By: DR RAM
On Twitter @DR_RAM_

Rams in goal line with 2-tight ends, 3-tackles and 2-backs lined up in I formation. They run left, their weak side, opposite the extra tackle. Bajema’s assignment is to either seal or kick (50) Schofield, and Brit Miller should block, either the first force always, or his assignment, on this play, Peterson

Bajema is already starting to lose this battle, his head is on the correct side for a seal block, but his arms aren’t extended enough to fend off Schofield, who gets into him.

Look at how easily Schofield shucks Bajema, this is just a few frames later. He is now in a perfect position to wreak havoc. Jackson is just receiving the ball.

In this shot, Bajema, not seen here is in the hole but not blocking anybody. B. Miller, who takes an angle to block Peterson, but has Schofield flash in front of him. Bell is the only other lineman on his feet and he desperately tries to hold off the defensive line. Steven Jackson hasn’t even turned downfield yet. There is no backside available, because (58) Washington shot the gap between Bell and Brown who was knocked on his butt at the snap. Peterson has contain.

To the left of Schofield, you can see Bajema’s legs facing the wrong way, he’s holding onto him, but Schofield is still able to get a solid chip on Miller knocking him off balance, and mucking up the play. Jackson still hasn’t turned–there is no hole or edge.

You can clearly see that Miller lost all his momentum and leverage. Jackson finally turns downfield, but there is no hole between Miller and Bajema and backside pursuit is coming. Frowny face for too many lineman laying on the grass.

Really hard to see here, but Jackson runs smack into Bajema knocking him down and then loses all his momentum. Help is on the way for Arizona and they still have players on their feet.

Reverse view, moment of impact between Bajema and Jackson.

2 on 5, not good.

Yep, that’s Schofield with the wrap. 4th down. 4th and 1 is much easier to explain. In order, Brown, Dahl, Goldberg, Levoir, and Hoomanawanui all attempted cut blocks, and not one of them succeeded, much like the previous play. Backside pursuit and frontside penetration allowed Arizona’s whole team to pull Steven Jackson down before he could run downhill.

By: DR RAM
Follow on Twitter @DR_RAM_

Fitzgerald goes in motion to create trips on the left side.

Rams are in cover 2, meaning 2 deep safeties, their responsibility is to let anything go past them, or over the top. Harris on the far bottom has man coverage on the widest receiver. King has man coverage on Doucet. JL is covering Fitzgerald. Dahl has the deep right half. Stewart has the running back split right. Mikell has the deep left half, probably cheating to the right, because there is only one receiver on his side. And Gordy has the far right outside receiver in man.

You can see the progression of the coverage in this shot. Everyone is in good position so far. You can see Mikell is reading the QB who is staring at Fitzgerald the whole time.

You can see that C. Dahl is in perfect position to help Laurinaitis deep on Arizona’s best receiver.

JL and CD are still in great position and reading the QB’s eyes while keeping a good relationship with the target. This is textbook coverage

Uh oh, what is happening, Dahl, seemingly can’t see Fitzgerald who is about to run right by him. JL is still in good shape.

What the hell happened? There’s not a receiver over there, and even if there was, he would have been Mikell’s responsibility. Fitzgerald ran right across his face. Time after time he fails to make any plays in coverage, he has no awareness or instincts.

He finally sees him…too late.

This is another view of the coverage.

You can see that Mikell ends up being much closer, even though he had the opposite side of the field.

And now you know why Spagnuolo said that he had the right coverage called for the play. He just didn’t want to call out Craig Dahl. Well, I did that for him.

By:  DR RAM (@DR_RAM_)

On defense:
I saw a team go out and play extremely hard. I saw a them play the best disciplined game plan all year. Gap control was consistent and outstanding for the whole game, and outside contain was maintained for the whole game. The Rams haven’t come close to that all year. Every play was kept in front of them. They played with emotion and attitude, and every player was held accountable by the defensive captains on every play.

I remember a play where Brian Kehl missed a tackle and got grilled by his teammates, instead of sulking, on the very next play he read the run play, shot the gap, beating his guard and blew up Pierre Thomas for a 2 yard loss. Same thing with Gordy, he missed a tackle, Mikell blew him up, then he ends up getting a huge interception that led to a touchdown at the end of the half.

