Breaking down the Rams defensive breakdown
by VanRam on Dec 4, 2009 11:19 AM CST
in 2009 St. Louis Rams regular season
18 comments
Being a Luddite, I don't own a TiVO, and even if I did, I'm not sure watching the St. Louis Rams get eaten up by the Seahawks last Sunday would be worth the time or hard drive space. The NFL does keep short videos of game highlights on their site, cleverly inserting them into the play-by-play section for each game. Wanting answers for what happened in the running game, I went back and watched the videos of Forsett's 25- and 26-yard runs along with his two TDs. Here's what I noticed.
On Forsett's 25-yard run in the first quarter, Seattle is lined up in the basic I formation. On the snap, the blockers push to the offense's right, and the Rams front seven goes sliding that way too. As Forsett cuts left to an open field, OLB David Vobora goes wide around the Rams DE locked up with the Seattle blocker, coming in behind Forsett and is easily pushed aside by Forsett's lead blocker, after Forsett is into the second level. SS James Butler, playing back, comes in on Forsett, but is easily beaten when the running back cuts out wide toward the sideline.
The second long run by Seattle's running back came on their first drive of the fourth quarter, right after a Rams three-and-out and a Donnie Jones punt that put the ball on Seattle's 49-yard-line, ugh. Second-and-six, Seattle lines up in another I formation, this one with an extra blocker in the backfield. As soon as they snap the ball, Rams the Rams front four are engulfed by single blockers. That's not the problem, as Clifton Ryan gets off his man and starts sliding down toward his left side, where the Forsett is coming. As Ryan moves toward the hole where the ball is coming he's stopped when he runs into OLB Paris Lenon getting pushed back by the blocker he ran up and engaged at the line as soon as the ball was snapped. MLB James Laurinaitis obviously sees the Seattle runners coming and he moves over to stop them but is pushed aside by Forsett's lead blocker.
On Forsett's first TD, from the 3-yard line, Leonard Little sees him but gets moved off Forsett because he can't quite shake his blocker. Laurinaitis gets a quick hit from Seattle's right guard, gets off him with no problem but is far enough from the lane that he can't make the tackle in time. Clifton Ryan does get around his blocker and almost has Forsett, but it looks like he either didn't get around in time or missed the tackle. James Butler comes up behind Ryan and the Seattle LT but can't make the tackle because he's stuck behind Ryan and the blocker he sheds. A better angle, coming to the inside rather than around, and Butler would have tackled Forsett for no gain or even a loss.
Gap assignments gone awry? Substandard players getting faked out and overpowered? You decide. What should have happened here and how do you fix it?
The Bears don't have much going for them in the running game and a banged up offensive line - the same could have been and was said about the Seahawks - so the Rams have a chance to do it right this weekend. Stay tuned to see if they get it fixed.
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You Hit The Nail On The Head
when you said “the Bears dont have much going for them.” The problem is our D makes these guys look like Pro Bowlers. Matt Forte hasnt done squat for my fantasy team all year, but you can bet I will start him this weekend. I also have Cutler stashed away on my bench, well I’m gonna dust him off and start him this weekend, because once again, our D will make him look like a superstar. In your second to last paragraph, you asked why our D allowed a sub standard NFL RB to run all over us, well I believe it is substandard players…it seems as though we’re trying to do what the Pats do so well. They somehow aquire no name talent and make them look like superstars……I dont think we can do that with our WHOLE team, maybe just one or two positions. I think our problem is 2 pronged….substandard players and Spags surrounding himself with first time coordinators, him being a rookie himself should have hired a OC and DC with some experience
I Want The Rams Back In LA....The More They Lose The More Of A Chance That It Will Happen....Sorry St Louis You Cant Keep A Team(Twice)...Rams Come Home....We'll Be Here For You When You Do
The root cause of our "D" problems is...
… a totally ineffective D-Line backed up by only one capable LB – Lauranitis. It’s a recipe for disaster that has haunted us all season. The “stalwart” D-Linemen; Little and Hall are just too far past their primes and certainly not improving with age. Adam Carriker is not there, but I think we’d probably be in worse shape if he was playing. He’s a total bust. And speaking of busts, we’re getting below average performance from Chris Long and Victor Adyenaju. Vobora is less than mediocre too. That pitiful group keeps getting our corners and safeties killed. Until we get about 5 new quality D-Linemen and LB’s, we’ll never be able to get the opponent’s offense off the field. They’ll keep running, passing, scoring and eating up clock at will. Our anemic offense seems to max out around 17 ppg, if we’re lucky. And, they need about 40 mins possession time to get those points. Right now, we’re porked on both sides of the ball. But, IF we had a strong “D” at least maybe we could win some games by scores like; 14-10, 17-13, 20-17, etc. That’s why I say get a QB in 2010 and spend the rest of our picks or FA acquistions on D-Linemen and LB’s.
