reporters do last rites on the Washington game

Rams Suffer 24-10 Setback at Washington

Myles Simmons

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Suffer-24-10-Setback-at-Washington/9512981c-4fcb-4c2c-bb07-bc449db64fea

LANDOVER, Md. — The Rams had a disappointing outing offensively and defensively, dropping their second contest of the season to Washington, 24-10.

The home team used a strong rushing attack to control the ball and the clock, amassing 368 total yards, including 182 yards rushing. And it was rookie Matt Jones leading the way for Washington, racking up 123 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns.

On the other hand, the visitors mustered only 67 yards rushing and 213 yards of total offense, gaining only 11 first downs. The time of possession battle was lopsided as well, with St. Louis holding the ball for only 22:16.

Washington got on the board first with a touchdown on its second possession. Poor run defense from the Rams allowed the home team to get into the end zone in just three plays. Running back Alfred Morris took a handoff 35 yards to the left for a big gain. A play later Jones ran it over the left side for a 39-yard touchdown, putting Washington up 7-0.

Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins hit a 46-yard field goal to make it 10-0, but the home team wasn’t done in the first half. After an offensive holding penalty, the Redskins had a 1st-and-15 at the St. Louis 48. But Jones wiped that out with a 25-yard run to the right, putting Washington in scoring position at the visitors’ 23. A few plays later, Kirk Cousins hit Pierre Garçon with a short pass to the left for a touchdown, giving Washington a 17-0 lead.

The Rams had a tough time moving the ball throughout the first half, finishing the first two quarters with only 72 total yards. Their best chance to score came after a Washington 18-yard punt gave St. Louis the ball at their opponents’ 45. Nick Foles completed a pass to Jared Cook for 14 yards on 3rd-and-10, but time expired before the Rams could get up to the line to kill the clock.

The defense got back on track to begin the second half, forcing a three-and-out. Aaron Donald and Lamarcus Joyner had key tackles for loss on the drive.

Washington’s punt put the Rams at their own 32, but the offense got a couple quick first downs. Tavon Austin got the possession started with a 16-yard end around to the left, and Tre Mason followed that up with a 13-yard run up the middle.

Though the drive stalled with a false start penalty, a 9-yard pass from Foles to Benny Cunningham on third down put St. Louis in field-goal range. Greg Zuerlein nailed his 52-yard attempt to get the Rams on the board, making the score 17-3.

The defense then came up with a big turnover, as Robert Quinn punched the ball out on a Jones run, giving St. Louis the ball at its own 49. Mason got the possession going with an 11-yard run. And then Foles dropped back with a play-action fake, and hit Kenny Britt in the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. The scoring strike cut into the lead once again, with St. Louis down 17-10.

But Washington got back on the board in the fourth quarter, aided by a few Rams penalties. A 3rd-and-13 situation turned into a 3rd-and-8 due to a neutral-zone infraction penalty. Cousins converted that with a 10-yard pass to Chris Thompson. Later in the drive, St. Louis committed a facemask penalty to put Washington in the red zone on the 15. A few plays later, Jones ran around the left side for a 3-yard touchdown, putting the game out of reach.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 1-1 on the young season. They’ll be back in action next week at home against the Steelers

Rams are, well, the Rams again

Benjamin Hochman

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/benjamin-hochman/hochman-rams-are-well-the-rams-again/article_ac3f0aa2-e4b3-5781-be1d-55bbbd06c9fa.html

LANDOVER, MD. • They call him Pot Roast, and he was hungry.

Terrance Knighton, he who scares scales, was ravenous for Rams, this after St. Louis beat his Broncos last year … and shut out Washington last season, Knighton’s new team in ’15.

“We saw some things on film that we could take advantage of — we knew if we stop the run, it would be tough,” the nose tackle told me Sunday, after he and the D-line devoured the Rams, winning 24-10. “… We know what type of team they think they are; they’re going to come in, be physical, be frontrunners, and it’s a famous quote: ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’ That’s the attitude we took. …

“Coach (Jay) Gruden got up in front of the team Wednesday and showed St. Louis tape, showed how physical they are, showing how they beat Seattle and laid it on our guys last year, running reverses when they’re up 21 points. So we took it personal.”

On Sunday, Washington’s defense played with an appetite; the Rams’ offense played full. Satisfied.

Last week, I watched Nick Foles and the offense shower the Seattle secondary. It looked to me like the Rams’ offense was on to something. Nope. Here at FedEx Field, the Rams were the Rams again.

The offense took more steps back than Foles under pressure.

They weren’t who they thought they were.

“Sometimes with the way things are going, you kind of get ahead of yourself,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said, when asked about the Rams being too high after beating Seattle. “But the preparation was there and the work was there — we didn’t play the way we practiced.”

