Media on the Rams win over Seattle

thanks to MamaRama for formatting this so it’s copyable

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RAMS REPORT CARD – WEEK 7: OFFENSE IS GRADE A
Jeff Gordon grades the Rams performance against the Seattle Seahawks.

http://www.stltoday.com/gallery/sports/football/professional/rams-report-card/collection_ad250998-a2e1-5aac-b2f6-08e7f38bc856.html#0

Quarterback: A
After trying to force a bunch of deep passes against the 49ers, Austin Davis played smart and sharp while completing 18 of 21 throws for 185 yards and two TDs. With the Rams desperately trying to move the chains late in the game, he rolled right, spun to avoid a sack and completed a 9yard shovel pass to Jared Cook. Such improvisational flair under duress gives Davis a chance to stick around the NFL awhile.

Running Back: A-
Rookie Tre Mason finally arrived, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He gained the final first down to keep the clock moving … and then fumbled the ball away. Fortunately, his teammates covered for his error during the ensuing dog pile. Benny Cunningham caught five passes for 465 yards and a TD. As for former workhorse Zac Stacy, he became the odd man out after Mason hit a few blocking seams with speed.

Wide Receivers: B
Chris Givens lives! He dressed in place of Austin Pettis and made the biggest catch of the game, a 30-yarder that set up the final Rams TD. Big targets Brian Quick (two catches for 33 yards) and Kenny Britt (two catches for four yards) were mostly unused and little target Tavon Austin got five of his eight touches in the ground game. Is his best role really to run between the tackles?

Tight Ends: B
Unlike last week, these guys suffered no brutal breakdowns in pass protection. Lance Kendricks caught the decisive 4-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter and also had a 13-yard grab. Jared Cook caught three passes for 25 yards and Cory Harkey had a 9-yard catch in a fairly quiet game for this group.

Offensive Line: B
Rookie LG Greg Robinson was highly visible in the running game. When he pulls and gains a head of steam, somebody receives some pain. Davin Joseph stepped in when starting RG Rodger Saffold went down with a knee injury. The unit allowed no sacks, cleared running lanes when it needed to and played a penalty-free game.

Defensive Line: C
Rookie DT Aaron Donald was disruptive all day, earning one sack and penetrating the line to blow up several running plays. DE Eugene Sims got a sack and so did DE Robert Quinn – at last. They also prevented bulldozing Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch from plowing into the second level. But they failed to contain ever-slippery Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.

Linebackers: D
OLB Alec Ogletree had a long, long day. He missed a big open field tackle on WR Doug Baldwin. He failed to contain QB Russell Wilson on his 19-yard TD run and later on his 52-yard scramble. MLB James Laurinaitis also got caught out of position several times as the Rams surrendered 463 offensive yards.

Secondary: D
The unit started well, with CB E.J. Gaines and S Rodney McLeod breaking up early passes with tight coverage. But then lots of stuff went terribly wrong, including a knee injury suffered by CB Janoris Jenkins. Although Jenkins later returned to the game, he yielded some huge coverage cushions as Wilson passed for 313 yards.

Special Teams: A+
This unit led the Rams to victory with three big plays. The first was Benny7 Cunningham’s 75-yard kickoff return that set up a touchdown. The second was Tavon Austin’s brilliant sales job that drew the Seahawks to one side of the field while Stedman Bailey ran down the Seattle punt to the other side. Bailey raced for a 90-yard TD after the successful ruse. Then Johnny Hekker capped the victory with his 18-yard completion off of a fake punt.

Coaching: B
Once again defensive coordinator Gregg Willams called a bunch of blitzes that didn’t work. Once the Seahawks offense finally got into gear, the Rams suffered breakdown after breakdown. But Jeff Fisher deserves kudos for his gutsy (and successful) fake punt call that allowed them to maintain ball possession at the end. Give his staff credit for that well-executed punt return subterfuge, too, and a crisp overall performance nearly devoid of costly penalty calls.

Rams rewrite the script, beat Seattle
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-rewrite-the-script-beat-seattle/article_946dd744-cbbd-59a1-aedb-6fb535155c3a.html

With quarterback Russell Wilson carving up the Rams’ defense with his legs, his arm and his determination, the Seattle Seahawks had nibbled away at what once was an 18-point deficit.

