Remaining Schedule - Time to Go On a Run

[jrry32]

After the bye, this is our schedule:
vs. Cleveland
vs. San Francisco
@ Minnesota
vs. Chicago
@ Baltimore
@ Cincinnati
vs. Arizona
vs. Detroit
vs. Tampa Bay
@ Seattle
@ San Francisco

The biggest thing is that we need to take care of business against the teams we should beat. We pretty much have to go 8-3 after the bye to get to the playoffs and that's attainable. Personally, I think we need to come out strong with a 5-0 run after the bye. Minnesota always gives us problems but we need to win that game. They'll likely be one of our biggest competitors for that playoff spot.

I think our two toughest games are Arizona at home and Seattle on the road. Cincy is a very tough team this year but I think that's a team we match-up to well. With Baltimore and Detroit playing poorly, our schedule after the bye is pretty favorable. Fisher just needs to have this team show consistency and beat the teams they should beat.

If we do that, we could very easily go 8-3 or 9-2. I can't stress it enough, though, we need to come out hot after that bye week. I think that 5-0 win streak is almost a must.

Foles and the OL need to regroup and get it together. Gurley can do some serious damage but we need a competent passing attack and a QB that can protect the ball. The defense is living up to their billing. It's time for the offense to pull their weight.

Do you guys think we can pull off 8 out of 11 after the bye or do you think we end up .500?(or worse?)

 

[jap]

I think we ought to let each of these teams know how it feels to be beaten by a Gurley Man!

 

[BuffaloRam]

9-2 in a perfect world after the bye. Give the O-Line a chance to gel and I think that 8-3 is attainable. Roll on Cleveland and Gurley's 1500 yard rookie season!

 

[jjab360]

If you chunk it, I think we can and need to win 3 out of the first 4, 1 between Baltimore and Cincy, 3 out of the 4 after that, and SF to end the season.

That's 10-6 and a likely wildcard berth.

 

[RamsFan14]

Love how you guys are optimistic, it's awesome to see. But man all these years of being optimistic and losing have just drained me! Idk what to say, I want to be believe we can go 8-3, but I just don't see enough in this team based on past experiences. We can beat the Cardinals and Seahawks, yet lose to the Redskins?! Just crazy... I'd have to see us beat Cleveland and San Fran in convincing fashion before I jump on a bandwagon of winning 8/11. They need to show they can take care of teams we should beat, cause we haven't done it in forever! The Redskins were a perfect test, and we blew it. Yea yea Redskins ain't terrible, but that's besides the point. We needed to beat them and we couldn't. Just the way the Rams have been for the last decade! I hope they show us more during the next couple of weeks (after the bye), cause the team is talented and fun to watch when things are rolling! Question is can we be consistent and take care of business when we need to... And right now they haven't proven either. We'll see tho! I'm not giving up on them by any means, just tough to be optimistic when we've lost so many games in the last decade! Have yet to witness a winning season as a hardcore fan!

 

[kurtfaulk]

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I wanna see them win at least 2 in a row before i start thinking that far ahead.

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[jrry32]

Love how you guys are optimistic, it's awesome to see. But man all these years of being optimistic and losing have just drained me! Idk what to say, I want to be believe we can go 8-3, but I just don't see enough in this team based on past experiences. We can beat the Cardinals and Seahawks, yet lose to the Redskins?! Just crazy... I'd have to see us beat Cleveland and San Fran in convincing fashion before I jump on a bandwagon of winning 8/11. They need to show they can take care of teams we should beat, cause we haven't done it in forever! The Redskins were a perfect test, and we blew it. Yea yea Redskins ain't terrible, but that's besides the point. We needed to beat them and we couldn't. Just the way the Rams have been for the last decade! I hope they show us more during the next couple of weeks (after the bye), cause the team is talented and fun to watch when things are rolling! Question is can we be consistent and take care of business when we need to... And right now they haven't proven either. We'll see tho! I'm not giving up on them by any means, just tough to be optimistic when we've lost so many games in the last decade! Have yet to witness a winning season as a hardcore fan!

We also didn't have Gurley.

I get your point. But I'm not playing. Me getting optimistic and looking ahead don't hurt the Rams. With the way this team has played the past two weeks, they are more than capable of winning those 8 games. But I agree, Fisher needs to prove he can coach the team up to their potential.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Being a little realistic/pessimistic i think they go 7-4 to finish out. That would put us at a 9-7 finish. To be honest i would be thrilled to be over .500 but i realize that's likely not good enough to get a wildcard which would suck.

As Jrry said, the key is to beat the teams we "should" beat. That's important not just for the win/loss thing, but also it would show progress of a team getting better and more consistent mentally.

Another key is to take care of business at home in the dome.

 

[LumberTubs]

Looking at that remaining schedule makes you realise how brutal the first five games have been (that redskins loss still stings but the 2-3 record is about what I expected at this stage).

The bye has come at the perfect time. The defence has started well and the running game has materialised these last two weeks leaving it abundantly clear what the problem is - the passing game. We've now got two weeks to work on that which is where the coaches will earn their money.

Cleveland put up 30 points on the road today. OK it was against the Ravens who do appear to suck but this is the kind of game that the Rams need to come out and dominate if they're going to go on a run to the play offs.

 

[GoldenAges]

This Rams team has the talent to make a run after the bye week.

Outside of Seattle and Cincy all of those games are winnable.

Those two will be tough.

 

[Ramrasta]

The prospect of going 8-3 is not as easy as it seems. There are upsets every Sunday, especially on the road, and the Rams are the definition of inconsistency. No such thing as an easy schedule.

