- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Hill has a day to remember
By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_3cdf77ce-70b8-50f6-a476-56a657e6b22a.html
At about the same time that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning addressed Denver reporters wearing a fancy suit after a stunning 22-7 loss, Rams counterpart Shaun Hill walked into his news conference wearing a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans.
Now, that’s what you call low-key.
“This is about as fancy as I get,” Hill shrugged.
Then again, what do you expect from a humble Kansas native and avid fisherman who has his permanent residence in the Lake of the Ozarks?
OK, deduct a couple of points if you must for wardrobe. But other than that, Hill was pretty close to flawless as the Rams (4-6) toppled the defending Super Bowl runners-up Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
A thigh injury in the season opener against Minnesota all but derailed Hill’s season. But eight games later, he finally got another chance to play, and he made the most of the opportunity.
Granted, Manning threw for nearly 400 yards Sunday, but it took him 54 passes — two of which were intercepted — to get his 389 yards. Hill threw only 29 times but completed 20 for 220 yards, a touchdown, and a passer rating of 102.7 — to Manning’s 75.3 rating.
In his 13-year career, it was the first time Hill had gone head-to-head with Manning in a starting role. His father, who passed away in January 2011, wasn’t there to see it. But Hill’s 9-month-old son Theodore, who is named after Hill’s father, was in the Dome.
“Coincidentally, this is the first win I’ve had since the last game he was alive — my father,” Hill said. “A lot of emotions went into this one for sure.”
Young Theodore, or Theo as Hill calls him, obviously won’t recall what happened Sunday. But it is, after all, preserved on video.
“This is the first game he’s been to that I’ve started and finished,” Hill said. “That was kind of important, too, for me when I was coming into the season.”
He wanted Theo to have some pictures, some video, of himself playing NFL football after Theo was born. At 34, Hill doesn’t know how much time he has left in the league, and after the injury ended his day after two quarters against Minnesota, it looked like that might be all the 2014 football for Hill.
“It was important for me to come back and be able (to play) some during his life,” Hill said.
But coach Jeff Fisher decided to switch from struggling Austin Davis to Hill last week, so now Theo watched one of the most memorable Rams games since the team moved to St. Louis in 1995 and certainly one of their biggest upsets. OK, Theo won’t remember it unless he’s some kind of baby genius, but he can watch the film in a few years.
“Not only did Shaun find Kenny (Britt) and make big plays to Kenny, but he extended some drives,” Fisher said. “Time of possession is so important, and to find the back and find the check-down (is important). And then the guys — we didn’t have any drops per se.”
The Rams had a time-of-possession advantage of nearly 12 minutes: 35:50 to Denver’s 24:10. They ran 65 plays, their highest total in five games. And although they weren’t great on third-down conversions (six of 17), it was their best conversion rate since the 28-26 upset over Seattle on Oct. 19.
“Shaun played a hell of a game,” defensive end William Hayes said. “He showed he had guts. He hit a couple of passes where he knew he was gonna take hits, and still delivered the ball.”
Hill’s best delivery came late in the first quarter, when he threw a deep strike to Britt for a 63-yard touchdown. It was the longest completion of the season for the Rams, and Britt’s longest reception since the 2011 season with Tennessee.
It was a post pattern to Britt, a pass that he had dropped during the practice week.
“I told him, ‘It’s Friday and you drop a pass, that’s OK. But if you do it on Sunday I’m going to kick your tail,’” Hill said. “Obviously, I was just joking.”
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said during his weekly Thursday media session that he thought the Rams would have some chances for deep shots in the passing game. And so it was. Britt was the recipient of 33-yard and 21-yard completions, and the 63-yarder — all in the first half.
One reason the Broncos are first in the NFL in rushing defense is that their safeties frequently play close to the line of scrimmage. On the long TD play, the Rams used Tavon Austin as a decoy, and when a Denver safety came charging up to the line of scrimmage to defend Austin on the 63-yard TD play, Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby had no help after Britt got behind him.
Britt’s 128 yards came on just four receptions. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for a Ram this season.
“Hey, it looked like Shaun’s been hitting the weight room in his off time, to tell you the truth,” Britt said, laughing. “It really showed in practice. Every deep ball was on the money.”
Hill has been called a lot of things over his career: Gritty, industrious, smart. Cannon-armed has never been part of the description.
“Compared to most guys in the NFL, it’s nowhere close to strong,” Hill said. “So it’s just kind of funny to hear that.”
Britt’s TD gave the Rams a 10-0 lead with 1 minute, 10 seconds to go in the opening quarter. It was the only touchdown of the day for the Rams, who went zero for three in the red zone. But they got five field goals by Greg Zuerlein — a single-game career high — and that was enough to hold off Manning and the Broncos.
Rookie running back Tre Mason’s first 100-yard day (29 for 113) in the NFL helped the Rams stay balanced and control the clock.
And when things got a little chaotic, Hill’s steady hand helped calm down the huddle.
“He keeps his composure,” Britt said. “When we got caught up in the moment, he came into the huddle and said, ‘Hey guys, Relax. Calm down.’”
And that apparently is what happened. Undoubtedly, both Theodore Hills would approve.
