Rams-Lions Post Game Coverage

[RamBill]

Gurley Lifts Rams to 21-14 Win Over Lions
By Myles Simmons

View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Gurley-Lifts-Rams-to-21-14-Win-Over-Lions/5e07ecc4-69a8-4f33-ba8e-24221fe03a76


ST. LOUIS -- Led by their second-year defensive tackle and rookie running back, the Rams got their fifth win of the season over the Lions, 21-14, on Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Rams got on the board first with a pick six from cornerback Trumaine Johnson in the second quarter. The St. Louis cornerback shadowed Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson throughout the contest, and got the best of the matchup when he picked off Matthew Stafford’s pass intended for the 6-foot-5 target.


After corralling the ball, Johnson darted down the left sideline looking for points. And the rest of the Rams’ defense was there to block for him, notably safety Rodney McLeod who hit Detroit right tackle Michael Ola hard to knock him out of the way. With that, Johnson had nothing but turf in front of him on his way to the end zone to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.

St. Louis also had a pair of sacks in the first half, one by defensive tackle Aaron Donald and the other by defensive tackle Michael Brockers.

Offensively, the Rams looked like they might have a shot to get on the board with a two-minute drill. But the opportunity ended when a Case Keenum pass was intercepted on the right sideline by Darius Slay, and St. Louis kept its 7-0 lead going into halftime.

After the break, the Lions scored their first points with a seven-play, 65-yard drive, which ended with a Stafford strike to Golden Taint in the end zone for a touchdown.


But the Rams came right back with a five-play, 80-yard drive to get on the board, led by the rookie running back out of Georgia. After an Ezekiel Ansah neutral-zone infraction, the Rams had 1st-and-5 at their own 45. That’s when Todd Gurley burst through the hole on the left side of the line for a 49-yard run down to the Detroit 6 -- his seventh rush of at least 30 yards this season.

While an illegal formation penalty backed the Rams up five, two more Gurley runs of six and five yards got the home team its second touchdown of the game. On the five-yard touchdown, Gurley leapt toward the pylon in the left front corner of the end zone, put his hand down in bounds and broke the plane to put St. Louis back on top, 14-7.

After the Rams defense held on for another punt, the offense kept rolling. The club started the drive with a 25-yard pass from Keenum to Kenny Britt, moving the ball up to the St. Louis 34. And then Gurley burst through the hole for a 25-yard gain, putting the club in visitors’ territory. A few plays later, Gurley broke the plane for his second touchdown of the day, this time a 15-yard run to cap a seven-play, 91-yard drive. The score gave the Rams a 21-7 lead.

Donald continued his strong day in the second half as well, taking down Stafford two more times in the second half to give him a team-leading 11.0 on the season. It’s the first time Donald has recorded at least 3.0 sacks in a game in his young career.

Detroit kept up the game’s intrigue with a 14-play, 86-yard drive for a touchdown, as Stafford hit Taint with a two-yard scoring strike to cut St. Louis’ lead to 21-14. Then the visitors recovered an onside kick to give them the ball back at their own 47.


But St. Louis’ defense came through, forcing an incomplete pass on 4th-and-3 from the St. Louis 47 when a high snap put Stafford in an unenviable position and the pass was out of tight end Eric Ebron’s reach to turn the ball over on downs.

Gurley put the game on ice with a big 20-yard run to give the Rams their needed first down, and a few plays later, Keenum took a knee in victory formation to end it.

Gurley finished with 16 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns. It was his fifth 100-yard performance of the season. He recorded 127 yards and both scores after intermission.

With the victory, the Rams improve to 5-8 on the season. It’s a quick turnaround as they’ll play on Thursday night against the Buccaneers at the Edward Jones Dome.

 

[RamBill]

New coordinator Rob Boras gets Todd Gurley, Rams' run game going
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ob-boras-gets-todd-gurley-rams-run-game-going

ST. LOUIS -- The only offensive success the St. Louis Rams have had this season has been tied directly to the effectiveness of running back Todd Gurley. As Gurley has gone, so have the Rams.

