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znModeratorCosell is very good here. Good listen. Covers a lot of territory.
znModeratorPractice Report 10/2: Quick Set to Return
Myles Simmons
It’s been a long road back from a serious shoulder injury for wide receiver Brian Quick, and all indications are that he will be on the field when the Rams take on the Cardinals in Arizona.
“Had a great week of practice,” head coach Jeff Fisher said of Quick. “I hope it carries over into the game.”
“I’m really excited, man,” Quick said after Friday’s session. “I can’t wait to get out there with my brothers and try to get this win.”
Quick has been a healthy scratch for the first three games of the season, but his injury was a factor for why he was not in. Because of the shoulder, Quick was not able to fully participate in much of the Rams’ offseason program. The wide receiver said part of making his way back was simply catching up with the new elements in the offense.
“It was just everything, period,” Quick said. “Just getting back to the speed that I needed to get back into. So I’m still working, and any opportunity that I get, I’m ready for.”
Quick said one of the indications he had a good chance to play against the Cardinals was his increased practice reps.
“There are certain things that you just have to prepare for, going into the week,” Quick said. “So when the coaches put you out there, you have to be ready for anything.”
One factor for the practice time was Kenny Britt sitting out earlier in the week due to a minor shoulder injury. While Britt is listed as probable to play Sunday, Fisher said Quick was impressive in Britt’s stead.
“He stepped right in there and literally was flawless with his reps,” Fisher said. “He knows exactly what to do.”
Though Quick had not been playing, he said he’s spent time with the entire offense developing chemistry with quarterback Nick Foles.
“Reps after practice, us going in the meeting room together as a unit — those are the little things that separate offenses and different players, just to have that chemistry together as one,” Quick said. “We’ve all been meeting and doing the extra things we needed to do.”
And last week, Foles said he’s seen plenty of potential from the 6-foot-3 wideout.
“The sky is the limit for that guy,” Foles said. “So talented, such a big receiver. His ball skills are among the best I’ve seen, just how he goes up and gets it.”
“When he gets out there, it’ll be exciting,” the quarterback added.
Given how hard and how long Quick has been working hard to be an active player on gameday, it wasn’t much of a surprise when he admitted Friday it was sometimes tough to sit and watch.
“You’re out here working every day and you see your brothers out there fighting, going out there giving it everything they have,” Quick said. “You want to go out there and do the same thing with them.”
And now that he will be able to do just that, Quick doesn’t need a moment to look back at all he’s overcome to get back to this point.
“I let it sink in every day — every day I’m out here,” Quick said. “Once you get a chance to even sit on the sideline, to even be out here, be in this locker room — you’ve got to take advantage of it and love everything that you do. So I just take that approach every day.”
INJURY REPORT
The Rams have six players listed on their injury report for Sunday’s contest.
Wide receiver Kenny Britt (shoulder) returned to practice Friday with full participation and is listed as probable. Linebacker James Laurinaitis (not injury related) is also listed as probable after having Tuesday and Wednesday off. Running back Benny Cunningham (knee) was added to the injury report Friday, but is listed as probable.
Running back Chase Reynolds (knee) did not practice all week, but is listed as doubtful. Defensive end Eugene Sims (knee) and safety Maurice Alexander (groin) have both been declared out for Sunday’s contest.
ROSTER MOVES
The Rams made a few corresponding roster moves to solidify the roster in preparation for Sunday.
Given the absence of Alexander, the Rams promoted safety Christian Bryant from the practice squad to the active roster.
“I think he’s got a chance to be active and help us on special teams,” Fisher said. “We’ve designated Maurice Alexander as ‘out’, so ‘CB’ can fill in for him till he comes back.”
The Rams selected Bryant in the seventh round out of Ohio State in the 2014 draft. The Cleveland, Ohio native spent last season on St. Louis’ practice squad.
“Christian was their Defensive MVP before he got hurt there at Ohio State,” Fisher said. “He’s one of those classic examples of what a difference a year makes. So, had a really good preseason. I’ve got all the confidence in the world that he’ll go out there and do the right things.”
To make room for Bryant on the active roster, the Rams cut cornerback Brandon McGee. The club also added cornerback Eric Patterson to replace Bryant on the practice squad. Patterson is an undrafted rookie out of Ball State, who spent the early portion of the offseason with the Patriots before going between the active roster and practice squad of the Colts. Indianapolis waived Patterson earlier this week.
znModeratorRams cut Brandon McGee promote S Christian Bryant
Bryant…interesting.
znModeratorI thought we got rid of all Raiders fans from this forum. What’s Nittany still doing here?
Without freedom of speech, we would not have examples of how bad you can look when you espouse an unworthy cause, like being a Raiders fan.
We call it the “but for the grace of god” policy.
.
Well, the Raiders are 2-1 so…
Well, Mr. BandWagon, we’re Rams fans. We don’t need “winning records” to be loyal.
.
znModeratorNick Wagoner
ESPN Staff WriterRams coach Jeff Fisher says WR Brian Quick will play Sunday. Quick will be making his 2015 debut after returning from shoulder injury.
znModeratorRams preparing for same old dominant Larry Fitzgerald
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — As one of the three teams Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald has played against the most in his NFL career, it stands to reason that Fitzgerald’s numbers against the St. Louis Rams would be impressive.
But for all the teams that Fitzgerald has posted big statistics against, there’s not one that he has had more success against than the Rams. His 16 receiving touchdowns in 22 games against the Rams are the most by any active player against a single team in the NFL. In addition to those touchdowns, Fitzgerald has averaged 6.2 catches and 74 yards per game against St. Louis.
Now for the scary part: at 32, fully healthy and with a true starting quarterback in Carson Palmer, Fitzgerald might be playing as well as ever through the first three weeks of 2015.
“He has just a rare understanding of the game,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s got great body control and hand-eye coordination and speed and he just gets open. You’re hearing a lot about these receiver-quarterback tandems with [Falcons WR] Julio [Jones] down in Atlanta and some of the other guys, but this one is special. They’re special together. Carson and Fitz, they’ve got it going, so we’re going to have to play really well.”
As one of the most accomplished wideouts in the league, Fitzgerald is enjoying a renaissance in 2015 after he dipped below 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past three seasons. Those believing that Fitzgerald had lost a step are eating crow as Fitzgerald has 333 receiving yards (fifth in the NFL), and his five touchdown catches lead the league and are one more than the Rams have as a team.
How is he doing it? Well, it starts with a return to health. Fitzgerald battled an MCL sprain in 2014 and was left wearing a knee brace for most of the season. But he has struggled to get going without the services of a true No. 1 quarterback. With Palmer lost for most of the past two seasons because of knee injuries and less than optimal options before Palmer’s arrival, Fitzgerald has had to try to corral passes from the likes of Ryan Lindley, Drew Stanton, John Skelton and Kevin Kolb.
Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis and Fitzgerald go way back to their days in Minnesota and have trained together in the past. Laurinaitis keeps tabs on Fitzgerald and points to Palmer’s presence and Fitzgerald’s health as reasons for his early-season revival.
“He sprained his MCL, so he’s out there with a knee brace on and that’s not a good look for a wideout to have a knee brace,” Laurinaitis said. “So the combination of him not feeling well and you don’t have your starting quarterback, it makes a huge difference. He’s got probably the best hands in ball, arguably, very strong hands, and he’s a savvy vet now. He knows how to get open.”
Palmer has been Fitzgerald’s personal fountain of youth, feeding him the ball all over the field, and Arizona is not shy about moving Fitzgerald all over the formation. He has been particularly effective out of the slot or even stacked near the line of scrimmage in various bunch formations. In moving him around, the Cardinals have been able to create favorable matchups for him against nickel corners, safeties and even the occasional linebacker.
Fitzgerald and Palmer’s connection is stronger than ever. The two have connected on 23-of-28 targets (82.1 percent) and have been particularly effective using the middle of the field on intermediate and deep routes. According to Pro Football Focus, Fitzgerald has caught all 11 balls thrown his way between the hash marks at least 10 yards down the field for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s played it ever since we’ve been here,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. “Now he’s playing a lot more flanker where he’s always been the split end where we can move him and he’s just bought into our philosophy. He’s probably one of the best blocking receivers in the league right now. But, it’s also helped him in the play-action game. We’re running the ball better than we have in the past, so that’s opening him up also.”
Which means the Rams must be constantly be aware of Fitzgerald’s presence on Sunday or a set of numbers that’s already impressive will continue to grow.
znModeratorI thought we got rid of all Raiders fans from this forum. What’s Nittany still doing here?
Without freedom of speech, we would not have examples of how bad you can look when you espouse an unworthy cause, like being a Raiders fan.
We call it the “but for the grace of god” policy.
.
znModeratorNo Excuses For Rams. Just Look at Arizona
Bernie Miklasz
It’s typical of Bernie to ignore or downplay contexts. It’s just his way. I’ve been saying that now for years btw, about Miklasz. And IMO him doing that just leads to bumper sticker analysis.
Here’s a quick glance at the ARZ roster, based solely on the roster put up for them by PRF for their last game.
EG. Arizona’s avg. experience for starters on defense is 5 years (I count the year they’re IN. So a rookie in 2015 is in year 1.) Their D has at least 5 starters who are in their 5th year or more.
On their OL, the avg. experience is 5.6 years. The youngest is a 3 year vet and it includes 2 6 year vets and a 9 year vet.
The way I have always seen Miklasz work, going back to the days he used to trash Vermeil in 98 based on criticisms he was getting from Zygmunt, is that he gets an emotion based on the team record, then adds reasons that justify the emotion.
He doesn’t really do any analysis where the conclusion is not pre-ordained.
So for example it would not even occur to him to compare the relative experience of the Rams D v. the ARZ D, or the Rams OL v. the ARZ OL. That stuff is just not on his horizon. He doesn’t even think to do it. When confronted with material like that, and an analysis that differs from his, he trots out the great “shut down conversation” word….”excuses.” (Excuses = an analysis you don’t like. That’s it, that’s all it ever means in football discussions.)
Meanwhile look at the Fisher Rams from 2012-2014. They did well when they had: (1) a starting caliber qb, (2) a relatively healthy OL (meaning one that does not have multiple simultaneous injury replacements), and (3) a running threat.
BTW if you have a top qb you can get by without number 3. Palmer is that; both Foles and Bradford need a running threat IMO.
But in any event, they did well when then had those conditions. And they had those conditions for 11 out of 48 games. In those 11 games they went 7-3-1, and that includes 6 games against top 10 defenses.
Arians is clearly a good coach, but then, give any struggling team Palmer, Fitzgerald, a veteran D (even one with injuries), and a veteran OL, and they ought to do well.
In contrast, I assume that when Foles and the Rams young OL get some experience together that the unit will cohere and they will do well.
But see that’s where the “e” word comes in. Bernie will dismiss all that as “excuses.” I just call it analysis. He disagrees with it, mostly based on an emotional reaction to the record, so we get the “e” word.
All IMO naturally and of course.
znModeratorGurley looking forward to his next chance
Joe Lyons
Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley ran the ball six times for nine yards and caught a five-yard pass in his much-awaited NFL debut in a return from November knee surgery.
In addition to getting comfortable in the NFL, Gurley is also adjusting to the Rams’ new zone blocking scheme, Joe Lyons of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
“We had an outside zone run (in college at Georgia), but we never ran it,’’ Gurley said. “It definitely requires patience, getting those ‘backers to flow and stretching the D-end, making sure you’re pressing the track and making the cut at the heels of the line.
“It’s something new to whole offense and definitely new to me, but it’s no excuse. It takes repetitions, looking at other team’s outside zones and learning from that, watching film with the O-line. We’ll get it down.’’
Gurley was asked about getting more touches going forward and replied diplomatically.
“One carry could be for 80 yards,’’ he said. “It doesn’t matter how many touches I get as long as we win. I’ll let the coaches call that; I don’t call the plays.’’
znModeratorhttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/10/01/pfts-week-four-picks-6/
by Mike Florio
Rams at Cardinals
MDS’s take: The Cardinals have been dominant in their first three games, and they’ll dominate again when the Rams come to town on Sunday.
MDS’s pick: Cardinals 38, Rams 14.
Florio’s take: This is the kind of game the Rams find a way to win, or at least to be competitive. But the Cardinals have looked too good this year, and the even the very best the Rams can do may not be good enough.
Florio’s pick: Cardinals 30, Rams 23.
October 1, 2015 at 7:21 pm in reply to: NFL's 'O-line epidemic' threatens QB star system…+ Patz change nature of OL? #31533znModeratorBill Belichick made a simple change to his offensive line that could revolutionize the NFL
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bill-belichick-made-simple-change-155902845.html
The New England Patriots’ offense is off to a ferocious start. New England has scored 119 points through the first three games of the season, second in the NFL and the most points through three games in Patriots history.
But beyond Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Julian Edelman — not to mention Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels at the helm — there is a less obvious reason to explain New England’s fast start: the fact they are revolutionizing their offensive line.
The Boston Herald took a deep dive on the frequency with which New England has been rotating its offensive line, and it’s unlike anything else you’ll find in football. Through their first 30 offensive possessions this year, the Patriots have rolled out nine offensive-line combinations (not including kneels to end halves), and they deployed a 10th unique combination on goal-line packages against the Jaguars that resulted in three LeGarrette Blount rushing touchdowns. Against the Steelers in Week 1, they didn’t begin consecutive possessions with the same offensive-line combination until the sixth and seventh possessions.
