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August 23, 2015 at 11:57 pm #29178
znModeratorFive Takeaways: Rams at Titans
Myles Simmons
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Rams looked like a team that has some work to do before the start of the season on Sunday night, dropping their contest to the Titans, 27-14. But the good thing is that there is still a lot of time left between now and Sept. 13.
As quarterback Nick Foles said, “Everything out here is fixable and we can fix it. We’ll get back to work.”
Here are five takeaways from the action.
1) The offense has work to do
Simply put, the Rams’ first unit on offense did not have a great showing against the Titans. There were positive moments, but St. Louis failed to put any points on the board in the first half.
“Tonight, we needed to get the ball in the endzone,” quarterback Nick Foles said. “We didn’t do our job. We need to get some points on the board, but it’s one of those things where there’s a lot we can learn from.”
Foles had a bad interception on the Rams’ first drive. The quarterback and wide receiver Kenny Britt did not look like they were on the same page on a 1st-down play, and Foles ended up throwing it into the hands of Tennessee’s Parrish Cox. The Titans’ cornerback took the pass back 24 yards for a touchdown.
“I think in the preseason you really just continue to grow together, working together, seeing different things, different looks,” Foles said. “It’s one of those things where all of these are learning opportunities. You can’t take it too hard. You just have to learn from it and move on and get better.”
2) Keenum making his case
Quarterback Case Keenum has in effect spent the most time at quarterback for the Rams in the first two exhibition contests, and he’s starting to make a good argument for himself to be the team’s backup quarterback. Tonight, he went 7-of-16 for 164 yards and a touchdown — good for a 102.1 quarterback rating.
The highlight of Keenum’s night was no doubt an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Givens. The Houston product stood in the pocket as a Tennessee defender came up to hit him and delivered a nice long ball down the middle of the field to Givens, hitting him in stride. The wideout’s quickness took over at that point, and no one was going to catch Givens as he sped down the field.
Keenum shuttled back and forth from the Texans to the Rams last year, and St. Louis re-acquired the quarterback via trade in March. If he continues to play well, it looks like he may have found a good spot as the Rams’ No. 2 signal-caller.
3) Foles did have a nice moment
While the first drive did not end well for the Rams, the second drive featured a good moment from St. Louis’ starting QB. On 3rd-and-4 from the visiting team’s 27, Foles got pressured up the middle, but felt out the rush well. He stepped to the side, avoided another rusher, then stepped up in the pocket and delivered a strike to Britt in the middle of the field. The 7-yard pass was enough for a first down.
When the Rams signed Foles to his extension earlier this month, general manager Les Snead said that the quarterback has the ability to make things happen with his feet. That play was a good example of those abilities.
Again, it’s clear that the offense has plenty to work on. But if the team can get more plays like that from Foles, then the offense should be in good shape.
4) Joyner making plays
Head coach Jeff Fisher has been quite complimentary of Lamarcus Joyner lately, and Sunday the defensive back showed why. According to the press box statistics, Joyner led the Rams in tackles through the first half with five, including a nice tackle for loss inside the red zone. He also had a big pass breakup in the middle of the field on a 3rd-and-long play in order to stall an early Titans drive.
“He’s going to be our inside guy,” Fisher said earlier this week. “He’s improving every day. He’s light years ahead of where he was last year. It was all happening really fast and it’s starting to slow down for him. When he knows exactly what to do, he does it very well. We’re counting on him to be effective in the slot, which means as a third corner, you’re probably going to play 50-60% of our snaps.”
Tonight the young corner certainly took advantage of his opportunities.
5) Fisher gets a nice ovation
As you surely know, Fisher was the head coach for the Titans organization for 16 full seasons. Tonight was the first time Fisher entered the building as an opposing coach, and Tennessee played a video tribute to commemorate the occasion.
Coach Fisher honored with a standing ovation. His first time back to the stadium since leaving the Titans. pic.twitter.com/ARoxXn504E
— Dani Klupenger (@daniklup) August 24, 2015The assembled crowd gave Fisher a standing ovation, and the head coach gave a wave to acknowledge it. It was a nice moment from the second preseason matchup.
