Ep.552: Rams face HUGE litmus test vs. Bills

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
All right, guys, welcome back to Downtown Rams. As always,
I'm Alexis Kraft. Join here with my cost Jake Ellenbogan,
and we are coming to you to both recap our
Sunday win against the New Orleans Saints, where our Rams
won twenty one to fourteen, and preview our matchup this
upcoming Sunday against the Buffalo Bills at so VI's Stadium. Jake,

(00:25):
coming off of this win against the Saints, obviously good feeling.
It's always a good feeling when you are having a
victory week as we are against the Saints. Both you
and I predicted that the Rams would get this win
against the Saints, you know, just looking at kind of
the skill set of each team and where they both were.
You know, the Saints very banged up, have had their struggles,

(00:48):
you know, due to injury, you know, not a great defense,
you know, not terrible, and we made sure to give
them credit where it was due. But we just felt
like with the momentum you know, of both teams, that
the Rams were gonna walk away with a win. And
we were both right. So we were happy, you know
to see the Rams get the win. And it felt like,
you know, kind of a re energization. I guess you

(01:11):
could say maybe of this Rams team. It felt like,
you know, the game started off a little bit slow,
and I know that that panic set in between Rams
fans where you know, the game starts off and we're
all going, oh no, this is you know where we
wrong about this? What's going on? But then I felt
like the Rams got into the rhythm. They started to
pick things up a little bit, especially offensively. You know,

(01:32):
Kylen Williams big day, you know for him on the
ground against this Rams defense. You know, one hundred and
four yards a touchdown, averaging six point nine yards to carry.
You know, Matthew Stafford had two touchdowns, Pooka DeMarcus Robinson
had a touchdown, And honestly, it felt like the Rams
could have scored more, kind of like I alluded to earlier,
like they definitely kind of got started late offensively, so

(01:55):
they Yeah, it was just a game that it felt
like the Rams very easily could have racked up the
points with But Jake, coming out of this game against
the Saints, you know, what were your biggest takeaways and
what do you think it means for the Rams going
into Sunday against the Bills.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yeah, Alexis.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
It was a tough one to start off, right, you know,
really frustrating, not able to get any points on the
board in the first half, which is unprecedent. Sean McVay
has never done that in a regular season game. The
last time he did that was in the Super Bowl
against the Patriots, which everyone knew. But I thought the
way they responded in the second half was really exciting, impressive.

(02:36):
And I don't think it's being talked about nearly enough
because like when I went back and I watched, I'm like, Okay,
this offensive line struggled and this is the first time
all five guys and I say this because I have
to say this all five desired starters, because obviously Jonah
Jackson preseason would have started over bo Limmer. But this

(02:58):
is the thing, though, is when you're talking about, you
know what bo Limbers meant to this team, and how
they've kind of moved around the offensive line a little bit,
this is the desired starting five. So when you have
the desired starting five for the first time all year,
it's really fascinating, like, how's this thing going to go?

(03:18):
And I thought that they struggled early on we saw
that probably a big reason why they put up a
goose egg in the first half. But Alexis, when I
was watching the second half, you could see as time
went on, this offensive line got more acclimated. This offensive
line started to gel like on the fly. I mean,

(03:39):
this is the first time all five of those guys
are playing next to each other in an NFL game,
And so I was very encouraged when I went back
and I saw that. And then in addition to that,
I was really encouraged at the defense. While yeah, they
gave up over one hundred yards to another running back.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
That running back is Alvin Kamara.

Speaker 3 (03:56):
That guy has had five touchdowns in a game before,
so he is always a threat.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
Saquon is a threat.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
And you know they gave up one hundred plus it's
obviously Saquon two hundred and fifty five. But the point
being here is that while they gave up those rushing yards, Alexis,
a lot of that was in the first half. I
thought they made great adjustments in the second half. You know,
thought they got after Derek Carr. That pressure continues to
be there. And in addition to that, they held this

(04:24):
Saints receiving corps, which isn't great, let me be honest
with you, but they held the Saints receiving corps to
everybody was under forty yards at least their their you know,
leading receiver was Taysom Hill. So look, right now, do
I think the Rams are, you know, the hottest team
in the league. No, but I do think that they
have shown signs and unfortunately, like as I mentioned, in

(04:46):
that Eagles game, things just snowballed in that one. But
I thought you saw good things out of the Patriots game,
only giving up three pressures against the defense that had
twenty nine the week prior.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
And then in this Saints game.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
And I unders saying they're not as good as the Eagles,
but in this Saints game a better team than the
record would indicate. They go on the road. They've now
won three straight road games, and this is a team
to start owing three on the road. So I do
think there are things to take away that maybe you know,
people wanted a high scoring game, and you know, I
initially said this was an ugly one. It really wasn't ugly.

(05:22):
I thought that the Rams dominated the second half and
that showed, so, you know, I think, really kind of
concluding my whole view on this is that the Rams
showed that there was a different way to win this
style of game. You can throw on the Saints. Teams
to throw on the Saints all year, You could run
on the Saints. But I was surprised, like Matthew Stafford

(05:42):
only completed fourteen passes only through twenty four and didn't
even have two hundred yards, threw two touchdowns, and they
won this game with three scores. So you know, I
do think that getting the run game going and getting
that offensive line gelling, those are the key things to
take away from this game.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
The one thing I will say is I wish they
could have gotten Josh Carty.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
You know, not saying that I wanted, you know, them
to not score touchdowns in the red zone, but I
mean justin in general getting field goal opportunities.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
I know they went for it at one point, so
you know, that would have been nice.

Speaker 3 (06:19):
Because I do want that kid's confidence to be as
high as it can be, and right now, it's like
going an entire game without kicking a field goal. You're
probably going to need him against the Bills. So that's
kind of where I'm at on that.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, that's a good point. I never really thought of
it from that point of view, but yeah, you know,
I agree. You know, you talk about the run game,
and I'm seeing some comments. So for everybody who's listening
on audio, we are live tonight, so Jake and I
are live streaming, so we can see comments as they
come in. And I'm seeing some comments, you know, talking
about running the ball, you know, in this game against

(06:55):
the Saints, and Jake, something you and I talked about
is obviously the desire for this's offense has been to
be a bit more balanced, and because due to injuries
right when we started the season, I mean, we had
our star receivers out and we were like heavy run
right and you know, you kind of had Kyrone shouldering,

(07:15):
you know, ninety percent of the workload. And then all
of a sudden you had offensive line injuries, and then
that started affecting the passing game and the run game.
And even though Kupa Nikua were back, Matthew Stafford couldn't
get the ball out because the offensive line was failing.
And so I feel like the rams of at times,
we've just really struggled to find moments where we can
be as balanced as we want to be and I
feel like we found that in the second half against

(07:37):
the Saints. And what we saw is when you're able
to really effectively balance the run game with the pass game,
this Rams offense is like very successful, right, because Kyroen
was having a lot of success on the ground against
the Saints defense. But then you can kind of give
him a breather a bit, and then you can let
Matthew Stafford make those throws because you've got guys like

(07:59):
Puka Nukua who had a very very good game. You know,
looking here five receptions for fifty six yards for Puka Takua,
people might be saying, oh, that's kind of a down
game for him, but it was also because we were
able to open up the run game a little bit more.
You know, Cooper Cup had a quiet game. I mean,
I was very wrong in one of my predictions, right
when you and I make kind of our crazy game predictions.

(08:20):
I was like, Cooper Cup, He's going over one hundred
yards receiving this game. He had seventeen yards.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
But it was you almost that was wild, right.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
How I do want to bring that up because I
had a lot of people messaging me about this. So
our last episode when we did our bold predictions. I
was like, we're going to see a defensive lineman interception.
I don't remember if I said interception or pick six.
I think I said interception.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
I thought you said defensive lineman interception.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yeah, and and so I. Of course, then when we
thought Braiden Fisk had that one, I was going no way.
Everybody was messaging me on Twitter, you know, X whatever
you call it, You're like, oh my god, you called it.
I was freaking out. Of course it came back. I thought,
you know, I was finally gonna get one of those
really crazy bold predictions with you know that Brandon Fisk

(09:16):
would be interception, and I didn't. I wasn't that lucky,
and I guess neither neither was Fisk. You know, we're
watching the play. I think they made the right call.
But yeah, I almost had that one. But I was
very wrong about the Cooper cup yardage. Obviously. I thought
he was going to go over one hundred. He got seventeen.
But you know, it's not a bad position to be
in when you have so many playmakers on offense and

(09:38):
you're having success in multiple different ways that you know
you get the job done, you get it done in
the way that you do. Some people have a lot
of yards one week and hardly at all the next.
So yeah, you know, I just thought we saw more
balanced offense out of the rams, and I was you know,
I felt like McVeagh did a better job this week

(10:01):
of balancing the run in the past game, which I
think at times we've struggled with on offense.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
Yeah, I think that's definitely fair.

