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Rams at Chiefs: Sounding Off on the St. Louis Loss
Rams at Chiefs: Sounding Off on the St. Louis Loss
By Shane Gray
Offensive Observations
*On a summer-like afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium, it was fitting that the St. Louis Rams offensive unit started off hot against the Kansas City Chiefs by putting together an assertive, 65 yard opening drive that culminated with a touchdown pass from quarterback Austin Davis to tight end Lance Kendricks.
Unfortunately, that was about it for the offense, as they were shut out over the game’s final 57 minutes.
*While Davis played well early, he and the air attack struggled for much of the remainder of the action, managing just 160 total passing yards.
The passing game’s ineptitude certainly could not all be blamed on Davis, though, as he was under siege all day – sacked on seven occasions and hit a whopping 14 times.
It almost goes without saying that few quarterbacks thrive when under such dire circumstances.
*In addition, Davis’ day was exasperated by the in-game losses of four starters: wide receiver Brian Quick, left tackle Jake Long, offensive guard Rodger Saffold and center Scott Wells.
By the end of the game, the only starting lineman who remained in his original spot was right tackle Joseph Barksdale. After the departure of Saffold, left guard Greg Robinson shifted to right guard before finishing out at left tackle.
Thus, with all considered, the disappointing outing from Davis may have been less on Davis than it was on the circumstances surrounding him.
*That said, Davis must upgrade his decision making after struggling in that regard on numerous occasions.
On one play, the St. Louis QB eschewed a dump off to running back Tre Mason before choosing to throw downfield to a double-covered Kenny Britt. The pass resulted in an interception.
On another play, the Rams signal caller failed to get rid of the football before incurring a monster 15 yard sack that yielded a longer field goal try and an eventual miss by kicker Greg Zuerlein.
These, however, are fixable mistakes by the de-facto rookie. While correctable, these are miscues that must be minimized over the final eight games of the 2014 slate.
If these errors are reduced and he plays like he did in his first five starts -- five starts that resulted in the league’s No. 8 quarterback rating over that span -- then Davis has a legit chance at earning strong consideration by the Rams as a long term starting option at quarterback.
If not, he likely slides back into a backup role, or – at best – is given an opportunity to fight for a starting job on some club’s roster.
*St. Louis used four running backs in the first half, and had some success with a 4.2 yard per carry average. But with such an extremely diversified attack, it gave little chance for any of the Rams runners to get into a rhythm and grab the hot hand.
By the game’s final whistle, Mason had seven carries, Zac Stacy had five, Benny Cunningham had four and Tavon Austin had two.
While it certainly can be positive to mix it up and give different looks to opposing defenses, it can be a negative when your run game is so spread out that none of the backs have a chance to get rolling.
*By the week, it becomes more apparent that the best days of Jake Long’s career are in the rearview mirror. Considering that and the 29 year-old’s bloated contract, one would think that the Rams will strongly consider a premium pick (round one through three) on a prospective replacement in the 2015 NFL Draft unless they plan to slide 2014 No. 2 pick Greg Robinson over from left guard. Personally, I feel the Rams should leave Robinson inside as he seems an ideal fit there.
Defensive Discussion
*With returning starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson still on the shelf, opposite starting corner Janoris Jenkins ruled out as a pre-game scratch and second year defensive back Brandon McGee off to the injured reserve list earlier in the week, I tweeted that one of the major keys to the game would be how well the Rams inexperienced corners – all rookies – would hold up vs the pass.
Unfortunately, a predictable result ensued, with Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith ripping holes through the St. Louis patchwork secondary – completing 86 percent of his throws on 24 of 28 passing.
(For much more on the defense and a full analysis of coaching and special teams plus other notes, please click below for the full read. Thanks as always for all the support, ROD):
http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/STLSports/STLRams/tabid/137/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/15160/Rams-at-Chiefs-Sounding-Off-on-the-St-Louis-Loss.aspx
Rams at Chiefs: Sounding Off on the St. Louis Loss
By Shane Gray
Offensive Observations
Unfortunately, that was about it for the offense, as they were shut out over the game’s final 57 minutes.
*While Davis played well early, he and the air attack struggled for much of the remainder of the action, managing just 160 total passing yards.
The passing game’s ineptitude certainly could not all be blamed on Davis, though, as he was under siege all day – sacked on seven occasions and hit a whopping 14 times.
It almost goes without saying that few quarterbacks thrive when under such dire circumstances.
*In addition, Davis’ day was exasperated by the in-game losses of four starters: wide receiver Brian Quick, left tackle Jake Long, offensive guard Rodger Saffold and center Scott Wells.
By the end of the game, the only starting lineman who remained in his original spot was right tackle Joseph Barksdale. After the departure of Saffold, left guard Greg Robinson shifted to right guard before finishing out at left tackle.
Thus, with all considered, the disappointing outing from Davis may have been less on Davis than it was on the circumstances surrounding him.
*That said, Davis must upgrade his decision making after struggling in that regard on numerous occasions.
On one play, the St. Louis QB eschewed a dump off to running back Tre Mason before choosing to throw downfield to a double-covered Kenny Britt. The pass resulted in an interception.
On another play, the Rams signal caller failed to get rid of the football before incurring a monster 15 yard sack that yielded a longer field goal try and an eventual miss by kicker Greg Zuerlein.
These, however, are fixable mistakes by the de-facto rookie. While correctable, these are miscues that must be minimized over the final eight games of the 2014 slate.
If these errors are reduced and he plays like he did in his first five starts -- five starts that resulted in the league’s No. 8 quarterback rating over that span -- then Davis has a legit chance at earning strong consideration by the Rams as a long term starting option at quarterback.
If not, he likely slides back into a backup role, or – at best – is given an opportunity to fight for a starting job on some club’s roster.
*St. Louis used four running backs in the first half, and had some success with a 4.2 yard per carry average. But with such an extremely diversified attack, it gave little chance for any of the Rams runners to get into a rhythm and grab the hot hand.
By the game’s final whistle, Mason had seven carries, Zac Stacy had five, Benny Cunningham had four and Tavon Austin had two.
While it certainly can be positive to mix it up and give different looks to opposing defenses, it can be a negative when your run game is so spread out that none of the backs have a chance to get rolling.
*By the week, it becomes more apparent that the best days of Jake Long’s career are in the rearview mirror. Considering that and the 29 year-old’s bloated contract, one would think that the Rams will strongly consider a premium pick (round one through three) on a prospective replacement in the 2015 NFL Draft unless they plan to slide 2014 No. 2 pick Greg Robinson over from left guard. Personally, I feel the Rams should leave Robinson inside as he seems an ideal fit there.
*With returning starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson still on the shelf, opposite starting corner Janoris Jenkins ruled out as a pre-game scratch and second year defensive back Brandon McGee off to the injured reserve list earlier in the week, I tweeted that one of the major keys to the game would be how well the Rams inexperienced corners – all rookies – would hold up vs the pass.
Unfortunately, a predictable result ensued, with Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith ripping holes through the St. Louis patchwork secondary – completing 86 percent of his throws on 24 of 28 passing.
(For much more on the defense and a full analysis of coaching and special teams plus other notes, please click below for the full read. Thanks as always for all the support, ROD):
http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/STLSports/STLRams/tabid/137/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/15160/Rams-at-Chiefs-Sounding-Off-on-the-St-Louis-Loss.aspx
