media on the WASHINGTON GAME…tweets, articles, etc.

Vincent Bonsignore‏ @DailyNewsVinny
#Rams are an improved team this year. But they aren’t good enough to overcome the type of loose ends they had today

1 Lot of credit to #Rams WR Robert Woods, who basically asked the reporters over to his locker to take full responsibility for his penalties
2. There is something very different about this #Rams team compared to last. And Woods owning his huge mistakes is a prime example.

Great play call by #Rams on fake punt. Josh Reynolds nice move to pick up extra yards on pass from Hekker

#Rams Gurley running much more decisively..as far as hanging onto the ball, well.

J.B. Long‏ @JB_Long
#LARams most recent 93yd drive (capped by Gurley hurdle TD) was longest for #Rams since November 2014. #HornsUp

Scramble drill: Longest completion of Jared Goff’s @RamsNFL career goes 69 yds to Gerald Everett. Game on. #LARams

Gary Klein‏@LATimesklein
Cousins TD pass as Ryan Grant beats CB Kevin Peterson, who was activated Sat. from practice squad

Ryan Kartje‏@Ryan_Kartje
Aaron Donald was not happy with his performance today: “I didn’t play too good. It showed.” Said he’ll be “a lot more ready” next week.

Rich Hammond‏ @Rich_Hammond
MVPunter.

Alden Gonzalez @Alden_Gonzalez
Jared Goff threw the clinching interception at the start of what could’ve been a game-tying drive, but this game was lost on the Rams’ struggles defending te underneath part of the field. Redskins killed them with their running game (even though Rob Kelley left early with a rib injury) and Kirk Cousins’ quick, short throws.

Rams executed a perfect fake punt, something they loved to do under Jeff Fisher. 4th and 6, Johnny Hekker completes a short pass to Josh Reynolds on the outside, and Reynolds picks up 28 yards.

Joe Curley‏ @vcsjoecurley
“I’m sure I’ll have a crew there,” Goff says about going home to Bay Area next week.

Goff says today did show the Rams have the ability to fight back and get back in a game. “We now know we’re never out of the fight.”

“Tough way to end it,” says Jared Goff. Says there were some lessons to be learned.

“I probably could have called a better play and we probably could have done a better job” with the football – McVay on late int

McVay says he has to do a better job of giving run game a chance.

Only injury update: Gerald Everett (thigh contusion). He’s day to day.

zn wrote:

Sam Farmer‏ @LATimesfarmer
The Rams beat Seattle, 9-6, in W2 last year, and it felt like a dead-end street.
They lost to Washington, 27-20, and looked like an NFL team

I think we have a prejudice here. In the first game the defense won it. That apparently doesn’t count. Today the defense fell apart, but the offense was better, so…now it’s a real team even though it lost. Not, as I would describe it instead, an improving offense with a bad defense…because apparently for Sam, that is neither here nor there.

Rams Fall to Washington 27-20

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Fall-to-Washington-27-20/2ab1b530-789b-4056-be64-e21bc140f872

LOS ANGELES — The Rams had difficulty slowing down Washington’s ground attack all game long, as the visitors amassed 385 total yards and possessed the ball for 36:19 to defeat Los Angeles, 27-20.

The Rams tied the game at 20 midway through the fourth quarter, and had a chance to even it once again after Washington scored a go-ahead touchdown with just under two minutes to play. But on 1st-and-10 from the Rams’ 28, quarterback Jared Goff threw an interception to Washington linebacker Mason Foster, effectively ending the contest.

“It was just one of those deals — they did a good job playing vision defense,” head coach Sean McVay said of the turnover. “Mason Foster made a flat break underneath on a quick-game concept that we had. I probably could have given us a better play, and we could have made a better decision with the football.”

“Yeah, I think it was a good play by their defense,” Goff said. “They covered it up pretty well. A play I probably should’ve got to the check down on, and [a play] I wish I wouldn’t have made, obviously. Tough way to end it.”

