*Note: The graphic above should read Week 16.

I’ve been illin’ (and not the good kind) most of the week so this will be a very abbreviated version of my usual game previews. Apologies… 

A random thought came into my head as I was coughing up a lobe from my right lung Friday night.

“I wonder which Rams team will show up in Tampa Bay on Sunday.”

Even while I’m under the weather I’m thinking about the Rams. Or maybe it’s due to the fact that I get sick to my stomach thinking about the three games the Rams should have won: Week 1 at Detroit (23-27), Week 6 at Miami (14-17), and Week 10 at San Francisco (24-24 tie). The Rams should be 9-5 right now fighting for a wild card.

Then you have the Rams that tied and beat the almighty (?) 10-3 49ers. Yes, St. Louis seems to have San Francisco’s number. Not to mention the Rams (with one last game remaining in Seattle) are one of five teams (Green Bay, New England, Houston, and Denver) that are undefeated in their division. The irony though is that those four teams are their respective division leaders and in the playoffs. Dagger!

Reality hits though as the Rams are set to face a slumping (four straight losses coming into this week) but still dangerous team in the Buccaneers. Quarterback Josh Freeman has had his ups and downs this season which doesn’t bode well for his big time, big size receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. I should know, V. Jackson is on my fantasy team. The other big Bucs threat, the player formerly known as The Muscle Hamster, running back Doug Martin. He’s on both my fantasy teams and he’s also had a seat on the roller coaster that’s the Tampa Bay offense.

Rams running back Steven Jackson needs 91 yards to reach the 1,000 yards rushing for the eighth consecutive season. The longest active streak in the NFL. I say he gets it done today despite the Bucs ranking number one against the run (83.3 yards per game) coming into Sunday. Jackson has seen tough rush defenses this season and has risen to the occasion, especially against the 49ers (101 and 48 yards).

The Bottom line (Nothing really new here, folks.)

The Rams need to tune out all the noise and concentrate on their game. The rest will fall into place.

Run the ball via Steven Jackson.

Protect quarterback Sam Bradford giving him time to find one of his young receivers. This might prove to be harder than expected with their staple offensive lineman Harvey Dahl being placed on IR after a biceps tear. Chris Williams is slated to take Dahl’s place and will be challenged by the Bucs defense.

Don’t commit idiotic self-inflicted penalties. Seriously, this has to stop.

Win the field position battle. i.e. the Rams rookie punter Johnny Hekker needs to be more consistent. Kicker Greg Zuerlein will be the difference in the game.

Rams squeak out a close one winning by a field goal, 23-20 and get back to .500 with one last game to go.

7-7-1.

I’m going to try something new (Thanks to our Broncos  writer, Brenda.) by jotting down observations, big plays, and anything else that stands out during each quarter.

Game Status Updates

Rams inactives WR Amendola (foot), QB Davis, RB Ganaway, G/T Wiliams, OT Barksdale, DT Conrath, TE McNeill (thigh).

Bills inactives: QB Tarvaris Jackson, CB Aaron Williams, CB T.J. Heath, C Eric Wood, WR Marcus Easley, DE Mark Anderson, OL Chris Scott.

LB Mario Haggan returns after nursing an elbow injury.

First Quarter

Four Rams defenders in the backfield getting to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. DT Michael Brockers gets the sack.

LB James Laurinaitis just misses an easy INT. Bills three and out quickly.

Rams are holding the tough Bills run game to 4 yards with 9 minutes left in the first quarter.

Two nice plays by Bills OLB Nick Barnett getting into the Rams backfield for a Givens loss. And DE Mario Williams gets to Rams QB Sam Bradford for a Bills sack. Rams offense is getting no where…

Second sack of the day for Michael Brockers.

C.J. Spiller gauges the Rams for a big first down. Dude is quick! WR Stevie Johnson and TE Scott Chandler make some good catches.

Bills K Ryan Lindell boots a 35-yard field goal to put Buffalo up 0-3 with 2:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Third three-and-out for the Rams. Bradford gets popped hard as Givens can’t complete the catch.

So far it’s been an all defense kind of game. And just as I write that Laurinaitis comes up with a fumble recovery but looks a little banged up.