Most of these rotations have come at the guard position. Three linemen have taken a lot of snaps on both sides of the line, which — again — is quite unlike what other teams do. Josh Kline has played 10 series at left guard and 14 at right; Shaq Mason has played 20 at left guard; and Tre’ Jackson has played 16 at right guard. Only David Andrew, the team’s center, has played all snaps.
The idea to rotate linemen over the course of the game may not sound particularly groundbreaking. But compared with how the rest of the NFL approaches the offensive line, this is quite unusual.
In general, teams will take their best combination of linemen and use them all game long, rather than switching them out as New England is. The reasoning behind this traditional approach to line play isn’t all that hard to fathom: Teams want to keep their best players in for as many possessions as possible, and switching it up will mess with communication and chemistry.
But Belichick has changed that, at least so far this season. As the Herald noted, this rotation is inevitably causing opposing defenses to prepare not just for different packages, but also for different combinations of linemen within one individual package and within different packages.
Dave DeGulielmo, New England’s offensive line coach, told the Herald that there are specific strategical reasons to explain the frequency of these rotations — though don’t expect him to say what those reasons are.
“It’s not done just randomly. There’s a specific reason why we rotate guys when we do, where we rotate them,” DeGuglielmo said. “There’s a rhyme and reason to everything.”
Because it’s Belichick and the Patriots we’re talking about, this is probably true. But the rotations can also be explained by two more practical reasons: youth and injuries.
Both Jackson and Mason are rookies, so rotating them out allows for them to receive more in-game coaching than if they were expected to play all game long in front of Brady. It also puts less pressure on them to maintain a high level of play all game long. The same holds true for Kline, who is only in his 3rd season and saw limited time in his first two. Both Brian Stork and Ryan Wendell, mainstays on the Patriots line, have missed time this season with injuries, which can also explain why more lineman are seeing more time.
As the Herald notes, it’s not implausible that Belichick is simply extending the try-out period into the regular season because of the youth at the position, and once the best combination of the offensive line becomes clear, he’ll stick with it all season long.
But again, this is Belichick we’re talking about, so it’s not crazy to think we’ll soon see teams copying this rotation strategy. This could mean that in the future, the offensive line is treated a lot more like the defensive line: certain offensive linemen with specific skill sets will be brought in exclusively for rushing plays, or goal line plays, and so forth, just as certain defensive linemen are used for pass-rushing or crowding the box. If what the Patriots are doing holds on, the whole position could be changed.
Or, Belichick will make up his mind on his players and stop the rotations all together. Either, or.
znModeratorWeek 4 preview: Rams at Cardinals
By The Sports Xchange
http://www.footballinsiders.com/week-4-preview-rams-at-cardinals/
October 1, 2015
St. Louis Rams (1-2) at Arizona Cardinals (3-0)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, at University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. – TV: FOX
*TV announcers: Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis, Tony Siragusa
*Keys to the game: QB Carson Palmer and WR Larry Fitzgerald are trying to prove 30-somethings are superstars, too, combining for 333 yards, five touchdowns and sparking the Cardinals to an NFL-high 126 points through three games. The Rams sachet into the desert with 16 total points staring into the teeth of a defense with seven takeaways. St. Louis might not solve the Cardinals’ five-defensive back base defense without better play from the offensive line and more fireworks from QB Nick Foles, who threw for 411 yards against Arizona last season while playing for the Eagles.
Arizona’s defensive line has caused problems consistently, and the Rams are overmatched up front. That doesn’t bode well for a ground game yet to get going, and the Cardinals won’t let the Rams’ receivers off the line without a fight.
Arizona’s points have come in most every fashion – four returns, seven TD passes – and starting RB Andre Ellington could be back this week. The Cardinals have an impressive offensive arsenal that affords the ability to play up-tempo or engage in an alley brawl and Palmer has been sacked just once this season.
*Matchup to watch – Rams DT Aaron Donald vs. Cardinals offensive line: Donald whipped RG Jonathan Cooper and injured Cardinals QB Drew Stanton the last time he played Arizona and St. Louis leads the NFL with 13 sacks. The Cardinals would benefit from the return of LG Mike Iupati.
*Player spotlight – Cardinals S Deone Bucannon: A hybrid defender who plays in the box as a linebacker and also flips his hips to run with backs and tight ends, his versatility is a major factor in Arizona’s thriving secondary.
*Fast facts: Only four other teams in NFL history have scored 126 points in the first three games of a season. … The Rams have lost three straight meetings by a combined 43 points.
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
The Cardinals are on Cloud Nine and building chemistry with contributions all around the roster. The Rams enter with a puncher’s chance because of their defensive line, but St. Louis hasn’t shown it can keep pace with Carson Palmer.
October 1, 2015 at 5:25 pm in reply to: JT w/ Frank Cusumano on CBS Sports 920 AM – more JT wo/ Frank #31524znModeratorSegment 6 – Jim Thomas 10/01/15
JT starts at 1:05
znModeratorFasten those seat belts: Rams heading into No Fly Zone
Jim Thomas
Seattle has its Legion of Boom. In Arizona, the Cardinals secondary calls itself the No Fly Zone. And for opposing quarterbacks and wide receivers, these are anything but friendly skies.
Arizona’s defense has 45 interceptions since head coach Bruce Arians arrived in the Valley of the Sun in 2013. That’s second-most in the league over that span, behind only Buffalo’s 47.
“It’s a high priority for us to have big plays, splash plays defensively,” Arians said Wednesday during a conference call with St. Louis reporters. “Negative plays creating turnovers. All our defensive backs have really good ball skills. We don’t want guys who can cover but can’t catch.
“When those opportunities come and you drop interceptions, they always come back to bite you. But all our guys have very good ball skills and they very seldom drop one.”
The Cardinals don’t just have a knack for getting an interception; they do something with the football once they grab it. To wit, Arizona has scored 12 defensive touchdowns since the start of the ‘13 season, an NFL best.
Ten of those 12 scores have come on interception returns, with the other two coming on fumble recovery returns. Throw in two kickoff returns for scores and that’s 14 TDs in 51 games for the Big Red under Arians not scored by the offense.
Although it won’t guarantee victory, a good starting point when playing Arizona is this: Make the offense beat you. Avoid the return touchdowns.
Last Nov. 9 at Arizona, the Rams trailed 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter. But an interception return for a TD and a recovered fumble returned for a score turned a close contest into a 31-14 rout in what was quarterback Austin Davis’ last start for the Rams.
