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Rams can become ‘special,’ Long says
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_c638acf8-6f3d-56db-af17-e88dc7eae62c.html
In the wake of the Rams’ 52-0 clubbing of the Oakland Raiders, playing the “what if” game is tempting.
Over the past seven weeks, the Rams have defeated NFL powers Seattle, San Francisco and Denver. They nearly beat playoff contenders Arizona and San Diego. The last thing the Raiders are is a playoff contender, but 52-point victories don’t come around that often.
The Rams continue to show they are a team on the verge of a breakout, but the won-loss record still reads 5-7.
“You are what your record says you are, because that’s how the games play out,” defensive end Chris Long said. “But I do believe we have something special in this locker room. And I do believe we’re building something.
“There’s a lot of people that we’ve heard on the outside say ‘same old this, same old that.’ But when you know what we have in this locker room, you hear that and you’re like: No way. We’re building something special.
“You have your ups and downs on the way but it’ll make us better. From here on out, all we can control is every Sunday trying to get a win.”
The third season for the Jeff Fisher-Les Snead regime is down to its final four games. The Rams play at Washington (3-9) this Sunday, followed by home games against Arizona (9-3) and the New York Giants (3-9), and then there’s a season-ending trip to Seattle (8-4).
Even if the Rams were to sweep all four teams, a 9-7 finish almost certainly won’t get them in the playoffs. Not with three 8-4 teams (Seattle, Dallas, and Detroit), and a 7-5 squad (San Francisco) all fighting for two wild-card playoff berths behind division leaders Arizona, Philadelphia, Green Bay and NFC South co-leaders Atlanta and New Orleans.
And despite impressive single-game performances, the Rams have yet to win two games in a row. The team hasn’t posted back-to-back victories since late in the 2013 season and has not won more than three in a row at any time since Fisher arrived as head coach and Snead as general manager in 2012.
“We’re going to go out and try to win this (Washington) game,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to go on the road again. We’re going to go out and do whatever it takes to win this game. If we’re fortunate enough to do that, I guess I can stand up here with a smile on my face and say: ‘We won two in a row.’”
The Rams played about as flawless a first half as is possible in piling up a 38-0 lead against Oakland. The method may have been different, but the domination was as complete as anything ever seen by the Greatest Show on Turf teams. Now, how do you bottle that?
A Rams 2014 draft class that looked dubious in September is now shining. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who registered his sixth sack of the season against Oakland, has been impressive all season. Cornerback E.J. Gaines, who recorded his second interception of the season Sunday, looks like one of the steals of the draft as a sixth-rounder out of the University of Missouri.
And the two from Auburn, left tackle Greg Robinson and running back Tre Mason, have played well since moving into the lineup a quarter of the way through the season. Mason gives the Rams big-play ability in the backfield and looked like he was running in a different gear from everyone else Sunday.
Other younger players from recent drafts are improving and developing as the weeks go by, including second-year wide receiver Stedman Bailey and third-year cornerback Trumaine Johnson.
A Rams pass rush that managed only one sack in its first five games had six against the Raiders and has 27 over its last seven contests. Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn, who didn’t have a sack in the first five games, has nine over his last seven contests. (It should be 10, if the NFL ever gets around to crediting him with a sack he mistakenly didn’t get awarded by the stat crew in Kansas City.)
There are future needs on the offensive line, especially the interior. Another linebacker wouldn’t hurt, and the secondary can still use some depth. But other than some kind of solution at quarterback, this suddenly doesn’t look like a team with a ton of needs.
But in the ever-shifting landscape that is Rams football, consistency is key. Doing it every other week doesn’t get you to the playoffs in the NFL. Not usually, anyway. The unpredictability of this team has been confounding to most observers, but not to Fisher or his coaching staff.
“I know we know what to expect,” Fisher said. “I mean, we’re going to get a maximum effort out of (the players) Wednesday through Sunday. We’re going to get that out of them.
“That’s all you can ask of them. Sometimes there’s tipped balls and sometimes guys make mistakes, but they’re going to make them going full speed. We’ve got to learn.
“I think we can use this as a learning experience. “Hey, we had a great one against Denver. Came back, couldn’t find a way (against San Diego). Big win here (against Oakland). We’ve got to go find a way (against Washington).”