But Washington’s ground game was Los Angeles’ biggest issue on Sunday, as the home team surrendered 229 yards rushing. Washington averaged 5.9 yards per carry as a team, and had three different running backs finish with at least 67 yards.

“They executed really well in what they were doing and kind of caught us in some bad calls sometimes. And also, we just weren’t playing physical enough to stop the run,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “You don’t do that, those are the kind of yards they’re going to put up on you.”

“We tried it and that’s what we thought we had most success at, is running the football,” Washington head coach Jay Gruden said. “From counters or powers, we have a lot of different schemes going at them — gaps, traps, warps, all that stuff, pitches, guys pulling. We have an athletic line — a powerful line — and it was great to show their versatility today.”

The ground game started with running back Rob Kelley, who had 78 yards on 12 carries. Kelley, however, left the game with an injury to his ribs and did not return.

Chris Thompson and Samaje Perine picked up where Kelley left off, rushing three times for 77 yards and 21 times for 67 yards, respectively. Two of Thompson’s three carries went for touchdowns — one seven yards, another 61 — and he also caught three passes for 29 yards.

Offensively, the Rams started out slow in the first quarter, but were able to get things going as the game continued. Goff finished 15-of-25 passing for 224 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Running back Todd Gurley had 88 yards on 16 carries and three receptions for 48 yards — giving him 136 yards on 19 touches. He also scored a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Both Gurley and Goff mentioned postgame that they noticed Washington wasn’t covering Gurley much out on routes out of the backfield and tried to take advantage of it.

“[The receptions] just come when they happen,” Gurley said. “They weren’t really respecting — they weren’t really guarding me at all on the check down. So just told Goff to be alert for me and he was able to hit me on a couple of them.”

Gurley’s best play was his touchdown catch, during which he hurdled a defender before keeping his balance and stretching the ball over the pylon for an 18-yard scoring strike.

“Just happens,” Gurley said of the hurdle. “I don’t really pay attention to it too much.”

There were other positives to take out of the game — like tight end Gerald Everett’s 69-yard reception to the right, and his 24-yard reception down the seam, both of which Goff complimented in his postgame press conference.

But ultimately, the Rams were on the wrong side of this game in part because penalties and turnovers set them back. Gurley fumbled on the first play of the Rams’ third drive, giving Washington the ball back at the L.A. 30. And on Los Angeles’ penultimate drive, wide receiver Robert Woods was flagged for both unnecessary roughness and offensive pass interference. The latter helped keep the Rams in field-goal range to tie the game instead of potentially scoring a touchdown to go ahead.

“One of them, just ran my route, linebacker just happened to run into me and got called for [offensive pass interference],” Woods said. “The other one, just got to be more controlled and stay in the game and just play within the whistle.”

“That’s part of that football character that we talk about all the time — taking full responsibility for your actions, for your performance, no excuses, no complaining,” McVay said of Woods’ comments. “And that’s why Robert is one of those guys that we’re counting on. We know that he will respond the right way and we expect our entire team to be able to do the same thing.”

Washington got on the board first with a 41-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. Though the visitors had 3rd-and-17 on the Los Angeles 45, quarterback Kirk Cousins was able to neutralize strong pressure with a screen pass to wide receiver Jamison Crowder that gained 21 yards.

The visitors would later score a first-quarter touchdown in large part from Kelley gashing the Rams with runs of 19 and 21 yards to move down the field. But Thompson would finish the drive with a seven-yard run to give Washington a 10-0 advantage.

Gurley’s fumble induced a sudden-change situation, with Washington beginning its drive deep in L.A. territory. But the Rams’ defense held the visitors to a field goal, keeping the score within reach.

Down 13-0, Los Angeles’ offense got going with Goff’s 69-yard pass to Everett on 1st-and-10 from the 25. Goff called it an “off schedule” play, as he escaped a collapsing pocket to the right and noticed no one covering Everett on the right side.

“He took the correct angle up the field, and just gave him the ball and [he] ran down the field,” Goff said. “He played really well today. The seam ball he caught, too, was really good — really, really good.”

Gurley would complete the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, his second rushing touchdown of the season.