Every player had his teammates back in this game, and the gang tackling was exceptional. Nobody assumed that his teammate would make the tackle, or they were all just thirsty to get into the action. I think the latter, but they accomplished this by maintaining discipline, fulfilling their assignments (Gaps, contain, coverage) first, this is key.

No big plays were given up. And then something special happened, Robert Quinn blocked a punt and it seemed that all the team’s hard work got validated in that one play. It gave them hope and faith to keep playing hard, and keep playing inspired and stay in the scheme–buy into the system. This is something we heard from the radio interview with Poppinga and Brown earlier in the week–accountability, buying in, players and coaches working together.

James Laurinaitis was a monster and he set the tone leading the team with ten tackles, plus he racked up a sack on Drew Brees. Brian Kehl and Chris Chamberlain both made a couple big plays and for the most part filled their gaps leaving no holes for the Saints running backs to leak through. Overall, the best game by the Rams linebackers, and it’s not open for debate.

The interior defensive line played their best game. They “bought in” this game, and finally played smart football. Nobody tried to be the hero, but they trusted their teammates and their responsibilities. With Ah You back on the field, the Rams were able to slide him and Hall down to tackle on passing situations opening up more time for Robert Quinn to learn and apply his skills. He did not disappoint providing a sack on a powerful and quick inside move. He also provided constant pressure from the right side, to the point where the Saints started sliding protections his way. All this did was force New Orleans to try and block Chris Long one on one, and they simply couldn’t do that, which enabled Long to record three sacks, one of which he dedicated to the World Series winning Cardinals who were in attendance of the game despite the fact that they had a parade planned later. Long mimicked a long homerun in tribute to his St. Lousian brothers. Most of the teams 6 sacks came on four man rushes, this is encouraging indeed.

Spagnuolo, you sneaky dog, for thinking outside of the box, and showing the team (by the Cardinals example) that it is never too late to get into the post season. Kudos to you Spags, kudos. I have to wonder if you called the whole defensive game, you were mighty involved…. If you did, please keep doing it. Best defensive game planning all year.

Quintin Mikell displayed his leadership the whole game and made a hand full of tackles. The secondary, with the new addition of Marquis Johnson, who had four tackles in his season debut, played a very good in zone coverage, leaving no big plays open. Al Harris was spectacular in one on one on third downs, having a couple huge passes defensed. Darian Stewart flew all around the field and acted as an additional linebacker in nickel and dime coverages, but perhaps his biggest play thwarted any hopes of a Saints comeback with a pick 6 for the Rams final score of the game in the 4th quarter.

This was the defense that we all expected to see this year.

On offense:
The play calling was innovative, appropriate, and ballsy, while being smart at the same time. McDaniel’s with a full tool box, found ways to create mismatches and overloads. Players, plural, were open all over the field, and I completely agreed with the running plays called in very long 3rd down situations in enemy territory. You have to live to fight the next day, and the Saints do an amazing job at disguising blitzes. The pocket, finally, was moved around and it bought Feeley time to attempt some big plays–he missed on a lot of those plays, but they were there, and it scared the defense. Brandon Lloyd was open and running free the whole game it seemed, as were many other receivers. Greg Salas is showing a growing ability to gain yards after the catch, minimizing the loss the Amendola, a player that I didn’t think that could be covered. Misdirection in the running and passing game was key.

Adam Goldberg, subbing for Jason Smith, was a pleasant surprise, and after reviewing the game, he far succeeded anything that Smith has done this year. He was a big reason for this win. Make no mistake, Goldberg has weaknesses, but the coaching staff did an outstanding job of hiding those, and instead focused on his strengths. This blocking scheme fits him far better than the last one. He is mobile and he is smart. He missed one blitz, which can’t happen–free shots at the QB, when the lineman is not engaged with a defender. Other than that, Goldberg fought, scrapped, and overall played very well.

The rest of offensive line played hard, but are still pressing. There were still way too many penalties for false starts, even in the red zone, and when they had their backs against the wall. This has to stop. Steven Jackson came off the field steaming more than once, he wanted this game more than anyone and was our clear offensive leader. Jackson ran as hard as I’ve ever seen him, he knew where the holes were and attacked them, he led by example, then by being vocal….He finally did, what the defense did the whole game, he lit into the offense–Saffold in particular, for jumping offsides late in the game. The Rams didn’t score any more points, or really move the ball after that explosion, but the impact of accountability by teammates on offense will be carried over into the next game.

