RAMS SQUAD SHOW: Sean McVay HUMILIATED by Kyle Shanahan, Mac Jones in AWFUL 26-23 OT Loss vs 49ers
the worst loss in the Shawn McVey era, period. I’m Gavin Carlson and this is the Ram Squad Show. What it do, squad? It’s your boy Brock and what did we just witness? And my name is Doug McCain and Kairen Williams gave that game to the 49ers. Whose house? Rams house. It’s the Rams squad. Everything Los Angeles Rams every week, breaking down all the big hits and gamechanging plays from the city of angels, the way only the Locked on Podcast Network can. Here comes the Rampede. The Ram Squad Show starts now. [Music] Who squad? Ram Squad. I don’t even want to say whose house today. Oh my goodness. What is going on, Ramly? Welcome to a the first ever Thursday Night Football edition of the Rams Squad Show postgame right here live as always on the Locked On Rams YouTube channel after the fact both on the channel and wherever the heck you get the Lock On Rams podcast feed. Rams 23. Those ugly San Francisco 49ers 26 in overtime. So much to talk about. Should he have gone for it? Why can’t we get a field goal off without getting it blocked? Is Kiren Williams have hands made of butter? Just a lot to talk about in this one. Shout out to everybody in here. Leave all your comments. You know, we’ll be reacting to them. But we’ll start with Brock because Brock, you’re the former player here. I mean, just I mean, you got to be pissed off, right? What the heck just happened? Yeah, man. It this one hurts. I mean, obviously, you know, you win some, you lose some, but, you know, when when you’re that close to winning a game twice, you know, it’s like, bro, what are we doing? So, yeah, I’m I’m a little sick just just based off the fact that we let it slip out of our hands, no pun intended, twice. So, yeah, I’m a little sick right now, fellas. DMac, I don’t feel like that pun was intended and it was fire. So, I was going to say that, Brock. But you’re absolutely right, Brock. I mean, this one stings. I mean, that’s the beauty of these shows is sometimes when you’re scheduled up, it’s great to celebrate the victories, but man, it is painful to kind of get your thoughts together and process a loss like that because look, this is a real rivalry. Rocks played in that one. Gavin has live in enemy territory. I’m loyal to soil, LA, San Francisco, and you just could feel it. And there was a lot of Niner fans there. Al Michael said like 15,000 times throughout the game and you would have loved nothing more than to see the bang bang escalator gang, but that was not the case. They were able to go in with a lot of backups at key positions. And look, the Rams from top to bottom outside of some of the studs in this one. I thought Matthew Stafford played a really good game, but you had misplays by Blake Korm. Kyrie Williams had really a fantastic game and then just horrible plays that magnified some of the issues he dealt with throughout his entire career. And yes, anytime you lose a game, it doesn’t come down to that specific play. I mean, the Rams trailing 17 to7 in the first half. Really, just from top to bottom, special teams didn’t play great. You didn’t get your first sack until overtime. So, wasn’t a great game by the defense. But still, that game was one. Ka Williams gets the ball punched out. And for me, what pisses me off even more is the decision to go for it. I know Gab, we’re going to talk about this. I was absolutely okay with that. But the lack of creativity on that play call to just get Kairen Williams stuffed on such a predictable play when if you noticed before they called the timeout when they were trying to jaw him off sides, you saw Puka Nua motioning in for what looked to be a potential jet sweep. Brock, I was screaming to myself that looks like the play from Cooper Cup in the Super Bowl that worked. Like if you were going to go for it, at least be exotic, a little creative. And I just look, you gotta feel uh for Kairen Williams tonight, the costly fumble getting stuffed on fourth down. Give your best player the ball in crunch time. The ball should have somehow been in Puka Nua’s hands in that moment. I think the Rams win tonight, but this is a painful loss. It really absolutely is. Such a painful loss. Oh, there’s so many so many things to to yell and scream about. I do have to say before we start, today’s show is brought to you by Prize Pick. Download the Prize Pix app today. use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Now, yes, you hinted at it, Dmac. We’re we’re going to start with that decision there because obviously the game is decided on that play and um we will certainly talk about the argument that this game was lost in the first half. We will of course acknowledge how embarrassing this loss is when you consider not only who it’s against, not only that it’s Levi to the South and and it was that. Not only did the the 49ers have about three starters playing this game and one of them their backup M. Jones couldn’t even walk halfway through the game. He’s throwing up in the last. So many reasons to be embarrassed by this game, but we will start with that decision. And DMAC already said he agreed with the decision to go for it on fourth and one in case you’re somehow not knowing what we’re talking about. The Rams did have an opportunity to essentially, you know, settle for a tie. It would have been a chip shot field goal. There would have been a few minutes left. You probably run the clock out and earn a tie. Um Brock, we’ll ask you before I give you my take. Were you okay with going at the going for it there? Going for the win knowing that if and they didn’t get it, you would have to lose this ball game. Oh, for sure. For sure. You know, I you know, I came out of, well, I don’t want to talk about my other team, but you know, I came out of area with with Detroit where fourth and one, it was like a no-brainer, you know. So, for me, seeing a fourth and one when, you know, you got the offense, you got the players, let’s go for it. Let’s try. But like I agree, like the creativity, man, it’s just like, and I told you guys earlier in the show, like I do not like running between the tackles with this team. like a zone play, something like that. Something more creative. I would have been looking more for a fake dive to, you know, a puka crossing. Something like that would have got them more off sides than, you know, a dive straight down the middle. That’s not our game. That’s not his game. We’ve seen what works. So why do we go to these type running plays? I just don’t understand. So yes, I do believe that we should have went to a fourth down. like go off on your shield. Like why end in a tie? That’s so weird. You don’t know what’s going to happen with a tie. So go off on your shield. So I do respect Shawn McVey and the Rams for doing that. But you know, the creativity of the play, it just wasn’t it. Yeah. Yeah. And look, I’ll be honest. You know, it it you don’t want to overreact. It’s impossible not to when it’s, you know, fresh off a loss like this. But I’m sorry. Like I’m I’m I agree with you guys. I give Shawn McVey credit for going for it there, but man, that might be the only thing I give him credit for tonight because unfortunately, you hate to admit it, but the Shawn McVey versus Kyle Shanahan thing. I mean, is there a greater example of it than tonight where Shanahan is playing with 10% of the weapons that Shawn McVey is and gets out coached the entire ball game. And it’s so fitting, as much as it stings, it’s so fitting that the game ends on a stale Shawn McVey call. And there were some great calls from Shawn McBy tonight. There were, but there were a lot of boring ones. And for the game to end this way where you have such a boring, stale call, it’s just symbolic of this game and of getting outclassed by Kyle Shanahan when it comes to just designing an offense. And again, I think we would all agree we’re taking Shawn McVey over just about any offensive mind and play caller in football. But if there’s one guy that has kind of had his number and and you know has said, “Hey, I have the I have the top of this throne, it’s Kyle Shanahan. He did it again today.” What what didn’t make sense to me, Dmac, going back to the whole way they handled it of, you know, going out there trying to draw him off sides. If I remember correctly, it was try to draw him off sides, Niners timeout, try to draw them off sides, Rams timeout, and then Rams go for it. Correct. What doesn’t make sense to me in that in that situation is okay, the Ram the Niners call their timeout, you come out. You’re trying to draw him off sides, right? Like I would have like liked to see you run the play there. It looks like they didn’t even call a play. I think I think it was just get in the huddle and hey, just don’t move no matter what. I’m just gonna say hut hut hut a million times. I think when you when you do two timeouts, you give the Niners all this time to plan. You already showed the look cuz you did the Puka jet sweep motion. Didn’t snap it. Then you did it again. You showed them the exact same look. You showed that you weren’t going to hand it off to Puka before the timeout. So, they kind of knew you weren’t going to do the jet sweep to Puka after the second timeout and you get stuffed. It’s so boring. Cool. Shawn McVey, you want to give some faith in Kairen Williams after he choked a couple times in this game, but guess what? It ends with you choking above all else. You let the team down in this one, Shawn McVey, I’m sorry. It’s just it’s DMac, am I wrong? It just feels like you Shawn McVey got outclassed all night. Absolutely. I mean, I think you’re you’re on the money. I mean, there’s no doubt about it that Shawn McVey can motivate his players to play up to a level of competition. And also I think tonight he was playing down to a level of competition. But I think specifically what you’re talking about that late game game call, I think the longer that the time laps there where the ners could almost sense and sniff out what was coming and it was pretty obvious at that point. You mentioned Kyron Williams trying to kind of rewrite the narrative for him. You can already kind of picture Shawn McVey