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McLeod's early fumble return for touchdown helps set tone
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_d7d732e7-24be-5d75-8cea-509a6ee083e6.html
On a day of big plays by the Rams’ defense, none was bigger Sunday than Rodney McLeod’s 20-yard fumble return for touchdown early in the contest.
On a first-down play from the Cleveland 19-yard line, Browns quarterback Josh McCown threw a short screen pass to the left for Taylor Gabriel. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins quickly attacked and knocked the ball loose.
McLeod, the Rams’ free safety, scooped it up and returned it 20 yards down the sideline for the first defensive points this season for the Rams, who went on to a 24-6 victory over the Browns at the Edward Jones Dome.
“Actually, it was (McLeod) who alerted me,’’ Jenkins said. “I baited (McCown) a little, but once I saw him turn to make the throw, I was all over it.’’
McLeod added: “It’s a play and a formation we saw on film a lot, something we repped all week in practice. ‘Jenks’ made a great play, knocking the ball free and I was there to capitalize on the opportunity.’’
It was the first NFL touchdown for McLeod, a fourth-year pro.
“Shoot, it’s probably been since high school, for real,’’ McLeod said when asked about his last TD. “It’s a great feeling. It’s a big play, just to set the tone for the game.’’
McLeod’s scoop and score came just 3 minutes, 1 second into the game and was the first of four fumbles forced and recovered by the Rams, who parlayed the turnovers into 17 points.
“If we can start fast like that, it certainly will help us out,’’ middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “We talked all week about how we want to score on defense and finally we did. Any time you score on defense, momentum changes. And when you score on defense, there’s a high probability of winning.’’
On the Cleveland possession following the Rams’ early score, defensive end William Hayes knocked the ball away from McCown on a sack and linebacker Akeem Ayers came up with the ball at the Cleveland 25. That set up a 39-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein that put the Rams on top 10-0 midway through the opening quarter.
The Rams led 10-3 at the half and were up 10-6 when Todd Gurley scored his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter. The home team was up 17-6 early in the final quarter when safeties T.J. McDonald and Mark Barron combined for a vicious hit on a pass play over the middle that forced another turnover and helped set up the game’s final score.
McCown hooked up with speedy Travis Benjamin for a 20-yard gain over the middle. But the ball came free, thanks to a combo hit from McDonald and Barron. The ball caromed toward the line of scrimmage and was recovered by hustling defensive tackle Nick Fairley.
“I got my hand in there (and Mark) put a good lick on him, too,’’ McDonald said after joking with Barron about who gets credit for the forced fumble. “I told him maybe we’d give him an assist, but I think this one’s mine. I guess we’ll just have to wait until we take a look at the film.’’
Gurley capped the ensuing drive with a 16-yard touchdown run to seal the 24-6 victory.
Later in the quarter, Hayes again knocked the ball from McCown on a sack and fellow end Eugene Sims recovered. This time, however, the Rams were unable to move the ball and punted.
“We came in determined to be the difference in the game,’’ McDonald said. “We set a tone early and were able to pretty well control things from there. We got off the field when we needed to and also made some plays to put the offense in position. We feed off them and the offense feeds off us.’’
Playing with a lead, the Rams’ defense was able to keep the pressure on McCown, who threw for a franchise-record 457 yards two weeks earlier against Baltimore. On Sunday, the 13-year pro completed 26 of 32 passes for 270 yards before being removed late with a shoulder injury and possible concussion. He was sacked four times, losing fumbles on two of those, and was hit seven other times.
Playing with the lead is “awesome because it makes the other team’s offense one-dimensional and gives our guys up front a chance to really go after the QB,’’ Laurinaitis said. “And then, on the other end, having a running back like (Gurley), who can drain the clock and shorten the game a little, it really helps a lot.’’
Sunday’s win puts the Rams at 3-3 and provides some expectations for a club scheduled to play just one winning team over the next month.
“I would say next week will be the big test for us,’’ Laurinaitis said, referring to Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at the Dome. “We can’t ignore the problems we’ve had with putting back-to-back stuff together. We have a division team coming into our place and we have an opportunity to kind of stack some things.
“We’ve talked about it a lot and I’ll be sure to bring it up more, but next week will tell just how mature we are and if this team is any different than in the past.’’
