Oh, the running game Irony...

[RamFan503]

It is definitely perplexing. I think most of us expected to see at least a good running attack. Our RBs are anything but bottom of the barrel. Our O-line is supposedly built out of very good run blocking O-linemen. We really should be seeing more 5 to 10 yard 1st down runs.

At times, it looks to me like defenses see the pulling and such and are able to shoot to the gap as if our linemen are telegraphing the plays. Anyone else see this?

 

[LumberTubs]

I think your point about Boras may be the best of all so far, beej.

Boras has some 'splaining to do about both the run game and TE play so far this season.

Is Boras being spread too thin? So much that he now can't do either job properly? Is he guilty of putting a square peg into a round hole with Zone blocking with our personnel? Or is Boras the extra cook in the kitchen that Cigs doesn't want or need? I dunno...

While we're at it, what's up with Sherman and his WR's? Anybody thrilled with our WR play so far?

Then again, WR's are leading our team in rushing.

Oh Wait... Lol.

I've been watching the all 22 film of the Rams offensive plays from Sunday and the impression I got from it is that the play design was fine. It's all down to execution. Not saying that the lack of execution isn't the coaches responsibility obviously but I isn't see the play calling to be the issue.

For example, on Gurley's very first run he cut back inside into traffic when he could have just followed his original path where his blockers were opening up what looked like a decent amount of space for him.

Obviously his awareness will improve and he'll soon learn to spot those kinds of things.

Another thing I noticed and this has been said before is that Harkey should be in at full back more often. The guy is a beast at it and is handy in play action too.

I'm convinced that once it clicks the offense will be unrecognisable. Hopefully starting Sunday because the Cards haven't played a decent team yet.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I've been watching the all 22 film of the Rams offensive plays from Sunday and the impression I got from it is that the play design was fine. It's all down to execution. Not saying that the lack of execution isn't the coaches responsibility obviously but I isn't see the play calling to be the issue.

For example, on Gurley's very first run he cut back inside into traffic when he could have just followed his original path where his blockers were opening up what looked like a decent amount of space for him.

Obviously his awareness will improve and he'll soon learn to spot those kinds of things.

Another thing I noticed and this has been said before is that Harkey should be in at full back more often. The guy is a beast at it and is handy in play action too.

I'm convinced that once it clicks the offense will be unrecognisable. Hopefully starting Sunday because the Cards haven't played a decent team yet.

I agree. I saw Gurley veer out of the hole and into the linemen. There was a hole developing if he had the acceleration to hit it.

Why no Harkey is very confusing since he has been a successful piece of the offense for three seasons now.

 

[GabesHorn]

To add to the very good posts above on our very early stage of learning to run and deciding if we should use a zone or power blocking system. Coach Sherman has not been given the greatest talents in the world to coach but none of our WR's need more than man to man coverage allowing all the men in the box forcing us to be successfull running . Yet with no TE blocking help I still have not seen Harkey involved even as a decoy if not using his real blocking ability.

We are now forced to throw successfully with a fully loaded box and we have not been able with frequent success to make first downs with so many men in the box giving Nick much time at all to find and be consistent with ANY of our WR's or having success in the rushing department with our big Hog Molies not very successfull at opening many holes or getting to the second level. We keep leaving the back door open to have the defense run our RB's down from behind as we have not learned to close the dang back door while zone blocking. Lets get the right combination of RB's that are having success . I don't care who it is either. Time is NOW!!!

 

[LACHAMP46]

@Rams43 @RamFan503

For example, on Gurley's very first run he cut back inside into traffic when he could have just followed his original path where his blockers were opening up what looked like a decent amount of space for him.

I agree. I saw Gurley veer out of the hole and into the linemen. There was a hole developing if he had the acceleration to hit it.

I just found that play too, it was described in detail here:

http://nflspinzone.com/2015/09/29/st-louis-rams-last-place-offense-needs-open-playbook/

St. Louis Rams: Last Place Offense Needs To Open Up Playbook
by Matt LaPan 1d ago

Through three games of the 2015 NFL season the St. Louis Rams are 1-2 – losing their past two contests to the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers. These loses come despite St. Louis having the ninth ranked defense in the NFL. The major problem for the Rams has been offensive output and efficiency, where they currently rank 32nd in total yards and 29th in 3rd down conversion percentage.