with a game ball, right? Racing, oh this guy Kiran fumbled, but he came up big and like and like you know just kind of going that route. I mean, the truth, you know, the thing is you can’t play it like that. Like, you got to, I think, just be a little more resourceful with what you have. And I I I go back, too, is I don’t know about you guys, I don’t like the defer there. I I I mean, I want the ball in overtime when you’re going up against a 49ers team that’s being methodical, a 49ers team that you saw their drive to start the game where where M. Jones was just cooking. I mean, they made M. Jones look like he was like prime like Drew Bledsoe in this one, right? I mean, so I would have preferred to see that. Show some confidence in your offense and try to go out there and get a touchdown early. But look, you’re going, if you were going to the thing is is this, if you’re going to go for it, you got to do it knowing you got something in your back pocket that you got an ace up your sleeve. And that certainly was not the ace up your sleeve, man. That was that was not hidden, right? I mean, and it was obvious what was going to happen. It was just frustrating. I think you could have gone even I if they had maybe play action look for a tight end on the back end wide open find Pukanaku on the stretch corner of the end zone you got Devonte Adams a guy that just on a little slant can get you a first down there trust your best players not the guy who is having a nightmare fourth quarter in this one thinking in his head oh I’m I’m going to lose the game once again these fourth quarter these fumble issues are going to continue to surface so I totally agree I mean Shawn McVey definitely did not have Good night. The Rams left a lot of points on the board. You miss a field goal, you miss an extra point. They should have been up 24 to 20 at some point after getting back in this one. But yeah, that just leaves a really bad taste to your mouth knowing that you just did not put forth your best play there in that situation. Yeah, and we’ll get plenty into how ridiculous it is that a 60% M healthy M. Jones with, you know, JV wide receiver core was able to carve up this Rams defense. We will certainly get into that after the break and everything, but Brock, as as an interior defensive lineman, I like if you you know, obviously you’re saying don’t run the ball up the middle. It felt like on that play, and I don’t want to go too much into this play, but it was the play that decided the game. It felt like they the only creative aspect of the play was that they tried to quick snap almost after the two timeouts and everything. But if you’re in the, you know, middle of the defense like you were your entire career, like you don’t catch someone off guard or run up the middle on fourth and one, like everyone knows that’s coming. If, if you want to quick snap and catch them off guard, it’s maybe when you’re doing a jet sweep or surprisingly passing on fourth and one. You’re never going to catch someone off guard running the ball up the middle on a fourth and short. That’s what everyone does, right? I I was just going to say that like that if one play is not going to beat you, it’s not going to be the dive up the middle in the interior of the Dline. Like that’s the one play that can’t beat you in that situation on defense. You’re like, if they do anything else, okay, let’s tip our hat to him. But they will not run this just down the road. You know, it’s a pride issue at that g at that point where you’re like I I they I wish they would try to run it in the middle and they went and run a dive play and we know from watching this season that those type plays just don’t work from for us. So, you know, we see, you know, we get bigger games on wide zone stretches, you know, things like that left and right. So for me it’s like man fourth and one you know the situation just screams don’t run the ball right here you know especially down the middle of the defense. So I don’t know man I I agree with you know it’s just a bad play call by Shawn you know um definitely could could have found something better you know in the playbook but maybe game plan you know they they didn’t practice you know those plays for that situation. I’m not sure because I definitely was hoping that it was a fake fake dive. You know, he jump over the pile like he has the ball, you throws to a tight end that’s wide open, you know, something more creative. Like we’ve been saying all season in the red zone, we get super vanilla, you know, and and it’s almost like we we don’t have creativity in the red zone. I mean, the more you explain, the more you talk about, the more frustrating it gets to think about it. I mean, think like let’s think about this. When you see a stack box like that and everyone in the stadium, everyone watching, everyone on the field knows that you were going to run a dive, you’re going to run right up the middle in a play that just doesn’t work for Kairen Williams. He’s not that kind of back. He’s not a big dude like that. Funny thing is, you got a guy like Jarqu Hunter who’s like 5’10, 220 that if you want to run a play like that, it would make more sense. If you want to use Kairen Williams, which you should not have done, I would have trust the quarterback that I don’t know has checks notes, 50 comeback wins in his career and keep it in his hands cuz he was hot. Stafford was feeling it. But if you’re going to use Kaire that situation, spread him out. Put Puke out wide. Put Devonte out wide. Space him out and let Kairen use his vision to try to make a play. Do not put that in the right in the teeth of the defense. He’s not going to break a tackle. He’s not going to get that push. That game ended and look, I hate to say this, but just I did not like the look on Shawn McVeyy’s face. My man was sweating bullets. He was glistening in this one down the stretch. And you could just feel Yeah. Kyle Shanahan. I mean, first of all, one’s the Super Bowl winning coach. One owned him in the NFC Championship game. We know that McVey is a better coach if I had had one over Shanahan. But in those moments, I do think there is sometimes where it feels like he overthinks and sometimes I think that he almost telegraphs it and that felt like such a telegraph play call and that’s what makes this so frustrating. If if you overthrow Puka Nakua, if it goes off Puka’s fingertips, Devonte Adams, I am fine right now. I I’m I’m unhappy about what happened up until that point, but I just hate the way that this game ended. I absolutely just hate it. This loss fully falls on Shawn McVey at the end of this one and Ka Williams as well for for some of those misplays. But yeah, this one is a Wow. Geez. Yeah, and you’re so right. I mean, you’re pissed off. We all are. And rightfully so. And what you said in and looking at his facial expression like again, I’m not someone who likes to look too much into like emotion, but you’re totally He looked terrified the whole game. And even when he lost the game and you’re seeing him walk across the field to go shake his hand, he looked stunned. And what you said about you said telegraph, I think it’s perfect. It’s almost like he overthinks things too much. So, he’s on this side of the spectrum. And he did the exact opposite. He was like, “Let me do the simplest thing possible. I’m going to overcompensate and not overthink things like I normally do and let’s just run the most obvious play call ever, like you said, and telegraph it.” It it it feels like there’s a mental side of it, right? And it doesn’t help that there’s no one on planet Earth that picked the Rams to lose this game, right? And and as much as you know, coach speak will say you treat every game the same, everyone on that Rams side knows that they are supposed to win this game against a Niners team that is nobody healthy. And even with that, you’re playing the Niners, so you still should be fired up. You still shouldn’t overlook them. And they almost did the opposite. They almost they they put so much pressure on themselves. You could tell they were pressing the whole game. They’re chucking deep balls in the first half when nothing’s going. Meanwhile, the Ners are taking four a play, four a play, three yards, four yards. They look cool, calm, and collected. And a guy in M. Jones who’s not good. I’m sorry. He’s not good. And he’s got half a leg. He was playing on one and a half legs. He’s barfing at the end of the game, and he carves you up. It’s just It’s infuriating. It It really is. There’s no other way to put it. I’m going to lose my mind. So, I’m going to take a break before I lose my mind. When we come back, I saw Craig in here. He asked, “Why not go for the tie?” Well, we already explained why why you don’t think why we think you don’t go for the tie, but again, it’s it’s symbolic of how bad of a loss this is. I It feels like a tie would have been a moral loss. We’ll get to that after our break here on a edition of the Lockdown Ram Squad Show. We’ll be right back. I’m going to lose it, guys. I’m going to lose it. Today’s show is brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and tonight I wish it wasn’t, but the NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love FanDuel because it gives me so many ways to play. Obviously, not when I’m in California, but when I’m elsewhere, I’ve built parlays. I’ve tried player props, and I love those live bets, those live lines during the game. It makes watching football more fun and exciting, especially when it’s a game like this where you want to, you know, do unthinkable things. So, uh, again, it’s simple. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if you if it hits, you unlock $300 in bonus bets. It’s simple, unlike beating the Niners tonight. