Game Thread: Week 15, 2015: Buccaneers @ Rams

[UVA_Guy81]

That seals it. Thankfully we were able to hang on after struggling in the 2nd half to hold a big lead.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Like that sign "Trade Stan, Keep the Rams"

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Love the crowd now chanting "Kroenke Sucks!"

 

[Smed55]

Considering we looked really good in the first half! Our offense and defense didn't play that well, overall! Defense gave Up 500 yards of offense,Winston was not sacked once, but pressured alot, but he made a couple of bad throws that they settled for FGs, otherwise we are tied 31-31.
Offensively we had a couple of big plays, but overall it was a below average run game, while the passing game looked better than it has, other than a couple big plays it was also average, although the oline kept him upright, the sacks were on Keenum!

 

[RamsFan88]

Considering we looked really good in the first half! Our offense and defense didn't play that well, overall! Defense gave Up 500 yards of offense,Winston was not sacked once, but pressured alot, but he made a couple of bad throws that they settled for FGs, otherwise we are tied 31-31.
Offensively we had a couple of big plays, but overall it was a below average run game, while the passing game looked better than it has, other than a couple big plays it was also average, although the oline kept him upright, the sacks were on Keenum!

Those sacks didn't have an impact on the game. Keenum played a hell of a game and did a great job. He had a 158 QB rating, .3 off from being perfect!

 

[Battlelyon]

Our defense had to be tired, when you have to do most of the heavy lifting every game, add on injuries. Games like this will happen.

 

[SJ76]

Definitely liked what I saw last night on the field, but what really caught my eye was the fluidity of the play calling on offense. We got a bit conservative on the play calling for the defense, but it was a good game all around for the Rams.

Case Keenum, Jared Cook, Gurley, Tavon and even Britt all look like really good players out there. Yes it was the Bucs, who had the worst defense in the league last year but they have improved. And the Rams' defense of course led by Aaron Donald was solid, even though we are missing Quinn, Ogletree, and TJ. I thought Alexander at SS played a good game and Mark Barron did too. Not sure why it's so hard for these guys to play consistently every week tho??


I wish we would have signed Trumaine Johnson to an extension earlier in the year. If he keeps playing well, he might sneak into the Pro Bowl and that would mean more money. Not sure if this front office has any vision at all.

 

[SJ76]

TB is playing like the Rams, Rams are playing well, but Tb is also beating them selves

I thought this a few times during the game. We were the ones getting calls and Tampa was having bad bad penalties.

 

[SJ76]

And yeah Keenum played a solid game. THe whole offense did really. The only bad thing I saw from Keenum was taking a few sacks, but he was leader on the field and something clicked.

I thought they would have a good game against Tampa's D but I didn't think it would be that easy/good.

Been saying it for a decade now, all the Rams need is a good game manager QB with a stud RB and a solid defense. It wins games.

 

[Smed55]

Those sacks didn't have an impact on the game. Keenum played a hell of a game and did a great job. He had a 158 QB rating, .3 off from being perfect!

I agree Keenum did play a great game, is that because other guys actually finally stepped up, is it because TB didn't play very well, the TD pass to Austin was all Austin, Keenum threw the ball to the line of scrimmage,boom 17 yard TD. The 19 yard pass to Gurley, another pass to the line of scrimmage, the pass to Britt was a perfectly thrown pass, that's close to half the yards he had.

Dont get me wrong,I think he played a great game too, but I'm not going to get all goo goo ga ga over it, it's one game! His two roll out sacks didn't hurt, but very easily could have? Winston makes better throws to open guys in the end zone, this game would have been tied, but he didn't, we got lucky. His 12 yard sack right before the half took us out of a possible FG chance, you don't think that would have hurt, if Winston connects? Ya bottomline is it didn't hurt, but both of those sacks were bad sacks and the kind of plays that can hurt you down the road!

 

[ANGELAKERAMS]

I like the win, but do the Rams have to do this every year where they get our hopes up, head into a tailspin, and then string together a couple of wins at the end of the season once they are out of playoff contention ( which only ends up hurting their draft status and the chance to fix this offense )?

