Robinson at a Loss on Defense : Rams: Preseason injuries might have created an overly cautious approach, coach says.
Miscalculations, misplays and missed practice time have all contributed to the Rams’ misery, but the solution remains a mystery.
“I think we all realize that we’re right on the edge of the precipice of a season slipping away--unless we make a real dramatic turnaround of what we’re doing,” Coach John Robinson said Monday, one day after his team lost to the Chicago Bears, 38-9, and fell to 1-4.
“We’ve got to try to find a way to kind of get out of the fog that we’re in. We are not playing with any of the . . . and I’m uncertain of what word to use, I’m uncertain of what words to use with my team: vigor, aggressiveness, confidence. . . . We are finding ourselves unable to make any kind of plays.”
The problems are easy to finger, the pattern plain: The Rams’ defense has been unable to contain quarterbacks, evidenced by the career-high 248 yards passing that Chicago’s Jim Harbaugh had Sunday night.
Hampered by preseason plans that have failed, Robinson is ready to admit the blunders, toss the plans in the fire, and move on.
“Have we gone as far (down) as we can go?” Robinson said. “Sure hope so. I’m climbing out of a hole, if I can find the right ladder to get us out of the hole, that’s what I’m trying to do. Is the hole any deeper? I haven’t looked down yet.”
Clearly, the off-season strategy to move Brian Smith and Bill Hawkins into a prominent, pass-rushing role on the defensive line is the biggest decision the coaching staff made, and it had the biggest consequences.
So far, neither player has been a factor, the pass rush is non-existent, and linebacker Kevin Greene, who was asked to move from side to side in the new formation instead of sticking to the left side, has only two sacks.
The Rams moved away from that scheme Sunday night, and back to their four- and five-linebacker looks of previous years. But the sudden switch, while giving Greene a more comfortable lane to the passer (but no sacks Sunday), seemed to leave the defense off-balance. Still.
Robinson won’t directly point fingers, but he implies he and the rest of the Ram staff overestimated the abilities of Smith and Hawkins, underestimated their continuing injury problems, and miscalculated how much trouble the switch would cause the other Ram defenders.
“I’d rather not talk about some of (the wrong decisions),” Robinson said. “I’d rather not say we decided somebody could do this and they can’t.”
When the Rams tried to implement the new system in training camp, Greene and several other veterans were holding out, and Hawkins and Smith were still recovering from injuries. Now the team ranks 27th in defense.
Still, the Rams are far from out of the NFC wild-card race. There will be six playoff teams from each conference and currently only five NFC teams have records above .500.
Robinson attributes some of the pass-defense problems almost directly to one play in the Rams’ last preseason game--the moment when Pro Bowl cornerback Jerry Gray slammed into cornerback Alfred Jackson in the end zone. That collision not only put Gray on the injured-reserve list for three games and left Jackson gimpy for a month, it also caused the Rams’ coaches to pull back the reins in practice to keep everyone else injury-free.
And that period of caution, ending this week, Robinson says, probably has caused the Rams subconsciously to play cautiously during games.
“We’ve got to go back and insist that we finish plays on the practice field,” Robinson said. “There are times on the practice field with the ball being thrown that you try to avoid the collision, try to avoid the Jerry Gray-Jackson collision in the end zone. . . .
“(But as a result) the number of balls that we touch are just about none. Certainly the end of the play is where just nothing seems to be happening.”
RAMS NUMBERS
HIGHLIGHT: JIM HARBAUGH: For a guy who was a doubtful starter because of a broken rib, Jim Harbaugh came up with the big effort against the Rams. But, then again, a lot of opponents--particularly quarterbacks--have come up with big efforts against the Rams this season. Not known as a proficient or prolific passer until Sunday, the Bear quaerterback completed 72% if his throws--18 of 25-- for 248 yards and two touchdowns. The 248 yards were a career-best. The Michigan grad also scored his second touchdown of the season, when with his receivers covered in the second period, he scampered up the middle the final 12 yards.
SEASON TO DATE
Five- game totals
FIRST DOWNS
RAMS: 96 OPP: 104
RUSHING YARDS
RAMS: 459 OPP: 580
PASSING YARDS
RAMS: 1,420 OPP: 1,432
PUNTS / AVERAGE
RAMS: 22/41.0 OPP: 17/40.2
RUSHING
ATT AVG TDs RAMS 119 3.9 4 OPP 147 3.9 7
PASSING
ATT CP TDs RAMS 182 99 11 OPP 162 102 11
PENALTIES / YARDS
RAMS: 27/200 OPP: 22/183
FUMBLES / LOST
RAMS: 8/5 OPP: 11/6
INTERCEPTIONS
RAMS: 2/44 OPP: 4/25
SCORING BY QUARTERS
1 2 3 4 OT F RAMS 28 35 30 27 0 120 OPP 31 59 16 40 3 149
POSSESSION TIME
RAMS: 27:31 OPP: 32:29