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znModeratorznModeratorznModeratorznModeratorThey won’t die.
znModeratorRobert Woods, Rams’ top receiver, to miss multiple games with shoulder injury
RICH HAMMOND
THOUSAND OAKS — Robert Woods, the Rams’ top receiver, fierce run blocker and all-around offensive security blanket, won’t be on the field for at least two playoff-determining late-season games.
Woods suffered an injury to his left shoulder late in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, and while he avoided surgery, he will need to miss time. In his Monday press conference at Cal Lutheran, Coach Sean McVay said “the optimistic approach is, hopefully, a couple weeks.”
“He has done a lot of great things,” McVay said of Woods. “That’s an opportunity for some other guys to step up, and I know he will take care of himself and hopefully we will get him back sooner than later, but that’s what it is right now.”
That means Woods will miss Sunday’s game against New Orleans, a contest that figures to be an offensive shootout, and the following week’s game at Arizona.Woods leads the Rams this season in receptions (47) and pass targets (70), and his 703 receiving yards are more than 200 more than any other Rams player. Woods also is tied for the team high with four touchdowns and, in his last two games, he totaled 252 yards and two touchdowns.
McVay said Woods got hurt during the Rams’ final drive of the fourth quarter Sunday, when he caught a 15-yard pass and was tackled by Vikings safety Harrison Smith, who fell on Woods.
“What he represents, week in and week out, just from the way he goes about his business, he contributes (a lot),” McVay said. “He has played like a complete receiver. Underneath, intermediate, down the field. That’s a significant loss for us, but there are guys we have confidence in to step in and feel that void.”
First on that list, presumably, is Sammy Watkins, who was acquired in an August trade with the idea that he would be a field-stretching, touchdown threat. Watkins is tied with Woods with four touchdowns, but Watkins has made only 24 catches in 10 games and ranks fourth on the Rams with 408 yards.
Rookie Cooper Kupp, the Rams’ second-leading receiver, and lesser-used receivers such as Pharoh Cooper, Mike Thomas and rookie Josh Reynolds, also could take on bigger roles, but much attention also will turn to veteran Tavon Austin, whose role with the Rams has diminished greatly this season.
Austin, the Rams’ highest-paid player and, at one point, their top offensive target, participated in two of the Rams’ 59 offensive plays against Minnesota and did not touch the ball on either play. McVay said he wasn’t immediately sure whether Austin would return to the role of a more conventional receiver.
“That’s something we’ll discuss,” McVay said. “It’s something that could be by committee, with the depth we do have, finding ways to get Tavon more involved — which, I’ve got to do a better job with that — and then Josh and Mike and Pharoh. I think it will require a by-committee approach.”
It’s been a slow, steady descent for Austin, who signed a four-year, $42-million contract extension 15 months ago. He lost his role as a regular receiver and basically became a backup to running back Todd Gurley. Then he lost his punt-returning duties.
Sunday’s game marked a nadir for Austin. His previous low was seven plays in the season opener. Austin has only seven receptions this season, and 36 carries for 171 yards.
“Bottom line, Tavon is too dynamic of a playmaker for our offense to not try to get him more involved than (Sunday),” McVay said. “You can sit here and make excuses that we didn’t have enough snaps and things like that, but it’s on me, and I’ve got to do a better job of getting a feel for the flow of the game and finding a way to get him involved, especially when that was part of our plan.”
This could be something of a last chance for Austin. After this season, the Rams could cut him and retain a salary-cap hit of only $5 million. This season, including bonuses, Austin is making more than $14.9 million (or $936,000-plus per game), which accounts for nine percent of the Rams’ salary-cap total.
INJURY REPORT
McVay said starting cornerback Kayvon Webster is in the NFL’s concussion protocol and that starting nickelback Nickell Robey-Coleman is still dealing with the thigh injury that took him out of Sunday’s game.
“It seemed like (Webster) was in good shape (Monday),” McVay said, “so taking steps in the right direction. Nickell, we’ll monitor him as the week progresses.”
Cornerback Troy Hill, who missed Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, is expected to return to practice Wednesday, McVay said, and that’s good news given that on Sunday, the Rams face New Orleans and quarterback Drew Brees, who passed for 385 yards Sunday against Washington.
“That definitely is a concern,” McVay said of his cornerback depth, “especially when you look at the top offense that we’re getting ready to play this week. The thing that’s so impressive is, they’ve consistently, over the last handful of years, thrown the ball as well as anybody, and now they’re able to run it as well.”
znModerator3rd quarter, 31-20 ATL
Vaughn McClure
ESPN Staff Writer
First time the Falcons have reached 30 points since 30-26 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 3. Falcons have three 30-point games this season. Came into tonight averaging 21.0 points per game.Brady Henderson
ESPNThe Seahawks can’t catch a break with injuries. Running back Mike Davis has a groin injury and won’t return. He was making his Seahawks debut after being promoted from the practice squad last week and had given Seattle’s offense a spark before leaving after the first possession of the third quarter.