St. Louis went just about nowhere in their previous five games, losing all of them to form a streak that spurred coach Jeff Fisher to fire offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti and promote Rob Boras to the job last week. After a first half that looked eerily similar to those five games, the Rams' offense took off in the second half as Boras dialed up Gurley's No. 30.

By the time it was over, Gurley had shouldered the load for the Rams' 21-14 victory at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday.

Earlier in the week, Fisher said that in making the move to Boras, he hoped his new coordinator could help spark the run game. Boras said he wanted to feed Gurley as much as possible, especially after the rookie back had just nine carries in each of his past two games.

Whatever Boras did this week apparently worked. Gurley finished with 140 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. It was his fifth 100-yard game of the season and his first since Week 8 against San Francisco. As a team, the Rams rushed for 203 yards on 29 carries, an average of 7 yards per attempt.

Make no mistake, the Rams' offense is still far from being even mediocre. But for one day -- or one half -- at least, Boras was able to get Gurley going again. It's no coincidence that the result was a victory.

What it means: The Rams snapped the aforementioned five-game losing streak, getting their first win since that game against the 49ers on Nov. 1. The victory is essentially meaningless as the Rams improved to 5-8 but are, for all intents and purposes, out of the playoff race.

One reason to be excited: The Rams have difficult decisions to make this offseason when it comes to their many free agents, but it looks like they're at least going to have good choices at cornerback. They likely can't afford to keep both Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson, but both have proved that they're worthy. If Jenkins' price gets too high, Johnson might be a solid, more cost-effective option. His 58-yard pick-six and the job he did against Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson showed that Johnson has developed into a good NFL cornerback.

Fantasy watch: The matchup didn't look favorable, especially with so many injuries, but the Rams' defense rebounded well from a couple of tough weeks against strong opponents. Johnson's interception return for a score plus the Rams' four sacks offered some big points for those who stood by their defense.

Ouch: The Rams made it through the game without any serious injuries of note, or at least none that were obvious during the game. Of course, they didn't have much room for more serious injuries given their luck of late. They were without Jenkins (concussion) and end Robert Quinn (back), in addition to the many other injuries they're dealing with on defense.

What's next: It's a short week for the Rams as they turn around and play Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Edward Jones Dome in what could be their final home game in St. Louis. It's also the color rush game with the Rams wearing all yellow -- if you're into that kind of thing.

 

[RamBill]

Donald, Trumaine Johnson up, Greg Robinson down in Rams' win
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ine-johnson-up-greg-robinson-down-in-rams-win

ST. LOUIS -- A look at St. Louis Rams players who were "up" and those who were "down" in Sunday's 21-14 win against the Detroit Lions:

UP

DT Aaron Donald: We're officially running out of superlatives for the Rams' second-year defensive tackle, but he has to land on this list after posting his first NFL hat trick of sacks. Donald had five tackles to go with those sacks and the unofficial press box statistics also credited him with three tackles for loss and a whopping six quarterback hits. He should be in the mix for Defensive Player of the Year and is a lock to go to his second straight Pro Bowl.

Offensive coordinator Rob Boras: Boras didn't reinvent the wheel and the Rams' offense still only mustered 317 yards of total offense, but Boras lands here because he went through an extremely difficult week and there were no obvious signs that the job was too big for him. Boras is in a really tough spot taking over as offensive coordinator with just four games to go, but he should be commended for sticking with the run and helping the Rams' offense find the end zone twice, something it hadn't done since Week 8.

Calvin Johnson
Trumaine Johnson put the clamps on star Lions WR Calvin Johnson on Sunday, including returning this interception for a touchdown.
P Johnny Hekker: Like Donald, Hekker continues to amaze with his consistently outstanding production every week. He punted six times with a net average of 45.5 yards and dropped four of those inside Detroit's 20. You never know how Pro Bowl voting will go with a punter but it'd be a farce if Hekker is left out.

