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September 6, 2025 • 74 mins
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:03):
So then you would have to give me a suggestion.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Oh well, the title of the video is Kyraen Williams
set for a huge game first the Texans, So I
think we could start with that.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Okay, So if the suggestion is Kyen Williams. So if
I said, can I get a suggestion? And you're like
Kien Williams, Wow, it's hold on your video.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Oh boy, Well we're starting things off. Downtown Rams is
back and we're already dealing with tech issue. Tech issues,
that's what we're dealing with right now. I don't I
don't know.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Now it's now we're back.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
We got so lost in the sauce with improv that
we didn't bother to make sure that all the tech.
Can you hear me? Now?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yes, I can hear you. I can see.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Let's just get to the intro. Nobody saw it, nobody
saw it happen.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
Mm hmmm, it's only a minute.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Yeah, just cut that. Just cut that. On the editing floor.
When we go to the streaming part the live video,
we can always edit. I mean, we're we're on tape delay, right.
Oh okay, but everything's there's somebody censoring everything I say, right, No,
oh okay, all right, guys, welcome back to Downtown Rams.

(01:26):
As always, I'm Alexis Kraft. Join here with Jake ellen
Bogan and guys, we are back. It's been a very
very long four months.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Jake.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
It's May, early May, June, July, August. Yeah, almost four
months that we've been on a hiatus. That is crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
It's gonna be May. No, it was before then. You know,
it's actually kind of crazy to ask you this and
you confirmed the last time we were live was day
three of the NFL Draft, and that to me is
absolutely insane.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
That is insane.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Welcome everyone, Welcome, guys.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
We're excited to be here. I'm excited service everyone. Just
bear with me.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
You good see already already tech issues, I swear, you know.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
What's so crazy about this is what I didn't mention
to you when we were talking before the show. I
was like, it wouldn't be down Town Rams without having
a crazy tech issue out of left field, right, It's true.
Look at this, Look at it. I've got five everything
is plugged into working for me. So it really is
a ghost that haunts us and haunts the show.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
You know, I'd really be like that sometimes.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
It really be like that sometimes. But I'm so excited
to be back. And Jake, let's talk about the hiatus
really quick, because we've been getting a lot of messages
about it, and I was, you know, I've I you know,
I've been open about it was my fault that we
took hiatus.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Guys, all her fault. I'm kidding, it was all my faults.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
I had a lot that I was doing this summer
performance wise. I wasn't able to keep up with the show.
I had a lot of really really cool things going
on that we'll talk about. But Jake, I was like
thinking on it, and I was like, we should have
started some fake feud. We should have baked beef.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Could we could have done something like, I don't know,
my favorite TV personality is Gordon Ramsey and yours is not.
And then I could have told you that I had
a superior, you know, opinion. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
I think we just should have really gone for it,
and we should have started like rumors that there was
some massive feud, and then when we made the announcement
of like our Downtown Rams hiatus, it would have been like,
oh my god, are they what's going to happen? Is
a show ending, and we should have really milked it,
Like we should have just really gone for it.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
And we could have done that, We should have.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
We totally miss an opportunity. We were just way too honest.
We just came out and we're like, oh, yeah, Alexis
is performing all summer and that was it. You know,
we really miss an opportunity to be dramatic with it.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Maybe next year.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, maybe next year. Well let's not give it away, okay,
But what I will say, uh, you know, for all
the nice messages that everybody sent me over the summer
and congratulating me on the shows I was doing and
the TV pilot, I really really appreciate it. I know
that people were bummed about the Downtown Rams hiatus, Like

(04:39):
I said, my fault. I take accountability for that, and
I've missed you guys. And also Jake has been holding
it down all summer, releasing content, killing it, crushing it
per usual. So I know you guys were not without
content without Downtown Rams for sure. So keep killing it,
Jake and I now we're also going to be killing

(05:01):
it on the show hopefully.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, no, we definitely will. And you know, football's back,
maybe it's it's literally happening right now. And if you're
watching this, you're choosing, well, maybe you're choosing to do
two things at once, but you're also choosing to bring
us into your life, at least for today. So we
do appreciate that. We'll be previewing the Rams and Texans game,

(05:26):
and you know, Alexis, I think we can do a
little bit of a summary of the offseason. There was
a certain player by the name of Kien Williams who
a lot of people we're fifty to fifty on do
you bring him back? Do you do you pay him?
Do you not pay him? Do you do you call it?
Some people wanted to trade him because you know, Saquon

(05:49):
Barkley's growing trees point being flashed. You know, forward, that's
not even a thing. But fast forward, and all of
a sudden, not only is Karen Williams paid, he is
a team captain for this Los Angeles Rams team. And yes,
they have two other running backs that are very talented.
But man, I'll tell you right now, very excited. I

(06:12):
know you're very excited. Alexis was the first one to
put me on too. Kien Williams. I remember watching his
film when he was super young. I think it was
he was a freshman sophomore. Ye, yeah, sophomore year. Okay,
so yeah, he's a sophomore, wasn't draft eligible, and you're like, yeah,
just wait for this guy. And he's been doubted. He

(06:34):
was doubted in the draft. He was doubted, you know,
draft process. Now here he is and he's rocking the
sea on his chest. So Alexis I want to get
your thoughts on everything that transpired and what your expectations
are for this season, because I was hearing things where
it's like, this guy's been working on his grip strength,
this guy's been working on his explosion speed training. I

(06:56):
think we're going to see a different twenty three this
year for the better.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah, Listen, I am not surprised at all if anything
that happened in regards to Karen Williams. This is exactly
you know what I expected, what you expected. You know,
he was really loved around the organization. They wanted him back,
They wanted him back all off season, they wanted him
back starting last season. So this is not at all

(07:23):
something that is surprising. I know a lot of people
who are not really big Kian Williams. Fans tried to,
you know, say that the Rams were going to move
on from him, they were going to trade him, they
weren't going to resign him. That was never reality. It
just wasn't. The Rams wanted him back, and they wanted
him back badly since last season, so you know, it's
not surprising. I mean, you look at Kian Williams. He

(07:45):
was a leader for this offense all last season. I mean,
he was the offense for a good part of the season. Right,
we had a lot of injuries at receiver. Kien Williams
was the only one who was scoring for a good
period of time. I mean he led the offense by
double digits or twice as much touchdowns, right. I think
he was what he had fourteen sixteen touchdowns on the season,

(08:06):
you know for the Rams, So massive, massive component of
this Rams offense. And I think he brought a lot
to the run game. The Rams have been missing for
a long time in the run game, and he does
isn't just a good runner and Jake you talk about
this a lot. Very good in pass protection. He's pretty good,
you know, at deceiving offenses. When he's out on the
field opposing defenses don't really know what you're gonna do

(08:28):
because you can use Kien Williams for a lot, right,
So then the question becomes, how are they going to
use him this season? Going into this season? And I'm
curious to hear your thoughts about this as well, Jake.
You know, I don't think the game plan for Kiren
changes that much. I think they might try to use
him a little bit more in the passing game potentially,

(08:49):
but I don't really think the game plan changes. I
think he stays a really important part of this offense
and you can kind of use him like a Swiss
army knife. I think the question becomes who's going to
be running back to? Because I think you know you
lock in Kien Williams, that's your guy, that's your running
back one. You're not doing, you know, a trio of
running backs. I mean you're going to use, hopefully use

(09:09):
the other running backs more. I mean the ninety percent
workload you gave Kien Williams last season probably not sustainable
for another season. If it is, his risk of injury
obviously increases. I think the question becomes, how do you
compliment him? Because he's your guy, you paid him, you
paid him running back Wan money. So the question now

(09:29):
I'm looking at is who's going to be running back to.
I think obviously it's going to be Blake a Quorum.
I think that's what the RAMS see. But Hunter has
been turning heads in practice, and he is a very
different type of running back in my opinion, the Williams
and Quorum. So I think that that's probably what the
RAMS are now trying to figure out who is going
to get the next amount of reps behind Kirn and

