Gordon, Thomas, Wagoner, Karraker, etc. on the Vikes game

Rapid Reaction: St. Louis Rams

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11389/rapid-reaction-st-louis-rams-13

ST. LOUIS — A few thoughts on the St. Louis Rams’ 34-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at the Edward Jones Dome.

What it means: Put simply, it could be a really long season in St. Louis. Without starting quarterback Sam Bradford (out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee), the offense sputtered to levels commensurate with some of the team’s leanest years in St. Louis. The defense was on the field too much and the penalty issues of the past two years remain. Starting the season with a loss at home to what looked to be a beatable opponent doesn’t bode well for a team that faces the league’s third-toughest schedule (based on last year’s results).

Stock watch: Down — the offense. Nobody expected fireworks from this group, but for a group that was supposed to provide power running and opportunities to get chunks of yards on play-action, this was about as discouraging a performance as you’ll find. Shaun Hill left at halftime with a thigh injury and Austin Davis took over, but neither had much success behind an offensive line offering little protection and a run game mostly stuck in the mud. This unit finished with 318 yards, most of which came in garbage time.

Quarterback quandary: Hill got off to a good start with a 23-yard completion on the first offensive play of the game, but it got no better from there. His interception to Vikings cornerback Josh Robinson at the end of the first half was abysmal, and it allowed the Vikings to score the game’s first touchdown. That 13-0 halftime hole was far too much to overcome with or without Hill, who was replaced by Davis. Davis got some game experience and managed some completions with the game out of hand but had nothing more than a pair of field goals to show for it.

Game ball: Receiver Brian Quick. Pickings were incredibly slim here anyway, regardless of which side of the ball you look at. But he was the lone bright spot on the offense, carrying his strong preseason into the opening regular-season game and finishing with seven catches for 99 yards. The third-year wideout at least flashed the promise of better things ahead, which is more than can be said for most of the offense.

What’s next: Things don’t get much easier for the Rams next week as they travel to what should be a hot and humid Tampa, Florida, to take on the Bucs.

Rams embarrassed by Vikings 34-6
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-embarrassed-by-vikings/article_23c2ce3b-3328-5e04-ba63-fe19931ef47a.html

If you wanted to pick the worst possible way to open a season, it would be difficult to top the performance put on by the Rams on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

They committed silly penalties. Couldn’t stop the run. Got outplayed on special teams. And couldn’t really do anything on offense. Seven weeks of build-up led to one of the worst Rams season openers in years — an embarrassing 34-6 loss to Minnesota to open 2014.

Any time you start a season with your third-string quarterback in there to start the second half, you’re in trouble. Such was the case Sunday. Quarterback Sam Bradford obviously is out for the season with a knee injury. His replacement, Shaun Hill, was done by halftime with a thigh injury. So that left Austin Davis in charge when the Rams started the third quarter down 13-0.

For the most part, the defense did its part in the first half, keeping Adrian Peterson in check and making quarterback Matt Cassel throw the ball downfield at his own risk.

But the Rams’ offense was basically non-existent in the first half. Yes, Brian Quick established himself with several early catches, but he also took the Rams out of a scoring opportunity, being called for a facemask penalty for getting his hand in the grill of Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn after a 21-yard catch.

The 15-yard penalty midway through the second quarter backed the Rams up to the Minnesota 46. They appeared to get the first down back a couple of plays later on a 14-yard catch by Chris Givens. But Givens was called for offensive pass interference — overall, the Rams were flagged 13 times for 121 yards — so the play was called back from what would’ve been the Minnesota 27 to the Rams’ 49.

The result was a punt.

Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was the Vikings’ top runner in the first quarter, doing his damage on the “jet” sweep, plays where the wide receiver goes in motion and then takes the handoff as he passes the quarterback in motion.

A 13-yard gain on a jet sweep by Patterson, coupled with a dubious roughing the passer call against Robert Quinn by referee Ed Hochuli helped the Vikings take a 3-0 lead on a 52-yard field goal by Blair Walsh.

The Rams missed a chance to tie the game on their second possession when Jeff Zuerlein’s 50-yard field goal sailed wide left with 1:09 to play in the first quarter.

Facing a fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 31, Fisher opted for a field goal instead of going for it. Taking over at their 40 after the miss, the Vikings needed only one play to get in Walsh’s range — a 23-yard jet sweep by Patterson, who was aided by two missed tackles by the Rams on the play.