Speaker 3 (10:09):
I would wrap up this game by saying, I want
to give credit to the linebackers. I think Christian Roseboom
is playing the best football of his career. I don't
think it's a shock considering the fact that he's playing
alongside Omar Spates. I think it's kind of unlocked him
in a way. I feel like he's playing more freely.
I mean we're seeing, you know, his maturation in past

(10:32):
coverage as well. Rose Boom struggled in pass coverage, but
I thought he had some really you know, impressive reps.
And so then you look at Omar Spates and talk
about a guy that's just growing on the fly. Right,
So some really good things to take away from this game,
for sure, But before we get into the next game,

(10:53):
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(11:13):
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Speaker 2 (11:15):
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Speaker 3 (11:18):
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the Rams Bills game. You got the NBA, you got
at the NHL. A lot of stuff to pick over

(11:39):
on Prize Picks. But alexis, before we get into you know,
the this game. I wanted to touch on a player
that the Rams picked up. Wanted to get your thoughts.
We didn't really talk too much about this, uh, you know,
texting and what have you. Like, this is a busy week.
I know you've been going through hell and back. It's
why we're recording here on Friday. But you know, just

(12:02):
talking about and I have to be careful here here,
because I love this player. But for whatever reason, Emmanuel Forbes,
my dumb brain, knowing the NBA and all that, wants
to keep calling him. I don't know if you remember
the player a manual Moodia. Every single time, I'm like,
I have to stop myself from saying a manual Moodier.
And I'm a huge fan of Forbes and I've been

(12:23):
talking about him, but for whatever reason, all of a sudden,
it's like, remember Logan Bruss, I kept calling Hi Dylan
Bruss on the show.

Speaker 2 (12:30):
It's that. It's literally that all over again. So what
were your thoughts on that?

Speaker 3 (12:34):
Because I think everybody here, you know, on this channel
knows how I feel. This was my guy that I
really wanted in the draft two years ago, and to
get somebody.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
Like that, that's wild.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
I think it's absolutely wild, because I don't care what
anyone says. If you can get you know, a first round,
a mid first round cornerback who has that athleticism, who
has that skill set, who has those ball skills in general,
and you can get him two years after he's drafted,
that's two years of control, and then if he works out,

(13:11):
Alexis you get a fifth year option. So, yeah, what
were your thoughts on that.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
I like it. You know, I liked him coming out
of college as well, and I felt like, you know,
I'm not going to pretend like I watched every game
of his you know, rookie season, right, but you know,
my understanding of the situation, it's just like he just
I think he had, you know, a couple really bad games.
I do remember watching the game I think it was

(13:35):
against the Bears where the Commanders played the Bears. He
had a lot of blown coverages. You know, he just
he struggled a bit, but he so was such a
young player. I just found it very confusing that the
Commanders kind of I felt like jump shipped on him
so early, so you know, and then he did have
a UCL injury, like in his thumb, and so then

(13:55):
he got injured, and I just feel like it's a
situation right now where it's it's kind of a fifty
to fifty chants with him, like you can he can
come to the Rams and he can absolutely you know,
really start his career in a sense, right because he
didn't really get an opportunity, you know, in Washington, so
he can really start fresh and he could be kind
of the player I think everybody was projecting him to
be out of college or maybe he still has those

(14:17):
issues that he had in Washington and struggles against coverage.
I mean, you know, one of the games I think
he really got criticized for he was covering like AJ Brown,
which is so difficult as a young any corner in general,
and everybody wanted to judge his career based off like
his rookie season against AJ Brown.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
So it's the way. It's definitely the right.

Speaker 3 (14:39):
It's like to two out well covering AJ Brown, if
too too Outwall was stretched out a little bit more
into like what six ' to one?

Speaker 2 (14:44):
I think he is, so.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
Yeah, So he does have limitations, right, and I think
you know, he could overcome those and or he can't
or he won't. I just think it's one of those situations.
But it sounds like so simple of an analysis, like well,
he's gonna be good or he's But really it kind
of is that because I think what you're doing is
you're taking a player who is a big question mark,

(15:07):
who he's so young that the struggles he's had, I
you know, again, we don't really know if that's going
to be consistent or if he's going to be able
to overcome that, because the Commanders didn't really give him
time to work it out. I mean they just didn't.
They moved on really quickly he was injured. So I
think it's definitely worth you know, picking him up, and
you know, we have an opportunity, like you alluded to earlier,

(15:27):
to have a very young, great corner if he's able
to be you know, everybody kind of thought he was
going to be so yeah, well see, I mean I
loved it. As soon as I saw that the Commanders
you know, waived him, I was like, let's do it.
Let's I mean, the Rams are in a situation where,
you know, I felt like the game against the Saints
and what I've been feeling throughout the season, and I

(15:51):
know I'm not alone in this, is that the Rams
don't really have like a true corner one. I just
don't think that they do. They do, and that it's
not taking away like Kobe Durant has had really good
games this season, you know, Darius Williams is said as moments,
but he's also had moments where, you know, I felt
like he really struggled against the Saints. And I feel
like I'm not saying Emmanuel Forbes will be a corner one,

(16:15):
but I'm saying I feel like the Rams can take
all the help they could get right now if you
have opportunity to really beef up which might not be
the best phrase for Manuel Forbes theoretically, right, Yeah, you
get what I'm saying. But I laugh at that's faban
because but you know what I mean. You have a
chance to add to your secondary that's kind of struggling,

(16:36):
and you have an opportunity to potentially get a guy
in there is really going to help out. I think
you take it, you know, no matter what, you take it.
So we're going to see and you know what, maybe
it doesn't work out. If that's the case, you know,
you took the chance. But you really have nothing to
lose by drafting him.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
So yeah, it's a very cheap deal getting him because
you claimed him. So you have that rookie contract, and
I will say this right now, back in the days
with the actually is the last. Of course, the Rams
got hit with that giant Sam Bradford contract. That was
the last like giant contract for a rookie because they

(17:14):
changed the rookie wage scale, because I want to explain
this to people that don't understand Alexis.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
You probably know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 3 (17:20):
But they had that collective bargaining agreement, you know, you
had the lockout all of that. When they had that,
they changed the rookie wage scale, so you weren't paying
franchise quarterback money to the number one overall pick and
trickling down where you're paying a lot of money to
these first rounders. And it makes a lot of sense
because Lexis, the draft is so important because it allows

(17:44):
you to be cost effective in finding you know, talent
for four years, you know, five years with that fifth
year option, and so it does a disservice to have
those contracts be so gaudy. And so when you look
at a manual four a guy that's picked in the
middle of the draft two years ago, that rookie wage
scale makes it so now two point one million, I

(18:08):
mean that's gonna be his cap hit. So pretty good
stuff there, I would say, And I mean I have
no issue with it. Plus, you know, I think that
when you look at the you know, the the cornerback room,
I'm very high on a Kello, but he doesn't play
so I have to assume that they're probably not bringing
him back after the year. And then Kobe Durant is
in a contract year next year, so you'll you'll have

(18:29):
to decide whether you're gonna pay him or not. And
then you have dari On Kendrick, and you have Trey Tomlinson,
and you have Josh Wallace.

Speaker 2 (18:36):
But that's it.

Speaker 4 (18:37):
Really.

Speaker 3 (18:38):
I don't think Darius Williams is going to be back.
I think they're gonna let him go. Is pretty much
a one year deal if they want to keep the
you know, the three year deal going on. Okay, but
you know, I think really what it comes down to
when you look at Darius Williams that contract only really
the first year was guaranteed. The next two years have
very limited guaranteed money. And so that's really kind of

(19:00):
interesting there the way they structure that because it gives
them an easy way out. And this is what somebody
like Forbes, who has a lot of upside and I
mean you've seen like some of his like reps where
he seems really comfortable. You just see it. The athleticism
jumps off the page. He can run the route. You

(19:22):
know that the receiver's running right for them, and again
he's got crazy ball skills. He had like over thirteen
picks at Mississippi State. But I do think this is
gonna work out.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
You know, I made the.

Speaker 3 (19:37):
Basically, I made the the prediction on my video and
I said, I think he's gonna end up being a
starting corner for the Rams. He I think that's working
out for sure. But if he ends up being what
he was drafted to be, then the Rams could have
an absolute stud and you got him for nothing, and

(20:00):
it shouldn't come as a shock. They They did this
before with Baker Mayfield. They did this before with Darius
Williams when the you know, he was a rookie that
year and the Ravens tried to seek him on the
practice squad and the Rams said, Nope, they find And
this is the thing about roster building. You have to find,
you know, talent in different ways, and it's there's not

(20:25):
a one size fits all way to build an NFL
roster or any sports roster. So that that's kind of
you know, that's what I would say about that. But
I'm really excited for Forbes. I know he's not gonna
play this week, and we'll get to that of course,
you know, with the next game.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
But but yeah, I'm really excited for Forbes.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
So, Jake, I have to ask you because they're talking
about it in the chat. Yeah, so when you're speaking
every so often, there's a beep and it's like you're
being censored coming from your mic and then your cuts.
So everybody's joking that you're being censored and that they're
because there's a beep noise that we're all hearing and
I don't know what it is. So I said in

(21:04):
the chat, I was like, I don't know what it is.
Somebody said they think that you might need to charge.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
I have no idea.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
Okay, so we don't know, but he's not he's not.

