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Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_5f7ad3f0-d976-5317-bcc1-ab49819af979.html
Some day-after opinions on the Rams' 38-8 stunner over Indianapolis:
* I don't wager on football, but if I did ... I don't believe there's a better underdog coach in the NFL than Jeff Fisher. He did it again Sunday, ambushing a heavily-favored Colts team on the road. A Colts team that had notched home wins over Seattle and Denver this season. Fisher's Rams pulled the upset. By now — in terms of the point spread — it shouldn't shock us. I've updated some information posted by Las Vegas-based handicapper RJ Bell of pregame.com ...
When his teams have gone into a game as the underdog, Fisher is 89-58 against the spread during his head-coaching career. That includes a 14-8 record against the spread as Rams coach when his team enters as the underdog.
According to Bell ... as the Rams' coach Fisher is 8-0 against the point spread against teams that have a .600 winning percentage or better at the time of the game.
* One related follow-up thought ... here's what I don't understand: why do the Rams often underperform against teams that are inferior or roughly equal? The latest example of that this season was the home loss to Tennessee.
* We all know that Robert Quinn is having an excellent season. But if it's possible to exceed the categorization of "excellent," then Quinn appears to be pulling it off. According to Pro Football Focus — my go-to source for performance analysis — Quinn is not only the NFL's highest-rated 4-3 defensive end in the pass rush, but he's also ranked No. 1 in run defense. And not by a small margin, either. Quinn leads NFL 4-3 DEs with 28 stops. What is a stop? Let's explain it this way: Quinn has blown up an offensive play 28 times this season — run or pass.
As a pass-rush force Quinn has 53 overall QB pressures, including 12 sacks and 16 hits. But I don't think he's receiving enough credit for his superb run defense. It's not unusual for pass rushers to be rather one-dimensional and easily exploited in the run game. But Quinn has excelled as a pass rusher and as a run stopper. You can certainly make the case that he's the best defensive player — any position — in the league right now.
* I really like the coaching staff's decision to try Rodger Saffold at right guard. He played very well in Sunday's win; according to Pro Football Focus, Saffold posted the highest overall grade among Rams offensive linemen.
* Joe Barksdale is the reason why the Rams can slide Saffold to right guard. Barksdale is quietly putting together a fine season at right tackle, having allowed three sacks and 11 hurries in 306 pass-blocking snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, Barksdale ranks 16th among all NFL offensive tackles with a pass-blocking efficiency rating of 95.4. With Barksdale at RT and Saffold at RG, the Rams can deploy their five best offensive linemen. Makes sense. Obviously.
* Since Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer belatedly installed Zac Stacy as the lead running back on Oct. 10, Stacy ranks third in the NFL in rushing with 533 yards in six games. The only guys with more rushing yards since Oct. 10 are Green Bay's Eddie Lacy (618) and Seattle's Marshawn Lynch (563). Over the last six games, Lacy is tied for second among NFL backs with 14 runs of 10+ yards. And he's picked up a first down on 22 percent of his runs, which ranks fifth in the league over the last six games.
I don't know why the Rams waited to so long to give Stacy his shot. And by the way: even though Stacy had "only" 62 yards rushing on 26 carries against the Colts, it didn't matter. Simple reason: the Rams were committed to the run, the Colts wanted to jam Stacy, and the threat of Stacy opened the passing lanes for QB Kellen Clemens and the receivers.
* Against the Colts, Clemens played exactly how he must play to succeed as a starting quarterback. Other than a poor handoff to Stacy that caused a lost fumble and a red-zone scoring chance, Clemens avoided making killer mistakes and did a very nice job of managing the game. He made good decisions. He didn't force anything. He took advantage of easy opportunities. The intelligent, disciplined performance was a positive change for an energetic QB who tends to go all helter-skelter.
* Clemens did his best work on third down at Indianapolis, completing 7 of 9 for 229 yards. And both TD strikes to Tavon Austin came on third down.
* The Rams are 4-6 with Austin as a non-factor in the passing game until the winover the Colts. They'd be in the playoff hunt if Schottenheimer had come up with ways to maximize Austin's skill set to get him in space, get him isolated on 1-on-1 matchups. Austin's performance against the Colts was exciting. But also maddening. It shouldn't have taken 10 games for Austin to have a so-called breakout game. It should have happened much sooner. And yes, Austin was responsible for some of the earlier problems. But it still astounds me that the Rams could move up to the No. 8 overall pick in the draft to grab Austin ... and then have no idea how to use him.
* Underrated: cornerback Trumaine Johnson. He had another very good game against the Colts, and it continued a run of strong play. Johnson may not cover opponents' best receiver — that assignment usually goes to Janoris Jenkins — but Johnson does his assigned job better than any of the Rams' three primary cornerbacks.
Here's what's happened when quarterbacks target a Rams corner, courtesy of Pro Football Focus:
Janoris Jenkins: 37 completions in 55 attempts (67.2 pct.) ... 5 TDs ... 1 INT... 7 pass defenses ... passer rating 118.5
Cortland Finnegan: 26 completions in 34 attempts (76.4 %) ... 4 TDs ... 1 INT ... zero pass defenses ... passer rating 136.0
Trumaine Johnson: 24 completions in 44 attempts (54.5 %) ... 1 TD ... 2 INT ... 4 pass defenses ... passer rating 61.5.
