Rams Finally Light a Fire Under Their Defense
The plan, Larry Kelm said, was to “come out smokin’.”
No more backpedaling and playing on their heels. The Rams were determined to come out swinging. Even if they were all punched out halfway through the game, there would be no more first-round knockouts.
But if the Ram defense was smoking at the outset of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, it must have had something to do with the 105-degree heat on the Anaheim Stadium field. Or maybe because they were getting burned on every down.
The Jets took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for a field goal, putting together a nice little mix of plays that included two runs of 15 yards and another of 12.
The Rams weren’t smoking. They were breathing exhaust from the Jets’ steamroller.
“One drive isn’t going to kill you,” said middle linebacker Kelm, “but we knew we needed to regroup. In the huddle, we were just talking about how each guy had to do his job better, how somebody had to make the plays.”
By halftime, the three New York running backs were averaging almost seven yards per carry. But after that, the Jets managed only 50 rushing yards and the defense was red hot--picking off passes and picking up fumbles--as the Rams pulled out an 18-10 victory.
Was it a blackboard miracle? An act of coaching genius? Some bold adjustment to the game plan that turned a sputtering junk heap into an Indy car?
Not exactly.
“We made a few adjustments at halftime, but mostly it was a matter of just making the plays,” said Kelm, who had his first interception in more than three years and his first fumble recovery in almost as long.
“We knew what we had to do. When they have the tailback set deep, they start one way and then cut it back. We had seen it on film all week.
“Early on, we didn’t get it done. They just hammered the ball in on us. But we were able to regroup, and I’m just proud we hung in there.”
By their nails, maybe, but the Rams hung on. And then all of sudden, they were making big plays.
Midway through the third quarter, safety Pat Terrell slammed into Jet running back Blair Thomas and dislodged the ball. Kelm scooped it up at the Ram 34-yard line.
On the Jets’ next possession, quarterback Browning Nagle rolled out, pump faked and then wished he hadn’t when Gerald Robinson drilled him from behind. Kevin Greene recovered for the Rams.
Early in the fourth quarter, defensive end Bill Hawkins got a strong rush on Nagle and his pass found its way to Kelm.
“It was a basic slant pattern by their outside guys, and I was able to step up in front,” Kelm said. “Hawkins got a lot of pressure on Nagle, and I don’t think he saw me. He just threw it in there, hoping his receiver would be there.
“It hit me in the right place, too--the breadbasket and not the hands.”
Instead of taking body blows, the Rams were dealing out punishment. Kelm returned the interception to the Jet nine-yard line and, four plays later, Tony Zendejas kicked his third field goal to put the Rams ahead, 18-10.
Less than a minute later, Darryl Henley picked off another Nagle pass, and the Ram defense was celebrating instead of chasing Jet ballcarriers.
“We’re a young defense and, really, we’ve been playing pretty good,” Kelm said. “You take away a few first-quarter drives and we’ve really played good. We just haven’t come out of the box, but we’ve hung in and everybody kept playing hard.”
Certainly without intention, the Rams have adopted a rope-a-dope approach to defense: hope the other guy gets tired from running so much in the early going and then catch him late in the game when he’s tired.
In Buffalo, the Bills ripped off runs of 11, 11, 10, nine and eight yards in their two first-quarter scoring drives. In Miami, the pass-oriented Dolphins had rushes of 12 and 11 yards when they opened the game with a 76-yard scoring drive.
“It’s hard to say. I don’t really know why we’ve struggled so much early, but when they’re doing it to you in the fourth quarter, that’s when you start worrying,” Kelm said. “We’re a young defense, and we’re going to get better. We’ll learn from the things we did right and things we did wrong today.”
Maybe they could get the equipment man to put cleat marks all over their uniforms before the game and trick them into playing like it’s the second quarter.
