The Ripoff Report: Game Thoughts

[DasNootz]

6 minutes ago, Bandito said:

The Rams will be good this year. Just not a top team. The Rams are not the best team in the league right now. Don't think they are close to it. I can think of 5-10 teams who would've beat them last night.

In the NFC, I think TB is likely the favorite, with LAR, GB, SF (maybe NO) all in the mix.
From the AFC, I'd take Buffalo, LAC, KC over LAR, with Cincy, Denver, Baltimore, Colts and Raiders all in the same tier.

[JerseyBills]

2 minutes ago, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

I do think Stafford is rusty - the whole training camp pitch count piece.  But the bills pass rush was beating him up all night.  Sacked a ton, and there were a few where he got the ball off and got absolutely crushed.  

This DL reminded me of the Hughes-Williams-Dareus-Super Mario line. Just dominated in every aspect while rotating guys in n out. Our biggest weakness last year looked like a great strength 

[nbbillsfan]

18 minutes ago, Bandito said:

Because the Bills are good. But the Rams did not impress me much. Take off the homer glasses and use your eyes!

Just because the rams looked bad last night, does not mean they will be a bad team - it’s a long season, they just won a superbowl with a similar roster, and have an elite coach.

 

if you only watched us play the colts/jags last yr you would think we were trash

[Shaw66]

5 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

 

Gilliam was beating Bobby Wagner to a fruit juicy pulp. In response, Wagner saw Gilliam crossing the formation left to right on a pass that went to the left on a drag behind Gilliam, and he just decided to level Reggie who was neither looking nor expecting to be hit. In other words, a cheap-shot. I was surprised it got absolutely zero mentions, it was a dirty, frustration-motivated play. You saw McD lay into the ref standing there when he came to check on Reggie; that was why.

 

Gilliam was stunned but did return.

Thanks.  I remember seeing McD animated about it.  And I also remember thinking that it was odd how he got hit on that play.   It didn't seem like a normal football collision.  

 

Wagner's been a good player for a long time.  Too bad he did that.  

 

Some of Gilliam's blocks were stunning.  

 

 

[balln]

6 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

This DL reminded me of the Hughes-Williams-Dareus-Super Mario line. Just dominated in every aspect while rotating guys in n out. Our biggest weakness last year looked like a great strength 

This current line is even better . Both in run d and pass rush 

[Tanoros]

25 minutes ago, Bandito said:

My point still stands. The Rams will not be a top team this season. Great win, but this year's Rams team is not as good as last year's.

The NFC isn’t nearly as strong as the AFC and the Rams have great talent on their team, add that it’s the first game of the season, they will be fine, barring major injury, the Rams are guaranteed playoff team. 
 

The Bills are damn good, and Allen was basically his 2021 playoff version, which is damn near unstoppable. Then add to the number 1 defense a true game changing pass rusher, it’s no wonder the Rams struggled. Any team in the league would struggle against the Bills playing the way the Bills did. 
 

Rams division is tough sure, but Murray has shown he can be trusted for a full season, and Lance is no guarantee, while Jimmy G. is limited if they end up going that route. Donald was kept in check tonight, I don’t think that happens most games, he’s a game wrecker. 
 

Your reaction feels very similar to many peoples reaction after our opening loss to the Stealers last year. The season is long, there are ebbs and flows, and the Rams are very talented. Do you think they will have a Super Bowl hangover and not be as hungry this year? Why do you feel the Rams will be so much worse? In addition, who would you rank above them in the NFC? Packers (new wr’s) Bucs (banged up o-line) Eagles (young developing Hurts, but not a lot of weaknesses) Any one of those 3 have potential issues that may arise as well. 

[The Frankish Reich]

15 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

 

Gilliam was beating Bobby Wagner to a fruit juicy pulp. In response, Wagner saw Gilliam crossing the formation left to right on a pass that went to the left on a drag behind Gilliam, and he just decided to level Reggie who was neither looking nor expecting to be hit. In other words, a cheap-shot. I was surprised it got absolutely zero mentions, it was a dirty, frustration-motivated play. You saw McD lay into the ref standing there when he came to check on Reggie; that was why.

 

Gilliam was stunned but did return.

Thanks for the explanation. I missed all of that - if the network doesn’t replay it I’m always hesitant to run it back myself and get out of synch with real time action. 
I like Gilliam and the idea of having a FB to mix up the sets, and I think we’ll continue to see more of him this year. 

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, Bandito said:

I know the Bills are really good, but do you think the Rams will be a top team this year? Based on what I saw, I don't think they will be a top 10 team in the league

 

Time will tell, but I think they will be in the NFC playoff's certainly and may win the division.  We'll see what the Cardinals look like out the gate.  They may be 4th or 5th in the NFC, which might make them arguably not a top-10 team in the NFL given how deep the AFC looks, but will put them in contention to repeat as NFC champions.  I'm thinking in the mix with Bucs, GB, Cardinals, possibly Panthers if Mayfield comes through and McCaffrey stays healthy, maybe Cowboys.

