1273 replies to this topic

[Nigel Tufnel]

I am 100% convinced Gurley is still hurt. He all but disappeared after Week 15. 

 

Gurley did rush for 100+yards in the playoff game vs the Cowboys, but I think everybody on the Rams did.

[DJ MC]

Well they didn't belong. They got in on the worst non-call in NFL history.

 

The NFL got the boring ass game they deserve.

 

The New Orleans ratings for the game were apparently HALF of what they were even last year.

 

The national ratings were at a 10-year low, too.

[BSLChrisStoner]

The Ringer: The Winners and Losers of Super Bowl LIII

[NewMarketSean]

I made queso.

[cprenegade]

Well, I guess I'm in the minority, but I didn't find it to be all that bad of a game as far as Superbowls go.   It wasn't the offensive shootout that most people wanted, and it really didn't produce any memorable plays, but it was a one score game until only about 1 minute was left in the game.  Both defenses played well and were disruptive.  You kept getting this feeling that the Rams were one big play away from stealing a game that they didn't deserve to win.  Even the last gasp FG had something to hold your interest if you followed the gambling world.  The game spread and total were decided, but if you teased the Rams to +8 1/2 and coupled it with the under, your prayers were almost answered when McVeigh decided to attempt a FG with 8 seconds left and hope for an onside kick and a miracle.  But the kick was rushed and the sportsbooks saved a lot of money when it was.  

 

And as for bad games, there have been a lot worse Superbowls.  San Francisco's demolition of both Denver and San Diego were terrible games.  Seattle crushing Denver a few years back wasn't much better.  Even both of the Ravens Superbowls weren't very good games.  You never got the feeling the Giants were ever in the first one, and if San Francisco hadn't mounted a comback the second one would have been pretty much a snooze fest as well.  At least the outcome of last night's game was in doubt until the end, even if the game itself didn't feature some of the best football ever played.  

[cprenegade]

So who do you think will face the Patriots next year?

 

Funny thing is they probably have a better chance at getting back to the game than the Rams do.  With the division they are in they probably get a bye again and play the divisional round at home.  There are a lot less threats to NE in the AFC than there are to the Rams in the NFC.  Really KC is the only team right now that looks capable of beating them, if the Chiefs improve their defense.  The Chargers and Colts might offer some resistance, but the rest of the league hardly looks all that capable of beating a Belicheck coached team in a playoff setting.  The Rams face a lot more potential top tier teams in the NFC that can knock them off.  

[St.Steveg]

So who do you think will face the Patriots next year?

As if it matters. Brady was not sharp most of the game, but that defense was stifling. It feels like this is their position for now.

I'd sure like to see the Saints get a shot at them next year. The end of their season sucked big time, and Brees knows what to do.

[mdrunning]

Well, I guess I'm in the minority, but I didn't find it to be all that bad of a game as far as Superbowls go.   It wasn't the offensive shootout that most people wanted, and it really didn't produce any memorable plays, but it was a one score game until only about 1 minute was left in the game.  Both defenses played well and were disruptive.  You kept getting this feeling that the Rams were one big play away from stealing a game that they didn't deserve to win.  Even the last gasp FG had something to hold your interest if you followed the gambling world.  The game spread and total were decided, but if you teased the Rams to +8 1/2 and coupled it with the under, your prayers were almost answered when McVeigh decided to attempt a FG with 8 seconds left and hope for an onside kick and a miracle.  But the kick was rushed and the sportsbooks saved a lot of money when it was.  

 

And as for bad games, there have been a lot worse Superbowls.  San Francisco's demolition of both Denver and San Diego were terrible games.  Seattle crushing Denver a few years back wasn't much better.  Even both of the Ravens Superbowls weren't very good games.  You never got the feeling the Giants were ever in the first one, and if San Francisco hadn't mounted a comback the second one would have been pretty much a snooze fest as well.  At least the outcome of last night's game was in doubt until the end, even if the game itself didn't feature some of the best football ever played.  

I tend to agree with you here. I, for one, am not a big fan of those 54-51 shootouts in which there are so many big plays, you have to wonder if there were any big plays at all. In those types of games, the biggest play is who gets the ball last.

 

This wasn't a game of individual accomplishment; rather it was a case of the Patriots winning with adjustments and timing on the defensive side of the ball. The Patriots don't do anything on either side of the ball just because that's what they do. They adjust their game plans to an individual opponent.

 

The loss of Cooper Kupp and the ineffectiveness of Todd Gurley pretty much sealed the Rams' fate against the Patriots' defensive schemes. Kupp, in particular, likely could have exploited the split safety/cover 2 stuff New England was throwing at them. Then again, had Kupp been in there, maybe New England's defensive game plan would have been different as well.

 

I just think viewing audiences as a whole have become too accustomed to offenses ruling the roost, be it balls flying out of the park in baseball, or offenses marching up and down the field with impunity in football (like last year's Super Bowl). Who would have thought that a championship played in 2019 would evoke halftime comparisons to Super Bowl IX, an otherwise long-gone and largely forgotten Super Bowl (particularly if you were a Viking fan)? Maybe it wasn't a throwback in the purest sense, because defenses had things much more their way back then, but it did have a retro feel to it. Despite the lack of points, this year's Super Bowl was always one big play away from swinging the other way. That play, however, just never came, particularly not for the Rams.

