In the aftermath of the St. Louis’ Rams loss to the Arizona Cardinals over a week ago, Rams’ tight end Jared Cook ruffled some feathers when he said the Rams were “outcoached and outplayed” after losing a close game 12-6 that mathematically eliminated the Rams from the playoffs.
The words chosen by Cook applied in the 37-27 loss to the New York Giants. The Rams got completely outplayed by the Giants, who came into the game sporting a 5-9 record.
Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning fared a lot better against the Rams than his older brother Peyton did. Manning had the Giants marching up and down the field. The Rams’ defense that has carried this team over last few weeks had one of their worst games of the year. After going three straight games without giving up a touchdown, the Rams gave up four. The Rams also gave up over 500 yards of offense. Yes, 500 yards of offense.
And coming into the game the Giants ranked 10th in the NFL on third down conversions, according to Pro Football Reference, and they stayed the course, going 8/17, while the Rams only managed one first down on six attempts.
Giants’ receivers Rueben Randle and Odell Beckham Jr. did some damage to the Rams secondary combining for 280 of Eli Manning 391 passing yards. The Rams’ defense looked like they were in the Christmas spirit, donating large amounts of turf to Randle and Beckham Jr. to run untouched and unabated. Manning looked very comfortable in the pocket. He made it look so easy. He had plenty of help from the Rams who reverted back to self-inflicting wounds.
This game had stank all over it. You could feel it or smell it the instant sure-handed running back/kickoff return man Benny Cunningham fumbled a kickoff after a field goal by former Rams kicker Josh Brown. As soon as you could blink the Rams were down 10-0.
Again, the Rams showed a lack of discipline. Second year linebacker Alec Ogletree ignited a brawl on the New York Giants’ sidelines when he hit Odell Beckham Jr. out of bounds. The end result was the Rams lost defensive end super-sub William Hayes. who got ejected for participating in the scrum. We shouldn’t still be talking about discipline, but it remains at the forefront of why the Rams wallow in sub-mediocrity.
We’re about to close the books on another losing season in St. Louis. This team is so inconsistent, and you can only say it’s youth for so long. But, sooner or later the Rams need to make strides trending up or it’s time to find another coach that can get the job done. Jeff Fisher is being paid playoff-coach money, but hasn’t cracked at least eight wins.
Since Fisher has come aboard, the Rams have gotten better. We were elated when the Rams went from 2-14 to 7-9. Now it’s time to flip those numbers over.
This is year three under the Jeff Fisher/Les Snead regime and they’ve flirted with .500 and that’s been about it. Flirting can only get you so far if you are the Rams. The Rams at best will finish 7-9 but that means they would have to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. Best of luck with that one.
I’d like to wish all of our readers a happy and safe holiday.
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