This Week's Enemy Fan Forums: The St. Louis Rams

[Superfreak84]

I actually think we lose this game. The Rams defense is highly underrated. Their Dline will have no problem containing AD, especially since our Oline is highly questionable right now. They've got some monster guys anchoring that middle and also athletic guys to get pressure. Michael Brockers is an absolute beast and should be a great DT for years. Quinn and Long will get pressure on the outside, so it'll be tough to not go 2 TE set, especially if we want to establish Rudolph in the passing game. Kalil better bring his A game or else he's getting eaten for lunch. Their secondary is also pretty solid and I like Jenkins a lot and he'll probably be covering Jennings. I don't see us scoring many points against this defense. In fact, I think the only way we score is a big run from Peterson or Patterson taking screens and burning their defense.

Offensively, I don't fear them and I don't think they'll do much against our untested defense. But! As a Vikings, even with a different HC, I still believe our secondary will get torched. I think Hill goes over 300 yards and Kenny Britt will look like his old self vs. us (Rhodes will be on Austin I assume). Zack Stacy will be shut down, so it'll come down to their passing game vs our pass defense.

Final score: 20-13 Rams win.

Yeah and I'm sick of always hearing about how "good our o-line is" with all of the continuity. Our o-line is a total joke. The guards are both bad, Kalil and Loadhoalt give up way too many sacks and god forbid someone blitzes us. I hear about Sully being a top 5 center but I think he's pretty average. This is gonna be a rough game offensively!

[Crax]

WR - push - Patterson hasn't done it YET. Everyone just thinks he will. If you look at his stats, they are virtually identical to Tavon Austin's stats....and while I'm sure stuff like this happened to CP, Tavon had two big TDs called back. So CP and TA are a push. Simpson is out, which means we're comparing Greg Jennings to Kenny Britt and Brian Quick - who have looked phenomenal thus far. Jennings is better but Rams have more depth, which is why I call this a push.

Don't agree at all here. Plus, where are the TE's? Rudolph was injured last year, but he's back and better than Cook or anything else on the rams.

[DK Sweets]

QB - push/advantage Vikings - This is also the most important position on the field. Cassel has spent entires seasons as a started and has also spent more time with his receivers, not to mention taking starter snaps all offseason. Even if we want to argue who is the better talent, Cassel is far better prepared for this game.

RB - Vikings - Yup

WR - push/advantage Vikings - Patterson has a marginal edge, because he had the same speed/agility for big play potential but has more height. Greg Jennings to Kenny Britt or Brian Quick is still advantage Vikings, because Jennings is a proven commodity. I'd argue our other backups have equal potential

TE - advantage Vikings - Kyle Rudolph is in a TE friendly offense and is ready to explode. This is one if our team's strongest positions.

OL - push - both teams have blue chip starters at multiple positions

DL - advantage Rams - The Rams have proven commodities on their squad. The Vikings are underrated and very talented, but they have to prove their potential as a unit

LB - advantage Rams - Our LBs are incredibly pedestrian.

CB - push - this secondary is going to fit Xavier Rhodes well and Captain Munnerlyn seems to always be a forgotten man because of his height. You'll remember the name Monday morning, though

S - advantage Vikings - Harrison Smith is going to make whoever starts next to him serviceable because he is just that good.

ST - push - These are two of the best units in the NFL



These teams actually matchup really well

[Purple bruise]

I actually think we lose this game. The Rams defense is highly underrated. Their Dline will have no problem containing AD, especially since our Oline is highly questionable right now. They've got some monster guys anchoring that middle and also athletic guys to get pressure. Michael Brockers is an absolute beast and should be a great DT for years. Quinn and Long will get pressure on the outside, so it'll be tough to not go 2 TE set, especially if we want to establish Rudolph in the passing game. Kalil better bring his A game or else he's getting eaten for lunch. Their secondary is also pretty solid and I like Jenkins a lot and he'll probably be covering Jennings. I don't see us scoring many points against this defense. In fact, I think the only way we score is a big run from Peterson or Patterson taking screens and burning their defense.

