Rams Vs Giants: Stats That Mattered

The St. Louis Rams, as we all know, played very poorly against the Giants.  They were terrible in the red zone, and they made horrible turnovers and mistakes.  The Rams, as cliche as it sounds, beat themselves.  They were actually able to move the ball well offensively, but only scored one touchdown. The Rams defense on the other hand had a very good game, but with the offense playing so bad, many don't recognize it.  Breakdown of the stats after the jump.

Rams 16, Giants 28

Team Stats

Rams

Giants

Rams Player Stats

Giants Team Stats

Stats source stlouisrams.com (More detailed stats from ESPN)

First thing I noticed is that the Rams had over 50 yards more offense than the Giants.  They had more scoring opportunities because of this, but due to red zone inefficiency and some key drops the Rams were not able to take advantage of those situations.

Secondly, you will have a hard time winning a game with 85 penalty yards.  More discipline is needed on that front.

Furthermore, the Rams and the Giants were both horrible on third down. (Rams 5-17, Giants 5-15)  The Rams were obviously missing Danny Amendola on 3rd down against the Giants.  Conversely, both defenses were able to get a lot of pressure on third down and this was a major factor in the lack of execution for both teams.

Additionally, the Rams rush offense was very poor compared to week one.  They only mustered 59 yards.  I think most of this is due to the Giants defense playing very well against the run. Still, remind me again how much we are paying the offensive line?  More production is needed out of that unit.

One player who I thought did really poorly was Greg Salas.  He had two drops in key situations, and he muffed/fumbled/dropped a punt that led to the Giants scoring a TD.  Salas' play shows how valuable Danny Amendola is to the Rams.  Salas is going to have to step up or he will be losing playing time.

Another thing, Sam Bradford had a very good game.  He had no interceptions, and should of had more than one touchdown.  He threw for over 300 yards and he was torching the Giants secondary with play action all game.

The most important stat has got to be the red zone. The Rams were 1-4 in the red zone.  They had two opportunities at the one yard line to get a touchdown and both times they settled for a field goal.  Add those eight more points to the board in those key situations and the game would of gone much differently.  Hell, the Rams probably would have won.  This red zone problem needs to be solved.  Everyone is at fault from the o-line, to the running backs, to Josh McDaniels and even Sam Bradford.

The Rams defense actually played well.  The Giants only scored 21 points on them (Giants D retuned a fumble for a TD), and they held the great Giants rush offense to less than four yards a carry at 3.1 YPC.  They also played very good against the pass considering they lost their top corner to a neck injury, holding the Giants under 200 yards passing. The defense wasn't shutdown quality by any means, but they played well enough to win.

Lastly let's end on a positive note, James Laurinaitis had himself a hell of a game.  He had 14 tackles (nine solo) according to ESPN.  He is one of the best linebackers in the league and dare I say it, the Rams best draft pick over the last decade.  

Danario Alexander also played very well.  He topped 100 yards for the first time in his career, with only 3 catches.   He also had the only Rams touchdown of the game on a fade route from 19 yards out.  His role in the offense will increase, but sadly his knee will always be a concern for him.

Mike Sims-Walker also had a good game.  6 catches for 92 yards.  Were people too quick to judge MSW after week one?  I'm thinking so.

Also, hats off to Robert Quinn for the first of hopefully many sacks.  Yes, he was unblocked on the play, but in the world of stats, all sacks count the same.

Thanks for reading.