(09:51):
what does that look like? How are you going to
split the reps in the backfield.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah, it's really something we're going to find out, right.
I think Hiron probably gets eighty percent. I think I was.
I was told seventy five to eighty percent of the
carries will be Kira Williams this year. What I'm most
interested about is not even the other two. It's what
is the utilization in the passing game for a Kiram

(10:19):
Williams Because, in my mind, and I think it's very simple,
this is the player that hasn't really gotten the opportunity
to work in the passing game, and I just feel
as though that is one of the things, one of
the key components that made that Rams offense really click.
You go back to Jared Goff and Todd Gurley. I

(10:41):
think they're missing that. I think they're missing, you know,
a tight end, and that's why they drafted Terrence Ferguson.
You know. Of course they have Tyler Higbee back, and
I think they were missing that true X receiver, and
of course they have that now in Devonte Adams. So
two of those three things are guaranteed. Higbee's, they have
their ex receiver in Adams. But what's not guaranteed is

(11:05):
Kyraen Williams' role in the passing game. And while I
believe Blake Korum can be utilized there and he can thrive,
I do want to see Kieron Williams get the opportunity
and Alexi, I'm gonna bounce something off you. Jory Epstein,
who's covered the Cowboys before, I believe. I don't know
if she's still covering the Cowboys, but really kind of

(11:25):
opened my eyes. I don't know if you saw my
tweet about it, but really opened my eyes when she
had Kieron Williams winning the Offensive Player of the Year.
Now I don't see that at all. If he's not
utilized in the passing game, So maybe she knows something
that we don't currently know. But where are you on

(11:46):
Kyraen Williams the passing game? And I mean I think
they can get this thing going to kind of neutralize
that pass rush against the Texans. So where are you
in the passing game for kyral Williams.

Speaker 1 (11:58):
I think they are going to try to utilize him more.
You know, I think that he had some trouble last
season connecting with Stafford in the passing game, and if
you go watch those that was, to be honest, a
lot of that was he was not hit in the
hands properly. And that happens. Yeah, that and that happens.
That's kind of like, I think, a common thing with
quarterbacks and running backs at times. It's those routes are

(12:20):
a little weird. It's it's not a standard throw. You
kind of missed the running back. But you know, Kyroen
also had a lot of really good plays in the
receiving game. I mean, he had a great touchdown, a
couple of great touchdowns you know, receiving, particularly the one
against the forty nine ers, Right, that's the one that
we all think about of the fliff that he almost landed,
but it was still cool. So I think that they

(12:42):
are going to utilize Kien Williams in the passing game
a lot, particularly because now you've got a DeVante Adams
out there, right, You've got Puka Nakua. They might be
looking to switch up some targets in the passing game,
so I think that they they should utilize him. He
has been very open about the fact that he would
like to be in the slot. I don't know if

(13:02):
you guys have seen that. Kyroen has said on multiple
occasions like he would like to be utilized more in
the passing game. So we'll see. They certainly might start
off the season trying it out. Maybe they they move
away from that, Maybe they you know, bring in Blake
Quorum has experience as well in the passing game, so
they could try to get him involved there. But I
think it's it's gonna be really interesting to see how

(13:23):
it shakes out the first few weeks in the running
back position, because you know, I think we've established at
this point, you know, Kien Williams place in the run
game is solidified. You know, we we know that he's
running back. One I think he is, as you said, Jake,
going to get eighty percent of the snaps to start
the season. But I'm really curious what they what they
do with Quorum and Hunter. I really would like to

(13:44):
see them utilized. You know, I just don't think the
ninety percent workload of Kien Williams is sustainable. You know,
you have any player out on the field that much,
you know, your risk for injury, your risk for error
just skyrockets. So yeah, I'm very curious. But I do
think that they're probably going to stick with the hot

(14:06):
hand from last season, Kyen to start off the season
and kind of slowly kind of try to figure out
what's going on there. But that was a really long
winded way to answer what do you think Kyen's going
to do in the past game? I am drinking tea.
By the way, guys, we don't forgot to address I've
been very, very sick this week, as Jake knows. Jake

(14:27):
talked to me on the phone yesterday and was very
concerned about my voice, so I promised that I.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
Would It's much better, guys, I'll tell you it is.

Speaker 1 (14:36):
I Hey, I if you guys saw me on Twitter
last night, I remember what I said, I was drinking tea.
I was taking us X. I was like, downtown Rams
is happening, come hell or high water and look at this.
Did my voice sound as lovely as ever?

Speaker 2 (14:49):
Hey, it's it's way better. I'll tell you that. No,
I I think it's funny. I'm sorry for the long
winded answer. Well, I gave you the long winded question
because I'm Jake ellen Bogan and I go, you know,
it's funny. I'll get people in the comment section. I'll
be like, you talk like Dan Patrick, like you circle
around the same topic, and you'll do it again twice

(15:10):
just to make sure like it's like we get it.
But hey, Dan Patrick, if I get compared to him,
I mean, he's done a really nice job throughout his
career with that. So I'll take that. That said, I
feel like it's been some time that the focus on
this game it's still there, but summarizing kind of the

(15:34):
offseason going through, you know, like the position by position,
and we can't we don't have to spend too much time.
But I think that's definitely the move to to out
well Jordan Whittington. Obviously we know Davante Adams huge addition
we already talked about him, and we got a chance
to talk about him before now because of course he

(15:55):
was a ram before all that. But to to out Well,
Jordan Whittington are expected to have bigger roles in the
passing attack, and we could see Exavier Smith, we could
see you know, seventh round pick out of Pittsburgh, Cannante, Mumfield,
where are you on the wide receivers, because I'll tell
you right now, I think this is a really deep group.

(16:16):
I think we're gonna see x Smith in kind of
a similar role to a Brandon Powell, where you know,
maybe on those end a rounds, kind of the gadget option.
I don't know how much Mumfield we see, but I
think Whittington and Atwell are going to be splitting time
and it's going to be for the benefit of this team.
If you need a jolt of energy off the bench,

(16:37):
well they both provide that. At Well can beat you
over the top. He has got great natural hands. Jordan
Whittington is built in the mold of not really kind
of the speedy, you know, shorter receiver, slimmer receiver, but
more like a Deebo Samuel Before of course he fell
off a cliff. So I actually think, you know, Whittington

(16:58):
and Atwell kind of compliment each other really well. And
the thing that's so fascinating is that because they had
Cooper Cup and pookin Akua, Pooka Akua couldn't really thrive
as much as say, if he was in the slot.
I think we're gonna see a lot of pookin Akua
in the slot. And I think that's only gonna Yeah,

(17:18):
I can't even talk. That's only gonna open up more opportunities. God,
that should not be that hard to say, but uh,
I'm excited for that. What are your thoughts though when
it comes to at Well and Winnington and just you know,
the receiver room as a whole.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
So you cut out there at the end, but I
believe that you're asking me what my thoughts are on
the wide receiver room as a whole.

Speaker 2 (17:39):
Mm hm cool.

Speaker 1 (17:41):
It's not a Downtown Rams episode without ghosts. We know this,
So yeah, I listen. Obviously, DeVante Adams pukin Akua wide
receiver one and two. You know, people argue who's one,
who's two. I don't think it matters. They're very different receivers.
I think They're both gonna have really really good seasons.
You know, to too at Well, if you guys can

(18:02):
still hear me, because everything just froze to to at
Well got an extension in the off season. It was
a year ten million dollars. It's a pretty big chunk
of change for receiver, right. I mean, it shows that
they really value two too out well, they really value
his skill set. I think we're going to see a
lot more of him, you know, in my mind, I
think they view him as a wide receiver three. You know, however,

(18:25):
Jordan Whittington has kind of that unique skill set as
you mentioned, kind of that Deebo Samuel esque vibes, Swiss
army knife of a receiver, And so I really want
to see more of him because I really liked what
we saw from him last season. We didn't get to
see him enough, in my opinion, so I think they're
going to give him an expanded role. I've heard really
really good things about Mompfield out of training camp, so

(18:47):
I'm really excited, you know, to see him. But we
are going to also see Xavier Smith. Like, I feel
really good about the receiving room. I feel really good
about our depth that's always a really really good position
to have depth that because you know your receiver goes
down never any good, right, So I feel really good.
I thought that, you know, preseason really showed us, especially

(19:08):
Xavier smith Stock just skyrocketed, So I feel good. I
think that in my mind too, to at well is
bide receiver three if that you know, I know that
a lot of people are debating that on Twitter, so
I just felt like I would just throw that out there.
But I'm really really excited. I think that, like we'ren't

(19:28):
a good spot. I think that in terms of depth,
this is probably the deepest receiver room we've had in
a while.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, and I mean having that X receiver in Davonte Adams.
Someone asked in the comment section earlier, you know where
was this team scoring wise in the red zone last year?
They were twenty second, So you you need some help
there and Davante is gonna definitely do that.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
And we touched on it earlier. Yeah, it was who
was the only guy who could score in the end
zone last season?