A year earlier, in a 30-10 Rams loss on Dec. 8, 2013 in Arizona, the Cardinals scored on a “pick 6” and also tacked on two points with a safety. In the 2013 season opener, Arizona also had an interception return for a TD, but the Rams rallied to win that one, 27-24.
The Cardinals were up to their usual hijinks last week against San Francisco. On the first pass by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, cornerback Justin Bethel swooped in on an underthrown pass intended for tight end Vernon Davis and returned it 21 yards for a score.
On San Francisco’s second series, Arizona’s Tyrann Mathieu broke quickly on another underthrown Kaepernick pass, this one intended for Anquan Boldin in the slot, and returned the interception 33 yards for another TD.
Just like that Arizona led 14-0, and the unbeaten Cardinals (3-0) were off and running to a 47-7 win.
How do the Rams avoid similar disasters against a deep, talented Arizona secondary? For starters, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti says the Rams can’t play scared and must trust their system.
“The quarterback’s going to trust what he sees and he’s going to play decisive,” Cignetti said of quarterback Nick Foles. “He’s not going to worry about who’s on the other side, but he’s certainly going to respect them. Once again, it comes down to the St. Louis Rams. It’s all about us, and how we go out there and prepare and perform.”
Foles has taken good care of the football in his first three starts as a Ram. His only interception in 87 attempts this season came on a throw he conceded was forced against Pittsburgh – a deep throw to tight end Lance Kendricks in the fourth quarter.
“I’m gonna play like I always have,” Foles said, when asked about the Arizona secondary. “Run our offense, run what we do. I have great respect for those (Cardinals) guys but when we go out there, I expect my guys to win in coverage, win on routes and one-on-ones. I won’t shy away from that.”
When you break it down to the basics, coach Jeff Fisher said it’s simply a matter of the quarterback making good decisions. Kaepernick ended up throwing four interceptions against Arizona and threw a couple off his back foot with pass-rushers in his face.
In instances like that, it’s best to throw the ball away or even take the sack.
“Nick’s got to make good decisions and put the ball in places where they can’t contest the throw,” Fisher said.
The headliner in the No Fly Zone is cornerback Patrick Peterson, a four-time Pro Bowler who has great size (6-1, 219) and closing speed for the position. Mathieu, aka the Honey Badger, can play free safety or the nickel cornerback spot and has excellent instincts and good ball skills.
Jerraud Powers, who had one of those four INTs against San Francisco, is underrated at the other corner. Second-year safety Deone Bucannon, a player the Rams looked at prior to the 2014 draft, frequently lines up at linebacker (similar to Mark Barron of the Rams).
“They communicate well,” Fisher said. “They don’t make any mistakes. They run well and they tackle. That’s the most impressive thing about their defense, is they’re an outstanding tackling defense.”
So while the challenge for Foles will be avoiding bad decisions, Rams receivers need to be concerned with gaining separation and getting yards after the catch. Because the Cardinals can shut you down on the back end.
San Francisco has some talented pass-catchers. Davis, Boldin and Torrey Smith have five Pro Bowls and 1,603 career receptions between them. They combined for two catches against the Cardinals.
“They disguise a lot of things very well,” Rams tight end Jared Cook said. “They have some good players – that allows them to play a lot of different coverages that most teams don’t.
“Usually, most teams might have one good corner and maybe two average corners. They have two really good corners and two good safeties. So they can mix guys up a lot, play guys in the box. They’re very versatile in the secondary.”
znModeratorNo Excuses For Rams. Just Look at Arizona
Bernie Miklasz
http://www.101sports.com/2015/09/30/no-excuses-for-rams-just-look-at-arizona/
When the Rams released running back Isaiah Pead, the 50th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, it was the latest example of how the regime of GM Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher has failed to maximize the opportunity to transform a losing team into a winner.
isaiah peadThe Rams released RB Isaiah Pead on Tuesday.
No question, Snead and Fisher have improved this roster after taking charge of a team that had gone 15-65 in the five-season stretch (2007-2011) that preceded their arrival. And in some areas, the upgrades are substantial, especially on the defensive side. But the point is, Snead-Fisher didn’t take full advantage of having more draft picks (37) in their hands than all but two teams since 2012. (San Francisco had 40 picks; Minnesota 39.) And over the past four drafts, the Rams had more selections in the first three rounds (17) than any NFL team.
The 2012 draft is telling. The Rams had four of the first 50 choices overall and came away with defensive tackle Michael Brockers (14th), wide receiver Brian Quick (33rd), cornerback Janoris Jenkins (39th) and Pead (50.)
Brockers is a good player. Jenkins is talented, and he’s made some big plays, but he’s also suffered some burn marks with his aggressive, gambling style. Quick, a non-factor, has been excluded from the game-day roster over the first three weeks. And Pead was a flat-out bust. A 50 percent “hit” rate on top 50 draft choices doesn’t qualify as a success.
It’s fair to second-guess the decision to trade down from the No. 45 spot to the No. 50 slot to select Pead; by doing so the Rams bypassed a chance to draft future All-Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner who was taken by Seattle at No. 47. And wideout Alshon Jeffery went to Chicago on the 45th selection; he’s pulled in 2,999 receiving yards and 20 touchdown passes for the Bears.
Snead and Fisher deserve credit for pulling the Rams out of the muck. They went 7-8-1 in 2012, and followed up with a 7-9 mark in 2013. The progress was understandably viewed as a build-up to a breakout season in 2014, but the Rams stalled and went 6-10. And with upcoming road games at Arizona and Green Bay the Rams are looking at a strong possibility of staggering out to a 1-4 start in 2015.
Instead of winning more frequently in their third and fourth seasons under Fisher-Snead, the Rams have gone in the other direction. They’re losing more often, having dropped five of their last six games since late last season. They’re 7-12 since the beginning of 2014, mostly held back by a stagnant offense.
Instability at the quarterback position in 2013-2014 was certainly a factor that shouldn’t be overlooked. But with quarterback Nick Foles in place — joined by wide receivers, running backs, tight ends and offensive linemen brought in by Snead-Fisher — the Rams should be trending favorably on offense.
jeff fisher-7Under Fisher, the Rams are 21-29-1.
After all, the Rams have invested 21 draft choices in the offense during the last four drafts — and supplemented the draft-first strategy with prominent free-agent signings and the Foles deal to stimulate their attack. But after three weeks, the Rams are last in the NFL in offensive points from scrimmage, with 43.
Snead-Fisher are into their fourth cycle of growing and developing the roster. But for the fourth consecutive year, the Rams entered 2015 season as the NFL’s youngest team.
The Perpetual Rebuilding Process is still in effect.
Question: why?
The Arizona Cardinals didn’t need four seasons to construct a winner.
