Game Thread: Week 1, 2015: SeaHawks @ Rams

[Smed55]

Nothing is a given in this league, except the Patriots cheating.

Correct, it seems over the past few years after a big game we look totally lost the next week against lesser teams!

 

[Red_Chaos]

I'm confused about something. On the onside kick, our receiver called for a fair catch and two guys came up and hit him. Since when is that legal?

heck, we were lucking the refs didn't make the seahawks rekick

but yeah....that was really a weird series of events...

 

[RamsFan88]

I wouldn't say our offense was just ok considering they did score 27 offensive points in the game against Seattle, minus our two top running backs and Quick. And I really like Cignetti and his play calling. He got Austin involved and we moved the ball very effectively.

 

[Rambunctious]

Rams Played Great!!!!! Way to go!

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

heck, we were lucking the refs didn't make the seahawks rekick

but yeah....that was really a weird series of events...

Agreed, the whole situation was bizarre...D'Marco Farr on the radio was calling BS on the refs from the second the play happened and before anyone even saw a replay of it. He was saying over and over that the ball never touched the ground on the kick. Turned out, he was right. It also should've been a personal foul for unnecessary roughness/hitting a defenseless player

 

[bluepigpen]

 

[zeke2829]

Agreed, the whole situation was bizarre...D'Marco Farr on the radio was calling BS on the refs from the second the play happened and before anyone even saw a replay of it. He was saying over and over that the ball never touched the ground on the kick. Turned out, he was right. It also should've been a personal foul for unnecessary roughness/hitting a defenseless player

Exactly, the refs regrouped and changed their decision. They all agreed that he signaled "fair catch" and they all saw that he got blasted after he caught it. But they forgot to give the personal foul penalty. Our guy could have gotten killed. Typical RAM luck!

 

[Red_Chaos]

I guess we haven't heard anything more about Sims?

 

[NEhomer]

Congrats Rams~

 

[shopson67]

Correct, it seems over the past few years after a big game we look totally lost the next week against lesser teams!

Washington's defense looked pretty solid and their running game was good against Miami, but Cousins not so much (2 INT) and they lost the game on a punt return TD.

 

[Rambulance]

Pete Carroll saying that the kick was not supposed to be onside was a bunch of bunk too. I give him credit for making a gutsy call, but own it. Professional kickers almost never mishit the ball like that.

 

[Rambulance]

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

hmmmm....great job refs

 

[GNG]

Rams Played Great!!!!! Way to go!

A solid win for the Rams.

 

[SJ76]

Would love to see those Nick Foles shovel passes. Ugly as hell but he FOUND A WAY TO MAKE PLAYS UNDER PRESSURE!

Why did we ever get rid of that shovel pass? Warner had it down to Faulk and I remember Az Hakim would get the ball and take off too at times. That play was awesome.

 

[Battlelyon]

View attachment 29314

hmmmm....great job refs

Real good job by them

 

[Battlelyon]

SEA-STL GRADES: TROUBLE FOR SEAHAWKS’ O-LINE
BRYSON VESNAVER1 HOUR AGO

Here are the top takeaways and highest-graded players from the Seahawks-Rams game:

Seahawks
– DE Michael Bennett (+4.0) picked up right where he left off in the Super Bowl, dominating the Rams offensive line early on in the game. He finished with one sack and three additional hurries, as well as four solo stops. Bennett slowed down a bit towards the end of the game, as the Rams adjusted their blocking to focus mainly on double-teaming him. However, his +4.0 overall grade still led the Seahawks, and it would have been higher if not for two offside penalties.

– TE Jimmy Graham (+0.4) had a good debut for the Seahawks, leading the team with a +1.5 receiving grade. He caught six of eight balls thrown his way for 51 yards. He also caught what was the game-tying touchdown on a perfectly timed out route thrown by QB Russell Wilson (+1.1). However, Graham did struggle a bit when asked to block, allowing a QB pressure and finishing with a -1.3 combined run and pass block grade.

– The Seahawks’ offensive line struggled mightily in this game, allowing 20 total QB pressures on 55 passing snaps. RT Garry Gilliam (-11.1) was constantly beat to the outside, giving up a QB hit and six total pressures. The lone bright spot was C Drew Nowak, who is replacing C Max Unger, the Seahawks’ top graded offensive lineman from last season. Nowak didn’t allow a pressure and finished with a +0.2 overall grade.

