RamView, 12/27/2015: Rams 23, Seahawks 17 (Long)

RamView, December 27, 2015
Game #15: Rams 23, Seahawks 17

Football doesn’t get much weirder than the Rams have made it in 2015. Given up for dead a month ago, they’ve now won three straight, just rolled the playoff-bound Seahawks in Seattle for the first time in ten years, and, though once 4-8, have a real shot now at a .500 season. Rams football is a funny game.

Position by position:
* QB: Though the game itself was quite exciting, Case Keenum’s game was not (14-23-103, PR 86.0). Once again, just how Jeff Fisher likes it. Keenum got a little too interesting on the Rams’ first scoring drive, which only resulted in a FG because he panicked on 3rd-and-3. With time to throw and at least two receivers open for the first down, he scrambled instead, and came up short. That was his worst moment of pocket presence for the game, though. He hung in well against most rushes and didn’t get sacked, using his mobility to stay out of really bad plays. Keenum made some clutch and accurate throws. Showing some killer instinct in the 2nd after a good Tavon Austin punt return set the Rams up deep in Seattle territory, Keenum immediately went up top with a perfect 28-yard TD pass down the far sideline to Kenny Britt, staking the Rams to a 16-0 lead. Seattle cut that to 16-10 in the 3rd. The Rams gained a yard the next two plays, threatening to 3-and-out and turn the momentum of the game for good. But Keenum held strong in a collapsing pocket to hit Benny Cunningham for a first down that sustained a 5-minute drive. Keenum opened the 4th quarter with another important play, stepping up in the pocket on 3rd-and-5 and hitting Cunningham again for a first down. That drive continued on to the game-clinching TD. Case Keenum, bringing the thrill back to dumpoff passes! 103 yards is laughable for a 21st-century QB, but he ran the offense quite well in the cacophony of Randomly-Named Telcom Soccer Park. The Rams didn’t false-start once. Keenum does what Nick Foles couldn’t: avoid critical mistakes. Although he flirted with INTs twice this week (K.J. Wright in the 3rd and a near pick-six by Kelcie McRae with about 5:00 left), he’s only turned the ball over once in these three Rams wins. In an offense where it seems like Jeff Fisher wouldn’t suit up a QB if he didn’t have to, Case Keenum’s doing exactly what Fisher needs him to do. Take snaps and don’t screw up. So far, so good.

* RB: There were definitely moments this week to make you wonder how Todd Gurley (19-85) ever made the Pro Bowl playing for this team. Early run-blocking was a disorganized mess. The Pro Bowl RB got a whole four touches in the first half. Even in the 3rd quarter, who’s getting the ball on critical 3rd downs? Benny Cunningham (3-14 recv), of course! To Benny’s credit, he made some key plays, including a real Little-Engine-That-Could job to chug through Bobby Wagner in the 3rd to prevent a 3-and-out and probably a big momentum swing. Gurley didn’t even get the ball on a big 3rd-and-1 play in the 4th; that too went to Cunningham, who brutally fumbled it forward 10 yards but got bailed out by a teammate (no spoilers!). A couple of plays later from the SEA30, finally, it’s Gurley Time, and how. He bounced left inside blocks by Tim Barnes (!) and Garrett Reynolds, and after 15 yards, hit the greatest football hurdle move of all time to clear Earl Thomas, an Olympic hurdle with plenty of room to spare. One problem: when Gurley stuck the landing, he also got stuck by DeShawn Shead, and here’s the ball flying loose again, but luckily, recovered by a teammate (!). After a holding penalty, Gurley got the 10 yards back behind Barnes and Reynolds, then banged in from the 2 to put the Rams back up by 13. Gurley ground a couple of minutes off the clock at the end of the game but blocking breakdowns kept the Rams from putting Seattle away without a late scare. That 20-yard run-and-jump was Gurley’s 2015 in a nutshell. He read his blocks well, made a strong cutback, turned on elite acceleration and showed us his crazy athleticism. That play’s why Todd Gurley’s in the Pro Bowl, and (even with the fumble) it’s a big reason the Rams won this week.

* Receivers: The Ram receiving corps didn’t do much, but gave a fun comeuppance. When Kenny Britt (3-49) goes up against Richard Sherman, you can count on the Ram WR to produce nothing, right? Right? Wrong. In the 2nd, Britt found a gear I don’t think even he knew he had and smoked Sherman down the far sideline for a 28-yard TD. Sure, it was the only time a Ram got open deep out of several attempts this week, but it was still one of the game’s biggest plays. Britt’s shown a little knack for that. His other catches came on hitch routes the Rams probably could have used more. As hard as this may be to believe, Jared Cook’s (1-5) biggest play was a block, one that stuffed Cliff Avril and let Gurley score from the 2 in the 4th. Tavon Austin (3-16) was a limited factor from scrimmage but got the Rams in position for their opening FG with a 16-yard reception, taking a swing pass and whipping Jeremy Lane with a wicked spin move. 103 yards may be a slow half for Antonio Brown or Julio Jones this year, but the Rams made a lot out of a little this week.