In 2012, Snead-Fisher’s first season in St. Louis, the Cardinals went 5-11 and finished in last place in the NFC West.
After the ’12 season Cardinals team president and de facto owner Michael Bidwill decided to install new leadership at the top of the football operation. Bidwill promoted Steve Keim to GM and hired Bruce Arians as head coach. (Keim, by the way, was interviewed for the job that went to Snead.)
Despite starting a year later than Fisher-Snead, the Keim-Arians combination has guided their team to the league’s fifth-best winning percentage (.686) since relaunching the Cardinals in 2013.
The Cardinals are 24-11 over that time and made the playoffs last season.
The Rams are 14-21 over the same 35-game stretch.
The Rams haven’t had a winning season since 2003, and were last spotted in the postseason back in 2004. And if quarterback Carson Palmer can keep his knees intact, the Cardinals will likely zoom into the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Keim and Arians have found the right balance in their roster composition, mixing draft picks with shrewd free-agent signings and the pivotal trade for Palmer before the 2013 season.
Keim and Arians have taken a more urgent approach to winning, bringing in multiple starters and contributors that range from age 27 to age 36. That list includes Palmer, left offensive tackle Jared Veldheer, tight end Jermaine Gresham, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, tight end Darren Fells, defensive end Frostee Rucker, linebacker LaMarr Woodley, running back Chris Johnson, guard Ted Larsen, defensive back Jerraud Powers and guard Mike Iupati.
Iupati — a three-time Pro Bowl choice and a bull in San Francisco’s running game during his first five NFL seasons — was sidelined with a sprained knee and missed the first three games and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the visiting Rams.
The Cardinals also gave wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, 32, a new two-year deal before the season. Fitzgerald was seemingly in decline before Arians moved him to the slot-receiver position. And the revived Fitzgerald has 23 catches for 333 yards and five touchdowns in Arizona’s first three games.
With this blend of young players and viable veterans the Cardinals have jumped out to a 3-0 start this season, outscoring their three victims by 77 points. It’s early, but according to ESPN Stats & Information the Cardinals’ chances of winning the NFC West are 86.5 percent, and their chances of making the playoffs are 97.2 percent — with a projected final record of 12-4.
Keeping Palmer healthy is the overriding key to Arizona’s success, and last season he went down in with the second torn knee ligament of his career while playing the Rams in the sixth game. The offense gradually withered, and to no one’s surprise the Cards were rubbed out of the playoffs at Carolina in a game started by third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley.
The Cardinals are a different team with Palmer running point. As noted by Michael Silver of NFL.com, Palmer is the first Cardinals’ quarterback to win nine consecutive starts since 1948, and he’s 16-2 in his last 18 starts. Three games into 2015, Palmer is tied with Tom Brady for the most touchdown passes (9), and is ranked fourth in passer rating (117.8.)
Even with a heavy veteran influence and Palmer’s inherent injury risk, Arizona hasn’t sacrificed the future by assembling an old , brittle and vulnerable team. Going into the season, only 11 NFL teams had a younger roster than the Cardinals. By my quick count — which means it’s unofficial — 43 players on the Big Red’s current 53-man roster were brought in by Keim-Arians since their early-2013 hiring. That includes 19 draft picks and 16 free-agent signings.
It’s worth repeating: the Snead-Fisher Rams had a one-year head start on the Keim-Arians Cardinals.
And when you look at where these two teams stand as they prepare for Sunday’s game at Arizona, there’s no excuse for the Rams to be lagging behind the Cardinals.
znModeratorIf we just discuss the Defense against the Steelers, then I agree with Laram.
I agree with a lot of his stuff too. Especially—
Once the Steelers got in the redzone the field shrank, and the Rams had less field to cover.
It worked. The Steelers got a lot of yards, but only one TD.
you always want to make the qb hold the ball a beat longer, to give the pass rush an opportunity.
But that can be accomplished by playing tight coverage, whether off or on man.
znModeratorI am not talking about the defense specifically. I am talking about the entire philosophy of Fisher’s approach to the game. It brings with it certain pluses and minuses.
Fair enough.
znModeratorMore focused Alec Ogletree piling up numbers for Rams defense
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — The numbers next to St. Louis Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree’s name at the end of the 2014 season were mostly in line with what he’d done as a rookie the previous year.
For the second consecutive year, Ogletree had wrested the team’s tackles lead from middle linebacker James Laurinaitis and made his share of contributions in coverage with two interceptions and 11 pass breakups. He even chipped in four forced fumbles, down from the six of his rookie season but still an impressive total.
But when Ogletree scanned the numbers, he saw one that made him decidedly unhappy. Under the column for sacks, he saw a big round number but not the kind he’d prefer: It was a goose egg.
That sack total, or lack thereof, was enough to help Ogletree refocus in the offseason and shed about 10 pounds in an effort to be quicker to the quarterback.
“Alec came back into camp this year in phenomenal shape,” Laurinaitis said. “The year before, year 2, he had a lot of cheeseburgers in the offseason. He came in as a rookie as a thin guy, ran around really well. A lot of times after that rookie year sometimes, you have got a lot of time and there’s a lot of food you can eat. And my man was a little heavy and really determined to come back at what he played at his rookie year.”
Just three games into this season, Ogletree is playing like one of the league’s best young defenders. According to the coaching staff’s review of game film, he has been credited with 44 tackles, including an 18-stop outburst in Week 2 that is the most by a Rams defender since London Fletcher’s 21 in Week 2 of the 2001 season.
Against Pittsburgh last week, Ogletree had two sacks, which eclipsed the 1.5 he had for his entire first two seasons in the league combined.
“That was a big thing for me; the scheme that we’re in is very aggressive,” Ogletree said. “You’re going to have your opportunities to get to the quarterback but you have to finish your rush.”
As the weakside linebacker in the Rams’ base 4-3, Ogletree’s primary job isn’t to rush the passer. But for any player in a Gregg Williams defense, there’s always a good chance you will be called on to attack quarterbacks at some point. The level of success you have doing it is directly proportional to the frequency with which those chances are provided.
“He’s about production so he’s seen it and he wants me to get back there and if you’re able to get back there, you know he’s going to keep calling it,” Ogletree said.
With that in mind, Ogletree set about eliminating things from his diet and reported to camp in better shape but also with a better understanding of offensive formations and how play designs work. In other words, Ogletree wanted to play faster while the game around him slowed down.
“I feel a lot more comfortable in the defense,” Ogletree said. “I think it shows with me being able to play fast and go side to side and make plays.
“It’s definitely slowing down for me. After you see certain schemes and stuff over and over, you just kind of get used to it and you know what’s about to happen. This offseason I wanted to take more of a mental approach to the game and just try to learn what the offense is trying to do to us.”
