Have the Rams found the secret to "Big Play" at the right time?

By Vincent Bonsignore, Los Angeles Daily News


[www.dailynews.com]


If you watch sports long enough you realize pretty quickly one trait separates the good teams from the bad: The ability to make the big play when the big play absolutely needs to be made.

And in a finite league like the NFL, where parity runs rampant and the fine line between winning and losing is as thin as ever, it’s not unusual for a 60-minute game consisting of 130 or so plays to essentially boil down to a handful or less of really big ones.

Uncanny, then, how the consistently good teams like the New England Patriots or Seattle Seahawks or Denver Broncos always seem to execute those opportunities to favorable results.

And so many others don’t.

You can take the easy way out and chalk it up to a sheer talent issue, but when the Patriots are rolling off wins with their third-string quarterback it makes you wonder.

You can argue it’s nothing more than randomness and happenstance, and on some level make a valid point.

But again, what a coincidence the same teams just randomly come up with the critical play more often than everyone else.

Sure seems like there is more to it than all that.

“It’s hard to put a finger on it, but it’s just something the really good teams find a way to do over and over and over,” said Rams safety T.J. McDonald.

And the bad ones don’t.

“It’s such a borderline thing,” said Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers. “A lot of teams, or times, it’s about good coaching and players being in the right spot.

“Some of it is the player maybe watching a lot of film and reacting to something he knew was coming and making the play when it’s there to be made. It’s hard to really boil it down to just one thing, it’s a combination of a lot of different things.”

For years the Rams were among the later, their 27-36 record since 2012 a frustrating reminder of their inability to unearth the necessary magic or mojo or ability to come up with the critical play at the critical time.

But that might be changing.

Their modest two-game winning streak is the epitome of a small sample size, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t offer some compelling evidence that something bigger might be brewing.

In two close wins, the Rams figured out ways to execute two huge plays to come out on top.

Two weeks ago Alec Ogletree came out of nowhere in the closing minute to strip Seahawks running back Christine Michael of the ball, then from his knees lunged at it to corral a game-saving fumble recovery in the Rams’ 9-3 victory.

To illustrate Brockers point about watching film and being prepared, Ogletree initially lined up 20 yards off the line of scrimmage just prior to the snap, but then noticed Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson checking down to a different play. Ogletree trusted his preparation that the ball would end up closer to the line of scrimmage, and took off running in that direction as a result.

That allowed him to be in position to make the jarring hit that caused the fumble he eventually recovered.

“You can’t necessarily say when that critical play is going to happen – because you just don’t know – but you definitely have to study and practice it during the week in terms of making those kinds of plays,” Ogletree said. “So that when it comes down to it, when that opportunity arrives, you’re ready to capitalize.”

On Sunday it was Robert Quinn hustling to chase down Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston at the Rams 5-yard line, then throwing him to the ground as time expired to preserve a 37-32 win over the Bucs.

Quinn admitted afterward he was dog tired after a long afternoon playing in the Florida humidity – not to mention the toll an hour and 10-minute weather delay took on his body – but he emptied his tank chasing down Winston five yards from the goal line to push the Rams to the top of the NFC West standings.

As the Rams huddled together in those closing moments, they challenged each other to step up and make a stop.

“We were literally out there saying: We can’t let them in the end zone, that’s the bottom line,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. “So someone needs to make a play here. We have to stop them some way, some how. We’re all tired, but someone needs to step up.”

Up stepped Quinn.

“Look, it’s not like it’s on call at all times,” McDonald said. “But you keep pressing and pressing and pressing at it and eventually the good teams find a way to do it.”

And that doesn’t even account for another other critical play on Sunday: Trumaine Johnson knocking the ball loose from Tampa Bay wide receiver Charles Sims with two minutes remaining in the first half, and a hustling Mark Barron grabbing it out of the air for an interception.

The Buccaneers led 20-10 at the time and were looking to stretch the lead before intermission.

Johnson’s big hit, and Barron hustling to be in position to make the pick, set up the Rams

They eventually cashed in with a Todd Gurley touchdown run to cut the Bucs lead to 20-17 and create the necessary momentum for a second-half comeback.

Happenstance?

Luck?

Random?

Or maybe something deeper?

“It’s something you’re actually talking about on the field,” Brockers said. “Almost like you’re speaking it into existence and then playing as fast as you can to be in position to make it happen.”

The Barron interception a case in point.

“When Tru knocked that ball out, who knows if Mark is there to grab it if he wasn’t hustling and running trying to tackle the receiver? He put himself in position to make that play.”

It’s such a small sample size, but for a team that for years couldn’t cook up that special something in key moments, their ability to do so the last two weeks is a hopeful sign they may have found the recipe.