Rodrigue: Rams must sort through their own chaos if they want a sustainable postseason

https://theathletic.com/3059842/2022/01/10/rodrigue-rams-must-sort-through-their-own-chaos-if-they-want-a-sustainable-postseason/?source=emp_shared_article

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Ahead of a postseason that will probably ultimately be kindest to teams who display the most consistency, it was ominous indeed to see all of the Rams’ varied personalities on display on Sunday afternoon, in a gut-punching 27-24 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Sure, they won the NFC West — because the Seahawks beat the Cardinals as the Rams fell in overtime just hours (and what felt like several lifetimes) after a lead that, early in the game, felt solid beneath their feet. The 70,000-square foot video board blared the Rams’ division win in attempted celebration, but it almost felt mocking in its largeness and brightness as Rams players left the field and fumed into the locker room following a sixth straight loss to a team who they had, truly had, in the first half.

“No,” answered cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who secured an interception late in the game that felt for a moment as if it would turn the tide after a third-quarter implosion, when a reporter asked if the NFC West crown was a silver lining amid all the you-know-what. During his two-minute, 35-second appearance at the podium following the loss, Sean McVay concurred with Ramsey.

“In the moment right now, this is a tough feeling,” McVay said. “I don’t know that right now is a time to celebrate that. We’ll look at this film, we’ll clean it up and we’ll move forward the right way. This is a resilient group.”

The road is now tougher.

Now, as the No. 4 seed, they’ll see the Cardinals (1-1 season split) for a third time on Monday night at 5:15 p.m. PT. Ugh, an NFC West team again, after all of this, plus a road that goes through Green Bay only gets tougher from there. A blown 17-point lead held in the first half — which, to add more insult, snapped McVay’s 45-0 streak with a halftime lead — meant watching this group shriek back and forth, up and down between all of the things it can do, all of the things it should do and all of the ways it just can’t seem to help itself. For a team that demonstrated remarkable resilience through chaos that was out of its control earlier in December, the Rams have also made it clear that they can trend all too easily toward the self-inflicted chaos, too.

In the first half, the Rams could do little wrong. Sure, they only scored three points on their opening drive, but it took 8:53 off the clock and they followed it up with a stout defensive series that kept the Jimmy Garoppolo-led 49ers well away from midfield. The Rams offense then added another touchdown, a really slick play call that set up the extra offensive linemen set (in this case Joe Noteboom and Coleman Shelton) that brought them success in the run game in December, but this time, quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a pass over the top to tight end Tyler Higbee (who’d score once more before the end of the first half, which prompted McVay to burst into the end zone from the sideline to celebrate with him). The Rams weren’t running the ball explosively (just 14 net rushing yards, which factor in negative plays) by halftime, but they were doing enough to keep the ball well away from San Francisco and the clock running with drives of 13 and 12 plays to open the game. Defensively, they were setting up long or manageable second or third downs and getting off the field quickly. The time of possession skewed heavily in the Rams’ favor by halftime, 19:53 to 10:07. The Rams ran 33 plays to the 49ers’ 19.

But flashes of the “other” Rams began to force cracks into the smoothness, started to slither through. McVay, who admitted postgame that the 49ers “got after us a little bit,” opted for an empty set on third-and-1, just a few plays after safety Taylor Rapp picked off Garappolo and thus held San Francisco out of scoring position, and the Rams had an opportunity to hammer in a scoring drive in two-minute in the second quarter. Stafford, who opened the game 15-of-16 for 153 yards and two touchdowns, was sacked for a loss on that play as his protection folded and the Rams punted. The 49ers hit two explosive plays (one a pass, the other a catch-and-run) on the other side and were able to avoid a first-half shutout with a field goal.

A defense that had racked up two sacks, five tackles-for-loss and had a takeaway in the first half pivoted toward the extreme in the third quarter.