Speaker 2 (19:56):
I know, it's it's really it was is Kien Williams
And that was really it. That's why they kept giving
it to him. People complained, well, putting Blake Korhum against
the Packers, and we know what happened. So uh, I'm
just saying, uh, tight end Tyler Higbe's back. We talked
about that. Ye where are you on, Terrence Ferguson? You know,

(20:20):
I think during the draft we were a little surprised
that they went that route. I really wanted Harold Fannin Jr.
And I think, did you want was it Arroyo that
you wanted? Who did you want?

Speaker 1 (20:38):
A couple of different guys that I wanted? I did.
I did want Aura who went to Seattle? Because of course, Yeah,
every time I want to receive a receiver, tight end,
then go to Seattle. I really like Ferguson. I'm not
really sure how the Rams are going to utilize him.
And I'm sorry, my voice is starting to go out,
so this is a very short answer. I apologize. I

(21:01):
think that we're gonna not see as much of him
as people think, but I think that they're going to
slowly but surely work him in. I think we're gonna
see a lot of Tyler Higbee and Kolbe Parkinson to
start this game.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
Okay, yeah, I'm not really sure because you know, Ferguson's
injury could have held him back, and I like him
a lot too. I just think, yeah, like he was
getting a decent amount of work with the Ones and
then he goes down with that injury, and I feel
like you can fall behind there. Davis Allen last year,
he's interesting because he dealt with a back issue the

(21:31):
whole year last year, So I think he'll be much
more improved this year. It's a really good room. And
speaking of really good room, offensive line is really good. Now.
I had issues, you know, and people saw me absolutely
crash out on here on Twitter. I just freaking lost
it because I was so pissed about them waving injured

(21:52):
Willie Lampkin. I that that's really fear. That infuriated me.
But we're not gonna go down that rabbit hole. This
offensive line looks really good. But one thing I will
say is that right there, the tackles against Will Anderson

(22:12):
and Daniel Hunter, that's not gonna be easy. Yeah, that
is not gonna be easy. That because I mean, well,
you think about it, right, Alerc Jackson's really good, good athlete,
not the best athlete in the world, but good Well,
Will Anderson, Daniel Hunter. I believe Daniel Hunters on the

(22:33):
right side, Will Anderson will come off the left, and
they'll probably rotate here and there. But one thing I
can tell you is Rob Hanstein is really not the
fastest tackle, and those kind of ultra athletic, you know,
edge defenders typically get the best of him. That matchup

(22:53):
is brutal against Daniel Hunter, so he's gonna have to
step up. They might have to chip him. You can't
really even do that because you have two guys that
are so good and that's really the important thing for
the Texans, that is their big strength in this game.
You know, I think you look. You know, obviously CJ.

(23:13):
Stroud kind of a down year last year, a lot
of injuries they went through, so I don't blame him entirely,
but you know, I think you look at a guy
like Nico Collins, who can blow up the game. You
look at this secondary and then that pass rush. I mean,
it's not even the craziest pass rush ever. It's just
the fact that those two guys are your starters. They're
two of the best in the game. So what are

(23:35):
your thoughts on the offensive line unit and how those
tackles will fare against a will Anderson Daniel Hunter combination.

Speaker 1 (23:44):
I mean, I feel good about the offensive line, but
you know, like you said, I think that the pass
rush and that defensive front for the Texans is I
think that's going to be the key for them. So
I don't know. I mean, I think in terms of
our offensive line to as a whole for the season,
I'm a little bit concerned about depth. As a Rams fan,

(24:04):
I think we're all just very scared about offensive line depth.
We had many mini it wasn't really until the past
few seasons I felt like we had any depth for
a long time. So I'm gonna be I think we're
gonna know right away, right, I think we're gonna know
first offensive drive, second offensive drive, how our tackles are
holding up against guys like Willie Anderson. Right, I'm not

(24:26):
concerned enough to be freaked out about it. I'll say
that I think we'll see.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
No that I think that's definitely fair.

Speaker 1 (24:35):
You notice I'm muting myself when I cough out of respect.

Speaker 2 (24:38):
It's nice that.

Speaker 1 (24:42):
It's great. I'm saying what I need to say just
before I absolutely cough my lungs out. Mute love technology.

Speaker 2 (24:49):
Yeah, you're good. At that I always forget, so you're
you're you're one upping me there.

Speaker 1 (24:55):
It's like when we do our our draft stream and
we have pizza. I'm mute. I don't know people.

Speaker 2 (25:01):
Hearing me also bad at that muck bang Central. It
is what it is, uh defensive line. I I just
feel so good about this unit. I was bummed, obviously
a friend of mine, Bobby Brown, bummed to see him leave,

(25:24):
wishing him the best luck in Carolina. And I do
believe they have a great looking stuff there. I mean
Derek Brown, him and former Ram Ashawn Robinson. But the
Rams defensive line like I saw earlier in the year.
And his name is totally blanking on me right now
for CBS. But he said it wasn't CBS, it was Uh.

(25:49):
I want to say it was NBC, like a one
of the analysts Albert Breer Monday Morning Quarterback. I believe
Albert Breer said he believes this is maybe the best
defensive line in the NFL. So I guess I'll just
ask you that. I mean, do you do you think

(26:11):
this is the best defensive line in the NFL?

Speaker 1 (26:14):
I think it's certainly up there. I mean, you look
at what they did last season. You look at just
the who our rookies were last season, Brandon Fisk and
Jared Verse. Incredible. You now add Puna Ford. I mean
we had Kobe Turner in there as well, Byron Young.
You know you wrote it in Murchison Davis. But then you've
got rookies Stewart Hamilton. It's up there.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
Yeah, no, it's definitely there. And then I'm excited to
see how they use Deswon Johnson because I've been hearing
they're gonna use him, you know, on the edge. So
I'm excited to see that. The offensive line for the Texans.
You're a big offensive line person. I'm big on offensive line. Well,
I don't love the Texans offensive line Adam.

Speaker 1 (26:59):
Either do I. But you know what this work star benefit?
Oh yeah, because I think that's gonna be a real opportunity.
You know, we just talk about, you know, the Rams
defensive front or sorry, let me backtrack. We talked about
how for the Texans. I think a make it or
break it thing for them is going to be how
their defensive line plays against our offensive line, like their
bread and butter. I think it's going to be there.