CB Trumaine Johnson: In returning from a thigh injury he suffered against Baltimore three weeks ago, Johnson had the task of shadowing Lions receiver Calvin Johnson all day. Johnson did it as well as any corner has since Johnson came into the league. Calvin Johnson finished with just one catch for 16 yards and Trumaine Johnson sent the ultimate exclamation point with an interception he returned 58 yards for the game's first touchdown.

DOWN

OT Greg Robinson: It's been a long, tough year for Robinson, who had his hands full all day with Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah. Robinson picked up a penalty for a chop block and had another holding call declined. Ansah had a sack and two quarterback hits.

 

[RamBill]

Rams snap five-game losing streak
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_0e055790-405b-5980-96f4-dc69311d9ebc.html

What looked like a victory-clinching 83-yard punt return for a touchdown by Tavon Austin got called back late in the third quarter Sunday because of a holding penalty on Cody Davis.

So instead of going up 21-7, the Rams were backed up at their 9, clinging to a 14-7 lead over the Detroit Lions.

Those are the kinds of mistakes the Rams seem to make all too often. And those are the kinds of mistakes that doom 4-8 teams. But not this time.

"Obviously, everybody was upset," quarterback Case Keenum said. "I thought, 'Heck, screw it. Let's go 90 yards or whatever it is.'"

Keenum and the Rams did just that with a seven-play, 91-yard touchdown drive. Keenum got things going with his longest completion of the game, a 25-yard floater to Kenny Britt. Todd Gurley followed with a 24-yard run off right tackle. Next thing you know Gurley was in the end zone on a 15-yard run, giving the Rams that two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter. It was the longest drive of the season for the Rams.

From there, they were able to hold off the Lions the rest of the way, snapping their five-game losing streak with a 21-14 victory at the Edward Jones Dome.

"We've had some tough ones," Keenum said. "We were on this streak of not being successful. That's what makes winning just feel so good. I mean, it may not look pretty at time but coming into that locker room — any winning locker room is pretty awesome."

There were 51,202 tickets distributed for what could have been the Rams' last Sunday home game in St. Louis. With owner Stan Kroenke planning to move the team to Los Angeles in 2016, the home finale is Thursday against Tampa Bay.

As Keenum mentioned, Sunday's triumph was no thing of beauty. But the Rams took a 7-0 halftime lead on a 58-yard interception return by cornerback Trumaine Johnson. In the second half, the Rams finally got their offense going — the running game in particular — posting a couple of touchdowns on Gurley runs.

Gurley finished with 140 yards on 16 carries, his first 100-yard rushing game since the Rams' last victory — way back on Nov. 1 against San Francisco.

"It felt good," Gurley said. "We had lost (five) in a row so that's never a good feeling. ... We want to finish on a strong note. We might not be going to the playoffs, but it's always good to bring that momentum going into the offseason."

All told, the Rams (5-8) rushed for a season-high 203 yards. Gurley now has 975 yards rushing for the season with three games left to play.

Besides his "pick six," Johnson did stellar work against Detroit star wide receiver Calvin Johnson, limiting the player known as "Megatron" to one catch for 16 yards. And as T. Johnson was quick to point out, C. Johnson's only catch came against zone coverage.

(With C. Johnson lined up in the slot anyway, and not outside opposite T. Johnson.)

The Rams also had a revived pass rush, getting three sacks from defensive tackle Aaron Donald. With 11 on the season, Donald is the first Rams defensive tackle since D'Marco Farr (in 1995) with 10 or more sacks in one season.

"That's kinda what we want to do," Fisher said. "We want to run the football and play good defense."

With Rob Boras calling plays in his first game as offensive coordinator, and Keenum making his second start at quarterback, the Rams couldn't dent the scoreboard in the first half.

