Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams: Breaking Down St. Louis Game Plan: The St. Louis Rams (1-4) will host the Seattle Seahawks (3-2) for the first matchup of the 2014 season between these two NFC West rivals. The Rams will have a short week thanks to a Monday night appearance against the San Francisco 49ers—a forgettable game that ended in a demoralizing 31-17 loss for the St. Louis—so theres very little time to prepare for the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. But the Rams will have to make do. At this point, following three consecutive losses, it seems a bit unreasonable to state that proper game-planning alone will help the Rams defeat the Seahawks. A win seems too far out of reach, but a solid strategy could make the game more competitive than it should be. This article will outline several key strategies that could help St. Louis give Seattle a decent fight. Unfortunately, none of these points will win the game for the hapless Rams, but these are some areas to keep an eye on nonetheless. Stop the Blitzing...Its Getting Sad Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams unleashed an avalanche of blitzers against San Franciscos Colin Kaepernick, but the Rams once again finished the game with zero sacks. The Rams came close to bringing down Kaepernick once or twice, but the 2014 Rams defensive line is apparently allergic to quarterback sacks. The team ranks dead last in the NFL in sacks with just one, which is beyond baffling for a team that was built to be one of the more dangerous pass-rushing units in all of football. The Oakland Raiders have the second-lowest sack total, yet the Black and Silver still own a comfortable four-sack lead over the Rams. The average number of sacks per team is 12—well beyond St. Louis single lonely sack—and the Detroit Lions lead the way with 20. The Rams have owned the best pass rush in football from 2012 to 2013 with 105 sacks—more than any NFL team over that timespan—but Williams has managed to transform a formerly elite unit into the absolute worst in the NFL. Even Tim Walton, the 2013 Rams coordinator who was fired for incompetence, managed to lead the defense to a 53-sack effort (third in the NFL). Williams system features overly complicated blitz packages, and stunts have had zero effect on opposing quarterbacks. The scheme is unnecessarily complicated, and Rams players have evidently struggled to adapt. With that in mind, why keep it up? Why are the Rams blitzing linebackers and extra men, exposing the secondary in the process, when this defense is utterly and totally incapable of taking down an opposing quarterback? Given the results over the first five games, the Rams would be much better off rushing three or four defenders and playing a more conservative defensive scheme. Three defenders can fail to sack the quarterback just as effectively as six. Williams reputation as an aggressive, blitz-happy quarterback hunter has pretty much dissolved completely. Maybe if he takes a more conservative approach opposing teams will score fewer points, and he can preserve the last microscopic slither of respect he still has left as an NFL coordinator. Bump Rodger Saffold to Left Tackle Rams fans were obviously hoping Jake Long could revive his career in St. Louis, but few would describe Longs tenure in St. Louis as a revival. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, Long allowed a defender to deliver a violent blindside hit to quarterback Austin Davis, which resulted in a fumble and a defensive touchdown for the Eagles. Long was guilty of a similar error against the 49ers. He let Davis take another blindside shot from San Francisco defenders, and once again it resulted in a fumble. Luckily, the Rams were able to recover the ball. Its not hard to see that Long is becoming more and more of a liability. The Rams have other left tackle options on the roster, so why not make a change? Rodger Saffold—the current right guard—has several seasons worth of experience on the blind side. He was far from elite as a left tackle, but he wasnt a liability either. Hes capable of holding his own better than Long at this point. If not Saffold, the Rams also have No. 2 overall draft pick Greg Robinson ready for action. Robinson is a bit raw and not as polished as Saffold, but he was drafted to be a left tackle. If the Rams are going to get sloppy play out of the left tackle position, it might as well be Robinson in there making the mistakes so he can learn and get better. The Rams will be facing a very hostile Seattle defense this week. If St. Louis does not make the proper adjustments, then Davis could be sent to the sidelines on a stretcher. Send Janoris Jenkins to the Bench Whether its Dez Bryant running down the field for a 68-yard score or Brandon Lloyd breaking loose for an 80-yard bomb, Rams fans are getting sick and tired of watching Janoris Jenkins getting burned every other week. Jenkins selfishly tried to jump Lloyds route to secure a pick and bolster his personal stats. Instead, Lloyd made Jenkins look like an undrafted walk-on and took the reception 80 yards for a score just before halftime. It was the play that totally changed the momentum of the game. Jenkins showed all the promise in the world as a rookie. He had four defensive touchdowns and appeared to be a Pro Bowl talent in the making. Evidently, he felt he could make a career out of his rookie hype and has failed to improve in anyway whatsoever. If anything, hes gotten much worse. The Rams cut Ray-Ray Armstrong following the Eagles game for negligent play, according to NBC Sports. A pink slip seems too extreme for Jenkins, but sending him to the bench could send a similar message. Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson was injured in the preseason, and it was said he would miss four to six weeks with a knee injury, per the St. Louis Rams Twitter account. Fisher announces Trumaine Johnson will miss 4-6 weeks with a knee injury. — St. Louis Rams (@STLouisRams) August 24, 2014 That means Johnson could be ready for action any time now. He doesnt have Jenkins athleticism, but he has been solid in coverage and is less of a liability when it comes to big plays. Rookie corner E.J. Gaines had been guilty of some inevitable hiccups on the field, but the sixth-round pick has been surprisingly competent overall. He can retain his starting job and start opposite Johnson. A cornerback duo of Gaines and Johnson will not exactly strike fear in the opponents, but seeing them start will be far less painful than watching No. 21 chase down another receiver for 70 yards after getting burned in coverage. With Percy Harvin coming to the dome, the Rams need someone whos actually willing to cover him—not someone whos going to gamble and jump routes in an effort to make the highlight reels. (Ask any St. Louis fan. ... ESPN doesnt even play Rams highlights anyway, so why bother?) Dont Put the Game on Austin Davis Shoulders Austin Davis has attempted a game-winning drive in each of the last three games, and the third-year pro has come up short each time. Its easy to see how that might be a source of discouragement for some terribly misguided fans, but constantly putting the game on the shoulders of an inexperienced player who is essentially a rookie is unacceptable. The concern isnt that Davis is coming up short at the end of games; its the fact that hes put in those situations to begin with. All things considered, he has performed well. But allowing the outcome of the game to be determined by an undrafted player in his first year of NFL action is asinine. If the Rams put the inexperienced Davis in another game-winning-drive situation in the fourth quarter against Seattle, theyll likely lose once again. It doesnt take a surplus of football knowledge to figure that out. The veterans on defense need to win the games for St. Louis. The game-changers like Robert Quinn need to make the game-saving plays. The Rams have veterans and leaders on this team outside of Davis, and those guys arent stepping up. If the Rams make it so that the outcome of the game is determined by the last-minute heroics of a guy who was a fourth-string quarterback at one point in camp, then they can expect to lose every week. Davis will get better, and perhaps his killer instincts will evolve as time goes on. For now, he needs better support from his teammates. Steven Gerwel is the longest-tenured Rams Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and serves as the Rams game-day correspondent. You can find more of Gerwels work by visiting his writer profile or by following him on Twitter. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #NFCWest #StLouisRams
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 03:28:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015