Rams still need more from passing game/Wagoner

[RamBill]

Rams still need more from passing game
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/23106/rams-still-need-more-from-passing-game

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- For the first three games of the season, a common storyline on Monday after St. Louis Rams games was that the team needed to get more from its offense.

During the past four weeks, that's evolved into the Rams offense needs more production from players who aren't running back Todd Gurley. Even now at 4-3 on the season and 3-1 since Gurley emerged as the focal point of the offense, the Rams still need more from their passing game, as 101sports.com's Bernie Miklasz wrote Sunday night.

Miklasz offered some reasonable suggestions to helping that area improve, including the use of more play-action passes, throwing over the middle, using the no-huddle on a more consistent basis and using the running backs in the pass game more.

All are fair and feasible fixes.

There have been signs of hope, including what I thought was one of the offensive line's better performances in pass protection against the Niners, but there's no doubting the Rams need to continue to progress to strike the right balance between run and pass and keep teams from throwing everything at Gurley.

Nick Foles
Nick Foles threw for 191 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers.
I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of the weekend's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... On Saturday, we offered three things to watch, including the Rams' need to get off to a fast start against the Niners. ... In Sunday's instant analysis, we discuss how Gurley makes the Rams a contender in the NFC West. ... Gurley's big day helped him set a record for his first four NFL starts. ... Tavon Austin and Michael Brockers were among those who were "up" for the Rams on Sunday. ... Niners reporter Paul Gutierrez and I handed out some game balls. ... I did a quick interview with Gurley as he walked off the field following the Rams' latest win.

Elsewhere:
Operation Football on ESPN radio caught up with Gurley after the game.
All of the game balls for Week 8 from our ESPN NFL Nation reporters.
Here's your Week 8 fantasy winners and losers.
Also at 101sports.com, Miklasz writes that it doesn't matter how it looks as long as the Rams are winning.
Jeff Fisher offered his quick thoughts on the game to the station.
At stltoday.com, Jeff Gordon hands out grades for the Rams' win.
Jim Thomas offered his instant game story.

 

[RamBill]

Todd Gurley, Tavon Austin emerging as Rams' dynamic duo
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ley-tavon-austin-emerging-as-rams-dynamic-duo

ST. LOUIS -- Put under the most pressure he faced all day, St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles let the question sink in for just a second before answering.

If given the choice between running back Todd Gurley and receiver Tavon Austin in a footrace, who would win?

"Man, I'll probably go with 'Tav' by a hair," Foles said. "But, man, Todd can roll. So, those guys are dynamite."

Sunday's 27-6 win against the San Francisco 49ers offered a good look at what the Rams' offense can become when Gurley and Austin are both working with a lit fuse.

Gurley and Austin combined for 265 of the Rams' 388 yards of offense and accounted for all three of the team's touchdowns. But their success as a duo isn't just a function of adding their numbers together at the end of the day.

Gurley and Austin are able to enjoy individual success in large part because of what they can do for each other. Never was that more obvious than Sunday's win against the 49ers.

With 8 minutes, 34 seconds to go in the game, the Rams faced third-and-3 at their 34-yard line. When the offense got to the line of scrimmage, Foles noticed a run box loaded with defenders. Even with Gurley out of the game, the Niners were intent on stopping the run.

Foles checked out of the play and threw a quick screen to Austin, who had nothing but empty space on his way on the way to the end zone.

In the second quarter, Austin scored on a 2-yard end around that came directly on the heels of a short pass to Gurley and featured a fake handoff to the rookie running back, which froze a Niners defender just long enough for Austin to run around him and into the end zone.

"You have the reverse threat and then you have the quick screen and we scored on [both]," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. "It's a simple read for Nick. If the box is loaded, go outside to Tavon and if they're sitting outside and you're worried about that, then we hand it off."

Gurley had 138 rush yards between the tackles Sunday, according to ESPN Stats & Info research, with one run outside going for a loss of 5. He is averaging 6.9 yards per rush between the tackles this season, best in the NFL among qualified rushers.

"[Gurley] does all the inside work and I try to get around the ends, get around the sides and get all those passes," Austin said. "Just because of how the linebackers have got to play. They just can't drop back, they've got to respect the running game and that's what he's doing. He's giving me opportunities on the outside."

Despite Gurley's early success -- he set a record for the most rushing yards by a player in his first four starts since the merger Sunday -- defenses still haven't been loading up the box to stop him on a regular basis. And when they have, the Rams haven't handed it off much. Before Sunday's game, Gurley had run six times for 3 yards with eight or more defenders in the box.

Austin is one of the primary reasons that teams have been hesitant to do it.

"It's just good playing with a guy like him," Gurley said. "He's a dual threat that can be in the backfield, in the slot, everywhere."

The threat of Austin lining up anywhere, along with Gurley's home run ability as a runner, is precisely what the Rams had in mind when they spent top-10 picks on Austin and Gurley in 2013 and 2015, respectively. The onus has fallen on new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti and Foles to help make it work.

And though Austin's part of the equation is still a work in progress -- the Rams would like to get him the ball more -- there's no denying that Gurley and Austin have the makings of a heavyweight one-two punch.

Seven games into their partnership, they have combined for 1,089 yards of total offense and 10 touchdowns, including Austin's punt return in the season opener. That's 50 percent of the team's offensive yards and 71 percent of the its touchdowns on offense or special teams. Between the two of them, Austin and Gurley have scored the Rams' last seven offensive touchdowns.

"Those are two dynamic players that are extremely explosive," Foles said. "Once they get in the open field, they do electrifying things. So, you have a receiver that can go in the backfield and do a bunch of things. Then, you have Todd who, when he runs he runs the ball, it's something special. [I'm] so fortunate to be a quarterback to be able to play with those guys."

As for that race, don't expect it to happen soon as even Gurley, himself a former Team USA track star, concedes that Austin's 4.34 40-yard dash time would best him in a competition.

"I'm 225 [pounds]," Gurley said, laughing. "I can't beat a guy that's 180."

Fortunately for the Rams, it's opposing defenses that have to try to keep up.