November 20, 2017 at 10:26 pm in reply to: media on the VIKES game … tweets, articles, vids, etc. #77788znModeratorRams have some vulnerable spots exposed in loss at Minnesota
VINCENT BONSIGNORE
No sooner had the Rams lost to the Vikings on Sunday when they already started talking about a possible rematch.
It’s totally within the realm of possibility, of course. In fact, as things stand today there’s a good chance the Vikings would host the Rams in the second round of the NFC playoffs. With six games remaining — including Sunday at home against the Saints, trips to Arizona, Seattle and Tennessee and the Eagles and 49ers at the Coliseum, the Rams should be fine for a postseason berth by going 3-3.
From where we sit today, that looks doable.
Still, a lot of work remains if the Rams hope to flip the script against Minnesota, should a postseason rematch comes to fruition.
Of the Rams’ three losses this year, Sunday’s to the Vikings is the one that looked most like a loss against a better team.
That might not be the case on a week-to-week basis but, at the very least, the Vikings are just as good as the Rams and they were clearly the superior team on Sunday.
“It’s one game and now we have an opportunity to look at ourselves and see what we can do to respond,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “So far this year when we have faced that adversity, I love the way our team and our coaching staff has responded.”
Nevertheless, here are some issues the Rams need to focus on down the stretch:
RUN DEFENSE
It’s pretty much been glossed over given the way the Rams offense was waylaying people before Sunday, but the run defense has been erratic for some time. It hasn’t been a big issue, especially with the way opponents had to revert to the pass when falling behind, but it reared its ugly head on Sunday in a big way.
The Vikings ran for 171 yards, including 95 yards and two touchdowns by Latavius Murray.
The Rams are giving up 123.3 yards per game on the ground, fifth worst in the NFL. And while they can sometimes mitigate that simply by overpowering people offensively, at some point, they are going to run into a team like the Vikings that can slow them down defensively, get a lead and then turn to the run to play keep away.
The Vikings ran 73 plays to the Rams 56, and had possession of the ball nearly 15 minutes longer.
In some ways the Vikings provided the rest of the NFL a blueprint on how to offset the Rams offense. They did it by overpowering every Rams defensive linemen — outside of Aaron Donald — at the points of attacks to continually create positive downhill runs.
The Rams have to do better.
COOPER KUPP NEEDS TO STAY FOCUSED
The good news is Kupp is a third-round rookie wide receiver who has massively outplayed his draft status to become one of the top two first-year wide receivers in the game.
The bad news is he still a rookie wide receiver prone to having rookie moments. And considering how much the Rams lean on him (he’s earned every bit of that trust) they simply have to live with the youthful transgressions that might result.
He had a critical second-quarter fumble inside the Vikings 1-yard line as the Rams were about to take a 14-7 lead. It was more of a great play by Vikings safety Anthony Harris, who stripped the ball from behind as Kupp was going to the ground, than a bad one by Kupp, but in a tight games against a quality opponent Kupp has to be more secure with the ball.
He also dropped what would have been a first-down completion, costing the Rams at least three points in the second half.
“Obviously there are plays that I want back and plays I wish I would have made,” Kupp said. “I think we’re a better team than what we were. I think I’m a better player than what I showed out there.”
Kupp has earned his playing time and the big-time role in the passing game, but we’re at a stage in the season when anything less than perfection could have disastrous ramifications. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a rookie, but it comes with the job. Focus will be the key.
NOISE RUINED POISE
The crowd and atmosphere at U.S. Bank Stadium is as loud and intense as any in the NFL, and it clearly had an effect on the Rams offense, which continually seemed out of sorts at the line of scrimmage.
The Rams managed it well enough on their opening drive, which resulted in a touchdown, but once they got away from the first-possession scripted plays they were decidedly less decisive and stagnated as a result.
“Any time you play in a stadium like here, that is super loud like that, it can affect (things),” Goff said. “There were issues at times for sure.”
It’s not going to get any easier in Seattle on Dec. 17, as rowdy a stadium as there is in the NFL. And should the Rams play the Vikings again, it’s going to be even louder the second time around.
PRESSURE IS FINE, BUT SACKS ARE BETTER
The Rams are eighth in the NFL with 28 sacks. That’s good, but not great. And while Aaron Donald is the best overall lineman in the NFL, his team-leading five sacks is not a stat a 3-4 defense should be happy about. Ideally that distinction should go to an outside linebacker — Connor Barwin or Robert Quinn specifically.
