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Five Takeaways: Rams 37-32 Win over Buccaneers
By Myles Simmons
[www.therams.com]
The Rams won a shootout with the Buccaneers on Sunday 37-32, improving their record to 2-1 on the season. With this kind of high-scoring affair, plenty went right for Los Angeles but there was also clear room for improvement.
1) Touchdowns
Head coach Jeff Fisher joked early in the week that he had found a box full of touchdowns at the Rams’ facility that had gotten misplaced in the move to Cal Lutheran. After Sunday’s game, he repeated the line, quipping the Rams “just had to pass them out.”
That they did, with the offense scoring four touchdowns and the defense adding a fifth in the Rams’ second straight victory.
Los Angeles got on the board with a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Case Keenum to wide receiver Brian Quick on the opening drive, which was significant from a mental standpoint.
“Anytime you can get out there and have success early, it just kind of settles you down as an offense,” Keenum said.
The quarterback’s second touchdown pass came in the fourth quarter, when he found wide receiver Tavon Austin on the left side of the field for a 43-yard touchdown reception. Between the two passing touchdowns, running back Todd Gurley scored two rushing TDs — both from a yard out.
Generally, the offense moved the ball much better than they had the first two games of the season on Sunday. L.A. finished with 320 total yards, 18 first downs, and a 6-of-13 mark in third-down efficiency. Those numbers do represent progress, though there is still significant room for improvement.
“There were a lot of good things,” Gurley said. “I’ll watch film tomorrow and kind of build off that.”
2) Scoring on defense
One element of the game the Rams’ defense takes a lot of pride in is the unit’s ability to put points on the board itself. L.A. did that on Sunday when defensive end Robert Quinn recorded a sack/fumble on Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston and defensive end Ethan Westbrooks brought the loose ball 77 yards to pay dirt.
“It was big — it was big for Ethan,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “You want to create an extra possession for our offense if we didn’t score, but we also want to score on defense, too.”
“To do that on defense is a great thing — put points up and your offense is on the sideline is always a great thing,” Quinn said. “But I think that’s just the mindset in the room. We can score on defense and put the game in our hands.”
With the temperature at 90 degrees and humid for kickoff, Westbrooks was rightfully exhausted when he reached the end zone. So much so, he said he didn’t even do much celebrating.
“Oh yeah, I was pretty done after that,” Westbrooks said. “My coaches were like, ‘Why didn’t you celebrate?’ I honestly didn’t have any energy to celebrate. I barely had enough energy to get to the sideline.”
While Westbrooks’ return is getting a lot of earned attention, the play Quinn made to get the ball out is why he’s so dangerous when healthy. The defensive end recorded his second strip-sack in two weeks, giving him 18 forced fumbles since the start of the 2012 season — the most in the NFL over that time frame. It’s a sign that Quinn is getting back to to himself after finishing last season on injured reserve.
“It’s a long season, but I feel like he’s going to get even stronger as the season goes on,” Ogletree said of Quinn.
“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable,” Quinn said. “As the weeks [have] been going on, I’m feeling better and better. And, of course, when you get to play games, that’s when you really get the true test of yourself.”
3) Donald plays D-end
Some unexpected circumstances pushed the Rams into giving defensive tackle Aaron Donald significant snaps at defensive end during Sunday’s game. First, defensive end William Hayes had to exit the contest with an ankle injury. While Hayes re-entered the game at one point, he was sidelined for much of it.
Then defensive end Eugene Sims was ejected for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With defensive end Matt Longacre inactive, that left the Rams with just two available defensive ends.
In steps Donald, who ended up playing a total 77 of 90 possible defensive snaps — a very high percentage for a D-lineman.
“Just like playing D-tackle — just lined up different,” Donald said of the experience. “But it was good, anything I have to do to make sure we come out on top. And I know we had some guys that went down and things like that and just needed to move around a little bit more.”
According to the press box statistics, Donald recorded two tackles — one for loss — two quarterback hits, and two passes defensed.
