NFL roundtable: Rams prove they could fumble Super Bowl chances
TAMPA — The Rams’ dream to play in the Super Bowl on their home field is alive, needing a victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game to qualify for Super Bowl LVI. Rams beat writer Gary Klein, NFL writer Sam Farmer and columnist Bill Plaschke of the The Times discuss their prospects.
It seemed a little odd that the Rams only gave Sony Michel one carry because he’s been so steady and Cam Akers has been prone to fumble in the past. Did that catch you off guard? Will this be one of those Sean McVay cliches — “Yeah, I should have gotten him the ball more”?
Farmer: That was a little strange. I expected to see more of Sony Michel, although he did log snaps on third down. I think he’s a little better in pass protection. Maybe McVay got excited in seeing what Akers did against the Cardinals and wanted to step in up against Tampa Bay. Akers is better at getting around the edge, and that’s where teams have hand more success against the Buccaneers, as opposed to running it between the tackles and into that wall of Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh. Either way, the Rams paid the price with that dropoff in ball security.
Klein: McVay is enamored of Akers, who is very talented and made a remarkable comeback from an Achilles injury. So far in the playoffs, McVay and running backs coach Thomas Brown appear to have made him the new shiny toy that causes the old dependable one to be left on the shelf. Think “When She Loved Me,” the song from the movie “Toy Story.” Yeah, it gets me every time. In any case, Michel carried the Rams during their five-game winning streak. He fumbled a grand total of once in 229 touches this season. Akers got 24 carries against the Buccaneers, Michel one. Unless Michel was injured, it’s a mystery why a player who had playoff and Super Bowl experience with the Patriots wasn’t utilized more, especially late in the game when ball security was paramount.
Plaschke: Even more odd than the Rams’ refusal to use Sony Michel is the great Gary Klein’s usage of a song from “Toy Story” to explain it. Maybe McVay needs to get more touches for Woody?
The Rams will play host to the NFC championship game against the 49ers, and for the first time a team plays that title game in the same stadium as the Super Bowl.
Did you have any idea Nick Scott and David Long were capable of stepping in and helping the depleted secondary as much as they did? Had they shown anything before? In their latest showing, Long led the team with seven solo tackles. Scott had five tackles and an interception and knocked away two passes.
Plaschke: The fine play of Nick Scott and David Long, as well as any other Rams defensive back, is partially due to the Rams’ front seven placing such pressure on the quarterback. These DBs are seeing plenty of desperate passes from plenty of fleeing men.
Farmer: In the wild-card game against Arizona, Nick Scott had that hit on A.J. Green that knocked the ball free. On the next play came that Kyler Murray desperation hook-shot thing that led to the crazy David Long pick-six. Long was a third-round pick the Rams have always liked at corner. If anything, Scott is the surprise, making that ascent from a special-teamer to a potentially reliable safety. People talk all the time about the stars on teams, and for obvious reasons, but on a roster like the Rams, you need the David Longs and the Nick Scotts to step up and contribute. They don’t have to become stars, but they do have to become players you can rely on. That way you can afford the stars and fill out the rest of the roster with workmanlike answers.
Klein: Scott has stepped up throughout the season, and Long is enjoying a resurgence in the playoffs. The Rams picked Scott in the seventh round of the 2019 draft mainly because former special-teams coordinator John Fassel loved him as a special-teams prospect. But Scott also has developed into a rotational safety whose role was elevated after Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp suffered injuries. Long began the season as a starting slot cornerback but lost his job to rookie Robert Rochell after struggling early in the season against the Arizona Cardinals. It was fitting that he intercepted a pass against the Cardinals in the Rams’ wild-card victory. They weren’t the only unheralded players to perform well against the Buccaneers. Left tackle Joe Noteboom started at left tackle in place of Andrew Whitworth — and probably saw his price go up being that he is in the final year of his contract — and tight end Kendall Blanton caught his first touchdown pass.
The Rams-Buccaneers game was reminiscent of the Rams’ collapse at home against the 49ers in the season finale, which ended in an overtime loss. What seems to be the Rams’ problem?
Plaschke: The Rams’ swashbuckling culture doesn’t place a premium on ball security. They’re about scoring and dazzling and dismissing their turnovers as the price of doing business. Why else do you think Akers was not benched after his first fumble … or his second fumble? Just as no Rams deficit is insurmountable, no Rams lead is ever safe.
The Rams’ playoff win over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers has set up an NFC championship game for the ages between the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.
