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znModeratorThe play with Kendricks he looks at…that’s LK as a move blocker.
LK is not a pure in-line blocker type TE, but he’s a good H-back/move blocker, from various positions in the formation.
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znModeratorPatriots clinched a 2013 win after correct illegal batting call
Zac Jackson on October 6, 2015
Two years ago, an illegal batting call affected a game between the Dolphins and Patriots.
In that case, the rule was properly applied. You know, just in case the Lions’ flight back to Detroit could be any more miserable.
The Patriots defeated the Dolphins, 27-17, on Oct. 27, 2013. With the Patriots leading 20-17 in the fourth quarter and facing a second and seven at the Miami 23, quarterback Tom Brady fumbled after getting hit by Dolphins defensive back Jimmy Wilson.
Patriots tackle Nate Solder recovered, way back at the Miami 48. The ball moved that far down the field because Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon hit the ball while it was loose, and the officials ruled that Vernon had committed an illegal batting of the ball, applying a 10-yard penalty from the line of scrimmage.
Such a play, as we were reminded late Monday night in the aftermath of the Seahawks-Lions ending, is not reviewable.
The Patriots ended up with a first down at the Dolphins’ 13 after the penalty and scored four plays later to make it 27-17.
The Patriots essentially gained 35 yards on that sequence because there was intent in Vernon’s actions on the play. Rule 12-4-1(a) explains that an illegal bat occurs if “a player of either team bats or punches a loose ball in the field of play toward his opponent’s goal line. While Rule 12-4-1(a) doesn’t expressly require intent, Rule 3-2-5(g) defines illegal batting as “the intentional striking of the ball with hand, fist, elbow, or forearm.”
The back judge watching K.J Wright Monday night didn’t see fit to throw a flag. So, the Seahawks won the game and the NFL has admitted Wright’s bat should have been flagged but wasn’t.
October 6, 2015 at 8:51 am in reply to: week 5 stats, including "Rams have played 3 top 5 defenses" #31830znModeratorI guess this is the rankings thread.
As of 10/6, Rams are presently 31st on offense (measured by yards).
They have played 3 top ten offenses and they went 2-1 against them (Arz 3, Washington 7, Pitts. 10).
Rankings change so as of today they have played 3 top 7 defenses (Seattle 4, Washington 6, Arz 7).
Therefore they went 1-1 against 2 teams that were both top 10 on offense and top 7 on defense (Washington, Arizona).
I keep seeing “how could they lose to lowly Washington” posts, but Washington might be the year’s surprise team. They are 7th on offense, 6th on defense. That’s actually…just purely in terms of rankings…better than Seattle.
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znModerator10 Takeaways from the Rams’ 24-22 Win Over the Cardinals
Posted by: Randy Karraker
http://www.101sports.com/2015/10/05/10-takeaways-from-the-rams-24-22-win-over-the-cardinals/
The Rams defied the oddsmakers, who had them as a seven point underdog, and their defense held the previously explosive Arizona offense to just five field goals and one late touchdown in a 24-22 thriller at University of Phoenix Stadium.
This one featured Tavon Austin’s best game since his rookie year, and a coming out party for rooking running back Todd Gurley. With that, ten takeaways…
gregg williamsRams DC Gregg Williams
1) Gregg Williams’ defense is fun to watch. They’re aggressive, they go for the ball, and they hit! There were bigtime hits from T.J. McDonald, Janoris Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, Rodney McLeod and Alec Ogletree. The Rams defense has given up one offensive touchdown in three of their four games, and two in the other game; the loss to Washington. The Rams defense has given up 68 points…seventeen per game…and five touchdowns in four games.
2) I have some frustration that the Rams can win the turnover battle against a good team on the road, but hasn’t been able to at home. The Rams beat the Seahawks despite losing the turnover battle, and fell to Pittsburgh while breaking even. It’s great that they’ve won the turnover ratio in both of their road games, but it would seem to be easier to do at home.
By the way, as the Rams head to Green Bay, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t thrown an interception in 51 consecutive games there.
3) The offensive line became aggressive and may have found itself in the second half. The kids weren’t exactly taking it to the opposition in the running game in the first three games, but opened some terrific holes in the second half, in which Gurley exploded for 144 yards on fifteen carries after Ram running backs got eight carries for one yard in the first half. Much of Gurley’s success came on the heels of massive holes opened up by a suddenly confident offensive line. His 146 yards on 19 carries were the most by a Rams rookie since Steven Jackson ran for 148 against the Eagles in 2004.
4) Passing the ball to Tavon Austin works. Austin was targeted seven times, catching six passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Austin did not have a receiving touchdown last season, and this was his third two-touchdown game, with the last coming November 10 of 2013 at Indianapolis.
todd gurley-2Gurley had 19 carries for 146 yards in Sunday’s Rams win.
The 96 yards were his second most, after that same contest in Indy. Since his first four games in the NFL, Austin was only targeted as many as seven times once before Sunday…that being the second to last game of his rookie year. His most targets in the passing game last year was five. New offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti is trying to get the ball into Tavon’s hands, and it’s working.
5) The Rams got explosive in the running game. Coming in, the Rams had seven running plays of ten-plus yards, and five of those had come from receivers. Austin had four and the departed Chris Givens had one. On Sunday, Gurley doubled the Rams season number explosive plays from running backs, breaking off runs of 20, 23, 30 and 52 yards.
6) The Rams dressed Brian Quick but did not target him in the passing game. Kenny Britt was only thrown to once. That was in large part, I’m sure, because the Rams were ahead, and they didn’t need the passing game as much in the second half. I liked seeing them use Stedman Bailey for another touchdown.
There are only so many plays in a game, but Bailey deserves to see the ball more than the tight ends at this point.
