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October 16, 2016 at 11:23 pm #55471
znModeratorLoss to Lions leaves Rams stunned and frustrated as they head to London
Gary Klein
http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-lions-20161016-snap-story.html
Middle linebacker Alec Ogletree sat just outside the shower room in full uniform, elbows on his knees, head buried in his bruised hands.
Receiver Kenny Britt planted himself stone still in front of his locker, red headphones on his ears, staring blankly at his belongings. Teammates throughout the locker room wore similarly stunned expressions.
This was a different scene than the aftermath of the previous week’s Rams defeat. Not the typical this-is-the-NFL-and-we-move-on vibe.
The transatlantic flight to England that awaited Sunday night no longer had the makings of an airborne celebration.
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Instead , the Rams’ 31-28 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field had sentenced them to at least eight hours of regret and self-examination.
“I guess we’ve got a longer trip,” Ogletree said, “trying to figure it out on the flight.”
Regardless of their review, one thing will not have changed when the Rams land at Heathrow Airport: A team that was once 3-1 and in first place in the NFC West is now 3-3 after its second consecutive defeat against a non-division opponent.
“Any loss is tough,” cornerback E.J. Gaines said, “but two in a row makes it even worse.”
The Rams will play the New York Giants on Sunday outside London and try to put a complete game together for the first time.
This week, Coach Jeff Fisher bristled when asked about the Rams offense, which entered Sunday’s game ranked last in the NFL.
“You can take the 32nd in the league and write all you want about it,” he said, “but this offense is improving.”
On Sunday, he appeared to be correct.
The defense, however, has taken a sudden downturn.
It faltered in last week’s 30-19 loss to Buffalo, but that was regarded as a byproduct of the absence of three starting defensive linemen.
Two returned Sunday, but while quarterback Case Keenum put together a record-setting performance, the defense could not stop Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and his receivers.
Stafford threw touchdown passes to four receivers and connected eight times with Golden Tate as the Lions improved to 3-3 with their second straight victory.
With Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson sidelined because of an ankle injury, Stafford went after Gaines and cornerback Troy Hill.
“It wasn’t even anything we didn’t expect,” Hill said of the Lions’ scheme. “We’ve just got to execute better.”
Fisher said the defense’s performance was “unacceptable” and players did not disagree.
“We just basically didn’t man up,” Ogletree said.
The Rams were not flat, defensive lineman William Hayes said, but “just played soft” all over the field.
“On every play,” he said. “We just took turns messing up.”
Keenum played nearly without error for much of the game.
He completed a team-record 19 consecutive passes during one stretch — “He was on fire, man” receiver Brian Quick said — and finished with a career-best 321 yards passing and three touchdowns, two to Britt. Keenum also ran for a touchdown.
Running back Todd Gurley even found some room to run.
But Gurley and Keenum could not deliver in two key moments.
Gurley failed to score from a yard out on fourth down after Fisher decided to go for it on the final play of the first half with the score 14-14, and the Rams due to receive the second-half kickoff.
“We score and then we come back out and get the ball again,” tight end Lance Kendricks said, “that’s a 14-point potential turnaround.”
Or a 10-point turnaround if they had kicked the field goal.
The Rams went three and out with just over five minutes left, and Matt Prater kicked a field goal to give the Lions a 31-28 lead with 93 seconds to play.
Keenum completed a short pass to Quick, but safety Rafael Bush picked off Keenum’s mid-range throw over the middle for Kendricks.
“We had the ball in our hands with a chance to go win the game and we didn’t,” Keenum said. “That’s frustrating.”
Now the Rams will try to end their skid overseas.
They will try to acclimate to another time change as they continue what will be a 10-day trip.
They cannot allow themselves to let the loss linger, Britt said.
“I guess on the plane the guys are going to put this one behind them,” he said. “And when we land, it’s straight to the Giants.”