That Rams’ lead had all but disappeared when it came down to a fourth-and-3 play at the St. Louis 18 with 2 minutes, 55 seconds to play. Clinging to a 28-26 lead, out came Johnny Hekker and the Rams’ punting unit. The surging Seahawks were poised to get the ball around their 40. A couple of first downs, and out trots kicker Steven Hauschka to boot the game-winning field goal for the defending Super Bowl champs.

You could almost visualize that finish.

The Rams, after all, blew a 21-0 first-half lead four weeks ago against Dallas in the Edward Jones Dome. On Monday, they squandered a 14-0 first-quarter lead against San Francisco — also at the Dome.

Here we go again, right?

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. So coach Jeff Fisher called for a fake punt, right then and there.

As linebacker James Laurinaitis said, it takes a lot of guts to make that call.

Yes, it does. But Hekker took the long snap from Jake McQuaide, threw a strike to up-back Benny Cunningham, who had leaked out to the left flat, and Cunningham caught the ball for a first down and an 18-yard gain.

Since Seattle was out of timeouts, the Rams needed only one first down to run out the clock on kneel-downs. They got the first down, but only after a third-and-1 run by rookie running back Tre Mason ended in a fumble, and then a mad scramble for the football.

It wasn’t clear who recovered for the Rams, preserving their 28-26 upset victory. Although the angle was inconclusive, replays seemed to indicate it was the Seahawks.

So who came up with the ball?

“The Rams,” Fisher said, smiling.

Which player?

“An offensive player,” he replied.

“The ref (Brad Allen) called it our ball,” defensive end William Hayes added. “That’s all I can say. Hell, the calls have been going the other way a lot the last couple of games. So finally we got us a good call.”

According to Seattle coach Pete Carroll, cornerback Richard Sherman was on the ball for a while but couldn’t get flat to secure it. “Then the ball got moved around a little bit,” Carroll said.

Rams tight end Cory Harkey said he re-gained control of the ball at the bottom of a huge dog pile. Seconds earlier it had squirted out of his grasp chasing down the Mason fumble.

“Yeah, me and Mike (Person) were fighting for it under the pile,” Harkey said. “And we ended up with it.”

Person, a reserve offensive lineman, was in the game as an extra blocker because the Rams were in a “jumbo” formation.

One kneel-down later, the Rams (2-4) had found a way to close out a game. Barely.

Seattle, missing several starters because of injury and having traded wide receiver and return man Percy Harvin on Friday to the New York Jets, fell to 3-3 with its second consecutive loss.

“There’s a lot to learn from this,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “If anything, it kind of tells some of the guys, hey, we just won against the world champs in a situation where we didn’t play — I don’t believe we played — our best football.”

If not for the fake punt, however, it could very well have been another loss. Carroll certainly thought so.

“We didn’t think they would do it in this situation,” he said. “If they don’t catch the ball, we would have kicked a field goal and gone home. Very gutsy play by Jeff (Fisher), the kind of stuff he has done in the past and the way we anticipate him being. And we prepared for it.”

But who thought the Rams would fake it backed up at the 18?

Fisher said he told special teams coordinator John Fassel on first down of that sequence that the fake punt was on if the Rams didn’t convert.

“You guys saw the flow of the game, we were having a hard time stopping Russell (Wilson),” Fisher said. “There was too much time left on the clock right there, and I didn’t want to give the ball back to them. I thought it was our best chance to get a first down.”

Hekker had completed a pair of passes for first downs on fake punts as a rookie in 2012. But he misfired on his only fake punt attempt last season, in Dallas, to intended receiver Stedman Bailey.

So you might say Hekker, the team’s emergency quarterback, was due.

“We got the call on the sideline, and at first I’m thinking: ‘Are you serious?’ “ Hekker said.

Yes, Fisher was serious.

“That’s the confidence that he has in our special teams,” Hekker said. “We run through that scenario every single week multiple times. I make that throw plenty of times in practice, and Benny does a great job catching the ball.”