Or as Tavon Austin put it: “We’ve had some great wins this year. But we never put two in a row. That’s where our mindset is.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_c638acf8-6f3d-56db-af17-e88dc7eae62c.html
In the wake of the Rams’ 52-0 clubbing of the Oakland Raiders, playing the “what if” game is tempting.
Over the past seven weeks, the Rams have defeated NFL powers Seattle, San Francisco and Denver. They nearly beat playoff contenders Arizona and San Diego. The last thing the Raiders are is a playoff contender, but 52-point victories don’t come around that often.
The Rams continue to show they are a team on the verge of a breakout, but the won-loss record still reads 5-7.
“You are what your record says you are, because that’s how the games play out,” defensive end Chris Long said. “But I do believe we have something special in this locker room. And I do believe we’re building something.
“There’s a lot of people that we’ve heard on the outside say ‘same old this, same old that.’ But when you know what we have in this locker room, you hear that and you’re like: No way. We’re building something special.
“You have your ups and downs on the way but it’ll make us better. From here on out, all we can control is every Sunday trying to get a win.”
The third season for the Jeff Fisher-Les Snead regime is down to its final four games. The Rams play at Washington (3-9) this Sunday, followed by home games against Arizona (9-3) and the New York Giants (3-9), and then there’s a season-ending trip to Seattle (8-4).
Even if the Rams were to sweep all four teams, a 9-7 finish almost certainly won’t get them in the playoffs. Not with three 8-4 teams (Seattle, Dallas, and Detroit), and a 7-5 squad (San Francisco) all fighting for two wild-card playoff berths behind division leaders Arizona, Philadelphia, Green Bay and NFC South co-leaders Atlanta and New Orleans.
And despite impressive single-game performances, the Rams have yet to win two games in a row. The team hasn’t posted back-to-back victories since late in the 2013 season and has not won more than three in a row at any time since Fisher arrived as head coach and Snead as general manager in 2012.
“We’re going to go out and try to win this (Washington) game,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to go on the road again. We’re going to go out and do whatever it takes to win this game. If we’re fortunate enough to do that, I guess I can stand up here with a smile on my face and say: ‘We won two in a row.’”
The Rams played about as flawless a first half as is possible in piling up a 38-0 lead against Oakland. The method may have been different, but the domination was as complete as anything ever seen by the Greatest Show on Turf teams. Now, how do you bottle that?
A Rams 2014 draft class that looked dubious in September is now shining. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who registered his sixth sack of the season against Oakland, has been impressive all season. Cornerback E.J. Gaines, who recorded his second interception of the season Sunday, looks like one of the steals of the draft as a sixth-rounder out of the University of Missouri.
And the two from Auburn, left tackle Greg Robinson and running back Tre Mason, have played well since moving into the lineup a quarter of the way through the season. Mason gives the Rams big-play ability in the backfield and looked like he was running in a different gear from everyone else Sunday.
Other younger players from recent drafts are improving and developing as the weeks go by, including second-year wide receiver Stedman Bailey and third-year cornerback Trumaine Johnson.
A Rams pass rush that managed only one sack in its first five games had six against the Raiders and has 27 over its last seven contests. Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn, who didn’t have a sack in the first five games, has nine over his last seven contests. (It should be 10, if the NFL ever gets around to crediting him with a sack he mistakenly didn’t get awarded by the stat crew in Kansas City.)
There are future needs on the offensive line, especially the interior. Another linebacker wouldn’t hurt, and the secondary can still use some depth. But other than some kind of solution at quarterback, this suddenly doesn’t look like a team with a ton of needs.
But in the ever-shifting landscape that is Rams football, consistency is key. Doing it every other week doesn’t get you to the playoffs in the NFL. Not usually, anyway. The unpredictability of this team has been confounding to most observers, but not to Fisher or his coaching staff.
“I know we know what to expect,” Fisher said. “I mean, we’re going to get a maximum effort out of (the players) Wednesday through Sunday. We’re going to get that out of them.
“That’s all you can ask of them. Sometimes there’s tipped balls and sometimes guys make mistakes, but they’re going to make them going full speed. We’ve got to learn.
“I think we can use this as a learning experience. “Hey, we had a great one against Denver. Came back, couldn’t find a way (against San Diego). Big win here (against Oakland). We’ve got to go find a way (against Washington).”
Or as Tavon Austin put it: “We’ve had some great wins this year. But we never put two in a row. That’s where our mindset is.”