Offensively, I don't fear them and I don't think they'll do much against our untested defense. But! As a Vikings, even with a different HC, I still believe our secondary will get torched. I think Hill goes over 300 yards and Kenny Britt will look like his old self vs. us (Rhodes will be on Austin I assume). Zack Stacy will be shut down, so it'll come down to their passing game vs our pass defense.

Final score: 20-13 Rams win.

Their defense "WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM CONTAINING AD", that seems quite laughable to me anyway What defense has contained him? He pretty much has the same o-line that nearly got him the NFL rushing record, doesn't he? AD will go well over 100 yds. this game. He is fresh, well healed and egar to to prove to everyone that he is the best back in the NFL (which he of course is). My biggest worry is how Cassel will do under pressure. Vikes win 24-14.

[dead_poet]

Our Special Teams were around the best in the NFL last year. I think we even set a record for fewest punt return yards allowed, and I can't remember allowing a big kick return. Punter is the best in the league, and while Blair Walsh was better than GZ as a rook, GZ was very good last year.

The Vikings were in the top-8 in kick return and punt return averages and racked up the most yards and TDs in each category. Last season Patterson returned 43 kickoffs for 1,393 yards and two touchdowns, posting a league-leading 32.4-yard average en route to a Pro Bowl nomination. Your punter was the best in the league? His average was 10th, two yards more than ours. He had a long of 64. Ours had a long of 65. Yours did have a longer Net. You are correct with your coverage units, though ours were solid. I'd say it's pretty even, all things considered.

I'd look at it like this:

QB - push/advantage Vikings

RB - Vikings big

WR - push - Patterson hasn't done it YET. Everyone just thinks he will. If you look at his stats, they are virtually identical to Tavon Austin's stats....and while I'm sure stuff like this happened to CP, Tavon had two big TDs called back. So CP and TA are a push.

As others have mentioned, Patterson didn't really "start" until later in the season. Over the final five games he posted 375 total yards and six touchdowns.

Simpson is out, which means we're comparing Greg Jennings to Kenny Britt and Brian Quick - who have looked phenomenal thus far. Jennings is better but Rams have more depth, which is why I call this a push.

Kenny Britt has potential, but he's been injured, benched and cut in his short career. As you mentioned, Jennings is the better player. And you'd have to compare Quick to Jarius Wright. I might give the nod to Quick, but that's based purely on size/speed/potential as last year he caught a whopping 18 passes for 302 yards and 2 TDs. Wright was contending with being the #4 WR on a run-first team with Christian Ponder and Josh freaking Freeman starting games in addition to Cassel and he still managed to post a 26-434-3 stat line. The Vikings also have promising young talent in Adam Thielen who is probably better than Austin Pettis. I disagree you have more depth at the position. I'd still call this one advantage Vikings.

OL - advantage Rams. Go look at various sites for Oline rankings, most have Rams ranked ahead of Vikes

If we're going by 2013, it's probably a push. Vikings are better at run blocking and the Rams are at pass-blocking.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol2013

Vikings ranked higher here: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/6/23/5 ... ots-eagles

Vikings ranked higher: http://www.fantasyomatic.com/?p=6151

Vikings ranked higher (Rams 13th): https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2 ... ankings/4/

DL - Rams big

I still don't think the discrepancy is that big. The big difference is the Rams defensive line is proven. The Vikings new defensive line isn't. But there is potential there for run-stuffing and passing harassment. I'd just call the advantage Rams.

CB - Push, even with TruJo on the shelf. Vikes secondary was putrid last year, Rams wasn't great either

I still think the combo of Xavier Rhodes/Captain Munnerlyn is > Janoris Jenkins and Brandon McGee. I still give the nod to the Vikings.

ST - Rams - again go look up non biased rankings, and the Rams are ahead. Also as I said above, we had the best ST units last year.

