Rams turn to Case Keenum to provide a spark, but it might not last long

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/23765/rams-turn-to-case-keenum-to-provide-a-spark-but-it-might-not-last-long

EARTH CITY, Mo. — St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher named Case Keenum his new starting quarterback on Monday evening, sending Nick Foles to the bench just nine games into his tenure with the team.

Some takeaways from Fisher’s decision and what it means for the Rams at quarterback, in both the short and long term:

1. With his team at 4-5 and flailing in the NFC playoff chase, Fisher made the right move here. Let’s not get it confused: Foles wasn’t the only problem for the Rams’ offense. They need more production from the offensive line and all of their pass-catchers. But, as Fisher put it, this is an offense sorely in need of some sort of a spark. The Rams are 31st in the NFL in yards per game and last in passing yards per game. Foles simply didn’t look comfortable in the pocket and hadn’t showed signs of improving in the past four or five weeks.

2. Keenum probably isn’t a major upgrade, let alone a panacea for the offense. So what does he bring to the table that Foles doesn’t? Fisher mentioned Keenum’s mobility and ability to extend plays with his legs multiple times at Monday’s news conference. Foles rarely makes plays outside of the pocket and part of his lack of comfort in the pocket stemmed from the amount of pressure the offensive line has allowed. The offensive line was already struggling, and now has lost guard Jamon Brown and tackle Darrell Williams for the season. Having a quarterback who is more willing to stay in the pocket when pressure arrives and is capable of escaping that pressure to make plays when he leaves the pocket is probably a good idea, given the state of the offensive line.

3. Just because Keenum is the starter now doesn’t mean he will be permanently, or even for the rest of the season. When Austin Davis replaced an injured Shaun Hill last year, he went on to start eight games. Davis went 3-5 in those starts before the job went back to Hill. But Davis held the job that long because he played well in his first few starts. Davis’ fearless, frenetic style worked for a few weeks before he played better defenses with a better idea of how to stop him. In hindsight, the Rams probably should have kept closer tabs on Davis and gone back to Hill before the spark fizzled. That probably won’t happen again. Fisher said Monday that Keenum won’t have a short leash, but he also said that “Nick also understands that he eventually will be under center for us again.” My expectation is that Keenum will get a chance to give the Rams the spark Fisher seeks and his hook won’t come out for three or four weeks. But if Keenum struggles or is struggling after getting a few opportunities, Fisher will go back to Foles before Keenum gets the same number of starts Davis did in 2014.

4. The Rams liked Keenum enough that they traded a 2016 draft pick to reacquire him from the Houston Texans after the Texans signed him from the St. Louis practice squad late last season. Keenum impressed the Rams with his work ethic and mobility on the practice field and then earned even more respect for winning two games for Houston at the end of the year. Keenum threw for 435 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in those two victories, one of which came against the Rams’ opponent this week, the Baltimore Ravens.

5. This quarterback change should serve as yet another reminder that the Rams still don’t have their long-term quarterback solution on the roster. Yes, they signed Foles to an extension before he ever played a snap for them, but the Rams structured his deal so they can get out of it relatively easily without much of a cap hit after next year. Keenum will get a chance to state his case, but his previous 10 starts don’t offer much hope he can be more than a spot starter. Third-round rookie Sean Mannion hasn’t had many reps in practice as the team’s third quarterback and he doesn’t appear to be close to competing for the backup job yet, not to mention the starting job. The Rams’ decision to pass on quarterbacks repeatedly in the draft, especially when they had extra picks from their 2012 trade with Washington, has left them with a number of other teams in quarterback purgatory. Until that gets fixed with someone capable of playing even average football on a weekly basis, it’s going to be hard for the Rams to have the playoff breakthrough they seek.

People are disliking Fisher right now. Okay, that makes sense, sure. But this press conference is about as good as it gets at handling this situation.

Of course. They also have to win. So we;ll see on the carry through.

