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Rams fall apart in 34-31 loss
• BY JIM THOMAS
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_0bc61781-cfc6-52ab-aba6-1be9f5affde6.html
Strong safety T.J. McDonald was at a loss for words.
Defensive end Williams Hayes said his head was spinning.
Linebacker James Laurinaitis wanted to rip his head off.
That pretty much says it all about the Rams’ latest loss, 34-31 to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
Dominant in the first half, the Rams squandered a 21-0 lead to lose for the second time in three games in 2014.
They matched DeMarco Murray and the potent Cowboys’ running game yard for yard. They converted 62 percent of their third-down opportunities (eight for 13), and outgained Dallas by 108 yards.
They at least kept the lid on Murray, who gained an even 100 yards rushing — 114 yards less than his per-game average in two previous meetings with the Rams.
But in typical RAC fashion — that’s Rams Are Cursed — they found a way to lose.
“We really let this one slip away,” left guard Rodger Saffold said.
The path to defeat included 119 yards in penalties on eight flags, including a controversial defensive holding call on defensive end Eugene Sims late in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys meanwhile were flagged a mere three times for 15 yards by referee Clete Blakeman’s crew.
Quarterback Austin Davis threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns, but also tossed two interceptions — the first of which was returned 25 yards for a back-breaking TD by linebacker Bruce Carter that gave Dallas a 34-24 lead with 5 minutes 58 seconds to play.
And don’t forget that botched snap by center Scott Wells, on a play where Davis was in shotgun formation yet Wells snapped it as if Davis was under center. Dallas recovered the loose ball near midfield and turned it into a field goal just before halftime.
Mincing no words, coach Jeff Fisher said afterwards: “That’s pretty much all on Scott.”
Fisher continued: “You go up 21-0 and you know you can’t ever let up. That’s precisely why I went for it on fourth and (six inches). We needed touchdowns and we needed to execute, and we didn’t.”
Saffold put the blame on himself when Zac Stacy was dropped for a two-yard loss at the Dallas 16 on that fourth-and-inches play midway through the third quarter.
“They submarined us and knocked us off our feet,” Saffold said. “Couldn’t get up to hit him. That one, I put on myself. Honestly I feel like I lost the game for us. If I would’ve hit the middle linebacker (Anthony Hitchens), Zac would’ve still been running.”
That may be true, but Saffold and the left side of the line got a good initial surge. On what was a slow-developing play, that should’ve been enough.
Saffold wasn’t the only player to say he cost the Rams the game. Tight end Jared Cook dropped what would’ve been a lead-extending touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, on a play he bobbled but then almost caught again before it fell to the turf.
“‘Almost’ doesn’t count, right?” Cook said. “I feel like that was a game we should’ve won. That’s my fault. I put that on my shoulders.”
Meanwhile, it was feast or famine for cornerback Janoris Jenkins. He gave the Rams a 21-0 lead with 6:06 left in the first half when he jumped in front of a short out route pass from Dallas quarterback Tony Romo intended for Dez Bryant and returned his interception 25 yards for a score.
It was Jenkins’ fifth defensive touchdown in the NFL, but his first since his rookie season of 2012.
Then came the famine. He got tagged with a 33-yard pass interference call trying to defend Bryant midway through the fourth. The penalty gave the Cowboys a first down on the St. Louis 20, and they scored on a 12-yard pass from Romo to Terrance Williams three plays later to take the lead for the first time all day, 27-24.
Earlier, on the fourth play of the third quarter, Bryant turned Jenkins around on a double move. There was no safety help after Bryant raced past Jenkins, making for an easy 68-yard TD pass to start the half. The rapidly-shrinking Rams lead was down to 21-17 at that point.
Even with all that, the Rams appeared to be on course for great field position and a chance for a comeback victory or at least a field goal and overtime, trailing 34-31 with 2½ minutes to play. Sims stormed around left end to sack Romo for an 11-yard loss back to the Dallas 9.
But wait. There was a flag on the play. Defensive holding, Rams, No. 97.
After the game, Fisher said, “I’m hoping they got the wrong jersey number on the hold there on Eugene (Sims). I’m really hoping that maybe there was a hold somewhere else on the defense.”
Which was Fisher’s way of saying: There’s no way that was holding on Sims.
But Blakeman told a pool reporter afterwards that the call was on Sims.
“It was reported to me that there was a receiver that was coming across the formation, and there was a grab and a restriction of that receiver by No. 97 (Sims),” Blakeman said. “It’s a judgment call by our line judge (Ron Marinucci).”
A holding penalty against a pass rusher who ended up sacking the quarterback?
“I don’t know that,” Blakeman replied. “I have not seen a replay of it, so I can’t really comment on specifics like that. But that’s what was reported to me — that there was a grab and a restriction of an eligible receiver by No. 97.”
Most Rams were surprised — no, make that shocked — by the call because it looked like the receiver, Terrance Williams, was blocking — not trying to get out on a pass pattern.
“I turn around, I see the flag,” Sims said. “And I asked him (Blakeman) what was going on. ... I didn’t think I held him and the replay didn’t look like I was holding him.”
Off the record, many Rams players disputed the call in expletive-laced fashion. Cook didn’t mince words.
“I thought that was crap,” Cook said of the call. “How do you know if the guy’s blocking you or running past you? All he did was touch him. He didn’t even grab him.”
So instead of a third-and-21 for Dallas on their 9, the Cowboys had a first down at their 25. The Rams had to burn their final two timeouts and lost maybe 30 yards of field position before they got the ball back.
It was that kind of day — actually, it’s been that kind of decade — for the Rams.
