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November 30, 2024 • 43 mins
Jake and Alexis preview the Rams and Saints game Use the code "JKBOGEN" to play $5 and get $50 instantly. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/JKBOGEN Be sure to follow @DowntownRams, Alexis Kraft - @TheAlexisKraft and Jake Ellenbogen - @JKBOGEN on Twitter Check out Alexis Kraft's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpO4UFq8EQlrPr3NH6Ai7DQ Be sure to like and subscribe to the channel! Don't forget to hit the bell icon to never miss another upload! If you want to tip the channel you can hit the Super Thanks icon to donate on any video even when I'm not live.
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
All right, guys, welcome back to Downtown Rams. As always,
I'm Alexis Kraft. Join here with my co host Jake
ellen Bogan, and we are coming to you to preview
our matchup against the New Orleans Saints this Sunday in
New Orleans. It's going to be, you know, an interesting game. Obviously,
we're coming off that Sunday Night football loss to Philadelphia.

(00:28):
Now we're going to play against the Saints, and the
Saints are a very different team than Philadelphia, and Jake,
I don't think it's I think it's fair to say
this is a must win game for the Rams. I
know that the NFC West is very close right now.
It's kind of hard maybe to theoretically say that any
game is a must win game. But the Rams are

(00:50):
kind of in a position right now in my opinion,
where they really cannot afford to lose this game because
if other teams the NFC West start winning, then you
got to play catch up. And this is a game
that we should win. And we are going to break
down why. But Jake and I were literally talking before
we started recording, and we realized that there are literally

(01:13):
only three active wide receivers in the Saints roster. Right now,
that's how banged up they were. I thought it was
a fluke. I was scrolling through multiple depth charts from
like different sources. I was like, this can't be right.
They can't only have three wide receivers. But they do.
They only have three wide receivers. We can say they
have four if we're going to count Taysom Hill as
a wide receiver. He's, you know, obviously like kind of

(01:35):
that flex receiver, tight end, quarterback, whatever you want to
call him, But if you want to count him as
a receiver, then there's four. But theoretically they only have
three active wide receivers. Jake, what's your opinion, you know,
going into this game against the Saints, what do you
think is going to happen?

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, I mean I think when you look at how
banged up they are at receiver, that definitely hurts. I
think when you also when you look at just the
way Derek Carr has played this year, that's been their equalizer.
Derek Carr is giving him a chance and just about
every game that he has been healthy in and so
you know, I think that's really kind of how they
see it.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
As well. As long as you have a Derek Carr,
you have a chance. I mean, they just blew out the.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Browns, you know, two weeks ago against Jameis Winston, and
you know, Derek Carr had to throw and in that game,
you know, he went twenty one to twenty seven for
two hundred and forty eight yards and two touchdowns and
then throw an interception, all the while only throwing to
as you said, you know, just these guys, right, Kevin Austin.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
Junior was one of them that he threw to in
that game.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Then you have your tight ends, Juan Johnson and you know,
Taysom Hill and Foster Morrow. So I mean you're talking
about the four you know, heaviest targeted you know, receivers
in the game, and you know three of those four
tight ends. So yeah, I think Derek Carr is just gonna,
you know, keep playing like Derek Carr plays. And you know,

(03:00):
I think, regardless of the fact that a Lave's out
and all of that, he's an NFL quarterback and he's
an NFL quarterback in this league that doesn't really get
enough respect.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
And you can ever just assume anything.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
And you know we've seen you know, Matthew Stafford throwing
to godslike Jordan Whittington, who maybe people outside of their
Rams had no idea who that was, and you know,
throwing to Xavier Smith and Brandon Powell over the years.
And I think it's just when good quarterbacks are in,
I mean, you have to expect that they're going to
be able to perform at some sort of decent level,

(03:35):
regardless of who they're throwing to. So it's definitely interesting,
and it you know, advantaged Rams for sure, but definitely
don't sleep on Derek Carr, who is back. He is healthy,
and because of that, the Saints they've won you know,
two straight. They barely lost to the Panthers. I'm sure
that's a game that they would want back. But the

(03:56):
last two games against the Falcons and Browns. Say what
you will about the Browns, that's been a really big
quarterback issue there, but they still have a defense and
you know, Car was able to help put up thirty
five points. And then the Falcons game, it was a
huge win by the Saints to keep them kind of
in this whole thing and you know, more importantly, keep
the Falcons from running away with this division. So I think,

(04:17):
really what the Rams need to understand is they're looking
at a team that's as desperate as they are, if
not more desperate, and a team that kind of feels like, yeah,
if if they were to win out, and that sounds
kind of crazy, but if they were to win out,
just like say the Rams, both teams can finish ten
and seven, and well, the Rams would finished eleven six
if they want out. But you know, the Saints have

(04:40):
to feel good with that win over the Falcons. They
have to feel like they have a shot. But it really,
you know, it starts with this game coming off the
by can you beat the Rams, who are also desperate.
That's an interesting thing because you know, desperation teams, those
teams are going to give you their all, and the
Saints are at home, so you know, we'll see what
ends up happening.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
So let's start by talking about that Saints offense because
as we just talked about, obviously, you know, banged up
Derek Carr is back. You know, they have Alvin Kamara, right,
who's one of the better running backs in the league.
I'm very I've I've always been really curious about their

(05:22):
usage of Kamar, especially the season. If anybody has him
in fantasy you know how frustrating it's been to have
him in fantasy this season because he keeps getting sniped
at the goal line by Taysom Hill. So, you know,
I've I've been saying, I feel like Alvin is due
for a big game, and I'm wondering if maybe the
Saints reviewing, you know, the rams, is an opportunity to

(05:44):
let him do that because he's a great player.