But neither is having a dominant pass rush season, and that limits what the Rams can do from a sack and pressure standpoint.
While they got heat on Vikings quarterback Case Keenum, it wasn’t nearly enough and when they did, he managed to use his feet to buy time and make plays downfield. It’s incumbent on the Rams to get quarterbacks to the ground when they have the chance.
The Rams will face mobile quarterbacks in Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz on the schedule. They have to find a way to get more pressure, and more sacks.
znModeratorAlden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff WriterSean McVay said the Rams will try to replace Robert Woods “by committee.” Josh Reynolds, Mike Thomas and Pharoh Cooper will factor in. Tavon Austin, a backfield decoy this season, will see more snaps, probably both as a running back and a traditional receiver. But there’s no getting around it: Sammy Watkins has to step up now.
znModerator21-7 Atlanta
znModeratorBut Seattle is driving.
znModeratorBrady Henderson
ESPNNot a good start for the Seahawks in several ways: long return of the opening kickoff set up Atlanta with a short field. Cornerback Shaquill Griffin was hurt on the second play, replaced by Byron Maxwell. Pass interference on Jeremy Lane set up a Falcons touchdown. Cornerback is not a position Seattle can afford any more injuries with Richard Sherman out.
Brady Henderson
ESPNA dreadful start for the Seahawks as Atlanta scores touchdowns on its first two possessions, the second coming after a Russell Wilson interception set the Falcons up with another short field. To make matters worse: cornerback Shaquill Griffin is doubtful to return. He’s being evaluated for a concussion.
znModeratorHC Sean McVay says WR Robert Woods will be out for a couple of weeks. Says, “That’s a significant loss for us.”
Joe Curley @vcsjoecurley
McVay says Robert Woods (shoulder) will “probably” be out “a couple weeks.” “It’s an opportunity for other guys to step up.” @CVRamsClubNovember 20, 2017 at 7:29 pm in reply to: Downtown Rams – Podcast 11/20 … + Farr, & Mortenson … #77768znModeratorD’Marco Farr, Rams Sideline Reporter joins Mornings and talks about mistakes that cost the Rams the game in Minnesota, QB Case Keenum’s great day, what did the Rams learn from this loss and more.
November 20, 2017 at 7:28 pm in reply to: Downtown Rams – Podcast 11/20 … + Farr, & Mortenson … #77767znModeratorChris Mortensen, ESPN NFL Analyst joins Mornings and talks about the Rams tough day against the tough Viking defense, the loud crowd, and a good building block for the Rams.
znModeratorsean wrote:
In Person Game Review and General Thoughts
First, AT&T Stadium is quite impressive in Downtown Minneapolis.
It is a beautiful structure outside with the glass and as you would expect has all the modern amenities on the inside. Being in Cowboys stadium for a few games, it is not as over the top, but in general, a pretty cool stadium.
As others have stated, they have a really good home-field advantage and is a 100% improvement from the Metrodome.
We had very good seats. I was eight rows up in the lower section on the RAMS side. Not sure what you could see on the TV….but the sun came through around 12:30 and was blinding until the early 3rd quarter.
The seats, at least in the lower section, were very comfortable and quite large. The purple seats, along with the purple jerseys made it quite a site. If I have to hear that damn horn again, I will go crazy. Not sure what the TV picked up, but it was LOUD. The crowd was really into it….and from the people I talked to, like us, they really thought this was an important measuring stick game.
I won’t go too much into analysis, but Cooper has to hang on to the ball. He is too good a player not to. Also, I got the feeling, and by judging the Rams body language, it seemed like they felt they were the better team until the early 4th quarter. Once Kupp dropped the 3rd down pass, which essentially would of put us in FG range and potentially cut the lead to 14-10…the Vikings scored again and it was ball game.
Also, not too use injuries as an excuse, but once we lost Robey-Coleman early and then Webster later, it was a matter of time until Hatfield was taken advantage of. Quite frankly, I am surprised it took so long. Speaking of Robey-Colman, when coming out for the second half he had a noticeable limp and was really struggling to walk.
Moving back to pre-game…we had a great view of the warm-ups.
-Hekker participated with the other QBs in throwing to the WRs…quite an impressive ball he has.
-Whitworth is one big man
-Kronke and Snead were on the field at midfield talking for about 15 minutes. A bigger guy, I presume a bodyguard, stood about 5 yards away holding Kronke’s bag or man purse!
– As with all pre-games these days, many of the players were dancing to all the pre-game music.
-Robert Woods was all smiles during pre-game, and you can generally see he is a leader and very likeable. Hopefully, his shoulder will be fine.