The offense needs to keep improving, needs to make fewer penalties, and drops, etc., but I saw signs of improving, and the talent on the offensive side is starting to pick up. I think, Hoomanawanui is having a bigger impact than people realize. He did a nice job in the game and really opened things up for the O. Feeley missed him a couple of times for huge gains, when he was uncovered, opting to throw to a player that had coverage on him–the defense noticed. And I’m not talking backside open, but on the same branch of the tree open. He’s a decent blocker and has decent hands. The sooner that Bajema is completely out of this offense, the better. I like the fact that Kendricks time is scaled back now that Big Mike is back, and hopefully he will come back with a fury like Salas and Pettis and Quinn have. There were points left on the field, maybe they pick those up for now on, some of them at least.

Even with the gaffes, they scored in the red zone, the Rams were 100% in the red zone, and 100% in goal to go efficiency, which is something that they hadn’t been able to accomplish before. Brandon Lloyd went old school playground with Feeley, making an adjustment in the huddle on his scoring play by telling him where and how to throw it based on the coverage. On one of Jackson’s two scores, he lined up at fullback with Salas at tailback, something that nobody has seen, including the Saints, then misdirection, good blocking (Goldberg, Dahl, Hoomanawanui), a hard cut, and sheer will secured the score. Good execution overall in the red zone.

This may be the game that starts it all, the game that we look back at as fans and say, “Remember when we kicked the Saints ass, that was turning point of this franchise. Through the short offseason, changes, injuries, schedule, and fluke plays, the Rams found a way to way to start winning…and they never looked back.” I want to say that.

The doctor is out….

By StlouisramsX

When your favorite team has yet to get off the shnide, there will typically be an overabundance of cliches that are immediately stocked in surplus for the buying public.  Get ‘em while they’re hot!  “Put up or Shut up.”  “The Fat Lady is Singing.”  “Stupid is as stupid does.”  “Excuses are for losers.”

Well, let’s examine that last one because the other ones are as dumb as a fox.  See what I did there?  Did I even do it right?

I like to traverse every known message board and media outlet out there to provide information for our shameless plug.   Obviously I spend little time carrying the burden of others across the internet for the purpose of illuminating the masses, because a lot of the vitriol out there isn’t worth the time or effort.   I will, however, share a piece of a conversation I got caught up in recently with the guys from The Rams Huddle.   And in this dragnet, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

A.  “Excuses are for losers.”

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B.  “I agree. But explanations paint a clearer picture.”

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C.  “Excuses are for losers” is a slogan. Its devoid of meaning to ‘me’.”

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“If a fighter has the flu. And he is weakened because of that. And he loses a fight because he has the flu. Well…he had the flu. Those are facts. It makes no sense to me to bring in personal ideology like “excuses are for losers”.  That’s personal-ideology.  The flu weakens people.  That’s the reality.  All ideology aside.  All frustration aside.  And it doesn’t change anything that once Rocky Marciano fought well with the flu, back in 1492.”

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B.   “Well, if Rocky Marciano doesn’t fight well in 1492, then how do Columbus’ men storm the beaches of the Bahamas? Sometimes you have to fight above your level regardless of your personal ailments.”  (I’m picking up on your sarcasm)

The ‘excuses are for losers’ mantra is true when the person offering the excuses is the one responsible for having to use them in the first place. If that makes any sense.  We, as fans, can offer explanations for things, but you won’t find many fans offering excuses for anything.  If I say that Jackson getting injured on play #1 of the Eagles game had a huge impact on McDaniels’ game plan, then that’s just an explanation.  It’s not an excuse for the loss.  It’s a variable.  Losing Amendola had further impact.  Another variable.  Salas and Pettis simply not being ready for the big stage because of lack of reps in the system and rookie jitters had a bigger impact.  Add Kendricks’ sudden slump, and there’s almost no options.  Throw in an O-line that wasn’t coached well to hold for 7 step drops and 5-6 seconds, and the whole thing is ineffective.

Facts.  Variables.  Not excuses.”

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A.   “Sure. Let the fans and media analysts come up with explanations.  That’s just us talking.

I don’t want to hear that from the FO.  It’s their job to produce, no excuses.  They get paid too much money.  And they know that’s the job they took.  Put up or get out.”

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D.  “The point is that it’s an absolutely pure judgement call when you turn “explanations” into “excuses.”