(27:21):
I think that very well could be the same for
the Rams because the Texans offensive line not very good.
I mean, in my opinion, your opinion as well. They got,
you know, their rookie left tackle. We'll see how he fares.
But then you've got like Lake and Tomlinson, Jake Andrews,
ed Ingram, Titus Howard. I'm not psyched about that for them.
And then we just talked about how our defensive front

(27:43):
is just insane, like this could get out of hand
very quickly if our defensive line plays as well as
I think they could play.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
Yeah, and I mean, let's just go from right to left.
Titus Howard right. So his thing is that he was
a tackle that they converted to guard, then they moved
back to tackle, then they moved him back to guard,
and now he's back at tackle. Uh I don't I
don't like that from a football fan perspective. For a

(28:14):
Rams fan, well, that's a really good spot to be in. Now.
The interesting thing here is then you have Lake and Tomlinson.
Although I'm not going right to left, I guess there
by bringing up blaken Tomlinson, but no, ed Ingram, we'll
start with here right guard. He's a backup. He's not

(28:35):
a starting caliber player right now in my opinion, maybe
starter and waiting, but I wouldn't start him. They have
to that he's you know, he's what they have. Then
at center, Jake Andrews, the offensive line coach is from Troy,
which is where Jank Andrews went to school. So you know,

(28:57):
I don't think it's hard to see that, you know,
maybe him maybe some favoritism went into that, uh you know,
going with him over Patterson. I was a little surprised
by that, though Patterson would have won the job. But again,
so then you have that Laken Tomlinson was overpaid with
the Jets and he's just not the same player that

(29:18):
he was with the forty nine ers. So I just
think that's a huge hole. And then left tackle, you
got Arianta ERSII, who, as you know, I loved him
in the draft, but I loved arionte Ursery as a
guy that would take some time to develop, but I
think he could have a massive ceiling throwing him in

(29:40):
there in the fire against Jared Verse. I don't know
about that one. So I think this is a huge
opportunity for the Rams. I love what they have. I
think Jared Verse was you know, Arianta ersery is going
to be an absolute bloodbath. Like I mentioned, I think
we're gonna see Deswon Johnson getting some edge reps in
rotation with rookie Josiah stu Or. Fun fact, switched his

(30:03):
number to Cooper Cups ten. So I don't know how
I feel about that. I mean, personally, I thought forty
one was kind of dope, and I also just kind
of wish Cooper Cup's number would just stay, you know, uninhabited.
But I understand it's a it's number ten, like it's
that's a good number.

Speaker 1 (30:20):
So yeah, that was my number for most yeah career.
I I don't know. I have an unpopular opinion just
about the new Jersey number of rules that we won't
get into, have gotten into it on the show before. Yeah,
so that's kind of where I'm at with it. But yeah,
I think I'm excited to see I'm excited to see

(30:40):
this defense in general this season. I think that our
defense is going to be really good, but particularly against
you know, offensive lines like this, I think it could
be very fun. Jake, let's talk about uh the linebacking room. Yeah,
because we have a new leader linebacker.

Speaker 2 (30:58):
I'm excited. I am excited for I am.

Speaker 1 (31:02):
As well, and it looks like it's gonna be Landman
and Speets as a starter, So I want to as
a starter. So I want to hear your thoughts on that.

Speaker 2 (31:09):
Yeah, I think what they did in the off season
is they said, look, we need to get better defending
the run. That's what we need to do. So they
go out and get Poona Ford, who we didn't really
talk too much about, but poon Afford is part of
that defensive line. Poona Ford is fantastic against the run.
But you know who else is fantastic against the run?
Nathan Landman. Absolutely love the pick up of him. I

(31:32):
think he is going to be one of those guys
I keep saying his name and I hate doing this
because it's so it's hyperbolic, but it's just my feeling. Man.
I look at last year Zach Bond first, you know,
one year deal, about a four million dollars cheap deal, right,
Eagles get him for nothing. He goes on to have

(31:53):
what I believe, and it's nothing against Patrick sir Tan
And honestly, it's hard as hell to win Defensive Player
of the Year as a corner, so you gotta give
him credit. But Defensive Player of the Year probably should
have gone to the man in the middle on the
Super Bowl winning team, and that would have been Zach Bond.
And it's just kind of a reminder like these one
year deals, these guys that just kind of come out

(32:15):
of nowhere, well, you know they can play. And Landman
has forced six fumbles the last two years. He's a
team captain for this team. Now that's saying something. This
team's been the playoffs back to back seasons. They're one
of the better organizations in the sport going back to
twenty seventeen. So to see this guy just claiming the

(32:37):
captain c patch on his chest this quickly, it speaks
volumes to the type of player in person that they're
getting and bringing into that locker room. And I cannot
wait to see number fifty three work.

Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yeah, I'm excited to see the linebacking corps as well
against the run. Like you said, particularly, I mean, that's
an issue that the rams knew they needed to address.
But moving on from the linebacking corps to the safety room, Jake,
obviously we've got cam Curl coming back, Quentin Lake cam

(33:12):
Kinchin's is going to rotate in it sounds like the
star role and you know more about this than I do.
There's gonna be a rotation between Lake and Josh Wallace. Yeah,
just hear your thoughts on that.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
Man. What I keep hearing about Josh Wallace is they
the Rams think they have a gem in this one, okay.
And he's wearing Todd Gurley's thirty okay, so he needs
to be good if he's gonna rock thirty. But the
things that I hear about Josh Wallace is like, this
guy can ball and they really like him. And yeah,
it's it's interesting because you know he only played safety

(33:53):
and that, you know, the star role, which I guess
could be called safety whatever. He only played safety in preseason.
He wasn't out there at corner, so you know, it's
kind of hard to figure out, like what. And then
I started the things I was hearing about him. I
was like, oh, they're keeping him. There's no way he
doesn't make this team UDFNA Michigan. They are absolutely over

(34:15):
the moon about him. So I'm excited to see what
he can do. I think he's gonna have more of
a it's not an extended role because last year, like
he had a decent role. He made the team right
from UDFA, but you know it's a more I guess
focused role, Like he knows what his role is now.

(34:35):
He is going to be that rotational star piece with
Quinton Lake. And think about this, alexis when you have
the star and it's Quinton Lake, well, now Cam Kinchens
and Cam Curl can be on the field at the
same time, or Cam and Tank can be on the
field at the same time. But when you have Quinton
Lake as a safety, well, now Josh Wallace is at star.

(35:00):
So they're different looks that they're gonna provide the rams
these two just in general. And that's why the star
role is so important. So we're we're gonna see that
and you know, of course we'll see in that in
that you know, front or that lineup that package, if
you will. When they line up in that, we're gonna

(35:20):
see one linebacker. And that's gonna be interesting. Do they
rotate Landman, do they rotate Omar Spates? Do they just
go with one of them typically you know in those
Nickel and dime packages. I mean, that's something we're gonna
find out. But you know, I'm really excited for just
how many different looks this team can kind of give
you because you have, on one hand, you have, you know,

(35:42):
Jalen McCullough Tank McCullough as they're calling him, and you know,
he's wearing number two now by the way, so you
know if you probably don't even remember his number last year,
but I think it was thirty nine, but I don't
even remember it, but he's wearing number two. And Sean
McVay was open. He said he's gonna have a huge
role this year, so a much bigger role for Tank McCullough.

(36:04):
They're gonna find ways to get these guys involved. I
think the Rams have so much depth and they realize
this that they're like really open to rotations this year.
I think we're gonna see a lot of rotations, not
just the defensive line, but I think a lot of
the corners are going to rotate and we'll get into that.
But yeah, that's kind of what I'm hearing. And Josh Wallace,

(36:25):
I want to you know, I'm a big show me
don't tell me guy. It's why I love that they
call Missouri the show me State. I love that that
kind of resonates with me. But man, I do need
to see it. I'm just excited what I'm hearing about.

Speaker 1 (36:42):
Josh Wallace, Well, I was this is a good segue
into the cornerbacks because it's what I wanted to talk
about next, and I particularly wanted to talk about the
idea that we could see some rotating quarterbacks, which you
did just kind of briefly touch on. So you know,
you look at the quarter cornerback room. You've got you know,
Kello and a manual Forbes, Kobe Durant, Darius Williams, and

(37:04):
from what we've talked about, I believe that there is
an idea around that these could be rotating starting cornerbacks
that no matter who is starting out at corner, they're
not going to be playing as quote unquote starter share
of the game. The Rams really like all four of
those guys. They want them all seeing a lot of action. Jacob,
does that sound correct to you? Do you think that

(37:25):
there might be you know, a lead corner in that
room that maybe we're not all seeing or picking up on,
or you know what, what is the vibe coming from
that corner room? Because from what I can tell, it
sounds like there's four guys that the Rams are gonna
split playing time.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
With Yeah, you got that right. They feel very good
about their cornerback room. Don't rule out aj Green, who's
on the practice squad, getting called up to this roster
if they need help. But yeah, they really like this
cornerback room. It's why Darian Kendrick, who started games for
this team. It's why Charles Woods, who made last fifty
three man roster, did not make this one. This was tough.

