Weird game

[Sgt. Largent]

I was referring to Luke but Russ has definitely been off a few times at home. I agree that it's mostly due to conservative play - assuming we don't need to score much to win - but would like to see the ball come out quicker anyway against a team with a monster pass rush even if he is just throwing it out of bounds.

My bad, didn't see the extra "L" !

I think with Luke, it's 100% confidence. Dude has skills, but he's kinda soft and could use some swagger to get him fired up to compete and as Pete would say be "on it."

Not really something you can instill in a player, but that's what's lacking with Willson. He's a momentum player, all he needs is an early 1st quarter catch to get him rolling. But when he drops one? It starts that negative snow ball rolling, which is what I think happened yesterday.

 

[Ozzy]

Whoever said Detroit is much better on defense than the Rams is flat out wrong. Since midseason I think the Rams are actually 2nd in the NFL to Seattle with a better front 4 than the Lions as well. Detroit is close but no one we face will have a defense like the Rams.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

I was referring to Luke but Russ has definitely been off a few times at home. I agree that it's mostly due to conservative play - assuming we don't need to score much to win - but would like to see the ball come out quicker anyway against a team with a monster pass rush even if he is just throwing it out of bounds.

My bad, didn't see the extra "L" !

I think with Luke, it's 100% confidence. Dude has skills, but he's kinda soft and could use some swagger to get him fired up to compete and as Pete would say be "on it."

Not really something you can instill in a player, but that's what's lacking with Willson. He's a momentum player, all he needs is an early 1st quarter catch to get him rolling. But when he drops one? It starts that negative snow ball rolling, which is what I think happened yesterday.

Interesting take I kind of see Vernon Davis as being similar in that regard.

 

[Sarlacc83]

Whoever said Detroit is much better on defense than the Rams is flat out wrong. Since midseason I think the Rams are actually 2nd in the NFL to Seattle with a better front 4 than the Lions as well. Detroit is close but no one we face will have a defense like the Rams.

The scoring stats yesterday had the Rams at 15.5 ppg, second only to Seattle in the latter half of the season. If not for the previous week against NYG, and the major mismatches that Randle and Beckham Jr. presented, they might have been in closer in that category.

 

[byau]

Seattle will not see another D like that in any remaining playoff games. Wilson was fine

Detroit has a significantly better defense than St. Louis. But hopefully we won't see them anyway.

I disagree.

St Louis sees us twice a year and thats a HUGE advantage over someone like Detroit.
Also its the Front 7 of St Louis that we have troubles with, I think their Front 7 is better than Det.


Dont count Detroit out against Dallas, its virtually an indoor game and Dallas doesnt play as well at home. I dont think Detroit wins, but would not count them out.

Agree on the disagree. Significantly better? Maybe better, but not sure about significantly.

The NFC West defenses in general are in the discussion for best in the league. 49ers, Rams, Cards, Hawks. Even if the stats don't prove it, from the smell test they are fast, coached well, athletic, swarming.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I was referring to Luke but Russ has definitely been off a few times at home. I agree that it's mostly due to conservative play - assuming we don't need to score much to win - but would like to see the ball come out quicker anyway against a team with a monster pass rush even if he is just throwing it out of bounds.

My bad, didn't see the extra "L" !

I think with Luke, it's 100% confidence. Dude has skills, but he's kinda soft and could use some swagger to get him fired up to compete and as Pete would say be "on it."

Not really something you can instill in a player, but that's what's lacking with Willson. He's a momentum player, all he needs is an early 1st quarter catch to get him rolling. But when he drops one? It starts that negative snow ball rolling, which is what I think happened yesterday.

Interesting take I kind of see Vernon Davis as being similar in that regard.

Yep. Word is he's soft..............and it doesn't help that he has a QB that can't hit the broad side of a barn.

 

[MysterMatt]

All I know is that Willson is in my doghouse again. I am thoroughly disgusted with his sorry effort yesterday. I look forward to upgrading that position. He has remarkable speed but is just so inconsistent it's maddening.

