Fisher not blaming Clemens for loss

ST. LOUIS -- Robert Quinn and Chris Long each had three sacks.

Too bad the St. Louis Rams' defensive ends couldn't celebrate after the game, too.

Coach Jeff Fisher, looking somewhat bleary-eyed, wasn't placing blame on backup quarterback Kellen Clemens for falling 1 yard shy of upsetting the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams (3-5) were held to three field goals in a 14-9 loss on Monday night.

Clemens will make his second straight start this week against the Tennessee Titans in place of Sam Bradford, out for the season with a left knee injury. He nearly drove the team the length of the field, moving 96 yards in 12 plays.

"I thought he managed the game well, he handled things, he settled own," Fisher said Tuesday. "Oh yeah, we're good."

Of the newly signed backups, Brady Quinn needs time to learn the system and Austin Davis was a disappointment in training camp and lost out to Clemens.

Fisher defended the final play call that came up empty. The Rams went with an empty backfield rather than try a play-action pass and the Seahawks came with an all-out blitz, forcing Clemens to get rid of the ball and he threw incomplete in the end zone to a well-covered Brian Quick.

"What if we would have had a back, back there and ran it and didn't get in? We'd be asking about, `Why'd you run it and why didn't you go empty and give Kellen a chance to throw the football?"' Fisher said.

"So, that was what we prepared to do. We thought it gave us the best chance."

After the game, Clemens said it was a good call that gave him "a lot of options.

"Loved to have put the ball in a little different spot, but didn't have a lot of time to assess it because they brought one more than we could block," the quarterback added.

The defense was dominant against Seattle. Marshawn Lynch had just eight carries and the Seahawks were 2 for 11 on third down with 135 total yards.

"For the first time this year we really looked like us," Long said.

Cornerback Janoris Jenkins was in position but stumbled on the Seahawks' lone big play, an 80-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Golden Tate that put Seattle ahead 14-6 late in the third quarter.

There are injury concerns. Running back Zac Stacy had a career-best 134 yards on 26 carries but was sidelined late with an ankle injury and guard Harvey Dahl has a knee injury.

Fisher said tests had not come back on either player, but the team believes Dahl has an MCL issue.

Clemens might be limited in practice Wednesday due to soreness and added, "I think he always stands to improve."

The coach spent plenty of time replaying the events in his head late Monday night.

"Just for the record, coaches don't like `Monday Night Football' games," Fisher said, quickly adding "I'm being sarcastic."

In addition to the short practice week, Fisher said the team "lost half the stuff on our computers" after a power outage.

"We'll sleep in the offseason," he said.

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