 

I guess a World Series consisting of seven 2-1 games with starters going the distance each time would be termed "boring" by today's standards. Me, I'd consider it refreshing.

[mdrunning]

I am 100% convinced Gurley is still hurt. He all but disappeared after Week 15. 

I would not be at all surprised to hear in the coming weeks that Gurley is undergoing knee surgery for an MCL, a meniscus, a clean up of some loose cartilage, etc. 

[Mike in STL]

13-3 games can be interesting. If the defenses are playing great and making you earn every yard. I think some are confusing the ineptness of the Rams offense with a stellar performence by the Pats defense. I’m pretty comfortable questioning Gurleys toughness after that game. I’d have to be having my leg hanging on by a thread to take me out. Rams played this like an early regular season game. That’s a shame.There were opportunities out there for the taking and LA didn’t execute. A couple of times they showed Goff throwing to a covered guy while another receiver is wide open by 15 yards.

2-1 baseball games can be classics, or really bad. Depends how you get there.

[DJ MC]

2-1 baseball games can be classics, or really bad. Depends how you get there.

 

This.

 

I think the game was bad, but not because it wasn't a shootout. Two teams playing amazing defense can be fun (see: Steelers-Ravens at various times over the past 20 years). But this wasn't two teams playing amazing defense. This was two teams playing good defense, and two offenses that couldn't handle even that.

 

Outside of Edelman constantly getting open (and basically getting nowhere from it) and that one long pass to Gronkowski Brady kept trying to force until they finally hit on it at the end, the Patriots couldn't do much. Brady was getting hit, and just like always happens when Brady starts getting hit, he turned shaky. He was missing easy short passes, and overthrowing long, and looking for Edelman on every play.

 

And the Rams...Jesus.

[mdrunning]

13-3 games can be interesting. If the defenses are playing great and making you earn every yard. I think some are confusing the ineptness of the Rams offense with a stellar performence by the Pats defense. I’m pretty comfortable questioning Gurleys toughness after that game. I’d have to be having my leg hanging on by a thread to take me out. Rams played this like an early regular season game. That’s a shame.There were opportunities out there for the taking and LA didn’t execute. A couple of times they showed Goff throwing to a covered guy while another receiver is wide open by 15 yards.

2-1 baseball games can be classics, or really bad. Depends how you get there.

No argument, but the same case could be made for those 48-45 shootouts. Where does brilliant offense start and bad defense begin? Personally, I didn't care much for last year's Super Bowl because there were just too many big plays on offense and virtually zero defense. 

 

Typically, if one side of the ball is playing lights-out, it isn't all on them. Whenever there's a game of endless scoring or lack of the same, some ineptitude comes into play as well. Reminds me of two years ago when Atlanta blew that 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. Yes, it was a tremendous comeback by the Patriots, but for any team to make up that much ground in that little time, the opponent also has to help them along in spots.

[mdrunning]

This.

 

I think the game was bad, but not because it wasn't a shootout. Two teams playing amazing defense can be fun (see: Steelers-Ravens at various times over the past 20 years). But this wasn't two teams playing amazing defense. This was two teams playing good defense, and two offenses that couldn't handle even that.

 

Outside of Edelman constantly getting open (and basically getting nowhere from it) and that one long pass to Gronkowski Brady kept trying to force until they finally hit on it at the end, the Patriots couldn't do much. Brady was getting hit, and just like always happens when Brady starts getting hit, he turned shaky. He was missing easy short passes, and overthrowing long, and looking for Edelman on every play.

 

And the Rams...Jesus.

I've yet to see the quarterback who played his best game while constantly picking himself up off the ground. And while this Super Bowl certainly doesn't rank up there with his better games, Brady still threw no more than two consecutive incompletions the entire game.

 

Brady was forcing some of those throws simply because no one was open and he was trying to beat the rush. The Rams did a great job of not allowing him to stand back and look for those second and third options. Not that it likely would have mattered because other than Edelman and Gronk, New England's receiving corps was virtually useless the entire day. They simply could not get open. As I said earlier, the Rams did a very good job of taking away both the sideline patterns and the dump-offs to the backs. I also thought New England went away from the running game prematurely, which in turn took away the play-action passes which do allow Brady to scan the field.

 

Plus, just as there's not a defense in existence that Brady hasn't seen, there isn't a style of quarterback that Wade Phillips hasn't seen. 

 

I think Goff suffered simultaneously from a case of the yips and facing a defensive matchup which simply did not favor him. There was talk this year that, while he may not be a dreaded "system quarterback," Goff is a QB who does best when things go as they're designed to go. Opponents seemed to figure out as the season went on that he simply is not the type of quarterback who is going to make something out of nothing. Clamp that first read and he's out of his element. Those types of guys usually don't change all that much. 

[cprenegade]

The Patriots defensively confused the hell out of Goff.  They showed several blitz looks and dropped off into zone coverage.  They brought pressure from different areas.  When he was in the pocket, they collapsed it up the middle.  When he scrambled outside, they got to him outside.  They didn't sack him a ton, but it looked like he was always being hurried and knocked down.  He also missed the few opportunities for big plays that he had.  I think Belicheck and his defensive staff studied what the Bears did to LA a few weeks ago on Sunday night, found some areas to exploit, and came up with a game plan the Rams might not be expecting.  The Rams failed to adjust to it much in the same way they never adjusted to what the Bears threw at them.