FanPost

Ram's Fake Punt Is More Of A Winner Than It Is Courageous

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First things first. The Rams, both the players and the coaches did a great job today. All factors considered, the coaches game plan put the players in a position to win and the players took full advantage of that opportunity ~ The Rams beat the Seahwks.

The fact is that going toe to toe with today's opponents would not have been a smart game plan. OK, I'll just say it, going in today's game, our opponents were a better team than us, did I mention that the Rams beat the Seahwks ! The game plan didn't create a dominating win, everything wasn't perfect. The offense, very much to our discomfort & impatience, was often sluggish. The coaches must have remembered what I forgot, ' Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up '. At times the defense gave up yards, long 3rd down conversions and TD's, but not a very crucial 2 point conversion attempt, way to go D !

Many of us, including me, were hoping for a score around and between something like 41-0 or 31-6. Nothing wrong with that wish. It's just not a reasonable expectation in today's NFL, especially against opponents who have had recent success on the field. The Rams coaching staff knew not to shoot for a large margin of victory. They knew that if we were to win, it would be close, and that there was little margin for error in the overall plan. Today's very narrow, down to the wire 2 point victory is something to be thrilled about, and I know we all are. Thanks to not only disciplined play from the talented players, but also a very well thought out game plan by the coaches ~ The Rams beat the Seahwks.

The complete game stats show why going toe to toe would not have been a smart plan ~

Rams

Opponents
Total Yards 272 463
Total Plays 49 68
Yds Per Play 5.6 6.8
3rd down conv. 3 of 9 6 of 12
% 33% 50%
Points by Offense 21 26
Turnovers 0 0
penalties 2 10
penalty yards 20 89
4th down conv *** 1 of 1 0 of 0




We lagged behind when it came to moving the ball and scoring on offense, that was to be expected. Fish and Co. didn't force the issue by trying to keep pace in this aspect of the game.

Rams play selection at the 9:44 mark of the 4th when the opponents pulled to within 21-19

Run Plays 19 for 67 yards 3.5 ypa 1 TD
Pass Plays 14 for 67 yards 4.8 ypa 1 TD
Comp % 96% 13 of 14

As opposed to previous games, when the Rams were passing more than running, and passing deep fairly often, we went run heavy this week to start the game. The passes we attempted early were shorter ones. In previous games our passing worked well at the beginning. After opponents adjusted we had no answer. This week we started simple, and when we needed a late TD drive, we still had something up our sleeve, at the proper time, we reaped a harvest. When the lead had shrunk to 21 - 19 with 9:44 remaining, the Rams crafted up a drive consisting of 8 plays : 3 runs of 4, 10 & 0 yards ; 5 pass attempts, 4 completes for 19, 13, 30 and a 4 yard TD. The passing game was significantly more effective on that drive ~

Att Cmp % Yards YPA TD % INT rating
Pre 9:44 14 13 93% 67 4.8 8 0 116.7
Late TD drive 5 4 80% 66 13.2 20 0 158.3

That was the Rams best drive of the game by far, and it was in clutch time. However, finding ourselves in that position of not forcing anything on offense early and having a lead late in the game required some other stuff, like ~

No turning the ball over

Thanks be to Cory Harkey & possibly but very, very unlikely Someone Else, we didn't turn the ball over. Gotta give credit to everyone for this, coaches & players, no turnovers the entire game.

Win the penalty battle

Meaning less is more. How we got a landside victory in this category is a mystery, but we did it. Coaches, players, take a bow. Refs, not sure what they're taking.

A Big play

A tricky 90 yard TD on a punt return. Great call coaches. Great run Steady. Great acting Tavon & Co., looks like you would all be pretty at home in Hollywood. Between penalties, special teams play, and zero turnovers, our Rams gave themselves an approximate 120 yard advantage, which includes Benny's kick off return to the 30, and a 7 point advantage with the punt return TD. All of these factors chipped in to put us with the ball and a 2 point lead with just under 3 minutes to go. Not showing our whole offensive hand at the beginning of the game gave us the opportunity to make a clutch TD drive, which the Rams did.

A Succesful 4th down conversion attempt

Still, all that wasn't quite enough. With under 3 minutes to go, we had a 4th and 3 at our own 18, and a hot offense waiting to get the ball. If the Rams punt it away with 2:55 remaining, the opponents get it around their 40 with almost 3 minutes to go. Putting all homerism aside, does anyone think that it's not a virtual guarantee that they score the go ahead FG or TD, most likely with very little time left on the clock for the Rams to do anything ? If the fake fails, the opponents gets the ball at our 18. We all out blitz on every play. Either we hold them to a field gull, get a turnover, or give up a quick TD and we'd likely have over 2 minutes and maybe a time out or two to score.

Unless the goal was to play well against a good team and lose another close one, we needed to attempt to convert that 4th down. I don't see it as a gutsy call. I see a very well designed play that was excecuted perfectly, called by a coaching staff that had made up their mind up to settle for nothing less than a W, who were gonna pull out all stops to get the W, who came up with a smart & unothodoxed game plan which was excecuted very well by the players. That's what I think I saw. What all of us definitely saw is .....
The Rams beat the Seahwks.