I don’t know that anything was resolved, but it was an interesting discussion.  When Spagnuolo gets up in front of that podium, you’ll rarely find him making “excuses.”  He points to things that didn’t work, and then says they’ll (wait for it) “try, try again.”   For you see, the things that have happened to this team in 2011 are many and varied.   I’m not going to list them.   All teams were hampered by a shortened off-season, suffered through some injuries, and a few more have installed new systems.   But that’s exactly where the comparisons end.   All he can do is try to keep the team together, formulate strategies, coach, and then leave it up to the Professionals to execute.   The latter part of that plan is inconsistent at best.   So inconsistent, in fact, that it has a lot of the most stalwart fans chewing nails and spitting tacks.   I don’t blame them.   Just don’t spit in the wind because your chickens haven’t hatched; so don’t count them until you cross the bridge you come to after you jump out of the frying pan.

Cliches are cool, but quotes are better.

We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.
– Vince Lombardi

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By: DR RAM
Follow on Twitter! @DR_RAM_

This week ROD forum members picked the subject of focus. People want to know what the hell is going on with the wide receivers and tight ends. This is what I found under my scope:

First possession – St. Louis Rams at 15:00
• 1-10-STL 20 (15:00) 39-S.Jackson left guard to STL 20 for no gain (91-R.Kerrigan). Missed the hole, the whole right side was sealed as was the left.
• 2-10-STL 20 (14:31) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 33 for 13 yards (30-L.Landry).
• 1-10-STL 33 (13:53) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 33 for no gain (98-B.Orakpo). Needed to cut outside.
• 2-10-STL 33 (13:18) 39-S.Jackson left guard to STL 36 for 3 yards (23-D.Hall). Missed hole again, had left side sealed. Could have driven a truck through it from hash to sideline.
• 3-7-STL 36 (12:47) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-76-R.Saffold, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 36 – No Play.
• 3-12-STL 31 (12:32) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 39-S.Jackson to STL 26 for -5 yards (52-R.McIntosh).
• 3-7-STL 36 (12:47) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-76-R.Saffold, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 36 – No Play. Saffold and Kendricks jump on Bradford’s hard count. The hard count is designed to make the other team jump. Makes a 3rd and 7 a 3rd and 12.
• 3-12-STL 31 (12:32) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 39-S.Jackson to STL 26 for -5 yards (52-R.McIntosh). This was a screen to Jackson. The formation was a bunch – right, and all the receivers ran downfield to clear the area. This screen didn’t work, because nobody blocked Mcintosh. One of the two screeners should have turned around, but they both put their heads down and raced to block one guy (22) K. Barnes. Bad play design or execution, hard to tell, but with a tweak it could have worked.
• 4-17-STL 26 (11:59) 5-D.Jones punts 37 yards to WAS 37, Center-44-J.McQuaide. 16-B.Banks ran ob at WAS 42 for 5 yards (50-B.Kehl).

Second possession – St. Louis Rams at 09:36
• 1-10-STL 11 (9:36) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 10-M.Sims-Walker. 2 TE, 2 wide formation, Sims-Walker on the left, Gibson on the right after motion, Every receiver and TE ran the same route, a short speed out. This was Sims-Walker’s first drop. The ball was a little high, but catchable. It was a 3-step drop, ball came out on-time.
• 2-10-STL 11 (9:32) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 16 for 5 yards (30-L.Landry).
• 3-5-STL 16 (8:59) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short right to 10-M.Sims-Walker (23-D.Hall). Bunch – right, Gibson wide left. Kendricks on the wing ran a short in, 3-yds shy of marker. Pettis from the slot, ran a go. MSW the farthest outside of the bunch ran a dig route. There was no hesitation, play was to MSW, Hall was in tight coverage and basically wrestled the ball out as MSW tried to secure it, MSW has to win this battle, but it was probably ruled as a PD. This may have been short of a FD.
• 4-5-STL 16 (8:51) 5-D.Jones punts 54 yards to WAS 30, Center-44-J.McQuaide. 16-B.Banks to WAS 31 for 1 yard (49-B.Miller).

