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Turning point play: Wells botches snap
By Nick Wagoner | ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11996/turning-po
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Here's this week's look back at the turning point play from the St. Louis Rams' 34-31 loss to the Dallas Cowboys:
The situation: With 42 seconds left in the first half, the Rams had a 21-7 lead and faced a third-and-1 at the Dallas 44. Quarterback Austin Davis had hit receiver Kenny Britt for a 9-yard gain on the previous play to put the Rams in position to keep their drive alive. The Rams used a timeout after the completion to Britt but still had two remaining.
The play: The Rams lined up in a tight two-by-two formation with Austin Pettis lined up wide right and Stedman Bailey in the right slot. To the left, tight end Jared Cook was in the slot with Britt wide left. Davis lined up in the shotgun with running back Trey Watts set to his right. Before the snap, Davis sends Watts in motion to his right but center Scott Wells appears to snap the ball before Davis is ready. But it didn't matter because somehow Wells snapped the ball as though Davis was under center rather than in the shotgun. Davis flinches thinking the ball is coming before he's ready but that would've been better than what actually happened.
Wells let go of the ball as he would any other normal snap under center and the ball fell softly to the ground. Cowboys defensive tackle Henry Melton recovered at the Dallas 47.
"Obviously, he thought we were under center and brought the ball up and we were in gun," coach Jeff Fisher said. "That’s pretty much all on Scott. Fortunately, we were able to hold them to a field goal.”
The fallout: The Rams were indeed able to hold the Cowboys to a field goal after the aborted play but the repercussions of the mistake were felt well into the second half. Instead of keeping a drive alive and adding either another field goal or a touchdown before the half, Dallas got a 29-yard field goal to cut the Rams' lead to 21-10. The swing of six or possibly 10 points was a big one and the Cowboys continued their surge by opening the second half with a 68-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant to continue cutting the Rams' lead. Bryant's touchdown catch and a few other plays could easily have been this week's turning point play, but the turnover on the snap was the first domino to fall as the Cowboys surged back to steal the victory.
By Nick Wagoner | ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11996/turning-po
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Here's this week's look back at the turning point play from the St. Louis Rams' 34-31 loss to the Dallas Cowboys:
The situation: With 42 seconds left in the first half, the Rams had a 21-7 lead and faced a third-and-1 at the Dallas 44. Quarterback Austin Davis had hit receiver Kenny Britt for a 9-yard gain on the previous play to put the Rams in position to keep their drive alive. The Rams used a timeout after the completion to Britt but still had two remaining.
The play: The Rams lined up in a tight two-by-two formation with Austin Pettis lined up wide right and Stedman Bailey in the right slot. To the left, tight end Jared Cook was in the slot with Britt wide left. Davis lined up in the shotgun with running back Trey Watts set to his right. Before the snap, Davis sends Watts in motion to his right but center Scott Wells appears to snap the ball before Davis is ready. But it didn't matter because somehow Wells snapped the ball as though Davis was under center rather than in the shotgun. Davis flinches thinking the ball is coming before he's ready but that would've been better than what actually happened.
Wells let go of the ball as he would any other normal snap under center and the ball fell softly to the ground. Cowboys defensive tackle Henry Melton recovered at the Dallas 47.
"Obviously, he thought we were under center and brought the ball up and we were in gun," coach Jeff Fisher said. "That’s pretty much all on Scott. Fortunately, we were able to hold them to a field goal.”
The fallout: The Rams were indeed able to hold the Cowboys to a field goal after the aborted play but the repercussions of the mistake were felt well into the second half. Instead of keeping a drive alive and adding either another field goal or a touchdown before the half, Dallas got a 29-yard field goal to cut the Rams' lead to 21-10. The swing of six or possibly 10 points was a big one and the Cowboys continued their surge by opening the second half with a 68-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant to continue cutting the Rams' lead. Bryant's touchdown catch and a few other plays could easily have been this week's turning point play, but the turnover on the snap was the first domino to fall as the Cowboys surged back to steal the victory.