* Offensive line: The Rams’ offensive MVP this week HAS to be Tim Barnes. Yes, the center. But with Cunningham dreadfully sending a fumble flying downfield in the 3rd, and Earl Thomas close to wrangling it for a turnover, Barnes dived in at the bottom of the pile to steal it away. That saved the Rams for… two plays, when Gurley cut back, flew downfield, leaped, and lost the ball. And as the darn thing is bouncing around inside the 5, who should happen to have followed the play for 25 yards and pounced on the fumble? Timmy Freaking Barnes. THAT is hustle, people! Two arguably game-saving plays made by the center. But that’s not all that earned Barnes a richly-deserved game ball. He opened up a lane that allowed Gurley to get 9 early in that drive. His and Garrett Reynolds’ protection let Keenum step up to make a big 3rd-down completion to keep the drive alive. Who sprung Gurley on the 20-yard run and hurdle? Barnes and Reynolds. Barnes made a key block AND recovered the fumble well downfield! Reynolds held and moved the Rams back to the 12 the next play, but he and Barnes just got Gurley another lane that let him pound right back down to the 2. Barnes was terrific blocking a 10-yard Gurley run in the 2nd, plowing one Seahawk to his right, then rolling to the 2nd level and plucking off another on the left. Gurley just followed in his wake. How often was a Ram runner stuffed in the backfield this week? How often did you hear any Seattle DT’s name called? How many times did the roaring Seattle crowd get the Rams to false start? Not often, not often, and not at all, thanks to the terrific work of the middle of the o-line. Cody Wichmann had his best game to date, with a number of solid blocks on Gurley runs. Cory Harkey was effective lead-blocking. Rob Havenstein got beat a couple of times by speed rushes, but he was also in on the run-blocking fun. Tre Mason gained 5 at the end of the 1st off a mauling seal block by Havenstein, and the RT just decleated a guy in the 3rd on an Austin end-around that gained 8. One flaw was that the Rams couldn’t grind out the clock at the end of the game, even with two chances. The left side got Gurley stuffed with about 6:00 to go, with the Rams eventually punting. Then at the 2:00 warning, Wichmann whiffed on Michael Bennett to get Gurley stuffed and send the ball back to Seattle. The Rams did well enough even without Greg Robinson’s best run-blocking game. He missed a couple of blocks that got runs stuffed on the opening series, and got Mason stuffed late in the 1st after he couldn’t get to Bennett on a wide split. I can’t say Robinson was bad; he handled himself well enough in pass protection. But he’s still the Rams’ fifth-best lineman right now. That may not be the worst thing in the world, though, the way the line has come together down the homestretch.