Speaker 4 (05:46):
He's a great receiving back too.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
I'm a really big fan of him, and I think
definitely with all the injuries, he is their biggest weapon
right now. I mean Taysom Hill obviously big weapon, right
you know, like ultimate flex player.

Speaker 4 (06:00):
Really isn't anybody in the NFL like him.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
But Alvin Kamara is a fantastic player, and I'm wondering
if this is going to be an opportunity for him
to put a lot of yards in the ground to
get some of those touchdowns back that he keeps getting
robbed of. You know, if anybody's been sports betting on
touchdowns for him, as I have, you know that for
the past few weeks, the Saints have not utilized him

(06:26):
in terms of getting into the end zone. But a
really interesting addition to this Saints offense. Jake is mvs
of all this scantling. He had like a really big game.

Speaker 4 (06:40):
I'm trying.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
I don't know if it was the game before last
week or the one before that. I have all my
stats up, I don't see it here, but he had
like two touchdowns. It was the first game that they
signed him right as a free agent, and all of
a sudden, everybody's like, oh my god, he just had
like the most amazing game. Now.

Speaker 4 (06:56):
I think that that also you can attribute to Derek Carr.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
Like you said, Derek Carr is a good way of
finding whoever's there on the offense. If you're playing, he's
going to find you. But he's someone to look out
for as well. But Jake, what do you think this
strategy for the Saints is going to be going against
our defense? Do you think that they're going to try
and get something going in the run game?

Speaker 3 (07:16):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (07:16):
You know, as I alluded to earlier, do you think
they're going to try, you know, targeting our secondary. I mean,
you have Derek Carr, you certainly can make a case
for him to do that. But what do you think
they're going to do? Because the SAMs are a little
bit of a wildcard already. But now that they have
all these injuries and you know, they're down a ton
of receivers, I wonder if that's going to affect how
they go against the Rams defense.

Speaker 2 (07:39):
Yeah, well, it's it's definitely interesting because it's not a
straightforward team. I mean, you do have Taysom Hill who's
kind of that wild card, and you know there'll be
some games they barely use him, and it'll be some
games where they use them a lot. And when you
look at, you know, Alvin Kamara, I mean, this is
somebody who you know pretty much is the engine to
their offense. Right in the last two games he had

(08:01):
sixteen carries and seventeen carries. Then he had twenty nine
against Carolina in a game they lost. They had ten
against the Chargers, seven against the Broncos, thirteen against Tampa,
eleven against Kansas City. He just doesn't really get a consistent,
you know workload in the you know yards, you know carrying.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the guy that

(08:23):
has been targeted eleven times, a season high in a
game this year, though, So you always have to be
aware of where, you know, Alvin Kamara number forty one
is at all times with that set, I think a
lot of people are going to look at this the
wrong way. The Rams are coming off the game in
which they allowed a lot of yards over two hundred
and fifty to you know, Saquon Barkley. Barkley is a

(08:46):
completely different running back than Alvin Kamara. Kamara does not
have the speed that Barkley has. He does not have
that you know, breakaway speed. And so I think, you know,
people are going to be very quick to react, especially
because it was on you know, prime time, as if
the Rams can't stop the runs. So I'm sure there's
gonna be a lot of bets placed on Alvin Kamara.

(09:07):
Of course, our sponsor prize picks, there's gonna be a
lot of people playing Alvin Kamara this week and just
putting over on you know, whatever more whatever he has.
But I'm gonna be honest with you, I feel as
though when I watched this Rams defense since the you know,

(09:29):
since the bye week, they've done a really nice job
against the run. I think that game against Saquon Barkley
was going up against somebody who's different than anybody you're
gonna face all year. Does not even look like they're
gonna get a Christian McCaffrey who's healthy. So when you
factor in that Alvin Kamarrow his longest run this year
is twenty four yards, that's not necessarily what Barkley is

(09:51):
gonna you know what he did, you know versus the Rams.