So who are these guys? I suppose they’re somewhere between the team that defeated the defending conference champs, and the team here in DC that looked defeated.

The Rams were so deflated, the league might have to call Ted Wells to investigate.

Now look, I don’t think the Rams are this bad. They still can win eight total games. But Sunday, the offense fed into the belly of the beast(s): Pot Roast Knighton, Stephen Paea, Ryan Kerrigan gobbling up the Rams’ rushers, who finished with 67 yards. In the whole game!

The Rams’ best running back performance might have been the pregame drills by Todd Gurley, who didn’t play but is “week to week, and we thought he had a great week (in practice),” coach Jeff Fisher said.

At least Tre Mason returned, so he could take some of the heat otherwise thrown toward the inept Isaiah Pead.

Here’s what frustrated me most about Foles: He looked as if he was playing not to lose, even when the Rams were losing. A few times, he settled on throwing shorter passes, and even some of those were dropped. I know: If you don’t have a run game going, the offense isn’t itself. Then throw in the fact that the Rams couldn’t throw effective screen passes. But man, they converted just two of 12 third downs.

“We knew in order for us to win the game, we would have to run it,” Fisher said. “We missed a lot of opportunities. But I can’t say it’s Nick or it was the receivers, or a breakdown in protection. We’ll have to look at it. But I think everybody in that locker room when you talk to ’em wishes they would have played better, and that would include Nick.”

The easy narrative that we’ll all hear Monday is that the Rams were just too confident after the win against Seattle. They thought they’d matured, they thought they’d taken a step, but then — déjà vu (or, I suppose, déjà boooooo).

But I’ve got to bring up at least one wacky stat, per Bill Barnwell of Grantland.com. In 2014, the final 10 teams that played Seattle in the regular season and had a game the following week, lost the following week. They call it the “Seattle Hangover”: A team becomes so battered by the bruising boom of Seattle’s legion, that the next week they’re not recovered. The Rams had it last season — remember the loss at Kansas City? — and supposedly they had it again Sunday.

Asked about this, a passionate Fisher said: “It’s fair to assume that, but we guarded against that and had a great week of practice.”

Last weekend, perhaps prematurely, Foles praised his offensive line following its showing against the Seahawks. It was cool to hear: the Rams quarterback speaking as a leader, showing his young linemen that he’s behind them, and not just when he’s under center.

Well, now Foles has a new test as a leader: restoring confidence in his precocious offensive line while also restoring confidence in himself. Let’s not forget, the Rams’ offense only had one play for more than 20 yards Sunday.

Pot Roast and the defense didn’t just feast on the Rams.

They poured gravy on them.

Jeff Gordon’s Rams-Seahawks Report Card

http://www.stltoday.com/gallery/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/rams-report-card-week-vs-washington/collection_9323e638-3aed-504e-827e-9cc94357029b.html#0

Report Card: F’s and D’s all over the field

Quarterback C-
Nick Foles had one shining moment Sunday. He sold the fake end-around hand-off to the Washington defense, then lofted the ball to WR Kenny Britt for a 40-yard TD. Otherwise he had a tough day. His teammates kept dropping passes and Washington’s steady pressure forced him out of the pocket and away from his comfort zone. He finished 17 for 32 for just 150 yards and the one score.

Running Backs D
A poor offensive tone was set early when Benny Cunningham dropped a simple swing pass from Foles, running before he caught it. He delivered another blatant drop in the fourth quarter with the Rams in desperation mode. This unit got nothing on the ground until the second half, when Tre Mason finally broke free for a couple of first downs. But Mason narrowly avoided disaster early in the fourth quarter, fumbling deep in his own zone. Fortunately teammate Stedman Bailey recovered the ball.

Receivers C
Kenny Britt made the only big play for the Rams, getting wide, wide open on a fake end-around play for the 40-yard TD. Tavon Austin ran the ball effectively, gaining 40 yards on four carries. But the group caught just four passes during the game, despite Foles’ best effort to extend some plays with his feet. There weren’t a whole lot of Rams finding openings in the Washington secondary.

Tight Ends D
The group looked good early, with Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks catching first-down conversion passes. Cook finished with a team-high five catches for 47 yards. But Kendricks (false start) and Cook (personal foul, facemask) were flagged for untimely penalties in the third quarter and this duo offered minimal help in the run game.

Offensive Line F
Rookie OT Rob Havenstein had predictable trouble containing sackmaster Ryan Kerrigan, who beat him with a variety of moves. The line allowed Washington to sustain pressure on Foles for much of the game, forcing Foles to flee the pocket repeatedly. This line also failed to create much of a push in the run game, limiting Rams running backs to just 26 yards on eight carries.