Keenum's mobility helped on a couple of plays. Boras made sure that Tavon Austin was involved. Austin gained 13 yards on a run lining up in the backfield, something the Rams haven't tried in a while. He also gained 20 yards on a jet sweep — with Gurley making the handoff out of the wildcat formation.

The Rams reached Detroit territory three times in the opening half, but were in field goal range only once. But on third-and-5 from the Detroit 27 early in the second quarter, Keenum was sacked for a 10-yard loss by Ziggy Ansah.

Instead of trying a 55-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein, who was back in the lineup after missing two games with a right hip injury, Fisher decided to punt.

But Boras, who replaced the fired Frank Cignetti on Monday, finally got some points on the board in the second half.

"(Boras) worked really hard, as the staff did and the players," Fisher said. "The players supported the staff this week, knowing it was gonna be difficult.

"I'm sure he's looking at it right now wishing he could have a bunch of calls back. But as a first time play-caller it's hard to convince him sometimes when you don't get a first down on first down — it's not your fault.

"You're playing a good defense. It's hard to just call things and have success all the time. But you set things up. The most important thing from our perspective, which he did, was adjust. I thought the staff did a good job adjusting."

Both Boras and Trumaine Johnson received game balls after the contest. Johnson, who had missed the past two games with a thigh injury, now has 13 career interceptions — the most for any player in his draft class (2012). His five interceptions this season are the most for a Ram since Oshiomogho Atogwe had five in 2008.

In a tactic rarely used by the Rams, he shadowed Calvin Johnson all over the field. He had known all week that was going to be his assignment.

"It was Johnson vs. Johnson the whole week," Trumaine Johnson said. "I knew it was going to be a tough matchup, but I feel like I can match up with anybody with my big frame, especially him."

Even so, Detroit (4-9) made a game of it. Golden Taint caught a two-yard TD pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford with 2:05 left, to make it a one-score game at 21-14. And then the Lions recovered an onside kick on their 47 with 2:03 to play and all three timeouts remaining.

But the Rams defense held. It was four-and-out for Detroit, and just like that the local gridiron nightmare was over.

"No matter what your record is, we're going to keep playing and keep battling," Donald said. "We've got to finish strong. That's what it's about. That's what we're going to do."

 

[RamBill]

ESPN Rams reporter Nick Wagoner gaves RB Todd Gurley a game ball for breaking loose for two touchdowns and 140 rushing yards after a tough four-game stretch. Lions reporter Mike Rothstein rewarded receiver Golden Taint, who also scored twice.

Watch Wagoner Give His Game Ball

 

[RamBill]

Rams coach Jeff Fisher says impressive QB play and a solid ground attack were the keys to a 21-14 win over the Detroit Lions. He talks with Steve Savard and D’Marco Farr right after the game.

Listen to Fisher's Post Game Comments

 

[RamBill]

Go inside the locker room for head coach Jeff Fisher’s postgame speech after the win over Lions.

Watch Fisher's Post Game Speech

 

[RamBill]

Rams notebook: No style points, but Keenum makes it happen
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_32714f5d-061b-5cc2-bce8-7c4ce8a14408.html

Case Keenum is taking any and all suggestions about what to call his longest completion of the day Sunday.

“I’ll let you come up with it,” a giddy Keenum told reporters after the Rams’ 21-14 victory over Detroit. “Just have some options for me tomorrow.”

When asked if three suggestions would be enough, Keenum replied, “Yeah, at least three and then we’ll name it.”

OK, how about:

1.) The Water Balloon.

2.) The Hail Barely.

3.) The Alley-oops.

Keenum’s 25-yard floater came down in wide receiver Kenny Britt’s arms, jump-starting the Rams’ longest drive of the season.

Just moments earlier, what looked to be an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown by Tavon Austin was nullified because of a holding penalty on Cody Davis.