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_d7d732e7-24be-5d75-8cea-509a6ee083e6.html
On a day of big plays by the Rams’ defense, none was bigger Sunday than Rodney McLeod’s 20-yard fumble return for touchdown early in the contest.
On a first-down play from the Cleveland 19-yard line, Browns quarterback Josh McCown threw a short screen pass to the left for Taylor Gabriel. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins quickly attacked and knocked the ball loose.
McLeod, the Rams’ free safety, scooped it up and returned it 20 yards down the sideline for the first defensive points this season for the Rams, who went on to a 24-6 victory over the Browns at the Edward Jones Dome.
“Actually, it was (McLeod) who alerted me,’’ Jenkins said. “I baited (McCown) a little, but once I saw him turn to make the throw, I was all over it.’’
McLeod added: “It’s a play and a formation we saw on film a lot, something we repped all week in practice. ‘Jenks’ made a great play, knocking the ball free and I was there to capitalize on the opportunity.’’
It was the first NFL touchdown for McLeod, a fourth-year pro.
“Shoot, it’s probably been since high school, for real,’’ McLeod said when asked about his last TD. “It’s a great feeling. It’s a big play, just to set the tone for the game.’’
McLeod’s scoop and score came just 3 minutes, 1 second into the game and was the first of four fumbles forced and recovered by the Rams, who parlayed the turnovers into 17 points.
“If we can start fast like that, it certainly will help us out,’’ middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “We talked all week about how we want to score on defense and finally we did. Any time you score on defense, momentum changes. And when you score on defense, there’s a high probability of winning.’’
On the Cleveland possession following the Rams’ early score, defensive end William Hayes knocked the ball away from McCown on a sack and linebacker Akeem Ayers came up with the ball at the Cleveland 25. That set up a 39-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein that put the Rams on top 10-0 midway through the opening quarter.
The Rams led 10-3 at the half and were up 10-6 when Todd Gurley scored his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter. The home team was up 17-6 early in the final quarter when safeties T.J. McDonald and Mark Barron combined for a vicious hit on a pass play over the middle that forced another turnover and helped set up the game’s final score.
McCown hooked up with speedy Travis Benjamin for a 20-yard gain over the middle. But the ball came free, thanks to a combo hit from McDonald and Barron. The ball caromed toward the line of scrimmage and was recovered by hustling defensive tackle Nick Fairley.
“I got my hand in there (and Mark) put a good lick on him, too,’’ McDonald said after joking with Barron about who gets credit for the forced fumble. “I told him maybe we’d give him an assist, but I think this one’s mine. I guess we’ll just have to wait until we take a look at the film.’’
Gurley capped the ensuing drive with a 16-yard touchdown run to seal the 24-6 victory.
Later in the quarter, Hayes again knocked the ball from McCown on a sack and fellow end Eugene Sims recovered. This time, however, the Rams were unable to move the ball and punted.
“We came in determined to be the difference in the game,’’ McDonald said. “We set a tone early and were able to pretty well control things from there. We got off the field when we needed to and also made some plays to put the offense in position. We feed off them and the offense feeds off us.’’
Playing with a lead, the Rams’ defense was able to keep the pressure on McCown, who threw for a franchise-record 457 yards two weeks earlier against Baltimore. On Sunday, the 13-year pro completed 26 of 32 passes for 270 yards before being removed late with a shoulder injury and possible concussion. He was sacked four times, losing fumbles on two of those, and was hit seven other times.
Playing with the lead is “awesome because it makes the other team’s offense one-dimensional and gives our guys up front a chance to really go after the QB,’’ Laurinaitis said. “And then, on the other end, having a running back like (Gurley), who can drain the clock and shorten the game a little, it really helps a lot.’’
Sunday’s win puts the Rams at 3-3 and provides some expectations for a club scheduled to play just one winning team over the next month.
“I would say next week will be the big test for us,’’ Laurinaitis said, referring to Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at the Dome. “We can’t ignore the problems we’ve had with putting back-to-back stuff together. We have a division team coming into our place and we have an opportunity to kind of stack some things.
“We’ve talked about it a lot and I’ll be sure to bring it up more, but next week will tell just how mature we are and if this team is any different than in the past.’’