“Aaron was playing end, and Ethan had to play the whole time,” Fisher said. “In the conditions, that’s hard. So they’re going to need some rest the next couple days.”
4) Need to cut down turnovers
After playing a clean game of no turnovers last week to beat Seattle, Los Angeles had two costly turnovers on Sunday. The first came on the second drive when Keenum threw a pick six to linebacker Kwon Alexander. Later, wide receiver Kenny Britt fumbled and the Buccaneers’ offense scored on the ensuing drive.
“We were just doing stupid stuff, man,” Gurley said. “We score a touchdown, we give a touchdown up, and basically [gave] them two touchdowns on offense. That can’t happen. We can’t have that.”
The offense was able to get past those negative plays for this week. But those are the kinds of plays that can effectively derail an offense when it comes to staying on schedule, sustaining drives, and scoring points.
5) Overcoming the weather delay
As if 90-degree heat with significant humidity were not enough of a weather obstacle — with two minutes left in the game and the Rams’ offense on the field for a 3rd-and-11 play, the officials suspended play because of lightning in the area. And it’s not the first time the Rams have had to deal with a weather delay while playing at Raymond James Stadium.
“You know what’s funny, it’s the second time in a row that we’ve had a little break coming down here and having a weather delay, and then coming out and fortunately finding a way to win the game at the end,” Fisher said, referring to Week 2 of the 2014 season, when the Rams beat the Bucs 19-17.
While it’s a nuisance to deal with, the Rams were able to work through it effectively.
“The most important thing is communicating to the players,” Fisher said. “The officiating department did a great job just keeping us informed and then I would relay the information to the players. And finally, I told them we’re going to get this thing going again.”
“You kind of used it to your advantage, just to cool down, hydrate a little bit, get a little bite to eat and re-focus yourself,” Quinn said. “The Bucs had to do the same thing. We just came back in, got our minds right, and went out and tried to execute our plan.”
Fortunately, the delay and the game worked out in the Rams’ favor as the club was able to seal its 37-32 victory.
By Myles Simmons
[www.therams.com]
The Rams won a shootout with the Buccaneers on Sunday 37-32, improving their record to 2-1 on the season. With this kind of high-scoring affair, plenty went right for Los Angeles but there was also clear room for improvement.
1) Touchdowns
Head coach Jeff Fisher joked early in the week that he had found a box full of touchdowns at the Rams’ facility that had gotten misplaced in the move to Cal Lutheran. After Sunday’s game, he repeated the line, quipping the Rams “just had to pass them out.”
That they did, with the offense scoring four touchdowns and the defense adding a fifth in the Rams’ second straight victory.
Los Angeles got on the board with a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Case Keenum to wide receiver Brian Quick on the opening drive, which was significant from a mental standpoint.
“Anytime you can get out there and have success early, it just kind of settles you down as an offense,” Keenum said.
The quarterback’s second touchdown pass came in the fourth quarter, when he found wide receiver Tavon Austin on the left side of the field for a 43-yard touchdown reception. Between the two passing touchdowns, running back Todd Gurley scored two rushing TDs — both from a yard out.
Generally, the offense moved the ball much better than they had the first two games of the season on Sunday. L.A. finished with 320 total yards, 18 first downs, and a 6-of-13 mark in third-down efficiency. Those numbers do represent progress, though there is still significant room for improvement.
“There were a lot of good things,” Gurley said. “I’ll watch film tomorrow and kind of build off that.”
2) Scoring on defense
One element of the game the Rams’ defense takes a lot of pride in is the unit’s ability to put points on the board itself. L.A. did that on Sunday when defensive end Robert Quinn recorded a sack/fumble on Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston and defensive end Ethan Westbrooks brought the loose ball 77 yards to pay dirt.
“It was big — it was big for Ethan,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “You want to create an extra possession for our offense if we didn’t score, but we also want to score on defense, too.”