The result was a 46-yard field goal by Walsh and a 6-0 Minnesota lead 44 seconds into the second quarter. The Rams’ defense kept Minnesota in check for much of the second quarter, but after taking over at their 25 with 1:38 to go in the half, a scrambling Shaun Hill — running to his right — threw into double-coverage towards the right sideline.

Vikings cornerback Josh Robinson made an athletic, leaping interception, keeping his feet in-bounds as he came down.

Minnesota took over on the St. Louis 35 with 1:09 to play in the half. This time the Vikings didn’t settle for a field goal. On second-and-1 from the St. Louis 8, veteran Greg Jennings got behind rookie E.J. Gaines for a touchdown on a throw from Matt Cassel and a 13-0 lead with 21 seconds left in the half.

Austin Davis took over in the third quarter at quarterback, replacing starter Hill, who left with a thigh injury. Davis led the Rams to a 56-yard field goal drive, cutting the lead to 13-3. But the Rams had to punt after their second possession of the half.

Patterson applied a dagger on the very next play after the Rams’ punted. Lining up in the backfield, Patterson did his best Peterson impression by taking a handoff to the right, cutting back towards the middle and then zigging and zagging his way to the end zone for a 67-yard TD.

Rams defenders fell like bowling pins along the way. No less than five Rams had a chance to bring Patterson down on the play and whiffed on tackle attempts.

The Rams couldn’t recover from that, as feeble as their offense was Sunday. Davis had trouble getting the ball out quickly, and the Vikings’ front four could ignore the run and just head upfield in the direction of the quarterback.

A roughing the punter penalty by Chase Reynolds in the fourth quarter set up Minnesota for yet another touchdown, on a seven-yard pass from Cassel to tight end Kyle Rudolph, who beat free safety Rodney McLeod. That made it 27-3 Minnesota, with 6:27 to play.

But wait, it gets worse. The Rams were down near the red zone, threatening to finally reach the end zone, when safety Harrison Smith stepped in front of a Davis pass and returned an interception 81 yards for a TD. Davis led tight end Jared Cook on the play, but Cook settled in the middle, giving Smith the opportunity.

So with Smith’s “pick 6” it was 34-3 Vikings and hard to tell which was louder — boos from the Rams’ fans or shouts of “Let’s go Vikings” by the Minnesota faithful on hand.

Here are the updates posted by Joe Lyons of the Post-Dispatch during the game:

The visiting Minnesota Vikings capitalized on Rams’ mistakes and cruised to a 34-6 victory over the Rams Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

It was a triumphant start for new Minnesota head coach Mike Rimmer, 58, who was making his head coaching debut after spending the previous 20 seasons as an NFL assistant coach. Rimmer, who was born in Peoria, Ill, played football at Illinois State and got his coaching start under got his coaching start as a part-time defensive assistant under Warren Powers at the University of Missouri in 1979.

The Vikings continued to pull away, taking advantage of a roughing-the-kicker penalty in the fourth quarter. With 6:27 to play, Matt Cassel hooked up with tight end Kyle Rudolph on a 7-yard touchdown pass that pushed the visitors’ advantage to 27-3.

The touchdown, which came four players after the penalty, was set up by a 22-yard strike from Cassel to another tight end, Rhett Ellison.

The Vikings’ defense joined in the scoring fun with about 3 minutes to play when safety Harrison Smith picked off a pass and returned it 81 yards to make it 34-3 with 2:57 to play.

The Rams’ final drive, which reached the Minnesota 16 on a 27-yard pass from Austin Davis to Chris Givens, stalled thanks to a holding call and a bad snap as Greg Zuerlein closed out the game’s scoring with a 46-yard field goal with 1:36 to play

VIKINGS UP 20-3 WITH 15 MINUTES TO PLAY

The Vikings added to their lead late in the third quarter, thanks to second-year wideout Cordarrelle Patterson. On a first-down play from his own 33, he took an end-around to the right, cut back a couple of times and broke a handful of tackles en route to a 67-yard touchdown run that made it 20-3 with 1:54 to play in the third quarter.

Defensive end Chris Long suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter. His return is questionable.