Third possession – St. Louis Rams at 03:06
• 4-G.Gano kicks 63 yards from WAS 35 to STL 2. 35-Q.Porter to STL 15 for 13 yards (19-D.Stallworth).
• 1-10-STL 15 (3:00) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 49-B.Miller to STL 18 for 3 yards (23-D.Hall). Naked boot right, B. Miller came across the formation into short right flat. Hall came up and made a nice tackle. Kendricks tried to clear zone, but Skins were in zone, so they saw the action. Would have been for more yards if Skins were in man. Ball on-time and perfect.
• 2-7-STL 18 (2:24) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 88-L.Kendricks pushed ob at STL 29 for 11 yards (91-R.Kerrigan). Left slot with MSW, and DX wide left. MSW runs short dig–open, DX runs a 9, but there is a huge cushion, so he runs hard then slows down—open. Kendricks from the right wing runs a 12-yard out and Sam hits him perfectly out of his break—perfect route and throw.
• 1-10-STL 29 (1:56) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson up the middle to STL 32 for 3 yards (30-L.Landry; 91-R.Kerrigan).
• 2-7-STL 32 (1:23) 8-S.Bradford pass short middle to 84-D.Alexander to WAS 43 for 25 yards (20-O.Atogwe). Uh Oh motions into FB position, play action fake to SJ39, the pass was to DX, who ran a 8 route (post) throw was perfect and on-time, Sam almost got touched from behind. DX catches the ball then gets about 13-yards of RAC, dragging players. He jumps up and makes the X.
• 1-10-WAS 43 (:41) 39-S.Jackson left guard to WAS 40 for 3 yards (94-A.Carriker). I seriously think SJ39 may be blind in his left eye. Missed hole left.
• 2-7-WAS 40 (:03) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford sacked ob at WAS 40 for 0 yards (Team). Kendricks runs a wheel route from the left wing. Gibson a 9 from w-left. DX is w-right and runs a 9? SJ39 releases out of the backfield into the r-flat. MSW was the intended target, ran a dig and fell down, luckily Sam saw this before he threw it. He then, looked left and Wragge had been pushed back and close to Sam, so he backed up, to get space, but almost tripped, so he scrambled with 4 Skins in pursuit. Couldn’t see the receivers.
• 3-7-WAS 40 (15:00) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to 10-M.Sims-Walker. This was just a perfect pass into MSW’s basket in tight coverage that would have been a touchdown. He dropped it at the 8-yard line with Barnes on his hip, no PI, no PD. It was 10 route (stop and go) with Bradford pump faking the stop, which allowed MSW to drop one defender. This was the only option on the play.
• 4-7-WAS 40 (14:55) 5-D.Jones punts 30 yards to WAS 10, Center-44-J.McQuaide, out of bounds.

Fourth possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 13:42
• 1-10-STL 29 (13:42) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to STL 32 for 3 yards (98-B.Orakpo).
• 2-7-STL 32 (13:07) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to 39-S.Jackson (96-B.Cofield). Slot left/wing right. Gibson w-left, 9 route big cushion. MSW slot left, short speed out. Hoomanawanui runs a deep out, and Kendricks runs a deep wheel route. Most routes are covered, but SJ39 runs a short post and is wide open. It appears as if SJ39 doesn’t know it’s to him and he turns his head and pulls his arms back before the ball arrives. It looks on-target from my angle. It had some pepper on it, this is the first time I thought Sam could have used a little touch.
• 3-7-STL 32 (13:01) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 18-A.Pettis [52-R.McIntosh]. Twins left, Gibson and Pettis. Gibson cleared the zone with a post and Pettis ran some kind of dig and fade. Hard to see it, but it took too long to develop.
• 4-7-STL 32 (12:55) 5-D.Jones punts 46 yards to WAS 22, Center-44-J.McQuaide. 16-B.Banks MUFFS catch, and recovers at WAS 24. 16-B.Banks to WAS 26 for 2 yards (15-D.Curry).