Speaker 3 (09:54):
That's not necessarily something I'm expecting Kamara to do.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
Uh. It's not to say that he can't have an
explosive play, but when people act like he's going to
just run for two hundred now in the Rams defense,
you know, the floodgates have opened.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
I just have to push back on that.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
I think that they're going to go with a balanced
game plan, Alexis, I really do. I think that they're
going to try and establish the run early on with Kamara.
If they can't do it, they have some other weapons
to get involved, including Kamara. This is a guy that
has fifty five receptions this year, so they are going
to get him involved in the receiving game. I think
you're going to see a lot of Taysom Hill, and
I think they're going to take quite a few shots

(10:32):
down the field to you know, a Marquez Valdez scantling
and I think it makes sense because you have to
if you can, and the Rams have dominated with the
pressure this year up front, but if you can give
Derek Carr some time, you absolutely have to test out
this secondary that's been you know, kind of up and
down at times.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
I think you've seen some really good things.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
I think you've seen some kind of disappointing things, especially
you know, Darius Williams as of LA has really struggled.
So I think that they're going to be trying different things,
and I think really the goal for the Saints, if
you were to ask anybody in the Saints organization and
saying Hill were allowed to tell you how an ideal
Saints wind would look, it would be ball control. It

(11:16):
would be, you know, just killing the clock, time of
possession battle, running the ball with Kamara, running the ball
with Taysom Hill, and then having Derek Carr be you know,
himself as he's been all year, one hundred and six
passer rating in the red zone. So that's what I
think is likely their plan. They're really trying to keep
this balance, knowing that if they can open up the

(11:39):
deep part of the field, they have a guy in
Marquez Valdez Scantling. It's never been an issue about his
speed or if he can actually win over the top.
His issue has always been actually catching the football. So
when he's doing that, he's very dangerous and the Rams
are going to have to look out for him, especially,
you know, when you have that guy that can meet
you over the top that's faster than just bad anybody

(12:00):
else on your team.

Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah, you know, I'm on the same page with you
in terms of I think that the Saints are going
to try a balanced approach to this defense. Yes, I
know that they have all these injuries, you know in
the receiving room. I know that that probably changes their
game plan a little bit, but I do think that
you know, they're not going to just try to run
the ball on the ground with Alvin. They're They're just

(12:24):
not you know, You've got Taysom Hill, who you can
get involved. You know MVS is still you know, he's
been playing well for them. And you've got Derek Carr,
who you know kind of like you mentioned earlier that
he does a good job of getting the ball to
whoever is on the field. So yes, you know, I
think you're going to try a balanced approach and we'll see.
You know, we'll see if some of these newer receivers

(12:45):
that they have, you know, are able to step up
and able to have success against the Rams. Secondary. If not,
then maybe they do try to just you know, run
the ball on the ground, you know, as much as
they can. So we'll see, you know. I think that
the Saints are kind of one of those teams that,
you know, you I've watched games where they look pretty
good and in sync, and I watch games where it's

(13:05):
just kind of like brutal and it's painful. But usually
those games for them. Both teams have, they've just been weird.
The Saints have just been a little you know, confusing,
I think for people this season. But you've got Derek Carr,
you know. I think Derek Carr to the Saints is
kind of what Matthew Stafford is to the Rams in
a way. They're both pretty good at making something from

(13:27):
nothing when you've got injuries around you. So yeah, I
don't know, I think a little bit unpredictable, but yeah,
I mean, I think we'll see. I think Taysom Hill
to me is the guy that really kind of scares
me because there's nobody really like him in the NFL.
I think it's hard to sometimes prepare for how they're
going to use Taysom Hill. And I could see, you know,

(13:48):
this kind of younger rams defense being thrown off a
little bit by him. So I wantn't be surprised that
the Saints try to get him involved early and often.
But Jake, you know, wrapping up kind of on their
offense against our defense, you know, talking about our defense
and what we need to do and how they played,
you know, against the Eagles because we didn't get to

(14:09):
record really recap game, a recap episode. Excuse me, because
you were at the game and you've been traveling and
so we haven't been able to record, but you know,
kind of talking about, you know, this defense and what
happened against Saquon Barkley. I think you bring up a
good point that Saquon Barkley and Alvin Kamar are not

(14:29):
the same running back. You know, my opinion, and I
said this when we did the preview episode for the
Eagles game, is that Saquon Barkley is the MVP of
the league. I think he legitimately has a conversation for that.
You know, he's phenomenal, arguably the best running back in
the game right now, So yes, well it was very frustrating,
and he put up embarrassing numbers against the Rams defense.

(14:52):
You know, obviously, I don't think that that's typical, and
I don't think that that is going to be something
that we're in be facing against New Orleans. But Jake,
do you kind of share in that sentiment a little bit?
Is there anything particularly that you think our defense needs
to do against the Saints that they didn't do against Philadelphia?

Speaker 2 (15:13):
They just need to play their style of game, you know,
I think they got away from that a little bit.
I do think that the defense had a surprisingly decent
game all things considered. They held thes two of five
in the red zone, almost one of five, you know
at the AJ Brown touchdown. But yeah, I thought they
did a nice job at points, and they just gave up,

(15:34):
you know, those explosive plays. I mean, you start off
the second half and you know, everything is okay. You know,
we had our chance to kind of go over some
things and we don't love exactly where we are. Well,
let's get a quick stop and that doesn't happen. Barkley,
you know, tot's it for seventy yards right off the
rip and you know at that point, you know, it's

(15:54):
very much a momentum based game. There's a lot of snowball,
you know effect going on, and I think, you know,
going into this one, I just don't see anybody being
like a Saquon Barkley to actually do that.