Defensive Line D
DE Robert Quinn stripped Washington RB Matt Jones of the ball on a third-quarter play to (briefly) reverse the game’s momentum. DT Aaron Donald was in the backfield a lot, blowing up running backs and hassling Redskins QB Kirk Cousins. DT Nick Fairley and DE Chris Long teamed for a late sack. But the defensive front was called for a couple of offside penalties (Donald and Ethan Westbrooks) and it allowed Washington to roll for 182 yards on the ground.

Linebackers F
OLB Alec Ogletree had another busy game, making eight tackles according to press box statistics. But he also had a costly facemask penalty in the fourth quarter to facilitate Washington’s scoring drive. MLB James Laurinaitis got credit for four tackles and five assists. But he also had rough moments, such as overrunning an Alfred Morris cutback that resulted in a 34-yard gain for Washington. When the game was on the line, this unit couldn’t make stops. Its play helped Redskins RB Matt Jones bulldoze up and down the field like Jim Brown.

Secondary D
CB Janoris Jenkins wanted an offensive pass interference call on Pierre Garcon’s TD reception. He didn’t get it. Nor did he cover Ryan Grant on an earlier 35-yard reception. He had a rough day that was capped by injury. S Rodney McLeod failed to support on Matt Jones’ 39-yard TD run, getting caught inside and giving up the sideline. On the plus side, safety T.J. McDonald recovered the Jones fumble forced by Quinn. CB Trumaine Johnson made a great read on another pass toward Grant and nearly earned the interception.

Special Teams A
K Greg Zuerlein crushed a 52-yard FG to finally put the Rams on the board in the third quarter. He also did his usual great job on kickoffs, hammering one touchback after another. S Maurice Alexander was noticeable on the punt teams, making a great tackle in coverage and nearly blocking a kick on the other. P Johnny Hekker got some extra practice thanks to penalty related re-kicks.

Coaching F
The Rams appeared to be tactically and emotionally unprepared in the first half as Washington raced to a 17-0 lead. A few adjustments triggered a brief comeback, but Washington went back to imposing its will on the Rams. Jeff Fisher’s team didn’t come close to building upon its exciting opening victory over Seattle. Such are the losses that keep teams out of the playoffs season after season.

Big plays, run defense missing for Rams in loss

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21604/big-plays-and-run-defense-missing-for-rams-in-loss

LANDOVER, Md. — A look back at how the St. Louis Rams fared in three areas to watch in Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Washington Redskins.

Nick Foles
Rams quarterback Nick Foles lacked the protection needed to make big plays in Sunday’s loss to the Redskins.
1. Chunk play priority: The Rams probably would have settled for even half of their big play output of a week ago when they posted eight plays of 20-plus yards against the Seattle Seahawks.

But finding any positive yardage, let alone in big chunks, was too tall of an order for the Rams this week. The Rams had just one play over 20 yards against the Redskins, a 40-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kenny Britt. Quarterback Nick Foles didn’t have enough protection to take many shots deep as he often found himself running to buy time. On a day when yards were hard to come by anyway, a few more home run balls likely would have made a big difference.

2. Containing Morris: In a very literal sense, Washington running back Alfred Morris didn’t do a ton of damage Sunday to the Rams. He finished with just 59 yards on 18 carries with 35 of those yards coming on one attempt. But the larger point of this category was about the Rams prioritizing stopping the run. And they didn’t. At all.

Redskins running back Matt Jones chipped in 123 yards on 19 carries and scored twice as the Rams repeatedly found themselves struggling to stop the run. For the game, Washington finished with 182 yards on 37 carries, an average of 4.9 yards per attempt. With the Redskins in favorable third downs, the Rams only managed two sacks and Washington converted half of its 16 third downs.

3. Eliminating mistakes: On the bright side, the Rams didn’t have any turnovers though Foles and running back Tre Mason each fumbled once, losing neither. Foles also didn’t throw any interceptions and the Rams recovered a fumble on their way to finishing with a plus-1 turnover margin.

On the other side of the coin, the Rams had too many mistakes in other areas to overcome, namely the return of an old issue in the form of penalties. The Rams had nine infractions for 80 yards on the day, none more important than an offsides on defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks in the fourth quarter.

With 8:56 to go, the Rams had Washington facing third-and-13 at its 20 and trailed by just a touchdown. But Westbrooks jumped the gun to make it third-and-8. On the next play, the Redskins converted with a 10-yard completion and went on to score a touchdown to put the game away. It was just one of many miscues on the day but it effectively put an end to the Rams’ hopes of a comeback.