There's more to special teams than coverage units. I'll concede a push here.

So the Vikings have a big advantage at RB....and that's about it.

So that Rams have advantages at linebacker and defensive line...that's about it.

[mosscarter]

frantik ram: be sure and stop back in here sunday evening. sean hill at qb? yes, you have recently had a ton of picks so the question is why is your team so bad? the point is, they were bad even with bradford as qb. he had to have been the most overpaid qb in the nfl over the past several seasons he essentially did nothing his entire career. and as far as tavon austin goes you have to be kidding me. how tall is he, 5 ft 9? he is a slot receiver at BEST and someone on here compared him to patterson? my last girlfriend was taller than tavon austin. i simply can't stop laughing because aside from the rams probably the browns are the only franchise with more picks and are equally abysmal. good luck sunday you will need it. i suppose stranger things have happened, but i don't see minnesota losing.

[Dirtyswabby]

frantik ram: be sure and stop back in here sunday evening. sean hill at qb? yes, you have recently had a ton of picks so the question is why is your team so bad? the point is, they were bad even with bradford as qb. he had to have been the most overpaid qb in the nfl over the past several seasons he essentially did nothing his entire career. and as far as tavon austin goes you have to be kidding me. how tall is he, 5 ft 9? he is a slot receiver at BEST and someone on here compared him to patterson? my last girlfriend was taller than tavon austin. i simply can't stop laughing because aside from the rams probably the browns are the only franchise with more picks and are equally abysmal. good luck sunday you will need it. i suppose stranger things have happened, but i don't see minnesota losing.

Honestly I think this is a bit uncalled for, is he being a homer? Yes. But try and be civil about it. Our franchise could be compared to both St Louis and the Browns. At least St Louis has won a SB.

[Cliff]

frantik ram: be sure and stop back in here sunday evening. sean hill at qb? yes, you have recently had a ton of picks so the question is why is your team so bad? the point is, they were bad even with bradford as qb. he had to have been the most overpaid qb in the nfl over the past several seasons he essentially did nothing his entire career. and as far as tavon austin goes you have to be kidding me. how tall is he, 5 ft 9? he is a slot receiver at BEST and someone on here compared him to patterson? my last girlfriend was taller than tavon austin. i simply can't stop laughing because aside from the rams probably the browns are the only franchise with more picks and are equally abysmal. good luck sunday you will need it. i suppose stranger things have happened, but i don't see minnesota losing.

Smack talk goes in the smack shack. Please be respectful in your replies to other members even if you don't agree with them.

[FrantikRam]

frantik ram: be sure and stop back in here sunday evening. sean hill at qb? yes, you have recently had a ton of picks so the question is why is your team so bad? the point is, they were bad even with bradford as qb. he had to have been the most overpaid qb in the nfl over the past several seasons he essentially did nothing his entire career. and as far as tavon austin goes you have to be kidding me. how tall is he, 5 ft 9? he is a slot receiver at BEST and someone on here compared him to patterson? my last girlfriend was taller than tavon austin. i simply can't stop laughing because aside from the rams probably the browns are the only franchise with more picks and are equally abysmal. good luck sunday you will need it. i suppose stranger things have happened, but i don't see minnesota losing.

Will do. I'll stop by Monday morning.

It is stuff like this that makes a fan base look bad though. The Rams had a better record than the Vikings last year, so no clue what you are talking about.

Also - to all the people talking about CP vs. TA - Tavon didn't play many snaps either; it appears that each of us didn't know that about our rookie WRs last year. He started a few games, but his snaps dropped when we transitioned to more power running.

Stranger things happening than the Rams beating the Vikings? You do realize that the Rams are favored in this game right? And that the Vikes only won 5 games last year? Against the 13th most difficult schedule, while the Rams won 7 with the 4th most difficult.

[Crax]

Stranger things happening than the Rams beating the Vikings? You do realize that the Rams are favored in this game right?

