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By Myles Simmons
With their 30-19 loss to the Bills on Sunday, the Rams’ record is now 3-2 on the 2016 season. There were many elements that added up to Los Angeles’ first home loss of the year, but there were some positive factors in the matchup as well. Let’s take a deeper look at both in this week’s five takeaways.
1) Turnovers in critical situations
In Los Angeles’ three 2016 wins, the club been either even or positive in the turnover margin. In Sunday’s contest against Buffalo, the Rams finished -3.
Running back Todd Gurley
had two fumbles, one of which was recovered by the Bills’ defense. And quarterback Case Keenum threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
In all, the Bills scored 13 points off the Rams’ turnovers.
“It took points off the board [with] the first fumble and then we allowed them to put points on the board,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “In close ball games, those are going to be the difference makers there, so it’s disappointing.”
Keenum called the throw he made on the pick six “a bad decision,” and acknowledged that the Rams offense has to do better from a turnover standpoint going forward.
“There is a small margin of error,” Keenum said. “[It’s] not something we dwell on but that’s why … we want to be perfect every snap, because you never know what snap is going to be crucial point of the game.”
2) Buffalo shows strength in the run game
Since changing their offensive coordinator after Week 2, the Bills have been running the ball particularly well. That was especially true in Sunday’s game, as Buffalo racked up 193 yards on just 27 carries — good for a 7.1 yard average.
Running back LeSean McCoy led the charge with 150 yards on 18 attempts, including a 53-yard run that brought the Bills inside the Rams’ five-yard line.
“He just made plays,” defensive tackleAaron Donald said. “We just didn’t bottle him up, we didn’t get to him, we didn’t hit him enough and it showed.”
“It was especially on us, we just didn’t get in our gaps,” middle linebackerAlec Ogletree said. “We just kind of made up some stuff and they took advantage of our miscues. I thought we did a good job when we did get around him, we were able to stop him a little bit. He’s one of the better backs in the league, if you make a mistake, he can definitely find a hole.”
Injuries likely contributed to the Rams’ difficulties against the run, as three of the club’s starters on the defensive line were inactive due to injury. Defensive end Robert Quinn (shoulder), defensive tackleMichael Brockers (hip), and defensive end William Hayes (ankle) were all questionable heading into Sunday’s contest.
“We don’t make excuses, but three of our starting four defensive linemen were watching the game today,” Fisher said. “What those guys do is they pressure the quarterback and Rob’s always making a chase play from behind, and we just didn’t get that today. Still not acceptable run defense, but they’ve been doing this for the last couple of weeks against a number of teams.”
Fisher said all three were willing to play, but the head coach held them out in order to be better equipped going forward.
“They’re all willing, but we’re looking at the long haul right now and they wouldn’t have been productive,” Fisher said. “They wouldn’t have been able to protect themselves.”
3) Bills ready for trickery
Early in the week, Fisher complimented the Bills for the way they clearly put a high priority on special teams. In many ways, it’s reflective of the way Los Angeles handles its own special teams unit.
Perhaps that was a factor in the fourth quarter when Fisher elected to try a fake punt on 4th-and-5 from the Rams’ 23-yard line, and the play ended up a few yards short of the first-down marker. Wide receiverBradley Marquez was in formation as the up man in front of punter Johnny Hekker, received a direct snap, and darted to his right. But Buffalo, apparently ready for the fake, was able to tackle Marquez after just a two-yard gain.
“I wouldn’t have called it if I didn’t think it was going to work. That’s how those things are. We practiced it all week, we had the look, and it didn’t work,” Fisher said. “They executed it in practice, but they didn’t execute it there. I thought if that thing works it’s good stuff — really good stuff — but it didn’t. They don’t always work, but that type of approach in special teams has taken us a long ways.”
4) Red-zone efficiency
Los Angeles had its best game in terms of moving the ball, amassing 345 total yards and 23 first downs. The club’s offense also led in time of possession, 35:34 to 24:26.
