Monday Football Afterword: Rams vs Seahawks

Rookie RB Zac Stacy had a big game on Monday Night Football.
Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough for St. Louis to win.

Cory Puffett

The St. Louis Rams defense deserves a lot of credit because they left nothing on the field. Russell Wilson was under pressure all night and was sacked seven times. Chris Long and Robert Quinn each recorded three of those sacks.

Seattle’s offense did nothing late in the game, going three and out on 5 of 6 drives with the lone exception a 2-play 80-yard drive with a long touchdown pass to Golden Tate, who was penalized for taunting as he ran into the end zone.

In addition to the dominant defensive showing, Zac Stacy provided another bright spot for St. Louis. The rookie running back picked up 134 rushing yards on 26 carries. Beast Mode and the Seahawks combined for 44 rushing yards on 15 carries.

The game, shown on ESPN, went up against Game 5 of the World Series on FOX. Both games were played in St. Louis, just a few blocks from each other. But the Rams still beat their average attendance for the season. Their average is 2^nd worst in the league, but their attendance of 55,966 broke that average by almost 600 people.

The Rams get ready for big tests against the Titans, Colts, Bears and 49ers in the next four weeks. At 3-5, their season is not going as well as it could. But considering this game went down to the wire and Kellen Clemens almost led a game-winning drive, don’t count them out from getting some big wins and, if nothing else, being a spoiler down the stretch.

Seattle plays against the Buccaneers, Falcons and Vikings in the next three weeks before hosting the New Orleans Saints in a big matchup between the NFC’s two current powerhouses.

Final Score:

Seattle Seahawks – 14

St. Louis Rams – 9

Thursday Football Afterword: Rams vs 49ers

After two rough weeks, the 49ers finally got Anquan Boldin involved
in their game plan again as he hauled in 5 catches for 90 yards and a TD.

Sean Kennedy

Thursday night the 49ers bounced back from their recent slump with an impressive win over the Rams. They crushed a bad team like they should have and the team looked much better overall.

Kaepernick threw two touchdowns as opposed to the four picks from the past two weeks. He is starting to regain his confidence but still has some work to do. Frank Gore tore through the Rams defensive line for 153 yards and a score. The defense terrorized Sam Bradford for five sacks and the Rams never were able to get much going.

This was a good test for the 49ers to show that they can still play well against bad teams. The 49ers defense held the Rams to only 18 rushing yards, which I think was very impressive. The defensive line looked solid and they did not give up any big plays throughout the game.

I like this 49ers team and I’m positive they will continue to improve these upcoming weeks. If they want a shot at the playoffs or even the Super Bowl, they need to keep stepping up their game each and every week.

Final Score:

San Francisco 49ers – 35

St. Louis Rams – 11

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2013 Offseason Needs: NFC West

I began going through the NFL division-by-division last week, writing about what each team needs to address this offseason. I have covered the bases seven divisions, so today I move on to the last one, the NFC South.

I won’t pretend to know every detail of what each team needs, but am open to comments from those who may know better what their teams need.

Arizona Cardinals

Players are already excited that they will get to play for Bruce Arians, who became the first interim head coach in NFL history to win Coach of the Year.

Arizona was my favorite spot for Alex Smith to land, but the 49ers didn’t want to keep him in the division, understandably. The Cardinals could go to the draft to find a new quarterback, but this year doesn’t have to offer at quarterback. They could make a play for Matt Flynn, but I haven’t seen so much as a thought about that from ESPN or NFL.com, so it probably won’t happen, which means Arizona will again struggle in 2013.

On the bright side, at least it might not be only the fault of the offense if this team struggles. Todd Bowles will take over as defensive coordinator after doing the impossible – making Philadelphia’s defense even worse than it was under Juan Castillo. Arizona has some playmakers on both sides of the ball, but they might not have the tools around them to enable them to perform as well as they could on a different team.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams have been on the up-and-up for a few years now, so when will their time be? With Steven Jackson officially out and both Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson set to become free agents, a lot of focus needs to be on offense for the time being.

St. Louis lost just one game against a division opponent this season, a 7-point loss in Week 17 visiting Seattle. So this is undoubtedly a good team, but they couldn’t get it done against other opponents. Granted they had a tough schedule, but you have to beat the teams you play, no excuses.

