Speeding up helped Rams offense but isn't long-term solution/Wagoner

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RamBill

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Speeding up helped Rams offense but isn't long-term solution
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...lped-rams-offense-but-isnt-long-term-solution

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In search of a solution for an offense that is 31st in the NFL in time of possession, last in first downs per game and last in snaps played, the St. Louis Rams took an interesting approach in the third quarter of Sunday's 24-6 win against the Cleveland Browns.

For the first time this season, the Rams turned up the tempo in hopes of finding some much-needed offensive traction. That's right, as counterproductive as it sounds given the stats above, an offense that has struggled mightily to sustain drives decided that going faster could actually be the right move.

And the crazy part is, to some extent, it worked.

"We sped the tempo up just a little bit in the second half and that helped us a little bit," coach Jeff Fisher said. "Nick (Foles) was good with that. That doesn’t mean we’re going to do it this week, but it was a good adjustment as far as most of the third quarter was concerned.”

Throughout the first 30 minutes of the contest, the Rams offense posted 108 yards, five first downs and did not convert any of its five third-down tries. Included in those numbers was a complete first-quarter failure in which the offense had no first downs and had a net of 3 yards with a total time of possession of 3:26 on two series.

Despite leading 10-3 at the half, Fisher and the Rams went into the locker room frustrated by another slow offensive start and worried about wasting another dominant defensive performance. As they discussed the options, going to a no-huddle look that Cleveland hadn't seen on tape emerged as an intriguing one.

Before Sunday, the Rams hadn't done that much in games so the Browns didn't have a chance to prepare for it. Not only does the no-huddle not line up with the Rams' run-first philosophy, but Foles hadn't been in the system long enough to make the calls at the line and handle in-game adjustments. But with a spark needed, Fisher turned it over to Foles in that third quarter.

“Yeah, the adjustments were good," Fisher said. "He got together with the offense and said, ‘These are the things we’re going to do. Let’s go do it.’ He did it. So, yeah it’s good. I mean, we work on it. It’s a two-minute offense. We work on it in practice.”

As it turned out, the added tempo was just what the Rams needed. When they switched to it in the third quarter, they promptly put together their best drives of the day, finishing with 125 yards, seven first downs and scoring their first offensive touchdown of the game. In the first, second and fourth quarters, the Rams averaged 40.2 seconds between plays. In the third quarter, that number dropped to 36.8.

Cleveland had the ball for nearly double the amount of time, tilting the overall time of possession in the Browns' favor, but at least the Rams offense finally started to produce.

“It’s just a way to try to show them something a little different,” Foles said. “Just try to go fast and put pressure on the defense and get some rhythm going. We were able to create some rhythm throughout our offense and create some big plays.”

Moving forward, it's a nice option to have in the holster, but Fisher would be the first to acknowledge that it's not something the Rams can keep doing within the context of their offensive philosophy. The Rams defense already has spent plenty of time on the field this year and going to no-huddle looks on a consistent basis would only open the possibility of even shorter drives on the occasions it doesn't work.

Asked if the no-huddle approach would become a staple of the offense, Fisher couldn't help but laugh.

“Probably never ever see it again,” Fisher said, chuckling.

Clearly, Fisher was being sarcastic but it's also a safe bet that the Rams won't be doing it on a regular basis.