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Whicker: Rams starting to grow confidence in QB Case Keenum
By MARK WHICKER / STAFF COLUMNIST
GLENDALE, Ariz – . In the third quarter Case Keenum saw daylight, even indoors. He ran through the bad-intentioned Cardinals for 27 yards, and a first down on the Arizona eight.
Hold everything. Penalty on Rams’ tackle Greg Robinson, for holding.
In the fourth quarter Keenum felt the ceiling descending on him, and he took off, stutter-stepped, doubled back, kept hoofing, and lobbed a 27-yarder to Lance Kendricks that took the ball to the Arizona 12 and put a broad smile on the face of Fran Tarkenton, wherever he was watching.
Hold everything. Penalty on Rams’ tackle Greg Robinson, illegal receiver downfield.
“I was out of breath when I was calling the next play,” Keenum said. “I felt kinda foolish, running back 40 yards to where it started.”
Somewhere between those two forfeited moments, and the end of the Rams’ 17-13 win over the Cardinals on Sunday, you remembered what everybody said. Keenum is basically part of the Rams’ ride-along program, carried by the defense and Todd Gurley.
But your eyes are telling you different. The Rams are not succeeding in spite of Keenum. At times, it’s the reverse.
Keenum had a 111.2 quarterback rating Sunday, which is Rodgers/Brady territory. He hit 18 of 30 passes with no interceptions, although he flirted with a couple. He threw erratically to Tavon Austin on one play and then drilled a pass between two Cardinals to Brian Quick, and when those Cardinals lost their footing Quick went 65 yards for the first touchdown.
He has thrown one interception in the three-game win streak. He might not be a master but he acts like a Commode, and the Rams are 3-1. They were 3-2 when he started last year.
“He wants to make a play,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “It’s the confidence and the trust we have in him. On some of those plays, we’re saying, ‘Hey, Case, what are you doing?’ But he keeps his eyes downfield and looks for that big bomb. That’s what we appreciate about him.”
The Rams still won, and have to win, in grinding, NFC West fashion. They had three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, three sacks and four tackles for loss. Aaron Donald and Eugene Sims knocked Carson Palmer out of the game. Larry Fitzgerald had only one catch.
Not until Austin exploited Bradley Marquez’s block and jumped out for a 47-yard punt return, with a face mask penalty thrown in, did Keenum get close enough for the winning score. That was a four-yard strike to Quick, after he had thrown to Gurley for a first down.
“The trust in Case has been there,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s really good in the huddlle. He overcomes tough situations. He’s reckless, but he’s fun.”
The game falls to Keenum because NFL defenses continue their obsession with Gurley. He squeaked out 1.7 yards per carry on Sunday. He was averaging 2.8 before Sunday. The Rams are putting him wide more often, but they will continue to butt their heads, or his, against that wall until something breaks.
“We felt that if we were handing the ball off to Todd in the fourth quarter we’d be in good shape,” Fisher said.
But Keenum came up with three pass plays of 30 or more yards on Sunday, and that’s with a couple of dropped balls, and those two buzz-killers by Robinson.
“I can think of at least three passes I’d like to have back,” said Keenum, who was also thinking of the Rams’ failure to get any points off those five takeaways.
“We were realy close on some of those explosive plays after we faked to Todd. There’s a lot of offense out there. I took a sack (and fumbled) one time, with too many hitches. I need to let the ball go there. The chemistry isn’t perfect, but we’re getting there. You have to win close games in this league to be successful.”
The Rams beat Seattle by six, Tampa Bay by five, and Arizona by four. Next week they play host to Buffalo, who won a shutout in New England Sunday.
“In our recent history, once we get on a high, that next game is really not there for us,” Brockers said. “We have to make sure that changes.”
As Carson Wentz, Trevor Siemian, Dak Prescott and Jimmy Garoppolo have thrived to various degrees, the NFL intelligentsia continues to wonder when the Rams will remove the bubble wrap from Jared Goff. But with each week and with each win, they should notice why Goff isn’t playing quarterback for the Rams. There isn’t a vacancy.