7) Perhaps more impressive that Gurley piling up so much yardage was his having the awareness to simply go down and run the clock at the end of his thirty yard run on the second to last play of the game. Many running backs, especially young ones, would try for the end zone and risk a fumble. He didn’t, and allowed the Rams to run a victory formation at the end.
8) Alec Ogletree was arguably the Rams best defensive player over the first month of the season, and he’ll miss extended time with an ankle injury. Ogletree suffered the injury when T.J. McDonald ran into him during a tackle in the third quarter. It’ll be difficult for the Rams to replace Ogletree, who had become a sideline-to-sideline tackling machine. Darren Bates and Cameron Lynch replaced him on Sunday. It’ll be interesting to see what Williams does. Mark Barron would be intriguing to try in that role.
9) Nick Foles was exactly what the doctor ordered. The QB completed 16 of 24 for 171 yards, three touchdowns and, most importantly, no interceptions. With the philosophy of the offense the Rams employ, if Foles can turn in those types of numbers each week, he’ll give his team a chance to win. 21 points per game for this team should be plenty.
10) With four more sacks, the Rams defense has seventeen on the season. They’re on pace for 68, which would be four shy of the NFL record of 72 set by the 1984 Bears. Fisher told his initial St. Louis defense that he wanted them to break that record. This group has a chance.
Next week will provide the Rams their toughest test of the season, visiting unbeaten Green Bay and the incomparable Aaron Rodgers. This win was huge, because the Rams will hit their bye with, at worst, a 2-3 record, and they’ll have a chance to go on a run after their bye week.
znModeratorfrom off the net
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alyoshamucci
What a game. That was really fun to watch. I’ll jump right in.
The GREAT
1) Foles second TD pass to Austin was the best pas Ive seen by a Rams QB since Warner. He baited Bucannon up in the air and then slung it sidearm around him to a blind spot. Just the perfect mix of guts and talent and focus. Wow. It just edged the second place …
2) GURLEY. WOW. I have followed him since his first game at UGA, and still was not sure if the “moving at a different speed” thing would follow him. And the football IQ? Just a massive draft pick.
3) The Jenkins INT. What a talent. He had a great game.
4) The physicality. The whole defense was full of bone jarring legal hits.
5) The Sam Bradford Trade. We get a second next year. It was good for them too, Sam is a great thrower and even at 0-4 they are a good team that had bad breaks.
The Good
6) Austin’s catches throughout the game were excellent.
7) James L. had a much better game, played faster …
8) Our Oline had some good snaps.
9) We FINISHED.
10) Run D held up.
11) GZ is consistent.
12) I like having Benny returning kicks. Twice he had to be stopped by the kicker, who he plowed over.
13) Chris Long is playing good football right now. He’s at 2.5 sacks? Donald 3.5, Quinn 2.5 with 2 FF? That right?
14) TJ Mcdonald is a scary hitter and has really gotten his target zone in line with the rules.
15) Westbrooks is playing good football. He’s active and can hold up in any spot.
The Bad
16) TREEEEEEEE NOOOOOOO!!!! He was having a breakout year, soooo bummed for him.
17) DBs TURN YOUR HEADS. What. The. H$^#^%? Jenks you would have had a pick and Tru that cost us twice. What’s the damage?
18) GRob you flat out whiffed more than once. Trust yourself. Settle down. I think you may need to meditate or something dude.
19) Benny? Why did you not run the way the play was designed? That was the weirdest thing I’d seen in awhile.
20) Playcalling the last drive before we stopped them was not really confidence inspiring.
21) Cook … catch. the. ball.
Again, really enjoyable game. And again I was watching with my oldest. Hmmm. I may have to pay him to watch every game with me.
October 5, 2015 at 1:02 pm in reply to: Wagoner: Run-first Rams' struggle go beyond the basics #31786znModeratori just want gurley and mason to be awesome. preferably starting against arizona.
Done.
I had to pull strings with the football gods, but…done.
znModeratorin the last 2 games alone, he’s got 11 receptions for 134 yards. will he be able to keep this up? i guess we’ll find out.
That’s a good pace. To me the main thing is he finally looks really confident.
October 5, 2015 at 12:03 pm in reply to: comments n stuff on the ARZ game from around the net #31782znModeratorfrom off the net
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fearsomefour
Barnes was good in the second half. Watching the first long run by Gurley Barnes and Brown double teamed Campbell and destroyed him (Brown drove him into the ground) Barnes broke off and got in the way of a DB to really bust that play open. Beautiful play. Robinson, while still not a smooth blocker, has been getting better with his pass blocking. Haven’t really thought about the blind side rush that much the last two weeks.
I was muttering about Cunninghams sort of bad playing yesterday….then he made that great blitz pickup allowing Foles time to get the ball to Austin. Each RB can contribute in his own way. A three headed monster. I think we all saw yesterday why the hype was so high with Gurley.
znModeratorRamBill:
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From Peter King
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/10/05/nfl-quarter-season-surprises-disappointments-mvp
Now we know why Gurley went 10th
Thirteen games Sunday, and the most compelling thing I saw was Todd Gurley’s fourth quarter. About 10 months past the reconstructive knee surgery that put the draft status of this Adrian Peterson run-a-like in doubt, here was the quarter-by-quarter performance of Gurley in his second game as a professional:
First quarter: One carry, minus-3 yards.
Second quarter: Three carries, 5 yards.
Third quarter: Six carries, 38 yards.
Fourth quarter: Nine carries, 106 yards, all in the final 12 minutes of the game.
Total: 19 carries, 146 yards.
Final score: Rams 24, previously unbeaten Cardinals 22. At Arizona.
“I got one game ball!” St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher said in the Rams’ locker room. “Where’s 30? Thirty! Come up!”