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. That has got to be the sassiest ad read of all time because I am pissed off. Rams 23, 49ers 26 in overtime. Um, Kairen Williams fumbles what would have been probably the game-winning touchdown. Kairen Williams stuffed on what would have been setting up the game-winning touchdown in overtime. I mean, the the Rams, Stafford, McVey, I guess, a little bit deserves some credit for tying the game with that field goal after they had just fumbled. I thought Stafford DMAC, like you said, it felt like he was locked in in the second half. He’s an emotional player and you could tell he was pissed off. He’s sitting there watching M. Jones throw three yard plants all game and pick us apart. He’s pissed off. He should have won this game. Matthew Stafford is livid. But let’s talk about it. How in the world do you let the Niners go ahead 14 nothing with no one on the field that you’ve ever heard of? And I’m being sarcastic. You’ve all heard of these guys, but it’s because they’re all hasbins. Kendrick Bourne in big 2025. Kendrick Bourne. Like, what are we doing here? DMAC, how in the world does the defense not adjust to to four yard passes the entire game? Yeah, that’s another I mean, the defense got totally exposed in this one, especially in that first half. And we know that it’s a glaring issue for this team is just the upside play in the secondary. And you saw they had a game plan against this Rams defense and they took full advantage. And they they got exploited. I mean, let’s just call it what is it. They got absolutely exploited. Chris Schula, he got exposed in this one. I mean, you let 342 yards, my man got carved up. I mean, I mean, this defense got absolutely carved out. 10 passes, 10 catches for 140 yards for Kendrick Bourne. I mean, this is this is these aren’t players that you should be giving up these kind of yardage to this kind of success rate to. And I think that this is a defense that I think would have benefited if they knew that Brock Perie was going to be on the field or George KD was going to be on the field or Jawan John’s going to be on the field. I think the preparation would have been a little different. They thought that they could walk into this game and because of the talent on the other team not being where it usually is that they were just going to find a way and because they got the horns on your helmet, you’re going to walk away with a victory. That’s not how it is. If you’re in the NFL, you’re here for a reason. And there’s no one that is just randomly in the NFL. Hey, what do you do for a living? I’m just in the NFL. That doesn’t exist. Like, you’re a superstar in your walk of life, right? You’re a legend at your high school in your college being on these teams. And I think that Chris Shu in this Rams defense, they took this 49ers offense lightly in the first half. And you got to give Kyle Shanahan credit. Whatever he has to work with, he’s that chef, man. And he he makes it work, man. He finds a way to get some points early. I think that’s where this game was really lost in that first half. And I know Brock, I totally agree. You do get a different version of Matthew Stafford when you’re trailing, but this was not supposed to be some nailbiter. This wasn’t supposed to be some, oh, overtime win or overtime loss. This is a a a team that the Rams should have beaten by double digits, but instead they lost in overtime. It’s uh it was terrible. Yeah, it was. We We got Jeffrey here. Obviously, this is going to be the main argument for why in the world you’re giving a cushion. And it’s a it’s a fair point. He says the secondary has no confidence and didn’t want to give away the deep pass, so let them slowly kill us with short passes. I mean, yes, that’s what giving cushion is. That’s what playing a funnel defense is. I totally understand it. The secondary is a problem. It is. But at the same time, the same way DMAC, you’re right. Those receivers, they’re not random people. They are NFL players. Our corners are not random people. They’re still NFL players, too. And if you can’t guard a four string receiver on the NerS, then we’re not going to guard anybody. And what’s the point like to and and even then if in the first quarter you want to give up the three yard four yard passes and then you adjust and you say hey we got to stop letting him throw at three yards let’s press and let him beat him over the top. Brock you’re a D lineman. How pissed off is Jared Verse right now? How pissed off is Byron Young right now that they don’t get a chance to really rush the passer all game because you just kept letting M. Jones throw four yard passes. The few times that see Christian McAffrey was locked up and they didn’t have the quick throw. The few times that M. Jones didn’t catch the ball and immediately throw a two- yard pass to Tongues or whatever for, you know, in the middle of the field. There was pressure. M. Jones was throwing up at the end of the game because for once he didn’t have a 3se second read and he got drilled, right? Like how does that happen? That it doesn’t make sense, bro. It does not make sense, man. I I thought it was really interesting at halftime, you know, how the announced uh the the sideline reporter goes up to the coaches. So, uh, they go to Kyle and, you know, she’s talking about the game plan and things like that and she mentioned he mentioned, uh, or she mentioned the Rams, you know, getting high and scoring and things and he was like, you know what, we just got to keep it out of, you know, Matthew Stafford’s hand. We we just got to keep it out of his hands. And I I found that interesting because then as you look back on the game, that’s pretty much what they did. It was like short methodical drive, you know, throws and long drives to keep Matthew Stafford and that offense very cold on the sideline watching the game while they just go down the field little by little, you know. Um, and and and then like you say, when you look back, you know, that’s pretty much what they did the whole game. Take up, you know, the time of possession, you know, get this defense tired, allow the defensive line to rush up the field for no reason because the ball is out. now they have to rush and then go run after the ball and things like that. So, um I think this game plan was perfect for Kyle Shanahan and his team. He knew he didn’t have tremendous athletes and players out there. So, why why go out there and make some, you know, bomb plays and, you know, 30 40 yard plays? I’m gonna just keep it simple, you know? Um throw throw these little three yard, you know, routes over the field, let my guys fight for extra yardage, things like that. Like I’m not gonna go out here and try to to to lose the game. I’m going to make it very simple for my team and my guys. So that’s what he did. And and like you said, man, I just think, you know, Shawn McVey and his staff kind of, you know, just overthought it in in a way. You know, you’re giving cushion, you’re not sure what you’re going to get out of M. Jones and things like that. So it it this is this hurts because it it was almost like self-inflicting just based on the game plan and things like that. So yeah, this this one hurts just based off of that. Yeah. I mean, and you got to get Look, here’s the thing. Like you really do have to give Kyle Shanahan some credit because some of those plays in the first half, those are really good designs on some of those plays where the blocking was good on some of those screens, just getting guys in open space, doing what he does. But a lot of it, as you point out, Gavin, it’s just allowing M. Jones to just dink and dunk and death by paper cuts, find those soft zones, and they was doing that. Those open zones and coverage were there all night long. It’s just to not make those adjustments and just get a little more physical and just getting burned by the quick game. I mean, it really just kind of I think sucked the life out of the defense as well, too, because they just couldn’t figure it out. And it’s the first game all year the Rams did not force a turnover. You didn’t get a sack until overtime. Uh the and let’s not forget too, I don’t know if you guys know this, but M. Jones heading into this game said the Rams were the best defense in the NFL. That’s what he declared the Rams. I think they that was almost tongue and cheek because they almost felt like, okay, we see how we’re going to be effective and exploit this. And the the the warning signs are there. The sirens are off. I mean, they just need more talent in the secondary. If this was George KD, if this was Brandon Iuk, if this was Debo Samuel in his prime, I’d be like, “Okay, cool.” like this is a 20point loss. But the truth is about this Rams team, and I hate to say this, hate to admit this, this Rams team, they’re not who they think they are, at least yet. They think that, oh, we’re the best team in the NFC. We’re going to compete with the Lions and the Eagles. Well, guess what? This is five weeks into the season for an allin season where you don’t know if this is going to be Matthew Stafford’s last year. I mean, if it’s not, it will be his second to last year, right? At the very least. and you do not look like you’re in the same class as the Lions or the Eagles from a special team standpoint, from a uh secondary standpoint, just from a play calling standpoint. And I think that you got the Ravens coming up. I mean, this this could be a 500 team early on and this is uh very frustrating because you had a chance to put some money in the bank early on this season and now it feels like you’re looking at the same issue that you feel every year happens to the Rams and that is playing 500 football, losing football, and then you have to climb yourself out of a hole just to win the division and make the playoffs. And I think that you said it best, Brock, self-inflicted. Like it this did not have to happen. It’d be one thing if there’s a a team, a lot of young talent. By the way, shout out to Terence Ferguson making a nice catch today. But uh he will not be talked about other than that sentence. But the truth of the matter is is this was young talent. You got these guys in their primes for years, then it’s fine. But no, like this is a year where if they do not win a couple playoff games, make a run to the Super Bowl, it’s going to be considered a failure. And I think that if you look at the Rams first five games, this is disappointing. It really is. You beat the teams that you should have, but you didn’t win any games that that they were kind of the tossup games, and this one was a complete utter let down. Yeah. And