Pitch plays designed to scheme ball carriers away from the Rams’ formidable first defensive tier, and force the second and third levels to tackle, started working. It was a cruel homage to the bullying of the Rams’ shallow inside linebacking corps of the first matchup, but just adjusted in a way that took some pressure off Garoppolo’s injured hand instead of asking him to pick at that position group via quick throw. The 49ers began to dice away on the ground, punch by punch by punch between the pitches and traditional runs, and their downs and distances that were suffocated by the Rams defense in the first half became much more manageable. A Rams defense that allowed 10 net rushing yards in the first half ultimately gave up 135. San Francisco scored 17 unanswered points as the Rams reeled in juxtaposition against their first-half selves, even falling for a trick play touchdown pass thrown by thorn-in-their-side all-purpose player Deebo Samuel.

And on the other side of the ball, the Rams stalled. Cooper Kupp, who finished the game in historic fashion as the Triple Crown winner (the NFL’s single-season leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns), didn’t get a target in the third quarter. After the game became tied with 1:53 left in the third quarter, Stafford was sacked on first down for a loss of six yards. Then he missed a safety-valve pass to running back Sony Michel on second-and-16, then he was intercepted on a deep shot — an arm-punt, sure, and many can justify it as such, but a wasted drive all the same when drives could not be wasted.

In the fourth quarter, that other Rams personality (the one who started the game) fought back against its sloppier self. Ramsey, who took command of the defensive signal-calling mid-series after starting safety and team captain Jordan Fuller left the game with an ankle injury, had an incredible, acrobatic interception of Garoppolo inside the red zone. The Rams went 92 yards in the other direction on a drive that featured plenty of Kupp (he had catches of 18 and 30 yards, plus a touchdown), and the only truly explosive run play of the game, a hard-earned 14 yards by Michel.

The Rams defense forced a three-and-out on the following San Francisco drive, with help via a third-and-long sack by Von Miller for a 9-yard loss. But then the Rams, who finished the game with 64 net rushing yards, ran the ball on three consecutive plays — an apparent effort by McVay to threaten the clock by keeping the ball on the ground and force the 49ers to use all of their timeouts inside the two-minute warning.

But what is the difference between calculated patience and overthought conservatism? For McVay, it was in all of one down of his choosing — it could have been on any of the first, second or third downs on which he instead ran the ball, on the other side of the final two-minute warning and with a seven-point lead — where he could have passed or called a catch-and-run designed play to try to get past the sticks and still kill some time. But after two failed run plays (are those the only way to kill a clock?) on third-and-7, Michel’s run gained two yards and the Rams punted at their 45-yard line, re-applying the pressure back on a defense that had just lost its surest safety and signal-caller (and in fact finished the game with reserves Nick Scott and Terrell Burgess, as Rapp appeared to suffer an injury that was not addressed postgame). It’s easy to be an armchair quarterback, sure, but couldn’t the Rams have gone for the jugular — a conversion — instead of opting for a full sequence of plays that had been among their most inefficient to that point? And what’s the point, if it’s all just to punt?

“Not to my knowledge,” said Stafford postgame, on whether there was any discussion of throwing the ball on that specific third down. “We’ve got a really good defense, we trust those guys. San Fran did a nice job of driving down and scoring, there’s no question. They made the plays there. … Wish we could have gotten the first down there and kneeled it out, absolutely. As a competitor, as an offensive player, you want to have that opportunity. There’s no better play in football than taking a knee with the win. But we didn’t get that opportunity, we didn’t earn that opportunity.”

Added Kupp, “We have to do a better job finishing. The situation on offense, where we have the ball on the field and we get a first down, we can really put it away. We don’t do a good enough job, and obviously we give the 49ers another chance with the ball. … I think there’s some execution stuff just during the course of the game that, certainly, you want to try to get out of those lulls. Every football game is going to have them, the ebbs and flows of the game (and) you hit those valleys — but how quickly can you pull yourself out of it, find a way to get yourself a first down, move the ball down the field? We have to do a better job of clicking out of those things a little bit better, a little faster.”

Of course, you know the rest. San Francisco capitalized on all of the Rams’ chaos they had invited to swirl around themselves, in the gaps forced wide by inconsistency and mistakes. Garoppolo hit Brandon Aiyuk on another catch-and-run that pinballed would-be Rams tacklers (again). Then he hit Samuel on a 43-yarder, then Jauan Jennings for a 14-yard score over a middle portion of the field that we’ve often seen occupied by Fuller, with 1:01 left in regulation.

