http://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.

Week 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.

Fasten those seat belts: Rams heading into No Fly Zone

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/fasten-those-seat-belts-rams-heading-into-no-fly-zone/article_58f85f41-1da7-5849-923f-9ace540587dc.html

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.”

More focused Alec Ogletree piling up numbers for Rams defense

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21962/more-focused-alec-ogletree-piling-up-numbers-for-rams-defense

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.”

Failure to keep pace cost Rams against Steelers

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21902/failure-to-keep-pace-cost-rams-against-steelers

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.

Ten 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-2

Gurley 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.

from off the net

—

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.

Jeff Fisher’s Rams are Heading the Wrong Way

Bernie Miklasz

http://www.101sports.com/2015/09/28/jeff-fishers-rams-are-heading-the-wrong-way/

By now you’re familiar with the latest misadventures of the Futile Franchise.

The Rams contained the offensive mayhem created fast-paced Pittsburgh Steelers to 12 points, a good day’s work by any reasonable measure … and lost the game 12-6.

The Rams put Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger out of the competition and in search of crutches with a painful and unfortunate third-quarter knee injury … and still could not find a way to step over his fallen body to find a way to win the day.

The Rams trapped Big Ben and his backup Michael Vick for five sacks. They held the Steelers to 72 yards in the second half. Pittsburgh’s imposing ground game netted only 62 yards rushing, with franchise back Le’Veon Bell surrounded by men in blue, averaging only 3.3 yards per carry … and the Rams could not score enough to make it matter.

On the other side of the scrum, the Rams offense had only 12 first downs. They converted only two of 12 third-down plays. The roll-out debut of running back Todd Gurley did not lead them to the end zone. Gurley, the No. 1 draft choice, joined Tre Mason and Benny Cunningham in the impossible task of making it through the Steelers’ defensive blockade. The Rams’ three running backs were forced to scrounge for 37 yards on 16 carries.

In the first three games Rams’ backs have 42 rushing attempts for 111 yards, an scant average of 2.6 yards per run.

Where have you gone, June Henley?

You want to prevent Rams owner Stan Kroenke from running to Los Angeles? Easy: just put him behind this massive but passive Rams’ offensive line stocked with carefully scouted, hand-picked draft choices. And The Kronk won’t be able to go anywhere.

In a close game, with Big Ben felled and the triumph there for the snatching, Rams quarterback Nick Foles completed four of nine passes for 34 yards and one first down in the fourth quarter. The fourth-quarter misfires included a terrible decision to release a throw that became a fluttering, sailing, paper-airplane interception. And you think Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal made a bad pitch down the street at Busch Stadium? Foles’ fourth-quarter passer rating: 15.3.

Rams receivers dropped so many passes, they might as well have used oven mitts as part of their gear.

There was a pregame fire on a patch of the plastic field before the game … and if you think I’m going to write a lame joke about how the Rams might want to think about saving the fireworks for their offense — well, you’ve come to the wrong comedy club. I don’t have anything clever to say.

But I do have questions that are bugging me, so let’s get to the stinking point:

Jeff Fisher, shouldn’t you be winning games by now?

Coach Fisher, shouldn’t you have an offense that’s more evolved and in synch with 2015?

The primitive version of the NFL legalized the forward pass in 1906, so haven’t you had plenty of time to figure this out?

Coach, you came to St. Louis with a reputation for having tough teams, and an offense that would maul the opposition’s defensive fronts to win the bloody skirmishes in the pit to pile up the rushing yards.

So why can’t your team run the football?

Isn’t that your speciality?

This is Fisher’s fourth season as coach. Along with GM Les Snead, Fisher has had the benefit of four drafts, considerable free-agent dollars, and trades to build a decent offense.

Fisher-Snead have invested 21 draft choices in their offense. The count, by position: nine offensive linemen (including four tackles), five running backs, five wide receivers, and two quarterbacks.