I’ll be honest, the these are the nights where I’m grateful the show is an hour. And I know Brock doesn’t appreciate me saying that as it’s 11:20 where he is right now. He’s like, I got to go to bed. Also, make sure you shout out the Rams legend for being in here at 11:20 p.m. But I mean, you you’re so right, Dmag. We haven’t even brought up the darn special teams, which is downright an Achilles heel. It’s ridiculous. We are just scratching the surface of talking about how brutal this loss is. Considering the opportunity you have to beat the Niners when they have nobody, knowing that you have Baltimore next week with probably without Lamar, the lineup, the schedule’s laid out perfectly for you to start the season 4- one, 5- one, walk to a division title, and now guess what? You got a whole lot of trouble. And thank goodness we have 30 more minutes to talk about that. One last thing I want to touch on before we take the break, Dmac. what you said about Shanahan. So true, right? He got guys open, right? The the the play that stood out with for me, he ran like the the same and again these are two very similar coaches. They run similar concepts. They believe in the same things. The big conversion for the the Rams, fourth down, you run a Devonte Adams pick play where Kron Williams goes underneath with the slant. He catches it for a first down. Crazy to trust Kiran after the fumble to to catch that, by the way. Shout out to him. But you know who did that earlier in a big moment? It was Kyle Yuzchek was getting rub route quick slants. That’s a fullback, man. Like, so Kyle Shanahan, I mean, tip the cap a couple times. Like, oh my goodness, what a call, right? To have Christian McCaffrey, everyone on planet Earth knows he’s going to get the ball and you still managed to get him the ball. You got to give him credit, Kyle Shanahan. But one of my favorite sayings, two things can be true. Two things can be true. Yes, Kyle Shanahan called a great game and he got weapons that should not be getting open. He got them open. But at the same time, I don’t care. How in the world are we watching plays in the first half where it’s play action, fake it to McAffrey, M. Jones takes two steps and throws it to a wide openen Christian McAffrey for 15 yard. Like, how does that happen? There’s just I don’t care how good Kyle Shanahan is at times. There’s certain things that should never happen. You’re playing against Christian McCaffrey and a bunch of hobos and he’s wide open. It you should triple team him like it’s Steph Curry cross in half court. It’s It makes no sense. It’s ridiculous. So, I’m sorry. It turns into a rant every time we each talk because what else do you do when you watch a loss like this? It’s inexplicable. We haven’t even talked about how the entire stadium is red when you lose this game. We’ve got Kirk Herbstreet on the broadcast going, “Oh man.” Like verbally like expressing pain when he sees a Niners player get hurt. And it’s not because he’s rooting for the Niners. It’s because he’s trying to be neutral and every single guy on the Niners is getting hurt. Like the neutral fan is sitting there watching the Niners and going, “Oh man, I almost feel bad for those annoying fans because of how many guys are getting hurt and you still lost the game.” Like it it’s bad after bad after bad after bad. There’s 58 reasons. I got 99 reasons why this is a horrible loss and the loss ain’t even one of them. I mean, it’s it’s just bad. It really truly is. So, we’re going to take our break. I’m going to stop ranting after the break and let and let the the former football player break things down, but we’re going to take our break and we come back. Let’s talk about special teams because this field goal thing is is getting really really really bad. We’ll do that and talk about the schedule going forward because now things get interesting after our break here unlocked on Ram Squad Show. Now on this uh Ram Squad Show, it’s also brought to you by Game Time. All these ads are rubbing into my face. The NFL season is back and honestly, there’s nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team. But let’s be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle, especially if you’re a Rams fan when you’re hosting the Niners. Between cues, login screens, and prices jumping at checkout, it’s frustrating. Like watching the entire stadium red when your colors are blue and yellow. That’s why I use Game Time. 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Again, that’s promo code Loc for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download Game Time today. Back here on the Locked On Ram Squad Show. all a part of the Locked On podcast network where it’s your team every day. Our team is the Rams. Big Brock used to play for him. DMAC knows more about him than anyone else and I like talking about my team as well. But it’s really brutal talking about the Rams today. And in my opinion, an unacceptable 2623 loss in overtime to the NerS. You fall behind 14- nothing despite no one being healthy for the Niners. And you watch M. Jones limp off the field a victor. Uh it’s just hard to to to fathom, right? This game could have been ended theoretically if you’re able to make an extra point that was blocked. If Joshua Card’s able to make a field goal that was missed. Um on the flip side, the 49ers make a 59yd field goal. We’ll start with DMA. What in the world is going on with this special teams unit, man? I mean, and we didn’t even mention Joshua Cardan missing the landing zone again. I get it. He’s been pretty cool on the kickoffs, but just an awful night for special teams once again. Yeah. I mean, he got a lot of credit for some of those dirty kickoffs. He had one. We got Sky Moore on that opening kick to start the game. But look, if they moved on from Josh Cardi, if they changed the key code on his pass on his card to get in, I would not be mad about it to be honest with you. Just because look, you miss a 53 yard field goal. 53 is the new 43 in the National Football League. And it’s a controlled environment. You got to hit that kick. Then you miss an extra point in the fourth quarter. That kept it a 2020 game. Then overtime, this is what really killed me. Kickers sometimes are going to miss kicks, but what really kills me is just to control the stuff that you can control and to kick one out of bounds. They gave the 49ers great field possession that I mean that would turn into the game field goal, right? I mean, M. Jones is out there a straightup corpse and he’s fighting for his life out there. My man’s on life support, right? And you give him better field position when you don’t need to. That’s after deferring to get the football and you This is not smart football, right? This is not good executions, not doing the little things. And Joshua Cardi had a couple blocks against a field goal against of course that’s of course for the blocking wasn’t great. Look, at the end of the day, someone’s got to fall on the sword. If that’s the kicker, then just so be it because he showed some promise and for a dude from Stanford, not a smart play. Okay, I was disgusted and I really was. the special teams has continued to underperform. And look, Rock knows this better than anyone else. Good teams, it’s like you don’t even talk about special teams. You really really don’t. Like that’s they’re just like there. They do their job. And because you’re such a great team, there’s like, oh, we got we got there’s Brock, there’s all Aaron Donald. We talk about the the defense. Talk about Goff and Robert Woods and all these great players and stuff. When you’re talking about I mean, hey, the leatron, right? The guys like you had like those guys were superstars at special teams. this team. It just feels like if they’re going to just be average, that’s kind of their ceiling right now. I don’t see them being additive in a plus special teams unit. And tonight was another example. Yeah. I mean, Brock, you need to explain to me how an offensive line can repeatedly get overpowered. Like, I mean, we saw the Eagles do it twice. It’s not like, you know, it’s not like you remember the times of the Legion of Boom and Cam Chancellor would jump over the line and make some play where it’s like, oh my god, how did he do that? or like someone perfectly times an edge rush. It’s the same thing every time. It’s just h how does a a front unit and a field goal block just not ready? Just not are they are they weak? Are they not strong enough? Are they poorly coached? I mean, you tell me, Brock, you would know more about the trenches on a field goal than anybody. How in the world does do you keep getting embarrassed in in that simple simple, you know, operation? Yeah, I mean it it is a simple operation, but it is an opportunity for the Dline to kind of like knock your teeth in just for one rep and you can’t do anything about it. But I mean, at that point, you you have to know like, oh, on this field goal, I’m prepared to to take this take the take on this rush. You know what I mean? So, for me, it’s just like y’all pra you practice this, you know, all the time. you played in plenty of games, you know, at at the field goal position. Like, why not just lower your pads and just, you know, cut the guys? Like, if you know you’re not strong enough to take on that pressure, like just cut the guys. You not cut them, but like hit the ground, but just be as low as possible where if they get off the ball, they’re pretty much have they have to jump over your back, you know? Um, and it might be, you know, a game plan thing to where you don’t want to be as low as that because they can just pin you down and then you then you have a jumper. But man, if you’re going to be out there, bro, like just be a man. Like, this is this is a point in time where you have to just suck it up and be a man. Uh, you’re you’re a big guy. Like, you know what what’s coming. Like, just just hold your water, man. I think that’s the biggest thing. um you know, especially when it’s it’s like you said, it it hasn’t been any creative things off the edge, any jumpers, literally been knocking the off of guards back and then getting your hand up. It’s as simple as possible. So, um