On that side of things, Ogletree has continued to attach himself to Laurinaitis, who is known for his voracious film study. Ogletree said there wasn’t any one “aha” moment, but he feels more comfortable diagnosing things before they happen and then simply reacting. To be sure, there are still hiccups in his game, namely when it comes to coverage, but those haven’t been as glaring early in the season as they were in his first two years.
With the mental side improving and the physical side squared away, the Rams believe there’s no limit to where the 24-year old Ogletree’s career could go from here.
“He’s a smart, instinctual player,” Laurinaitis said. “The sky is the limit for him on how good he wants to be so he keeps getting smarter and smarter and when you combine your instincts with how well he knows the defense, I think you’re really starting to see him blossom.”
znModeratorFisher’s style keeps the game close against the good teams and it keeps the games close against the bad teams.
A lot of the time it does that. But then they also held Denver to 7 points. And, mostly, holding a top offense to 12 points is not supposed to lead to a “close game.” The Rams defense held the Seattle offense to 16 points. 16 points is only a close game with this offense.
The interesting thing is that I don’t see the objections leading anywhere.
One objection is, it cuts down on Rams sacks. Rams are tied for 1st in the league in sacks.
Another problem I see with the arguments against the Rams approach is that no one balances it with a list of the drawbacks to press/man coverage. Instead they act like there are no drawbacks and therefore don’t recognize that with defensive systems, you’re choosing your poison.
Another problem I see is that some say the Rams D is predictable. Yet no defense is more routine in its ways than Seattle, and they were #1 last year. Seattle doesn’t fool you, Seattle says here we are try and beat what we do, and then outplays you. It’s talent and execution.
It could actually be that the Wms. defense is a good one and that we’re all complaining for no good reason.
.
September 30, 2015 at 10:30 am in reply to: Rams sign Toon to PS, move McGee to reg roster, and cut Pead. #31454znModeratorA 2nd round bust at RB is annoying.
Pead was one of the most annoying draft choices
i can remember in the last ten years.w
vLast 10 years? No. Cause last 10 years goes back to 2006 and includes Klopfenstein, Leonard, and Avery.
If nothing else IMO his work as a gunner on special teams makes him better than those 3.
Plus across the last 10 years the 2nd round picks include JL, Saffold, Kendricks, Quick, and Jenkins. Which isn’t too bad at all.
znModeratorfrom off the net
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LMU93
FootballOutsiders: Cardinals #1 this week..
They have Arizona rated as the #1 team in the league through three weeks. 3rd best offense, 3rd best defense, 5th special teams…
Rams are 17th overall (21st on offense, 8th defense, 8th special teams).
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2015/week-3-dvoa-ratings
Foles is rated 15th among 32 starting QBs.
Britt 14th out of 74 ranked WRs (Austin 70th).
Cook and Kendricks 18th and 28th, respectively, among 40 ranked TEs.
The Rams OL is rated 29th in run blocking, 16th in pass protection.
The Rams DL 11th vs. the run, 1st in pass rush.September 30, 2015 at 10:04 am in reply to: Rams sign Toon to PS, move McGee to reg roster, and cut Pead. #31450znModeratorStill a good draft: Brockers, Jenkins, Johnson. Quick?
And Zuerelein.
My thing is, from looking around and doing some calculating, that you have a good draft if you have around 40% hits…a hit being, a starter or a significant role player.
In that draft the Rams hit on 5 of 10 picks, assuming Quick comes back and is at least a good rotation receiver (ie. role player).
So, yeah, 50% is good.
.
znModeratorRams can beat Arizona. I think they would have last year, except for A.Davis.
znModeratorTrailer 2.
znModeratorRams hold steady at No. 19 in Power Rankings
Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21925/rams-hold-steady-at-no-19-in-power-rankings
The St. Louis Rams didn’t budge from their spot at No. 19 in the ESPN NFL Power Rankings after their 12-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In some ways, that’s probably fitting for a team with an offense that hasn’t moved much in the past two weeks, either. After riding the wave the first two weeks by jumping eight spots on the heels of a home win against Seattle and then dropping five spots last week after losing to the Washington Redskins, it’s clear that most of the voting panel is getting a handle on just what these Rams are.
Frankly, they are who we thought they were through the first three weeks. Which is to say a team with a talented (if not yet consistent) defense and an offense that isn’t producing enough points to stack victories. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Monday that his team is just a few plays away from being 3-0. Of course, the Rams are also a play or two from being 0-3. Such is life in the NFL.
Of course, the Rams could very well be headed for another tumble in these rankings over the next two weeks. This week, they play at No. 2 Arizona and they follow with a trip to play No. 3 Green Bay.
For now, sitting at No. 19 is probably a pretty good spot for the Rams. They’ve been mostly middle of the pack in all three previous seasons under Fisher, and unless the offense can find a rhythm sooner than later, they look to be headed that way again.
September 29, 2015 at 9:14 pm in reply to: reporters turn their weary eyes to the Steelers game #31438znModeratorFailure to keep pace cost Rams against Steelers
Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — Looking back at three things to watch from the St. Louis Rams’ 12-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
1. Wrangling Roethlisberger: First and foremost, the Rams knew that to have a chance, they wouldn’t be able to allow Ben Roethlisberger to get in a groove and dictate the tempo of the game.
A shoddy start looked like it would translate into a long day for the Rams defense but after it settled in and made some adjustments to Pittsburgh’s quick-hit passing game, Roethlisberger didn’t have much success in the second and third quarter. The Rams got to him for three sacks before he suffered the left knee injury that cost him the final 20 or so minutes of the game.
Roethlisberger finished with 192 yards on 20-of-24 passing with no touchdowns and an interception but it’s worth noting that he was 11-of-12 for 127 yards in the first quarter. The Rams would like to get off to a better start but they did a good enough job against Roethlisberger to be in position to win the game.
2. Keeping pace: The Rams fared pretty well in two of the three areas to watch but this is the one that they weren’t able to earn a mostly positive mark in. After struggling to sustain drives and move the ball consistently, the Rams hoped to fare better against Pittsburgh’s defense. They couldn’t.
The run game was poor again, posting 71 yards on 18 carries. Receiver Chris Givens was the team’s leading rusher, taking an end-around 24 yards late in the game. But Rams running backs combined for just 37 yards on 16 carries, 12 of those coming on one carry by Benjamin Cunningham. All told, the Rams finished with just 258 yards of offense. They had 12 first downs and were 2-of-10 on third down and 0-for-2on fourth down. Time of possession was closer this week as the Rams had the ball for 27:41 but it wasn’t enough to get the Rams into the winner’s circle.
