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- Brian
I guarantee you Peters will be penalized for taunting or worse against the Saints. He can't stop himself.
Rams vs Saints
- Thread starter Hey Man
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jjab360
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Omg imagine the "now let's go eat a goddamn snack" memes if Rex Ryan was still a HC lol.
El caliente
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I tell ya, say what you will about Trump, but that man is amazing for the meme industry.
NoCoNite
ILoveGoffBalls
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The last time they played the saints ran the score up on Williams.
I remember turning down good Chinese food to go watch it at a sports bar. Morale of the story is to never turn down good Chinese food.
Classic Rams
Hall of Fame
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Okay so the word is that Brees can't be fooled, he's seen about everything (D.Farr back before the 1st meeting). Well Staubach was about the same, and back in 1979 in his last game the Rams confused him with 7 DBs and held the Cowboy machine to 19 points in their house for a playoff win.
Here's my proposal. (Of course not every play but on crucial 2nd-3rd and longs.) 6 DBs with regular starters but put Shields at RCB and have Peters play a 3rd safety as a rover, reading the QBs eyes like he loves to do anyway. 5th DB is NRC in his slot. Talib lines up on Thomas and knocks him back at the line to disrupt his route, then covers him mano-a-mano with possible help from Peters or Joyner. Talib sticks on him as maybe Peters is ready to jump the route. 1 LB (Littleton) shadows Kamara, and then have 4 rushers (with Fowler). Maybe even have Barron be the shadow or possibly the guy that knocks Thomas back off the line.
Something like this has gotta work!
Here's my proposal. (Of course not every play but on crucial 2nd-3rd and longs.) 6 DBs with regular starters but put Shields at RCB and have Peters play a 3rd safety as a rover, reading the QBs eyes like he loves to do anyway. 5th DB is NRC in his slot. Talib lines up on Thomas and knocks him back at the line to disrupt his route, then covers him mano-a-mano with possible help from Peters or Joyner. Talib sticks on him as maybe Peters is ready to jump the route. 1 LB (Littleton) shadows Kamara, and then have 4 rushers (with Fowler). Maybe even have Barron be the shadow or possibly the guy that knocks Thomas back off the line.
Something like this has gotta work!
wolfdogg
Hall of Fame
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I like it. Shields should be able to cover their 2nd wideout. I'm sure the rams are looking at multiple ways to minimize Thomas and that the one that works best involves double coverage. Talib and Peters as a safety would be very interesting
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In my opinion, the Saints are going to play hard against the run. They are going to make Goff prove he can win the game. If I was the Saints D Coordinator, that is what I would do and it makes a ton of sense. The running game has been elite the past several weeks. Goff has been off and on and missed some relatively easy throws along the way. Goff can be rattled, and, if the Saints figure out the equation to slow the run down, I think we are in for some trouble. Don't get me wrong, Goff has had some great games this season where he should get a ton of credit, but that seems like a long time ago. Since the bye, he has just been off.
If I'm McVay, I'm scheming up a bunch of plays to get short quick passes to Gurley and Everett. Those should be easy, quick reads and will make the LB's hesitate to stack to run later in the game.
This one has me nervous guys! The one thing that is giving me some confidence is that the Saints offense hasn't exactly been at the top of their game recently either.
If I'm McVay, I'm scheming up a bunch of plays to get short quick passes to Gurley and Everett. Those should be easy, quick reads and will make the LB's hesitate to stack to run later in the game.
This one has me nervous guys! The one thing that is giving me some confidence is that the Saints offense hasn't exactly been at the top of their game recently either.
Ken
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If Goff plays well the Rams have a great chance to win (if not getting too screwed by the refs). If not, the only way is to have an unstoppable running game and outstanding D play (both at the same time - not likely). It's all on Goff IMO.
Kevin
Pro Bowler
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Yes, and throw to Gurley, Everett, etc... while they are on the run. I hate watching a play develop slowly and see Goff try to hit someone who is standing still and having to fight for the ball. That receiver is not open, he is at the end of his route. Goff needs to pull the trigger sooner.
Saints hope for double coverage on Thomas...then you need double coverage on Kamara.....and lets not forget Ingram and the rest of the receiver corp....Saints have too many offensive options to double cover anyone.
shovelpass
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I think that part of the Saints success against the run comes from the lack of attempts, teams most likely fall behind quickly and abandon the run to catch up. The Saints are 3rd in fewest rushing attempts per game with 21.9 and the fewest is Philly with 21.2, I wonder if that D can hold up to Anderson and Gurley. Anderson alone had 23 attempts vs the "vaunted" Dallas d.