(38:04):
Emmanuel Forbes really has taken another step in the off
season during training camp and he has won a job
next to a Kello Witherspoon. Now again you had mentioned,
and you're absolutely right, they're gonna be rotating and you're
gonna see Kobe Durant and Darius Williams and you know,
I'm told Darius Williams is CB four, and yeah he

(38:24):
might be getting paid the most, but these guys have surpassedim,
at least on the depth chart. Now, my biggest thing
is this, This is just to start the season, Alexis,
We're gonna find out because I think obviously it's all
fine and dandy having a rotation everything, but eventually guys
just show you what they are. And if a Kello

(38:45):
Witherspoon and Emmanuel Forbes Junior are just killing it. You know,
at corner. They're just going to start the majority of
the game. And I still don't feel like the rotation
is gonna be like a brutal like you know, people
are probably thinking, oh no, oh, like you're gonna constantly
have them coming in and out. No, it's not each play.
It would be more so they're gonna have the first

(39:05):
two series, then the next two series go to the
and then you know, so forth. And I kind of
like it, I kind of don't. I'm also just very
curious to see how it's utilized. My biggest thing though,
is I don't think that's gonna be a thing over
the course of the season. I think they're starting off
with that and then whoever ends up winning the job

(39:28):
is going to have the job. I think. You know,
really they kind of want to keep Kobe Durant out
of the star position. They want to really play him
on the outside. Same with Darius Williams, and so because
of that, you're really just looking at two starting corners.
They're not trying to have all three of them on
the field at the same time. Does it mean that
they won't. Does it mean that they won't occasionally have

(39:49):
a package setup for that, But I would suspect they're
gonna go with Lake and they're gonna go with you know,
Josh Wallace in those roles. So we'll see. But man,
I really love their secondary Alexis. I think they have
so many Again, it's the looks. They have so many

(40:09):
different ways that they can just line up against an offense,
they can create some problems.

Speaker 1 (40:14):
I think, Well, I want to get into specifics about
the Texans now because we've kind of covered the team,
but I really want to get into this matchup for
Sunday this season opener, Jake. So you know what, if
we want to start with the Texans offense, right You've
obviously got c J. Stroud, who had an incredible rookie season,

(40:35):
had a sophomore slump right now, everybody's kind of wondering,
what's gonna happen with c J. Stroud, what's he going
to look like? You know, you look at his receivers,
Nico Collins obviously very very talented. He's got Christian Kirk
who will not be playing Sunday spoiler. They've already announced
that Christian Kirk Yeah, he won't be playing, right, they said,
for sure.

Speaker 2 (40:55):
Yeah, no, he's out. And then Joe Mixon's on the IR.

Speaker 1 (40:58):
Yeah, and Joe Mixon's on the IR. You know, but
you've got They've got two rookie receivers, Jake, that you
and I both loved from Iowa State, and the Texans
took both of them, Jaden Higgins and Jaylen Noel. Crazy,
but I did love that they ended up on the
same team. But they're rookies. We don't know what's gonna
happen there. You know, Dalton Schultz obviously veteran tight end.

(41:20):
We talked about their offensive line already, Jake, what do
you think the Texans are going to try to do
offensively against the s RAMS team? And what do you think,
in response our defense should do to shut them down?

Speaker 2 (41:31):
Yeah? And I'm so glad you brought this up. I
saw earlier four man rush in the comments section. Yeah,
I'm not blitzing this team. And here's why. Because CJ.
Stroud is a smart, combinant quarterback. If you can't get
through with four, he's gonna dump it off. He's gonna
get rid of the ball quickly. And so because of
that and The reason why I say four is because

(41:53):
I want only four rushing. If I have four rushing,
well now my linebackers, right, my corners, my safeties are
in position to make a quick decision click and close
and finish the play. Whereas if I'm doing safety blitzes
and getting all creative, well, now CJ. Stroud can throw
to a spot, nobody is going to be there, right.

(42:17):
So I think that's a big thing in this game.
When you look at how do you beat the Houston
Texans and how do you beat the La Rams, Well,
it starts with the Texans offense. You don't have Joe Mixon,
you don't have Christian Kirk. So how are you going
to attack the Rams defense when they have such a
good defensive front. They're linebackers. While we're excited about them, technically,
the outside looking in would probably say, eh, I mean

(42:39):
Nathan Landman, like, that's cool and all, but I'm not
like quaking in my boots. That's not Fred Warner, right.
So they're going to probably try and expose Nathan Landman,
who has struggled in coverage throughout his career. So if
you can get him one on one with Adulton Schultz
you're in for an interesting, you know matchup there. And
then just the idea of you get rid of the

(43:02):
ball quickly and it nullifies a dominant pass rush. And
now if your dominant pass rush is getting ullified, well,
now corner's true. Corners can't cover as long. And that's
a good thing. They don't have to cover as long,
but now they have to go and tackle. Now you
are forcing It's like in baseball, you hit the ball

(43:23):
in play, you make guys play defense instead of swinging
and missing, you're actually putting the ball in play. Well,
now someone has to go and do their job. It's
no different when you're actually you're not getting home and
they're getting rid of the ball quickly and you're doing
your job as a cover corner. But now you have
to come up and play the run and that is
where you can get exposed. And you know the Rams

(43:46):
last year they had some brutal mistackles, So this is
this is a big one. I mean, you know, I
think they're in a really good position. The Texans offensive
line is that shaky where I don't think they're going
to get rid of the ball that quickly every single play,
But I do suspect that the start of it. And
I think this game is going to be eerily similar

(44:07):
to the game the year they went to the Super
Bowl and lost to the New England Patriots against the Raiders.
They go into that game against the Raiders, you know
immediately Derek Carr just gets rid of the ball quick, right.
He knows the pressure's coming, he knows how good the
Rams defensive line is. He respects that. And so Derek
Carr and the Raiders game plan was to just pepper

(44:30):
them over the middle to the flat with these quick screens,
these quick slants, these quick game, and the quick game
was working until it wasn't. And when the Rams put
pressure and this is where you got to play complimentary football.
When the Rams put pressure on the Raiders was when
they were scoring points. And now the Raiders are like,

(44:52):
we're running out of time. We can't just dink and
dunk our way to win this game. If they're putting
up touchdowns and we're only kicking field goals, that's what's
gonna happen. So for everything in the NFL, there's a give,
there's a take, there's a pro, there's a con. You
can sit there and just constantly get rid of the
ball quickly and be like, well, nobody's sacked us, so

(45:16):
we're good. Right, this is good. We didn't give up
a sack. Yeah, it's all fine and dandy. But if
you're not getting first downs and you're you're kicking field
goals and you're punting and the other teams scoring touchdowns,
well you actually congrats you didn't get sacked, but you
weren't really effective. So Alexis that's really what I'm looking
at in this one is you see a Texans offensive
line that's shaky. You see a Nick Chubb. What is

(45:38):
Nick Chubb in twenty twenty five? Right, he's gonna start,
But you have other guys like Daa Goomba Walle You
have Woody Marks, the impressive rookie. I think he's gonna
be utilized in the passing game. I expect him to
have a good game. But and you mentioned Dalton Schultz,
that's like mister reliable over the middle to you know,
just move the chains. But I really feel like the

(46:01):
Rams they're going to get pressure, they're gonna get through
this offensive line, and then I think what's really gonna
shine is how much better this team is tackling. When
they try the quick game, they're they're not going to
have success. I think Landman has like, well, we'll save
it for the predictions part, but I think Landman's gonna

(46:23):
have a huge game. He can tackle man and he
can force fumbles too.

Speaker 1 (46:28):
Well. I agree with everything you said about the game
plan from both sides and real quick comment in the
chat said Akello has a knee injury. Is this true?
I totally read that as a lexus.