Speaker 2 (21:13):
Do not have a speaker?

Speaker 1 (21:15):
So chat, I asked, uh, but yeah, okay, it's not
like a huge deal. But everybody was bringing up there
is like a beeping noise and it's just funny. It
does sound like you're censoring yourself or something.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yeah, you know, sometimes you just got to censor yourself, right.

Speaker 1 (21:34):
I guess somebody said.

Speaker 3 (21:35):
Headset maybe maybe, I mean, that's certainly possible. Well, but
there's no way you would be hearing that right, Like
that wouldn't go through.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
I don't. That's what's weird is that we're hearing it.

Speaker 3 (21:46):
I couldn't because I click. I clicked that out right
now you can hear me m M.

Speaker 2 (21:54):
So I don't know. Is it is a clipping? I
mean I don't.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Well, let's let's keep going and if if we hear it,
we'll see, we'll see what it is. But I joke,
we were joking about it, and there it is. There
it is again. Did you guys all hear it? Somebody
said it's the make trix.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
I maybe maybe it's, uh, you know, I.

Speaker 1 (22:16):
Have I have no room to talk because normally I.

Speaker 3 (22:19):
Got these I got these headphones because they're great when
you're recording and it just keeps the sound like level.
They're the ones, the exact ones that Joe Rogan uses like.
They're like, you know, everyone uses them in like the
podcast industry.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
And if I.

Speaker 3 (22:35):
Literally downgraded my headphones for this, I'm gonna be pissed
because everybody.

Speaker 1 (22:42):
I don't know if you're looking at the chat, but
you know, I I am totally cool because normally it
would be like me having a tech problem, you know,
like lightning hits my house. There is something we've had
I've had every thing going on, but I do. Let
let's keep going. I know I just totally derailed the train,

(23:04):
but I had to do it. We were all talking
about it.

Speaker 4 (23:06):
These are.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
But there is a super chat. There is a super
chat if we can throw it up. Yeah, I want
to miss out before as we transition into talking about
the bills. Thank you, Thank you Ruiz so much. And
Maries's question for everybody listening via audio and not watching
is after this year, would you trade to firsts for

(23:31):
cam Ward? No?

Speaker 3 (23:36):
I My thing is, and I feel like, I mean,
you're gonna be very happy with this, uh, this draft,
I think because it just feels like, you know, every
once in a while, there's a player that gets connected
to a team and it just seems inevitable, even back
in like November, you know whatever.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
I think that player is Benjamin Morrison, Like, I think.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
He's gonna end up as like if I had to
pick right now, I think he's gonna end up as
a RAM. And you know what, I don't think and
I'm not agreeing of that. I haven't really seen him
play too much. I do like his game. I kind
of would like to go after a left tackle. But
do you know what I think they're gonna do. I
think they're gonna get a guy like Benjamin Morrison in

(24:17):
the first round. They solidify that cornerback position for four years,
number one corner and everything. And then I actually think
that they're gonna go out and get Garrett Bowles at
left tackle, who's having an incredible season. No one's talking
about what he's doing in Denver. It's a big reason
why bo Nicks is able to do what he does
this year, because he's having a good year too. I

(24:38):
just don't see them paying Alec Jackson. So that's kind
of how I see that going down. I mean, they
could absolutely go out and get a tackle, but I
just have this weird feeling that they're gonna end up
with Benjamin Morrison, and I know a lot of fans
want him, and I think that the Rams will definitely
end up going corner, you know, in the draft, so

(24:59):
you know, we'll see.

Speaker 2 (25:00):
I could be wrong, but that's just like my gut
right now.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
I agree. I feel like, you know, Benjamin Morrison makes
a lot of sense for the Rams, and I know
everyone thinks, you know, I didn't start this agenda. Actually
I mean, I obviously know who Benjamin Morrison is. He's
a corner for Notre Dame, going to be a first
round pick next year. And I started to see other
people in the RAMS space talking about it, and I thought,
oh my god, if somebody's projecting a Notre Dame player

(25:25):
to the RAMS and it's not me, But yeah, just
based on I think the ranking you know, the Rams
as we already know, and you and I have talked
about this a little bit of where we're going to
fall even if we were to like lose out right,
something were to happen. You know, the RAMS aren't going
to end up with the top pick at this point. Yeah,
you know, we already have you know, six six, you
know wins, you know. I mean, if everything went terribly wrong,

(25:47):
I think we could theoretically maybe end up like pick
eight nine, and you know maybe, but realistically, you know,
the RAMS are going to be picking it like at
least around thirteen, fourteen, fifteen or later, right, And so
you have to kind of look at where these prospects
are projected, and I think there is a huge fall
off after the top tackles. I think you're going to
see some tackles go maybe top ten. Then I think

(26:08):
you could see a couple go at the end of
the first round. So I don't know that the RAMS
are really going to be in range to take a tackle.
I think the linebacker class, you know, everyone's like maybe linebacker.
I don't really know that there's like a true you know,
someone will correct me on this, probably, but in my mind,
from what I'm seeing, there's not really like a linebacker

(26:31):
that I think I could see the Rams taking in
the first round. Where they're going to be projected, I
think the first linebacker might go super late. So I
think you're probably looking at a corner. And if you
look at where these corners fall, you know, I think
Will Johnson's going to go early, totally blanking on the
other guy's name, well, Travis Hunter obviously, but then you've
got you know, Will Johnson, and then there's somebody else

(26:53):
who I'm blanking on. But I think, you know, looking
at where the Rams are projected to pick, you're probably
looking at you know, Benjamin Morrison, or you know, maybe
shoot the corner out of East Carolina, you know, somebody
like that. So yeah, I think that Benjamin Morrison makes
a lot of sense. You could also be looking at
Colston Loveland, tight end out of Michigan. I think, you know,

(27:15):
might be a little early to take him if the
Rams end up picking him in first, but I could
see them doing that. But yeah, to answer Ruiz's question
about cam Ward, I don't think that that will happen.
I also think the quarterbacks are gonna go super early
in the draft next year. And I think there's a
lot of teams, the Raiders, the Giants, the Browns who

(27:37):
are gonna be picking early who are in a quarterback market.
I also think the Jets I could very easily taking
a corner a quarterback, just sipind Aaron Rodgers. So I
just don't think the Rams are remain the market for it,
and I don't think that they're going to be super
inclined to trade what they would need a trade to
get up that high to get a guy like cam Ward.
But I understand the thought process of it. I do

(27:58):
understand the thought process. I just don't think the Rams
are going to do it.

Speaker 3 (28:02):
So Ruiz appreciate it again, Bookey deal for five years
build around him via agency. So I don't are you
talking about like the quarterback that you just mentioned cam
Mord because, by the way, I loved Cameron Ward at
Washington State.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
Want him to come out.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
It was last year or two years ago, and the
reason being is because I thought the Rams could have
gotten really good value for him, you know, in like
the the third or fourth round. So yeah, it was
definitely like kind of one of those things where you know,
that was a guy that I was looking at, and
you know, I definitely like his game.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
I just am not.

Speaker 3 (28:46):
The person to talk to you right now about the
NFL Draft. Once the season is over, whether that's the
Rams are done or you know whatever, then I will
be the person to talk about but talk to you
about it. But currently I gotta be honest with you.
I've said it over and over again, so you guys
probably already know. But you know, Alexis and I were
talking about it. I only watched Kansas.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
That's it.

Speaker 3 (29:07):
You know, I don't even watch USC anymore. I just don't,
you know, I don't have time for it. And and
that's really that. And and the reason for that is
because I'm a diehard Kansas Jayhawk fan, family there and everything.
But I don't want to have any preconceived biases when
I go and watch tape and I find, like, for instance,

(29:28):
that Kirk Cousins Russell Wilson game, or the you know,
Baker Mayfield Patrick Mahomes game.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
You know, these these awesome college football games.

Speaker 3 (29:37):
I had the preconceived bias because when I watched the
Rose Bowl with the Penn State in USC and you
had Sam Darnold's slinging it all over the field, and
you had Chris Godwin, uh Saquon Barkley. Like, obviously I
knew those players were great, but like I had that
extra it was almost like a bias because in that moment,
I was like, this is one of the greatest college
football games I've ever watched.

Speaker 2 (29:56):
You know that Rose Bowl game.

Speaker 3 (29:57):
A lot of people, I'm sure, even though I'm a
lot of people I'm sure know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2 (30:01):
But that's the thing. That's why I don't really like
watching during the season.

