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Gordon: Finally, the Rams' defense has arrived
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_7fe010ca-7600-53c5-9022-eb96f37fc03c.html
In the not-so-distant past, Rams defenders had to sort through their game wreckage with painful locker room discussions.
Who messed up that pass coverage? Who failed to fill that run gap? Who misunderstood the defensive call?
But the topic was much happier for safety T.J. McDonald and hit man Mark Barron on Sunday afternoon after the Rams throttled the Cleveland Browns 24-6. They had converged simultaneously on Cleveland Browns receiver Travis Benjamin to force a fourth quarter fumble.
McDonald arrived full speed from one side at the same time Barron flew in from the other. The ball flew out of this violent Benjamin sandwich and defensive tackle Nick Fairley hustled downfield to recover it.
The press box statistics credited McDonald with the forced fumble. But Barron felt that he, in fact, had knocked the ball loose.
“I’m sorry, I have to take that from you,” he said, needling his teammate.
Perhaps, McDonald countered good-naturedly, “You could get an assist strip.”
It was that kind of performance for the Rams’ defense. Players raced each other to deliver punishing hits and force game-changing turnovers. Who was going to get there first to cause mayhem?
This was a dominant performance, precisely what Rams coach Jeff Fisher dreamed of when he began building this unit piece by piece. The Browns’ offense spent much of the game facing tough down-and-distance situations — and the Rams spent the afternoon teeing off on them as a result.
So what if the Rams didn’t get their own offense going until the second half? It didn’t matter, because the Browns were going nowhere at the Edward Jones Dome.
“Giving up six points, it’s great,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “You can’t ask for any more than that. Got turnovers. Obviously there are always things we need to work on. They kind of broke loose on a couple of runs and big pass plays. For the most part, we did a good job of getting sacks and getting our hands on the ball.”
They yielded nothing easily in this game, which was the goal.
“We emphasize getting the ball back, making short fields for the offense, not letting them beat us deep,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said.
The fun started right away. On Cleveland’s third play from scrimmage, McLeod diagnosed the Browns’ formation and anticipated a quick pass to Taylor Gabriel in the left flat.
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins received McLeod’s cue and blew up the play, knocking the ball out of Gabriel’s hands. The ball bounced toward the sideline, giving McLeod a chance to scoop it up and race 17 yards for the touchdown.
“I haven’t touched the end zone in a while,” McLeod said. “It was a great feeling. Just to set the tone like that for the game, it was a big play.”
That defensive TD gave the Rams an immediate 7-0 lead. They made it 10-0 after defensive end William Hayes chopped the ball away from Browns quarterback Josh McCown, allowing linebacker Akeem Ayers to recover it.
The punishment continued unabated for three hours. The Rams finally knocked McCown out of the game, forcing Johnny “Football” Manziel into the fray.
The total defensive damage, according to the press box statistics: four quarterback sacks, five tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, four recoveries and four pass defenses.
During one Browns possession in the third quarter, the Rams’ pass pressure forced the Browns into three drive-killing offensive holding penalties.
“Obviously they have a really good front,” McCown said. “They can create problems and they were able to do that today. As far as the penalties, we just need to get that cleaned up.”
Playing without defensive end Chris Long — who may be sidelined for several games with his leg injury — the Rams got production from every lineman who started. Defensive end Ethan Westbrooks got a sack. Defensive Eugene Sims recovered a fumble.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald deflected one pass in addition to his usual disruption: a sack, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.
“They have a good front, they have depth and they roll guys through,” Browns coach Mike Pettine said. “They did some good things schematically and this (noisy indoor) environment makes it difficult.”
The Rams’ secondary was outstanding, too. McCown completed 26 of 32 passes for 270 yards, but he mostly worked underneath coverage. Rams defensive backs prevented big plays and managed to minimize yardage after catch.
“I think this was one of our better open-field tackling days that we’ve had in a long time,” Fisher said. “We forced checkdowns and we didn’t have two guys overrunning and somebody cutting back.”
And then there was Barron, the hybrid safety-linebacker who has moved to help fill the Alec Ogletree void. The press box statistics credited him with 10 tackles, including two for losses, and six assists.
As for the forced fumble, we’ll have to see if the coaches agree with his claim after reviewing the tape. We know this for sure: Barron was all over the field Sunday, wreaking painful havoc on the Browns.
“I think that is a great spot for Mark,” Jenkins said. “Hard-nosed hitter, loves to be around the ball. High energy ... he makes contact with people.”
Uh, yes, yes he does. And so do his teammates on that side of the ball. The Rams’ defense has arrived.
