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”

In week 10, the first meeting between the two teams ended in a 24-24 tie. It was an unbelievable foot stomping, hair pulling, deep sighing tie. The ups and downs that occurred just in the 15 minutes of overtime were enough to render a Dramamine sedated fan nauseous. Here are my real time game notes if you’re wanting to relive the roller coaster ride.

Even though the Rams and 49ers are playing again in the span of four weeks, Sunday’s week 13 match up will not be the same for four reasons.

1) Rams will most likely be without wide receiver Danny Amendola.

Amendola has not practiced all week nursing a foot injury. He’s been seen off and on with a walking boot at Rams Park which is never a good sign even, if precautionary. He was a big reason for the Rams success against the 49ers in week 10 with 11 receptions for 102 yards. (And that’s not including the 80-yard bomb that should have counted but got wiped out by stupid penalties.)

Amendola is officially listed as doubtful.

2) The 49ers will be getting their first real glimpse at rookies cornerback Janoris Jenkins and wide receiver Chris Givens.

The Rams dynamic duo got into some dynamic trouble on the business trip to the Bay Area a few weeks ago. Coach Fisher put his foot down and the two were relegated to running stairs during pre-game warm ups and watching helplessly on the sidelines.

Since coming off the figurative naughty chair the two have made a big impact – especially last week against the Cardinals. Jenkins returned two INTs for touchdowns (He scored 12 of the team’s 31 points) and Givens had five receptions for 115 yards and 1 TD.

3) Rams center Scott Wells will be playing.

The anchor(man) of the Rams offensive line, (I am Scott Wells?) was not available in week 10 but returned last week. His presence immediately upgrades the line in turn upgrades the offense.

» Continue reading “San Francisco 49ers At St. Louis Rams Week 13 Preview”

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.

Let’s see how this goes…

First quarter

The big news of the afternoon: Rookies Janoris Jenkins (CB) and Chris Givens (WR) – INACTIVE for today’s game. On top of that third string DT Kellen Heard was released. All stemming from what the Rams are calling a violation of team rules.

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DT Michael Brockers and DE Robert Quinn share a sack on 49ers QB Alex Smith.

The Rams must have read my game preview. They marched down the field 66 yards with the ground and pound via Steven Jackson in the opening drive. This set up a 36-yard TD from Sam Bradford to rookie wide receiver Brian Quick. Welcome to the game, Mr. Quick. We’ve been waiting for this type of play from you.

Rams defense doing their best to stop RB Frank Gore and the Niners run game. DT Jermelle Cudjo with a big third down tackle for loss. So far so good.

More ground work as Steven Jackson rumbles in 7 yards to score the Rams second TD. They are up 14-0 with 1:47 left in the first quarter. Yep, you heard right. First quarter.

The Rams are pumped and taking it to the 49ers right now. I think they are a little stunned. I know I am.

» Continue reading “Rams At 49ers: Quarter Quick Hits”

Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Was this a winnable game against a formidable elite NFL team? Yes. But as with just about any the Rams losses they were still in it in the fourth quarter. This a welcomed change from years past but it doesn’t make the defeat any easier to swallow. Especially when we don’t see improvement from week to week in certain areas.

Same song, different verse.

Rams dropped critical passes: Yes, I’m looking at you Brit Miller and Brandon Gibson to extend drives.

Rams failed to wrap it up: Bad tackling. I distinctly remember a missed tackle by Jo-Lonn Dunbar that lead to a crucial third down conversion for the Packers in the fourth quarter that lead to the last Packer touchdown.

Rams didn’t finish drives with touchdowns: i.e. continued red zone woes. I’m not counting the last minute garbage time touchdown from Sam Bradford to Austin Pettis. The game was more than over by then.

I counted three defensive false starts/neutral zone infractions, two on defensive end Chris Long and the other on Kendall Langford. Not to mention the offensive false starts, delay of game, and a very questionable unnecessary roughness call on cornerback Cortland Finnegan.

The Rams defense was able to pester Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with three sacks by Michael Brockers, William Hayes, and Robert Quinn but failed to create those all important turnovers.

I liked that new offensive linemen Joe Barksdale and Shelley Smith came in and did a pretty good job today. They weren’t perfect – they let Clay Matthews III through for a sack on Bradford – but overall Matthews III had a relatively quiet night.