I like the wins, but come on, they are meaningless. all they do is put the Rams in the middle of the draft ( where- for the Rams- it will be harder to find impact players because they don't draft well on the offensive side ).

what WR or OT is going to be worth grabbing in the middle of the first round vs top 10 where they would've been without these 2 meaningless wins?

 

[Battlelyon]

RAMS’ AARON DONALD WORTHY OF DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
NATHAN JAHNKE21 HOURS AGO

There is plenty of debate as to who will win the various awards in the NFL this season, including MVP, Comeback Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year, but the latter might be the most difficult of the group.

At least with MVP, we know a quarterback will likely win—the debate there is between different QBs. For defenders, choices are all over the map. If you want a defensive back, you can pick between Josh Norman or Tyrann Mathieu, for linebacker there is Luke Kuechly, and if you want an edge rusher, there is Khalil Mack. However, if you want an interior lineman, Aaron Donald is proving himself to be the top candidate. He continued to demonstrate why he’s so deserving on Thursday Night Football, with another strong showing against the Buccaneers.

As a pass rusher, he has a 12.1 pass rushing productivity, second-best among defensive tackles and 3-4 defensive ends. He has 11 sacks, 20 hits, and 32 hurries on his 414 pass rushes. The only player ahead of him is Geno Atkins. He has the same number of sacks, 12 fewer hits, and 17 more hurries. You could argue you would rather have 12 hits than 17 hurries, which would make Donald the top interior rusher of the season. He continued that pace last night, with a three-hit, three-hurry performance.

In terms of stopping the run, Donald’s run stop percentage of 11.1 percent is fourth-best among defensive tackles. It’s worth noting that he is the only one in the top seven who doesn’t primarily play nose tackle. He had three stops in the run game against the Buccaneers, with all three of them registering as tackles for a loss.

Part of what makes him so impressive is his consistency. He has a positive grade in every game this season, and a grade of +4.3 or higher in each of his last eight games. In terms of just pass rushing, Donald has at least one pressure in every game, and at least three pressures in each of the last nine games. With only two missed tackles on the year, he has the right mix of making big plays (regardless of the opponent), while also rarely ever making a mistake.

Donald’s main competition on the defensive line will come from J.J. Watt, who currently has a PFF overall season grade of 95.6, compared to Donald’s own mark of 98.7 (on a scale of 1–100). Donald has a higher pass rushing productivity, which is especially impressive, considering Watt typically lines up across or outside the offensive tackle—while Donald typically lines up somewhere inside. Against the run, Watt owns 29 run stops, compared to Donald’s 33. Add in the fact that Watt has four more missed tackles and three more penalties, and the case adds up that Donald is clearly ahead at the moment.

While arguments could be made for players at other positions with different skill sets for Defensive Player of the Year, if the winner is going to be an interior defensive linemen, the choice is clear: Aaron Donald.

 

[Battlelyon]

Jaws: No defensive player playing as well as Aaron Donald - ESPN Video -

 

[Jermaine133]

I like the win, but do the Rams have to do this every year where they get our hopes up, head into a tailspin, and then string together a couple of wins at the end of the season once they are out of playoff contention ( which only ends up hurting their draft status and the chance to fix this offense )?

I like the wins, but come on, they are meaningless. all they do is put the Rams in the middle of the draft ( where- for the Rams- it will be harder to find impact players because they don't draft well on the offensive side ).

what WR or OT is going to be worth grabbing in the middle of the first round vs top 10 where they would've been without these 2 meaningless wins?

I AGREE, they just may go 7-9 which would put them out of the reach for the most part. They will probably string another win together just so that idiot can keep his job.

 

[Smed55]

Donald would have better chance if we were a winning team! shouldn't come down to that, but I'm sure some voters are swayed Hy that?

 

[shopson67]

JJ Watt's publicity team will make sure he wins.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

JJ Watt's publicity team will make sure he wins.

Maybe so, but we def have one of(if not)the most dominant defensive lineman in the league. If Quinn can stay healthy next year(god willing), what a line we can have!!!(even if Long goes elsewhere, which he prob will)