 

[MidwestHawker]

Detroit's defense has been better than St. Louis's by every good metric you can use...defensive DVOA, ANFLS Efficiency, dGPF in the betting market, and the difference isn't a small one in any of these metrics.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Outscored them 20-0 in the 2nd half. Kind of how it goes this year. 2nd half domination.

 

[Bigpumpkin]

I would like Pete and Bevell to throw the ball deep in the first half against the Rams more, instead of waiting for the game to play out more in the 2nd half before taking shots. Cause that's the way you beat the Rams D.

I, too, was baffled as to why the Hawks did not throw the long ball in the first half. It didn't take a "rocket scientist" to see that our ground game was going nowhere.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Seattle will not see another D like that in any remaining playoff games. Wilson was fine

Detroit has a significantly better defense than St. Louis. But hopefully we won't see them anyway.

Which really shouldn't be the case, but if Greg Williams can't maximize that talent, who am I to complain.

 

[DrDix]

Loling at people wanting Willson's head.

HE'S IN HIS SECOND YEAR, HE'S GOING TO BE INCONSISTENT.

Not to mention how every single throw Russ gave him was high. Give me a god damn break.


Get it through your heads.

We would be absolutely insane to get rid of him and his talent.

 

[Ozzy]

Detroit's defense has been better than St. Louis's by every good metric you can use...defensive DVOA, ANFLS Efficiency, dGPF in the betting market, and the difference isn't a small one in any of these metrics.

For the year but since the second half of the season the Rams are better. I've watched multiple games and came to the same conclusion every time. I also look at it through how they match up against Seattle. Hawks will do better against Detroit.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Anyone note the comment on nfl network this morning (I think by Michael Silver) who said something like "what would that team have been like with Sam Bradford."

You're seeing it right now. The Rams with Bradford look like...Bradford sitting on a bench in favor of a third-string QB because he's a toothpick who can't handle an NFL beating.

There is no "Rams with Bradford" except what we're seeing right now.

 

[MORGULON]

Seattle will not see another D like that in any remaining playoff games. Wilson was fine

Detroit has a significantly better defense than St. Louis. But hopefully we won't see them anyway.

statistically over the course of the season, yes.

the last month? no.

and STL has a MUCH better defensive line.

Look at who Detroit played this year, 4 games inter division against the weak ass Bears and Vikings then they had 4 more games against the NFC south.

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

Outscored them 20-0 in the 2nd half. Kind of how it goes this year. 2nd half domination.

It would be nice if we actually played in the 1st half also. Either way I will take however we win just fine though.

 

[Hawks46]

Sports is about matchups, and the Rams are just not a good matchup for us. They have the D-line to control Russell and we don't have the WR's yet to blow the top off their press cover 8-9 guys in the box to stop Lynch defensive scheme.

Luckily their offense is awful, so we normally end up winning.

I would like Pete and Bevell to throw the ball deep in the first half against the Rams more, instead of waiting for the game to play out more in the 2nd half before taking shots. Cause that's the way you beat the Rams D.

Great post and I totally agree.

Long and Quinn are elite DE's and very good against the run as well as the pass, but they can be worn down. Aaron Donald is also elite against the pass and decently anchors against the run, but he weighs 285 and can also be worn down. If we took more shots early, it would back the extra safety out of the box and allow us to sustain drives and stay with the run.

I honestly don't know if STL's DL is better than Detroit's. It might be better on the edges (for now) but Detroit is better up the middle and it's not close. If I had to rank DL's in the league it would be:

1a. DET
1b. STL
1c. CAR.

There are slight differences with each one, but it's not huge. STL probably has the best DE's, CAR is a close second but DET might be better next year as Ansah gets better (he's insanely good for how young he is). STL's LB corps overall is better than DET's and CAR's, although DET and CAR both have elite LBers, overall their not the corps that STL's is. None of them are as good as ours across the board, IMO.