Friday, September 4, 2009

Defense Does It Again

By Nick Wagoner

First Quarter

- The Rams got a quick three and out on Kansas City’s opening possession as Justin King made a nice tackle after stretching a play wide for no gain. On third down, Jonathan Wade stopped Jamaal Charles for a loss of 3.

- On their first possession, the Rams gave it right back after a three and out of their own.

- The Chiefs picked up a couple of first downs before the Rams came up with another stop.

- Likewise, the Rams moved it with a third down conversion to tight end Daniel Fells before a punt.

- Jones booted a 58-yard punt that was downed at Kansas City’s 1 to start the Chiefs’ third drive.

- The Rams went to their second team defense for the most part on the following drive and Kansas City capitalized. A 41-yard jaunt by Larry Johnson gave the Chiefs the ball at the Rams’ 6.

- Penalties derailed the drive and Kansas City had to settle for a 31-yard field goal from Ryan Succop. The Chiefs have a 3-0 lead with 55 seconds to go in the quarter.

- The Rams have put their second team offense in with the exception of Bell, Goldberg and Smith. Brock Berlin is in at quarterback.

- At the end of the first quarter, Kansas City leads 3-0.

Second Quarter

- The Rams got off to a promising start on their next possession as Brock Berlin hit receiver Ronald Curry for a 14-yard gain.
- But a trio of incompletions forced the Rams to punt again. Jones boomed another kick and the Chiefs started their next possession from the 14.

- Rams defense gets a three and out as C.J. Ah You came up with a sack for a loss of 7 yards on third down. Rams take over at their 47.

- Rams took a shot on first down but Berlin just missed Derek Stanley deep down the right sideline.

- The Rams couldn’t convert a third-and-1 and Jones punted again. This time, he dropped it at Kansas City’s 2. Jones is having a big night.

- Dantrell Savage broke a 70-yard run to the Rams’ 28.

- A sack by Victor Adeyanju stalled that drive and the Chiefs had to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Succop.

- The Chiefs lead 6-0 with 9:20 to go in the half.

- The Rams responded with their best drive of the night as Berlin was nearly perfect on the possession and hit tight end Daniel Fells for a 6-yard touchdown. The extra point gave the Rams a 7-6 lead with 1:51 to go.

- Berlin was 7-of-9 on the drive for 74 yards including a 17-yard completion to Curry and a 27-yard strike to Nate Jones for a gain of 27 yards on third-and-10.

- The drive covered 85 yards on 15 plays in 7:29.

- Rams get a three and out right away as a blitz for Adeyanju forces a third down incompletion.

- Chiefs safety DaJuan Morgan appeared to come up with an interception on the Rams first play from scrimmage to give the Chiefs life at the Rams’ 23.

- The Rams defense got the job done again, holding Kansas City to a 34-yard field goal. Kansas City has a 9-7 lead at the half.

Third Quarter

- The Rams opened the second half with the ball and rookie Keith Null at quarterback. Chris Ogbonnaya picked up 26 yards on the drive as the Rams got into Kansas City territory but the drive stalled at Kansas City’s 36.

- The Rams opted to punt and Kansas City took over at its 15.

- After driving into St. Louis territory on a 53-yard completion, the Rams got another takeaway in the preseason as David Roach forced a fumble that linebacker Dominic Douglas recovered in St. Louis territory.

- Null hit Stanley on third down for a conversion to move into Kansas City territory.

- The Rams couldn’t get another first down, though, and Jones had to punt again. This time, he couldn’t drop it inside the 10 and it went through the end zone for a touchback.

- The Chiefs’ possession didn’t last long though as Rams cornerback Quincy Butler sat on an out route and picked off a Tyler Thigpen pass. He returned it 28 yards for a touchdown and a 14-9 Rams lead with 2:48 to go in the quarter.

- The Rams have the ball and a 14-9 lead at the end of three.

Fourth Quarter

- The Rams got yet another takeaway to open the final quarter as Justin King got an interception at Kansas City’s 26.

- The offense couldn’t do much with it though and a fumble on third down that the Rams recovered knocked the team out of field goal range. Jones punted again, this time dropping it at the 10 and Kansas City took over at its 12.

- The teams traded punts but a roughing the punter penalty on Kansas City gave the Rams a first down and new life with about eight minutes to go.

- That was enough to give the Rams another chance to score and they took advantage. Null connected with Sean Walker for gains of 14 and 23 yards.

- Josh Brown connected on a 37-yard field goal for a 17-9 lead with 4:08 to play.

- After Kansas City marched into Rams’ territory, the defense stepped up and got the stop it needed again.

- The offense couldn't salt out the clock and the Rams had to punt with about 50 seconds left. Jones rocked a 62-yard punt, downed at Kansas City's 6 to put it away.

- The Rams ultimately held on for a 17-9 win. The Rams finish the preseason 3-1 for the first time since 2005.

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