• BY JIM THOMAS
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_0bc61781-cfc6-52ab-aba6-1be9f5affde6.html
Strong safety T.J. McDonald was at a loss for words.
Defensive end Williams Hayes said his head was spinning.
Linebacker James Laurinaitis wanted to rip his head off.
That pretty much says it all about the Rams’ latest loss, 34-31 to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
Dominant in the first half, the Rams squandered a 21-0 lead to lose for the second time in three games in 2014.
They matched DeMarco Murray and the potent Cowboys’ running game yard for yard. They converted 62 percent of their third-down opportunities (eight for 13), and outgained Dallas by 108 yards.
They at least kept the lid on Murray, who gained an even 100 yards rushing — 114 yards less than his per-game average in two previous meetings with the Rams.
But in typical RAC fashion — that’s Rams Are Cursed — they found a way to lose.
“We really let this one slip away,” left guard Rodger Saffold said.
The path to defeat included 119 yards in penalties on eight flags, including a controversial defensive holding call on defensive end Eugene Sims late in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys meanwhile were flagged a mere three times for 15 yards by referee Clete Blakeman’s crew.
Quarterback Austin Davis threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns, but also tossed two interceptions — the first of which was returned 25 yards for a back-breaking TD by linebacker Bruce Carter that gave Dallas a 34-24 lead with 5 minutes 58 seconds to play.
And don’t forget that botched snap by center Scott Wells, on a play where Davis was in shotgun formation yet Wells snapped it as if Davis was under center. Dallas recovered the loose ball near midfield and turned it into a field goal just before halftime.
Mincing no words, coach Jeff Fisher said afterwards: “That’s pretty much all on Scott.”
Fisher continued: “You go up 21-0 and you know you can’t ever let up. That’s precisely why I went for it on fourth and (six inches). We needed touchdowns and we needed to execute, and we didn’t.”
Saffold put the blame on himself when Zac Stacy was dropped for a two-yard loss at the Dallas 16 on that fourth-and-inches play midway through the third quarter.
“They submarined us and knocked us off our feet,” Saffold said. “Couldn’t get up to hit him. That one, I put on myself. Honestly I feel like I lost the game for us. If I would’ve hit the middle linebacker (Anthony Hitchens), Zac would’ve still been running.”
That may be true, but Saffold and the left side of the line got a good initial surge. On what was a slow-developing play, that should’ve been enough.
Saffold wasn’t the only player to say he cost the Rams the game. Tight end Jared Cook dropped what would’ve been a lead-extending touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, on a play he bobbled but then almost caught again before it fell to the turf.
“‘Almost’ doesn’t count, right?” Cook said. “I feel like that was a game we should’ve won. That’s my fault. I put that on my shoulders.”
Meanwhile, it was feast or famine for cornerback Janoris Jenkins. He gave the Rams a 21-0 lead with 6:06 left in the first half when he jumped in front of a short out route pass from Dallas quarterback Tony Romo intended for Dez Bryant and returned his interception 25 yards for a score.
It was Jenkins’ fifth defensive touchdown in the NFL, but his first since his rookie season of 2012.
Then came the famine. He got tagged with a 33-yard pass interference call trying to defend Bryant midway through the fourth. The penalty gave the Cowboys a first down on the St. Louis 20, and they scored on a 12-yard pass from Romo to Terrance Williams three plays later to take the lead for the first time all day, 27-24.
Earlier, on the fourth play of the third quarter, Bryant turned Jenkins around on a double move. There was no safety help after Bryant raced past Jenkins, making for an easy 68-yard TD pass to start the half. The rapidly-shrinking Rams lead was down to 21-17 at that point.
Even with all that, the Rams appeared to be on course for great field position and a chance for a comeback victory or at least a field goal and overtime, trailing 34-31 with 2½ minutes to play. Sims stormed around left end to sack Romo for an 11-yard loss back to the Dallas 9.
But wait. There was a flag on the play. Defensive holding, Rams, No. 97.
After the game, Fisher said, “I’m hoping they got the wrong jersey number on the hold there on Eugene (Sims). I’m really hoping that maybe there was a hold somewhere else on the defense.”
Which was Fisher’s way of saying: There’s no way that was holding on Sims.
But Blakeman told a pool reporter afterwards that the call was on Sims.
“It was reported to me that there was a receiver that was coming across the formation, and there was a grab and a restriction of that receiver by No. 97 (Sims),” Blakeman said. “It’s a judgment call by our line judge (Ron Marinucci).”
A holding penalty against a pass rusher who ended up sacking the quarterback?
“I don’t know that,” Blakeman replied. “I have not seen a replay of it, so I can’t really comment on specifics like that. But that’s what was reported to me — that there was a grab and a restriction of an eligible receiver by No. 97.”
Most Rams were surprised — no, make that shocked — by the call because it looked like the receiver, Terrance Williams, was blocking — not trying to get out on a pass pattern.
“I turn around, I see the flag,” Sims said. “And I asked him (Blakeman) what was going on. ... I didn’t think I held him and the replay didn’t look like I was holding him.”
Off the record, many Rams players disputed the call in expletive-laced fashion. Cook didn’t mince words.
“I thought that was crap,” Cook said of the call. “How do you know if the guy’s blocking you or running past you? All he did was touch him. He didn’t even grab him.”
So instead of a third-and-21 for Dallas on their 9, the Cowboys had a first down at their 25. The Rams had to burn their final two timeouts and lost maybe 30 yards of field position before they got the ball back.
It was that kind of day — actually, it’s been that kind of decade — for the Rams.