Speaker 3 (30:04):
I know I'm weird, but I don't look at college
football on the level of the NFL. I just the NFL.
I could watch any bad game on TV. College football.
I can't even watch like the best teams in the country.

Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yeah, I'm not you know, a massive college football you
know fan, I guess you could say, or you know,
I watch Notre Dame when I can, or if there's
a good game on, I'll watch it. But yeah, I
mean a lot of you know, when we start to
you know, put together at the end of the season,
we have more time, people come on our show and

(30:38):
then we watch tape. That's when, you know, I think
you both watch you know, a lot of of that stuff.
But on that note, let's get into previewing our matchup
against the Bills, because we've you know, kind of covered
you know, our our brief thoughts and recap on the
game against the Saints, and now we've got a game
against the Bills coming up. And here here's the thing.

(31:02):
You know, you and I have said this for a while,
and I said before the Eagles game, there was two
teams that made me nervous the rest of the season,
and that was the Eagles and the Bills. Because I
feel like the Rams and I still feel like the
Rams can beat anybody else that we play the rest
of the year. I really believe that the Bills, I

(31:24):
you know, we're going to talk about it. The Bills
are are the best team that the Rams are gonna
play for the rest of the season, they just are Yeah, Josh,
Josh Allen, MVP candidate at quarterback. He's absolutely incredible. And
you know, I don't think Josh Allen gets enough credit
because I don't even think he's working with that much.
You know, a lot of people talk about how great

(31:44):
Josh Allen is, but you know, remember he's lost Stefan
Diggs and you know, looking at that offense, I mean, now,
now he has a Mari Cooper, but for to start
the season, he did have a MARII Cooper. And I
always feel like it's really impressive when you watch Josh
Allen because he's not he doesn't have all of these
weapons that you would think he does. Watching him play, right,

(32:05):
he makes a lot happen out of nothing. So Jake,
looking at this Bills team, I'm gonna pull a Jake
and I'm gonna spoil our predictions. But neither Jake and
I are picking the Rams to win this game. We're
gonna get that out of the way. I know that
that's gonna shock the Homer crowd, people who call us
Homers whenever we pick the Rams to win. Like I

(32:27):
just said, I I think the Rams are gonna win
every other game the rest of the season. Yeah, you
and I were concerned about the Eagles. Even though we
did pick the Rams to win against the Eagles, obviously
were wrong the Bills realistically, looking at at how both
teams have been playing on a paper, probably not gonna pick,

(32:47):
you know, the Rams to win. Obviously, we're gonna be
rooting for them to win, and we hope that we're wrong,
But we would be disingenuous if we came on the
show and pick the Rams to win every single game.
That would just be not right and people would be pissed.
People already get pissed when we pick the Rams to win. Sorry, guys,
that is my phone ringing over there. So between my

(33:08):
phone ringing and Jake's beeping noise on his mic, everybody's
just getting like a plethora of back round noise this episode.
So Jake, looking at this this matchup, you know, against
the Bills, you know, let's start by talking about that
Bill's offense, because Josh Allen is this Bills team. So
what do you think we need to attempt to do
on defense to stop him or at least, you know,

(33:32):
maybe we can't stop him and the Bills offense but
at least kind of like make it more difficult for
them so we don't get run all over on defense.

Speaker 3 (33:42):
Well, I mean they're not going to do it, but
I really would get creative, as like the Quarterback Spy.
I mean, I think I would go after you know,
Quentin Lake is athletic, but is he fast enough to
cut off Josh Allen when he's trying to get to
the corner down the sideline. I don't know if he is,
so then I would look at you know, potentially, and

(34:03):
I mean.

Speaker 2 (34:07):
The same thing. He's not like super super fast.

Speaker 3 (34:09):
He's got good speed, but he's not the blazing speed
guy that you would think because I mean, I know
he had that one hundred and three yard touchdown interception.

Speaker 2 (34:18):
But yeah, I would probably say.

Speaker 3 (34:21):
That, you know somebody, and I know people are gonna
say stuff, and I don't really care.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
I mean, a Kello Witherspoon ran a four to three.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
You know, you can't even say you know Emmanuel Forbes
because he would be way too thin to play that,
like in the in the Box Spy. But what I
would do, and I think it would work well, is
if you're not going to use a Kello Witherspoon in
the secondary like you did last week. I'd put him
in as the spy. I play him at linebacker, and

(34:51):
I say that because he can tackle. He's got, you know,
this crazy wingspan. He's six ' three, but he also
runs a four to three So so this is somebody
that could cut off any attempt of Josh Allen getting
to that sideline and where he does his damage. And
that is really the thing that freaks me out the

(35:11):
most about this game is that when you watch the
Eagles game, I thought they got a lot of pressure
on Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts counterpunched that he used the
leverage and basically took them, took their strength and used
it against them because you have all these guys. I mean,
on that play where Jared Verse knocks Jordan Milata on

(35:32):
his ass, I mean, you know that ends up being
a positive play for the Philadelphia Eagles. So I would
be rolling with a quarterback spy. Josh Allen doesn't run
the ball as much as he used to, but he's
still wicked effective. And with this offense that the Bills
run since they got rid of Ken Dorsey, this is

(35:53):
not a team that's just gonna fire it down the
field at will. This is why the Bills are dangerous
because what they do is they bleed the clock and
they bleed out your defense. It's just like multiple shives
to the chest because they have all these different options.
And that's the thing alexis is that they don't have

(36:13):
like a thousand yard receiver. I mean maybe they might,
but currently right now, it's not like they have a
Jamar Chase. The thing that makes the Bill so scary
is that they have Josh Allen, who can make any
play on the field, whether with his legs or with
his arm. He's become so much better over the years,
way more patient, and just a way better decision maker.

(36:34):
Then you have one of the more underrated running backs
in football who doesn't fumble, who has some power, who
has breakaway speed pass catching ability, James Cook. And then
you have Ray Davis out of Kentucky who they got
in this.

Speaker 2 (36:48):
Draft, who has a lot of power as well.

Speaker 3 (36:51):
So you can use those guys. Ty Johnson as well
as an option in that backfield. They got him from
the Jets, And then you look at your wide receivers
over in Buffalo and I don't care if Keon Coleman and.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
Or not.

Speaker 2 (37:07):
I still think the Bills win this game. But if
they do play, think about that.

Speaker 3 (37:11):
You got Kean Coleman, big big target for Josh Allen.
He got dalonkin Kaid, who's really their best receiving threat.
He's been banged up, he's been limited in practice this week,
just like Keon Coleman. Then you have a MARII Cooper,
who who's going into his fifth game, uh, you know
with this team, so you have to think Amari Cooper

(37:32):
who was having some success last year when the Rams
played the Browns. You know, with Joe Flacco. He goes
down with the injury, leaves and the game changes on
a dime. The Rams start rolling right, but at that time,
Amari Cooper was giving him something so Cooper can play.
But the thing about Cooper is that he does everything.
He's a great route runner. He you know, obviously creates

(37:54):
a lot of separation, great natural hands receiver, but also
he blocks. He sticks his face in the face, he blocks.
In addition to that, you got Khalil Shakir. Shakiir is
they were looking for because back when they had Cole Beasley,
they were able to move the chains on third down,
Cole Beasley would just be right in the middle of

(38:15):
the field. Well, since Beasley retired or left, I don't
even remember what happened to Alexis, but.

Speaker 2 (38:20):
He's not around anymore.

Speaker 3 (38:22):
They got Khalil Shakir out of Boise State, and this guy,
I'm telling you right now, he's not the flashiest player,
he's not the strongest player, he's not the fastest, he
doesn't have the best hands in the world. But this
guy just finds the soft spot in the zone and
continues the drive. He's reliable over the middle, and most
of his yards have come after the catch. So I

(38:47):
just think that they have a lot of different pieces.
They might not be the sexy names like a Jamar
Chase or you know, a Puka Nakua, but a lot
of these guys can be dependable for this team. And
this offensive line is coached well by Aaron Kromer, a
former Rams offensive line coach. So you got a lot
of guys here. Come out Spencer Brown at right tackle,

(39:09):
and you know it's it's gonna be interesting.

Speaker 2 (39:12):
It really is.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
Deon Dawkins the left tackle versus Jared Verse. I think
is as pivotal of a matchup is on the other
side of the ball, Rob Havenstein taking on Gregory Russo
both of those guys are just absolutely game wreck game breakers.
So that's kind of how I'm looking at right now.
Josh Allen has a lot of weapons, He's got a

(39:34):
really good offensive line. The Rams are gonna have to
bottle him up. And I would say, if you watch
the Colts game, the Colts lost thirty to twenty because
they didn't have the firepower and Joe Flacco as and
Matthew Stafford. But if the Rams defense can do what
the Colts did, put a lot of pressure on Josh Allen,
force him and having turnovers and making poor decisions, the

(39:56):
Rams can steal this game because they have the fire
power to compet with this team if they get into
that type of game. Are they a well oiled machine
like the twenty twenty offense that was one of the
best in the league.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
Are they twenty eighteen? Absolutely not.