Fifth possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 09:52
• 1-10-WAS 44 (9:52) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to 86-M.Hoomanawanui. WAS-23-D.Hall was injured during the play. Bajema on the r-wing behind Hoomanawanui stayed to block. Gibson? W-right ran a simple out. Big Mike released straight into the seam and Sam threw a strike to his numbers, he dropped it. Hall hit him low and he wasn’t looking, then he hit the ground head first.
• 2-10-WAS 44 (9:47) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 38 for 6 yards (34-B.Westbrook).
• 3-4-WAS 38 (9:29) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 35 for 3 yards (72-S.Bowen).
• 4-1-WAS 35 (8:47) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 18-A.Pettis to WAS 31 for 4 yards (22-K.Barnes). This was a very inventive play. DX and Pettis are twins left, but Pettis goes in motion and ends up as a tailback. MSW clears the zone on a 9 route and Bajema performs a dig route to the outside after faking inside. Bradford rolls out and has 3 options, but Pettis is open and Bradford throws a nice pass. Pettis secures the pass and takes the FD. He doesn’t try to do anything else but catch it.
• 1-10-WAS 31 (8:10) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 10-M.Sims-Walker. This is a play action pass, max protection. DX w-right runs a post and MSW w-left runs a deep out. I can’t see MSW’s pattern, until the end, but he is covered so he got no separation. DX is slightly open, because he has his guy pinned to his outside, but Sam reads the safety on his side and goes with option 2. The ball bounces off MSW’s extended hand. Not the easiest throw to catch, but exactly where it needed to be. Mcintosh grabbed Sj39 when he tried to go out in a pattern.
• 2-10-WAS 31 (8:03) 8-S.Bradford pass short left to 39-S.Jackson to WAS 28 for 3 yards (72-S.Bowen). This was the same look that the Rams gave on the incomplete to Pettis on the dig & go, but they ran a screen this time. If Wragge would have blocked his guy—unsuccessful cut, or Brown not tripped over Smith’s feet, then this would have yielded some yards. Nice looking screen—not executed.
• 3-7-WAS 28 (7:20) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 18-A.Pettis (94-A.Carriker). This was going to be a dig to Pettis, who ran a nice route, but it was a jailbreak. Skins overloaded our right side and Jackson, tried to help Smith with Kerrigan, who blew past Smith, but the Skins, followed that with sending a blitzer through Smiths’s inside gap, who SJ39 should have picked up. This was a 2 second play and Sam didn’t have 2 seconds. Ball tipped amidst mass confusion. Smith grabbed Kerrigan’s face mask as he blew by him. PENALTY on STL-77-J.Smith, Personal Foul, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 28 – No Play.
• 3-22-WAS 43 (7:14) 8-S.Bradford sacked at 50 for -7 yards (91-R.Kerrigan). FUMBLES (91-R.Kerrigan), RECOVERED by WAS-96-B.Cofield at STL 47. 96-B.Cofield to STL 44 for 3 yards (76-R.Saffold). The play was to the right, it was a stop (hesitation) and go pattern to Gibson, Sam pump faked, trying to get the corner to bite, he didn’t–huge cushion, but it was one on one, no safety help. Kendricks ran a wheel route or seam route and was just coming open, he would have been the target, Landry was outside him by a few yards. It would have been a race to the end zone, if Kendricks would have caught it, but Sam got hit in 2.2 seconds–he needed 3 to 3.5. Because of overload on Ram’s left side Saffold hesitated, then had bad angle on Orakpo, who muscled him backwards into Sam’s face. Kerrigan knocked the ball out backside, he was being blocked by Pettis, Smith chose to help Brown instead of Pettis.