 

That was McDermott's post-game analysis, he sounded sincere when he said he'd be surprised if the Rams didn't prove to be a good (or very good, not sure) team this year.

 

We looked really bad when Pittsburgh had our number in the season opener, and then...

 

[The Frankish Reich]

4 minutes ago, Tanoros said:

The NFC isn’t nearly as strong as the AFC and the Rams have great talent on their team, add that it’s the first game of the season, they will be fine, barring major injury, the Rams are guaranteed playoff team.

The Rams took a step back personnel-wise. The Bills took a step forward. The Rams are still very talented, and their management has shown the creativity to adapt and get better as the seasons goes on, so I’d expect some clever cap manipulation and a key trade acquisition or two before the deadline. 

[Beck Water]

47 minutes ago, colin said:

you are the first person i've read (haven't read em all) who mentioned aj epenesa.  he kinda lit up the stat sheet for the red headed step child he's been.  obviously von being added is the biggest get, but i think these young guys are improving as well, and phillips is just a monster for us, he loves our d and our d loves him.

 

This is a good point.  I feel cautiously optimistic that Miller is having the same effect on our DL that Diggs had on our WR room.  Diggs set a new standard in the way he practiced and prepared and the whole WR room "leveled up" as a result.  Miller seems to be having the same effect helping the rest of the DE "level up".

 

2 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said:

The Rams took a step back personnel-wise. The Bills took a step forward. The Rams are still very talented, and their management has shown the creativity to adapt and get better as the seasons goes on, so I’d expect some clever cap manipulation and a key trade acquisition or two before the deadline. 

 

Excellent point.  It's a long season and the Rams have shown themselves willing and able to make in-season moves to improve.

Edited September 9, 2022 by Beck Water

[corta765]

1 hour ago, Bandito said:

I know the Bills are really good, but do you think the Rams will be a top team this year? Based on what I saw, I don't think they will be a top 10 team in the league

 

I tend to avoid making major assumptions off the first four weeks especially but what a team is until at least mid season. The Rams are a bit of a work in progress on offense and defense right now as they had a bunch of major changes player wise. Buffalo also is just really really loaded this year and motivated so this stuff happens.

 

I do think there may be some signs on the dashboard that the Rams defense may be weaker as their talent is not what it has been. But overall they probably will be fine and the NFC in general is just weak.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

For the record, I think that the Rams are going to be a good team. There's a number of things that made Week 1 a rough start for them: Van Jefferson was out, meaning they had no strong second punch other than Kupp. They didn't play starters in preseason, so their tackling was poor. 

 

I think they pull themselves together a bit going forward. I still think they win their division. But if I am being completely honest, I remember watching the Super Bowl and thinking that both the Bills and Chiefs were better teams. 

[Kwai San]

4 hours ago, Bandito said:

The Rams will be good this year. Just not a top team. The Rams are not the best team in the league right now. Don't think they are close to it. I can think of 5-10 teams who would've beat them last night.

 

The Lambs WERE NOT a top team last year either.  As it usually always happens the ball bounced their way a few times and they ended up where they did.

[jkeerie]

5 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

Only 5 penalties for 35 years.  Don't recall any holding calls on O line.  Remember 1 procedure call on Brown, 1 d holding in secondary and one by D lineman.  How does a D lineman hold on a running play anyway??

 

As far as Elam goes, lets see what happens next couple of weeks.  Kupp is a slot receiver not a traditional outside guy that a boundary CB would normally be covering.  It may be Elam has much better natural skills, but maybe Benford is more cerebral and made a better match up agaisnt a guy like Kupp.  Could also be the past couple weeks in closed practices, they kept Elam outside top get more work, but had Bedford work against slot guys exclusively just for last nights game.

I think what is key in the analysis of the DBs is that Kupp was the only one catching the ball.  Robinson and the other wide receivers were non-entities the entire game.  That was due not only to the play of the D line, but also those young DBs.

[SirAndrew]

15 minutes ago, Kwai San said:

 

The Lambs WERE NOT a top team last year either.  As it usually always happens the ball bounced their way a few times and they ended up where they did.

Agree, and Stafford has never been a consistent QB, but he did play well enough at the right time to win a title. Stafford is never the Manning or Brady type who enables his team to have near perfect seasons. He’s going to have a fair amount of bad games. 

[SirAndrew]

5 hours ago, VaMilBill said:

I honestly thought Beneford had a better game than Elam last night. Couple miscues in coverage, but nothing egregious. And Beneford supported the run game well. Couple nice tackles 

Benford will continue to look good if Von Miller and this D line keeps it up. A decent pass rush is absolutely transformative, and makes everyone better. It’ll be great to get Tre back, but these young corners will benefit greatly from the pass rush. We won’t be as dependent on Elam’s immediate development with a strong line.