How should we look at this loss?

[Goldenfleece]

All in all, I think this game proved that (a) we're good enough to hang in there against one of the top teams in the league right now, and (b) we have some clear weaknesses that need to be addressed if we're going to make it to the next level.

Some of the things I took from the game:

1. Lack of receiving talent. Not that this was anything new, but we've got little beyond Amendola at this point. Illinois Mike is probably our #2 receiving option right now after Danny A.

2. Until we broke down at the end, the run defense was mostly doing its job. Prior to his 39-yard TD run at the end, Michael Turner was averaging a modest 3.2 yards/carry.

3. Our pass defense needs work. Matt Ryan is a good quarterback, and he handled everything we threw at him: zone coverage, man coverage, zone blitzes...but he also had wide-open receivers all day. Bartell won some and lost some against White, but things took a turn for the worse when we had Fletcher and Murphy in there.

4. Much like the ***** game, we got off to a good start but petered out on offense in the second half, allowing the other team to dominate time of possession and exhaust our defense. Sam runs that two minute offense pretty well, but it's the 2nd half offense prior to the last two minutes that stinks.

[Birdbrain]

A dose of reality.But on the right track.Need a few more pieces.

[laram0]

The Falcons played an almost perfect game. They didn't have any turnovers, no sacks allowed, 4/4 on FG attempts and Matty Ice was 26/39- 253 yards and 2 TD's.

With all that in mind if it weren't for that crazy interception at the 2 yard line we are in this game big time. Our RAMS are very close to getting into the playoff mix. If not this season we will be there next season.

GO RAMS!!!

[VegasRam]

Good thread. Game was a bit of a heartbreaker, and most everything, right and wrong, has already been said. However, it WASN'T a bad call, and even if we score, we probably lose, since (with the failed onsides kick) Atlanta scores at least another field goal, since we haven't stopped them all day.

And while I've never been, (and still am not), a proponent of losing for draft picks, it's not killing me that every loss gets the Rams a better pick. They were not (crummy division notwithstanding), going anywhere this year anyway, period. The O and D lines are both adequate to good, but have the talent for improvement, but the secondary is bad, and except for Fletcher and maybe Murphy, can't get better without better players. Dittto for WRs and OLBs, and back up RBs.

So the Rams will win 1 or 2 more games, (including 1 on the road), will have been IMO an absolute treat to watch this year, and in sticking to Spagveney's plan, will continue to rebuild, improve and eventually evolve into the class franchise they once were.

Patience Grasshopper.

[mde8352gorams]

Great thread, the Rams are definitely a few players and some experience away from making the playoffs on a consistent basis. I also feel we have the right coaching staff to make that happen. I plan to enjoy the rest of the season and hope for an outside chance to win the division due to the others weakness. Then it's getting down to business with the draft and FA and a solid off-season. We look to be in great shape for the future.

Go Rams!

[GROUND DOG 39]

What I take from the Atlanta beatdown was how young and talentless we are. The run blocking absolutely sucks between the tackles. That 3rd and 1 play where Jackson was stopped was a good indicator of our team. The line was embarassingly manhandled.
This is where we need to improve mostly?
Without Bradford the Rams would be a laughing stock. Jackson is dancing way too much for my liking, we need another back to help him and the team.
Loved Sam Bradford's play though, he really is going to make this team a contender one day I hope.
The loss was to be expected really, anything else was unrealistic.

[Fortuninerhater]

I'm getting a little annoyed at those that say that the shovel pass was a "bad play call". They're all bad play calls when they don't go well. That was not on the coaching staff or the play calling, that was on the kid. He made a mistake, plain and simple. That play rarely gets intercepted, and was a good play call. However, the kid shoveled the ball when the play clearly was not there. He's a rookie and he'll make mistakes like that, and I'm okay with it. But I will not say it was a bad play call. It was horrible execution.

Let me preface my response by saying, there's absolutely no doubt there was poor execution.

But that's the risk you run when you toss the ball in a crowd of players (even more crowded than normal on the goalline), all while trying to draw Defensive Linemen across the line of scrimmage and avoid them at the same time. And with a rookie QB and a rookie TE no less. Simply not a smart call in my opinion.

Coaches' jobs are to put the players in the best possible position to succeed, and IMO that play call was far from the best, given all the circumstances afore mentioned. Therefore, it's a bad play call as far as I'm concerned.

[Richbert88]

The Rams have played some okay teams and a bunch of mediocre teams up until this Atlanta game. This game was a real measuring stick.

Here's what I have been thinking and what I think was confirmed for the most part in this past game.

1) The Rams still lack overall talent.

2) With the talent they have, I think some props should go to the coaching staff for the way they have been playing. This team was competitive right up to 3 minutes to go in this game, and competitive in most of the games this season..........with what I think is a lower level of overall team talent than they're general competition.