-Aaron Donald was out about one hour before the game in sweats and man is this guy cut. He was really working hard and I would like to see us tie him up long-term.
-When the Rams coaching staff came out, Sean McVay came out in a full sprint…Wade was bringing up the rear.
-Greg Zurlein was right in front of us the whole time. He stood alone, like most kickers I am sure, and constantly was kicking into the net on the sideline.
-After Robert Quinn missed Case he was walking up the sideline shaking his head over and over again.
-To me, Tavon almost seemed like an outsider. His lack of playing time is well documented. He was constantly chirping on the sideline to coached, and a few times he went in and then ran off late. It seems like he’s not all in. At this point, I don’t see how he stays on the roster next year.
-On the sideline, Goff seemed to project confidence and until mid way through the 4th Q every time before hitting the field, he was talking to the OL and other players. He generally had a good calm demeanor about him.
During half-time, they had a country singer, I never hear of, sing and the crowd was appreciative and very respectful. Also, in general, the Viking fans were respectful and did not do much trash talking..
Plenty of Rams jerseys…by far the most popular was the Gurley rush jerseys. I did see a dad with a Quinn jersey and a little girl (maybe 6) with a Barron jersey. For the record, I was sporting my Marshall Faulk jersey, with the hopes of a dominating performance like we had in January 2000.
That’s all
znModeratorhttp://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/8407/robert-woods
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Robert Woods (shoulder) isn’t dealing with structural damage.
Woods went down in the fourth quarter against the Vikings, but his shoulder injury isn’t considered serious. He could potentially play through it without missing time. There should be more clarity on Woods when the Rams return to practice Wednesday. Nov 20 – 4:20 PM
==
Injury updates from the #Aftermath: When #Bucs QB Jameis Winston is going to play and what's the latest on #Rams WR Robert Woods' shoulder pic.twitter.com/Jjv5RgTyHC
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 20, 2017
November 20, 2017 at 5:24 pm in reply to: Why the Rams offense struggles against better defenses.. #77760znModeratorAlden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Rams’ O-line combined to give up 13 QB pressures Sunday, its 2nd-highest total this season and 2nd-most among O-lines in Week 11, according to Pro Football Focus. Jared Goff was 5-of-13 for 40 yards when pressured, 18-of-24 for 185 yards when not, per PFF.
November 20, 2017 at 10:00 am in reply to: media on the VIKES game … tweets, articles, vids, etc. #77750znModeratorRams say loss to Vikings can be a long-term benefit
Alden Gonzalez
MINNEAPOLIS — Most of the Los Angeles Rams’ players couldn’t see it. Their 24-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was still too fresh, the avoidable mistakes that plagued them still too raw. They couldn’t sense the impact that experiences like these can have on what comes next, on who they might become.
But Andrew Whitworth could.
The Rams’ 35-year-old left tackle has played in 12 NFL seasons and has been on six different playoff teams, an experience level that provides him with a firm grasp on the bigger picture. He verbalized some of it Sunday afternoon, in the middle of a silenced visitors locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“The reality is we needed this,” Whitworth said. “We needed some adversity. It’s not to say that we didn’t need to come back and win that game, but you know what, some of the adverse situations in that game — on the road, in a really hard place to play, against probably one of the best defenses in the league — to play the kind of game that we were in, and for this team to be in the game we were in, I think it shows you that we’re legit and we’re the real deal.”
The Rams — the NFL’s highest-scoring team when Week 11 began — were held in check by a sound, well-rounded Vikings team that is now 8-2. They played in one of the NFL’s loudest environments, in a late-season game that seemed to bring with it a playoff-like level of intensity. And they got a sense of what it’s like to navigate through a slim margin for error, the type they hardly experienced while outscoring teams by 103 points during a four-game winning streak.
It’s something they should start getting used to.
Sunday’s game marked the beginning of a seven-game stretch that makes up the NFL’s second-hardest remaining schedule. The Rams’ next contest, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, will come against the 8-2 New Orleans Saints. They’ll also host the first-place Philadelphia Eagles and travel to face the division-rival Seattle Seahawks before their season comes to an end.
“We knew the challenge we were going up against,” Rams running back Todd Gurley said. “These next couple of games are the teams above .500 and looking to be in the playoffs. Hopefully we see these guys again. We definitely don’t want to lose to them twice.”
Gurley was limited to 56 scrimmage yards, 31 of which came on the opening drive. After that initial touchdown, the Rams were held to 179 yards, 10 first downs and zero points. They were hurt by the early injury-related departures of two cornerbacks, Kayvon Webster and Nickell Robey-Coleman. But two key mistakes by Cooper Kupp, a fumble at the 1-yard line and a drop on third down, loomed largest.