Speaker 3 (40:10):
And so that's why if this game is like a
thirty thirty four whatever game, I don't know if the
Rams can keep up scoring wise, I think they want
to win this game, you know, twenty four to twenty one,
something along those lines. Because the Bills just score thirty points.
That's all they do. So I think that's that's a
big thing there is that if you can bottle up

(40:32):
Josh Allen, you got a chance.

Speaker 2 (40:33):
Alexis, you definitely do.

Speaker 1 (40:36):
I agree. You know, I think the key to stopping
you know, this Buffalo Bills offense is stopping Josh Allen.
You know, he is the offense, like we said earlier,
not that they don't have guys who are talented, right
n Amari Cooper, James Cook, But like you know, I
think you alluded to earlier. You know, Keon Coleman and
donkin Cater are questionable as of right now and this
is Friday, so there's a very good chance that Keon

(40:59):
Coleman and Dolan Dalton Kinkaid aren't playing, which would be
huge losses. Uh, you know for this Bills offense. And
we definitely want to see, you know, our defense, regardless
of who is playing, step up to the plate. And
they're going to have to show up and do something
against Josh Allen because you know, if he has free

(41:19):
reign to do what Josh Allen does, it's going to
be a problem kind of like you alluded to.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
But Jake.

Speaker 1 (41:24):
We do have some super chats, so I want to
get to these and make sure we ask them first.
One from Matthew, Thank you very much, Matthew, And Matthew
said for everybody listening, he said, I don't think we
win this game either. Is it possible, yes, likely?

Speaker 3 (41:38):
No.

Speaker 1 (41:39):
Josh Allen is the reason I think this. I think
even A d said he is really hard to bring down.

Speaker 2 (41:45):
Yes, so he is.

Speaker 1 (41:47):
I mean he's very slippery and he's also a big guy.
You know, he can hit. You know, it's hard, you
know for some guys to kind of like get that
grip on him and bring him down. So, yeah, you know.

Speaker 2 (41:59):
What Josh is.

Speaker 3 (42:01):
You'll probably know this reference because I've made an anime
reference show Pokemon fans out there, because I know there's
plenty of them. Josh Allen is mewtwo. Like you know
the Pokemon mewtwo Alexis was literally created in a lab.
Josh Allen was created in a damn lab.

Speaker 2 (42:22):
He is.

Speaker 3 (42:24):
It's one of those things where I think over time
we're just like, yeah, that's the modern day quarterback. But
when he came out in the draft, we weren't ready.
And I think a lot of it is. You know,
how did people miss on this guy? He's got a
lot better since when he was picked. I was at
the Senior Bowl. He did not look that great. Like
in the Senior Bowl practices, he was sailing everything over

(42:46):
everyone's head. He had the arm, but he never really
had the accuracy, and his completion percentage while at Wyoming
wasn't very good. And I think people went back and
they watched the games in which he went up against
top you know, cop petition, and he wasn't good in
those games. So this is a reminder where you it's

(43:07):
your fortunes. You can be better in the NFL than
you were in college. So Josh Allen has become a
freak of nature at the next level. And uh, I'm
like mad, I totally missed the boat on because I
was not high on Josh Allen at all coming out.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
I just did not. He had buss written all over
him in my opinion, and I was wrong.

Speaker 1 (43:28):
I liked him, but I wasn't like high on him.
I just you know, I think, but I think a
lot of people like you said, I mean, he didn't
have the best tape out there, and then he didn't,
So I don't think you can judge anybody too too
harshly for missing on Josh Allen next super chat from
everybody listening. From Man of Paradox, thank you so much,
Thank Paradise very much. They said, I'm all in for

(43:52):
mcveigh's living in the moment approach, and we need a
performance similar to the game against the Vikings and we
will beat the Bills. You have my word on this.
See you on chat after game. Hey, I hope that
you are right. I am. I'm rocking with you because
I hope that you're right, and I hope that Jake
and I are wrong and anything can happen to I mean,

(44:14):
it's the NFL, So you know, when we make these predictions,
we make it as logically as we can. But like
we've seen crazier things happen obviously in the NFL. Yeah,
we don't.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
Really pick them to lose many games though.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
We don't, and we get yelled at because of it. Yeah,
you know, we have very few games that you and
I say, you know what, we think the Rams probably
most likely aren't going to end up with the w
this time, just because you know it's not Yeah, it's
just there's no team that I would ever pick to

(44:49):
win every single game in an NFL season. I don't
think I've ever done that, said this team won't lose
a game.

Speaker 2 (44:56):
So yeah, you know, j.

Speaker 1 (45:01):
I'll start because everyone's talking about the beeping, so I'll
try to talk here if everybody at.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
All, I have no idea what that is.

Speaker 1 (45:09):
So I'm very I'm very curious if it's gonna show up.
I mean, I think it will show up on the playback,
because if everybody in the chat is hearing.

Speaker 2 (45:18):
They hear that's annoying, is I'm so yeah.

Speaker 1 (45:23):
So I'm gonna shut Jake up every everybody for a
few minutes, and I'm going to talk about a little
bit about what I think this offense needs to do
against Buffalo because our offense has had kind of an
uncharacteristically up and down season. I think, as we've all
talked about before, you know, when this offense is healthy
on paper, this should be a really, really good offense.

(45:45):
But you know, we obviously had injury problems. I think
that that definitely messed with a lot, you know at
this offense. You know, losing Cooper Cup and Pukinakua, you know,
to start the season, having our offensive line injured. I mean,
like Jake and I talked about earlier in the episode,
really the run game is the only thing we had
for the first you know, half of the season. You know,
you basically looked at Kyrin Williams and said, all right,

(46:07):
you know, run the ball. You know, at one point,
you know, he was leading the team in touchdowns drastically,
which was not normal. That was just because of all
the injuries we had. And then we got the offense
back and they felt really really stale. And then we're
on the show talking about, like, you know, this offense
is lacking creativity and the play calling is bad and
what's going on? And I feel like we finally saw
in the second half against the Saints a very balanced

(46:30):
approach that I think we need to bring back against
the Bills. You know, the Bills have some guys you
know that I like obviously Ed Oliver defensive tackle in
the middle. It's Jake knows he's on my dynasty team.
Jake and I are in a dynasty league. I do
have Ed Oliver as a defensive tackle on my team.
You got Gregory Rousseau on the end, like him, aj Epanessa.

(46:54):
I think Jake you and I really liked him coming
out of Iowa. I remember us having a lot of
conversations about him. Also in the defensive ends, so you know,
solid defensive front. You know they've got like Terrel Bernard
middle linebacker, Christian Benford corner for the Bill having a
good season. He was another pickup I actually made an
our dynasty league. I was able to grab him this season.

(47:17):
Fill in. We've got Taylor Rapp Rams fans, you're all
familiar with him, free safety for the Buffalo Bills. He
used to be a Ram. You know Damar Hamlin strong safety.
You got Taron Johnson, uh, kind of playing corner for them. So, Jake,
on paper, this is not that bad of a defense,
I'd say they you know a lot of guys I

(47:38):
like on there. I don't you know. I think they're
pretty hit or miss, and how they perform I certainly
think again I'm using the phrase on paper. Uh, looking
at this offense, we I feel this offense is more
talented than the Bill's defense. I think if we're playing
healthy and we're playing how we played, I think in

(47:59):
the second half, you know, against the Saints, and the
play calling is up to par I think the Rams
can potentially have a lot of success against this defense,
and I would like to see uh the run game
heavily involved.

Speaker 3 (48:14):
You know.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
I think whenever we talk about Sean McVay, we talk
about him getting pass happy, and that certainly has happened.
I think a lot since Kaupa Nikola have come back,
we've seen moments of this. But I think if he
sticks with that balanced offense approach, the Rams can can
have success, you know, against this Bill's defense without too
much trouble.

Speaker 3 (48:35):
You know.

Speaker 1 (48:35):
Super chat on the screen right now from Hank Woodmore.
Thank you very much for the super chat. He said,
Stafford can't underwhelm simple as that. I agree, this is
going to have to be a game because of what
I think Buffalo is going to do on offense. I
think our offense is going to have to replicate that.
I think we have to be very accurate, little room
for error. I think Stafford is going to have to

(48:57):
have a big game. All right, Jake, I'm going to
hand it over to you, Beeps and all. We're gonna
let Jakes speak. We're gonna take him out of this
prison that we've put him in to give ourselves a
break from the beeping noise. But Jake, looking at this
Rams offense, what do you think they need to do
to be successful against Buffalo?

Speaker 2 (49:18):
They need to score early on and often.

Speaker 3 (49:22):
You know, I think both of these teams are similar
in that in the second half they really make some
great adjustments both teams. You're right, the Rams last week
they made the adjustments against the Saints.

