Keenum would suffice when we drafted Goff. I didn't think much of Wentz either.

Just for the sake of memory lane on our 10-day stretch, here is a look at the 2016 opening day roster. A lot of dead weight and complete phonies talent-wise.

QB​

Case Keenum

Sean Mannion

Jared Goff

Here’s the thing about Jared Goff being “third string.” Should Case Keenum get injured, play horribly or some combination thereof would Sean Mannion actually take over in game action? Remember, Mannion played with the backup backups all preseason. He never actually got any reps with the top of the rest of the offensive depth chart, something we can’t say about Goff.

So while the depth chart might indicate Goff is “behind” Mannion, I’m not entirely sure that would be the case when it matters...

RB​

Todd Gurley

Benny Cunningham

Malcolm Brown

Chase Reynolds

Something we haven’t gotten too deep with is how much rest Todd Gurley is going to need. Here’s how he rotated last year, with the obvious footnote being that he was worked into the season resting the first two games:

Gurley: 456 snaps (47.60% of offensive snaps, 48.87% of RB snaps); 229 rushes (65.99% of RB rushes)
Cunningham: 282 snaps (29.44%, 30.23%); 37 rushes (10.66%)
Tre Mason: 182 snaps (19.00%, 19.51%); 75 rushes (21.61%)
Malcolm Brown: 9 snaps (0.94%, 0.96%); 4 rushes (1.15%)
Isaiah Pead: 3 snaps (0.31%, 0.32%); 2 rushes (0.58%)
Chase Reynolds: 1 snap (0.10%, 0.10%); 0 snaps (0.00%)


So there are two central questions here. One is does the 50% of snaps and 66% of rushes as the mark still hold as the target? Given that Gurley missed essentially 3.5 games last year, do those numbers go up assuming he’s available and healthy for all 16 regular season contests? Does his lack of exceptional passing game skills keep those numbers low on its own? The second question is on the rotation behind him. With Pead and Mason removed from the group, how much work do Cunningham and Brown get? Cunningham was clearly installed as a passing game role (see the discrepancy between the playing time he and Mason got and how many more carries Mason received).

WR​

Tavon Austin

Kenny Britt

Pharoh Cooper

Brian Quick

Nelson Spruce

Bradley Marquez

Mike Thomas

WR depth charts are always a bit funky since they’re not linear like most other positions. You’ve only got one QB on the field at a time. You’ve only got one RB most of the time in the NFL. But for WRs, you can go five-wide. The Rams went with the 11 formation (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) 50% of the time last year. So the real question is how much of the time that will mean a Austin-Britt-Cooper look. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brian Quick get time in a three-man front.

Two things to note. One, injuries are playing a part in shaping the position depth chart right now. The Week 1 personnel will likely differ significantly from the Week 9 personnel following the bye. Two, we know Jeff Fisher has an aversion to playing rookies early on. So the Cooper-Spruce-Thomas trio will likely get more work after the bye than before it.

TE​

Lance Kendricks

Cory Harkey

Tyler Higbee

Temarrick Hemingway

The Cory Harkey slot messes this one up a bit since he plays an entirely different position than the other three. I’ll definitely be tracking the Kendricks-Higbee-Hemingway playing time matrix.

OL​

LT	Greg Robinson	Pace Murphy
LG	Rodger Saffold	Cody Wichmann
C	Tim Barnes	Demetrius Rhaney
RG	Jamon Brown	David Arkin
RT	Rob Havenstein	Andrew Donnal

This one’s a bit misleading since you’ve got some rotational ability. If I was breaking it out for each position with duplicate roles for the guys, it’d look like this:

LT	Greg Robinson	Rodger Saffold	Rob Havenstein	Andrew Donnal	Pace Murphy
LG	Rodger Saffold	Cody Wichmann	Demetrius Rhaney	David Arkin
C	Tim Barnes	Demetrius Rhaney	David Arkin
RG	Jamon Brown	Rodger Saffold	Cody Wichmann	Demetrius Rhaney	David Arkin
RT	Rob Havenstein	Rodger Saffold	Andrew Donnal	Pace Murphy

That’s how you get the lineup we saw for the preseason with Rob Havenstein out which kicked Rodger Saffold over to RT opening up for Wichmann at LG.

