- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Turning point: Rams fail to finish
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14628/turning-point-rams-fail-to-finish
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- A look back at the turning point of the St. Louis Rams' 12-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night:
The situation: After five consecutive three-and-outs in the third quarter, the Rams offense was desperately seeking traction in its bid to forge a comeback from a 12-3 deficit. Quarterback Shaun Hill connected with tight end Jared Cook and receiver Stedman Bailey for gains of 15 and 38 yards, respectively and the Rams were finally moving the ball. In fact, they got all the way to Arizona's 7 where they had a chance to score the game's first touchdown and put themselves in position to steal the game in the closing moments. This isn't a total focus on one play so much as a sequence that ultimately might have cost the Rams the game.
As it then stood, the Rams faced first-and-goal at Arizona's 7 with 7:29 to go and a nine-point deficit.
The play: On first down, the Rams opted to hand it off to running back Tre Mason. In a familiar sight on the day, Mason had nowhere to go as he attempted to power up the middle. He was stopped for no gain. On second down, Hill found Bailey over the middle for a completion. Bailey gave it everything he had to try to get into the end zone but he was stopped a yard short to set up third-and-goal at Arizona's 1. Now, the Rams have struggled mightily to run the ball on third- and fourth-and-1 this year. The Rams are last in yards per carry in those situations at 1.09 and had been stopped on a run in a similar situation on their first possession. With that in mind, it was pretty clear what they were going to do on third down. Problem was, Arizona knew it, too.
The Rams lined up in a typical goal line power formation with tight ends Lance Kendricks and Jared Cook attached to the line to the right and left, respectively, Cory Harkey offset at fullback and Benny Cunningham in the backfield. At the snap, Hill faked a handoff to Cunningham but Arizona doesn't bite and all of its defenders stayed home to prevent any of the possible pass-catchers from leaking out into free space. Kendricks never even made it past the line of scrimmage and, as Hill rolled to his right, Cook tried to find space in the back of the end zone but was double-covered. Hill threw the ball out of the end zone.
"The one in particular, third down there late in the game (on the 1-yard line), they did a good job of taking it all away," Hill said. "They really did. You’ve got to give them credit, too."
The fallout: There was some discussion about whether Jeff Fisher should have gone for it on fourth-and-1 but considering the Rams' struggles to convert in those situations and the need to make it a one-possession game, it's understandable why he took the points. On the other hand, the concern with kicking there was that you were leaving your best chance at a touchdown on the field. Indeed, the Rams didn't get that close again and ended up losing by six. A touchdown there might have changed things but, as Fisher pointed out, it wasn't about the fourth-down decision so much as his team's inability to finish before it that killed their chances.
“We’re down there first down, and down their second down, and down their third down," Fisher said. "We had opportunities. But if we don’t get points then we’re in trouble. So we needed 10, we got three thinking that we had plenty of time and would have a shot."
And they did but never one as good as the three that passed them by.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14628/turning-point-rams-fail-to-finish
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- A look back at the turning point of the St. Louis Rams' 12-6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night:
The situation: After five consecutive three-and-outs in the third quarter, the Rams offense was desperately seeking traction in its bid to forge a comeback from a 12-3 deficit. Quarterback Shaun Hill connected with tight end Jared Cook and receiver Stedman Bailey for gains of 15 and 38 yards, respectively and the Rams were finally moving the ball. In fact, they got all the way to Arizona's 7 where they had a chance to score the game's first touchdown and put themselves in position to steal the game in the closing moments. This isn't a total focus on one play so much as a sequence that ultimately might have cost the Rams the game.
As it then stood, the Rams faced first-and-goal at Arizona's 7 with 7:29 to go and a nine-point deficit.
The play: On first down, the Rams opted to hand it off to running back Tre Mason. In a familiar sight on the day, Mason had nowhere to go as he attempted to power up the middle. He was stopped for no gain. On second down, Hill found Bailey over the middle for a completion. Bailey gave it everything he had to try to get into the end zone but he was stopped a yard short to set up third-and-goal at Arizona's 1. Now, the Rams have struggled mightily to run the ball on third- and fourth-and-1 this year. The Rams are last in yards per carry in those situations at 1.09 and had been stopped on a run in a similar situation on their first possession. With that in mind, it was pretty clear what they were going to do on third down. Problem was, Arizona knew it, too.
The Rams lined up in a typical goal line power formation with tight ends Lance Kendricks and Jared Cook attached to the line to the right and left, respectively, Cory Harkey offset at fullback and Benny Cunningham in the backfield. At the snap, Hill faked a handoff to Cunningham but Arizona doesn't bite and all of its defenders stayed home to prevent any of the possible pass-catchers from leaking out into free space. Kendricks never even made it past the line of scrimmage and, as Hill rolled to his right, Cook tried to find space in the back of the end zone but was double-covered. Hill threw the ball out of the end zone.
"The one in particular, third down there late in the game (on the 1-yard line), they did a good job of taking it all away," Hill said. "They really did. You’ve got to give them credit, too."
The fallout: There was some discussion about whether Jeff Fisher should have gone for it on fourth-and-1 but considering the Rams' struggles to convert in those situations and the need to make it a one-possession game, it's understandable why he took the points. On the other hand, the concern with kicking there was that you were leaving your best chance at a touchdown on the field. Indeed, the Rams didn't get that close again and ended up losing by six. A touchdown there might have changed things but, as Fisher pointed out, it wasn't about the fourth-down decision so much as his team's inability to finish before it that killed their chances.
“We’re down there first down, and down their second down, and down their third down," Fisher said. "We had opportunities. But if we don’t get points then we’re in trouble. So we needed 10, we got three thinking that we had plenty of time and would have a shot."
And they did but never one as good as the three that passed them by.