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Rams' offensive line regrouped against 49ers
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_d2c60e72-0b41-537b-a0c1-f1d2e265540c.html
On a day when the Rams’ defense registered its highest sack total in more than two seasons, dropping San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick eight times, coach Jeff Fisher didn’t award a game ball to the front four. Or even any of the six players who combined for those eight sacks.
No, in the visitors’ locker room at Levi’s Stadium following Sunday’s 13-10 upset victory over San Francisco, Fisher presented the game ball to ...
The offensive line.
“Just because of what they endured last week,” Fisher explained. “With the changes that took place in the Kansas City game, the fact that we weren’t quite sure as to who was going to be able to come back. ... They all came back from last week.”
After getting flattened in the second half of a 34-7 drubbing by the Chiefs Oct. 26, the offensive line looked decimated. Left tackle Jake Long was lost for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee.
Center Scott Wells suffered an elbow injury in his right (or snapping) arm, and offensive guard Rodger Saffold suffered yet another shoulder injury.
“Scott didn’t even snap in the walk-through on Wednesday,” Fisher said. “The first day he snapped was Friday.
“For Rodger to come back after subluxing the shoulder and playing the way he played (against San Francisco). And then going from whatever number sack total we had at Kansas City to just one, I thought it was a great effort.”
The Rams yielded a season-high seven sacks against the Chiefs at Arrowhead.
A shoulder subluxation is a temporary, partial dislocation of the shoulder joint. Saffold will try to get through this season, but may need surgery at the conclusion of the season.
Fisher said he didn’t get an idea that Wells and Saffold could play until Friday of last week.
“Then, when we traveled (to San Francisco) and we got treatments at the hotel done, we had a pretty good sense that they were going to be able to go,” Fisher said.
Besides the uncertainty over the availability of Wells and Saffold, rookie Greg Robinson made his first NFL start at left tackle, and Davin Joseph came off the bench to start for the first time since Game 4 at Philadelphia at right guard.
All against the league’s second-ranked defense, on the road.
“They have an excellent defense and that’s a good football team,” Wells said. “So we just tried to take it one play at a time and not make the game bigger than it was. Try to go out there and execute each play as it was called. And learn from the mistakes moving forward to the next play.”
By the numbers, the offensive results were anything but gaudy: 13 points, 193 yards gained, and 3.4 yards a carry on the ground. But the running game was effective enough to help keep the 49ers’ defense honest. And for the most part, quarterback Austin Davis was kept clean.
“It’s nice to find a way to win,” Wells said. “It wasn’t pretty. A lot of room for improvement obviously. But to claw and scratch and bite and do whatever we had to do come away with the win, it was huge.”
That’s right, he said, bite.
The game-ball gesture by Fisher was much appreciated by the O-line.
“It’s definitely nice to be able to achieve something like that, and be recognized by Coach for our efforts,” Wells said. “But again, I know there’s a lot of room for improvement. We’re gonna hit that film hard and make the necessary corrections moving forward.”
The challenge gets no easier this week, with a road game Sunday against Arizona, which at 7-1 has the best record in the league and ranks third in the NFL in rushing defense.
As for Robinson, his first start at left tackle was relatively uneventful, which is always good news for an offensive lineman.
“Greg did a nice job out there,” Fisher said. “We struggled at times with some pass-rush ‘games’ (by the 49ers), but most of those things took place on the other side. Greg, for the most part, was what we expected out of him against that defense.”
Although he didn’t run into the 49ers’ five-time Pro Bowler, Justin Smith, as much as he did when starting at left guard on Oct. 13, Robinson and Smith still ran into each other on several occasions Sunday. Robinson more than held his own.
There were a few hiccups. For example, San Francisco linebacker Dan Skuta got past Robinson with an inside move to hit Davis late in the opening quarter. But there was no sack; the play resulted in an incomplete pass and the Rams settled for a Greg Zuerlein field goal and their first points of the day three plays later.
And early in the second quarter, Robinson was called for holding on a drive that ended one play later on Davis’ second interception. But overall, it was a good day for Robinson.
There was another unexpected bonus from Robinson after that Davis deep ball was picked off by Perrish Cox. Namely, Robinson brought Cox to the ground on the interception return. He did the same after a Ron Parker interception in Kansas City.