Speaker 2 (46:41):
Do you have a knee injury?

Speaker 1 (46:43):
Do I? I have in the past, but yeah, right now,
I'm just deeply ill with like, okay, Titus, but not
my knee.

Speaker 2 (46:51):
But I you have a soul injury. Okay, we got
to have a.

Speaker 1 (46:54):
Soul and yeah, let's let's not unpack all my trauma
right now. But uh, yes, I have a soul injury.
Akello does have an did have a knee injury, but
he will be playing Sunday. Yeah, to answer your question,
and I do not have a knee injury for anyone wondering,
So Jake, looking then at the UH Texans defense, right,

(47:16):
we look at our offensive game plan. You know, we
already talked about, you know, Will Anderson Danielle Hunter. You
know they got Mario Edwards, Sheldon Rankins in the interior. Uh,
they got some talented guys, uh, you know in in
the backfield. C J. Gardner Johnson. Who is he injured
or Am I making that up in my mind right now?

Speaker 2 (47:35):
I think he was banged up. But I do think
he's gonna play.

Speaker 1 (47:39):
Okay, I think that he that that makes sense, you know,
Derek Stingley Junior, Kayln Bullock. I mean looking at this defense, Jake,
and kind of looking at you know, our offensive game plan.
What do you think the Rams are gonna do?

Speaker 2 (47:57):
Yeah? I think on the offensive side, you're gonna run
the football and you're gonna establish the run and then
you're gonna be able to use play action. And I
understand it's easier said than done, but I actually don't
think that. I think Kian Williams is going to have
a huge game. And keep in mind we started this
off the prompt the title of this live stream was

(48:20):
is Kien Williams set for a huge game versus Texans? Yes?
He is. He's set for a huge game. Not only
is he incredibly talented, he's got great vision, he's got
quick twitch. You know ability. But this Texans defensive line
doesn't impress me in the run game. It just doesn't.
And they didn't add a ton. They brought in Rankins,

(48:43):
but I think the the body the real when you
talk about the overall, the biggest thing about the Rams
offensive line is that they're built to run the football.
They have a lot of beef up front. They're not
as beefy as the start of last year. But we
found out Jonah Jackson doesn't quite fit this team. So

(49:03):
that's fine in Sir Colbyn Shelton, but you still got
Steve Avula right left guard, and that right guard you
got Kevin Dotson, who man, Kevin Dotson is a top
five guard in this sport. I have no issue saying
I think he is an absolute freak show. And I
just think Kyron he's so quick to see the hole.

(49:25):
I mean, we saw with Cam Akers, you know, in
Darryl Henderson, and then you have Kien Williams, and it's
like Daryl Henderson was so much better than cam Akers
at finding the hole, and I think Kyen's better than
Daryl was, and Daryl was really good and just that
level of just you know, it's not even it's an instinct.
It's like, oh see hole, hit the hole right, not

(49:47):
run into the offensive lines back, And so I think
Kyron's gonna have a lot of success. Which then right
after that, now it opens up play action. Now you
can go deep down the field. Now you can use
a two two out will you know, streaking over the
middle of the field or you know, off to the side,
And now it opens up the underneath game. So really everything,

(50:08):
there's so many cogs to this offense, and I think
in order for you to activate everything, you got to
start established Kyra Williams early on. The big thing is this,
once you establish a running game, now you can use
play action passing the rest of the game. You've now
established it. You don't have to like, you're good, They're

(50:30):
still going they have to. They're going to respect the
run game. Now they're going to respect play action. If
you don't run the football and you're faking that you're
gonna run the football, guess what, no one is going
to believe you. You ran the You ran the ball
six times in a game, and when you you're gonna
hit me with that play action nonsense, No way, I
don't believe you. Right the whole I don't believe you

(50:55):
like that whole thing.

Speaker 1 (50:57):
Yeah, no, I agree. I think that the Rams are
gonna come out. They're going to try to establish the
run game again. I'm curious how they're going to do that.
Are they going to come out right away with just Kiren?
Are they going to try to get Quorum or maybe
even Hunter in They're early not entirely sure, but I
think that's how you test the Texans defense. But I
do think that there is going to be a lot

(51:17):
of you know, usage of DeVante Adams and Pukinakua in
this game as well. I think that, yes, you know,
but we are in for Maybe it'll start in the
second half, but it is going to potentially get really fun.
I think because I just think they're going to wear
this Texans defense down. I don't think the Texans defense
is built particularly for an offense like the Rams. If

(51:38):
the Rams are firing in all cylinders, which I believe
they will be, I think they're going to surprise people.
I think they're gonna come out really hot.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
I agree, I think they are too. I think this
is going to look just like the Bears game in
twenty twenty one. Matthew. I just watched that game the
other day, Matthew Stafford. Just you see it. First play
of the game, hands it off, you get six for
Darryl Henderson. Next play is a quick slant to Tyler Higbee.
You pick up a first down. After that the infamous

(52:07):
bootleg fake play action. Roll to the left, set your feet,
defender right in your face, launch an absolute dime to
Van Jefferson, have him fall down, then get back up
and ramble it in for the touchdown. I'm telling you
those three plays, Alexis. I felt like I already and

(52:30):
I told you this. When they got Stafford, I was like,
they're winning the Super Bowl. But those three plays I
never felt more confirmed on my thoughts than ever before.
I was like, you're watching this and you know I
remember talking to my father about this, because I mean,
he would tell me, like the Gray Show on Turf,
you could see it like that first game. You're like, oh, oh, okay, okay, okay, Warner,

(52:54):
like you know what I mean, Like it was one
of those things you could feel how special it was
that game against the Bears, those first three plays, and
mind you, that came off the back of an interception
a tip drill by Kenny Young to David Long. So
they had just gotten a turnover and then on that
end they go down and they score in three plays.

(53:16):
You just felt the dynamism. I think that's back. And again,
I really don't mean to be offensive. I really don't
mean to act ungrateful because I love Cooper Cup, but
he just wasn't Cooper Cup after really after twenty twenty two,
because I will tell you after the Super Bowl he
was still him, right, still him. Then he gets the injury,

(53:37):
and I think that tightrope surgery, it was just a
lot to overcome. Still a good, you know, wide receiver
in this league, still a potential thousand yard receiver in Seattle,
but thousand yard receiver Cooper Cup versus a guy that
everyone at night is losing sleepover trying to game plan

(53:58):
to defend him. That is what the Rams have been missing.
So now you add Davante Adams, who I will tell
you has not lost a step, and anyone that tells
you such is absolutely kidding themselves. I agree. I think
they're gonna come out firing. I think it's gonna start
with with kyn They're gonna establish that run and Stafford's

(54:19):
gonna throw thirty to forty passes in this game, and
we're gonna be really excited watching him because they have
so many different ways to beat you over the head.
I mean, we talk about the deep ball with that, well,
we talk about the gadget opportunities and what you could
do in the slot with the Jordan Winnington. We also
saw Jordan Whittington make a guy miss and make him

(54:40):
look foolish against Seattle last year with the double move,
so we know he can work on the outside too.
Same thing with Pooka and Akua, but now you can
get pookin Akua underneath. He's great after the catch. Winnington's
great after the catch. Devonte Adams is going to be
amazing in the red zone. It really improves what we
already talked about was the two twenty second red zone offense.

(55:01):
I'm absolutely ecstatic to watch this offense.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
Well, let's get into our predictions, because you just you
just said some and I think I said some earlier
as well. So as a reminder to everybody, at the
end of the episode, Jake and I each give three
like fun bold predictions that we think are gonna happen
in this game, and then we talk about the media
of score prediction with who we think is going to win. So, Jake,

(55:26):
do you want to go first?

