ST. LOUIS -- The inability to stop a relentlessly aggressive Arizona pass rush made Thursday a long night for quarterback Shaun Hill and the Rams' offense.
As usual, Arizona made stopping the run a priority, leaving tailbacks Tre Mason and Benny Cunningham few chances behind a front five that struggled to get much of a push, a recurring issue this season. It hardly came as a surprise when St. Louis had to rely on Hill's arm, but he didn't often get much time to throw in the 12-6 loss.
"I think we need to do a better job," Rams coach Jeff Fisher says of the pass protection. "We had too many free runners, but they're going to do those things and you've got to take advantage of it down the field and get them out of it."
It's true Hill could have made some better throws, notably on a crucial third-and-3 with under two minutes left, when he threw a short pass to the right side over the head of Stedman Bailey, who would have had plenty of room to run. But pressure again bothered Hill on the play, and the game essentially ended on a fitting note when cornerback Jerraud Powers came in untouched and knocked down Hill's pass almost as soon as it left his hand.
Great quarterbacks can find ways to beat effective blitzes, and Fisher says his team missed chances to take advantage of openings. That may have forced Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to dial back his team's pressure against Hill, a career backup unlikely to make many spectacular plays on his own.
He has proven to be a reliable game manager with the lead, often all the Rams need thanks to a defense that hasn't allowed a touchdown in more than three games. But even in dominating shutouts against Oakland and particularly last week at Washington, Hill saw plenty of pressure behind an offensive line that ranks fourth-worst in the league with 41 sacks allowed.
Flip through our photo album of NFL cheerleaders.
Four sacks and the constant collapse of the pocket in that game again exposed the flaws of a line unable to find consistency, even before losing four-time Pro Bowler Jake Long to a torn ACL in Week 8. That forced veteran Davin Joseph to return to the lineup at right guard despite some shaky play, while No. 2 draft pick Greg Robinson moved to left tackle.
It's safe to say the former Auburn star hasn't lived up to expectations in his rookie season, which began with four games spent primarily on the sideline. Fisher says Robinson made a few more mistakes against Arizona, and even the more experienced Rams have had some issues.
A bad snap by center Scott Wells late in the fourth quarter nearly ended a potential game-winning drive before it could even begin, and neither Rodger Saffold nor Joe Barksdale has been without his flaws this season. Protection from the running backs has improved, although Fisher says Mason missed an assignment against Arizona.
Some well documented issues at quarterback have certainly increased the need for effective pass protection, which has generally occurred only after the Rams established a consistent run game. But that hasn't exactly been a strength of this line, either, and their struggles to convert short-yardage situations surely contributed to Fisher's decision to kick a field goal on fourth down from the 1-yard line while down 12-3 late.
"We've got to get better at it," Fisher says. "We need to be able to line up and say, 'Here we come. This is what we're running. Stop it.' We're not there yet."
It's tough to see this group reaching that point in its last two games, and Fisher doesn't expect to make any more changes to his lineup. That begs the question of what he plans to do this offseason to improve both run blocking and pass protection, since demanding improvement doesn't appear to be working.
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer shouldn't be excused from blame, either, as St. Louis didn't make any adjustments to pick up the many blitzes from Arizona. ESPN Rams blogger Nick Waggoner said the Cardinals blitzed on 21 of 43 drop-backs by Hill, officially putting pressure on him more than one-fourth of the time.
That led to the team's worst offensive performance of the season, which included five straight three-and-outs with only 12 total yards during a miserable third quarter. Hill finished 20 of 39 for 229 yards and an interception on the game's final play, a decent line considering how little time he had to throw.
A weak offense continues to hold back the Rams, and even though they don't have any standout players at the skill positions, the problems generally begin at the line of scrimmage.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