What I would like to see from the Rams is some speed. Ever since the “Greatest Show on Turf” came to an end, St. Louis has taken on a ‘bruiser’ mentality. I want to see them get some players who can stretch the field on offense and get to the quarterback quickly on defense. If they can get that, I’ll give this team a shot at a wild card. Until then, I still can’t see the light at the end of their tunnel.

San Francisco 49ers

Secondary, secondary, secondary. That must be the 49ers’ main focus this offseason because they’re just about set everywhere else. They have one of the best front sevens in the NFL, a young quarterback with quick feet and an incredibly accurate cannon for an arm, a solid running game, and a great receiving corps. Their offensive line isn’t bad either.

So the focus needs to be on the secondary. Dashon Goldson might be out, and 49ers fans probably won’t mind based on the pre-Super Bowl feedback I got from many of them. If they get rid of him I’m not sure who they’ll go after to replace him, but they’ll need to do that in addition to improving depth throughout the rest of their secondary.

In no way am I saying San Francisco’s secondary is bad. It is a very good unit. But when every other aspect of your team is among the best in the league and you’re ‘only’ middle-of-the-pack, you get noticed.

Seattle Seahawks

Richard Sherman needs to focus on working out this offseason rather than telling everyone that he’s a better corner than Darrelle Revis. In my opinion, neither of them is the best active corner, but that’s another story for another day.

Aside from that, Seattle is in a good spot. Their front seven could use some depth, but they made some significant strides in the final weeks of the 2012 season.

On offense the plan is simple; build around Russell Wilson. Add wide receivers, tight ends and depth at offensive line. Seattle has the simplest remedy of any team in the NFL, and that’s why I’m expecting a deep playoff run from them in 2013.

Next week I will go back to what I did the first couple weeks of the offseason. Keep up with new posts as I publish them by ‘liking’ my Facebook page and by following me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

2013 Offseason Update, Week 2

Titus Young certainly has an interesting way of showing how
'unselfish' he is. Screen Capture taken by Black Sports Online.

Every Monday during the offseason, I will be recapping some of the biggest stories of the previous week that I did not cover individually. The second week of the offseason was quite a bit busier than the first week but I will just focus on the top four or five stories.

Titus Young Out then In then Out Again

The Titans released Young a couple weeks ago and the only team to claim him off the waiver wire was the St. Louis Rams. Perhaps his ego was too big for them because he was released just ten days later. I figured they had picked him up so they would have a fallback if they can’t get a new contract with Danny Amendola, so something must have gone seriously wrong.

Remember that during the latter part of the season, Young intentionally lined up incorrectly for a play and was suspended by the team for it. He also said he is a better receiver than Calvin Johnson. With these kinds of issues, he might not get another chance in this league.

Eagles to Trade Foles?

No, they won’t. A few days ago a report came out that the Eagles want a high draft pick in exchange for their young quarterback. That report mislead many people into thinking the Eagles are preparing to part ways with Nick Foles.

The Eagles have said that if a team was interested in Foles, the offer would have to be substantial, such as a high draft pick, for them to even consider it. I can’t picture Foles starting in Philadelphia this year, though. You don’t give a guy – Vick – a contract worth around $7 million minimum and sit him on the bench.

Gronk’s Cast Off

No, Gronk isn’t going anywhere Patriots fans. But his cast is off as of a couple days ago. His broken forearm was repaired over a month ago and though it didn’t keep him from dancing the night away after the Ravens won the Super Bowl, he hasn’t been doing much as far as working out.

He has the full offseason to make sure it is fully recovered, and he said he still has around a month to six weeks before his forearm is fully recovered. Fans just don’t want to see him do anything stupid to jeopardize his heath. When he’s at 100%, he is the best tight end in the NFL.

Austin Collie Coming Back

Not long ago, the Colts released Austin Collie after he lost this season due to a fourth concussion in three seasons. After so many concussions in such a short time, you usually expect doctors to treat you like they did Jahvid Best, where nobody wants to be the one to clear him because they know the risks.

