Over this past weekend every football team in the NFL scored at least one touchdown – except for the St. Louis Rams. However, the Rams did score another frustrating loss to the Pittsburg Steelers, 12-6.
This is some of the worst offensive football I’ve ever seen. Either the receivers can’t get open or they can’t catch. Most of the time it’s both. These guys have no field awareness whatsoever. If you need 8 yards for a first down, then why run a route shorter than the distance for a first down? That makes zero sense to me. And the most disturbing part is not just the receivers not being cognizant of down and distance, it’s the coaches on the sidelines with the headphones on chewing gum looking the part.
Not trying to sound like a broken record or a scratched CD, but you can blame the players for only so much. It’s time to look at the people that brought them in. This Rams regime has been absolutely horrible in the area of signing impact free agents and drafting to a degree. And it reared its ugly head in the loss to the Steelers.
I don’t know what the Rams were thinking when they resigned Lance Kendricks. According to Spotrac he was resigned for 4 years at $18.5 million with $10 million guaranteed. It’s no secret that he drops passes. If you’re that wide open and still drop the ball, hey, it’s not your fault because the evaluators of talent here felt this was a great idea. As bad as this team struggles to score points, and the way the defense is doing all it can to keep the team in the game, the most basic fundamentals of playing football are not getting executed.
Then there is TE Jared Cook. He got a handsome contract of 5 years at $35.1 million, and has played the ugliest football that money can buy. In that game against the Steelers, he looked like he checked out. He just looked like he was somewhere else. He basically was sleepwalking through the game. Cook got flagged for a penalty, his blocking was subpar, and what’s a game if he doesn’t drop a pass. His contract has $16 million of guaranteed money. As much as some people want him to be cut, the Rams are stuck with him.
The poor running backs don’t have any running lanes to ramble through. It’s a crying shame the Rams’ longest run of the game was on a 24-yard end-around by wideout Chris Givens. The Rams has more penalty yards, 97, than rushing yards, 71. So is it the players’ fault? Or is it the man that selected them?
Now see what being a player’s coach got you? This team is still undisciplined, getting hit with penalties and failing to execute the simplest task of catching a football.
Special teams blew up in Fisher’s face when punter Johnny Hekker under-threw wideout Stedman Bailey on a fourth-down play. If it works, great. Since it didn’t, blame the coach.
Look, trick plays are good, but I think it’s time for this team to stop relying on tricks and gadgets and just execute the basic fundamentals. Like, I don’t know, maybe tackling, catching the football – and catching the football goes for the defense, too; Lamarcus Joyner dropped an easy interception.
The Rams should be better. The next game is on the road against a good Arizona Cardinals team, and the Rams’ backs are already against the wall.
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