Quick Thoughts from the St. Louis Rams’ 20-6 Loss to the Seattle Seahawks
There was some hope that the St. Louis Rams could finish the season on a good note and avoid a regression to 6-10 by completing a season sweep of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. There wasn’t a very realistic chance of that happening, as the Rams had lost several key players in the period between their October 19 home victory over Seattle, while the Seahawks have kicked it into gear during December and become arguably the most intimidating team in the NFL once again.
While the Rams kept it close, shutting out Seattle in the first half and keeping it tied at 6-6 after three quarters, they ultimately could not pull off the momentous feat of stopping the Seahawks. Here are a few quick thoughts from Sunday’s game:
- The fourth quarter represented the problems that have plagued the Rams the whole season. While they outscored their opponents 193-135 in the first half this year, the Rams consistently found ways to fall apart in the second half, and particularly the fourth quarter. While the late-season benching of Austin Davis and an uptick in the defense’s performance had seemed to resolve these issues to a degree, they came back to the forefront on Sunday. A bizarre interception thrown by Shaun Hill which was intended for the turf as he was about to be sacked led to a Seattle possession which resulted in a touchdown. Minutes later, a Bruce Irvin interception return led to another Seattle TD which iced the game. If the Rams are going to compete in 2015, they need to find a way to resolve these late-game issues, preferably by finding a quarterback who can adequately handle the pressure with the game on the line.
- It’s unbelievable that Janoris Jenkins was named a Pro Bowl alternate this year. As if the third-year corner missing two games to injury and having his role reduced by the emergence of rookie E.J. Gaines wasn’t enough, he’s had some terrible moments in coverage this year. Jenkins failed miserably when he should have been covering Seattle receiver Kevin Norwood during the fourth quarter on Sunday, which resulted in a 31-yard completion to the wide-open rookie. That catch gave Seattle an easy offensive opportunity, as they handed off to Marshawn Lynch for a nine-yard touchdown, putting them ahead 13-6. The Rams have been faithful to Jenkins over the past three years, but it’s difficult to see a scenario where he would be deserving of a starting job next season.
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- On the bright side at the cornerback position, undrafted rookie Marcus Roberson was very impressive on Sunday, seeing defensive action in his first game since Week 10 at San Francisco. The 6-foot, 191-pound undrafted rookie suffered an injury which eventually led to his continued presence on the inactive list. With Gaines’s injury this week, though, it opened up an opportunity for Roberson to get back into the lineup, and he took full advantage. Seeing action at the left outside cornerback spot, Roberson collected four tackles, which tied him with Trumaine Johnson for the most among Rams corners, and he also ran back his first interception as a pro for 18 yards during the second quarter. We haven’t seen a whole lot from Roberson so far, but if he’s truly as good as he looked Sunday, maybe the Rams should see if they can get any trade value for one of the players in their crowded cornerback corps, which includes Roberson, Jenkins, Johnson, Gaines, and rookie second-rounder Lamarcus Joyner.
- Offensive lineman Rodger Saffold showed some pretty impressive versatility on Sunday, seeing time at both left and right tackle after starting the game at left guard. It was clear, however, that Saffold had not gotten a whole lot of practice time at tackle, as he looked uncomfortable handling rushers off the edge. While Saffold has experienced some issues with inconsistency this year and throughout his career, it does give the Rams a big edge with their gameday roster planning to have a guy like him who can play at least four of the five positions on the line if needed.
- Center Scott Wells had some very embarrassing struggles on Sunday, including one instance where he was attempting to pass protect and literally got spun around. We’ll see if Sunday was Wells’s last game as a Ram; his contract was restructured this past offseason to make cutting him a more appealing option, and the Rams have young centers Tim Barnes and Barrett Jones on the roster, both of whom have a shot to be viable starters in the NFL.