*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.

St. Louis Rams defense huddle. (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

The home season finale at the Edward Jones Dome didn’t go quite as planned. The score at half time ballooned to 30-7 and the Rams got lost searching for their missing offense. They’ve had a habit of starting games slowly and this time the deficit was too big to overcome.

All Day Made The Rams Pay

I fully expected the Rams to win Sunday. I knew Vikings powerhouse running back Adrian Peterson would run on the Rams. With that being said, I didn’t think I’d witness a 212-yard spanking. He did almost half of the damage on two runs in the second half: 82 yards that resulted in a TD and 52 yards that ended with a 51-yard field goal by kicker Blair Walsh. In all fairness to the Rams defense they did hold Peterson in check for a good portion of the game. It’s just that when he did break a couple of runs he really gored them.

The Usual Penalties 

The Rams offense drudged through the first quarter on their way to eight penalties. So last week’s two flags were the anomaly. Four false starts by the offensive line (seriously who gets called for false starts at home?!),  holding calls on left tackle Rodger Saffold, and my personal favorite the unsportsmanlike conduct taunting flag on wide receiver Brandon Gibson.

Just when the Rams have you believing they are headed in the right direction they take a detour the next game. This latest loss may have directed them out of the playoffs.

» Continue reading “36-22 Loss To Vikings Detours Rams Playoff Chances”

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”

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”

August 3, 2012 Training Camp (Courtesy of STLouisRams.com)

All hail the glorious football gods.  Thursday night we get our second taste of the NFL.  Scheduled are six match ups as follows:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 09^TH

7:00PMET - REDSKINS    AT BILLS  

7:30PMET - RAVENS    AT FALCONS  

7:30PMET - SAINTS    AT PATRIOTS  

7:30PMET - STEELERS    AT EAGLES  

8:00PMET - PACKERS    AT CHARGERS    – ESPN

8:30PMET - BRONCOS    AT BEARS  

Albeit with replacement referees but the Packers at Chargers on ESPN so that’s what I’ll be tuning into.  The Rams play the Packers on October 21 for those of you who are asking.  I’m still debating whether getting Preseason LIVE is worth it – $20 for all the preseason games online.  I got it last year and watched a handful of games.  We’ll see…

Now onto today’s Rams links.

» Continue reading “Pigskin Cover 3: Thursday Edition”

Mooooose! (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

So I’ve been saying the Rams practices up until now have been just… meh. Not much they can really do other than tag/flag football in just shirts and shorts. But not Thursday night. Rams finished their first padded practice with some pre- and post-whistle activities. Quite frankly, it’s a good sign.

Both St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas and St. Louis Rams.com writer Nick Wagoner are both reporting increased intensity at practice.

Linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, in his own way, welcomed new teammate second year tight end Lance Kendricks to the Gregg Williams defense. Bam. Down goes Kendricks as he caught a pass over the middle.

Then he had bigger beast to fry. Dunbar apparently dropped running back Steven Jackson. Bam. Bam. Yep, twice. The physicality didn’t seem to bother Jackson much as he seemed indifferent after each tackle. But his right guard, Harvey “That’s not f-ing holding” Dahldidn’t take kindly to Dunbar’s thrown down moves.

Not wanting to feel left out, tackle Barry Richardson and defensive ends Eugene Sims and William Hayes that had to be separated.

Okay, so this is just my conspiracy theory without any evidence to back it up but if I’m head coach Jeff Fisher, assistant head coach Dave McGinnis, secondary coach Chuck Cecil and/or linebackers coach Blake Williams I’m having the defense intentionally poke at the offense to see what they’re made of. Especially Dunbar and Cortland Finnegan who are already very well versed in the Jeff Fisher/Gregg Williams defense.

» Continue reading “Rams Spirited First Padded Practice: As Iron Sharpens Iron”

Ah, the memories… (New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and then Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday.)

Hard to believe this was one year ago to the day. The owners and the NFLPA finally get the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) done and we got football back for the 2011 season.

Since then, center Jeff Saturday has left Indianapolis and is now a Packer (weird). His former quarterback Peyton Manning is now a Bronco (more weird) and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft helped his aspiring actress gal pal audition for a part in a movie (ultimate weirdness… And no, I will not post the link to that bizarre video. You can Google it.) Oh, how times have changed.

I’ve also gone through some changes and have been away for the off season. Now I’m back with new priorities along with some new perspective gained over the summer. But that’s for another post.

Now let’s get down to the business at hand – Rams talk.

