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Top defenses have made it tough for Rams
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_f2bd8c2c-a94c-50ea-a9bc-23243970e930.html
In quarterback Austin Davis’ first three NFL starts, against Tampa Bay, Dallas and Philadelphia, the Rams averaged 26 points and 418 yards per game.
But then came their tour — some might call the death march — of elite defenses. In order, the Rams have faced the league’s No. 2 (San Francisco), No. 4 (Seattle), No. 5 (Kansas City) and No. 2 again (San Francisco) defenses over the past month.
As might be expected the production took a downturn. Those gaudy numbers of September and early October have been muted. Over the past four games, the Rams are averaging 16.3 points and just 244 yards per game.
The running game averaged 4.45 yards per carry in the first three starts by Davis, compared to 3.81 yards a carry since then.
Davis had a passer rating of 100.6 and a completion percentage of 67.5 in his first three starts, compared to a 76.2 passer rating and 59.8 completion percentage during the four-game tour of top five defenses.
So the slump probably has as much to do with the quality of defensive competition as the opponents getting a book on Davis.
The past two Sundays, the Rams have managed only two touchdowns and two field goals. Thanks to a strong defensive performance, the Rams were able to upset San Francisco last Sunday by scoring just 13 points.
“We had 14 points taken off the board last week,” coach Jeff Fisher countered. “One was a special teams touchdown. One was a defense touchdown.”
He was referring to what looked like a punt return for a touchdown whistled dead against the 49ers. (It wouldn’t have counted anyway because of offsetting penalties.)
The defensive TD was a more legitimate beef. What would have been a fumble returned for a score by James Laurinaitis was negated when it was ruled that 49ers running back Frank Gore’s forward progress had been stopped.
“There’s some points there,” Fisher said. “Those are ‘hidden points’ kinds of things.”
So in his book, it was actually a 27-10 victory over San Fran instead of 13-10?
“Something like that, yeah,” Fisher said.
OK, he was kind of joking there.
As Davis prepares for his eighth start of the season (and of his NFL career) Sunday in Arizona, he has come to know the difference between just a so-so defense and an elite one.
“It’s a confidence thing,” he said. “I think (the top defenses) play with a lot of confidence, and if you allow them to keep that confidence throughout a game, they’re gonna be really tough to handle.
“We’ve got to do some things, move the ball, and kind of frustrate ’em a little bit. Play our game.”
On offense, the Rams “game” has been in a frequent state of flux this season. After establishing a big receiver passing attack with the emergence of Brian Quick, the big-play potential of Kenny Britt, and the contributions of tight ends Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks, the Rams are now adjusting to life without Quick.
Quick suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first half of the Kansas City game Oct. 26 and that’s obviously had a negative impact.
“Yeah, he was productive,” Fisher said. “He was very productive until he got hurt. Someone else will have to step up.”
The Rams have yet to get Stedman Bailey involved much in the offense since he returned from an NFL suspension in Game 3. He has just five catches for 60 yards. Tavon Austin hasn’t had a ton of impact either, with 15 catches for 134 yards.
“We have one ball,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday. “Can’t get everybody involved. We’ve got tight ends that want the ball. We have a package of plays.
“What you try to do in the passing game is come up with progressions, where the ball can get spread around. We tease the guys all the time. We say, ‘You want the ball? Get open. Because Austin will find you, he’ll read his progressions.’ ”
In the running game, Tre Mason is getting his chance to be a starter after the earlier games emphasized more Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham.
“We’re at our best when we’re balanced — when we can get the running game going,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got to do a better job of converting third downs; that helps us.”
This week, the Cardinals’ 19th-ranked defense is a mixed bag. They are ranked third in the league rushing defense and commit a lot of manpower into the box. That puts a lot of pressure on their secondary to handle the passing game with a lot of man-to-man coverage.
There have been some hiccups at times in that approach. And that is part of the reason why the Big Red ranks dead last (32nd) in passing defense. But that ranking is a bit misleading because at 7-1, the Cardinals have given up garbage yards as teams try to catch up late in games.