Sixth possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 05:42
• 4-G.Gano kicks 63 yards from WAS 35 to STL 2. 18-A.Pettis pushed ob at STL 25 for 23 yards (4-G.Gano). PENALTY on STL-84-D.Alexander, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at STL 21.
• 1-10-STL 11 (5:37) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson up the middle to STL 14 for 3 yards (52-R.McIntosh).
• 2-7-STL 14 (5:11) 8-S.Bradford pass short left to 11-B.Gibson to STL 28 for 14 yards (26-J.Wilson). This pretty much an standard I right pro set with Gibson on the w-left running a post and Sam hitting him with a laser beam. Gibson almost dropped it, but concentrated and made the catch.
• 1-10-STL 28 (4:30) 39-S.Jackson right end to STL 29 for 1 yard (52-R.McIntosh). Penalty on STL-77-J.Smith, Illegal Formation, declined.
• 2-9-STL 29 (4:08) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 47-B.Bajema to STL 33 for 4 yards (91-R.Kerrigan). Bajema on the r-wing runs a hesitation out, and MSW on the outside runs a deep in. Bajema was the right choice, Mcintosh dropped into zone underneath MSW. No going to get much after the catch from Bajema, he’s nailed like a tackling dummy for no additional yards.
• 3-5-STL 33 (3:26) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 88-L.Kendricks to STL 41 for 8 yards (23-D.Hall). This was a quick dig route to Kendricks who was a good two to three yards shy, but ran hard for the FD. MSW on the w-right ran a 9-yard buttonhook and was open in the zone past the marker.
• 1-10-STL 41 (2:52) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 39-S.Jackson to STL 47 for 6 yards (23-D.Hall). Right wing formation, both tight ends release to clear zone and Bradford hits Jackson on the backfield post, same route that was missed earlier. Looked like lone option on the play.
• 2-4-STL 47 (2:19) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 45 for -2 yards (50-R.Jackson).
Two-Minute Warning
• 3-6-STL 45 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-88-L.Kendricks, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 45 – No Play. Kendricks and Gibson jumped on Bradford’s hard count. Dahl was having a long discussion with the zebra and pointing at the Skins, who were said to have been mimicking the snap count in the Cowboy’s game, which is illegal.
• 3-11-STL 40 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-60-Jason.Brown, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 40 – No Play. Another false start, this time false snap, all on Brown. Sam pumps his fist in displeasure.
• 3-16-STL 35 (2:00) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to 84-D.Alexander [91-R.Kerrigan]. Redskins showed blitz, same look on the fumble earlier. Bradford called Gibson over into a bunch right for max pro. DX was w-left and Sims-Walker w- right. I think that they both ran stop and go’s. Sam basically threw it away. Skins were in a deep cover 3. DX would have to have broken his pattern off to have a completion. Orakpo, appeared to have hit Saffold in the neck and Saffold folded backwards. Smith appeared to make the wrong decision, as he let B. Gibson take on Kerrigan. No match, not close to the same weight class. Bradford got hit from both sides.
• 4-16-STL 35 (1:54) 5-D.Jones punts 65 yards to end zone, Center-44-J.McQuaide, Touchback. Play Challenged by Replay Assistant and Upheld. This was the amazing play by Curry that the officials took away from him.

Seventh possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 00:34
• 1-10-STL 18 (:34) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford sacked at STL 16 for -2 yards (sack split by 98-B.Orakpo and 72-S.Bowen). Spread formation, Redskins playing way off again, think prevent, but Kendricks running right down the middle of the field is breaking open, even after he is blatantly grabbed and held by Fletcher, Bradford was going that way but got sacked—didn’t have time. DX was open on a deep out on the left sideline. Everyone else on the right was covered. Orakpo got underneath Saffold’s pads and lifted him off the ground almost in an amazing show of strength. I did think the Rodger didn’t do a good job with his setup point, and yes, Orakpo was very wide right. Bowen sacked Bradford, officially.
• 2-12-STL 16 (:23) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to STL 17 for 1 yard (91-R.Kerrigan).

At the end of the half Bradford dropped back 20 times, was hit 6 times, sacked 3 times, and fumbled once. Except for the drops, the receivers for the most part had separation and ran crisp routes. One of Pettis’ routes was questionable, but i couldn’t see the play. The underneath receiver was the focus of McDaniel’s game plan in the first half, that was very clear, as on most plays it was designed to be open and not a progression read, but perhaps a pre-snap read by Bradford. I thought the game plan was very solid. The Rams got into trouble by making mistakes–jumping offsides, holding, dropping passes. When they were in 3rd and longs, the Redskins just brought it.

Bradford’s 1st half of this game was almost flawless with the time he had to work with. I rated his performance an average of 4.2 out of 5. A 5 is a good decision, very accurate throw that is thrown on time, not late. Whether the ball was completed or not did not factor in. I gave him a 3 on the play that Sims-Walker fell down and he was the obvious target. Sam scrambled, and was officially sacked O-yard gain team sack, but if he wouldn’t have tripped he had a player open.

These were the miscues in each drive:
1st possession – false start made it 3rd and 12
2nd possession – 2 drops
3rd possession – sack, primary receiver fell down, and a drop
4th possession – player not attempt catch, QB hit, bad route?
5th possession – 2 drops, facemask penalty, sack and fumble
6th possession – holding, illegal formation, false start, false start, QB hit
7th possession – sack

Questions? I’m debating analyzing the 2nd half. It seems much of the same to me. Mistakes, sacks, drops. I feel dirty now, the doc needs to scrub up.

By: DR RAM

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