Rapid Reactions Week 3: 34-24 Loss @ Los Angeles Rams

[King Bootz]

Scotty Miller has sever turf toe and is out for awhile.

Stop.

It's true. As we all know those can be career altering injuries. Justin Evans is a testament to that.

[Heisenberg]

Bucs have reached out to E.J. Biggers

[King Bootz]

Paying the piper. Last year was abnormally healthy outside of Vea.

We had quite a few injuries last year. OJ landed on IR early in the year. Rojo, Godwin, Marpet, Smith all missed some time in season. DW missed a game or 2 because of Covid. Same with Shaq. And Cappa was gone for most of the playoffs. It just seems like a lot now I think because we're seeing the impact of these injuries as opposed to last year when others stepped up.

[Nano]

Bucs have reached out to E.J. Biggers

We've also shown interest in Chris Conte to help our depleted secondary.

[King Bootz]

Bucs have reached out to E.J. Biggers

We've also shown interest in Chris Conte to help our depleted secondary.

I believe he's still in witness protection.

[Nobody]

We've also shown interest in Chris Conte to help our depleted secondary.

I believe he's still in witness protection.

They have those in the morgue?

[kaimaru]

Shaq was 4th in tackles, tied for first in tackles for loss and qb hits but yeah accuse him of losing this game. Idk if its the weight he lost or what but Vea isn't demanding double teams like he used to. Pedro keeps saying Vea has no technique. After 3 years you can't just bullrush.

Pretty obvious why you went with obscurity instead of actually listing the numbers. Listing the numbers makes your point much less impactful. Shaq had the same number of QB hits as he did TFL: 1 a piece. That’s not even close to being good enough. That’s not what he’s getting paid $18mil a year to offer 1 QB hit and 1 tackle for loss a game.

Oh he played today, my point is I can see how you would feel that way because the only time he popped out to me was the one TFL or I wouldn't have even knew he was on the field. Speaking of which, why was Vea and Suh only in on about 50% of the snaps? Saving them for playing the Falcons?

[Tnbandwagoner]

my thoughts are that this game met so much more to the Rams.. they were flying to the ball on D, had a super solid gameplan on O and just overall seemed to want it more.

that was just the vibe that I got.

Wait - what gave you the impression our players didn't want it?

Other than the way they played for sixty minutes?

[Tnbandwagoner]

How often were the Pats off to rough starts only to crush it? We're down a lot of guys. We played a tough team. We weren't the best team today. It happens.

The problem is we don't have a BeliCheat over on the sidelines.

Of course the season isn't over but didn't like what I saw from Bowles in particular yesterday.

You mean you didn't like his deer-in-the-headlights look?

[Tnbandwagoner]

And to be clear, I’m never a fan of doing it “one way.” That’s Arians think and personally I find it ridiculous. It’s rare you’re that much more talented than the other team. Bucs were insanely healthy last season and our SB opponent wasn’t. We are now seeing when the shoe is on the other foot. Coaching has to step up here. They aren’t fooling anyone on defense and the talent isn’t enough to get away with it.

Hey, hold on there - we can't expect them to get all crazy and try that making adjustments stuff. They're just supposed to stand on the sidelines and frown, or stand there with their mouths open looking incredulous when we're getting it handed to us.

[Tnbandwagoner]

I’m still rooting for the occasional “ Grits Blitz” !!!
For those who think I’m delusional , Google the 1977 Atlanta Falcons defense. They still to this day hold records for ppg, turnovers at 3+ per game, etc. More dominant than 85’ Bears 00’ Ravens !

When you look at the speed at LB n the edge guys we have in Shaq, JPP, n Tryon.. with the safeties we have. It’s not ridiculous to maybe explore it here n there. Didn’t the Edwards pick 6 come from sending guys from BOTH sides plus the chaos in the middle. Last year at home vs GB we had sent a lot of jail break type pressure. Yes you can get burned but IDC whos QB you can’t prepare for 7-8 guys coming from everywhere, especially if they aren’t ready for it. It just seems when we are not getting home n getting carved up it’s something we should explore.
I want to go down swinging I guess is my mentality. I don’t want any bullets left in the gun.

At a minimum, we need to do something different. Right now we're squarely in the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result.

All-out blitzes every now and then, mixed in with dropping eight into coverage at times, bracketing the top WR most or all of the time when he's lighting you up like yesterday...Anything but the unimaginative and repetitive basic calls we're utilizing now.

[mdb1958]

3 weeks now, seems to me if the defense loses it's teeth you'd go and order new un's.

[MJW]

It's tempting to blame Bowles because that would imply we can simply "decide" to play better by scheming better.

In reality, our edge rushers aren't getting home. They were dominated by Smith/Collins and Whitworth/Haverstein, and pretty well contained by Matthews/McGary. The guys blocking them have been winning the matchups.

And when your rushers don't get home, your secondary gets exposed. Man, zone, soft coverage, bump and run, bracketing, shading, whatever. No pressure? No pass defense. The only question is if you want to get picked apart or beaten deep.

[mdb1958]

It's tempting to blame Bowles because that would imply we can simply "decide" to play better by scheming better.