DL​

Same as the OL. Here’s the single listing:

LDE	William Hayes	Ethan Westbrooks	Matt Longacre
LDT	Aaron Donald	Dominique Easley
RDT	Michael Brockers
RDE	Robert Quinn	Eugene Sims

And the full:

LDE	William Hayes	Eugene Sims	Ethan Westbrooks	Matt Longacre
LDT	Aaron Donald	Dominique Easley
RDT	Michael Brockers	Dominique Easley
RDE	Robert Quinn	William Hayes	Eugene Sims	Ethan Westbrooks

Not a ton to worry about here. We know Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams likes to rotate here. The real question for me is how much rotation he’ll squeeze that rotation down since he’s only got eight defensive linemen to work with.

LB​

MLB	Alec Ogletree	Bryce Hager	Josh Forrest
OLB	Nic Grigsby	Cory Littleton

CB​

Trumaine Johnson

E.J. Gaines

Coty Sensabaugh

Lamarcus Joyner

Troy Hill

And this was the roster put together by the Drama Queen, mind you!!

 

[Battlelyon]

I think that year in the draft, I was clamoring for an OT or Center, basically an O-lineman. I thought Keenum would suffice when we drafted Goff. I didn't think much of Wentz either.

Just for the sake of memory lane on our 10-day stretch, here is a look at the 2016 opening day roster. A lot of dead weight and complete phonies talent-wise.

QB​

Case Keenum

Sean Mannion

Jared Goff

Here’s the thing about Jared Goff being “third string.” Should Case Keenum get injured, play horribly or some combination thereof would Sean Mannion actually take over in game action? Remember, Mannion played with the backup backups all preseason. He never actually got any reps with the top of the rest of the offensive depth chart, something we can’t say about Goff.

So while the depth chart might indicate Goff is “behind” Mannion, I’m not entirely sure that would be the case when it matters...

RB​

Todd Gurley

Benny Cunningham

Malcolm Brown

Chase Reynolds

Something we haven’t gotten too deep with is how much rest Todd Gurley is going to need. Here’s how he rotated last year, with the obvious footnote being that he was worked into the season resting the first two games:

Gurley: 456 snaps (47.60% of offensive snaps, 48.87% of RB snaps); 229 rushes (65.99% of RB rushes)
Cunningham: 282 snaps (29.44%, 30.23%); 37 rushes (10.66%)
Tre Mason: 182 snaps (19.00%, 19.51%); 75 rushes (21.61%)
Malcolm Brown: 9 snaps (0.94%, 0.96%); 4 rushes (1.15%)
Isaiah Pead: 3 snaps (0.31%, 0.32%); 2 rushes (0.58%)
Chase Reynolds: 1 snap (0.10%, 0.10%); 0 snaps (0.00%)


So there are two central questions here. One is does the 50% of snaps and 66% of rushes as the mark still hold as the target? Given that Gurley missed essentially 3.5 games last year, do those numbers go up assuming he’s available and healthy for all 16 regular season contests? Does his lack of exceptional passing game skills keep those numbers low on its own? The second question is on the rotation behind him. With Pead and Mason removed from the group, how much work do Cunningham and Brown get? Cunningham was clearly installed as a passing game role (see the discrepancy between the playing time he and Mason got and how many more carries Mason received).

WR​

Tavon Austin

Kenny Britt

Pharoh Cooper

Brian Quick

Nelson Spruce

Bradley Marquez

Mike Thomas

WR depth charts are always a bit funky since they’re not linear like most other positions. You’ve only got one QB on the field at a time. You’ve only got one RB most of the time in the NFL. But for WRs, you can go five-wide. The Rams went with the 11 formation (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) 50% of the time last year. So the real question is how much of the time that will mean a Austin-Britt-Cooper look. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brian Quick get time in a three-man front.