But once the Rams entered the red zone, they had a hard time getting into the end zone. Of their four red-zone opportunities, L.A. scored only one touchdown.
“We’ve got to score in that red zone,” wide receiver Tavon Austin said. “We keep getting down there, but not scoring in the red zone. Three points is good, but three points is not going to win too many big games, and that’s what it showed today.”
Austin was among one of the more productive offensive players for the Rams on Sunday, making seven receptions for 59 yards and taking three carries for 26 yards. Wideout Kenny Britt continued his strong start to the season by making five receptions for 75 yards. And Gurley had 108 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown in the contest.
“You saw some improvement out of the offense against a good defensive unit,” Fisher said. “We got the ball in our playmakers’ hands, and it seemed like either Todd, or Kenny, or Tavon or somebody was making plays offensively. We just didn’t get in the end zone.”
Finishing drives will likely be a point of emphasis going into next week’s game against Detroit.
5) Heading on the road
The Rams have spent three of their first five weeks of the season on the road, and they are now getting ready to head out on another tough two-game stretch. First, the team will travel across the country to take on Detroit for Week 6. And after that game, the Rams will hop on a trans-atlantic flight to London where they’ll spend the week preparing to take on the Giants at Twickenham Stadium.
If there’s ever a week for the 24-hour rule, it’s this one — especially since the Rams are still well positioned with a 3-2 record.
“I know there’s a lot of teams that would like to be 3-2, but we still have work to do,” Fisher said. “We have quite a challenge on our hands over the next couple of weeks, and the players know that. We’re going to get them back and have a great week of practice and then go on the road for a couple of weeks.”
“You have to move on and have a short memory in this league because we’ve got a lot of football left ahead of us and we are in a good spot. There are a lot of teams that would love to be where we are,” Keenum said. “So, we are going to keep fighting and we are going to take it a week at a time. And we’ve got another great opponent on the road this week, then going even further on the road for a home game. Never done that before — so not looking to that but we’ve got tests ahead of us.”
[www.therams.com]
With their 30-19 loss to the Bills on Sunday, the Rams’ record is now 3-2 on the 2016 season. There were many elements that added up to Los Angeles’ first home loss of the year, but there were some positive factors in the matchup as well. Let’s take a deeper look at both in this week’s five takeaways.
1) Turnovers in critical situations
In Los Angeles’ three 2016 wins, the club been either even or positive in the turnover margin. In Sunday’s contest against Buffalo, the Rams finished -3.
Running back Todd Gurley
had two fumbles, one of which was recovered by the Bills’ defense. And quarterback Case Keenum threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.In all, the Bills scored 13 points off the Rams’ turnovers.
“It took points off the board [with] the first fumble and then we allowed them to put points on the board,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “In close ball games, those are going to be the difference makers there, so it’s disappointing.”
Keenum called the throw he made on the pick six “a bad decision,” and acknowledged that the Rams offense has to do better from a turnover standpoint going forward.
“There is a small margin of error,” Keenum said. “[It’s] not something we dwell on but that’s why … we want to be perfect every snap, because you never know what snap is going to be crucial point of the game.”
2) Buffalo shows strength in the run game
Since changing their offensive coordinator after Week 2, the Bills have been running the ball particularly well. That was especially true in Sunday’s game, as Buffalo racked up 193 yards on just 27 carries — good for a 7.1 yard average.
Running back LeSean McCoy led the charge with 150 yards on 18 attempts, including a 53-yard run that brought the Bills inside the Rams’ five-yard line.