Speaker 2 (55:27):
You want me to go first, so we'll have some
fun with this. Of course, today's sponsor is Sleeper, and
we really do appreciate Sleeper for sponsoring the channel. I
love Sleeper. Literally all of my fantasy leagues are through Sleeper.
Absolutely love it. And we get this little nifty graphic here,

(55:48):
so absolutely love it. I don't know how technology has
advanced this much where I could literally hover over my
cell phone on my computer. Now, this is pretty cool.
Be sure, okay, if you haven't our the link is
in the description, be sure to sign up with Sleeper
use my code JKB and you're gonna get one hundred
dollars match on your first deposit. And right here we're

(56:12):
starting things off, by the way, freebe for JJ McCarthy.
I feel really good about Papa Don's Bears, but I
don't know about you. JJ McCarthy is gonna throw at
least one yard in this game, at least.

Speaker 1 (56:27):
I think that's fair. I think that's reasonable.

Speaker 2 (56:29):
I think so, so we'll put that there. C. J. Stroud,
Matthew Stafford Alexis, what do you like here?

Speaker 1 (56:41):
Let me let me try to see this. I ooh,
I don't I like I like Stafford?

Speaker 2 (56:53):
I do I like Stafford to throw more than two
hundred and thirty four and a half yards Stroud. I'm
unsure because I think there's gonna be a lot of
quick passing. I like his completions more, I would say,
and I don't know what they are like off top
my head, but I do like his completions more. Okay,
we move on to rushing yards. Kiraron Williams, I am

(57:18):
slamming this more? What about you?

Speaker 1 (57:20):
Yep? More? Three times? Boom boom boom more?

Speaker 2 (57:26):
Are we staying away from these? I kind of like
this one. I kind of like that. I don't love this.
This feels like a I don't.

Speaker 1 (57:35):
Feel good about the Texans running game. I just don't.
I mean, they just feel like a trap.

Speaker 2 (57:41):
It just feels like a trap. It's like they know
something that I don't know, and I don't know. I'm
gonna just stick with old reliable here. Uh. Receiving yards
is different cause I'm definitely feeling good about this one
right here, Dalton, He's gonna move the chains they're gonna

(58:02):
get rid of the ball quickly. I really like Dalton
Schultz in this game. I totally could see Nico Collins
having more here, not really sure DeVante Adams is gonna
have more. He's gonna have at least sixty yards.

Speaker 1 (58:16):
Yeah, that seems low to me.

Speaker 2 (58:19):
Pooka at seventy three and a half.

Speaker 1 (58:28):
That's it's tough because it's like it's Pooka and Akua, Like, Yeah,
it feels silly to underestimate, you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (58:39):
It does, And at the same.

Speaker 1 (58:40):
Time, it's like it kind of it does. Like everything
that we just talked about, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (58:44):
All those weapons.

Speaker 1 (58:47):
Yeah, I would probably pass on that. It's just out
as precaution.

Speaker 2 (58:54):
I like this one right here. We really don't think
two two howl is gonna get to twenty five yards.
I think that's more Higbee's interesting. I want to say, yeah,
but let's see what's hot. So what's hot right now?

(59:14):
Like the anytime touchdowns? Obviously, Karen Williams had plenty of
touch He's had over thirty the last two years. It's
tied for the most in the league with Jimi or Gibbs.
So I kind of feel like Collin's gonna score. Yeah,

(59:35):
I I don't know that's interesting. One thing I will say,
I kind of like the cam curl solo tackles. Let's
do one more. We have to do one text in one.
I guess No, we already did one. Yeah, it's tough.
I could see a few different things. I'm gonna go
with Nico Collins touchdown. What do you think about that? Oh?

(59:58):
You don't like it?

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Uh? Yeah? No, I mean I'm trying to think of
all the Texans touchdown because we already did a Schulz
prop So I would say, yeah, because I don't think
you can pair touchdown plus yards right for same player.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
Yeah, no, you're right on that. You cannot. There's some
alts here, so ooh, who gonna coop of receptions? We
can do five plus? You stick with five? Uh six? Okay,
and then let's see you again. All right. Yeah that's good.

(01:00:42):
I think that's good. So, just so you guys know
what we just did. We have JJ McCarthy free pick.
If he doesn't get a yard, he's dead to me.
Matthew Stafford, he just needs to throw two hundred and
thirty five. Kien Williams just needs Dalton Schultz needs thirty,

(01:01:03):
Adams was sixty at Well with twenty five and Pukinaku
with six receptions. If you put ten dollars on this
thing and you hit this, you will win three hundred
and seventy four eighty. So, like I said, get on
on the get in on the action with Sleeper and

(01:01:28):
use the code JKB, and we're gonna continue our predictions
because there are some predictions we can't even pick on here.
So shout out to Sleeper for sponsoring the video again
JKB one hundred percent match And Alexis, I don't think

(01:01:48):
I'm gonna be as bold as as I was at
times last year. I you had me predicting blocked field
goals like I was. I was off my rocker last year,
just totally off my rocker. So I'm not gonna do
anything crazy like that unless I'm really feeling I wake
up and I'm like, Alexis, we need to talk. I
think there's gonna be a block punt, like you kind

(01:02:11):
of just you just know when when something like that's
gonna happen. I am gonna say this. I think Kiring
goes for one hundred and fifty total yards and I
think he ends up with at least one touchdown, and
I think he could have two. But I'm gonna say
the big thing is he has one hundred and fifty
total yards because I do think he's gonna be utilized

(01:02:32):
in the passing game.

Speaker 1 (01:02:33):
Rejoice, I Hey, I love it. I mean, I think
he's gonna have two touchdowns. I think that the Rams
are gonna be listen. They want to score. He was
mister reliable last season in the red zone. I know
they've got some new weapons, but at first game of
the season, you're probably gonna stick with what you know,
not get too crazy, especially early on in the game.

(01:02:55):
So I think we're gonna see my offensive prediction, I'll
say to Kyra and Williams touchdown. I'll give a defensive
prediction as well, because we talked earlier about how our
defensive line has a big opportunity to feast against this
Texans offensive line. I think we're going to see four
sacks or more from the Rams.

Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
Damn.

Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
Like, I really feel confident. I think that these guys
are hungry. I think that this Texans offensive line is weak,
and I think that uh yeah, I think we could
see sax City from the Rams potentially in this season
opener third prediction, because we always do three. It would
be a fun one. I don't know. I want to say,

(01:03:45):
like Matthew Stafford sneak, sneaks it in, but that feels
so unlikely. I don't know why. My gut was telling
me that, what about you?

Speaker 2 (01:03:55):
That would be? That would be the Rams. Oh yeah,
we're so worried about the back. But then sneak him in.
I remember they did that with Sam Bradford. They're like, yeah,
he's dealing with a shoulder and then he did a
QB sneak and got like bent in half and I'm like,
they did not just do that. Yeah, So are is
that what you're going with?

Speaker 1 (01:04:17):
M Someone in the chat said, Mumfield kick return for
a touchdown, that would be fun. I don't know that. Well,
remember that you did. If it happens, for.

Speaker 2 (01:04:28):
Sure, that is true. That is true.

Speaker 1 (01:04:33):
What if I said, like Blake Quorum touchdown too?

Speaker 2 (01:04:37):
I mean that would that's pretty bold.

Speaker 1 (01:04:40):
I don't know if they're gonna use him in the
resident Let's yeah, let's do it. I don't know, let's
just let's just yeah, let's do that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:47):
Is Mumfield the return because I I I had Jordan
Whittington as kick returner and Xavier Smith is punt returner.

Speaker 1 (01:04:57):
My notes, that's what I have as well, So I mean,
and that's what also is on.

Speaker 2 (01:05:03):
Our lads and m hmm.

Speaker 1 (01:05:06):
So that's why I think it's right. We want to
do score.

Speaker 2 (01:05:14):
Oh I still got two?

Speaker 1 (01:05:16):
Oh that's right.

Speaker 2 (01:05:16):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I went with Kyron one hundred and fifty.
Give me DeVante Adams two touchdowns probably have one hundred yards,
but we'll just go with the two touchdowns. And then last,
but not least, Nathan Landman makes his Rams debut fifteen
plus tackles. Hell, yeah, I think he's I'm really excited

(01:05:41):
for fifty three. So we we shall see if we're right.
Score predictions. You go first, Alexis, all right, well.

