LA Rams must shed nice guy image and sink the 49ers season

No more Mr. Nice Guy

The LA Rams have not fared well in contests against the San Francisco 49ers in the past two seasons. But perhaps worse than losing, the Rams fans have witnessed unprecedented levels of trolling by the 49ers players after those victories, and have been unable to do much about it. In fact, the Rams defense seemed to roll over and play dead over this one.

49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has not made much noise before the 2021 NFL season. It is safe to say that he is playing well this year. While his completion rate has dropped from 75 percent in 2020 to 60 percent in 2021, his yards per reception have improved dramatically from 11.8 yards per reception to 18.0 yards per reception.

This year, Samuel is pretty much the 49ers passing game. George Kittle has missed three games and has compiled 328 yards and one touchdown so far this year.  And if Samuel wanted to be the focus of the Rams defense, he can pretty much bank on it this year.

Perhaps this is finally the season that Aaron Donald’s teammates get his back. Perhaps this is the year that the Rams players get pissed off over some young disrespectful 49ers receiver trolling one of the best players in the NFL. Perhaps this is the game that the Rams defense finally says enough, and steps up to dominate a game against their rivals.

Enough with the niceties. Enough with the pleasantries. The LA Rams need to prove that they can be a bit angry. Let’s see how Week 10 plays out for them. I don’t think the defense can look past this game. In fact, I’m hoping that they don’t.