» Continue reading “Pigskin Audibles: Catching Up On Rams Off Season”

Rams Mini-Camp June 2012 (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Here are some first hand observations from Rams mini-camp which was held June 14-16 in Earth City. (The weather pretty much held up the first couple of days. They were especially nice because Tuesday and Wednesday they took place late afternoon. Thursday’s practice was midday so the heat seemed a bit worse.)

From the first day of mini-camp: Tuesday

– DNP and/or limited action: Center Scott Wells (excused absence as well as what coach Jeff Fisher finally said was partly due to a knee scope; Wells is expected back healthy in time for training camp), cornerback Cortland Finnegan (who was seen leaving OTAs last week with a left hand injury), and tight ends Mike Hoomanawanui (did light workouts on the sidelines) and Lance Kendricks (left practice with an apparent hand injury, according to Rams writer Nick Wagoner).

– Undrafted free-agent rookie running back Nick Schweiger made his full-squad debut today as Dartmouth finally graduated its seniors over the weekend.

– Speaking of Schweiger, he and fellow rookie running back Isaiah Pead looked to be getting some extra reps as they both play catch-up after missing a good chunk of OTAs.

– Sam Bradford and wide receiver Greg Salas connected on what looked like a beautiful fingertip catch by Salas. The Hawaii product also showed some tight footwork during the catch.

–It looked like tackles Jason Smith and Rodger Saffold were getting some good work (not full contact) in this afternoon – a very good sign for Bradford.

» Continue reading “NOTES FROM RAMS JUNE 2012 MINI-CAMP”

Head Coach Jeff Fisher (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

In case you missed last week’s post on the Rams’ sixth OTA on 101ESPN.com …

Friday, the St. Louis Rams finished up their sixth of a total 10 sanctioned organized team activities (OTAs) before heading out for the long holiday weekend.

The energy around camp was still high as players went through a variety of drills and exercises. Earlier in the week, head coach Jeff Fisher said, “We got a lot done, a lot of different situations and scenarios, end-of-the-game scenarios.” Friday was another extension of getting the basics down and installing the playbook that Fisher said was about 70 percent installed as of Wednesday.

One thing I noticed was the interchanging and various substitutions for personnel packages. Coach Fisher was mixing things up and accessing which players fit best and where.

I don’t know if he is much of a cook, but Fisher reminded me of the cooking competition “Iron Chef,” which fittingly enough takes place in Kitchen Stadium.

Coach Fisher is trying to put together a prize-winning (Lombardi Trophy) recipe using all sorts of ingredients – a little less passing here, more secondary pressure there and also throwing in a surprise play to kick it up a notch. Bam! (I think I just mixed my cooking shows, but oh well…)

Camps and OTAs are the perfect opportunity to try out these different combinations and permutations to get that formula just right for the regular season. Fisher seems well aware of as much, particularly when it pertains to the eight tight ends currently on the Rams’ roster.

» Continue reading “What’s Cooking At Rams OTA’s”

Sigh... SMH.

With Pettis out, revisiting the NFC West drafts

Rookie draft choices are making strong contributions throughout the NFC West, but less so in St. Louis after the NFL suspended receiver Austin Pettis.

Something we here in St. Louis know oh too well.  And not the rest of the ESPN/NFL world knows it.  It’s especially depressing when you go through and read how the other teams’ draft picks have progressed and flourished.  49ers’ Aldon Smith and Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson just to name a couple of stand outs.  Most people couldn’t even name one Rams’ draft pick from this year.

Rams 2011 draft class disappointing

Through injury, poor performance and questionable roster decisions, this year’s draft has not been very productive for the Rams. In fact, in the final two games of the season, defensive end Robert Quinn (first round) and tight end Lance Kendricks (second round) will be the only two drafted players active. Two undrafted free agents will also play: cornerback Chris Smith and long snapper Jake McQuaide.

Um, yeah…  So what’s going on with the Rams?  Is it bad talent evaluation or is it bad coaching, or both?  Another damning red flag against the current regime staying.

Stop with the excuses for Spags and Devaney

Perhaps I need to read (again) the words of the late, great Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, just to make sure I remember the objective here.

It was Lombardi who once said, “Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will all be judged on one thing: the result.”

Yet, many make excuses for Spags and Devaney staying put.  I’m pretty much decided on getting rid of Devaney but there’s definitely a part of me that thinks Spags could get another year – at least let him finish out his contract.  I’d like to see what he could do with a healthy roster.  I don’t think Mr. Miklasz really agrees but that’s okay.