“I think we’re a better team than what we were out there,” Kupp said. “I think I’m a better player than what I showed out there.”
The Rams entered this season as the NFL’s second-youngest team, behind only the winless Cleveland Browns. The Rams’ only players with postseason experience were six of the veteran players they added over the offseason — Connor Barwin, Lance Dunbar, John Sullivan, Tyrunn Walker, Webster and Whitworth.
Aaron Donald, mired in lackluster Rams seasons over the past three years, agreed with Whitworth’s claim that this team needed a little bit more adversity.
“But I still wish we would’ve pulled out a win,” he said, “because losing sucks.”
U.S. Bank Stadium was predictably deafening, forcing the Rams to burn a couple of early timeouts and prompting a delay of game penalty.
Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph combined to haul in 15 of 22 targets for 213 yards, taking their turns picking on a Rams secondary that had to cut into its depth like never before. Case Keenum went 27-of-38 for 280 yards and zero turnovers, continuously avoiding sacks by slithering his way out of the pocket. And the Vikings’ defense was as aggressive and ferocious as advertised, creating constant pressure for Jared Goff while limiting him to 1-for-7 on 15-plus-yard attempts.
Whitworth called that defense “the best we’ve played.”
He thinks it’ll help the Rams moving forward.
“If we get this opportunity again in the playoffs, if we get a chance to get in, we’ll be prepared for it,” Whitworth said. “And that’s the kind of games you’re going to play. If you want to play after the regular season, if you want to play late in the year in big games, this is the atmosphere you’ll have to learn how to play in and win.”
znModeratorIMO, the game turned on two plays: the missed strip sack by Quinn and the fumble by Kupp. Those two plays were both pretty early in the game and seems to inspire the Vikings and deflate the Rams.
(Thanks snow!) What was it like to be there? Was it a rough sit-through? Rams did hold on for 3 quarters.
znModeratorWell I’ve said 2 things about Goff this year and I still think both of them after Minnesota.
1. He IS a franchise qb. He has the arm-talent, he has the smarts, he has the work ethic, he has the toughness and poise.
2. He started out more behind than most as a rookie (variant of Air Raid offense in college) and still has a lot of developing to do, the kind that comes from experience and making responses to different situations more automatic.Point #2 means he’s going to be inconsistent until he matures more. There will be peaks and valleys on a general upward trajectory.
I thought the Vikes game got down to this. The Vikes OL outplayed the Rams front 7 and a shifty smart veteran qb took advantage of it. On the other side, the Vikes DL handled the Rams OL and they threw a younger, still developing qb off his game.
I think the Rams also found out some guys they’ve programmed in a lot may not be clutch enough for the future. Both Seattle and the Vikes made plays when they had to and those plays determined the game. Who on the Rams just MAKES PLAYS when they’re needed? On offense it’s NOT Kupp, though I have hope for him, and it’s not Higbee, who I have less hope for.
On defense, injuries have depleted the CBs (along with trading Gaines). But up to this point WP has been getting by without outside rushers and without a soild consistent NT.
Another factor in this game was a measure of some Vikings “told ya so.” Meaning this. Shurmur was not popular among some Rams fans but he was always better than the negative assessments said he was. Same with Keenum (Keenum though needs a running game which he didn’t have in 2016). Keenum is a #2 caliber qb but he’s the best one the Rams had in years.
In terms of the schedule I can’t think of the last time any team played division leaders in consecutive or near consecutive games. It’s murderers row.
…
znModeratorLMU93 wrote:
The stretch vs. MIN, NO, SEA and PHIL is against all top 6-8 teams in the league. They were not going to waltz past them or go 4-0.
Minnesota outplayed them overall across the board. Could have been closer if the Kupp fumble hadn’t happened but then again MIN shanked an easy FG too. But they played them 7-7 for 3 quarters.
Having to go to their 4th and 5th CBs hurt late but this team cannot complain about injuries. They’ve been probably the healthiest team in the entire league.
Keenum was one slippery guy Sunday. He escaped about 5 sacks and that one where Brockers and Barwin both failed to get him down and he completed the 20 yard pass downfield to Thielen was a sign this was the Vikings’ day.
I agree with Whitworth that a loss like this can be good for them. They needed a game where they were not coasting after 3 quarters.
Onward and upward.
November 19, 2017 at 10:13 pm in reply to: media on the VIKES game … tweets, articles, vids, etc. #77712znModeratorCase Keenum shows former Rams teammates his best side
RICH HAMMOND
The Rams patted Case Keenum on the back last November and told him: Thanks for everything, but it’s time to move on. They wanted the best for him, but they didn’t want this.