So instead of taking a 21-7 lead, the Rams found themselves backed up at their 9-yard line with just a 14-7 advantage and 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

“Obviously, everybody was upset,” Keenum said. “I thought, ‘Heck, screw it. Let’s go 90 yards or whatever it is.’”

The Rams did just that with a seven-play, 91-yard touchdown drive. It began with the connection to Britt on a play in which Keenum knew it was a free play because of a penalty flag on Detroit.

“I threw it this time, instead of letting some guy dribble my head on the turf like I did the last time that happened,” Keenum said.

That, of course, was a reference to the controversial concussion he suffered Nov. 22 in Baltimore. He held onto the ball too long that day even though there was a flag on the turf for a Ravens offside.

This time he got rid of the ball before the pass rush arrived. The Rams took the gain, declining a pass interference call against the Lions. On the next play, Todd Gurley rambled 25 more yards off right tackle.

Next thing you knew, the Rams were in the end zone on a 15-yard run by Gurley and with a two-touchdown lead.

Like that throw to Britt, Keenum’s work wasn’t always pretty. He completed 14 of 22 passes for a mere 124 yards, with an interception and a passer rating of just 59.7. But the Rams did come up with four third-down conversions, and at day’s end they had a victory.

NO JENKINS

As expected, Janoris Jenkins was a pregame scratch because of a concussion. But Trumaine Johnson returned after missing two games with a thigh injury, and Johnson’s return proved to be huge with his interception return for a score and his coverage work on Calvin Johnson.

The Rams went with Marcus Roberson as their other starting cornerback. Lamarcus Joyner was at his usual nickel spot. A fourth cornerback, Eric Patterson, played special teams in his Rams debut after being promoted from the practice squad Friday.

Other Rams inactives: K Zach Hocker (thigh), QB Sean Mannion, G/T Andrew Donnal (knee), DE Robert Quinn (back), DE Matt Longacre, and G/C Brian Folkerts.

After missing the Cincinnati and Arizona games because of a right hip injury, Greg Zuerlein returned and handled kickoffs as well as kicking two extra points.

But perhaps out of concern for the injury, coach Jeff Fisher passed on a potential 55-yard field goal early in the second half, sending Johnny Hekker out to punt instead.

GAME BALL FOR BORAS

Johnson got a game ball Sunday and so did Rob Boras, who replaced Frank Cignetti as offensive coordinator last Monday.

“(Boras) worked really hard, as the staff did and the players,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “The players supported the staff this week, knowing it was gonna be difficult.”

ALEXANDER’S HOMECOMING

Eureka High product Maurice Alexander, who once worked as a janitor cleaning after Rams games at Edward Jones Dome, made his first home start Sunday. According to unofficial press box stats, he finished with five tackles.

“It went great,” Alexander said. “Just as I expected. You know you play how you practice. We came in with a great mindset as a secondary — no balls over the top of our heads.”

 

[RamBill]

Hochman: Gurley is bright spot for bleak Rams
• By Benjamin Hochman

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_fae4e342-34bb-5de3-85af-ad227b4036ba.html

Todd Gurley enraptured the rapper, giving Jay-Z an experience like Jay-Z gives audiences, a showcase of skill and thrill and swagger and daggers — the takeover.

For one afternoon, everything was right with the St. Louis Rams. Now, we know the truth, that not much is right at all, even with Sunday’s 21-14 win against the similarly inept Lions. But the Rams running back, represented by Jay-Z and his sports agency, reminded us that it takes offensive game-changers to win games. The Rams don’t have a quarterback who is transcendent, but their rookie running back is resplendent. And occasionally, St. Louis’ oft-flimsy offensive line opens up a hole, and suddenly there’s a semblance of hope for the future.