Fisher handed Gurley, No. 30, the football.
“This is just the beginning,” Fisher said.Afterward, what everyone was marveling about was the eight yards Gurley didn’t gain. On his last carry, the Rams were nursing the 24-22 lead. Arizona was hoping to make a stop at the Cards 38 on third-and-12 with 1:17 left in the game. The Cards had no timeouts left, but if they could stop the Rams and force a punt, they’d get the ball back deep in their territory with maybe 30 seconds left, and maybe Carson Palmer could pull out one stunning drive to a winning field goal.
Gurley took a handoff from Nick Foles and darted left, through some traffic around left end and down the field. He didn’t need an escort. He broke into the clear past some exhausted but pursuing Cardinals, and as he galloped down the left sideline—looking so much like the man he was compared to a hundred times pre-draft, Peterson—teammate Tavon Austin started waving him downfield toward his first NFL touchdown. A Cardinal safety, Tony Jefferson, was all that stood between him and the touchdown.
Then Gurley slowed a bit. He didn’t appear hurt, but maybe he tweaked something as he slowed some more and lowered himself to the ground inside the 10, falling at the 8-yard line.
He wasn’t hurt. He was smart.
Before the play, Gurley knew Arizona had no timeouts left, and he knew if he could get the first down and kill some clock, the Rams would be able to run the clock out without Arizona touching the ball again. If he scored with 65 seconds to play, what would happen if the Rams missed the extra point? They’d have an eight-point lead, and would be kicking to one of the most explosive offenses in football. Lying down inside the 10? A no-brainer.
“The way I’ve been coached here,” Gurley said over the phone after the game, “I know in a four-minute situation at the end of the half or the end of the game, if you have the lead, you don’t go out of bounds, and you don’t stop the clock. On that play, I didn’t care about the touchdown. I just cared about the win.”
Gurley shouldn’t get a medal for that. He should get some appreciation for making the smart play in that situation. It capped an impressive quarter, with runs of 52, 20 and 30 yards (the final run) that only emphasized to the Rams that picking him, higher than virtually any other team would have, paid off, at least on a day when the Rams pulled the upset of Week 4. Gurley, from the University of Georgia, talked some SEC trash with LSU product Tyrann Mathieu after Mathieu hogtied him down to halt the longest run. But for the rest of the day, he let his legs do the talking.
“Oh man, it feels great to have a day like this,” Gurley said. “It definitely means a lot to me, and to us. Some of these runs give me confidence that I can really do this here. I definitely knew what I was capable of, and I felt the support from the coaches and my teammates.”
And the knee? “It’s fine, fine,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me. I keep up on my ice, my cold tubs, whether I think I need it or not. I feel fine now, no pain. I’ll probably feel it tomorrow.”
After his debut—six carries, nine yards last week—Gurley was hearing from those around the team that he’ll be fine, don’t worry, better days are ahead. He knew it. The lack of impact wasn’t a big deal to him. “Listen,” he said to one team employee, “nobody’s gonna remember my first four games. What’d Adrian Peterson do his first four games?”
Peterson, in his first four games in 2007: 76 carries, 383 yards.
Gurley’s right: No one remembers. But for the record, Gurley’s got 228 yards to get in the next two games if he wants to catch up. I doubt he’s too concerned with chasing yards like that—he gave up eight, and a touchdown, that he could have had pretty easily in his coming-out party.============
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEKTodd Gurley, running back, St. Louis.
After his inauspicious debut last week, coach Jeff Fisher said that trained eyes could see Gurley was close to breaking some of his runs. Fisher, evidently, knew what he was talking about. Gurley owned the previously unbeaten Cardinals on the road Sunday. He ran 19 times for 146 yards, and did the smart thing on the final insurance drive, going to the ground instead of running into the end zone. Gurley knew the Cardinals wouldn’t get to touch the ball again if he played it that way. The Rams drafted Gurley 10th overall last spring, when he was only five months removed from reconstructive knee surgery. For one day at least, it looks like a brilliant pick.
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Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think this is what I liked about Week 4:
a. Devonta Freeman. What burst and power.
b. The fight of the Rams.znModeratorArizona punted on their first possession.
Well…uh, that’s what I meant.
znModeratorAnd, of course, the Rams have just been super defending the red zone.
This may be the only game I have seen where the favored (in terms of the spread etc.) offense did not punt once but lost anyway.
znModeratorI thought JL had a great game.
Me too.
But it was nice to get something from someone who was at the game.
znModeratorfrom off the net
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CierraRam
Here are some encouraging numbers. Going into the Cardinal game the Rams were tied for 10th in fewest sacks allowed and tied for 15th in QB hits allowed. With only 1 sack allowed against the vaunted Cardinal defense (dont know the hits) It’s becoming clear that pass protection isn’t a problem for this young OL. Granted the Rams dont exactly throw the ball a lot, but the numbers thus far are far better than I ever would have thought this early in the season.
Also the Rams were tied for 12th in fewest penalties taken going into the Cardinal game. So Fisher’s bunch of young’ins are even improving there.
So the Rams have actually been playing better than their record indicates… and we know why they are not 3-1 or even 4-0. But the offense second half showing today against the Cardinals might be a precursor for things to come. And if that’s the case, this team is probably a playoff team.
znModeratorfrom off the net
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vinny1717
went to the game here in AZ today…..wasn’t expecting a win but was very pleased walking out of the stadium amongst the sea of red. Quite a few Rams fans here as well, which there always are.
Not going to jump off the deep end and proclaim a “turning point” or “playoff” scenario but they really played well. Much better than anticipated.
