Rams seem to be susceptible to “counterpunching.” Why?

[AvengerRam]

Looking at Rams', and their opponents', scoring by quarter, I noticed a trend:

First Quarter: Rams 37, Opponents 20 (+17)
Second Quarter: Rams42, Opponents 45 (-3)
Third Quarter: Rams 34, Opponents 38 (+6)
Fourth Quarter: Rams 36, Opponents 48 (-12)

So why does it seem that the Rams are starting halves fairly well, then being hit by "counterpunches" in the second and fourth quarters?

Are our opponents making better adjustments?
Is the defense wearing down toward the end of each half?
Insufficient data/anomaly?

What is your theory?

 

[bubbaramfan]

Easy to explain. Rams D is young and smallish. They get tired and outplayed in the 4th qtr.

 

[AvengerRam]

Easy to explain. Rams D is young and smallish. They get tired and outplayed in the 4th qtr.

An argument for enhancing the DL size and depth. I’d favor that.

 

[snackdaddy]

Could be we aren't quite as good as the opponents we lose to. Is it that simple?

 

[Jacobarch]

Young players at pivotal positions hamstring the coaching staff in regards to making adjustments. They can only retain so much.
And depth at the oline and especially dline start to show up later in games.

 

[Ellard80]

Looking at Rams', and their opponents', scoring by quarter, I noticed a trend:

First Quarter: Rams 37, Opponents 20 (+17)
Second Quarter: Rams42, Opponents 45 (-3)
Third Quarter: Rams 34, Opponents 38 (+6)
Fourth Quarter: Rams 36, Opponents 48 (-12)

So why does it seem that the Rams are starting halves fairly well, then being hit by "counterpunches" in the second and fourth quarters?

Are our opponents making better adjustments?
Is the defense wearing down toward the end of each half?
Insufficient data/anomaly?

What is your theory?

the defense limits points but it's not good at establishing field position, creating turnover or 3 and outs.

So it's on the field a lot and eventually collapses.

Also, the offense is inconsistent and doesn't possess the ball.

I'd call it uncomplimentary football.

 

[Tano]

the defense limits points but it's not good at establishing field position, creating turnover or 3 and outs.

This times 1000

I believe we are the only team to not start a series within the other teams 50 yard line

That is 100% on the defense.

Having the offense go 75 or more yards all the fricken time causes the offense to make one mistake more often than not that kills the drive.

 

[RamFanWA]

I think the Rams tend to overlook the fact that a ball control offense which eats clock, keeps the defense rested and healthy....

 

[Mojo Ram]

McVay’s offense is predictable

 

[John R]

I’ve brought this up before, how the Rams seem to play good football on both sides of the ball. Hanging in there and even leading good teams like the 49ers and Eagles with a nice long scoring drive that should end the half, only to have the defense collapse and give a touchdown right back. Then everything goes downhill from there.

The defense has no excuse, they should have been well rested, the other team was starting on its own 25 with little time. They had been playing good defense up to that point, then the wheels just all fell off. Somebody else mentioned the other team’s ability to adjust, I think that’s the answer.

 

[Oregonram]

This is an offensive problem, not a defensive problem. When the defense does get a stop in the second half, the offense more often than not stalls out....especially Bengals and Steelers. We have some good weapons, so I think Sean needs to change things up like he did against the Cardinals in the second half. We could not get a first down in the 4th quarter against the Steelers...not the fault of the defense.

 

[younghutch]

The first 25 plays or so are scripted, assuming with input from LaFleur and other coaches. Seems to go well.

After that? No script, decisions on the fly...sometimes playcalls that seem tinged with a bit of panic.

 

[snackdaddy]

I have a feeling the defense overachieved up to this point. The secondary is littered with day 3 picks. Not a lot of experience either. Donald is the one all pro caliber guy on defense. Jones is probably a little above average. Young and Turner are still developing. Hoecht, Jonah Williams and Rozeboom are undrafted guys. What can we really expect with that as your starting lineup?

 

[rdlkgliders]

Wearing down and slow to react to in game adjustments = youth/experience possibly even size/talent

 

[leoram]

Turnover and injuries.

Not only do the Rams employ a plethora of rookies and second year players, they also have several players that require schematic adjustments to protect their deficiencies. A team like this requires extensive planning to adopt a gameplan that can be effective. They have also worked to become more multiple in scheme but adding to a young squad takes time.

Veteran teams like our '21 squad have a large cache of experience to draw upon when halftime adjustments are being made. This allows coaches to pull experiences and techniques already used in the past to quickly rework the plan. Ram leadership now has to teach what they don't have time to learn.

I wish fans would consider context when looking at stats. When one considers how the 9ers and Eagles play offense, they are at the top of the league in long drives and time of possession and represent 2 of the 7 games played. Penalties (and the ghost version) also extend drives and this squad has more of these than previous Rams teams.

Where the youth and turnover are the major factors on defense, I contend the offense has undergone such a change in philosophy, they are still just a little off. When they execute, there are times they look simply incredible. But inconsistency has plagued them. I believe as the season progresses, as long as they don't suffer several more injuries, they should become more effective at the end of games.

Growing pains.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I thought LaFleur would revamp and unshackle our run game, but it hasn’t happened. Too often the blocking schemes seem ill-designed.

I also don’t think the gravity of Alaric Jackson’s disappointing ability been fully realized yet, sad to say.

 

[Snaz]

To me it seems that we lack halftime adjustments. Especially more so on offense, but both coaches are bad at that.

 

[Ramsker]

I don't think it's been mentioned but having a s4it crowd for home games doesn't help either. It's not the main factor, I think most of above posts are accurate as to the reasons why but the gd opponents fans at some of these home games is a disgrace and can't possibly help. When you see more of their fans then your fans in LA it's got to be a mental kick in the nuts.

 

[Faceplant]

You all have covered it pretty well already. Personally, I am frustrated with the inability to score. I don't care how good the offensive stats are, the only Stat that matters is points scored. The Rams defense has done plenty to win in most games this season. Mcvay's offense is stale and Stafford is gonna Stafford. Make an amazing throw, and follow it up with a terrible, back breaking pickle.

 

[RhodyRams]

math is wrong for 3rd Q