Speaker 2 (49:33):
They score twenty one, they hold in the fourteen. All that.

Speaker 3 (49:37):
Well, I've watched the Bills quite a bit and they
do the same. The thing is, though the Bills are
gonna score a lot of points. They're a really good team.
They have the best quarterback right now in the league.
But I just think that if Rams are gonna win
this game, there can't be any of those You're driving
well on the first drive of the game and then

(49:59):
you stall out right like right before the red zone,
or you miss a field goal, or you go for
on sit. I feel like you gotta treat this one
like you're on the road. And that's how I would
do it. When you're playing against a really good team,
I don't care if you're at home. You should be
treating it like you're on the road. Don't call plays
like you're Dan Campbell. Don't don't make decisions that you know,

(50:22):
fourth and one right idiotically going for it started kicking
the field goal, Like, don't do that, right when you're
playing really good team, take the points. This is not
a Rams team that scores a lot of points. So,
you know, I hate to say it, but if they
stall out at the thirty yard line and it's say

(50:43):
fourth and three, kick the field goal like that three
points can turn into ten with the touchdown. But that
you know, those will come back on you, like if
you don't take those. And that's the thing. We saw
that with the Saints, we saw that with other teams
that they've played, Like that's just that's the reality, right,

(51:04):
you gotta you gotta be you know that team. So
it's been a little frustrating because I mean, obviously I
like going for it, you know, if it makes sense,
but like that one play when they go for it
on fourth down and they throw deep down the field,
It's like, what are you doing? Like the misthrow to
Cooper Cup that had everyone in shambles because he was

(51:28):
wide open the end zone. It's plays like that. You
can't you can have those against the Saints. And it
doesn't cripple you. You can't have that against the Bills.

Speaker 1 (51:40):
Well, yeah, you have to turn it into a shootout because,
as we've talked about, you know, Buffalo is gonna score
a lot if Buffalo plays their game and Josh Allen
looks how Josh Allen typically does, you know, accounting for
the worst, accounting for the fact that the defense doesn't
pull out, you know, in an insane game against Josh Allen,
you have to make the reasonable assumption that the Bills

(52:01):
are just going to score, you know, a lot. And
so I think that our offense's task is Okay, now
we have to do the same thing. And I think
that they can if they're hitting on all cylinders and
Sean McVay is in his bag, and Matthew Stafford is
accurate and they you know, everyone is doing their part
and we can run a balanced offense. I do think
that that's a possibility for the Rams in this game.

(52:22):
The question is can they come out and do it
out of the gate? Every you know, that's been the
story right for the Rams this season nearly every game,
is that they they just they don't start games well.
And then it also, you know, last week you just
score any points in the first half. If you do

(52:43):
that against Buffalo, you're not going to win. You're just
I don't see any situation where the Rams score less
than ten points in the first half and win. I
just don't because of what I think. You know, Buffalo
is going to be able to do. So we'll see.
I I say that in an optimistic way because I

(53:05):
do think that the Rams are going to have a
better game, you know, to start start off offensively. But
I just I think it's very critical that the Rams
offense steps up to the task, to speak, because if
they don't, if you don't turn it into a shootout,
it could get ugly very quickly, is my prediction.

Speaker 2 (53:25):
Yeah, it absolutely could.

Speaker 3 (53:27):
I mean, this is a team that can win forty
one to ten, you know, they definitely If the game
doesn't go how they wanted to the Bills, this could
be a snowball.

Speaker 2 (53:38):
But I don't see it that way.

Speaker 3 (53:41):
And the reason why, Like you know, when the whole
title and everything that we used on this this live stream,
it really is a litmus test versus the Bills.

Speaker 2 (53:52):
I mean, that's really what it is.

Speaker 3 (53:53):
Because you had mentioned it, I've said it multiple times
you know, the Rams are playing the best team they're
gonna face the rest of the year, Like the Bills
are probably better than any team they're gonna if they
make the playoffs, and so I want to make that clear.
And I think after the Eagles game, which was see,

(54:16):
I thought the Eagles game was a little fluky. I'm
not gonna lie. I think the Eagles were the better team,
but I didn't feel like it should have been like
thirty seven to twenty two or whatever it ended up being.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
It just didn't feel like that type of game.

Speaker 3 (54:30):
It felt like they were in control, but it didn't
feel like it should have been a blowout. And the
Saquon Barkley two hundred and fifty five yards, it also
didn't feel like he had two hundred and fifty five
yards because he had two huge runs. You take those away,
and he had a really good day. But you know,
I think it was like one of those games, you know,
where it just it's snowball in this one. Getting back

(54:51):
to so Far for the first time since that game,
you're not on prime time.

Speaker 2 (54:56):
I actually think that's a good thing.

Speaker 3 (54:59):
When the Rams are in primetime and it's on a Thursday,
they kick ass against the Vikings. Mikings still have too
many losses. They only have two Rams are one of them.

Speaker 4 (55:11):
Right.

Speaker 3 (55:12):
They do a really nice job on Thursday Night football
for whatever reason, Sunday Night Football, Monday night football, they've
had some struggles. And I just think that this game
being at four thirty or four to twenty five instead
of being at you know, eight thirty or whatever, that
could help too. I don't know why, but they are
a young team, so that could play into it. But

(55:35):
they got to get off to a quick start. They
have to be able to rush the pass. They definitely
have to be able to rush the passer. You're gonna
need your best game out of some of these guys
and Alexis you're gonna need to force some turnovers.

Speaker 2 (55:49):
You know. They really went.

Speaker 3 (55:51):
On this turnover binge and then it kind of settled
down a little bit. I'm looking out for number twenty
six cam Kinchins to have a game in this one.
I just feel like he's going to I don't know, well.

Speaker 1 (56:04):
And it's it's a good point. And I forgot to
bring this up earlier, is that Josh Allen at times
really struggles with turnovers. You know, obviously every great player
you know, has their weakness, and at times, you know,
Josh Allen, I think he unfairly gets labeled by a
lot you know people when when they try to find
one of the very few things you can criticize Josh

(56:25):
Allen for at times is you know, turnover machine or
you know whatever. And maybe it's true, maybe it's not.
I don't know, but I think that the Rams are
really going to have to, as we've said, if you
want to put the pressure on Josh Allen, I think
you have to, you know, try and maybe force some turnovers,
really be in his face, have a really effective pass

(56:45):
rush and listen, we keep having you know, good games
right from Byron Young and Jared Verse, and you know
Kobe Turner, Braiden Fisk, I mean defensive Brookie of the
Month Braden Fisk. By the way, if you guys see that,
but you.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
Know we're Kobs singer.

Speaker 1 (57:04):
Yeah, Kobe Turner, the masked singer. That that beep scared
the hell out of me. I don't know if you
guys just.

Speaker 2 (57:12):
I didn't hear any beep. I've tried, I don't. I
don't know.

Speaker 1 (57:16):
Jake doesn't hear it.

Speaker 3 (57:18):
This sucks man, like we're we're putting in like an
hour worth of content and this is going to be
almost unlistenable. Like I feel bad for the audio only people.
They're gonna get absolutely bashed over the head with like
a sledgehammer.

Speaker 1 (57:33):
I people, I don't know. I feel like it is
always like right when you stop, Well, I don't, I
don't know. Some people are saying it's after he talks,
but it's also when you talk, because everyone's joking that.
It's like you'll say something in one word gets taken
out and it's like you're saying a curse word because
it sounds because like you'll be talking and then you'll
say a word whatever it is, and it beeps and
it's like it sounds like like you're being censored, like

(57:56):
a bleep, like a curse where after me?

Speaker 2 (58:01):
I mean, what the hell?

Speaker 1 (58:02):
Oh I wonder, I don't know what it is, but
you know what, we're having a downtime, rams having a
technical issue and it's not me. I mean, what timeline
are we in?

Speaker 3 (58:13):
Well, no, we've always had technical issues. I had echo
cancelation on. I never put that on, so I don't
know if that helped.

Speaker 1 (58:20):
Well, we'll see we'll see if it helps. I'm monitoring
the chat well, I also can hear, but you know,
everyone in the chat also feel free to chime in.

Speaker 2 (58:28):
I don't know how you can hear it, but I have.
I like that. That's what I'm not understanding.

Speaker 3 (58:33):
I have my headphones plugged into my interface, like I
should be able to hear the monitor like this is.
This is monitoring when I'm hearing not just you, but
I'm monitoring. I could hear myself and I don't hear
any beeps. It sounds crystal clear. So I'm like, bruh.

Speaker 1 (58:50):
I think Jake is trying to tell Jake is trying
to tell us that we're the problem. Guys, No, because
we're the ones here. No, no, no, I'm kidding. But yeah,
But to wrap up, you know Josh Allen, you know, yes,
as we've talked about, he's the key. You can make
the game difficult on Josh Allen, then you know you're
gonna have a pretty good shot at trying to win

(59:12):
the game, which you know could happen.