“Obviously, he took the game over,” said Rams coach Jeff Fisher, after Gurley galloped for 140 yards on just 16 carries, good for an average of 8.8 yards per carry. “If you give him enough opportunities, he’s going to find a way. Rob (Boras, the new offensive coordinator) changed some runs, we made some adjustments at halftime, and they were solid adjustments. Most of his runs, there were a lot of people on the line of scrimmage.”

Unlike Jay-Z, many St. Louisians weren’t at the Edward Jones Dome, and understandably so. To be clear, most St. Louis fans do want the team here, but with a five-game losing streak and the threat of moving, it’s tough to come support a pitiful product (on a pitifully rainy day). Of those who did come, many booed the pregame introduction of Fisher.

That was understandable, too. The Rams ownership seems to have this warped faith in Fisher, like he’s the one who can somehow turn this all around, even though he got the Rams into this mess to begin with.

But this past week, Fisher ousted his offensive coordinator, and he and Boras cooked up a way to get Gurley going, and for a game, it worked.

“I think Rob did a great job getting us ready this week,” Rams receiver Wes Welker said. “He was obviously really emotional after the game; he put a lot of hard work and sleepless nights into this, and I’ll say we were very prepared for this game.”

This game was like one of those fun ones in October in many regards: Not only did Gurley explode, but he did so after a muted first half. Indeed, he went to the locker room Sunday with just 13 yards on seven carries. Here he goes (or doesn’t go) again.

In the previous four games, he totaled just 171 combined ground yards. But in Sunday’s second half alone, he ran for 127 yards — including a 49-yard mad dash — and two more runs 20 yards or longer — and two touchdowns.

“He’s just kind of a freak,” Welker said. “When you see him get through that first line of defense, there’s a good chance he’s gone.”

Watching Gurley in the second half was like watching a basketball player get into a zone. He seemed to do whatever he wanted with the football. Strong men trying to tackle him were simply in his way. Gosh he’s good. It really is incredible that he now has 975 yards on the year, and he didn’t even play in the first two games.

Oh, and he’s only 21 years old.

And it was also reassuring that the young back got out of his funk. He needed a game like this. At what point would he start to wonder if teams, if you will, figured him out?

“The losing was tough,” Gurley said Sunday, “and then being down by so much, and just understanding that you can’t run the ball when you’re down — you’ve got to be able to pass the ball — so things were tough, things weren’t going well. ...

“We want to finish on a strong note. We might not be going to the playoffs, but we can bring that momentum going into the offseason.”

Offseason.

Ugh.

When I think of the offseason, it’s a reminder that the Rams could move from St. Louis. Will Thursday against Tampa Bay be St. Louisans’ last chance to watch Todd Gurley in person? And to think, the love affair is just beginning.

When Sunday’s game ended, Jay-Z spent some time hanging out with the Rams. He posed for pics — millionaire athletes momentarily awestruck — and chatted with the great Gurley. During Todd’s childhood in Baltimore, his older brother had the Jay-Z song “Hard Knock Life” as a ringtone.

“And just all the tough times growing up, just listening to that song, that kind of brought my family together,” Gurley explained. “Just listening to it meant a lot to me.

“I saw him after the game, he said, ‘Good job,’ and I told him I appreciated him coming. It’s always good for your agent and agency to come show love. The team was happy and we got the win. … Everybody grew up listening to him and idolizing him, so it was a cool thing.”

But for a day, Todd was Jay.

 

[RamBill]

T. Johnson helps Rams stifle ‘Megatron’
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_bd3edf54-4b63-5816-b282-137bcdf4e5cc.html

Trumaine Johnson was up to the challenge — and then some — Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome.

Johnson, a fourth-year cornerback for the Rams, returned to the starting lineup after missing two-plus games with a thigh strain. His assignment: shadowing Detroit standout wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

“It was Johnson vs. Johnson all week, even in practice. No matter where No. 81 went, I knew I had to be there,” Trumaine said. “Going in, I knew it was a tough matchup, but I feel like I can match up with anybody. He’s one of the best in the league right now and all week I looked forward to going against him.