But just today, this one event, where he addresses the situation…IMO …you can’t ask for it to be any better.

Gordo: Rams’ giant step backward difficult to explain

Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/gordo-rams-giant-step-backward-difficult-to-explain/article_906e7d16-312c-5856-a5ad-b3b35cb0023b.html

For the first 2 minutes 59 seconds of clock time Sunday, the Rams looked playoff-ready.

They seemed prepared to beat the Chicago Bears, set aside last Sunday’s painful overtime loss at Minnesota, move back over .500 and climb into the NFC postseason picture.

“Everybody had an agreement that this was the start of the season, this was our chance to put our stamp on the season,” tight end Jared Cook said. “We’re at the halfway mark and it’s time to become a new team, it’s time to become a better team.”

They appeared energized by the large Edward Jones Dome turnout (58,653 tickets distributed, many to visiting Sons of Ditka). The stage seemed set for a huge victory, especially after the Rams raced to a quick 7-0 lead with a crisp first drive.

Instead, they reverted back to the same old Rams during a crushing 37-13 loss.

“We got outplayed, got outcoached,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “We didn’t play well.”

That summed it up nicely in 10 words or less. This loss offered nightmarish flashbacks to Fisher’s previous seasons here. Errant passes, dropped passes, drive-killing offensive penalties and massive defensive breakdowns led the Rams down a familiar trail.

“It hurt,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “Nobody likes to lose, especially this way and at home. It hurts.”

The game started with such promise. Quarterback Nick Foles opened the first series by rolling out on a misdirection passing play and hitting Cook, who rambled 29 yards.

One play later, running back Todd Gurley caught a pass from Foles and hurdled a defender on a spectacular 31-yard play. Then Gurley plowed through the Bears for 14 yards on two runs to advance the ball to the Chicago 6.

One player later, Gurley crashed into the end zone and the Rams led. Finally their offensive play script produced early results in a game.

“We came out, first drive, went down the field,” Cook said. “After that, it was just downhill, man. I don’t know. We’ve got to figure it out.”

Yes, they do. Gurley is a great running back, but defenses are sitting on him. He gained just 45 yards on 12 carries Sunday. And once the Rams fell behind the Bears by multiple scores, they had to abandon the run.

Foles was just awful, sailing many of this throws beyond his targets as if the footballs were filled with helium. He short-armed some other throws while restless Rams fans booed. He finished 17 for 36 for 200 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

“I feel good,” Foles insisted after the game. “I feel good dropping back, throwing, reading defenses — I feel good about it.”

That makes one person who feels good about it. What happened to the Nick Foles who posted a 115.8 passer rating against Seattle and a 126.9 rating at Arizona?

Can somebody get THAT guy out to Rams Park on Monday?

“He’s a confident, competitive person,” Fisher said. “He thought, with seven minutes to go in the game, we were going to put two drives together and score.”

Again, that makes one person who believed. Foles seemed totally out of sorts, often throwing late and without much conviction. Fisher waved off questions about a quarterback change during his postgame media sessions, but those questions won’t go away.

Off course, Foles wasn’t the only offensive problem. Running back Tre Mason fumbled the ball away on his first carry. Receiver Tavon Austin dropped a potential third-down conversion pass over the middle. The mistakes just kept coming.

Second-year left tackle Greg Robinson earned three costly holding penalties, including one that erased an Austin touchdown run. Robinson is well into the second year of his NFL career and remains mistake-prone.

If he were a sixth-round pick, that might be understandable. But Robinson went second overall in the 2014 draft and he hasn’t come close to living up to that standard.

The offensive line took another big injury hit when rookie right guard Jamon Brown suffered a broken lower leg while trying to thwart an interception return. Also, rookie right tackle Rob Havenstein suffered a calf muscle strain in the game.

With veteran guard Rodger Saffold done for the season after shoulder surgery, the front wall will have a makeshift look going forward. That could make a sputtering offense even more inconsistent.

