Zooey wrote:

zn wrote:
I don’t see this team as “bad.” I see it as astonishingly unlucky. For example, not every team has had a 2011 to cope with–and Football Outsiders said the 2011 offense was the single-most injured offense since 2002 (which is as far as they went back).

So not many teams have a 2011.

This one has had two, within 4 years.

That’s just freaking weird heavy bad, bad luck.

The effect is the same as “being bad.” But still.

It’s… the curse.

Okay, sure. That’s true. But they kinda sucked before the OL got all Dresdened yesterday.

They had an OL that was not together because it didn’t play together in camp because they were recovering. They were starting their 3rd qb. So injuries were already taking their toll, sometimes in indirect ways (like a buncha recovering linemen not playing together as a unit).

It is true that the defense kept making monumental mistakes of a kind only young players in a new system make.

But this team was not “bad” at the level of talent or coaching. That’s not what I saw, anyway. I saw the effects of cohesion issues and injuries on offense, and I saw the “McDaniel effect” of young players in a new system on defense.

They also dominated for stretches on both O and D.

Teams that meet that overall description improve.

Unless you injure them up beyond recognition.

Same as 2011. They didn’t adapt quickly to the McD system, and by the time they were starting to, the St. Louis Reaper came and left injury devastation behind him.

2011.

Tellin ya, it’s 2011.

All over again.

HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER

OPENING STATEMENT: “We clearly got out played the second half of this game, in all three phases. It probably started before half when we had the turnover, got sacked, got no points, and then gave up points so this team is going to have to learn to play consistent through 60 minutes. We started fast but we didn’t finish. Getting out played means we gave up the run, but we also gave up the high completion percentage against the defense, which we knew they had, and we gave up too many third downs, we were third in the league, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’re on our way to the west coast, and I’ll @#$%& our injury situations over the next 24 hours, we’re going to have some players that miss some time, but how much and whom, I don’t know but I’ll let you know in time.”

Jeff that kickoff return to start the third quarter, how deflating was it for the team and had you planned to kick the line drive? “It was a bad kick, Greg (Zuerlein) missed practice with the flu. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but he missed a field goal and it was a bad kick. We were trying to get a deep left kick and he just shanked it, and they got off to the run. I haven’t seen it on film, but usually when that happens you’re going to get potentially a hold or two, and it’s uncharacteristic of our cover team to not make that play. But that was it, that was a key play, and that’s what they needed in this game. And we didn’t get that.”

The sequence that you mentioned on the third down play, would you have wanted Austin (Davis) to have just thrown the ball? “Yep. Throw the ball, just throw it away. He saw the top rushers, and wanted to make the play, but he should have just thrown it out of the back of the end zone, get past the line of scrimmage. But still, that’s a makeable kick, that well into field goal range.”

Is a performance like this a little more demoralizing only because you beat a good team last week? “Well it’s disappointing, we had a great week, we had a short-lived bit of momentum, but we haven’t been able to put the two in a row together. I’ll credit the guys, we had some young people playing on defense, and the finish was tough when we had players go down just trying to put it together.”

How much did that handicap you especially at cornerback, especially with so many young guys back there? “We anticipated quick throws and a run game, and we got a lot more attempts in the first half than we expected, but if its working for them they are going to do it, and you know they did it. They knew that they couldn’t get Alex hit and they did a nice job of managing the game and taking it there. We missed some tackles in the open field that could have changed possessions, and we just had a handful of things happen.”

You had some roughness and some personal fouls, the Alec Ogletree one could be particularly damaging early on in the third quarter. “I have to look at the one on the sideline, I wouldn’t know. I don’t think they should have called the personal foul on E.J. (Gaines) with the quarterback, but you can’t take them feet first or head first, but you have to take a chance to get him down. But I didn’t see what happened with Ogletree, but he’s got to work on that, learn how to be a pro and keep fighting when things aren’t going good and just keep on doing his job. But we will get him straight.”

Out of 7.0 sacks did they give you any looks that you weren’t anticipating? “No, I think those were individual plays, they’d go out and rush us. And I told our guys this week they have inside push and outside speed and a good combination to get to the quarterback and they are built to do that. It’s not like you have to go out there and do a run defense when you’re down 24-7 you have to go and keep passing.”

Where do you think E.J. added any crutch to you? “I don’t know, I can’t comment until I see the tape. I mean they all played hard, we just didn’t get any plays. He had the ball in his hand, he tried to get up and run, so if he didn’t run the ball, maybe things would have been different there.”

How about the offense? After that great start, then you had trouble getting going. “We had a three and out, and we had the deep ball for the turnover and then they started running time of possession, and then we got the turnover. But we didn’t have momentum. When you haven’t gotten the carries and the reps then all of a sudden you get the ball on the nine-yard line, we just didn’t have the momentum at the time, but that’s no excuse we should still come away with some points. But we didn’t, so I’ll let you know on the injuries as soon as we know about them.”

