Enemy Fan Forums: Los Angeles Rams

They really do have a good defense--especially against the run. But the Rams have faced a higher ranked defense in Jacksonville. But this will be a real test. The key is for us to protect Goff and for them to get to him. Jared took some sacks this weekend. He needs that time to look and he wants to look until the last minute. This game may force him to speed up. McVay may need quick hitting stuff. But this offense has surprised me all season and especially the offensive line. Hopefully Saffold is fine(it sounds like he is)and they get good protection. Because no defense can cover these receivers forever.

I just want to see a win. I'll take a 9-6 win if it comes to that.

The Vikes have some really good receivers too so we are sort of in the same boat in getting the pressure on Keenum.

This will be a tough game. But this team loves playing the Road Warrior so they will come out swinging, I'm sure.

The Rams certainly have to win one or two of these tough games ahead to secure a playoff berth. May as well start with this one.

Keenum is playing well, but he will crack under pressure and make mistakes like he did against the Redskins. We know him, we know what he can and cannot do in different situations, so we have the advantage.

Regarding their performance against three of the top ten rushing offenses, I don't know what that poster is talking about. The Saints are #3 but they played in week 1. Ingram and Kamara would put up 200 and three TDs against them now. Baltimore and Chicago are #8 and #9 in yards, but few TDs and neither teams are comparable to the Rams.

Wow their schedule has barely been harder than ours thus far. Seahawks D when we faced them was every bit as good if not better than theirs.

Here's a look at the Vikes' defense:

18.3ppg against (5th)

3.4 ypc rushing (T-2nd)

213.2 passing yards against average (12th)

25 sacks (10th)

80.8 QB rating against (8th)

This is a top defense at home, where their secondary and pass rush will benefit from the hostile environment and crowd noise. It's a big deal because their weakest area is their pass defense and the home field gives the pass defense a boost. Their run defense is outstanding. Huge game for Jared Goff, and the OL has to deal with Zimmer's interior gap pressure BS where it's tough to identify rushers so comms are key.

IMO the Vikes defense will slow our offense at least at first. That's usually what happens when great defense meets great offense. So my take is the key for us is our own defense taking a lesser offense to the woodshed and flipping the field for our offense. To what extent that happens is the key for us.

I think the Rams are the more balanced team. Hope that shows once they settle in and start ballin.

Keep talking Vikes fans. The 5-0 Road Warriors are coming into your house on Sunday.

Seems like not many people believe in us. Now's the time to show everyone what we're about.

I'll tell you, man, it can be difficult discussing the game with Vikings fans. I tried discussing it with them today, and it went about as well as was expected. The defining moment for me was when a Vikings fan said he didn't believe in the Rams because 1) he doesn't trust our QB, 2) he thinks we've played a weak schedule, and 3) we've played a weak group of QBs.

Of course, I was kind enough to point out to him that every single one of those critiques applies to the Vikings to date. However, there's something that stood out to me when evaluating Minnesota. Here are Case Keenum's numbers against teams with a winning record (not counting the Packers because Brett Hundley played almost that entire game):

2 games (Pittsburgh and Detroit)

36/67

53.7%

386 passing yards

5.8 YPA

0 TDs

0 Ints

70.9 Passer Rating

8.0 PPG

That's right. They've averaged 8 points per game in those games. Those numbers look awful familiar to us Rams fans. The only noteworthy win the Vikings have this year is over the Saints, but that was before the Saints started playing well and with Sam Bradford (who had a stellar game).

Now, the Vikings are absolutely a good team. They're an equally-matched team to us. However, their fans are very blind to their own faults because they cite those faults in their criticisms of us (while seemingly not recognizing that it is also applicable to them). Why do I believe we will win on Sunday (I'm not predicting a blowout, though)? Because I trust Jared Goff. We have the better QB. I do not trust Case Keenum to get the job done against a quality team and a quality defense. I think if the pressure is on late, Keenum will melt down like he did so many times for us.

Minnesota is no doubt one of the toughest defenses we'll face. However, imo, Seattle was tougher. And we should have scored quite a bit on them if not for our own foolish errors.

One other thing works in our favor. Sean McVay's Redskins put up 26 points and 375 yards of offense on the Vikings last year. He's not unfamiliar with the Vikings, and he's shown that he can have success against that team. Nevertheless, I'm not assuming that we'll score a lot in this game. They're a very tough D. The good news is that I think we stymie Case Keenum. If we do that, we don't need to score a lot to win.