October 16, 2016 at 11:33 pm #55473znModeratorLions top Rams with game-sealing interception
By Kevin Patra
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000721839/article/lions-top-rams-with-gamesealing-interception
For the second straight week the Detroit Lions closed a win with a game-sealing interception. Safety Rafael Bush picked off Case Keenum to close a 31-28 win for Detroit (3-3). Jeff Fisher’s Los Angeles Rams fell to 3-3. Here is what you need to know:
1. Welcome to the 2016 season, Golden Tate. The Lions receiver paced an efficient offense that diced up a Rams secondary, which struggled without top corner Trumaine Johnson. Tate entered the game with 134 receiving yards in five games this season. He gobbled up 165 yards on eight catches and a touchdown Sunday. Tate finally got loose, breaking tackles after the catch and caught a deep bomb from Matthew Stafford. Stafford spread the ball around superbly again, but getting Tate involved was clearly a focal point with a beat up backfield.
2. The Lions’ defense made Case Keenum look like Joe Montana most of the afternoon. The Rams quarterback completed 19 consecutive passes at one point, a franchise record (let’s say that again: Case Keenum holds a Rams passing record! Case Keenum!). Keenum picked on pathetic Lions pass coverage over the middle, taking advantage of linebackers that couldn’t cover in space. The Rams’ passer went 27-of-32 passing (84 percent) for three touchdowns and added another score. Keenum was unstoppable until turning back into a pumpkin on his final pass, which was picked off.
The Lions’ defense was terrible all game but came up big when it mattered: Stuffing Todd Gurley on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard-line to end the first half and closing the game out with an INT.
3. Kenny Britt’s career renaissance continued Sunday. Britt burned Detroit for seven catches on eight targets for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Britt used his 6-foot-3 frame to shield defenders from the ball on crossing routes and stretched the field for Keenum with two 40-plus yard receptions. Britt’s yardage didn’t all come against second-rate corners either as he beat Lions top CB Darius Slay several times. As Around The NFL Seer Chris Wesseling pointed out this week, Britt is one of the most overlooked reborn misfits in the NFL this season.
4. Zach Zenner carried the load for a banged-up Detroit backfield toting 14 times for 58 yards. It was the most efficient the Lions’ ground game has looked since Ameer Abdullah went on injured reserve. Justin Forsett’s debut was forgettable, carrying five times for five yards and he had a dropped pass. If Theo Riddick remains injured, Zenner should carry the load. The newly signed Forsett might not remain on the roster for the duration of the season.
Credit a maligned Lions offensive line (missing starting guard Larry Warford) for doing a solid job against Aaron Donald & Co. Stafford wasn’t sacked until final drive of the game.
5. Todd Gurley finally had space to run, averaging 4.1 yards per carry (came in averaging 2.7). Against a Lions defensive front seven missing several key players, Gurley actually got to the line of scrimmage without having to break 15 tackles on the way. With Keenum killing the Lions through the air, however, the game script went away from Gurley’s ground game. He had just 14 carries for 58 yards (eerily the same as Zenner).
6. Fourth down decisions provided huge momentum swings:
Jim Caldwell went for it on fourth down twice in the first half, including a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard-line. The Lions converted on both — leading to two touchdowns.
Fisher went for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard-line on the final play of the first half, eschewing a chance to take the lead with a field goal. Gurely was stuffed. Those three points would have come in handy at the end.
October 16, 2016 at 11:46 pm #55474znModeratorDespite Strong Performances, Rams Fall to Lions, 31-28
Myles Simmons
DETROIT — Though the Rams received strong offensive performances from quarterback Case Keenum and wide receiver Kenny Britt, they could not get enough defensive stops and fell to the Lions, 31-28. With the loss, the Rams are now 3-3 on the season.
The Lions got off to a fast start offensively, driving down the field in eight plays for a touchdown on their opening possession. Quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with wideout Golden Tate for a 34-yard screen pass that brought the Lions down to the Rams’ seven-yard line. Then Stafford hit wide receiver Marvin Jones in the left side of the end zone for a touchdown, giving Detroit an early 7-0 lead.
