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Mistakes bury Rams again
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_6542bc08-0562-59e0-aa40-ee2aa44caf68.html
PHILADELPHIA • Sometimes they happen late; sometimes they happen early. Sometimes they happen throughout the game. But they’re still happening.
For weeks the Rams have been talking about eliminating or at least minimizing those four, five, or six bonehead plays on Sunday. But they’re not going away.
Two Sundays ago the Rams were unstoppable early but then made enough mistakes to turn a 21-0 first-half lead into a 34-31 loss to Dallas.
On Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, the Rams stumbled repeatedly for nearly three quarters, trailing 34-7 late in the third quarter. Then the power was restored to the offense, the defense actually made a couple of stops, and the Rams rang up three touchdowns over an 11-minute stretch from late in the third quarter to the 4:41 mark in the fourth.
But when quarterback Austin Davis’ hurried fourth-down pass from the St. Louis 47 fell harmlessly to the turf with 37 seconds left — nowhere near intended receiver Brian Quick — it was an all-too-familiar result.
Namely, another loss as Philadelphia turned back a late Rams rally to hold off the visitors 34-28. The Rams are 1-3, with NFC West heavyweights San Francisco and Seattle up next on the schedule. After getting both beaten and battered by the 49ers last week, the resourceful Eagles are 4-1.
“Overall, when you have penalties, when you turn the ball over, when you have a punt blocked for a touchdown, and you have numerous drops — it’s not winning football,” coach Jeff Fisher said.
On this day, the Rams were flagged 10 times for 82 yards — doubling up on the Eagles, who had four infractions for just 39 yards. By the start of the second quarter, the Rams had been whistled three times for false starts.
There was a needless shove by Ray Ray Armstrong on punt coverage that resulted in a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness tacked onto a 23-yard return by Darren Sproles.
And let’s not forget a 17-yard pass interference penalty against T.J. McDonald on a wounded duck of a pass by Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. Had McDonald merely turned to look for the ball, it could’ve easily been an interception.
Fisher’s patience is finally wearing thin on the penalties, such as Armstrong’s.
“Our special teams unit knows, if you’re gonna ... (commit) another penalty after the play and it’s legit (a legitimate penalty) — then they’re gonna watch the game in the locker room,” he said. “I’m not gonna tolerate that any more.”
Too often the Rams made it too easy for the Eagles. Like getting a punt blocked deep in their own territory that was returned 10 yards for a Philadelphia touchdown just 23 seconds into the game.
Or allowing a sack fumble deep in their territory on a play in which Eagles defensive end Cedric Thornton fell on the ball in the end zone for a Philly TD less than 3 minutes into the second half.
There was another freebie late in the third quarter when a busted coverage by rookie nickel back Lamarcus Joyner left St. Louisan Jeremy Maclin wide-open for a 24-yard TD and a 34-7 Eagles lead.
“We just can’t put ourselves in that situation,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “In this league, every play is valuable. And it comes down to five, six plays every game, every week.”
“It’s killing us,” linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. “Penalties are killing us. Mental errors are killing us.”
On the blocked punt, some confusion on who was blocking who for the Rams left the middle open.
“We left the ‘A’ gap wide open,” said up-back Chase Reynolds, referring to the space between the long snapper and the guard. “I saw two guys go free, and I just picked up the closest one to the punter’s foot. Unfortunately the other guy was there, too.”
The “other guy,” James Casey, blocked Johnny Hekker’s punt, with Chris Maragos scooping it up and rambling for the Philadelphia touchdown. It was Philly’s second blocked punt for a TD in as many weeks.
On the sack fumble touchdown, Rams left tackle Jake Long was beaten to the inside by Eagles linebacker Trent Cole. Long got to the loose football first near the goal-line. But it squirted out and Thornton was next on the scene for the score.
As for the coverage bust on the pass to Maclin, McLeod said, “It was a miscommunication. Everybody was playing one coverage and (Joyner) just didn’t happen to get it.”
It was the second busted coverage to lead to a touchdown in as many games for the Rams, prompting a reporter to ask if the defensive scheme of new coordinator Gregg Williams is too complicated.
“The defense isn’t complicated at all,” Dunbar said. “We’ve just got to communicate. ... When we’re not talking, things like that happen. That’s when a big play happened against Dallas. That’s how a big play happened today.
“So it’s all about communicating. We’ve all got to talk. We’ve all got to open our mouths and say something. I don’t care if it’s right, wrong, or indifferent — say something so we’re all on the same page.
As sorry as the Rams played for most of three quarters, late touchdowns by running back Benny Cunningham, and wide receivers Kenny Britt and Brian Quick, shrunk Philly’s lead to 6 points. Then, the Rams got the ball back at their 7 with 1:47 left and a chance to pull off an amazing comeback.
Davis’ first pass on that series went for 43 yards to Quick, putting the Rams at midfield with 1:19 to play and one timeout. For a few fleeting moments, it looked like the Rams might get it done.
But four pass plays produced only 2 yards; there was a delay of game penalty, of all things, mixed in as well. That’s right, a delay of game while in the hurry-up, no-huddle mode.
In the locker room, some of the younger or newer Rams players vowed to fix mistakes. Others said the sky’s the limit for an offense that rolled up 466 yards.
This all had a “we’ve heard this before” quality to it, as left guard Rodger Saffold pretty much pointed out.
“We’ve got so much fight,” Saffold said. “But you don’t come out with a win. There’s no moral victory for us. We’re sick of it.
“It is amazingly frustrating, and it seems like it’s the same story year after year.”
