Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
Well when the season started I liked the Cards in this game. They still can win but it will take their best effort of this year.
The most notable thing about this year’s Rams is the change in Goff. I have never seen this much improvement in a QB in one year. It’s part maturity and part coaching. It’s clearly the result of a great deal of offseason work.
I watch his games this year and a few things are obvious. He’s not going to be easy to sack. It’s not that he’s elusive, it’s just he’s been told to get rid of the ball quickly. The key is he does it. On the vast majority of the plays count 3 and it’s gone, especially if he’s out of the pocket.
The Rams attack features numerous short passes and occasionally a 2 man game with Goff & an RB or TE.
The Cards need to stay home on defense, containing Gurley and the Austin sweeps the Rams want to run. Martin will have trouble containing the edge speed, but this should fit Reddick’s game. We’ll clearly see this week if the latter can control the run and the QB. He’ll have to make good decisions.
Despite being hard to sack, the Cards must attack and confuse Goff. The good news is the Cards are one of the few teams built to handle a Rams-type offense. It takes speed and flexibility. The Cards have plenty of both.
Goff is most dangerous when in the pocket. He has a decent arm but rarely tries to throw deep when on the run. He’s usually locked on one receiver running a set pattern. In the pocket he’s calmer and uses his progressions. He can throw deep with accuracy, especially when he can step forward into the pocket. On defense the Cards have to do a better job of collapsing the pocket. Peters did this well in a couple of games but didn't against Tampa. The Cards need to play whoever is getting that done. The must prevent Goff from running out of the middle of the pocket. He can be effective doing that.
The other critical concept is to confuse Goff. Other teams have tried and failed. The Cards must disguise their blitzes better than they did against Tampa. They need to keep moving players in and out of the line. They need to disguise the safety strategy as well, bring them up and drop them back pre-snap. At the last second bring one up. Speed and balance are essential. They need blitzes from corners, LBs and safeties. I want to see TM flying around the defensive set. Goff should never know before the snap where TM is going to be. Whenever possible they should run different blitzes from the same formation, otherwise every snap should show pre-snap movement. Hopefully they’ve been saving at least one formation the Rams haven’t seen.
Like is often the case the CBs will often be on an island. I’d be surprised if TM doesn’t get an interception by baiting Goff on one of those out patterns. Goff does telegraph those throws. The safeties have to come up faster to cover the zone seam. They must be careful of a stop & go pattern if the Cards are having trouble collapsing the pocket. They can’t cover Krupp with a LB. Teams have tried and gotten burnt.
Goff is already one of the most disciplined QBs in the league. The Cards have to hit him even if they can’t sack him. He has to wonder where the next hit is coming from. They have to speed up the game as much as they can. If they can’t keep Goff off balance he’s going to put up a bunch of points.
On offense the Cards just need to duplicate their last game. If they can do that; they can win. AP must have another big game so play action will work. The Rams’ secondary is weak. Palmer can beat them up if he gets a chance. The Rams will be trying to knock Palmer out of the game. The line has to hold!
The most notable thing about this year’s Rams is the change in Goff. I have never seen this much improvement in a QB in one year. It’s part maturity and part coaching. It’s clearly the result of a great deal of offseason work.
I watch his games this year and a few things are obvious. He’s not going to be easy to sack. It’s not that he’s elusive, it’s just he’s been told to get rid of the ball quickly. The key is he does it. On the vast majority of the plays count 3 and it’s gone, especially if he’s out of the pocket.
The Rams attack features numerous short passes and occasionally a 2 man game with Goff & an RB or TE.
The Cards need to stay home on defense, containing Gurley and the Austin sweeps the Rams want to run. Martin will have trouble containing the edge speed, but this should fit Reddick’s game. We’ll clearly see this week if the latter can control the run and the QB. He’ll have to make good decisions.
Despite being hard to sack, the Cards must attack and confuse Goff. The good news is the Cards are one of the few teams built to handle a Rams-type offense. It takes speed and flexibility. The Cards have plenty of both.
Goff is most dangerous when in the pocket. He has a decent arm but rarely tries to throw deep when on the run. He’s usually locked on one receiver running a set pattern. In the pocket he’s calmer and uses his progressions. He can throw deep with accuracy, especially when he can step forward into the pocket. On defense the Cards have to do a better job of collapsing the pocket. Peters did this well in a couple of games but didn't against Tampa. The Cards need to play whoever is getting that done. The must prevent Goff from running out of the middle of the pocket. He can be effective doing that.
The other critical concept is to confuse Goff. Other teams have tried and failed. The Cards must disguise their blitzes better than they did against Tampa. They need to keep moving players in and out of the line. They need to disguise the safety strategy as well, bring them up and drop them back pre-snap. At the last second bring one up. Speed and balance are essential. They need blitzes from corners, LBs and safeties. I want to see TM flying around the defensive set. Goff should never know before the snap where TM is going to be. Whenever possible they should run different blitzes from the same formation, otherwise every snap should show pre-snap movement. Hopefully they’ve been saving at least one formation the Rams haven’t seen.
Like is often the case the CBs will often be on an island. I’d be surprised if TM doesn’t get an interception by baiting Goff on one of those out patterns. Goff does telegraph those throws. The safeties have to come up faster to cover the zone seam. They must be careful of a stop & go pattern if the Cards are having trouble collapsing the pocket. They can’t cover Krupp with a LB. Teams have tried and gotten burnt.
Goff is already one of the most disciplined QBs in the league. The Cards have to hit him even if they can’t sack him. He has to wonder where the next hit is coming from. They have to speed up the game as much as they can. If they can’t keep Goff off balance he’s going to put up a bunch of points.
On offense the Cards just need to duplicate their last game. If they can do that; they can win. AP must have another big game so play action will work. The Rams’ secondary is weak. Palmer can beat them up if he gets a chance. The Rams will be trying to knock Palmer out of the game. The line has to hold!