But Collie has been cleared and seems set on continuing his career, even if he has to take a year off. “Right now, it would take a doctor to tell me, ‘You can’t play anymore.’ I feel like this is a gift that I’ve been given, and personally I feel I should still be doing it,” Collie said, according to The Indianapolis Star. Of course, everybody wants to think he could be reunited with Peyton Manning in Denver, but what about a reunion with Pierre Garçon in Washington?

If you would like to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my blog’s Facebook page or my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.

Thursday Night Football Afterword: Rams vs Cardinals

The Rams hosted the Cardinals in the 4th installment of
NFLNetwork's Thursday Night Football

Last night wasn’t a particular exciting game, but we still learned a lot from it.

I have little doubt now that the NFC West is the best defensive division in football this year. The 49ers have done well on defense, we all saw what Seattle’s defense did against the Packers, and Arizona’s defense has been terrific, allowing their offense to outscore New England and lead this team to a 4-0 start.

The Rams joined that group last night as Steve Spagnuolo’s group finally had a huge game on defense. It is tough to read too much into it because it was the second straight week Arizona’s offensive line gave up eight sacks. But St. Louis allowed Arizona to enter the red zone three times. In those three trips, the Cardinals came away with nothing. Nothing! Three trips and not a thing to show for it; I give credit for that to the Rams’ defense.

That said, St. Louis didn’t play lights-out either. At one point, Sam Bradford has thrown 12 or 13 consecutive incompletions, the longest streak of his career. Granted, he did have a 51-yard touchdown pass, which was also a career long.

I always enjoyed close games with a lot of defense, but seeing quarterbacks struggle the way Sam Bradford did, and offensive lines not be able to protect their quarterback, like Kevin Kolb’s failed to, doesn’t keep my interest as easily. Kolb was sacked eight times, but he was knocked down and hit around 20 or 25 additional times.

The Cardinals are not doomed, but their flaws that were hidden during their 4-0 run to start the season are now in the open. The Rams are above .500 for the first time in years, but I’m not convinced they are for real either, especially with Danny Amendola out for possibly the rest of the season. The team should learn today whether he has a broken collarbone or if it is something less severe, which would be a huge relief and a major bullet dodged.

I am playing with a few ideas for a blog post tomorrow. I am going to work on them and see if it will work. Check back tomorrow for a possible post. If nothing comes tomorrow, my next post will be, as in the past, on Monday when I publish my Sunday Football Afterwords. Thanks for reading everyone, and enjoy the weekend!

2011 Offseason: NFC West

Today’s posts are for the teams in the NFC West.

Arizona Cardinals

2011 Offseason: Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers

2011 Offseason: San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

2011 Offseason: Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

2011 Offseason: St. Louis Rams

Thanks for reading my 2011 Offseason series. Check back periodically for more NFL related posts.

2011 Offseason: St. Louis Rams

Former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is the new offensive coordinator in St. Louis. He is a pass first coach, which might be good for Bradford. Sam Bradford threw a lot this season, but with a coach who is used to a pass first offense, he could help Bradford make better decisions on all those passes.

The one issue is that this could leave Steven Jackson out to dry. Jackson has been the heart and soul of the Rams for several years now and McDaniels will need to keep him an integral part of the offensive scheme if the Rams want their improvement to continue.

This is especially important considering who they are playing. They have to play the AFC North and the NFC East, in addition to the past two Super Bowl champions. Not an easy schedule by any means. Because of this, it will be all the more important to keep the offensive attack fairly balanced.

The main upgrading the Rams need to do this offseason will be on the defensive side, especially at linebacker. Steve Spagnuolo took the worst team in football and crafted a very good defense out of it. But they still have some weak spots and that linebacker position hasn’t seemed to generate a lot of pressure in the pass rush. It would be worth looking at that position with their first round draft pick.

The only other issue I saw was at wide receiver. They have some talented players, and they were often getting past opposing cornerbacks. Bradford was consistently getting the ball to them in places only they could catch it. But they didn’t always catch those passes. What’s worse, the absolute worst time for them to not catch those passes was against the Seahawks, and that was exactly when it happened. If the work stoppage lasts for too long, they may have to replace some of these players. Hopefully a new CBA will be reached soon and the team can get some good workouts in with these receivers before the end of the offseason.