Like many, Cook is baffled by that offensive failure.

“When we have a good defense like we’ve got, man, there should be no reason why we shouldn’t be able to put up at least 20 to 24 points per game to keep us in the game,” Cook said. “Most of the time we haven’t been able to do that.”

Until this week the Rams defense has held up pretty well despite that lack of offensive support. But Sunday it suffered the sort of major mishaps that doomed previous Fisher teams.

This game turned when Bears quarterback Jay Cutler countered a Rams blitz with a quick pass to tight end Zach Miller, who cut back and raced 87 yards for the game-tying touchdown play.

Later, a simple screen pass sucked in the Rams and led to an 83-yard TD bolt for running back Jeremy Langford.

“We’re a good tackling defense but for whatever reason today, that didn’t show up,” middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said.

So much for the notion of starting a new and better season.

“Everybody still believes that,” Cook said. “I’m not going to say it’s panic time, but it’s time to come and get this train rolling.”

Ten Takeaways from the Rams’ 37-13 Loss to the Bears

Randy Karraker

http://www.101sports.com/2015/11/15/ten-takeaways-from-the-rams-37-13-loss-to-the-bears/

When a first year coach of a team that was 5-11 last year takes his team on the road to face a fourth year coach of a team that’s supposed to be ascending, and his team drills the opponent…that should be bad news for the fourth year coach.
jeff fisher-10

The last NFL coach to make it to a fifth season without making the playoffs was Gary Kubiak of the Texans, who started in 2006 and didn’t make the playoffs until 2011.

It looks like Jeff Fisher is on a similar path.

The lack of consistency on the part of the Rams is troubling, and the fact that they are two games behind the last wild card team in the conference pretty much eliminates them from the playoffs. The last two games were not only winnable for the Rams, but the home game against Chicago was a must win, and they got hammered 37-13.

And with that, ten takeaways…

1) The Rams got off to a terrific start on offense, driving eighty yards in seven plays (11.4 per play) to a touchdown that put them ahead 7-0. After that opening drive, the Rams ran 25 plays the remainder of the first half, and picked up 66 yards. In the second half, they gained 139 yards on 29 plays. Breaking it down, the Rams amassed just 205 yards after their opening drive, averaging 3.8 yards per play.

2) The Rams defense was killed by big plays, which is awfully unusual for them. Before Sunday, the only play over fifty yards the Rams had allowed was a 65 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to James Jones. The second biggest play was a 39 yard run by Matt Jones of Washington. The 87 and 83 yard touchdown passes by Jay Cutler to Zach Miller and Jeremy Langford, respectively, were more than enough to get the defense on its heels, and it never recovered.

3) We wondered during the pregame show if the absence of Matt Forte might cause the Rams to concentrate too much on Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett, the two biggest remaining playmakers for Chicago. Sure enough, Jeffery was held to 23 yards on three catches, and Bennett had three grabs for eighteen yards. The Rams covered those guys, but saw their stout run defense disintegrate, allowing 153 yards on 37 carries. In week nine of year four, more is expected of a defense working against Jeremy Langford and Kadeem Carey.

4) Meanwhile, the Rams running game has fallen back to its old ways. Running backs had eighteen carries for 76 yards, but before a garbage time drive that featured Trey Mason, they had thirteen carries for 48 yards. The running game certainly wasn’t up to winning NFL standards. Teams are stacking the box against Todd Gurley and daring the Rams to throw, and the Rams simply aren’t efficient enough in the passing game to make them pay.
nick foles-8

Foles was 17 of 36 for 200 yards with a QB rating of 53.0 in Sunday’s Rams loss.

5) The Rams coaching staff hasn’t adapted to Nick Foles’ limitations. Of course, one of those limitations is the talent level of his recievers, and there’s nothing anyone can do about that.

But Foles also has real trouble throwing effectively outside the numbers, and the Rams continue to try plays on the perimeter.