Two things to note. One, injuries are playing a part in shaping the position depth chart right now. The Week 1 personnel will likely differ significantly from the Week 9 personnel following the bye. Two, we know Jeff Fisher has an aversion to playing rookies early on. So the Cooper-Spruce-Thomas trio will likely get more work after the bye than before it.

TE​

Lance Kendricks

Cory Harkey

Tyler Higbee

Temarrick Hemingway

The Cory Harkey slot messes this one up a bit since he plays an entirely different position than the other three. I’ll definitely be tracking the Kendricks-Higbee-Hemingway playing time matrix.

OL​

LT	Greg Robinson	Pace Murphy
LG	Rodger Saffold	Cody Wichmann
C	Tim Barnes	Demetrius Rhaney
RG	Jamon Brown	David Arkin
RT	Rob Havenstein	Andrew Donnal

This one’s a bit misleading since you’ve got some rotational ability. If I was breaking it out for each position with duplicate roles for the guys, it’d look like this:

LT	Greg Robinson	Rodger Saffold	Rob Havenstein	Andrew Donnal	Pace Murphy
LG	Rodger Saffold	Cody Wichmann	Demetrius Rhaney	David Arkin
C	Tim Barnes	Demetrius Rhaney	David Arkin
RG	Jamon Brown	Rodger Saffold	Cody Wichmann	Demetrius Rhaney	David Arkin
RT	Rob Havenstein	Rodger Saffold	Andrew Donnal	Pace Murphy

That’s how you get the lineup we saw for the preseason with Rob Havenstein out which kicked Rodger Saffold over to RT opening up for Wichmann at LG.

DL​

Same as the OL. Here’s the single listing:

LDE	William Hayes	Ethan Westbrooks	Matt Longacre
LDT	Aaron Donald	Dominique Easley
RDT	Michael Brockers
RDE	Robert Quinn	Eugene Sims

And the full:

LDE	William Hayes	Eugene Sims	Ethan Westbrooks	Matt Longacre
LDT	Aaron Donald	Dominique Easley
RDT	Michael Brockers	Dominique Easley
RDE	Robert Quinn	William Hayes	Eugene Sims	Ethan Westbrooks

Not a ton to worry about here. We know Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams likes to rotate here. The real question for me is how much rotation he’ll squeeze that rotation down since he’s only got eight defensive linemen to work with.

LB​

MLB	Alec Ogletree	Bryce Hager	Josh Forrest
OLB	Nic Grigsby	Cory Littleton

CB​

Trumaine Johnson

E.J. Gaines

Coty Sensabaugh

Lamarcus Joyner

Troy Hill

And this was the roster put together by the Drama Queen, mind you!!

Man that offense was horrible besides Gurley, no number one or two receivers at best a 3 WR.

 

[SJ76]

LOL Yes!

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

@DJ

Goff doesn't need to be a Rodgers, Wilson or Brees. He can be a Brady with this team and win a lot in this league and maybe enough SB's to make even @Retroram52 happy...

Actually has been reminding me a lot of the GOAT... He needs to be a lot more careful with the ball however, or he will never get there unless he does..

Exactly right.

Goff doesn’t have to be elite for this team to win. Plenty of QB’s have won SB’s being game managers and letting the defense control the game.

the Rams finally have a great defense. If McVay decided to finally run the jumbo offense on a regular basis, all Goff has to do is manage the game and not turn the ball over.

however, unlike Dilfer or McMahon, Goff can light it up which has to keep the opposing defenses honest which works to the offense’s advantage.

mid the Rams can win a SB with Goff, it will be worth the 100M they are paying him.

it’s already better than what we lived through for a decade prior to McVay/Goff’s arrival.

 

[Jermaine133]

Are you guys confident in Goff?

I'm confident in Goff just as much as i'm confident in the covid vaccine ..

 

[Jermaine133]

Man that offense was horrible besides Gurley, no number one or two receivers at best a 3 WR.

yeah those Wrs were trash

 

[UVA_Guy81]

I'm confident in Goff just as much as i'm confident in the covid vaccine ..

I just hope that he matures and stops partying on nights before games.