With Austin Davis at quarterback _ Shaun Hill has a thigh injury and is questionable to return _ the Rams picked up their first points of the 2014 season when Greg Zuerlein booted a 56-yard field goal with 10:11 to play in the third quarter.

The drive, which featured a 26-yard pass from Davis to tight end Jared Cook.

Early second-half update: Austin Davis took over at quarterback for the Rams on their first series of the third quarter.

Rams reported that starter Shaun Hill has a thigh injury. His return is questionable.

Davis drove the Rams into Minnesota territory; when the drive stalled, Greg Zuerlein kicked a 56-yard field goal that cut the Vikings’ lead to 13-3.

HALFTIME UPDATE

The Vikings took advantage of a late turnover to add to their lead and take a 13-0 advantage to halftime.

On a Shaun Hill pass into double-coverage intended for tight end Jared Cook, Minnesota’s Josh Robinson made an acrobatic interception near the Rams’ bench at the St. Louis 35.

Four plays later, Matt Cassel found Greg Jennings in the back of the end zone for a 8-yard touchdown that made it 13-0 21 seconds to play before halftime.

Some halftime stats of note: Hill has complete 8 of 13 passes for 81 yards with one interception. Benny Cunningham (3 carries, 13 yards) and Zac Stacy (4 yards, 13 yards) lead the way on the ground. Brian Quick has four catches for 70 yards.

Matt Cassel has completed 10 of 16 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Greg Jennings has 4 catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Adrian Peterson has rushed 11 times for 39 yards.

The Vikings have 180 net yards (85 rushing, 95 passing) to the Rams’ 109 (34 rushing, 75 passing).

VIKINGS UP 6-0 EARLY IN SECOND QUARTER

The Vikings grabbed the lead on the game’s first drive, moving 56 yards on 11 plays and coming away with a 52-yard field goal from Blair Walsh with 9:37 to play in the opening quarter. The drive reached the Rams’ 25-yard line _ thanks to a very questionable roughing-the-passer call _ but the Rams defense stepped up. Second-year safety T.J. McDonald came up with a pair of key stops, forcing the Vikings to setting for the field goal.

After the teams traded punts, the Rams put together a solid drive that stalled in Vikings’ territory when a Shaun Hill-to-Brian Quick pass play came up a yard short. Greg Zuerlein followed with a 50-yard field goal try with just over a minute to play in the opening quarter. But the kick sailed wide to the left.

The Vikings added to their lead in the opening minute of the second half, getting a 46-yard field goal from Walsh. The key play on the drive was a 23-yard run by wideout Cordarrelle Patterson.

RAMS, VIKINGS KICK OFF 2014 SEASON

The Rams kick off the 2014 NFL season today at the Edward Jones Dome, hosting the Minnesota Vikings in a noon contest.

The Rams were 7-9 a year ago and finished 1-3 in the preseason. The Vikings finished 5-10-1 a year ago and cleaned out, bringing in highly respected and longtime defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to take over. Minnesota went 4-0 in the preseason.

In a series that dates back to 1961, the Vikings hold a 24-16-2 lead, with each team scoring 939 points. Since the Rams moved to St. Louis, the teams have split eight games, with the Rams taking the lone postseason win., a 49-37 decision her in the 1999 divisional round.

The Vikings, who have won three of the last four meetings, blew past the Rams 36-22 in the teams’ last meeting, in December 2012. In that one, after being held to eight yards on his first eight carries, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson gutted (his word) the Rams for an 82-yard touchdown and went on to rush for 212 yards on 24 carries.

As expected, Mizzou’s E.J. Gaines will get the start at cornerback. He was a sixth-round draft pick in May who has impressed defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with his cool demeanor and short memory.

• RAMS TALK: GDT vs. Vikings

Rams’ inactives are quarterback Case Keenum, running back Tre Mason, safety Maurice Alexander (Eureka High), tight end Alex Bayer, defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks,, starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson (knee) and center Barrett Jones (back) for the Rams.

That means the team’s No. 3 pick (Mason) and No. 4 pick (Alexander) are not dressed. And, of course, the No. 2 overall pick, offensive lineman Greg Robinson is dressed and not starting.

For the Vikings, the inactives are quarterback Christian Ponder, cornerback Shawn Prater, guard David Yankey, tight end MarQueis Gray, fullback Zach Line (ankle) and linebackers Brandon Watts (knee) and Michael Mauti (foot) for the Vikings.

