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Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... ce22d.html
Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Here are the grades for the St. Louis Rams after their aesthetically displeasing 15-12 victory at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo:
QUARTERBACK: Sam Bradford's first half was nightmarish. He forced a pass toward tight end Lance Kendricks and suffered a deflection interception. Stephon Gilmore ran it back for a touchdown . . . only to see the scorre negated by a blocking penalty. Bradford’s overall numbers were pedestrian: 19 of 39 for 209 yards, an interception and a touchdown. Bradford’s final drive wasn’t exactly Joe Montana-like; the Bills dropped two potential interceptions and receiver Austin Pettis kept the Rams alive with a great fourth-down catch. But Bradford persevered while leading still another late rally for still another ugly victory. He put the game-winning TD pass to Brandon Gibson on the money and then threw another two-point conversion pass. With that winning 84-yard drive, he furthered reputation as a reliable fourth-quarterback performer. GRADE: C.
RUNNING BACK: Once again Steven Jackson didn’t have much room to work. He gained just 64 yards on 19 carries and misread his blocks on a few carries. But he did punch in a rushing touchdown, a Rams rarity. Jackson caught just one pass, for nine yards, but dropped another. Rookie Daryl Richardson was a non-factor, gaining just four yards on three carries and doing nothing as a receiver. GRADE: C.
RECEIVERS: Go-to guy Danny Amendola missed still another game with his nagging foot/heel issue and the Rams wideouts couldn’t get loose in the first half. But Gibson magically reappeared to catch six passes for 100 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Pettis caught all five passes that came his way. Chris Givens had a bad drop on a potential first-down pass and he also lost the fight for potential home-run ball. But he ran a great route on the two-point conversion that created the final three-point margin. GRADE: B-minus.
TIGHT ENDS: Bradford targeted Kendricks eight times and Matthew Mulligan once and got just three receptions, all by Kendricks. That was most discouraging. This duo didn’t contribute much as run blockers either. Mike McNeil missed the game with a thigh injury. Aside from Kendricks’ notable late catch, the unit didn’t contribute a whole lot. GRADE: C-minus.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Once again this unit failed to create much running room. Once again it suffered some pass protection breakdowns as well. (Bradford did well to suffer just one sack, using his feet to get out of trouble time and again.) Once again left tackle Rodger Saffold got hurt. The Rams mustered just 285 yards overall despite running 67 offensive plays. They sustained just two drives, one to start the second half and one to finish it. That just isn’t good enough. GRADE: D.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Rookie defensive tackle Michael Brockers led a fierce charge against an injury-depleted Buffalo offensive line. He forced a fumble by running back Fred Jackson, who gained just 14 yards on nine carries before exiting with an injury. The line was stout against the run all afternoon, holding the powerful Bills rushing attack to 61 yards on 20 carries. It was also applied tremendous pressure on Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, hitting him 11 times. The Rams sacked him five times and forced him to run up the field three times. Brockers earned one sack and shared another with defensive end Chris Long. Defensive end Robert Quinn and defensive tackle Kendall Langford also had sacks. GRADE: A.
LINEBACKERS: Middle man James Laurinatis made an early fumble recovery and outside linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar sealed the victory with a last-second interception. This unit was strong against the run and rallied to all those underneath passes Fitzpatrick completed. The Bills managed to convert just three of 12 third-down plays as a result. GRADE: A.
SECONDARY: Safety Quintin Mikell had a strong game in run support and earned a team-high eight solo tackles overall, including two for losses. Cornerback Cortland Finnegan earned a 15-yard facemask penalty, but also earned six solo tackles. Fitzpatrick completed 25 of 33 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown to tight end Lee Smith on a deft play-action pass at the Rams 2. But the Rams kept Fitzpatrick from making big plays down the field at critical game points. And allowing just 12 points on the road is always a big deal. GRADE: B.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Punter Johnny Hekker nearly got killed after letting a high snap sail through his hands. He recovered the ball but got hammered while kicking it. That near-catastrophe lowered his average to 37.8 yards on eight punts. On the other hand, he did pin two kicks inside the Buffalo 20. The Rams allowed an average of 11 yards on four punt returns and 26.3 yards on five kickoff returns. Pettis had a 23-yard punt return that could have gone for more than he not tripped in the open field. GRADE: C.