Yes, by 3.5 at home. That's basically barely favored at all. You're the one predicting a big spread with over 30 points for the rams.

[FrantikRam]

Honestly I think this is a bit uncalled for, is he being a homer? Yes. But try and be civil about it. Our franchise could be compared to both St Louis and the Browns. At least St Louis has won a SB.

I hardly think I'm being a homer. The evidence from last year, plus the off season and the fact that we are at home all point to a Rams win. I suppose you are correct in that me thinking blow out is a bit of homerism, but it's no different than any other fan this time of year.

[FrantikRam]

So anyways, on to my personal concerns. I have high expectations for my team because it's been so long since they've been good, and this is by far the most talent we've had in 10 years.

The Terson brothers and the Rams offense are my main concerns.

Starting with the Tersons - we will be starting two rookie CBs, and I have to think Janoris Jenkins will be covering Greg Jennings. Which could leave a rook on CP. Expect to see CP rip off a few big plays. Peterson is less concerning to me than Patterson actually....but I was in STL for the game two years ago and saw live the damage that he wrought. Not pretty. The Ram dline is much better equipped to stop the run, and actually finished last year in the top 10 in YPC allowed, which is why Patterson concerns me more.

The Ram offense - for years now has been tripping over itself. We will look to establish Zac Stacy, but the Vikings will likely come out with 8 in the box.....I would. So I am hoping the Rams come out with a pass first approach to back the Viking defense off a bit.

Where we could lose this game - if your oline handles our dline. That will be the most important matchup of the entire game.

What are your main concerns?

[FrantikRam]

Yes, by 3.5 at home. That's basically barely favored at all. You're the one predicting a big spread with over 30 points for the rams.

I know. I was just responding to the gentleman that said "stranger things have happened" referring to the Rams beating the Vikings. To me, that's a comment you make when the Jaguars are playing the Seahawks.....where the Seahawks are favored by 17+ points. I don't think I've ever heard a comment like that from the underdog.

Having said that, I probably came on a little strong here. I'm younger than 30, so I don't passionately dislike the Vikes like some older Rams fans. They're not too fond of Fran Tarkenten . I've always kind of liked the Vikings (or at least haven't hated them), and love the way AD runs. I apologize if I offended anyone, not my intention. Good luck this season!

[Crax]

What are your main concerns?

Pass defense and turnover margin. Pretty general stuff, but I really want to see our secondary not be so terrible this year and we need to be smart with the football. We did a good job in the preseason getting some interceptions, I'd like to see that continue. I think the offense will be fine. With the new staff in place and new scheme, I'm really hoping for improvement on defense

[Mothman]

So anyways, on to my personal concerns. I have high expectations for my team because it's been so long since they've been good, and this is by far the most talent we've had in 10 years.

The Terson brothers and the Rams offense are my main concerns.

Starting with the Tersons - we will be starting two rookie CBs, and I have to think Janoris Jenkins will be covering Greg Jennings. Which could leave a rook on CP. Expect to see CP rip off a few big plays. Peterson is less concerning to me than Patterson actually....but I was in STL for the game two years ago and saw live the damage that he wrought. Not pretty. The Ram dline is much better equipped to stop the run, and actually finished last year in the top 10 in YPC allowed, which is why Patterson concerns me more.

The Ram offense - for years now has been tripping over itself. We will look to establish Zac Stacy, but the Vikings will likely come out with 8 in the box.....I would. So I am hoping the Rams come out with a pass first approach to back the Viking defense off a bit.

Where we could lose this game - if your oline handles our dline. That will be the most important matchup of the entire game.

What are your main concerns?

You covered my main concern: the Vikes o-line vs. the Rams d-line. I think the game probably hinges on that matchup more than anything else. Other than that, I'm concerned about the Vikings pass coverage (since it was their achilles heel last year and they're still adjusting to a new system) and turnovers (I think the Vikes need to win that battle to win this game).