101 ESPN- Rams vs Cowboys: Shane's Sound Off on the St. Lous Loss

[ShaneG]

(Hope you all enjoy the analysis, consisting of my Big Picture Point, Offensive Observations, Defensive Declarations, Special Teams Talk and Coaching Chatter. Full read via link below preview. Thanks for the support as always, ROD!!):

Rams vs. Cowboys: Sound Off from the St. Louis Loss
Big Picture Point:

*Particularly after going up 21-0 in the first half, the St. Louis Rams absolutely had to find a way to pull out a victory at home against a mediocre Dallas Cowboys team that featured a very marginal defense.

Alas, the Rams gave away a heartbreaking 34-31 should-have-been win and fell to 1-2 on the season heading into the bye week.

When considering the aforementioned early lead and the fact that St. Louis faces an imposing upcoming schedule that includes three consecutive matchups on the road, four of six games away from home and four of six within the rugged NFC West, this loss was all the more damaging to the Rams’ long-term 2014 hopes.

Offensive Observations:

Austin Davis

*Quarterback Austin Davis – 30 of 42 (71 percent) with three touchdowns, two interceptions and a rating of 98.0 – led the Rams’ offense to a very productive day, one that included an impressive game-opening drive that ate up nearly nine minutes of the clock and resulted in a touchdown. He also managed to spread the wealth, completing passes to eight different targets.

Davis’ only glaring mistake was his fourth-quarter pick six to Cowboys linebacker Bruce Carter. Outside of that, Davis impressed for a second consecutive week.

In fact, Davis looked like more of a potential long-term answer at quarterback than he did previously due to the fact that he showed both a willingness and ability to successfully go deep on several instances, displaying both the arm strength and touch to go over the top fortuitously in this league.

Obviously, Davis can be productive in a short-passing attack, but teams were going to eventually collapse around the line of scrimmage if the Rams didn’t open it up more than they did against Tampa Bay. This week, Davis showed he can get it done both underneath and down field, and that bodes well for the St. Louis passing attack going forward.

(Please click below for much more on the offense, defense, special teams, and coaching):
http://www.101sports.com/2014/09/22/rams-vs-cowboys-sound-st-louis-loss/

 

[ChrisW]

Thanks for the observations, Shane.

I agree that the botched snap by Wells killed the little momentum we had left after the 2 runs by Murray combined with the bad roughing the passer call. What do you think about letting Barnes get a start?

OT: Saw your tweets to Mayor Slay after his stadium funding tweet. Glad to see you in there mixing things up and asking the right questions in that situation.

 

[OldRock]

Thanks Shane. Just wish there was more about the secondary play. Can they back up the front seven to give them time? Takes two to party.

 

[Prime Time]

Thanks as always Shane for sharing your articles here at ROD.

In fact, Davis looked like more of a potential long-term answer at quarterback than he did previously due to the fact that he showed both a willingness and ability to successfully go deep on several instances, displaying both the arm strength and touch to go over the top fortuitously in this league.

I love this kid and totally agree. All he needs is game experience. He's only 25 and deserves a chance to be the long-term answer at QB with the Rams or with another NFL team.

As for Cook, if dropping the previously mentioned pass for six was not enough, he made matters worse for himself and his teammates by shoving his quarterback on the sidelines following the drop of an easy reception. Coincidently or not, the very next play from scrimmage resulted in an INT from the Rams’ young and inexperienced starter.

Nah, I don't think it's a coincidence that a young QB gets rattled after an incident like that and is unable to shake it off by the very next play. A boneheaded, immature move by Cook.

 

[Alan]

Hit all the important parts again @ShaneG .

This caught my eye because of our earlier conversation: "Schottenheimer even used a halfback screen pass – to the shock and delight of many – which resulted in a tidy 17-yard gain.". Schotty must be reading our stuff again. Did you get a chance to look at Schott's history of throwing screens?

As usual, thanks for posting here.

 

[RamzFanz]

Thanks Shane!

You should go back and look at that 68 yard pass to DB. Yes, it was blown coverage but a Rams defender, maybe Donald, broke through the center of the line and was headed straight for Romo. The O lineman grabbed him by the facemask, twirled him around and pulled him to the ground. How the heck did they miss that right in front of the QB?!

Also, I agree Schotty called a pretty good game but the slow march down the field, with 6 minutes left, no attempt to stop the clock, while down by 2 scores had me screaming though. I get that AD probably isn't up to a two minute drill but can't they throw to the sideline or at least not run it up the middle?!

In the end though, I'm not down at all about the game. They fought hard and put up big numbers. They were one of a half dozen bad calls away from winning. They have a lot of time to prepare for Eagles and I like their chances a lot more after this game.

Oh, any idea why no Bailey?! If it's me, I'm playing Bailey over anyone but Quick. That end around by Cook should have been Bailey IMHO.

