Random Ramsdom: Raheem Morris calls Patrick Mahomes an “alien”

Nov 26, 2022 - 5:19 PM

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Can Rams Defense Slow Down ‘Alien’ Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes? (fannation/si)

“The Chiefs (8-2) are playing at a high level with one of the best records in the NFL. The MVP-caliber play of quarterback Patrick Mahomes has boosted the former Super Bowl champions. One of the top offenses in the league presents challenges for a Rams defense that has struggled in their past two games.

“You could tell they’ve been together for a while,” Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said, “the system is in place. What Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy have done over the years has grown even more.”

Speaking of Mahomes, ”The quarterback is an alien.” Morris said. “Let’s be honest... like he’s an alien.”

Mahomes won’t be the only “alien” on the Chiefs’ offense, as Morris also gifted the term to tight end Travis Kelce.”

One Way the LA Rams Can Find Victory in Week 12 vs. the Chiefs (ramblinfan)

“Let’s not sugarcoat it. The Rams offensive line has been really bad this year. They have allowed the fifth-most sacks this season, despite already having their bye. Retirements and injuries have turned what was a solid o-line unit into one of the league’s worst.

Despite this, the Rams’ line has been able to put together some good performances this season. In each of their three wins (Falcons, Cardinals, Panthers), starting quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked no more than one time. However, in each of their six losses, the team allowed two or more sacks.

So will the Rams be able to keep Perkins upright this Sunday? Honestly, it doesn’t look great. New Orleans’ defense currently ranks fourth in sacks, totaling 32 on the season. That comes despite the fact that their pass defense as a whole has been less than stellar, allowing just the 26th-fewest yards per game.

Not exactly the type of matchup you’re looking for right after you lose your best offensive weapon.

This is the NFL though, where anything can happen. If the Rams’ offensive line does shock everyone and performs well on Sunday, guys like Rams WR Allen Robinson and Rams TE Tyler Higbee certainly are talented enough to get open. I just wouldn’t get my hopes too high, especially with the game being played at Kansas City.”

The Rams Bet It All for a Title. The Tab Is Coming Due. (thenewyorktimes)

“The reigning-champion Rams have a 3-7 record. They have lost four straight games, the last two to the Arizona Cardinals, an N.F.C. West rival, and the New Orleans Saints, teams with a combined 8-14 record. They are essentially eliminated from playoff contention; The New York Times’ N.F.L. playoff calculator gives the Rams just a 3 percent chance of reaching the postseason.

Los Angeles faces Kansas City on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in what once looked like a potential Super Bowl preview. Those expectations have been tempered by midseason reality: Early in the week, the Rams were 14.5-point underdogs.

The Rams’ front office made sure that the ring-winning nucleus of quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey remained intact to start the season. But due to the franchise’s Live Fast/Spend Hard/Die Broke philosophy, however, that nucleus is no longer surrounded by championship-caliber cytoplasm or mitochondria. The overspending and under-drafting that got the franchise its second Super Bowl title is now rotting the Rams’ roster from the roots up.

The trade that brought Stafford to Los Angeles from the Detroit Lions before the 2021 season cost the Rams their 2022 and 2023 first-round picks, plus a 2021 third-round selection. Stafford signed a four-year, $160-million extension in March 2022.

Ramsey, a three-time All-Pro, arrived from the Jacksonville Jaguars midway through the 2019 season in exchange for the Rams’ 2020 and 2021 first-round picks, plus a 2021 fourth-round pick. Ramsey received a five-year, $105-million extension in 2020.

Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year, signed a three-year, $95 million extension in June, silencing speculation that he was mulling retirement. Kupp, the offensive player of the year in 2021, received a three-year, $80-million extension a few days later.

The Rams also traded a 2022 second-round pick to rent the services of the All-Pro pass rusher Von Miller for a few months last year. The team dealt its 2018 first-round pick for receiver Brandin Cooks, now long gone, and traded out of the first round in 2019 as part of a complicated tangle of deals to acquire more late-round picks.

The Rams have not selected within the first 50 picks in an N.F.L. draft since 2017, leaving their roster nearly devoid of rising talent.”

Here’s what the Vegas odds say about the Kansas City Chiefs-L.A. Rams game Sunday (kansascitystar)

“The Chiefs are the Chiefs, still leading the AFC, but the L.A. Rams look nothing like the team that won a Super Bowl some 287 days ago. Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp won’t play Sunday in Kansas City because of injuries, and other key cogs, like Von Miller, departed via free agency in the offseason.

So what we anticipated before the year as one of the Chiefs’ best games actually takes the crown as its most lopsided matchup.

On paper.

The Chiefs are 15 1/2-point favorites against the Rams, the largest line they have seen this season.

It’s rare for a spread to stretch more than two touchdowns, but the Rams are likely going to turn to third-string quarterback Bryce Perkins and put him behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league without their best offensive weapon. That bodes well for the Chiefs, who have 18 sacks in the past four games.

Simply put: With that quarterback and o-line combination, I’m having a difficult time figuring out how the Rams will move the football.

It’s a really large line, almost begging you to take the points, but the Rams are league’s worst team against the spread this season at 2-7-1.”

Bills’ Von Miller out indefinitely after suffering knee injury in win over Lions, avoids ACL tear, per report (cbssports)

“The Buffalo Bills defense finished their Thanksgiving matchup against the Detroit Lions without one of their best players. Star pass rusher Von Miller was carted to the locker room in the first half due to a knee injury, and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the day by the team. Fortunately for the Bills, they escaped with a 28-25 win.

Miller did not tear his ACL, but the injury was severe enough for him to be out indefinitely, according to ESPN. Miller, whose injury is on the same knee that he injured in 2013, will reportedly wait two weeks before determining what the best course of action is for his injury.

According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson, the initial prognosis was sprained knee for Miller, who was scheduled for MRIs on Friday. Miller was injured with just under three minutes remaining in the second quarter. He took an inside route to rush quarterback Jared Goff, and planted awkwardly with his right knee. Miller was able to walk off the field on his own, but spent a very long time in the blue medical tent before being carted off to the locker room before halftime. The team was quick to rule him out for the remainder of the contest.”

NFL Thanksgiving grades: Vikings, Kirk Cousins get a prime-time ‘A-’; Cowboys, Bills shine in comebacks (cbssports)

“The NFL certainly had a strong Thanksgiving slate in store this season, which made the annual holiday games even better than most years. Five of the six teams had winning records headed into their Thanksgiving Day games, tying a league-high set in 2011 and 2014 (the NFL started having three Thanksgiving Day games in 2006).

The combined record of the six teams playing this Thanksgiving is 39-21, and the .650 win percentage between the teams is the second-highest since the Thanksgiving schedule went to three games. The highest win percentage was .682 in 2011.

Fans were treated to a thriller in the first game of the day, as Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills held off the Detroit Lions with a last-second field goal in a back-and-forth affair that was a Thanksgiving classic. In the second game, the Dallas Cowboys came back from a halftime deficit to sweep the New York Giants behind big games from CeeDee Lamb and Ezekiel Elliott. And in the nightcap, Kirk Cousins played well in the prime-time lights — as did Justin Jefferson — as the Vikings beat the Patriots to go to 9-2. Here are our grades for every team that played on Thanksgiving:”