By Jim Thomas, St. Louis Post-Dispatch –
ST. LOUIS — Steven Jackson left. Steven Jackson right. With a dash of Daryl Richardson thrown into the mix. The Rams’ running game in the second half against Arizona was an idyllic snapshot of Jeff Fisher football.
On their second possession of the second half, the Rams ran the ball on a season-high seven consecutive plays. Some of those runs were into eight-man boxes by the stout Arizona defense, but the Rams still managed to gain at least 4 yards on every carry during that stretch.
“Limited opportunities in the first half, but we kind of felt like we found our groove a little bit with the running game, got it going,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “ ‘Jack’ was running hard. Whether he was ticked off at me for maybe not running him earlier in the game or whatever it was, he was running hard. Obviously, Daryl (Richardson) is a great change of pace.”
And so, for really the first time all season, the Rams displayed their version of Thunder & Lightning, with Jackson providing the power and Richardson the speed.
“It felt good,” Jackson said. “The offensive line did a great job of winning the line of scrimmage, and it just allowed for us to do our thing once we got the ball.”
The question now becomes can they keep running the ball like that, beginning with Sunday’s game in Sun Life Stadium against Miami?
“Well, you’re gonna have to watch and see,” Fisher teased.
Easier said than done against a Dolphins defense ranked first in the NFL against the run. Miami is allowing only 61.4 rushing yards a game and just 2.7 yards a carry. Overall, the Dolphins haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 19 games.
“Number one, it starts with personnel,” said Schottenheimer, who faced the Dolphins twice a year for six seasons as New York Jets offensive coordinator. “Big, physical guys. I think (Paul) Soliai is one of the best nose tackles in the league. (Defensive tackle) Randy Starks—great player. Linebackers are playing well. They come downhill and they run to the ball.
“Down there, they’re extra special. So, it will be quite a challenge. They’ve done it against some pretty good running teams and I think the thing with them is they’re not giving up many big plays.”
Until Bernard Scott’s 29-yard run last week for Cincinnati, the Dolphins hadn’t allowed a run longer than 14 yards in 2012. For the season, they’ve allowed only five runs of 10 yards-plus, and one of those was a 12-yard quarterback scramble.
“They’re disciplined and they understand run schemes,” Fisher said. “They adjust from week to week based on your run concepts, and they do a good job taking it away.”
Even on run downs, Rams right tackle Barry Richardson says, the Dolphins “bring a lot of pressure, trying to overload it. They’ll have four guys weak side and drop them, and then come strong (side). They do things with the scheme to make it confusing on the offense.”
But at least the Rams can counter with an improving offensive line. In addition, Jackson is as healthy as he’s been since suffering a groin injury in Game 2 against Washington.
“I don’t give percentages, but I feel good,” Jackson said.
As tough as it was to play two games in five days with the Thursday-nighter against Arizona, the long weekend following that game helped Jackson and other banged-up Rams heal. For the first time since the groin injury, Jackson is not listed on the Rams’ injury report this week.
And as each week goes by his rookie counterpart in the backfield, Richardson, seems to get more settled in.
“Daryl has a good feel for what we’re doing, and we really have no reservation whatsoever putting him in in any situation,” Fisher said.
Whether the Rams can replicate what they did against Arizona in the running game remains to be seen. And even if the game plan calls for more passing against Miami, which ranks 27th in pass defense, it always helps to have that flexibility.
“We’re going to try to keep people off balance,” Schottenheimer said. “But, again, it’s quite a test this week against this group.”