Speaker 1 (01:05:52):
I think the Rams are gonna win. I think they're
gonna win the season opener. At so far, I think
that they're gonna win twenty eight to ten. Wow, Yeah, okay,
I feel confident.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
I'm very confident in this game. Yeah, I got thirty
to twenty. You got an eighteen point win. I only
got a ten point win, and I'm I'm confident. So yeah,
that's yeah, but you you you have twenty eight to ten, right,
you said?

Speaker 1 (01:06:27):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:06:28):
Okay, so yeah, I mean they average twenty eight to
thirty points a game this year, and they're gonna win
a lot of football games. This is I love this,
this matchup. These two teams kind of polar opposite in
a sense and similar at the same time. So I
don't know if you knew this or remember this because

(01:06:49):
it's been a while. The Rams and Texans lost in
the divisional round, so they're like the mirror image of
each other. Yeah, and I don't know if that was
what the NFL had in mind when they put them together.
But yeah, you know, the Texans lost by nine to
the Kansas City Chiefs, who apparently I have not seen

(01:07:10):
any of the game. I'm gonna rewatch it later tonight,
but I see in the comment section they're washed, so
I guess things are going well there.

Speaker 1 (01:07:21):
Well, Xavier Worthy got hurt like first drive of the
game or something.

Speaker 2 (01:07:25):
I'm my great, Oh really in two weeks?

Speaker 1 (01:07:27):
Yeah, so and he's out for the rest of the game.

Speaker 2 (01:07:29):
Is he like? Good?

Speaker 1 (01:07:31):
Like?

Speaker 2 (01:07:31):
Do you think they're just keeping them out?

Speaker 1 (01:07:33):
Like? I don't know. I haven't been able to look
into it just like briefly saw the notification and I
was like, great, but hope he's okay, Like, of course.

Speaker 2 (01:07:43):
Obviously, Yeah, no, definitely.

Speaker 1 (01:07:46):
He's a really good receiver for them as well.

Speaker 2 (01:07:49):
I think he's their number one.

Speaker 1 (01:07:51):
Yeah, but Jake, we both have the RAMS winning, we
both gave our predictions. We did it, we did it,
and we have super shack. So oh, let's see him.

Speaker 2 (01:08:04):
So we got so Cal appreciate you being a member
for twenty eight months. Appreciate you, Ruiz. Thank you for
the two rooting for Kyron. Now, hope he breaks two
k twenty touchdowns. Oh man, dude. If Kyraen Williams wins
Offensive Rookie of the Year, this is gonna be the
most insufferable podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:08:23):
Yeah offensive player.

Speaker 2 (01:08:26):
Oh offensive Blair? Yeah, good, good, thank you. I don't
even know why I said there's no Rookie of the Year.
In my face? Why did I say that?

Speaker 1 (01:08:33):
I just knew. If I didn't correct you and you
heard it later, you'd be mad. I didn't.

Speaker 2 (01:08:36):
No, I'm glad. I'm very glad.

Speaker 1 (01:08:39):
But no, I hope he has a killer season two.
That'd be crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:08:43):
So Cal, we appreciate the five. Hope he doesn't fumble.
Look at what happened at Cowboys game last night and
how crucial it can be. It's true. Then again, Kyraen Williams,
I need I need an adjective other than astronomical because
I've been using astronomical every single time. I think you
know where I'm going with this. Kyra Williams is way

(01:09:03):
freaking better, way better, way better than Miles Sanders. Yeah,
I would need another adjective. People are tired of me
saying astronomical.

Speaker 1 (01:09:17):
He's light years.

Speaker 2 (01:09:18):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:09:19):
I don't like that either. That feels weak.

Speaker 2 (01:09:21):
Yeah, no, I need It's nothing against him personally. I
don't know Miles Sanders. I'm just I've watched the guys
and I'm like, yeah, Miles Sanders is a running back.
Kyra Williams is one of the better running backs, so
there's a there's a slight difference there. But no appreciate
the super chat so cal I just yeah, I think again,

(01:09:43):
But the point does stand, and I get what you're saying.
I mean, twenty four to twenty, they absolutely could have
won that game. Ruiz, remember for forty one months, we
appreciate you, and the can thank you for the twenty
Canadian May Cup just wanted to go home to Washington,
so he stopped playing last year. That is brutal. Uh No.

(01:10:08):
I think I'm gonna be very fair here. I think
Cooper Cup has lost a step and I think the
dude works harder than just about anybody. And the thing
about Cup is that when I say Adams is an upgrade,
like significant upgrade, it's who Cup is now. But you
know who Cup also is now a guy that's gonna

(01:10:30):
get the most at your wide receiver room. I will
tell you this, Jordan Whittington is a way better player
right now than he would have been with a full
season without Cooper Cup. And so is two two out
well way better receiver right now than where he would
be without Cooper Cup, Pooka Nakua. I mean, the list
kind of goes on. That's why, like I look at

(01:10:52):
guys like a Tory Horton and JSN and Jake Bobo, right,
and I'm like, these are guys that are going to
hugely benefit from having Cooper Cup in the building that
work ethic, the leadership. He is awesome. He is awesome,
He's I he's all class, He's exactly what you want.

(01:11:16):
He's a leader. It's just unfortunately he's not giving you
the output. And guess what if Cooper Cup costs five
million dollars He's a RAM this year, absolutely there would
have been no reason for them to get rid of him.
Twenty six million. It's a lot of money. So yeah,

(01:11:37):
that's really what it came down to. But obviously we
love Cooper Cup and I'm still rooting for him in Seattle.
I mean, you know, I don't have to root for
Seattle to win games, but I want Cooper Cup to
have a thousand yards and look really good. I mean,
I still wanted him back. It was it was hard
for me. I definitely found it hard. But you know,

(01:11:57):
either way, that is that. So all the super chats
are done again, special shout to Sleeper for sponsoring and
do you have any final thoughts Alexis, I.

Speaker 1 (01:12:08):
Just want to say thank you everybody for you know,
waiting for us and rocking with us. And I appreciate
all the messages that everybody sent during the hiatus and
how understanding people were and you know, bummed me out
to not be doing Downtown Rams the normal schedule that
we have over the summer and during the preseason, but

(01:12:29):
I was doing really really exciting things, big things that
I was excited about, and it just took up a
lot of my time. So you know, now that we're
back to normal, I'm excited to talk to you guys
every week. Thank you guys for waiting, waiting and Jake,
it's fun. Now we get to have our Monday and

(01:12:50):
Friday night live episodes and football is back and it
feels like all is right in the world. And guys,
this is our seventh season. That's crazy. I know, it's crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:13:01):
Football's back back again. I'm so glad.

Speaker 1 (01:13:07):
Guess we couldn't start, Yeah, I mean we started the
episode last season with Guess Who's back?

Speaker 2 (01:13:15):
Right?

Speaker 1 (01:13:15):
Yeah, Well it's technically I think called without Me.

Speaker 2 (01:13:17):
By Eminem So we we finished. We finished with Guess
Who's Back or whatever the hell it's called.

Speaker 1 (01:13:23):
It's a full full circle. And you want notice how
our episode started with tech issues and now we don't
have any. It's because the ghosts they want to screw
with us. I knew it would happen.

Speaker 2 (01:13:33):
It's true, and now we're fine. Well, guys, it's been
blast talking with you. We'll be here Monday. We'll be
here Friday, Friday, looking forward to it, you know, well,
will we be recapping hopefully a Rams victory against the
Houston Texans on Monday, and then we'll be previewing hopefully

(01:13:56):
an upcoming victory against the Tennessee Titans, the first road
game of the year. And actually, Alexis, they get this
home game and then they got two on the road,
one against the Titans, and then the next one is
against the Philadelphia Eagles to try and avenge their brutal
loss in the Divisional round fourteen yards away that I'm

(01:14:18):
still not over so

Speaker 1 (01:14:20):
Well on that note, Yeah, as always, stay safe, take care,
and go Rams.
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