Thursday Night Observations

I took the Saints plus four, so that was disappointing, but I can’t bitch too much — it was the wrong side from the drop. Interestingly, I initially liked the Saints getting that many points, but when I went to put in my picking-pool picks, I had a Rams feeling and clicked on them. But then I saw people posting about how good the Rams were and switched it back to my initial idea and even used it as one of my five picks.

There’s often a tension between what you think and what your gut tells you, but while it’s easy to know what you think, it’s hard to know your gut read sometimes, i.e., did I really have a Rams feeling, or was that just a quirk of how the software was set up to prime me? If there were some perfect way to measure your gut, all you’d have to do is watch a lot of football, keep your mind clear and pick according to it. Actually, that is all you have to do. It’s the keep your mind clear part that’s easier said than done.

• The Rams dominated on the line of scrimmage, ripping open big holes for Kyren Williams and giving Matthew Stafford all day. Derek Carr was pressured a lot more, and the Saints backs had far less room to run.

• The Rams have an awfully narrow tree on offense — just four players caught passes, and Williams dominated the carries. Williams runs awfully hard for a 194-pound back too.

• Puka Nacua might get taken in the first round of next year’s drafts. He looks even better than he did earlier in the year, and Stafford is still sharp. Cooper Kupp got 12 targets, but Nacua made all the big plays.

• Chris Olave didn’t score, but he did everything else. I’d expect him to go in the second round again next year.

• Juwan Johnson is a pass catcher. He’s been underused in this offense, but he showed his playmaking. Rashid Shaheed reminds me of DeSean Jackson a little bit, but he’s a few inches taller.

• The Rams are indeed dangerous in the NFC. In fact, they might have the best chance (though it’s still not great) to stop the 49ers.