3) The Rams areas of need are WR (obviously), secondary (I haven't figured if it's saftey or CB, but I am leaning SS), OLB (seriously need), OG. Not necessarily in that order. And that isn't all the areas they could use some improvement. I didn't mention backup RB for instance, but those are the glaring things to me. With better OG play and a WR to stretch defenses, I can't imagine this team couldn't live without SJ for a game.

4) Mr Samtastic is fantastic. This kid has greatness oozing from his pours.

This team is kinda what I thought it was. Some of these players will develop. But the overall talent level at this time is still too low.

[Ramendola16]

Some things I learned from this game:

1) This Rams team is resilient. When the NFC's best team comes knocking at your door, a good team fights until the final whistle. That's exactly what the Rams did.

2) Dang, did we ever make the right choice with Bradford. What a competitor. You know he's going to turn that crazy INT into motivation and work his rear end off to make sure it never happens again.

3) I may take some heat for this, but... I'm really starting to like Brandon Gibson. Look, he's no superstar, but he's displaying the most playmaking ability of any of our WR's. That TD leap was an excellent athletic display.

4) We aren't quite there yet. We got beaten, but it wasn't the blowout that plenty of people believed it would be. We're getting closer, but there are still needs. An injection of playmaking ability and speed in the WR corps, a stud DT that can anchor the line for years, an OLB who can clean up when JLau can't quite get there, a little depth here and there... We're not quite there yet, but the future sure looks bright.

5) We need to feed the ball a little more to SJ39. He was averaging 5 YPC through 11 carries last game. So why didn't he get the ball more? Obviously, the score played a role, but it just doesn't seem right when we throw 3 passes and then punt.

[Goldenfleece]

3) I may take some heat for this, but... I'm really starting to like Brandon Gibson. Look, he's no superstar, but he's displaying the most playmaking ability of any of our WR's. That TD leap was an excellent athletic display.

Well, since you asked for it...

Every man is entitled to his own opinion. My opinion would be that when everybody is healthy, Brandon Gibson ranks behind Clayton, Amendola, Alexander and Avery in terms of playmaking ability. He has generally reliable hands but he's not that fast, not that elusive...and even as a possession guy, he couldn't get us those 1st downs we needed against the ***** late. I've never seen him make a diving one-handed grab like the one Amendola had earlier this year. I've never seen him totally burn the corner trying to cover him like Avery did to guys his rookie year. Of the players mentioned above, only Robinson has a lower average career YAC (yards after catch) average. I don't dislike him, but I think he has a relatively low ceiling. I don't see him making a lot of big plays.

[AlphaRam]

We don't worry if the sky is falling - we have an Arch and a Dome to protect us....

I am just stoked that I came back to the Clan Ram today after not being able to see, hear, or follow the game, and not see a huge number of "The Sky Is Falling!" threads and comments. Everyone seems to be seeing the good on the field. The work on the field. The attitude on the field. And the Future on the field.

[Ramendola16]

Well, since you asked for it...

Every man is entitled to his own opinion. My opinion would be that when everybody is healthy, Brandon Gibson ranks behind Clayton, Amendola, Alexander and Avery in terms of playmaking ability. He has generally reliable hands but he's not that fast, not that elusive...and even as a possession guy, he couldn't get us those 1st downs we needed against the ***** late. I've never seen him make a diving one-handed grab like the one Amendola had earlier this year. I've never seen him totally burn the corner trying to cover him like Avery did to guys his rookie year. Of the players mentioned above, only Robinson has a lower average career YAC (yards after catch) average. I don't dislike him, but I think he has a relatively low ceiling. I don't see him making a lot of big plays.

Perhaps my opinion of him is inflated because of the injury factor. It's hard to compare him to guys that aren't there, you know?

But I do agree that when the corps is healthy, he's the 4-5th guy on this team at best. But still... As of now, he seems to be the big play guy. (Even though "big play" in our playbook basically means a pass over 10 yards.)

[GROUND DOG 39]

I also still feel, yet again, despite the decent year Sam is putting in, that the SuH/CMCoy duo may have yielded us better results this year and in the long run.
Anyone can make better decisions with hindsight, but I think your wrong,dead wrong. Sam Bradford barring injuries is the next big thing, trust me. Have some faith PUNAHAU

[AvengerRam]

I also still feel, yet again, despite the decent year Sam is putting in, that the SuH/CMCoy duo may have yielded us better results this year and in the long run.

I wondered how long it would be before someone would say this.

Look, don't get me wrong, McCoy is doing a nice job in a controlled passing game that is backed by a strong running game, but he is no Sam Bradford.

If anyone watches Colt play and sees an upside like Sam has, I guess they're entitled to that opinion. To me, its not even close.