Kicker Greg Zuerlein connected on a 32-yard field goal later in the second quarter to bring the Rams within three. But Washington would get a quick touchdown to go into halftime up 20-10.

On 2nd-and-6 from the Washington 39, Cousins handed a draw play to Thompson and the running back went up the middle for a 61-yard touchdown.

Gurley’s touchdown reception came early in the third quarter to cut Washington’s lead to three. And after trading a few punts, the Rams got tricky on fourth down to extend what would be their game-tying drive in the fourth quarter.

On 4th-and-6 at the Washington 45, punter Johnny Hekker fielded the snap, then cocked fright his arm and fired a pass to wide receiver Josh Reynolds on the left side for a first down. But Reynolds wasn’t done, evading defenders to move down the field for a 28-yard gain.

Zuerlein’s 40-yard field goal evened the score at 20 with 7:16 left in the game. But Washington used a 10-play, 70-yard drive to to go up by seven and take 5:27 off the clock. Cornerback Trumaine Johnson left the field midway through the drive due to injury, though McVay said postgame it was a cramping issue and Johnson should be fine. But Johnson’s absence was felt for the rest of the drive.

Cornerback Kevin Peterson replaced Johnson on the field and was matched up with wide receiver Ryan Grant on Kirk Cousins’ game-winning 11-yard touchdown pass to the left side of the end zone.

“They made the plays, we didn’t,” McVay said. “We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we can do to get that thing fixed and move forward.”

The Rams are now 1-1 in 2017, and will have a particularly quick turnaround this week as they head up to the Bay Area to face the 49ers on Thursday Night Football. 


“We’ve got to look at ourselves — I’ve got to do a better job for our team as a whole,” McVay said. “[This is] the first adversity that we’ve faced. We really get a chance to see how we’ll respond on a short week, so we don’t have much time to feel sorry for ourselves about this game.”

“it’s going to be a great challenge,” McVay later added. “It sounds like they had a tough battle against an excellent Seattle team. And I’ve got a lot of respect of that coaching staff in San Francisco, and I know [49ers head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] will have his guys ready to go.”

Rams Run Defense Comes Up Short Against Redskins

Kristen Lago

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Run-Defense-Comes-Up-Short-Against-Redskins/12ed04bb-b07d-4c3a-8ff4-90cf4926e229

After a strong defensive showing in Week 1, the Rams’ inability to stop the run against Washington on Sunday sealed their fate, falling 27-20. Although the visitors brought a reputation as a pass-first offense to L.A., Washington head coach Jay Gruden called a heavy dose of carries, as his club recorded 229 yards on the ground.

“We didn’t stop the run [and] we didn’t do what we needed to do to stop the run,” linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “We didn’t do our job today and we have to give them credit on what they did, but also look at ourselves and fix our mistakes.”

Three Washington running backs finished with at least 67 yards rushing: Rob Kelley, Chris Thompson, and Samaje Perine. Kelley had 78 yards on 12 carries, Thompson 77 yards on three carries — with two touchdowns — and Perine recorded 67 yards on 21 carries. Kelley left the game with an injury to his ribs and did not return, but Thompson and Perine picked up where he left off.

“Coach Gruden was letting us know, ‘I’m going to run the ball. I’m going to give you guys the ball.’ His plan was to keep running it until we got it right,” Thompson said postgame. “We did enough to win.”

“It was definitely frustrating giving up that amount of yards in the run game, and when you don’t stop the run you leave yourself open for a lot of stuff,” Ogletree said. “They executed really well, and credit to them for coming in with a good game plan and doing the right things.”

On Washington’s second possession, Kelley rushed for 19 and 21 yards on back-to-back plays, before Thompson scored on a seven-yard run to the left side. That momentum would continue on throughout the contest, including a standout play by Thompson heading into halftime.

On 2nd-and-6 from the Washington 39, quarterback Kirk Cousins handed the ball off to Thompson on a draw, who took it straight up the middle for a 61-yard touchdown run.

