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Fasten those seat belts: Rams heading into No Fly Zone
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_58f85f41-1da7-5849-923f-9ace540587dc.html
Seattle has its Legion of Boom. In Arizona, the Cardinals secondary calls itself the No Fly Zone. And for opposing quarterbacks and wide receivers, these are anything but friendly skies.
Arizona’s defense has 45 interceptions since head coach Bruce Arians arrived in the Valley of the Sun in 2013. That’s second-most in the league over that span, behind only Buffalo’s 47.
“It’s a high priority for us to have big plays, splash plays defensively,” Arians said Wednesday during a conference call with St. Louis reporters. “Negative plays creating turnovers. All our defensive backs have really good ball skills. We don’t want guys who can cover but can’t catch.
“When those opportunities come and you drop interceptions, they always come back to bite you. But all our guys have very good ball skills and they very seldom drop one.”
The Cardinals don’t just have a knack for getting an interception; they do something with the football once they grab it. To wit, Arizona has scored 12 defensive touchdowns since the start of the ‘13 season, an NFL best.
Ten of those 12 scores have come on interception returns, with the other two coming on fumble recovery returns. Throw in two kickoff returns for scores and that’s 14 TDs in 51 games for the Big Red under Arians not scored by the offense.
Although it won’t guarantee victory, a good starting point when playing Arizona is this: Make the offense beat you. Avoid the return touchdowns.
Last Nov. 9 at Arizona, the Rams trailed 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter. But an interception return for a TD and a recovered fumble returned for a score turned a close contest into a 31-14 rout in what was quarterback Austin Davis’ last start for the Rams.
A year earlier, in a 30-10 Rams loss on Dec. 8, 2013 in Arizona, the Cardinals scored on a “pick 6” and also tacked on two points with a safety. In the 2013 season opener, Arizona also had an interception return for a TD, but the Rams rallied to win that one, 27-24.
The Cardinals were up to their usual hijinks last week against San Francisco. On the first pass by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, cornerback Justin Bethel swooped in on an underthrown pass intended for tight end Vernon Davis and returned it 21 yards for a score.
On San Francisco’s second series, Arizona’s Tyrann Mathieu broke quickly on another underthrown Kaepernick pass, this one intended for Anquan Boldin in the slot, and returned the interception 33 yards for another TD.
Just like that Arizona led 14-0, and the unbeaten Cardinals (3-0) were off and running to a 47-7 win.
How do the Rams avoid similar disasters against a deep, talented Arizona secondary? For starters, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti says the Rams can’t play scared and must trust their system.
“The quarterback’s going to trust what he sees and he’s going to play decisive,” Cignetti said of quarterback Nick Foles. “He’s not going to worry about who’s on the other side, but he’s certainly going to respect them. Once again, it comes down to the St. Louis Rams. It’s all about us, and how we go out there and prepare and perform.”
Foles has taken good care of the football in his first three starts as a Ram. His only interception in 87 attempts this season came on a throw he conceded was forced against Pittsburgh – a deep throw to tight end Lance Kendricks in the fourth quarter.
“I’m gonna play like I always have,” Foles said, when asked about the Arizona secondary. “Run our offense, run what we do. I have great respect for those (Cardinals) guys but when we go out there, I expect my guys to win in coverage, win on routes and one-on-ones. I won’t shy away from that.”
When you break it down to the basics, coach Jeff Fisher said it’s simply a matter of the quarterback making good decisions. Kaepernick ended up throwing four interceptions against Arizona and threw a couple off his back foot with pass-rushers in his face.
In instances like that, it’s best to throw the ball away or even take the sack.
“Nick’s got to make good decisions and put the ball in places where they can’t contest the throw,” Fisher said.
The headliner in the No Fly Zone is cornerback Patrick Peterson, a four-time Pro Bowler who has great size (6-1, 219) and closing speed for the position. Mathieu, aka the Honey Badger, can play free safety or the nickel cornerback spot and has excellent instincts and good ball skills.
Jerraud Powers, who had one of those four INTs against San Francisco, is underrated at the other corner. Second-year safety Deone Bucannon, a player the Rams looked at prior to the 2014 draft, frequently lines up at linebacker (similar to Mark Barron of the Rams).
“They communicate well,” Fisher said. “They don’t make any mistakes. They run well and they tackle. That’s the most impressive thing about their defense, is they’re an outstanding tackling defense.”
So while the challenge for Foles will be avoiding bad decisions, Rams receivers need to be concerned with gaining separation and getting yards after the catch. Because the Cardinals can shut you down on the back end.
San Francisco has some talented pass-catchers. Davis, Boldin and Torrey Smith have five Pro Bowls and 1,603 career receptions between them. They combined for two catches against the Cardinals.
“They disguise a lot of things very well,” Rams tight end Jared Cook said. “They have some good players – that allows them to play a lot of different coverages that most teams don’t.
