The Los Angeles Rams head to the Meadowlands to face the New York Jets this Sunday at 10AM Pacific time. The Rams are in free fall mode after losing their fourth straight game, an offensively listless 13-10 defeat to the Carolina Panthers at the Los Angeles Coliseum last Sunday afternoon. If LA have any hope whatsoever of making the post season party, they better stop the bleeding and pull off a victory against the Jets this weekend. Let us take a look at three keys to the Rams prevailing and getting off the schneid and back in the win column.
Los Angeles Rams Week Ten Keys to Victory
Force Turnovers From the Jets Anemic Offense
It is no secret in any way, shape or form that beating the Jets, which six teams have already managed to do this season, comes down to pressuring the very shaky but sometimes hot quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Jets quarterback has been intercepted 13 times in nine games and has tossed just eight touchdown passes for the 3-6 Jets. Adding to this messy Jets situation is Fitzpatrick spraining his MCL in his left knee and it is easy to see what the Rams need to do to get to the immobile quarterback.
This should be right up the Rams alley. As we have known all season, the pass rush is what teams fear the most from the LA squad. Tackle Aaron Donald should lead the charge. He is coming off a two sack virtuoso performance against Carolina last weekend. The Rams managed to sack the very mobile Panthers quarterback Cam Newton five times in total and we should expect at least that much on Sunday versus Fitzpatrick and the Jets.
The pressure should also allow the Rams secondary to get their shots in, both literally and figuratively, against Gang Green. Coverage and containment with the right amount of blitz packages should force at least two to three turnovers, which in turn should lead to an LA victory. The Rams need to win the turnover battle to be victorious in a battle of two struggling ball clubs.
Stop Turning the Ball Over on Offense
One hates to keep harping on how important turnovers are in football. In this battle of east coast meets west coast, it cannot be emphasized enough because both squads suffer from the same weaknesses. It is called interceptor-itis.
Rams quarterback Case Keenum is also on the negative side of the ledger when comparing touchdown tosses to picks. The Los Angeles starting signal caller has thrown 11 lame duckers meanwhile passing for nine touchdownds through the air. His passer rating is a very, very average 77.2 but that is light years above Fitzpatrick’s paltry 67.6.
There is little doubt that the Rams offense has struggled in many ways this season, including the running game. Running back Todd Gurley has not lived up to his brilliant rookie season of last year in St. Louis and the offensive line has shown holes that one hoped would have been patched up a little better in the off-season.
The receiving corps has been somewhat of a surprise in all honesty. Wideout Kenny Britt has been better than advertised while fellow receiver Brian Quick has lived up to modest expectations. Game breaker Tavon Austin has not been the force Rams fans were hoping and expecting.
In the end, however, it comes down to Keenum’s inability to keep drives going and putting points on the board enough times to win football games. On too many occasions, the Rams have fizzled out on the opponent’s side of the field with untimely and mismanaged interceptions. Head coach Jeff Fisher seems nowhere near ready to bring in rookie backup Jared Goff or third stringer Sean Mannion. And so it lies heavily on the shoulders of Keenum, the 28-year-old University of Houston product, to clean up his mistakes. If the Rams win the battle of the turnovers, by all accounts they should prevail and gain their fourth win this NFL season.
Two Coaches on the Hot Seat. Which One Can Rise Above the Heat?
Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles was somewhat of a rookie phenomenon in 2015, his first year as the main man with the Jets. He led his crew to a very surprising 10-6 record which almost resulted in a playoff appearance. This season, things have not gone smoothly for the 52-year-old New Jersey native. Some fans are restless and the media in the Big Apple is well renowned for their views on losing teams and poor performances, so it can be assumed that Bowles is feeling the pressure that he managed to smoothly avoid last year.
Meanwhile, Fisher is another man who is very much feeling the heat. Rumours surfaced last week that the Culver City native and former Tennessee Titans coach should be safe until the end of the season, but after that it could be bye-bye to Fisher unless this team can turn this ship around. Whichever coach is able to motivate his players best and seize the opportunity to use the pressure they are both facing this Sunday could go a long way to deciding which team will reach the four win plateau when all is said and done Sunday.
Fans of the blue and gold will await with bated breath as the second half of the season gets underway.