In overtime, 49ers kicker Robbie Gould chipped in a 24-yard field goal. Stafford’s three overtime-opening incompletions drew a bit of luck, via a pass-interference penalty that incensed the too-loud, too-populated road crowd that had also forced the Rams to go to a silent count on a few occasions in their own stadium. Stafford threw an interception on a deep shot to Odell Beckham Jr. on first down with time on the clock, just a couple of plays later. A bit of positive progress glimmered, only to see chaos flood back in return. This time, it got the last word.

“I just left it short,” said Stafford. But that’s a ball to Beckham, and a play call, that has in truth led to an interception more frequently than not over the past eight weeks as a quarterback and a still-new receiver have tried to sort out their timing, so it at best remains a puzzling decision in that moment. Over-thinking by the play caller and under-throwing by the quarterback is not a recipe for long-term success in the postseason. And while the Rams have shown remarkable resilience in key points of this season — and that’s certainly a part of why they’ve clinched the NFC West, a feat not to be sneered at — there comes a point when the chaos is too much to overcome, particularly the kind that sends this team fluctuating between championship-caliber play and flatline. The stakes have never been higher in the Rams’ season-long search for consistency.

After the game, Kupp took the podium and had just begun speaking when alarms began to blare throughout the stadium, signaling an “emergency situation” that ultimately was explained away as a false alarm. For a few minutes, though, as the speakers echoed and shrilled and chaos ensued on the stadium’s ground level, and inside the press room, Kupp tried to talk under the noise and finish out the questioning as evenly as he could, considering the cacophony around him.

The Rams may not have triggered that particular alarm themselves, but the red lights and bells are flashing around them as they walk to the precipice of the postseason.

It’s time they collect themselves — all of their selves.

S Jordan Fuller to miss rest of season with ankle injury.

Updates on CB Darious Williams, S Taylor Rapp + more. ⤵️

— xz – Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 11, 2022

The Rams blew a big lead to the 49ers and even had a 99.6% chance to win late in the fourth. https://t.co/bsGE5TYHiS

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) January 10, 2022

Zooey wrote:

Hram wrote:

If you are going to throw on 3rd down at the end of the half, why the heck wouldn’t you run play action instead of empty set.

That was a very weird call. I hated it before the snap, and sounds like everyone else did, too.

InvaderRam wrote:

yeah. it was stupid.

and then the defensive collapse at the end was disappointing.

After the 2nd half SF resurgence, the announcers identified that play as the turning point.

I agree with everyone on this one.

The thing about McV I always wonder about is his tactical, in-game, in-the-moment instincts. I wonder if he has a “feel” for “in the moment” game situations.

But then to be fair, the 4th down TD where they faked a run and threw over the defense was brilliant.

The bad playcalls though are just as baffling as the great plays are brilliant.

Lions won, though Packers losing makes no difference in the playoff seeding.

Recappin' the week before our regular-season finale. ⤵️

— x – Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 8, 2022

How have the @RamsNFL set @CooperKupp up for success?
@criscarter80 has a few plays he wants to break down and show you. pic.twitter.com/FeRhN1zvVU

— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) January 7, 2022

Nick Wagoner@nwagoner
#49ers TE George Kittle on the importance of being the more physical team Sunday against Rams: “I think it’s going to definitely show up this Sunday about who is the more physical team and it’s going to be kind of a bodybag game is my opinion.”

Greg Beacham@gregbeacham
Rams RB Cam Akers was a full participant in practice for the 2nd straight day. S Nick Scott, who has a broken thumb, was the only player who was limited.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Wow, Greg Gaines just told a few of us on a Zoom call that he had a plate and 8 screws put in his hand last week, before playing in Sunday’s game. Had a couple run stops and a big combined TFL. Says he’s still good to go this week.

Torry Holt has some “Big Games” against the 49ers. During the stretch of 2003-2005, Holt recorded 740 receiving yards, 4 TDs, and four plays of 40+ yards. With 3 different Quarterbacks mind you. #Holt4HOF #GoVoteTorry pic.twitter.com/Vdy2WlIVQD

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) January 6, 2022

Brian Tyler Cohen@NoLieWithBTC
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried just held an emergency press conference exposing a secret stockpile of 1 million COVID tests that Ron DeSantis didn’t distribute, let expire, and then attempted to cover up when she called him out for it.