Bingo!
DT, DE, OLB should be first three picks in the draft. Pick up 2-3 more D-Line players & another LB and we’ll be in much better shape. Although I don’t agree Carriker is a bust, but I’m leaning more and more towards that conclusion. ANY player that can’t overcome injuries and contribute has to be a bust, per definition.
I’d still like to see Quinn as a Ram. He could do what we need him to, IMO.
Why waste our 1st round pick
on a QB? Pretty much all the draft guys say there is no QB good enough to merit a pick in the top 5 picks in this draft. I agree with your list of needs, but just not with the order. I think we need to add DL in the first two rounds, then think about a QB if there is one we think might make it some day.
I agree there's no real high draft worthy QB's this go-round.
I’m hoping by some miracle we can trade a few picks from 2010 and 2011 and get a proven QB from somewhere. I don’t really like Jason Campbell at all. But I’d be willing to give Brady Quinn or Michael Vick a shot. I think Quinn’s worst problem is Cleveland. And I think Vick is chomping at the bit to prove himself NFL worthy again. Heck, maybe after Lovie Smith is fired, the Bears will be willing to give up Cutler. They did better with Grossman.
What sucks is
we have a QB we drafted last year riding pine. Why did we draft him. Are we going to see what he has or just let him sit back, learn, and leave to a team willing to give him a shot.
I know, I know, he’d be heading into fire right now. Oh well honestly… get in there, learn, and show us what you have.
As I recall, didn’t guys like Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning all start on teams that were in piss poor shape and have big time learnibg curves?
All this talk about ruinig a QB is pure BS IMHO… these guys are pros and get paid like pros. Put away the pacifier and get on the fieild. Period.
"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." - Vince Lombardi
Agree completely...
I’m afraid the truth is that Null’s not been able to show the coaching staff anything in camp or practice that makes them think he’s anything other than another wasted draft pick.
I understand that
but..
Point 1: Neither did a guy from Iowa who helped us win the superbowl… Kurt something or other… he also won NFL MVP a couple times.
Point 2: If he’s shown so little, why did we draft him? Did we skip workouts and interviews? Did we not study film about him? Did we decide to bring him in to warm a seat on the bench?
Earlier in the year, I agreed he should sit out and let Marc start… then Marc got hurt… Boller steps in… a guy we KNOW will never be an impact QB.
So… i’m all for winning games, but with 4 games left, what do we have to play for? Pride? I think our team has proven we have pride and are not quitters.
And who knows, maybe the kid could win more games for us this year than Marc and Boller combined… in case you don’t know, that would be 2. Very possible.
Sorry… I still just don’t get it… but I don’t disagree with you Ed.. just question what is going on.
"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." - Vince Lombardi
I know what you mean...
I’m no expert coach, but I’ve been both surprised and dismayed at some of the actions taken and play-calling decisions made by both Spags and Shurmur. Looks to me like they flat out lost the Washington and Jacksonville games for us this year with inane strategy. We all know Boller is sub-par. I’d get Null out there to see what he could do for us over the next 5 games.
I hear two arguments here all the time.
Argument #1:
The Rams need to draft a QB in the first round and let him sit and learn for a year without having to take over the team until 2011 at the latest or sometime in 2010 if he proves himself and beats out whoever the starter happens to be next season.
Arguemnt #2:
Since Keith Null hasn’t been dressing, he’s a wasted draft pick.
Let’s not forget that Null played in a spread offense and never took a snap from under center while in college. There was an interview over Thanksgiving Break where he talked about how much time he had to spend just learning the foot work associated with taking the snap from under center. Not to mention how different the Pro game is from D-II football…yet not playing Null is a waste of a draft pick.
I don’t get it.
But don’t get me wrong. At this point, I’m done with watching whatever it is that Kyle Boller does. I want to see Null this Sunday against the Titans. But, I’ve been hearing this Null = Wasted pick because he isn’t playing BS all season.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
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