COACHING: The Rams had a terrific defensive game plan and even better execution against the Bills. The Rams offense was terrible early on, producing just three yards in the first quarter. Three! This team was fortunate to trail just 6-0 at the half. But second-half offensive adjustments produced just enough to squeeze out the road victory. The Rams avoided back-breaking penalties for a change and demonstrated the hard-nosed personality of their head coach. GRADE: B.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... ce22d.html
Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Here are the grades for the St. Louis Rams after their aesthetically displeasing 15-12 victory at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo:
QUARTERBACK: Sam Bradford's first half was nightmarish. He forced a pass toward tight end Lance Kendricks and suffered a deflection interception. Stephon Gilmore ran it back for a touchdown . . . only to see the scorre negated by a blocking penalty. Bradford’s overall numbers were pedestrian: 19 of 39 for 209 yards, an interception and a touchdown. Bradford’s final drive wasn’t exactly Joe Montana-like; the Bills dropped two potential interceptions and receiver Austin Pettis kept the Rams alive with a great fourth-down catch. But Bradford persevered while leading still another late rally for still another ugly victory. He put the game-winning TD pass to Brandon Gibson on the money and then threw another two-point conversion pass. With that winning 84-yard drive, he furthered reputation as a reliable fourth-quarterback performer. GRADE: C.
RUNNING BACK: Once again Steven Jackson didn’t have much room to work. He gained just 64 yards on 19 carries and misread his blocks on a few carries. But he did punch in a rushing touchdown, a Rams rarity. Jackson caught just one pass, for nine yards, but dropped another. Rookie Daryl Richardson was a non-factor, gaining just four yards on three carries and doing nothing as a receiver. GRADE: C.
RECEIVERS: Go-to guy Danny Amendola missed still another game with his nagging foot/heel issue and the Rams wideouts couldn’t get loose in the first half. But Gibson magically reappeared to catch six passes for 100 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Pettis caught all five passes that came his way. Chris Givens had a bad drop on a potential first-down pass and he also lost the fight for potential home-run ball. But he ran a great route on the two-point conversion that created the final three-point margin. GRADE: B-minus.
TIGHT ENDS: Bradford targeted Kendricks eight times and Matthew Mulligan once and got just three receptions, all by Kendricks. That was most discouraging. This duo didn’t contribute much as run blockers either. Mike McNeil missed the game with a thigh injury. Aside from Kendricks’ notable late catch, the unit didn’t contribute a whole lot. GRADE: C-minus.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Once again this unit failed to create much running room. Once again it suffered some pass protection breakdowns as well. (Bradford did well to suffer just one sack, using his feet to get out of trouble time and again.) Once again left tackle Rodger Saffold got hurt. The Rams mustered just 285 yards overall despite running 67 offensive plays. They sustained just two drives, one to start the second half and one to finish it. That just isn’t good enough. GRADE: D.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Rookie defensive tackle Michael Brockers led a fierce charge against an injury-depleted Buffalo offensive line. He forced a fumble by running back Fred Jackson, who gained just 14 yards on nine carries before exiting with an injury. The line was stout against the run all afternoon, holding the powerful Bills rushing attack to 61 yards on 20 carries. It was also applied tremendous pressure on Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, hitting him 11 times. The Rams sacked him five times and forced him to run up the field three times. Brockers earned one sack and shared another with defensive end Chris Long. Defensive end Robert Quinn and defensive tackle Kendall Langford also had sacks. GRADE: A.
LINEBACKERS: Middle man James Laurinatis made an early fumble recovery and outside linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar sealed the victory with a last-second interception. This unit was strong against the run and rallied to all those underneath passes Fitzpatrick completed. The Bills managed to convert just three of 12 third-down plays as a result. GRADE: A.
SECONDARY: Safety Quintin Mikell had a strong game in run support and earned a team-high eight solo tackles overall, including two for losses. Cornerback Cortland Finnegan earned a 15-yard facemask penalty, but also earned six solo tackles. Fitzpatrick completed 25 of 33 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown to tight end Lee Smith on a deft play-action pass at the Rams 2. But the Rams kept Fitzpatrick from making big plays down the field at critical game points. And allowing just 12 points on the road is always a big deal. GRADE: B.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Punter Johnny Hekker nearly got killed after letting a high snap sail through his hands. He recovered the ball but got hammered while kicking it. That near-catastrophe lowered his average to 37.8 yards on eight punts. On the other hand, he did pin two kicks inside the Buffalo 20. The Rams allowed an average of 11 yards on four punt returns and 26.3 yards on five kickoff returns. Pettis had a 23-yard punt return that could have gone for more than he not tripped in the open field. GRADE: C.
COACHING: The Rams had a terrific defensive game plan and even better execution against the Bills. The Rams offense was terrible early on, producing just three yards in the first quarter. Three! This team was fortunate to trail just 6-0 at the half. But second-half offensive adjustments produced just enough to squeeze out the road victory. The Rams avoided back-breaking penalties for a change and demonstrated the hard-nosed personality of their head coach. GRADE: B.