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That's certainly not true. After Kamara and Thomas, their passing game weapons are extremely unremarkable.
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I think if the Rams can shut down New Orleans running game, they will win. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara can be difference makers. I would hate to see the Rams get run on, but I also don't believe it's going to happen. I think the Rams will shock the world and get into the Super Bowl in a close NFC Championship game.
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Apparently someone on the Rams team said that the Superdome wasn’t really that loud, so that has Saints fans ready to take it up a notch.
We might all get lucky and Joe Buck and Troy Aikman night get drowned out.
We might all get lucky and Joe Buck and Troy Aikman night get drowned out.
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https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/01/16/r...-game-michael-thomas-aqib-talib-marcus-peters
Michael Thomas Is the Key to Saints-Rams
By ANDY BENOIT
Yes, the Saints last week rushed for 137 yards, while their No. 2-ranked run defense held Philly’s ground game to just 49 yards. And the Rams amassed an unfathomable 273 yards rushing against Dallas, surrendering only an almost equally unfathomable 50 to league rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott.
But let’s be honest: Even with outstanding ground games, the Saints and Rams are playing for the NFC championship because of their aerial assaults. Both are afforded unique dimension from running backs—backfield screen master Todd Gurley for L.A. and super flex piece Alvin Kamara for New Orleans—but the backbone of these passing attacks is formed by stud wide receivers.
The Rams have maybe the league’s best all-around duo in the highly refined Robert Woods and turbo-driven Brandin Cooks, though L.A.’s aerial success derives predominantly from its detailed, deceptive play-action, which makes this passing game about the scheme as much as the personnel. New Orleans’s aerial scheme is also great, though it would look a lot less “great” without Michael Thomas. Which is why the third-year wideout is the key difference-maker entering Sunday’s contest.
Recall that when the Rams and Saints met back in Week 9, Thomas had 12 catches for 211 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown that, like many of his other catches, came after burning Marcus Peters. The Rams cornerback was only traveling with Thomas because Aqib Talib was out with his 10-week ankle injury.
It’s been a different Rams pass D since Talib’s return in Week 13, and on Sunday Thomas can expect to see a lot of the well-traveled 12th-year star corner. The Rams don’t typically travel their corners with specific receivers when Peters and Talib are both in, but Talib’s lanky frame is too nice a fit against Thomas’s physicality.
Still, the Saints will not have to tweak their approach if Talib follows Thomas. Talib is an off-coverage corner who has a keen sense for simultaneously reading the QB and multiple routes. Thomas is a borderline genius route runner, deft at disguising his patterns and setting up breaks.
And Drew Brees, who is better with deceptive body language and eye manipulation than any other passer of this era, is a difficult QB to read. Putting Talib on Thomas would be more of a survival tactic for the Rams. Thomas, when you factor in his ability on contested catches, is a player who—to dig up the old cliché than Dan Patrick buried with sarcasm years ago on SportsCenter—you cannot stop, you can only hope to contain.
This is especially true when you consider how the Saints use Thomas. At times he’ll align in the slot (where Talib is less comfortable—as is Peters, for that matter). Often, Thomas is one of just two wideouts on the field, as the Saints are more base personnel-driven (two tight ends or two backs) than people realize.
Some offensive coaches over the years have privately said that Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips becomes predictable when you play base personnel (though you don’t hear this as much now as you did before to Phillips won a Super Bowl with the 2015 Broncos). Predictability against Brees is poisonous, and it would surely mean single zone coverage against Thomas, which the Saints feast on.
Part of New Orleans’s success against zone, particularly in obvious passing situations, comes from shrewdly leveraging Kamara and Thomas together. In empty formations, they often align together on the weak side, where it’s all but impossible to double both. In traditional formations, Kamara’s route will often work near or underneath Thomas’s route, attacking the same group of zone defenders. If it’s man-to-man, those routes will intersect, creating natural rubs on defenders. (The Rams were bested here a few times in that Week 9 meeting.)
L.A.’s saving grace is that Brees no longer has the arm strength to push the ball vertically unless his pocket is clean. New Orleans’s stalwart O-line matches up well to L.A.’s pass rush, except inside, where no one matches up well to Aaron Donald. Compromise the 6-foot Brees’s interior pocket and you condense New Orleans’s passing game to throws of 20 yards and shorter.