-- [www.ocregister.com]
By MARK WHICKER / STAFF COLUMNIST
GLENDALE, Ariz – . In the third quarter Case Keenum saw daylight, even indoors. He ran through the bad-intentioned Cardinals for 27 yards, and a first down on the Arizona eight.
Hold everything. Penalty on Rams’ tackle Greg Robinson, for holding.
In the fourth quarter Keenum felt the ceiling descending on him, and he took off, stutter-stepped, doubled back, kept hoofing, and lobbed a 27-yarder to Lance Kendricks that took the ball to the Arizona 12 and put a broad smile on the face of Fran Tarkenton, wherever he was watching.
Hold everything. Penalty on Rams’ tackle Greg Robinson, illegal receiver downfield.
“I was out of breath when I was calling the next play,” Keenum said. “I felt kinda foolish, running back 40 yards to where it started.”
Somewhere between those two forfeited moments, and the end of the Rams’ 17-13 win over the Cardinals on Sunday, you remembered what everybody said. Keenum is basically part of the Rams’ ride-along program, carried by the defense and Todd Gurley.
But your eyes are telling you different. The Rams are not succeeding in spite of Keenum. At times, it’s the reverse.
Keenum had a 111.2 quarterback rating Sunday, which is Rodgers/Brady territory. He hit 18 of 30 passes with no interceptions, although he flirted with a couple. He threw erratically to Tavon Austin on one play and then drilled a pass between two Cardinals to Brian Quick, and when those Cardinals lost their footing Quick went 65 yards for the first touchdown.
He has thrown one interception in the three-game win streak. He might not be a master but he acts like a Commode, and the Rams are 3-1. They were 3-2 when he started last year.
“He wants to make a play,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “It’s the confidence and the trust we have in him. On some of those plays, we’re saying, ‘Hey, Case, what are you doing?’ But he keeps his eyes downfield and looks for that big bomb. That’s what we appreciate about him.”
The Rams still won, and have to win, in grinding, NFC West fashion. They had three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, three sacks and four tackles for loss. Aaron Donald and Eugene Sims knocked Carson Palmer out of the game. Larry Fitzgerald had only one catch.
Not until Austin exploited Bradley Marquez’s block and jumped out for a 47-yard punt return, with a face mask penalty thrown in, did Keenum get close enough for the winning score. That was a four-yard strike to Quick, after he had thrown to Gurley for a first down.
“The trust in Case has been there,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s really good in the huddlle. He overcomes tough situations. He’s reckless, but he’s fun.”
The game falls to Keenum because NFL defenses continue their obsession with Gurley. He squeaked out 1.7 yards per carry on Sunday. He was averaging 2.8 before Sunday. The Rams are putting him wide more often, but they will continue to butt their heads, or his, against that wall until something breaks.
“We felt that if we were handing the ball off to Todd in the fourth quarter we’d be in good shape,” Fisher said.
But Keenum came up with three pass plays of 30 or more yards on Sunday, and that’s with a couple of dropped balls, and those two buzz-killers by Robinson.
“I can think of at least three passes I’d like to have back,” said Keenum, who was also thinking of the Rams’ failure to get any points off those five takeaways.
“We were realy close on some of those explosive plays after we faked to Todd. There’s a lot of offense out there. I took a sack (and fumbled) one time, with too many hitches. I need to let the ball go there. The chemistry isn’t perfect, but we’re getting there. You have to win close games in this league to be successful.”
The Rams beat Seattle by six, Tampa Bay by five, and Arizona by four. Next week they play host to Buffalo, who won a shutout in New England Sunday.
“In our recent history, once we get on a high, that next game is really not there for us,” Brockers said. “We have to make sure that changes.”
As Carson Wentz, Trevor Siemian, Dak Prescott and Jimmy Garoppolo have thrived to various degrees, the NFL intelligentsia continues to wonder when the Rams will remove the bubble wrap from Jared Goff. But with each week and with each win, they should notice why Goff isn’t playing quarterback for the Rams. There isn’t a vacancy.
-- [www.ocregister.com]
