What can a fan take away from a game that seems to feature one really good team and one team that has no business on a football field? We might have found out the answer to that question by the end of the second quarter in the LA Rams’ 38-11 beatdown of the 1-5 New York Giants.
The Rams outscored the Giants by 28 points in the second quarter and were up 38-3 when head coach Sean McVay pulled Matthew Stafford down the stretch. There might be little else to know about the game than “Joe Judge is on a six-hundred-degree seat” but we no less saw some important things happen on Sunday that give us a clue into what’s going right and what’s going wrong with the 5-1 LA Rams.
Matt Stafford does not want to check down
The offensive line gives Stafford plenty of time and he’s going to use it. I love the vertical aspect he brings, but Darrell Henderson, and Sony Michel to lesser extent, have stellar hands. Rams can be just as effective as an offense if he takes a few of those escape routes and a few less hits.
So far this season, Stafford seems to take a few series to really warm up. When he gets dialed in, the Rams gobble up yardage in big chunks. He’s also getting used to using the Sean McVay tempo.
Matthew Stafford, Rams QB, in the year 2021:
— TurfShowTimes (@TurfShowTimes) October 17, 2021
132/192, 68% comp, 1,783 yards, 9.3 Y/A, 17 TD, 3 INT, 121 QB rating
Stafford is maybe one start away from matching/passing Jared Goff's 2020 TD total
Who was that silly writer who thought the Rams should trade for the Giant offensive tackles?
The Ram defensive ends were stellar against New York’s porous offensive line.
Leonard Floyd and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo abused the Giant tackles. They seemed to get around the edges at will. Terrell Lewis was solid as well, as he was able to use his wingspan to create havoc.
When these players shine, it allows Aaron Donald to dominate the whole interior line, running and passing.
In the defense of my own article, Giants center Billy Price played decently.
Still wary of the Rams soft coverage
A good overall showing for the defensive side. Forcing four turnovers, no matter the competition, is a great sign. Another great 4th down stand that changed the flow of the game.
The game started with the Giants moving the ball rather easily. Their only hope was to control the clock (11 minutes of the first quarter) and keep the LA offense off the field. The stop on fourth down took all the life and momentum out of their team. Their remaining effort and play was lackluster as the Rams pulled away.
Bad-to-average teams are usually going to find a way to shoot themselves in the foot. They just don’t have the patience, ability, or scheme to consistently move the ball into scoring position. Allowing good opponents to control TOP and keep the Ram quick-strike offense off the field has the potential to force Los Angeles to lose patience and become unbalanced.
Donte Deayon emerges, but Terrell Burgess remains hidden
Deayon goes straight from PS to a solid game, showing stickiness, good breaks on the ball and tackling heart. It’s a great story when a player bounces around awhile and then finds success, and Donte Deayon might have one of the best journeyman stories around the NFL today.
Donte Deayon sparked the Rams defense all during training camp and now he could be just what Raheem Morris has needed by being activated against his former Giants team. https://t.co/5xAPKIckUm
— TurfShowTimes (@TurfShowTimes) October 16, 2021
Burgess has been passed by Nick Scott and his play time didn’t increase with the Darious Williams injury. Didn’t even see him mop up late in the game.
Linebacker Jamir Jones got some first half snaps, most likely due to his special teams play. Saw Jonah Williams in early snaps as well. Lot of the youngsters got to see time in the last 10 minutes.
I don’t like to see guys like AD, TLew and Floyd in the game, risking injury, with 31-3 lead and the Giants barely treading water.
I don’t want to imagine this defense without AD, or Floyd, for that matter! Period!
Yes, the referees are that bad
Without exception, in every NFL game I’ve watched this season, the ability of the referees doesn’t match the talent of the players. Calling the tacky-tack fouls while allowing the offensive line to commit battery.
My own personal favorite is targeting/leading with helmet. The NFL had a big PR campaign about enforcing it for the safety of the game and still allows it to continually occur. I’m only partially exaggerating when I say that the refs call it when two guys bump heads in a bang-bang play and don’t call it when a player comes charging in with his head down.
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