By now the Rams should have an offense that, at minimum, is ruggedly effective. An offense that can road grade a defense. An offense capable of cultivating an efficient if unimaginative passing game.

The Rams made the gigantic trade with Washington in 2012, bartering the draft rights to quarterback Robert Griffin III for a collection of premium draft choices. But the whopper of a deal did not produce a single player that’s bringing the Fisher offense out of the Stone Age.

And Fisher and Snead made a trade for Foles, their coveted quarterback. Time will tell on that one, but Foles’ last two performances didn’t come close to matching his opening-day slinging against Seattle.

When offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer left the Rams and the NFL after the 2014 season to run the offense for Mark Richt at the University of Georgia, Fisher had a chance to go outside the organization and recruit a creative mind to pull this offense out of the ditch. Instead, Fisher promoted within. Granted, it’s early but Frank Cignetti makes Schotty look like Mike Martz by comparison.

But the shot at Cignetti misses the point.

As I’ve written and said many times: this is the Jeff Fisher offense, and will remain the Jeff Fisher offense as long as Jeff Fisher is the Rams’ head coach. Blaming the offensive coordinator for the Rams’ miserable offense would be like faulting the ship’s orchestra for the sinking of the Titanic.

This is Fisher’s 20th season as an NFL head coach.

For now, we’ll just review the first 19 seasons — even though the 20th season is looking rather familiar.

In the annual league rankings for points scored from scrimmage by an offense, Fisher’s first 19 teams finished in the top 10 only three times and haven’t been better than 12th over the past 10 seasons.

Using the same measure — points by the offense, and not defense or special teams — Fisher’s offense has scored more than the league average only nine times in 19 seasons … and only three times over the past nine seasons.

I went back and looked at the average offensive-points totals of teams that made the playoffs during Fisher’s first 19 seasons.

Fisher’s offenses have matched or exceeded the playoff-caliber average for a particular season only three times out of 19. And it hasn’t happened for 10 consecutive seasons, through 2014. (And only once over the past 14 seasons.)

So for the love of Don Coryell, how in the world does this coach — or the team’s detached owner — expect to put together a playoff-level team with an offense that’s so chronically behind the modern standard for points scored?

We should view all of these Rams’ running plays that get stuffed as something of a metaphor; the failure represents Fisher’s insistence on repeatedly slamming into a big and impenetrable wall and expecting it to crumble when there’s little or no chance of breaking through.

This is an example of hard-headedness in the worst way: sticking with a preferred style that does not work — but stubbornly refusing to change.

In Fisher’s first three seasons the Rams ranked (in order), 28th, 22nd, and 23rd in points from scrimmage on offense.

Three games into the 2015 schedule, the Rams are sinking even lower.

They’ve scored only 43 points on offense. Ugh. And that’s the fewest in the league.

Four teams have more than doubled the Rams’ 43-point output. Eight offenses have put up 70+ points so far. And 14 teams have 60+ points on offense, with Green Bay almost certainly raising that count to 15 pending, and the Chiefs needing 16 points tonight to make it 16 teams with 60 or more.

After defeating Seattle in the first game, the Rams scored one touchdown an 16 total points in losses to Washington and Pittsburgh. In the two losses they converted only 4 of 22 third-down plays … and we can make that 4 of 25 if we include three failures on fourth down. The Rams have only 23 first downs in their last two games — the lowest two-game total during Fishers’s four seasons here.

The Rams are going the wrong way.

There’s no excuse for this.

Not in the fourth year of a program.

Not after using 21 draft picks to stock the offense — with 10 prospects chosen in the first three rounds, and 11 going among the first 100 players selected overall in their draft class.

Not after making WR Tavon Austin the 8th overall pick in 2013, and left offensive tackle Greg Robinson the No. 2 overall selection in 2014. (Gurley, the No. 10 overall choice in 2015, obviously gets a pass in this accounting. He just appeared in his first game.)

