Ogletree and Barron weakness were exposed by Redskin's running game.

[DaveFan'51]

Maurice Alexander couldn't tackle a running back to save his life either.
He seemed off and out of position or getting blocked.
Lamarcus Joyner was giving it a shot but he was often simply overpowered.

And yet Alexander was 3rd on the Team with 9 Tackles. behind Ogletree (11) and Barron (10). Just sayin'.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Alec has always had issues shedding blocks since he came out of college. I just wished that by this point he would have better hand usage to fix that issue. He really never developed much (like so many others) under the previous regime.

I have always said Ogletree should follow Demarco Farr's lead, and take up Karate to help him learn to use his hands better!! It worked for Farr!!

 

[Soul Surfer]

And yet Alexander was 3rd on the Team with 9 Tackles. behind Ogletree (11) and Barron (10). Just sayin'.

All three of those guys sucked.
It was like having three James Laurinaitis' out there.

The tackled the guy after he picked up five or six yards.

My stomach was in a knot watching them gash us.
I'm not sure how the score looked that close.

 

[DaveFan'51]

All three of those guys sucked.
It was like having three James Laurinaitis' out there.

The tackled the guy after he picked up five or six yards.

My stomach was in a knot watching them gash us.
I'm not sure how the score looked that close.

I'm not saying I don't agree with you, they had my stomach in knots too. I'm just saying, stats wise, these where our 3 Best Tacklers!

 

[Mojo Ram]

My take is that Wade Phillips hasn't coached in the NFC since 2010(Dallas). Despite being an elite DC and having modern NFL scouting at his fingertips, i would suspect a little less familiarity with the NFC offenses. IMO his scheme/gameplan was simply outcoached on Sunday. When defenders are consistently out of position and slow to adjust that's usually a tell tale sign of that.

 

[iamme33]

AO looked about as bad as i have ever seen a LB look today. he wiffed on a couple of tackles and just stood there or ran by them wtf he was clueless

also there were several df players that cramped up. could this be a sign of partying the night before.

 

[Fatbot]

Son of bum likes lower drafted guys for ILB....

Agreed, and I think Barron's salary structure precluded Wade from getting his type of guy at ILB. Ogletree was penciled in as the Brandon Marshall, the big question was if Barron could be the Danny Trevathan. Given Barron's salary/dead money if they moved him, there's no choice but try to make him fit the scheme, scheme for him to fit, or bust.

 

[Soul Surfer]

I'm not saying I don't agree with you, they had my stomach in knots too. I'm just saying, stats wise, these where our 3 Best Tacklers!

Now it really have a knot in my stomach!

 

[LACHAMP46]

Agreed, and I think Barron's salary structure precluded Wade from getting his type of guy at ILB. Ogletree was penciled in as the Brandon Marshall, the big question was if Barron could be the Danny Trevathan. Given Barron's salary/dead money if they moved him, there's no choice but try to make him fit the scheme, scheme for him to fit, or bust.

Looking at the entire game....Ogletree is the LB that needs to REALLY improve....Barron is out of position....and could be a huge upgrade at SS.....HUGE.

And

I don't know what the hell we brought Connor Barwin on the team for? 3rd and 5....he's supposed to rush the QB...he's doing some shimmy move in front of a RB #25....instead of applying pressure that may have forced Cousins to miss that easy throw.

 

[blackbart]

I thought the offense and defense both played better in the second half, a major improvement over what we have seen for half time adjustments over the last few years. So I'm really pleased with that.

I'm not happy with the sloppy play to begin the game against an opponent the staff had to know and expect would be trying to run over our defense. Or the idea that we have to get guys used to playing together in the regular season, thanks Donald.

The running game and defense came together and looked better in the second half so I have hope that they will be prepared better for Thursday night against a team whose only 2 wins of 2016 were embarrassing no shows by the Rams.

Off season, training camp and pre-season games are for preparing the team. I get that this team is building for the future but there is no reason the future can't be in 2017.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

I'm not saying I don't agree with you, they had my stomach in knots too. I'm just saying, stats wise, these where our 3 Best Tacklers!

I'd say our best Tackler was probably Joyner. I loved his effort on the long Thompson run. He damn near caught him too. He ran right by Nickel and Tru. He was putting in the effort.

He also had some really nice open field tacklers that you don't expect a 5-9 180 pound guy to make on a Running back.

 

[gabriel18]

Pretty hard to justify paying AD 20 plus million when the D clearly needs a few more pieces .

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

As I've said many times .... we have too many small guys lined up close to the line of scrimmage ...and that hurts us in the run game..... you look at replays of those runs...you see big linemen and tight ends blocking Barron or Joyner when they are the last guys who can stop a run play from breaking up field....

Tree is fine as a MLB ...but far too often he's our only real linebacker that's backing up the D-line ...

Barron isn't a linebacker...I'm sorry..he's not..he's a safety lining up as a LB and that is hurting us in the run game as teams are capitalizing on us being undersized at LB....

With Webster out...I was worried about this before the game.... you put Robey-Coleman outside ..that means Joyner will move from FS back to being our slot CB.... with Davis in at FS.... so basically Davis subs in for Nickel coverage..... if you're sending both Barwin and Quinn up field for pass rushing.... that means you're left with Ogletree...Barron and Joyner as run support behind your interior D-line ...... and that is simply not enough to get it done...

