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After watching our defense play at an elite level and our offense come together and play competitively for two games, Rams fans were in the hope-filled mood last evening when we faced the team with the best record in the NFL and a very stout defense in their own right, the Arizona Cardinals. The game started off in an expected fashion with a Rams’ FG and 3-point lead and a defense that had a 9-quarter shut-out streak running doing their normal smashmouth job. We held the Cardinals offense to no touchdowns going into the second quarter and our offense was maintaining its competitiveness.
Then, many Rams fans soon deciphered that sinking feeling all Rams fans know all too well when the offense began sputtering with shortened drives and three-and-outs and then rookie Tre Mason fumbled and gave the ball to the Cardinals who had a short field to begin a drive. Soon, the 9-quarter shut-out streak was gone as the Cards kicked a tying FG and the offense began all manner of screw-ups that we Rams fans also have witnessed many times before. That sinking feeling turned out to be true again as we went two quarters without scoring a single point and the Cardinals D began nearly insurmountable. At one point in the third quarter we had a total offensive production of just 6 yards. The Cards continued to kick FGs and before we knew it, we were down 12-3 in the fourth quarter with all hope gone as we watched our offense disintegrate into performances that reflected the last ten years of incompetence, ineptitude, and insignificance.
On Offense. The Positives. Not much here. After our initial drive that produced a first quarter FG, we didn’t score another offensive point until the fourth quarter. Hill finished the game going 20 for 39 for 229 yards and 1 INT. Tre Mason had 13 carries for a pedestrian 33 yards and a one huge fumble. Stedman Bailey was high man amongst the receivers going 5 catches for 74 yards.
On Offense. The Negatives. Plenty here. Offensively we were 0-1 in the redzone because we were hardly ever near it throughout the game. Our third-down efficiency was a meager 4/15. Hill threw one pick last night but most of the time he was throwing floating ducks of passes that were often under or overthrown. OC Shottenheimer called one of the worst games of his tenure where he did little to stem the onslaught from a very good Cardinals defense that blitzed as much or more than we did. It took him forever to utilize screen plays to offset the blitz. And this man has a fundamental cognitive flaw. When he is one-yard away from a score, he cannot run the ball. He has an obsession to throw the ball and it failed again and again last night. Rookie Tre Mason had a huge fumble in the beginning of the second quarter that simply froze our offense. We didn’t score another offensive point after that miscue until late in the fourth quarter. Our offensive line could not handle three down lineman where Devin Joseph got routinely manhandled by Calais Campbell and Rucker at DT. Neither could they handle the many blitzes and delayed blitzes that the Cardinals brought right down to the very last snap of the game. We had three fumbles last evening: One by Austin, one by Mason and one by Wells where he muffed the snap and the ball barely got to Hill who eventually threw an incomplete pass. In a word: we returned to our inept performances of the last ten years and we all looked at Hill as the not-so-good back-up many of us had forgotten about from the previous games. Our offensive line was a disaster at times and the play-calling by Shottenheimer lacked any hint of a winning game plan.
On Defense. The Positives. The usual produced last evening. The thumpers came out to play. Long, Barron, McDonald, Olgetree, Gaines, McLeod, Laurinaitus, and Jenkins put brought the heavy lumber and placed the clamps on the Cardinals offense and we knocked out Stanton in the third quarter. Donald registered another sack and Jenkins and McDonald were high men in tackles with 8, Gaines had 7, followed by Laurinaitus with 6. We snagged one fumble as well.
On Defense. The Negatives. Even though Jenkins had a good night tackling, he got beat three times for big pass plays. Brockers and Langford were neutralized many times being held and Quinn was being held a lot last evening as well. We still have this huge hole right behind Laurinaitus that teams are exploiting because we play our defensive backfield off of receivers most times10 yards on the corners and often 20 yards deep with the safeties. I am not sure who started this but it is like we are playing a 100-yard prevent defense all the time.
On Special Teams. The Positves. One guy. Johnny Hekker was booing punts last evening and routinely got us out of deep holes. The STs played very disciplined football for the most part and Zuerlein was 2 for 2 in FGs as well. There was just one penalty on the STs.
On Special Teams. The Negatives. One penalty. Not much else here.
