stats from the Washington shut-out & more stats too

Rams defense earning all ‘A’s’ right now

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14421/rams-defense-earning-all-as-right-now

for the second time in as many weeks and the third time in the past four games, coordinator Gregg Williams’ defense didn’t allow an opponent to run a single play from inside their 20-yard line

from off the net

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LMU93

Rams defense- last 6 games….

9.0 PPG allowed
29 QB sacks
309.2 yards/game allowed
58.7 rushing yards/game allowed
3.26 yards/carry allowed
15 turnovers
27.3% (24/88) on 3rd and 4th downs

That’s as impressive as it gets…..

ej gaines

it’s impossible to say enough about this kid, a 6th rounder no less, who has played 98% of the rams defensive snaps thru week 14. in fact ej is only one of two 2014 6th rounders on pace to start every game this year. moreover only 6 of the 676 6th rounders taken from 1990-2013 were listed as starters every game their rookie year, and all but ej were olinemen.

Well said, A1.

Gaines is draft gold–a low round guy who becomes a quality starter. That’s how you build a really good roster without spending a ton of money.

Howard Balzer ‏@HBalzer721

Notable stat: Taking out return TDs from points against, Rams defense is ranked No. 2 in NFL with 222. Seattle at 221 only team better

from a “fan blog” article by Nathan Kearns

http://ramblinfan.com/2014/12/08/quick-thoughts-st-louis-rams-win-washington-redskins/

There have been six shutouts in the NFL this season. Two of those belong to the St. Louis Rams, who are the only ones to accomplish the feat on the road this season. With his players finally acclimated to his defense scheme, Gregg Williams is having his way with opposing offenses. Yesterday, the Redskins were 3-for-15 on 3rd/4th down conversion attempts, and managed only 206 total yards on 55 plays. Moreover, the Rams won the turnover battle for the third time in four games, including finishing with a +2 or higher turnover differential for the second-consecutive week.

3. Speaking of turnovers, the majority of those takeaways this season are coming from interceptions (12); a stark turnaround from last season where fumble recoveries were king. After T.J. McDonald snagged a Colt McCoy pass in the second half yesterday, every member of the Rams starting secondary unit has nabbed an interception this season. In fact, aside from McDonald, the other four “starters” (McLeod, Jenkins, Gaines, and Johnson) each have at least two picks on the season. As a result, the Rams are currently tied for 10th in the league in takeaways, and rank in that same spot in overall turnover differential on the year (+4).

4. However, takeaways is not the only area that the St. Louis Rams are ranked highly in this season. After starting off with a historically-low one total sack in the opening five games of the season, the St. Louis Rams are currently tied for 7th-most in the NFL (35). The Rams unyielding pass rush has managed 18.0 sacks in the last four games, more than Atlanta (14) and Cincinnati (15) have amassed all season. The Rams are also tied for the league-lead in interceptions returned for touchdowns this year, and are one of only eight teams with 3 or more defensive scores on the year. Lastly, the Rams are allowing only 37.8% of third down conversion attempts to be completed (9th), and are the only team in the NFL that hasn’t allowed a successful fourth-down conversion attempt this season (min. five attempts against)

The way this D is playing makes my heart soar.

This is what we all hoped for…

Now, if the offense gets squared away this off-season, frankly, I think folks will HAVE to talk about us…

And we’re going to do it in the face of a tough schedule. None of this “worst to first” business because our opponents all sucked. O

Once we get there, we’ll be so damned battle hardened that we’ll be ready to go all the way.