Speaker 3 (16:07):
They've been in every game except for well, I.

Speaker 2 (16:09):
Would say they were in the game that last week,
as bad as it looked at points, for the majority
of the game.

Speaker 3 (16:17):
I think they were in it the Cardinals game.

Speaker 2 (16:20):
They were not in Week two, but that is an
absolute fluke that would never happen again. I just don't
really see this team as like when they're not in
a game, it is rare. This is a team that
that fights hard, and you know they are well coached,
and you know, there's been some unfortunate things that have
happened this year, but you know, make no mistake about it,

(16:41):
they're going to be ready for the Saints. They know that,
you know, they have the best pass rush in the league,
they know that they have a good secondary, They have
a lot, you know, going for them on the defensive side.
I don't think you can just have that Eagles game,
you know, wipe away what they were doing as a
top three defense analytically coming on off the buy. I

(17:01):
just think that, you know, looking at this game, the
Saints don't have that type of firepower that the Eagles do.

Speaker 3 (17:07):
You have an A. J.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
Brown, you have a sae Quon Barkley in this case
it would be crystal lava, but he's out. Then you
have Alvin Kamar, who again can be that lightning in
a bottle. But at the same time, he's not Barkley. Okay,
this is not it's not anybody you've never seen before, U.
But you also don't want to discredit what he can
do because he's had some huge games in the past
as well.

Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, you know, definitely, and you know I alluded to
earlier that you know, I think the past you know,
a month maybe for him has been slower than people
who have him in fantasy or people who bet and
want to see. But that could change in any time.
You know, he certainly could come out, you know against
the Rams and the Saints could use him a little
bit more and he could have a huge game. You know,
he's very talented. So yeah, kind of like we've said,

(17:54):
you know that this offense is not the Eagles offense.
You know, I think that they're going to be obviously competent,
and I think they're gonna put up, you know, a
good game. Maybe hopefully not a good game, but you know,
they're not gonna be We're not going against a bad
offense by any means. I think they're working with what
they have is probably a good way to phrase it.
With all the injuries, and we definitely can't discredit them,

(18:16):
but I do think that our defense should be able
to effectively slow them down if they play their game
keyword there, if they play their game and they step
up to the plate. Jake, looking now to our offense
and what we need to do against the Saints. You know,
the offense struggled against Philadelphia more than we, I think

(18:40):
thought they would. The biggest red flag was the offensive line.
I mean the offensive line against Philadelphia or sorry against Yeah,
against Philadelphia.

Speaker 4 (18:53):
Was really bad.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
They just they didn't look the same. It was almost
it was a little confusing. Obviously. You know, we have
some injuries, which obviously story of the year for the Rams.

Speaker 4 (19:03):
Injuries and the offensive line.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
It's taken forever to get continuity, It's taken forever to
build chemistry. We thought we corrected the problem. Obviously we didn't.
So now looking at at this game against the Saints, Jake,
I think the critical piece to this Rams offense is
getting the offensive line to just be competent, like play decent,

(19:26):
protect Stafford. You know, what we saw against Philadelphia is
like it totally destroyed the run and the pass game
because we couldn't get anything going. It just it looked
pretty bad. You know, the play calling I didn't think
against it was amazing. Against the Eagles, I didn't think
it was bad though, you know, like I don't think
we can look at the play calling what happened on
Sunday and say that's why the Rams lost. I mean,

(19:48):
there were some plays that I thought, you know, were
bad decisions in terms of play calling, But you know,
I think that there wasn't much to work with offensively.
So I guess, what are your thoughts against the Saints.
My inclination is to try running the ball on the ground,

(20:09):
but I also think that we can have some success
in the past game. I think a balanced approach against
the Saints sounds good. Sorry, I'm having a connection problem,
so I can't see anything but Jake. While I'm figuring out, Uh,
what's haunted thing my computer? What do you think this
Rams offense needs to do?

Speaker 3 (20:30):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (20:30):
I mean I think when you look at the Saints
defense two weeks ago, because they were off on a
buye but against the Browns, they got a lot of
pressure and I think, you know, that's an important thing
up front the Rams offensive line, like you mentioned, they're
going to have to protect Stafford.

Speaker 3 (20:46):
It was that the Eagles, was that what they are?

Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know, we'll see, but I do think that you know,
when you you look at the what the Saints can bring.
You talk about a guy like Carl Granderson up front, right,
you know, he had seven pressures last week. And addition that,
you Brian Breese. You know that's another guy that's really good.
And you know Colin Saunders front of the show, and
you know Cam Jordan and Chase Young and all these guys.

