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Ugly loss to Cowboys lingers for Rams
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11871/ugly-loss-to-cowboys-still-lingers-for-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher has a 24-hour rule for his team, a rule in which his players are supposed to take one day to either stew over their latest loss or celebrate a victory.
Occasionally, something happens that can be hard to shake. Take last year's 31-7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys as a prime example. That was Week 3 of 2013. One year later, with the Cowboys coming to town for another Week 3 matchup, the memories of that game have been dredged up all over again.
Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford spent too much time gathering himself after a sack against the Cowboys last year, a loss that stung the Rams.
"You try to abide by the 24-hour or in this case, 365-day rule, but at the end of the day whether last year happened or not, it’s the next game on the schedule and we are going out there to win," right tackle Joe Barksdale said.
For the Rams to get that victory, it's going to take an effort dramatically better than what they offered in Dallas last year. For the most part, the Rams' roster is largely the same. Most of the players in the locker room remember exactly what happened that day.
Beyond the 24-point margin, it was a dismal performance on both sides of the ball. The Cowboys outgained the Rams 396 to 232 with running back DeMarco Murray's 175 rushing yards leading the way.
"That thing stung for a long time last year," Fisher said. "We’ve got to play much better on defense."
On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys defense repeatedly got to quarterback Sam Bradford, tallying six sacks. DeMarcus Ware manhandled left tackle Jake Long and defensive tackle Jason Hatcher disrupted the interior of the line for most of the day.
The loss to Dallas was the first of consecutive defeats that would force the Rams to scrap their efforts to evolve into a more wide open passing attack. They carried just 12 times for 35 yards in that game, a common refrain that would repeat the following week against the San Francisco 49ers and ultimately led the Rams to getting back to basics in the run game.
The Rams return three starters from the offensive line who played in that game but they believe they have a group which is better equipped to stand up to the test this time. It doesn't hurt that Hatcher and Ware have since moved on, either.
"We’re a better offensive line than last year, we had a better game last week than the first week and we are going to improve on last week’s game and continue to do that throughout the season," Barksdale said.
Of course, using previous results to determine the future outcomes is a fool's errand when it comes to the NFL. But it's safe to assume the Rams will carry a little something extra into Sunday's meeting with recollections of that debacle fresh in their minds.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11871/ugly-loss-to-cowboys-still-lingers-for-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher has a 24-hour rule for his team, a rule in which his players are supposed to take one day to either stew over their latest loss or celebrate a victory.
Occasionally, something happens that can be hard to shake. Take last year's 31-7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys as a prime example. That was Week 3 of 2013. One year later, with the Cowboys coming to town for another Week 3 matchup, the memories of that game have been dredged up all over again.
Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford spent too much time gathering himself after a sack against the Cowboys last year, a loss that stung the Rams.
"You try to abide by the 24-hour or in this case, 365-day rule, but at the end of the day whether last year happened or not, it’s the next game on the schedule and we are going out there to win," right tackle Joe Barksdale said.
For the Rams to get that victory, it's going to take an effort dramatically better than what they offered in Dallas last year. For the most part, the Rams' roster is largely the same. Most of the players in the locker room remember exactly what happened that day.
Beyond the 24-point margin, it was a dismal performance on both sides of the ball. The Cowboys outgained the Rams 396 to 232 with running back DeMarco Murray's 175 rushing yards leading the way.
"That thing stung for a long time last year," Fisher said. "We’ve got to play much better on defense."
On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys defense repeatedly got to quarterback Sam Bradford, tallying six sacks. DeMarcus Ware manhandled left tackle Jake Long and defensive tackle Jason Hatcher disrupted the interior of the line for most of the day.
The loss to Dallas was the first of consecutive defeats that would force the Rams to scrap their efforts to evolve into a more wide open passing attack. They carried just 12 times for 35 yards in that game, a common refrain that would repeat the following week against the San Francisco 49ers and ultimately led the Rams to getting back to basics in the run game.
The Rams return three starters from the offensive line who played in that game but they believe they have a group which is better equipped to stand up to the test this time. It doesn't hurt that Hatcher and Ware have since moved on, either.
"We’re a better offensive line than last year, we had a better game last week than the first week and we are going to improve on last week’s game and continue to do that throughout the season," Barksdale said.
Of course, using previous results to determine the future outcomes is a fool's errand when it comes to the NFL. But it's safe to assume the Rams will carry a little something extra into Sunday's meeting with recollections of that debacle fresh in their minds.