But it’s one thing to do it in practice, another to do so at a crucial point in a tight game. Cunningham was wide open on the play — almost too open.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking how wide-open he was,” Hekker said.

Cunningham felt the same way.

“I’m thinking make the catch or I’m probably gonna be done,” Cunningham said. “This might be my last play in the NFL if I don’t make this catch. They’re gonna cut me, or my teammates, they’re gonna kill me.”

No drastic measures were needed. Cunningham caught the ball, helping the Rams win for only the third time in their last 19 tries against Seattle.

Special teams were vital to the victory. Although Seattle outgained the Rams 463 yards to 272 on offense, the Rams enjoyed an edge of 201 yards to 62 on punt and kickoff returns.

The Rams had to drive only 31 yards for their first touchdown, thanks to a 75-yard kickoff return by Cunningham. Their third TD, giving them a 21-3 lead, came on some punt return trickery when Bailey raced 90 yards for a score on a play that everyone in the Dome — except for the Rams — thought was going to Tavon Austin.

The Rams did manage a pair of long drives, both ending in Austin Davis TD passes. And in the end, they had their highest point total against Seattle since 2006.

“We wanted to finish the game in an offensive victory formation,” Davis said. “We did that.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEg6byOgNgw

The Dan Patrick Show: Rams quarterback Austin Davis calls into the show to discuss the Rams upset victory against the defending champion Seahawks, including the Rams trickery on special teams. (6:29)

http://www.rams-news.com/austin-davis-joins-dan-patrick-show-after-big-win-over-seahawks-video/

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/print?id=12819
Monday, October 20, 2014
Turning point: Chris Givens’ big catch
By Nick Wagoner

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Here is a look back at the turning-point in the St. Louis Rams’ 28-26 win against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon:

Givens
The situation: With a third-and-6 at Seattle’s 44 and a 21-19 lead that had shrunk from 21-3, the Rams looked poised to let another big lead slip away for another disappointing loss. The offense had barely moved the ball at all in the second half and now desperately needed a drive that ended in the end zone. A field goal would have helped stop the bleeding, but probably would have been little more than a quick fix delaying the inevitable. A promising drive had taken a turn for the worse after Tavon Austin gained 4 yards on first down and quarterback Austin Davis threw incomplete on second. The Rams needed points, but first they needed to move the chains.

The play: The Rams lined up with Austin split wide right, Chris Givens in the slot beneath him and Brian Quick wide to the left. With Davis in the shotgun and flanked by running back Benny Cunningham to his left and tight end Jared Cook to his right, Davis sent Cook in motion to the left before going back to the right. Seattle was in its nickel defense with cornerback Marcus Burley matched up against Givens in the slot. At the snap, the Seahawks sent linebacker Malcolm Smith on a blitz that the Rams cleanly picked up with right tackle Joe Barksdale handling Smith with relative ease. Quick ran a crossing route from Davis’ left to right, which cleared out that side of the field as Austin and Cook ran deep routes down the right sideline. Burley allowed Givens a free release to the inside, possibly with the expectation that he would have safety help. But safety Kam Chancellor decided to help cover Cook and Earl Thomas took a step toward the receivers running down the right sideline, leaving him flat footed and unable to help on Givens. Givens runs a deep crossing route with a step on Burley the whole way. Given a clean pocket and plenty of time to throw, Davis fired a strike to Givens for a 30-yard gain to Seattle’s 14.

The fallout: There were a ton of plays to pick from for this spot this week, and since we already went into great detail on the two big special teams plays on Sunday, I chose this one because it led to the points that would ultimately decide the game. After Givens’ catch, a play made more relevant by the fact that Givens had been inactive the previous two weeks, the Rams scored three plays later when Davis hit tight end Lance Kendricks for a 4-yard touchdown. That gave the Rams a 28-19 lead, and though there were other things that happened after it to determine the outcome, we never get to those without this. Making it more important was the fact that Davis had not even attempted a pass more than 19 yards downfield until hitting Givens here.