Los Angeles put together a nice drive in response, culminating in Britt’s first touchdown reception of the season. Running back Todd Gurley led the charge with four carries for 29 yards on the possession — including a 15-yard scamper on the Rams’ first offensive play. On 2nd-and-5 from Detroit’s 20-yard line, Keenum rolled to his right, waited for Britt to find the soft spot in the zone, and delivered an accurate ball. Britt caught it, made a couple defenders miss, and found his way into the end zone for a 20-yard scoring strike.
After a defensive stop — punctuated by linebacker Josh Forrest’s tackle for loss on 3rd-and-1 — the Rams got back on the board with another long scoring drive. Keenum completed a pair of passes to Gurley in the flat on the drive, both of which went for 13 yards. And on 1st-and-goal from the one-yard line, Keenum faked a handoff to Gurley, then rolled to his right for an easy touchdown, giving the Rams a 14-7 lead.
The Lions would answer with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Stafford found veteran wideout Anquan Boldin a few times on the possession to move the ball down the field. Then the Lions elected to go for it on 4th-and-goal from the L.A. two-yard line, and Stafford fond wide receiver Andre Roberts in the back of the end zone for for the game-tying touchdown.
Los Angeles had a chance to take a lead into halftime, but were not able to turn their two-minute drive into points. A 43-yard pass from Keenum to Britt brought the Rams into Detroit territory. And another pass from Keenum to Britt looked as if it may have gotten into the end zone on 3rd-and-goal from the Lions’ seven-yard line. Though the play was reviewed, the officials concluded Britt was about a half-yard short.
The Rams elected to go for it on 4th-and-goal with a handoff to Gurley, but the play was stuffed in the backfield for a loss to keep the score tied at 14 heading into halftime.
The second half began decidedly in the Lions’ favor, as Los Angeles committed a pair of false-start penalties to move a 3rd-and-5 play to a 3rd-and-15 deep in the visitors’ territory. After a short run on third down, Johnny Hekker’s first punt of the day went 54 yards, and was fair caught at Detroit’s 40-yard line.
But the Lions would cash in on their opportunity regardless, moving deep into L.A. territory with a deep pass from Stafford to Tate. With an offsides penalty on the Rams’ defense, Stafford recognized his opportunity to take a deep shot and did so successfully. While it initially looked like Tate had made it to the end zone, he was ruled down by contact. But a couple plays later, Stafford hit Boldin with a short pass in the end zone for a touchdown to take the lead.
L.A. wouldn’t be down for long, going down the field in six plays on the ensuing drive for a game-tying touchdown. Keenum hit Britt with a 47-yard pass to begin the possession, which the wideout saved from hitting the ground by keeping the ball between his legs. Keenum finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lance Kendricks, which tied the game at 21.
The Rams’ defense held strong on the ensuing drive, forcing a three-and-out. And Los Angeles’ offense went right back to work, moving down the field for another scoring drive. Wideout Brian Quick made a pair of receptions for first downs to keep the chains moving. And then Keenum found Britt in the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown to give the Rams a 28-21 lead.
Also on that drive, Keenum broke Jim Everett’s 27-year old franchise record with 20 consecutive completions.
Detroit came back with a long drive to bring the score back to even. The Lions converted four third-down opportunities on a possession that lasted 8:07, culminating in a Tate 23-yard screen reception for a touchdown.
With the game tied at 28, L.A. went back to work at their own 25-yard line, but could not get anything going and had to punt.
The Lions took the lead on their ensuing drive, with a key 3rd-and-1 conversion on an 11-yard pass from Stafford to Boldin helping to sustain the drive. After the two-minute warning, defensive tackle Aaron Donald picked up Los Angeles’ first sack of the game. A screen pass to Tate came up just short of the marker on 3rd-and-13. But Detroit still went ahead with a 34-yard field goal, grabbing a 31-28 lead with just 1:29 left in the fourth quarter.