As expected Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein shook off last week and came back to easily make a 50-yard and 43-yard field goals. I never lost faith.

The Packers weren’t playing with a full deck (no WR Greg Jennings, DT B.J. Raji, CB Sam Shields, and LB Nick Perry) yet seemed to find a way to make plays when it mattered the most.

» Continue reading “Rams No Longer Perfect At Home, Lose To Packers 30-20″

The Rams take their third road trip of the season to Miami this week as they try to win their first game away from Dome Sweet Dome. The Miami Dolphins are coming off their first road win as they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 17-13.

There they will face another rookie quarterback in Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill threw for 223 yards but none of them connecting on touchdowns. In fact, Tannehill has only thrown two touchdowns this season and six interceptions. He could be adding few to that latter stat by the end of week 6 and I don’t see him padding his touchdown stats either. His offensive line should have their hands full with the Rams front four.

Basically, the defense will have to carry the burden and much of the load for a Rams offense that has yet to score a rushing touchdown this season. They are the only remaining team to hold such infamous distinction since Tennessee Titan back up running back Jamie Harper vultured a touchdown from Chris Johnson owners on Thursday night.

With the Dolphins only giving up 61.4 yards per game, the best rushing defense in the league, don’t be surprised if the Rams go into week 7 still without a rushing touchdown. Their best bet is to change it up on the Dolphins rush defense by giving them calculating doses of Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson. Will Isaiah Pead see many snaps? Your guess is as good as mine.

» Continue reading “St. Louis Rams At Miami Dolphins Week 6 Preview”

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”

Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein (Or “Geezy” as I like to call him.) (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

The Rams defense started the game with… well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. The Seahawks, lead by running back Marshawn Lynch, marched down the field 80 yards to put up an easy 7 points.

But then the good Rams showed up for a majority of the game.

Here are a few quick hits from today:

1) In a surprising move by Coach Fisher, wide receiver Steve Smith (and running back Isaiah Pead) ends up on the inactive list making room for rookie Brian Quick. Along with fellow rookie wide receiver Chris Givens, Quick finally made an impact on the game. Givens hauled in a beautiful 52 yard pass from Bradford for a huge gain. Quick logged in his first NFL pass reception a well timed 19 yard catch. Good to see the youngin’s get some playing time and contributing.

2) I can’t talk about this game without mentioning the current front runner for Rams MVP, rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein. All he did was break Jeff Wilkins‘ 1998 57-yard record by punching through the uprights a 58-yarder. Then as if that wasn’t enough in the third quarter he one ups himself by launching a 60-yard field goal to extend the Rams lead 7-13. Zuerlein went 4 for 4 connecting on 58, 48, 60, and 24 yard field goals. All in all he scored 13 (1 point from a PAT) of the 19 Rams points.

3) For all the talk about Steven Jackson‘s groin he lasted the entire game: 18 carries for 55 yards. Not the most exciting stat line but Jackson came up with some bursts and critical drive extensions. If anything the threat of him breaking a long one kept the Seahawks defense honest.

» Continue reading “Rams Rookie Kicker Zuerlein Shines As Rams Best The Seahawks 13-19″

The St. Louis Rams have lost the last three of the four times they’ve met up with the Seattle Seahawks. Their last win came in St. Louis on October 3, 2010 during week 4 when they beat the Matthew Hasselbeck lead Hawks 3-20. That was also the last time the Rams started the season at 2-2.

Two years later both teams find themselves in similar situations. Seattle comes in at 2-1 and St. Louis finds itself at 1-2 heading into week 4. Rams running back Steven Jackson is nursing a groin injury again and is questionable for the game.  In 2010, Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung left the game with an ankle injury and finds himself in 2012 playing with a bum knee. Déjà vu isn’t just a song by Dionne Warwick, folks.

Despite his strained groin Jackson managed to play through the pain in 2010 and lead the Rams with a combined 126 yards rushing and receiving (70 yards rushing on 22 carries and 3 receptions for 54 yards.)

Jackson will have to have a repeat performance in order for the Rams to beat a much improved Seahawks in 2012.

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The Five Things I’ll be watching for in week 4:

1) Will running back Steven Jackson be effective?

I’ve already recapped what he did back in 2010 when he was dealing with that groin injury. Can he take the team on his shoulders or in this case his legs and take the Rams to a .500 record? Jackson didn’t participate in practices all week so there’s optimism that he’s healed up enough to give it a go on Sunday.

