Preseason Pick: LOSS 20-17, Tied 3rd in NFC West (3-8)Actual Results: WIN 31-17, 3rd in NFC West (4-6-1)
After a disappointing loss to the Jets last week, the Rams once again stumbled out of the gates with a lackluster first half effort. However, thanks to an improved defense and slowly improving offense, the Rams managed to pull together a much-needed road win over the hapless Cardinals. The star of the game was Janoris Jenkins, who became the first Rams rookie to return two picks for touchdowns in the same game. Other players like Chris Givens, Sam Bradford, and even Craig Dahl contributed as well to a nice win for the Rams late in the season.
The stars of this game played on defense, so we'll start with them first. Although the Rams only recorded a single sack of the rookie Ryan Lindley, they managed to keep Lindley at bay by hammering out 4 picks (2 by Jenkins, 1 by Dahl, and 1 by Laurinaitis). The Rams defense continues to improve week by week since getting shellacked by the Patriots in London. With a big game coming from Janoris Jenkins (including the first takeover in 5 games), this defense will only gain confidence heading into next week.
Offensively, the Rams kept to fundamentals. Sam Bradford had a good but not glorious game. His receivers are partly to blame, but Chris Givens seems to be a rising deep threat. Danny Amendola's injury concerns are very costly to this receiving corps, and they must be sure to upgrade this position heavily in the offseason. Steven Jackson was an animal, churning for yards and picking up first downs. His emotional mentality is vital to many plays. The offensive line is finally fully healthy with the addition of center Scott Wells. To wit, this line has played well throughout the year, but this unit specifically may have the makings of elevating it to the next level.
Johnny Hekker continues to impress, and his punts helped to keep Patrick Peterson at bay. Greg Zuerlein has cooled since his outstanding early season performance, missing an easy 35-yarder. He must calm down in such situations, because he can be a very reliable kicker when his head isn't up in the clouds.
After watching the Rams lose heartbreakers to Arizona last season, it was nice to finally see it from the other end of the table. Overall, the Rams turned in a surprisingly good performance. The Jets loss really helped catapult them into seriousness about turning the season around. Late season wins are hard to come by with this team, but the stretch gets easier and the Rams could finish around .500. The hardest game left is arguably against Seattle on the road in Week 17, or this week's upcoming game.
LOOKING AHEAD: The tie from 2 weeks ago continues where it left off, in a grudge match between the Rams and the 49ers. San Francisco has slowly kept chugging along, even with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback. To me, Kaepernick is the better quarterback for the Niners right now. The Rams have a tough time defending dual-threat quarterbacks, and Kaepernick has barely had the playing experience to still be fresh and un-defendable. If the Niners put in Alex Smith, the Rams may have a chance. But with Kaepernick in, the Rams will see a familiar offense to that they saw late in the game 2 weeks ago. Bottom line, I still see the Niners winning this one handily, but if the Rams can come down to Earth and play with raw emotion and pride, they may be able to steal this one (which is saying a lot).
Sidenote: I believe this is the first time the Rams have worn a non-monochrome uniform all season. Personally, I like the white on blue look. It mixes it up. My second favorite would have to be the white-on-white, since it looks so clean (and there is such a thing as too much blue). Of course, nothing can beat the gold pants look, whatever the jersey color may be. They really should bring that back.
Preseason Pick: LOSS 23-20, 3rd in NFC West (3-7)Actual Results: LOSS 27-13, 4th in NFC West (3-6-1)
I should've known better. No game is an "easy win" for the Rams. Not anymore. The young thriving defense from earlier this season has quickly transformed into a trailing group of ho-hum talent. Offensively, the team seemingly tries to avoid getting into a rhythm. The Rams came out with a great first drive, but little to nothing after that. Questionable coaching was once again present and the injury bug also hit a few times. Basically, the Rams fell right into the Jets' trap game. Hard.
I still believe Sam Bradford can bee this franchise's quarterback. He hasn't lived up to his number one overall draft selection, however, and certainly never will. But Bradford can certainly be efficient when needed, but consistency has been a problem. Bradford threw some really nice anticipation throws last week against the Niners. This week, he was off on his deep balls and went to covered receivers on his dinking and dunking. It seemed that the Bradford of Thursday Night Football against the Cards was back. Granted, the receivers hardly ever get separation underneath on crossing routes. This is why Danny Amendola is so critical to this team. He is the only receiver that can operate his hands and body in space. Even when he's being tagged by a defensive back, he can still target the football without missing a beat. His ankle injury was of concern today, but he seemed alright afterwards. Steven Jackson is playing his hardest, and a passionate player like that is hard to come by these days. Daryl Richardson once again had ball control issues, as well as blocking issues. Hopefully the Rams find a way to use Pead or some other strong back to help block for Bradford, because Richardson is looking more and more like strictly a scatback. The O-line was average once again. Needless to say, that's a compliment considering expectations going into the season. However, they must continue to stay healthy and mesh.
Defensively, the Rams have always had weakness in the secondary. Mark Sanchez and the Jets successfully exploited this before committing to the run against the tough Rams front. The D-line has been looking somewhat stagnant the past few games. They're certainly tough, but they overpursue a lot. Frequently Chris Long and Robert Quinn are chasing down some runner or quarterback who has escaped the pocket with only a linebacker or two ahead of him. The linebackers have been tough this season but unimpressive in pass coverage. Because of that, a lot relies on the secondary, which hasn't necessarily been al that good. Jenkins and Finnegan are fairly average corners. Mikell and Dahl get fooled by certain route-runners. The defense will need to shore up this problem, because seam routes, out routes, and even certain hitch patterns are all the opposing receivers need to run in order to record a catch.