My takes watching it live:
*TA showed what he can do if he is out there all the time. He has to be on the field all the time. Really good in the passing game today and had a couple nice runs
*Gurley is going to be great. If the knee holds up we have a gem. Big, strong, fast kid that actually has a mind for the game. He waited for holes to develop and showed veteran presence on the last play where he went down instead of scoring. I’ve seen other posts in this forum saying he should have scored and we would be up by 9 with :40 but with this year’s extra point being 33 yards I could have easily seen a missed extra point, Cards go down and tie the game up scenario. By him going down that completely eliminated that scenario. He’s probably watched this train wreck on film from past years. At any rate, great game and hope to see more of that
*Foles is solid. Not great but solid. Watching from up top there were a few plays developing that he missed but with a suspect O Line it wasn’t too often that he was really comfortable in the pocket. Very efficient day with no turnovers. I would have liked to see Cig do a few more fakes/bootlegs off the stretch play….AZ was really crashing down hard and there were some opportunities but I thought the second half game plan was great. Imagine that, an OC making adjustments at halftime
*Defense was good, not great but good enough. Cards racked up almost 500 yards but the Johnson dropped TD early and Palmer throwing 2 balls high on that last drive helped out quite a bit. JJ was great, Tru was very ordinary, giving huge cushions to Michael Floyd…he also had a game winning INT taken out of his hands
*The guys I personally feel like we can move on from: Cook, JL, Britt. Cook was awful as usual. I know the throw as a little fast but he had that jump ball in his hands a 5’9 Honey Badger tore it away. Enough said. I was watching JL closely because I have been critical of him and he really isn’t an NFL MLB…just not fast enough and doesn’t have the instincts. Britt was targeted once that I can remember. These are just my opinion, that’s all but I would like to see Quick, TA and Bailey be the starting WR’s.
Overall it was a fun game to watch. The AZ crowd was loud and into it and Foles and the boys stayed solid and delivered. They earned this win and deserve it. Tough game next week but lets see if Gurley can provide some spark for the offense in the weeks after the bye.
Good game, good win
znModeratorgurley on that 50 yarder showed some nifty footwork to avoid being taken down sooner. doesn’t necessarily look for contact if he can help it. he’s got really good footwork. good balance.
Yeah I agree. He is a very fluid, athletic runner, especially for his size. He is reminding me a lot of Fred Taylor.
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znModeratorGurley, Rams hold it down in upset of Big Red
• By Jim ThomasGLENDALE, ARIZ. • Not all that far removed from his college days at Georgia, there’s nothing Todd Gurley can do about the Bulldogs’ crushing 38-10 loss Saturday to Alabama.
“That’s what I told my teammates,” the rookie running back said, smiling. “I’ve gotta do what Georgia didn’t do yesterday, so I had to hold it down.”
Gurley held it down, all right, at the expense of the previously unbeaten Arizona Cardinals. In his coming-out party as an NFL player, Gurley finished with 146 yards on 17 carries as the Rams upset the Big Red 24-22 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Against an Arizona team that had never trailed — not for one second — in its previous three games this season, the Rams led wire-to-wire, but never enough to feel comfortable.
It took two touchdown catches by Tavon Austin, three takeaways by the defense and special teams, and then the second-half running by Gurley to win at a place where the home team rarely loses. The Cardinals entered the day 15-3 at home under coach Bruce Arians.
“To be able to be on the road against a great football team, and then come out and win the game the way we did — hold the lead the entire game — that’s huge for us,” right guard Rodger Saffold said.
It helped that the Rams discovered a running game that had been missing all season, and an offense that had been AWOL since the season-opening victory over Seattle, in the second half.
Limited to just 10 carries for 5 yards through 2½ quarters, the Rams got the run game going after a forced fumble by safety Rodney McLeod and a recovery by cornerback Trumaine Johnson gave the Rams a first down at their 41, nursing a 10-9 lead.
Following that takeaway, Gurley ripped off runs of 23 and 13 yards to put the Rams in scoring position on a drive culminating in the second of three touchdown passes by quarterback Nick Foles.
Gurley added a 52-yard run early in the fourth quarter — the longest run of the season for the Rams — to set up the second of a pair of 12-yard TD passes from Foles to Austin. That proved to be the game-winning points, giving the Rams a 24-15 lead with 8 minutes, 16 seconds to play.
But not before an Arizona TD made things close, and not before Gurley closed things out with runs of 20 and 30 yards to kill out the clock on the Rams’ final possession.
“Man, I knew he was gonna be special from the get-go,” defensive end William Hayes said. “But I wasn’t expecting that much. I saw today that his future’s gonna be very, very bright.”
“He came out this week and he exploded,” Austin said.
Some blocking helped. Saffold said the Rams made some adjustments in the running game at halftime, and they paid off for a squad that ranked last (32nd) in total offense and 29th in rushing offense before Sunday.
“We worked our misdirection; it really came alive,” Saffold said. “And once we got a misdirection (play to work), it got ’em to stay balanced instead of rushing everything front side.”
Gurley, the No. 10 overall pick in the draft last spring, did the rest. He said the Rams’ offense merely “got fed up” about all of its struggles this season. Another week of practice with the first-team offense helped the game slow down for Gurley in his first NFL start.
“Yeah man, it’s football,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve been playing it my whole life. You read your keys, study the game, and everything will slow down for you.”
Simple as that. Gurley had only six carries (for 9 yards) last week in his debut and didn’t know for sure that his workload would be nearly tripled against Arizona.
“But you know how it is if you’re having a good game and it’s rolling,” Gurley said. “Then, you know, you keep the hot hand hot.”
Let the guy with the hot hand hold it down.
Perhaps Gurley’s best work came with 1:17 to play when he burst around left end for what looked like a sure touchdown. But realizing the circumstances, he decided to stop after a 30-yard gain to the Arizona 8, to run out the clock and prevent the Cardinals from pulling off any kind of last-minute miracle.
