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Turning point: Jared Cook's first touchdown
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14462/turning-point-jared-cooks-first-touchdown
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- A look back at the turning point play in the St. Louis Rams' 24-0 win against the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon:
The situation: After a scoreless first quarter in which both teams botched scoring opportunities either by turnovers or penalties, the Rams found themselves with a prime opportunity to score first early in the second quarter. After a 7-yard completion from quarterback Shaun Hill to Tavon Austin was wiped out by a holding penalty on center Scott Wells, it looked like the Rams might again trip themselves up before reaching the end zone. That set the Rams back to the Washington 35-yard line with a second-and-15 with 12:27 to go in the first half of a scoreless game.
On the previous drive, Rams tight end Jared Cook took a big hit from Washington safety Ryan Clark but returned to the game after being cleared following the concussion protocol.
The play: There wasn't much complicated about what either side did on this play so much as it was a testament to one team executing and the other not. Before the snap, Hill lined up in the shotgun with receivers Austin and Kenny Britt split left. Cook was attached to the line of scrimmage on the left side and Stedman Bailey lined up wide to the right side. Running back Benny Cunningham aligned set up to Hill's right in the shotgun. Washington came out in a basic nickel package with four defenders on the line of scrimmage (one standing up). Both outside corners came out in off coverage with the nickel corner closer to the line of scrimmage but still off a bit.
At the snap, Hill faked an inside handoff to Cunningham. Washington linebacker Perry Riley quickly bit on the fake and ran hard at the line, shirking his responsibilities in what appeared to be a basic Cover 2 look. That allowed Cook to run free down the seam. Hill fired a pass right on the money that nearly got away because of some stadium shadows, but Cook pulled it in around the 15 and sprinted toward the end zone as Washington cornerback Bashaud Breeland and safety Phillip Thomas converged to try to make the tackle. Cook absorbed the contact and rolled over the top of Thomas into the end zone.
"I don’t know if somebody busted coverage, but I think they just went plain old Cover 2 and the middle parted like the Red Sea," Cook said. "And Shaun hit me with a good ball and I just had to find my way in."
After a short review to see if Cook indeed broke the plane of the end zone before landing, the ruling was confirmed and the Rams had a 6-0 lead.
The fallout: The touchdown was Cook's second of the season and the first of two on the day for him. With the Rams defense firing on all cylinders and owners of two consecutive shutouts, it didn't figure St. Louis would need many points to get the win. That makes picking out a turning point that much more difficult, but in this one, Cook's touchdown stood up as the only points the Rams truly needed. It was also a breakthrough for an offense that had frustrated in the first quarter with costly penalties. The Rams would go on to score 18 more unanswered points.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14462/turning-point-jared-cooks-first-touchdown
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- A look back at the turning point play in the St. Louis Rams' 24-0 win against the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon:
The situation: After a scoreless first quarter in which both teams botched scoring opportunities either by turnovers or penalties, the Rams found themselves with a prime opportunity to score first early in the second quarter. After a 7-yard completion from quarterback Shaun Hill to Tavon Austin was wiped out by a holding penalty on center Scott Wells, it looked like the Rams might again trip themselves up before reaching the end zone. That set the Rams back to the Washington 35-yard line with a second-and-15 with 12:27 to go in the first half of a scoreless game.
On the previous drive, Rams tight end Jared Cook took a big hit from Washington safety Ryan Clark but returned to the game after being cleared following the concussion protocol.
The play: There wasn't much complicated about what either side did on this play so much as it was a testament to one team executing and the other not. Before the snap, Hill lined up in the shotgun with receivers Austin and Kenny Britt split left. Cook was attached to the line of scrimmage on the left side and Stedman Bailey lined up wide to the right side. Running back Benny Cunningham aligned set up to Hill's right in the shotgun. Washington came out in a basic nickel package with four defenders on the line of scrimmage (one standing up). Both outside corners came out in off coverage with the nickel corner closer to the line of scrimmage but still off a bit.
At the snap, Hill faked an inside handoff to Cunningham. Washington linebacker Perry Riley quickly bit on the fake and ran hard at the line, shirking his responsibilities in what appeared to be a basic Cover 2 look. That allowed Cook to run free down the seam. Hill fired a pass right on the money that nearly got away because of some stadium shadows, but Cook pulled it in around the 15 and sprinted toward the end zone as Washington cornerback Bashaud Breeland and safety Phillip Thomas converged to try to make the tackle. Cook absorbed the contact and rolled over the top of Thomas into the end zone.
"I don’t know if somebody busted coverage, but I think they just went plain old Cover 2 and the middle parted like the Red Sea," Cook said. "And Shaun hit me with a good ball and I just had to find my way in."
After a short review to see if Cook indeed broke the plane of the end zone before landing, the ruling was confirmed and the Rams had a 6-0 lead.
The fallout: The touchdown was Cook's second of the season and the first of two on the day for him. With the Rams defense firing on all cylinders and owners of two consecutive shutouts, it didn't figure St. Louis would need many points to get the win. That makes picking out a turning point that much more difficult, but in this one, Cook's touchdown stood up as the only points the Rams truly needed. It was also a breakthrough for an offense that had frustrated in the first quarter with costly penalties. The Rams would go on to score 18 more unanswered points.