“And I’m really happy about the way it turned out.”

In his ninth NFL season, Calvin Johnson is one of the league’s premier receivers. A Pro Bowl selection in each of the last five seasons and a first-team All-Pro choice in three of the last four, Calvin entered Sunday’s action needing just 35 yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the seventh time in his career, including the last six.

But Trumaine, with the help of his teammates, limited the 6-foot-5, 237-pound “Megatron” to just one catch for 16 yards. And that came with 2½ minutes to play in the Rams’ 21-14 victory.

“We were in zone,” stressed Trumaine, laughing, when asked about Calvin’s 16-yard reception that set up the Lions’ second touchdown. “Seriously, it was a team effort. We knew he was a big part of their offense, but we worked together and we managed to shut him down.”

The Rams don’t do a lot of shadow coverage, but with the team’s other starting cornerback, Janoris Jenkins, sidelined with a concussion, the chore of matching up with Calvin fell to Trumaine.

“Coming off the quad, we weren’t quite sure,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “I talked to (Trumaine) last Saturday night about coming back and taking the challenge on with Calvin this week... We did some coverage adjustments at times — everybody does when you face Calvin — and I thought Trumaine played a really good game.”

With Trumaine blanketing Calvin, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw in the direction of his No. 1 receiver just five times Sunday. It wasn’t until early in the second quarter that Stafford threw that way for the first time. From his own 2, the quarterback pump-faked to freeze Trumaine for a split-second and had Calvin open for a big gainer down the sideline but overthrew him.

“I obviously missed him when we were backed up,’’ Stafford explained. “He ran a good route, the safety was streaming over the top, so I couldn’t throw a high arc, but I missed him on a good route. It’s just on me to make sure he gets a little more involved earlier on.’’

The next time Stafford threw in Calvin’s direction, Trumaine was ready — and waiting.

On a short pass to the right side, Trumaine jumped the route, picked off the pass and returned his career-best fifth interception of the season 58 yards for his second career pick-6 and a 7-0 Rams lead with 4:55 to play in the opening half.

“Lots of film study,” Trumaine said when asked about his 13th career interception. “All week, I watched them run that play and get completions. So when I read it today, I knew I had to step up and make a play.”

Trumaine, who was hurt on an interception return in the Rams’ loss at Baltimore on Nov. 22, was headed down the left sideline when a huge block from 5-10, 195-pound safety Rodney McLeod on 6-5, 312-pound Detroit tackle Michael Ola cleared the way for the touchdown.

“Just hustle,” McLeod said. “I had a good read on the play and just busted my butt to get there to make a play.

“Any time the defense can create a turnover and put points on the board, it’s huge.”

Stafford added: “Calvin looked to be doing everything he could, but (Trumaine) was just squatting on it and made a good play. I’m not upset at my decision or where the throw went. (Trumaine) guessed and he guessed right.”

With Trumaine blanketing Calvin, Stafford simply passed elsewhere. He threw 10 times and completed nine, including two TDs, to Golden Taint and completed seven of 11 passes to running back Theo Riddick.

Trumaine had a shot at another interception late in the game but was unable to corral Stafford’s under-pressure pass.

“Getting ‘Tru’ back was huge,’’ McLeod said. “He’s a veteran guy, a guy who studies a lot of film and who brings a lot of energy and playmaking ability.”

A third-round draft choice in 2012, Trumaine will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. But that’s not his concern now.

“I’m just glad to contribute to the win,: Trumaine said after helping the Rams snap a five-game losing streak. “It felt great being out there with my brothers again. I just want to step up and be consistent. … I love my teammates. The chemistry is there on the defense. I’ve been playing with these guys for three and four years. I’ll worry about (the future) after the season.”


============

 

[DaveFan'51]

Not enough has been said about Tavon's effort in tonights game! He was robbed of a lot of yards due to stupid penalties! He was Great out their, again!!