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Somehow Rams avoid that old sinking feeling
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_352fa5ae-acc4-544f-baf7-bc466980a9d6.html
There was a time in the second quarter of the Rams’ game Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers when there was a distinct here-we-go-again feel to the proceedings at Levi’s Stadium.
Rams quarterback Austin Davis threw into double coverage for an interception, missing an open receiver elsewhere. Three plays later, a busted coverage led to a 27-yard touchdown by San Francisco wide receiver Anquan Boldin and a 10-3 lead for the 49ers.
Yes, here we go again.
But the Rams didn’t tumble down that slippery slope this time.
Not only did they tie the score before the half at 10-10, but a Rams team that has been yielding nearly 20 points a game in second halves this season pitched a shutout after halftime this time.
The Rams found a way to avoid their second-half woes and finish off a game in their 13-10 victory.
“We stressed ... it. We talked about it,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “Maybe that’s why. It was in the forefront of our minds, but we were talking about it for weeks, really.”
The subject came up at halftime, and although there were no magic words, the words spoken hit home.
“We just said, ‘We’re going to fight. Fight till we can’t fight anymore,’” defensive end Williams Hayes said. “And that’s what happened. We just didn’t go flat.”
Coach Jeff Fisher was at a loss Monday to explain why they didn’t go flat in the second half, as had been the case in Kansas City, or in the Monday night loss to San Francisco, or against Dallas or even back in the season opener against Minnesota.
“It just happened,” Fisher said. “We had been talking about the importance of playing 3 hours and 10 minutes, as opposed to a first half of a football game.”
Similarly, the dramatic revival of the pass rush just seemed to happen.
The Rams’ eight sacks vs. San Francisco was their highest total since a nine-sack performance against Arizona in a Thursday night contest early in the 2012 season.
Mobile Colin Kaepernick isn’t the easiest quarterback in the league to get down on the ground, but the Rams kept him inside the pocket and seemed to get him rattled — at least a little gun shy — as the pressures and sacks mounted over the course of the game.
“We played him good,” Hayes said. “He’s a phenomenal quarterback, you know. And he’s got a real good O-line. We just got the best of him.”
Throughout the visitors’ locker room Sunday, Rams players stressed that they could’ve played much better.
It’s a point Fisher reiterated Monday.
“But we found a way to win it, and that speaks volumes of these guys,” Fisher said. “Things didn’t look good early in the week. But we got their legs back; we got them back.
“We told them, ‘You’re not going to be thinking about Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 1 o’clock (Pacific time). So go play hard.’ And that’s what they did.”
The victory illustrated two of the best features of Fisher’s coaching style.
For one, he has an excellent feel on when to ease up on the players physically.
The result last week was turning Wednesday’s practice into a walk-through, something basically unheard of in the NFL.
You only get three full-scale practices a week in the regular season, and Fisher all but canceled one of them.
“Everybody was committed to working after that loss” to Kansas City, tight end Lance Kendricks said. “We know we’re a good team. We’ve just got to prove it. We’ve got to come out here on Sunday and prove it. ‘Fish’ took care of our bodies during the week and we were able to come out here and get a win.”
So after what could have been a devastating loss to the Chiefs, Fisher said he talked to the team Monday and Wednesday of San Francisco week.
He asked the players to trust him and trust the staff. They would get the players back physically and mentally in time for the 49ers.
“This team listens very well,” Fisher said.
Fisher said he could tell by Thursday that the team’s energy level was back.
From that point on, he said he had no doubts about whether the team would be focused or ready for San Francisco.
And the other thing that’s apparent about Fisher’s coaching style: He does some of his best work when the Rams are in the underdog role and no one expects them to win.
It’s not necessarily something he verbalizes to the media, but he gets his message across to the players.
“We like that, knowing that the world’s against us and all we have are the guys that are in this locker room,” wide receiver Kenny Britt said. “That’s something about us that we take pride in.
“Regardless of what our record is right now, how bad the game goes, we believe in ourselves. Throughout the whole game, throughout this whole season, we believe in ourselves.”
They certainly made believers of the 49ers on Sunday afternooon.
“We get really confident when we play teams in our division,” Laurinaitis said. “We like playing against these guys. We love the matchup.
“It’s old-school football. We love the challenge.”
