Multiple Rams-Dolphins Post Game Articles--Part 2

Bonsignore: Rams' latest change again does nothing to fix their problems under Jeff Fisher

By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF COLUMNIST

LOS ANGELES – Leave it to the kid with all of one NFL game under his belt to provide the spot-on analysis of the sorry state of the Rams affairs.

And in an unintentional, roundabout way put the onus right on Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who has overseen this nonsense for five years running and no longer deserves a sixth year to finally get it right.

Enough is enough.

It's not working.

Never has, likely never will.

No matter how many promises Fisher makes to get things fixed week after week after week, come Sunday afternoon it's Groundhog Day, Rams style.

And Jared Goff is on to it.

“Seems like it’s been a story for a while now.” Goff said after another week of self-inflicted Rams wounds.

Nailed it.

But then, the rookie quarterback from Cal had a front-row seat to the madness and frustration over the first nine games of the season. Which, when you think about it, makes him an expert on these sorts of things by now.

Of the same old tired mistakes and penalties and excuses and putrid offense and blown games. All of which reared their ugly heads – again – in the Rams’ spirit-numbing 14-10 loss Sunday to the Miami Dolphins in which the they essentially gift-wrapped the Dolphins’ two touchdowns over the final five minutes to ruin all the good vibes of Goff's first career start.

Read Complete Article
[www.ocregister.com]

===================

Penalties prove too much for Rams to overcome

By MARK WHICKER / STAFF COLUMNIST

LOS ANGELES – Maybe quarterbacks shouldn’t be protected like FBI informants, but that’s a philosophical discussion that does not absolve Aaron Donald.

The best defensive player in the NFL hit Miami’s Ryan Tannehill after the pass was already traveling toward Kenny Stills, and that added 15 yards to the 15-yard catch, and a chill invaded the souls inside the damp white jerseys on the sideline.

NFL teams don’t get away with penalties at bad times in close games. Tannehill went 4 for 4 thereafter, and Devante Parker caught the winning 9-yarder by the sideline with 36 seconds left in the Coliseum Sunday.

Parker was also on the field when it ended, as a defensive backstop for Jared Goff’s heave-and-hope into the end zone. He didn’t catch it but he knocked it over the end line, and the Rams fell to 4-6 with a 14-10 loss that was both live and Memorex.

Donald dressed methodically and then did a swim move past the waiting cameras. Since he is normally a stand-up guy after games, one can surmise he didn’t agree with the call and didn’t want to get fined.

It was the final Rams penalty but it wasn’t the worst. Take your pick:

• Tavon Austin returned a punt 36 yards to the Miami 31, but Marqui Christian was caught for holding, a penalty that took precedence over Malcolm Brown’s illegal block. The Rams got a field goal anyway and led, 10-0, but they were on the verge of actually scoring two touchdowns in the same game for the first time since Oct. 16.

Read Complete Article
[www.ocregister.com]

===================

Rams Notes: Todd Gurley can't capitalize on fast start in loss to Dolphins

By JACK WANG and RICH HAMMOND / STAFF WRITERS

LOS ANGELES – Todd Gurley didn’t feel like talking.

A few minutes earlier, the Rams’ running back had blown off a ring of reporters waiting at his locker. A team spokesperson said he would return after getting post-game treatment. Later, after talking briefly to one person on Sunday, he again walked past reporters in the hallway at the Coliseum.

“It’s too late,” Gurley said. “I already did my media.”

His frustration is understandable. On Sunday, the Rams (4-6) fell to the Dolphins, 14-10, their fifth loss in six games. Gurley finished with 76 yards on 20 rushing attempts, the eighth time this season that he has failed to average at least 4.0 yards per carry.

The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year – a title that feels like a cruel joke at this point – remains mired in an offense that is good for only one or two competent drives per game. He still breaks out an occasional double-digit run, but far more common are the one- and two-yard sputters – a trend that continued despite a quarterback change from Case Keenum to Jared Goff.

Considering that Gurley led the league last year with 14 runs of at least 20 yards, his sophomore campaign (590 yards, four touchdowns) has become downright depressing.

“I thought Todd played really hard,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He made some plays. It’s just getting him the carries and things, but I thought he played hard. He ran the football well and had some plays.”

Read Complete Article
[www.ocregister.com]

=====================

Rams' Gurley has his longest run of season on 24-yard TD, but Dolphins limit him in second half

Lindsey Thiry

Todd Gurley took a handoff from Jared Goff, cut through a hole on the right side of the line, ran 24 yards and then lunged over the pylon for a Rams touchdown.

It was a glimpse of the Gurley who won the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year award last season, not the back who has struggled along with the Rams’ offense this season.

Gurley’s dash to the end zone was his longest run of the season and the Rams’ only touchdown in Sunday’s 14-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins at the Coliseum.

“The O-line did a great job, [Cory] Harkey had a hell of a block and those guys did the work and just let me run,” Gurley said after the game.

Gurley rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries in Goff’s first start, but had more success in the first half when he ran for 41 yards on seven carries.

Coach Jeff Fisher said it was a continuing challenge to get Gurley carries because of the offense’s inability to stay on the field and convert third downs. They succeeded just twice on 13 third downs against the Miami defense.

“I thought Todd played really hard,” Fisher said. “He made some plays and it’s, again, it’s getting him the carries.”

Gurley also broke an 18-yard run, which matched his previous season long.

Read Complete Article
[www.latimes.com]