St. Louis Rams passing attack continues to collapse

On Sunday the St. Louis Rams fell to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime 18-21, to a field goal try in a game which saw the Rams fight hard, but fall short. The Rams played hard against the Vikings, who have talent at running back and in their receiving crops. The Vikings have also shown some form recently, having won their previous three games.

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The Rams have been improving each week, with consecutive wins and a rushing attack that has defences on the back foot, however, the Vikings came in with a game plan to stop the running game in Todd Gurley and force the Rams to throw the ball, which ultimately led to the teams downfall in this closely contested match.

The NFL has seen the run-heavy offense that Jeff Fisher is running in St Louis, with Todd Gurley taking a big load of carries in each game, and teams are now waking up to this and will be geared to combat this rushing attack. Gurley’s first taste of this type of defensive setup was on Sunday against the Vikings, where he averaged his lowest number of rushing yards as the starting running back at 89 yards on 24 carries. Although the power-run scheme did pay dividends in total yards gained and time of possession, it was depended on too much, with Foles failing to notch a decent amount of yardage on the passing game, with 168 yards in the air.

Nov 8, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles (5) throws during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Rams 21-18. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Although the Rams totalled 320 yards, the passing offense is still lacking the edge needed for a playoff berth in 2015. When the running attack was stuffed by the defense, Foles was often made to throw from a 3^rd and 9 or 3^rd and 6 situations, and often failing to convert. Too often Foles will snap the ball and hold it for a few seconds, either roll out to his right and throw to the sideline or try to throw a deep ball into coverage, risking possession for a large gain.

Tavon Austin is showing his potential as a rusher and a receiver, and this has helped developed this offense into a more threatening unit, contributing to the role of Britt and Cook as a primary receivers making the big plays in each game. Despite this, the passing attack needs to improve if the Rams are to close out games such as this.

Too many times the Rams gave possession away with incompletion after incompletion, with sample amount of chances to win the game before sending it into overtime. Frank Cignetti Jr. needs to find a way to open the passing game up from east to west, and find the short out and slant routes to progress the ball up the gridiron, in a way that doesn’t solely rely on the running game.

St Louis Rams have shown promise this season on offense, and are still in a good place to finish the regular season with a winning record, however, if the passing attack improves, the team will find the consistency needed to close out the second half of the season successfully.

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St. Louis Rams passing offense continues to collapse

By Adam Buttigieg | Nov 9, 2015