Exactly 52 weeks after Keenum lost his job, as the Rams’ starting quarterback to Jared Goff, Keenum got a chance for revenge. He didn’t put it that way, because that’s not his nature, but some combination of coincidence and fate allowed Keenum to face the Rams on Sunday, and he clearly enjoyed it.
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Keenum, who signed with Minnesota as a backup but inherited the starting job because of injury, passed for 280 yards and one touchdown in the Vikings’ 24-7 victory over the Rams.“I talked earlier in the week about circling the game, looking forward to it,” Keenum said. “Later in the week, I went more toward, ‘This is just another game, another team, another really good football team.’ … I wanted to be here, talking to (media) after a big win. That was my approach.”
It worked. Keenum was everything the Rams remembered, starting in 2014, when they signed him to their practice squad, through last season, when Keenum led some bad Rams teams to a 7-7 record as starter.
Never the fastest, never the strongest, Keenum is a wily quarterback who can escape pressure and find open targets. Never was that more on display than late in the first quarter Sunday.
The Vikings faced a second-and-10 play from the Rams’ 30. Keenum dropped back and evaded pressure from Rams linebacker Robert Quinn, but that led him directly into the path of linebacker Connor Barwin. Keenum somehow ducked and rose as Barwin couldn’t bring him down, and Keenum then completed a 12-yard pass to receiver Adam Thielen. The Vikings later scored a game-tying touchdown.
“He’s the same Case,” Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald said. “He was running around the pocket. We were winning our one-on-ones and we were in the backfield. They did things to try to slow us down with the rush, with different counts and trying to slow us down. He just did a good job of moving around and protecting his offensive line from getting beat.”
Donald recorded three hits on Keenum but the Rams didn’t sack him, and really, other than Donald, the Rams didn’t get much pressure on Keenum or an impressive Minnesota offensive line.
Keenum completed passes to nine different targets, and did a good job of getting rid of the ball quickly and utilizing his tight ends and running backs on short routes.
“He played his tail off today,” Goff said. “He played really well. I was sitting on the sideline, like, ‘Come on, throw it to us, throw it to us,’ and he wouldn’t do it. He played really, really well. He deserves everything coming to him.”
Including a full-time starting job? Keenum is playing for Sam Bradford, who is out with back problems, but former Vikings starter Teddy Bridgewater is ready to play, and this week, Coach Mike Zimmer didn’t announce until Wednesday that Keenum would start against the Rams.
Keenum is now 6-2 as a Vikings starter this season, and gave a refreshingly honest postgame answer when asked if his play warranted Zimmer naming him the full-time starter.
“If it is not broke, don’t fix it,” Keenum said. “Let’s keep doing what we’re doing. If we do, however, and Coach Zimmer does whatever he does, he’s the coach. It’s his decision. I’m here to play.”
Before the game, Keenum exchanged greetings with Goff, who he helped mentor last season, and after the game, Keenum even shared an on-field laugh with Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree.
Keenum did his best, in the interview room, to downplay the revenge factor, and his top receiver indicated it might not have been an act.
“If I put myself in that situation, I would think it was a big game,” Thielen said. “But at the same time, we get the same Case every week, a guy that just prepares and busts his tail and is in the quarterback room before everybody is probably even waking up.”
November 19, 2017 at 9:57 pm in reply to: media on the VIKES game … tweets, articles, vids, etc. #77710znModeratorAlden Gonzalez@Alden_Gonzalez
After the game, a lot of Rams players said of the Vikings: “We can’t let them beat us twice.” The Rams feel like they’ll meet again.Rams DT Aaron Donald said he left “a lot” of sacks on the field. “Offensive line couldn’t block us one-on-one. Case just did a good job of moving around in the pocket.”
Did Aaron Donald say anything to Case Keenum after the game? “He did too much running. I didn’t want to talk to Case.”
Did Aaron Donald say anything to Case Keenum after the game? “He did too much running. I didn’t want to talk to Case.”
Rams QB Jared Goff on his former teammate, Case Keenum: “He played really well. I was sitting on the sidelines saying, ‘Come on, Case, throw us the ball.’ He wouldn’t do it.”
Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Todd Gurley, after long praise of the Vikings’ defense: “Hopefully we see these guys again, and we definitely don’t want to lose to them twice.”Vincent Bonsignore @DailyNewsVinny
Crowd nose + injuries + lack of poise in key moments + a very good #Vikings team = first #Rams loss in more than a monthDon’t get that penalty on Aaron Donald whatsoever
Who was having the better game on the sideline, Bud Grant or Chuck Knox?