If Jackson can’t be effective then Coach Fisher has a back up plan.

Well, we’ve been splitting reps. They’re all ready to play, even (RB) Terrance (Ganaway) is ready to play. We’ve been splitting reps in the event that ‘Jack’ can’t go.

Last week the sixth ranked rushing defense (76 yards per game allowed) of the Chicago Bears held the entire Rams running game to 59 yards on 17 carries. The Seahawks are ranked second allowing a meager 58 yards per game. It’s not looking very promising at this point.

» Continue reading “Seattle Seahawks At St. Louis Rams Week 4 Preview”

Bear Down

I was able to catch up with Chicago Sun-Times beat writer, Sean Jensen, to get an insider’s perspective of the Rams week 3 opponent, Da Bears.

He had interesting comments on some of the Bears players as well as bringing to my attention an emerging defensive force who the Rams must game plan for.

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Our conversation started as I was reading a few of Jensen’s tweets from the 18th. I’ve highlighted the corresponding Rams rankings for reference (where available) in blue.

“What’s killing Jay Cutler are third-down plays. His rating is 44.7, 31st in the NFL, as he’s completing just 50% of his passes.”

Sam Bradford‘s overall third down rating is 125.2 and he is completing 71.7% of his passes.  This ranks Bradford third in completion percentage only to Minnesota’s Christian Ponder (75.8%) and San Diego’s Philip Rivers (73.8%).

“#Bears QB Jay Cutler‘s passer rating of 58.5 is 31st in the NFL, one spot behind rookie Ryan Tannehill & one spot ahead of Brandon Weeden.”

Bradford’s overall passer rating is 112.4, third only to Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (117.6) and San Francisco’s Alex Smith (115.9).

“Why are the #Bears struggling on offense? One reason: they average a league-worst 2.73 yards per first-down play. NFL avg is 5.27 yards.”

“#Bears defense is tied for first (with the Atlanta Falcons) with seven take-aways.”

Rams defense is tied for 7th with Seattle and Green Bay with four take-a-ways in the NFC.

“#Bears passing offense is ranked 26th and the run offense is tied for 18th. #Bears pass defense is 21st.”

Rams passing offense is ranked 18th (237 yds) and the run offense is 13th (114 yds).  Rams pass defense is 24th (271.5 yds).

“After Week 2, #Bears offense ranked 27th overall in the NFL while the defense is 14th.”

Rams offense ranked 17th overall in the NFL while the defense is 24th.

» Continue reading “Bears DT Henry Melton “A Force To Be Reckoned With” Says Sean Jensen”

Rams WR Brian Quick (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

The Rams rammed it to the Chiefs Saturday at the Dome giving The Stache his first victory as Rams’ head coach.  A stunning 17-31 win.  Yes, it’s just preseason and yes it technically doesn’t count.  But as with most things, it still matters.

It matters because the team made progress since week 1.  It matters because it shows there is life in this reincarnation of their beloved team.  It matters because this gives fans hope.

(I love modern technology – until it decides to fail on me.  I have family visiting for a week so I couldn’t watch the Rams game live.  Next best thing was to record it and view later.  Ah, even the best laid plans sometimes…)

I don’t want to write something I didn’t see myself but since you guys shouldn’t have togo without because my DVR pooped out on me, here are a few game recaps from last night.  My favorite one being first up right here.

Too bad it didn’t count: Rams dominate Chiefs in preseason home opener

To quote Sam Bradford, “Wow.” That was his response to Danny Amendola’s highlight-reel-worthy one-handed, no-look touchdown catch that put the Rams up 14-0. But it may as well extend to the whole game, a 180-degree turnaround from last week and one of those rare football days when every single thing seems to go right.

Last week’s Rams fan mantra, “It’s only the preseason, it’s only the preseason,” might fall on a few deaf ears tonight in the wake of a manful 31-17 tuneup of the Kansas City Chiefs. Everything clicked for Jeff Fisher’s team tonight, from start to finish, from first string to third, from Sam Bradford’s first pass (an absolute beauty) to the rarely-seen victory formation.

But.

It’s only the preseason. … Read more at Ramsherd.com >>>>

» Continue reading “Pigskin Cover 3: Sunday Edition”