In reality, our edge rushers aren't getting home. They were dominated by Smith/Collins and Whitworth/Haverstein, and pretty well contained by Matthews/McGary. The guys blocking them have been winning the matchups.

And when your rushers don't get home, your secondary gets exposed. Man, zone, soft coverage, bump and run, bracketing, shading, whatever. No pressure? No pass defense. The only question is if you want to get picked apart or beaten deep.

I blame three punts in a row

[Heisenberg]

It's tempting to blame Bowles because that would imply we can simply "decide" to play better by scheming better.

In reality, our edge rushers aren't getting home. They were dominated by Smith/Collins and Whitworth/Haverstein, and pretty well contained by Matthews/McGary. The guys blocking them have been winning the matchups.

And when your rushers don't get home, your secondary gets exposed. Man, zone, soft coverage, bump and run, bracketing, shading, whatever. No pressure? No pass defense. The only question is if you want to get picked apart or beaten deep.

I blame three punts in a row

That reminds me, Pinion shanked a punt Sunday. When’s the last time that happened? That was just confirmation it wasn’t our day.

[MJW]

I blame three punts in a row

That reminds me, Pinion shanked a punt Sunday. When’s the last time that happened? That was just confirmation it wasn’t our day.

There were a lot of those moments this game. The Dean drop, the Gronk miss, the false start by Josh Wells, the BS "forward" lateral, the back-to-back "we're not calling an obvious pick by the Rams but we are calling a much lesser pick on Gronk" etc.

We did not play well, we did not get the benefit of the bounces, we did not get the benefit of the calls, and we did not get the benefit of health. And we still were in that game into the 4th quarter on the road against a good/great team.

I don't think the sky is falling, but I do think we need to start making the plays we were making last year, especially the front seven.

[Buc2]

Why did 2 of our best DLmen barely play 50% of the defensive snaps? Suh 34 snaps = 52% / Vea 33 snaps = 51%.

[King Bootz]

Why did 2 of our best DLmen barely play 50% of the defensive snaps? Suh 34 snaps = 52% / Vea 33 snaps = 51%.

Honest answer: They are bother superior run defenders who provide little in terms of pass rushing.

[Buc2]

Why did 2 of our best DLmen barely play 50% of the defensive snaps? Suh 34 snaps = 52% / Vea 33 snaps = 51%.

Honest answer: They are bother superior run defenders who provide little in terms of pass rushing.

I disagree. At least for Vea.

[Buc2]

Honest answer: They are bother superior run defenders who provide little in terms of pass rushing.

I disagree. At least for Vea. Vea occupies blockers which, in turn, frees up the outside rushers to, well, rush the QB.

[King Bootz]

Honest answer: They are bother superior run defenders who provide little in terms of pass rushing.

I disagree. At least for Vea.

Vea is strong. He can bull rush anyone. But he's not a great pass rusher. He doesn't have the agility or quickness to consistently provide a variety in his rush plan. It's pretty much always a straight up bull rush.

[King Bootz]

Vea occupies blockers which, in turn, frees up the outside rushers to, well, rush the QB.

That is the difference this year. The teams we've faced so far have figured out that they don't need to double him. He's occupying 1 blocker on most snaps so far this year and not keeping our rushers free.

But him occupying blockers does not mean he's a quality pass rusher. Those 2 things don't correlate all of the time.

[Buc2]

Vea occupies blockers which, in turn, frees up the outside rushers to, well, rush the QB.

That is the difference this year. The teams we've faced so far have figured out that they don't need to double him. He's occupying 1 blocker on most snaps so far this year and not keeping our rushers free.

But him occupying blockers does not mean he's a quality pass rusher. Those 2 things don't correlate all of the time.

I'll have to watch a little closer going forward. Thanks for the info.

[Four Verticals]

That reminds me, Pinion shanked a punt Sunday. When’s the last time that happened? That was just confirmation it wasn’t our day.

There were a lot of those moments this game. The Dean drop, the Gronk miss, the false start by Josh Wells, the BS "forward" lateral, the back-to-back "we're not calling an obvious pick by the Rams but we are calling a much lesser pick on Gronk" etc.

We did not play well, we did not get the benefit of the bounces, we did not get the benefit of the calls, and we did not get the benefit of health. And we still were in that game into the 4th quarter on the road against a good/great team.

I don't think the sky is falling, but I do think we need to start making the plays we were making last year, especially the front seven.

You mean the plays the Bucs didn't make in at least half the games last year?

The Bucs have a good team. Right now the Rams are a better team. There may currently be other better teams. The loss probably should have surprised no one but it apparently has. This is all likely because what is remembered is the end of last season rather than most of last season which was a bit spotty. That's led to the belief by too many including those in the media that figured this was some sort of unstoppable juggernaut that it never has been.

The chances of repeating have always been pretty small due to many different factors including pure luck. The team has plenty of time to correct what's wrong and even doing so may not help in the long run.