when you see that, it’s like, is this a is this a toughness issue? Because it can’t be a coaching issue, can it? Like, is this a toughness issue? And how how tough is this team? Because we can’t run the ball down anybody’s, you know, throat. So, like, you know, how tough is this team when it when you really look at it? Yeah, it’s brutal. And I’m reading the comments because I know that, you know, it’s a live show. There’s, you know, half a thousand people in here. Shout out to everybody in here. And everyone’s got, you know, opinions, rightfully so. We’ve got people saying, uh, where was it? Someone’s saying, Garrett says, I guess the offensive fumbles and drop passes don’t deserve consideration in this game’s analysis. Garrett, the moral of the story is there’s like 13 things the Rams did awfully tonight. Like we’re getting there. Like we we briefly mentioned the Kiran fumble, but obviously we got to start with how the game ends. Obviously then you got to go to how you fell behind 14 nothing. Then obviously you got to mention how you missed two field goals. Meanwhile, the Niners hit one for 59. Garrett, I hear you. Fumbling the ball at the one is brutal. Having Blake Corum fumble as well. Having multiple drops, having Devonte Adams and Matthew Stafford have several plays where they’re not on this they’re they’re not sympath. They’re not on the same page. Devonte is supposed to sit in zones and Sean and Stafford’s throwing it there and Devon I get it Garrett. You’re absolutely right. The moral of the story is there’s 58 things that went wrong in this game and the special teams was one of them. I’ve got people in here saying that the the the long snapper has been whiffing. I’ll be honest, I get so mad when you get the extra point blocked, when you get the field goals blocked in the Eagles game that I don’t even look for a replay. I just storm out the room. Maybe we need to go do some film study for an extra point. I never thought I’d say that in my life. But as much as we want to talk about it, DMAC, it should have never gotten to this point, right? And that’s what makes it infuriating. The same way I think DMC called the Eagles loss the worst loss in the McVey era because it should have never gotten to two Cardi field goals deciding it. That’s why I have this as the worst loss. It should have never come down to you needing a comeback, to you needing the game tying field goal, to you needing the fourth and one. This game should have been over in the first half. 14 nothing Rams. You’re more talented than this state of the Niners team and it’s not even close. DMAC, I know you said it was the Eagles game before. This has got to be the worst loss now though, right? I would say, man, I don’t know, getting blocked twice, but against the Eagles, especially as we’re having the division round, I like the fact I mean, like during this show alone, I’ve gotten like at least seven or eight texts from annoying 49ers fan friends and I’ve already like sent I already sent the 2021 Super Bowl final score and that. So, I like the fact that I got the comeback. Like, I can always have that nice I got the Trump card against Niners fans, right? You got the ring, right? You got the ring. So, as far I the Eagles one personally hurt me more, but this one is more frustrating if that makes any sense just because I think you lost to an inferior team. But to your point, I mean, this game was lost in the first half. I’m just looking at just how this thing played out and yes, everyone’s going to talk about the end of the game, which Shawn McVey, like you expected, he said it was a bad call in overtime. He said he’s sick right now and you know he was going to say the right things, but this offense left way too many points on the board in the first half of this game. They just left way too many points on the board. You had so many opportunities to score. You had a fumble by Blake Cororm that really hurts you. You just weren’t able to capitalize when you had a missed kick and you get you score and then you you miss a field goal, you miss an extra point. I mean, you just can’t leave points on the board, especially when you’re trying to make a team that feels like they are the underdog. You can’t give guys like that life, especially a 49ers team that even though they’re under man, their record says, “Hey, we are in it in this division.” And what they’re trying to do is tread water while Brock Perie is out, trying to stack as many wins until they get healthy and then they can feel like, okay, this is a very winnable division in their minds. But you saw so many opportunities in the first half. I mean, you got the fumble on the failed handoff to Blake Cororum. That was on the 49ers 24 yd line there in the second quarter. Perfect example. Either you get a touchdown there, which is no guarantee with a red zone offense that’s ranked 21st the NFL, but at least you’d hope to get some points there. Then Cardi missed a long field goal in the third quarter, the 53 yard. And the most crucial, the most devastating failure was at the end of regulation when Williams fumbles that ball on the one yard line. And it’s it’s just points left off the board and you don’t get the ball to your best player. Here’s a rule. Here’s an easy rule. How about we go back to giving the ball to your best players when it matters most. The Rams did not do that tonight. And that’s what it feels like. We went out swinging, but we weren’t landing haymakers. We weren’t landing shots at the end. We just kind of went down and that was it. Yeah. I truly at the end of the day I truly think that Shawn McVey and we’ve given him the criticism he overthinks things and he overthought overthinking. That’s really what it feels like. It feels like he probably his instinct was probably to do some rub route you know puka nua fade type thing and then he probably overthought that and said h I don’t want to you know overthink things. I’m going to keep it simple and ironically that’s what caused him. I think you’re exactly right. As much as we don’t want to rely on Puka for everything, it just feels like the way the way the game was going, you could predict it. Like if if you told me the Rams were going to run the ball there, you would bet 99 times out of 100 it was going to get stuffed. That’s just the way the game was going, right? It’s just the way the game was going. And so for those there’s going to be plenty of people, plenty of Monday morning QBs right now that are saying the the call, you know, that’s why you shouldn’t have gone for it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like DMAC said, the Rams are supposed to think and we think this is a Super Bowl level team. They’re You think the Packers are happy right now that they tied against the the Cowboys? They’re pissed off. And again, this is that’s a team that got lucky that it was a tie cuz if they stop the ball a second later, the clock runs out on Jordan Love and they tie that or they lose that game. The Rams are supposed to be elite. You’re playing nobody. And then even after there’s nobody playing, nobody gets hurt. M. Jones gets hurt more there was I I I don’t want to say the same thing 10 times, but like they they had five injuries after their whole team was already out. So the same way there’s moral victories and in games where bad teams lose, right? If the Niners lost this game 2623, they’d call it a moral victory. This would have been a moral loss if you tied this game. This is a game you have to win. So it it’s funny when you fall behind and you come back, it’s like, oh, it would have been this nice story. Look how resilient we are. Kron fumbles and we still won the game. Like you said, DMac, it’s like McVey was writing that script like he, you know, the future broadcaster that he is. But guess what? You played with fire. And I guess this is what you get for beating the Colts in a game you probably shouldn’t have even won. This is what you get for messing around a little bit with the Texans and even the Titans in the first half. It’s a coin flip league and when you make every game a coin flip, even the games you’re not supposed to, you lose some of those coin flips. Honestly, the hottest take here is I really think that Shan Vay should consider giving a play calling. I really do. I mean, it sounds insane, but when you’re 21st in the league in red zone efficiency, and we’ve seen this time and time again, this team is too talented to leave this many points on the board in these big critical games. And I just look at the fact that you look at the block in that, you know, we haven’t mentioned yet, Nick Bosa wasn’t even in the in the game. Imagine when Nick Bos is on that 49ers line, right? and the offensive line was getting cooked and you still went back to does does Kairen Williams have some like crazy pictures of Shawn McVey or something that he’s using against him to always go into I don’t what is even happening the the more we’re removed from the game that the more it doesn’t make very much sense and you you just don’t get a play where you’re throwing past the sticks to Devonte or Puka Dua it really doesn’t make any sense and other thing too that I think kind of consider is we talked about why it was the best decision to just go for it and Shawn McVey said they were going to go for the win there. But I almost think in this one that Kyle Shanahan was playing so much 4D chess against Shawn McVey in this one when the 49ers had a chance when they were up three late in the game and they could end the game with a first down. He was almost content to just take those timeouts because I don’t think that that Shanahan thought that McVey was going to get it done. in the red zone and he proved to be right because they end up just tying the game with a field goal and then you’re unable to get a touchdown in overtime. So, it almost feels like the book is out there on the Rams like, okay, sure, let’s get them in your territory, but they’re going to find a way to either not execute, make the wrong play call, and for whatever reason, whether it be a costly turnover, a fumble, just not proper execution, they’re just not going to get six. They’re going to either settle for three or fourth fourth