Rams Get Thumped by Rodgers and the Packers

Preseason Pick: LOSS 37-17, 3rd in NFC West (3-4)
Actual Results: LOSS 30-20, 4th in NFC West (3-4)

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Week 7: GREEN BAY @ RAMS

Already considered a good season by Rams standards, St. Louis returns home to face a tough Packers squad. Aaron Rodgers has a field day against an injured St. Louis defense, passing for nearly 350 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Rams keep the game close at first, but the Pack eventually pulls away with a big win.
LOSS 37-17, 3rd in NFC West (3-4)

Okay, so the Rams defense wasn't exactly all that banged up, and the final score margin wasn't quite as big, but Aaron Rodgers did indeed have a field day against the Rams, passing for nearly 350 yards (342) and 3 touchdowns. The Rams did manage to keep the game close (it was a one-touchdown game in the forth), but the Rams just could not stop a brilliant Rodgers and offensive attack from the Pack. In a game that felt like a road game (seriously, with the Rams in their road unis and the crowd chanting Go Pack Go), the Rams again missed an opportunity to upset the always dangerous Packers. With a two game losing streak and New England coming up next, this will be a key time for the Rams to hunker down and play hard before the bye.

Offensively, this team is still struggling to move the ball. Steven Jackson scored the first Rams rushing touchdown of the season, but the ground game was only okay at best. The Rams must establish a passing attack if they have any hope of pushing through on third downs. With the offensive line being a revolving door of injuries and washed-up talent, the blame can't all be put on Sam Bradford. But the entire offense was to blame in this one. Apart from the long drive at the end of the game in garbage time, this offense has never really been able to sustain drives that end in touchdowns. Frequently the receivers are running low underneath routes to compensate for bad protection. The coaches seem to trust their receivers a bit too much in YAC completions, and I cringe every time Bradford checks down to a tightly covered slot man in front of the first down marker. These receivers just do not know what it takes to get open or even adjust to the play. I think the Rams should use more QB rollouts, as it allows a certain degree of improv to receiver route-running. But as it stands now, there is little to nothing coming from simple dinking-and-dunking. Might as well just go for big plays every down.

Defensively, this team is still stout. You can't blame them for not being able to hold the illustrious Aaron Rodgers out of the endzone. Rodgers made some incredible throws, and his receivers (imagine if some of those guys were on our team) made amazing plays to attack the football. Frequently corners played tight, but simply got beat on the outside. The touchdown pass to Cobb late was particularly crazy. The defense managed to stop the running attack somewhat at least, but it was nothing to get excited about since the Pack returned to their signature passing game on the very next play. I think the Rams have found their defense that can certainly keep them in games. However, their offense is in need of huge improvement.

Special teams redeemed themselves this week, with Greg Zuerlein hitting 2 long field goals after missing some key ones in Miami. Johnny Hekker continues to punt well, which is always a good thing for a team that frequents 4th downs. Kick returns and punt returns were nothing to get too excited about, although they did manage to hold the dangerous Randall Cobb in check for most of the game.

Overall, this game was an expected loss, but I was pleasantly surprised that the Rams played until the final whistle, scoring a late touchdown in garbage time. Perhaps it was simply a glorified scrimmage in order to prepare for the next opponent in what will surely be the toughest test of the season. Nevertheless, the Rams offense certainly needs a lot of work.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Rams travel to London next week to take on the New England Patriots. Although I believe the Patriots aren't as good this year as they have been in years past (Tom Brady looks like he's lost a step), it will still be a tough team to face in what essentially amounts to a road game. The Rams made some interesting moves today, releasing much-maligned guard Quinn Ojinnaka and replacing him with the former Bear Chris Williams. It will be interesting to see if Williams' presence will bring some solidity to the line, or whether he will fall back to his injury-prone ways. The Rams will certainly need to keep the dangerous Patriots offense in check, but even more so keep it out of their hands. If they can establish their running game and even a semblance of a passing attack, they may have a chance for an upset heading into the bye. But don't count on it.