Not after using the 33rd overall pick in 2012 on WR Brian Quick, who hasn’t been put on the game-day roster in the first three weeks of the ’15 season. Not after using the No. 50 overall pick in ’12 on spare-part running back Isaiah Pead.

Not after lavishing free-agent dollars on offensive pieces such as tight end Jared Cook, center Scott Wells, wide receiver Kenny Britt, and offensive tackle Jake Long. (Among others.)

Not after trading for Foles.

The Rams are going the wrong way.

In Fisher’s first two seasons in St. Louis: 14 wins, 17 losses, a tie for a .453 winning percentage.

In Fisher’s last two seasons (19 games): 7 wins, 12 losses and a .368 winning percentage.

The Rams, 1-2, are staring at the distinct possibility of a 1-4 record. Their next two games will send them to Arizona, and then to Green Bay.

Going back to last season, the Rams are 1-5 in their last six games, and that could be 1-7 two weeks from now.

I ask this sincerely: is there any legitimate reason to believe Coach Fisher is capable of significant change, and can reverse so many ominous trends that have him wallowing with a .428 winning percentage in his last seven seasons as an NFL head coach?

I liked his hiring before the 2012 season. I liked the team’s immediate improvement under Fisher with that 7-8-1 record in his first season here. But even though progress has been made in refurbishing the roster, the coaching is another story. I don’t believe Fisher can adapt. I hoped that he could, but I no longer see a reason to have the same optimism I felt when he too over.

Any talk of firing Fisher is irrelevant. Kroenke won’t do that. Not when he still has Fisher under contract (at $7 million) in 2016. And not when there’s still a chance of the Rams moving to Los Angeles.

A substantial part of Fisher’s appeal to Kroenke is obvious: Fisher has experience in coaching a relocating team, having been in charge when the late Bud Adams moved his Houston Oilers to Tennessee to become the Titans in 1997.

As crazy as it sounds, Jeff Fisher has as much job security as New England head coach Bill Belichick.

Lance Kendricks’ big drop key in Rams’ loss

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21829/lance-kendricks-big-drop-key-in-rams-loss

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Rams needed just one big play from their offense to knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon. That play was there, floating through the air and into the hands of wide-open tight end Lance Kendricks, who was running down the left sideline with little more than 12 minutes to go in the third quarter.

It was a play eerily reminiscent of the game-tying touchdown Kendricks caught in that same area in Week 1 against Seattle. It could have turned the game and given the Rams a lead. But Kendricks failed to catch it. The ball bounced off his chest and fell harmlessly to the ground. The Rams went on to lose 12-6 to the Steelers at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Rams’ offense isn’t good enough to lean exclusively on big plays, nor is it consistent enough to run the ball with the frequency they’ve often discussed. So when big-play opportunities arise, they simply aren’t in position to miss on those chances. The margin for error is too small, as Kendricks’ drop proved once again.

What it means: At 1-2, the Rams find themselves in a precarious position just three weeks into the season. It was no secret that the defense would have to carry the freight early, but without much help from the offense, it has been too big of a task for them to handle so far. The Rams now hit the road for the next two weeks to play NFC powers Arizona and Green Bay in back-to-back weeks. While Jeff Fisher’s Rams can spring a surprise on anyone, a 1-4 start seems well within the realm of possibility.

What were they thinking? All week, the Rams talked about the need to be better on third down and sustain drives. Then they went out and failed to convert time and again. They finished 2-of-10 on third-down situations and, most maddeningly, often threw passes short of the sticks in hopes that they could break tackles and move the chains. More often than not, they didn’t.

One reason to get excited: The Rams took a big step forward against the run after Washington trampled them to the tune of 182 rushing yards last week. Pittsburgh mustered just 2.8 yards per carry on 22 runs. Stopping the run allows the Rams’ ferocious pass rush to do what it does best, and it did with five sacks.