– With the exception of CB Richard Sherman (+0.6), the Seahawks secondary had a tough day in pass coverage. Sherman was targeted a mere four times, allowing only two receptions for 29 yards—pretty much taking Rams WR Tavon Austin (-1.3) out of the game. The rest of the secondary allowed the Rams to go 16-for-20 for 268 yards and a touchdown. LB Bobby Wagner (-2.9) struggled the most (-3.0 coverage grade), allowing all four passes he saw to be caught for 105 yards, 80 of which were gained after the catch.

Top Performers:

DE Michael Bennett (+4.0)
DE Cliff Avril (+3.9)
LB Bruce Irvin (+3.3)
RB Marshawn Lynch (+2.0)
DT Jordan Hill (+1.6)

Rams
– DT Aaron Donald (+10.0) was nearly unblockable all game long, racking up big play after big play. He sacked the QB twice, added an additional hurry, and made seven solo stops. Any one-on-one blocking matchup, Donald beat almost effortlessly. Even when Seattle double-teamed him, he was still beating those blocks. His +5.5 pass rush grade and +4.3 run stop grade were both game-highs.

– QB Nick Foles (+1.3) had a very good day throwing the football, finishing with a +3.3 passing grade, which is the fourth-highest in Week 1 so far. He was especially good when under pressure, going 10-for-13 for 199 yards and a late game-tying touchdown. With no pressure, he was only 8-for-14 for 98 yards. His deep-ball game was also impressive, as he went 3-for-5 for 79 yards and a touchdown on passes that traveled more than 20 yards in the air.

– DE Williams Hayes (+5.0) had perhaps the most impressive performance of the night for the Rams defense. Despite rushing the passer on only 16 plays, Hayes recorded six total pressures (one hit, five hurries). He constantly beat Seahawks RT Garry Gilliam (-11.1) with the speed rush to the outside. He finished the night with a pass rush productivity score of 28.1, which is the highest among all defensive ends so far in Week 1.

-The Rams’ offensive line did not hold up very well against the Seahawks defense, allowing a sack and 13 pressures on 32 passing plays. When running the ball, they were hardly better, as the Rams ran 26 times for only 72 yards, a mere 2.8 yards per carry. Not a single offensive line player had a positive grade for pass blocking, and only C Tim Barnes (+1.2) had a positive run block grade, thanks to some fantastic reach blocks. Overall, the Rams’ line finished with a combined -15.1 overall grade.

Top Performers:

DT Aaron Donald (+10.0)
DE William Hayes (+5.0)
DE Robert Quinn (+4.9)
DE Chris Long (+2.6)
HB Benny Cunningham (+2.3)

 

[Battlelyon]

It's now or never for the St. Louis Rams.

Head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead have been in charge of the franchise for three years without reaching eight wins in a single season. Injuries to quarterback Sam Bradford over the past two years have limited what the team could do, but this year the Rams enter the season with a team built to work around limited quarterback play.

That was made apparent during a Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

New starting quarterback Nick Foles threw the ball just 27 times for 297 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in Week 1. He was a complementary piece of the offense, making throws off of play action on clearly defined reads.

Foles isn't as talented as Bradford. He lacks the pocket presence, touch and poise of the player he is replacing. Within the structure of the Rams team, though, he doesn't need to be a great quarterback. The Rams are building their team around the quality on their defensive line.

That quality is varied and plentiful, but it is highlighted most by Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald.

Quinn and Donald are both arguably the best players at their respective positions across the league. Both are exceptionally fast pass-rushers with the strength and intelligence to dominate against the run. In Week 1 against the Seahawks, they played to their ability to limit what the opposing offense could produce.

The duo combined for 14 tackles and four sacks, holding the Seahawks offense to just 16 points. The Seahawks scored 31 because they had a punt return touchdown and fumble return for a touchdown.





Credit: NFL.com


Donald was constantly in the Seahawks backfield. He was too tough a matchup for the Seahawks interior offensive linemen in one-on-one situations, but the Seahawks couldn't afford to repeatedly double team him because they would then give up a more favorable matchup to Quinn, Michael Brockers or Chris Long.

His first sack came in the first quarter, but the more impressive one came in the fourth.





Credit: NFL.com


Everything that Donald does is built off of his burst at the beginning of each play. It's rare that an offensive lineman has the athleticism to match his speed, so no matter whom he faces, they are always working at a disadvantage.

That was the case on this play as Donald initially lined up in the gap between the left guard and the left tackle. Donald immediately attacked the space in front of him, getting level with the left guard.