Second Quarter

Rams offense can’t do diddly poo but the defense continues to get pressure on Fitzpatrick forcing another punt and good field position. Problem is the Rams offense can’t do anything with it. This could be another game where the Rams defense will have to put up points to win.

Bradford fumbles but picks it up. He’s showing some bad body language already. Good news, Johnny Hekker is doing well with this fifth punt of the day. Okay, five punts is not really good news.

Rams are 0-5 on third down conversions. Bills aren’t doing much better at 1-5. But the Bills are moving the ball on offense at least through their passing game.

DT Kendall Langford and DE Chris Long with the Rams third sack on Fitzpatrick.

Givens just caught a sweeet pass right after the Rams got their first third down conversion/second first down of the game. Progress?

Offense is still stalling for the most part.

Lindell kicks a 40-yard field goal off of a Bradford INT to put the Bills up 0-6 going into the first half.

Rams D have held the Bills to 16 yards rushing. But gave up 169 yards receiving. I rest my case.

Third Quarter

Rams get their third first down on a Bills penalty. But find themselves in an oh-too-familiar third down and long situation.

WR Brandon Gibson continues his good Gibby/bad Gibby appearance. Mostly good Gibby in the third quarter.

A great catch by Givens takes it down to the Bills one yard line where Steven Jackson takes it in for 6. Rams lead the Bills 7-6 at the 8:41 mark.

Bills’ offense seems to have woken up. Stevie Johnson, Spiller, and company are moving the ball downfield. And the Jo-Lonn Dunbar offsides cements the drive as Fitzpatrick passes 2 yards to a WIDE open TE Lee Smith.  Buffalo take the lead again 7-12.

Bradford takes matters into his own hands or shall I say feet as he takes off running for a 11-yard gain. But the Rams can’t capitalize and will have to give up the ball as the third quarter ends.

Fourth Quarter

LT Rodger Saffold (back) and S Craig Dahl (head – concussion) leave the game with injuries. Wayne Hunter and Darian Stewart come in for them respectively. Saffold comes back only to leave again after getting stepped on.

Lindell attempts his second 50+ yard field goal… but Bills HC Chan Gailey changes his mind and punts. Janoris Jenkins is charged with a holding foul so the Rams start at the 2.5 yard line.

6 of 13 on third downs. Givens lets a 70-yard bomb slip right through his arms. Time is ticking away with 6:21 to go in the fourth quarter.

Austin Pettis with an unbelievable catch for a HUGE first down.

Bradford finds Gibson four times in the fourth quarter. Most importantly with a 13-yard TD pass with 54 seconds left in the game. The Rams convert the 2 points with a nice catch by Givens.

Rams somehow pull this one out 15-12. OMG, I couldn’t take another overtime game.

As I said in my game preview:

1) Get back to a .500(ish) record.

They are stoking an overall 5-6-1 record. A win in Buffalo will get them back to an equal number of wins and losses.

2) Three consecutive wins in a row.

The Rams haven’t won three games in a row since week 15-17 during the 2006 season where they bested the Oakland Raiders, the Washington Redskins, and the Minnesota Vikings. A very very long time ago from a season far far away.

3) Two consecutive road wins.

We don’t have to go as far back for this one. Look no further than weeks 12-13 at Denver and at Arizona in 2010, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford‘s rookie season.

As @GDive tweeted so eloquently, “Ugly game but beautiful win.”

I’m going to try something new (Thanks to our Broncos  writer, Brenda.) by jotting down observations, big plays, and anything else that stands out during each quarter.

Key Game Status Updates

Rams’ WR Danny Amendola is ACTIVE and will give it a go it seems. Probably more of a decoy but we’ll see.

Rams inactives: QB Austin Davis, WR Steve Smith, RB Terrance Ganaway, LB Mario Haggan, OL Chris Williams, T Joe Barksdale, DT Matt Conrath per STLouisRams.com.

Cardinals inactives include QB Kevin Kolb, RB Alphonso Smith, G Senio Kelemete, T Pat McQuistan, WR Early Doucet, TE Todd Heap, DE Calais Campbell. DE Calais Campbell and WR Early Doucet inactive with injuries. TE Todd Heap is a healthy inactive today.

