Intriguing Game– NFL, Week Eight
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams
49ers: They got off to a strong start against the Kansas City Chiefs last week. They had no problem moving the football down the field early on (anyone can do that on the Chiefs defense). It was the defense that surprisingly struggled in that game. It’s simple. When you don’t stop someone, chances are you won’t win games and that’s exactly what happened. Last week, the 49ers made one of the biggest in-season trades in a while as they acquired Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers. I didn’t think it was a bad move, but it doesn’t move the needle for them in the conference and of course, I will explain what I mean by this. I like that the Niners have an identity. This is a physical football team that wants to run the ball downhill and bully you in the trenches at the line of scrimmage. The concern I have with them is you still must throw the football and they don’t do that consistently enough for my liking. For years, I’ve defended Jimmy Garoppolo and I’ve said he’s helped lead them to a Super Bowl a few years back and just last season, he had them a game away from winning the NFC. Saying he’s not a good Quarterback is a stretch. What I am getting at is he’s not the type of Quarterback to make a big throw when you needed and that’s exactly why they decided to trade Trey Lance. He brings that big play ability that they’ve been wanting for the longest. It makes sense to me. They have everything to make a run come playoff time because as I said up top, they run the ball and play consistent defense. It’s the Quarterback that’s hindering them from advancing. On Sunday, they’ll face their instate rivals.
Rams: They were a big time favorite to come out the NFC after winning the Super Bowl last season. Many predicted they’d be the first team since those Patriots’ groups in the early 2000’s to repeat. They haven’t looked remotely close to the team we saw last year. The team we saw last year looked interested in playing football. I’m not sure what this is that I’ve seen this year. They can’t run the football at all. Cam Akers wants to be traded because of differences with Sean McVay. The passing attack isn’t as prolific and that’s due to a few facts. One, I’ve seen no other receivers outside of Cooper Kupp step up and make a play. They miss Odell significantly and I’ll even go as far as to say they miss Robert Woods as well. I can guarantee you if Robert is on this team, he’d be the other receiver Matthew Stafford would get the football too. Two, this Offensive Line has been awful and it shows. There’s no time for Stafford to throw the football and he’s getting destroyed each time he drops back in the pocket. They miss Andrew Whitworth big time. He was the leader of the O-Line. On the other side of the ball, the Rams defense doesn’t scare me. They have no type of pass rush whatsoever and they lost that when Von Miller. As I said a few weeks ago, there’s no reason why an interior defender (Aaron Donald) should be your best pass rusher. It appalls me. They need to turn this around now and, in a hurry, before it’s too late. They come off the bye week and host the 49ers on Sunday at SoFi.
49ers X-Factor: Fred Warner– He’s the Quarterback of this San Francisco defense. He’s become one of the best overall linebackers in the league today. Fred is a tackling machine. If you’re a Linebacker and you need someone to study and watch film on, this is who you should be watching. I like how vocal Fred is. He’s become the leader along with the heartbeat of this defense. Fred is the Quarterback of this defense. It’s his responsibility to make sure everyone is where they need to be on the defense.
Rams X-Factor: Leonard Floyd– If anyone, and I mean anyone can get the pass rush jump started, it must be him. I understand trying to fill Von Miller’s shoes is a big-time responsibility, but someone has to do it. Leonard had a breakout year in 2020. That’s the guy I need to see on Sunday. He’s a 6’5 Outside Linebacker who gets to the passer with long strides and when he has it going, he’s a strong, disruptive force. Coming into the season, I said he was going to be key if the Rams were to do much of anything this year.
Final Thoughts: This is a rivalry that goes way back. They will meet at SoFi for the first time since the NFC Championship Game back in January. When they met earlier in the year, the 49ers got their revenge and destroyed the Rams. It wasn’t even close. The 49ers physically always dominate the Rams to the point where LA can never recover. The Rams must take care of the football, Turnovers have been a problem for them this year. In the first game, San Fran had no problem applying pressure on Stafford and I see them doing the same once again on Sunday because that Rams Offensive Line is too vulnerable, and I’d attack them by all means. This game will be won in the trenches and that favors San Francisco big time. They also have the edge offensively with McCaffrey, Deebo, Aiyuk and Kittle.
Prediction: 49ers 29, Rams 23
