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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_1ad2f60c-f91e-53f6-b33b-62f669daddfa.html
Last summer in World Cup soccer, the United States squad found itself in the so-called Group of Death with stiff competition in the form of Germany, Portugal and Ghana.
For the next eight weeks, the Rams’ football team finds itself in the Stretch of Doom. Starting on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Fieldin Philadelphia, the Rams (1-2) play eight consecutive games against teams that either made the playoffs, won at least 10 games — or both — in 2013.
The stretch includes defending Super Bowl champion Seattle, Super Bowl runner-up Denver and NFC powerhouse San Francisco (twice). Philadelphia won the NFC East, Kansas City and San Diego were wild-card teams and “poor little” Arizona went 10-6 but didn’t make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive NFC West.
Making matters tougher, five of those eight games are on the road, including three in a row: at KC (Oct. 26), at San Fran (Nov. 2), and at Bill Bidwill’s Place (Nov. 9).
The Rams haven’t won in San Francisco since 2007, are 2-5 in Arizona since 2007 and have lost their only two games at Arrowhead Stadium, aka the Sea of Red, by a combined score of 103-44 since the move to St. Louis.
Granted, what happened last season with a team often has little bearing on what transpires the following year. We get it. But the seven teams awaiting the Rams from now through Nov. 23 have shown little-to-no sign of falling off the gridiron map.
They have a combined record of 19-10 entering Sunday’s games. (We’re counting San Francisco’s 2-2 mark twice, because the Rams play them twice in this stretch: Oct. 13 in St. Louis and Nov. 2 out west.)
Philadelphia (3-1), Arizona (3-0) and San Diego (3-1) are division leaders; Denver (2-1) and Seattle (2-1) would be wild-card teams if the season ended today.
San Francisco and Kansas City (2-2) overcame sluggish starts to 2014 with rousing victories last weekend.
So what can be said to the Rams as they enter this unreal stretch except for: “Best of luck fellas”?
Obviously, neither coach Jeff Fisher nor any of his players can afford to think that way, or think big-picture. If they did, they might get a headache. The NFL is a week-to-week business, and this week it’s the Eagles in a noon (St. Louis time) kickoff.
“We have to focus on Philly, we really do,” Fisher said before the start of the practice week. “Yeah, when the schedule came out, you looked at it and you saw those consecutive weeks where there’s six, seven (games) against playoff teams, and Arizona who was 10-6 last year.”
But things can change.
A quarterback can go down. A defense can spring leaks. For example: Minnesota, minus running backs Adrian Peterson and quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater (for now) looks a lot different than it did on opening day four weeks ago in St. Louis.
“You can’t dwell or spend too much time on the schedule,” Fisher said. “It really is a very simple process. It’s pay attention to who you’re playing next.”
That would be Chip Kelly’s Eagles. Four weeks ago, winning in the City of Brotherly Love seemed like an impossible task. And now? Not so much.
The Eagles play Sunday without two of their starting offensive linemen — two good ones at that in Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis and ascending center Jason Kelce. Quarterback Nick Foles is battered and bruised. Although Foles hasn’t played poorly, he hasn’t been as effective as he was during his Pro Bowl campaign of 2013.
Deluxe running back LeSean McCoy has been stuck in neutral, averaging less than three yards a carry. On the other side of the ball, Philly’s 28th-ranked defense has had trouble stopping the run and the pass.
With young Austin Davis officially crowned as the starting quarterback, and Zac Stacy finally running like he did for much of last season, the Rams have growing confidence on offense. Davis is spreading the ball around, and the receiver corps — wideouts and tight ends — are making plays.
Now if only the’ defense would show up. Don’t be confused by the Rams’ ranking of 12th in total defense. The unit is 30th in run defense, is yielding 23.7 points a game and is last in the NFL with only one sack in three games.
In terms of the pass rush, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said, “We had some opportunities this past week (against Dallas). We whiffed and just missed with some free rushers.”
Overall, Williams added: “We’ve got to do a good job on not giving up some of the big plays. A few of those plays you can’t explain why some smart guys like that would (miss assignments).
“But we’ve been real pleased with how hard they’ve been playing, and they’re getting better each and every week. We’ve just got to try to not have the unexpected one or two plays a game that causes points on the board.”
If there was ever a chance to get this pass rush going, this looks like the week. Foles is not very mobile and the Eagles’ offensive line is vulnerable in the middle.
The NFL is a matchup game, and that’s a matchup the Rams’ underachieving defensive line needs to exploit Sunday.
“Every week is an opportunity to make a big play,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “With them being a little hurt, we should take advantage of it. When you have those matchups, you have to take advantage of them. And that’s what we have to do this week.”
Unless the Eagles change what they’ve been doing all along under Kelly, Foles will attempt several deep shots in the passing game. Deep shots generally involve seven-step drops and they take a little more time to develop. In theory, the Rams should have some chances to unleash what has been a surprisingly ineffective pass rush.
If the Eagles can get McCoy on track, it’s an entirely different dynamic because then Philadelphia can get its play-action game going and keep the Rams off-balance.
But McCoy is struggling to the point of frustration, with only 39 yards rushing in 29 carries over the last two games.
“He’s frustrated now, and let’s keep him that way,” Brockers said.