If you want to know why getting home field advantage in playoffs is so important I submit the effect #Vikings crowd having on #Rams offense
Joe Curley @vcsjoecurley
McVay: “Really it was tough to get in any sort of rhythm… Didn’t really get enough plays off.”Rams managed just 15 first downs and 254 yards of total offense. Not season lows. Only 249/12 at JAX. @CVRamsClub
Case Keenum threw for 280 yards and a TD against his former team. Completed 27 of 38. 100.8 passer rating. @CVRamsClub
November 19, 2017 at 9:53 pm in reply to: media on the VIKES game … tweets, articles, vids, etc. #77709znModeratorRams notebook: Cornerback duo given difficult assignment in Minnesota
RICH HAMMOND
MINNEAPOLIS — The Rams like Dominique Hatfield and Blake Countess. They’re hard workers and valuable depth players, particularly in practice, but the situation they were put in Sunday was far from ideal.
Injuries to three of the Rams’ top four cornerbacks – Kayvon Webster, Nickell Robey-Coleman and Troy Hill – forced the Rams to turn to Hatfield and Countess, who entered Sunday with a combined total of 23 NFL games and two starts.
Not surprisingly, things didn’t go very well against a Minnesota offense that has two excellent receiving threats in Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The Rams kept their top corner, Trumaine Johnson, on Diggs, who had only four catches for 32 yards, but Thielen had six catches for 123 yards and a touchdown.
“I think (the Vikings have) a great offense, and they do a great job,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We expect our guys, if they are asked to step up and step in, we have confidence in those players. You see why they have some good playmakers on the perimeter.”
The status of Webster and Robey-Coleman for next week remains unknown. Webster left the game in the first quarter, then returned, then came out again and was ruled to have suffered a concussion. Robey-Coleman left the game in the second quarter with a thigh injury.
Webster was in the Rams’ locker room after the game, while Robey-Coleman stayed on the sideline for most of the game in uniform. He had to watch as Keenum increasingly picked apart the Rams’ secondary.
The big play came in the fourth quarter, when Hatfield missed a tackle and Thielen scored a 65-yard touchdown. It was a lot to ask of Hatfield, who went undrafted out of Utah this year, and Countess, who has played more than Hatfield but still doesn’t have much NFL experience.
“(The Vikings) did a good job of making plays today,” McVay said, “and certainly it makes it difficult when you lose Nickell and you lose Kayvon, but we’ve got a lot of confidence in some of those younger corners to step up and contribute and compete the right way as well.”
WOODS OUT?
The Rams suffered a potentially huge loss late in the fourth quarter, when Robert Woods injured his shoulder. McVay didn’t have an update immediately after the game, but Woods had to go to the locker room on an electric cart.
Woods once again proved to be the Rams’ best target, as he caught eight passes for 81 yards. With six games left in the season, Woods already has set a career high with 703 yards.
ROOKIE MISTAKE(S)
With the game tied 7-7 late in the second quarter, the Rams had a great chance to take momentum into halftime. Rookie receiver Cooper Kupp caught a pass inside the Vikings’ 5-yard line, but before he reached the goal line, Kupp had the ball stripped by Vikings safety Anthony Harris.
Harris also recovered the fumble, and the Rams’ offense never seemed to recover and didn’t score another point.
“I tried to turn up and poke my head in,” Kupp said. “They just made a great play on it. They raked over the ball and it came out and they were able to cover it. I just have to do a better job of securing the ball.”
Kupp also dropped a fourth-quarter, third-down pass that would have put the Rams, who then trailed 14-7, inside the Vikings’ 25. Instead, the Rams punted.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Kupp, a third-round draft pick this year. On Sunday, he tied his season high with six catches and was second on the team with 64 receiving yards, but unfortunately, Kupp will be remembered most for the plays that weren’t made.
“He’s hard on himself but he’s a great player,” Goff said. “He makes more plays and does more little things that go unnoticed. He can’t be down on himself. It’s a long season and he makes so many plays. I’m not worried about him.”
COVER YOUR EARS
The Rams played in the most hostile environment of the season, in front of more than 66,000 fans in Minnesota’s indoor stadium. For the most part, Goff and the offense seemed to handle the noise well, but it required quite a few in-close meetings on audible plays, and Goff said the crowd made an impact.
“For sure, yeah,” Goff said. “Any time you play in a stadium like here – and there’s a few in the league that are super-loud like that – it can affect that. There were issues at times, for sure.”
WHERE IS HE?
It’s been a while since receiver Tavon Austin was a part of the Rams’ passing attack, but on Sunday, he also vanished from the run game.
Austin, who essentially is Todd Gurley’s backup at running back, did not have a carry against the Vikings. The Rams, against Minnesota’s stout run defense, called only 15 run plays (all for Gurley) compared to 41 pass plays. Austin also wasn’t targeted on any passes for a third consecutive game.