August 23, 2015 at 11:59 pm #29179znModeratorRams starters struggle with basics in preseason loss to Titans
Nick Wagoner
A few thoughts on the St. Louis Rams’ 27-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans:
What it means: We already knew that the Rams had a lot of work to do on offense but if it’s possible, a group that didn’t score a touchdown on two drives last week took a step back on twice as many opportunities against the Titans. Making matters worse, the defense had some issues, with the first-team unit allowing 6.4 yards per play on three series, though it managed to limit the damage to three points. The result doesn’t matter, but the Rams’ struggles to do the basics such as blocking and tackling should be of more concern. Those fundamentals have been issues in recent preseasons and carried over to the regular season. The Rams can’t afford for that to happen again.
Play of the game: Nearly seven quarters into the preseason, the Rams finally got their first touchdown when quarterback Case Keenum lofted a perfect deep ball to receiver Chris Givens, who caught it in stride for an 80-yard touchdown.
Stat of note: 2.4, as in 2.4 yards per carry. That’s what the Rams’ first-team offense mustered on nine attempts before calling it a night. If the Rams are to be a run-first team, that number must improve. This is where the blocking comes in.
Stat of note, part II: 5.7, as in 5.7 yards per carry allowed by the Rams’ first-team defense. The Rams boast a dynamic pass rush but it won’t mean much if they don’t stop the run first. This is where the tackling comes in.
Injuries of note: The Rams made it through without losing any potential starters to obvious or serious injuries.
What’s next: The Rams head home for the final two weeks of the preseason, starting with Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts at the Edward Jones Dome.
August 24, 2015 at 12:28 am #29181znModeratorNick Foles, offensive line stuck in neutral, Trey Watts rising
Nick Wagoner
Here are some highs and lows in terms of individual performances from the St. Louis Rams’ 27-14 loss against the Tennessee Titans:
Highs
WR Chris Givens: The Rams finally got their first touchdown of the preseason with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter of the second game. It came courtesy of Givens, who burned the Titans for an 80-yard score with a perfect throw from quarterback Case Keenum. The deep ball is Givens’ best trick but it’s one the Rams can use and probably why he’ll stick on the roster for a fourth season.
RB Trey Watts: Watts is suspended the first four games of the season for violation of the league’s policy on substance abuse, which means he needs strong preseason performances to earn a roster spot. Nights like Sunday should help. He finished with 53 yards on six carries and added two catches for 42 yards.
QB Case Keenum: Competing for the No. 2 quarterback job, Keenum offered at least one reason to lock down the job with the aforementioned touchdown pass to Givens. It was the best throw by any Rams signal caller this preseason and finally got the Rams in the end zone. The final numbers weren’t overwhelming as he finished seven-of-16 for 164 yards with the score for a rating of 102.1 but anyone on the offense providing big plays should get thumbs up.
Lows
QB Nick Foles: Foles was responsible for the Titans’ first touchdown, throwing an aimless pass out into the flat that Perrish Cox intercepted and returned 24 yards for a touchdown. He finished three-of-seven for 18 yards with that pick and no touchdowns for a rating of 10.7.
The starting offensive line: Of course, Foles’ struggles were due in part to the struggles of this group. Without left guard Rodger Saffold, that unit didn’t allow a sack but there was plenty of pressure. What’s worse, they only managed to pave the way for 2.4 yards per carry on nine attempts. That’s not nearly enough for a team that wants to be run-centric.
CB Marcus Roberson: Roberson has had a strong camp but had a costly miss on a tackle that led to Hakeem Nicks’ 40-yard catch-and-run and allowed a couple of other completions for sizable gains. He’s all but certain to be the team’s No. 4 cornerback but will need to be more consistent to elevate beyond that in 2015.
August 24, 2015 at 12:40 am #29184znModeratorcollected by RamBill
Myles Simmons @MylesASimmons
Fisher will have a Monday press conference at 5 o’clock tomorrow.
Foles on INT: “That’s one of those ones where you learn from it. The next time you see that, you throw it over his head.”
More Foles: “That’s what the preseason is great for—situations like that you can learn from & move forward & stay positive through it all.”
Jim Thomas @jthom1
Just back from locker room. Jeff Fisher said the Rams had no one in the training room after the game, so no injuries.
On the pick six, Foles said he should’ve thrown the ball away. But Britt probably should’ve flattened out his route (my words, not Foles’.)
While realizing it wasn’t pretty when the starters and regulars were on the field, Fisher isn’t panicking. Says team has to keep working.
