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The Film Don't Lie: Rams
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/13063/the-film-dont-lie-rams-4
A weekly look at what the St. Louis Rams must fix:
The San Francisco 49ers just played the Rams in Week 6. Colin Kaepernick & Co. had plenty of success throwing the ball in that game, as he finished with 343 yards while completing 62.9 percent of his 35 pass attempts.
But if Kaepernick spent his bye week watching the Rams lose to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, he will see that he can actually be more efficient and take fewer risks against the Rams. The key? Keep it short.
In the Rams' latest loss, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith attempted 28 passes. He completed 24 of them for 226 yards. Of those 28 passes, just one -- a 14-yard completion to Dwayne Bowe -- traveled more than 10 yards in the air. In the process, Smith became the first quarterback to win a game without attempting multiple passes of more than 10 yards in the air since Week 8 of 2012.
And Smith's approach is nothing new. The Rams are 12th in the league in passing yards allowed per game at 231.71, but that number is wholly misleading. Because teams have had such success running the ball against the Rams, they haven't had to throw much -- but when they do, they are having a lot of success. The Rams rank 29th in the league in passer rating allowed (106) and last in completion percentage allowed (70.2) while facing the fewest passing attempts in the NFL (205).
Getting third-year starters Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson back from knee injuries would be helpful, but the Rams must also find a way to be more aggressive in coverage or teams will continue to nickel and dime them up and down the field.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/13063/the-film-dont-lie-rams-4
A weekly look at what the St. Louis Rams must fix:
The San Francisco 49ers just played the Rams in Week 6. Colin Kaepernick & Co. had plenty of success throwing the ball in that game, as he finished with 343 yards while completing 62.9 percent of his 35 pass attempts.
But if Kaepernick spent his bye week watching the Rams lose to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, he will see that he can actually be more efficient and take fewer risks against the Rams. The key? Keep it short.
In the Rams' latest loss, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith attempted 28 passes. He completed 24 of them for 226 yards. Of those 28 passes, just one -- a 14-yard completion to Dwayne Bowe -- traveled more than 10 yards in the air. In the process, Smith became the first quarterback to win a game without attempting multiple passes of more than 10 yards in the air since Week 8 of 2012.
And Smith's approach is nothing new. The Rams are 12th in the league in passing yards allowed per game at 231.71, but that number is wholly misleading. Because teams have had such success running the ball against the Rams, they haven't had to throw much -- but when they do, they are having a lot of success. The Rams rank 29th in the league in passer rating allowed (106) and last in completion percentage allowed (70.2) while facing the fewest passing attempts in the NFL (205).
Getting third-year starters Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson back from knee injuries would be helpful, but the Rams must also find a way to be more aggressive in coverage or teams will continue to nickel and dime them up and down the field.