That’s what happened during the stretch in December in which the Saints, in games against the Cowboys, Panthers and Bucs, uncharacteristically struggled to score. Thomas, one of the NFL’s best intermediate receivers, can still hurt a defense in a constricted passing game, but not having to defend over the top, a defense has a much better chance at competing. That’s what this game comes down to. If the Rams keep Thomas in check, they’ll win. If they don’t, they’ll lose.
Michael Thomas Is the Key to Saints-Rams
By ANDY BENOIT
Yes, the Saints last week rushed for 137 yards, while their No. 2-ranked run defense held Philly’s ground game to just 49 yards. And the Rams amassed an unfathomable 273 yards rushing against Dallas, surrendering only an almost equally unfathomable 50 to league rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott.
But let’s be honest: Even with outstanding ground games, the Saints and Rams are playing for the NFC championship because of their aerial assaults. Both are afforded unique dimension from running backs—backfield screen master Todd Gurley for L.A. and super flex piece Alvin Kamara for New Orleans—but the backbone of these passing attacks is formed by stud wide receivers.
The Rams have maybe the league’s best all-around duo in the highly refined Robert Woods and turbo-driven Brandin Cooks, though L.A.’s aerial success derives predominantly from its detailed, deceptive play-action, which makes this passing game about the scheme as much as the personnel. New Orleans’s aerial scheme is also great, though it would look a lot less “great” without Michael Thomas. Which is why the third-year wideout is the key difference-maker entering Sunday’s contest.
Recall that when the Rams and Saints met back in Week 9, Thomas had 12 catches for 211 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown that, like many of his other catches, came after burning Marcus Peters. The Rams cornerback was only traveling with Thomas because Aqib Talib was out with his 10-week ankle injury.
It’s been a different Rams pass D since Talib’s return in Week 13, and on Sunday Thomas can expect to see a lot of the well-traveled 12th-year star corner. The Rams don’t typically travel their corners with specific receivers when Peters and Talib are both in, but Talib’s lanky frame is too nice a fit against Thomas’s physicality.
Still, the Saints will not have to tweak their approach if Talib follows Thomas. Talib is an off-coverage corner who has a keen sense for simultaneously reading the QB and multiple routes. Thomas is a borderline genius route runner, deft at disguising his patterns and setting up breaks.
And Drew Brees, who is better with deceptive body language and eye manipulation than any other passer of this era, is a difficult QB to read. Putting Talib on Thomas would be more of a survival tactic for the Rams. Thomas, when you factor in his ability on contested catches, is a player who—to dig up the old cliché than Dan Patrick buried with sarcasm years ago on SportsCenter—you cannot stop, you can only hope to contain.
This is especially true when you consider how the Saints use Thomas. At times he’ll align in the slot (where Talib is less comfortable—as is Peters, for that matter). Often, Thomas is one of just two wideouts on the field, as the Saints are more base personnel-driven (two tight ends or two backs) than people realize.
Some offensive coaches over the years have privately said that Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips becomes predictable when you play base personnel (though you don’t hear this as much now as you did before to Phillips won a Super Bowl with the 2015 Broncos). Predictability against Brees is poisonous, and it would surely mean single zone coverage against Thomas, which the Saints feast on.
Part of New Orleans’s success against zone, particularly in obvious passing situations, comes from shrewdly leveraging Kamara and Thomas together. In empty formations, they often align together on the weak side, where it’s all but impossible to double both. In traditional formations, Kamara’s route will often work near or underneath Thomas’s route, attacking the same group of zone defenders. If it’s man-to-man, those routes will intersect, creating natural rubs on defenders. (The Rams were bested here a few times in that Week 9 meeting.)
L.A.’s saving grace is that Brees no longer has the arm strength to push the ball vertically unless his pocket is clean. New Orleans’s stalwart O-line matches up well to L.A.’s pass rush, except inside, where no one matches up well to Aaron Donald. Compromise the 6-foot Brees’s interior pocket and you condense New Orleans’s passing game to throws of 20 yards and shorter.
That’s what happened during the stretch in December in which the Saints, in games against the Cowboys, Panthers and Bucs, uncharacteristically struggled to score. Thomas, one of the NFL’s best intermediate receivers, can still hurt a defense in a constricted passing game, but not having to defend over the top, a defense has a much better chance at competing. That’s what this game comes down to. If the Rams keep Thomas in check, they’ll win. If they don’t, they’ll lose.