During their 49-21 defeat to the New Orleans Saints, Jeff Fisher and the Los Angeles Rams simply did not come ready for the second half. Entering the second half, the Rams were only down by seven points. The offense, which hadn’t amounted to much in the first half this season, had mustered three touchdowns on the board.
However, the team simply faltered in the second half. During the last two quarters, the Rams were outscored 21-0 and ending up losing by four touchdowns. It seems as though Gregg William’s defensive unit was unable to make the necessary adjustments in the secondary, as Drew Brees had a phenomenal game.
The defense was visibly upset after their loss, as cornerback Trumaine Johnson called it the worst of his career. On the other hand, William Hayes and T.J. McDonald tipped their caps to the Saints for their execution.
McDonald was asked about the defensive showing during the second half and had a surprising response on Tuesday, via Myles Simmons of TheRams.com:
“We were ready to go play yesterday after feeling how we felt on Sunday,” McDonald said.
During this initial season in Los Angeles, things haven’t panned out as expected. After an embarrassing first game back, the team would go on to win three consecutive victories. Sitting with a record of 3-1, the Rams would then go on to lose six of their next seven games.
Fisher’s up and down season has been filled with many controversies. Besides the situation regarding quarterback Jared Goff, the media has given Fisher full blame for the incident regarding Eric Dickerson.
While the team is almost out of postseason contention, Fisher stated the team must continue focused before things unravel completely:
“It’s the opportunity each day, as you prepare, to go out and have a chance to win another football game. That’s what it’s about, that’s how our league is,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “Obviously, we had to put it behind us real quickly and recognize what happened in the game [against New Orleans] and understood why. Now let’s accept this great challenge.”
Going into Week 13, the schedule did not do the Rams any favors. They travel to Gillette Stadium for a matchup against the New England Patriots. The breaking news regarding Rob Gronkowski’s back surgery does alter the game plan for the Rams, as Brady’s No. 1 threat is no longer with the team.
While the Rams continue trending downward, Fisher isn’t worried about his job security. Recently, Rams COO Kevin Demoff stated that it was unfair to measure Fisher solely based on his record.
However, Fisher and his entire roster must come out prepared in order to stand a chance against the AFC’s best record.