First Quarter

Cardinals start the quarter steady. Their rookie QB Ryan Lindley is doing a good job of getting his receivers involved by making passes to Andre Roberts, Larry Fitzgerald, and TE Rob Housler.

RB Beanie Wells not getting great push on the run so Lindley is making his mark by throwing to any rookie QB’s best friend, Fitzgerald. Wells gets his mojo back at the right time and rumbles into the end zone for the 1-yard TD.

Game is already getting chippy with unnecessary roughness penalties on Rams S Quintin Mikell and DE Chris Long has to be separated from what looked like Cardinals TE Jeff King.

» Continue reading “Rams At Cardinals Quarter Quick Hits”

Rams RB Steven Jackson: Probably the only player that got a passing grade in Sunday’s game. (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

NFL analysts and Vegas had the Rams 3.5 point favorites coming off the almost win against the very stout San Francisco 49ers team. I should have known something was up when NFL LIVE’s Mark Schlereth and Tedy Bruschi sang the Rams’ praises. Even the NFL Network Gameday Morning crew picked the Rams to beat the lowly struggling New York Jets. Red flag alert!

For what it’s worth I had the game score at 14-30. The final score of the game was 28-13. I just had the teams wrong.

And then from my game preview.

If the Rams don’t beat themselves they’ll beat the Jets. The Rams have to eliminate the stupid penalties and they can’t allow this become the trap game that people are speculating it could be. They have to win against the teams they are expected to beat.

Key words here include:

1) Stupid penalties – How about that phantom-ish holding call safety Rodney McLeod that wiped out the 98-yard kick return TD by wide receiver Chris Givens?

Here’s what Coach Fisher said when asked what his thoughts were on the penalty.

To me, no? Did it like like that to you? No. We’re not good enough to overcome those kinds of things and the fact that it wasn’t a hold, but it’s just kind of the way it happens. You don’t know what happens with the momentum change in that game if that works.

Or the illegal motion penalty on wide receiver Danny Amendola that negated a key 17-yard reception by tight end Lance Kendricks? All in all the Rams committed less fouls this game – ONLY five penalties for 30 yards. It’s a vast improvement from last week’s 13 but those two specific flags came at very inopportune times.

» Continue reading “Rams Lose 28-13 To Jets In Flat Fashion”

Arizona Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb sacked by Rams DT Jermelle Cudjo. 10/04/12 (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Isn’t that just a thing of beauty – from a Rams perspective, of course. If you’re Kevin Kolb this was the reoccurring nightmare that haunted him all night as he was sacked nine times at the Edward Jones Dome. In all, seven Rams defensive players took turns bringing Kolb to the turf. Only defensive end Robert Quinn recorded a hat trick for three sacks.

The Rams defense was more or less the story of the Thursday Night Football. They had their way with the Arizona Cardinals offensively scary offensive line. Poor Cardinal tackles D’Anthony Batiste and Bobby Massie had a long night. The only player who had a worse night - Kolb. Bloody lip, multiple hits, and as you can see from the photo above he had a 311 pound defensive tackle just flatten him. Say what you will about Kolb’s play but you can’t deny that he’s one tough son of a gun.

1) A Rams running man needs to show up.

 The Cardinals are giving up on average 101 yards on the ground which ranks them midrange (15th) in the league.  The collective efforts of Jackson, Richardson, and I’m hoping, Terrance Ganaway, will surpass the century mark.

Okay, so Ganaway didn’t see any action on the field but the Rams did manage to run more than 100 yards this game. Jackson managed to get some long runs during this game which helped set up the passing game. I sort of wondered how he’d play considering news of his contract changes had just come out. If this is indeed his last year playing as a Ram then he’s putting on a good show for future teams.

» Continue reading “Rams Beat Cardinals 3-17 To Stay Perfect At Dome Sweet Dome”

The Rams O-Line: #62 G Harvey Dahl, #59 C /G Robert Turner, #67 G Bryan Mattison  (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Right now these are the most important guys on the field in my book.  They are in charge of holding the pocket and protecting QB Sam Bradford from becoming another sack statistic in 2012.  But other than Harvey Dahl the other two are not projected starters.