“It was totally unselfish,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “Beyond that, it’s just that for a rookie to have the presence of mind to do that, it says a lot for his understanding of this game and putting games away.”
A pretty heady play for a 21-year-old about to score his first NFL TD, playing in his second NFL game.
“I just wanted to get out of here with a win; that’s all I was worried about,” Gurley said.
So he can save that first NFL touchdown for another time?
“I’m gonna think about it tonight,” he said, laughing. “But we got the win. I’m happy about that.”
In an ideal world of Rams football, this is what it’s supposed to look like. A defense and special teams unit that create turnovers and give up points grudgingly.
Austin making meaningful plays from start to finish. And now we see why the Rams thought enough of running back Gurley, wounded knee and all, to take him so high in the draft. And don’t forget Foles, who squeezed those three touchdown passes out of just 24 throws en route to a 126.9 passer rating.
“Well, we got a contribution out of all three phases today,” Fisher said. “That’s what has been hindering us the last couple weeks. We finally had a second half of offense, and that was the difference in the ballgame.
“As we said earlier in the week, (Arizona) is one of the top two teams in the NFC. We’re building to compete in our division and right now, we’re 2-0 in our division. So we’ve got to keep it going.”
Fisher was in such good spirits after the game, he couldn’t even return volley on Arians, who after a 12-6 victory last December in St. Louis crowed about his defense being the best on the field that day — not a Rams unit coming off back-to-back shutouts entering that game.
So who was the best defense Sunday?
“I still think they’re really good,” Fisher said, speaking of Arizona. “And we’ve got some work to do.”
When teased by reporters for not taking the bait on Arians, Fisher replied: “That’s called taking the high road.”
znModeratorGordon: Offense comes through for Rams
Jeff Gordon
GLENDALE, Ariz. • The Rams’ defense has been making its black-and-blue mark for a couple of years now. It has earned NFL-wide respect by unleashing big hitters on recoiling opponents.
But the Rams’ offense lagged behind this season, often woefully so. The young linemen suffered predictable growing pains and rookie running back Todd Gurley had to clear his final rehab hurdles.
The offense officially caught up by delivering a 24-22 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
“The biggest thing for me is that we had to bail out the defense,” said guard Rodger Saffold, the elder statesman on an otherwise inexperienced line. “We never do that. They always have to come in and (secure) everything for us.”
The line created seams in the second half after generating just 9 yards rushing on nine first-half carries. Gurley broke big run after big run while finally looking recovered from knee surgery.
The offense sustained two touchdown drives and one final time-consuming possession at the end. Gurley could have tacked on a late TD, but he wisely pulled up so his team could kill the remaining clock instead.
We’re guessing Isaiah Pead would have just kept running. Or he would have fumbled the ball away. But we’ll just let those bad memories go.
Why pick at old sores after such an important victory?
The Rams got a fresh start on their season. They are 2-2 overall and 2-0 in the NFC West. By earning victories over the two division powers, Arizona and Seattle, they reentered the playoff race.
“We are not where we wanted to be, but we are certainly happy to get the win,” defensive end Chris Long said. “We’ve had some ups and downs these last two weeks. It has been a long couple of weeks.”
The Rams set aside their implosion at Washington and their frustrating 12-6 home-field loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their offense morphed from liability into asset.
This newfound Rams balance is critical because this victory came at great cost. Outside linebacker Alec Ogletree suffered an ugly ankle injury that will require surgical repairs.
“It’s unfortunate because I don’t know if you can find a linebacker that’s playing better than he was during the first four weeks of the year,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said.
Ogletree caused havoc all over the field again Sunday. He blew through the line to dump ball carriers for losses. He chased down receivers. He went from side to side. He went up and back. He was everywhere, keeping the explosive Cardinals in check.
The defense can’t possibly be as good without him. But perhaps the Rams won’t lean on that unit quite so hard now they can actually run the football and set up their play-action passing game.
“We got contribution from all three phases today,” Fisher said. “That’s what has been hindering us the last couple of weeks. We finally had a second half of offense and that was the difference in the ballgame.”
That 2-2 record looks a whole lot better than 1-3 going into next week’s tough assignment at Green Bay. After that game, the Rams will take their bye week break before starting an easier stretch of schedule against the Cleveland Browns at home.
Suddenly all things look possible again. With Gurley living up to the hype Sunday and Tavon Austin producing like an eighth overall draft pick, this team looks much more dangerous.
Gurley was the whole package Sunday, reading his blocks, powering for tough yardage, bursting through seams and outrunning defenders in the open field. This was quite a sight.
Imagine a bigger Zac Stacy wearing a jet pack and roller blades, only with the ability to change directions on a dime.
Austin was also a revelation. Not only did he get open for downfield passes — a rare sight under former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer — but he ran tight little routes to catch two TD passes.
Oh, and quarterback Nick Foles was outstanding too. He took care of the ball, avoiding self-destructive turnovers that have doomed so many Rams teams. He made accurate throws under intense pressure.
When he did miss on his passes, he missed harmlessly. He also made some nice throws that weren’t caught, such as one he placed over the top of Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu … and right through the hands of tight end Jared Cook in the end zone.
So there are some things to work on. Rookie offensive linemen Jamon Brown and Rob Havenstein are still early in their development, as is second-year left tackle Greg Robinson.
Gurley has only hinted at his full potential. The same goes for Austin and his running mate Stedman Bailey. Fellow wide receiver Brian Quick finally got back on the field Sunday after recovering from the severe shoulder injury he suffered last season.
“We still have a lot of room to improve,” Foles said afterward. “I know the guys are hungry to improve. We just have to stay hungry, keep working and pay attention to detail. We are a young team so we have to put that extra time in every single day to get better and take the next step forward.”