Farmer: Still, in those games they were two different types of meltdowns. The 49ers were more churning and methodical, chipping away at the Rams in the second half after falling behind 17-0. On Sunday, the Rams served up a Buccaneers comeback on a pewter platter with all those turnovers and freakish mistakes — Akers fumbling on the one while going in to score, a snap sailing right past Matthew Stafford, a highly uncharacteristic fumble by Cooper Kupp … and Tom Brady on the other side taking advantage of those miscues.
Klein: The Rams did not survive their turnovers against the 49ers, but they managed to against the Buccaneers. Let’s be honest: Would anyone in their right mind bet that a team that loses four fumbles would beat Tom Brady in a playoff game? We all can agree that crazy things happen in the NFL. I’m still wiped out from watching the endings of those four divisional-round games. But if the Rams repeat those mistakes against the 49ers, you can bet that Kyle Shanahan will make them pay.
What do you think the Rams will need to attempt to do differently this time against the 49ers?
Plaschke: This one is easy. Stop the run and put Jimmy G. in third and longs.
Klein: Make sure Deebo Samuel misses the bus to the stadium? The Rams must avoid turnovers and stop the run, which would put pressure on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to make plays. Don’t get me wrong: Garoppolo has been absolutely clutch against the Rams. But the Rams have mostly made it easy on him by allowing the 49ers to stay out of obvious passing situations. In the last two games against the Rams, Brady passed more than 50 times. Garoppolo has played six games against the Rams since 2017. He has never had more than 33 attempts.
Farmer: The Rams have to finish what they’ve started. That’s been a consistent problem — taking their foot off the gas. In their last three games, the Rams have outscored their opponents in the first half 58-6. These games shouldn’t be that close.
What makes you think the Rams can beat the 49ers this time? In that regular-season finale, everyone seemed to think L.A. was due to beat Kyle Shanahan. Six and counting ...
Plaschke: It’s impossible to believe that a football whiz like Sean McVay will allow his team to be beaten three times in one season by one team. It’s just not happening. To quote again from the great Gary Klein’s favorite movie, the Rams are going “to infinity and beyond!”
Over the last three seasons, the Rams and 49ers have nearly identical records — except when it comes to head-to-head meetings involving the two teams.
Farmer: Beating an opponent three times in a season is really difficult, even though San Francisco clearly has had the Rams’ number. I lean toward the better quarterback at home, and Matthew Stafford is better than Jimmy Garoppolo. Plus, we’re in L.A. What better Hollywood story than a bully finally getting his comeuppance? I think the Rams win this time.
Klein: Well, at the risk of being redundant, after six consecutive losses, the odds of that streak ending have to be in the Rams’ favor, right? Jalen Ramsey said before the season finale that the Rams were not victims of mind control. And veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth said it was pretty simple: At some point, you can’t have excuses that you didn’t play well. He said, “You’ve got to show up and play.” One thing working in the Rams’ favor is that the 49ers played a very physical game in very cold weather against the Packers. Samuel got knocked out of the game for a time after a particularly violent collision, and, after he returned, he hopped off the field on one leg. Left tackle Trent Williams also was limping to the sideline.
After the Chiefs won their playoff game on the first possession of overtime against the Bills, the fairness of the OT rule arose again. Do you think the overtime rule should change?
Klein: Absolutely. It was great to see Patrick Mahomes display all of his talent in the overtime victory against the Bills, but the rule as it stands now prevented Josh Allen from answering. That’s ridiculous. Each team should get the ball at least once. If the score is tied after those possessions, it should become a sudden-death situation.
The Rams will play host to the 49ers in the NFC title game and the Bengals will battle the Chiefs for the AFC crown. Here are the early betting lines.
Plaschke: The NFL overtime rule is arguably the worst rule in sports. It allows one team to win the game without utilizing all facets of the sport and causes another team to lose without a chance to respond. It is unfair at best, and farcical at worst. Give both teams the ball, and, yes, if they’re still tied, go to sudden death.
Farmer: This number caught my eye: Under the current overtime rules, there have been 11 postseason games that have gone to overtime. The team that won the coin toss has gone 10-1 in those games. OK, that’s a fairly small sample size, but it’s still pretty alarming. The competition committee has to take another look at overtime this offseason, with an eye toward a.) deemphasizing the importance of the coin toss, and b.) giving both teams a possession, whether the first team to get the ball scores a touchdown or not. There are a lot of creative thinkers out there, and now’s the time to take a serious look at this.
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