down play that doesn’t go their way. So, I know it sounds crazy, but if Shawn McVey is saying after the game that was a bad play call, and I think it’s pretty obvious around the league that you said it best, Gavin, the trick play was a quick snap. That was the that was the wrinkle there was the quick snap. It just makes me wonder. I mean, if this continues for the entire season and we keep seeing this again, it just kind of makes you wonder, hey man, like look, all coaches have their strengths and weaknesses, right? Clearly red zone play calling is one of Shami Vay’s weaknesses. Yeah, clearly. Clearly. And yet the crazy argument I would make is that you’re exactly right that that call and really aspects of this game, Shawn McVey was awful. And yet I’m going to make the argument he wasn’t even the worst play caller at least for half the game. Cuz I truly think what the Rams offense or defense did in the first half was even more inexplicable with how un you know how unserious that first half was. I mean, Brock, like like I’m going to take a break, but before I do, Brock, just like I need you to explain to me how a Rams defense I don’t care. You You’ve seen teams with worse corners than the Rams. Just get up on them and if you get beat once, then you adjust. Like, you didn’t get up in their face once the whole game, right, Brock? Like, right. Yeah. No. Yeah. No, you’re absolutely right. And I and like I I believe Shoula may maybe overthought it too, you know. I think the whole staff may be just overthinkers and they overthink their thoughts, you know? Like you said, like you overthink something and you’re like, “Okay, yeah, I should run the crossing route, but then you overthink that.” He’s like, “No, I should make it simple. We should just back off, keep everything in front of us and tackle the ball.” And you’re like, “No, because they’re you’re getting five yards a pop. All they need is two two, you know, passes and they got a first down. And you just don’t realize like how tired your defense is going to be after going 10 play drives, 11 play drives, things like that. You can’t get any pressure because the ball is out fast. So, uh, this is going to be a hard one to watch when they get to the film room. And hopefully they learn a lot of lessons from this loss. You know, every everything happens for a reason. So, the PO I’m gonna try to be positive in this aspect is this was a good loss for us to really go back and look at and try to fix some things. And obviously, we haven’t fixed the field goal yet. So, I don’t know if we need to pick up some guys off the street that a little bit more tougher or something, but we we definitely have to look at this tape and and adjust the uh adjust accordingly. So, for me, it’s it’s all about, man, getting better uh each day. So hopefully this team will see a different team next week versus Baltimore. Yeah. I mean, we’ll see. We’ll see. I I really hope it is just this like Kyle Shanahan boogeyman thing in Shawn McVeyy’s brain and he he wipes it off and wakes up next week and and they beat a underman Ravens team. But guess what? You got another team that’s ravaged with injuries and it’s another game you cannot lose. But guess what? You’re going to be really scared to lose it now. So we’re going to take our break. When we come back, we’ll look ahead to what’s coming up for the Rams because again, this is a huge missed opportunity to start running away with the NFC West and start talking about seating. Seating. I don’t care if you’re saying I’m ahead of things. You could have started talking about seating with how this schedule was shaping up and the gifts we were being given. And now you’re sitting there panicking. We’ll talk about it after our last break here on the Ram Squad Show. We’ll be right back. Now, finally on this losing Thursday, today’s show, it’s brought to you by Mazda. Now, look, Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. Mazda delivers confidence with every ride with more IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus awards than anyone else as of August 2025. from footwork to breath work just the same way that athletes sweat all the details and maybe not the Rams tonight but typically well Mazda brings that same intention to how we craft every model. You can feel the Japanese craftsmanship in every detail from the metallic accents to the available Napa leather upholstery with all-wheel drive standard in every crossover SUV. You can drive with confidence through almost any season. And hopefully the Rams can drive through some confidence the rest of our season because boy oh boy, we need it. But like our players, we sweat every detail because when you make every mo move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. Mazda, move and be moved. Ram Squad Show back at you one more time here on a Thursday night. Once again, can we get a quick shout out to Big Brock here? This guy’s a former Rams legend. He doesn’t need this. He doesn’t need this. And it’s 11:45 p.m. yet. He’s in here because he loves the squad. He loves the mob squad. And he loves y’all. So, shout out to Brock. Shout out to DMac, the ultimate professional, and me, an angry Rams fan. We’re yelling as the Rams fall 26 23 to the most annoying fan base in sports. I mean, I mean, the Cowboys exist, but god oh god, I hate those Niners fans. I really do. And that’s why Dmac, I respect your opinion. the Eagles loss hurts, but it hurts so much more when you look at our beautiful stadium, completely red. And again, I I think personally I think that the, you know, the broadcasters were neutral. I know there’s people in here saying they’re biased. Of course, they’re going to say that. I think they’re perfectly neutral. And yet, the neutral person is saying, “Wow, this Rams stadium is all red. Wow, this 49ers team is all hurt. Wow, and they’re getting even more hurt. And wow, they won the game.” It’s just it’s just embarrassing after embarrassing after embarrassing. There’s no other way to put it. Let’s look to the rest of the season, though, because you have a bad loss against these NerS, a loss that you simply cannot have. Um, you escaped against the Colts, you escaped against the Texans. It looks like a 14-point win against the Titans, but even that is closer than you’d expect. Now, we have to wait 10 days. The only good news, although I don’t know, Brock, you tell me as a former player, is it bad news that you have to wait 10 days before you play your next game after a loss like this? Maybe not in this instance, you know, man, we we really got to go back to the drawing board to really figure out like who we are as a team. Like, I mean, you know, letting field goals get blocked every week and, you know, red zone calls have been blown and we’re not being creative in the red zone. Like literally, I hope over these 10 days they just really go back to the drawing board, wa, you know, watch film, do some self scout on on these last couple of games and really figure out like who are we going to be moving forward. So hopefully this the these next 10 days they get it together and you know it comes out looking like a whole new team versus Baltimore. See, that’s why this is a great show because you got Brock, he’s the player who’s like, “No, it’s good. We need the 10 days. We need to go back to the drawing board.” And I know I I assume DMAC agrees with me as the fan, man. Screw all that. I need to see this team go play tomorrow and win or else I’m going to wake up every morning pissed off about this loss until we win. Right. Like that’s how I feel. DMac, bro. We We made We made this look like Tom Brady. Okay, this is the Rams lost. We made this dude look like he was prime Joe Montana today. And credit to the defense, by the way, holding McAffrey to under 60 yards rushing, 2.6 six yards per carry. Kind of one of the few bright spots there. But absolutely, I think from a morale, a team morale and a narrative and just kind of where this is trending. I mean, it’s going to be a long sting. It’s going to be a long burn. I’m sure it’s going to be pretty quiet and guys going about their work. The good news, I do trust the talent of this team. I trust it’s not for lack of effort or anything like that. I don’t believe it’s it’s that. And I think that I think the Rams got severely out schemed today. And I think that they got hit they got hit in the mouth a couple times in the first quarter and they were unable to recover and it was a little too little too late and then mistakes cost them. If you’re going to win a game like this, you got to play perfect and not play have those mistakes late and unfortunately it was too little too late. This game should have been over before that point. But as far as the overall outlook of the team, yeah, I mean, now we’re in a spot where things are feeling good for the San Francisco 49ers, who have done a really good job. This is one thing that you can say about the San Francisco 49ers, at least in years where they’re healthy, is they have figured out the regular season. They have figured out the regular season. They have figured out how to get double- digit wins, how to win this division. the Rams, they’ve figured out how to go allin and make it to the playoffs and have success in the playoffs, right? So, the 49ers are kind of doing what they do and then look like Brocks is talking about, I mean, a little adversity, a little kick in the pants never hurt anyone. And maybe this is the Rams comfort zone is kind of just being like, are we good? Are we an elite team? Are we a good team? Are we an average team? Like, what are we like? I mean, if I’m if I’m uh Shawn McVey, I’m doing the old school thing where Kairen Williams is walking around the facility with the ball and you punch it out. You know what I’m saying? He’s got to sleep with the ball. He’s got to take it to the grocery store. He’s got to take it to Chipotle, wherever the heck. You know what I mean? And hopefully this is the low point of the season. And I hope that’s the case. I hope that this is rock bottom because the truth is bad teams have really, really low rock bottoms. But Super Bowl winning teams, I mean, their rock bottom isn’t isn’t too bad. The 2021 team