“He’s shown that he’s an outstanding open-field tackler, unfortunately, for two weeks in a row,” Fisher said, smiling. “I may put him on the kickoff cover team.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_d2c60e72-0b41-537b-a0c1-f1d2e265540c.html
On a day when the Rams’ defense registered its highest sack total in more than two seasons, dropping San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick eight times, coach Jeff Fisher didn’t award a game ball to the front four. Or even any of the six players who combined for those eight sacks.
No, in the visitors’ locker room at Levi’s Stadium following Sunday’s 13-10 upset victory over San Francisco, Fisher presented the game ball to ...
The offensive line.
“Just because of what they endured last week,” Fisher explained. “With the changes that took place in the Kansas City game, the fact that we weren’t quite sure as to who was going to be able to come back. ... They all came back from last week.”
After getting flattened in the second half of a 34-7 drubbing by the Chiefs Oct. 26, the offensive line looked decimated. Left tackle Jake Long was lost for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee.
Center Scott Wells suffered an elbow injury in his right (or snapping) arm, and offensive guard Rodger Saffold suffered yet another shoulder injury.
“Scott didn’t even snap in the walk-through on Wednesday,” Fisher said. “The first day he snapped was Friday.
“For Rodger to come back after subluxing the shoulder and playing the way he played (against San Francisco). And then going from whatever number sack total we had at Kansas City to just one, I thought it was a great effort.”
The Rams yielded a season-high seven sacks against the Chiefs at Arrowhead.
A shoulder subluxation is a temporary, partial dislocation of the shoulder joint. Saffold will try to get through this season, but may need surgery at the conclusion of the season.
Fisher said he didn’t get an idea that Wells and Saffold could play until Friday of last week.
“Then, when we traveled (to San Francisco) and we got treatments at the hotel done, we had a pretty good sense that they were going to be able to go,” Fisher said.
Besides the uncertainty over the availability of Wells and Saffold, rookie Greg Robinson made his first NFL start at left tackle, and Davin Joseph came off the bench to start for the first time since Game 4 at Philadelphia at right guard.
All against the league’s second-ranked defense, on the road.
“They have an excellent defense and that’s a good football team,” Wells said. “So we just tried to take it one play at a time and not make the game bigger than it was. Try to go out there and execute each play as it was called. And learn from the mistakes moving forward to the next play.”
By the numbers, the offensive results were anything but gaudy: 13 points, 193 yards gained, and 3.4 yards a carry on the ground. But the running game was effective enough to help keep the 49ers’ defense honest. And for the most part, quarterback Austin Davis was kept clean.
“It’s nice to find a way to win,” Wells said. “It wasn’t pretty. A lot of room for improvement obviously. But to claw and scratch and bite and do whatever we had to do come away with the win, it was huge.”
That’s right, he said, bite.
The game-ball gesture by Fisher was much appreciated by the O-line.
“It’s definitely nice to be able to achieve something like that, and be recognized by Coach for our efforts,” Wells said. “But again, I know there’s a lot of room for improvement. We’re gonna hit that film hard and make the necessary corrections moving forward.”
The challenge gets no easier this week, with a road game Sunday against Arizona, which at 7-1 has the best record in the league and ranks third in the NFL in rushing defense.
As for Robinson, his first start at left tackle was relatively uneventful, which is always good news for an offensive lineman.
“Greg did a nice job out there,” Fisher said. “We struggled at times with some pass-rush ‘games’ (by the 49ers), but most of those things took place on the other side. Greg, for the most part, was what we expected out of him against that defense.”
Although he didn’t run into the 49ers’ five-time Pro Bowler, Justin Smith, as much as he did when starting at left guard on Oct. 13, Robinson and Smith still ran into each other on several occasions Sunday. Robinson more than held his own.
There were a few hiccups. For example, San Francisco linebacker Dan Skuta got past Robinson with an inside move to hit Davis late in the opening quarter. But there was no sack; the play resulted in an incomplete pass and the Rams settled for a Greg Zuerlein field goal and their first points of the day three plays later.
And early in the second quarter, Robinson was called for holding on a drive that ended one play later on Davis’ second interception. But overall, it was a good day for Robinson.
There was another unexpected bonus from Robinson after that Davis deep ball was picked off by Perrish Cox. Namely, Robinson brought Cox to the ground on the interception return. He did the same after a Ron Parker interception in Kansas City.
“He’s shown that he’s an outstanding open-field tackler, unfortunately, for two weeks in a row,” Fisher said, smiling. “I may put him on the kickoff cover team.”