Now, about that offense ...
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_7fe010ca-7600-53c5-9022-eb96f37fc03c.html
In the not-so-distant past, Rams defenders had to sort through their game wreckage with painful locker room discussions.
Who messed up that pass coverage? Who failed to fill that run gap? Who misunderstood the defensive call?
But the topic was much happier for safety T.J. McDonald and hit man Mark Barron on Sunday afternoon after the Rams throttled the Cleveland Browns 24-6. They had converged simultaneously on Cleveland Browns receiver Travis Benjamin to force a fourth quarter fumble.
McDonald arrived full speed from one side at the same time Barron flew in from the other. The ball flew out of this violent Benjamin sandwich and defensive tackle Nick Fairley hustled downfield to recover it.
The press box statistics credited McDonald with the forced fumble. But Barron felt that he, in fact, had knocked the ball loose.
“I’m sorry, I have to take that from you,” he said, needling his teammate.
Perhaps, McDonald countered good-naturedly, “You could get an assist strip.”
It was that kind of performance for the Rams’ defense. Players raced each other to deliver punishing hits and force game-changing turnovers. Who was going to get there first to cause mayhem?
This was a dominant performance, precisely what Rams coach Jeff Fisher dreamed of when he began building this unit piece by piece. The Browns’ offense spent much of the game facing tough down-and-distance situations — and the Rams spent the afternoon teeing off on them as a result.
So what if the Rams didn’t get their own offense going until the second half? It didn’t matter, because the Browns were going nowhere at the Edward Jones Dome.
“Giving up six points, it’s great,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “You can’t ask for any more than that. Got turnovers. Obviously there are always things we need to work on. They kind of broke loose on a couple of runs and big pass plays. For the most part, we did a good job of getting sacks and getting our hands on the ball.”
They yielded nothing easily in this game, which was the goal.
“We emphasize getting the ball back, making short fields for the offense, not letting them beat us deep,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said.
The fun started right away. On Cleveland’s third play from scrimmage, McLeod diagnosed the Browns’ formation and anticipated a quick pass to Taylor Gabriel in the left flat.
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins received McLeod’s cue and blew up the play, knocking the ball out of Gabriel’s hands. The ball bounced toward the sideline, giving McLeod a chance to scoop it up and race 17 yards for the touchdown.
“I haven’t touched the end zone in a while,” McLeod said. “It was a great feeling. Just to set the tone like that for the game, it was a big play.”
That defensive TD gave the Rams an immediate 7-0 lead. They made it 10-0 after defensive end William Hayes chopped the ball away from Browns quarterback Josh McCown, allowing linebacker Akeem Ayers to recover it.
The punishment continued unabated for three hours. The Rams finally knocked McCown out of the game, forcing Johnny “Football” Manziel into the fray.
The total defensive damage, according to the press box statistics: four quarterback sacks, five tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, four recoveries and four pass defenses.
During one Browns possession in the third quarter, the Rams’ pass pressure forced the Browns into three drive-killing offensive holding penalties.
“Obviously they have a really good front,” McCown said. “They can create problems and they were able to do that today. As far as the penalties, we just need to get that cleaned up.”
Playing without defensive end Chris Long — who may be sidelined for several games with his leg injury — the Rams got production from every lineman who started. Defensive end Ethan Westbrooks got a sack. Defensive Eugene Sims recovered a fumble.
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald deflected one pass in addition to his usual disruption: a sack, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.
“They have a good front, they have depth and they roll guys through,” Browns coach Mike Pettine said. “They did some good things schematically and this (noisy indoor) environment makes it difficult.”
The Rams’ secondary was outstanding, too. McCown completed 26 of 32 passes for 270 yards, but he mostly worked underneath coverage. Rams defensive backs prevented big plays and managed to minimize yardage after catch.
“I think this was one of our better open-field tackling days that we’ve had in a long time,” Fisher said. “We forced checkdowns and we didn’t have two guys overrunning and somebody cutting back.”
And then there was Barron, the hybrid safety-linebacker who has moved to help fill the Alec Ogletree void. The press box statistics credited him with 10 tackles, including two for losses, and six assists.
As for the forced fumble, we’ll have to see if the coaches agree with his claim after reviewing the tape. We know this for sure: Barron was all over the field Sunday, wreaking painful havoc on the Browns.
“I think that is a great spot for Mark,” Jenkins said. “Hard-nosed hitter, loves to be around the ball. High energy ... he makes contact with people.”
Uh, yes, yes he does. And so do his teammates on that side of the ball. The Rams’ defense has arrived.
Now, about that offense ...