“We thought we’d get man-to-man coverage,” Davis said. “When they need a play, they trust their guys to cover man-to-man. Chris, with his speed, just ran across the field. I trusted it and obviously, we worked the play all week, and when we needed it, he made a big play. That’s how you win games. You’ve got to make big plays when the game is on the line. You’re going to have a chance to go down and win the game at the end or not. Today, we did it.”

Ten Takeaways from Sunday’s 28-26 Win Over Seattle
By Randy Karraker

http://www.101sports.com/2014/10/20/ten-takeaways-sundays-28-26-win-seattle/

It took what former Saints coach Jim Haslett would have called some “bull#*@% plays,” but whatever it took, the Rams won their second game of the season by shocking the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome. And with that, 10 takeaways:

1. Punter Johnny Hekker usually spends about 10 minutes during pregame warmups playing quarterback for the No. 1 offense. I said to the person next to me before his fourth-quarter fake punt, “This is why he practices quarterback every week.” Lo and behold, Hekker hit Benny Cunningham with the fourth-down pass that virtually sealed the victory. It was a gutsy call by Jeff Fisher, because if it didn’t work, the Rams probably would have lost. But there’s a method to Fisher’s madness, and having Hekker practice at quarterback comes in handy sometimes.

2. The punt-return touchdown by Stedman Bailey was an amazing bit of acting by the Rams’ return team. Bailey made a great catch as the kick went to the Rams’ right side, and Tavon Austin sold a mistake to Seattle.

The Bears had done the same thing in 2011 against Green Bay, but Johnny Knox’s 89-yard return was nullified by a penalty. This one worked perfectly.

3. If I’m going to be critical of the Rams for too many penalties, I must praise them for committing only two for 20 yards. Brian Quick committed an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for retaliating to an attack from Seattle’s Tharold Simon before the Rams’ second touchdown, and the Rams took a delay-of-game penalty to set Hekker up in better punt position in the fourth quarter. The discipline played a role in the win, as Seattle consistently shot itself in the foot with 10 penalties, many of the devastating variety.

4. In a rather remarkable change of events, the Rams appear to have had a changing of the guard at the running back position. Tre Mason had 18 carries, Cunningham had two, and Zac Stacy never got on the field from the line of scrimmage. Last year, Stacy didn’t get on the field until the fifth game and rushed for nearly 1,000 yards. This year, Mason finally got his chance in the fifth game and appears to have taken over the No. 1 job. He has game-breaking speed that the other Ram running backs don’t have. Although he’s small, he might be the most instinctive of the group, and is certainly the fastest.

5. It was fun to watch Greg Robinson against the Seahawks’ front. There were several occasions in which he pushed Brandon Mebane three yards off the ball. His strength is unquestioned. Once he becomes polished, he has a chance to be a dominant run-blocker in the NFL. It’s also interesting to watch Mason run behind his college teammate and hit the hole that Robinson makes.

6. As much as I’d like to blame the Rams’ defense for Russell Wilson’s rushing performance, he seems, at times, to be impossible to stop. I don’t think there’s a player in the NFL right now with better vision and instincts. He hides the ball, he has deceptive speed, and he’s fearless. His second 100-plus-yard performance of the season was not a fluke.

7. Austin Davis completed 18 passes to eight different Rams receivers. Davis has some of that Wilson-type elusiveness and vision. His ability to avoid trouble resulted in several big plays for the Rams.

Davis’ passer rating of 128.6 against Seattle’s defense was outstanding. Most important is that he didn’t turn the ball over. In the Rams’ four losses, Davis has a turnover that resulted in a touchdown for the opponent. In the two wins, he didn’t turn the ball over.

8. I don’t know what the plan for Tavon Austin is. I don’t think he should be the type who runs up the middle, as Austin did four times on Sunday. I see the quick-hitting smoke patterns that Seattle uses to isolate a receiver one-on-one, and I don’t understand why the Rams don’t do that with Austin. One thing I do know: When you’re up by two late in the fourth quarter, throwing the ball left to Austin, who is covered by Richard Sherman, is not the play to run. There were about 10 options for the Rams on that third-down pass to Austin … and that should have been option No. 10.

