Cornerback Marcus Peters doesn't sugarcoat when he makes a point.
If that wasn't clear from the first half of his first season as a Ram, it certainly should've been with his comments in the immediate aftermath of the 45-35 loss to the Saints.
"I can stand up, I can play better, I've been playing [poorly] the last couple weeks and that's just being honest. With me, I'm going to continue to fight and that's the type of player I am," Peters said Sunday. "You're going to get beat in football, but you go out there and you compete to the highest of your ability and [stuff] happens."
That's covering up some more colorful language, but Peters' point stands — he made no excuses for his play, and knows he needs to execute better.
Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, however, said on Thursday that the 72-yard touchdown quarterback Drew Brees threw to Michael Thomas is much more on his than it is on Peters.
"The last play I know everybody is going to say Marcus Peters, but I'm putting that on me," Phillips said. "Any time that it's 3rd-and-7, it's the end of the game and you've got one-on-one with no help with their best player, then that's on the coaches. That's on me."
"We put him in a tough situation against their best receiver, but we didn't give him any help," Phillips added. "You've got to plan that better. That's poor planning."
While Peters appreciated Phillips sentiment, he didn't allow that to excuse a failure in execution.
"That's why I love him being my coach. We all can be — we can be critical of what we can get exactly done. And, like I say, I'm just gonna put it on me regardless, because regardless of what coach calls, we've got to go out there and make plays. And we just didn't — I didn't execute, really. You know? So, you just move on to next play, next week," Peters said.
Part of the reason Peters has been so bluntly critical of himself over the last few weeks is because of his own high standards.
"When you perform in this league as much as I did, and you come in and you're one of those players who makes those plays, and you're used to making those plays and those plays aren't coming — it kind of frustrates you," Peters said. "But, when you've got a defense and an offense as talented as this, it's just all about finding your groove, and finding where you fit in at through everything. And you just go make your plays when they come."
This week, the plays will likely be tough to come by based on the way Seattle has operated offensively over the last handful of weeks. The Seahawks have recorded at least 150 yards rushing in each of their last five games. And With that, quarterback Russell Wilson's passing attempts have gone down to level unseen since Wilson's rookie year.
Back in 2012, Wilson averaged 24.5 attempts per game. Over the last five games, Wilson's averaged 25.2 passes — and that's factoring in 39 passing attempts from last week's loss to the Chargers.
Nevertheless, Peters knows how well Wilson can make plays whenever he drops back to pass.
"I played against them in preseason and stuff earlier in my career. But you know, he's going to be Russell Wilson. He's going to move around," Peters said. "I've seen him play a lot, with me going to school at [Washington]. So he's going to move around, he's going to make his plays. He's like Houdini back there, you feel me? So we've just got to do our jobs. Everybody says it every week playing against the Seahawks, you've got to 'plaster,' and you've got to allow for the rush to get there, and you've got to play sound football."