With the Rams out of timeouts, their drive started on the 25-yard line after a touchback. On the second play of the possession, Keenum threw his first poor pass of the day, as a ball intended for Kendricks over the middle was intercepted by safety Rafael Bush.
The Rams will now head to London to take on the Giants in Week 7.
October 17, 2016 at 12:23 am #55476znModeratorOnce again, a Rams team appears to be going nowhere
By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF COLUMNIST
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/rams-732347-lions-goal.html#
DETROIT – A slew of buses sat outside Ford Field on Sunday to transport a solemn group of Rams to Detroit Metro Airport. There, a charter plane was awaiting them amid the gray clouds and stillness of a mid-October evening on Michigan’s lower peninsula.
The destination was of no concern. Or significance really.
It doesn’t really matter much.
Six games into their triumphant return home to Los Angeles, it’s becoming painfully and frustratingly clear that all roads and flight patterns lead to the exact same place for the Rams. Head-first into a brick wall separating who they really are from what they aspire to be.
The Rams undoubtedly want to be a real player in the NFL. A complete, balanced group for whom winning is the norm and losing an occasional blip on the screen.
That’s what they want to be.
What they are, we learned once again in a bitterly frustrating 31-28 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, is a team that can’t quite find the right pieces to complete the puzzle. Not consistently, anyway. And after watching them labor ever so taxingly even during their three victories this season, we’d be hard-pressed to remember a moment in which everything was clicking for them at the same time.
t makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Maybe this is who the Rams will always be under Jeff Fisher. Now in his fifth season, he’s yet to lead the Rams to a winning season. And after starting this year 3-1, the Rams are right back where they’ve always been after losing their last two games. Stuck in the quicksand of .500. Flailing away again in no-man’s land.
Maybe that’s just their destiny under Fisher. And why the Rams should not be in a hurry to renew their vows with him when his contract runs out at the end of the season.
“They’re disappointed, as they should be,” Fisher said of the Rams. “I’m disappointed, as I should be. The staff is disappointed. We couldn’t make that play that we needed to.”
How many times can we bear hearing that same tired response?
When can we say is enough is enough of incomplete football and sloppy play and silly penalties and bone-crushing turnovers?
“I’ve been here since 2010, this is my seventh season,” said guard Rodger Saffold, who has seen a whole bunch of losing and misery over those seven years. “I want this team to succeed more than anything. More than myself. So of course this hurts.”
As hard as they try, now matter what they change from players to schemes, the end game always seems the same.
On Sunday it didn’t matter that Case Keenum had a career day with 321 yards passing and three touchdowns and at one point brilliantly completed 19 straight passes.
Or that Kenny Britt turned into Calvin Johnson by grabbing seven passes for 136 yards, including a fiercely fought 9-yard touchdown in which he bull-rushed a group of Lions tacklers over the goal line.
As good as Keenum was, when it came right down to it he threw an ill-advised pass into triple coverage for a game-ending interception.
And as fantastic as Britt was, he wasn’t able to get the ball over the goal line late in the second quarter with the Rams looking to take a touchdown-lead over the Lions into intermission. That led to the Rams going for it on fourth down inches away from the goal line rather than kicking the field goal to take the lead. But Todd Gurley got stuffed behind the line of scrimmage, sending the Rams to the locker room without a score.
The three points they snickered at in favor of going for the touchdown ended up being the winning margin for the Lions.
See how this works out?
Even when things are going good, as they were for Keenum and Britt and an offense that moved up and down the field with ease Sunday, somehow, some way the Rams find a way to shoot themselves in the foot.
“I know that sounds like a broken record from last week, but I mean, we had the ball in our hands with a chance to go win the game and we didn’t,” Keenum said. “That’s frustrating.”
One step forward, two steps back.
Like the defense not being able to drive a stake in the Lions after the offense built a 28-21 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The same defense that has carried the Rams to their three wins was unable to answer the call.
On the touchdown drive the Lions mounted to tie the game, the Rams couldn’t turn the Lions away on four third-down situations. The result was an 8-play, 84-yard drive that ended with Golden Tate hauling in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to tie the game at 28-28.