[Pirate Life]

I’m still rooting for the occasional “ Grits Blitz” !!!
For those who think I’m delusional , Google the 1977 Atlanta Falcons defense. They still to this day hold records for ppg, turnovers at 3+ per game, etc. More dominant than 85’ Bears 00’ Ravens !

When you look at the speed at LB n the edge guys we have in Shaq, JPP, n Tryon.. with the safeties we have. It’s not ridiculous to maybe explore it here n there. Didn’t the Edwards pick 6 come from sending guys from BOTH sides plus the chaos in the middle. Last year at home vs GB we had sent a lot of jail break type pressure. Yes you can get burned but IDC whos QB you can’t prepare for 7-8 guys coming from everywhere, especially if they aren’t ready for it. It just seems when we are not getting home n getting carved up it’s something we should explore.
I want to go down swinging I guess is my mentality. I don’t want any bullets left in the gun.

While the stats for the '77 Falcons are nice, that same defense imploded the year after. A lot of the '77 success is likely more due to who they played as it was a murder's row of ineptitude on offense. A Tampa Bay team that was shut out five times and scored 7 offensive touchdowns on the year. Giants team that scored 17 offensive touchdowns. Bills team that scored 15. A Redskins team that finished 9-5 while averaging 14 points a game and scoring 19 offensive touchdowns. For 8 of their games the opponent's combined record was 24-60 with 3 of those wins being against Atlanta.

Would be an interesting defense to throw out there as a sort of trick play maybe but it'd likely not end well to use it as a defensive principle.

IMO, we need Devin White to get better. He's missed a ton of plays, like the one in the Falcons game where he should have sacked Ryan. Toss in that with his regression in coverage and we're a worse defense. The line absolutely needs to convert some of the pressure they do get into sacks, certainly not helping that holding doesn't seem to be called by the refs this year. As long as o-line players know they can get away with it, they'll keep doing it. Offense can cheat just as much as defense can as Nobody suggested.

[mdb1958]

narrative

[Moozician]

https://ramsondemand.com/threads/how-bu ... oss.65429/

Hello, Rams Fans!

[Snake]

https://ramsondemand.com/threads/how-bu ... oss.65429/

Hello, Rams Fans!

Ha, awesome.

[Primeminister]

The Rams are the best competition for us and have always been. I’m positive we will see them again in the playoffs when we are healthy. Looking forward to it.

[Cheb]

https://ramsondemand.com/threads/how-bu ... oss.65429/

Hello, Rams Fans!

Lol they're acting like they won the SB already by beating a heavily injured Bucs team.

Well, good for them. They can enjoy their SB win in September, we'll win the real thing in February.

I'm not mad at the Rams. They just beat the brakes off the Superbowl champs. In their shoes, I'd be quite pleased as well.

Credit where it's due, they played and coached a hell of a game. Now the onus is on us to turn the ship around.

[King Bootz]

https://ramsondemand.com/threads/how-bu ... oss.65429/

Hello, Rams Fans!

Damn! Even they hate @Digital_Damage as much as we do here

[Nobody]

Lol they're acting like they won the SB already by beating a heavily injured Bucs team.

Well, good for them. They can enjoy their SB win in September, we'll win the real thing in February.

I'm not mad at the Rams. They just beat the brakes off the Superbowl champs. In their shoes, I'd be quite pleased as well.

Credit where it's due, they played and coached a hell of a game. Now the onus is on us to turn the ship around.

Yeah.

This game wasn’t a fluke.

That’s a great team. Great personnel across the board. Great QB play. Great coaching.

Their recipe for beating us is sound.

Imagine if Brady wasn’t as good as he was last game (despite the pressure in key situations). That would have been some serious lunch money taken.

We’ve got a lot of work to do before round 2.

[Moozician]

Lol they're acting like they won the SB already by beating a heavily injured Bucs team.

Well, good for them. They can enjoy their SB win in September, we'll win the real thing in February.

I'm not mad at the Rams. They just beat the brakes off the Superbowl champs. In their shoes, I'd be quite pleased as well.

Credit where it's due, they played and coached a hell of a game. Now the onus is on us to turn the ship around.

Yep. We got spanked, plain and simple. And HOPEFULLY, this team is rattled enough to get away from the "We're gonna repeat, cause we got the same 24 starters back" bullshit. I know Brady had been preaching this to the team, "be careful, we've done nothing THIS YEAR yet", but I'm wondering if the defense got stuck admiring their reflection in the "Super Bowl Repeat" mirror that they had erected for themselves.

WAKE UP!

[King Bootz]

I'm with you guys. I don't think this Rams team viewed this as their Super Bowl. This team is the real deal and very dangerous. McVay has proven himself to be one of the best coaches in football and is only in his 5th year as a head coach. And it's not as if we beat them last year.

They have our number. I don't want to see this team again. That game was not as close as the score indicated. The Rams took their foot off the gas when they had the victory in the bag.

[mdb1958]

A'Shawn Robinson had five tackles in the first half?

Can't run block can't pass block. He bailed on Gronk when he could have dropped back to help protect Brady' blindside on Tom's sack fumble.

On our run last year I still cannot figure out how Smith started playing more like a man - still have not got that one.