 

[FrantikRam]

We can. The first step is beating Cleveland and San Francisco - two teams that have played better teams pretty tough.

I said it a couple of weeks ago and I'll say it again - our biggest game of the year is at Minnesota - with the AFC South schedule being weak and Arizona's schedule being so damn favorable, I think we're competing with Minnesota and Seattle for that 6th playoff spot.

If we win 5 in a row after the bye, I'd be amazed. Baltimore has a poor record, but has been in every game. So while we might beat them, it won't be a cake walk.

I think there are two paths to get 10 wins:

We win all our home games (only team with a winning record left is Arizona) and steal two on the road (Baltimore/San Francisco), or:

Go 6-0 in the division and win 4 outside division games (Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa Bay).

I think 6-0 in the division is more likely because I can't see us being consistent enough to win all the games we should win and lose all the games we should lose....so I could see something like this happening:

CLE - W

SF - W

MIN - L

CHI - W

BAL - L

CIN - L

AZ - W

DET - W

TB - W


The Viking and Raven games will define this season IMO. If it were to shape up like this, we would be 8-6 with a 4-0 division record. Our hope would be more Minnesota to lose to Seattle and we all end up 10-6 (or for Minnesota to be worse than 10-6).

I don't see Seattle as an automatic loss as in previous years. We beat the Seahawks and Niners and go 6-0 in the division, we will almost certainly make the playoffs. It'd be a lot better to just beat the Vikings and Ravens and be 10-4 going into those last two games though.

 

[TheDYVKX]

Those first 5 games are very winnable for sure, games we should win, and then Detroit and Tampa Bay are 2 more we should win.

If we can win those 7 games we should be in good shape because I see us pulling an "upset" off in at least one of the other games. Really the only remarkably difficult games left are the Bengals, Seahawks, Cardinals, and we have beaten 2 of those 3 already. Other than that, I think we are the better team and should win all those games.

This makes feel a lot better about the season. 10-6 is a very real possibility if the trends of those teams continue.

 

[Rmfnlt]

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I wanna see them win at least 2 in a row before i start thinking that far ahead.

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Yup... one game at a time.

Next up? Cleveland.

A game the Fisher-led Rams have managed to lose all too often.

Let's see how they come out after the bye against what, clearly, is an inferior opponent.

 

[HometownBoy]

Pretty much, we have to run a streak at this point. If we can't pull off a win streak on this schedule then I'll lose any remaining hope in this regime.

 

[Ky Ram]

Book it - call me a believer (or delusional).

This our year - forget all the relocation, contracts and other distractions. Let's just get to the playoffs and enjoy the excellence that our defense is and the potential that our offense has.

If we go to the playoffs I'm breaking the damn piggy bank and getting tickets

 

[Fatbot]

That would put us at a 9-7 finish. To be honest i would be thrilled to be over .500 but i realize that's likely not good enough to get a wildcard which would suck

I have the 9-7 as well using the NFL Predictor thingie... My (bad) picks somehow have the Rams as the #5 seed at 9-7, which is pretty unlikely... but one thing for sure is the margin of error is all but gone now thanks to that tough early schedule -- it's win the ones you are supposed to or go home.

 

[jrry32]

The prospect of going 8-3 is not as easy as it seems. There are upsets every Sunday, especially on the road, and the Rams are the definition of inconsistency. No such thing as an easy schedule.

Other teams can do it? Why not us? Our defense has been consistent and Todd Gurley has been consistent thus far. If those two things remain, we might just be able to grind out wins. Even if Foles and the passing game remain inconsistent.

 

[tahoe]

I look at the schedule and think that the Rams should go at least 9-2 but this team lacks consistency and they struggle outdoors. Every remaining away game is outdoors and that worries me. If the oline can get the pass pro straightened out with the way the defense and Gurley are playing they can absolutely go on a run.

 

[GabesHorn]

I think too many don't realize what we lost when Alec Ogletree went down. I do not think we are the same defense that beat Seattle and Cardinals without such a great and leading talent. It makes me so sad to know Chris Long may not be the same if and when he comes back. Is Aaron Donald playing at 100% health? Its such a tough game rep after rep. So many teams are so very close this season. I have seen some team maturity in this team this year slowly but surely. I'm glad we have the talent of Wichmann for long term future if Saffold needs surgery on his shoulder (we should know late today). I think we stay with Reynolds just due to the lack of reps Cody W. got in practice and Pre-season. Good we have him for the future for that spot with his youth and talent as good as Jamon Brown. Just without the reps and he is getting in his Pro weight room work NOW!

We have yet to see but one 100 yard wr game this year. Did I dream that? Britt keeps holding his shoulder showing us all it is bothering him. Brian Quick has 12 weeks to get over it or join the team with some contributions. Sorry his time is so limited. Unless Quick ends the season on Fire and once again teases Snisher in keeping him around again. In my opinion if we can keep Nick Foles from taking the kind of early and often punishment he received last week in GB (legal or not) he will continue to get to know his guys he has and hopefully finds a NEW favorite than Cookie who was Nicks early favorite go to guy in early OTA'S and practices that never transfered to the NFL field. Something new has to form .

We can't sleep on any game and the Vikings at their home will be a crazy talented team I don't think many are really aware of. I'm all about hope and know other injuries will happen that we will have to adjust to. We need to extend Brockers as he and Donald are very special together when healthy and motivated they are just AWESOME! Lets work Gurley into the pass game and some how some way find something for Tre' Mason to do that fits his home run skills and speed . Another major waste this year due to his Hammy first and getting others involved like we seem to have found a real Niche for Tavon Austin.

A rough road ahead and lots more gelling for our OL. NO INJURIES!!!