The Los Angeles Rams lost their fourth straight game and second in a row at the LA Coliseum, falling to the Carolina Panthers 13-10. The Rams once again had trouble putting points on the board, nothing new on that end, and it is back to the drawing board for week ten of this 2016 National Football League season. Here are three takeaways on the Rams side from this uninspiring performance from both teams.
Los Angeles Rams Week Nine Takeaways
Todd Gurley is Officially Suffering From The Sophomore Jinx
Rams second year running back Todd Gurley once again was mediocre versus a Panthers defense that on paper is good, but has been carved up on more than one occasion so far this season. The University of Georgia product finished up with 48 yards on 12 carries including an 18 yard scamper, but these numbers pale in comparison to the electric runs we saw so often during his rookie year.
Gurley once again failed to hit pay dirt in the end zone and it is fair to say that after a half season completed, he is not the player we saw in 2015. The question as to why he’s not is a very tough one to answer. The blocking schemes seem similar to last year and there doesn’t seem to be anything noticeably wrong with the 227 pound Baltimore native.
With the talent that Gurley possesses, it is fair to assume he could have a breakout game at any time, but one has to wonder if that infamous sophomore jinx has corralled the 22 year old franchise player that the Rams plan to build their future around. Time will tell if his rookie season was a tad on the fortunate side but the proverbial thinking seems to say that the second half will go better and that a 100 yard rushing game will happen sooner than later.
The Rams Defensive Line Needs To Carry This Team
Through the first seven games, it has been an up and down kind of yo-yo ride for the vaunted Los Angeles front four on the defensive line. The team’s strength for the past three seasons in St. Louis has most definitely been their ability to gain pressure on the opposition’s quarterback and that once again holds true as the Rams play their first season back in LA after 22 seasons in the Midwest.
In this tightly contested defensive chess match, the Rams were able to penetrate through the Panthers offensive line, which in turn made life miserable for Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. Newton, in interviews leading up to this game, has been very critical of some of the late hits he has had to endure not only this season but throughout his six-year career. Led by stud defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the Rams were able to throw the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player off of his passing game, finishing with a pedestrian like 225 yards through the air.
Donald finished with a pair of sacks and tackle Cam Thomas, defensive end Eugene Sims and linebacker Mark Barron gave the Rams five in total, a good number for a team that entered the game in the bottom half of the conference in team sack totals. As the squad prepares to face a shell shocked New York Jets team next Sunday at the Meadowlands, this should bode well for the LA defense and not so peachy for Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has been under siege himself most of the year.
Jeff Fisher’s Time with the Rams Has an Expiry Date
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher has not had a good first season in Los Angeles. The Culver City native has struggled with some personnel decisions, the most obvious being his refusal to get first overall pick and man of the future, quarterback Jared Goff, into any action thus far. A veteran coach with many successes, including a Super Bowl appearance running the Tennessee Titans, it seems that the shine that Fisher’s players once took to him has dimmed. The squad in general is missing that spark or passion that needs to be present in any professional sport, most certainly in the NFL.
One could make the case to ride Fisher and starting quarterback Case Keenum out until the end of 2016, then come in fresh with a new head coach, a new attitude and an unproven but unshaken Goff as the go-to guy under center next September. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to be thrown around in conversations at the local water coolers after another tough day at the office for the Rams and their followers versus the Panthers today.