Sure does.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_6542bc08-0562-59e0-aa40-ee2aa44caf68.html
PHILADELPHIA • Sometimes they happen late; sometimes they happen early. Sometimes they happen throughout the game. But they’re still happening.
For weeks the Rams have been talking about eliminating or at least minimizing those four, five, or six bonehead plays on Sunday. But they’re not going away.
Two Sundays ago the Rams were unstoppable early but then made enough mistakes to turn a 21-0 first-half lead into a 34-31 loss to Dallas.
On Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, the Rams stumbled repeatedly for nearly three quarters, trailing 34-7 late in the third quarter. Then the power was restored to the offense, the defense actually made a couple of stops, and the Rams rang up three touchdowns over an 11-minute stretch from late in the third quarter to the 4:41 mark in the fourth.
But when quarterback Austin Davis’ hurried fourth-down pass from the St. Louis 47 fell harmlessly to the turf with 37 seconds left — nowhere near intended receiver Brian Quick — it was an all-too-familiar result.
Namely, another loss as Philadelphia turned back a late Rams rally to hold off the visitors 34-28. The Rams are 1-3, with NFC West heavyweights San Francisco and Seattle up next on the schedule. After getting both beaten and battered by the 49ers last week, the resourceful Eagles are 4-1.
“Overall, when you have penalties, when you turn the ball over, when you have a punt blocked for a touchdown, and you have numerous drops — it’s not winning football,” coach Jeff Fisher said.
On this day, the Rams were flagged 10 times for 82 yards — doubling up on the Eagles, who had four infractions for just 39 yards. By the start of the second quarter, the Rams had been whistled three times for false starts.
There was a needless shove by Ray Ray Armstrong on punt coverage that resulted in a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness tacked onto a 23-yard return by Darren Sproles.
And let’s not forget a 17-yard pass interference penalty against T.J. McDonald on a wounded duck of a pass by Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. Had McDonald merely turned to look for the ball, it could’ve easily been an interception.
Fisher’s patience is finally wearing thin on the penalties, such as Armstrong’s.
“Our special teams unit knows, if you’re gonna ... (commit) another penalty after the play and it’s legit (a legitimate penalty) — then they’re gonna watch the game in the locker room,” he said. “I’m not gonna tolerate that any more.”
Too often the Rams made it too easy for the Eagles. Like getting a punt blocked deep in their own territory that was returned 10 yards for a Philadelphia touchdown just 23 seconds into the game.
Or allowing a sack fumble deep in their territory on a play in which Eagles defensive end Cedric Thornton fell on the ball in the end zone for a Philly TD less than 3 minutes into the second half.
There was another freebie late in the third quarter when a busted coverage by rookie nickel back Lamarcus Joyner left St. Louisan Jeremy Maclin wide-open for a 24-yard TD and a 34-7 Eagles lead.
“We just can’t put ourselves in that situation,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “In this league, every play is valuable. And it comes down to five, six plays every game, every week.”
“It’s killing us,” linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. “Penalties are killing us. Mental errors are killing us.”
On the blocked punt, some confusion on who was blocking who for the Rams left the middle open.
“We left the ‘A’ gap wide open,” said up-back Chase Reynolds, referring to the space between the long snapper and the guard. “I saw two guys go free, and I just picked up the closest one to the punter’s foot. Unfortunately the other guy was there, too.”
The “other guy,” James Casey, blocked Johnny Hekker’s punt, with Chris Maragos scooping it up and rambling for the Philadelphia touchdown. It was Philly’s second blocked punt for a TD in as many weeks.
On the sack fumble touchdown, Rams left tackle Jake Long was beaten to the inside by Eagles linebacker Trent Cole. Long got to the loose football first near the goal-line. But it squirted out and Thornton was next on the scene for the score.
As for the coverage bust on the pass to Maclin, McLeod said, “It was a miscommunication. Everybody was playing one coverage and (Joyner) just didn’t happen to get it.”
It was the second busted coverage to lead to a touchdown in as many games for the Rams, prompting a reporter to ask if the defensive scheme of new coordinator Gregg Williams is too complicated.
“The defense isn’t complicated at all,” Dunbar said. “We’ve just got to communicate. ... When we’re not talking, things like that happen. That’s when a big play happened against Dallas. That’s how a big play happened today.
“So it’s all about communicating. We’ve all got to talk. We’ve all got to open our mouths and say something. I don’t care if it’s right, wrong, or indifferent — say something so we’re all on the same page.
As sorry as the Rams played for most of three quarters, late touchdowns by running back Benny Cunningham, and wide receivers Kenny Britt and Brian Quick, shrunk Philly’s lead to 6 points. Then, the Rams got the ball back at their 7 with 1:47 left and a chance to pull off an amazing comeback.
Davis’ first pass on that series went for 43 yards to Quick, putting the Rams at midfield with 1:19 to play and one timeout. For a few fleeting moments, it looked like the Rams might get it done.
But four pass plays produced only 2 yards; there was a delay of game penalty, of all things, mixed in as well. That’s right, a delay of game while in the hurry-up, no-huddle mode.
In the locker room, some of the younger or newer Rams players vowed to fix mistakes. Others said the sky’s the limit for an offense that rolled up 466 yards.
This all had a “we’ve heard this before” quality to it, as left guard Rodger Saffold pretty much pointed out.
“We’ve got so much fight,” Saffold said. “But you don’t come out with a win. There’s no moral victory for us. We’re sick of it.
“It is amazingly frustrating, and it seems like it’s the same story year after year.”
Sure does.