Fantasy watch: With 13 minutes left in the second quarter, rookie running back Todd Gurley played his first NFL snap. He went for a 2-yard gain. Rushing yards are hard to come by on this team, and Gurley only managed 9 yards on six carries for the day, adding a catch for 5 more yards. Not that Tre Mason or Benny Cunningham had much more success. The Rams finished with just 71 yards on 18 carries. Until the Rams’ run blocking improves, it probably doesn’t matter who is playing running back.

Rams notes: Offensive fireworks limited to pregame introductions

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-notes-offensive-fireworks-limited-to-pregame-introductions/article_ba89a6bf-4f2b-5a12-98e1-1cf8473fbcac.html

Unfortunately for the Rams, the day’s only offensive fireworks came during pregame introductions.

As is usually the case, the lights were dimmed in the Edward Jones Dome as the Rams’ offensive starters were announced and came running out of the tunnel onto the field one by one as their names were called by public address announcer Andy Banker.

As part of this display, fireworks are shot off a few feet in the air in the corner of the end zone where the players come out. Only this time, sparks from the display caused part of the artificial surface to catch fire briefly.

The Rams said in a statement that a pyrotechnic cart malfunction resulted in the fire. It was quickly extinguished. Nonetheless, the start of the game was delayed 28 minutes beyond the scheduled noon kickoff.

“The most important thing that we did was we had our doctor, our team physician, come over and identify the ingredients on the fire extinguisher, and there were toxins in there,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “It was toxic and it was powder, and so we had to get that up because it could create irritations for the eye.”

That cleaning process took a while, so both teams went back to their respective locker rooms. They came out later, stretched and warmed up for a few minutes, and then the game finally got underway.

“I thought it was handled properly,” said Fisher, who met with Pittsburgh counterpart Mike Tomlin right away to discuss the situation. “That’s not in the rulebook for the officials, but we talked about it. I thought the league handled everything very well from an officiating standpoint.”

Quarterback Nick Foles said he’d never experienced a delayed start like that one, and he probably wasn’t alone in that assessment.

“But our strength coaches and Coach Fisher did a great job of getting us in the locker room, getting us ready,” Foles said. “Guys do their thing before we go out and just sort of activate everything again.”

CROWD NOISE

There were 52,433 tickets distributed for Sunday’s Rams-Steelers contest. Of the maybe 50,000 fans actually in the stands, about 20,000 were loud, energetic Steelers fans waving those familiar Terrible Towels.

Things got so loud that the Rams’ offensive unit had to go to a silent count when it got in the red zone. While commonplace on the road, going to a silent count at home is very rare.

But Steelers fans do travel well, and their presence was magnified as Rams fans continue to stay away from the Dome, partly in protest of owner Stan Kroenke’s plans to move the team to Los Angeles.

“When we were in a red zone situation, it was getting pretty loud,” Foles said. “They travel well. It’s a historic franchise. Everybody knows about their fans. You could probably go all around the world and there’s Steelers fans.

“But our fans were loud, too, throughout the day so it was evenly matched. I’m thankful for our fans coming out as well.”

All in all, it was more like a bowl game atmosphere with noise coming from both sets of fans depending on what was happening on the field.

“It’s definitely a weird dynamic,” Foles said. “It’s something you deal with through the course of the game and it’s just part of it.”

TACKLING RECORD

Linebacker James Laurinaitis became the Rams’ career tackling leader Sunday. Unofficial press box stats had him with eight tackles. He needed just two to surpass Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen’s previous Rams record of 915, so Laurinaitis will have several more than 915 following the coaches’ review of game film Monday.

Laurinaitis’ feat was mentioned during a timeout, and a brief video tribute was shown on the Dome scoreboards.

“I’ve been blessed by the Lord to be healthy for seven years,” said Laurinaitis, who made his 99th consecutive start Sunday. “I’ve been humbled that the Rams have believed in me for seven years. And I really just play my heart out every week trying to make those that know me, and my teammates, and everybody proud.

“I just wish we could’ve won this one.”