Credit: NFL.com


To complement his burst off the line and take advantage of his quick positioning, Donald uses a swim move. Not only are his hand movements as quick as his feet, but they are precise and strong. Left guard Justin Britt is easily knocked to the side as Donald continues downfield into the pocket.

Britt isn't a good offensive lineman, but he is a former offensive tackle who is likely to be more athletic than most guards in the league. Donald made him look like a tackle dummy on this play.





Credit: NFL.com


Seattle QB Russell Wilson had neither the time nor the space to escape from Donald. Even though he was the only defensive lineman to beat a block on the play, Donald had arrived so quickly and controlled his rush so that he could square up to Wilson in the pocket.

Making a form tackle in the pocket is important against Wilson because of his elusiveness.

Donald wasn't given a huge amount of space to work in for this sack. He created any space that came his way. He also didn't mask his intentions or look to manipulate the left guard in such a way that would have taken him longer to get to the quarterback.

Instead, he simply lined up against his opponent and beat him with his ability.

Having multiple offensive linemen with this ability doesn't just improve the pass rush upfront, it elevates every level of the defense. That isn't one of those football clichés that is so often thrown around without evidence. Effective four-man rushes in the NFL offer the defense more versatility and impact the quarterback in different ways.

Not only does the quarterback have to quicken his process in the pocket to get rid of the ball earlier than desired to or make a throw under pressure, he also has to throw into tighter coverage. Four-man rushes allow the defense to keep seven defenders in coverage.

This could be seen on Donald's sack.





Credit: NFL.com


Wilson only had four receivers running routes. Just one of those was available to him: Marshawn Lynch in the right flat. Lynch wasn't a throw that Wilson could realistically make with Donald closing on him from the opposite side of the field. It would have put him at risk of losing the ball during his throwing motion.

Even if Wilson could throw it to Lynch, the receiver was only open because of the down and distance. It was 3rd-and-7, so the Rams were happy to leave Lynch uncovered underneath so they could come up and tackle him short of the first-down line.

Having seven defenders in coverage meant the defensive backs and linebackers had simpler assignments, even with one linebacker spying Wilson in the pocket.

Creating interior and blindside pressure is invaluable. It's the type of pressure that is often most difficult to create but also is the toughest for quarterbacks to mitigate.

Donald creates the interior pressure, while Quinn can beat any left tackle in the NFL.





Credit: NFL.com


When Quinn entered the NFL, he was primarily a speed rusher. Like Donald, he possesses a great burst off the line of scrimmage that sets offensive tackles up at a disadvantage from the beginning of each play. Quinn has gradually gotten better at taking advantage of those situations.

He highlighted that for his third-quarter sack against Seahawks offensive tackle Russell Okung.





Credit: NFL.com


Quinn comes from a wide spot and attacks Okung's outside shoulder, but he doesn't attempt to accelerate past him. Instead, he shows off extremely violent hands to prevent the left tackle from engaging him. While doing that, Quinn continues to advance downfield.

The speed and aggressiveness of his hands allow him to quickly shed Okung before turning the corner to close in on Wilson in the pocket.

His relentlessness was evident throughout the game as he repeatedly got the better of the athletic Okung. Quinn is able to penetrate against running plays like as a pass-rusher to shut down running backs at and behind the line of scrimmage.

Unleashing Quinn from the outside and Donald from the interior gives the Rams a defensive front that is unlike any other across the league. Even the Houston Texans with J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney are unlikely to be as disruptive as the Rams' combination.

Within the NFC West in particular, the Rams defensive line should be a great weapon for them. The Seahawks have the worst offensive line of the four teams, but nobody projects to have a great or even a good one.

The 49ers lost Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis during the offseason. Both were All-Pro talents and integral starters. Iupati did stay in the division, moving over to the Arizona Cardinals, but he is dealing with a significant injury that is likely going to hamper his effectiveness even after he returns to the field.

Iupati and rookie first-round pick D.J. Humphries were supposed to elevate the Cardinals offensive line, but Humphries hasn't established himself early on at right tackle.

Unless Donald or Quinn are lost to injury or suspension, the Rams should be able to get the better of each of the offenses they face in divisional matchups. With Tre Mason, Todd Gurley and Brian Quick set to return on the offensive side, that sets them up well to compete for the division crown.

 

[Battlelyon]

Russell Wilson was sacked 6 times for 4th time in his career Sunday. 3 of those games have come against the @STLouisRams

 

[zeke2829]

Not taking anything away from Donald, but did you notice in those photos that Brockers was being doubled? Opposing team have to double someone. In this case it was Brockers.