The Rams are in all blue; the Vikings are in white jerseys and purple pants.

PREGAME ENTERTAINMENT

The Rams will honor Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Aeneas Williams today. Williams, who was inducted in August, will also serve as an honorary captain and participate in the coin toss.

Blake Leeper, a U.S. Paralympic athlete who won silver and bronze medals at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, will be running the Rams’ flag across the field to start the game. Leeper, know as the American Bladerunner, began competing internationally in 2009. He is a bilateral below-the-knee amputee who has been using prosthetics since the age of nine.

The National Anthem will be sung by former Rams cheerleader Tess Boyer. An Edwardsville High graduate, Boyer was a top-10 finalist on The Voice.

Rams embarrassed, frustrated by opener
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11426/rams-embarrassed-frustrated-by-opener

ST. LOUIS — Inside a quiet and somber St. Louis Rams locker room after a demoralizing 34-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, there were no excuses to be found. There was no sunshine and lollipops were not readily available.

This was a locker room that looked every bit like one that came up on the wrong side of a tail whipping. They had just been thoroughly beaten by the Vikings and they heard all of the boos that rained down as they left the field.

“It’s very frustrating,” end Chris Long said. “Frustration is putting it lightly. I know everybody watching is frustrated. You can multiply that by about 10, 100, whatever you want to do. That’s how frustrated people are in this locker room.”

Frustration was but one candidate for the word of the day, a word shared by every Rams fan entering the season opener with the hope of a new season and the disappointment of another egg left on the Edward Jones Dome turf.

Another was embarrassment.

“It is embarrassing,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “We put a lot of work into this preseason, and we have a great week of practice. To come out here and play the way we did in front of the home crowd for the opener is embarrassing.”

Taking stock of what happened, those are probably the appropriate feelings for what took place Sunday afternoon.

The final yardage totals were a bit misleading but this game was every bit as lopsided as the score. The Vikings out gained the Rams 346 to 318 but 109 of those Rams yards came on the final two possessions with the game out of hand.

But there was ample evidence elsewhere for why the Rams and their fans were feeling how they felt after the game.

First, the Rams continue to be one of the most penalized teams in the league, racking up 13 infractions for 121 yards, a continuation of a common theme from the first two years of coach Jeff Fisher’s time in St. Louis in which the Rams have more combined penalties than any team in the league.

The Rams visited the red zone just once, advancing as far as Minnesota’s 16 on the game’s final possession before a — wait for it — penalty and a missed exchange on a snap left them with a field goal.

In the turnover battle, the Rams had a pair of costly interceptions. One from veteran Shaun Hill led to the Vikings first touchdown late in the first half and Austin Davis cut out the middle man when he hit Minnesota safety Harrison Smith in stride as Smith returned it 81 yards for a touchdown.

Defensively, the Rams couldn’t create any turnovers and though they did a good job against running back Adrian Peterson, caved in when Cordarrelle Patterson ran 67 yards for a touchdown on his way to becoming the first Vikings receiver with 100 yards or more rushing in a game.

It was a complete collapse with little redeeming value and it will certainly test the mettle of this team moving forward.

“It’s always concerning when you lose a game and you’re not competitive in it,” Long said. “We were competitive for awhile there but things get out of hand and the wheels fall off. I have been in a lot of crappy football games and that was one of them. I have seen worse, I’ve been a part of worse obviously.

“That doesn’t make it any better but I do know that we can turn things around. That’s one week. As far as I know there are 15 more weeks at least. We have got one day to be pissed off and we’ll be really pissed off for a day but we’ll be focused tomorrow.”

Strauss: Rams reward fans with huge letdown
• Joe Strauss

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/joe-strauss/strauss-rams-reward-fans-with-huge-letdown/article_610cb27a-98d6-5f39-a938-2986fbaf8655.html

To explain what the Rams foisted on their paying public Sunday, take your definition of “bad” and multiply it by 10, maybe 20.

Those into higher mathematics might challenge themselves by multiplying the Rams’ fumbles (four) by their interceptions (two) by their penalty yardage (121). The product (968) would approximate the number of non-purple-wearing diehards who stuck around for the bitter end of the Minnesota Vikings’ 34-6 wipeout of a team only Mayflower could love.