The numbers have been less than stellar for Nick Foles and the Rams, totaling just 274.3 yards per game – a full 11 yards less than the Philadelphia Eagles who occupy the 31st worst offensive spot. The Rams are also just 10-of-33 on 3rd down conversions, only ahead of Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Kansas City.

The Rams inability to sustain drives has also been a major problem, as they have run just 42 first down plays on the season, worst in the NFL. The clear problem has come in the run game for St. Louis, as they are again 29th in the NFL with an average of 71.3 yards per game.

These problems have all been at a head on the open play of drives, which has helped to compound the Rams problems of sustaining drives. In their Week 3 loss to the Steelers, the Rams had nine drives. Of those nine drives, only twice did the Rams gain more than seven yards on the opening play of the drive. They had two times where the opening play of the drive went for negative yards, and one drive start with a turnover.

In that matchup the Rams started five of their nine drives with a run play. Those plays averaged just 1.2 yards per play – gaining just six yards on the five plays. That is in comparison to four pass plays that averaged 11 yards per play – although a Nick Foles interception has to be factored into those four plays.

One play that signifies a major problem for the Rams was on a 1st-&-10 in the 2nd quarter. This was rookie Todd Gurley’s first career carry, a play that went for two yards. Gurley takes the handoff from Foles, looking to go off left tackle. The left side of the Rams line – which has had many problems of their own – does a good job creating a hole for Gurley, with tackle Greg Robinson sealing the end, guard Jamon Brown getting to the second level and center Tim Barnes reaching the nose tackle. Gurley does not follow the blocks, but rather cuts back into the strength of the Steelers defense, leading to a modest two-yard gain.



With these troubles running on first down, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti needs to look into a quick passing game on first down. The Rams have allowed just five sacks on the season, and are averaging 7.3 yards per attempts on passing plays. This would be a vast improvement over the 3.8 yards per play they average on the ground.

By going to the passing attack, the Rams would be able to improve on their 16.7 points per game average. As a team, the Rams have scored four touchdowns through three games, evenly split between the ground and the air. They have, however, gained 28 first downs through the air compared to just 11 on the ground. Not only will opening up the playbook help sustain drives, it will put less pressure on the defense, which has been the lone bright spot for St. Louis

 

[VegasRam]

Man...that really has to piss off a coach - you design a play, execute it perfectly, and the RB, (for whatever reason), doesn't run into the big hole.

JF - See the tape?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - See the hole?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - You waited a long time to get back on the field, right?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - Still want to get on the field?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - DON'T EVER FUCKING DO THAT AGAIN!
TG - No sir, I mean yes sir, I mean I won't sir.

 

[RamFan503]

Man...that really has to pee pee off a coach - you design a play, execute it perfectly, and the RB, (for whatever reason), doesn't run into the big hole.

JF - See the tape?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - See the hole?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - You waited a long time to get back on the field, right?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - Still want to get on the field?
TG - Yes sir.
JF - DON'T EVER freaking DO THAT AGAIN!
TG - No sir, I mean yes sir, I mean I won't sir.

He chewed Benny a new one for doing almost exactly that in the preseason. I think it was a 3rd and 1 and Benny ran straight into the butt of his lineman. You could see Fish yelling "you gotta hit the hole!" Then he lit him up on the sideline. Benny seemed to do better after that game.

 

[Fatbot]

By going to the passing attack, the Rams would be able to improve on their 16.7 points per game

Hm I think this is forgetting the lessons of 2013.

 

[Ballhawk]

Would it be unreasonable to try a pass against the nine men in the box on first downs? We've already done running for no yards against loaded defenses to death!

 

[ramsince62]

I saw it coming. At best I thought we'd be able to design some plays that utilized Harkey as the ISO and find a way to get him to the linebackers using just the O-linemen's strengths. At worst, I saw defenses designing plays that would confuse our inexperienced line into deciding what to do i real-time and capitalizing on stunts and delayed blitzes. I know it's an old and tired suggestion, but we really do need to give them some time. By week 5, all time has run out. So if they don't have it figured out by then, then sadly, we're not going to have a winning record again. So I'm willing to give it 2 more weeks before I can determine (personally) if what they're doing in the way of coaching and film study is effective.

