A Look at the LA Rams from their NFC Championship Game with The Saints

[Teach]

First Half

The score at the end of the first half of the Saints vs. Rams NFC Championship game was 13-10. Yet, it was, or maybe shouldn’t have been as close as it looked. The Saints dominated the first half, and if it weren’t for a late Rams TD, the score would have been more indicative of the play, especially in the first quarter.

Two first-half plays stand out for the Rams:

Rams’ punter, Johnny Hekker, pulls off a fake-kick, 12-yard-pass to Sam Shields (even though it resulted in a first down, it took the Saints' Justin Hardee’s missed tackle for that play to be successful). The Patriots must be alert for those “gadget gamble-plays”. That was a “turning-point”. The Rams, at the time, early in the 2nd quarter, were trailing by a score of 13-0; they were presumed to be turning the ball over, once again, to the Saints, but then... The ball was then on the Rams 30-yard line. If the Rams blow this play, it is, in my opinion, the Saints’ game. Instead the Rams are in business. They go down the field and kick a field goal to make the score, 13-3. If they had blown that play, the Saints take over deep in Rams’ territory. It is likely the Saints would have minimally kicked a field goal, or more likely scored a touchdown. Either way, early in the 2nd quarter it could have been Saints: 16-0 or 20-0.

Rams’ wide-receiver Brandin Cooks makes a stellar catch, and Rams’ quarterback, Jared Goff, makes an on-the-money throw, to combine for some 30 yards late in the first half that would lead to the Rams first, and only, first half TD. Cooks, a former New England Patriot, and a 2014 first-round draft pick by the New Orleans Saints, is probably the Rams best deep-threat. Cooks is speedy and can make yardage after the catch. The Patriots may have to double-team him. If Goff and Cooks get into a “throw-and-catch” rhythm, watch out!

I’ll be back with my complete first-half analysis a little later.

[Teach]

Let’s start with Rams QB, Jerod Goff. I was impressed. After a slow start, he started connecting. He has a strong arm. He’s also a pin-point passer. The question remains: “How will he handle ‘The Big Stage’?” Goff is what I call a “rhythm” passer. He’s gets into “a zone”. Under those circumstances, he can be tough to stop. Goff is generally a “pocket passer,” yet if he rolls, it’ll be to his right (he rarely moved left). I don’t see him as a threat to run. He seems, in my opinion, to be skittish. He shouldn’t pose the run-potential that the Chiefs Patrick Mahomes did. I guess the question is: “Can he be rattled?” I believe the Patriots must throw up different defensive sets. They cannot become predictable. A possible blitz could be effective. You have to keep Goff guessing. He can’t be allowed to become comfortable back there. I personally believe the Patriots defensive line and line-backing corps hold an edge on the Rams offensive line.

One important factor will be endurance. The team that’s best-conditioned will likely emerge the winner. The combination of playing on “the rug” and the heat of a fully-packed indoor stadium can take its toll as the game moves along.

Further, I was impressed with the Rams defensive front-four, e.g., Aaron Donald (he’s quick and has a tremendous amount of strength),Ndamukong Suh, Michael Brockers, Corey Littleton (he seemed to be everywhere). That Rams front-four can be unrelenting. They must be caught off guard with receiver screens, delays, different blocking schemes, etc. In the secondary, in my opinion, Nickell Robey-Coleman is “an assassin”. If he were out on the street and not on the football field, he could get arrested for an A & B with a helmeted head. When I was a boy, we called it “spearing”.

Yet, if the Rams have a weakness, I believe it’s in their secondary. Cornerback Aqib Talib may “talk the talk,” but, in my opinion, he can’t “walk the walk”. He’s a lot of bluster with very little to back it up. He seems to shy away from any contact. I did not see him in on many tackles. In my opinion, he can be beaten. The free safety Lamarcus Joyner is another member of the Rams defensive secondary who may be vulnerable. It looked like the Saints’ receivers were having their way with him.

Moreover, the Rams C.J. Anderson (a human “bowling ball”) is a punishing North-South runner. When Anderson carried, the Rams often went to a two tight-end set. I don’t know what happened to Todd Gurley. Why he wasn’t used against the Saints? I believe he scored a touchdown, but he did little else. In fact, on one play, he failed to pick up Saints blitz. I assume Gurley will be used more in the Super Bowl. I didn’t see much in the way of shifty running backs; it was more smash-mouth football.