“To do that on defense is a great thing — put points up and your offense is on the sideline is always a great thing,” Quinn said. “But I think that’s just the mindset in the room. We can score on defense and put the game in our hands.”
With the temperature at 90 degrees and humid for kickoff, Westbrooks was rightfully exhausted when he reached the end zone. So much so, he said he didn’t even do much celebrating.
“Oh yeah, I was pretty done after that,” Westbrooks said. “My coaches were like, ‘Why didn’t you celebrate?’ I honestly didn’t have any energy to celebrate. I barely had enough energy to get to the sideline.”
While Westbrooks’ return is getting a lot of earned attention, the play Quinn made to get the ball out is why he’s so dangerous when healthy. The defensive end recorded his second strip-sack in two weeks, giving him 18 forced fumbles since the start of the 2012 season — the most in the NFL over that time frame. It’s a sign that Quinn is getting back to to himself after finishing last season on injured reserve.
“It’s a long season, but I feel like he’s going to get even stronger as the season goes on,” Ogletree said of Quinn.
“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable,” Quinn said. “As the weeks [have] been going on, I’m feeling better and better. And, of course, when you get to play games, that’s when you really get the true test of yourself.”
3) Donald plays D-end
Some unexpected circumstances pushed the Rams into giving defensive tackle Aaron Donald significant snaps at defensive end during Sunday’s game. First, defensive end William Hayes had to exit the contest with an ankle injury. While Hayes re-entered the game at one point, he was sidelined for much of it.
Then defensive end Eugene Sims was ejected for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With defensive end Matt Longacre inactive, that left the Rams with just two available defensive ends.
In steps Donald, who ended up playing a total 77 of 90 possible defensive snaps — a very high percentage for a D-lineman.
“Just like playing D-tackle — just lined up different,” Donald said of the experience. “But it was good, anything I have to do to make sure we come out on top. And I know we had some guys that went down and things like that and just needed to move around a little bit more.”
According to the press box statistics, Donald recorded two tackles — one for loss — two quarterback hits, and two passes defensed.
“Aaron was playing end, and Ethan had to play the whole time,” Fisher said. “In the conditions, that’s hard. So they’re going to need some rest the next couple days.”
4) Need to cut down turnovers
After playing a clean game of no turnovers last week to beat Seattle, Los Angeles had two costly turnovers on Sunday. The first came on the second drive when Keenum threw a pick six to linebacker Kwon Alexander. Later, wide receiver Kenny Britt fumbled and the Buccaneers’ offense scored on the ensuing drive.
“We were just doing stupid stuff, man,” Gurley said. “We score a touchdown, we give a touchdown up, and basically [gave] them two touchdowns on offense. That can’t happen. We can’t have that.”
The offense was able to get past those negative plays for this week. But those are the kinds of plays that can effectively derail an offense when it comes to staying on schedule, sustaining drives, and scoring points.
5) Overcoming the weather delay
As if 90-degree heat with significant humidity were not enough of a weather obstacle — with two minutes left in the game and the Rams’ offense on the field for a 3rd-and-11 play, the officials suspended play because of lightning in the area. And it’s not the first time the Rams have had to deal with a weather delay while playing at Raymond James Stadium.
“You know what’s funny, it’s the second time in a row that we’ve had a little break coming down here and having a weather delay, and then coming out and fortunately finding a way to win the game at the end,” Fisher said, referring to Week 2 of the 2014 season, when the Rams beat the Bucs 19-17.
While it’s a nuisance to deal with, the Rams were able to work through it effectively.
“The most important thing is communicating to the players,” Fisher said. “The officiating department did a great job just keeping us informed and then I would relay the information to the players. And finally, I told them we’re going to get this thing going again.”
“You kind of used it to your advantage, just to cool down, hydrate a little bit, get a little bite to eat and re-focus yourself,” Quinn said. “The Bucs had to do the same thing. We just came back in, got our minds right, and went out and tried to execute our plan.”
Fortunately, the delay and the game worked out in the Rams’ favor as the club was able to seal its 37-32 victory.
