St. Louis Rams Week 6: Why statistics are overrated

Oct.14, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Koa Misi (55) sacks St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) during the first quarter at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The St. Louis Rams offense showed that they can still move the ball, even without star wideout and Sam Bradford’s favorite target Danny Amendola.  In fact the Rams moved the ball as well as they have in recent memory, being effective both on the ground and through the air.  However the “Same old Rams” showed up today in the form of penalties and poor special teams play, even the rookie phenom Greg Zuerlein had an off day proving that he is human afterall.  Let’s take a quick look at the box score from todays game, a game that the Rams completely dominated from a statistical standpoint.

Team Stat Comparison

STL

MIA

1st Downs

22

12

Passing 1st downs

15

8

Rushing 1st downs

7

2

1st downs from Penalties

0

2

3rd down efficiency

3-13

4-12

4th down efficiency

2-2

1-1

Total Plays

69

49

Total Yards

462

192

Yards per play

6.7

3.9

Total Drives

9

11

Passing

300

173

Comp – Att

26-39

21-29

Yards per pass

7.7

6.0

Interceptions thrown

0

0

Sacks – Yards Lost

3-15

2-12

Rushing

162

19

Rushing Attempts

27

18

Yards per rush

6.0

1.1

Red Zone (Made-Att)

1-3

1-1

Penalties

12-94

5-40

Turnovers

1

0

Fumbles lost

1

0

Interceptions thrown

0

0

Defensive / Special Teams TDs

0

0

Possession

33:23

26:37

That is right, the Rams outgained the Dolphins by 270 yards, to put that into perspective the Rams only had 242 total yards against the Cardinals on Thursday night.  In fact at halftime the Rams held a 299 to 94 advantage in yards gained.  The Dolphins deserve credit for keeping the Rams out of the end zone in the first half, especially the touchdown saving tackles on the huge run by Richardson and deep pass to Givens.  Normally you would think that if a team holds that large of an advantage in yards gained they would win unless they turned the ball over several times.  The Rams only turned the ball over once on a kick return fumble, and the defense then held the Dolphins out of the end zone to minimize the damage.  Perhaps the most shocking statistic in the game is the yards per carry for each team, especially considering the Dolphins were leading the league in yards per carry allowed and were 8th in yards per carry offensively.  There is almost no way you can explain just how the Rams could dominate this game the way they did and still lose.  Special teams did let the Rams down, with Zuerlein missing 3 FG’s although one was a 66 yard desperation attempt.  If a team like the New England Patriots had outgained their opponent by 270 yards they probably win by double digits, and that is why this was the first game of the season where it felt like the “same old Rams”.  Let’s hope the new look Jeff Fisher era St. Louis Rams show up for next weekends game against the Green Bay Packers.