We’ve heard such words before in the Rams ;locker room, but suddenly they ring true. At long last the Rams are relevant again.
znModeratorOn Gurley’s 52 yard run Cook was the H-back. He actually made a decent block on his man who was backside pursuit. Then he stood and watched, but Gurley was way down field by that point. After cursing them for the last 3 weeks I’m warming up to those stretch the field running plays.
I noticed that too. I had put it in another thread but it belongs here:
In this play he lines up in the backfield, and look at how they use him. It’s especially clear in the re-play.
znModeratorhow I judge Tavon—I see him as a combined yards guy. So how does he stack up, as of game 4.
10 rushes, 77 yards
14 catches, 128 yards
5 punt returns, 113 yardsCombined yards: 318
avg. per game: 79.5TDs: 4 (2 passing, 1 rushing, 1 return)
He has actually gotten 33% of the Rams points so far in 4 games.
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October 4, 2015 at 11:56 pm in reply to: comments n stuff on the ARZ game from around the net #31746znModeratorfrom off the net
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aeneas1
headed into the game arizona’s pass defense ranked 2nd best qb rating allowed, 3rd best in tds per pass attempt allowed, and best in interceptions per pass attempt – in short foles faced a tough pass d today. in fact the card’s defense ranked 4th best in offensive points allowed prior to today’s game, giving up an average of just 16.3 per game… also, the cards’ defense had given up just 4 offensive tds on the season, the rams scored 3 on them.
the rams’ offensive performance today was damn ugly for a lot of the game, but in the end they were able to score 24 points against a very tough defense, on the road no less
…
during fitzgerald’s presser he mentioned that the cards moved the ball well offensively against the rams defense, up and down the field, but could only do so between the 20s, couldn’t convert redzone opportunities into tds, instead the cards had to settle for field goals…
and he was right, the cards converted only 1 of 5 redzone opportunities into a td against the rams, which was especially frustrating for the cards given they were tops in the league in this category headed into the game, they had converted 11 of their 12 redzone opportunities into tds for a whopping 92% rate.
the flipside is the rams’ defense ranked 7th best in redzone td % allowed headed into the game, and their effort against the cards will put the defense around 3rd come tuesday morning, which is where the rams’ defense ranked last season, 3rd best in redzone td % allowed. in fact since fish has been head coach the rams have ranked in the top 10 every year when it comes to redzone td % allowed.
znModeratorRams LB Alec Ogletree to have right ankle surgery; prognosis uncertain
Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13811619/alec-ogletree-st-louis-rams-surgery-right-ankle
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The St. Louis Rams will be without emerging linebacker Alec Ogletree for extended time, possibly the season, after he suffered a right ankle injury Sunday afternoon that will require surgery.
“Alec is going to require surgery, and I don’t know the extent of it right now,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “The doctors still have some discussions, and we still have to do MRIs and things like that. There’s potential right now for [him to go on injured reserve with the] designation for return, but we’ll have to see.”
Ogletree suffered the injury with 5:44 to go in the third quarter of the Rams’ 24-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals after safety T.J. McDonald accidentally rolled into the back of his leg while trying to tackle Cardinals running back Chris Johnson. Ogletree immediately grabbed at his ankle and was taken off the field on a cart.
Alec Ogletree
Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree suffered an ankle injury that will require surgery in the third quarter of the Rams’ 24-22 win over the Cardinals after safety T.J. McDonald accidentally rolled into the back of his leg.If the Rams decide to make Ogletree their designated-for-return player, he could return to games eight weeks after they put him on that list. If they believe he won’t be able to return, they could opt to put him on regular injured reserve, ending his season.
Either way, Ogletree’s loss is a big blow for the Rams’ defense. He had 10 tackles, including two for loss, Sunday before the injury, and was the team’s leading tackler through the first three games with 32, along with two sacks.
Ogletree led the Rams in tackles each of the past two seasons.
“It sucks. He was on a tear,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “He was on as good of a three-game start that I’ve seen. He was just all over the place on the field, really playing smart. You really saw his raw talent kind of come into form.
“It’s going to hurt.”
Daren Bates replaced Ogletree and finished with two tackles. Some combination of Bates, Akeem Ayers and Mark Barron will handle Ogletree’s snaps moving forward.
October 4, 2015 at 11:17 pm in reply to: comments n stuff on the ARZ game from around the net #31744znModeratorfrom off the net
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Prime Time
What Cardinals Fans Are Saying After Their Loss To The Rams
many of us are curious how the Cardinals fan base feels about the Rams now and how they explain their loss. In my reading on their many different forums this week, I found that for every goofy, troll-like post there are 2 or 3 members in a thread that will point it out. They’re the enemy but still a pretty good fan base.
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http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/f4/quick-reactions-226781.html
Quick Reactions
* Hard to imagine the defense playing this poorly—worst game by them in a long time. Still can’t believe, however, that neither of the two Ram fumbles resulted in turnovers on the 5 yard line.
* Interesting that the Rams’ defense, which could put pressure on Palmer with a 4 man rush, threw blitz after blitz at Palmer. I thought I was watching a Todd Bowles defense against us.
* Clearly the offense looked intimidated by the Rams’ defense and so did BA whose third down and short calls were consistently questionable, as were some second half decisions to just kick the FGs. I think BA is going to rethink his choices in this game.
* Still can’t believe Carson Palmer threw 3 bad passes after the 2 minute warning—been so used to his accuracy. But—this is what relentless pressure can do, as we saw when Bowles was our DC.
* I think it was a mistake to start Iupati in this game and thought so at the time because his weakness in pass pro isn’t his man head on it’s on being quick enough to switch on twists and inside blitzes and Laurinaitus ate him up.