(21:10):
Right well, you know you have to be able to,
you know, protect those guys up front. If you give
Stafford time. I mean even when you don't give Stafford time,
he's very very good. But even when you get Stafford time,
you can make things happen. And I think there's a
really big opportunity here because when you go back and
you look at that Saints, you know that team and
how they defended you know, the Browns, despite the fact

(21:34):
that it was a complete blowout and it didn't look
relatively close. Alante Taylor was picked on. He gave up
one hundred and forty five yards on ten targets. In
addition to that, Ugo Amadi, who is kind of their
guy in the slot. You know, he gave up eleven
of his twelve targets for ninety six yards. So I

(21:54):
see opportunities here. I see opportunities through the slot, whether
that's Cooper Cup, Pukanikua, whoever can really attack Hugo Amadi.
And then I think you have a guy in the
boundary that can attack Alante Taylor. You know, whether that
is those two or DeMarcus robinsoner or two two out. Well,
you know, I think that this is an opportunity here

(22:15):
that the Saints let you throw on them, the Saints
let you run on them.

Speaker 3 (22:18):
I think the Rams.

Speaker 2 (22:19):
Yeah, I feel like we've said it many times before,
but you know, this could be a quote unquote get
right game where you know, all of a sudden, you
get your offense back on track. Uh, this is a
defense that kind of just let you know, in my opinion,
just let James Winston really do whatever you want to do.
You go back to that game and he had three
hundred and ninety five yards and two touchdowns, didn't throw

(22:41):
an interception. That was evident they he had a lot
of what he wanted to do, a lot of what
they wanted to work with worked out, and I just
I feel like this Saints defense is not quite on
the level of you know what it's been in the past.

Speaker 3 (22:57):
So I think it's an opportunity for the Rams.

Speaker 2 (22:59):
You know, stop the run, open up the play action attack,
and you know, try and really test them downfield. I
think this is a This is definitely a game that
I think the Rams would.

Speaker 3 (23:12):
Be equipped to win multiple ways.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
Big reason for this Derek Carr isn't going to be
the mobile quarterback that Jalen Hurts was a lot of
people didn't really like understand that the Rams actually generated
plenty of pressure on Jalen Hurts. He just made short
work of it because he would just run for the
first down. Derek Carr is not going to do that
as much. So I think you have that opportunity where
he's not super mobile defense should be able to hang

(23:36):
tough there. And then on the other side of it,
I think this offense, this offense is talented enough to
get into a barn burner, a you know, kind of
like a shootout type of scenario. And I think that
the defense of the Saints, at least in the secondary,
is I guess open to really being thrown on and

(24:00):
and I think that kind of puts the Rams in
a position where if it does get into that type
of game, I think they can win that game. And
if it gets into a defensive minded game, I think
they'll win that game as well. I just think that
there are multiple outs here. As opposed to going up
against the Philadelphia Eagles and having to worry about a
guy that could hit a seventy yard home run or

(24:20):
you know, having a quarterback that can turn any third
and long into a first down. Not having those two
things to go up against, I think gives them a
really good shot. And let's not act like the Rams
haven't been in just about every game this year. I
think the Saints, as desperate as they are, the Rams
is desperate as they are. It's going to be a
fun game, but the Rams have no reason why they

(24:41):
can't win this game.

Speaker 1 (24:44):
Yeah, you know, I was looking at this depth chart
for the Saints defense, and you know you mentioned Colin
Saunders who we interviewed when he was getting drafted, and
he was a really fun interview and that was so
so right after he did that viral he did the backflip.

Speaker 4 (25:04):
Was it at the Senior.

Speaker 1 (25:05):
Bowl that he did that?

Speaker 3 (25:07):
Yep? I was there.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, this massive, like almost three hundred pound guy was
doing like a backflip and it like was insane. And
then like a couple of days later he was on
our show. But there's another guy on their defense who
I believe we interviewed, which Jake correct me if I'm wrong.
Will Harris Safety out of Boston College. Yeah, you know,
he we interviewed him. He played with Detroit. I thought

(25:32):
he was a very underrated player for Detroit. You know,
I think he's solid, somebody to look out for. But yeah,
I was thinking that we interviewed him. But there was
that one year we interviewed so many people out of
Boston College that I was like.

Speaker 4 (25:48):
Part of that.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
But yeah, you know you mentioned Alante Taylor. He got
picked on They've got kool aid McKinstry, you know, rookie
second round pick playing corner for them, Mario Davis. You know,
you know there's guys on this team, particularly this defense,
that I think are pretty underrated.

Speaker 4 (26:06):
You know, you're right.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
Another guy we interviewed, DeMarco Jackson, playing on their defense.
So yeah, you know, I don't think that, you know,
this is a defense that we can you know, look
at and say, oh, yeah, we should be able to,
you know, score easily against them. But I think when
the Rams play their game, they should have success against
New Orleans. I'm assuming it's going to be a balanced approach.

(26:28):
I don't know, Jake, I think we should touch on
the running back situation for the Rams a little bit
because if we didn't, everybody would tell me.

