going back over the Tampa game: Wagoner, Thomas

Rams’ defense had strange day in Tampa
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11756/rams-defense-had-strange-day-in-tampa

EARTH CITY, Mo. — After re-watching the St. Louis Rams’ 19-17 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and combing through some of the statistics, there were a few things that stood out from the defense’s performance.

While the Bucs managed just 17 points, they posted 332 total yards of offense, including 157 yards on the ground. What was most surprising upon further inspection, though, was when those yards were coming.

Even before re-watching and charting the game, it seemed like the Rams were having great success stopping the Bucs on first down and putting them into second-and-long situations. Upon taking a closer look, the difference was even more obvious than expected.

— On first down, the Buccaneers rarely gained more than a couple of yards throughout the day. Quarterback Josh McCown was 5-of-9 for 36 yards and an interception. The run game that posted those big numbers above was almost nonexistent as Tampa runners combined for 22 yards on 15 carries. Adding that up, the Bucs gained just 58 of their 332 yards on first down.

— Second down allowed the Bucs to make up for it in a big way. McCown was 9-of-10 for 131 yards on second down and Bucs runners posted 112 yards on 10 carries. That means Tampa Bay gained 243 of its 332 yards on second down, good for 73 percent of its total yards.

— The Bucs converted four of their eight third-down attempts as McCown completed both of his passes for 12 yards and they rushed five times for 23 yards with a touchdown on third down. Of the 332 total yards, the Bucs gained 35 yards. The Rams’ lone sack of the day, split between cornerback E.J. Gaines and end Eugene Sims, also came on a third down for a loss of 4 yards.

On Monday afternoon, I asked coach Jeff Fisher if he could put his finger on any particular reason for his defense’s success on first down and struggles on second down or if it was just one of those random occurrences that tend to pop up in an NFL season. He leaned toward the latter.

“We’re working on it,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to be more consistent on all downs. We’ve got to get better on third down and we’ve got to play run defense better.”

In going back and watching the game again, I wondered if perhaps the struggles on second down were a result of having so much success on first down. In other words, did the Rams’ tendency to put the Bucs in second-and-long leave coordinator Gregg Williams dialing up blitzes that didn’t get home or the Bucs beating them with misdirection in the running game? While that wasn’t always the case, there were some examples of that.

Facing second-and-9 in the third quarter, McCown dropped back to pass with Williams sending eight rushers. That left three Bucs receivers one-on-one down the field. McCown stayed in the pocket and delivered a strike to receiver Vincent Jackson for a gain of 20.

Later in the third quarter, the Bucs had a second-and-10 at the Rams’ 30 and Williams overloaded the left side with safety T.J. McDonald and linebacker Alec Ogletree with linebacker James Laurinaitis shading that direction. At the snap, McCown handed to running back Bobby Rainey, who ran through a wide open hole on the right side of the defense (his left). With Laurinaitis unable to cover the ground in time, Rainey picked up 18 yards.

Rainey later added a 31-yard run in the fourth quarter when the Rams again attempted to bring additional pressure from the left side, though that run started up the middle and Rainey made a nice cutback to gain most of the yards.

It’s unlikely that this is some sort of a trend, the splits weren’t similar in Week 1 against Minnesota. In reality, this is probably more a function of Williams still getting to know his personnel and figuring out when and where to deploy some of his blitzes and how to best put his players in position to succeed.