“He just made plays,” defensive tackleAaron Donald
said. “We just didn’t bottle him up, we didn’t get to him, we didn’t hit him enough and it showed.”“It was especially on us, we just didn’t get in our gaps,” middle linebackerAlec Ogletree
said. “We just kind of made up some stuff and they took advantage of our miscues. I thought we did a good job when we did get around him, we were able to stop him a little bit. He’s one of the better backs in the league, if you make a mistake, he can definitely find a hole.”Injuries likely contributed to the Rams’ difficulties against the run, as three of the club’s starters on the defensive line were inactive due to injury. Defensive end Robert Quinn
(shoulder), defensive tackleMichael Brockers (hip), and defensive end William Hayes (ankle) were all questionable heading into Sunday’s contest.“We don’t make excuses, but three of our starting four defensive linemen were watching the game today,” Fisher said. “What those guys do is they pressure the quarterback and Rob’s always making a chase play from behind, and we just didn’t get that today. Still not acceptable run defense, but they’ve been doing this for the last couple of weeks against a number of teams.”
Fisher said all three were willing to play, but the head coach held them out in order to be better equipped going forward.
“They’re all willing, but we’re looking at the long haul right now and they wouldn’t have been productive,” Fisher said. “They wouldn’t have been able to protect themselves.”
3) Bills ready for trickery
Early in the week, Fisher complimented the Bills for the way they clearly put a high priority on special teams. In many ways, it’s reflective of the way Los Angeles handles its own special teams unit.
Perhaps that was a factor in the fourth quarter when Fisher elected to try a fake punt on 4th-and-5 from the Rams’ 23-yard line, and the play ended up a few yards short of the first-down marker. Wide receiverBradley Marquez
was in formation as the up man in front of punter Johnny Hekker, received a direct snap, and darted to his right. But Buffalo, apparently ready for the fake, was able to tackle Marquez after just a two-yard gain.“I wouldn’t have called it if I didn’t think it was going to work. That’s how those things are. We practiced it all week, we had the look, and it didn’t work,” Fisher said. “They executed it in practice, but they didn’t execute it there. I thought if that thing works it’s good stuff — really good stuff — but it didn’t. They don’t always work, but that type of approach in special teams has taken us a long ways.”
4) Red-zone efficiency
Los Angeles had its best game in terms of moving the ball, amassing 345 total yards and 23 first downs. The club’s offense also led in time of possession, 35:34 to 24:26.
But once the Rams entered the red zone, they had a hard time getting into the end zone. Of their four red-zone opportunities, L.A. scored only one touchdown.
“We’ve got to score in that red zone,” wide receiver Tavon Austin
said. “We keep getting down there, but not scoring in the red zone. Three points is good, but three points is not going to win too many big games, and that’s what it showed today.”Austin was among one of the more productive offensive players for the Rams on Sunday, making seven receptions for 59 yards and taking three carries for 26 yards. Wideout Kenny Britt
continued his strong start to the season by making five receptions for 75 yards. And Gurley had 108 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown in the contest.“You saw some improvement out of the offense against a good defensive unit,” Fisher said. “We got the ball in our playmakers’ hands, and it seemed like either Todd, or Kenny, or Tavon or somebody was making plays offensively. We just didn’t get in the end zone.”
Finishing drives will likely be a point of emphasis going into next week’s game against Detroit.
5) Heading on the road
The Rams have spent three of their first five weeks of the season on the road, and they are now getting ready to head out on another tough two-game stretch. First, the team will travel across the country to take on Detroit for Week 6. And after that game, the Rams will hop on a trans-atlantic flight to London where they’ll spend the week preparing to take on the Giants at Twickenham Stadium.
If there’s ever a week for the 24-hour rule, it’s this one — especially since the Rams are still well positioned with a 3-2 record.
“I know there’s a lot of teams that would like to be 3-2, but we still have work to do,” Fisher said. “We have quite a challenge on our hands over the next couple of weeks, and the players know that. We’re going to get them back and have a great week of practice and then go on the road for a couple of weeks.”
“You have to move on and have a short memory in this league because we’ve got a lot of football left ahead of us and we are in a good spot. There are a lot of teams that would love to be where we are,” Keenum said. “So, we are going to keep fighting and we are going to take it a week at a time. And we’ve got another great opponent on the road this week, then going even further on the road for a home game. Never done that before — so not looking to that but we’ve got tests ahead of us.”
[www.therams.com]