Speaker 4 (26:34):
I'm avoiding the conversation.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
But you know, going you and I laugh, but going
going into this game, Jake, you know, look at Kien Williams.
He didn't have his best game obviously against Philadelphia. And
you know, here's the thing. He the fumbles are unacceptable.
You know, I am concerned about that a little bit,

(26:58):
maybe even.

Speaker 4 (26:59):
More than you are.

Speaker 1 (27:00):
Uh, but you know, he actually didn't have that bad
of a game statistically, other than that, you know, against
the Eagles.

Speaker 3 (27:06):
You know, he didn't have a bad game at all.

Speaker 2 (27:08):
I think that might have been his best game of
the year, the way he was running the football, if
you take away the fumbles, that's why it was so frustrating.

Speaker 1 (27:15):
Well, right, and you know, he still scored a touchdown.
You know, we still had you know, lead, you know
after that fumble that we lost, you know, so you know,
but again, I'm not excusing it. The fumbles are concerning.
I still think, you know, I guess the question that
I'm asking is the question that a lot of people
have asked me, and I'll give my opinion on it.
And so do we see more Blake kooram snaps against Saints?

(27:38):
My answer to that is I would give him more snaps.
I think you have to start getting Blake Korum involved
more at some point. I mean, even still, you know,
against Philadelphia, you know, after Kiren fumbled twice, the Rams
still weren't putting Blake Korum in there. You know, I
think it's some and that could have just been you know,
it was a big game, an'st Philadelphia, whatever. But I

(27:58):
do think at some point, you know, the Rams have
to start I think doing what people thought they were
going to do, which is using Kyen and Blake interchangeably.
I refuse to believe that you draft a running back
in the third round for insurance. I don't believe that
when people say that. I don't think that the Rams
would have spent a third round pick on Blake Koram

(28:21):
if they literally weren't going to play him for two
years until Kien's contract was up. I just don't believe that.
That's not a smart drafting strategy. It's not very fair
to anybody. So I do think they are planning on
getting him involved. If they don't start to get him involved,
then we can have that conversation. But I would like
to see more Blake korm snaps against New Orleans. I

(28:41):
don't know if it will happen, But Jake, do you
have any thoughts on that, because that's been a very
big conversation, you know, within the fan base, and I
would be remiss if if I glossed over it and
didn't bring it up.

Speaker 3 (28:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (28:55):
I mean, he had one fumble going in the Week nine,
and I know he's had quite a few as of late.

Speaker 3 (29:01):
But I just don't think this is much of a discussion.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
As much as it sucks Kyra Williams, if he finishes
with four fumbles on the year, whatever he's at, that's fine,
that's a fine number. You know, it's a down year
for fumbles, sure, But I just think that people, for instance,
that the Rams win that game. No one's talking about this,
but the Rams lost, and they lost pretty painfully in

(29:28):
front of everybody, And so I think, you know, you're
looking to blame somebody. You're gonna blame the guy that
fumbled twice. Now you know that second fumble they recovered,
so didn't hurt them. I keep seeing that that two
fumbles killed them, not only one fumble killed them. And yeah,
I mean he can't, he can't fumble in that situation.

(29:50):
You're absolutely right, But I just think this whole I
need to see Blake korm Yeah, I need to see
Blake Koram or bench him for Blake Koram. I think
you are drastically underestimating how much work a running back
truly has to do.

Speaker 3 (30:08):
And Koram is not ready to take on a full workload.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
He's not ready to even do half and half with
Kyron right now, and the Rams don't trust him. On
that level, not yet anyway. To your point, he fumbled
twice and they didn't even waste time. They like, they
kept him right back in there. They put him right
back in there. I just kind of I'm at the
point where it's like, I don't really even care. You know,

(30:32):
if if Blake Koram were to play you know, ten
fifteen snaps, do you think that changes the result of
this game?

Speaker 3 (30:38):
I don't.

Speaker 2 (30:40):
I think that's kind of just where I'm at is
that I think there are more pressing needs. He needs
to get better with the fumbles. Hopefully he does from
here on out. If it, you know, still is an
issue and he's fumbling twice a game or whatever, then fine,
you know, we have that discussion and maybe we come
to the realization that that needs to happen. But I
just don't think that, you know, if you're gonna sit

(31:02):
there and say, well, you know, Korm is better, he
has never once proven that he's better now. To be fair,
he hasn't really gotten many opportunities. But I just think
there are so many other things to be focused on
with this team, like how the offensive line look like
the best they've looked in years against the Patriots last week,
and then they followed it up against the Eagles with

(31:23):
almost the same exact offensive line and really just looked
completely lost. And you know stuff like that, you know, like,
what's the deal with wide receiver? Why is it just
the Cooper cup and Puukuinakuah show. Why aren't they really,
you know, diversifying these targets. Why is like Stafford only
relying on two guys. Why does the play action passing

(31:45):
attack if you will have such a small allocation in
this offense? Why do they not use slip screens? Why
do they not use screens in general? There's just there's
a lot of different things that could be looked at,
not just the fumbles, but I think pass protection is
not something that you could just assume is just yeah,
you know, Blake Koram can do it well, anybody can

(32:07):
pass protect.

