A love/hate relationship

[RamWraith]

Talk about going through a whole gambit of emotions with this defense. You play this soft vanilla Marmi -lade game through out and the Bucs move the ball up and down the field. But on the other hand the D forces some huge turnovers including a touchdown and a fumble to seal the game.

GO FIGURE...talk about a whole spin of emotion.

[rampete]

Re: A love/hate relationship

i'm not sure if this defense has enough excellent players and is being mismanaged or if the lack of playmaking ability in specific positions (cb, ilb and dt) is the reason why marmie is playing the soft cover-2 to cover up those weaknesses... :disappoin

on a side note: if grant williams doesn't improve or get consistent help on the right side the better defenses in this league will tear bulger up before the season's done... :upset:

[talkstoangels61]

Re: A love/hate relationship

Your tellin' me..............i don't know about anyone else but,IMPO we were lucky! But, it takes a little luck in this game! Call at the end was just a little too close for me!

[general counsel]

Re: A love/hate relationship

The call at the end was very close for sure, but we completely got the shaft on the punt return td and we didnt get a break on the kevin curtis knock down on the five yard line which could easily have been pass interference.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[UtterBlitz]

Re: A love/hate relationship

....but we completely got the shaft on the punt return td and we didnt get a break on the kevin curtis knock down on the five yard line which could easily have been pass interference.

We did get the shaft on the block in the back call on the punt return. So wrong.

The defense was inconsistant last night, but I was excited to see some swarming around the ball and to see Little turning it up, Hargrove making plays in enemy territory, and Archuleta playing tough and making the big run.

Defense :redface:

[RamWraith]

Re: A love/hate relationship

Once again I say we are spoiled. Fans should understand teams are not going to lay down because we are the Rams and this isn't our '99 Rams. We will need to actually work for victories and we are going to get no breaks from teams as far as them falling asleep against us.

As far as Grant Williams goes. I am not as concerned as some. We have won with worse tackles on the right side and we all know he has had break downs once in awhile. But in my honest opinion, he will improve and he is playing no worse than Turley did last year up until this point. If you want to rip; rip Pace. He is the all pro playing at above average level. In my mind that is unacceptable.

My main concern lies with out defense. I am not sure how we can let the Bucs run up and down the field like they did. I sure hope things get better when Fisher and Kennedy return.

[txramsfan]

Re: A love/hate relationship

Well, the defense did hold Tampa to 55 yards rushing. I thought the front four did a pretty good job last night. Would have liked to have seen more pressure but Tampa picked up the blitzes pretty well.

Our secondary is in shambles. I think the main reason is everyone is out of position until Fisher comes back. Butler is a 2 corner, with Groce being a nickel at best.

[AvengerRam_old]

Re: A love/hate relationship

I find the use of the word "luck" to be inappropriate. When players make plays - whether its running the ball, catching the ball, forcing fumbles or whatever, that's not luck.
The only "luck" is bad luck - i.e. having the refs blow a call on a punt return.

I agree with you Tx - Fisher's return should be a huge boost.

[adarian_too]

Re: A love/hate relationship

I agree with you Tx - Fisher's return should be a huge boost.

I'd like to buy into this. But Fisher will only get Fishers spot . Despite getting 2 TOs, Butler is the one getting torched. He may be playing zone, but he seems oblivious to whether anyone is ever in his zone. Couple that with Lassiter and Coady making a mockery of the defintion of the word "safety" and Fisher's return only scratches the surface of fixing the secondary.

[txramsfan]

Re: A love/hate relationship

Well, you do have a somewhat point. Playing against teams like the Vikings (if we match up in the playoffs), Eagles, Jets, Seahawks and Pats who have more than one option, Butler is going to have to step up.

[HUbison]

Re: A love/hate relationship

I'm glad to see the D-line getting straightened out, although I would like more pressure. But a good job none the less. However, the secondary is terrible, with regards to coverage at least. Part of this is the baby-butt soft cover-2 that Marmie has them in, which may be a requirement to keep teams from breaking long gains (although it didn't stop Clayton, but I digress). Tackling is getting better, but we're giving up way too much yardage. I still say nose-up on the receivers and blitz more. We'll get burnt some, but we'll cause more turnovers which means more opportunities for this increasingly potent offense.

[rampete]

Re: A love/hate relationship

blitzing may work in your own redzone because the field is shortened but much more dangerous, given the personnel the rams have, if the field is longer...in order to blitz successfully at this level you need good to very good press cover corners, guys that can muscle the wr for a second or more at the line of scrimmage and then have the hips to turn and run fast enough to discourage the opposing qb to lob one your way.

...unless you want to see the rams secondary get burnt for long pass tds once or twice every game...

[afrightertoo]

Re: A love/hate relationship

...unless you want to see the rams secondary get burnt for long pass tds once or twice every game...

Isn't that what's already happening? Coady and Lassiter can't find their assses in the dark ... might as well blitz ... they're getting torched anyway ...

[ZigZagRam]

Re: A love/hate relationship

Our defense is too small. Marmie hasn't had a chance to run his style of defense with the personel. He's taken what's been given to him and is running the defensive scheme that is best suited for the team.

Either way, I think we will see a major change when Fisher returns and we can blitz the safeties more.

[sprtsmac]

Re: A love/hate relationship

I hope everyone is right about the return of Fisher; because if our secondary play does not improve, we could be in for a long game against the Pats. And that is something I don't want to see.