* Still can’t believe Larsen was made inactive. He should have been in there at the end when we need the best pass pro possible.
* Team MVP was Chandler Catanzaro—not only for his 5/5 FGs, but for making tackles on kickoffs, which remain another weakness, kick coverage.
* Still think there are better options on key third downs than passing to Jermaine Gresham. I hope I am proved wrong. But that play still bothers me the most. David Johnson missing the TD catch, I can attribute to inexperience and that the pass came out quicker than he expected. But the Gresham drop was at a time when the Cardinals could have taken the lead and control of the game. Was really surprised, to see BA concede that field position on 4th and 2 and go for the FG.
* I still maintain that for the Cardinals in 2012 draft, Tavon Austin, would have been better pick than G Jonathan Cooper. Yes, we have a good speed WR in John Brown, but Austin is so versatile and electric and imagine if we had them both. If BA had had Austin the last three years he would be a Pro Bowler by now.
* Still worried about the Cardinals lack of speed at LB all across the board. I would like to see Steve Keim make a trade—
* But two things stand out to me at this point: one is that Carson Palmer can’t keep getting hit like this or he is not going to last 16 games and two is that without edge pressure, QBs like Nick Foles can stand in the pocket and deliver even off double clutches.
* It should be interesting to see how the Cardinals respond this week. I think we will learn a lot. It sure looked like the team lost complete focus at the end of this game.
* Good performances from Fitzgerald (despite the fumble), Floyd, Chris Johnson, John Brown, Frostee Rucker, Calais Campbell, Patrick Peterson and Carson Palmer (save the late throwback bomb INT to John Brown, which is a throw that has to be made early, otherwise Brown will slow down and let the defense adjust as they did, and the rushed inaccurate three throws to end the game).
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Arians wet the bed in this game. What’s up with the 3 consecutive pass plays needing only two yards too keep game alive?
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Austin is garbage and has done nothing.
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7 catches for 96 yards and 2 scores while adding 20 rushing yards is far from garbage. And remember, his QB’s throughout his career have been Sam Bradfors, Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis, and Shawn Hill throwing at time for 2 seasons. Foles is the best QB he’s had in his short career.
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Now that he has an OC and a QB who seem to know how to create space for him—he is going to be tough for any team to defend.
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Yesterday was BA’s Birthday , did he over celebrate , I don’t know , but this was the worst prepared I have seen from BA or the team in his 37 games coached .
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Except for playing the Rams again, we will not face a better defense in my opinion. Glad in the perspective we got that first loss out of the way… just wish it would not have been at home against a divisional opponent lol
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The Seahawks are just as good if not better—but the Rams are loaded—CB Jenoris Jenkins is a stud, so is Laurinaitis—their safeties are tough and very under-rated—and their pass rush is the most talented, better than the Seahawks’.
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this is the first game I’ve ever been disappointed by an Arians team. I literally can’t remember another game I believed we should win hands down only to come out and lay such a huge egg.sucks. Will be interesting to see how they respond on the road next week.
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If the Cards can play a game this badly and almost win that’s something.There were 6 or 7 individual plays that if any one of them doesn’t happen we win this game.
Considering a FG wins this game if…
DJ doesn’t fumble the kickoff,
Fitz doesn’t fumble,
DJ catches the the TD pass,
The non called fumble ( what a BS call that was),
The fumble we didn’t recover (how did we not???),
Greshams drop ( may have turn 3 into 7),
and there is more.Even with all the defensive breakdowns we still could and maybe even should have won this game.
Hats off to the Rams. They played a great game and were very opportunistic.
Let’s lick our wounds and rebound next week on the road. We are 3-1 and still lead the division. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s time to come back down to earth and accept the fact that we were not going to go through the whole season without a loss.
There have been games we made mistakes and learned from them but the didn’t cost us the game. And then there are games where you make mistakes and it cost us a loss.
This was one of those.
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Said this before, but you sound like Jeff Fisher. We mocked him for saying the same thing in his presser during the week.
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agreed.and the whole “it says a lot that we almost won”… is this THREE YEARS AGO, when we didn’t expect to win games? We just played a thoroughly mediocre team at home and lost. All that says to me is we laid a huge freaking egg and wasted an opportunity to go to 4-0 overall, 4-0 in the conference and 2-0 in the division. Nothing about that makes me feel good in any way shape or form.
this was a pretty pathetic loss to a pretty mediocre team. that’s all. gotta get it back and going next week.
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If this were Detroit(say what you want but they still have a potent offense), Baltimore, Pittsburgh, or Seattle then I’m with you but it was the Rams. A team that scored a combined 16 points the previous 2 games. It’s a bitter pill to swallow and now I know how Seattle feels.
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I can see why you might say that. However, they spoke of one play in one game and one play in another game. I’m pointing out seven or eight plays in ONE game.As I said , hats off to the Rams. They beat us and they have beaten the Seahawks so kudos to them.
The key to beating most teams is turnovers. The Rams simply do not have the offense for the long run without getting help with turnovers. I believe we have the ability to do just that, however, today we didn’t.
The cream will rise to the top…and it will be red and white.
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The Rams are a different offense this year—they just need time to settle into their new schemes and QB—but with a bell cow RB in Gurley, a game changer in Tavon Austin and a top TE in Cook, once their young o-line settles in, their offense could be very good.The Cardinals failed to rattle Nick Foles—that was a big reason why they won.
On the other hand, the Rams threw the kitchen sink at Palmer and while Palmer was one tough cookie, he and the offense couldn’t finish drives or the big drive at the end of the game.
znModeratorDid Quick play at all?