They MUST work inside the numbers if they’re going to have success, because he simply can’t make the intermediate-to-long throw on the sideline.

6) At this stage of the game, it’s more than fair to question whether or not Fisher is up to the job of winning a championship, which should be the ultimate goal of any franchise. His Rams record now is 24-32-1. He has his coaching staff and his players. Any suggestion of injuries being an excuse are diminished by the fact that he’s has four years to build the roster and the depth is his.

On Sunday, Fisher had his hand-picked quarterback, running back, receivers, tight ends, tackles, center, one guard, defensive tackles, one end, two linebackers and secondary. No excuses. In game nine of year four, there is no excuse to lose this game. Try to think of a circumstance under which Fisher would lead the Rams to a championship. I can’t.

7) Left tackle Greg Robinson is playing far from the quality of a 2nd pick in the draft. After committing three holding penalties, Robinson leads all NFL offensive players in penalties with nine, an average of one per game, and is tied with Jason Kelce of Philadelphia with eight offensive holding penalties. He had two more holding penalties against Cleveland that were declined.

On Sunday, one of his holds nullified a Tavon Austin touchdown that would have made the score 14-7 Rams, but instead they kicked a field goal. That was a devastating penalty. Another third quarter hold nullified an Austin catch that would have provided a first down at the Bears’ 40. The second tackle taken in the 2014 draft, Jake Matthews of Atlanta, has committed three penalties, two of which were holding, and has been a much more effective pass blocker than Robinson. Robinson is still very young, but the lack of progress is alarming.

8) On the bright side for Stan Kroenke, with dynamic pricing for the Bears game, the Rams distributed more than 60,000 tickets and collected more revenue for a home game than they ever have. The Rams were able to get more people into the building than for any game this season, and collect the biggest gate ever. And almost half the crowd went home happy.

9) Down 27-13 early in the fourth quarter, the Rams tried a fake punt deep in their own territory, and Johnny Hekker’s pass fell incomplete. While Jeff Fisher was asked about it after the game, it was a non-factor. The Bears kicked a field goal after the failed attempt, and the Rams offense wasn’t going to produce two touchdowns anyway. The failed fake was a non-factor in the defeat. By that time, the game had been decided.

10) Foles is 28th in passer rating and 28th in yards in the NFL. His play simply isn’t up to a level that’s going to help a team win, let alone make a team win. His 186.4 yards per game are 34th in the league, and as Kevin Wheeler mentioned in the postgame show on 101 ESPN, three of the seven touchdown passes he’s thrown in nine games came in one game, at Arizona. He needs to have more good games if the Rams are to have ANY chance to win.

Next week the Rams are at Baltimore. Since they’ve lost two in a row and aren’t in a position to put anything positive together, they have a shot against the Ravens. But in terms of having a playoff shot in 2015, that likely went by the boards with the blowout loss to the Bears on Sunday.[/quote]

wv wrote:

Well the Bears were missing their top RB
and Alshon was hobbled and they were
on the road, etc.

That’s nothing. This entire team depends on its DL to win and it got negated… the DEs were contained and silent.

The equivalent would be if the Rams D completed stifled Cutler to the point where he could do nothing, like Manning today.

Just lists of injuries doesn’t give you honest equivalence. As they stand right now as a team, negate the Rams DL and the Rams as a whole aren’t competitive.

….

Jim Thomas ‏@jthom1
No excuses from defense, which played its worst game of year. They were kept off-balance all day by play-calling of Martz protégé Adam Gase

nittany ram wrote:

Well, I think they need to hire new management, coaches and a front office because based on the results of the first of those 8 games they are clueless if they think this is a Superbowl team.

I met a scout who did some work for Rams recently (that’s all he would let me say about him

Yeah I wondered whether to post that. I mean…have you ever heard of a “scout who did some work for” a team “recently”? You’re either a scout with a team or you’re not. It’s not like hiring a guy to cut your lawn.

,

.