9. The Rams’ defense against opposing running backs continues to impress. They held Adrian Peterson to 75 yards on 21 carries. Then, after Tampa’s Bobby Rainey gouged them for 144 yards on 22, the Rams have gotten progressively better. DeMarco Murray 24-100 (his worst game of the year), LeSean McCoy 24-81, Frank Gore 16-38 and Marshawn Lynch 18-53. Granted, as the rush defense has improved, the pass defense has regressed. Everyone wants to stop the run first, though, and the Rams have improved dramatically in that department.

10. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to defending Super Bowl champs. The last time the Rams had beaten a defending champ was in 1991, when the Los Angeles Rams knocked off the New York Giants, 19-13. After some halting starts, perhaps this will be the event that propels the Rams to bigger and better things. Now they know they can beat a good team – a good thing to know as they embark on a three-game trip to Kansas City, San Francisco and Arizona.

I’m finding myself in agreement with Karraker this entire year, and I agree with him here – not that he said anything controversial this week. The use of Tavon Austin is my biggest head-scratcher vis-a-vis Schottenheimer. He doesn’t seem to know what to do with him, OR Austin just isn’t very good.

I was hoping Austin was going to be Eric Metcalf.

Three Plays That Defined Rams’ Win Over Seahawks

By Anthony Stalter

http://www.101sports.com/2014/10/22/three-plays-defined-rams-28-26-win-seahawks/

We can debate whether or not the Seahawks were vulnerable on Sunday in wake of the Percy Harvin trade, or due to the number of injuries on both sides of the ball, or even the general perception that they don’t look as dominant as they did a month ago when everyone was ready to send them back to the Super Bowl following their Week 1 rout of the Packers.

But they’re still the defending Super Bowl winners. And when you’re an undisciplined 1-4 Rams team coming off a short week and playing the defending champs, you better do something to tilt the advantage in your favor at some point during the game.

That something for the Rams came midway through the second quarter of their 28-26 victory over their division rivals.

Play 1: Fassel takes a page out of the Bears’ playbook.

The Bears ran a play against Green Bay in a late-September game in 2011 in which they got the Packers’ punt coverage unit to flow in the direction of returner Devin Hester, who faked as if he was going to catch the ball by looking up to the sky.

On the opposite side of the field, receiver Johnny Knox fielded the punt over his back shoulder and raced untouched toward the end zone with only Green Bay’s punter standing in his way. Unfortunately for Chicago, what should have been an easy touchdown was negated due to a holding penalty on Corey Graham.

While watching film earlier this week, Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel noticed that Seattle punter Jon Ryan’s kicks would drift to the left when he attempted to sky punts near midfield.

So the Rams installed the same play that the Bears used back in 2011 and, while nursing a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter, Jeff Fisher dialed up the fake with Tavon Austin filling the role of Hester and Stedman Bailey assuming the part of Knox.

The fake worked perfectly, as Seattle’s punt coverage unit converged on Austin as the Rams’ punt return unit sold the fake by flowing to his side of the field. On the opposite side, Bailey was all alone to field the punt over his back shoulder and raced untouched toward the end zone for a 21-3 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.

The play faked out the Seahawks, as well as most people inside the Edward Jones Dome who had their eyes fixed on Austin.

While the “Mountaineer” play was certainly a defining moment, there were other factors that contributed to the Rams’ victory. Thanks to the emergence of Tre Mason (18 carries, 85 yards, one TD), the team’s running game was more effective against Seattle than at any point during the team’s first five games. All things considered, the Rams’ defense also held Marshawn Lynch in check, and the pass rush awoke from its five-game slumber.

Quarterback Austin Davis was effective as well, throwing for 152 yards on 18-of-21 passing with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He was perfect in the first half, although his defining moment didn’t come until the fourth quarter.

Play 2: Davis finds Givens on perfect play design.

Russell Wilson found tight end Cooper Helfet for a 19-yard touchdown with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game to help the Seahawks cut their deficit to 21-19. On the ensuing drive, the Rams marched into Seattle territory but faced a third-and-6 from the Seahawk 44-yard-line following Davis’ incomplete pass to Lance Kendricks on second down.