“Really, it was just tough to get in any sort of rhythm,” McVay said. “With our inability to sustain drives, it was tough to get him going, but he’s a player we have to do a good job with. I’ve got to get him involved in the game, and it starts with just getting more opportunities, which we really didn’t get, which was a credit to their defense.”
November 19, 2017 at 9:49 pm in reply to: media on the VIKES game … tweets, articles, vids, etc. #77708znModeratorJared Goff, Todd Gurley slowed in Rams’ loss to Vikings
Alden Gonzalez
MINNEAPOLIS — Todd Gurley was finding holes, Sammy Watkins was getting involved and the play-action game was working beautifully. The Los Angeles Rams’ resurgent offense began its biggest game of the season by humming along amid the noise at a raucous U.S. Bank Stadium. The Rams had outscored their past three opponents by a combined 93 points, and their opening drive seemed to signal the start of another scoring onslaught.
It wound up being an outlier.
A Minnesota Vikings defense that ranked within the top five in yards and points allowed stifled the Rams’ offense for the 56 minutes that remained in Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup. The Rams gained 179 yards, picked up 10 first downs and scored zero points after their opening drive, the backdrop in a deflating 24-7 loss that dropped their record to 7-3.
“A lot of teams kind of do well in that first drive,” Gurley said. “It kind of messes with you because you think you’re going to do good the rest of the game. Obviously, we didn’t.”
And because they didn’t, the Rams played with a razor-thin margin for error; slim enough that two injuries to their cornerbacks and two mistakes by their rookie receiver did them in.
At the four-minute mark of the second quarter, Cooper Kupp caught a short pass from Jared Goff on a slant route but fumbled at the Vikings’ 1-yard line, giving the Rams their first turnover in a span of four weeks. On third-and-10 at the Vikings’ 49 early in the third quarter, Goff made an accurate deep throw down the middle of the field to Kupp, his favorite third-down target, but Kupp dropped it.
“There are plays that I want back,” Kupp said. “There are plays I wish I would’ve made.”
The dagger came five plays after Kupp’s fourth drop of the season.
A Case Keenum-led Vikings offense that had spent an entire afternoon chewing up clock and beating the Rams underneath finally got an explosive play. Adam Thielen, third in the NFL in receiving yards, ran a short route. Dominique Hatfield, pressed into action after Kayvon Webster (concussion) and Nickell Robey-Coleman (thigh) left early, was all alone with him in space. Thielen made a quick move to the inside, got free, sprinted up the sideline and basically went untouched for a 65-yard score, giving the Vikings (8-2) a two-touchdown lead they would not relinquish.
Keenum went 27-of-38 for 280 yards and a 100.8 passer rating, avoiding turnovers and countless sacks by continually navigating out of the pocket to evade pressure against his former team.
Aaron Donald in particular felt he left “a lot” of sacks on the field.
“Their offensive line couldn’t block us one-on-one,” Donald said. “Case just did a good job of moving around in the pocket.”
“He played his tail off today,” Goff said of Keenum. “I was sitting on the sideline like, ‘Come on, throw it to us. Throw it to us.’ And he wouldn’t do it.”
Coming off back-to-back games of 300-plus yards, three or more touchdowns and zero interceptions, Goff went 23-of-37 for 225 yards, but he was hit five times and was hurried constantly. Gurley, the NFC’s leader in scrimmage yards heading in, picked up only 25 yards after the opening drive.
“I feel like they’re based off the bootleg and the run,” Vikings defensive tackle Linval Joseph said. “If you stop the run, then you stop the bootleg.”
The Rams entered the game averaging an NFL-best 118 yards in the third quarter, but managed only 27 on Sunday. They went 3-for-11 on third down, held the ball for a season-low 22:38 and were limited to a mere 45 rushing yards.
Fast start aside, the NFL’s highest-scoring team was suffocated in its biggest game of the season.
“We didn’t do enough things to win the football game, and it starts with me,” Rams first-year coach Sean McVay said, blaming himself for not putting his offense in better situations. “We talk about it every single week, how you’ve got to be ready to go because it is a very humbling league. We definitely got humbled today by a very good team.”
znModeratorWhy not see Thor?
November 19, 2017 at 5:42 pm in reply to: media on the VIKES game … tweets, articles, vids, etc. #77694znModeratorThankful for health !
— kwebb (@kayvonwebster) November 19, 2017
znModeratorPer source, Rams WR Robert Woods has a shoulder injury. Currently not believed to be serious.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 19, 2017
znModeratorbump, in case someone needs to know
znModerator -
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