BenFred's Rams Rewind: Defense doesn't get a pass/PD

[RamBill]

BenFred's Rams Rewind: Defense doesn't get a pass
• By Ben Frederickson

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_40c7270a-0608-55bc-bfb0-b4331c0908b1.html

Last Monday, the St. Louis Rams were national darlings, the Seattle Seahawk stuffers.

Most of the credit belonged to the defense.

The unit that harassed Russell Wilson and made Marshawn Lynch look like an everyman lived up to its recently unveiled nickname: Mob Squad.

If the Rams defense could do this against the Seahawks, our minds raced forward, just imagine what would be in store for everyone else.

Then Washington turned the Mob Squad into a squashed mob at FedEx Field on Sunday.

The Rams, unable to start 2-0 for the 14th consecutive time, have wide-ranging questions to answer after a 24-10 loss to Washington.

New data now exists for the argument that Jeff Fisher's teams always tend to fumble away momentum after a big victory.

Nick Foles, thanks in part to some butter-fingered receivers, completed passes at the rate Shaq made free throws.

Somehow Frank Cignetti's offense welcomed back a key member in running back Tre Mason, then rushed for just 67 yards, 60 percent of which were provided by 176-pound receiver Tavon Austin.

But we all know the strength of this team is its defense. And the strength wasn't strong enough Sunday. Not in the first half. Not when Washington converted three third-down conversions on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that closed the door.

"We had a lot of respect for our opponent, and we knew that in order for us to win the game we were going to have to run it, stop the run and get off the field on third down," Fisher said after the loss. "And we didn't do any of those with any consistency. That was the difference in the ball game."

Unless Aaron Donald can play fullback, the first unchecked box doesn't fall on the shoulders of the defense. The other two do. And while it's true an ineffective offense results in more snaps (and therefore more liability) for a defense, surrendering 17 first-half points to an opponent that scored 10 total in a week-one loss to Miami isn't going to cut it.

Washington ran for 182 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per rush. Rookie running back Matt Jones left Rams in his wake like 2011 D'Marco Murray. He ripped off a 39-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and followed it up with a 3-yard score in the fourth. More impressive (depressing for Rams fans) was his 9-yard burst on a third-and-8 from the Rams' 13-yard line. That's not a play call you make against a top-tier defense.

Jones had help, too. Alfred Morris gained 35 of his 59 yards on a first-quarter run, one of Washington's six plays to go for 20-plus yards. Last week, the Seahawks had three plays that went for 20-plus yards, and the longest went for 24.

Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins did exactly what he needed to do, and the Rams couldn't force him out of his conservative game plan. He completed 23 of 27 passes for 203 yards. He found Pierre Garcon for a 4-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter that made Rams corner Janoris Jenkins look silly. The Rams sacked Cousins twice, four fewer times than they threw down the elusive Wilson. Unlike Wilson, Cousins didn't throw a pick.

Washington competed 50 percent (8 of 16) of its third-down conversions. The Rams held the Seahawks to 42 percent (8 of 19).

Washington gained an average of 5.7 yards per offensive play. The Rams held Seattle to 4.3.

You get the picture.

Those who just glanced at the box score of the Rams' attention-grabbing, 34-31 overtime win against Seattle probably didn't give the defense enough credit.

Those who see Sunday's 24-10 loss shouldn't give the team's strength a pass.

Other Observations:

Why does Jenkins seem to be more fired up about a columnist's tweet than the touchdown he surrendered, or the loss in general?

Washington recorded its first first-half shutout in four seasons on Sunday. The last time? Washington's 17-10 win against the Rams on Oct. 2, 2011 in St. Louis.
Nick Foles said his ankle is OK, but it might be sore this week. This looked painful.

Alec Ogletree was a bright spot. The third-year linebacker totaled 16 tackles. It wasn't always pretty, but you couldn't question his effort and energy.

 

[RamBill]

Big plays, run defense missing for Rams in loss
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...lays-and-run-defense-missing-for-rams-in-loss

LANDOVER, Md. -- A look back at how the St. Louis Rams fared in three areas to watch in Sunday's 24-10 loss to the Washington Redskins.

Nick Foles
Rams quarterback Nick Foles lacked the protection needed to make big plays in Sunday's loss to the Redskins.
1. Chunk play priority: The Rams probably would have settled for even half of their big play output of a week ago when they posted eight plays of 20-plus yards against the Seattle Seahawks.

But finding any positive yardage, let alone in big chunks, was too tall of an order for the Rams this week. The Rams had just one play over 20 yards against the Redskins, a 40-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kenny Britt. Quarterback Nick Foles didn't have enough protection to take many shots deep as he often found himself running to buy time. On a day when yards were hard to come by anyway, a few more home run balls likely would have made a big difference.

2. Containing Morris: In a very literal sense, Washington running back Alfred Morris didn't do a ton of damage Sunday to the Rams. He finished with just 59 yards on 18 carries with 35 of those yards coming on one attempt. But the larger point of this category was about the Rams prioritizing stopping the run. And they didn't. At all.

Redskins running back Matt Jones chipped in 123 yards on 19 carries and scored twice as the Rams repeatedly found themselves struggling to stop the run. For the game, Washington finished with 182 yards on 37 carries, an average of 4.9 yards per attempt. With the Redskins in favorable third downs, the Rams only managed two sacks and Washington converted half of its 16 third downs.

3. Eliminating mistakes: On the bright side, the Rams didn't have any turnovers though Foles and running back Tre Mason each fumbled once, losing neither. Foles also didn't throw any interceptions and the Rams recovered a fumble on their way to finishing with a plus-1 turnover margin.

On the other side of the coin, the Rams had too many mistakes in other areas to overcome, namely the return of an old issue in the form of penalties. The Rams had nine infractions for 80 yards on the day, none more important than an offsides on defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks in the fourth quarter.

With 8:56 to go, the Rams had Washington facing third-and-13 at its 20 and trailed by just a touchdown. But Westbrooks jumped the gun to make it third-and-8. On the next play, the Redskins converted with a 10-yard completion and went on to score a touchdown to put the game away. It was just one of many miscues on the day but it effectively put an end to the Rams' hopes of a comeback.