Up to that point, Davis had been conservative with his passing. Out of his first 13 attempts, he completed only five passes of 10 yards or more, and his longest competition was a 19-yarder to Brian Quick on the Rams’ first offensive drive of the fourth quarter.

There were a few times when he may have been able to pull the trigger on longer routes had he cycled through his progressions and was more aggressive when receivers like Quick were one-on-one with defensive backs.

But considering the Rams led for most of the game, it’s hard to argue with his decision to get the ball out of his hand quickly and find open receivers in the short-to-intermediate range.

But Davis saved his best throw of the day for that third-and-6 from Seattle’s 44-yard line. The Rams came out in a spread formation with Austin and Givens (slot) lined up to the wide side of the field and Quick to the boundary. Davis was in the shotgun and was flanked by Jared Cook and Benny Cunningham in the backfield.

Before the snap, Cook motions left before coming back right and aligning himself on the same side as Givens and Austin. Safety Kam Chancellor followed Cook to the right of the formation (Chancellor’s left), indicating that the Seahawks were in man-to-man coverage. At the snap, Quick runs a shallow crossing pattern while Cook takes off up the seam and Austin runs a comeback route with Richard Sherman mirroring him in coverage.

The key to the play is that Givens, who eventually runs a deep over, gets a free release at the line. With his speed, he does exactly what you would expect him to against a corner like Marcus Burley: He gained separation.

Another key to the play was that free safety Earl Thomas, who got caught in between deciding whether or not to jump the Givens route or chase Cook up the seam, chose to give help on Cook. Almost simultaneously, Thomas breaks to his left and Davis lofts a perfect pass to Givens in stride for a 30-yard gain.

Three plays later, Davis found Kendricks for a four-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams a 28-19 lead. Up nine with just over five minutes remaining in the game, one would think the Rams wouldn’t need to dial up another trick play to ensure victory.

Or at least one would think.

Play 3: The fake punt.

After the Seahawks cut St. Louis’ lead to two points following a Wilson touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin, the Rams took over on their own 11-yard line needing to pick up a few first downs to run the remaining 3:18 off the clock. Following a two-yard loss by Cunningham on first down, Davis made an athletic play to dodge a potential sack and get the ball to Cook for what turned out to be a crucial 9-yard completion. Following an incomplete pass on third down, we soon found out why the completion to Cook held so much importance.

On fourth-and-3 from the Rams’ 18-yard line, Johnny Hekker and the Rams lined up in punt formation with 2:55 remaining on the clock. Before the snap, Bailey, who was the gunner to Hekker’s left, stepped back and was replaced on the line of scrimmage by Chase Reynolds, who was one of the up-backs on the play.

Bailey then went in motion and, at the snap, ran to the middle of the field to pull his defender inside as Cunningham leaked out of the backfield. Hekker then hit Cunningham in stride for an 18-yard pickup and a first down.

What’s gut-wrenching for Seattle’s players, coaches and fans is that it was a play that the Seahawks clearly prepared for. Even before Bailey went in motion, several defenders started to communicate via hand gestures, which indicated they knew what was coming. But DeShawn Shead was late getting to Cunningham in the flats, and it turned out to be a huge first down as the Rams eventually ran out the clock (although not without some drama, of course) in a 28-26 win.

Fisher was eventually asked after the game if he would have called for the fake punt had Davis not completed the 9-yard pass to Cook two plays prior. Fisher said no, which brings to light how key that completion was to the Rams’ victory. In fact, had the Rams punted the ball on fourth down, ESPN.com estimated that their win probability would have been 54 percent (provided that the Rams netted 40 yards on the punt and taken 13 seconds off the clock, which would have given the Seahawks the ball on their own 42-yard line).

Then again, with the way Wilson had taken over the game in the second half, that 54-percent figure sounds too high. The Seahawks only needed a field goal to take the lead, and with how the Rams had blown leads against Dallas and San Francisco this year, you got the sense that Seattle was about to deliver heartbreak to the Edward Jones Dome once again.

Credit Fisher with a gutsy call, the players with perfect execution and the Rams for finding ways throughout the game to tilt the advantage in their favor while playing against the defending champs.