Who picked the Rams to win this game?  Not me.  The Saints put out 432 total yards of offense, but it was ‘Rams’ offense.  What I mean by that is that in a lot of games the Rams put up decent numbers, but the vast majority of them are accumulated when for all intensive purposes the game is already over.  That’s what happened in St Louis today with the Saints.  They made a lot of attempts to get back in the game, they even recovered an onside kick in the 4th, but the Rams dominated at almost all of the crucial moments of the game.

The Rams didn’t run the ball nearly as well in the second half of the game which means and we didn’t control the clock.  Which means the Saints had a lot of chances.  On their first possession of the 3rd quarter Drew Brees and company marched from their on 20 yard line (mostly via passing plays) to the Rams 37 yardline.  Then Brees was sacked and mauled by Rams D-TE Quinn causing a fumble.  The Rams next scored on a 35 yard field goal which was the only score of the quarter (Saints 3, Rams 27).

The Saints were well into Rams territory when the 4th quarter began.  Everyone knew that time was the remaining factor of the game.  Could the Rams, not stop the Saints from scoring, but keep them from scoring quickly and often enough.  The Saints actually scored a TD on this drive, but it was with a price.  Over and over the Rams stood them up on the goal line and the clock continued to run.  After scoring the TD the Saints went for a 2 point conversion and were denied.  On the next possession the Rams were only able to eat up about 3 minutes.  Then the Saints went back to work.  The Saints scored another TD, but it took 5 minutes.  The Saints successfully attempted an onside kick and suddenly things got interesting.   Luckily the Rams and Saints roll reversal continued and the Rams deflected a Saints field goal causing it to miss wide left.  And Rams fans… that would be all she wrote.  The scoring summary is below:

Next week the Rams take on the inconsistent Tampa Bay Bucs (sound familiar?) and then the Seattle Seahawks to close the season.  We have to win both to reach .500 for the year.  The way we do things we’ll lose the to the Bucs and beat the Seahawks.  Because that’s just how we roll.  Lol.  No matter how we finsh up; it should be fun.  Go Rams!!!

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It’s halftime in St Louis and so far it has been all Rams.  The Saints have threatened to score numerous times, but except for a single field goal, the Rams defense and special teams have come up big.  With 11:20 to go in the 1st QTR the Saints had driven to the Rams 10 yard line.  The game’s sportscaster had just announced how Brees holds the active record for consecutive red zone visits without an interception when Rams safety Johnson intercepts Brees right on the goal line.  Later, at the end of the 1st half, the Rams’ defense held the driving Saints at the Rams 18 yard line where they were forced to attempt a field goal.  Saints field goal kicker Hartley comes in, the ball is snapped, and Rams d-lineman Brockers extends his enormous hand and blocks the kick.  Awesome!

On the offensive side of the ball Rams QB Clemens has tossed 2 TD passes, has no interceptions, and currently is standing on a QB rating of 142.  And although the Rams have held the Saints to 33 total yards rushing, our own power running back Zac Stacy has already rushed for 106 yards.  This has been a monster game (so far) for the Rams.

The Saints are a great team and play with a lot of pride.  Look for them to come out strong in the 2nd half.  The Rams have a great chance of winning this.  We need to keep running the ball and we cannot have turnovers.   We had a bad season against the Niners, but if we could pull off a win against the Saints, everything would feel a little better.

The second half has started… GO RAMS!!!

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It’s hard to point to any one thing in this 20 point loss to the Cardinals.  To start with the Rams just looked uninspired and if you watched the game you saw they played that way too.  It’s hard to stay objective when so many things went wrong.  Tavon Austin might have been a single shining light in the dark with approximately 150 all purpose yards for the day. 

Here is the scoring summary:

Next week we take on the the Saints so more suffering to come.  But you never know…  The Rams are great at winning games when it doesn’t matter.

Hang in there Rams fans…   Happy Holidays!

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The Rams picked up a lot of useless yards in the last drive of the half.  The Cardinals were basically in prevent defense and the Rams were able to drive down the field.  But the clock expired and the drive was meaningless.  As usual the Rams have played decent defense, but we have had little offense.  Without that last Rams drive… we’d have about half the offensive stats as the Cardinals.  Our RB Stacy has only rushed for 11 yards.  We’re good when Stacy or Cunningham is burning up yards and spreading the field.  The offensive line has not made it easy for him, but they have not allowed a sack.  At the half the score is Rams 3, Cards 14.

Nothing new to be said for the 2nd half.  Get the running game going is soo important.  Someone needs to step up.  This is not over, but dang!

Go Rams!!!

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It was a beautiful day for football.  High for the day was 71 and the sky was clear and blue.

What you see here is pretty close to my view of the game (I was a little to the left).  I was excited to catch the game live and the guy sitting next to me didn’t seem to care I was a Rams fan.  Some bottle water (I had a beer at the half) and some sunflowers seeds… The Rams win the toss and elect to receive the ball.  LET’S DO THIS…

The Rams start the game on their own 15 yardline.  They go 3 and out and kick it away.  The Niners drive the length of the field, but are stalled at the the Rams 14 yard line and settle for a FG.  Next the Niners kick the ball and this time we start from our own 20 yardline.  Unfortunately, field position doesn’t really matter as the Rams go 3 and out once more.  Things are about to get repetitious here because after recieving the ball, the Niners march down the field and once more are stalled and forced to kick a field goal.  We have just entered the 2nd QTR and the score is Rams 0, SF 6.  In Q2, the Rams manage a FG and the Niners tack on a TD.  The TD came from a 3 yard Frank Gore run, but the Niners got there because SF QB Kaepernick carved up the Rams secondary.  One of the keys to winning this game was for the Ram to get out and score early…  Well, this may not end well for us (ok, it doesn’t… we lose).

Not too much goes on in the third QTR.  Both teams are able to deliver sustainable drives and both teams fall slightly short and settle for FGs.  At the end of three, it’s Rams 6, Niners 16.  Sitting in a roaring Niners stadium this has become painful, but not overwhelming.  Challenging, but certainly not hopeless.  We’ve got to get into the end zone in the 4th to make this any kind of real contest.  Instead, someone on the Rams offensive coaching staff lets out a loud and smelly brainfart.  We attempt a fake punt deep in our own territory (WHAT???).  We bungle it and turn the ball over to the Niners on our own 17 yard line.  Who makes this call?  At this point a victory is not out of the question and we’re not even in a desperate situation (yet).  Kaepernick gets his hands on the ball and swiftly tosses it to SF TE Vernon Davis who runs right through us and into the end zone.  This is a freeby TD and a nail in our coffin.

Now, if you look at the stats it looks like this was a fairly close game, but it wasn’t.  And although it might not have been said out loud, this game was a must win for us.  At 5 and 7 we are effectively out of the playoff run.  Next weekend we play yet another division opponent in the AZ Cardinals.  I’m really hoping this roller coaster we call ‘Rams Football’ is heading back up the track.  Happy Holidays Rams fans and have a great week!

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