After raising expectations for seven weeks, the Rams went about demolishing every remaining pillar of optimism in a game described as humbling and embarrassing by those in the home locker room.

The Vikings used Mike Zimmer’s debut as head coach as a stage for their most lopsided regular-season victory since January 2009. The Rams absorbed their worst beating since October 2012, when they at least took the depressing act to London.

This wasn’t an international incident. Worse, it was a dose of ineptitude that came with overtones of Linehan and Spagnuolo. The Rams announced 55,919 tickets distributed Sunday. Best of luck enticing the wait-and-see element after this one, which had the locals booing the Rams from the field when the team was down 13-0 at half.

“I’ve been in a lot of crappy football games, and that was one of them,” summarized defensive end Chris Long, here for his seventh season. “I’ve been part of worse, obviously. That doesn’t make it any better.”

Coach Jeff Fisher told his team one week doesn’t define it. However, one week sure as hell better concern it. Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis wouldn’t duck the E-word.

“It is embarrassing,” he said.

The Rams never reached the red zone Sunday. Two weeks after losing quarterback Sam Bradford to a torn knee ligament, they lost veteran backup Shaun Hill for the second half under intriguing circumstances. Hill’s interception with less than two minutes remaining in the first half led to the Vikings’ first touchdown and a two-possession game.

Hill gave way to Austin Davis to open the second half because of what the club labeled a bruised quadriceps. But afterward Hill declined to say when or how he suffered the injury, instead referring all health-related questions to Fisher.

Three times Hill heard a question about the circumstances that took him out of the game. Three times he declined to answer. Who predicted this as the final act of Hill’s first start since 2010?

Hill did allow that he “absolutely” hopes to play next Sunday at Tampa.

Most teams take weeks to create under-performance and quarterback intrigue. The Rams, playing what conceivably could be their last season opener in The 314, achieved both before most of their fans needed a bathroom break.

The Vikings are coming off a 5-10-1 season that cost coach Leslie Frazier his job. They hadn’t won on the road since two days before Christmas 2012. Last year’s defense allowed an average 30 points a game, worst in the league.

Zimmer, a former Mizzou assistant who waited 25 years for an NFL head coaching gig, watched his club hold the Rams to two field goals, the second accounting for the final margin.

Credit the Rams for holding Vikings 2,000-yard rusher Adrian Peterson to 75 yards Sunday. However, they’re still chasing wideout Cordarrelle Patterson, who zagged for 102 yards on two jet sweeps and an off-tackle rush that became a 67-yard touchdown.

“It definitely opened up the game a little bit more than we needed,” observed Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree.

Kudos to the scribe who essentially asked Fisher, “Seven weeks of camp for this?”

Through three quarters the Rams took one snap from inside the Vikings’ 30-yard-line. They opened one drive outside their own 30, two outside their own 25. Not until they trailed 27-3 did the Rams manage a drive of 45 net yards. Two interceptions, a missed field goal and downfield penalty factored in 20 points lost to the home club or scored by the visitors. The six points represented the Rams’ most feeble production at home since Week 7 of the 2009 season, against Chicago.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot,” said left tackle Jake Long, the Rams’ only starting interior lineman who avoided a flag. His powder burns came on pass protection.

The Rams made no secret following the loss of Bradford that they would double down on a ground-and-pound offensive philosophy. Such a formula requires a defense to create turnovers and the offense to maintain possession. This team is ill-equipped to overcome double-digit deficits, which made Hill’s interception and Matt Cassell’s touchdown pass to Greg Jennings so painful. The game didn’t turn there. It ended.

The Vikings gained two first downs through penalties, one on a punt. The Rams crippled themselves offensively with eight infractions, three against receivers, including a 15-yard facemask infraction that cut into Brian Quick’s 21-yard reception with the score 6-0. Fisher called it “a killer.”

Problem is, penalties appear part of this team’s DNA.

Absent a dangerous passing game, the Rams merely throw another log on their bonfire with lacking discipline and technique. A team that gains only 318 yards can’t give away 38 percent of that total with penalties.

“I know everybody who watched is frustrated,” said Chris Long. “Multiply it by 10 or 100 and that’s how frustrated people are in this locker room. We’ve got one day to be (ticked) off.”

