RamView, October 14, 2012, Game #6: Dolphins 17, Rams 14, by Mike Franke
Rams E-ZineRamView, October 14, 2012
From The Couch
(Report and opinions on the game.)
Game #6: Dolphins 17, Rams 14
Live by the Leg, die by the Leg. The Rams dominated the Dolphins everywhere but the scoreboard, done in by dumb mistakes, poor special teams and inability to finish drives. Too bad it's cost them a W finding out they need to play smarter, score TDs and not always rely on their rookie kicker to bail them out.
Position by position:
* QB: When his line gave him a chance, Sam Bradford (26-39-315, 91.3 PR) was usually superb. Unfortunately, on his second pass attempt of the game, he got drilled from both sides on 3rd-and-5 and the Rams had to settle for a FG. Bradford put the Rams back in FG position the next time out with the longest completion of his career, a near-perfect 65-yard toss to Chris Givens. Nobody got open after that, though, and the Rams took another threebie. Sam contributed to a powerful running attack with a 21-yard scramble, another career best, on 3rd-and-8 in the 2nd. But failure to adjust properly for a Dolphin blitz a couple of plays later led to another sack, and settling for a FG this time meant no points. Bradford drove the Rams in close again before halftime, with a splendid sideline pass to Brandon Gibson for 16, and a laser to a tightly-covered Lance Kendricks down the seam for 22. Somehow, though, he missed Gibson, open at the goal line, badly from the 19 and sent the FG team back in again, for another miss. 300 yards of offense at halftime and six points to show for it. The Dolphins then came out of halftime with a TD drive where I don't think Ryan Tannehill threw a single pass that traveled more than 5 yards in the air. So they're the team with the dominating lead, and the Rams are the team that can't finish drives. In fact, their next two drives ended with another sack and a pass deflection. Bradford finally got a TD drive together in the 4th. He hit Gibson on a slant for 8 on 4th-and-2. Next play, a screen against a blitz FINALLY works like it should, for 26 yards down to the 7 by Daryl Richardson. Bradford, who again used his mobility as an effective weapon this week, ran down to the 3, and on 4th-and-inches, broke the plane with the ball despite getting his head almost snapped off his torso by a flying Karlos Dansby. Having survived getting twisted up like a Chinese acrobat, Sam scrambled right and worked perfectly with Steven Jackson for the 2-pointer to make it 17-14. Starting from their own 3 with 2:00 left, the Rams drove across midfield on the strength of sideline throws from Bradford to Steve Smith and to Gibson, but one last near-instant sack left them settling for a Hail Mary FG prayer, left, unanswered. Hard to ask for more from Bradford this week. First week without his favorite receiver, he threw for 300, threw a great deep ball, hung tough in the pocket, made good plays passing and running while on the move; pretty much the whole package. The missed blitz and the missed goal-line opportunity for Gibson loom large, but the Rams got enough from Sam Bradford to earn a win.
full report: http://www.nflfans.com/rams2/article.ph ... 6062626953
Rams E-ZineRamView, October 14, 2012
From The Couch
(Report and opinions on the game.)
Game #6: Dolphins 17, Rams 14
Live by the Leg, die by the Leg. The Rams dominated the Dolphins everywhere but the scoreboard, done in by dumb mistakes, poor special teams and inability to finish drives. Too bad it's cost them a W finding out they need to play smarter, score TDs and not always rely on their rookie kicker to bail them out.
Position by position:
* QB: When his line gave him a chance, Sam Bradford (26-39-315, 91.3 PR) was usually superb. Unfortunately, on his second pass attempt of the game, he got drilled from both sides on 3rd-and-5 and the Rams had to settle for a FG. Bradford put the Rams back in FG position the next time out with the longest completion of his career, a near-perfect 65-yard toss to Chris Givens. Nobody got open after that, though, and the Rams took another threebie. Sam contributed to a powerful running attack with a 21-yard scramble, another career best, on 3rd-and-8 in the 2nd. But failure to adjust properly for a Dolphin blitz a couple of plays later led to another sack, and settling for a FG this time meant no points. Bradford drove the Rams in close again before halftime, with a splendid sideline pass to Brandon Gibson for 16, and a laser to a tightly-covered Lance Kendricks down the seam for 22. Somehow, though, he missed Gibson, open at the goal line, badly from the 19 and sent the FG team back in again, for another miss. 300 yards of offense at halftime and six points to show for it. The Dolphins then came out of halftime with a TD drive where I don't think Ryan Tannehill threw a single pass that traveled more than 5 yards in the air. So they're the team with the dominating lead, and the Rams are the team that can't finish drives. In fact, their next two drives ended with another sack and a pass deflection. Bradford finally got a TD drive together in the 4th. He hit Gibson on a slant for 8 on 4th-and-2. Next play, a screen against a blitz FINALLY works like it should, for 26 yards down to the 7 by Daryl Richardson. Bradford, who again used his mobility as an effective weapon this week, ran down to the 3, and on 4th-and-inches, broke the plane with the ball despite getting his head almost snapped off his torso by a flying Karlos Dansby. Having survived getting twisted up like a Chinese acrobat, Sam scrambled right and worked perfectly with Steven Jackson for the 2-pointer to make it 17-14. Starting from their own 3 with 2:00 left, the Rams drove across midfield on the strength of sideline throws from Bradford to Steve Smith and to Gibson, but one last near-instant sack left them settling for a Hail Mary FG prayer, left, unanswered. Hard to ask for more from Bradford this week. First week without his favorite receiver, he threw for 300, threw a great deep ball, hung tough in the pocket, made good plays passing and running while on the move; pretty much the whole package. The missed blitz and the missed goal-line opportunity for Gibson loom large, but the Rams got enough from Sam Bradford to earn a win.
full report: http://www.nflfans.com/rams2/article.ph ... 6062626953