“On that draw play, it was a look that we never really went over and they just got the job done [up front] and I was able to just do my thing and run,” Thompson said. “So, let’s all give credit to the O-line and guys that were blocking for me.”

“I thought they had a couple of explosive runs, they made their plays when they had to,” outside linebacker Robert Quinn said. “They just had a good game plan against us.”

Coming into the second half, the defense appeared to have made a variety of halftime adjustments, holding the Redskins scoreless in the third quarter. And as Washington’s offense ground to a halt, the momentum shifted towards Los Angeles when running back Todd Gurley hurdled over cornerback Bashaud Breeland on a touchdown reception to pull the Rams within three.

However, after kicker Greg Zuerlein tied the score at 20 with 7:16 left in the game, Washington got one final chance to score. Perine took seven carries on the fourth-quarter drive, allowing the visitors to drain much of the clock. Then on 3rd-and-4 from the Los Angeles 11, Cousins hit wide receiver Ryan Grant in the corner of the end zone for what would become the game-winning touchdown.

“The big runs kept the momentum on their side and the touchdown pass at the end was basically like a dagger that stung a bit,” Quinn said of the play. “[But] that’s football, you win some you lose some. As our standards here, we expect to win them all and we didn’t play up to our standards today, especially as a defense.”

The Rams will have a quick turnaround for Week 3, travelling to face the 49ers on the road on Thursday. As a unit, Los Angeles’ defense will need to brush off this loss and be ready for both the running and passing attack in San Francisco.

“At the end of the day we as a team, didn’t do what we needed to do and that’s win a football game,” Quinn said. “We’ve got some work to do, but it’s Week 2 and we’ve got to keep moving.”

“When you play at home that’s your home field, you definitely want to protect your house and we didn’t do that today,” Ogletree said, “but we have a short week and we’ll be ready for the next one.”

Rams learn bitter lesson about loose ends, but an even bigger one in accountability

VINCENT BONSIGNORE

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/17/improved-rams-learn-a-bitter-lesson-about-loose-ends-but-an-even-bigger-one-in-accountability/

The Rams locker room was barely open a minute or two Sunday after a gut-wrenching 27-20 loss to Washington when Robert Woods motioned for reporters to come talk to him.

If anyone had reason to hide from the media or brush them off or figure out a way to make himself invisible it was Woods, whose two careless penalties during a critical fourth-quarter drive likely cost the Rams a chance to score a touchdown and take the lead.

Instead of coming all the way back from a double-digit deficit to forge ahead, the Rams frustratingly settled for a game-tying field goal.

Rather than inhaling all the momentum that comes with completing a stirring rally, and feeding off it over the final seven minutes, it was more like satisfaction with an asterisk.

Good.

But not good enough.

In a loss defined by self-infliction, loose ends and cursory penalties and turnovers, Woods’ fourth-quarter indiscretions – and the painful ramifications that resulted – offered an imperfect snapshot of the whole exasperating afternoon.

“We can’t hurt ourselves with the penalties, some of the different things that occurred through the course of the game,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay.

The Rams are an improved team compared to last year. Dramatically so in some ways, subtly in others.

As evidenced by how they spotted Washington leads of 13-0 and 20-10 only to come roaring back to tie it with just over seven minutes remaining.

They did it by tapping into Jared Goff’s continued maturity, the athletic ability of Sammy Watkins and Gerald Everett, the headiness of Cooper Kupp, a defense that made adjustments to slow down Washington’s offense and even Todd Gurley, who finally flashed to Los Angeles the kind of burst and running ability that marked his rookie season in St. Louis.

And a mettle and moxie we rarely saw last year, if at all.

There’s absolutely no room in the NFL for moral victories. But there are redeeming take aways young teams can embrace even in losing.

“We put ourselves in a hole 13-0, but you’re really proud of the way we battled back to get into it,” said tackle Andrew Whitworth. “We made plays and got ourselves back in the game. There’s a lot of times teams lay down in that situation or can’t figure it out. So hats off to the team for that. To have a 20-20 game go down to the wire, that’s NFL football.”