QB AUSTIN DAVIS

Describe the heat and the pressure you took in this game: “It was definitely a factor in the ballgame. They did a really good job. We knew coming in they were going to get after the quarterback, so we tried to create a plan to get the ball out quick. I thought our offensive line fought extremely hard. Some guys went down and we were playing with backups. I thought those guys stepped in and did a good job. I’m proud of them and appreciate the way they fought.”

What do you think happened after the first drive? “It’s hard to say. They took some things away. When that happens, you have to find a way to get some momentum offensively, and we weren’t able to do that. My hat really goes off to them. They did a really good job and made a lot of really good plays, but it’s hard to say without watching film.”

Can you take us through the 2nd quarter drive when the defense got a takeaway and you started on the 8-yard-line, only to end the drive with a missed field goal? “That was a big point in the game. You get the big turnover. At a minimum you come away with three, but really you need to score a touchdown. I remember the third down play specifically; they did a good job of taking Lance (Kendricks) away down the middle and I had to move a little bit. I probably could have stayed in there a bit more and gotten Chris (Givens) on the back line. Then obviously on the last play, you have to throw it away. You’re even closer and it would have been more of a chip shot for Greg (Zuerlein), so I have to do a better job of throwing the football away and managing that situation. You get the field goal and everyone feels a little bit better. Those types of plays are critical in a close game as it was at that point.”

You had just scored a touchdown that way. Is that why you didn’t throw the ball away? “Yes. I was trying to make plays. I thought I could move around; you see a lot of big plays happen that way. It felt like we were tight enough that even if I did have a sack we would still have a manageable field goal. But, at the same time you can’t do that. That’s just me trying to do too much.”

It seems like the tight ends like Jared Cook were pretty quiet today. Did they take that away, somehow, schematically? “I think in every game you look at plays, and yes, they took some things away. But it probably wasn’t as gloved as it felt like. You get back there and start getting a little pressure and start moving a little bit. I will have to take a look at it and see what really happened. We have to move on and keep getting better.”

How disheartening is it that this game just kind of deteriorated? “It’s tough, but losing is losing and winning is winning and that’s really all that matters. You find a way to win. We have to let this one go just like we would a tight ball game. It hurts right now. We are a better team than we showed and we know that and we have to play that way.”

You were missing three offensive linemen and your most productive receiver, Brian Quick. How did that complicate things for you offensively? “I feel terrible for those guys. But you have new guys coming in that, like I said earlier, did a pretty good job. It’s hard to come in off the bench like that. It’s hard to come in cold. You start building with new guys, but that’s just part of football. That’s part of what we do, we expect that every week – for guys to come in and play and they’re professionals too. That’s what happens.”

Was the 99-yard kickoff return to start the 2nd half deflating for the team? “Of course. That’s a tough thing to get over, but it’s not anything that you can’t overcome. We’ve got to find a way offensively to answer that. That’s what we have to do. It’s no different than them going on a long drive and scoring. We still have to go out and answer and flip that momentum. That’s what we’re failing to do right now – take back the momentum once we lose it. We’ve got to figure out a way to do that.”

On the interception, what did you see or not see? “We were trying to take a shot. It felt like if we could get the corner to turn and run, with his back to me, that we could take a shot with WR Kenny Britt – a ton of speed. It felt like the safety was a little too far over the top. It’s a ball I would like to have back. It’s kind of like a long punt, but at the same time it’s a turnover and you don’t feel good about it. Offensively, we were kind of moving the football so that’s a ball I’d like to have back.”

CB E.J. GAINES

Did you always dream of playing at Arrowhead since you grew up so close? “I played in here a couple of times in college. Actually, I played one time in Pop Warner when I was about 10 years old. I’ve been here a couple of times. Playing at this level, in your home town, doesn’t get much better than that.”

Is it different playing here as a professional? “Oh yeah – everything about it is different. When you get to this level, it’s kind of surreal when you get out there playing against the Chiefs instead of playing against KU or something like that. Anytime that happens, it’s fun to get out here.”

This couldn’t have been how you envisioned it [playing in Arrowhead against the Chiefs]? “No, not at all. This is something we’ve got to go watch on film and fix our mistakes. We have to play better against San Francisco next week.”

When you got drafted in the sixth round, did you think you were going to start your first seven career games? “No I didn’t. But, I try to play at my highest level and whatever happens, happens – even if it was playing special teams or doing whatever I could to help out the football team. It didn’t matter. It just happened that I got the opportunity to start.”

Today, you matched your career high in tackles. Do you feel like your off to a good start? “I think I’m off to an okay start. I had a lot of mistakes out there being a rookie. But, my teammates pick me up. They understand that I’m young. With that being said, they still expect me to play like a vet and limit those mistakes.”