I'll also note that we played it safe vs. Jax. Their defense feasts on turnovers. After our special teams helped us to a sizable early lead, we played it safe with Goff and rode Gurley and the defense to the win. It made a ton of sense to do that because the Jaguars are not designed to come from behind, and Goff was coming off his worst game of the year against Seattle. I think a big part of our lack of offensive success that day was McVay choosing to grind it out with Gurley and force Jacksonville to win the game with their offense.

Have you seen The Waterboy? I'd compare it to the Louisiana Cougars deciding to kneel three times and punt to take Bobby Boucher out of the game because he was the one doing all of the damage. We decided not to risk turning the ball over and giving Jacksonville favorable field position (or worse, a defensive TD) when their offense didn't seem capable of making the comeback against our defense.

through week 10 goff has the 4th highest qb rating when throwing under pressure according to pff, and the 2nd highest qb rating against he blitz.... rounding things out, through week 10 goff also ranks 7th in qb rating on deep passes, and 8th in % of "big time throws" (highest graded passes) completed.

I think IF we can really stop their run game and make them overly dependent on Case, we should win. I think our D line should be considerably better than their O line, and if they are we should win--but I do think it's gonna be a nail biter.

It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. The Rams average 32.9 points a game, the Vikings average 24.1. The Rams defense allows 18 points a game, the Vikings allow 18.3.

Right now it does look like Keenam is going to play. The RAMS D probably knows Case pretty well and I see this as one advantage for our team. Just need a couple of INT's to help keep that balance tilting towards the RAMS...!!

Viking lead series 26-16-2 Playoff football Vikings hold the edge 5-2. There were a series of tough fought playoff games in the 70's. Perhaps a few of you recall the 1976 NFC championship game. The Rams had a FG blocked and Bobby Bryant returned it for a 90 yd TD. Heart breaker.....This year, both teams are a surprising 7-2

I feel good about us winning, and hope we do, but I also secretly hope that Keenum does well. I always liked his style/grit.

Since Keenum tends to get picked off more the Goff; but its a two edge sword, the Rams D knows Keenum while Keenum knows the Ram's D.

I think its a defensive struggle and the team with the fewest mistakes wins

Rams 23
Yikes 17

Well, I'd say a different defensive scheme and coordinator definitely make it harder.

Inversely, a different offense for Keenum does too, and I haven't watched enough to know if his reads and releases, etc. have changed at all but I'd assume it's easier to key in on a person rather than a whole squad.

That said, totally looking forward to the game!

27-17 Rams! Gotta keep close to that average!

I do feel that while the defenses are probably a lot closer in strength, I feel the Rams offense will be the key difference in this game...so yeah, totally going by the averages lol

You bring to memory some very, very tough losses to the Vickies: That close playoff game in '69 in an overcast, cold and snowy Minneapolis, one of my saddest days as a fan, even watching the event on TV. The Rams had started that season 11-0 (then lost three battles in a row, including one at the Coliseum at the hands of those ... purple Minnesotans).

Or, as you put it, those were heartbreakers - they still hurt and crush the soul.

But we've tasted some revenge and sweetness.

1999, another playoff game vs. Vikes. This time the GSOT scores on their very first play from scrimmage ... and never looked back.

GO RAMS !!!

Will be a difficult game. Rams have been great on the road, but this game is a different feel against another real quality club. Zimmer is a solid coach. Keenum will be extra motivated to perform well. And Rams aren't going to win out their remaining games. A win would be a tremendous feather in their cap, but this one is ripe for a loss.

MINN 27
LA 20

The Rams have a +132 point differential this year. The Viking +52. The Rams are 4-0 on the road, The Vikings 3-1 at home. The Rams faced a tougher Defense already in the Jaguars, the running threat the Vikings had is done for the season and the Viking s haven’t faced a back like Gurley yet, nor have they faced the many air threats the Rams have. With that being said I think this games will be closer.

Rams 35
Vikings 24

I agree this will be a tough game, but I don't think Keenum will be immune to our pass rush. The Vikes OL is a bit suspect. They do have 2 very good wr's in Theilen and Diggs plus Rudolph at TE. If we can dominate the time of possession we can tire their defense as our running game is superior to their's. Zimmer is a good coach, but Wade is brilliant in scheming the defense to stop a good offense.

Rams 28
Vikes 24

Go Rams!

Just looked at Vkiings schedule thus far. Their signature win was over the Saints week 1, essentially before the Saints became the Saints. They lost to Pitt and Detroit and their only other win v a winning team was Green Bay when they broke Rodgers' collarbone. The Redskin win was impressive, especially since we lost to them. They are playing well, but are not overpowering. I'm more worried about the Saints and the Iggles even though they're both home games. Just sayin'.

Rams 20 Vikings 23 OT. Due a loss, or a bad break, so I'm not overly optimistic on this one.!!