They just aren’t good enough yet to spot a team double-digit leads on top of turning the ball over twice and committing seven penalties.

Like they did on Sunday.

Someday, maybe.

But not now.

All of which reared it’s ugly head in a major way when Woods was called for unnecessary roughness at the end of a run by Gurley, nullifying a first down and forcing the Rams to eventually execute a fake punt to keep the drive alive and, even worse, getting called for offensive pass interference to negate a Gurley pass completion to set up first-and-goal at the Washington 5.

The latter pushed the Rams back to the Washington 22-yard-line, and after Goff and Woods couldn’t connect on a throw to the end zone, Greg Zuerlein came in to kick a 40-yard field goal to make it 20-20.

The tie was good.

A lead would have been much better.

So yeah, Woods had every reason to duck out the back door on his way to the glorious early evening weather awaiting him outside in Los Angeles.

Instead, he did the complete opposite,

And if you’re searching for reasons why the Rams look, feel act and will eventually play like a much different team this year compared to those of their recent path, look no further than the way Woods waved reporters over to his locker.

Not to make excuses, but to answer for his mistakes.

Not to blame the referees for throwing flags when they could have easily kept them in their pockets, but to hold himself accountable.

“I just have to be more controlled, stay in the game, and just play within the whistle,” Woods said quietly.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, Woods being acquired last offseason to help show a young team what it’s like to be a professional day in and day out and be present and in the moment from the practice field to the meeting room to the classroom to the playing field.

Woods was an example on Sunday alright, just not the positive kind.

At least on the field.

But the accountability he showed afterward might end up being an even bigger lesson for his young teammates.

“That’s part of the football character we that we talk about all the time – taking full responsibility for your actions, for your performance,” said McVay. “No excuses. No complaining. And that’s why Robert is one of the guys that we’re counting on.”

There are no morale victories in the NFL.

But there are lessons to be learned, even in a loss.

“There are details that lost us the game,” Woods said, taking a hard look at himself in the mirror. “But I would say they’re very little that we can correct and just tighten them down. If we fix that I feel like we should be able to compete and win those games.”

The Rams aren’t there yet.

But they’re getting closer.

Five Takeaways from Rams 27-20 Loss to Washington

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-fivetakeaways/Five-Takeaways-from-Rams-27-20-Loss-to-Washington/085fc383-9a37-42de-98e8-43a7043fc7fb

Los Angeles tied Sunday’s matchup midway through the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback, as Washington used a 10-play drive to drain the clock and score a game-winning touchdown. With a short turnaround before playing San Francisco for Thursday Night Football, L.A. has much to correct. But there were also some encouraging aspects to Sunday’s game.

With that in mind, here are five takeaways from Week 2.

1) Run defense must improve

Washington rushed for 229 yards on Sunday, receiving significant production from three different running backs. Starter Rob Kelley recorded 78 yards on 12 carries before exiting the game with an injury to his ribs. Chris Thompson and Samaje Perine picked up where Kelley left off, rushing for 77 and 67 yards, respectively.

“It’s frustrating to lose period and it was definitely frustrating giving up that amount of yards in the run game,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “And when you don’t stop the run, you leave yourself open for a lot of stuff. They executed really well and credit to them for coming in with a good game plan and doing the right things.”

“We’ve got to watch the film, but just got to play better on the run and when run situations come, you’ve got to win your one-on-ones and get off the field,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. “That’s what we need to do.”

Overall, Washington averaged 5.9 yards per rushing attempt, with three plays of at least 19 yards.

“I haven’t seen the film yet, so I’ll have to go and watch it and see,” Ogletree said, “but I feel like we just weren’t physical enough at stopping the run and we didn’t do our job today.”

Physicality could be one factor, but it’s likely not the only one. This is an area in which the Rams must improve going forward, especially considering their next opponent.

2) Penalties, turnovers hurt offense

Los Angeles had a hard time getting going offensively in the first half in part due to a key penalty on a kickoff and a fumble on the third drive.

