Rams Pick off the Cards

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.