 

[ShaneG]

Thanks for the observations, Shane.

You are welcome, Chris.

I agree that the botched snap by Wells killed the little momentum we had left after the 2 runs by Murray combined with the bad roughing the passer call. What do you think about letting Barnes get a start?

OT: Saw your tweets to Mayor Slay after his stadium funding tweet. Glad to see you in there mixing things up and asking the right questions in that situation.

If Wells does not begin playing up to expectations -- and very soon -- I think a move makes sense. Those kind of unforced errors are killers and should not be occurring. That six point swing ultimately ended up being enough to be the difference between a win and a loss with the final score just being a three point differential.

As for the tweets to the mayor and Gov. Nixon, I appreciate the comment and support. On that note, I am going to be putting out an article very soon in that regard, encouraging the masses to contact the powers-that-be regarding the aforementioned stadium situation.

Take care, Chris.

 

[ShaneG]

Thanks Shane. Just wish there was more about the secondary play. Can they back up the front seven to give them time? Takes two to party.

You are welcome.

As for the secondary, I should have discussed the defensive backfield in the column. I will plan to cover that area in the next game review, however. It would certainly hope the back end of the D if the front seven would start generating the pressure that nearly everyone expected them to. It's tough enough to cover NFL wide receivers when there is pressure being applied, but it's almost impossible when the pass rush isn't consistent.

 

[ShaneG]

Thanks as always Shane for sharing your articles here at ROD.

In fact, Davis looked like more of a potential long-term answer at quarterback than he did previously due to the fact that he showed both a willingness and ability to successfully go deep on several instances, displaying both the arm strength and touch to go over the top fortuitously in this league.

I love this kid and totally agree. All he needs is game experience. He's only 25 and deserves a chance to be the long-term answer at QB with the Rams or with another NFL team.

As for Cook, if dropping the previously mentioned pass for six was not enough, he made matters worse for himself and his teammates by shoving his quarterback on the sidelines following the drop of an easy reception. Coincidently or not, the very next play from scrimmage resulted in an INT from the Rams’ young and inexperienced starter.

Nah, I don't think it's a coincidence that a young QB gets rattled after an incident like that and is unable to shake it off by the very next play. A boneheaded, immature move by Cook.

You are very welcome, Prime Time. This is my favorite Rams board and I love the interaction here.

As for Davis, I can't see any reason that he should not continue to start. He's doing a fabulous job. Changing that up now would make no sense to me.

Glad to hear your feedback on the Cook incident. I can see we were on the same page there. Please note, Cook is a terrific guy. He simply lost his cool. Not excusing his behavior, but wanted to share that for what it is worth. He is also as active in charity as anyone on the squad.

 

[ShaneG]

Hit all the important parts again @ShaneG .

This caught my eye because of our earlier conversation: "Schottenheimer even used a halfback screen pass – to the shock and delight of many – which resulted in a tidy 17-yard gain.". Schotty must be reading our stuff again. Did you get a chance to look at Schott's history of throwing screens?

As usual, thanks for posting here.

You are welcome, Alan. Yes, it was great to see the screen -- finally!!!!

I have not checked into that.. thanks for the reminder.

 

[ShaneG]

Thanks Shane!

You should go back and look at that 68 yard pass to DB. Yes, it was blown coverage but a Rams defender, maybe Donald, broke through the center of the line and was headed straight for Romo. The O lineman grabbed him by the facemask, twirled him around and pulled him to the ground. How the heck did they miss that right in front of the QB?!

Also, I agree Schotty called a pretty good game but the slow march down the field, with 6 minutes left, no attempt to stop the clock, while down by 2 scores had me screaming though. I get that AD probably isn't up to a two minute drill but can't they throw to the sideline or at least not run it up the middle?!

In the end though, I'm not down at all about the game. They fought hard and put up big numbers. They were one of a half dozen bad calls away from winning. They have a lot of time to prepare for Eagles and I like their chances a lot more after this game.

Oh, any idea why no Bailey?! If it's me, I'm playing Bailey over anyone but Quick. That end around by Cook should have been Bailey IMHO.

Great point... Fisher said there were double digit holds by the Cowboys that were not called. No doubt, this was one of them (and a very costly one at that).

I wish I shared your positive outlook, but I am very down about this game. You just CANNOT lose a home game to any opponent after going up 21-0 -- and you REALLY CAN'T drop one when it's such a mediocre opponent.

Hopefully the Rams can come out after the bye and shock the Eagles and get back to the .500 mark and try to put together a run.

As for Bailey, I think a lot of it had to with the suspension being altered. If you recall, the Rams did not expect to have him back until after the bye and then ended up getting him back early. I would expect to see him on the field some against Philly and more and more as the season progresses.