* Defensive line/LB: Realizing the term “Beast Mode” is taken, is it OK to say William Hayes was in Animal Mode this week? Two full sacks, two half-sacks, SIX QB hits and FOUR tackles for loss. And Hayes was just the spearpoint of a dominant game by the front seven, which held Seattle RBs to 21 yards on 16 carries. Oh, and also scored a TD. Just on the first series, Aaron Donald got a QB pressure, Mark Barron got a QB hit, Eugene Sims drew a false start and Hayes beat J.R. Sweezy easy-peasy to drop Christine Michael for a 4-yard loss. Next series, Barron’s all over Michael chasing down a wacky snap from center for a six-yard loss. Seattle tried a handoff to fullback Will Tukuafu on 3rd-and-1 two plays later, but not only did James Laurinaitis and Barron meet him head-on to stuff him for no gain, Barron blasted the ball loose. Akeem Ayers jumped on it at the 45, ran out of Russell Wilson’s tackle attempt, got a crushing block from Michael Brockers, a block from Trumaine Johnson downfield, and a TD to put the Rams up 10-0. The Rams lost Nick Fairley (after a frightening collision with Lamarcus Joyner), and Ethan Westbrooks, AND Barron, all to concussions, and STILL couldn’t be slowed down up front. They were helped by Seattle trying stupid moves like pull-blocking Aaron Donald. It cannot be done! He flashed past RT Garry Gilliam to bury Bryce Brown for a 5-yard loss in the 2nd. Seattle 3-and-outed near their goal line the next time out. Donald and Hayes stuffed runs, then, with both nickel LBs blitzing, Hayes smoked Gilliam with an inside move and buried Wilson for the Rams’ first sack. At the end of the half, Brockers swam right past overwhelmed center Patrick Lewis to stuff Michael for -3, and Seattle foolishly tried to block Hayes with a TE, whom Hayes steamrolled for the Rams’ second sack, but soft coverage let Seattle get on the board. A pressure by Donald limited that damage to a FG. Up 16-3, the Rams came out of halftime with a bad case of bigleaditis. They let Seattle get out of a 3rd-and-31 hole and gave up a TD despite scoring a third sack. Hayes rocked Gilliam with his punch and split it with Sims, who humiliated LT Alvin Bailey in what looked like a really bad NFL Combine mirror drill. For Bailey, that is. They forced a 3-and-out right after that, though, and benefited in the 4th from a comical ground ball snap that went through Wilson’s legs for a 16-yard loss. The front four came up big once more with about 7:00 to play. Donald pushed the pocket, Sims cut off Wilson’s scramble attempt, and Russell wheeled smack into Hayes, who’d burned Gilliam around the edge, for the Rams’ 4th sack. Wilson scrambled for about 20 on a designed QB draw a few plays later, but Sims forced a fumble, and the Rams recovered (I didn’t see who, but I’m guessing Tim Barnes) to clinch the game (despite a very late Seahawk TD). With an admittedly banged-up and inexperienced offensive line, Seattle could get nothing going in the run game and was no match at all for the Rams’ voracious pass rush. They were like a rack of ribs trying to hold back a pack of wolves. They got devoured. Pass the sauce.

* Secondary: Ugh, why doesn’t Gregg Williams just let his DBs play some weeks? The secondary got worse results than they really deserved thanks to a megaton, or megaWalton, or Greggaton, of too-soft coverage. Trumaine Johnson’s seventh INT of the season on an ill-advised deep throw by Wilson (25-41-289) into double-coverage helped keep Seattle off the board until late in the 1st half, when a bothersome trend began. TruJo kept a drive alive with a helmet-to-helmet penalty. No one covered Michael out of the backfield for 11. On a 3rd-and-10, no one’s within ten yards of Doug F. Baldwin (8-118), who gains 13. Tyler Lockett (3-33) beat Mo Alexander, who tended to stay in a different zip code than Seattle’s receivers, for 16. 3rd-and-3, they’re FIVE yards off Baldwin, big surprise, first down. TruJo coolly broke up back-to-back passes to make Seattle settle for a FG, but the Rams remained hippy-parent-permissive after halftime. Slant to Baldwin, again left unguarded in the slot, for 7. They take a holding penalty later to force Seattle out of loong FG range and into 3rd-and-31, then promptly give up TWENTY-EIGHT to Baldwin, with TruJo missing a tackle. On 4th-and-3, Alexander’s not in the same area code as TE Cooper F. Helfet (4-43), who gets 14. The line nailed Wilson for a sack at the 25 but got zero support the next play. Seattle ran a play they run all the time in that part of the field, simple go route to Baldwin out of the slot, but Alexander blows his soft zone assignment for a TD. After a quarter’s worth of ineffectiveness, the Rams bore down. Janoris Jenkins (whom Wilson once again barely threw at) restored momentum by ripping a 3rd-down pass away from Lockett. Jermaine Kearse (3-38) got wide open down the sideline early in the 4th, but could not complete a catch after getting cleanly and perfectly legally trainwrecked by Rodney McLeod. Those stops and a Wilson fumble put a stop to the Seattle comeback, though Kearse did elude Jenkins in the end zone on one of those plays where Wilson gets to scramble around forever to make the final score close. The secondary didn’t have a good game, but I wouldn’t grade the players poorly. I don’t get laying a mile off a hamstrung Baldwin or the Seahawks’ third-string TE on critical downs. Seems a shame to me to have two corners playing at a Pro Bowl level and then repeatedly fail to put them into a position to succeed.

* Special teams: I don’t know what the heck the Rams were thinking in the kicking game. The only time Greg Zuerlein buried a kickoff for a touchback came while dangerous Tyler Lockett was getting checked for a concussion. The rest of the game, he flubbed short kicks directly to Lockett that he could run up on. What the? Zuerlein made things even worse in the 2nd by missing an extra point. Pro Bowl invite in hand, Johnny Hekker wasn’t much better, averaging 40 yards a punt, kicking directly to Lockett every time, and stupidly cheap-shotting Cliff Avril from behind in the 2nd to get himself a roughing penalty and a large target on his back. Special teams looked really unfocused, and I have no clue why John Fassel wasn’t more insistent on kicking away from Lockett. I guess the important thing is they got away with it. The saving grace was Austin’s 21-yard return from midfield in the 2nd that set up the TD pass to Britt. But the Rams’ second win over Seattle this year came without anywhere near the special teams contribution of the first.