What is the difference between playing at Missouri and now in the NFL? “The speed of the game is so much different in the NFL. Everybody is that great football player that you might have in college. Coming in and knowing that, I would like to think of myself also as one of those great players. It’s just the competition level.”

You had a little bit of a rough drive late in the first quarter, beginning of the second quarter. You had the chance to recover the fumble, there were a couple of missed tackles, the illegal contact. Was that you that Travis Kelce put that move on? “Yeah. I had a couple of missed tackles. Those are the things I am saying I need to fix. Those are the plays I’ve got to make on defense.”

TE LANCE KENDRICKS

It looked like it was hard for you guys to get things going offensively. What happened out there? “We struggled up front early. They had a well-executed defense. We struggled all across the board. It was loud out there. We couldn’t get the signals out. We couldn’t get the personnel out. So, the game really wasn’t flowing for us as it may have for them. But, that’s on us. We’re professionals. We play ball too. We have to be ready for that type of stuff. I just don’t think we were ready for everything they threw at us.”

On the touchdown. “It was just a play we repped all week. They were overplaying the corner route I ran. I had an option to step back. They played the corner very well. I just stepped back and caught it in the open void for a touchdown.”

It’s got to be disheartening [this loss] because you’ve been in every game since the Minnesota game. “Exactly. We’ve either started fast or we finished fast in every game. Last week, we finally put one together. Coming in, we were thinking the same thing but we weren’t able to execute like we should have.”

Does that add to the frustration because last week you won? “Definitely. We felt like we matched up well against these guys. We have a great team, but it’s just the schematics – we didn’t put it together like we should have. We missed the opportunities that were there for us to score touchdowns.”

What’s it like when you see all of those guys go down with injuries? “It’s kind of scary. But, we’ve got to put the next man out there and just continue to play the game. The game is not going to stop for anybody. We’ve just got to keep playing and stay focused on task ahead.”

K GREG ZUERLEIN

What happened in the opening kickoff of the second half? Was it just a mishit? “I tried to kick it too hard and I hit it a little too high. That’s what happens. You can’t do that.”

How sick were you? Obviously, sick enough that they wanted to keep you away from practice. “It really doesn’t matter. No matter what the circumstances are, you still have to come out here, perform and do your job. There are no excuses for mishits or missing field goals or anything like that. How sick I was is really irrelevant.”

You’ve got 10 other guys out there to tackle him [Knile Davis]. You shouldn’t put it all on yourself. “Well, if I do my job, those other 10 guys don’t have to do theirs. That’s the way I look at it. I didn’t do my job, and I put them in a bad position by not getting any hang time or location that we normally have. So, that’s something I need to work on and go forward from there.”

InvaderRam wrote:

i missed the last quarter. how did barrett jones look filling in at center?

greg robinson at left tackle?

The whole offense was a train wreck at that point so it was hard to tell. For me it was anyway.

You know of course that Rams OLs have been eaten up with extensive injuries before.

But let’s assume that Jones and Robinson can play. Maybe full of young mistakes, but can still play.

You know–never in the multi-year history of Rams OL injuries have they had a Jones and a Robinson on the bench before.

This is different.

HOW different? Jeesh, I dunno.

My old formula was this–any OL has injury replacements, and so on. But if you have to replace as many as 3 guys including the OC and LOT, then teams just can’t play. The offense suffers.(I’ve been repeating that formula practically word for word for years now.)

But it may not be THAT level of bad if the depth at 2 key positions was your future anyway.

Ironically, though, I also remember the old Bulger debates. I don’t know if anyone here got into them, but back then, in 2007 and 2008, some of us kept saying that if the OL suffers massive injuries, the qb can’t play. On the old huddle, there were people who denied that. They put it all on Bulger. Today, some of the same people out on the net are claiming that the issue today was not Davis, it was the OL injuries. A complete about face.

And I agree, Davis suffered cause of the OL injuries. But then in 2007, so did Bulger. In the first half of 2012, so did Bradford.

I have even seen someone say this is the worst they have seen a Rams OL play. Well…no. It ranks right there with some of the worst OL games of 2007, 2008, and 2009 though.

PA Ram wrote:

So I guess Robinson takes over the LT duties now.

As for Long? I don’t know the cap issues with cutting him at this point. We’ll have to see.

I don;t know if Robinson moves to LOT, but if so, damm lucky thing he practiced there.

You can’t cut an injured player. Not like you’re thinking.

Lots of questions for this game. Same as the other games but in a new framework. Are they progressing or was Seattle one of those “every 21st game the Rams beat someone” games.

* can they play with a rookie secondary
* have they re-wired Ogletree
* this game ought to let the DL do some damage
* can they contain the edge or will Charles set a world’s record for yards per carry
* the Rams OL + Mason and the other backs could be a strong suit.
* who is Austin Davis
* can they neutralize the KC pass rush