Speaker 4 (59:15):
You know.

Speaker 1 (59:15):
I obviously we hope that the rams do that and
that that's the case, but as we've said, you know,
we stay true kind of to our logical predictions, and
we both said that we were gonna not pick the
Rams to win the game, which doesn't happen very often
on this show, and we always get yelled at on

(59:36):
social media because people call us homers. But Jake, I'll
let you go first. What do you think the game is.

Speaker 3 (59:45):
Going to be. I think it's gonna be thirty four
twenty four Buffalo Bills. I will go as far as
to say this, If the Rams win this game, they're
not losing another game until the playoffs. And honestly, if
the Rams beat the Bills, I think they're gonna knock that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
Playoffs. That's my bold take.

Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
If the Rams come out this weekend and they look
like a playoff team and they beat the Buffalo Bills
and it's a good game, I'm telling you right now.

Speaker 2 (01:00:19):
I'll say this.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
And Mike Florio has said this, and he hates the
Rams like everybody always jokes about that. Mike Florio said,
the one team the Lions do not want to see
in the NFC is the Rams. Let's not forget twenty
four to twenty three hostile territory last year, bad call, whatever,
but it's twenty four to twenty three on the road

(01:00:41):
in the wild Card. Then the next game that matters
is Week one against the Lions. Very similar roster, but younger.
Because you lose Aaron Donald, you bring in some other guys,
and the whole offensive line is banged up, so Matthew
Stafford is playing.

Speaker 2 (01:01:00):
With a j. R.

Speaker 3 (01:01:01):
Curie at left tackle, and they literally go from losing
seventeen to three to taking the lead on the road
to open up the season in primetime, and they lose because, well,
let's be honest here, the overtime rules suck and the
first game of the season, everybody's gassed. So if the

(01:01:22):
Rams won the coin toss in overtime, I'm not gonna
say they one hundred percent win, but I think they
probably would have.

Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
I think they just want to run with Kyraen Williams.

Speaker 3 (01:01:29):
Lions defense would have been exhausted and you would have
had it like that. So I'm just saying, I'm just
I don't care how many wins you have. I watched
the we all watched it. The New England Patriots, Oh
we're perfect sixteen to oher, And I watched this Giants
team that was a wild card team knock them out
and we watched them beat the Giants beat them twice

(01:01:53):
in the Super Bowl. Like things can happen. And I'm
telling you right now, this Rams team matches up well
with this Lions team, which is also decimated. So the
Rams are losing this game. But if they do beat
the Bills, they're for real. They're doing what they did
last year, and they're gonna be more dangerous than they

(01:02:15):
were last year because they have a way better pass
rush than they did last year.

Speaker 1 (01:02:18):
Case closed, Well, you and I have the same prediction
score wise. You know, I did take the Bills thirty
four to twenty four. But you know, as you and
I have talked.

Speaker 2 (01:02:30):
About, wait, we have the same exact prediction.

Speaker 1 (01:02:33):
Yeah. Is that the first time that that's happened this season?

Speaker 4 (01:02:35):
Ah?

Speaker 2 (01:02:36):
I don't think it is, so No, I think it is.

Speaker 1 (01:02:39):
Maybe we usually we usually are do, I feel like
a couple times a season, So if this is the
first one, I'll be be surprised. But you know what,
I again, as you and I have talked about this episode,
there are ways for the Rams to win this game.
I don't think this is a game where, like you know,
and you and I haven't done this very often in

(01:03:00):
the five years we've been doing this show. But where
we're like the Rams very easily could get like like
we're taking the Rams to lose by like twenty points, right.
I don't think that that. I don't know that that's
ever happened. If it has, it's been few and far between.
This is certainly not the case. This is a credit
to Josh Allen and the Bills, who any realistic person
if you've been watching them this season, very good team,

(01:03:23):
you know, and we're not taking anything away. As I've
said several times, you know, halfway through the season, the
two games, I was very concerned by where the Eagles
and the Bills were on the last one. This is
the best team that the Rams are going to play
the rest of the season. I hope we're wrong. I
just it would be disingenuous for us to come out
and say something that we weren't feeling. Jacob, looks like

(01:03:43):
you were seeing some things.

Speaker 2 (01:03:44):
In the chat, Yeah I was. I just I laugh.
I don't know. There's we have great community.

Speaker 3 (01:03:50):
Yeah, and you know, we're so fortunate because like we
get to do the NFL Draft streams and we say
we get to like obviously we put in the work,
and I mean Alexis I had food poisoning and Alexis.

Speaker 2 (01:04:03):
Like held it down.

Speaker 3 (01:04:05):
I mean, yeah, great, my Josh CARDI pick right. I
was so sick and Alexis was there, she held it down.
But this is what's awesome is that we get to
like kind of just continue to grow this community and
then we're going to do the NFL draft stream again
and do all three days and it's just going to
be a party, and like these people that have kind

(01:04:27):
of you know, that similar sense of humor and everything
and the beeping, for instance, everyone in the comments section
putting beep.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
I feel so bad.

Speaker 3 (01:04:36):
I like, I really feel awful because I spend I
mean I spent a lot of money to make sure
this is the best setup possible, because I believe in
quality over quantity, or I actually believe they both can coexist.

Speaker 2 (01:04:48):
But to have the whole like quality, you.

Speaker 3 (01:04:52):
Know, pushing setup and just have like it's sounding like
you know, fire alarm as people are saying, that's a
little disappointing, but you know, there's nothing you can do.

Speaker 2 (01:05:04):
I mean, well everything.

Speaker 3 (01:05:07):
I literally tried troubleshooting while you were talking, I mute
in my MIC, I turned off Echo, I I unplugged,
plug back in every single chord. Took this apart, Like,
I don't know what the hell that is. I'm sure
when I reset my computer, because this is the way
technology works, I'll reset my computer and the next time

(01:05:31):
you'll never hear it. This is why I hate technology.
I love it, but I hate it because it just
has random shit like this and there's nothing I can do.

Speaker 1 (01:05:41):
Well, you know what, I can't say anything because, as
our listeners know, I've had like the most bizarre like
I've had the most bizarre things happen.

Speaker 4 (01:05:49):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:05:50):
You know, I've had like lightning strike outside my house.
And yeah, the comment Jake's putting a comment up. It
says Beeping one zero. Yeah, I mean I can't. I
can't say anything Downtown Beeps, says Andrew. Yeah, I don't know.

(01:06:11):
But here's a super chat from Hank. So thank you
very much, Hank. That's very kind. Uh. He says, we
match up with Detroit, but we have to stop the run.

Speaker 4 (01:06:20):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:06:20):
Yeah, I think that's a fair comment. I mean, you know,
we've definitely struggled with the run.

Speaker 2 (01:06:26):
This year.

Speaker 1 (01:06:28):
Yeah, I mean, you know, the run defense is gonna
have to, you know, step up, not just against James Cook,
but you know, Josh Allen can be mobile at times.
You know, maybe he's not maybe, you know, like Jalen Hurts, right,
you know, I don't know that he runs as much
as Jalen Hurts, but you know he can still use
his legs and he scored a lot with his legs

(01:06:48):
too this season. So I agree, we're gonna have to
stop the run. But you know, Jake getting into our
bold predictions, I will let you go first. I appreciate
that three bold predictions for this Bill's Rams game on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (01:07:12):
Well, I think Cameron Kinchins is going to get a pick.

Speaker 3 (01:07:14):
I already said that earlier than the show, so I
figured I put that as a bold prediction. Anytime you
call out a pick against one Josh Allen in twenty
twenty four when he doesn't throw many, and two you're
calling a specific player, that's bold. So I'm gonna say
Cameron Kinchins, I'm just feeling it. I think that we

(01:07:35):
are going to see a two to two at Well
touchdown bomb. And the reason I say that is because
I feel like this is a defense that really doesn't
have the pass rush that the Rams have seen with
the Saints gave him some fits, and you know the
Eagles definitely gave him some fits. This Bill's defense doesn't

(01:07:56):
create a ton of pressure outside of Gregory Russo obvious
passing downs. Third down specifically, like von Miller comes their
situational pass rusher, and he is a problem.

Speaker 2 (01:08:10):
He does create havoc.

Speaker 3 (01:08:12):
But on a second down, after a Kien Williams, let's
say five yard run or six yard runner, what have you,
I see a play action and a bomb to two
to two at well for a touchdown. So that's the
second one and then the third one. So I did defense,
I did an offense, and I do have the Rams losing.

Speaker 2 (01:08:31):
Keep in mind, so I.

