When the St. Louis Rams lost to the Arizona Cardinals last Thursday night 12-6, it squashed the remote mathematic probability of the Rams qualifying for the playoffs. It also signaled another season near or under .500 football since Jeff Fisher and Les Snead took over at the start of the 2012 season.
Much was made about the post-game remarks by Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, who was quite perturbed by the national media gushing over the Rams’ last two shutouts over two downtrodden teams.
“I love it when nobody says you have no chance to win. There is an 11-3 team, and a team that is always 8-8. You figure it out,” Arians said.
Actually Arians is a shade off. The Rams have not been 8-8 since 2006 under then coach Scott Linehan. However, under Fisher the Rams at best have won 7 games.
And whether the Rams can defeat the New York Giants this upcoming Sunday or the Seattle Seahawks in the last game of the season, the Rams will go into another off-season looking for answers on how and when will they get over the hump.
The defense has finally come around for the Rams, and they’re playing at a high level. Rookie defensive tackle has Aaron Donald, who has eight sacks and counting, knocked out Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton. The improved play of middle linebacker James Laurinaitis has not gone unnoticed, and the return of Trumaine Johnson has been beneficial for the Rams’ defense, which has come to life over the last several weeks.
The Rams’ defense is on its third defensive coordinator in three seasons. In 2012, with Blake Williams, son of Gregg Williams, calling the defense, the Rams finished ranked 14th but were tied for first in the NFL with sacks (cornerback Janoris Jenkins also has four defensive touchdowns). Blake was let go.
In 2013 the Rams brought in Tim Walton. That didn’t work out for either party, with Walton being let go after just one season. However, the Rams’ defense ranked 13th overall with 53 sacks and had a run defense ranked 9th.
As of this moment in 2014, the Rams’ defense is ranked 13th overall, 10th in passing and 13th against the run. Most of that occurred earlier on in the season as the team was still getting acclimated to new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
But, on the other side of the ball the Rams have had the same person calling plays. Often-criticized Brian Schottenheimer gets plenty of blame for the Rams’ offense, especially with the team presently ranked 26th in passing and 20th in rushing.
It’s not all his fault. He does call the plays, and it’s the responsibility of the players to execute. On that 38-yard catch by Rams’ wideout Stedman Bailey, QB Shaun Hill threw a slow, wobbly pass that spun through the air like a wounded water fowl. Then later, on a critical 3rd down late in the 4th quarter with the game on the line, Hill misfires on a pass to a wide open Stedman Bailey that could’ve turned into a big play. Instead, on 4th down his pass was batted down and the game was over.
The defense has played their assets off over the last three weeks, not surrendering a touchdown. The offense is still lacking, and that shouldn’t be the case. The Rams traded up in the 2013 draft to get Tavon Austin, and Schottenheimer has no idea how to use him. He doesn’t help facilitate a mismatch against a linebacker.
The Rams intent is to give Austin 16 offensive touches a game. In the loss against the Cardinals, Austin caught one pass and had two rush attempts. No excuse, especially when you know he’s a red zone threat ready to happen any time he touches the ball.
I could go on … and I will.
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