* Strategery: Despite the superb defensive effort, Gregg Williams’ playcalling didn’t impress me a ton. I’ve already criticized the overly-soft coverage that made it utterly predictable that we’d get a replay of the 4th quarter against Tampa and Seattle would get back in the game. I didn’t think Williams countered Seattle’s 2nd-half run game adjustments well, and I didn’t think the Rams looked prepared enough for Seattle bread-and-butter plays like WR bubble screens and Baldwin go routes out of the slot. The Rams’ first sack may yet make me a fan of zone blitzing, though. Out of nickel, Williams blitzed both LBs and dropped Donald back, which made Wilson hold the ball, and Hayes buried him. I’d just like to see more of that kind of aggression on the back end of the defense, where the Rams have the talent to play that way.

Rob Boras’ best call was the TD pass to Britt immediately after Austin’s good punt return to the Seattle 28 in the 2nd. Finally, some offensive killer instinct with good field position! Boras was smart to keep Seattle honest by taking multiple deep shots, and earns plus points for getting the RBs more involved as receivers. Don’t be afraid to keep that up. Benny fooled Seattle on both his big 3rd-down catches; they had to have been expecting him to stay in to block. I have no idea why Benny got the ball on 3rd-and-1 in the 4th quarter of a tight game instead of Gurley, though. Barnes’ first fumble recovery bailed out Benny and Boras. Boras got away with only four 1st-half touches for Gurley, and didn’t really get Austin very involved, but partially atoned by getting the ball in Gurley’s hands in the 2nd half.

Jeff Fisher rarely wins me over with his game management, and didn’t this week, either. 4th and 2 feet to go in the 1st and he settles for a FG. I do not get taking the holding penalty on 3rd-and-21 at all. The worst case there is Steven Hauschka trying a 55-yard FG in the rain. Instead, the Rams give up a 1st down in 2 plays on 3rd-and-31 and eventually give up a TD. Fisher did make a rare game-changing play from the sideline, though, with a rare successful replay challenge on Wilson’s fumble down around the 10-yard line. The coach came up clutch there.

And, as he often seems to do, Jeff Fisher is coming up clutch right when it’s time to save his job. The Rams looked like a playoff team this week, and I wish I was happier about it. Instead, I’m pretty sure had they played anything like this at all against Chicago and Baltimore, they WOULD be a playoff team today. Where was this kind of effort in those games? This is too little, too late, again. The Rams needed this kind of play sooner than Fisher got it out of them. We’re all weary of strong finishes to non-winning seasons. Counting on this kind of play to carry over to next year is the same sucker bet Rams fans have lost the past three years under Fisher. And things look pretty sure he’ll be around next year to go for four.

* Upon further review: John Hussey and crew didn’t get off to a strong start. Sims had to wake them up to get an early false start called. A ridiculous hold of Hayes went completely ignored on the Wilson scramble that ended with Joyner clobbering Fairley. Things got better from there, though. They called a couple of penalties committed against Donald that took away big plays. They called back a big sideline throw by Wilson after catching him across the line of scrimmage. They got a false start call correct that happened a split second before a Ram crossed the neutral zone. Hussey made some good player safety calls. The helmet-to-helmet flag on TruJo was right, even though it’s stupid that the identical hit would have been perfectly legal had Luke Willson caught the ball. I thought it was a good move on Hussey’s part to cool down the Seattle sideline after Hekker’s stupid cheap shot, kind of like a baseball umpire working to head off a beanbrawl. Hussey made enough good calls after that slow start to win me over. Grade: A-minus

* Cheers: Chris Myers and Ronde Barber didn’t seem awake for at least half the Fox broadcast. Too bad they weren’t someplace where caffeinated beverages are readily available! When the Rams called timeout with Seattle punting in the 1st, Myers said Seattle called it, and even claimed it was because the play clock was running out. There were 10 seconds left! They both mooned over the “clever” and “incredibly improvised” play Wilson made to scramble and hit Bryce Brown for a big gain in the 2nd, even after learning Wilson had thrown an obvious illegal forward pass. Barber thought a wacky snap went off Wilson’s hands in the 1st when it missed him completely. They didn’t do a good job keeping up-to-date on injuries, either. Fox Sports must throw a humdinger of a Christmas party; their announcers sure sounded hung over.