After Washington’s first field goal, wide receiver Pharoh Cooper appeared to return the ensuing kickoff to the home team’s 26-yard line. But linebacker Cory Littleton was flagged for holding and Washington was called for a facemask. After some lengthy discussion, the officials determined that because the fouls occurred after the ball was possessed, the Rams’ drive was to start where the kick ended — which was the two-yard line. This had a clear negative effect on the offense, as L.A. went three-and-out.

Then running back Todd Gurley fumbled on the first play on the next drive. He credited Washington cornerback Josh Norman for making the play to jar the ball out, but the sudden change allowed the visitors to add a field goal and take a 13-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter, wide receiver Robert Woods committed a pair of penalties on the Rams’ game-tying drive that contributed to stalling the offense and keeping it out of the end zone. The first foul was unnecessary roughness and the second was offensive pass interference. Woods took responsibility for both mistakes in the locker room postgame.

And when the Rams had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Jared Goff threw an interception on the drive’s first play to effectively end the contest.

Overall, Los Angeles was penalized seven times for 75 yards and turned the ball over twice.

“We can’t hurt ourselves with the penalties, some of the different things that occurred throughout the course of the game,” McVay said. “But, I know that we’ll look at ourselves critically in the mirror — coaches included, starting with me — and make sure that we do a good job with our short week of preparation going into a game against our divisional opponent in the Niners.”

3) Gurley got going

One positive takeaway from Sunday’s game is Gurley’s production both on the ground and through the air.

The running back finished with 136 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns — one receiving, and one rushing. Gurley recorded 16 carries for 88 yards — 5.5 yards per carry — and three receptions for 48 yards.

After the game, Gurley and Goff both mentioned how they noticed Washington wasn’t necessarily paying much attention to the running back on routes out of the backfield.

“Todd was great,” Goff said. “We talked early on, they weren’t covering him much out of our backfield in the pass game, so we were trying to get him the ball al tilt bit and sure enough we did. He kept jumping over people and making some plays.”

Gurley made as impressive a play as you’ll see for the first touchdown reception of his career in the third quarter. On 1st-and-10 from the Washington 18, Goff hit Gurley in the left flat. From there, the running back hurdled over cornerback Bashaud Breeland at about the 10-yard line, then stayed in bounds as safety Deshazor Everett hit him, extending the ball over the pylon for six points.

With the Rams losing the game, Gurley understandably downplayed the hurdles, saying only it “[j]ust happens. I don’t really pay attention to it too much.”

4) Donald returns, but isn’t quite “back”

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald played his first game of 2017 on Sunday, but wan’t pleased with his own performance.

“I didn’t win my one-on-ones,” he said postgame. “When I have one-on-ones I usually win those, — just doing too much thinking. And you can try to say that [it was because] I didn’t play. But that’s on me — I need to play better.”

Donald played 48 snaps on Sunday, which works out to 68 percent of the defense’s time on the field. He said he felt fine as far as fatigue, but was adamant that the needed to improve.

“I’ll be good next week,” Donald said. “Just to be out there with live bullets just to get the speed of the game and seeing little things that help me play a little faster. So like I said, breaking down the film and coming back next week a lot better because I didn’t like the way I played today.”

5) Better get right back to work

Any loss is disappointing, but there’s not much time to dwell on it as Los Angeles will head up to the Bay Area to play San Francisco on Thursday Night Football this week.

“Yeah, you’ve got to start that preparation right away because everything is condensed down,” McVay said. “The players will start with the recovery process and ti’ll be more of an above-the-neck approach for the next couple days. But that processed that procedure in terms of getting ready for that game on Thursday starts right now.”

Recovery and preparation can be difficult for a Thursday game, especially when it’s on the road. To that end, the Rams canceled their originally scheduled jog-through for late Monday afternoon. The club will hold a shorter practice on Tuesday afternoon before traveling on Wednesday.

“We’ve got to look at ourselves — I’ve got to do a better job for our team as a whole,” McVay said. “First adversity that we’ve faced — we really get a chance to see how we’ll respond on a short week. So we don’t have much time to feel sorry for ourselves about this game.”