Ball security is important this week as well, because the Cardinals are tied for fifth in the league in takeaways with 16.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_f2bd8c2c-a94c-50ea-a9bc-23243970e930.html
In quarterback Austin Davis’ first three NFL starts, against Tampa Bay, Dallas and Philadelphia, the Rams averaged 26 points and 418 yards per game.
But then came their tour — some might call the death march — of elite defenses. In order, the Rams have faced the league’s No. 2 (San Francisco), No. 4 (Seattle), No. 5 (Kansas City) and No. 2 again (San Francisco) defenses over the past month.
As might be expected the production took a downturn. Those gaudy numbers of September and early October have been muted. Over the past four games, the Rams are averaging 16.3 points and just 244 yards per game.
The running game averaged 4.45 yards per carry in the first three starts by Davis, compared to 3.81 yards a carry since then.
Davis had a passer rating of 100.6 and a completion percentage of 67.5 in his first three starts, compared to a 76.2 passer rating and 59.8 completion percentage during the four-game tour of top five defenses.
So the slump probably has as much to do with the quality of defensive competition as the opponents getting a book on Davis.
The past two Sundays, the Rams have managed only two touchdowns and two field goals. Thanks to a strong defensive performance, the Rams were able to upset San Francisco last Sunday by scoring just 13 points.
“We had 14 points taken off the board last week,” coach Jeff Fisher countered. “One was a special teams touchdown. One was a defense touchdown.”
He was referring to what looked like a punt return for a touchdown whistled dead against the 49ers. (It wouldn’t have counted anyway because of offsetting penalties.)
The defensive TD was a more legitimate beef. What would have been a fumble returned for a score by James Laurinaitis was negated when it was ruled that 49ers running back Frank Gore’s forward progress had been stopped.
“There’s some points there,” Fisher said. “Those are ‘hidden points’ kinds of things.”
So in his book, it was actually a 27-10 victory over San Fran instead of 13-10?
“Something like that, yeah,” Fisher said.
OK, he was kind of joking there.
As Davis prepares for his eighth start of the season (and of his NFL career) Sunday in Arizona, he has come to know the difference between just a so-so defense and an elite one.
“It’s a confidence thing,” he said. “I think (the top defenses) play with a lot of confidence, and if you allow them to keep that confidence throughout a game, they’re gonna be really tough to handle.
“We’ve got to do some things, move the ball, and kind of frustrate ’em a little bit. Play our game.”
On offense, the Rams “game” has been in a frequent state of flux this season. After establishing a big receiver passing attack with the emergence of Brian Quick, the big-play potential of Kenny Britt, and the contributions of tight ends Jared Cook and Lance Kendricks, the Rams are now adjusting to life without Quick.
Quick suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first half of the Kansas City game Oct. 26 and that’s obviously had a negative impact.
“Yeah, he was productive,” Fisher said. “He was very productive until he got hurt. Someone else will have to step up.”
The Rams have yet to get Stedman Bailey involved much in the offense since he returned from an NFL suspension in Game 3. He has just five catches for 60 yards. Tavon Austin hasn’t had a ton of impact either, with 15 catches for 134 yards.
“We have one ball,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday. “Can’t get everybody involved. We’ve got tight ends that want the ball. We have a package of plays.
“What you try to do in the passing game is come up with progressions, where the ball can get spread around. We tease the guys all the time. We say, ‘You want the ball? Get open. Because Austin will find you, he’ll read his progressions.’ ”
In the running game, Tre Mason is getting his chance to be a starter after the earlier games emphasized more Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham.
“We’re at our best when we’re balanced — when we can get the running game going,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got to do a better job of converting third downs; that helps us.”
This week, the Cardinals’ 19th-ranked defense is a mixed bag. They are ranked third in the league rushing defense and commit a lot of manpower into the box. That puts a lot of pressure on their secondary to handle the passing game with a lot of man-to-man coverage.
There have been some hiccups at times in that approach. And that is part of the reason why the Big Red ranks dead last (32nd) in passing defense. But that ranking is a bit misleading because at 7-1, the Cardinals have given up garbage yards as teams try to catch up late in games.
Ball security is important this week as well, because the Cardinals are tied for fifth in the league in takeaways with 16.