With that disappointing loss, we are officially eliminated from any chance from post-season play. Our losing seasons continue as the best we can do now is 8 and 8. We have the Geeants at home in 10 days and we finish in Seattle. Realistically, we could go 6-10 and 7-9 depending on how the Rams respond from this loss. I suppose we are now back to waiting until next year just like the previous decade with this team.
Then, many Rams fans soon deciphered that sinking feeling all Rams fans know all too well when the offense began sputtering with shortened drives and three-and-outs and then rookie Tre Mason fumbled and gave the ball to the Cardinals who had a short field to begin a drive. Soon, the 9-quarter shut-out streak was gone as the Cards kicked a tying FG and the offense began all manner of screw-ups that we Rams fans also have witnessed many times before. That sinking feeling turned out to be true again as we went two quarters without scoring a single point and the Cardinals D began nearly insurmountable. At one point in the third quarter we had a total offensive production of just 6 yards. The Cards continued to kick FGs and before we knew it, we were down 12-3 in the fourth quarter with all hope gone as we watched our offense disintegrate into performances that reflected the last ten years of incompetence, ineptitude, and insignificance.
On Offense. The Positives. Not much here. After our initial drive that produced a first quarter FG, we didn’t score another offensive point until the fourth quarter. Hill finished the game going 20 for 39 for 229 yards and 1 INT. Tre Mason had 13 carries for a pedestrian 33 yards and a one huge fumble. Stedman Bailey was high man amongst the receivers going 5 catches for 74 yards.
On Offense. The Negatives. Plenty here. Offensively we were 0-1 in the redzone because we were hardly ever near it throughout the game. Our third-down efficiency was a meager 4/15. Hill threw one pick last night but most of the time he was throwing floating ducks of passes that were often under or overthrown. OC Shottenheimer called one of the worst games of his tenure where he did little to stem the onslaught from a very good Cardinals defense that blitzed as much or more than we did. It took him forever to utilize screen plays to offset the blitz. And this man has a fundamental cognitive flaw. When he is one-yard away from a score, he cannot run the ball. He has an obsession to throw the ball and it failed again and again last night. Rookie Tre Mason had a huge fumble in the beginning of the second quarter that simply froze our offense. We didn’t score another offensive point after that miscue until late in the fourth quarter. Our offensive line could not handle three down lineman where Devin Joseph got routinely manhandled by Calais Campbell and Rucker at DT. Neither could they handle the many blitzes and delayed blitzes that the Cardinals brought right down to the very last snap of the game. We had three fumbles last evening: One by Austin, one by Mason and one by Wells where he muffed the snap and the ball barely got to Hill who eventually threw an incomplete pass. In a word: we returned to our inept performances of the last ten years and we all looked at Hill as the not-so-good back-up many of us had forgotten about from the previous games. Our offensive line was a disaster at times and the play-calling by Shottenheimer lacked any hint of a winning game plan.
On Defense. The Positives. The usual produced last evening. The thumpers came out to play. Long, Barron, McDonald, Olgetree, Gaines, McLeod, Laurinaitus, and Jenkins put brought the heavy lumber and placed the clamps on the Cardinals offense and we knocked out Stanton in the third quarter. Donald registered another sack and Jenkins and McDonald were high men in tackles with 8, Gaines had 7, followed by Laurinaitus with 6. We snagged one fumble as well.
On Defense. The Negatives. Even though Jenkins had a good night tackling, he got beat three times for big pass plays. Brockers and Langford were neutralized many times being held and Quinn was being held a lot last evening as well. We still have this huge hole right behind Laurinaitus that teams are exploiting because we play our defensive backfield off of receivers most times10 yards on the corners and often 20 yards deep with the safeties. I am not sure who started this but it is like we are playing a 100-yard prevent defense all the time.
On Special Teams. The Positves. One guy. Johnny Hekker was booing punts last evening and routinely got us out of deep holes. The STs played very disciplined football for the most part and Zuerlein was 2 for 2 in FGs as well. There was just one penalty on the STs.
On Special Teams. The Negatives. One penalty. Not much else here.
With that disappointing loss, we are officially eliminated from any chance from post-season play. Our losing seasons continue as the best we can do now is 8 and 8. We have the Geeants at home in 10 days and we finish in Seattle. Realistically, we could go 6-10 and 7-9 depending on how the Rams respond from this loss. I suppose we are now back to waiting until next year just like the previous decade with this team.