A team that needs to run the ball averaged 3.3 yards per attempt. A team that needs to keep its passer upright suffered five sacks, four more than its Sack City defense could muster. Wanting to feed Tavon Austin the ball, the best offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer could devise were three handoffs for 5 yards and three targets for 34 more. Wideout Kenny Britt, preseason’s go-to receiver, was not among the eight Rams with a reception.

“This doesn’t define our season but I think it ratchets up the sense of urgency,” Laurinaitis said. “If anyone thought this thing was going to go extremely smoothly … this is a wake-up call to get back to work. I’m not saying guys didn’t work. But it’s time to be humble and let that override anything expectation-wise. It’s a terrible feeling right now.”

For a franchise coming off seven consecutive losing seasons and in search of its first winning record since 2003, it’s an inexplicable lesson to receive on Week 1.

Notebook: C. Long, Hill head Rams’ injury list
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/notebook-c-long-hill-head-rams-injury-list/article_8ef30dad-d408-5c21-949f-55021ffa6773.html

Two of the Rams’ team captains, quarterback Shaun Hill and defensive end Chris Long, suffered injuries that ended their afternoons. Of the two, Long’s appeared to be the most serious.

Long went down with an ankle injury with just under 10 minutes to go in the third quarter, defending on a sweep by Adrian Peterson that gained 16 yards.

Long watched the end of the game from the sideline after walking off under his own power with a slight limp. He was wearing a brace on his left ankle after the game and seemed concerned.

“I don’t want to talk much about it,” he said. “We’ll know more pretty soon.”

Long is about as durable as they come: He has not missed a game since entering the league in 2008. Sunday marked his 97th consecutive game played in the regular season, the third-longest ironman streak among active players in the NFL.

Hill, making his first regular-season start since 2010, didn’t return to the game after completing eight of 13 passes for 81 yards in the first half. He threw a costly interception just before the half that the Vikings converted into a touchdown and a 13-0 lead.

It was announced early in the third quarter that he had a thigh injury. Hill wasn’t limping afterward and didn’t have any ice on the thigh. He also had little to say about the injury.

“I’m gonna leave all comments about the injury up to Coach (Jeff) Fisher,” Hill said. “I’m gonna let him handle all that.”

Hill wouldn’t even offer any information on how the injury occurred.

“Like I said, I’m gonna let Coach Fisher handle any of that.”

When asked about the possibility of playing this coming Sunday at Tampa Bay, Hill’s answer was immediate: “Absolutely. I mean, that’s my goal.”

Saffold, too

Starting left guard Rodger Saffold left with 3½ minutes to go in the game with what was described as a neck injury. But Saffold was quick to point out postgame that he was fine and lobbied to go back into the game.

“It’s a league deal,” Saffold said, referring to league policy on head and neck injuries. “I begged to stay. But there’s nothing that you can do once you come out. I tried to tell them that I didn’t want to come back here (to the locker room) — period.

“And then you have to do certain tests. But I’m completely fine. They’re not gonna do anything with me. So come Tuesday I’ll be ready to go.”

Once Saffold left, rookie Greg Robinson came out as his replacement, getting his first NFL snaps to close out the game.

WR penalties

Rams wide receivers were flagged twice for offensive pass interference Sunday. In addition, Brian Quick had most of a 21-yard gain negated for grabbing the facemask of Minnesota cornerback Captain Munnerlyn.

“My finger got caught in it (Munnerlyn’s facemask), and I’m not supposed to do that,” Quick said. “So I got penalized for it. I’ve got big hands. I just need to lower my hand placement and don’t get any penalties because it can cost us.”

Sitting it Out

Two of the Rams’ 2014 draft picks were on the pregame inactive list: third-round pick RB Tre Mason and fourth-round pick S Maurice Alexander. With Robinson not starting, three of the Rams’ top five draft picks were either on the bench or in street clothes when the game started.

Also sitting for the Rams were CB Trumaine Johnson (knee), C-G Barrett Jones (back), TE Alex Bayer, DL Ethan Westbrooks and QB Case Keenum.

Ram-blings

Quick established career highs for catches (seven) and reception yards (99).

• Greg Zuerlein’s 56-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter tied for the fourth longest in team history.