Special teams has become a source of anonymity on this Rams team. They all have high expectations, particularly Greg Zeurlein and Johnny Hekker. But now that the Rams have been offensively challenged, the kicking duties are mostly regulated to punts. Hekker did a pretty good job on an onside kick late in the game, but the Rams left no one back to catch the bounce just in case. Oh yeah, and they did a fine job of handling that Tebow guy too.
Overall, this game was sloppy and terrible. The coaches made a few questionable calls, the offense was terrible, and the defense was exploited. I thought this would be an easy win, considering the state of the Jets (even though I picked a preseason loss). That being said, the Rams have pretty much followed my preseason record for them, even though I expected much better results. A loss like this is not acceptable. This Rams team is starting to look like the one of old...inconsistent as hell. Perhaps an influx of youth and maybe a few veterans will change this team next year.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Rams face Arizona for the second time this season. We all remember what happened back in Week 5, and the Cardinals haven't really changed much since then. However, they gave the Falcons a run for their money today, ultimately losing. In the preseason I predicted a close Cardinals win. After the performance today by both teams, I'm sticking with that.
Preseason Pick: LOSS 39-17, 3rd in NFC West (3-6)Actual Results: TIE 24-24, 4th in NFC West (3-5-1)
Well, well, well, what a surprise. Coming of the bye week for both teams, the Rams and 49ers played a close one in Candlestick yesterday, in a game that could not be decided by the end of overtime. For the 49ers, the game showed just how dangerous St. Louis has become, and just how much they need to shore up before next week's MNF game. For the Rams, it was simply a mistake-filled game of missed opportunities. Questionable coaching, questionable officiating, and mind-boggling penalties abounded. The Rams had this game in hand, and simply lost it. Up 14-0 early, they let the 49ers bounce back and take the lead. The Rams managed to take the lead with a minute to go, but a questionable timeout right before the go-ahead touchdown allowed the 49ers a chance to come back. And that they did. But the teams could do little in overtime, missing field goals and generally sucking. An ugly game throughout.
The Rams offense was surprisingly the best part of this game. Sam Bradford is starting to look more consistent, and shows that he can be this team's number 1 quarterback. Steven Jackson looked vintage Jackson early on, and Daryl Richardson provided the usual change-of-pace speed. The second touchdown drive was particularly impressive in this area of the running game. The o-line performed well in pass protection but got sloppy in run blocking as the game went on. Of course, their biggest drawback was the holding and false start penalties that stalled drives. Delays of game were also prevalent, and those simply killed a few drives. The Rams were constantly faced with third and longs later on, and if Bradford couldn't find Danny Amendola, it was a lost cause. Speaking of Amendola, thank god he is back, because the Rams really needed him for this game. Especially with deep-attack threat Chris Givens on the bench for violating team rules, the Rams could only establish a run game and short passing game. An 80-yard pass to Amendola was impressive, but nulled by a late penalty flag. Arguably a game-changing call.
Defensively, the Rams performed well against Alex Smith and company. But after Smith left with a concussion and Colin Kaepernick came in, I knew they were in for a long day. Kaepernick can extend plays much better than Smith can, and he can also escape the enclosing pressure around him. The Rams D-line can apply pressure well, but relies to much on the linebackers to contain any escaping backs. Time and again, the slow D-line is often left pursuing a speedy back to the second or third level of the defense, and that back frequently makes it to the first down marker before being brought down by fringe defenders. On designed blitzes, the Rams perform well, but coverage plays are frequently problematic. Granted, Kaepernick had an uncanny ability to pass in tight windows, but the corners made little effort to deflect the ball (partly because they were so far behind). The last drive was particularly draining. Over a minute to go is way too much time for the 49ers to simply move into field goal position. I knew they would be in trouble from the start, especially considering that the Niners almost scored a touchdown if they wanted to. If I were Fisher, I would've ran up the middle 4 straight times just to run the clock down a bit. The Rams must shore up their defense quickly, because the 49ers managed to establish both the run and, to some extent, the pass against the trailing Rams defenders.
Special teams...oh special teams. First, the good. The Rams successfully executed two fake punts to perfection, one of which extended the go-ahead touchdown drive late in the game. The kick coverages were exceptional, and managed to contain Ted Ginn pretty well. But special teams also had huge mistakes. Punter Johnny Hekker had his first shank of the season, allowing the 49ers good field position at a key time in the game. Greg Zuerlein missed a game-winner in overtime, partly because Hekker lost track of time (and thus took a delay of game penalty). Special teams definitely made big plays, but some were good and some were very bad.
Perhaps the story of this game was the running clock that the refs allowed during a measurement. The refs also made other questionable calls and non-calls, but I won't really go too much in depth with this. The only thing that matters is that the game ended in a tie, and if the refs brought that upon themselves and the leagues, so be it. But the outcome cannot be changed, and this game didn't really allow either team to take control in overtime. The Rams did hold their own against the tough 49ers, but they couldn't seal the deal either, and thus couldn't move up in the NFC West. A lot of missed chances abounded in this game. The Rams tied, but this felt like a loss...because they lost a game they should have won.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Rams face the troubled New York Jets at home, and that could be just what they need to get back on track. The Jets are still trying to identify themselves offensively, and they haven't been the same since their Week 1 outburst. If the Rams can control and put pressure on Sanchez, and keep the defense honest, they could pull this out. If they perform like they did against San Francisco, I see an easy win for the Rams at home.