If I'm playing the Rams...every time I see Joyner taking the slot guy...I'm putting the slot receiver on the same side as Barron and I'm running the ball right at them....

 

[Rambo]

Move Barron to the secondary and put Tanzel Smart at LB.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Great points flv!!

 

[bubbaramfan]

Technique, game plan,:blah::blah:.

It really comes down to one simple thing.

The big guys rolled over the little guys.

 

[Fatbot]

Technique, game plan,:blah::blah:.

It really comes down to one simple thing.

The big guys rolled over the little guys.

Agreed it comes down to individuals winning battles, and I know there's blah blah to it but it was pretty fascinating to see Washington go full on hogs, pulling the big guys like days of old to steamroll. The Rams undersized D is/will be great against the zone blocking schemes because of our team speed, but hats off to Gruden & Co. for seeing the mismatch if they went old school blocking scheme, and credit the Skins OL for executing it.

 

[JonRam99]

Good posts. I'm hoping we see more of Littleton or other LB's than Barron, or we do some other D adjustments.

 

[Prime Time]

http://www.dailynews.com/2017/09/18/rams-see-need-to-boost-their-run-game-and-slow-opponents-attack/

Rams see need to boost their run game and slow opponents’ attack
By RICH HAMMOND

Washington running back Samje Perine jumps between the Rams’ Alec Ogletree, left, and Tyrunn Walker during Sunday’s game at the Coliseum. Washington ran for 229 yards and two touchdowns, a startling total for a Rams front seven that had All-Pro Aaron Donald back in the lineup.
(John Valenzuela/Daily News/SCNG)

THOUSAND OAKS — The Rams saw too much of Washington’s run game and not enough of their own.

There’s no doubt about the first part. Washington ran for 229 yards and two touchdowns in their victory over the Rams on Sunday. The defensive breakdown seemed startling for a Rams front seven that dominated a week earlier and should have been better with the return of Aaron Donald.

“As the game progressed, I thought we settled in,” Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday. “But credit to Washington. I thought they did a nice job with some of the things that were running schematically, and they made those plays.”

Defensive adjustments will be necessary, particularly since the Rams face San Francisco on Thursday, and 49ers running back Carlos Hyde rushed for 124 yards against a stout Seattle defense on Sunday.

Then there’s the Rams’ offense, which felt disjointed for much of Sunday’s game. Penalties and mistakes didn’t help, but McVay, the Rams’ play-caller, also seemed a bit out of rhythm. The Rams called 30 pass plays and 18 run plays, compared to a week earlier, when they passed 34 times and ran 30 times.

The early-game situation didn’t help. The Rams trailed 13-0 early in the second quarter and had run only 10 offensive plays, so McVay indicated he over-relied on the pass game to try to catch up quickly.

“I just thought there were some uncharacteristic decisions and maybe some indecisiveness on my part,” McVay said. “When you go into a game, you always envision how you want to put your players in good spots, and I didn’t necessary follow through on that plan, based on the way things played out.”

Rams running back Todd Gurley had only nine carries for 47 yards in the first three quarters Sunday, but even though the Rams were trailing, McVay turned to Gurley in the fourth quarter. Gurley had seven carries for 41 yards as part of a 14-play drive that temporarily tied the game at 20-20.

Even before the second-quarter deficit, the Rams seemed hesitant to go to Gurley, as he had only two carries on their first nine plays. It probably didn’t help Gurley’s early-game momentum that he fumbled on the Rams’ 10th play, an error that led to a field goal and a 13-0 Washington lead.

Still, McVay was highly self-critical, immediately after the game and on Monday.

“We always talk about coachability,” McVay said, “and certainly if I’m not being coachable or being critical of myself when I’m not doing the things I need to, in order to be helpful and put players in position to get wins, that’s something that you have to be aware of and you can’t be afraid of that.”

McVay decided to cancel what had been scheduled as a “jog-thru” practice Monday at Cal Lutheran. The Rams will hold a full practice on Tuesday and travel to the Bay Area on Wednesday.

UP AND DOWN
Donald was displeased with his play Sunday in his first game after a six-week contract holdout. Donald recorded two tackles, including one for a loss, and played 48 of the Rams’ 71 defensive snaps.

“I thought he did some good things as the game progressed,” McVay said, “made some plays and affected some of the schemes they were running. Some of the things that make Aaron rare did show up. Like anybody else, being able to get back into a rhythm will be important for him, and we’ll see him get more and more comfortable as the season progresses.”

INJURY REPORT
Even though the Rams didn’t practice, they were required to issue an injury-report estimate. McVay said starting cornerback Kayvon Webster (shoulder), tight end Gerald Everett (thigh) and running back Malcolm Brown (hamstring) all are day to day.

Webster didn’t play against Washington, but the Rams could regain the services of cornerback Troy Hill, who has completed his two-game NFL suspension. Hill was not allowed to practice during his suspension, and McVay indicated he wasn’t sure whether Hill would be ready to play against San Francisco.