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Turning point: Robert Quinn forces a fumble
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/13328/turning-point-robert-quinn-forces-a-fumble
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Here is a look back at the turning point play in the St. Louis Rams' 13-10 win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon:
The situation: The Rams were teetering on the brink of falling behind by two scores when the Niners took over with excellent field position at their 41 and a 10-3 lead. With 2:39 left on the clock in the second quarter, the Rams had just punted it back to San Francisco after a three-and-out. That three-and-out came on the heels of interceptions by quarterback Austin Davis on the previous two possessions. Yes, it was early in the game but to that point the Rams offense had shown few signs of life and another 49ers score might have effectively put the game away.
The play: Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick rushed for 9 yards on first down to setup a second-and-1 at midfield. With 2:06 to go in the half, the Rams came with three down linemen, including defensive end Robert Quinn in his usual spot at right end. Linebacker Alec Ogletree and safety T.J. McDonald flanked the down linemen, showing blitz with two more actually stacked up one in front of the other in the middle of the line. The Niners spread things out with two receivers wide to Kaepernick's right and three to his left. With no backs or tight ends in the backfield, it left the Rams an opportunity to bring the pressure with only the five offensive linemen to protect Kaepernick from the shotgun. At the snap, Ogletree rushed from his side with Jo-Lonn Dunbar coming up the middle and McDonald sticking in coverage. The Rams sent five to take on San Francisco's five. Defensive end Eugene Sims immediately disrupted the play, rag dolling Niners right guard Alex Boone into Kaepernick's lap. Meanwhile, Quinn uses his usual burst to bend the edge around left tackle Joe Staley. As Kaepernick retreated from Sims, he walked right into Quinn's path. Quinn disengaged from Staley, who did his best to grab ahold of him, hit Kaepernick from behind and jarred the ball loose. Sims fell on it at San Francisco's 36.
"I just saw him running and did whatever I could to swipe the ball out," Quinn said. "I think Gene recovered it to put our offense in good field position. We joked on him why didn’t you scoop and score. But he didn’t want to give them an opportunity to get the ball back."
The fallout: A Rams offense that had sputtered to that point was given great field position and made the most of it. Three plays later, Davis hit receiver Kenny Britt on a crossing pattern for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10 with about a minute to go in the half. In the first meeting between the teams, it was a late first-half touchdown from San Francisco's Brandon Lloyd that turned the tables. This time it was the Rams getting a big score just before the half to turn momentum. And it all started with a combination of Quinn's quickness around the edge and Sims' power inside.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/13328/turning-point-robert-quinn-forces-a-fumble
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Here is a look back at the turning point play in the St. Louis Rams' 13-10 win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon:
The situation: The Rams were teetering on the brink of falling behind by two scores when the Niners took over with excellent field position at their 41 and a 10-3 lead. With 2:39 left on the clock in the second quarter, the Rams had just punted it back to San Francisco after a three-and-out. That three-and-out came on the heels of interceptions by quarterback Austin Davis on the previous two possessions. Yes, it was early in the game but to that point the Rams offense had shown few signs of life and another 49ers score might have effectively put the game away.
The play: Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick rushed for 9 yards on first down to setup a second-and-1 at midfield. With 2:06 to go in the half, the Rams came with three down linemen, including defensive end Robert Quinn in his usual spot at right end. Linebacker Alec Ogletree and safety T.J. McDonald flanked the down linemen, showing blitz with two more actually stacked up one in front of the other in the middle of the line. The Niners spread things out with two receivers wide to Kaepernick's right and three to his left. With no backs or tight ends in the backfield, it left the Rams an opportunity to bring the pressure with only the five offensive linemen to protect Kaepernick from the shotgun. At the snap, Ogletree rushed from his side with Jo-Lonn Dunbar coming up the middle and McDonald sticking in coverage. The Rams sent five to take on San Francisco's five. Defensive end Eugene Sims immediately disrupted the play, rag dolling Niners right guard Alex Boone into Kaepernick's lap. Meanwhile, Quinn uses his usual burst to bend the edge around left tackle Joe Staley. As Kaepernick retreated from Sims, he walked right into Quinn's path. Quinn disengaged from Staley, who did his best to grab ahold of him, hit Kaepernick from behind and jarred the ball loose. Sims fell on it at San Francisco's 36.
"I just saw him running and did whatever I could to swipe the ball out," Quinn said. "I think Gene recovered it to put our offense in good field position. We joked on him why didn’t you scoop and score. But he didn’t want to give them an opportunity to get the ball back."
The fallout: A Rams offense that had sputtered to that point was given great field position and made the most of it. Three plays later, Davis hit receiver Kenny Britt on a crossing pattern for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10 with about a minute to go in the half. In the first meeting between the teams, it was a late first-half touchdown from San Francisco's Brandon Lloyd that turned the tables. This time it was the Rams getting a big score just before the half to turn momentum. And it all started with a combination of Quinn's quickness around the edge and Sims' power inside.
