footballoutsiders: rams collapse in the desert

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

Word of Muth: Rams Collapse In Desert

by Ben Muth

The St. Louis Rams played the division-leading Arizona Cardinals close for most of the game this past Sunday before three straight turnovers from a now-benched quarterback in the fourth quarter ended any chance at a win. The Rams were able to hang around mostly because of what they did on one side of the ball. St. Louis played well on defense and had one nice drive and one big play on offense. A big reason the offense struggled (and with apologies to Austin Davis, probably THE big reason they struggled) was a poor performance from the offensive line. The line looked out of sync and overmatched all game, and frankly looked outclassed by Arizona’s front seven.

Things were bad for the offensive line from the first drive, when the Rams went three-and-out. Let’s start with the second play of the game, because it does a nice job of illustrating how putrid St. Louis was on the backside of zone plays all game long.

Since the Cardinals were living in a Bear front for most of the game (a head-up nose tackle and 3-techniques over both guards) the backside really starts with center Scott Wells (No. 63). Like everyone else, Wells had a poor game. In the play above, Wells blocks his guy (the backside inside linebacker), but does so at the expense of his right guard Davin Joseph (No. 69). Look at how skinny Wells gets to avoid any contact with the nose tackle. I understand wanting to avoid high-low blocks, but refs will almost always allow you to throw a stiff arm on your way to the second level. There’s no need to dip and rip.

It’s very possible that this was what the Rams game-planned: release the center to the second level quickly and hope the backside guard can cut-off/cut block the nose tackle with no help. If that’s the case then the blame falls on Joseph, or more accurately, the coaching staff.

At this point pretty much everyone in the NFL should know what Davin Joseph can and cannot do. If your game plan relies heavily on Davin Joseph cutting players aligned head-up on the man next to him, you’re gonna have a bad time. In his nine-year NFL career Joseph has never been a guy who can move quickly enough laterally to make that block, and asking him to do so is like asking your dog to cook you dinner.

Joseph misses the cut block (he doesn’t come close to getting his head in front of the playside quad like you want) but his man doesn’t even make the tackle. Right tackle Joe Barksdale (No. 72) is just as bad as Joseph on the backside. He doesn’t get a great first step, he almost steps right underneath himself, and he never comes close to covering up or cutting off the 3-technique. Frankly, he doesn’t look particularly interested in trying…. see link for vids and rest of article…

• This topic was modified 10 years ago by wv.
• This topic was modified 10 years ago by wv.