“We can’t get to the quarterback,” Aaron Donald said, shaking his head. “He’s back there all day, passing the ball, making plays.”
And with a chance to get the ball back for the offense – or make a stand and force overtime – the Rams allowed a nine-play 43-yard drive in which Matt Prater kicked a 34-yard field goal to make it 31-28.
“Offense puts 28 points on the board and we couldn’t stop the opponent,” Donald said, disappointedly.
That seems to be the Rams’ reality. It’s why they’ve been mired in mediocrity for years.
They’ll land in London on Monday morning, but the location is of no significance. The Rams find themselves stuck in no man’s land again at .500.
It seems to be their destiny under Fisher.
October 17, 2016 at 12:25 am #55477znModeratorNote…my free access to the Times has expired for this month. Could someone follow the link and copy the rest of the article? Put it in this thread and when I can I will combine them.
The Rams will play the New York Giants on Sunday outside London and try to put a complete game together for the first time.
Thanks bnw. I will put that addition into the original post, and delete yours, so there is no confusion.
But I really appreciate it. Each month I get only a few days with the LA Times before I exhaust my quota of free access.
…
October 18, 2016 at 10:05 pm #55572znModeratorRams ‘have to move on’ from another tough loss
Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — By the time Monday came, Jeff Fisher had lost complete track of time.
“Good morning, afternoon or evening,” the Los Angeles Rams’ coach said as he began a conference call with the media.
Fisher’s Rams arrived in an unfamiliar place in an all-too-familiar scenario.
When they touched down in London on Monday morning local time, they were 3-3 for the fourth time in the five years Fisher has been their coach. They were coming off a deflating 31-28 loss to the Detroit Lions, one that saw their stagnant offense awaken and their shorthanded defense fall flat, leaving their entire team in a collective state of distress.
Four of the Rams’ last five games have been decided by six points or less and each of them have basically come down to one final drive.
It’s been a mentally draining experience.
“In this case, you show the positives, especially from an offensive standpoint,” Fisher said. “And that carries over. Our offense believes they’re getting better, and I think the numbers are improving. I don’t really care where we’re ranked and all those kind of things, but the Detroit defense had a hard time stopping our offense. As we did their offense. But I expect our defense to bounce back, as the health factor improves. The encouraging thing for me, in the big picture, is that the offense is making plays, and Case [Keenum] is comfortable. We’re pushing the ball down the field, we’re getting the ball in the end zone, we’re getting the ball to our playmakers.”
The Rams entered Week 6 last in the NFL in yards per game, then accumulated 23 first downs, gained 387 yards from scrimmage and scored four touchdowns on long drives. Keenum at one point completed 19 consecutive passes, setting a new franchise record. Kenny Britt caught seven passes for 136 yards and scored twice. And though Todd Gurley’s numbers once again looked pedestrian — 58 yards on the ground, 39 through the air — he was able to find plenty of holes early on.
The main issue — aside from the late-game interception that sealed a second straight loss — was a shorthanded defense that once again allowed too many big plays.
The Rams didn’t suffer any injuries outside of defensive tackle Michael Brockers, who’s considered day-to-day with an injury that is unrelated to the hip ailment that kept him out in Week 5. Fisher was encouraged by that. The players won’t practice again until Wednesday because Fisher wants to give them time to acclimate to a city that is eight hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time. But the coaches have been game-planning ever since they left Detroit, thinking about how to contain Odell Beckham Jr. and beat the Giants to go into the bye week with a winning record.
E.J. Gaines, who will likely cover Beckham with No. 1 cornerback Trumaine Johnson still nursing an ankle sprain, said the Rams “need to win this next one” because three losses in a row is “definitely unacceptable.”
“You could appreciate the mood in the locker room after the game,” Fisher said. “It was somber, it was filled with disappointment, things like that. But we have to move on.”
Before hanging up the phone, Fisher asked a question for the media members on the other line: “What time is it over there?”
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