“Usually, most teams might have one good corner and maybe two average corners. They have two really good corners and two good safeties. So they can mix guys up a lot, play guys in the box. They’re very versatile in the secondary.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_58f85f41-1da7-5849-923f-9ace540587dc.html
Seattle has its Legion of Boom. In Arizona, the Cardinals secondary calls itself the No Fly Zone. And for opposing quarterbacks and wide receivers, these are anything but friendly skies.
Arizona’s defense has 45 interceptions since head coach Bruce Arians arrived in the Valley of the Sun in 2013. That’s second-most in the league over that span, behind only Buffalo’s 47.
“It’s a high priority for us to have big plays, splash plays defensively,” Arians said Wednesday during a conference call with St. Louis reporters. “Negative plays creating turnovers. All our defensive backs have really good ball skills. We don’t want guys who can cover but can’t catch.
“When those opportunities come and you drop interceptions, they always come back to bite you. But all our guys have very good ball skills and they very seldom drop one.”
The Cardinals don’t just have a knack for getting an interception; they do something with the football once they grab it. To wit, Arizona has scored 12 defensive touchdowns since the start of the ‘13 season, an NFL best.
Ten of those 12 scores have come on interception returns, with the other two coming on fumble recovery returns. Throw in two kickoff returns for scores and that’s 14 TDs in 51 games for the Big Red under Arians not scored by the offense.
Although it won’t guarantee victory, a good starting point when playing Arizona is this: Make the offense beat you. Avoid the return touchdowns.
Last Nov. 9 at Arizona, the Rams trailed 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter. But an interception return for a TD and a recovered fumble returned for a score turned a close contest into a 31-14 rout in what was quarterback Austin Davis’ last start for the Rams.
A year earlier, in a 30-10 Rams loss on Dec. 8, 2013 in Arizona, the Cardinals scored on a “pick 6” and also tacked on two points with a safety. In the 2013 season opener, Arizona also had an interception return for a TD, but the Rams rallied to win that one, 27-24.
The Cardinals were up to their usual hijinks last week against San Francisco. On the first pass by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, cornerback Justin Bethel swooped in on an underthrown pass intended for tight end Vernon Davis and returned it 21 yards for a score.
On San Francisco’s second series, Arizona’s Tyrann Mathieu broke quickly on another underthrown Kaepernick pass, this one intended for Anquan Boldin in the slot, and returned the interception 33 yards for another TD.
Just like that Arizona led 14-0, and the unbeaten Cardinals (3-0) were off and running to a 47-7 win.
How do the Rams avoid similar disasters against a deep, talented Arizona secondary? For starters, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti says the Rams can’t play scared and must trust their system.
“The quarterback’s going to trust what he sees and he’s going to play decisive,” Cignetti said of quarterback Nick Foles. “He’s not going to worry about who’s on the other side, but he’s certainly going to respect them. Once again, it comes down to the St. Louis Rams. It’s all about us, and how we go out there and prepare and perform.”
Foles has taken good care of the football in his first three starts as a Ram. His only interception in 87 attempts this season came on a throw he conceded was forced against Pittsburgh – a deep throw to tight end Lance Kendricks in the fourth quarter.
“I’m gonna play like I always have,” Foles said, when asked about the Arizona secondary. “Run our offense, run what we do. I have great respect for those (Cardinals) guys but when we go out there, I expect my guys to win in coverage, win on routes and one-on-ones. I won’t shy away from that.”
When you break it down to the basics, coach Jeff Fisher said it’s simply a matter of the quarterback making good decisions. Kaepernick ended up throwing four interceptions against Arizona and threw a couple off his back foot with pass-rushers in his face.
In instances like that, it’s best to throw the ball away or even take the sack.
“Nick’s got to make good decisions and put the ball in places where they can’t contest the throw,” Fisher said.
The headliner in the No Fly Zone is cornerback Patrick Peterson, a four-time Pro Bowler who has great size (6-1, 219) and closing speed for the position. Mathieu, aka the Honey Badger, can play free safety or the nickel cornerback spot and has excellent instincts and good ball skills.
Jerraud Powers, who had one of those four INTs against San Francisco, is underrated at the other corner. Second-year safety Deone Bucannon, a player the Rams looked at prior to the 2014 draft, frequently lines up at linebacker (similar to Mark Barron of the Rams).
“They communicate well,” Fisher said. “They don’t make any mistakes. They run well and they tackle. That’s the most impressive thing about their defense, is they’re an outstanding tackling defense.”
So while the challenge for Foles will be avoiding bad decisions, Rams receivers need to be concerned with gaining separation and getting yards after the catch. Because the Cardinals can shut you down on the back end.
San Francisco has some talented pass-catchers. Davis, Boldin and Torrey Smith have five Pro Bowls and 1,603 career receptions between them. They combined for two catches against the Cardinals.
“They disguise a lot of things very well,” Rams tight end Jared Cook said. “They have some good players – that allows them to play a lot of different coverages that most teams don’t.
“Usually, most teams might have one good corner and maybe two average corners. They have two really good corners and two good safeties. So they can mix guys up a lot, play guys in the box. They’re very versatile in the secondary.”
