Spirits were not high around the Los Angeles Rams after an ugly opening week performance. Not only were fans disappointed, but the team itself felt embarrassed after being shut out on Monday night. Linebacker, and team captain, Alec Ogletree made it a point to not let that feeling bleed over into the Rams home opener.
According to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, Ogletree called a players-only meeting the night before the Rams took on the Seattle Seahawks to attempt to get his team’s head right:
It was Ogletree — more vocal, more boisterous now that he is the middle linebacker and signal-caller for this defense — who called a player’s only meeting the night before this game. He told his teammates that they needed to stick together and put the misery of a season-opening loss on Monday Night Football behind them. Most of all, he told them to savor moments like these.
The Rams certainly responded to Ogletree’s message. The defense in particular was it’s normal hard-hitting self, terrorizing Seahawks QB Russell Wilson all day and holding the Seahawks to only three points.
Defensive end Robert Quinn elaborated on the message Ogletree wanted to get across:
“Every game is important. You have to realize it. You want to capture the moment because you don’t want to say, ‘We should’ve done this better, that better.’ He was basically just challenging each other to live up to their potential and not play like we did earlier this week.”
Quinn forced a fumble on a sack in the first half and the Rams hit Wilson nine times total on the day. Fittingly, it was Ogletree who made the play to put the nail in the coffin, forcing and recovering a fumble from Seahawks RB Christine Michael.
Even though the offense has yet to get in the end zone, they looked improved as well. Now the Rams must build on this performance and keep momentum going as the division is wide open right now.