had that three-game stretch. They lost three straight games. So, every team goes through something throughout the course of a Super Bowl winning season, unless you’re the 72 Dolphins or teams like that. But, I I think for this for this team, the issue you have is you’re still trying to figure out things about look, the running game now, is Blake Corm ever going to play again? Right? I mean, is Jarus Hood ever going to play? is uh what what does this mean for the secondary? What does this mean for the special teams? What does this mean for the chemistry with Devont Adams and Matthew Stafford? So, I think the issue with this team, it’s not like they’re a team that’s had a lot of parts that have done it for so many seasons consecutively. They’re still trying to figure out who they are. And I’m sure that at this point there’s some doubt that creeps in, but hopefully they channel that in the right way and they’re able to feel this. I have all the confidence in the world that Shawn McVey will get the best out of this team, but it this is going to be some a defining I think part of the season, how they respond from this. Yeah, I hear you. I certainly do. And Brock, I want to hear what you think when when I say what I’m about to say because everything DMac said is absolutely right. It, you know, we all believe this is an elite team. So, the floor should still be high and the ceiling should still be high as well. But DMAC said he trusts the talent and I I I want to as well. But like after you watch a game like this, like is there gonna be a game with more talent discrepancy than this game and you lost this game, right? You know, he said, you know, what separates the good teams? It But think about like the what the the the floor is right now for the Eagles. They’re complaining that they’re not throwing the ball enough to their star receiver while being 4-0, right? Like there’s levels to this, right? Like the Packers are mad that they tied a game. We lost it, right? Like there are levels to this and right now we are not unfortunately at that level, right? It just doesn’t feel like we’re at that level. And and there’s people that are rightfully probably questioning what I said earlier when they’re like, Gavin, how in the world are you saying the Rams were a win tonight away from talking about seating, but just look at the schedule for a second. You you play a Niners team with nobody healthy, that should be a win. Then you play the Ravens with nobody healthy and what should be a guaranteed loss for just about anyone in the NFL when you go to Baltimore. But they’re all hurt. It’s Cooper Rush throwing to nobody with nobody healthy on defense. That should be a win. You play the Jags, so I’m not sold on. Then you host the Saints. I mean, chalk it up as a five touchdown win. And then you go to the Niners, right? Like that should be Colts, Niners, Ravens, Jags, R uh Saints. That should be five wins in a row like pretty handedly, right? And instead you lose today. You don’t feel good now about going to Baltimore because even if there’s no Lamar, you just lost to Mac. Jones, you just lost to Mac. Jones. Do you guys do you guys believe that that that’s part of the reason why they lost is that this re this Rams team felt like, hey, we were right there with the Eagles. We bounced back and we beat the Colts that they felt like, oh, this Niners team can’t beat us because we feel like, oh, we’re g we’re just that much better townwide. Do you actually guys think that played a factor tonight? I’m generally curious. I I generally don’t know back forth. I think they just got out scheme, bro. I mean, you know, you’re on a short week, you know. Hey, you know, I I know Kyle Sandahan is probably running all through McVeyy’s mind like all day because he’s been having his number for so many amount of years. It’s just like McVey can’t get over it. It’s like like you said, he overthinks the overthinking. So, um I just think they got out scheme today, man. You know, Kyle Shanahan is a hell of a play caller. You know, he knows, you know, uh what kind of talent he has and he pretty much said it at halftime. We’re going to keep the ball out of their their players hands. Excuse me. If we can keep the ball out of their players hands, dink and dunk down the field, we’ll get this defensive tire. We get this defense tired and we’ll just manage to just hold in there, we’ll try to we we have a the opportunity to win this game. like did he know that they were going to win? Probably not. But he definitely built the game plan to where okay, if we just keep the ball away from Matthew Stafford and that high powered offense or that offense that has high powered players, um we can possibly win this game. So for me, it’s just like, man, I just think they got out scheme today. And that happens in this league. You know, you just got to go back to the drawing board and really truly figure out like how can you beat a a system like this? So, um, stop overthinking it. Go with what works in the red zone. Like, no, you don’t have to throw to Devonte four times in a row, but let’s make some creative things where you may play action pass, you know, rolling out, doing doing some things that a little bit different than you have been doing. Yeah. And it’s interesting, right, because this is why we love the sport so much. That’s why it’s the most popular sport on planet Earth. It’s polarizing. It comes down to a few plays. MadMax says, “Rams defense did not get embarrassed. We gave up 26 points in a game that went to overtime. On Thursday Night Football with only a few days under the belt, he goes, “The run defense just shut down Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, and Christian McAffrey have played good football by large. Corrections need to be made on special teams, but we’re plays away from 5-0, right?” And if you want to look at it glass half full, you can say that. At the same time, AC Filela here says the 49ers had all backups playing. Literally, their only star player was CMAC and got shredded by a backup. They were garbage. Jeffrey says Eagles lost hurt, but it gave me confidence because we’re able to hang with them. This just crushed my confidence, right? That’s why we love it. It’s so it could go either way. And obviously, the fans are going back and forth. But I again like the same way I said two things can be true in terms of Shanahan dialing it up and the defense being bad. Two things can be true. We all I think all three of us still believe in this Rams team as a team that’s going to win 11 games, right? 12 games. But at the same time, this is a team that still has not proven they can win games by double digits that they should. And again, when you make every game close in a league where it comes down to a few plays and you fumble at the one and you get a field goal blocked and you get stuffed on fourth and one and let we keep forgetting Eddie Pinero makes a 59yd field goal on the road when you can’t even get a field goal off like these these these coin flip games they they come back to bite you. And so what you need to do is not have any coin flip games. DMac. Yeah, absolutely. I just want to say, okay, did the Rams defense get embarrassed as far as overall points? I mean, to his to his point, I mean, he had 26 points in overtime. I think on the surface, you say no. The end of the day, you give 342 passing yards to M. Jones. And not only that, they showed you what they were doing with him the whole time, and you weren’t able to do anything to adjust. So, I I I totally disagree. I think the secondary did get embarrassed because even though you didn’t see these big explosives, they were getting what they wanted the entire night. And when you give guys what they want without making any adjustments and without changing things that need to be changed, I think that’s where you kind of see the embarrassment. I got you look at the look at people are saying that M. Jones might never lose again. Mac Jones might never say M. Jones. Who Mac Jones? Like it’s Mike Jones. I mean like what is I mean is his number 281 833080042 I don’t even know but like like we were starting a a Mac Jones movement now with the knight that he’s had. So I totally disagree especially on that first drive right there. I think that it’s personnel related to be honest with you and you know if you go to war with butter knives you’re not going to win the war right. So I I I do think that’s where they’re exploited but overall you got to give credit. They know how to stop the run. They’re good from that standpoint. I mean, you you you stifle all these great running backs, Saquon and Jonathan Taylor and and tonight CMC, sure, but Nate Lammond had a really great night again, too. Led the team in tackles. I mean, there were some bright spots. I mean, this Cam Curl last week, I’m not saying this defense is is trash by any means. I think this this defense has the makings to be a really really good defense with a little bit of an upgrade at the quarterback spot. But still, I I I disagree with you made M. Jones look like he was a top 10 quarterback tonight. quarterback tonight with the way that he ran that offense. And I I I was disappointed. And I’ll go one step further, DMac. We’ve seen games where backups look good. We’ve seen Jake Browning look good because he’s throwing the ball Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. Not this year, by the way. He’s been atrocious this year, but you know, a couple years ago when Joe Burrow got hurt. We’ve seen it on our team. We’ve seen Baker Mayfield come in and have a Thursday Night Football win. We’ve seen the Niners with a bunch of backups, whether it’s Darnold or M. Jones, because good coaches with good weapons can make an average quarterback look good. Because at the end of the day, these are not random people. They are the best players on planet Earth. You’re exactly right. But you let a subpar quarterback with subpar weapons cook you. And that’s what cannot be overstated. It’s not Brock Party throwing to nobody’s or it’s not M. Jones throwing to Jamar Chase. It is M. Jones throwing to nobody’s. Like, it’s double nobody’s. Like, that’s what makes it ridiculous. And so, I mean, people are