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Rapid Reaction: St. Louis Rams
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/12996/rapid-reaction-st-louis-rams-19
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A few thoughts on the St. Louis Rams' 34-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium:
What it means: The Rams' victory over Seattle last week offered a short respite to forget about all that ails the Rams. But it only took a week for many of those problems to come bubbling to the surface again. The Rams had plenty of chances to jump out to an early lead and make Kansas City work for this one, but instead reverted to their usual M.O. of self-destruction. Never was that more evident than a second-quarter sequence in which the Rams recovered a fumble at Kansas City's 8 and came away with zero points. The Chiefs scored 34 unanswered points and that was that. At 2-5 with road trips to San Francisco and Arizona the next two weeks, things such as silly penalties, missed tackles and shoddy pass protection remain at the forefront for this team. Until those things change, the results will remain the same.
Stock watch: Down -- The offense, all of it. After an impressive opening drive, the Rams were wholly ineffective with the ball, with plenty of blame to be spread. Start with ineffective play calling that offered little in the way of creativity or adjustments, then go to an offensive line that was leaking from nearly every position to a quarterback who forced a bad interception in the first quarter to receivers failing to create separation. You name it, the Rams did (or didn't) do all of it. All told, the Rams mustered 200 yards of offense, including just 20 in an atrocious third quarter.
Injuries pile up: Speaking of the offensive line, a group that has mostly held up on the injury front so far finally had the issues that seemed imminent from the start of the season. Guard Rodger Saffold, center Scott Wells and left tackle Jake Long have been injury-prone in the past few years and it seemed to be a matter of time before it happened again. It happened all at once against Kansas City as Saffold (shoulder), Wells (elbow) and Long (knee) left the game and did not return. Receiver Brian Quick left with an arm injury and also did not come back. The Rams also took major hits at safety, where Rodney McLeod (knee) and Cody Davis (concussion) departed and did not return.
Game ball: Defensive end Robert Quinn. In an ongoing theme this season, there wasn't much to choose from here, but Quinn had his best day of the season, posting back-to-back sacks in the second quarter and forcing an Alex Smith fumble from behind in the opening quarter. After going without a sack in the season's first five games, Quinn has three in the past two weeks and seems to be coming to life.
What's next: The Rams head to San Francisco to take on the 49ers for the second time in four weeks. It will be the second game in a three-game road trip.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/12996/rapid-reaction-st-louis-rams-19
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A few thoughts on the St. Louis Rams' 34-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium:
What it means: The Rams' victory over Seattle last week offered a short respite to forget about all that ails the Rams. But it only took a week for many of those problems to come bubbling to the surface again. The Rams had plenty of chances to jump out to an early lead and make Kansas City work for this one, but instead reverted to their usual M.O. of self-destruction. Never was that more evident than a second-quarter sequence in which the Rams recovered a fumble at Kansas City's 8 and came away with zero points. The Chiefs scored 34 unanswered points and that was that. At 2-5 with road trips to San Francisco and Arizona the next two weeks, things such as silly penalties, missed tackles and shoddy pass protection remain at the forefront for this team. Until those things change, the results will remain the same.
Stock watch: Down -- The offense, all of it. After an impressive opening drive, the Rams were wholly ineffective with the ball, with plenty of blame to be spread. Start with ineffective play calling that offered little in the way of creativity or adjustments, then go to an offensive line that was leaking from nearly every position to a quarterback who forced a bad interception in the first quarter to receivers failing to create separation. You name it, the Rams did (or didn't) do all of it. All told, the Rams mustered 200 yards of offense, including just 20 in an atrocious third quarter.
Injuries pile up: Speaking of the offensive line, a group that has mostly held up on the injury front so far finally had the issues that seemed imminent from the start of the season. Guard Rodger Saffold, center Scott Wells and left tackle Jake Long have been injury-prone in the past few years and it seemed to be a matter of time before it happened again. It happened all at once against Kansas City as Saffold (shoulder), Wells (elbow) and Long (knee) left the game and did not return. Receiver Brian Quick left with an arm injury and also did not come back. The Rams also took major hits at safety, where Rodney McLeod (knee) and Cody Davis (concussion) departed and did not return.
Game ball: Defensive end Robert Quinn. In an ongoing theme this season, there wasn't much to choose from here, but Quinn had his best day of the season, posting back-to-back sacks in the second quarter and forcing an Alex Smith fumble from behind in the opening quarter. After going without a sack in the season's first five games, Quinn has three in the past two weeks and seems to be coming to life.
What's next: The Rams head to San Francisco to take on the 49ers for the second time in four weeks. It will be the second game in a three-game road trip.