Last summer in World Cup soccer, the United States squad found itself in the so-called Group of Death with stiff competition in the form of Germany, Portugal and Ghana.
For the next eight weeks, the Rams’ football team finds itself in the Stretch of Doom. Starting on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Fieldin Philadelphia, the Rams (1-2) play eight consecutive games against teams that either made the playoffs, won at least 10 games — or both — in 2013.
The stretch includes defending Super Bowl champion Seattle, Super Bowl runner-up Denver and NFC powerhouse San Francisco (twice). Philadelphia won the NFC East, Kansas City and San Diego were wild-card teams and “poor little” Arizona went 10-6 but didn’t make the playoffs in the ultra-competitive NFC West.
Making matters tougher, five of those eight games are on the road, including three in a row: at KC (Oct. 26), at San Fran (Nov. 2), and at Bill Bidwill’s Place (Nov. 9).
The Rams haven’t won in San Francisco since 2007, are 2-5 in Arizona since 2007 and have lost their only two games at Arrowhead Stadium, aka the Sea of Red, by a combined score of 103-44 since the move to St. Louis.
Granted, what happened last season with a team often has little bearing on what transpires the following year. We get it. But the seven teams awaiting the Rams from now through Nov. 23 have shown little-to-no sign of falling off the gridiron map.
They have a combined record of 19-10 entering Sunday’s games. (We’re counting San Francisco’s 2-2 mark twice, because the Rams play them twice in this stretch: Oct. 13 in St. Louis and Nov. 2 out west.)
Philadelphia (3-1), Arizona (3-0) and San Diego (3-1) are division leaders; Denver (2-1) and Seattle (2-1) would be wild-card teams if the season ended today.
San Francisco and Kansas City (2-2) overcame sluggish starts to 2014 with rousing victories last weekend.
So what can be said to the Rams as they enter this unreal stretch except for: “Best of luck fellas”?
Obviously, neither coach Jeff Fisher nor any of his players can afford to think that way, or think big-picture. If they did, they might get a headache. The NFL is a week-to-week business, and this week it’s the Eagles in a noon (St. Louis time) kickoff.
“We have to focus on Philly, we really do,” Fisher said before the start of the practice week. “Yeah, when the schedule came out, you looked at it and you saw those consecutive weeks where there’s six, seven (games) against playoff teams, and Arizona who was 10-6 last year.”
But things can change.
A quarterback can go down. A defense can spring leaks. For example: Minnesota, minus running backs Adrian Peterson and quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater (for now) looks a lot different than it did on opening day four weeks ago in St. Louis.
“You can’t dwell or spend too much time on the schedule,” Fisher said. “It really is a very simple process. It’s pay attention to who you’re playing next.”
That would be Chip Kelly’s Eagles. Four weeks ago, winning in the City of Brotherly Love seemed like an impossible task. And now? Not so much.
The Eagles play Sunday without two of their starting offensive linemen — two good ones at that in Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis and ascending center Jason Kelce. Quarterback Nick Foles is battered and bruised. Although Foles hasn’t played poorly, he hasn’t been as effective as he was during his Pro Bowl campaign of 2013.
Deluxe running back LeSean McCoy has been stuck in neutral, averaging less than three yards a carry. On the other side of the ball, Philly’s 28th-ranked defense has had trouble stopping the run and the pass.
With young Austin Davis officially crowned as the starting quarterback, and Zac Stacy finally running like he did for much of last season, the Rams have growing confidence on offense. Davis is spreading the ball around, and the receiver corps — wideouts and tight ends — are making plays.
Now if only the’ defense would show up. Don’t be confused by the Rams’ ranking of 12th in total defense. The unit is 30th in run defense, is yielding 23.7 points a game and is last in the NFL with only one sack in three games.
In terms of the pass rush, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said, “We had some opportunities this past week (against Dallas). We whiffed and just missed with some free rushers.”
Overall, Williams added: “We’ve got to do a good job on not giving up some of the big plays. A few of those plays you can’t explain why some smart guys like that would (miss assignments).
“But we’ve been real pleased with how hard they’ve been playing, and they’re getting better each and every week. We’ve just got to try to not have the unexpected one or two plays a game that causes points on the board.”
If there was ever a chance to get this pass rush going, this looks like the week. Foles is not very mobile and the Eagles’ offensive line is vulnerable in the middle.
The NFL is a matchup game, and that’s a matchup the Rams’ underachieving defensive line needs to exploit Sunday.
“Every week is an opportunity to make a big play,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “With them being a little hurt, we should take advantage of it. When you have those matchups, you have to take advantage of them. And that’s what we have to do this week.”
Unless the Eagles change what they’ve been doing all along under Kelly, Foles will attempt several deep shots in the passing game. Deep shots generally involve seven-step drops and they take a little more time to develop. In theory, the Rams should have some chances to unleash what has been a surprisingly ineffective pass rush.
If the Eagles can get McCoy on track, it’s an entirely different dynamic because then Philadelphia can get its play-action game going and keep the Rams off-balance.
But McCoy is struggling to the point of frustration, with only 39 yards rushing in 29 carries over the last two games.
“He’s frustrated now, and let’s keep him that way,” Brockers said.