* Who’s next?: The Rams and 49ers rekindle their rivalry for the 42nd time in the St. Louis era and bring down the curtain on their seasons next week. Before this week, the 49ers’ visit to St. Louis November 1st was the high point of the Rams’ season, a 27-6 thrashing that opened the door to the playoffs. That got slammed in their faces, but they’ve still got a shot at 8-8 that I for one never saw coming last month.

In the wake of that St. Louis smackdown, the 49ers replaced the failed Colin Kaepernick with former Jagwire draft bust Blaine Gabbert, who has been a marginal improvement. He reads the field much better than Kaepernick, has better pocket presence and takes better care of the ball. He will also surprise with his mobility, which the 49er game plan uses. They like to roll him out, he throws well on the move, and the Ram pass rush has to be careful not to get caught upfield by a scramble. Then again, Cleveland sacked Gabbert NINE times. He is not a big threat to throw deep. His accuracy and decision-making throwing deep balls is very questionable. He’s a college spread QB who’s much more comfortable throwing 4-yard routes all day. So basically, three years after getting rid of him, the 49ers have got Alex Smith back behind center. Gabbert is not surrounded by weapons. Unless Shaun Draughn’s back from a knee injury, they’ll have to rely on DuJuan Harris (2.3 ypc) or Kendall Gaskins (1.9 ypc) at RB. And the Rams held 49er RBs to 15 yards in the first game anyway. Draughn or Gaskins can pose an outside threat or receiving threat if the Rams get caught napping. Gregg Williams loves to “defend” Anquan Boldin by letting him catch uncontested 10-yard passes all day and driving me crazy. Unlike Kaepernick, Gabbert seems to at least know who Torrey Smith is, and they do try to stretch the field with him. I think the receiver to look out for will be converted Oklahoma QB Blake Bell. He’s given them toughness and blocking they’ve been lacking at TE and is cutting into butterfingered Vance McDonald’s targets. And Gabbert throws to the TE in the red zone a ton. They should be considered the primary receivers down there. I would feel free to send pressure at Gabbert, though I’m sure the last thing Gregg Williams needs to do that is my OK. The 49ers could be missing two starters in the middle of the line, and the tackles – especially RT Erik Pears but also ludicrous Pro Bowler Joe Staley – are eminently beatable by edge speed. Bottom line: this is the worst offense in the league; meaningless game or not, the Rams have no excuse to let the 49ers score much on them.

The 49er defense has played tough, especially at home, but hasn’t been enough to prop up that league-bottom offense. They mauled Minnesota, stunned Atlanta and held the Packers, Seahawks and Cardinals to 20 points or under in losses at home. Nose tackle Ian Williams, probably their best lineman, is coming on strong against the run lately and is coming off a Pro Bowl snub. Quinton Dial and Mike Purcell are also getting good push in the middle and Dial shows pretty good burst. ILB NaVorro Bowman has his wheels back; he’s racked up 135 tackles and is on his way back to the Pro Bowl. But their run defense still gives up 128.6 ypg (27th in NFL) and is a big reason they’re 0-5 in the NFC West. The Rams ran for 200 on them last time, 133 for Gurley. Bowman just doesn’t have enough help. Goal number one has to be to get a hat on him. Aaron Lynch is the 49ers’ sack leader (6.5) despite scoring only 1.5 sacks the past two months. As the season has worn on, DC Eric Mangini has become a blitzing lunatic because his line doesn’t get pressure. And his secondary can’t cover. Tramaine Brock flashes, but his and Kenneth Acker’s main purpose seems to be to let WRs make catches in front of them. Safeties Eric Reid and Jimmie Ward are probably their best cover guys. The 49er corners do not manage stacks, bunches or picks well, so Rob Boras should focus on burying them in those in the event he can’t get Gurley going. You can burn them deep, or, more likely for the Rams, you can burn their edge overpursuit with delay runs. If all else fails, the 49ers will probably help you out with a dumb penalty or four, which is all the excuse I need to mention they have Ray Ray Armstrong on their roster. There’s talent in San Francisco, but it was never going to be enough this season to overcome their litany of personnel losses and the number of mistakes the replacements make.

The season ends for 20 teams after next weekend, and the Rams and 49ers already know they’re two of them. The 49ers have already clinched last place in the division. The Rams, though, have a shot at their best record under Fisher, which I’m sure is all he needs to keep his team motivated. But also, the 49ers are the team the Rams have played the most in the St. Louis era and a quite fitting opponent if this is the last game of that era. Even more motivation to send the season out with a flourish.

— Mike
Game stats from espn.com