We’ll know when we can access snap counts.
znModerator. Just wondering what changed when Gurley started to let loose. In the first half he was getting hit 3 yards back from the LOS, and then, after Fitzgerald’s fumble, it seemed like everything opened up…. So what changed?
Well here’s one thing, though it’s just one. According to the announcers, in the 2nd half, they used more sets with both Harkey and Kendricks. Remember, Kendricks in a lot of respects and Harkey too to a lesser extent can line up all over the formation. So basically they switched to more power-oriented sets.
have i mentioned that i dislike cook? more kendricks and harkey please.
Here’s someone else who saw the same thing.==============================
from off the net
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CierraRam
While the OL did a fine job in this game. I give equal credit to the fact that the Rams put a H-Back in the back field to block in the second half. Picking off that first defender is huge to the running game.
znModeratorznModerator. Just wondering what changed when Gurley started to let loose. In the first half he was getting hit 3 yards back from the LOS, and then, after Fitzgerald’s fumble, it seemed like everything opened up…. So what changed?
Well here’s one thing, though it’s just one. According to the announcers, in the 2nd half, they used more sets with both Harkey and Kendricks. Remember, Kendricks in a lot of respects and Harkey too to a lesser extent can line up all over the formation. So basically they switched to more power-oriented sets.
October 4, 2015 at 9:36 pm in reply to: Fisher post-game, 10-4… plus links to highlights (EXPANDED) #31729znModeratorHighlights: Rams at Cardinals (Week 4)
St. Louis posted a 24-22 victory over previously unbeaten Arizona on Sunday afternoon at the University of Phoenix Stadium.Highlights: Todd Gurley at Cardinals
Running back Todd Gurley rushed 19 times for 146 yards in his second NFL contest on Sunday afternoon at Arizona.Note: even though what follows is individual plays often included in the highlights above, give them all a watch, because in each case they also give you the slo-mo replay after the play too.
Nick Foles to Tavon Austin for a 12-Yard TD
Quarterback Nick Foles and wide receiver Tavon Austin connected on a 12-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It was the third score for Foles and second TD for Austin.Todd Gurley with a 52-Yard Rush
Running back Todd Gurley busted loose for a gain of 52 yards in the fourth quarter.Todd Gurley with a 23-Yard Rush
Running back Todd Gurley picked up 23 yards on a carry in the third quarter.Nick Foles to Stedman Bailey for an 18-Yard TD
Quarterback Nick Foles found wide receiver Stedman Bailey on an 18-yard touchdown toss in the third quarter. The play gave St. Louis a 17-9 advantage.Nick Foles to Tavon Austin for 47 Yards
Quarterback Nick Foles fired a 47-yard strike to wide receiver Tavon Austin in the second quarter. It set up St. Louis? second score.Janoris Jenkins with an Interception
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins intercepted his second pass of the season in the second quarter.Nick Foles to Tavon Austin for a 12-Yard TD
Quarterback Nick Foles and wide receiver Tavon Austin connected on a 12-yard touchdown pass to put St. Louis on the scoreboard in the first quarter.znModeratorTavon Austin, Todd Gurley spark Rams’ offense
Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/22084/tavon-austin-todd-gurley-spark-rams-offense
GLENDALE, Ariz. — A look at three St. Louis Rams players who were “up” and one who was “down” in Sunday’s 24-22 win against the Arizona Cardinals:
UP
CB Janoris Jenkins: After Arizona worked the short passing game for most of the first half, quarterback Carson Palmer finally took a deep shot midway through the second quarter. But Jenkins was ready. He ran step for step with wideout John Brown and made a leaping interception that he initially pinned against his helmet before hauling in. It’s the second week in a row with an interception for Jenkins, who also had five tackles and two pass breakups.
WR Tavon Austin: To the surprise of no one, the Rams’ offense couldn’t generate much for most of the day, especially in the first half. But Austin again flashed some of the game-changing ability that the Rams desperately need. He had a 12-yard touchdown catch for the team’s first score and a 47-yard grab set up the team’s first field goal. He finished with 96 yards on six catches and 20 yards on two carries with two touchdowns.
RB Todd Gurley: Hello, Gurley. The Rams’ rookie burst on the scene with 19 carries for 146 yards and had two catches for 15 more yards. In the process, he helped Austin rouse a slumbering offense and provided hope that he is exactly the spark the Rams need on offense moving forward.
DOWN
TE Jared Cook: Once again, Cook had a few costly drops and missed out on some opportunities to make key plays at important times. On one Rams drive late in the first half, quarterback Nick Foles floated a pass for him in the corner of the end zone. Covered by 5-foot-9 Arizona safety Tyrann Mathieu, the 6-5 Cook had it above Mathieu’s head but the safety knocked it away. It was a good play by Mathieu but also one that Cook should make given his size advantage. Cook’s maddening inconsistency continues and leaves one to wonder what he’ll have to do to have his snaps reduced.
znModeratorI thought Saffold stunk against Pitt. But maybe I just noticed a couple of bad plays. Does anyone know what PFF thought of his performance in that game.
i wonder where alec ogletree ranks.
They graded Saffold worse for his 1st 2 games. His grades were, in order, -3.2, =5.2, -0.4.
Ogletree has been graded as mediocre. He is 14h out of the 18 4/3 OLBs with 100 or more snaps.
znModeratorI thought Saffold stunk against Pitt. But maybe I just noticed a couple of bad plays. Does anyone know what PFF thought of his performance in that game.
The guy has had so many injuries and looks so bad this year that I am starting to wonder if those injuries have had some impact on his effectiveness.
I think missing most of the pre-season is what had the major effect on him. It’s the exact same thing, as I see it, that we saw early in 2014. A few OL players were not practicing and really, the first time they played together as a unit was game 1. They were out of sync and it showed.
PFF has a low grade on RS so far this season.
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