saying there’s a QB, you know, competition in in San Francisco. No, I mean, the moral of the story is we just get we gave him a win. I mean, we I really think we gave him a win, Brock. Yeah. Yeah. I I totally agree. I mean, we beat the clothes off of M. Jones at the at one point in time. It’s like he was going off. This was this was literally M. Jones’s flu game, bro. Like, he’s gonna You gonna look at look at this tape. My man’s going to be in the hospital. He’s going to be at UCLA Health, UCLA Medical Center tonight. You could have beat this dude. Yep. Yep. Yep. And not and not not a hurt. I mean, like, it gets worse. I almost forgot, right? The rant was, “Hey, it’s Mac. Jones and and bad receivers.” It’s hurt Mac. Jones and bad receivers on the road on a Thursday on a short week. Like, you can The more you think about everything in this game, the more and more it is ridiculous that this is the result. And so I’m glad we’re laughing about it right now because if you don’t laugh, you will cry, right? If you don’t laugh, you will cry. Now, I will say programming note. Um I guess you know that’s what you say. Um obviously typically we do a midweek show and then there’s a Sunday postgame show. It is a Thursday, but this is a Thursday postgame show. So as much as I would love to talk ball on Sunday, there’s no postgame show. Um so we’ll there won’t be a show this weekend. Um, we’ll be back midweek next week to preview the upcoming game against the Ravens. So, again, as much as DMAC and I at least would love to talk about a new Rams game as soon as possible, we’re going to take the Michael Brockers, we’re going to take the the NFL players approach and say, let’s let’s get back to the, you know, to to day one. Let’s get back to the the board and let’s let’s write things up and Xins and O’s and let’s take our time. So, enjoy this Sunday without the Rams blocking getting field goals blocked, um, without the secondary refusing to tackle anybody. And when we get back next week, middle of the week, next Thursday, we’ll be talking about the Rams traveling to Baltimore, playing against a Lamar Jackson list Ravens with more injuries maybe than the Niners have. And it better be a win. I’m sorry. It absolutely better be a win. Before we go, the Mob Squad, we are legendary because of you two. So, any last words from either of you before we wrap up this first ever Thursday Night Squad show? I’m done, man. That’s Yeah. Yeah, I’m done, too. Like Watch the energy championship game. I’m I’m I’m gonna Uber eat some big fat chocolate cake. Big fat chocolate cake. Probably a carneada burrito and then watch the 2021 NFC Championship game. That’s all I’ve got. Yeah, it’s like the memes where I’m going to open up Madden right now and load this up and it’s going to be Rams 100 ner zero. Like I might do that. I might I might make a franchise just to trade for a couple corners and and and win 100 to nothing. That’s what I might do. But uh but yeah, shout out to everybody in here. Absolutely massive crowd on a Thursday night despite it being 1000 p.m. here, midnight where Brock is, 1:00 a.m. on the East Coast. A lot of you in here appreciate all Wait, Brock, do you rock those chains? Uh I don’t know, bro. Maybe I sometimes, bro, because you really outchained Gavin on this one, man. I have to say, Gav, you might want to tuck those, bro. You might want to just I was I going to lie, I was thinking it. I was hoping we were going to get through the show with I mean, come on now. I’m chainless, so I’m glad. You’ve been getting some sun or something, too. Sunglass. Where are my sunglasses? Yeah, it’s shining. It’s shining. I’m dead. I’m dead. I mean, yeah, we already we already had to talk about on the last show how if I ever took a picture next to Brock, it’d be, you know, right, man next to Mugsy Bogues. And now, now we got to can’t even win the chain compet. I mean, although, come on, Dmac, cut me some credit. I’m a 23-year-old. I should not be winning a chain competition with an NFL player DMAC. Hey, your chain’s better than my no chain. So, there you go. Call him two chains, but he got a few on. Michael Brocker, the Rams legend. All right, shout out to everybody in here. Have a great rest of your uh weekend. I guess the weekend starts early. I know there’s people in here joking about how they’re going to start drinking early. Don’t, you know, don’t make any bad decisions, folks. But, uh, have a great rest of your weekend. We’ll be back here in exactly a week from today for our preview of Rams Ravens. And to all the N Irish fans in here, thanks for the views, thanks for the likes, but I hate you guys. Absolutely. Take care. Who’s house? It wasn’t Ram’s house today, but whose squad? Ram Squad, the mob squad. Ram Squad show signing off. Take care, everybody.
The Mob Squad LOSES IT after the Los Angeles Rams INEXPLICABLY fell behind 2 scores, fell victim to AWFUL playcalling from Sean McVay and Chris Shula in a 26-23 overtime defeat to the 49ers in a sea of red at SoFi on TNF.
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24 comments
Mac Jones is a average QB Sean McVey doesn't not prefer using trick Plays or option plays, flea flickers , I watch is offensive for 9 years it a times is quickly figured out . They need to develop a play on 4th and 1 Power play with some big blockers Behind the line of scrimmage the back can run behind , , Sounds easy but you have to put the time in on practice to develop it andI they would rather not and work on quick slants and off tackle run plays
Levis South Baby!
It's a matter of getting rid of that culture of finding ways to lose. That not a good football team yet until they show us.
Why is Karty’s approach to the ball look like he is approaching through quick sand? WTH
As a 49er fan it's amazing to see all those Niner fans in the Rams house ….
I feel Gavin’s anger and he said everything I am thinking
i am tooo upset to think of rams for a week. play calling horrible.
Dmac your right this teams not as good as they think, but the defensive coach should have stopped those short passes,bad coaching on this one.
The xtra kick was blocked to be fair
Put young and verse on the oline on the field goal kicks,or at this point put the ball holder back a yard.
why dont you guys get into it with LA Rams over the tickets. Who did they sell the ST/SSLs to? Not LA Rams fans. How are all of the opponent fans getting all these tickets? Lets say there were 50K SF fans there last night. If they were all bought on the 3rd party market who is listing/selling them? Rams fans that bought season tickets? Not possible. To get 50K SF fans tickets, that would be some 13,500 Rams season ticket holders, with an average of 4 seats per account, are putting their tickets up for sale. That is not happening at that level. What Rams most likely did is they sold huge amounts of tickets/SSLs to local and national ticket brokers. And if that is the case, how is that supposed to be good for the team and especially the fans. The Rams didnt seem to care that their own fans are going to a neutral site at best. Rams seemed to decide they would rather have a full stadium with mostly "other" fans, than have a half full stadium with mostly Rams fans. All Rams ST holders like me should be questioning them. But someone in some media needs to get into this and expose it.
Going for it was created by Dan Campbell big balls Dan Campbell
We are soft. This is why we can’t beat tuff teams like the niners or eagles or lions. We get hit and the mouth and do nothing but cry
i lost count of the number of times the 9'ers did just enough to keep a drive going. just squeaking out 1st downs all night
28:50 no division title after this. If we make it to the playoffs it will be on a wild card. Soft ass rams team
lol the niners rarely have 3 second reads, what are you on about? Our o line is one of our weakest groups. Stafford had barely any pressure at all this game, he had a running game, he had 2 good receivers, and still lost. I was there at the game last night and it was a sea of red per usual. WHOSE HOUSE? NIIIIIINEEEERRRSSSS ☝️🔥
They made Kendrick (not Lamar) but Bourn looking like Jerry Rice. SMH. That front 4 cannot get pressure without blitzing. That's not going to work. Great show guys🔥
Also why in the hell did Pretty Mac not go for it with 8 mins left in the game. We were at the 50 a 1st down there and we can probably run a ton of time off the clock to rest that pathetic def.
Who's House …..49'ers House, it was mostly red there !!!! Not many Rams fans there at the game.
I liked the call to go for it. It worked 3 times before with the same play and formation basically. If it cant be stopped like the tush push why not? Only it didnt work that time. 😂 hey I thought both teams put together one of the best games between them I've ever seen. But im a niners fan so…all kidding aside I give props to the Rams in this game. Tough as he'll. I dont know how our WRs were catching passes honestly. We are so decimated with injuries but we have a lot of young rookie contributors that look like ballers of the future. And of course Warner. Bro is possibly the best defensive player in the league! You guys gotta get AARON back from retirement!!! Puca is a MF beast! He scares me as much as Dickerson did back in the day.
Should have had DA running interference for Puka again like he did almost all game. Why is Mac Jones doi g QB sneaks multiple times and getting the distance but Stafford isnt fully healthy??? Not that it would have worked but maybe would have had a better chance than Williams being stuffed.
16:37 "Nobody on Earth picked the 49ers in this game." Richard Sherman did! 😂 being a little hard on McVay here. The same play resulted in 3 first downs throughout the game. Besides…it isnt just the RB. The front line didnt get any push right? I agree it wasnt the RIGHT call but it wasnt a BAD call. It was just bad execution.
@MBrockers: this game plan by thr niners is exactly what I've been begging teams to do against the Chiefs! Time of possession is so important against elite QBs. Everyone wants to get into an air-raid war against people like Stafford and Mahomes. Doesn't make sense IMO
Who’s house? Asking for a friend?