Rams-49ers: Solid Report Card Follows Road Win

QB - 

Outside of the touchdown to Kenny Britt, Austin Davis had a wretched day. Let's hope he catches some positive amnesia and completely forgets this one. He's got to find a way to carve out small successes instead of trying to make plays he just can't make. He's normally cognizant of avoiding the latter, but on Sunday he let down his guard and it backfired.

RB - 

It pains me to say, but in the first game the Rams had a solid go-to running gameplan the unit just couldn't execute. Feeding Tre Mason 19 carries and Benny Cunningham a quad makes sense. The results just weren't there. That doesn't mean you abandon the approach. Especially with one of the league's best rushing defenses coming up next weekend in Arizona.

WR - 

The receivers didn't make Austin Davis' job any easier. The Rams need to find a way to miss Brian Quick less...

TE - 

Nothing special here, but nothing egregious either. I thought they made themselves more available than the WRs for what that's worth. Not a great day in run blocking, but the O-line inside of them wasn't helping...

O-line - 

Quarterback and wide receiver might be in the mix, but there's a fair argument that upgrading the Rams' interior line (read: G Davin Joseph and C Scott Wells) is the biggest need on the offense next offseason.

D-line - 

WHERE HAS THAT BEEN ALL SEASON? DO THAT MORE PLEASE.

LB - 

James Laurinaitis had a strong performance. Alec Ogletree's game was highlighted more by what he didn't do: be the focal point of a major screw-up. Jo-Lonn Dunbar brings this down a bit, but the Niners only scored ten points and Frank Gore was kept largely in check. Hard to drop the second level into the B range.

CB & S - 

Really struggled between this and a C+ here. I'll play the homer card and keep them in the B's as part of an overall defensive effort. Plus, credit to Trumaine Johnson for stepping up in his first game back. Not easy knowing that the opposition is gonna target you. Marcus Roberson prevented this from being any higher. Gotta wonder why the Rams have such repeated issues with blown coverage. Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin and Anquan Bolding have all scored a TD against the Rams this year without even having had to make a move to lose coverage. The coverage has just lost itself on those plays...

Special Teams - 

You have to wonder what the hell is going on in Tavon Austin's head sometimes. Seriously.

But you got plus performances from Greg Zuerlein, Johnny Hekker and Benny Cunningham in special work. And had Tavon Austin been able to run that punt back for a TD...this could have been a special day for ST.

Coaching - /

An A for everyone except Brian Schottenheimer who gets a C. The Rams had a sensible plan on the ground and he made some adjustments to keep Austin Davis upright later on. But the call on 3rd and 1 to pass late in the game...

Here's the thing. I get it that Schottey likes to take what everyone assumes will be the call and do the opposite because nobody expects it, but here's the thing: the reason why everyone expects that call is because it's the right one. You know why you expect the Rams to run on 3rd & 1? Because you're supposed to run on 3rd & 1. You drafted Greg Robinson. Corey Harkey's healthy. Put it on the players' backs. Sure, Lance Kendricks was wide open. The Niners weren't prepared to cover him. Guess what. We still didn't convert and it gave the Niners an opportunity to save a timeout.