In addition, the Rams have a fine receiving corps with a trio of wide-receivers: Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods and Josh Reynolds. Tyler Higbee is a solid tight end. I believe if the Patriots have a weakness, it’s in their pass coverage. That’s why the Patriots defensive line must put pressure on Goff.
Further, I believe the Rams can be beaten over the middle. The Saints demonstrated that with short passes just over the line of scrimmage. The Saints also did well with sideline passes. In some cases, the Saints receivers were wide open.

Another point. I noticed that ILB Mark Barron is most adept at “holding”. He does it very subtly. Oh, JoJo Natson can be dangerous on punt returns; he generally runs to his left. If he were to get loose…

Furthermore, the Rams use a lot of play-action to, I assume, freeze the linebackers and to catch anyone in the secondary who might get caught “looking in”. In addition, the Rams will occasionally use a flanker-reverse. The flanker will loop around from the right side and take a pitch after an initial fake to the running back. The Patriots defensive right-side must be on the lookout for that.

Oh, something I noticed, maybe a technicality, but do the Rams line up with seven men on the line of scrimmage? This off-the-line-of-scrimmage formation occurs, most frequently, during a passing down. Are the refs calling it?

If Sony Michel can act like Alvin Kamara, the Patriots may have a field day. The Rams couldn’t stop Kamara until that started jamming him at the line of scrimmage.

Then, if Tom Brady can throw in a variety of hard counts, the Rams front-four appear to be vulnerable to jumping offside. Michael Brockers did it, at least on one occasion.

I should mention that the Rams have a penchant for “flooding the zone” on the left offensive side. There can be some subtle “picks”.

One of the Patriots’ goals should be to keep Jerod Goff and the Rams offense off the field. The Patriots did just that against both the Chargers and Chiefs as the Pats scored TDs in both opening-game drives, while, in the process, chewed up half the first quarter. I don’t believe the Rams recorded a first down until that “fake-punt” at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.

Again, the key play was the successful “fake-punt”. It just goes to show how just one play can change the complexion of a football game.

I’ll be back later with the 2nd Half.

[Robert Fischer]

you are making me like the Rams!

[Teach]

Second Half

The play that determined the NFC Championship game occurred in the late stages of the 2nd half. I’m sure we’re all familiar with it by now. Recently, the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, has all but admitted that the refs blew the call by fining LA Rams defensive back, Nickell Robey-Coleman, $26,000 (a small price to pay; his team is in the Super Bowl) for his blatant helmet-to-helmet hit on New Orleans receiver, Tommylee Lewis. Had the refs not blown that obvious call – actually two calls – PI and helmet-to-helmet (take your choice) the Saints were in an excellent position to win the game and advance to the Super Bowl.

Furthermore and most importantly, the NFL has to realize the many NFL team-supporters have invested their hearts and their souls in their favorite teams. They buy and wear their favorite team’s equipment. They travel, not just to home games, but sometimes thousands of miles to watch their teams play away-games. There is a lot invested in this, both materially and emotionally.

That’s why something must be done. The rules must be changed. Something to the effect that in the last two minutes of each half, in the estimation of this “senior official” (situated in an isolated booth above the stands, like a goal-judge in hockey) a “questionable call” has been missed or has been made, the “senior official” signals by use of a buzzer, loud enough to be heard by everyone throughout the stadium, no more than 5 to 10 seconds after the completion of the play, that the play will be immediately reviewed.

As for my analysis of the 2nd Half of the Rams vs, Saints game, I believe the Patriots can run on the Rams. They can gain yardage up the middle and “seal off” the ends. In any running attempt, it is important to double-team the Rams’ Corey Littleton.

As cited the Rams QB, Jared Goff, cannot be allowed to get “into a rhythm.”
Oh, someone I didn’t mention in my first half analysis, yet a defensive player who played a very good game, was OLB Dante Fowler, Jr. He can be a factor. Again, it’s the Rams secondary that I believe is most vulnerable.

[burnsy]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

you are making me like the Rams!

I like them, getting points. Are you kidding me? You can analyze that game all you want. The bad no call and all. The fact they are even in that game against a team like that in that dome. Tells me they are a tough out. I think they win this game out right. Took a lot of grit to overcome that one. Many a team would of folded like the Chargers did in New England. The Saints and the Rams are probably the best two teams in the league this year.