By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_3cdf77ce-70b8-50f6-a476-56a657e6b22a.html
At about the same time that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning addressed Denver reporters wearing a fancy suit after a stunning 22-7 loss, Rams counterpart Shaun Hill walked into his news conference wearing a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans.
Now, that’s what you call low-key.
“This is about as fancy as I get,” Hill shrugged.
Then again, what do you expect from a humble Kansas native and avid fisherman who has his permanent residence in the Lake of the Ozarks?
OK, deduct a couple of points if you must for wardrobe. But other than that, Hill was pretty close to flawless as the Rams (4-6) toppled the defending Super Bowl runners-up Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
A thigh injury in the season opener against Minnesota all but derailed Hill’s season. But eight games later, he finally got another chance to play, and he made the most of the opportunity.
Granted, Manning threw for nearly 400 yards Sunday, but it took him 54 passes — two of which were intercepted — to get his 389 yards. Hill threw only 29 times but completed 20 for 220 yards, a touchdown, and a passer rating of 102.7 — to Manning’s 75.3 rating.
In his 13-year career, it was the first time Hill had gone head-to-head with Manning in a starting role. His father, who passed away in January 2011, wasn’t there to see it. But Hill’s 9-month-old son Theodore, who is named after Hill’s father, was in the Dome.
“Coincidentally, this is the first win I’ve had since the last game he was alive — my father,” Hill said. “A lot of emotions went into this one for sure.”
Young Theodore, or Theo as Hill calls him, obviously won’t recall what happened Sunday. But it is, after all, preserved on video.
“This is the first game he’s been to that I’ve started and finished,” Hill said. “That was kind of important, too, for me when I was coming into the season.”
He wanted Theo to have some pictures, some video, of himself playing NFL football after Theo was born. At 34, Hill doesn’t know how much time he has left in the league, and after the injury ended his day after two quarters against Minnesota, it looked like that might be all the 2014 football for Hill.
“It was important for me to come back and be able (to play) some during his life,” Hill said.
But coach Jeff Fisher decided to switch from struggling Austin Davis to Hill last week, so now Theo watched one of the most memorable Rams games since the team moved to St. Louis in 1995 and certainly one of their biggest upsets. OK, Theo won’t remember it unless he’s some kind of baby genius, but he can watch the film in a few years.
“Not only did Shaun find Kenny (Britt) and make big plays to Kenny, but he extended some drives,” Fisher said. “Time of possession is so important, and to find the back and find the check-down (is important). And then the guys — we didn’t have any drops per se.”
The Rams had a time-of-possession advantage of nearly 12 minutes: 35:50 to Denver’s 24:10. They ran 65 plays, their highest total in five games. And although they weren’t great on third-down conversions (six of 17), it was their best conversion rate since the 28-26 upset over Seattle on Oct. 19.
“Shaun played a hell of a game,” defensive end William Hayes said. “He showed he had guts. He hit a couple of passes where he knew he was gonna take hits, and still delivered the ball.”
Hill’s best delivery came late in the first quarter, when he threw a deep strike to Britt for a 63-yard touchdown. It was the longest completion of the season for the Rams, and Britt’s longest reception since the 2011 season with Tennessee.
It was a post pattern to Britt, a pass that he had dropped during the practice week.
“I told him, ‘It’s Friday and you drop a pass, that’s OK. But if you do it on Sunday I’m going to kick your tail,’” Hill said. “Obviously, I was just joking.”
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said during his weekly Thursday media session that he thought the Rams would have some chances for deep shots in the passing game. And so it was. Britt was the recipient of 33-yard and 21-yard completions, and the 63-yarder — all in the first half.
One reason the Broncos are first in the NFL in rushing defense is that their safeties frequently play close to the line of scrimmage. On the long TD play, the Rams used Tavon Austin as a decoy, and when a Denver safety came charging up to the line of scrimmage to defend Austin on the 63-yard TD play, Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby had no help after Britt got behind him.
Britt’s 128 yards came on just four receptions. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for a Ram this season.
“Hey, it looked like Shaun’s been hitting the weight room in his off time, to tell you the truth,” Britt said, laughing. “It really showed in practice. Every deep ball was on the money.”
Hill has been called a lot of things over his career: Gritty, industrious, smart. Cannon-armed has never been part of the description.
“Compared to most guys in the NFL, it’s nowhere close to strong,” Hill said. “So it’s just kind of funny to hear that.”
Britt’s TD gave the Rams a 10-0 lead with 1 minute, 10 seconds to go in the opening quarter. It was the only touchdown of the day for the Rams, who went zero for three in the red zone. But they got five field goals by Greg Zuerlein — a single-game career high — and that was enough to hold off Manning and the Broncos.
Rookie running back Tre Mason’s first 100-yard day (29 for 113) in the NFL helped the Rams stay balanced and control the clock.
And when things got a little chaotic, Hill’s steady hand helped calm down the huddle.
“He keeps his composure,” Britt said. “When we got caught up in the moment, he came into the huddle and said, ‘Hey guys, Relax. Calm down.’”
And that apparently is what happened. Undoubtedly, both Theodore Hills would approve.