3. Going for two: In an interesting “what if” scenario, the Steelers’ aggressive approach to going for the two-point conversion very nearly came back to bite them against the Rams. The Steelers set the tone in the first two weeks by going 3-for-3 on two-point tries. Sure enough, when they scored their lone touchdown in the first half, coach Mike Tomlin went for two.
The Rams defense was ready for it, though, and managed to stop the Steelers short. That made it 9-0. After the Rams trimmed it the deficit to 9-3, they had a chance to take the lead with a touchdown and an extra point for most of the rest of the game. As it turned out, it didn’t matter but it could have turned some scrutiny on Tomlin if the Rams stole a 10-9 victory.
September 28, 2015 at 10:41 pm in reply to: reporters turn their weary eyes to the Steelers game #31397znModeratorBernie Miklasz
http://www.101sports.com/2015/09/28/daily-bits-mizzou-offense-needs-playmakers/
Some notes on the Rams’ 12-6 loss to the Steelers from our friends at ProFootballFocus.com: Rams’ rookie left guard Jamon Brown played very well, with his best NFL game so far, earning the highest overall grade among NFL guards in Week Three. Brown did now allow a QB pressure … the Rams’ run-blocking was bad in Sunday’s game, but the O-line deserves credit for providing quality pass protection. Rams QB Nick Foles was pressured on only 8 of his 31 drop backs. Although he was sacked twice Foles had an 80% accuracy percentage under pressure (dropped passes and intentional throwaways are excluded in the accuracy rating, which makes it, well, more accurate.) … The Rams O-line had the third highest Pass Blocking Efficiency rating in the NFL this week (pending tonight’s Kansas City vs. Green Bay game.) … Rams’ tight ends accounted for all three of the team’s dropped passes Sunday. Lance Kendricks had two drops on five targets, and Jared Cook had one drop on three targets … Foles completed seven of 10 passes thrown to wide receiver Kenny Britt and had a 102.9 passer rating when targeting Britt … PFF gave Rams’ defensive tackle Aaron Donald a strong grade for his run defense against the Steelers. But even though Donald had a sack in the game, it was his only QB pressure in 28 pass rushes. … Rams OLB Alec Ogletree was targeted by the Steelers on five passing attempts; they completed all five on him. … defensive end Robert Quinn was given a top-five NFL grade for his pass rush against the Steelers; he had a sack, a hurry and batted down a pass.
September 28, 2015 at 10:20 pm in reply to: reporters turn their weary eyes to the Steelers game #31395znModeratorTen Takeaways from the Rams’ 12-6 Loss to the Steelers
Randy Karraker
http://www.101sports.com/2015/09/28/ten-takeaways-from-the-rams-12-6-loss-to-the-steelers/
Both Anthony Stalter and I thought that, with the quality of the Steeler offense and the lack of quality in their secondary, that the Rams would have a chance to score some points and play a shootout with Pittsburgh.
Lo and behold, the Ram defense stepped up, but their offense impotent for the second straight week, and they fell 12-6 Sunday at the Dome.
Lots to cover. Here are ten takeaways:
1) The game was delayed a half hour because the Rams pregame pyrotechnic display during introductions caused a small fire on the field. I’m guessing the league didn’t think it was funny, but for a franchise that has had such difficulty succeeding, it just seemed to fit. As a fellow fan in the stands said to me, “only the Rams.” I got a chuckle out of it.
2) Guess which team has the fewest offensive touchdowns after three weeks of the 2015 NFL season? Yep, it’s your St. Louis Rams. After crossing the goal line three times in their opener against Seattle, the Rams have scored just one TD…the Nick Foles-to-Kenny Britt 40-yarder in Washington…in their last two games. If you throw in Tavon Austin’s punt return in the opener, the Rams five touchdowns scored in three games leads only Chicago. In Fisher’s seasons, the Rams have finished 24th, 22nd, and 19th in touchdowns scored.
The Fisher regime has used three top-three picks on receivers, spent $35 million and $18 million, respectively, on tight ends Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks, and spent millions of dollars and numerous draft picks on offensive linemen. Yet they can’t catch up with the rest of the NFL’s two-decade scoring explosion. It makes for really unattractive football.
3) As a fan of the old Football Cardinals, I prefer a 27-20 loss to a 12-6 loss. Just my opinion. I find it more entertaining. If given the choice, I’d rather have a good offense and a bad defense rather than the alternative, which is what the Rams have.
4) Even though they still might not have been able to get the ball into the end zone, the Rams would have had a much better chance at the end of the game had Lance Kendricks made the grab on the third quarter pass from Nick Foles that he dropped at the 15 yard line with just over 12 minutes left. Foles was sacked on the next play, and rather than getting three points on the first possession of the second half, the Rams got nothing.
5) The Rams defense knocked out Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, allowed just one touchdown, and held a team averaging more than 450 yards a game to 259. It was a nice comeback after their bad day in Washington a week earlier.
todd gurley-2Gurley had six carries for nine yards in his debut with the Rams.
6) Fisher may defend the running game, but it has been abysmal so far. On Sunday the Rams ran eighteen times for 79 yards, a 3.9 average; but running backs ran sixteen times for 37, a 2.3 average. Through three games, the team has 214 yards and average 3.8 per carry, but running backs are 42-111, a 2.6 yard per carry average. This “run first” offense is 28th in rushing offense with receivers and the quarterback picking up 103 of their 214 yards. Once again, in their fourth year, should the early season absence of Todd Gurley hurt THAT much?
7) Speaking of Gurley, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for his six carry, nine yard performance.
He’s not exactly running behind the Hogs here. Heck, when the Cardinals’ Ottis Anderson ran for 193 yards against Dallas in HIS debut in 1979, he was behind a line of Hall-of-Famer Dan Dierdorf, Terry Stieve, Tom Banks, Bob Young and Keith Wortman. That group, right to left, had nine, three, eight, thirteen and seven years in the NFL.
Gurley’s Rams group, right to left, had a rookie, five years, three years (six starts), rookie and 2ndyear player. I’m not going to blame Gurley for his day.
8) Think about rooting for a team that has been to the playoffs in 27 of the last 42 years, and in that time has been to a Super Bowl about every five years, winning one every seven seasons. That’s the Steelers. Perhaps that explains why all that black and gold was in the stands on Sunday. If there’s an NFL comparison to the Cardinals, it’s the Steelers. Congratulations to them for building such a great fan base. Winning does that.
9) With five sacks, the Rams have thirteen on the season, on pace for 69. The NFL record is 72, held by the 1984 Chicago Bears, of which Fisher was a member.
10) The way things are going, it’s hard to imagine the Rams going in to Arizona and Green Bay the next two weeks and coming out with a win. But then after their bye they get six-of-nine at home. Eight of those will be games the Rams could conceivably have a chance in, once they get their offensive line working together and Gurley entrenched.