Free agent center Scott Wells is finally able to participate in limited amounts at Thursday’s and according to offensive line coach Paul Boudreau he may see playing time in a couple of weeks.

Sam Bradford’s Cabin Fever

Sam Bradford swears he hasn’t heard the criticism that he’s become skittish in the pocket, mostly because he’s found a way to tune out the football media.

But that doesn’t mean he disagrees with the notion completely.

No, the St. Louis Rams’ third-year quarterback isn’t conceding happy feet or, as one ESPN analyst put it, “cabin fever.” What he will cop to is that last year he took too many hits. And that this summer, with new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s help, he’s taking the problem head on.  … Read more at NFL.com >>>>

» Continue reading “Pigskin Cover 3: Friday Edition”

QB Drills at 07/29/12 Rams Camp (Personal Photo)

Before heading out to Rams Camp I asked Rams fans who or what position they were interested in hearing about.  Most popular requests were Sam Bradford, WR’s, OLB, CB’s, and the O-line.  Less requested but equally as important are the special teams guys – kickers, kick return guys, and snappers.  No one asked for a punter preview which was disappointing because punters are (football) people, too.  Even the face of NFL Network, Rich Eisen, agrees.  (If you don’t know this about me already I’m a huge fan of Rich Eisen.  So this was a nice surprise.)

» Continue reading “Rams Training Camp Day One Notes”

Your St. Louis Rams

Here’s the official press release from the Rams front office with all the details of their first ever promotional schedule of the 2012 season.  They have lots of fun events and give-a-ways planned.  Also included is more information on “flex plan” ticket packages.  ”Flex plans provide preferred seating and discounted prices over single game tickets.”

Personally, I need to have one of those Fisher ‘staches, a soon-to-be collectors items amongst Rams fans.  The Laurinaitis and Bradford bobbleheads would just that extra flare to my sports shelf, too.

Rams Full Back Ben Guidugli (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Another installment from my weekly column at 101ESPN.  This week I interviewed Rams second year tight end turned full back Ben Guidugli.

What a difference a year makes

Exactly a year ago, I wrote about how the Rams defense needed to develop a focused identity. I specificially put James Laurinaitis on notice and said he needed to take charge in forging a strong Rams defense. (Laurinaitis stepped up to the challenge in 2011 by recording his best season with a combined 142 tackles and three sacks.)

It was also the 91st day of the NFL lockout. Lesser NFL players were taking other jobs to make ends meet, and free agents’ families were in limbo as everyone waited on NFL owners and the NFLPA to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement. On July 25, 2011, all the anxiety and frustration came to an end. Hallelujah!

But the one thing all 32 teams couldn’t get back was the valuable time lost. The 2011 rookie class didn’t have the luxury of OTAs (organized team activities), minicamps and weeks of absorbing the playbook. They basically got a crash course in the ways of the NFL, and for the Rams that wasn’t a good thing. Yeah, I’m trying to delete the 2-14 record from my memory.

It’s pronounced “guh-DOO-lee.”

I remember taking note of Ben Guidugli during a condensed training camp last summer. He was an undrafted free-agent tight end from Cincinnati who, on paper, didn’t seem to have a great shot at making the Rams’ final 53. He was competing for one of four tight end spots. The words “long shot” immediately darted into my head as the catchy pronunciation of his name stuck in my brain. (Say it with me now: The second “g” is silent, “guh-DOO-lee.”)

» Continue reading “One-On-One With Rams Full Back Ben Guidugli”

May 2012 OTA's (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

It’s the middle of May but by midday you could already get the feeling of the summer training camp weather that awaits the 2012 Rams.  Luckily for them pads weren’t required so the noon heat was bearable.  It will be a completely different and drenched story come July and August though.  Most of the rookies won’t know what hit them as they trudge through the thick wetness of a humid St. Louis summer.  Muhahaha.

Wednesday was the first day media was allowed to observe practice but it was actually the second day of OTA’s (organized team activities) for the entire squad.  Yes, the Rams were finally able to get together as a team.  Well, minus their defensive coordinator (cough, Gregg Williams, cough) and a few absent players.

» Continue reading “Rams Full Squad OTA Notes”