Ten Takeaways from Sunday’s 34-6 Loss to Minnesota
By Randy Karraker

http://www.101sports.com/2014/09/08/ten-takeaways-sundays-34-6-loss-minnesota/

1. The effort was questionable. Shocking for any team in its opener, and especially for a Jeff Fisher team. If tackling is about effort, then the effort on Sunday was abysmal. On Cordarrelle Patterson’s 67-yard touchdown run, the Rams missed six tackles. Offensive linemen failed to hold blocks, and Vikings receivers found themselves uncovered in the second half. No team in the NFL is good enough to not give 100 percent, but especially a team that chooses to not be explosive.

2. Brian Quick arrived. In the first two years of his career, Quick had 11 and then 18 catches. On Sunday, he hauled in seven, on nine targets, for 99 yards. After a strong preseason, it seems as if Quick has figured out the offense and learned how to utilize his physical abilities. He’s capable of making plays against any defender in the NFL.

3. The offensive line was overwhelmed. A team that changed its identity last year and became a strong running team averaged 3.3 yards per carry. Running backs ran 19 times for 69 yards. Zac Stacy had nowhere to run in rushing 11 times for 43 yards. The holes just weren’t there. For a veteran group that has three players who had been to Pro Bowls, they weren’t as good as advertised. Shaun Hill was sacked once in the first half, and Austin Davis was under siege and went down four times in the second. The guys in the trenches that Fisher has concentrated so much on collecting did not have a good day.

4. For a team that wants to run the ball and play defense, neither was in evidence. We already noted the problems in the running game. Meanwhile, the defense couldn’t make big stops in the red zone, allowing the Vikings to score twice there. Minnesota averaged 6.2 yards per play, the Rams allowed field-goal drives of 11 and five plays, and allowed the long, backbreaking run by Patterson. This offense is not going to score 28 points. The defense can’t allow 27.

5. In the absence of Sam Bradford, the quarterback situation is not as hopeful as I thought it was. Hill had a passer rating of 47.3 in the first half before he left because of a quad injury. He looked rattled when he heaved an interception late in the second quarter that led to a Matt Cassel-to-Greg Jennings TD pass, which provided the Vikings’ winning score. Davis looked like a guy making his first NFL appearance. The Vikings swarmed him. Even though his 16-for-23, 192-yards performance looks good, he couldn’t get his team into the end zone. The Bradford injury indeed could have the Rams picking in the top five of next year’s draft.

6. We should be concerned about the kicker and the punt returner. Greg Zuerlein was 26 of 28 in field goals last season with one of his misses coming from 50 yards. This preseason, he was one for four from beyond 50. It might not be reasonable for us to count on Greg the Leg for 50-plus-yarders all the time, even though he did hit a 56-yarder in the third quarter.

Tavon Austin muffed two punts and refused to run north when he did catch them. Austin finds himself trying to make plays by running east-west, and that limits his effectiveness. Austin averaged 4.8 on five returns, with a long of 19. And he averted disaster twice.

7. T.J. McDonald had a good day. He came up with big hits, was effective in the running game and, according to pressbox statistics, tied for third on the team with five tackles. He wasn’t a problem.

8. Fisher has not done a good job in limiting penalties. After last season, the coach said reducing penalties would be a point of emphasis this year. Well, the Rams were heavily penalized during the preseason, committing an astounding, league-high 50 for 379 yards. The league average during the preseason was 35 penalties for 294 yards. Sunday, they committed 13 for 121 yards in the opener. Penalties and turnover margin are the domain and the responsibility of the head coach. It’s Fisher’s job to fix that problem.

9. These Rams have to win takeaway battle. The Rams were a minus-two in turnovers. I’ll repeat last year’s stats: The Rams were 5-0 when they were in the plus category in a game, 0-5 when they were a minus and 2-4 when they were even. If this team is to win, it needs to do a better job in that department. It’s simple.

10. The crowd was into it early. Yes, there were some Vikings fans in the house, but the Rams crowd was loud and enthusiastic early.

And, as you might expect, they faded as the game got worse. It was, for the seventh straight year, a major buzzkill. Sadly, the best way to beat the traffic on Sunday was to stay until the end of the game.

At least it can’t get any worse. Maybe Fisher can get in touch with the league and request a restart next week against Tampa, rather than at the quarter pole of the season, like he did last year. 34-6 was no way to get Rams Nation energized for 2014. However, as one fellow season-ticket holder said to me near the end of the game, do they ever report who was the guy leading the Boston Marathon after a mile? There’s a long way to go.