Speaker 3 (32:08):
But can you actually succeed at pass protecting. That's the thing.

Speaker 2 (32:11):
You can attempt to pass protect every you know, anybody
can step up there and face the pressure, you just
might not get the same results. So I understand when
losses happen. You know, people want to point fingers, people
want to change things, and whatnot. Making a change just
to make a change is just not the way I
would run my football team. This week. They have as

(32:34):
good a chance as any to get a win. They
need to get this win. If they don't, they're going
to have to win five straight. In my opinion, I
will probably go as far as to say, if they
lose this weekend, I'm out on the rams because there'll
just be no excuse. You know, following that Sunday night
football game, losing the way you did in front of
your home fans, you have to go on the road

(32:55):
and have some sort of payback and show, you know,
some fight. If they came out and they didn't have that,
that would tell me that this team is just an
inconsistent mess, and unfortunately, the season would be over.

Speaker 3 (33:09):
But that's my thing.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
I don't think necessarily that Kiren's fumbles are the biggest
issue right now.

Speaker 3 (33:15):
They are an issue, and it is somewhat big. But
if he stops, I think we can all live with that.
If it continues and it gets worse and worse, then fine,
we'll have that discussion. If that happens, I agree.

Speaker 1 (33:28):
I'm on the same page, you know. I just I
wanted to let you have the opportunity to speak on
it first, because everybody knows that. You know, I'm a
big Hiren fan, So if I were to come out
and say all of that and everything, people would be like,
hold on, is that real? But I agree, I think
it's concerning. I don't want anybody to think. I mean,
if you look at my my live tweets from that game,

(33:50):
I definitely was very critical of the fumbles. But at
the same time, I think that people have the memory
of goldfish. Sometimes it's about perspective. It's about you know,
looking at what you know he brings to the offense
and you know, basically being the guy on offense in
the absence of Cup in the Kia. You know, he's
a very, very talented running back. He does have a

(34:13):
problem at the moment with fumbling. I hope that, you know,
he works on it, and I think that he will
make up for it, hopefully against New Orleans.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
Jake, with that, let's.

Speaker 1 (34:23):
Get into our score predictions. You and I are on
the same page. If the Rams do not win against
New Orleans, we're out on them. It's kind of inexcusable
at this point. You know, you are where you are
in the season now, you have obviously the NFC West,
that's that's wide open. But you know, really the Rams
have kind of put themselves in a spot where they

(34:43):
cannot rely on anybody. You have to get out there,
you have to win. You have to win these these
games that you should win against New Orleans if you
want to have any hope at all for the playoffs.
And if everybody is saying, oh, the Rams need a tank,
it's too late. It's too late for the Rams to
I'm pretty convinced just based on where the standings are,

(35:04):
where everybody's at. You know, I guess theoretically the Rams
could lose every it's not even worth having the discussion.
But if what people are saying, oh, the Rams need
a tank for a top pick, you would also need
a lot of the other teams to do what you.

Speaker 4 (35:19):
Need them to do.

Speaker 1 (35:19):
It's just like we have too many wins. Let's go
for it, let's go for the playoff spot like perspective. Guys,
come on, but Jake, with that, what are you predicting
this weekend?

Speaker 3 (35:30):
I got, yeah, I got I gotta win.

Speaker 2 (35:34):
I mean, I've already said it, but in case you
guys haven't heard it, I think the Rams are going
to win this game. They're going to lose to the Bills,
and they're going to win out. That's how I see it.
I kind of have seen that for a bit. I
felt like that Bills game. I've been very consistent with
that Bill's game being a loss. The only difference is now,
after fighting off the Bills on a short week, you

(35:57):
have the forty nine ers who aren't as dangerous as
say I thought that they would be at this point
in the season. So that's the difference is I had
them losing too straight there, but I have changed it
to a win. That means the Rams would sweep the
forty nine ers on the year. But no, they're gonna
win this game. They're gonna step up. It's gonna be

(36:18):
close because the Rams can't blow anyone out to save
their life. I don't know why, they just can't. So
I'm gonna say twenty seven to twenty here. I think
it's gonna be a wicked close game, but I think
the Rams pull away at the end.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
Well, I have twenty four to twenty, so Rams, so
we are, you know, very I think much on the
same page about that. Yeah, I don't think it's gonna
be a blowout. I wouldn't be surprised if the Rams
win by more than that, though, But you know, I
just think based of what we've seen from them, they
kind of like make it anxiety inducing the entire game,

(36:54):
like they can't seem to get the blowout or get
the super comfortable lead or anything like that. So I
think twenty four to twenty, I think we're going to
see well, we'll get into predictions, but you know, I
think that the Rams are going to look solid after
that Sunday night football debacle. I think they're going to
be on a mission. Jake, on that note your three

(37:16):
bold predictions for this game against the Saints.