Fisher said the Rams looked like a team that hadn’t played in 10 days, which is the time since the preseason opener in Oakland.
Fisher was highly appreciative of the video tribute and the ovation of the Tennessee fans.
Said Brockers was held out because of some shoulder soreness, but it’s nothing major.
August 24, 2015 at 1:14 am #29185znModeratorSour homecoming for Fisher
Jim Thomas
NASHVILLE, TENN. • The Jeff Fisher video tribute came early in the first quarter. The applause was loud and heartfelt, with some in the crowd at Nissan Stadium standing in appreciation of the 16 years Fisher led the Tennessee franchise as head coach.
Fisher said Thursday he wouldn’t look at the scoreboard — he’d be too busy coaching. But when it happened Sunday, Fisher heard the applause, peeked at the scoreboard and waved to the fans.
“I have to extend my appreciation to the entire Titan organization for honoring me like they did,” Fisher said afterward. “It was moving.”
It was a true warm and fuzzy moment. Then the Tennessee Titans went about the business of beating in the brains of the Rams in a nationally televised preseason game that ended in a 27-14 defeat for St. Louis.
“Football-wise, we played like we hadn’t played in 10 days,” Fisher said. “I felt like we were a little sloppy. Got some unnecessary penalties. We kept it basic, and that’s not an excuse. You’ve still got to play better. … We’ve got some work to do this week.”
The Rams couldn’t block, couldn’t tackle and couldn’t score in the first half against the Titans. They even had trouble punting and kicking, with Pro Bowler Johnny Hekker shanking a punt for 23 yards and Greg Zuerlein sending a 53-yard field goal wide right.
“In the preseason, you really just continue to grow together, working together, seeing different things, different looks,” quarterback Nick Foles said. “It’s one of those things where all of these are learning opportunities. You can’t take it too hard.”
Maybe so, but while the Rams were stumbling, the Titans were blocking, tackling and scoring. Not to mention intercepting. On Foles’ second pass of the evening, he threw a “pick 6” to cornerback Perrish Cox, the former 49er.
Foles stared down his target on the play, and there appeared to be some confusion on the route by wide receiver Kenny Britt. The result was a 24-yard return by Cox for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead for the Titans with 8 minutes, 3 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Britt needed to flatten out the route. But Foles blamed himself, saying he needed to throw the ball away in that situation.
The Titans proceeded to score on three of their next four possessions to take a 20-0 halftime lead. First came a Ryan Succop field goal on a drive sparked by a 35-yard reception to tight end Craig Stevens — whom no one on the Rams’ defense bothered to pick up.
Then came a 3-yard TD reception by former Missouri star tight end Chase Coffman, on a fastball squeezed between two Rams defenders by strong-armed backup QB Zach Mettenberger.
A missed tackle by cornerback Marcus Roberson, who has moved up to the fourth corner role following E.J. Gaines’ season-ending foot injury, turned what should’ve been a 7-yard gain by Hakeem Nicks into a 40-yard advance on the drive.
To close out the half, Mettenbeger led the Titans on a 43-yard field goal march, a drive that included three catches for 32 yards by former Mizzou star wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.
Foles and the Rams’ starting offense were on the field for four series but managed only 37 yards. All told, Foles completed three of seven passes for 18 yards and a meager passer rating of 10.7.
“Tonight, we needed to get the ball in the end zone,” Foles said. “We didn’t do our job. We need to get some points on the board but it’s one of those things where there’s a lot we can learn from. Everything out here is fixable, and we can fix it.”
Fisher wanted to run the ball better Sunday, but Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham and Isaiah Pead combined for only 33 yards on 12 carries in the first half. Once again, first-round draft pick Todd Gurley warmed up before the game but did not play. Fisher said last week that Gurley would not play in the preseason while he finishes up his rehab from knee surgery at the University of Georgia.
In the first quarter, the Rams were outgained 100 yards to 28. And by halftime it was almost as lopsided, with the Titans amassing 226 yards and 13 first downs to the Rams’ 84 yards and four first downs.
When asked about the play of the starting defensive unit, end Chris Long replied: “Not good enough. Not sharp enough. A couple of people were out of gaps. A couple of things we need to fix. They’re not big deal issues, but we need to fix them ad that’s what preseason is for.”