Speaker 3 (01:08:32):
Can't go too crazy here, but I'm gonna say that
the Rams get to Josh Allen and they sack him
four times. I'm gonna say they have more than twenty
pressures in this game. So four sacks and twenty pressures,
twenty plus pressures and four plus sacks for the Rams
on Josh Allen, I think they're gonna give it their all.
This could very well. When you say thirty four to

(01:08:53):
twenty four, keep in mind. You know that could be
thirty one twenty four and they kick a field goal
at the end of the game, or you know that
could be you know a game where you're talking twenty
seven to twenty four ball game and they score a
touchdown at the end of the game and you know,
to wrap it up. You know, that's kind of how
I see it. I think it'll be close. They'll be

(01:09:15):
in it a lot more than they were against the Eagles.
But I think that the the Rams will have a
lot to take away in this game to feel good about.
But I don't think they're going to get it done.
And like I said, if they do, watch the hell out.
This is a team you do not want to face.
If they beat the Bills this Sunday.

Speaker 1 (01:09:33):
Like the predictions, I think those are all very reasonable.
I could see them happening for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:09:40):
I can say failure.

Speaker 1 (01:09:43):
We're talking about the headphones and just how they're obviously
because I said that they might actually not be the headphones,
I thought maybe it could be a connection thing because
I feel like you also kind of glitch a little
bit after the beats happen, So who knows, I don't
know what you're holding up. Oh that's a chord for

(01:10:05):
your headphones.

Speaker 3 (01:10:06):
Yeah, so I was wondering if it sounded any different
when I do this.

Speaker 2 (01:10:12):
Can you hear anything or no?

Speaker 3 (01:10:14):
Not?

Speaker 2 (01:10:15):
Yeah, I don't think it's that. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:10:17):
Well, anyway, you know, to the predictions for everyone's Like,
I see a couple people have said, take a shot
every time you hear a beep. Guys, we would be
dead bad.

Speaker 2 (01:10:29):
Oh, I'm watching this.

Speaker 1 (01:10:33):
It's okay. No, I just mean throughout the whole episode.
I mean it's you know, I just say every few minutes,
not like from right now. But anyways, predictions for the
for this game, you know, I think I think we're
gonna see two Pokinakua touchdowns. I really like how you know,

(01:10:55):
obviously pokin Akua is a great player. I love how
the Rams use them. I think that, you know, he
could have a good game. I think this is like
a situation for me that just feels like Cooper Cup
is going to get a lot of attention from this
Bill's defense. So I think Pukinakua is going to have
a big game defensive side of the ball. This is crazy.
I don't know why I thought of this today, but

(01:11:17):
I felt like I wanted to speak it to an
into insistence. And this is as insane as my prediction
last week. There's no base, there's no basis or reasoning
for me to say this, but I feel like Jared
Verse interception off of the tip ball, Damn, that's crazy.
But I wanted to do something super specific and bold
because I was this close to getting it last week

(01:11:39):
with the Brandon Fisk interception. So I'm just gonna change
it up. I'm just going to say Jared Verse interception
off of like a deflection or something crazy. The ball
is going to just like effortlessly fall from the sky
into rookie Jared versus hands. Why not, Let's just let's
do a fun one there. Let's see another one because

(01:12:03):
because I have them losing as well, but someone on
the screen is super tragic's laughing? Is that it's because
Jake dressed like the big Lebowski feds tapping and for real,
you never know, maybe maybe that's what.

Speaker 2 (01:12:22):
Happened, uh with the drip. I guess.

Speaker 1 (01:12:26):
Last prediction I'm gonna say, let's say I don't want
to say, because I feel like Kien Williams is gonna
have a big day I feel like Pukuku is gonna
have a big day. But I don't want to do
a Kien prediction because I think I did one last week.
Let's do another defensive prediction. I'm gonna say Braiden's Braiden

(01:12:48):
Fisk two sacks.

Speaker 2 (01:12:50):
I like that.

Speaker 1 (01:12:51):
I think Braden Fisk two sacks, my fun Jared Verse
magical interception, and then Kukuanakua two touchdowns. That feels pretty
reasonable to me.

Speaker 2 (01:13:03):
I like that.

Speaker 1 (01:13:05):
You know again, I think this game, the Rams are
going to have to make this a shootout if they
want to shot so you know we're on the same
page there.

Speaker 2 (01:13:14):
Well, no, no, they don't want to shoot out. They
want to keep it. They want.

Speaker 1 (01:13:20):
No no, no, I know, I know what you mean.
But like I I mean in the sense of, like
how we talked about how we think the Bills are
going to score a lot. I think if the Rams,
the Rams need to then also score a lot like
it needs to be. If the Bills are going to
play how the Bills normally play, They're going to score
a lot of points. So the Rams are gonna have
to do the same and make it a make it
a shootout, and then hope that they can come away

(01:13:40):
with three or seven more points.

Speaker 3 (01:13:45):
By the way, So the Colts had two sacks on
Josh Allen in that game, and they had nineteen pressures
on Josh Allen. DeForest Buckner had five of them.

Speaker 1 (01:13:54):
So hey, baby, Jared Verse and Braden Fist, just absolutely
go for it and give josh Allen hell their talent
to do it. We'll see.

Speaker 2 (01:14:05):
Odinigbo.

Speaker 3 (01:14:08):
Their edge defender had a thirty two point one win
percentage rate. So yeah, And I mean you look at
the Bills offensive line, and I mean they've been healthy
all year, right, so it's it's the offensive line. They
have a lot of you know, familiarity, they gel all that,
but it's not a perfect unit. Right. So that's one

(01:14:30):
of those things like where when I look at this team,
I'm like, they're not bad, but that's not the Lions,
that's not the Eagles, right like that, that's not an
offensive line that's impenetrable. So I do think that that's
something to consider, you know, rams fans, if if you're
kind of like, man, what's our out here? Because it

(01:14:52):
sounds pretty bleak, I mean that's what I would say,
you know, That's how I would talk about it. I
just think, like right now, I don't think and I've
said this throughout.

Speaker 2 (01:15:04):
The week on other shows.

Speaker 3 (01:15:06):
It's not the most talented Bills team they've had, but
this is the best Bills team. They find ways to win.
And that's just the reality of the situation. But with
Dion Dawkins and David Edwards' former ram on that offensive line,
Spencer Brown, Connor McGovern, you know, an Osiris Torrance, I
think Torrance is the weak link. I mean, they didn't

(01:15:29):
really do anything. The offensive line didn't only gave up
three pressures against the Niners, and they were all on
Osiris Torrance at right guard.

Speaker 2 (01:15:38):
So I don't know. I think that there's some opportunities there.

Speaker 3 (01:15:43):
Dion Dawkins versus Jared versus a huge matchup, and we're
gonna see how the trenches go. Like you mentioned with
Braydon Fisk, I mean, if if they're getting pressure on
the edge, they're getting interior pressure, Josh Allen is gonna
be in He's gonna be hurried, right, I'm not gonna
say he's gonna be in trouble.

Speaker 2 (01:15:59):
He's Josh Allen. He'll find his way out of it.

Speaker 1 (01:16:02):
Yeah, I mean listen, there's a chance, right, there's always
you know, this is the NFL. Anybody can win any game,
anybody can lose any game. I think this Rams team,
when they're healthy and they're playing as well as they can,
is a very very good team. So yeah, I wouldn't
be shocked, you know, if the Rams were to come

(01:16:23):
out of this with a win. I certainly hope they do,
and I know you hope they do as well. But
guys love it. We'll see, we'll see this Sunday, you know,
wrapping up here.

Speaker 3 (01:16:36):
Check out prize picks. Yeah, definitely be sure to hit
that up. And actually, real quick, I'm gonna throw up
prize picks and I'll throw some stuff out there as
we wrap up the show, because uh yeah, they got
stuff on the Rams already, I believe, Oh maybe they don't.

Speaker 2 (01:16:54):
One second, I'm checking.

Speaker 4 (01:16:58):
Let's see here, all right, I don't forget it.

Speaker 2 (01:17:09):
It's not loading. But yeah, definitely check out prize picks.

Speaker 3 (01:17:12):
You use promo code JK Bogan and get fifty dollars
instantly when you play your first five dollars. Lineup, winner, lose,
and they'll have stuff up. Kyra Williams is going to
be around like sixty I think it's sixty nine and
a half. It's around that rushing yard, so I like
that you can run on the Bills, So I like

(01:17:33):
Kyra Williams. Stafford will probably throw more yards this week.
His will be down, so it should be good value
because he didn't even have two hundred last week.

Speaker 2 (01:17:41):
And then poukaakou is always a good one there.

Speaker 1 (01:17:43):
So yeah, yeah, well, guys, as always, if you like
what you hear, please like and subscribe. You can follow
us on social media at Downtown Rams. You can follow
me on Twitter at the Alexis Kraft with a K.
You can follow Jake at JK Bogan and guys will
be back next week to recap this game against the Bills,

(01:18:04):
But until then, guys, as always, stay safe, take care
and go ramsh

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep.552: Rams face HUGE litmus test vs. Bills

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Ep.552: Rams face HUGE litmus test vs. Bills

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