Speaker 2 (37:19):
So I'll start off by saying this, this is pretty
much locking in every week Phukinikua over one hundred yards receiving.
I think that's just it's a no brainer. I think
he's just going to continue to do that the rest
of the year. I think this is a good opportunity
for him. I know Cooper Cups should have a good
game as well, but I'm gonna say Pookinaku goes for

(37:41):
one hundred and he catches two touchdowns in this one.
The second one see It's weird because Jared Verse had
that huge highlight reel play where he just totally knocked
Jordan Malatta on his ass. At this same time, he
only had one pressure that entire game. So I feel

(38:04):
like he has a Rookie of the Year, you know,
resume to pad, especially with one of his teammates in
Branden Fisk being on his tail. So I'm gonna say,
Jared Verse gets five pressures on Derek Carr and gets

(38:26):
two sacks in this one, So yeah, I think he'll
follow that up nicely. And then number three here, I'm
gonna say Kyron Williams does not fumble in this game.
He goes for one hundred and twenty rushing yards and yeah,

(38:50):
that's what I'm gonna say. One hundred and twenty rushing yards,
no fumble, rams win.

Speaker 1 (38:57):
So my first prediction was Kyen Williams one hundred yards
in the ground because he honestly, I thought, even still
in the Eagles game, he almost he was going to
get it, Like we both talked about it. He actually
had a very good game on the ground, you know,
aside from the fumbles, and you know, obviously towards the
end of the game, the game plan had to change
a little bit because the Rams were playing catch up

(39:19):
trying to win, and you know, so he wasn't able
to get a hundred yards. But I think he's going
to get a hundred yards against the Saints. My next prediction,
I was gonna do a Puka one, but let me
do something different. Let's say, you know what, I think
Cooper Cup is gonna go over one hundred yards in

(39:41):
a touchdown. I felt like Cooper Cup still had a
good game against the Eagles, but obviously it was kind
of like Puka's game. You know, Cup was quiet for Cup,
which is you know still you know, standards are very high.
But I think the Cooper Cups can have a big game.
I think he's gonna go for over one hundred yards.
I think he's gonna have a touchdown. Then my last
addiction will make it defense man. I really feel good

(40:03):
about jer Vers going to this game too. You know what,
let's say, like, let's do something crazy. I'm gonna say
a defensive lineman is going to get an interception. Because
I was thinking about it and I was like, how
like earlier today actually, I was like, how fun would

(40:24):
it be to see like Braiden Fisk or Kobe Turner,
like get an interception. I know what everyone's thinking, how
does that happen? But it can happen a deflection, you know,
getting hit is you know he throws the balls like
I don't know. I just think that we're going to
see an unusual, weird play where Kobe Turner, Braiden Fist,
maybe Bobby Brown, somebody is going to get a pick

(40:48):
off a Derek Carr because I just this defense has
been really riding for us. They've been playing really hard
and that's like one of the last things I want
to see them do. So yeah, that's that one. Might
have been a little crazy. That one was not a
safe prediction, but we're going to keep it in there
because you had your block punt and it happened. Yeah,

(41:09):
so I could have my Kobe Turner interception.

Speaker 3 (41:13):
Yeah I don't see why I could see.

Speaker 1 (41:17):
But yeah, guys, Jake and I are both predicting a
Rams win tomorrow against the Saints. You know, in closing,
Saints are a banged up team, but you can't you
can't discredit them and you can't sleep on them. They've
got Derek Carr, they've got Alvin Kamara. They've got no
pretty solid defense, and you know, the Rams have to

(41:38):
play their game and they have to get out there
and they have to play well if they don't win.
Jake and I are going to have a very very
different tone I think going for the rest of the
season on this show, you know, and what that means.
We're just at that point in the season where you
know this can't happen. So I don't think we're gonna
have to do that though, Jake. I mean honest, I

(41:59):
don't think we're gonna have to bring that vibe to
the function. I think we're to be positive when we
reconvene on Monday night.

Speaker 4 (42:06):
Guys.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
But that's going to do it for us, you know.
As always, please like and subscribe. You can follow us
on social media at Downtown Rams. You can follow Jake
on Twitter slash x at JK Bogan, you can follow
me at the Alexis Craft and guys, we'll be back
Monday night to recap our game against the Saints. But
until then, as always, stay safe, take care and go Rams.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
And I did just notice this, by the way, so
oh shout out Man of Paradox. I was gonna hit
end stream and I saw this and I want to
make sure we didn't miss it.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
Hey, I'm taking Rams over New Orleans. I'm taking Rams
over Bills and crazy prognostication I had prior to you
going live. Rams beat Lions in playoffs. Honestly, just sign
me up for that, that last part. I can live
with that, even if they don't get to the super Bowl.
I could live with that the way this season's gone.

(43:03):
If if you could, yes, sign me up for that.

Speaker 2 (43:07):
And that only not that I would turn down to
a super Bowl, but you know, but yeah, appreciate you, guys,
and we'll see you guys soon
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