Yup, Gotta agree. I anticipated 1-4, But was hoping for 2-3 to better their chances at a wild card spot. I guess that's why the Washington game disappointed so much.

 

[Merlin]

That run was a perfect example of "welcome to the NFL rookie."

At Georgia he would have had a good chance turning up to that early daylight and beating the LB. In the NFL an unblocked LB is bad news. This is undoubtedly one of many plays Fish was referring to.

And again... It happened in the passing game too. They left at least three big gains on the field due to Foles.

 

[jrry32]

@Rams43 @RamFan503


I just found that play too, it was described in detail here:

http://nflspinzone.com/2015/09/29/st-louis-rams-last-place-offense-needs-open-playbook/

St. Louis Rams: Last Place Offense Needs To Open Up Playbook
by Matt LaPan 1d ago

Through three games of the 2015 NFL season the St. Louis Rams are 1-2 – losing their past two contests to the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers. These loses come despite St. Louis having the ninth ranked defense in the NFL. The major problem for the Rams has been offensive output and efficiency, where they currently rank 32nd in total yards and 29th in 3rd down conversion percentage.

The numbers have been less than stellar for Nick Foles and the Rams, totaling just 274.3 yards per game – a full 11 yards less than the Philadelphia Eagles who occupy the 31st worst offensive spot. The Rams are also just 10-of-33 on 3rd down conversions, only ahead of Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Kansas City.

The Rams inability to sustain drives has also been a major problem, as they have run just 42 first down plays on the season, worst in the NFL. The clear problem has come in the run game for St. Louis, as they are again 29th in the NFL with an average of 71.3 yards per game.

These problems have all been at a head on the open play of drives, which has helped to compound the Rams problems of sustaining drives. In their Week 3 loss to the Steelers, the Rams had nine drives. Of those nine drives, only twice did the Rams gain more than seven yards on the opening play of the drive. They had two times where the opening play of the drive went for negative yards, and one drive start with a turnover.

In that matchup the Rams started five of their nine drives with a run play. Those plays averaged just 1.2 yards per play – gaining just six yards on the five plays. That is in comparison to four pass plays that averaged 11 yards per play – although a Nick Foles interception has to be factored into those four plays.

One play that signifies a major problem for the Rams was on a 1st-&-10 in the 2nd quarter. This was rookie Todd Gurley’s first career carry, a play that went for two yards. Gurley takes the handoff from Foles, looking to go off left tackle. The left side of the Rams line – which has had many problems of their own – does a good job creating a hole for Gurley, with tackle Greg Robinson sealing the end, guard Jamon Brown getting to the second level and center Tim Barnes reaching the nose tackle. Gurley does not follow the blocks, but rather cuts back into the strength of the Steelers defense, leading to a modest two-yard gain.



With these troubles running on first down, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti needs to look into a quick passing game on first down. The Rams have allowed just five sacks on the season, and are averaging 7.3 yards per attempts on passing plays. This would be a vast improvement over the 3.8 yards per play they average on the ground.

By going to the passing attack, the Rams would be able to improve on their 16.7 points per game average. As a team, the Rams have scored four touchdowns through three games, evenly split between the ground and the air. They have, however, gained 28 first downs through the air compared to just 11 on the ground. Not only will opening up the playbook help sustain drives, it will put less pressure on the defense, which has been the lone bright spot for St. Louis

As always, this is just my opinion but I don't think the issue here was the hole Gurley chose. If he ran off tackle, the nose guard might have been able to make a play. The issue here is that Gurley didn't press the LOS enough. If he had been more patient and pressed the outside hole, he would have forced Timmons to commit and given Brown enough time to reach him on the 2nd level. Then, when he cuts it back, he's got green grass in front of him.

 

[jrry32]

Regardless, I'm not a huge fan of our ZBS and I have to agree with many others on Cook. I'd be giving him a lot less snaps after his performance the past couple weeks. I'd be using Kendricks and Harkey at TE except on passing downs (then I'd bring Cook in).

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I agree. I saw Gurley veer out of the hole and into the linemen. There was a hole developing if he had the acceleration to hit it.

Why no Harkey is very confusing since he has been a successful piece of the offense for three seasons now.

I'll add to that. Harkey follows the play and hits the hole. So in the case of a rusty runner having Harkey cleaning up the hole and leading the way should make it easier to transition back to playing and having confidence in Gurley's legs.