If they can stay healthy, they could get on a hot streak. Would I predict it? No way, but Cleveland, Minnesota, Chicago, Baltimore, Arizona at the Edward Jones Dome, Detroit and Tampa Bay are far from world beaters. You never know.
September 28, 2015 at 10:07 pm in reply to: reporters turn their weary eyes to the Steelers game #31393znModeratorMonday Wrap-Up: Improving on 3rd Down
Myles Simmons
The Rams struggled offensively on Sunday against the Steelers, and a significant indicator is the club’s third-down efficiency.
St. Louis converted only 2-of-10 third-down opportunities. It was the second week in a row the Rams only made two third downs, as they were 2-of-12 against Washington in Week 2.
“Our issue is third-down offense,” Fisher said. “Converting third downs and then making plays in the plus territory — touchdowns rather than field goals.”
Given the Rams made myriad changes to the offense during the offseason, it was realistic to expect some growing pains for the unit. But that doesn’t mean Fisher thought scoring would decrease to this level.
“Didn’t anticipate the issue with the lack of points in the last two weeks,” Fisher said. “But the potential was certainly there. The three drops, the penalties — they take points off the board.
“The points will increase once our drives increase,” Fisher continued. “We just haven’t had the opportunity with the drives. And really, it all circles around the third-down efficiency. We’re just not converting third downs.”
One of the factors contributing to the third-down struggles is the new offense and new personnel. The situation will probably improve as quarterback Nick Foles gets more experience with the group.
“It’s Nick in the system, pre-snap diagnosing man or zone and knowing where to go with the ball,” Fisher cited as one example of where there’s room for improvement. “We had some opportunities there. He’s seen it, we’ve discussed it, and we’ll improve upon it.”
But the Rams have to get better on their early downs as well. Many times, third-down conversions are a product of the offense setting things up well from the first two plays in the set.
“We had some tackles-for-loss that created 2nd-and-12s and then the 3rd-and-7s and then we weren’t getting off,” Fisher said. “It contributes to all that. More importantly than that, we have to avoid the third downs if at all possible. Make bigger plays and get more production on early downs.”
As for the quarterback, Fisher complimented Foles, saying he made some nice throws during the game. Unfortunately, there were more opportunities that turned into incompletions.
“The three drops were significant,” Fisher said. “We had several last week, and had none in Week 1. We’ve got to catch the ball when given the opportunity.”
Yesterday after the game, Foles spoke extensively on remaining optimistic as the season is still young. The comments largely echoed the topics Fisher touched on during Monday’s presser.
“We’re going to put ourselves in a situation where we’re in the red zone more, we convert on third downs more and we’ll be alright,” Foles said. “I say it’s early in the season just because it’s not like the season stops today. We’ll play next week and we’re going to work hard this week to be better because that’s the guys we have in the locker room.”
Fisher said Monday he feels Foles has the right attitude with his positivity.
“I think he’s got a real legitimate perspective of where we are as a football team right now,” Fisher said of Foles. “If you look at it the way we’re looking at it, then there’s optimism and confidence this team is going to get better.”
And it’s not going to get easier for St. Louis as the team will play Arizona next week and Green Bay on Oct 11 before the bye week.
“We’re moving on,” Fisher said. “Our attention now goes to one of the top-two teams in the NFC right now — it looks like we’ve got them both back-to-back. So we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. So we’re moving forward.”
NEWS AND NOTES
There was more to come out of Fisher’s press conference on Monday. Here are some of the highlights from what the head coach said.
— Fisher complimented the Rams’ defensive line play, especially that of Ethan Westbrooks. The second-year pro out of West Texas A&M has been rotating in at end for the injured Eugene Sims.
“We got a lot of good work out of Ethan,” Fisher said. “He played end in relief of Rob [Quinn] and got a lot of production out of him. I thought the defensive line, for the most part, applied really good pressure against an offensive line that’s very well coached, that was prepared. And we still got pressure there.”
— While wide receiver Brian Quick was inactive against the Steelers, Fisher said that situation has the potential to change against Arizona.
“There’s a chance that he’ll be up this week,” Fisher said. “We’ll see how the week goes.”
“We can’t keep them all up,” Fisher added of the wide receivers. “Bradley [Marquez] is playing really well on [special] teams. And when Chris [Givens] got his opportunities, he made his plays. So we’ll just see how things shake out during the week.”
— Todd Gurley did not have many yards in his debut, but Fisher said the team was close on a few of those runs. The running back came back very well after his first game, according to the head coach.
“Good possibility he plays this week,” Fisher said with a smile.
September 28, 2015 at 9:56 pm in reply to: what furr'nerz think: Steelers game reactions from around the net #31392znModeratorfrom off the net
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alyoshamucci
So, I’m getting a few senses about the team that make these past few weeks make a tiny bit of sense … but that’s it. Someone mentioned that we’re a run-first team that can’t run. If I was to point to any one liner to encapsulate the issues, that would be it.
We had this game, they even lost their QB. Our defense put on a true show against a powerhouse football team. I couldn’t be prouder of them.
The Good
1) Leveon Bell scored less than 23 fantasy points for me. I can usually count on him for 30-40. Seems crazy, but he’s probably the best all purpose back I’ve ever seen. So keeping him, with fresh legs to boot, under that is a big deal.
2) Donald and Quinn and Tree +1s on the sack category. And ALL THREE were on Ben before the end of his drop. Those weren’t hustle sacks.
3) Joyner was really moving fast. It is an underrated thing, closing speed. He’s going to stop a lot of first downs like that and get some PBUs.
4) Britt with 100 yards (he can;t drop that ball at the end, ugh)
5) Nick Foles threw more accurately, about in between the two previous weeks, so probably representative of his ability.
6) Gurley sighting!!!!
7) Benny still running hard.
8) O line pass pro was pretty solid.
9) GZ steady.
10 TJ with some really powerful hits, lord.
The Bad
11) Cook, Kendricks … seriously. Those were points. I’ll be highlighting TEs every week now, because there are some real quality players in the NCAA.
12) No Quick. Gonna be tracking WRs too … and there are MANY.
13) Why are we not using Benny every down?
14) NO RUN BLOCKING. How does Boudreau have any voice left?
15) JJ collapsing on that 3rd and 13 by Brown and losing contain. No excuses dude. You can’t do that.
16) JL beat the block on the TD at the goalline, but took FOREVER to fill … and we know it was an inch.
17) Where’s Stedman?
The Ugly.
18) WHY ARE WE RUNNING AGAINST A TEAM THAT HAS NO TALENTED BACK END DEFENDERS?
This was winnable, I’ll leave it at that.
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