You can talk all you want about the meaning of preseason games, and that it’s foolish not to read too much into what transpires. But two games into the preseason, the Rams haven’t been close to competitive against Oakland and Tennessee franchises that were near the bottom of the league in 2014.
That was particularly the case in the first half against Tennessee, when almost all of the players on the field were either starters or backups who will make the 53-man roster.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick by Tennessee in the draft last spring, didn’t look overly stressed by the Rams’ highly touted defense during his three series. He completed five of eight passes for 59 yards and an 84.9 passer rating before giving way to Mettenberger.
The Titans managed only a field goal in those three possessions, but Mariota had a touchdown pass dropped by Dexter McCluster in the end zone before that initial field goal.
With Case Keenum taking over for Foles, the Rams finally got on the scoreboard with 5:38 to play in the third quarter. Reminiscent of his big-play prowess as a rookie in 2012, wide receiver Chris Givens got behind the Tennessee secondary and hauled in a well-thrown deep ball by Keenum. No one could catch Givens, one of the fastest Rams, and the result was an 80-yard touchdown that narrowed Tennessee’s lead to 20-7.
It took nearly seven quarters to get there, but the Rams finally had their first touchdown of the preseason.
The Rams got their second touchdown in the final minute of the game on a pass play from Sean Mannion to Malcolm Brown that went 54 yards.
August 24, 2015 at 10:25 am #29202znModeratorLamarcus Joyner bounces back with solid performance against Titans
Nick Wagoner
Lamarcus Joyner struggled against the Oakland Raiders in the preseason opener, allowing an easy completion for a touchdown and missing a couple of tackles. He showed some resilience Sunday night in the St. Louis Rams’ 27-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans on his way to earning my game ball.
Joyner made a perfect play on a third-down pass on Tennessee’s opening possession to get the breakup and kill the drive. He also proved to be one of the few Rams capable of making a sure tackle, posting five stops, including one for loss. While others further down the roster might have posted more impressive nights, we’ll go with Joyner since he did it with the starters and will be a key piece for the defense this season.
With starting cornerback EJ Gaines lost for the season because of a foot injury, Joyner must elevate his game. Joyner, a second-round pick in 2014, is set as the team’s nickel corner. To remain there, he’ll need more efforts like Sunday night’s.
August 24, 2015 at 10:26 am #29203znModeratorNick Foles, offensive line stuck in neutral, Trey Watts rising
Nick Wagoner
Here are some highs and lows in terms of individual performances from the St. Louis Rams’ 27-14 loss against the Tennessee Titans:
Highs
WR Chris Givens: The Rams finally got their first touchdown of the preseason with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter of the second game. It came courtesy of Givens, who burned the Titans for an 80-yard score with a perfect throw from quarterback Case Keenum. The deep ball is Givens’ best trick but it’s one the Rams can use and probably why he’ll stick on the roster for a fourth season.
RB Trey Watts: Watts is suspended the first four games of the season for violation of the league’s policy on substance abuse, which means he needs strong preseason performances to earn a roster spot. Nights like Sunday should help. He finished with 53 yards on six carries and added two catches for 42 yards.
QB Case Keenum: Competing for the No. 2 quarterback job, Keenum offered at least one reason to lock down the job with the aforementioned touchdown pass to Givens. It was the best throw by any Rams signal caller this preseason and finally got the Rams in the end zone. The final numbers weren’t overwhelming as he finished seven-of-16 for 164 yards with the score for a rating of 102.1 but anyone on the offense providing big plays should get thumbs up.
Lows
QB Nick Foles: Foles was responsible for the Titans’ first touchdown, throwing an aimless pass out into the flat that Perrish Cox intercepted and returned 24 yards for a touchdown. He finished three-of-seven for 18 yards with that pick and no touchdowns for a rating of 10.7.
The starting offensive line: Of course, Foles’ struggles were due in part to the struggles of this group. Without left guard Rodger Saffold, that unit didn’t allow a sack but there was plenty of pressure. What’s worse, they only managed to pave the way for 2.4 yards per carry on nine attempts. That’s not nearly enough for a team that wants to be run-centric.
CB Marcus Roberson: Roberson has had a strong camp but had a costly miss on a tackle that led to Hakeem Nicks’ 40-yard catch-and-run and allowed a couple of other completions for sizable gains. He’s all but certain to be the team’s No. 4 cornerback but will need to be more consistent to elevate beyond that in 2015.
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