And this time around, it was a challenge met.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_352fa5ae-acc4-544f-baf7-bc466980a9d6.html
There was a time in the second quarter of the Rams’ game Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers when there was a distinct here-we-go-again feel to the proceedings at Levi’s Stadium.
Rams quarterback Austin Davis threw into double coverage for an interception, missing an open receiver elsewhere. Three plays later, a busted coverage led to a 27-yard touchdown by San Francisco wide receiver Anquan Boldin and a 10-3 lead for the 49ers.
Yes, here we go again.
But the Rams didn’t tumble down that slippery slope this time.
Not only did they tie the score before the half at 10-10, but a Rams team that has been yielding nearly 20 points a game in second halves this season pitched a shutout after halftime this time.
The Rams found a way to avoid their second-half woes and finish off a game in their 13-10 victory.
“We stressed ... it. We talked about it,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “Maybe that’s why. It was in the forefront of our minds, but we were talking about it for weeks, really.”
The subject came up at halftime, and although there were no magic words, the words spoken hit home.
“We just said, ‘We’re going to fight. Fight till we can’t fight anymore,’” defensive end Williams Hayes said. “And that’s what happened. We just didn’t go flat.”
Coach Jeff Fisher was at a loss Monday to explain why they didn’t go flat in the second half, as had been the case in Kansas City, or in the Monday night loss to San Francisco, or against Dallas or even back in the season opener against Minnesota.
“It just happened,” Fisher said. “We had been talking about the importance of playing 3 hours and 10 minutes, as opposed to a first half of a football game.”
Similarly, the dramatic revival of the pass rush just seemed to happen.
The Rams’ eight sacks vs. San Francisco was their highest total since a nine-sack performance against Arizona in a Thursday night contest early in the 2012 season.
Mobile Colin Kaepernick isn’t the easiest quarterback in the league to get down on the ground, but the Rams kept him inside the pocket and seemed to get him rattled — at least a little gun shy — as the pressures and sacks mounted over the course of the game.
“We played him good,” Hayes said. “He’s a phenomenal quarterback, you know. And he’s got a real good O-line. We just got the best of him.”
Throughout the visitors’ locker room Sunday, Rams players stressed that they could’ve played much better.
It’s a point Fisher reiterated Monday.
“But we found a way to win it, and that speaks volumes of these guys,” Fisher said. “Things didn’t look good early in the week. But we got their legs back; we got them back.
“We told them, ‘You’re not going to be thinking about Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 1 o’clock (Pacific time). So go play hard.’ And that’s what they did.”
The victory illustrated two of the best features of Fisher’s coaching style.
For one, he has an excellent feel on when to ease up on the players physically.
The result last week was turning Wednesday’s practice into a walk-through, something basically unheard of in the NFL.
You only get three full-scale practices a week in the regular season, and Fisher all but canceled one of them.
“Everybody was committed to working after that loss” to Kansas City, tight end Lance Kendricks said. “We know we’re a good team. We’ve just got to prove it. We’ve got to come out here on Sunday and prove it. ‘Fish’ took care of our bodies during the week and we were able to come out here and get a win.”
So after what could have been a devastating loss to the Chiefs, Fisher said he talked to the team Monday and Wednesday of San Francisco week.
He asked the players to trust him and trust the staff. They would get the players back physically and mentally in time for the 49ers.
“This team listens very well,” Fisher said.
Fisher said he could tell by Thursday that the team’s energy level was back.
From that point on, he said he had no doubts about whether the team would be focused or ready for San Francisco.
And the other thing that’s apparent about Fisher’s coaching style: He does some of his best work when the Rams are in the underdog role and no one expects them to win.
It’s not necessarily something he verbalizes to the media, but he gets his message across to the players.
“We like that, knowing that the world’s against us and all we have are the guys that are in this locker room,” wide receiver Kenny Britt said. “That’s something about us that we take pride in.
“Regardless of what our record is right now, how bad the game goes, we believe in ourselves. Throughout the whole game, throughout this whole season, we believe in ourselves.”
They certainly made believers of the 49ers on Sunday afternooon.
“We get really confident when we play teams in our division,” Laurinaitis said. “We like playing against these guys. We love the matchup.
“It’s old-school football. We love the challenge.”
And this time around, it was a challenge met.