In the last four games Johnson has given up only four completions in 12 attempts for 35 yards.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_5f7ad3f0-d976-5317-bcc1-ab49819af979.html
Some day-after opinions on the Rams' 38-8 stunner over Indianapolis:
* I don't wager on football, but if I did ... I don't believe there's a better underdog coach in the NFL than Jeff Fisher. He did it again Sunday, ambushing a heavily-favored Colts team on the road. A Colts team that had notched home wins over Seattle and Denver this season. Fisher's Rams pulled the upset. By now — in terms of the point spread — it shouldn't shock us. I've updated some information posted by Las Vegas-based handicapper RJ Bell of pregame.com ...
When his teams have gone into a game as the underdog, Fisher is 89-58 against the spread during his head-coaching career. That includes a 14-8 record against the spread as Rams coach when his team enters as the underdog.
According to Bell ... as the Rams' coach Fisher is 8-0 against the point spread against teams that have a .600 winning percentage or better at the time of the game.
* One related follow-up thought ... here's what I don't understand: why do the Rams often underperform against teams that are inferior or roughly equal? The latest example of that this season was the home loss to Tennessee.
* We all know that Robert Quinn is having an excellent season. But if it's possible to exceed the categorization of "excellent," then Quinn appears to be pulling it off. According to Pro Football Focus — my go-to source for performance analysis — Quinn is not only the NFL's highest-rated 4-3 defensive end in the pass rush, but he's also ranked No. 1 in run defense. And not by a small margin, either. Quinn leads NFL 4-3 DEs with 28 stops. What is a stop? Let's explain it this way: Quinn has blown up an offensive play 28 times this season — run or pass.
As a pass-rush force Quinn has 53 overall QB pressures, including 12 sacks and 16 hits. But I don't think he's receiving enough credit for his superb run defense. It's not unusual for pass rushers to be rather one-dimensional and easily exploited in the run game. But Quinn has excelled as a pass rusher and as a run stopper. You can certainly make the case that he's the best defensive player — any position — in the league right now.
* I really like the coaching staff's decision to try Rodger Saffold at right guard. He played very well in Sunday's win; according to Pro Football Focus, Saffold posted the highest overall grade among Rams offensive linemen.
* Joe Barksdale is the reason why the Rams can slide Saffold to right guard. Barksdale is quietly putting together a fine season at right tackle, having allowed three sacks and 11 hurries in 306 pass-blocking snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, Barksdale ranks 16th among all NFL offensive tackles with a pass-blocking efficiency rating of 95.4. With Barksdale at RT and Saffold at RG, the Rams can deploy their five best offensive linemen. Makes sense. Obviously.
* Since Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer belatedly installed Zac Stacy as the lead running back on Oct. 10, Stacy ranks third in the NFL in rushing with 533 yards in six games. The only guys with more rushing yards since Oct. 10 are Green Bay's Eddie Lacy (618) and Seattle's Marshawn Lynch (563). Over the last six games, Lacy is tied for second among NFL backs with 14 runs of 10+ yards. And he's picked up a first down on 22 percent of his runs, which ranks fifth in the league over the last six games.
I don't know why the Rams waited to so long to give Stacy his shot. And by the way: even though Stacy had "only" 62 yards rushing on 26 carries against the Colts, it didn't matter. Simple reason: the Rams were committed to the run, the Colts wanted to jam Stacy, and the threat of Stacy opened the passing lanes for QB Kellen Clemens and the receivers.
* Against the Colts, Clemens played exactly how he must play to succeed as a starting quarterback. Other than a poor handoff to Stacy that caused a lost fumble and a red-zone scoring chance, Clemens avoided making killer mistakes and did a very nice job of managing the game. He made good decisions. He didn't force anything. He took advantage of easy opportunities. The intelligent, disciplined performance was a positive change for an energetic QB who tends to go all helter-skelter.
* Clemens did his best work on third down at Indianapolis, completing 7 of 9 for 229 yards. And both TD strikes to Tavon Austin came on third down.
* The Rams are 4-6 with Austin as a non-factor in the passing game until the winover the Colts. They'd be in the playoff hunt if Schottenheimer had come up with ways to maximize Austin's skill set to get him in space, get him isolated on 1-on-1 matchups. Austin's performance against the Colts was exciting. But also maddening. It shouldn't have taken 10 games for Austin to have a so-called breakout game. It should have happened much sooner. And yes, Austin was responsible for some of the earlier problems. But it still astounds me that the Rams could move up to the No. 8 overall pick in the draft to grab Austin ... and then have no idea how to use him.
* Underrated: cornerback Trumaine Johnson. He had another very good game against the Colts, and it continued a run of strong play. Johnson may not cover opponents' best receiver — that assignment usually goes to Janoris Jenkins — but Johnson does his assigned job better than any of the Rams' three primary cornerbacks.
Here's what's happened when quarterbacks target a Rams corner, courtesy of Pro Football Focus:
Janoris Jenkins: 37 completions in 55 attempts (67.2 pct.) ... 5 TDs ... 1 INT... 7 pass defenses ... passer rating 118.5
Cortland Finnegan: 26 completions in 34 attempts (76.4 %) ... 4 TDs ... 1 INT ... zero pass defenses ... passer rating 136.0
Trumaine Johnson: 24 completions in 44 attempts (54.5 %) ... 1 TD ... 2 INT ... 4 pass defenses ... passer rating 61.5.
In the last four games Johnson has given up only four completions in 12 attempts for 35 yards.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
